Disclaimer: Charmed belongs to Spelling, the WB, and other important people. I own nada.
Summary: A twist of fate place their destiny squarely in their hands. One last chance to make things right. Will she take it? Can she save him before it's too late? Oneshot. Phoebe/Cole
A/N: This takes place sometime between the events of Witches in Tights and Sam I am.
Ripple in Time
"Piper! Blow him up, hurry!" Phoebe ducked and a demon went sailing over her head, exploding in midair as Piper's volatile power kicked into effect.
"That's the third one today, what the hell is going on?" Piper growled, getting seriously pissed off at relentless attacks that constantly disrupted their day and endangered her unborn baby; her raging hormones didn't quite help dissipate her irritable mood either.
"Oh I don't know, maybe they're in a suicidal mood?" Grimacing from a stabbing pain in her side, Paige picked herself up from the floor and surveyed the damages done to the Manor. Things didn't seem to bode too well for the old grandfather clock that normally stood off in the hallway but was now scattered in broken pieces across the floor. There were only so many times you could fix that darn thing.
Sighing, they trooped upstairs to the attic for yet another research session.
Bright blue orb lights signaled Leo's return and the three sisters immediately converged on him. Catching Piper's eye, Leo nervously ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't looking too good to the Elders. It's a bit of a mess down there in the Underworld right now, without a Source," Phoebe visibly stiffened and Leo paused for a second, stumbling over his words, "but, uh, there are several demons making bids for the throne."
Paige let out a frustrated groan. "Not again," she muttered, "I feel like we've been through this before."
Leo nodded, "It's pretty bad. One of them, Brakara, is currently the front contender. Somehow his future self traveled through a time rift and teamed up with his present self.
He's coming after your Book. Either that, or he's going to have to kill you, in order to convince the Underworld that he's fit to rule. He's the one who's been sending all these demons after you."
"Yeah, well, they haven't succeeded yet and there's no way this Brakara dude is going to be any different. Now where's a kickass vanquishing spell or potion when you need one?" Paige raised an eyebrow at her sisters.
A brief moment of silence, then Phoebe blinked, "Right. I'm on it." Scanning the room, she quickly found a notepad and flopped down in a nearby armchair, a look of intense concentration already plastered across her face as she started to nibble on the end of a pen.
Piper turned to go to the kitchen but Paige stopped her, "Oh, no, Mom, you better stay right where you are and rest up for my niece here. We're going to need all our energy for later" Paige patted Piper's baby bump cheerfully and then slid past her, heading for the stairs, "I'll get the potion."
Leo chuckled at Piper's indignant look and bent to give her a quick kiss. "I'm going to go back up there and wait for any new information the Elders turn up. You know what to do if you need me." Piper still felt the lingering tingle of his kiss even as the shimmering blue lights carried her husband away. She sighed, walking over to where Phoebe was scribbling furiously.
"Any luck?" Piper asked her sister hopefully.
"…and return this demon to his time!" proclaimed Phoebe, but she quickly groaned and crossed out what she had written. "Not gonna work, I have to reword it. I don't know, Piper, it just seems so much harder than it should be; I can't concentrate on spells today for some reason."
Piper had a sneaky suspicion about just what was bothering her sister, but decided not to say anything yet; instead she settled for patting Phoebe's shoulder encouragingly.
A few minutes later, Phoebe triumphantly waved a sheet of paper at Piper, "Aha! Finally…come on, let's see how Paige's doing on the potion."
Glancing up from where she was perusing the Book of Shadows, Piper smiled at Phoebe, "See, sweetie, I knew you'd have it sooner or later." She was about to join Phoebe on her way to the stairs when a shrill scream came from downstairs, merged with the sound of shattering glass.
"Oh no, Paige." Piper and Phoebe cast panicked glances at each other
Suddenly Phoebe gasped and stopped, one hand going to the wall to steady herself as the spell in her hand pulled her into a premonition.
The kitchen and living room of the Manor were a mess, with furniture scattered here and there and scorch marks littering the walls from previous attacks that they hadn't had a chance to clean up from yet. It was eerily silent and empty. Where was Paige? Where was Piper?
