The Wings of Love
Chapter XII
As the whitish light dissipated, Cole found himself sitting in the airliner again. Outside, the storm was still going, but gave signs of waning. Uncertain, he peered closely, half expecting fighter planes to be on their tail. However, he could see nor hear nothing besides the thunder and lightning outside. Phoebe was watching him curiously, but as he was preparing to try and explain what had happened, he heard something that surprised him anew.
"Richard, you're so romantic!"
"Me? Nah… I just feel lucky to have you…"
Cole turned to see the old lady bending toward an old Richard and kissing him tenderly. When she pulled back, he recognized Amelia, but was even more stunned when she turned to him, smiling softly.
"Thank you," she simply said, deepening Cole's surprise. Phoebe, who still didn't know exactly what had transpired, questioned warily.
"What are you thanking him for?"
A smiling Richard answered this:
"For restoring what had been lost, thank you too."
Phoebe frowned at this and turned to Cole for an explanation. Instead, this one questioned the old couple:
"How did you?"
"It doesn't matter," Richard continued calmly. "It's enough for you to know that we're very grateful."
He grabbed Amelia's hand at this and brought it to his lips.
Leo was coming toward them and hesitated when he recognized Richard. He almost turned back, but Richard and Amelia seemed to have sensed his approach. Indeed, Richard twisted around in his seat while telling Leo:
"And thanks to you as well, my old friend."
Leo watched him uncertainly.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Oh come on, Leo. I couldn't fail to recognize my best friend from the old days. I missed you…"
Leo was dumbfounded and still tried to deny.
"You're mistaking me for someone else…"
Amelia gazed at him in turn, just as amazingly unconcerned:
"Don't worry, Leo, your secret's safe with us. We know all about you. About all of you," she added, while looking at each in turn. "But none of this matters."
"Pardon me for asking," Cole asked then, "but I'd still like to know what you mean…"
"You should know," Richard pursued. "Just now, as well as all those years ago, you helped us. Thanks to this, Amelia and I stayed together."
Phoebe frowned anew, but this time, a slight understanding seemed to dawn on her.
"Wait…I seem to remember something…just wait," she said, as she concentrated. Then she, as well as Piper, opened wide eyes.
"What?" They both exclaimed at the same time.
Amelia and Richard just nodded in acquiescence, while the girls still tried to grasp the incredible truth.
Then, Phoebe's expression turned slightly reproachful as she glanced back at Cole:
"What did you do?"
"Me? Why do you assume it's me?"
"Cole," she grumbled warningly. However, this one squirmed without replying. Instead, he pretended to become absorbed in Leo's exchange with the old couple:
"I seem to remember things differently now," this one said, when he finally understood that there was no point in denying who he was to them.
"Yes, I also do," Richard uttered calmly. Then he pursued:
"After what you'd done for us, we got back to France safely. Although, we still had a close call with our own air force on the way, if you remember."
"Yes, they tried to shot us down, and we had to land on a country road. Very unnerving…" Leo added with the beginning of a smile forming.
"Yes…and then, when we arrived in France, we got married almost immediately, in a double ceremony with Lilian and you…"
"Yeah," Leo pursued, now smiling frankly, "and I remember that you were less jittery than I was and that we had a good laugh about it…"
"I did admit that you'd been right all along, didn't I?"
Richard became slightly embarrassed then, as he looked behind Leo toward Piper:
"I'm sorry… Mrs Wyatt, I presume? I didn't mean to be rude…"
Piper grimaced, as the mention of Leo's ex-wife had indeed made her uncomfortable, but she still smiled weakly at Richard afterward:
"No it's ok, it's all in the past…well… now it is," she added, somewhat confused by all the flooding memories.
"So, it worked," Cole added, mostly for himself. Richard heard however, and turned to him.
"Yeah, it did. And we're very thankful."
Although Cole appreciated this gratefulness, it also embarrassed him somewhat. Therefore, to hide his discomfort, he asked about the rest:
"I'm curious…did you remember everything then?"
"For a short while… But long enough for me to knock Clint out after we'd safely landed." He looked back at Amelia with an amused smile, and she slapped him affectionately on the shoulder.
"Good thing you forgave me…" As he turned back toward Cole, he added:
"Until a moment ago, I'd never told her why, so she was understandably upset at the time."
"Why didn't you," she asked, although obviously amused.
"Well, now it doesn't sound so crazy. But at the time, I feared that you'd write me off as certifiable. I still couldn't let him get away with it, though…"
Cole couldn't help adding:
"Good for you."
Phoebe stared at Cole questioningly, but he dismissed it.
"Long story," he said quickly.
Phoebe watched him a moment longer. Then, she asked hesitantly:
"Does it have anything to do with these letters you were talking about? Oh never mind," she said, shrugging. Instead, she questioned Richard further.
"So, what happened next?"
"Next?" Richard asked uncertainly.
"Well, I mean like, did you ever see Werner again," she pursued, as she remembered the big man fondly.
"Oh yes! As a matter of fact, he came to the States the next year. Said something about being tired of playing the idiot with his own family and also being fed up with the general attitudes of people around him. At first, he was upset with me for the young girl, who's name was Rita, by the way…" Richard added, as a shadow crossed his features at the memory. Then, he smiled again.
"But it got better, and he became godfather to her first daughter, whom we gave the same name…He also raised the other kids with that nurse, the one who'd been infatuated with Clint. Seems they'd met briefly in his hometown, and when he came to rejoin us, they saw each other again and hit it off."
Paige, who had not really participated in the conversation till then, exclaimed:
"That big man?"
Amelia smiled in her direction:
"In spite of his size, he was a gentle man. They were very happy."
"So what happened of her thing with Clay…huh…Clint?"
Richard answered this:
"I think that in time, she pegged him for what he was… a weasel…"
"Richard!" Amelia exclaimed in turn, "you shouldn't speak ill of him. It was long ago… Water under the bridge… if you see what I mean?"
"Ok, you're right, I shouldn't be like this…"
He smiled at her gently and for a while, they seemed to forget about the people around them. Outside the plane, the last of the storm was dissipating at last, and they could see a clear sky returning. Even as the sky turned blue, Leo's expression seemed to darken as he watched the old couple.
Amelia and Richard turned one last time toward them with soft smiles, and then, they slowly vanished, as if they had never been there.
