Disclaimers: I don't own Charmed or any of the characters that already appeared on the show…bla bla… but I wish I own Cole!
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This story takes place after Daddy Dearest (Sam I Am)
Summary: As Cole is now invincible the Elders decide to send him a Whitelighter, Emily (much to Elder Aaron's displease) With her help, Cole recovers slowly his sanity. Piper is pregnant and her baby is a healthy little girl, Melinda. Paige met Prue's ghost and dates Steve. When, Lauren, Cole's secretary, who is also an empath, is attacked, the sisters accuse Cole and try to vanquish him only to find at the last minute that he is innocent of this crime. Emily nearly die in the process. This event leads the girls to converse about last year and they realise they were mistaken about Cole. When the Avatars kidnap Piper, the remaining Halliwell family turns to the half demon who finally brings her back only to lose himself in the clutches of the Avatars.
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Another Chance
Chapter 28: Paige's torment
A silver Porsche sped down the avenue. Cole and Lauren were heading back to the Jackman, Carter & Kline's building.
Breaking the uncomfortable silence, Cole decided it was time to clear things up with his secretary who was also one of his few friends in this world… One of the few people that could look at him in the eyes and not see a monster.
"Lauren?"
"Yeah?"
"Please don't play matchmaker again…" sighed Cole. He knew it all started with a good intention but it wasn't doing him any good. It just reminded him more of everything he had lost and of everything he had been trying to forget, using Phoebe's own method and burying himself in work, not to reflect on his own problems…
"Me? Matchmaker? No…" said Lauren innocently, showing him a puppy look and a cute pout that made Cole smiled in spite of everything. Indeed she could still feel the deep love between the two of them and neither Phoebe nor Cole were willing to admit it, even worse they were trying to simply deny it. Both were afraid and not even her power of empathy could tell Lauren why.
"You know Lauren, I know you didn't intent to but…" he swallowed hard as he realised the desperate point Phoebe and he had reached "it makes me suffer to just see her, let alone talk to her and her sister. It's a part of my past I've been trying to put behind me. And it's hard… And things are just starting to come together for me… I mean… for a time, I thought she was my life and that I hadn't a reason to live if it was without her … and I nearly lost my mind because of that." Cole concluded, averting his gaze and turning it back on he road. Much too aware she could sense his emotions, he didn't want her to read them in his sorrowful looks either.
Lauren was speechless. It was the first time Cole had actually trusted her enough to confide in her about his feelings. He stopped too, and looked her straight in the eyes this time. She was so shaken by his sadness that her own heart swelled with his pain.
She could sense how truly hurt he was and she was sorry to have pushed things like that. She didn't mean it like that. She exceeded her role of guidance as an empath, and tried to take things in her own hands.
She truly regretted it now. She had no right to play with other people's emotions and tempt fate. If the two of them were apart on common accord then she should respect their choices.
She shifted position on her seat to have a better look on his facial expression.
"Cole… I'm so sorry… I had no idea it was so difficult for you." Cole simply nodded and glanced at her with sympathy, a sad smile on his lips, before turning his attention back on the road.
Lauren paused unsure of what she should say next:
"Listen Cole, all I ever wanted was to see you happy. Sometimes, all people need is a little push in the right direction but… I realise now it… I shouldn't have interfered in all this. I was being unfair and I….-"
Cole stopped her and added, smiling again, amused by her self-recrimination:
"I know and it's OK. Don't worry about it Lauren."
Lauren smirked but shut her mouth and silence fell in the car.
As they entered Jackman, Carter and Kline's parking lot, the secretary couldn't help but add, before every thing became all work again:
"You know what Cole Turner? It's the first time you actually talked to me about your problems with Phoe-…uh… your EX-wife, and I'm glad you trusted me enough to confide in me. I don't know where you stand actually, but I want you to know that I consider you not only my boss but my friend and if something is wrong with you, I want to remind you I'll always be there " As Cole opened his mouth to say something she rapidly continued: "You deserve to be loved Cole. Life is too short to spend it alone, rummaging through old memories with bitterness."
