Charmed: Hanging with Mr. Turner
Disclaimer: I don't own charmed, but the WB does.
Summary: AU After Season six- After Gideon's death, Leo has taken over his position as guardian of the school but has hired a headmistress to handle all school matters. When the headmistress hires a familiar new teacher, the Halliwells must investigate to see what this new teacher's plans are. Are they good? Or is there an ulterior motive here?
A/N: Just a quick story based around plots that I have written over the last few years, which are mostly about Cole and Phoebe. Review and tell me what you think!
Chapter 11: A Lump of Cole for Christmas
Phoebe Halliwell sat in the center of the attic as five candles burned all around her. She had been trying to reach Cole through technology for the last week, but because he was not answering and she feared for his safety, she resorted to magic in her time of need. While she did not particularly enjoy using magic for her personal matters, such as the one in which she found herself, she knew that sometimes rules had to be shifted in an effort to allow a greater good to take place. If Cole was in trouble, and her magical usage saved him, she knew it would be well worth it in in the end as Cole would go on to do a ton of good for those around him if he continued on the path he was showing for nearly a year prior.
With that in mind, she read her spell to travel to his location, put her finger up to her nose and gave out a nod, and in a twinkle of white lights, she disappeared up to the sky. "Cole!" Phoebe chirped as she appeared in an unfamiliar house a few moments later. She looked around, noticing a person walk right through her as if she wasn't there. "What the…?"
"Phoebe?" Cole gasped, startled by her sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?" He questioned, throwing a glance towards his ex-wife, though he kept most of his attention on a twenty-something man in the other room. His face did not betray any emotion that he may have been feeling at the sight of the witch, making Phoebe wonder just what he was precisely thinking.
"I heard what you did for Piper, and you never came by again," said Phoebe, before pausing, confused as to what Cole was doing. "Wait, where are we?"
"I'm just about to meet a charge for the first time," answered Cole, gesturing to the man in his late twenties that was going about his day. "You're in the Void, though I have no idea how exactly."
"Who is that?" Phoebe asked, spying the man that Cole was watching so intensely. "That's the new charge then, I presume?"
"Yeah, special case too. His name is Bailey George, and he isn't as happy about his life as he appears," Cole nodded, informing Phoebe of the basics of the case. "He's an elemental, who my bosses say will be having a powerful heir that'll lead the next generation of good magic. The only problem is that he's not too thrilled to be living if you catch my drift. He's destined to become a lost soul unless I help him through his problems." He looked down at his watch, glancing at the time as if he was expecting something to happen. "Three, two, one," he muttered, looking up as the man grabbed his head and fainted, crashing to the floor with a loud bang.
"What happened to him?" Phoebe gasped, her eyes going wide with shock. The man looked fine enough, so it confused her that he would pass out without warning like that.
"He was attacked by a Krampus demon an hour or two ago," answered Cole, walking into the room and seeing the transparent version of the man looking down at his corporeal body. "They have poisonous breath that are akin to the effects of the thorns of thorn demons," he whispered to her, before turning his attention to the man.
"What happened?" Bailey said with a confused look on his face as his spirit appeared above his unconscious form.
"I can answer that for you," said Cole, earning the attention of Bailey, who turned around immediately at the sound of Cole's voice.
"Who are you?" Bailey questioned, staring at Cole, wary about the sudden appearance of the taller man. "What happened to me? Am I dead?"
"I'm here to help you," Cole answered with a small smile, hoping to ease Bailey's nerves. "As for what happened to you, well, it's that Krampus demon that attacked you before. Its poison has sent you into a coma, so no, you're not dead, but you're not technically alive right now, either."
"Who are you?" Bailey again questioned, wondering just who Cole was and how he knew so much about his current predicament.
"My name is Cole, Cole Turner, and this is Phoebe Halliwell, my..." Cole said, pausing to collect the right word for Phoebe.
"Associate," Phoebe finished for him with a smile, not wanting Cole to use any other term. She knew they weren't friends, but on the other hand, she didn't want him to consider her solely his ex-wife, especially not when she was not there to talk about 'them'.
"And you're both here to help me?" Bailey laughed sarcastically, not believing it to be of any use to help him. "Nothing can help me, I'm better off dead," he growled, truly believing his soul would be better off dying and reincarnating into someone new—someone perhaps better.
Cole shook his head in the negative, knowing he would have a lot of work ahead of him in order to turn Bailey's life around. "But you're not dead, I am here to prevent that and to get you back on track."
