"I feel guilty" Piper stated suddenly to the empty room.

And surprisingly enough the empty room answered back, well surprising in any house but the Halliwell's.

"Why do you feel guilty?" Cole asked her, sounding more amusing then worried.

"Isn't it obvious! I've been completely ignoring you, even when I feel you are there I rarely talk to you these days. I'm an awful friend, now that I got Leo back I just start ignoring you, despite the fact that I leaned on you and relied on you while he was gone. I must seem like the most awful person, to just ignore you once I don't need you anymore" Piper ranted.

Cole chucked softly, "I see you've thought a great deal about this, but you did not need to. I'm not upset, obviously you've been spending time with Leo who you just got back, I knew you'd remember me eventually. Besides you are with him most of the time these days, so even if you feel me you can't just start talking to me with him there, not without explaining a lot of things I know you don't want to explain."

"I hardly think that makes a good enough excuse, I should just explain to Leo about you, I do intend to. Its not like I'm ashamed of our friendship Cole, you are not some dirty little secret. I do plan to tell him, he is my husband, I'm hardly going to keep secrets from him. It was one thing to not tell him when I couldn't hear you and did not even know if you were really there, but now it's a bit different."

"I suppose you're right, secrets tend to ruin a marriage, I know that all too well. But I do anticipate a really funny conversation when you tell him, I'll have to call Prue down, it's the type of thing she'd really enjoy watching."

Piper grinned, "You two sure do have similar senses of humor, when you two were alive it was not so evident, but now with you two spending so much time together, I think you are rubbing off on one another."

"And if she heard you saying that I think she would be mightily irritated with you" Cole teased.

Piper laughed and then her expression sobered. "Actually I've been meaning to apologize to you about ignoring you for awhile now, but you aren't around as much these days. It is because I haven't been talking to you, or is it… well the other thing, the wedding planning. I know it can't be easy for you to watch Phoebe over here each day planning her wedding to Coop, it that why you have been avoiding the house?"

"Well I can't totally deny that. I suppose it was both, since you weren't talking to me as much and did not seem to need my presence like before I figured I could not hang around so much, which was better since, yes, I'd rather not watch the wedding planning. It's both painful and boring, it was not that interesting even when the planning was for my own wedding, so it's intolerable when it's for her wedding to someone else."

"I wish there was something I could do for you, you've done so much for me. I wouldn't have made it through all that time with Leo gone if I hadn't had you here. But I feel helpless, I don't know how to help you. I can't bring you back to life, if I had that power I'd have used it for you and Prue a long time ago."

"I don't think bringing me back would help the situation anyway. She's getting married, she's happy, and she thinks that she has finally found the one, the one to give her her baby girl. You don't really think I want to take that away from her. My coming back now would only mess up her life, which is the last thing I want." Cole told her sadly.

"I know, you're right. As always, the timing just is not right. But it's just too awful for you to be stuck in limbo and have to watch all this. I wish that there was some way for you to move on, so that at least you'd have some hope that you could be reincarnated and have another chance with Phoebe."

"So do I, but that not really possible, I'm here as a punishment. So you can't just wave a magic wand and send me off to heaven."

"Well yeah, when was the last time used a wand for anything? Real witches don't need a wand." Piper laughed, "Look at me sounding like a snob, and with the way that life works you just know somehow I'm going to come across a witch that uses a wand soon, just so the universe can prove me wrong."

"I've seen witches use wands, not like some Harry Potter thing, but for a witch a wand is used ceremonially to conduct energy for certain spells. So who know, you just might end up having to use one someday." Cole teased.

"I really should talk to Leo, he might know someone about punishment like yours and how they get lifted or removed."

"Wow, way to change the subject. But you have a point, out of everyone you know, he'd know best about these things, being an ex-elder and all. But you really don't have to bother, I'll survive, the wedding will be over a few months, and Phoebe doesn't even live in this house anymore, I don't think I'll have to see her all the much anyway. So don't worry about it so much." Cole said quietly, sounding resigned.

"I don't know, maybe. Still, its worth thinking about" Piper said and trailed off with a thoughtful look on her face.