Author's note
This little story takes place after Charmed episode 4:3 "Enter the Demon". In case you have forgotten, this is loosely what it was about:

Cole was pushing Phoebe to train very hard - Paige and Phoebe switched bodies by a potion accident and Phoebe didn't tell Cole but sneaked away instead. Paige, (in Phoebe's body) initially happy to get some training too, tells Cole off for treating Phoebe this way, and that he will push her away if he pushes her anymore. Cole realizes the switch and gets back at the girls but also admits that he has been a bit too zealous, promising Phoebe something nice when they are done helping a Chinese Zen-master and his daughter.

The described places in France exists - I've visited them myself - just moderated them a little to fit better into the story.

The story starts a couple of scenes from the end of the episode, so some narrating has been necessary. Speaking of editing; the edit/preview function has not exactly been co-operative when it's come to "Save Changes", so if this text is lacking space etc., I'm terribly sorry, but it's not because I didn't try.

Chapter 1

"Okay, I'm going to go," he announced and shrugged his jacket back in place. "Let you guys work this out. When… you're… yourself again…give me a call." Holding her eyes, he suddenly grabbed her by the butt and pulled her close in a roguish move.

"Oh…" Her body pressed against his, 'Paige' got the message loud and clear and returned his wolfish look with a sly smile.

"We'll have some 'fun'," he suggested in a voice that left very little room for mistaking his intentions, and shimmered away.

The rain was not letting up and Cole was beginning to get soaked where he stood, but he seemed quite unconcerned. The neon-lights of the city glimmered in the dark waters, and in the distance lightning bolts still flared.
Once more on the cliff overlooking the Bay and San Francisco, he shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. Talk about having someone under your skin.

Switching souls was a neat trick – usually reserved for demons with a lot more power than he had – but that was not what had baffled him the most. What really surprised him in all of this was the way he had been able to sense her so clearly even in another body. The only other being he knew he could sense like that was The Source.
It shouldn't be possible...

Sensing others had always come easy to him, so the extreme ease with which he had been able to sense Phoebe from the very beginning, hadn't surprised him overly – and later on he had simply assumed it was because of his feelings for her, but this went beyond that.

It was more like a subconscious attachment had formed to her very soul, pointing him to her like a compass needle whether he tried to sense her or not. Hadn't Piper pointed out recently that it was uncanny how he always seemed to know instinctively where Phoebe was at all times? Soulmates... in every sense of the word.

It was almost a little frightening. Then again, it was also very comforting – a knowledge to hold on to when self doubts would come back to assail him and Belthazor stirred in his mind. If something as good as Phoebe could take up residence inside him – in a place that only The Source had occupied before – then there must be hope for him.

Why it was so, was a question he didn't quite dare to ask. One thing was for sure, though; he did not believe in coincidence.
The way Phoebe and he had been drawn into one another's lives and hearts, denoted anything but the hand of Destiny having interfered in some way. However, while it remained unclear just to what end it would lead, he harbored his own misgivings. Fate was never a friend of mine…

Then again, maybe this was all for good; the salvation of the Charmed Ones so they could vanquish The Source. Cole decided not to brood on the subject. He was stuck on this road, whether it led to Heaven or Hell. And, as it so often was when Fate decided to butt in; you were never to know the whys and wherefores. All you could do was hang on for the ride and hope for the best. Or go down fighting… I don't care about the reasons; I'm not letting you go now. Not ever. And speaking of that; hadn't he promised himself to make things up to her? I think I know just the thing!

Down in the living room, the grandfather's clock struck two and in her bedroom, Phoebe sat up and turned the lights back on.
Feeling a bit guilty for not having at least tried to earlier, she dialed the number to Cole's cell phone, but it was out of reach and she only got his call service. "Damn it, Cole," she muttered and flipped it off. "You know I hate not knowing where you are." With a sigh, she sank back against her pillows.

Once Paige and she had switched back, the initially accidental potion had also made it possible for Piper to switch bodies with the Zen-master so they could enter Limbo with his help and vanquish Yen-Lo. Afterward, they had gone to celebrate at P3. Her sisters hadn't had too much trouble convincing her to join them.
"You deserve some fun," Paige had decided. "This is now officially girls' night out."