"Nothing can help me, I don't need you or anyone," reiterated Bailey, a harsh tone to his voice that showed his resolve in his beliefs.
"That isn't true," Cole replied easily, having been prepared for Bailey's anger. He knew Bailey's personality enough that the early denial was something for which he had expected. Bailey had grown angry and bitter over the course of his life, his heart being hardened by all of the trials and tribulations that he had been forced to face throughout the years, especially since the advent of his powers. When his powers had come to be, his parents expelled him from their lives, leaving him to fend for himself from then on—with each year that passed, he grew angrier and angrier as his family's memory grew more and more distant.
"What are you here to help me with?" The elemental questioned, not buying it for a second that Cole was truly there to help him out in life. After all, who was to say it wasn't a set up for a demon attack?
"Find your will to live again," Cole replied simply, shrugging his shoulders as if the answer was the simplest thing in the world.
"Have fun with that," the man said with a scowl, turning and walking out of the room, not giving Cole or Phoebe another thought.
"I know what you're going through, Bailey," Cole said, following him around, not allowing Bailey to give up on himself. "I know what it's like. I know how you feel, probably better than anyone."
"You have no idea what it's like," Bailey roared, spinning around to face Cole with wide eyes, anger showing clearly on his face. "You have no idea what it's like to have everyone you've ever cared about, anyone you've ever loved, just walk out on you, do you? You have no idea what it is like to fail over and over, both innocents and yourself. Like I said, nothing can help me."
"If you think that's true, then you have nothing to lose by coming with me, no?" Cole questioned with a raised eyebrow, holding his hand out towards the man. "If you're unable to be helped, then this will just be a big waste of time for me, so what do you have to lose?" Without looking, Cole reached his left hand out towards Phoebe, inviting her along as his gaze continued to look at Bailey. Tentatively, Bailey grabbed Cole's hand, Phoebe following suit, allowing the three to disappear in a swirl of grey particles.
The trio reappeared in a park, though Phoebe knew not where the park was located. The sun was bright as children and teenagers played on the swing-set off to the side, while a group of older men played chess on the park tables behind the playground. They walked towards the grass, where a boy no older than twelve was kicking around a soccer ball, seemingly waiting for someone to arrive. Behind him there were a group of young teenage girls watching him, though he didn't notice their gazes or hear their giggles from the distance.
"Do you remember this boy?" Cole asked, knowing full well that the boy was not someone that Bailey knew, but setting it up for a revelation.
"No," replied Bailey, shaking his head in the negative as he furrowed his brow, trying to remember if he had ever seen him.
"As well as you shouldn't, but I bet you remember his father," said Cole, pointing to a man across the park that sat on a bench whilst reading the paper. He was just far enough to give his son some privacy and independence, but close enough that his son was in no danger from harm should it come.
"I've seen him before," Bailey said quietly after a moment of thought, his mind trying to recall where he knew the man from all the while.
"You saved him from a wendigo two years ago, which allowed him to pick up his son from school later that same day. If he hadn't, the boy would have been hit by a car while walking home, meaning he too would have died that day," explained Cole, hoping to show Bailey just what he did by helping people. "In twenty years, that boy is going to be a father and a bone marrow donor, saving a life for himself, an action he was only able to take because he did not die that day. In one day, you saved at least three lives and created another."
"Wow," whispered Phoebe, surprised how much of a chain reaction saving innocents brought about. Before then, she had never really thought of it too deeply, instead just focusing on the single innocent that was saved, but she couldn't help but wonder just how many people her sisters and her had chain reaction saved over the years of being the Charmed Ones.
"Yeah, four humans live because of one heroic action," nodded Cole, giving a small smile to Phoebe. Cole put his hand on Bailey's shoulder and grabbed Phoebe's hand, teleporting them all out to another scene, where a pregnant woman was opening gifts for what seemed to be a baby shower. The entire group seemed to be enjoying themselves as they laughed and smiled, all the while eating cake and listening to soft music that played from the speakers in the distance. "You remember her?"
"I saved her from a...warlock, I think," answered Bailey, this time remembering the woman from a warlock attack that had happened only a few months prior, no more than a half of a year before.
"Exactly," Cole nodded in agreement, a small smile appearing on his handsome face as his plan to help Bailey began to take root. "Did you know she was pregnant then?"
