CHARMED
"Home for the Hallidays"
by shel
© december 2010
disclaimer: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…
rating: pg-13
summary: happily married to coop, phoebe spends christmas with both her husband and cole…
timeline: December 31, 2010 (nearly 4½ years after the finale)…
archive: please don't without expressed permission…
notes: i actually began writing this tale a year ago, december 2009, in anticipation of last year's holiday season but real-life and lack of inspiration for the muse relegated it to back burner until now…there is some specific reference to s4's 'enter the demon' and s7's 'seven year witch'…let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…
December 25, 2010 ~ Christmas Morning
Phoebe's groan at being jabbed in her lower back by a fist was drowned out by the shrieks filling the room. "We can't be under attack, the wards would have alerted us," she muttered with her eyes closed.
"And yet we seem surrounded," her husband conceded with a sigh as he propped himself up on one elbow and faced her. "Can you manage or would you like some help this time?"
"Considering that a certain Cupid kept me up most of the night," she frowned, "a little help would be nice." And before he could retort about her having been a most willing and eager partner that night, she quickly rolled over to grab the closest attacker and began the tickle torture.
"Stop, Momma, stop!" Carys, the two-year old, pleaded amid giggles.
"Do you ladybugs have any idea what time it is?" Phoebe demanded, trying to hide her smile while Coop had captured their three-year old in his arms.
"Christmas!" both girls shrieked. "Time for presents!"
"Get up, Daddy, get up," Charlotte whined, trying to tug herself free.
Coop kissed her head, "Give us a minute, love. Take Carys into the living room. Mommy and I will be right there."
Phoebe hugged her little one, smooching Carys's neck, and released the toddler. She smiled as the girls slid off their bed and ran hand-in-hand from the room. "Do not open any presents," she called out, "until Daddy and I get there."
"If they're my daughters," she smiled, "there's gonna be at least three opened ones by the time we get there." She glanced at her husband and her heart pounded with love for him.
He opened his arms and drew her close to his chest. "Will I ever get used to the depth of love I feel from you?"
"I could say the same to you," she murmured, lightly kissing his bare chest. She tilted her chin up, meeting his gaze, "I'm not sure I ever truly believed I could have a life like this. Marry a man that completes me so or be a mommy to not one but two beautiful precious little girls? I thought love wasn't meant for me and I was happy enough to want danger and excitement and passion."
"Do we not have that, my love?" he questioned as he claimed her lips with his. He felt her smile and pulled back, pressing his index finger to her lips. "Yes, I know what you meant."
She nipped his fingertip and then ran her fingers through his hair. "I loved before you, Coop, deeply, passionately, in a way I thought was forever. You know that."
"I do," he agreed.
"But what I've found with you, the love I feel for you, that I feel from you, makes me realize how much I was missing out on before. Maybe I needed some of that pain and heartache to make me want and appreciate what I have now." She kissed him again before taking her hand in his. Playing with their fingers, she whispered, "I can't deny my love for him or that a part of my heart still belongs to him and might, in a moment here or there, betray you by wishing it was different, because I do know you can feel it. But," she suddenly clenched his fingers, "but I…I wish I could explain it right…"
Coop kissed the top or her head and assured her, "You don't have to, my love, I know. I'd know how you feel even if I wasn't your husband, connected to you in a way I never dreamed possible." He pulled his fingers free and traced her cheek with his finger, pausing to wipe away a tear. "He was such an important part of your life and helped form you to be the woman I fell in love with and I don't feel betrayed in the slightest by the love you still feel for him. I'm a Cupid and believe that one can always have room for more love in one's heart. And, as a powerful empath, you know that to be true."
"I just love you so much," she whispered, "and it's times like this, the quiet times, a lull in demon attacks, just the usual sister squabbles, just the normal married life ups and downs…this is when I get scared, so scared that it will all be taken away faster than I can blink. That I wasn't truly meant to be this happy."
"And it's times like this, when I am here to tell you, you deserve every bit of this happiness and love." Coop lightly pressed his palms to the sides of her face, "You are meant to be this happy, Phoebe. This isn't a dream; this isn't some alternate reality where you're not meant to be. I'm here and I love you and I love our daughters and we will continue building this special life for ourselves and our family."
"But -"
"Momma!"
"Daddy!"
"But," Phoebe slowly smiled, "nothing I guess. I'm letting my emotions get the best of me and I should be listening to," she cocked her head to the doorway, "the higher powers calling."
Coop smiled and led her from their bed and handed her a robe, "Then we'd better hurry before they declare war on us again. Now that I think about it, there might even be a present or two with the name 'Phoebe' waiting to be opened."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Phoebe excitedly asked as she yanked his hand and pulled him from the room.