Cole nodded and smiled. Unfortunatelyhe had a lot more than one lifetime to spend alone, he had eternity in fact. He parked his car, helped Lauren out and offered his arm for her to take as they walked to the nearest elevator in the darkness.
Suddenly, Lauren sensed Cole's arm tensing and he stopped dead in his tracks to throw a look behind them.
"What is it?" asked Lauren anxiously; she could read the worry on his face.
He barely glanced at her and said in a cold tone that sent shiver down her spine:
"Go to the elevator"
"But what -?"
"Just do it Lauren" then he realised he was being rude and softened a little. Never taking his eyes off of whatever was lurking in the shadow, he added, "I just forgot something in the car, I'm coming. Hurry up, M. Smith might already be waiting in the lobby for our appointment."
"Hmmm… Ok." She shrugged but didn't question him anymore and did as he said.
When Lauren was out of ear range, securely tucked away in the elevator, Cole asked out loud to the shadows:
"Come out! I know you are here… whatever you are!"
As an answer, a silhouette came out of its hiding place. That dark man had been hiding in the shadow for a while now, waiting for him.
"Good afternoon Belthazor… or should I say Cole?"
Cole narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the form in front of him. He could sense magic and as far as he knew, it was black magic. Somehow he was certain that it wasn't the first time he heard that voice and as the man revealed himself from behind a concrete pillar of the dark parking lot, Cole immediately recognised its owner.
"Valmorein, I thought you were dead…"
"I thought I was dead too when you left me after that battle." He snapped bitterly, tilting his head slightly as if evaluating his adversary.
Memory flashed through Cole's mind then. Memory of a life in Hell he had spent the last three year trying to escape from.
Decades ago, Belthazor had had the order by the Source himself to kill a traitor…a warlock who went by the name of Valmorein. Only that tall man with piercing hazelnut eyes had been his only friend during his childhood. Life was difficult for a half human - half demon kid in the Underworld and Valmorein often helped him out. The two kids led a wild life then. Belthazor's mother had never taken care of her offspring. This lack of motherly love was common in the Underworld as it was part of the natural selection of the strongest demons. Therefore, if there was someone who really knew him then, it was Valmorein. When Belthazor had become more powerful and had entered the Brotherhood of the Thorn, they had lost contact.
That is until The Source's order.
Cole always suspected he had tried to judge his loyalty by giving him that task or, perhaps it had only been another trick to have his silly fun. Cole had never known and never searched the truth either as The Source had made it clear that his own life had been in the balance.
Belthazor had never questioned the Source's orders and even if the idea of fighting Valmorein had been revolting for him, he had done it nevertheless. After all, demons simply didn't have friends, they only had allies and it was common than those so-called allies stabbed you in the back as soon as they got the chance. 'Never put your trust in anybody' was his motto and it saved his life more than once.
Besides such feelings like 'friendship' were only reserved for the disgusting humans. Belthazor had fought hard to erase that small weakness of his.
He had fought Valmorein and had left him for dead after he had hit him with the athame, but apparently he had been mistaken.
And later had come Phoebe and every thing turned upside down.
Cole didn't know where his 'old friend' was standing now but they surely weren't on friendly terms. He swallowed hard as his mind was working frantically.
"Why are you so silent Cole? Disappointed to see me alive, aren't you? But see, I'm not dead meat. You failed badly, my friend!"
Cole never flinched at the obvious intimidation. He replied on a cold tone.
"I can fix it right now, Valmorein."
"It wouldn't be in your best interest. And stop calling me Valmorein. That part of my life is far behind now. I go by the human name of Steve now"
A ghost of a smile appeared on Cole's lips:
"Are you kidding me? You never were inclined to be called a human before, Steve."
"And you never were inclined to do good before Cole" he replied with the same derisive tone.
Cole visibly flinched at his reply. Could they be fighting the same war against their own natures?
Valmorein or rather Steve snickered at this.
"I will make it clear for you. I don't hold you in my heart. Your betrayal was of the worst kind. You stabbed me in the back, literally, and I will never forgive you for that but as much as I despise you, we will have to work hand in hand."
"I don't work with evil anymore"
"Neither do I"
"Then what do you want from me?"