"No," replied Bailey, shaking his head in the negative, having never known that fact. He rarely ever followed up on the innocents he saved, instead allowing them to move on with their life in the hopes that they would forget perhaps the most frightening experience of their lives.
"Well, she was, so you saved two lives that day, not just one," returned Cole, hoping to show Bailey just how far the effects reach when it comes to saving a life. "I never tell anyone to keep tally, for it will drive people crazy, but failures just lead to greater successes. It makes us learn, grow, evolve into bigger and better people. Sure, you may fail and lose an innocent, that is to be expected, it's awful and terrible but expected, but you save way more than you can ever be able to count. Every life that is touched by an innocent that you have saved comes back to you. I know it's not easy, but we need to, as people, stop focusing on the negatives and start looking at the positives."
"But what's the point? No one cares about me either way, no matter what I do," said Bailey, tears starting to well up into his eyes as memories of being discarded by the people surrounding him came pouring into his mind. "I could save a billion people, but it won't make this pain go away."
"I'm sorry you're in pain, that is not easy to deal with, but remember how strong you are," said Cole, trying to think of a way to further connect with Bailey. "I know what it's like to live while feeling like no one cares about you," he added, realizing that he too had felt that same creeping loneliness that Bailey was feeling. "I've been in that situation before."
Bailey looked up to Cole, his gaze narrowed as if to gauge whether Cole was being truthful or not. "What did you do?"
"I tried to commit suicide," answered Cole, earning a small gasp from Phoebe, realizing about which time Cole was speaking. "It was wrong, but I felt alone, and I was scared, so I tried to take the selfish way out, no matter who it hurt."
Bailey furrowed his brow, hearing the pain that was in Cole's voice that sounded so very much like his own. "Why were you alone?"
"My ex-wife didn't want me back," Cole answered honestly, even though Phoebe herself was right there. He had a plan to help Bailey, and helping Bailey was more important than any awkwardness that encroached between him and Phoebe. "And for years before that, I had only lived for her, not myself. Without her, I was lost. I was wrong, I know, for you can only live for yourself and not someone else, but at the time, I didn't see that. I have gotten over that rough patch, and now I'm helping people. By living, and I mean genuinely enjoying life, your future could be great. Who knows what you could do or who you could meet? But if you give up now you'll never know. I did give up; I let the anger and the sadness turn into madness, which drove me to the brink. That…that is something I regret every day."
"But my death won't hurt anyone," said Bailey, shaking his head, not seeing how the situation was comparable. "How can I keep on living when no one even cares if I live or die? My family doesn't give a damn about me, or my life," he cried, slumping to the floor as the partygoers continued to give presents to the pregnant guest of honor.
Cole bent down, putting his hand on the man's shoulder. "That's not true, Bailey. Your whitelighter, Clara Dudley, cares about you. And then…then there's Marley, who loves you more than you can ever imagine."
"Clara has to care about me, that's what whitelighters do," Bailey sneered, angry that Cole would lie to him like that. "What are you talking about with Marley?"
"No, all whitelighters have to do is keep you safe," corrected Cole, knowing about the various relationships between a whitelighter and charge ranged from purely professional to being madly in love with each other, with a huge assortment of rapports in between. "You two share a bond with each other that goes way beyond the whitelighter-charge relationship. She cares about you like a brother. And Marley? Come, there's something you got to see."
He reached out to him, helping him to his feet before reappearing in Bailey's house. He directed Bailey back into the living room, where two women were sitting next to his body that was laid on the couch. The body looked lifeless, but the two knew better. His breathing was slowed and pained, but he was still alive, if only just.
"Please, Bailey, don't leave. There's so much I haven't told you that I can't possibly hide anymore," a brunette with olive skin cried, running a hand over the man's arm.
"You see? You think no one cares about you, but you think wrong." Cole said into his ear, as he watched the two hover above Bailey's form. "They both care about you and love you. To leave them would be selfish, regardless of how easy it would be. And I know you love them too, even if you've hardened your heart to the idea. In that cold, closed heart of yours, you know there's always been a spot for them both. Keep on living, enjoy life, and be happy, knowing that you and those two people are a small family."
Bailey looked down at the floor, a silence overcoming the room. "But still..."
Without a word, Cole closed his eyes and suddenly a door appeared. The door was wooden and painted a rich blue color, with a beautiful Christmas wreath hanging in its center. "You want to see what would happen if you did not want to live again? What would happen if you chose not to go back living?"
