Disclaimer:
Heaven Can't Wait
Chapter 2
He was very tempted to go there himself, but he realized in time that it probably wouldn't help since none of them had returned. He tried to understand how they could have all been taken so easily, but for now, what really mattered was to find a way to save them, and that left him only one option…
Cole felt a searing pain in the back of his head and it brought back the unpleasant memory of what had happened. He kept his eyes shut a little longer, but a voice that he knew too well, forced him out of it.
"So, you're finally coming back to visit Belthazor."
Cole grimaced and opened his eyes to find himself looking up at the master of the underworld, who was smiling mockingly at him.
The Source lifted his head to look beyond Cole at someone that he couldn't see yet.
"You did good boys… I see that you came around nicely as I told you that you would."
Leo:
"My pleasure," he replied and the tone of his voice gave no illusions to Cole; he was enjoying what he had done.
Cole turned his head in Leo's direction and saw the contented smile on his face. Another man was standing by his side, and Cole assumed that it must have been the one who knocked him unconscious, as well as the friend that Leo had come to "rescue…"
The Source:
"What do you think of my new recruits, Belthazor? I must say that for their first day on the job, they didn't do too bad…"
His laughter sent a chill down Cole' spine.
"I don't know what you've done to them," he said with defiance, "but you won't be able to turn me…"
The Source looked back at him intensely; his glowing red eyes fixed on Cole's:
"You were always too confident my boy. Trust me, when I'm done with you, you will be back with us and ready to get me rid of the Charmed ones for good. Better yet, you will bring me your child as a bonus…"
Cole screamed:
"NEVER!"
The Source continued, as if he had not heard him:
"You are mine, you always were, you always will be…"
Cole sustained his stare, but inwardly he started to fear the worst…
Phoebe had just felt the last contraction and it had been stronger that time. She bit her lip in frustration and her eyes fell on the box containing Coleridge's gift. Resentment mounted in her once more at the unfairness of it all. Why didn't he keep his promise to stay with her?
However, on some level, she knew that her anger was mostly caused by the labor more than anything else. It didn't make it any easier…
She picked up the box and once more opened it to look at the rattle. Until now, she had not even picked it up. It looked so precious and hardly something that she would consider giving to a child, but now she couldn't resist wanting to give it a closer look if only to distract herself from her present situation…
In the kitchen, Piper and Prue were preparing lunch. Piper was becoming impatient. No matter how many times her husband was going away, it still kept her on edge to have to wait without ever knowing when he was coming back. That is why she turned with a bright smile of relief when she heard the chime that announced Leo's return. Her joy was short lived however, as she recognized Cole's father, and his expression did nothing to alleviate her disappointment.
Prue:
"Huh, Hello?"
Coleridge:
"I know that I'm not the one you were expecting, and his absence is the reason why I'm here…"
Piper's heart skipped a beat:
"What is it?" She asked anxiously.
Coleridge stayed silent a moment, trying to figure out how to tell them of what had happened, but try as he may, he couldn't find a way to make it easier for him or for them.
"I'm afraid that he is in trouble. And so is my son…"
Prue:
"What? What's wrong?" She questioned rapidly.
Coleridge:
"I'm not sure how to tell you this but, well I believe there isn't an easy way. Leo and Cole are apparently stuck in the underworld and it's all my fault," he added guiltily.
The pain was easily readable in his expression and that, more than anything he said, scared the girls.
Piper:
"How could Leo be in the underworld? He has no one to take care of in that place, he has no business down there." She exclaimed angrily.
Coleridge answered calmly in spite of his agitation:
"He had a good reason, but now they all need rescuing."
Prue:
"Am I to understand that you asked your son to go get Leo?"
Coleridge:
"I'm afraid so, yes… And I realize now that it was a mistake."
In their present state of mind, Phoebe' scream had them all jump.
Prue was the first one to run toward the living room, soon followed by the others.
In the underworld, the scenery had changed considerably. Cole, Leo and Jeremy were all standing in front of the Source. They all seemed to be awaiting his orders.
The Source looked at them in turn with a satisfied expression.
