Piper Halliwell stared miserably at Phoebe and Leo. He said something and she laughed, touching his face. Piper turned away, not able to watch it anymore. "Why don't you tell her how you feel?" Prue walked in to the room. "I can't, Prue. She would feel guilty and break up with him and then I would feel guilty and I still would be too chicken to ask him out." "Piper, you love him." "I know. I just don't want to hurt Pheebs."

Phoebe smiled at Leo and kissed him. "We're going out to dinner tonight, right?" He nodded. "Are you sure? Because the last time you said that you had to orb out after ten minutes." "Don't worry. I won't let them take me away from you." Phoebe hugged him and he orbed out. She looked up and saw Piper and Prue deep in conversation. Phoebe walked over to her sisters. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nothing," Piper said quietly. Phoebe frowned. For the past few months, Piper had been withdrawn whenever Phoebe or Leo was around. Phoebe had known that it would be weird at first when she started going out with Leo, because Piper had had a crush on him. Phoebe figured that she had gotten over him. "Ok. Well, I have to get ready for my date tonight." Phoebe pranced out of the kitchen and Prue and Piper rolled their eyes.

At ten o'clock, Phoebe and Leo burst into the Manor. "Prue! Piper! Get down here, I need to tell you something." Prue came in from the kitchen and Piper walked down the stairs. Her heart jumped when Leo looked at her. Phoebe was practically jumping out of her skin. "Guess what? Oh, I'll just tell you anyway. Leo and I are getting married." Prue looked nervously at Piper.

Piper stood stone still then pasted on a fake smile. "That's great, you guys! I wish you all the luck in the world." She then turned and went back up to her room. Phoebe sent a questioning glance at Prue. Prue sighed and took Phoebe's arm. "We have to talk." While Prue and Phoebe headed for the living room, Leo proceeded up the stairs. He had been worried about Piper for months. When he first met her, she had been sort of shy, but she had always been upbeat and a certain sparkle in her eyes. Now, she was always quiet and almost sad around him. As a whitelighter, it was his job to figure out what was wrong. He knocked softly on Piper's door. "Go away," was the muffled reply. Leo ignored it and opened the door. Piper was lying on her bed, her back facing him. "Piper?" She didn't answer. He walked over to her and was surprised to see that she was crying. "Piper, what's wrong?" She sniffled and looked at him. "Can't you see, Leo? I guess not, you and Phoebe were too much in love to notice anything else." "What are you talking about?" "Leo," Piper stood up and looked him in the eye. "I love you."

"So, she still likes him?" "Loves him." Phoebe sighed and rubbed her head. "Why didn't she say anything?" "She didn't want to hurt you." "Great. Now I feel guilty."

"You—what?" Piper blinked, wishing she hadn't confessed her deepest darkest secret to the person who was the main part of it. "Well, I-I—forget it." "No, did you really mean that?" Leo had often wanted Piper to make the first move, then Phoebe had moved in and he wasn't the type to cheat. "I mean it." Leo closed his eye. 'This can not be happening! I just proposed to Phoebe!' He looked down at Piper and saw tears and pain in her brown eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" "I-I couldn't."

Phoebe and Prue looked at each other, one fighting for her sister, the other for her love life. "Prue, I'm getting married to him!" "But Piper adores him!" "I'll tell you what. I can fix Piper up with someone and then she'll completely forget about Leo. Oh! I have the perfect guy for her. I met him today at the courthouse. His name is Cole Turner and he is wonderful for Piper."

TWO DAYS LATER

"Did you have fun?" Piper smiled shyly at Cole. They were on the front step of the Manor. "Yeah. Would you like to come in for coffee or something?" Cole looked uncomfortable. "No, actually, I should be getting home. I have a huge case tomorrow. I'll call you, ok?" He leaned down and kissed her gently. Piper opened the door and walked into the Manor. She was immediately bombarded with questions from Prue and Phoebe. "Wasn't he wonderful?" "Did you have a good time?" "Did you like him?" Piper stayed silently until her sisters were quiet. "He was very nice." "That's it?" "What am supposed to say? It was one date." "I know, but did he say he would call you?" "Yes, Prue, if you must know he did." "Then he liked you." Piper sighed and walked past her sisters. "I'm really tired. Goodnight." She paused when she saw Leo standing in the doorway, looking at her, but she walked past him.

