San Francisco, Friday afternoon
In accordance with prophecy Cole's plans, Drake had convinced Paige to bring the demon home to meet the family. Piper and Phoebe had been skeptical of his intentions, but Wyatt seemed to like Drake well enough, and the lack of shields going up was a good sign. As was his ability to fondle the Book of shadows. He also got a good meal out of the deal and a hell of a lot of flirting with Phoebe. He could see what Cole saw in her.
The next morning, however, Piper's husband was Leo-napped by the Elders, who wanted to pass judgment on his recent activities in, oh, trying to remake the world. (There'd been a lot of facepalming from Drake when Cole had told him about what the Charmed Ones had done when they teamed up with the Avatars.) Piper fretted, Phoebe threatened to go on strike, and then an Elder came down to inform them that Leo had had his memories erased and was put back on Earth as a mortal so that he could find his destiny.
This didn't go over well, of course.
"Maybe it's time we face the fact that, you know, perhaps we're not meant to find love," Phoebe sighed.
"That is ridiculous!" Paige said.
"Okay, think about it," Phoebe said. "How many Halliwell women have actually been able to hold onto their men?"
"Name one," Piper said bitterly.
"Okay," Paige said thoughtfully. "Uh...oh my god, you're right. That's so depressing."
Phoebe nodded. "Exactly. We're destined to be spinsters, all for the greater good."
"Might as well be nuns, with better outfits," Piper said.
Drake literally tossed his gloves down in challenge. "All right, let's eighty-six that kinda talk, people," he said. "We will not give up on love. Repeat: Not give up on love. Love is everything. It's the only thing. It's why you're here. It's why I'm here."
"Drake, this isn't Fandom," Paige said. "The pep talk isn't going to work here."
"Aww, come on," Drake said. He was really seeing now why Cole needed him here. "The point is, you're young, you're hot, you got magic powers. Come on, the whole life's ahead of you!"
"That's really sweet," Phoebe said, "and we appreciate you trying, but you die in a few weeks, and we have to keep fighting."
"Yeah, I may be toast, but love never dies," Drake said. "You might as well die with me if you're gonna give up on it. The point is, Leo and Piper's love, it's epic, it's massive. It's Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, Brad and Jennifer."
"All tragedies, I might add," Piper skoffed.
"Better to have loved and lost and...yadda, yadda, yadda," Drake said. "But the point is, it's not lost. I mean, he's lost, but he's not lost, you know? All you gotta do is find Leo."
"Well, either way, if the Elders don't want us to find him, we're not gonna be able to," Paige pointed out.
"They didn't say that," Drake said. "They're gonna leave it up to him. Come on, precious time is a-wasting. The longer you take to look for Leo, the harder he's gonna be to find. Or we stay here and feel sorry for ourselves if you like."
"My husband just developed a serious case of amnesia, okay?" Piper snapped. "Give me a moment."
Drake offered his hand to Phoebe. "Phoebe?" he said. She accepted his hand, and he pulled her to her feet and twirled her around. "If love isn't worth fighting for then what is?"
Phoebe laughed. "Okay," she said. "This is what we're gonna do. We'll look in the Book of Shadows and see if there's another way to find Leo."
"Amen!" Drake said.
"Okay," Paige said. "I guess I could check at magic school."
"Now we're talking!" Drake encouraged.
"Piper, call Darryl," Phoebe suggested. "Now that Leo's mortal, he might be able to track him."
"Amen!" Drake said. "Can we go upstairs?"
Phoebe blinked. "What?"
"The Book of Shadows," Drake said innocently.
"Oh, yes," Phoebe said, leading Drake up to the attic to molest the Book of Shadows.
The lack of success in finding a spell or locating Leo by scrying soured Phoebe's mood again. Drake seized the opportunity to draw her into a conversation on the nature of love. Subtle, Drake, subtle.
"Look, I'm just being realistic, okay?" Phoebe said. "I have been heartbroken so many times by love that I'm just beginning to think that I'm supposed to live my life without it."
"What? That is ridiculous," Drake said. "Nobody is. I've been demonic without love, so I know what I'm talking about. Love is transcendent. It's miraculous. It's also what can save Piper and Leo."
"Yeah, well, I hope so," Phoebe said. "Because if it can't, I'm joining the convent."