"I told you that none of you could resist my spell."
Cole:
"I should say thank you, as a matter of fact. Never felt better…"
He had said it with a smile, utterly unconcerned about what had brought him to this point, apparently.
The Source addressed his next comment directly at him:
"Well Belthazor, I think that I will leave to you the task of training the new recruits, since you seem to be back to your old self, at last."
Cole:
"I'll be glad to take care of this. What did you have in mind?"
The Source:
"I believe that you can find a suitable target for their initiation?"
Cole' smile widened:
"I really think that I can manage."
The Source lifted his hand in sign of dismissal:
"Then be on your way, they need to be ready for the battle that is soon to come."
Cole just bowed in acquiescence and shimmered, followed by the two new darklighters. The three of them rematerialized in the field, where Cole had left his father earlier, but of him he found no trace. He showed some sign of irritation at this.
"Hum, as usual, not one to be trusted to stick around…"
Then he turned to the other two:
"No matter, any target will do for a first try, now will it?"
Leo:
"Just make it soon…"
Phoebe had barely touched the rattle, when the vision started:
'There were three men standing in an alley, and she immediately recognized Cole and Leo. Another man was with them, one that she had never seen before. Cole suddenly shimmered in front of them, his back to them and seemingly talking to a homeless person crouching in the corner. In her mind's eye, she saw the unknown man throw a knife in his direction and it entered his back at chest level. In an instant, he burst into flames, his body disintegrated.'
It was too much for her and she started screaming crazily. She was still crying and screaming when her sisters came to her side. Prue quickly wrapped her arm around her, trying to calm her down. It took a long moment before Phoebe could say a word.
Prue:
"Phoebe, what is it? Is it the baby? Come on, you're scaring me!"
Phoebe finally managed to look up at both her sisters and only then did she notice Coleridge there. The anger that she had felt earlier, flared again:
"You! What have you done? Where is Cole?"
Her tone of voice was so harsh, that Cole's father felt like she had hit him. Nevertheless, she couldn't be angrier with him than he was.
All he could say was:
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"
Phoebe still didn't know what he really was sorry about, but she was convinced that he was at least in part responsible for what she had seen in her vision, and forgiveness was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment. The thought of it brought back the pain that she had felt and she finally turned to Prue:
"I had a vision," she begun in a strangled voice, "Leo and another man…"
She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence just yet, since what she was about to say seemed so implausible, but Prue insisted:
"Come on, tell us."
Phoebe took a deep breath, then continued:
"They were killing him, they were killing him…"
She had to stop as another contraction swept over her. Her sisters didn't realized what it was though, as they thought that she stopped because of the emotion. After a few seconds, she managed to continue:
"In my vision, Leo and this other man, they were killing Cole…" Her voice trailed off and she burst into tears again.
They were running down her cheeks freely and she didn't even try to wipe them off. Piper stared at her sister, totally disbelieving:
"Phoebe, you can't be serious, Leo would never hurt anyone, not unless he had to…" She added, the meaning of this, very clear to everyone present.
Phoebe just stared at her sister with barely contained anger…
Prue:
"That's not possible." She added in a small voice, unable to comprehend any of this…
However, when she looked back toward Coleridge, his expression left no doubts that he did.
She then stood up and planted herself firmly in front of him, demanding an answer:
"Talk!"
Coleridge felt somewhat insulted by her insolence, but he knew how much they hurt, so he chose to ignore her disrespect:
"I'm afraid that the Source may have found a spell or potion that could turn even the best of us to evil. The good news is that I'm convinced Leo didn't commit any true evil yet…"
Prue:
"And how can you be so sure, since you seem to assume that he is evil…"
Coleridge:
"I cannot be certain of course, but it is possible that they all were. Maybe what you saw," he said turning to Phoebe, "was more of a power struggle between them."
Then he continued for Phoebe:
"Do you know where and when this will take place?"
Phoebe bit her lip in despair, for she couldn't be sure of when. For all she knew, it had already happened and this thought was like a knife twisting inside her.