Somewhere in a cemetery, two tombstones stood side by side. On it were the names Clint and Amelia Larsen. A shimmering seemed to cross over the tombstones, and afterward, the names had changed to Richard and Amelia Tanner. The year of their death read 1992… On a plate that stood between the two graves, a message read as follow:
"They were taken from us too suddenly, but we'll remember them always for all the love they gave to us."
Back in the plane, the girls and Cole turned to Leo questioningly, even as the other passengers seemed to be coming out of their apparent lethargy. Leo was shaken and seemed stuck in place for a moment. Piper, realizing that they were rather conspicuous, tapped on his shoulder lightly, which reminded him that they were still standing in the alley. Shaking himself, he directed Piper toward the seats the old couple just left, and then sat beside her. Piper was watching him curiously and she also seemed preoccupied by something. Leo noticed her worried expression, but he didn't feel like asking what bothered her as he guessed what it was.
Instead, he answered the others' silent question:
"They passed away ten years ago…" he said, as his voice trailed and he seemed lost in thoughts again. "I remember it all now. Both timelines… That's very freaky…"
"What is," Cole questioned, "I mean besides what we just went through…"
"In the original timeline," Leo began, "Clint and Amelia died in a plane crash on this very route… So did Richard and Amelia, in the present one…I think that somehow, they were waiting for some kind of resolution, and it may just have come in the form of a little magical push," he added for Cole.
"Hey, who said that was it? There might be a lot of other explanations," he protested mildly, as he sensed Phoebe's reproachful stare.
"You promised, Cole…"
"Well, like Leo just said, it did some good…" he trailed.
Phoebe was still not too happy, as she sat back and ostensibly looked down at Jason.
"Hum…"
"Phoebe…" he pleaded with a frown.
"Why don't we talk about this later?" She interrupted then without even looking at him.
Cole stifled a dejected sigh, and turned his attention back to Leo:
"So, you're saying that we went through all this so that ghosts got back together?"
"They still got a very long and happy life together after the war. I don't know about Clint though, so don't ask. I now remember that Richard became a writer, and that besides a relatively successful book about the war, he also wrote thrillers."
"Wow, hard to imagine him as a writer…"
"I guess that Amelia wasn't too fond of him going off all the time as a pilot. He still flew for fifteen years before he settled down as a novelist."
"Huh, Leo… Weren't you like tempted to change something else in the past," Cole asked then, obviously referring to the whitelighter's untimely death.
"As you said back at the airfield, this was all some weird paradox. I didn't remember a thing about the particulars until the moment we came out of it…and even if I had, I don't know that I'd have changed anything."
Piper finally addressed her own concerned, as the others got lost in their reminiscence.
"Are you sure that you don't regret, Leo? You seemed very much in love with…Lilian." She finished hesitantly.
Leo turned to her with a shocked expression:
"Piper, you don't think that I regret our life together, do you? I mean, Lilian is part of the past. You and our baby are my life now…"
"Still, as long as I didn't know how much you loved her, it wasn't so hard to kind of forget about it."
Leo wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders:
"Piper, I won't lie to you and tell you that I didn't love her…But, this happened a long time ago. I love you and you alone, I assure you."
Piper was already smiling weakly when a new arrival stopped her. Leo followed her gaze to find the blond whitelighter standing by their side.
"Leo! The Elders were wondering about you."
"Well, it's a long story," Leo said, obviously very embarrassed, which did nothing to reassure Piper.
"What are you doing here anyway? Don't you think it's rather reckless of you to show up here?"
"It's ok. No one saw me coming. The Elders wanted me to check up on you…And besides, I needed some advice about a charge…"
"Lilian, you know perfectly well that I'm not on call right now…"
The blond woman flinched, but never as badly as Piper.
"Leo? Who's she?"
Leo slowly looked back toward Piper, and then hesitantly answered:
"Huh… Don't you recognize her? You've met her once…"
"Is this really who I think it is? Your wife?"
Lilian interjected:
"You don't have to worry, Piper. It was a long time ago…"
Piper stared at the girl with obvious uncertainty.
"I seemed to remember you looking much older…"
"Oh that. Well, I was given a choice for my appearance, and frankly, I prefer the way I looked when I was younger…"
Lilian seemed genuinely unconcerned, but Piper couldn't help resenting her, and mostly Leo for not telling her who she was before.
"Piper," this one said, "I'd have told you…"
"When exactly?"
"I was just waiting for the right moment…" he trailed unhappily.
Just then, Lilian seemed to realize that her presence was more of a burden than a help.
"Huh, well, I'll be going… but the Elders sure would like to know what happened, Leo. As soon as possible…"
"What's the big emergency?"
"This plane was supposed to have crashed originally…"
Cole couldn't help overhearing this, and he quickly saw the implication:
"Really?" he said with a vindicated smile…
Even Phoebe's pointed look didn't make a dent in his self-satisfied mood.
Leo shook his head almost dejectedly at the sight, while Lilian watched them uncomprehendingly for a few more seconds. Then, she simply left, after she made Leo promise to orb up as soon as he could.
Piper had just finished putting their clothes away when Leo orbed in the hotel room. They had only been in Paris for a few hours, and already he had broken his promise to stay with her. Although Piper understood that it might have been necessary, she couldn't help wondering about his motivation. She knew deep down that it was ridiculous, yet no amount of reasoning could stop her from wondering if his eagerness to go up there had more to do with his ex wife than the Elders.
"You're back…" Piper said but without the enthusiasm that he had expected.
"What? Too long? I tried to keep it as short as I could, but they asked to have a word with Cole as well and…"
"Wow, you're telling me?"
"Huh no… Just that I wanted you to understand I didn't stay that long for any other reason…"
"Ah…"
"Look Piper, I know you're upset about Lilian."
"Can we please keep her out of the conversation? I'm not in the mood to talk about your ex wife…"
"See, I knew you'd be upset."
Until that moment, Piper had barely looked at him, but this provoked a stronger reaction.
"And why wouldn't I be? You kept it from me. You must've felt there was something wrong with it…"
"I knew you'd see things that weren't there. I'm only helping her through the transition."
"Couldn't they find someone else to do it? Why did it have to be you?"
"Piper…how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not in love with her anymore. I love you. Nothing's gonna change that."
Leo tried to go to her, but Piper wasn't quite ready yet.