"We heard you're associated with a witch." "And not just any witch: a Charmed One." Cole stood in front of the Triad, looking bored. "I'm using her to get close to the Book. Once I have it, I will kill them." "The whitelighter will know if you're a demon." "I won't let him see me." "Whitelighters do not let their charges out of sight for very long. Besides, this one is getting married to one of the Charmed Ones." Cole rolled his eyes. "I'm not afraid of him. I know this will work, so leave me alone." He shimmered out.

Phoebe and Leo were in the living room when the doorbell rang. Phoebe got up and Leo followed her. "Cole, hey." "Is Piper here?" "No, she's at the club. She'll be out pretty much all day." "Oh. Tell her I'll call her, ok?" "Sure." Cole looked at Leo who was watching him.

That night, Piper came home late, dead tired from an overly crowded club. She dragged her feet up the stairs, only wanting to go to bed. When she opened her door, she stopped. Leo was sitting on her bed. "Is there a reason your in my room?" Leo looked up. "Piper, I have to talk to you." Piper walked in and sat next to him. "What is it?" "Cole," Leo felt instantly guilty and jealous when her eyes lit up at his name. "Piper, Cole is a demon." Piper looked at him then laughed. "This is a joke, right? Did Phoebe out you up to this?" "This isn't a joke. I wouldn't do that to you." "Leo, Cole is not a demon." "He is, Piper, I could sense it." Piper glared at him. "How can I trust you?" "There is a spell in the Book that tells if people are demons. Use it. See what happens." Piper paused, then went up to the attic. Prue and Phoebe were looking at the Book. "I need that." Piper grabbed the Book from Phoebe. "Rude, much?" Leo came in the door. "I'm going to prove to you that he isn't a demon." Prue and Phoebe looked at Leo. "Who?" "Cole." "Cole? A demon?" Phoebe shook her head. "It isn't possible." "Phoebe, I could sense it on him." The Book, in Piper's hands, blew to a page. Prue looked at it. "Uh, Leo?" He walked over and skimmed the page. "Piper, you can't see him again." "Like hell I can't! You're just jealous because I'm finally starting to get over you!" Leo was silent, then felt a red hot anger. "This is Balthazor, Piper! He's killed hundreds of witches! You're just another pawn on his hit list. This guy is like Tony Soprano with supernatural powers," he yelled at her. "No he's not! He is kind and sweet and I'll show he's not a demon." With that, she ripped the demon catching spell out of the Book and went downstairs. "Piper, wait!" Prue and Phoebe went after their sister while Leo orbed out, furious.

Piper knocked on Cole's door. "Who is it?" "It's me." Cole opened the door and smiled. "Hey. Want to come in?" "Sure." Piper stepped into the cluttered apartment. "Don't mind the mess." "Oh please, this is nothing. When you live with Prue and Phoebe, you'll know what a mess is." Cole laughed. "So, why did you come over anyway?" Piper held a small vile of the potion she had made in her right hand. She 'accidentally' dropped it at Cole's feet. Red smoke rose up, enveloping Cole. "Oops, I'm such a klutz. I-I-I," Piper stared at Cole, now about six feet tall and red with very sharp teeth and fingernails. "I'll be going now." Piper made a move to the door, but Cole pulled her back, slamming her into the wall and cutting her arm on his claws. "You found out my secret, Charmed One," Cole said in a deep voice. Piper struggled, but was too weak. "I was going to wait to kill you, but now I guess I have to seize the day." "No, wait! Cole, I have something to tell you." Piper threw her hands in the air and he froze. Piper sighed and shrugged out of his grip. She ran out of his apartment to her car. She slammed the door and managed to get the key in the hole without breaking down. Piper finally started to cry after she got on the road. She had really liked Cole and she had finally begun to get over Leo after so many months. Now, she had another demon that wanted to kill her and her sisters. The demon just happened to be her boyfriend. Piper wiped her tears off her face, pulling into the driveway. She didn't want her sisters to see her crying. But, sure enough, as soon as she stepped into the house, she started to weep all over again. "Piper, honey, what's wrong?" Phoebe and Prue look at their sister. "H-he's a demon." Prue hugged her as Piper started to cry harder. Phoebe led her into the living room. "Piper, you're hurt! Leo!" Leo orbed in and took in the scene. Prue and Phoebe were looking worriedly at Piper who was sobbing. "What happened," he asked, his anger for Piper fading into oblivion. "Cole is Belthazor. He attacked her, I think. She's too upset to talk."

