It all looked like another post-demon attack evening for the Halliwell family. After the sleazy green creature had been dealt with, Piper had returned back to the club, grumbling under her breath that she was the one ending up doing all the work… and Prue had called it a night, complaining about how much trouble it would be getting that demon goo out of her hair.
Phoebe was sporting minor bruises on her knuckles – she really should know better than to try breaking a demon's jaw by now – and hummed distractedly, thinking about tall and good-looking lawyers as she mixed a healing balm on the stove. She was quite happy with the results of her healing experiment as she inhaled the smell of the balm and wondered what to do with her friend who happened to be male. The way he had been acting disqualified him from the boyfriend category and that annoyed her to no end. It was like Cole could not quite decide if they were dating or not.
She knew she was rooting for the dating option but hadn't seen him or heard from him in ages. Would it look too clingy or desperate if she called him? Again?
The phone rang, distracting her from her unpleasant musings, and she picked it up. Speak of the devil...
"This is Cole Turner, Assistant District Attorney. I need to speak with Miss Phoebe Halliwell. Is she around?"
Phoebe hated how her heart fluttered when she heard his voice. Handsome or not, he had no right doing that to her. She was trying to be annoyed with him for not calling sooner. "Is it a serious business, Mr. Turner?"
"Most dire circumstances," he replied with what she thought was a smile in his voice. She could imagine it. Cole had such a nice smile.
"Oh. I'm listening, then."
"You see, Miss Halliwell, I haven't heard from you for quite some time..." he said sternly. Phoebe took the balm off the stove to cool and leaned against the counter. She liked his business-like voice and couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"Is that so?"
"That is so..."
She was preparing her reply when Leo and Piper orbed in. Judging by the expression on his face, something big had happened. He signaled her to cut the call short and moved out of the kitchen, presumably to get Prue. Perfect timing, as always.
'What's going on?' she mouthed to her sister but Piper just shrugged 'I have no idea.'
"… Phoebe?"
"Oh? Oh, sorry! Something's come up, Cole." She heard Prue and Leo going down the stairs. "I'm so sorry but I need to go. Can I call you back later?"
There was a brief silence and she bit her lip. Cole was calling her, after what felt like an eternity of him ignoring her, and she had only this lame excuse of something's come up. It was no wonder that none of them could keep a boyfriend who wasn't a part of the supernatural world.
"Yeah, no problem. Call anytime you want. I happen to like the sound of your voice, you know, and I've missed it."
"Sure, I'll call as soon as it's done. Bye!" she put down the phone and turned to face her sisters and their Whitelighter. "Why am I not flirting with Cole right now and have to listen to whatever it is I have to listen to?"
"Something has happened," said Leo simply.
"Something always seems to. What is it this time?" Prue was annoyed, her hair still wet. "This better be urgent, I was getting ready for my date with sleep."
"Well, I wouldn't dream of interrupting your rest, and your flirting, and your work," Leo sighed. "The Elders have sensed a great disturbance in the fabric of reality. It looks like something big, dangerous and extremely powerful has arrived half an hour ago to this time and space."
"This time and space?" repeated Phoebe. "As in...?"
"As in jumping from one reality to another." Leo grimaced. "It's confusing with many factors to consider, but in short: whenever you go back or forward in time and manage to impact your surroundings in a way that wouldn't have been otherwise possible, you split the reality. I suppose that's what our Visitor has done."
"So, somewhere out there is a reality where this Jumper hasn't jumped in time and we live our lives without this newest catastrophe, am I right?" Phoebe mused. In that reality, she was probably happily flirting with Cole and planning another one of those 'wanna get coffee at my place?' dates where no coffee was actually involved.
"Yes."
"Life is not fair," she whined. She would really, really like to have that coffee.
"Let's focus on that Jumper, okay?" Prue decided. "I guess nobody knows why he came and what he is, right? Are we supposed to track him down and find out?"
"Can we really say that the Jumper is a he? What if it's a she?" mused Piper.
"Whatever it is, it interferes with my love life. Let's send it back where it came from," Phoebe grumbled.
"The Elders want you to be extremely careful when dealing with this situation and not to rush into anything. They haven't felt anything like this in a long time. They believe that the Visitor might be one of the most powerful beings to walk the Earth."
The sisters looked at each other and then back at Leo.
"Sure, super careful info gathering, got it."
"Aren't we supposed to, you know, deal with it?"