"I need some time by myself, Leo."
"Didn't you have enough? I've just been gone for a few hours. I was hoping that we could start those vacations like now."
"And we shall…"
Piper sighed before pursuing:
"I'm sorry honey. Maybe I'm being a little too emotional right now, but…"
"You do believe that I love you, don't you?"
"Yes…Yes, of course I do. Just give me a little more time…"
Leo frowned hesitantly.
"Alright, then… I'll be downstairs…" he said, as he gave her one last longing look and went out of the room.
Cole flashed in their room and didn't see Phoebe at first. He wondered for a moment, until he saw her coming in from the adjacent room. She held Jason and didn't seem to have noticed his return.
"Phoebe."
"Cole…" Phoebe said without looking up.
Cole frowned at her lack of enthusiasm, but he dismissed it, as he felt like unloading about his visit to the Elders:
"Those bloody ingrates. I did save those people and instead of being thankful about it, they went on and on about none intervention. Something about I wasn't supposed to save them…"
Phoebe went to sit in an easy chair before she answered, almost distractedly:
"You should've known. We've been faced with the same dilemma for years. Evil wasn't causing the accident."
"Still, that was a good thing, wasn't it?" He exclaimed, as he started pacing the room, apparently oblivious to Phoebe's bad mood.
"I just can't believe that I was supposed to let this happen. This is ridiculous."
"Is it?"
The pointed question stopped him short, as he turned to her askance:
"Phoebe…You're not still upset about me using magic, are you? I mean, I get that they don't like it, but you?"
"Cole…You promised me."
Cole sighed impatiently, again ignoring the reproach.
"Frankly, I'm getting very confused with what's right and what's not. To me, that was a good deed…"
In the same manner, Phoebe ignored his complaint and pursued:
"Cole, why did you do it? I feel like you did something in my back, and honestly, it doesn't feel too good right now."
Cole gave her a quick glance, and answered even more briefly:
"I was worried about your safety."
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"What? Do I have to ask for your permission to use my powers now? Are you still worried about me going bad? I thought we were beyond that."
Phoebe looked up in surprise at how upset he got.
"No! You know that's not what I meant."
"You know what? I've had enough reproaches for one day. I'll have a drink downstairs."
Cole was out of the room before Phoebe could say another word. Stunned by his outburst, she watched the door curiously.
"What's with you dad," she said aloud, while looking down at her son with a puzzled expression.
Cole strolled into the bar still very upset, and when he spotted Leo nursing a drink of his own, he went to sit by him without a word.
Leo barely looked up, but Cole wasn't in the mood to inquire about his brother in law's problems anyway. Instead, he signalled the bartender impatiently and ordered a drink for himself. The two men kept to themselves for a long moment before Leo broke the silence.
"You're not still upset about the Elders, are you?"
Cole barely glanced at Leo, and then he returned his attention to the drink.
"Why shouldn't I be?"
"You should simply know better, Cole."
"Hey, you were there," Cole spat, suddenly more animated, "what they said wasn't right at all. How did they expect me to feel bad about saving her?"
"They don't, Cole. They just expect you to understand the rules as they are. Still, you did get what you wanted, didn't you?"
"At what price! And don't try to tell me that you agreed with what they said either. It concerned Piper too."
"But you'll respect the terms, won't you?"
Leo was watching Cole expectantly, but his answer wasn't forthcoming.
"Hey, don't make me regret my promise already!"
Cole still took a long sip of the drink before answering:
"I won't…" he trailed then, stifling an angry sigh.
"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this anyway?"
Cole glared at him but didn't comment. Then, he changed attitude suddenly.
"Hey, I know why I'm here… why are you?"
"No reason…" Leo answered too quickly before returning to the contemplation of his own drink.
"Hum…I'd have thought that you'd be more eager to spend time with your wife. Particularly considering…"
"Where's Phoebe," Leo interrupted.
"Touchy," Cole commented with the beginning of a mocking smile.
"You haven't answered my question either."
"Well, if you must know, she's upstairs with our son…" Cole answered uncompromisingly.
"I thought you were also eager to come back…"
"Let's drop it?" Cole replied, as his smile vanished.
They stayed silent for another length of time. Then, out of the blue, Cole exclaimed:
"Why is she still upset?"
Leo was startled and glanced at him, wondering if he was talking about Phoebe or Piper.
"What?"
"I mean, it wasn't that bad!"
"Phoebe's still upset about your using magic, I see."
"Yeah," Cole answered dejectedly.
"Maybe, she senses like I do that there was something more to it than just being worried about her safety."
"What else could it have been," Cole questioned irritably.
"Only you can answer that."
"Hum… Those vacations were such a great idea," Cole added sarcastically, rather than addressing Leo's comment.
"Yeah," Leo answered in the same vein.
"Maybe…"Cole started but stopped himself, as if unsure that he really wanted to pursue.
"What?" Leo questioned distractedly, still wondering if Piper would get over this thing soon.
"Maybe, we just need to start fresh? What do you think?"
"I wonder… But really Cole, just be honest with Phoebe and yourself. I think that it'd suffice."
"I told you there was nothing else to it," Cole replied testily.
"Alright, if you say so… Although, your idea has some merit."
"It does?"
"Yeah…"
Phoebe answered the knock almost immediately, hoping that it would be Cole having forgotten his keys. Instead, she found a smiling Paige, carrying a hand bag.
"Hello?"
"That's the way you greet your saviour?"
"What are you talking about," Phoebe questioned with a hint of suspicion even as a weak smile formed on her lips at the melodramatic question.
"Well nothing so dramatic," Paige said, as she entered the room without invitation. "Cole asked me to give you a message and to baby-sit for a while…"
"He did?" Phoebe questioned, as the smile waned.
"Well yeah. Seems he wanted to have a talk and he asked me to send you to the lobby."
"Are you sure you're fine with baby-sitting?" Phoebe asked distractedly, as puzzlement mixed in with a little excitement. She had seriously worried about Cole's attitude since he left, so this seemed like an olive branch to her.
"Yeah, I'm cool with it. Besides, Cole promised to spring for a grand tour of Paris tomorrow."
"Really?" Phoebe questioned in surprise.
Paige put the bag near the connecting door before turning an inquiring glance of her own toward her sister:
"You're having problems? With Cole, I mean."
