Author's Notes: To everyone who sent me requests for standalone fics, I'm working on them, and should have the first up soon. And, I'm keeping requests open, for the time being, because it's just so much fun.

Major thanks to my beta, cruelangel101, who was a great help with this chapter.

Chapter Forty-Eight

When they orbed back to the Manor, the first person Paige saw was Henry.

"Hey, honey," she greeted him, grinning.

"You remember me?" Henry asked, a note of cautious hope in his voice.

"I remember everything," she told him, happily.

Henry whooped with excitement, bounding across the living room to wrap his arms around her in a crushing hug. Tyler was behind him by mere seconds, holding tightly onto both his parents.

"You're okay, right, Mom?" he asked, anxiously, and Paige nodded.

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "We're all fine."

She turned to look over at her sisters, and then her eyes widened in shock when a swirl of bright white lights left Prue and Piper to enter into Sandra.

"What the heck was that?" Phoebe demanded, the same shocked look on her face that Paige knew had to be on hers.

"It's Sandra's powers wearing off," Prue explained, nonchalantly.

"Wearing off?" Paige echoed, an incredulous tone in her voice. "Wait a minute; let me get this straight. You two magicked yourselves into the Underworld with borrowed powers, and you didn't know what the time limit was?"

"We figured that we'd have enough time," Piper said, with a shrug, and Paige exchanged a wordless look with Phoebe.

"I – I'm speechless," she said, stunned. "You yell at them," she added, to Phoebe. "I'm going to go talk to Cole."

As she walked across the room, she heard Phoebe's indignant, "Are the two of you crazy?", and she smiled.

Then, she stopped in front of Cole, staring pensively at the man that she'd hated for so long.

"Can we talk?" she asked, quietly, and Cole shrugged.

"Sure," he agreed, a confused, curious look on his face.

They moved into the hallway, out of earshot of everyone else. Cole leaned against the wall, his arms folded across his chest as he stared at her. Paige leaned against the opposite wall, taking a moment to get her thoughts into order.

"I know what you're planning to do," she finally said, and Cole raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really," he drawled. "And, what would that be?"

"Power stripping potion," Paige said, clarifying. "You want to get rid of Balthazar, become human. And, I admire you for it, trust me."

"So, what's the problem?" Cole asked.

"You can't do it," Paige told him, flatly. "Not yet, anyway."

"Care to explain that one?" he asked.

"After Piper, Phoebe, and I vanquished the Source the first time," Paige said, "you were possessed. The Source took you over, because you were just human, and we had to vanquish you."

"You think that if I keep Balthazar around, that I won't be possessed?" Cole asked.

"I don't know," Paige admitted, honestly. "But, everything that happened, everything that we went through – I can't do it, again. I can't put my family through that, again." She sighed, heavily. "I'm hoping that if we change enough details, then we'll be able to avoid the whole mess."

"It's worth a shot," Cole said. "All right; I'll forego the potion, for now. But, I don't want to stay a demon, forever. I want to be human, for my own sake, and not just Phoebe's."

"Not forever," Paige reassured him. "Just until after we vanquish the Source. I think if we can take care of that, everything else will fall into place."

"And if it doesn't?" Cole asked, a cautious tone in his voice.

"Then, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Paige said, with a sigh. She shook her head, ruefully, "You know, when we first came back, I kind of thought that saving Prue would have been enough. I had this crazy idea that if I could just save her, everything else would just fall neatly into place."

"Things seem to be going okay," Cole suggested.

"Yeah, but what if I slip up?" Paige asked, plaintively. "What if I miss something, or change something I shouldn't have, and someone suffers as a result? How do I know the right thing to do?" Closing her eyes, she let her head thump back against the wall. "God. Now I think I know how Chris felt all the time."

"Who?" Cole asked, and Paige waved him off.

"Future stuff," she said, vaguely, not really wanting to go into details.

Opening her eyes, she looked across the hallway at him.

"What?" Cole said, when he noticed Paige studying him.