"What?" Phoebe choked on the water she'd been in the middle of swallowing.
"Simple question, Pheebs," Piper shrugged. "Are. You. Pregnant?"
Phoebe was quickly mopping her chin and neck with a napkin, checking to see whether Coop had heard. But he was still helping his brothers-in-law clean up in the kitchen. "Why would you ask?"
"Could it be because of the mood swings you've been having these past couple of weeks?" Paige suggested.
"Or that you practically passed out when we opened our presents," Piper reasoned.
"I hadn't eaten yet," Phoebe explained, "I always eat too much when you cook holiday meals so I was saving room."
"What about when you nearly threw up all over the platters in the kitchen," Piper badgered. "You've been a shade of green all night."
"You know I hate liver and onions," Phoebe glared at her. "The smell alone makes me ill. How could you make it for Christmas dinner?"
"Dad loves it," Piper replied. "You know it reminds him of mom and since she couldn't be here this year…"
Phoebe tried not to gag and drank some more water. "I am not pregnant," she declared.
"Then who's been sneaking from the chocolate stash?" Piper wondered.
Suddenly feeling both her sisters' eyes on her, Paige nearly choked on her drink, "What're you looking at me for?"
"Anything you'd like to share?" Phoebe grinned.
"I'm not pregnant either," Paige quickly stated. "Henry and I aren't ready and we're happy enough practicing with all of yours." She nodded in the direction of the solarium as Phoebe's girls and Piper's nearly four-year old Melinda were vying for Victor's attention.
"And I guess now we know who's been sneaking the chocolate," Piper said with annoyance as she spied her oldest son unwrapping a bite-size bar.
"Chocolate." Paige smiled as it orbed into her hand and she popped it in her mouth.
"Aunt Paige!"
"Don't 'Aunt Paige' her," Piper called out. "You just had a slice of pie and four cookies for dessert after filling up on dinner. And we're going to talk later about sneaking sweets, Wyatt."
"Face it, Piper," Paige chuckled, "he's got the Whitelighter metabolism. Sweets are a necessity."
"Not helping," Piper swatted her youngest sister's arm.
"Can't believe you thought I was pregnant," Phoebe shook her head. "Don't you guys know I tell you everything?"
"Sometimes more than we want to know," Paige solemnly agreed.
Phoebe smirked at her younger sister who blew a kiss back at her. "Seriously. I'm starting "Finding Love" and with the column, well…Coop certainly wouldn't mind another baby but he understands that, for right now, I'd like to focus on my career. Besides, the girls are so close in age and so young. Charlie's barely potty-trained while Carys is still in diapers and I'm not sure I'm ready to start again with a new baby."
"So everything's okay?" Piper wondered with concern.
"It's just stress from work. And the quiet…" Phoebe admitted.
"Yeah, the lack of demonic attack sure is worrisome," Paige quipped with a roll of her eyes.
Piper glared at her, "Paige…"
Paige held her hands up in surrender, "Kidding…"
"You know what I mean," Phoebe nodded. "It's like the quiet before the storm. Almost every time we let our guard down at times like this…"
"We're not letting our guard down," Paige assured her, "just enjoying the respite."
"And it's holiday time so no more talk about demons," Piper ordered.
"Then here's to the Charmed Ones," Phoebe held up her glass and waited for her sisters to follow suit.
"And our growing family," Piper smiled.
"And white magic," Paige added.
"Merry Christmas," the toasted as they clinked their glasses.
A crash suddenly sounded from the kitchen and Piper grumbled, "That had better not have been Grams's casserole dish."
"Paige, get the kids!" Henry shouted from the kitchen.
"Wyatt! Protective shield for Chris, your grandfather, and cousins!" Phoebe yelled as she and Piper raced for the kitchen while Paige orbed into the solarium.
But just as they were about to reach the doorway, the door exploded in a burst of wood shards. They managed to duck out of the way to avoid serious injury and yelled out for their husbands.
"The Book," Leo called out, "there's at least one Stavler."
Phoebe grabbed Piper's hand and they raced up the stairs to the attic. A section of the banister blew up as they ran past but neither paid it any attention.
Piper slammed the attic door behind them and quickly drew their protection ward on the back of the door. "Paige ought to be here soon."
"All present and accounted for," Paige announced at that moment, orbing at Phoebe's side in front of the Book's stand.
"Any injuries?" Piper asked as she joined her sisters.
"Henry's fine. Coop had a nasty gash to his arm but Leo healed him. You okay?" she asked Phoebe.
"I feel him," Phoebe nodded, "I know it's not serious. But I'll be a lot happier once I see for myself."