Bailey looked back and forth between Cole and the newly summoned door, as if he had never seen something appear from out of nowhere. "How?"
"You walk through that door," started Cole, pointing at the door that was sitting in the center of the room, unattached to any wall. "And you'll travel into the future, into a world where you decided to move on without meeting your destiny."
Phoebe looked at the door, before moving her gaze back to Cole. It reminded her of the spirit named Clyde that had helped Paige go to the past, but this door was nicer and better taken care of than Clyde's had been, seemingly even being decorated for Christmas. She had no idea Cole had the power to summon a portal that powerful, which made her question just how much more power he was hiding from the world. She did not distrust him for it, no, she knew he was doing his job as ordered, but still, she was curious just what it was that he could do that he had never mentioned prior.
Cole walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a dark tunnel that looked vaguely like the night sky. The tunnel whirled and swirled with energy, creating an effect that was like a Van Gogh painting. "Come on and you'll see."
The trio walked into the door, and with a feeling that felt like falling, they arrived in a different time. Christmas lights and decorations were all around them as they appeared on the road outside of a small home. The street sign above them read '34th' and the lampposts were decorated with garland. The air was cold and brisk, though none showed that they were cold. Cole pointed to a woman as she walked down the street paper bags in her arms, groceries purchased from the store down the block. She walked through them, as if they were spirits, and headed towards the front door of a home to their left. Cole gestured for them to follow and they slipped into the home when the door opened.
"Christmas twenty years from now," whispered Cole, as Bailey started to realize that the woman was an older Marley. Her hair was starting to grey, and her face looked aged, but if one looked, they could see the sparkle in her eyes that Marley always seemed to have—albeit, it was dimmed Bailey noticed.
Bailey watched as Alex put on Christmas music as she began to cook dinner. She hummed along as she cooked, hovering over the stove as she grilled chicken and boiled some rice. She walked about the kitchen, both placing groceries in the cupboard and gathering the items she needed to finish her meal. As her bags were emptied, she went into the next room and quickly set her small table, using Christmas china and a tablecloth to create a festive mood.
Cole and Phoebe, meanwhile stayed off to the side, allowing Bailey to see the world for himself. "The portal creation is a new power," started Cole, shifting his gaze over to Phoebe. His tone was that of a jovial one, as if he was proud of himself. "After I helped beat the Avatars, I was rewarded by the Elders and they gave me dominion over a time portal. It helps me with clients, allows them to see things from a different perspective."
"Really?" Phoebe smiled, unsurprised that Cole had somehow read her mind. "That's really great, I'm happy for you." She was about to say something more when she noticed Bailey following Marley into the dining room, which opened into a decorated great room that housed two couches and a television set.
Marley lit a red candle in the center of the table, as she poured herself a glass of white wine. She took the glass and walked over to the tree in the corner, which shined and shimmered in brilliant white lights. Her gaze moved over the various ornaments that hung on its branches, with her fingers grazing over a few of the more memorable ones. "Merry Christmas, mom, dad, and Bailey. I hope you all found peace. I love you and will see you when my time comes," she said, before taking a deep gulp of the wine as emotions began to swirl inside of her—the loneliness of the season catching up to her. "You stupid boy, you should be here with me."
Bailey watched as Marley admitted her love for him, salty tears rushing down her face in waves. "I never…I never knew," he whispered mostly to himself, although Cole had heard it.
"No, you knew, you just didn't want to admit it. You didn't want to admit to the fact that, for the last few years, you've been wrong about your basic thought on life. Your pride has gotten the best of you, like it does to most of us, and has made you blind to the beauty of the world. You took for granted the simple pleasures of life, my friend," replied Cole, a small smile on his face, believing he had reached the elemental. "She didn't want to tell you because she didn't know what it was you were going through."
"No," said Bailey, shaking his head vigorously, not allowing Cole to overturn his convictions about friends and family. "No, one person loving me does not change the fact that the rest of my family left me."
Cole gave out an inaudible sigh, though Phoebe saw it as she knew his mannerisms better than anyone. "You know the old saying "blood is thicker than water?"
"Yes, and my blood left me, my family left me," Bailey bitterly responded, justified anger brewing in his belly. The memories of his family discarding him and disregarding him when he first came into his powers flooding into his mind, forcing him to recall all the hurt and pain that it brought upon him.