Drake mentally facepalmed. This plan wasn't going to go as smoothly as he thought. He was going to smack Cole the next time he saw him.
[NFB due to distance, dialogue swiped from the episode "The Seven Year Witch."]
The next morning, however, Piper's husband was Leo-napped by the Elders, who wanted to pass judgment on his recent activities in, oh, trying to remake the world. (There'd been a lot of facepalming from Drake when Cole had told him about what the Charmed Ones had done when they teamed up with the Avatars.) Piper fretted, Phoebe threatened to go on strike, and then an Elder came down to inform them that Leo had had his memories erased and was put back on Earth as a mortal so that he could find his destiny.
This didn't go over well, of course.
"Maybe it's time we face the fact that, you know, perhaps we're not meant to find love," Phoebe sighed.
"That is ridiculous!" Paige said.
"Okay, think about it," Phoebe said. "How many Halliwell women have actually been able to hold onto their men?"
"Name one," Piper said bitterly.
"Okay," Paige said thoughtfully. "Uh...oh my god, you're right. That's so depressing."
Phoebe nodded. "Exactly. We're destined to be spinsters, all for the greater good."
"Might as well be nuns, with better outfits," Piper said.
Drake literally tossed his gloves down in challenge. "All right, let's eighty-six that kinda talk, people," he said. "We will not give up on love. Repeat: Not give up on love. Love is everything. It's the only thing. It's why you're here. It's why I'm here."
"Drake, this isn't Fandom," Paige said. "The pep talk isn't going to work here."
"Aww, come on," Drake said. He was really seeing now why Cole needed him here. "The point is, you're young, you're hot, you got magic powers. Come on, the whole life's ahead of you!"
"That's really sweet," Phoebe said, "and we appreciate you trying, but you die in a few weeks, and we have to keep fighting."
"Yeah, I may be toast, but love never dies," Drake said. "You might as well die with me if you're gonna give up on it. The point is, Leo and Piper's love, it's epic, it's massive. It's Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, Brad and Jennifer."
"All tragedies, I might add," Piper skoffed.
"Better to have loved and lost and...yadda, yadda, yadda," Drake said. "But the point is, it's not lost. I mean, he's lost, but he's not lost, you know? All you gotta do is find Leo."
"Well, either way, if the Elders don't want us to find him, we're not gonna be able to," Paige pointed out.
"They didn't say that," Drake said. "They're gonna leave it up to him. Come on, precious time is a-wasting. The longer you take to look for Leo, the harder he's gonna be to find. Or we stay here and feel sorry for ourselves if you like."
"My husband just developed a serious case of amnesia, okay?" Piper snapped. "Give me a moment."
Drake offered his hand to Phoebe. "Phoebe?" he said. She accepted his hand, and he pulled her to her feet and twirled her around. "If love isn't worth fighting for then what is?"
Phoebe laughed. "Okay," she said. "This is what we're gonna do. We'll look in the Book of Shadows and see if there's another way to find Leo."
"Amen!" Drake said.
"Okay," Paige said. "I guess I could check at magic school."
"Now we're talking!" Drake encouraged.
"Piper, call Darryl," Phoebe suggested. "Now that Leo's mortal, he might be able to track him."
"Amen!" Drake said. "Can we go upstairs?"
Phoebe blinked. "What?"
"The Book of Shadows," Drake said innocently.
"Oh, yes," Phoebe said, leading Drake up to the attic to molest the Book of Shadows.
The lack of success in finding a spell or locating Leo by scrying soured Phoebe's mood again. Drake seized the opportunity to draw her into a conversation on the nature of love. Subtle, Drake, subtle.
"Look, I'm just being realistic, okay?" Phoebe said. "I have been heartbroken so many times by love that I'm just beginning to think that I'm supposed to live my life without it."
"What? That is ridiculous," Drake said. "Nobody is. I've been demonic without love, so I know what I'm talking about. Love is transcendent. It's miraculous. It's also what can save Piper and Leo."
"Yeah, well, I hope so," Phoebe said. "Because if it can't, I'm joining the convent."
Drake mentally facepalmed. This plan wasn't going to go as smoothly as he thought. He was going to smack Cole the next time he saw him.
[NFB due to distance, dialogue swiped from the episode "The Seven Year Witch."]