"Nothing serious," Phoebe answered without looking at her.
Paige insisted:
"Because really, he's not usually that generous…"
"Hey!"
"Oh alright… So you're going?"
"Did he tell you where we were going? I don't even know what to wear…"
"He didn't really say…"
Phoebe still went to the mirror and quickly tossed her hair in a bun. She was a little upset that he didn't give her any warning, but at the same time she was now eager to know what it was about.
"Oh come on," Paige said with a smile, "I'm sure that he's impatient now. Scoot!"
Phoebe hesitated a moment longer:
"You're sure it's ok with you?"
"Of course, I'm still Jason's aunty, aren't I? Go, have fun…"
Phoebe smiled but still said:
"Don't hesitate to call for Leo if you have any problem. He'll find us."
"Come on now. Jason and I'll be just fine." Paige gently took Phoebe's arm and accompanied her to the door.
"Don't worry about a thing besides having some fun. We're in Paris after all!"
"Yeah! And thank you!" Phoebe answered lightly before going out.
Piper sat at the dressing table, no closer to feel more secure. She had been sitting there for a while already, telling herself over and over how stupid she was for doubting Leo. Again, she reflected that her pregnancy must be rendering her more emotional than usual. In fact, it reminded her of a time, not so long ago, where she wasn't as secure about anything. All those years it had taken her to build this confidence, was it all for nothing? Was she crumbling because of one person? She shrugged unhappily for the umpteenth time. Yet, she wasn't able to shrug away the malaise itself. She was so absorbed in her musing that she didn't hear the door opening. She then got startled when a little white flag was waved and reflected in the mirror.
"What the heck?" She exclaimed as she turned to find her husband smiling sheepishly, still waving the flag loosely.
"Are we on speaking terms yet?"
"Leo! You know that I didn't mean…"
"Well, actually I don't know that. But if you'll give me a chance, maybe I can prove to you that you're the only one for me?"
A vague smile formed on Piper's lips as she waited for him to continue.
Instead, he went back toward the door and opened it to let in a boy in a white uniform pushing a cart with shiny plates. The boy went back out and came back with a rolling table already prepared with candles and delicate china. After Leo thanked him and let him out, he turned to Piper with a wide smile:
"How about a romantic dinner, for starter?"
"Leo? How did you?"
"Don't worry, there was no magic involved." Leo said quickly, while silently thanking Cole…
Leo lit up the candles and went to turn down the lights.
"Shall we," he asked as he went to her and pulled her up gently.
"Leo, I'm so sorry," Piper began, contrite.
"Shhhhhh, there's nothing to be sorry about. Let's start fresh, what do you say?"
"I say, I'm starving," Piper replied, as her smile brightened. Before going to sit at the dinner table however, she lifted herself up to his face and kissed him gently.
"I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too, and I'll never stop, Piper," he answered as he pulled her closer and kissed her passionately.
In the back of Piper's mind, the nagging feeling still resided, but she pushed it resolutely away to embrace this moment of joy.
Phoebe was looking around the lobby curiously, but she could find no trace of her husband. She was about to go check the bar, when something made her look outside the doors. There, she saw a horse and carriage and Cole waiting beside it. She quickly went toward him then, but still hesitated as she got closer.
"Wow," she said uncertainly. "What is that?"
"Hey, I thought it was pretty obvious. Are you in the mood for a ride?"
She couldn't help a smile as he watched her expectantly.
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," he replied with an enigmatic smile of his own.
He opened the door to the carriage and stood aside, ostensibly inviting her in. Phoebe found it very amusing at the same time as romantic.
Yet, she didn't make a move toward him, and he finally asked somewhat apprehensively:
"Are you coming?"
"Huh, yeah," she replied as she finally climbed into the vehicle. After he signalled to the driver, he came to sit by her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"You should've told me we were going out…I'd have changed…"
"You're beautiful just as you are, baby."
She smiled happily as he kissed her lightly. The carriage started down the street at a slow pace, and Phoebe was tempted to put aside her grievance with Cole in the face of this very romantic setting. Yet, she felt that if they didn't clear the air now, she couldn't enjoy herself completely.
Even as he watched her, the smile vanished from her lips and he knew what was coming before she said a word. Before she could voice her reproaches again, he uttered:
"I'm sorry, Phoebe…"
"You don't even know what I was gonna say."
"I understand now that I shouldn't have left like this. I don't know what got into me…"
"That's exactly what I'd like to understand myself, Cole. Are you ready to answer my question now?"
Cole grimaced unhappily at this.
"I thought I'd already done that."
"Cole, I know there's more to it than what you told me. I can sense it."
Cole looked away uncomfortably.
"There's nothing more," he said again, although with less conviction than earlier.
"Cole, please!"
He sighed, still not looking at her.
"Alright, well maybe there was something else…"
"I'm waiting…"
He sighed anew before going on:
"Ok well, if it's true that I was worried about your safety, I was also very uncomfortable with someone else being in command…"
"What?" Phoebe asked then.
"I mean, I don't like to relinquish control over my life to someone else, let alone strangers…"
"But Cole, those guys knew what they were doing…"
"Did they? You know what this whitelighter told us…"
"But you didn't know that when you used your magic…"
He kept silent, unwilling to continue this conversation.
"Cole," Phoebe questioned again.
"Are you still mad?"
Phoebe sighed in turn.
"I'm not mad…I just thought we were over this secret thing. I believed you knew you could tell me anything."
"You mean you're not upset about it?" He said turning to her dubiously.
"I am, a little. But not for the reason you think. Cole, I want you to tell me these things. We're a couple now, aren't we? We're supposed to tell each other everything…"
Cole still seemed uncomfortable, but Phoebe thought that it was because of his admission. Indeed, he pursued:
"I guess so… you probably think that it's ridiculous…"
"I mostly think you're a control freak," Phoebe said with a giggle.
Cole moved back and seemed slightly upset at her comment. However, Phoebe was now smiling brightly.
"That's ok though… because you're my control freak and I can live with that."
"You can?" He asked, forgetting his urge to protest as a hesitant smile formed on his lips.
Phoebe grabbed his jacket and pulled him to her playfully.
"Yeah! Just as long as you don't run out on me again…"
"I won't do that again, I promise," he said as he bent forward, intent on kissing her.