"You were contacted by the Avatars and they are now coming to take what you promised them last week. They will ask for their due. Whether you like it or not, you will have to follow them… You don't know in what mess you've gotten yourself into."
"How do you know about my involvement with the Avatars?" Cole asked doubtfully, almost expecting a fight. Never trust a warlock, even an ex-warlock.
"Because I'm in it to. I kind of… work for them. They asked me to spy on you." Cole's face registered his surprise and mounting anger so Steve had to act fast "Now listen, I don't have time to play, they are coming for you and you will have to count on me. I know you plan to double cross them and I know you're working with the Elders… so do I in fact. I told them the little information I gathered and now the Avatars are planning something big and you are part of it."
"Do you think I'll buy something like that! They sent you, didn't they? Is that some kind of game? Try to prove my loyalty?"
Steve was prepared to that kind of question. He needed proof and he was gonna give it to him. The clever and cautious kid he played with in the pits of Hell an eternity ago hadn't changed – Except that he gave up his evil ways.
"OK Cole! I know you work with the Elders since they sent you Emily. I know you haven't seen her in the last week and I know that the Elders asked you to join the Avatars because you would have better chances than me to inform them on their plan."
"You said you spied on me, no wonder you know such things about me! Besides, the Avatars already know about Emily…" then a frown crossed his handsome face as the thought occurred to him "It was your doing, wasn't it? You informed them about her!"
"Well I couldn't very well hide that kind of thing from them. They would have chopped my head if they had discovered it themselves." Since Cole was still unconvinced and very suspicious of him, Steve rolled his eyes and put his hand in his pants pocket to take out something he knew would get a reaction out of his confused brain.
When Cole saw the silver necklace with the little angel pendant hanging to that warlock's hands, blood rushed into his veins and a wave of rage invaded him.
In a heartbeat, Steve found himself pinned against the concrete wall. The violence of the attack left him breathless as he painfully tried to bring air back into his lungs as Cole applied a steely hand on his throat, strangling the life out of him. He stared into his angry face with steady eyes and had difficulty to utter the words that would spare his life:
"Emily entrusted it to me"
Cole relaxed his grip and took a step backward still focusing his piercing blue eyes on him with fierce hostility.
Steve coughed, rubbing his throat with a frown and added:
"The Elders knew you wouldn't trust me and Emily proposed that solution. She really seems onto you, man. She made me swear on my life to bring it back to her and to watch over you."
Cole visibly calmed down and unclenched his teeth as questions ran through his head. This was very like her to trust somebody she barely knew because her heart told her so. He still had difficulty accepting that the Elders would willingly work with a warlock when they had so many difficulties in trusting him – if they ever did.
Cole finally asked, surprising him:
"How is she?"
"Uh… well, very well. She misses you a little, I guess"
"When will I see her again?"
"Soon, after the Avatars contact you."
Cole nodded slowly and Steve raised an eyebrow at his attitude. The half demon had changed a lot over the years, Steve barely recognised the one he used to call Belthazor. Could it really be possible that what he had heard was true? That one of the Source's best assassin turned his back to evil for love? And not for any woman at that! He did it for a witch!
But yet again, it wasn't any witch… it was a Charmed Ones. An image of Paige flashes through his mind and he started to understand the half-demon a little better. Halliwell women were special from what he could tell. It broke his all-too human heart last week to have to say goodbye to his sweet Paige. He wished there was a way to see her again without putting her in anymore danger. Being a former warlock gave him powers but he had not used them for evil purposes for decades now, not since he discovered the human part of his family and betrayed his father, the man who had brought him up in evil ways as a warlock.
Steve stared back at Cole wondering what happened into the all-mighty and pitiless Belthazor's head to fall for Phoebe Halliwell.
They had killed many witches together in the past, they had fought side by side the warriors of Good… He still had the scars to prove it! He never once saw regret in the blue eyes of his friend, never saw the affection he was letting come to the surface now.
Could he really care for a Whitelighter now?
Steve resumed his previous train of thoughts and continued:
"My task is to play mediator between you and the Elders, in case the Avatars grow suspicious of you."