"I'm not going to sit on my hands and do nothing!"
"It is probable that the situation will sooner or later need you to act," he agreed. "However, we don't know if the Jumper is here to cause any trouble…"
The girls gave him a look as if he had lost his mind. Throwing his hands up, he said, "Oh, maybe, fine! But we should deal first with the threat the Triad poses."
"Could the Jumper be in league with them?"
"Or with Belthazor?"
"Maybe the Triad summoned the Jumper to help them?"
"Girls, girls! Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Belthazor first, the Triad second, the Visitor last."
"Oh, great." Phoebe took the healing balm and applied it to her bruised knuckles. "So, what are we going to do with him? Her? It?"
"Nothing, yet. Just be on your guard."
"The Elders don't want us to actively search for the Jumper?" Prue's voice held a note of disbelief. "Why the hell even tell us about it?"
"They want you to be careful and monitor anything unusual while others search for clues."
"Why not us?" asked Piper.
Leo looked a little pained as he ran a hand through his hair. Phoebe could relate. Being under questioning from her sisters was never a pleasant experience.
"The Power of Three is too valuable to risk for only information gathering. If the Visitor proves to be a threat, you three are the biggest gun the Light side can possibly use without burning the whole world down..."
"Ah, the Elders care. How sweet." Prue grinned and Phoebe knew without any doubt that her oldest sister was not going to sit and wait. Hell, Phoebe was not content to just do nothing when something of such a power entered their dimension.
'I happen to like the sound of your voice, you know, and I've missed it?' Seriously? What was wrong with him? That sounded just so… so… Cole sighed and put down the phone. He had hoped for a longer chat with his wife… Ex-wife… Soon to be his wife again, hopefully. Cole hardly remembered the last time Phoebe was willing to talk to him at all, let alone in a civil manner, and hearing the teasing in her voice brought back sweet memories of the first few months of their relationship.
He smiled as he poured himself a well-deserved glass of whiskey; after the last few hours of time traveling, he deserved a break and a chat with his lovelier half. It seemed he was going to experience those wonderful times again. Phoebe hadn't lived through them, yet, and Cole was ready to cherish every single second of their relationship. Even a hundred live times with her was not enough. And this time around, he would not let anything interfere with their relationship. Not the Triad, not the Source, not the bloody Elders.
"How the hell did you get in?"
Not even his stupid younger self.
Belthazor was standing in the doorway, wearing their human face, and Cole slowly lifted the glass to his lips and smirked. "I'm enjoying my life."
"My, my, I do look quite handsome, don't I?" mused the demon as he slowly stalked inside the room. "But I don't appreciate you wearing my face. You have a second to get lost before I burn you to a crisp."
Cole wondered for a moment if the human half of him loved Phoebe at this point in his life already. He couldn't remember the exact moment – perhaps it had been the very first sight. However, it didn't matter. His younger self was in his way and there couldn't possibly be two of them running around, making life confusing. All things considered, it would be best to bury Belthazor once and for all so that Phoebe would not need to meet him.
"Ah, such a cocky young man," he chuckled and slowly stood up.
"Well, I see someone has already tried their best on that burning to the crisp thing," replied Belthazor.
Cole admitted that he looked slightly singed. Any injury he had sustained through his most uncomfortable journey through time – he had had to claw and tear and crawl through the fabric of reality – had already healed, though. He had literally crashed to into this world in a whirlwind of flames.
"Let's make a deal, Mr. Turner. You kill me and you can continue with your life as if nothing happened. I kill you, and your life is mine. What do you say?" Cole grinned. "I'll make it one worth living. Marry the witch, keep her safe and out of harm's way…"
Ah, his younger self already loved Phoebe, then.
The moment Cole mentioned her, Belthazor threw several energy balls at him rapidly. Apart from unpleasant stinging, it did nothing.
"Ouch, that tickled."
Before Cole could return fire, his younger self shimmered out of the apartment, choosing tactical withdrawal. He knew what Belthazor would do. He would check on Phoebe first and then go to the mausoleum to plot. That's where he would finish him off.
But first things first. He had always reacted badly when cornered, never thinking things through. That's why he had found himself traveling through time, after all.
Cole rolled his shoulders and faded out of the apartment with a clear destination in mind. He couldn't risk his panicked younger self talking to their wife.
AN: Hope this doesn't disappoint... And thank you for you comments, guys. It so good so see someone else loves this pairing, too :)