A tall figure suddenly came into her line of vision, looming over her with a malevolent look in his eyes. Stepping closer, he raised a hand and electricity crackled dangerously in his palms.
"Die, witch," he hissed.
The last thing she heard was the sound of her own scream ringing in her ears…
Pulling out of the premonition, Phoebe clutched at her chest, gasping for breath and willing her racing heart to calm down.
"Phoebe? What did you see?" Piper asked, trying but failing to keep the worried tone from her voice.
"It-it was Brakara, I think. He was about to kill me." Phoebe took a deep breath. "I don't know what happened to you and Paige."
Piper's mouth was set in a grim line. "Well, he's not going to get the chance," she said, "Come on, we gotta help Paige."
Stepping off the landing, both of them froze in shock, taking in the sight of broken glass everywhere. The large window off the sunroom had been shattered, and chill night air rushed in, causing the curtains to stir slightly; other than that, there was no movement.
"Paige?" Piper called out uneasily, fearing for the worst.
They looked around, alert for any of sign of attack, before walking over to the window to assess the damage.
Piper let out a strangled sob at the sight that met their eyes and staggered against Phoebe.
"Paige!" She could barely choke out.
Paige had been thrown through the window, landing outside on grass speckled with pieces of glass. Blood trickled down from a mass of cuts on her body. She wasn't moving; they weren't sure if she was even breathing.
"No, no," Phoebe whispered. She shook her head determinedly. "No! Leo!"
A split-second later Leo orbed in behind them, faster than usual as he sensed the panic in their call. Taking on look at their tear-streaked face and the broken window behind them, he moved to get to Paige.
Immersed in concern for their sister, Phoebe and Piper failed to notice the twin shimmers that appeared behind them.
Without warning, an energy ball shot into Leo, dispersing him into hundreds of blue orb lights. Phoebe could only watch in horror as Piper was flung into the air, crashing through a wall before coming to a stop against the kitchen table and lying there motionless, a trickle of blood rolling from her mouth.
The demon turned to Phoebe. "So the last of the great Charmed Ones then," He laughed, "That wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be."
Phoebe felt her breath hitch in her throat, whether in fear or despair for her sisters she wasn't sure. Get it together, she told herself, don't panic. Piper and Paige will be okay. You just have to take of this for them. They need you. Willing herself to stay calm, Phoebe tried to look at her situation strategically. If this is Brakara, where's his other self from the different timeline?
She ransacked her brain for a way out. There weren't many options as Paige hadn't finished the potion and she didn't have the Power of Three for the spell anymore. Looking at Piper's prone form reminded her eerily of the scene two years ago when they had fought a losing battle against Shax. But it did spark an idea in her mind. Maybe the spell would end up hurting Brakara enough to give them time to heal and regroup. Praying it would work, she unfolded the spell she held clenched in her hand and started reading from it.
Phoebe sensed something was wrong when Brakara did nothing to stop her. This time she felt and heard the shimmer behind her, but it was too late.
"Boo," Brakara grinned as his time-traveling counterpart grabbed her from behind, strong vice grip digging into her arms, eliciting a cry of surprise and fear from her. Phoebe struggled to maneuver out of his stranglehold on her, kicking at him and trying to levitate out of his grasp, but he held her fast as the other advanced menacingly, an evil grin playing on his face and a glowing ball of emerging forming in his hand. The one that held her pushed her forward at the same time as the other released a bolt of energy.
"Die, witch."
Phoebe screamed.
A second later, she opened her eyes when she realized there wasn't any pain and saw Brakara on the ground a few feet away, his own power having reflected back at him. Phoebe caught a glimpse of a familiar blur out of the corner of her eyes.
"What the –" the Brakara that was holding her loosened his grasp. Phoebe used the momentary distraction to slam her elbow into his face and twist away from him, stumbling as she did so into the arms of the man who had always caught her when she fell.
"C-Cole?" She looked up at him, still shaken by her close brush with death.
Cole spared her the briefest of glances before he shot several energy balls in quick succession past her at Brakara. It took a few hits but he finally went up in flames. The other Brakara got up from the ground and dusted off his jacket.