"I don't know when," she answered in a broken voice, "but I'm sure that I can find where, we have to go now, before it is too late…"
Prue:
"Wait, you haven't answered my question yet," she asked Coleridge again. "How can you be so sure that Leo didn't commit any evil."
Coleridge:
"Because if he had, hell would have broken loose already… If he commits one act of true evil, the skies will part and the demons will gain access to the heavens… We have to hurry indeed, but stopping him now will not be enough, we need something to reverse the spell."
Piper found her voice, now that they were at least talking about saving them, not killing them:
"Phoebe, remember the potion that you made for Cole, could I prepare it?"
This had happened so long ago that she had to strain to remember what she was talking about, besides, she could feel the next contraction coming and she didn't want them to find out that she was in labor, not yet at least. They would never let her come if they knew.
"I think that I put the recipe in the BoS, next to the Belthazor page…"
Piper didn't wait for more and ran upstairs.
Prue:
"What if it's not enough?"
Coleridge:
"Maybe you could ask your friend the wizard for help? If anyone can reverse that spell, it's him…"
Phoebe told Prue where she was convinced that her premonition would take place, and Prue ran to call Paul."
Coleridge and Phoebe were left alone but she barely acknowledged his presence, because of how angry she was of course, but also because she was trying to control the pain.
However, she soon realized that she might have fooled her sisters but not him…
"How long have you been in labor?" He asked almost matter of fact like.
Phoebe was even more upset at him for finding her out, but all she could do was to ask him not to tell her sisters just yet.
Coleridge again:
"Don't worry, if you think that it isn't time yet, I'll keep it to myself. However, you should not risk your infant's life. Cole wouldn't want that…"
Phoebe:
"How would you know what he'd want? You barely know him at all," she spat. She regretted it immediately, seeing how much what she said hurt him, but she couldn't bring herself to apologize, not now.
In a slightly calmer tone of voice, she continued:
"I won't put the baby at risk, but I have to be there. I have to be sure that Cole is safe…"
Coleridge simply said:
"I know."
The three men materialized in a remote alley. Leo turned toward Cole, angry:
"I thought that we were supposed to find a target and get it over with… I had never figured you for a procrastinator. I thought that they said you were the most vile of demons…"
Cole just gave him an icy stare. Leo, even in his present evil state, found it hard to keep staring back.
"I will have you know that there is more to it than just killing… What matters most is to not be found out. If that ever happened, your life would not be worth much anymore, that is of course, if one considers it of any value now."
Leo sneered at him but didn't reply.
Jeremy on the other hand, seemed to have had enough.
"No matter what you say, you better find it soon or I'll start thinking that you are stalling on purpose…"
Cole turned his icy look toward him:
"Think what you want, but consider this, I have killed many in my life, on either side of this little war, and one more would not be a problem at all for me. Besides, do you really think that the Source would believe you over me?"
Jeremy reacted to the last statement by taking a reluctant step back. Then Cole went ahead and scouted the place, apparently looking for what they wanted. In the end though, he just turned to them and signaled that they had to go elsewhere. The two darklighters looked at each other, unhappy, but followed nevertheless.
Piper had worked, as fast as she could and finally the potion was ready. Prue had not been able to reach Paul as of yet. He seemed to be out of range. Even as they ran out the door, she continued trying to call him…
Coleridge wanted to orb ahead, but the girls told him that he could do nothing useful besides getting himself hurt. He had to agree with this reluctantly.
For Phoebe, it was now becoming increasingly difficult to hide her labor from her sisters but Coleridge had helped somewhat, by alleviating the pain. He couldn't take it all away, as he said, it was the natural process, but he could make it more tolerable. For this she was grateful.
In the car, he sat beside her and helped her through the painful trip, but the pain seemed nothing compared to her fear of being too late…
The three men finally arrived in the alley that Phoebe had seen in her vision. Cole spotted the homeless man immediately, but seemed not to pay attention to him. Jeremy moved closer and angrily told him:
"What about him? It seems like a perfect choice. No one is around…"
Cole looked calmly in his direction:
"Why don't we make sure of that first," he answered with contempt.