"That's not what the saying means," Cole said knowingly, informing Bailey that the common understanding of the idiom was incorrect. "The actual saying is blood of the bond is thicker than the water of the womb. It means that people that voluntarily want to be in your life create a deeper relationship than someone with whom you simply share blood ties."
Bailey looked up to Cole, before furrowing his brow in confusion. "That saying is the exact opposite of what it seems then," he whispered, his countenance showing that he was taking Cole's words to heart.
"Exactly," nodded Cole. "Marley chose to be in your life. She may not understand things, she may need you to teach her about magic, but she is there for you."
"A family doesn't have to be big," said Phoebe, speaking up for the first time, having been admiring Cole's work silently. As an advice columnist, she tried to help people like Bailey daily, but to watch someone else do it in such a clever and magical way that Cole was gave her such feelings of wonder that she couldn't help but want to learn from it herself. "A family just has to have love. If she loves you, and you love her like it appears, then she is your family, as well as your whitelighter."
"That's right," agreed Cole, appreciating Phoebe's help, even if he didn't quite need it. "Family is family, even if it's small."
Bailey continued to watch Marley, a new look in his eyes. "Come here, Comet, time for dinner," she called out to her German Shephard, who came running at the sound of his food being poured in his bowl.
"And her dog," Phoebe laughed, knowing that dogs were like family to most.
"Not exactly the Von Trapps," Bailey replied with a laugh, wiping tears from his eyes. He didn't know how he felt about everything, if his viewpoint would change, but seeing Marley as she was, older and alone, it made him feel things he never imagined feeling.
"For now, more members of the family will join in the future, I promise," said Cole, his voice gentle and showing a hopefulness that gave comfort to Bailey.
Bailey bit his lip, his eyes still firmly on Marley as she sat down at the table to have her Christmas Eve dinner. "Can I have some time?"
"Sure," nodded Cole, giving the man across from him a small smile. "We'll be outside, just come get us when you're ready."
"Will do," Bailey agreed, watching as Cole and Phoebe walked out of the room.
The pair walked outside of the house, going through the door as if it didn't exist. As they stood out on the stoop, a chill ran through Cole and he gave out a shiver. "Cold?" Phoebe smiled, having seen Cole's reaction.
"A spirit nipped at my nose," corrected Cole, giving a small laugh.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow as they stood on the porch, watching as the family across the street sat down in their dining room for dinner. "Spirits?"
"It's Christmas Eve, Phoebe, it's the second most active night of the year behind Halloween," explained Cole, having grown extremely knowledgeable of the comings and goings of the spirits that were around the Earth. He moved his eyes across the neighborhood, seeing how many spirits were floating all around them—spirits of winter, of Christmas, and most importantly, the spirits of those doomed to walk the Earth for all of time. "You can't see him, but Jack Frost was blowing through here not two minutes ago."
"Seriously? Spirits?" Phoebe asked as her head whipped towards Cole, surprised that a mythological being like Jack Frost existed. While she had her fair share of run-ins with people, things, and monsters that she never thought existed prior, Jack Frost was so embedded into pop culture that the idea that he lived was something far beyond her understanding.
"Of course," nodded Cole, misinterpreting what Phoebe meant. "Why do you think telling 'scary ghost stories' during Christmastime was a thing in the past? Or why the most famous Christmas story of all time is a ghost story?"
"Huh," said Phoebe with a furrowed brow. "That makes a ton of sense now. I always thought that line in that song was weird, but now I get it. Shouldn't I see spirits though, as a witch?"
"Not these," said Cole, shaking his head in the negative. "These aren't former humans like ghosts. These are primordial beings, more connected to the higher powers than humanity. Like muses, you know?"
"I see," replied Phoebe, remembering her time with Melody the muse, whom she needed a spell just to see.
Just then, a few flakes of snow began to fall. Kids across the street jumped up from the dining room table and ran out of their home, yelling and screaming in excitement. "I guess it's going to be a white Christmas for them," smiled Cole, watching as the kids tried to catch the snow with their tongues.
"Where are we?" Phoebe questioned, wondering where they were in the country, having presumed they were in the United States due to Bailey's accent.
"Bedford Falls, New York, just outside of Sleepy Hollow," answered Cole, his gaze still on the children across the street.