However, he stopped only a few inches from her lips as she mumbled dubiously:
"Hum…"
"Oh alright, I can promise you that I won't do it tonight."
"Honesty… now that's more like it," she chuckled. Then she offered her lips without further protestation. They were still in this embrace when the carriage stopped. Phoebe pulled slightly away to ask:
"Are we here?"
"Yes, look…"
She turned around and was astonished at what she saw. The sign over the bistro's door said "Le Bistro de Jouvence". She looked back at Cole with a stunned expression.
"Wow, somehow I didn't think this place really existed…"
"I was a little surprised as well. It changed a lot from what we've seen, but it's still the same bistro."
Cole noticed her hesitation and began to wonder if it had been such a good idea after all.
"Is that ok? I mean…"
"It's more than ok," Phoebe said softly.
He breathed easier somewhat.
"Shall we?"
"What are we waiting for," she asked with a smile.
As they were making their way toward the bistro, a couple was observing them from the shadows. A passing car's headlights illuminated Amelia and Richard's ghostly, but smiling faces, as they watched Phoebe and Cole disappearing inside the establishment.
"How romantic," Amelia uttered, as the light receded.
"Wanna go in?" Richard asked then.
"Thought you'd never ask," she answered sweetly. The two ghostly figures made their way toward the doors in turn. As they were going through them, they were smiling at each other while their essence slowly dissipated.
Chapter XII
As the whitish light dissipated, Cole found himself sitting in the airliner again. Outside, the storm was still going, but gave signs of waning. Uncertain, he peered closely, half expecting fighter planes to be on their tail. However, he could see nor hear nothing besides the thunder and lightning outside. Phoebe was watching him curiously, but as he was preparing to try and explain what had happened, he heard something that surprised him anew.
"Richard, you're so romantic!"
"Me? Nah… I just feel lucky to have you…"
Cole turned to see the old lady bending toward an old Richard and kissing him tenderly. When she pulled back, he recognized Amelia, but was even more stunned when she turned to him, smiling softly.
"Thank you," she simply said, deepening Cole's surprise. Phoebe, who still didn't know exactly what had transpired, questioned warily.
"What are you thanking him for?"
A smiling Richard answered this:
"For restoring what had been lost, thank you too."
Phoebe frowned at this and turned to Cole for an explanation. Instead, this one questioned the old couple:
"How did you?"
"It doesn't matter," Richard continued calmly. "It's enough for you to know that we're very grateful."
He grabbed Amelia's hand at this and brought it to his lips.
Leo was coming toward them and hesitated when he recognized Richard. He almost turned back, but Richard and Amelia seemed to have sensed his approach. Indeed, Richard twisted around in his seat while telling Leo:
"And thanks to you as well, my old friend."
Leo watched him uncertainly.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
"Oh come on, Leo. I couldn't fail to recognize my best friend from the old days. I missed you…"
Leo was dumbfounded and still tried to deny.
"You're mistaking me for someone else…"
Amelia gazed at him in turn, just as amazingly unconcerned:
"Don't worry, Leo, your secret's safe with us. We know all about you. About all of you," she added, while looking at each in turn. "But none of this matters."
"Pardon me for asking," Cole asked then, "but I'd still like to know what you mean…"
"You should know," Richard pursued. "Just now, as well as all those years ago, you helped us. Thanks to this, Amelia and I stayed together."
Phoebe frowned anew, but this time, a slight understanding seemed to dawn on her.
"Wait…I seem to remember something…just wait," she said, as she concentrated. Then she, as well as Piper, opened wide eyes.
"What?" They both exclaimed at the same time.
Amelia and Richard just nodded in acquiescence, while the girls still tried to grasp the incredible truth.
Then, Phoebe's expression turned slightly reproachful as she glanced back at Cole:
"What did you do?"
"Me? Why do you assume it's me?"
"Cole," she grumbled warningly. However, this one squirmed without replying. Instead, he pretended to become absorbed in Leo's exchange with the old couple:
"I seem to remember things differently now," this one said, when he finally understood that there was no point in denying who he was to them.
"Yes, I also do," Richard uttered calmly. Then he pursued:
"After what you'd done for us, we got back to France safely. Although, we still had a close call with our own air force on the way, if you remember."
"Yes, they tried to shot us down, and we had to land on a country road. Very unnerving…" Leo added with the beginning of a smile forming.
"Yes…and then, when we arrived in France, we got married almost immediately, in a double ceremony with Lilian and you…"
"Yeah," Leo pursued, now smiling frankly, "and I remember that you were less jittery than I was and that we had a good laugh about it…"
"I did admit that you'd been right all along, didn't I?"
Richard became slightly embarrassed then, as he looked behind Leo toward Piper:
"I'm sorry… Mrs Wyatt, I presume? I didn't mean to be rude…"
Piper grimaced, as the mention of Leo's ex-wife had indeed made her uncomfortable, but she still smiled weakly at Richard afterward:
"No it's ok, it's all in the past…well… now it is," she added, somewhat confused by all the flooding memories.
"So, it worked," Cole added, mostly for himself. Richard heard however, and turned to him.
"Yeah, it did. And we're very thankful."
Although Cole appreciated this gratefulness, it also embarrassed him somewhat. Therefore, to hide his discomfort, he asked about the rest:
"I'm curious…did you remember everything then?"
"For a short while… But long enough for me to knock Clint out after we'd safely landed." He looked back at Amelia with an amused smile, and she slapped him affectionately on the shoulder.
"Good thing you forgave me…" As he turned back toward Cole, he added:
"Until a moment ago, I'd never told her why, so she was understandably upset at the time."
"Why didn't you," she asked, although obviously amused.
"Well, now it doesn't sound so crazy. But at the time, I feared that you'd write me off as certifiable. I still couldn't let him get away with it, though…"
Cole couldn't help adding:
"Good for you."
Phoebe stared at Cole questioningly, but he dismissed it.
"Long story," he said quickly.
Phoebe watched him a moment longer. Then, she asked hesitantly:
"Does it have anything to do with these letters you were talking about? Oh never mind," she said, shrugging. Instead, she questioned Richard further.
"So, what happened next?"
"Next?" Richard asked uncertainly.
"Well, I mean like, did you ever see Werner again," she pursued, as she remembered the big man fondly.