"A Stavler doesn't sound familiar," Paige commented as Phoebe continued to flip pages. "Leo has gone up there to find out what's going on."
"I don't recall ever seeing a page about them either," Phoebe said. "Leo have time to tell you anything?"
"Something about time travel, possibly," Paige sighed, "he wasn't sure."
"Great," Piper muttered as she watched the attic door, ready to use her power to protect her family.
"He said they're rare. There're never any witnesses left after an attack so there's not much information about them. He also said it's been at least two centuries since the last time an attack happened."
"Great," Piper repeated. "Our chances of them being in the Book has just dwindled to nil."
Phoebe glanced up to the ceiling. "A little help?"
But the pages didn't turn and Piper groaned, "Come on, it's Christmas!"
The door shuddered and Phoebe gasped. "It can't get through the ward, right?"
"Technically," Piper tensely replied.
Just then some pages turned and the girls waited to see what their help provided. "This isn't a Stavler," Phoebe realized.
"Maybe this," Paige started reading, "Cryptolus, is the closest thing in the Book."
"We need a Power of Three spell," Piper said, peering over their shoulders.
"Great," Phoebe mumbled, "they deal with time and space. We get too close, we could end up in 1862 or 3002."
"And Leo said there was more than one demon," Paige informed them. "He barely had time to recognize the Stavler."
"Considering the fact there's so little known about them," Phoebe mused, "it's amazing he recognized it. Is he sure?"
"Pretty sure."
"They are so gonna pay for ruining Christmas," Piper swore under her breath.
"What about my sweater," Phoebe complained. "This was the first time I wore it and it's ruined."
"Pheebs, you get to work on the spell," Piper directed. "Paige, go to Magic School, see if the library has anything about Stavlers and Cryptoluses. And I'll -"
Just then, the door exploded. Phoebe's head burned and she heard her sister shout Paige's name as her world turned black.
Phoebe, blood dripping from a cut to her temple, wrestled with the demon in the attic and ignored that her bathrobe had fallen open, revealing herself to him.
He leered at her and scraped her chin with a long talon from his claw-like appendage. But for that, he appeared a tall nearly devastatingly handsome human about her age.
And she grinned back at him, understanding that, as unintentional as it was, she had just provided herself with the perfect distraction and was now moments away from vanquishing him. Shoving him, she rolled and scrambled to her feet. He did the same but advanced on her, backing her into the sofa. This time, his talon tore her robe at the shoulder seam.
She glanced down at herself, placing her left hand behind her back, threw her shoulders back, and took a proud step toward him while grinning.
"I'll have it so you're begging me for more, even as you lay dying before me."
"We'll see," she teased, allowing him to approach. With her right hand seductively opening her robe further, she murmured a spell she had created the previous year so that an athame materialized in her left hand. She quickly arced that hand in an upward motion and stabbed him in the right side of his chest.
No sooner had he begun screaming in vanquishing flames than she heard a shout behind her, "What the hell is going on?"
Clutching the ends of her robe together, she spun and gasped as she came face-to-face with…herself.
"Who the hell are you?" they accused each other.
Heedless of the demon still being vanquished they eyed each other most critically before Phoebe pressed the end of her belt to her forehead and muttered, "I'm seeing things, I must be hurt was than I thought. Of course," she reached down for her half-empty glass of vodka, "maybe I'm just drunk." She wearily sat down on the sofa and swallowed before staring at her look-alike intruder. "Gotta admit, though, I love that sweater. Reminds me of the one I saw last week."
"I just bought it last week," Phoebe automatically said as she glanced at her torn sweater. "Wait a minute, what's going on? Where are Piper and Paige? Why are you in our attic and who are you?"
"It's too early in the evening for this," the sitting Phoebe declared as she ignored the questions, leaned her head back, and squeezed her eyes shut. "I've not drunk. I've got a concussion. When I open my eyes, I'll be alone…again."
"And when I open my eyes," the other Phoebe uttered as she sank onto the other end of the sofa and closed her eyes, "Coop will be back and giving me some t.l.c…ow…" She gingerly rubbed her sore temple, surprised to find blood on her fingertips. "Maybe I'm the one with the concussion and dreaming."
"Coop? Why the hell would Coop come back?"
Phoebe blinked and eyed her counterpart warily, "Because we're married. Not to mention that Cupids give the best t.l.c. this side of the -"
"Married?"
"Um, yeah," she rubbed her wound with the edge of her sleeve as if that would heal it, "for over four years now."
"What? I'm sure as hell not married to Coop, not anymore."