Piper took a deep breath and looked up at Leo, tears in her eyes. "I hope you're happy. You were right, Leo. Cole is a demon and he was probably using me to get to the Book. I just wanted to have a love life, is that too much to ask?" Piper got up and walked swiftly out of the room. Leo followed her and Phoebe got up to go after Leo but Prue held her back. "They need to talk about this."

Leo found Piper sitting on the small bench in the backyard. He sat next to her. "You ok?" "I just wanted to have a normal life and be a normal person. That pretty much flew out the window three years ago when Pheebs came back, but I thought I could have a semi normal love life. Obviously that isn't meant to be. I'm never going to find anyone." "Piper, that's not true. You're a wonderful person. You're kind, caring, and beautiful. You'll find someone." She let him heal the cut on her arm. "What if that person is already taken?" Piper looked up at Leo with such innocence in her eyes he was startled. "Well, things will work out. Just remember everything happens for a reason." Piper looked at the ground.

"Will we have to vanquish Cole?" "Prue, he's a demon. Of course we will have to." "But Piper seems to really like him. It will break her heart." "It's already broken." Phoebe sat on the couch where Piper was and was thrown into a premonition. "Prue…" "What was it?" "I saw Piper. In a wedding dress." "Who was she marrying?" "I don't know. I didn't see." "We shouldn't tell her. It would distract her." "Ok," Phoebe said, not addressing the fact she was terrified the person Piper was marrying was Leo.

Piper and Leo entered the room and were met with Phoebe throwing their coats at them. "What?" "We found a potion to vanquish Cole." Prue saw Piper tense. "W-we have to vanquish him?" Prue was silent. "Well, Piper, honey, he's a demon. He's a threat to Prue and you and me." Piper lowered her eyes. "Oh." Leo felt immense pity for her. 'She really likes him.' The four drove to the park. "Why didn't we bring a flashlight?" Prue asked through the darkness. "Let's just read the calling spell and get this over with, ok?" Piper asked. The three sisters recited the spell and Cole appeared in front of them. Piper lowered her eyes, she couldn't bear to look at him. "Piper, let me explain." "Shut up. She doesn't need any explaining from the likes of you."

"This is between her and me. Piper, just look at me." She looked at him. His eyes pleaded for her to understand. "Could you guys go away? I have to talk to him." "Piper!" "Prue, please?" Prue, Phoebe, and Leo walked back to the car. Cole looked at Piper, trying to figure out what she was feeling. "I'm sorry for attacking you." "You're using me. You just want the Book or our powers. All the demons we have ever fought has wanted either the Book or our powers." "So?" "So how can I still have feelings for you?" Cole leaned against a tree. "You're not mad?" "I'm furious. But I've been betrayed before and I've gotten over it. The hard part is convincing my sisters to get over it. They want to kill you, you know." "I figured as much. I won't bother you, Piper. I'm only half demon; I do have a human side." Piper closed her eyes, trying to take in all the information. "Cole, for the first time in months, I've felt happy to be with a guy. Now I find out he's a demon?" Cole felt nervous. Although he was a natural enemy with her, he really cared about Piper, no matter what he told the Triad. "Piper, just give me another chance. I won't turn into Belthazor, I promise." "How can I trust you?" "Please! I think about you all the time. You're special to me, Piper. I love you." Piper looked up in surprise as he kissed her. "Cole, we've known each other for less than a week." "So? I have so many different feelings for you, but I know that I love you." Piper nodded. "Leave." Cole's heart sank. "What?" "I don't want Prue and Phoebe to hurt you. You have to go. Now. I'll stay in touch, ok?" Cole nodded and kissed her again before shimmering out. Piper walked to the car where her sisters and Leo were waiting. "He's gone." "Honey, are you ok?" Piper nodded.