"So I'm supposed to trust you?" asked Cole with a frown..
"Don't you think it's hard for me too!" Steve frowned in turn.
The two men smiled at each other as if the complicity of their childhood hadn't been completely erased by time and betrayals.
"Now go, they are getting impatient." Said Steve with a nod to the elevator.
Cole followed his gesture and stared indecisively at the exit for a second then he turned back to Steve … only to find he had already blinked out.
***
Paige was sitting on the couch in the Manor's living room. When Phoebe had dropped her here after lunch, she had changed into a more comfortable outfit, a large sweater and an old pair of jeans. Her hair tied up in a messy ponytail, she was fumbling with the only thing she had left of Steve, a handkerchief he had lent her on their first date. The TV was on but she wasn't paying attention to it so busy she was thinking over again about what Phoebe had told her about Steve.
Her advise was to wait. Only waiting was killing her, she hated to wait… being an only child for so long, she always had had the full attention of her parents for herself and never learned the virtue of patience. Now she was starting to get used to have two sisters and a new family – mostly composed of ghosts – and she had to adjust. And that meant not acting boldly only on a vague feeling that something was not right.
Because, there was something suspicious about Steve and she couldn't help but worry about him. The look in his hazelnut eyes and the way their lips fit exactly with each other as if their meeting was always meant to be, told her that her feelings ran deeper than the usual. And besides, she was certain it wasn't just lust like it was with the (numerous) others. What they shared was love, she was now sure of it and it scared her.
She had to know where he was and what he was doing and she had to know it NOW!
As if on clue, Sam orbed in startling her:
"SAM?" she exclaimed stunned. "What are you doing here?"
"Can't a father pay a visit to his daughter?" The Whitelighter smiled at her. Clearly, he had been fine since the last time she had seen him. He has shaved and wore his usual and all too human outfit, a pair of jeans and a grey shirt not the usual white dress Whitelighters used to wear… but at least there his shaved face and his sober face told her there was no problems with alcohol in sight. GOD! She still evaluated him as if she was still his Whitelighter! He was a lot more than a charge to her.
Paige got up and ran to him. She hugged him tight and Sam was slightly surprised by her display of tenderness, considering how the two of them had started and how she kept the term 'dad' for her adoptive father.
"I'm so glad you are here!" she said in his neck and then pulled away slowly.
"How are you doing since last week?"
"Fine" Paige replied with a nod but then averted her eyes.
Definitely, his daughter was far from 'fine'.
"You sure Paige? Is there a problem with your sisters? Or maybe with that demon… Cole? Still no way to vanquish him?"
"Things have changed… Didn't you hear about what happened?" asked Paige surprised.
"Well… Let's just say I still have problems with the Elders… some personal issues I have to deal with before being assigned a new charge…"
"Maybe you could be assigned little Melinda!" replied Paige with enthusiasm. "After all Leo is already really busy with us and his other charges and with you being my niece's Whitelighter, it could stay in the family! What do you think?"
"I don't know…" then Sam quickly side-stepped the subject "So what happened with the demon?"
"With Cole? Well, we tried to vanquish him again by taking away his powers and killing his human half…" Sam took a short intake of breath at the idea of his daughter killing a human being but it went unnoticed by Paige who continued "and it seemed like the perfect plan but his Whitelighter saved him and we realised we have been mistaken about Cole. And then he saved Piper from that bunch of demons..."
Paige let herself fall heavily on the couch in a sitting position as if overwhelmed by the events. And her father stared at her, shocked at the news of a Whitelighter being assigned to a demon. . . and not any demon at that! An invincible freak that had sent Phoebe through a whole lot of Hell last year! He never met the guy in question and he didn't need to hear the details to know he wasn't right for Phoebe. He knew of the excitement of impossible loves, he lived it himself, but that kind of love was destructive.
Why Leo even let him approach his family was beyond him. His role as a Whitelighter was to prevent that kind of thing to happen! What was he doing!
He sighed deeply and promised himself to have a talk with Leo before he sat next to his daughter.