"This's crazy," Phoebe muttered to herself. She glanced up to the ceiling and shouted, "Coop! C'mon, I need you." She ignored the snort coming from her alter-ego and worried, "Maybe he's not out of danger yet." She put more pressure to her temple and closed her eyes. "Leo! Paige!"
"Phoebe?"
Her eyes popped open to find her husband standing before her. "I'm okay," she sighed as she stood, "just could use a hug about now." But as she wrapped her arms around his waist, she felt, both physically and emotionally, his tension and confusion. "Hey, I'm okay, really. I'm not sure what happened once the door exploded but Leo can heal my cut and concussion and we'll figure it out together."
Coop seemed a bit awkward in brushing her hair back from her cut.
"Did something happen to Piper or Paige? Coop, what happened?" But he seemed distracted by something behind her and she glanced back at her double as a shiver went down her spine. "You can see her, can't you," she hesitantly stated. "I haven't been imagining her."
Coop stepped back and glanced from one woman to the other. "What happened?"
"Not a clue," she replied, "unless I'm now imagining you. Are Paige and Piper okay? What happened with the Stavler?" But when he moved away from her towards her double, she grabbed his hand. "Honey, don't. She was here when I woke up after we were attacked. She's wearing my robe, which is now ruined, by the way, and she's been drinking. I don't know how long I was out but right now I think -"
"She," Phoebe interrupted, "thinks we're still married."
Coop spun back to her in surprise. "Married?"
"Why are you so…Coop, honey, something's really off with you. You seem so sad and in such pain. I thought you only had a gash to your arm." She tried to push up his sleeve. "Paige said Leo healed you."
But he stepped back and cautiously told her, "I haven't been wounded and I don't think you belong here. She's right; we're not married anymore. Maybe you're from the past."
"Not funny," she glared at him, slapping at his chest. "I don't know why you're acting like this but we're -" The room spun around her and her knees buckled.
Phoebe watched as Coop quickly set her fainted twin on the sofa. She would have been lying to herself if she didn't acknowledge the twinge of jealousy surging through her at the tender emotions she was feeling from her ex. "Great, just what I needed tonight."
Gently patting the wounded woman's cut, Coop merely commented, "It's okay to miss me, you know. It's even okay not to miss me so long as you feel something." He turned to his ex-wife, "This isn't you, Phoebe. Drinking so early in the evening. On Christmas of all days. Why are you up here in the attic, drinking alone, in your robe, instead of celebrating downstairs with your family?"
"None of your business," she snapped as she retied and tightened her robe's belt.
"You're so bitter and angry," he rued, "all the time, and it's gotten so the kids have noticed it, you know."
"No, I don't," she stated and crossed her arms in front of her. "And how do you? It's not like I keep in touch."
"No," he agreed, "you don't…Piper's concerned that Wyatt's withdrawing into himself and -"
"Piper would've said something to me," she interrupted, "and my family's no longer any of your concern. They haven't been for over three years."
"I still love you, Phoebe," he shook his head sadly, "even if it's not what you want to hear. And even if I didn't, I'm still a Cupid and I want to help. I thought I had reached inside and managed to…I thought I had helped save you."
"I don't need your help," she snapped. "And I don't need to be saved."
"Maybe you do," Phoebe moaned as she tried to sit up. "Time travel's always a bitch."
"Easy," Coop murmured as he helped her.
"You didn't perform any spells, did you?" she questioned her doppelganger. "Isn't there some better way to get answers than to pull ourselves through time?" She glanced at the man who evidently was no longer her husband and added, "I'd really like to get home to my husband and kids so ask your questions so I can get going."
"Kids?" Phoebe gasped. "I don't have any kids."
"Hmmm," Phoebe eyed her, "maybe I'm not from the past but your future. Although it still doesn't make sense since we," she glanced at Coop, "never split up."
"Still, I'll leave you to figure it out." Coop unexpectedly kissed her on the top of her head, "But thank you."
"For what?" she asked, missing her husband even more as she felt this man's deep pain.
He managed a slight smile, "For showing me that you found, or will find, happiness and love, even with me."
"Coop," she tugged his hand before he could disappear, "We are bonded in ways I could never have imagined when I first met you. I have never regretted one minute of our life together or our two little ladybugs. You are my life."
He simply smiled and in a moment all she saw was the glowing afterimage of a red heart.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she hissed. "Do you have any idea how much pain that man is in over you? How your words hurt him? I don't know what went wrong between the two of you but he couldn't have done anything to deserve it."
"That's right, you don't know. And just because you got back together with Coop doesn't mean you can invade my life and start -"
"I'm not invading your, my, life, and I told you, I never left Coop," Phoebe interrupted. "So what happened? We were told that our love wasn't forbidden and we were happy. What went wrong?"