"Turner. I should've known," the demon spat out.
Cole attacked with more energy balls. Brakara raised his hand and deflected the attack. Grabbing Phoebe and blurring out of the oncoming path of danger, Cole reappeared behind the demon. He conjured an athame with his free hand and plunged it into Brakara, watching with some satisfaction as licking flames swallowed the demon.
The threat gone, Cole spun Phoebe around to face him.
"Damn it, Phoebe, why did you wait so long?" He growled.
"What do you mean? I don't understand…"
"If you've only called for me sooner…" He closed his eyes in frustration, then opened them and turned around to look for Piper and Paige. This jolted Phoebe back into the present.
"No!" She cried out. Running to her big sister, she dropped to the floor besides Piper and grabbed her hand.
"Piper? You have to wake up, please," Phoebe's voice was choked up.
The older Halliwell stirred slightly and gave a little moan. Her eyelids fluttered, though she didn't open them. Phoebe perked up at the movement. "Piper?" She asked softly, hardly daring to hope. Watching in amazement, Phoebe held her breath as the trickle of blood suddenly started to retract and a golden glow emanated from Piper's body. After a while it faded, and Piper drew a long shuddering breath before opening her eyes. She sat up carefully, looking into Phoebe's concerned face.
"It's okay, we got him," Phoebe told her.
Piper nodded slowly, one hand going to caress her swollen belly.
"Good baby," she murmured, "Mommy's all right."
Then, as if something had just hit her, Piper's hand flew to her mouth. She looked at her sister. "Phoebe, where's – "
The sound of tinkling orbs interrupted her mid-sentence. They both watched silently as the blue glow faded away gradually, revealing Leo. He staggered against the couch, one hand over his heart. Looking up with tear-filled eyes, he caught sight of his wife.
"Honey?" He almost cried with relief to find Piper sitting up. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "The energy ball took a lot out of me and I couldn't reform sooner."
Leo started to step in their direction but Phoebe stopped him. Her voice constricted with emotion, she urged him, "Piper's fine, Leo. You have to go heal Paige. Now."
He nodded, orbing away immediately, and they followed quickly in his wake, holding onto each other for support.
Piper and Phoebe watched in apprehension as Leo's hands glowed over Paige's still form. They all breathed a sigh of relief when the wounds started to close up and disappear.
After ascertaining that Paige was all right, Leo rushed to his wife's side.
Phoebe helped Paige to her feet and pulled her into a hug.
"I was so worried."
Paige gave her a squeeze in reassurance. "Did we get him?"
Phoebe smiled through her tears, "We got him. Both of him. Or at least, Cole did."
"Cole?" Paige was incredulous. She peered around Phoebe and spotted the tall figure leaning nonchalantly against the wall watching them silently. "What is he doing here?"
Cole shrugged "You needed help, so I came to give you a hand. Isn't that right, Phoebe?" He challenged.
"Help?" Paige yelled at him, "This was probably another one of your twisted plots to get Phoebe back!"
At Paige's words, Phoebe tried to remember why she had spent the last few months convincing herself and Cole that he wasn't part of her life any longer and didn't have a place in her heart.
"How did you know to come at the right time?" She asked him quietly.
"You…called for me."
"What are you talking about Cole? I never called for you. And you won't be able hear
even if I did. You don't have that kind of power."
"Our bond goes deeper than that, Phoebe, and you know it.
"Give it up, Cole, I'd never call on you for help."
"Not even to save your's and your sisters' lives?" A faint glimmer of anger strayed from his eyes, but he kept his voice even.
Phoebe bit back a retort. He was close to her now, the look on his face unfathomable.
"Don't tell me you've never felt it? Because I know you did, Phoebe. You can try to deny it as much as you want, but I know you've felt the depth of my pain, just as I know when you cry out for me."
Taking one look at the way Phoebe's lips were pressed together in a stubborn line, he shook his head and laughed bitterly, "But I don't even know why I bother, really."
Without another word Cole blurred from the Manor.
"Ugh!" Paige threw up her hands. "Can you believe him? He has some nerve –"
Phoebe waved a hand at her. "Just leave it alone, Paige," she said tiredly before heading upstairs for bed.