They both went silent for a moment, each thinking about what had transpired over the last half an hour. As Cole lost himself in his thoughts, Phoebe reached out her hand to try and catch a snowflake, but instead of landing on her hand, she watched as it flew straight through and landed on the ground in front of her. "Here," said Cole, putting his own hand under hers. He touched it lightly, and Phoebe watched as a snowflake landed on her hand.
"How'd you do that?" Phoebe grinned, impressed by Cole's abilities, even if she didn't quite understand them.
"Being a Ranger has its perks," laughed Cole, taking his hand off Phoebe's and allowing the snow to fall through her hand once more.
Just then, Bailey appeared from the house, earning the attention of both Cole and Phoebe. They both looked at him expectedly, though neither could read what decision he had come to during his thinking time. "So what did you say I have to do?" Bailey asked, seemingly willing to try to live for his newfound family.
"You want to live?" Cole questioned, raising an eyebrow, needing Baily to admit out loud what his intentions were to be.
"Yes," Bailey answered, giving a small nod, as if he was embarrassed to admit it.
With a smile, Cole made a gesture and the portal door appeared once more. He opened the door and allowed Phoebe and Bailey to enter, before entering himself and closing the door behind him. The trio reappeared in the living room of Bailey's home not a moment later, jumping through time as quickly as it took to count to twenty. The three then walked into the sitting room, where Bailey's unconscious form was laying on the couch, the pair of women still hovering above him.
"Are you sure you want to live?" Cole once more asked, wanting to reinforce Bailey's decision.
"Yes," reaffirmed Bailey, a renewed energy to him now that he saw a future with people he loved. "Just tell me what to do."
"Just admit to yourself that you want to live; that you have a reason to live," Cole answered, watching as Bailey let out a breath, turned into a ball of light, which then traveled through the air and entered his body.
Just then, a demon with long, curled horns and a goat-like face suddenly appeared. Cole acted quickly, appearing into the mortal plane and threw a blue sphere towards the demon. Instantly, the demon cried out in pain and burst into flames, being vanquished as swiftly as he had come. "Tell Bailey to remember the days of Christmas future and he'll always be happy," said Cole, wanting the women to serve as an anchor for Bailey, each continuing to renew his desire to live.
"Uh, okay," whispered Marley, confused by what had transpired as Cole disappeared, returning to the Void between life and death once more.
Bailey gasped awake, scaring both Marley and Clara, who were sitting and waiting patiently for his return. His body was fine, having been healed by Clara earlier; it had been his soul that needed the real healing. Without saying anything, he hugged them for dear life, kissing them both on the check. He apologized to both for worrying them, and told them how much they meant to him, which earned cheerful responses from each of the women.
"Does it really mean blood of the bond?" Phoebe questioned, as she and Cole watched on from their places in the Void between life and death.
Cole shrugged, as his blue gaze shifted over to his ex-wife. "Maybe?" He laughed, not really knowing, nor really caring as it had done what it was supposed to do. "It's up for interpretation, I've heard both, really."
Phoebe nodded, understanding that he said it to get Bailey to see another side of the world, rather than for its truthfulness. "So is he okay now?"
"Shall we see?" Cole said, summoning the portal once more. With a silent smile, Phoebe followed him into the portal, arriving five years into the future, where a Christmas tree was nestled in the corner of the sitting room where Bailey's body once laid. "Check out the stockings above the fireplace."
"Marley, Bailey, and Fan," Phoebe said, seeing how the third stocking was smaller than the other two, signaling that it was presumably for a child. "They have a kid?"
"Seems so," Cole grinned, gesturing to the small family that was now entering the living room.
"Merry Christmas, Fanny," an older Bailey said, carrying his young daughter to the tree, which had numerous presents scattered underneath.
"You did it," Phoebe smiled, watching as the family began to open presents, the gifts mostly for Fan who looked to be around two.
"Yes, we did," Cole replied in a happy tone, proud to have had a successful intervention. He opened the portal door once more, and after Phoebe entered to return to their own time, he gave one last look towards Bailey, who was laughing at something his daughter did. "Merry Christmas, Bailey."
His voice seemed to carry into the mortal realm, for Bailey's head whipped to where Cole had been, as if he heard what Cole had said. "Thanks, Cole. For everything."
"What's that, hunny?" Marley questioned, earning a shake of the head from Bailey.
Cole and Phoebe, meanwhile, reappeared in Bailey's home in their own time. He took her hand into his own, before teleporting them both out of the void, arriving in the backyard of the manor a few moments later. "You never came, even though I told you not to be a stranger," Phoebe said, noticing the surroundings and knowing that their time together was coming to an end.