"Honey you just tried to vanquish a demon! What's wrong with that? Well maybe killing his human half wasn't very smart but…"
"With all due respect Sam, You don't know Cole. He isn't just a demon. I don't even think he is still one now. He saved our butts countless times and…"
"And he also almost killed you all last year!" exclaimed Sam with wide eyes.
"Please… Let's not talk about this!"
"I'm your father Paige and believe it or not I care about you and your sisters."
Paige rolled her eyes and offered him a smoothing smile:
"I already know that and that's sweet of you but I'm a big girl OK? I can take care of myself…" then she stopped herself and thought for a minute.
"What is it?" asked Sam curiously.
"Can I ask you something? Advise I mean, after all you're a Whitelighter." Sam nodded in answer and she continued " As a witch I should always trust my instincts… my heart, shouldn't I?"
"Well, yes but…-"
"No buts, I will take it as a 'yes'!" she resolutely said crossing her arms before her chest, pouting.
However Sam had to warn her:
" BUT you should not act inconsiderately and you should think about your sisters too."
"Yeah, Yeah, I know Sam." Paige sighed, frustrated. There was always conditions she could never have a straight and simple answer! There always was things to consider, she should constantly think about her sisters before her…. And she was tired of it. Tired of needing approval. She had learned her lesson with the demon of fear and wasn't about to act as boldly as she did when she had gone alone to Cole's.
And besides what harm could a little scrying do? Not really personal gain! Just a quest for information, nothing more.
Decision taken, she would search for him… starting now!
Sam seemed to understand there was no point trying to change her mind about whatever she had decided to do and somehow feared his daughter might make a mistake but she was still a novice as a witch and needed to learn, even if she was doing better than most of the witches after only one year of Wiccan practice. Anyway it was to leave but he wouldn't go without a warning:
"Please Paige, whatever you've decided in that beautiful head of yours, don't let things going out of hand and talk to your sisters… Say hello to the others for me."
He stood up and orbed out after kissing Paige on the cheek.
Paige raised her eyes heavenward and replied:
"What if I already did and all they told me was to wait!"
She sighed, her face forming an adorable pout as she held tight the white handkerchief in her hand. She finally stood up and headed resolutely to the attic where she started to scry for Steve.
***
The elevator's bell of the 25th floor dinged and a concerned Cole rushed out of the elevator.
He walked to his office, thinking over his strange meeting with a dead man and casually remarked that Lauren wasn't at her desk. He shrugged his worries off, M. Smith might already be waiting for him inside his office.
When he entered though he couldn't prevent a loud gasp to come out of his mouth at the vision before him. Lauren was pouring coffee in the cup of a man with a grey ponytail and a dark suit.
*The Avatars came to demand their due*
The two of them turned around to see Cole in the door frame, hand still clenched on the knob.
He had time to recover from his shock and shivered at the thought of what could have happened to Lauren.
"What do you want?" he asked coldly.
"You know what I want." He replied with a snicker as he took a sip of his coffee under the inquisitive stare of the stunned secretary who didn't quite understand why her boss was being so rude with a firm's client.
Cole remarked her expression:
"Thanks Lauren but I will take it from here… and I don't want to be disturb. Cancel all my meetings."
Lauren frowned but headed out without a question asked. Once the door closed on his secretary, Cole turned to his visitor, all too knowing what was to come…
***
Paige parked her yellow New Beetle in front of Jackman, Carter & Kline's law firm building.
Her scrying had unexpectedly drove her here and she knew that it couldn't be a coincidence. Too close to Cole for comfort.
She shrugged and got out of the car. She looked up to the last floors of one of the tallest sky-scrapper of San Francisco, wondering what surprise awaited her inside.
Steve couldn't be involved with Cole, that wasn't an option. She might have been mistaken and yet when she scryed for Steve using the handkerchief she borrowed from him the crystal fell on that particular spot of the town.
She had expected to find him anywhere in the United States or in another country maybe but he was still in San Francisco… which meant he had lied to her and if she laid her hand on that poor guy, he would be given a lecture he wouldn't forget anytime soon.
But first things first, she had to take care of her ex-brother-in-law…
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Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep them coming, and tell me you're still reading! It helps me write faster! ;-)