Staring after her, Paige spoke to Piper, "What's her problem?" Piper said nothing.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Coming out of the attic, Piper bumped into Phoebe on her way up.
"Hey, hey, what are you doing?" Piper asked her sister.
"Um, nothing." Phoebe smiled widely.
Piper raised an eyebrow at her sister. "Uh-huh."
When she didn't budge, Phoebe groaned, "I was going to scry for Cole, all right? I want to talk to him but I can't reach him on his cell or at the Penthouse. Please don't tell Paige." She turned and quickly jogged up the stairs.
"You're just looking to stir up more trouble you know that?" Piper called after her sister.
Twenty minutes later, Phoebe pulled up in her car in front of a sports bar. She shut off the engine and sat there for a few minutes, contemplating the choice she was about to make. Suddenly, what sounded like bursts of gunfire spurred her into action; she hurried out of the car and rushed into the bar.
The sight that greeted her eyes made her breath catch in her throat. The bar was in shambles - every inch of the walls was pockmarked with bullet holes and shattered glass littered the floor. Two thugs lay in a corner, their guns useless beside them. Across the room, Cole stood with an energy ball in hand, his face a mask of anger.
Seeing him about to throw it, Phoebe shouted, "Cole, don't!
He stopped in mid-throw, the energy ball continuing to glow dangerously in his palm. Cole glared at her, breathing heavily, and neither of them said anything for a very long time.
Phoebe let out a sigh of relief when he eventually let the energy ball fizz out. She walked up to him, scanning his face and trying to gauge his mood, but he looked away.
Seeing him eye the pair of unconscious thugs on the floor, Phoebe tugged on his jacket. "Cole? Can we go back to the penthouse?"
He blurred out before Phoebe had a chance to prepare herself. She was half-expecting to be left behind but theyboth reappeared in the penthouse.
Phoebe walked over to the couch and sat down while Cole shrugged out of his jacket and draped it on a chair. An unexpected sound behind him caused him to turn around and look at her. She had her head buried in her hands and her shoulders were shaking slightly.
"Phoebe?" He stepped closer. Was she…was she crying?
He could hear her muffled sobs now, and it made his chest constrict. He wanted so much to gather her up into his arms and comfort her like he'd done so many times in the past, but he was afraid to touch her, afraid that his close presence would only send her running away from him again. Finally he settled for grabbing a box of tissue and nudging her gently with it. She grabbed a few sheets and continued to sob into them.
After a while she looked up at him, noticing how he still maintained the distance between them.
The raw pain and regret in her eyes tugged at his heart, drawing him closer to her. His gaze never leaving her face, Cole slowly knelt down beside her, one hand tentatively reaching out to touch her hand. When she didn't try to pull away, Cole reached up with his other hand to cup her tear-streaked face.
She closed her eyes, causing another tear to roll down her cheek. His own eyes starting to swim with unshed emotions, Cole caressed her cheek, gently wiping away her tears.
"Phoebe," he whispered, his voice threatening to break, "I'm sorry." He trailed off, tearing his gaze away and letting his hand drop, unsure of how to continue. There was nothing he could say that would change their past, nothing that hasn't already been said.
There was a sudden shift as Phoebe moved from her place on the couch to kneel at his side. A light touch on his face prompted him to look back at her, and Cole's breath caught in his throat as their eyes locked. There was something in her eyes he hadn't seen for a long time, something he thought he'd lost long ago.
A cool slender hand inched its way into his, their fingers automatically intertwining as if it was the most natural thing to do. Never before had he seen so much sorrow reflected back at him, etched so clearly on her face.
Phoebe's voice was thick with regret when she spoke, "I'm sorry too, Cole," she told him softly, "So very sorry."
Pulling her into his arms, he let his tears fall without restraint, his face buried in her hair. Phoebe felt him tremble and pressed closer, relishing the feeling of being in his arms again.
They held each other, neither speaking nor moving. There wasn't anything else to be said that night. Nothing mattered but the overwhelming sensations of love and belonging and completeness they found in each other's arms.