Jeremy:
"I have had enough of this, I'm ready to kill him and you won't stop me."
Cole lifted his hand as if to hit him, but Jeremy backed away and materialized a knife in his right hand. Cole seeing that he was going to make his move, shimmered in front of the homeless and told him in a commanding tone of voice:
"Run, run now if you want to live…"
The man looked up at him, uncomprehending, so Cole repeated impatiently:
"Run, go now!"
He had just about time to hear the screeching noise of the car coming to an abrupt stop before he felt the knife entering his back. It wasn't so much the pain as the surprise that entered his mind in that instant. He could feel his heart bursting, and all he could think of was what he would miss. Phoebe and the baby… In the last moment, he thought he heard her scream his name, but he didn't even get to look back as everything went dark. He didn't feel the flames consuming his body…
All throughout these events, no one noticed a strange being of light standing back, whom had been observing what had transpired. He had stayed immobile through the attack, but when the knife hit Cole, the being had started moving in his direction, then vanished.
Phoebe tried to run to Cole, screaming hysterically now. She couldn't believe that he was dead. But Coleridge held on to her. Even through his grief, he couldn't risk letting her get hurt by one of the other two, for many reasons… Thankfully, it had been Jeremy who had thrown the knife making this tragedy a personal one, not the catastrophe it could have been if Leo had done it. At least for now. Piper didn't hesitate and froze both of them on the spot but tears ran down her cheeks as well. All of them were under the shock of what had just happened. They had been too late and now there was nothing that they could do to repair this…
While Piper and Prue went closer to the two frozen darklighters, Phoebe finally stopped fighting Coleridge, and he realized that she had fallen unconscious in his arms. In a way, he thought that it was a blessing for her. The pain was so great in him, and he could only imagine what she must have felt.
Piper threw the potion at them, hoping that it would be enough as Paul was still unreachable. Then, she held her sister's hand tight, hoping that this, at least, would work as they had planned, and she unfroze them.
Unfortunately, it was immediately apparent to them that they had failed. Leo looked at Piper with scorn, then taking his companion's arm, he vanished along with him.
Piper fell into her sister's arms, crying uncontrollably. "How could everything have gone so wrong, she thought. Just this morning everything was so wonderful and now, it had all gone to hell…"
Prue's thoughts mirrored her sister's, but she couldn't let herself lose control just yet. The grief would have to come later; just now they still had the world to save. While holding on to her crying sister, she again tried to reach Paul and this time, he answered. She proceeded to tell him what had transpired with a strained voice. Then she insisted that he came at once, as they still had to stop Leo before he did something irreversible. She hung up and Paul appeared beside them almost immediately. He took the scene at once, trying to stay calm for them, as he saw that they were all almost hysterical at this point. Prue was still putting a good front but he knew her by now, and understood that she grieved as much as them even though it didn't look that way.
Now they were turning back toward Phoebe and Coleridge, but Prue became horrified when she noticed something that the others had not until now. Coleridge had let Phoebe lie down on the ground, keeping her head in his lap, but he had not seen what Prue saw. A pool of blood was forming underneath her.
She ran toward them, now totally overwhelmed. Her expression alerted Coleridge who finally noticed what was happening as well.
"Oh no!" He just exclaimed.
Prue was now screaming at him:
"I won't lose her too, bring her to the hospital right now!"
The grief stricken father bowed his head in agreement and immediately orbed Phoebe out of the alley without another word.
Prue had to take a few deep breaths, as all of this was becoming too much to bear. Only the need to be strong for her sisters kept her going. Paul squeezed her arm in sympathy and she took courage in that gesture. Then she turned to Piper, trying to shake her into action.
"Come on Piper, if we want to save him, we have to find him first. Paul, do you think that you can reverse the spell?"
Paul:
"I hope so, that is all I can tell you."
Prue grimaced but she couldn't reproach this to him as they themselves had failed.
She continued:
"How are we going to find them?"
Paul:
"Let me try, I think that I can feel where they went if you give me a moment…"
She nodded in agreement and Paul moved to the spot the darklighters had just vacated.