THREE MONTHS LATER

"Cole, I can't lie anymore. I have to tell my sisters and Leo." Piper waited for him to shimmer in, but he didn't. "Cole, please. I have to do this. I can't keep lying!" Cole still was no where to be found. "Who are talking to?" Piper turned, surprised. "Leo, uh, just myself." "What are you lying about?" Piper realized that Leo had probably heard the whole thing. "Cole isn't dead, is he, Piper?" Piper sat down on her bed, her head in her hands. "No." "Piper! How could you not tell us that?" "You would have killed him!" "Well, yeah. You said you did!" "No. I said he was gone." "You still lied to us. He could have come back and killed your sisters." Cole shimmered in. "Piper, sorry I'm late, I was-" He glared at Leo. "So I take it you know." Leo nodded, look fiercely back. "Cole, he heard me talking about it." Cole and Leo stared at each other for a while. Piper was afraid of what they might do. "Could we just talk about this?" "Oh my God." Piper turned and saw her sisters in the doorway. Piper sighed. "Guys, Cole is still alive." Prue and Phoebe stared at Cole, their mouths open.

"How could you lie to us? You said he was dead!" "I did not! I said he was gone. Maybe you should have listened!" "Cut the attitude," Prue yelled at Piper. "You're not my mother! You never were so stop acting like it!" Piper screamed back. Prue was speechless. "Piper, in case you haven't noticed, my wedding is in two days and now is not the time to bring back an evil boyfriend." "He's not evil. It's all about you, isn't it? About you're wedding, how this is affecting your life. What about mine? Huh? For the past three months I have been agonizing over this. I had to choose between my sisters and the person I care about." "And you betrayed the Charmed Ones." Phoebe said, anger clear in her voice. "No. I followed my heart. Maybe you don't want me to be a Charmed One anymore." "Maybe I don't." Leo held his hands up. "Pheebs, that's a little harsh." "No, it's not! She deceived us and she should pay the consequences." Piper looked at her sisters. "I'm out." Prue and Leo followed her as she walked from the room. "What do you mean, you're out?" "I'm leaving. You guys are making a mountain out of a molehill. Have a happy wedding, Leo." Piper said, sadness in her voice. She turned and walked out the front door where Cole was waiting for her. "We have to find her." "Why? She let us down." "She's our sister, Phoebe. She belongs with us." "Maybe not." "How can you be saying this?" "She wanted to go with him, Prue. She had a choice and she chose Cole." Prue looked to Leo for help. He was silent. He was too shocked to say anything. Cole looked at Piper, worried about her. She hadn't said a thing since she had walked out on her sisters. "Can you turn me evil?" Cole looked up sharply. "What?" "I don't want to be good anymore. All it has gotten me is trouble." "I-I have a spell, but Piper, are you sure?" "Yes." Cole nodded, wishing he could feel guilty about it, but he was glad Piper wanted to be evil.

Phoebe was watching Prue and Leo discuss what had just happened when she was forced into a premonition. When she opened her eyes, Leo and Prue were looking at her. "What did you see?" "Piper and Cole. Piper's evil." "Phoebe, I thought we got over this." "No, I mean really evil, Prue. He turned her." Leo nodded. "I feel her. She is evil." Prue shook her head. "This can't be happening. What do we do?" Leo shook his head.

"Are you ok?" Piper looked at Cole and smiled. "I feel fine. The best in months. How come you didn't tell me how good it feels to be evil." "Don't you think you're a little overzealous?" "No. I finally feel free. My sisters and Leo are behind me and I can finally move on with my life." Cole nodded, but he couldn't help but feel he had made a huge mistake that could cost everyone his or her life.

