Charmed. Cole and Phoebe Guardian Series.How quaint the ways of paradox?

Charmed. How quaint the ways of Paradox Chapter 3

Part 1: Time and Time Again

Chapter 3

"How quaint the ways of paradox; At common sense she gaily mocks" (Gilbert and Sullivan. Pirates of Penzance)

Phoebe Halliwell woke up slowly regretting the necessity of waking up. Her mouth tasted like shit, her stomach turned, nauseated. Waking up wishing she had never been born. Again.

"Ohh" she thought "Hangover, to much booze. Again. " She remembered. It was the day after her birthday; the day after she was 29, Ickk she was 29,...

.....

Cole got up while Phoebe watched him move with unconcealed interest. He thought this could be interesting shimmering out of here naked, and without bothering to explain went to the closet where he, where Phoebe normally kept his clothes, he kept them on the floor. He opened the closet, it was full of Phoebe's dolls and childhood toys. He glanced around the room and was a little relieved to see the suit he had worn last night was thrown over the chair in the corner. Some advantage to being untidy.

Phoebe watched him but her face was going white and her eyes were glazing over. Cole smiled, not unfamiliar with the symptoms of a massive hangover. He dressed feeling frantically for his wallet in his coat pocket and it wasn't there. Another couple of seconds and he discovered it on the floor. He slowly went through it, cash and cards were there, and his work business cards. The licence was a problem. It had the old apartment address on it but his licence in the time line he knew ,still had that address. He had been very reluctant to change things over to the Manor as a permanent address. He had no idea where he lived in this time line.

Phoebe was lying on her back with the sheet pulled over her head groaning. After he dressed, he went over to the bed and sat on the edge. Gently removing the sheet from her resisting grip he put a hand on either side of the pillow and bent over to kiss her. He hovered a little close to her lips and she looked at him eyes wide, big and brown. Innocent. Something of the Phoebe he loved.

He kissed her gently "See you in a little while Baby" he said. He sat up and looked at her. She was watching as if she had never been kissed by a man before. Certainly not been kissed by a man who loved her.

He stood up and started to walk to the door. "The fifth stair at the bottom creaks " Phoebe whispered.

"So you told me baby " he said softly and pulled the door open to confront Piper on the other side. She looked terrible, dirty flannel pyjamas, stringy hair, and about ten years older than she was. Piper and Cole stared at each other and she started to raise her hand. He had no idea whether she was planning on hitting him or freezing him but either way there was going to be a problem. He shimmered. The last thing he heard was Piper and Phoebe both screaming demon.

He shimmered on the footpath hoping to god Mrs Taylor was not watching. "Car" he thought "Hell" then he saw the green Mercedes parked one house up, exactly where he had parked it last night. He could have shimmered into the office but they would have known his car was not there. It was easier to use the car.

He walked up to it and felt around in his pockets. "Keys" he thought then said out loud "Damn. "

His spare set was still in Paige's purse or had been and the ones he used last night as far as he knew were on the hook in the Manor. The only tidy habits the girls had forced on him, were putting his car keys on the hook in the kitchen, mainly because he got sick of them bursting into the bedroom without any warning trying to find the keys to move the car. Four cars in a one car drive. He could have manufactured the keys but he was not a locksmith, so he could not manufacture a key that fitted. There was a demon called Clé who could do that. Cole was only an ex demon and a lawyer.