Paige shrugged, unsure how to put her thoughts into words. "I misjudged you," she finally told him.

"What do you mean?" Cole asked, curiously.

"When you were possessed by the Source," Paige replied, "he – he fixated on me, I guess you could call it. I was the youngest, the most inexperienced, and I guess torturing me was fun for him, or something. I would have these nightmares – wake up screaming-"

She broke off, shuddering at the all-too-vivid memories. She wished that the time that she'd been infected by the power broker had remained a blank, forever. But, little details had started creeping into her dreams at night, and those half-remembered flashes still haunted her, even years later.

"You were lucky to have survived," Cole spoke up, breaking into her thoughts. "Most don't, not when the Source goes after them."

"You saved my life, actually," Paige said, clearly surprising him. "You fought the Source's hold over you, fought for control. Your humanity was a lot stronger than I think he was expecting."

"Must not have been," Cole commented, "if you had to vanquish me, anyway."

"You were strong," Paige reiterated, firmly. "But, I couldn't see any of that," she added, softly. "I just saw the Source wearing your face, and after a while, I stopped being able to separate the two of you in my mind. I forgot that you were just as much a victim as the rest of us, and I'm so sorry for that."

"You know," Cole told her, "you don't have to apologize for something that hasn't happened, yet. Isn't going to happen," he corrected himself, quickly, and Paige smiled at the determination in his tone.

"Call it holding myself accountable for my own actions, then," she told him. "I made a lot of mistakes the first time around, but I'm going to be better this time. I promise."

"Why the change of heart?" Cole asked, curiously. "I mean, from the sound of it, you hated me for what happened. What happened to change your mind?"

"Most Whitelighters, when they get their wings," Paige said, "they get to see their past lives as a part of their training. It gives them perspective, helps them to be better Whitelighters. Mine had to be a little different, though, since I was still alive when I became a Whitelighter."

"How so?" Cole asked.

"Instead of seeing my past lives," Paige replied, "I got to look back on this one. I got the chance to take another look at my life up to that point, including the time when you were possessed by the Source, and I got to see things from outside of my own perspective. It was an eye-opener," she added, ruefully, "and I learned some valuable lessons from it. Including how to forgive."

A throat clearing, nearby, got both their attentions, and they turned to see Sandra watching them.

"Paige, I've been speaking with the rest of the Council about what has happened," she said, before either of them could say anything. "They want to meet with you over this recent development."

"Good," Paige replied, clearly surprising the Elder, "because I want to meet with them, too."

"We need to get going," Sandra told her. "The rest of the Council is impatient to speak with you."

"Of course they are," Paige said, with a sigh.

She, Sandra, and Cole went back out into the living room, where everyone was still gathered. Henry and Tyler looked up at her when she walked in, and she smiled apologetically before either of them could say anything.

"The Elders want to talk to me," she said, in response to the unspoken question she could see in Henry's eyes. "I don't know how long it's going to take."

"I'll wait up for you," Henry told her, and Paige shook her head.

"You don't have to," she insisted, but Henry cut her off.

"I'll wait up for you," he said, firmly. "Be careful."

"I will," Paige promised, and then she and Sandra orbed away.

When they reformed, Paige looked around to see that they were standing in the Tribunal's space. She took an instinctive step back from the magical projector in the middle of the area, her eyes widening in alarm.

"Oh, hell no," she said, emphatically, glaring at Sandra. "You're not getting me near that thing, again."

"Paige, this is the most efficient way to share your experiences with the entire Council," Sandra said, hurriedly. "It is a tool, nothing more. You are not on trial, here."

"Now," Paige muttered, still giving the projector an uneasy glance.

"What is that supposed to mean?" a familiar voice demanded, and Paige looked over to see Odin watching her, suspiciously.

"Enough, Odin," Sandra said, sharply, before Paige could say anything in reply. "Paige, if you are truly not comfortable, here-"

"No, I'll do it," Paige acquiesced, reluctantly. "But, I'll decide what gets shown," she added, ignoring Odin's indignant protest.

"Then," Sandra said, "let us begin."