The Source had witnessed what had happened with growing anger. His demon's death had made him growl so loud that the guards had taken a step back in fear. For an instant, he considered calling the darklighters back to him and to take his revenge on the spot. However, he decided that the prize he was expecting from them was worth waiting a little to have his pound of flesh. He still promised himself that they would not survive this.
When he could think more clearly, something else started to bother him… Where was Belthazor's soul? He could not believe for an instant that the Elders would have taken a demon's soul in their realm, even if it had been obvious that he had failed in turning him back…
Jeremy and Leo decided to stay put for a while, shook by the latest events. Leo was very angry with Jeremy.
"How could you? The Source will destroy us for sure now…"
Jeremy:
"Not if we give him what he wants…"
Leo:
"I don't know," he then hesitated, "it looked to me like Belthazor meant a lot more to him than we even thought."
Jeremy:
"Don't be stupid, he was just a demon like any other. The Source will collect his soul and move on with his plans. If we help him, he will reward us."
Leo tried very hard to convince himself that it was the case. In his evil state, self-preservation was his main concern. The next one being to get to kill, as he was positively hitching to do it. Not for a moment, did he wonder how this could be…
The Elders had finally wised up to what was happening and were preparing to summon Coleridge, as he would have to answer for his actions. However, something interrupted them. A voice seemingly coming from everywhere at once, resounded in their chamber:
"I have to intercede for a lost soul that I rescued," the voice began. "This will be my first message, but hopefully not the last. I beg of you to listen to me. I cannot help you with the problem that you are facing now, but if you agree to my request, I can give you a champion that will help defend your world."
The three beings of light looked around the chamber in total bewilderment. Who dared enter their world uninvited, were they thinking. And yet, they knew instinctively that it was not an enemy but a friend addressing them, and they agreed to listen…
Coleridge had discreetly orbed in a corner near the hospital, and then he had run inside carrying his precious burden. The pain of losing his son was now compounded by the fear of losing her and the baby. Nevertheless, rather than putting him down, it galvanized him into action and he entered the hospital in haste, going straight to the emergency room and screaming at the first person that he recognized as a nurse. Close to panic now, he demanded that she indicated him where to bring his daughter in law so that she would be taken care of immediately. The nurse saw the blood soaked clothes and the obvious pregnancy, so she didn't hesitate to direct the whitelighter toward the nearest room. For the next hour, doctors and nurses worked non-stopped to save the mother and her child…
Paul seemed to have trouble getting a fix on the darklighters and he supposed that they were moving around a lot. Probably trying to escape not only them, but possibly also the Source. He was convinced that killing Cole had not been part of the plan. But what was done was, and now what mattered was to salvage what they could of this disaster. He finally managed to feel them and turned rapidly toward the sisters.
He simply said:
"I found them."
Prue:
"Let me come with you." Then turning to Piper, "I will bring him back to you, I promise. For now, I think that you should go to the hospital. There is no point in all of us going there since Paul is the only one who can stop them…"
Piper agreed reluctantly, but she watched them disappear and stood in the same spot for a long time before forcing herself to get to the car and drive away.
A bright flash of light had just become visible for an instant in the same corner where Coleridge had orbed earlier…
Phoebe could hear loud noises surrounding her and the pain was coming back as well, but the nightmare was what really upset her. Over and over, as she was waking up, she could see the love of her life dying in front of her and she kept hoping that it only was a nightmare…
That is when she heard a voice in her head:
"I promise you, everything will be alright, you must trust this."
The voice was soothing and even though she had no idea where it had come from, she was almost tempted to believe it. However when she opened her eyes, she met Coleridge's and the pain that she saw in them confirmed that it had not been just a nightmare and her own pain returned stronger if possible. The doctors had been preparing to deliver the baby by cesarean if necessary, as Phoebe had remained unconscious throughout the last hour, but now they were hopeful that she could give birth naturally after they had stopped the bleeding.
Her eyes filled with tears again as she was staring back at Cole's father and he squeezed her hand in sympathy. At this moment she knew that they shared the same grief and without a word she understood that it had brought them closer. She even forgave him then, as she knew that he had never meant for Cole to get hurt, far from.