"Oh yes! As a matter of fact, he came to the States the next year. Said something about being tired of playing the idiot with his own family and also being fed up with the general attitudes of people around him. At first, he was upset with me for the young girl, who's name was Rita, by the way…" Richard added, as a shadow crossed his features at the memory. Then, he smiled again.
"But it got better, and he became godfather to her first daughter, whom we gave the same name…He also raised the other kids with that nurse, the one who'd been infatuated with Clint. Seems they'd met briefly in his hometown, and when he came to rejoin us, they saw each other again and hit it off."
Paige, who had not really participated in the conversation till then, exclaimed:
"That big man?"
Amelia smiled in her direction:
"In spite of his size, he was a gentle man. They were very happy."
"So what happened of her thing with Clay…huh…Clint?"
Richard answered this:
"I think that in time, she pegged him for what he was… a weasel…"
"Richard!" Amelia exclaimed in turn, "you shouldn't speak ill of him. It was long ago… Water under the bridge… if you see what I mean?"
"Ok, you're right, I shouldn't be like this…"
He smiled at her gently and for a while, they seemed to forget about the people around them. Outside the plane, the last of the storm was dissipating at last, and they could see a clear sky returning. Even as the sky turned blue, Leo's expression seemed to darken as he watched the old couple.
Amelia and Richard turned one last time toward them with soft smiles, and then, they slowly vanished, as if they had never been there.
Somewhere in a cemetery, two tombstones stood side by side. On it were the names Clint and Amelia Larsen. A shimmering seemed to cross over the tombstones, and afterward, the names had changed to Richard and Amelia Tanner. The year of their death read 1992… On a plate that stood between the two graves, a message read as follow:
"They were taken from us too suddenly, but we'll remember them always for all the love they gave to us."
Back in the plane, the girls and Cole turned to Leo questioningly, even as the other passengers seemed to be coming out of their apparent lethargy. Leo was shaken and seemed stuck in place for a moment. Piper, realizing that they were rather conspicuous, tapped on his shoulder lightly, which reminded him that they were still standing in the alley. Shaking himself, he directed Piper toward the seats the old couple just left, and then sat beside her. Piper was watching him curiously and she also seemed preoccupied by something. Leo noticed her worried expression, but he didn't feel like asking what bothered her as he guessed what it was.
Instead, he answered the others' silent question:
"They passed away ten years ago…" he said, as his voice trailed and he seemed lost in thoughts again. "I remember it all now. Both timelines… That's very freaky…"
"What is," Cole questioned, "I mean besides what we just went through…"
"In the original timeline," Leo began, "Clint and Amelia died in a plane crash on this very route… So did Richard and Amelia, in the present one…I think that somehow, they were waiting for some kind of resolution, and it may just have come in the form of a little magical push," he added for Cole.
"Hey, who said that was it? There might be a lot of other explanations," he protested mildly, as he sensed Phoebe's reproachful stare.
"You promised, Cole…"
"Well, like Leo just said, it did some good…" he trailed.
Phoebe was still not too happy, as she sat back and ostensibly looked down at Jason.
"Hum…"
"Phoebe…" he pleaded with a frown.
"Why don't we talk about this later?" She interrupted then without even looking at him.
Cole stifled a dejected sigh, and turned his attention back to Leo:
"So, you're saying that we went through all this so that ghosts got back together?"
"They still got a very long and happy life together after the war. I don't know about Clint though, so don't ask. I now remember that Richard became a writer, and that besides a relatively successful book about the war, he also wrote thrillers."
"Wow, hard to imagine him as a writer…"
"I guess that Amelia wasn't too fond of him going off all the time as a pilot. He still flew for fifteen years before he settled down as a novelist."
"Huh, Leo… Weren't you like tempted to change something else in the past," Cole asked then, obviously referring to the whitelighter's untimely death.
"As you said back at the airfield, this was all some weird paradox. I didn't remember a thing about the particulars until the moment we came out of it…and even if I had, I don't know that I'd have changed anything."
Piper finally addressed her own concerned, as the others got lost in their reminiscence.
"Are you sure that you don't regret, Leo? You seemed very much in love with…Lilian." She finished hesitantly.
Leo turned to her with a shocked expression:
"Piper, you don't think that I regret our life together, do you? I mean, Lilian is part of the past. You and our baby are my life now…"
"Still, as long as I didn't know how much you loved her, it wasn't so hard to kind of forget about it."
Leo wrapped his arm around his wife's shoulders:
"Piper, I won't lie to you and tell you that I didn't love her…But, this happened a long time ago. I love you and you alone, I assure you."
Piper was already smiling weakly when a new arrival stopped her. Leo followed her gaze to find the blond whitelighter standing by their side.
"Leo! The Elders were wondering about you."
"Well, it's a long story," Leo said, obviously very embarrassed, which did nothing to reassure Piper.
"What are you doing here anyway? Don't you think it's rather reckless of you to show up here?"
"It's ok. No one saw me coming. The Elders wanted me to check up on you…And besides, I needed some advice about a charge…"
"Lilian, you know perfectly well that I'm not on call right now…"
The blond woman flinched, but never as badly as Piper.
"Leo? Who's she?"
Leo slowly looked back toward Piper, and then hesitantly answered:
"Huh… Don't you recognize her? You've met her once…"
"Is this really who I think it is? Your wife?"
Lilian interjected:
"You don't have to worry, Piper. It was a long time ago…"
Piper stared at the girl with obvious uncertainty.
"I seemed to remember you looking much older…"
"Oh that. Well, I was given a choice for my appearance, and frankly, I prefer the way I looked when I was younger…"
Lilian seemed genuinely unconcerned, but Piper couldn't help resenting her, and mostly Leo for not telling her who she was before.
"Piper," this one said, "I'd have told you…"
"When exactly?"
"I was just waiting for the right moment…" he trailed unhappily.
Just then, Lilian seemed to realize that her presence was more of a burden than a help.
"Huh, well, I'll be going… but the Elders sure would like to know what happened, Leo. As soon as possible…"
"What's the big emergency?"
"This plane was supposed to have crashed originally…"
Cole couldn't help overhearing this, and he quickly saw the implication:
"Really?" he said with a vindicated smile…
Even Phoebe's pointed look didn't make a dent in his self-satisfied mood.
Leo shook his head almost dejectedly at the sight, while Lilian watched them uncomprehendingly for a few more seconds. Then, she simply left, after she made Leo promise to orb up as soon as he could.