"Yeah, sorry about that," he replied, flicking his eyes over to the driveway, where Piper was just getting into her jeep. "I had a charge that took a while to get through to; he was a young boy, around ten, so I had to make sure he was all right. Then, just last night, I had to protect another charge from a Necron demon, so I've been busy the past few weeks. I meant to get over there, but for some reason my bosses felt the need to swamp me."
"Wow, Cole," whispered Phoebe, looking up at the man. "I've never seen this side of you, you know, as a working man."
Cole grinned, gesturing for her to follow him. "I take my job seriously, Phoebe. These people need my help. It is not only this life that is in jeopardy for them, but it's all of their future lives, as well. One wrong move on my part could send them into a downward spiral from which they might not be able to get back up. And if that would happen, I doubt I'd be able to live with the guilt."
He sat on the bench that Leo had put in the garden for Piper, while Phoebe took the seat next to him. "Why are you doing all of this, Cole?"
"I was made to do this, but if you mean helping you," started Cole, biting his lip. "You deserve to be happy. I took some happiness from you, so I hoped to give some back to you. Not saying we are even, but I hope you can see that I tried."
"Let me get this straight," Phoebe began, her brow furrowed. "You became our guardian angel, helping us out with every problem we've had, just to make me happy?"
"Of course," answered Cole, nodding his head in the affirmative. "You need your family around you to be happy, Phoebe. If Leo's gone, Piper's not happy. If Piper gives up on love, then you'd give up on love. If you give up on love, you're not getting everything you deserve. If Kyle dies, and leaves Paige, then she grieves, making you close your heart off again to make sure she's okay." And then upon seeing Phoebe's curious face, he added, "As for helping Piper, well, It wasn't out of the goodness of my heart, I did it to help someone I care about."
"Who?" Phoebe questioned, though she had a sneaking suspicion that it was her.
"You, obvously," Cole answered with a laugh. "I knew Piper and Leo needed to get back together to help you on your own path."
Phoebe looked down at the floor, frowning. "How did you know, though?"
"When we were working together in the cabaret, I noticed something about you; I could tell your heart was closed off. Now, you put on a brave face for everyone else, but I knew Phoebe, I knew. If Piper gave up on love, on Leo, I knew you would never be able to love again, and that was something I couldn't allow," Cole sighed, before flashing her a smile. "I know I did terrible, unspeakable things in my life, Phoebe, but the least I could do to try and make up for those things is to help out the Charmed Ones."
"You seem to be doing a lot," offered Phoebe, knowing that Cole was helping out more people than she knew by the sounds of it.
He looked up the sky and released a deep sigh, though Phoebe knew it wasn't because of her, but rather, as if he was happy to finally release the tension. "I'm not in love with you, Phoebe, but I do love you so to see you closed off was just something I couldn't allow. You need your sisters in your life, which is why I was willing to help you all."
Phoebe bit her lip for a moment, as she furrowed her brown in thought. "Are you...are you alive?" She inquired, finally asking the question that had been on her mind since she first learned about Cole's return nearly a year prior.
"Merry Christmas, Phoebe," smiled Cole, giving her a wave as he disappeared into grey particles.
Having her answer, Phoebe gave out a small sigh that went against the smile she had on her face. "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."
A/N: I wanted to get this chapter out as a shout out to a former tradition of releasing a new chapter on Christmas. It is not up to my usual standards because I had to rush after realizing I wouldn't be able to write a good chapter in Hollowed Lives and immediately went to this story instead, but it also is the most Christmas-y chapter that I've ever written, loaded with Christmas story and movie references. Marley is the obvious one, but Bailey comes from George Bailey from "It's a Wonderful Life" as does Clara (the female form of Clarence, the Angel in "It's a Wonderful Life") Her last name Dudley comes from "The Bishop's Wife", another Angel/Christmas movie. Then there is the dog's name, Comet, as in Comet the reindeer. Fan is Scrooge's sister in A Christmas Carol, a name I used for Bailey and Marley's daughter. Then there is the Krampus demons that I've used from Hollowed Lives before. There's Jack Frost, from folklore and "The Christmas Song." And finally, there's 34th Street in Bedford Falls, which is the street from "Miracle on 34th Street" and Bedford Falls is the town in "It's a Wonderful Life." I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you for reading. Stay safe.