"Don't play Cupid with me, I -"
"Just answer the question. If…" she broke off when she spotted the date on the newspaper lying on the floor next to the vodka bottle. "Is that today's date?"
"Yeah, so?"
Phoebe paled and sank back into the cushions. "I don't think I've travelled through time at all." Her duplicate stared at her and she pointed to the paper, "That's today's date. We'd just finished Christmas dinner when the guys were attacked in the kitchen. We ran to the Book in the attic and the last thing I remember was the door to the attic exploding."
"We weren't attacked today. Actually, it's been quiet for weeks." Phoebe thought a moment. "You mentioned a Stavler. I've never heard of it. What is it?"
"Not sure," Phoebe sighed. "The attack was so fast and Leo didn't have time to give us much. It's not in the Book and all we know is that they're rare, don't leave witnesses, and manipulate time. Maybe if the ward had held longer Paige would've had enough time to learn something in Magic School."
"Ward?"
"Sure," she shrugged. "We draw wards all the time now to help protect us. Don't you?"
"Guess it's something we should look into," she said, "and that's one more difference between our lives to convince me that you're not from my past or future but from an alternate reality."
"My thinking exactly."
"So we need to figure out how to send you back to your own reality especially before you start giving Coop any hope."
"That's something I still don't get about you but…wait a minute…realities…time and space…Cole!"
"What about him?" she warily asked.
"Cole knows all about other realms. We should just ask him," Phoebe smiled.
"Are you out of your freaking mind?"
She waved her hand in a dismissive motion, "It's the quickest, easiest, solution."
"Even if I didn't think that was the most insane idea," she sputtered, "Cole doesn't exist, in case you've forgotten."
"Did something happen to Cole here?" Phoebe panicked.
"For our realities to be so close, how could they be so different? Phoebe whispered. "Look, I don't like remembering those times so I'll say this just once. Cole. Love of my life. Became the Source," she held up her hand, "granted, unintentionally, and granted, kept my sisters alive, but was vanquished and came back from the Wasteland insane."
"He did not!"
"Became insane then, whatever. He tried to turn me evil, failed, and then he tried to recreate the world and failed again. And this time was vanquished for good. Now let's get Piper and Paige and come up with some real solution for getting you back to where you belong."
Phoebe crossed her arms and leaned back, "Too bad. Because I know we need Cole's help. And you're going to have to face him and -"
"Get this straight," Phoebe snapped, "there is no facing Cole because there is no Cole. He doesn't exist."
"Of course he does. He's in limbo. Obviously you didn't know that but don't worry, I'll just do the spell and -"
"No way in hell," Phoebe shouted. "You are not bringing him back into my life. I have spent the past seven years moving on with my life. I won't let you, even an alternate version of myself, ruin that for me."
"So drinking yourself into oblivion is what you call moving on?" she softly countered. "You don't have to convince me of your pain in moving on. I lived it. And I know how hard it was to fall in love with Coop, of all people. But he helped save my life, in more ways than one. If not for Coop, I'm not sure I'd have even been able to feel love again. He put my heart back together. Finally. After so many others had tried. And Coop is everything to me. He is my life."
"It wasn't real," Phoebe sighed, the anger draining from her, as she poured herself some more vodka. She sipped and turned back to the other version of herself. "I'm not sure why it lasted for you. Oh, I loved Coop, still do. He's right about that. But he's a Cupid. It's his nature to love. He didn't know me, not really. And I just needed someone to love. And besides, except for that other time, was a Cupid ever really what I was looking for in a man?"
She turned away and was about to drink from her glass when she stared at the clear liquid instead. "I wanted tall, dark, and dangerous. I wanted passion and excitement. I wanted -"
"Cole."
She spun to face the woman seated on the sofa and snorted, "And look how well that turned out." She swigged the last of her drink.
"My God," Phoebe whispered, "you're not over Cole. I can feel it. You're still in love and you're still grieving."
"Don't be an idiot. Cole's gone but not before destroying my life," she accused.
"You don't mean that. And even if you do, you can't keep punishing Coop because of it." Phoebe stood and held her hand up to stop her double from speaking. "Don't say another word. I was bitter and angry for a long time because of Cole but eventually I grieved. And I was nearly lost. Cole tried to save me but it was Coop that truly reached me."
"Coop tried," she quietly admitted.
"He did more than try," Phoebe continued. "Coop gave me the gift of love again. Love for Cole. Because of Coop, I was able to forgive Cole and forgive myself. Because of Coop my heart was whole again. And I suppose now I will return the favor by healing yours."