So she had gone along and she had a great time – and now she had a bad conscience for that too, and she felt bad for feeling like she had been sneaking away to have fun when Cole wasn't even around.
She consoled herself with the fact that she had missed him at the club. Fun was only half as fun when he wasn't around to share it with her. He had this lovely, almost morbid sense of humor – never missing a beat – that always made her laugh."We haven't laughed much lately either," she sighed to herself. Not that the training wasn't important – she just wished Cole wouldn't be so dead serious about it.

On the other hand; if Cole hadn't made her do all those levitation exercises on the sandbag, she would have been no match for the Zen-master's disciple, and he had every reason to be cross with her. There he was, struggling so hard to tell her the truth – to tell her things at all, instead of hiding them as his demonic instincts told him to do – and she went ahead and lied to his face without blinking.

He had really gone out of his way to train her – something she had coerced him to do in the first place – and when it got a little tougher than she had expected, she had fooled around and used Paige's mishap to escape.
Piper had been right in scolding them so harshly before. She had been as bad as Paige when it came to concentrating and making priorities. What if The Source had come today, instead of Yen-Lo? People could have gotten killed because they hadn't taken it seriously. "I'll make it up to you, baby," she whispered to the dark room.

The unexpected signal from her cell phone made her jump and she all but dropped it before she could answer. "Hello?"

"Phoebe? Did I wake you?"

"No, I… as a matter of fact I just tried to call you."

"Yeah, I saw that, that's why I called back. Are you okay?"

"Yes, everything's back to normal again. Whatever that is…"

"And Yen-Lo?"

"We won't have anymore trouble from him."

"You're okay?"

The reply came so quickly, Phoebe had to smile a little for his concern. "Thanks to you I am," she admitted. "Actually, I did just what you taught me to do: I improvised." She went on to tell him in elaborate detail how she had tricked Yen-Lo into thinking she was an easy prey by pretending to have twisted her ankle after a fall, capturing his soul with the dragon blade when he came up close.

"I'm glad to hear it wasn't all a waste of time," Cole remarked, but a hint of pride shone through in his voice.

"I never said it was," Phoebe defended herself. "But it made me realize how important the training is," she relented in the next breath, "so I will definitely pay more attention to it."

"Good, then you won't mind if I arrange something… special tomorrow?"

"Okay, but we are still having a family picnic in the Botanical Gardens tomorrow. Piper wants to quiz Paige on herbs again."

"Don't worry, I'll find you."

"Yeah, I guess you will… Wait, what do you mean "will"? Aren't you coming home tonight?"

"Eh, no, I have a few things to take care of and it will be some time, so… don't wait for me."

"Okay... Goodnight, sweetie. See you tomorrow then." She put the cell phone back on the nightstand, leaving it on in case he would call again. Then she almost called him herself because he hadn't told her where he was, but refrained on second thought. If Cole had wanted her to know, he would have told her. She could probably coax it out of him later anyway, but it didn't seem fair after what she had done today. So she let it be, although it was slightly annoying to have a boyfriend who could find you anywhere, while he himself could disappear without a trace. Then again, it was part of that 'safe' part with Cole, and she wondered if she had been stuck in Limbo; would he have found her?

In another part of the world a half-demon was sitting on a stony beach, watching the sea heave calmly, and wondering much the same thing. I know I wouldn't stop looking until I did.

Having stopped by the Manor for a quick shower and change of clothes, he shimmered in by the some bushes about thirty feet from the Halliwell picnic.
Saturday had come with warming sunshine that dried up last night's rain quickly and made the entire Golden Gate Park look lush and green. Phoebe was sitting on a blanket with Leo and her two sisters, and seemed engaged in some kind of friendly squabble with Paige when he approached.

"Well, here comes your personal trainer from Hell," he heard Leo comment on his appearance.

"Literally," Piper added with a pointed look, but it was in a good-natured way and he decided not to let it get to him, because Phoebe was already on her feet and coming toward him.

