Chapter six…The Memories

Chapter six…The Memories

"Do you still think about him?" Piper asked her younger sister as they sat in the kitchen drinking their morning cup of coffee.

"I think I always will. Do you still turn around and wonder if maybe Prue will come around that corner and make everything alright?" Phoebe asked in turn. It had been about a month now since they had lost their older sister and it was the first time the subject had been approached.

"Yeah. It's like a bad dream." Piper said sadly.

"One that never ends. I know how you feel." Phoebe agreed.

"It's supposed to get easier. At least that's what everyone says." Piper tried with little success.

"I wish it could have been different." Phoebe said as she tugged at her necklace.

"We shouldn't have lost Cole." Piper agreed. Phoebe looked at her sister surprised. If anything Phoebe would have guessed that it would have been Prue that Piper would have wanted to save. "Prue was ready. You said yourself that she had sounded happy." Piper explained. Phoebe nodded.

"Are you still having those dreams?" Piper asked.

"I didn't know that anyone else noticed." Phoebe said shyly.

"We are both worried about you Pheebs. You didn't just lose a sister you lost your soul mate and that's hard. I know." Piper tried to gain a foothold but phoebe shot her down.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I've gotta run. I promised a friend I'd do something for them." Phoebe said as she hopped up from the table. Piper watched her sister leave and hoped that Phoebe was right.

Phoebe paced the floor of the mausoleum. It was the first time she'd been back here since before…since before he'd gone away. She still couldn't say died.

She'd never noticed how dark and chill it was before.

"Cole…I don't know if you can hear me. If you can, and I hope you can, I need you to know I love you." She started out, "I wish that we could be together. I wish I could undo everything but since I can't I need you to know that I was wrong. I was wrong to do the things that I did. I never should have let you go. I can't begin to justify myself, I know at the time I had my reasons but looking back they seem too insignificant and selfish to do justice to how I acted. I need you to know that I am sorry and that I would do it differently if I had the chance. You'll never know how hard it is for me to say those words." Phoebe sat down by the hole she had made so long ago when she pretended to vanquish him. Knowing that things could never be the same again hurt her but she fought the urge to cry. Instead she rested her head on the ground by the hole and fell asleep.

His injuries had healed now and they let him go wherever he wanted. He wasn't going to kill for them in fact he wasn't going to do anything for them. They were coming to accept that…a little.

Through other demons he had come to learn that Prue was dead and he felt he had to go and check on Piper and pay his respects to Prue. They had been family. Or the closest thing he had had to it in a long time.

So he shimmered to the mausoleum where he found her lying on the floor.

He could have sworn his heart stopped. Maybe hers did to for she jerked awake at the moment his eyes found her. Their eyes locked in wonder.

"Oh Phoebe." He groaned as he rushed over to her and cradled her in his arms. "Is it really you are you really here?" he mumbled into her hair.

"Cole." She mumbled into his chest. "I thought you were…he told me you were…" she continued and pulled away to look into his eyes.

"Dead?" he questioned. At the cloud that passed over and the slight nod he knew that it was what she had thought. "No. I thought you were…Oh phoebe I love you so much. All this time and we were both alone…" she broke him off with a kiss.

Suddenly the mausoleum didn't look so dark and it didn't feel as cold.

"Phoebe I still have to breathe." Cole slightly protested as he pulled away. Phoebe gave him a pouty look and he smile back at her and kissed her again. "Better?" he asked when she pulled away. Tears were running down her cheeks but this time they weren't tears of anger or pain. They didn't clean away any past sin and they didn't hurt as they tumbled down her smooth cheek. Cole kissed them away understanding that they were needed now.

"How is everyone holding up?" He asked after she had finished crying.

"We're pulling through. Some days are harder than others but now that…" she said letting her fingertips dance across his face.

"There were some days I thought I'd never make it but knowing you pulled me through…Phoebe you are the best thing that ever happened to me. Losing you was the worst thing that ever happened to me. You're my everything." He finished choking on the last words as emotion got the better of him. This time she kissed away his tears.

"I'm not losing you again Cole. We can figure this out. I need you too. Now come on." She said pulling him to his feet. "Let's go home."

The End