CHAPTER TEN

Phoebe shook her head, deep sorrow and shame in her voice. "That's not why I summoned you, Cole. I want to say I'm sorry and to beg your forgiveness."

"What?" Cole stared at her in shock, unable to believe his ears. "This is another one of your tricks, right?"

Again Phoebe sadly shook her head, "No, it's not. I'm serious. I know that you never returned to evil, not really. That you were possessed by the essence of The Source, and now I know that the loss of my love is what drove you crazy." Tears formed in her eyes and began rolling down her cheeks, as she continued, deep sorrow and shame in her voice. "I'm so very sorry that I didn't trust our love enough to help you battle the possession."

"Well, you're right," Cole admitted. "But I still don't trust this change of heart. I can't. Tell me what's happened."

Phoebe nodded and told it all, being brutally honest, leaving out nothing no matter how painful or embarrassing it was for her. She finally finished, saying, "And so he sent us back and we changed history back, but both Piper and I still remember what happened. I'll never forget it. Neither will she."

There was a long pause as Cole considered everything he'd been told, while Phoebe held her breath in hopeful fear. Then he gave out a deep, deep sigh. "Unlike that version of me, I'm not angry at you, Phoebe. Not now. Not now that I know that it was a curse that kept us from being happy. Not now that you know and have been able to accept the truth.

"And also unlike him, I want you to be happy and to be able to find love. Because I do love you. I always have and always will, and because I love you, I want what's best for you. And I can admit that I wasn't. It's another thing on which that other version and I disagree. I know that as long as I was with you, we would both always be tempted to turn to evil, and there's still a chance of innocents being hurt, because I turned to good for you, not for me.

"But this, you accepting what you did and asking forgiveness for what you did is all I've ever wanted, all I've ever needed. You've freed me, Phoebe! I'm no longer trapped. I can finally let go of this world and move on. Thank you for doing that for me."

During this entire speech, happy tears rolled down Phoebe's ecstatic face. Now she wished that he wasn't a spirit, so she could hug him. She tried to do it the best she could with her voice. "You're welcome, Cole. I'm just so very sorry I didn't realize it sooner. I love you, too, Cole. I always have and always will. Now I know that although all those guys I've had since you left satisfied my body, you're the only one who satisfied my soul."

That made Cole grin. "That's all I needed to hear! Get rid of that Curse and be happy, Phoebe! I love you!" and the ghost of Cole began to fade away.

"I love you, Cole!" Phoebe cried out. Once he was gone, she sobbed for a bit, before finally wiping the tears from her eyes and calling out, "Piper! Paige! You can come back now."

"Are you okay?" Piper walked up to Phoebe and put her arm around her.

Phoebe smiled broadly. "I am now. And so is he!" Then she saw Paige's still-confused look, and she turned to grin at her. "Never mind. Let's just get rid of that Curse!" and Paige grinned.

Piper nodded, too, as she reached down to pick up one of the still-lit candles, and solemnly carried it over to The Book. Her sisters surrounded her as they began to chant:

"Where love is strong, let this Curse be weak,
It's an answer that we seek,
Let her blood burn within this fire,
So we may keep our heart's desire."

Paige stuck the cloth into the candle, and they watched it burn.

"Think it worked?" Phoebe asked, as she looked at the ash on the floor.

Piper shrugged. "Only time will tell."

Phoebe looked around, not feeling any different. "I wonder how long before we find out."

Again Piper shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

Paige was still staring at The Book. "Still I wonder who wrote this in here," as she traced the heart.

Piper looked at the heart again. "Who is B and C? Could the C be Cole?"

Phoebe looked at the page. "No, not his handwriting. Besides that would be C and P not B and C. Cole would have put himself first for sure."

Paige nodded. "Most people would."

"Well, you guys figure it out," Piper told them. "I better go get Wyatt and Chris." She got halfway out the door before turning around. "Chris! Wait! What was his girl's name…?"

Phoebe nodded, smiling. "Bianca."

Paige also nodded. "B and C, it fits. But why would Chris put this in here and not tell us?"

Piper smiled. "I don't think Chris wrote it."

Phoebe stared at her. "You think Bianca did?"

Piper nodded. "It's like Paige said, you put yourself first. And she certainly would."

Paige smiled. "Cool! Looks like she did something good while she was here after all."

Piper also smiled. "Now c'mon. Let's go find the boys," and her sisters nodded before following her out the door.

No sooner did they leave than two teenaged boys stepped out from behind the couch, one blond, the other brunet. They were the oldest of the next generation of Halliwells. Chris looked healthier and less stressed than his previous form, as if the world was no longer resting on his shoulders, while goodness shone from The Twice-Blessed Child. Rather than ultra-scrawny as Chris had been before, each boy had the body of a Greek god, plenty of muscle, minimal fat, as shown by the clothes they wore. Both were impeccably groomed--Wyatt's long hair was neatly tied back while Chris's had the perfect cut, emphasizing his green eyes. To put it mildly, the Halliwell boys were both looking fine, despite the fear in Chris' eyes and the over-confidence in Wyatt's.

"Did you hear that?" Chris asked, a shiver of fear in his voice.

"Every word," Wyatt nodded, laughing. "They thought it was Bianca. That's what you get for putting her initial first when you wrote the spells and instructions in The Book. I knew I should've done it! And I told you not to add that heart!"

Chris still looked confused. "But why would they think Bianca wrote it? How would they know about her? And why do they seem to know about me? What did we do? Are we really sure that spell worked this time?" he asked, as unsure of himself as ever.

"Of course, the spell worked!" and there was a gleam in Wyatt's brown eyes, as he brimmed with confidence. "Just like the spell to go to the past and keep their powers worked. How couldn't they? After all," and he spread his arms, "look who wrote them!"

Chris rolled his eyes, wishing his brother would just get over himself. "Yeah, yeah, all your spells are wonderful, but what if this one didn't work the way we wanted it to?"

"Quit being so negative! You'll give yourself an ulcer!" Wyatt chuckled, enjoying teasing his baby brother, as he had most of his life. He took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll admit we won't know for sure until we return to our own time. I'm just sure it worked."

"Well, I'm just not so sure," Chris insisted. "I mean, you heard what Aunt Phoebs told Cole, what happened to her and Mom thanks to your other spell--they wiped out our existence, along with Aunt Paige's! Who knows what we changed with this spell? What if we made things worse?" and Chris shuddered at the thought, before voicing his worst fear. "What if we go back and Mom and Dad and Aunt Phoebs and Aunt Paige aren't there?"