Phoebe woke up and frowned. She should have smiled because she was married to the man of her dreams and no demons had attacked during the last week, but her sister was still gone and she had no clue where she was. Even Leo couldn't find her. Although Phoebe had yelled at Piper the last time she had seen her, she was terribly worried. Phoebe got dressed and went down to breakfast. Prue and Leo were already there, eating in silence. Everyone had pretty much been silent and desolate the past week. They were all worried about Piper and what she might be doing. The last premonition Phoebe had of Piper was her turning evil. Everyone knew Cole could, and would, turn Piper evil if he had the chance. After yet another quiet meal, Phoebe left to go to the club. She and Prue had maintained it since the last week, telling the employees that Piper had gone on vacation. She checked how much alcohol was left and did inventory. "I leave for a week and you move in on my life?" Phoebe whipped around. Piper and Cole were standing on the stairs. "Piper, oh God, we've been so worried." "Oh cut the crap, Phoebe. You guys wanted me gone." "No, no we didn't." Piper smirked. "Well, I feel great to be gone, either way." Phoebe started to get an uneasy feeling about the situation. "Do you fell ok, Piper?" "I feel wonderful. You know, you and Prue should really come to the other side. It's quite interesting." "Other side?" "Yeah. Evil. I have a ton of cool powers and I can do whatever I want, whenever I want." "Piper, this isn't you." "Sure it is. This part of me was just hidden for so long. This is the real me, Pheebs. Deal with it." Phoebe shook her head. "I can't believe that." "Well, believe this." Piper shot a fireball from her hand that crashed behind Phoebe. It didn't hurt Phoebe, but it showered glass over her. Piper turned to Cole. "Let's go." He followed obediently.

Prue picked her cell up. "Hello," she asked in the same eager voice she had had for the past week. "Prue, it's me." "Phoebe? Are you ok?" "No. Piper's back." "You sound like that is a bad thing." "It is. She's evil." Prue froze. "S-She's what?" "Evil." "Did she hurt you?" "No. Just scared the crap out of me. Cole is right beside her, as figured." Prue nodded. "Alright. Just get back to the Manor and tell Leo. Be careful." She hung up and groaned.

Cole finally had to say something. "Don't you think you've done enough?" Piper looked back at him. "Are you kidding? I'm just getting started. With all this freedom, I can do anything." They had already hurt a dozen people and Cole was afraid things might start to look weird. "Piper, being evil isn't all about hurting people. It's about fighting good." Piper thought about that and a smile slowly spread across her face. "Let's visit my family."

Prue, Phoebe, and Leo were sitting around the kitchen table, trying to figure out what to do about Piper. "She's hurt innocents, Prue." "We can't vanquish her, Phoebe!" "I'm not saying that! Do you think I want to hurt her?" "You obviously wanted her out of the house." Phoebe slammed her fist down on the table. "I am NOT responsible for this!" "Girls, calm down. Yelling isn't going to help Piper. We have to take this one step at a time." "Why'd you start the party without me?" Everyone turned to see Piper standing in the doorway. Cole was standing next to her, a nervous look on his face. "Piper, please come home. We miss you." "I AM home. Only the feelings aren't mutual." Prue looked confused. "What are you saying?" "I know Phoebe told you. I'm evil now." "No. Piper, you could never be evil. I know you." "Oh shut up, Leo. You didn't even know that I was in love with you until you were engaged." Phoebe absently fingered the ring. Piper saw it. "I guess I missed the wedding. That's ok. I'll get to go to the funerals." Prue finally had enough and used her powers to throw Piper into the wall, knocking her unconscious. Cole stood looking at her, not running to her, as Prue and Phoebe had expected. "Finally someone did that," Cole said, relieved. "What are you talking about?" "All day it was let's go ruin this, let's go hurt them. I'm sick and tired of it." "So, you're sick of evil," Prue asked, suspicious. "No. I'm sick of Piper being evil. I loved her when she was good, not evil." Leo tensed at the word 'love'. He suddenly had a revelation. 'Oh my God. I love Piper.' He always had feelings for her, but he never admitted to himself that he loved her. Now he was trapped: tell and divorce Phoebe and risk being rejected by the now evil Piper or going about his normal life but living it with the knowledge that there might be something better in Piper. "Leo?" "Huh? What?" "I said, what should we do?" Leo bit his lip. "Look in the Book, see if you can find anything. Keep her tied up. I'll see if the Elders know anything." He halfheartedly kissed Phoebe and orbed out.