Piper had just finished putting their clothes away when Leo orbed in the hotel room. They had only been in Paris for a few hours, and already he had broken his promise to stay with her. Although Piper understood that it might have been necessary, she couldn't help wondering about his motivation. She knew deep down that it was ridiculous, yet no amount of reasoning could stop her from wondering if his eagerness to go up there had more to do with his ex wife than the Elders.
"You're back…" Piper said but without the enthusiasm that he had expected.
"What? Too long? I tried to keep it as short as I could, but they asked to have a word with Cole as well and…"
"Wow, you're telling me?"
"Huh no… Just that I wanted you to understand I didn't stay that long for any other reason…"
"Ah…"
"Look Piper, I know you're upset about Lilian."
"Can we please keep her out of the conversation? I'm not in the mood to talk about your ex wife…"
"See, I knew you'd be upset."
Until that moment, Piper had barely looked at him, but this provoked a stronger reaction.
"And why wouldn't I be? You kept it from me. You must've felt there was something wrong with it…"
"I knew you'd see things that weren't there. I'm only helping her through the transition."
"Couldn't they find someone else to do it? Why did it have to be you?"
"Piper…how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not in love with her anymore. I love you. Nothing's gonna change that."
Leo tried to go to her, but Piper wasn't quite ready yet.
"I need some time by myself, Leo."
"Didn't you have enough? I've just been gone for a few hours. I was hoping that we could start those vacations like now."
"And we shall…"
Piper sighed before pursuing:
"I'm sorry honey. Maybe I'm being a little too emotional right now, but…"
"You do believe that I love you, don't you?"
"Yes…Yes, of course I do. Just give me a little more time…"
Leo frowned hesitantly.
"Alright, then… I'll be downstairs…" he said, as he gave her one last longing look and went out of the room.
Cole flashed in their room and didn't see Phoebe at first. He wondered for a moment, until he saw her coming in from the adjacent room. She held Jason and didn't seem to have noticed his return.
"Phoebe."
"Cole…" Phoebe said without looking up.
Cole frowned at her lack of enthusiasm, but he dismissed it, as he felt like unloading about his visit to the Elders:
"Those bloody ingrates. I did save those people and instead of being thankful about it, they went on and on about none intervention. Something about I wasn't supposed to save them…"
Phoebe went to sit in an easy chair before she answered, almost distractedly:
"You should've known. We've been faced with the same dilemma for years. Evil wasn't causing the accident."
"Still, that was a good thing, wasn't it?" He exclaimed, as he started pacing the room, apparently oblivious to Phoebe's bad mood.
"I just can't believe that I was supposed to let this happen. This is ridiculous."
"Is it?"
The pointed question stopped him short, as he turned to her askance:
"Phoebe…You're not still upset about me using magic, are you? I mean, I get that they don't like it, but you?"
"Cole…You promised me."
Cole sighed impatiently, again ignoring the reproach.
"Frankly, I'm getting very confused with what's right and what's not. To me, that was a good deed…"
In the same manner, Phoebe ignored his complaint and pursued:
"Cole, why did you do it? I feel like you did something in my back, and honestly, it doesn't feel too good right now."
Cole gave her a quick glance, and answered even more briefly:
"I was worried about your safety."
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"What? Do I have to ask for your permission to use my powers now? Are you still worried about me going bad? I thought we were beyond that."
Phoebe looked up in surprise at how upset he got.
"No! You know that's not what I meant."
"You know what? I've had enough reproaches for one day. I'll have a drink downstairs."
Cole was out of the room before Phoebe could say another word. Stunned by his outburst, she watched the door curiously.
"What's with you dad," she said aloud, while looking down at her son with a puzzled expression.
Cole strolled into the bar still very upset, and when he spotted Leo nursing a drink of his own, he went to sit by him without a word.
Leo barely looked up, but Cole wasn't in the mood to inquire about his brother in law's problems anyway. Instead, he signalled the bartender impatiently and ordered a drink for himself. The two men kept to themselves for a long moment before Leo broke the silence.
"You're not still upset about the Elders, are you?"
Cole barely glanced at Leo, and then he returned his attention to the drink.
"Why shouldn't I be?"
"You should simply know better, Cole."
"Hey, you were there," Cole spat, suddenly more animated, "what they said wasn't right at all. How did they expect me to feel bad about saving her?"
"They don't, Cole. They just expect you to understand the rules as they are. Still, you did get what you wanted, didn't you?"
"At what price! And don't try to tell me that you agreed with what they said either. It concerned Piper too."
"But you'll respect the terms, won't you?"
Leo was watching Cole expectantly, but his answer wasn't forthcoming.
"Hey, don't make me regret my promise already!"
Cole still took a long sip of the drink before answering:
"I won't…" he trailed then, stifling an angry sigh.
"Why do I have the feeling I'm going to regret this anyway?"
Cole glared at him but didn't comment. Then, he changed attitude suddenly.
"Hey, I know why I'm here… why are you?"
"No reason…" Leo answered too quickly before returning to the contemplation of his own drink.
"Hum…I'd have thought that you'd be more eager to spend time with your wife. Particularly considering…"
"Where's Phoebe," Leo interrupted.
"Touchy," Cole commented with the beginning of a mocking smile.
"You haven't answered my question either."
"Well, if you must know, she's upstairs with our son…" Cole answered uncompromisingly.
"I thought you were also eager to come back…"
"Let's drop it?" Cole replied, as his smile vanished.
They stayed silent for another length of time. Then, out of the blue, Cole exclaimed:
"Why is she still upset?"
Leo was startled and glanced at him, wondering if he was talking about Phoebe or Piper.
"What?"
"I mean, it wasn't that bad!"
"Phoebe's still upset about your using magic, I see."
"Yeah," Cole answered dejectedly.
"Maybe, she senses like I do that there was something more to it than just being worried about her safety."
"What else could it have been," Cole questioned irritably.
"Only you can answer that."
"Hum… Those vacations were such a great idea," Cole added sarcastically, rather than addressing Leo's comment.
"Yeah," Leo answered in the same vein.
"Maybe…"Cole started but stopped himself, as if unsure that he really wanted to pursue.
"What?" Leo questioned distractedly, still wondering if Piper would get over this thing soon.
"Maybe, we just need to start fresh? What do you think?"