She was wearing a long, white skirt and a low-cut top, horizontally striped with thick ribbons in blue and white. Her long hair was bundled up in two tight buns at the back of her head, held in place with pins decorated with small, white flowers; but all that faded away from his conscious mind as she smiled and held out her arms to give him a hug.


Phoebe…Just as they met up, he rained back and stopped her. "Wait!"
Half expecting a bounty hunter to attack, she came to an uncertain stop, his guarded voice puzzling her. Then he leaned forward a little to give her a closer look and raised a questioning eyebrow. "Who are you?"

His jibe hitting home, Phoebe squinted indignantly at him at first, but then she decided to give him the evidence she full well knew he was fishing for. Quickly, she reached up to clasp her hands to his face and pressed her lips onto his.

His intention to pretend he was unaffected went right out the window. Letting her pull him down, Cole closed his eyes and simply leaned into it. Even if he hadn't known it was her the moment he set eyes on her, he would have felt it in her kiss.

He had kissed hundreds of women, but whenever she kissed him, she released something very deep inside him; something that washed over him and drowned out the resident evil, and he reveled in that feeling as much as in any bodily pleasure she gave him.

It was the cooling balm on his burnt soul. It was a ray of light in the darkness of his mind, and above all it gave him the strength he needed to fight back the part of him that was Belthazor.I need your love like the tide needs the moon.

And maybe, he mused, that was why he instinctively had tried so hard to avoid kissing her that first time a year ago. For was it not so that a kiss of True Love could break almost any enchantment or evil spell? Evil could not withstand it, and so Phoebe had brought him completely under her charm. There was no escaping as long as she willed it so – and he prayed that she would never let go.

However, that might take some effort from his side as well – as Paige so clearly reminded him yesterday.
Eyes closed, immersed as he was in the kiss, he felt her soft palms slide off his cheeks in a slow caress as she fell back onto her heels, giving him one more kiss before she let go completely.
Dimly remembering that he was trying to tease her here, his half involuntary reaction gave extra edge to his verdict as he breathed: "Oh, I know… Paige…"

"Uh!" Pretending to be offended, Phoebe slapped him lightly on the chest, but she was unable to keep a straight face and as he turned his glittering, sea-green eyes on her and laughed, so did she.

Over on the blanket, eyes were rolled and slanted smiles displayed over their unabashed infatuation.

"So," Phoebe said, collecting herself, "what's on our training schedule for today? Light-sabers?"

Very funny. Do I remind you of Darth Vader? "Actually," he began, hoping she would accept his effort to remedy his erroneous ways as her boyfriend. "I was thinking we could have a… private picnic of our own."

His look was hopeful, suggestive even, and Phoebe warmed up to that proposition at once, but then she fell back into a more uncertain attitude. "But what about training?" she asked, a worried frown creasing her brow as she nervously fiddled with his sweater. "I have to be ready for The Source."

Yeah, well… about that… "I know, but not right now." Let's keep him out of it for today, shall we? Waving her concerns away, he put his right arm around her waist and pulled her along, away from the others. "Right now, I was thinking I could take you to this great little picnic spot in…south of France?" How does that sound?

Pleasantly surprised – not to say thrilled – Phoebe faltered in her step. Raising her eyes to his, she was elated to see that he was completely in earnest. "Really?" she asked, exhilaration beginning to bubble in her.

"Really," he assured her, rejoicing in the expectant happiness he saw in her face. Coming up in front of her, he held out his left hand in invitation and when he felt her hand in his, he brought it to rest above his heart to hold her as close as he could. Then he bent down to kiss her and as she leaned into it, he triggered the shimmer that would take them all the way to France.

"Oh, Cole…" Breathless, Phoebe inhaled deeply and looked out over the astounding view. "It's beautiful!"

Shaded by a few trees, the meadow sloped down toward a wild-looking ravine where a river fought its way between limestone and branches. Behind them, the Alps rose against the blue sky and in front of them a maze of deep gorges and steep cliffs unfurled. On several of them she could see tiny villages clinging to the steep sides.
"Where are we?"