When he orbed back into the attic, Piper was tied to a chair, still knocked out. Leo worried about her. She had been out for awhile. "She ok," he asked Phoebe. "Piper? Yeah. Prue really knocked her out, though. Leo," she said, changing the subject, "we have a problem. The only way to get an evil person back to good is to kill them and resurrect them from the dead." "We'll have to kill Piper?" "Yeah." "Ok. Well, I guess we have to do this." Prue and Cole walked in with a large knife. Leo grimaced when he saw it. "Do we have to stab her?" "What are we supposed to do? Shoot her? I just want to get this over with and get my sister back." Piper groaned and opened her eyes. "What the—get me out of these ropes!" "Sorry, sis. We have a little spell to perform." Prue used her powers to plunge the knife into Piper's stomach. Pain and confusion filled Piper's face. "What--?" Leo, Prue, Cole, and Phoebe saw dark orbs come out of Piper's body. Piper looked down at her stomach. "Oh God." Leo was the first to realize she was back to normal; no longer the evil Piper. He rushed to her and untied the ropes. She fell heavily into his arms. Leo knelt so that her upper body was cradled in his arms. "Leo, what did I do?" Piper asked shakily, pain racking her body. "You were evil, but we're going to get you back. We'll fix this." Piper shook violently. "Leo, I-I don't want to die. I-I don't w-want to leave you." Leo's heart broke. She still had feelings for him, even though she also loved Cole. Piper whimpered. "Leo, I can't see." "It's ok. I'm right here. I'll always be here." "I-I love you. I always did, L-Leo." Piper closed her eyes and breathed her last breath. "I love you too," Leo whispered, hardly audible. Prue and Phoebe then rushed into action. They recited the spell and suddenly glowing lights descended into Piper's body. She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. Leo quickly healed her stab wound and helped her up. She wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered. She pulled away and hugged her sisters and stood looking at Cole. Leo felt this was his cue and walked out of the room to the bedroom he and Phoebe shared. "You're in love with her, aren't you?" He turned. Phoebe was standing in the doorway, a defeated look on her face. "N-no." Leo sighed. "Yes." He sat on the bed, his face on his hands. Phoebe took a shaky breath. "Why didn't you say anything?" "I've always had feelings for her, you've had to notice that." "I thought you were friends!" "Pheebs, I'm sorry. I-I just don't know what to feel. I-I think we should take some time off." Phoebe felt tears running down her face, but did nothing to stop them.

Piper folded her arms and looked at Cole. He glanced at her, then lowered his eyes. "Piper, let me explain-" "There is nothing to explain," she said sharply. "I got addicted to evil and completely turned my back on my destiny." Cole sighed, relieved. "Cole, I'm so sorry. If I had known what would have happened…" Piper was clearly upset. "I hurt so many people." "That wasn't you." "I felt like it was part of me, Cole. You didn't just plant evil in me, it was already there." "Are we still-" "I don't know. It's too much of a temptation when I'm around you. I think we should take a break, ok?" Cole's heart broke. "Fine." He shimmered out, infuriated. Piper covered her face with her hands.

Leo looked up as the door opened to the porch. Piper stopped when she saw him. "S-Sorry. I'll go." Leo could tell she was upset. "No, it's ok. You can stay." He patted the empty seat next to him and she sat. "Cole and I broke up." "So did me and Phoebe." "What? Why?" "Creative differences." "Funny. What's the real reason?" "You." Piper looked up. "Leo, I-" He silenced her with a kiss. Piper was silent when he pulled away. "Uh, ok."