The doctor was asking her if she felt strong enough to be moved to the delivery room.
She turned toward him, uncertain but still acquiesced. The pain in her back was returning, stronger than ever and she was now convinced that the baby was almost there.
Prue and Paul materialized behind the two darklighters just as they were about to strike. An old man was cowering away from them, and Paul used one of his protection spells to prevent his death. It had been very close. Prue tkd the darklighters away from the old man and he opened wide eyes wondering if those newcomers were not just as dangerous as the one they had just sent flying away. He didn't wait to see and started running away, as fast as he could.
Paul didn't lose any time and started toward the two men, as he feared that they might escape again if he didn't hurry. He used another spell to keep them from vanishing and then came close to Leo, who tried to fight his way out, but Paul held on firmly to his arms and muttered a long spell which seemed to paralyze Leo in place from the moment Paul started the chant. Jeremy tried to intervene as well but Prue tkd him again. As soon as Paul finished the chant, Leo looked at him, ashamed and floored by what he had done… Prue sighed in relief. However, Jeremy wasn't going to be saved. The source again saw what was happening and he broke Paul' spell to recall the wayward lighter into his realm. Jeremy found himself kneeling in front of the Source who was seething with rage. In that last moment, before he was consumed by the Source's power, he remembered why he had come to this place. He had not found her, only pain in here. But right then, he saw her and in her eyes, he thought that he saw sorrow. Then it was all over…
Leo couldn't believe that he had turned evil not even with a spell but what did him in, was when he remembered what Jeremy had done. He almost fell to the ground, just imagining the pain that they have caused.
Prue tried to tell him that he had not been responsible for his action, that it all was the Source's doing but it really wasn't helping much at the moment.
Prue:
"I know that this is all very difficult but right now we have to think of Phoebe. She is the one who will suffer the most about all this, and right now she needs us, all of us," she added, holding out her hand for him to take.
He hesitated then he took it. The three of them magically went to the hospital as well.
Phoebe was now in too much pain to think of anything else. The contractions were coming faster than she even thought possible, one starting when the last one finished. But at this point, she almost welcomed the pain as it kept her from thinking of her grief.
The voice was still in her mind, still assuring her that everything would be fine, but she barely heard it. The next wave of pain came and she almost crushed Piper's hand, whom had arrived earlier and insisted to be present. Coleridge had stayed as well, even if he was a little embarrassed by the delivery. In his time, men were not allowed to enter for the birth of their child, and he couldn't help but thinking that it had been a sensible thing back then. Yet, he still stood by her, taking his son's place by her side. He was so concentrated on helping her, holding her shoulders as she was asked to push now, that he almost jumped out of his skin, when someone tapped his shoulder.
He was not going to turn toward the intruder however, but then the voice almost made him let go of Phoebe.
"I'll take over from here…"
Piper had heard this as well and she barely contained a scream when she saw who had spoken.
Coleridge turned around to find his son, very much alive. Cole just took him aside kindly and approached Phoebe. The pain was blinding her and she barely noticed the change in partner until she could open her eyes again. Then she gasped, almost losing consciousness again.
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and when she couldn't say a word, he whispered:
"I promised you that I'd be here… I always keep my promises."
She managed to smile for a short moment before the pain returned, but she still heard the voice in her mind telling her:
"I told you that everything would be fine, mother…"
These were the last words that she heard from him before the doctor finally announced his birth.
"It's a boy," he said joyously, and Phoebe fell back in Cole's arm, barely believing in her good fortune but unwilling to question it just right now. She saw tears of joy in his eyes and the pride that he felt at being a father. The nurse brought the baby to them after wrapping him in a blanket and they couldn't believe how small and delicate he was. Phoebe took him in her arms, tears of joy also coming now. Her family was complete, at last.
Cole:
"Thank you."
The others had been asked to wait outside and received the news from a nurse coming out of the delivery room. They were still unaware of the other miracle but expressed their joy that the birth had gone well.