"Provence." Cole smiled softly. "We're a couple of miles north of the coast; more precisely between La Colle du Vence and Gréollière. I thought we could go down to Cannes later when we get tired of the view."

Phoebe's eyes glittered with happiness. "I'd love that. Although, I don't think I could ever get tired of this." She sighed and leaned back against him. "How did you find this place?"

"I've been around," he said blandly and gestured at one of the trees, causing a picnic basket to appear beneath it, complete with a blanket to sit on.

Phoebe raised her eyebrows and slipped out of his arms. "Mm, what do we have here?"
The basket turned out to contain fresh baguettes, sun-dried tomatoes, several different kinds of creamy cheese and a bottle of rosé from a local vineyard.
With a happy laugh, Phoebe began to unpack it while Cole opened the bottle. Soon they were enjoying a very nice meal in the afternoon sun, with no one but a few birds to disturb them.

"This is absolutely fantastic," Phoebe sighed. Cole had kicked off his shoes and socks, and was sitting with his back against the tree trunk letting her use him as a pillow. "How did you fix all this?"

The hand fingering her hair faltered for half a second. "I was afraid you would ask that."

"Cole…"

He laughed at her look. "Don't worry! Everything is bought and paid for. I still have a few stashes the Bounty hunters haven't found."

"Stashes?" Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"A long time ago I began to put a few things aside; mostly jewelry and precious stones, and small but valuable antiquities. Demons don't usually hoard earthly goods – they don't have any real need for them – but I figured there might be a time when spare resources would come in handy." Giving her a shrewd look he added: "I don't think I ever expected to use them on a picnic with a witch, though."

Phoebe squinted at him. "Do I want to know how you came by these 'valuables'?"

"Um…" He made a reluctant grimace. "Probably not."

"Okay, too much information already," she decided. "I don't want to hear about it."

"Who said I was going to tell you?" he teased and cut up the last piece of Camembert.

With a more thoughtful look, Phoebe took the offered slice from the tip of his knife. "About that," she said slowly. "About telling things… Yesterday… I should have said something and… I'm really sorry, Cole. I ask so much of you. I shouldn't have treated you like that."

Phoebe…

She held his look, trying to read the eyes that seemed to have gathered their color from the Mediterranean Sea.

"Phoebe…" He shook his head a little and took her hand in his. "When it comes to treating someone wrong, I have as much to apologize for. Paige was right about that. I was so wrapped up in keeping you alive, I forgot about letting you live."

"Well, at least you had a valid reason."

"No reason is valid enough if it makes you want to run away from me," he said gravely.

"Not that I would get very far, apparently," Phoebe observed, deciding that the conversation needed to be lightened up a bit. "You found me out soon enough. Seems I can't hide from you at all."

Cole pursed his lips. "Mm, you can always run," he drawled. "But you would only die tired."

"Oh, next time I won't run," she assured him. "Next time… I'll come after you!" Like a tiger she launched herself at him, ending up on top. "Yeah, I definitely like the view from up here," she announced.

"It's not too bad from down here either." His hands came to rest on her waist, gently caressing the naked skin below the top – and then Phoebe squealed as he dug his fingers in where he knew she was the most ticklish.

Suddenly, she was no longer on top, but rather below and on her back, laughing and squirming to get away from his fingers. "Time out! Time out!" she gasped, writhing like a worm.

"What did I tell you about 'time out'?"

"It worked with Yen-Lo."

"I'm not Yen-Lo."

His face was very close, his eyes boring into her; intense, brimming with desire, hinting at the danger that lurked in the dark, deep beneath the sun-glittering surface.
"No, you're not Yen-Lo," she agreed on a breath, her hands trailing his cheeks. "You are much more dangerous."
Closing her eyes, Phoebe pulled him down over her, tilting her head to the side to allow him more access as he kissed her on the neck. His soft lips found their way across her throat to her face until he reached her lips and she turned to respond in like. "Cole Turner… you are very bad boy," she murmured as he kissed her throat line down to her chest while his hands were charting their own course across her anatomy.

"I know," he said, gently removing her top, letting his own sweater follow. "But you love me for it."

And that she did…