Cole shimmered into the Triad's dark room. "Belthazor. Why are you here?" "I need something." "Yes?" "I need to kill the Charmed Ones." "Finally come to your senses?" "Yes," Cole whispered. One of the cloaked figures held out a sharp dagger. "This is tipped with poison. Cut anyone with this and they will die within five minutes. No whitelighter can heal them unless he disobeys the rules." Cole nodded and grabbed the dagger. "Thank you." Phoebe lay on her bed, crying. Prue knocked on the door. "Phoebe? Can we talk?" "Sure." Prue walked into the bedroom and sat next to Phoebe. "What's wrong?" "Leo loves Piper. He wants to take some time off." Prue felt anger well up inside her. "I'll be right back." She stomped down to the porch and threw the door open. She stopped dead when she saw Leo and Piper kissing. "How dare you!" Leo and Piper turned swiftly. "P-Prue!" "Damn right." "This isn't what it looks like." "It looks like you two were kissing." "Ok, it might be what it looks like, but we didn't mean for it to happen." "Right." "Prue, please believe us!" "How can I when Phoebe is upstairs crying?" Piper stepped forward. "Prue, how many times did I cry, huh? How many times did I lay awake at night, wishing that Leo were mine? You don't know how long I've waited for this!" Prue glared at her sister. "You have Cole." "Not anymore. We broke up. Thanks for noticing." Piper pushed past Prue and strode out of the room. "Piper," Leo and Prue followed her, but stopped when they saw Cole pressing a knife against her throat. "What the hell are you doing, Cole?" "Getting revenge. I'm going to kill all of you, Prue. Without Piper to keep me good, I turned back to evil." Piper squirmed beneath the blade. "Prue." Her voice was high and scared. "It'll be ok, honey. Phoebe! Get down here!" "Don't bother. She's already dying." Leo raced up the stairs, but Prue stayed put. She couldn't take any chances. "Ready to die, Piper." Prue screamed as Cole stabbed Piper in the stomach. He shimmered out. Prue ran forward as Piper fell. Piper looked at the knife. "Prue…" "It'll be ok," her sister said through tears. Piper gasped for air. "P-Prue, it hurts." "LEO!" Prue screamed. Leo slowly came down the steps, looking at his feet.

"Phoebe's dead." Prue's blood turned into ice. "Leo, help her." He looked up and saw Piper, cradled in Prue's arms. He jumped down the stairs. "Oh God." Piper quavered as Leo pulled the knife out. "It's tipped with poison." Prue sobbed harder. "Fix her." Leo tried to heal her. "I can't." Piper put her hand on his face. "I-I'm sorry. I love you b-both." She gasped for breath, then closed her eyes. "P-Piper." Prue held her sisters' hand and cried. Leo bowed his head, silently crying. "I have an idea." He orbed out. "Leo!" Leo appeared in a room filled with light. "Piper, Phoebe." The twos sisters turned. "Leo, what happened?" "You're dead." "What?" "Don't worry. I can get you alive, but I can only bring back one of you." He looked away as he said this. "Take her. She's your wife." Phoebe shook her head. "No. I've known how much you guys love each other for a long time, and you guys should be together. Besides, I'll be able to see Mom and Grams. I'll be fine." "Are you sure, Pheebs?" Phoebe nodded. "Leo, won't this affect your powers?" "No. I was told that anything I can do to help the Charmed Ones was to be done, and this is what I call helping. I think the only reason Cole hurt any of you is because he thought the only way to help you was to give up my powers." Piper hugged Phoebe. "I love you. Visit us?" Phoebe nodded. "Bye." Leo and Piper disappeared into a ball of golden light. "Hello, Phoebe." "Mom."

FOUR MONTHS LATER

"I pronounce you man and wife." Piper grinned and she and Leo kissed. Prue smiled from the side of the living room and Phoebe, Patty, and Penny was all in attendance. Cole however, was not. A week after killing Phoebe, he had sent Piper a letter. He explained that he knew what happened and that he was leaving for good. He also wished her luck with Leo. Piper had regrets about Cole, but she knew it was better to be with Leo. She thought that again as she looked at her new husband.