A/N: I hope you all have been paying attention to the bits about reincarnation- I promise, they will all come into play later in the story.

Disclaimer: So far, Santa has refused to grant my request of owning Charmed… And my Fairy Godmother hasn't been much help there, either…

Startled by Phoebe's sudden outburst of laughter, her family members were jolted out of their reveries and immediately turned their questioning gazes to her.

In a voice filled with mirth and laughter still shining in her eyes, Phoebe teased, "I know how they got together," in much the same way a small child might taunt, "I know something you don't know."

Cole and Melinda shared a brief look of sheer panic. Judging by her family's reaction this time around- they'd actually taken it pretty well in the Future, no doubt as a result of the fact that they'd all long since moved on and forgiven Cole- the couple wondered if Melinda's parents and aunts would take the opportunity to keep their marriage from happening in the Future.

Phoebe, however, quickly set their minds at ease with a gently smile, saying, "Don't worry- we won't stop you two from meeting and getting married." She raised one questioning eyebrow to her sisters and brother-in-law, daring them to contradict her.

No one did.

"We promise, okay?" Paige, despite her reluctance to agree with the union, finally exclaimed, having grown weary of the heavy silence that had descended upon the room. It was obvious that, no matter how bizarre it seemed to any of them, Melinda and Cole belonged together. Phoebe's recently struck-up friendship with Coop, a Cupid, was apparently rubbing off on the middle Charmed One, who seemed hell-bent on keeping Cole and Melinda together.

As though she'd only just realized that Coop was a Cupid, Paige made a mental note to ask him if Melinda and Cole really did belong together- just to be on the safe side.

Phoebe waited until Piper and Leo had nodded their agreement before explaining her vision- and, thus, her near-hysterical laughter. She looked toward her Future niece and ex-husband (shouldn't that have seemed weirder to her?) for confirmation as she spoke.

"Paige, you and Leo work at Magic School together in the Future," Phoebe told her sister, instantly feeling her sister's joy over hearing that the school she'd come to love and which had become her pet project would indeed survive. "The two of you introduce them…" She smiled somewhat deviously as she added, "Cole was dressed like the two of you- he's a teacher at Magic School!" she laughed, finding it immensely funny that Cole was a teacher, and that he worked alongside Paige and Leo.

"Cole?" Paige choked the name out on a startled laugh, trying to picture the scene in her head as Phoebe must have seen it- and failing. "There's no way Cole becomes a teacher," she chuckled.

When Melinda turned a glower on her aunt, Paige realized that maybe making fun of the father of her great-nephews probably wasn't the best idea in the world.

While Paige was trying to stifle her laughter- and failing miserably- Leo had turned about as white as the Elder robes he usually wore, though they were absent from his attire of jeans and a tee-shirt today. "Cole becomes a teacher at Magic School?" he gasped, thinking about just how many ways in which the Future really was messed up.

Phoebe gave a half-hearted shrug, thoroughly enjoying the surprise she'd unveiled. "According to my vision, yeah," she replied with a smile, turning to look again at Cole and Melinda to hear the whole of the story. Although, even she could not have predicted what Melinda and Cole would add to the story.

Melinda seated Chris on her lap, still amazed that she was finally able to hold her sons again, and wrapped her arms around her youngest son's waist. Cole sat beside his wife on Aunt Pearl's ancient sofa, and Matt took the empty seat on the other side of his mother. That family of four looked picture-perfect, except for the sadness lingering in the depths of each of their gazes.

As much as they hated to admit it, it was becoming easier with each passing moment for the sisters and Leo- especially Piper and Leo- to believe that the family before them had once been truly happy, before Melinda's death, and that Cole had done his best to raise their sons in the years since.

They were beginning to see Cole not as the demon he had been only short time ago- to them, at least- or even as Phoebe's obsessive, stalker-like ex-husband who hadn't been able to let her go, but as an innocent… a man who desperately needed their help to save his family.

"Phoebe's vision is accurate," Cole said, a reminiscent smile settling on his face as he recalled the day he and Melinda had first met.

With an agreeing nod, Melinda added, "But, Dad, you and Aunt Paige don't just work at Magic School- you run it together in the Future. You hired Cole."

That seemed to bring Leo out of the stupor he'd entered upon first hearing Cole taught at Magic School. In unison, he and Paige shouted, "We hired Cole?" Both were wondering why on Earth they would have brought Cole back into their lives.

The combined shrieks of his father and aunt were enough to wake the slumbering baby Wyatt, who teetered just a bit as he stood and gripped the side of his playpen. His eyes darted to the people responsible for rousing him from sleep before drifting over to Melinda.

Offering her a toothy grin, the baby orbed himself into Matt's lap. His oldest nephew reacted quickly and reached out to hold the young version of his uncle, while said young version of his uncle stood up on wobbly legs and placed his chubby hands on either side of Melinda's face.

"'El!" he shouted gleefully, stunning almost everyone in the room. Since arriving in the Past, Chris had had the eerie feeling that Wyatt recognized him, though he'd never voiced that particular thought. And Penny… Well, Penny was Penny. Of course she knew that Wyatt recognized not only his younger sister and her youngest son, but both Matt and Cole as well… Just as she knew why he recognized them…