Paul:
"Well it is wonderful, a little boy…"
Prue:
"I'm only happy that it all went well, no matter what the gender is…"
Leo couldn't bring himself to participate in the joy as his remorse was eating at him.
Inside, the doctor asked the family to leave the room as they had to finish up with a few details but Phoebe insisted that Cole stayed, as she was afraid that he was only an illusion and didn't want to lose sight of him even for an instant. They abided by this but asked that everyone else leave.
Outside, Piper was in for another nice surprise when she saw her husband back to his old self, albeit much worse for wear. But she soon reassured him that he should not be too hard on himself.
"I know that it will be hard to believe, I saw him and I still can't believe it but well, Cole is alive…"
Prue:
"What!"
Coleridge:
"It's true, he is with Phoebe right now…"
Prue:
"But that's impossible, we all saw him die…"
Leo almost smiled:
"You mean, we didn't kill him?"
Piper:
"I was there, if he didn't die, he gave a big show of it…"
Prue:
"Then how?"
Piper:
"Your guess is as good as mine. I'm confounded…"
Then she continued pensively:
"Unless, it's like mother and they let him come for this day, but he was supposed to be in hell, and I don't think that they cared much about the birth of his child there…"
Prue suddenly noticed that Paul was keeping quiet and smiled happily looking back at the delivery room. He was the only one who didn't seem overly surprised.
"Paul?"
He looked back at her, still smiling:
"It happened," he simply said, "as it was foreseen."
Inside the room, Phoebe was still looking incredulously from the baby now in the bassinet by her bed to her husband back from the dead.
She finally could bring herself to ask him how, when she was sure that no one else could hear:
"How are you here? What happened?"
Cole:
"To be honest, I haven't the faintest idea. One moment, I was dying and the next, I was standing in front of the hospital…"
Phoebe:
"Just like that?"
Cole:
"I really don't know what else to tell you. Except that I feel different somehow. I can't tell you what it is, but it's different."
Phoebe felt a cramp in her stomach right then and she grimaced in pain. He put his hand on hers, and his glowed for a short instant but she felt better immediately and she looked at him, astonished.
"Wow," she mouthed, "what was that?"
He really couldn't tell as he was just as surprised as she was. He never had the power to heal until then…
"Phoebe, I think that I should talk to Leo, since he is back…"
Phoebe pulled him to her holding his face; she needed to feel him. Nevertheless, she agreed after a moment that he needed to clarify the situation and after kissing him, she let him go.
Prue and Leo, still incredulous, opened wide eyes when he came out of the room, as it was now obvious that it was all too true.
"Well, I'll have seen everything… How does it feel to be back from the dead?"
Cole smiled slyly:
"Pretty good actually, although I didn't really have a chance to ponder this much…"
Then he turned to Leo with a frown:
"Do you think that your bosses might have gone a little overboard and made me a whitelighter?"
Leo's mouth dropped:
"What makes you think that," he exclaimed at last.
Cole:
"Well, I never was able to heal anyone before…"
Leo:
"And you did?"
Cole:
"Yes, and it also felt pretty good, although I never envisioned myself as an angel…"
He said this with a little nervous laugh. It sounded so incongruous to him.
Paul:
"I don't think that you're that kind of angel…"
Cole turned to him, interested:
"What do you mean?"
Paul:
"Your son gave me a message for you. He told me that you had been chosen as a warrior for good. That is a great honor, not too many of your kind around anymore. An Archangel…"
Cole:
"Oh, that might explain that I don't feel all that different after all."
Paul:
"Yes it would…"
Prue:
"What does that mean?"
Paul:
"It just means that from now on, you won't ever see Belthazor again, unless," he added for Cole, " you do something to lose this new status…"
Cole:
"I won't."
Paul:
"I sure hope so, because your ascension paves the way for ours…"
Cole just smiled at this and returned to Phoebe as promised. He looked at his son with renewed astonishment. He was so tiny and yet so powerful. But it wasn't what mattered at the moment. All that did was resumed in one phrase:
"Everything is going to be just fine from now on."
Phoebe smiled at this, and they turned lovingly to their son, Jason…
End of Chapter 2.