"I wonder… But really Cole, just be honest with Phoebe and yourself. I think that it'd suffice."
"I told you there was nothing else to it," Cole replied testily.
"Alright, if you say so… Although, your idea has some merit."
"It does?"
"Yeah…"
Phoebe answered the knock almost immediately, hoping that it would be Cole having forgotten his keys. Instead, she found a smiling Paige, carrying a hand bag.
"Hello?"
"That's the way you greet your saviour?"
"What are you talking about," Phoebe questioned with a hint of suspicion even as a weak smile formed on her lips at the melodramatic question.
"Well nothing so dramatic," Paige said, as she entered the room without invitation. "Cole asked me to give you a message and to baby-sit for a while…"
"He did?" Phoebe questioned, as the smile waned.
"Well yeah. Seems he wanted to have a talk and he asked me to send you to the lobby."
"Are you sure you're fine with baby-sitting?" Phoebe asked distractedly, as puzzlement mixed in with a little excitement. She had seriously worried about Cole's attitude since he left, so this seemed like an olive branch to her.
"Yeah, I'm cool with it. Besides, Cole promised to spring for a grand tour of Paris tomorrow."
"Really?" Phoebe questioned in surprise.
Paige put the bag near the connecting door before turning an inquiring glance of her own toward her sister:
"You're having problems? With Cole, I mean."
"Nothing serious," Phoebe answered without looking at her.
Paige insisted:
"Because really, he's not usually that generous…"
"Hey!"
"Oh alright… So you're going?"
"Did he tell you where we were going? I don't even know what to wear…"
"He didn't really say…"
Phoebe still went to the mirror and quickly tossed her hair in a bun. She was a little upset that he didn't give her any warning, but at the same time she was now eager to know what it was about.
"Oh come on," Paige said with a smile, "I'm sure that he's impatient now. Scoot!"
Phoebe hesitated a moment longer:
"You're sure it's ok with you?"
"Of course, I'm still Jason's aunty, aren't I? Go, have fun…"
Phoebe smiled but still said:
"Don't hesitate to call for Leo if you have any problem. He'll find us."
"Come on now. Jason and I'll be just fine." Paige gently took Phoebe's arm and accompanied her to the door.
"Don't worry about a thing besides having some fun. We're in Paris after all!"
"Yeah! And thank you!" Phoebe answered lightly before going out.
Piper sat at the dressing table, no closer to feel more secure. She had been sitting there for a while already, telling herself over and over how stupid she was for doubting Leo. Again, she reflected that her pregnancy must be rendering her more emotional than usual. In fact, it reminded her of a time, not so long ago, where she wasn't as secure about anything. All those years it had taken her to build this confidence, was it all for nothing? Was she crumbling because of one person? She shrugged unhappily for the umpteenth time. Yet, she wasn't able to shrug away the malaise itself. She was so absorbed in her musing that she didn't hear the door opening. She then got startled when a little white flag was waved and reflected in the mirror.
"What the heck?" She exclaimed as she turned to find her husband smiling sheepishly, still waving the flag loosely.
"Are we on speaking terms yet?"
"Leo! You know that I didn't mean…"
"Well, actually I don't know that. But if you'll give me a chance, maybe I can prove to you that you're the only one for me?"
A vague smile formed on Piper's lips as she waited for him to continue.
Instead, he went back toward the door and opened it to let in a boy in a white uniform pushing a cart with shiny plates. The boy went back out and came back with a rolling table already prepared with candles and delicate china. After Leo thanked him and let him out, he turned to Piper with a wide smile:
"How about a romantic dinner, for starter?"
"Leo? How did you?"
"Don't worry, there was no magic involved." Leo said quickly, while silently thanking Cole…
Leo lit up the candles and went to turn down the lights.
"Shall we," he asked as he went to her and pulled her up gently.
"Leo, I'm so sorry," Piper began, contrite.
"Shhhhhh, there's nothing to be sorry about. Let's start fresh, what do you say?"
"I say, I'm starving," Piper replied, as her smile brightened. Before going to sit at the dinner table however, she lifted herself up to his face and kissed him gently.
"I love you, you know that?"
"I love you too, and I'll never stop, Piper," he answered as he pulled her closer and kissed her passionately.
In the back of Piper's mind, the nagging feeling still resided, but she pushed it resolutely away to embrace this moment of joy.
Phoebe was looking around the lobby curiously, but she could find no trace of her husband. She was about to go check the bar, when something made her look outside the doors. There, she saw a horse and carriage and Cole waiting beside it. She quickly went toward him then, but still hesitated as she got closer.
"Wow," she said uncertainly. "What is that?"
"Hey, I thought it was pretty obvious. Are you in the mood for a ride?"
She couldn't help a smile as he watched her expectantly.
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," he replied with an enigmatic smile of his own.
He opened the door to the carriage and stood aside, ostensibly inviting her in. Phoebe found it very amusing at the same time as romantic.
Yet, she didn't make a move toward him, and he finally asked somewhat apprehensively:
"Are you coming?"
"Huh, yeah," she replied as she finally climbed into the vehicle. After he signalled to the driver, he came to sit by her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
"You should've told me we were going out…I'd have changed…"
"You're beautiful just as you are, baby."
She smiled happily as he kissed her lightly. The carriage started down the street at a slow pace, and Phoebe was tempted to put aside her grievance with Cole in the face of this very romantic setting. Yet, she felt that if they didn't clear the air now, she couldn't enjoy herself completely.
Even as he watched her, the smile vanished from her lips and he knew what was coming before she said a word. Before she could voice her reproaches again, he uttered:
"I'm sorry, Phoebe…"
"You don't even know what I was gonna say."
"I understand now that I shouldn't have left like this. I don't know what got into me…"
"That's exactly what I'd like to understand myself, Cole. Are you ready to answer my question now?"
Cole grimaced unhappily at this.
"I thought I'd already done that."
"Cole, I know there's more to it than what you told me. I can sense it."
Cole looked away uncomfortably.
"There's nothing more," he said again, although with less conviction than earlier.
"Cole, please!"
He sighed, still not looking at her.
"Alright, well maybe there was something else…"
"I'm waiting…"
He sighed anew before going on:
"Ok well, if it's true that I was worried about your safety, I was also very uncomfortable with someone else being in command…"
"What?" Phoebe asked then.
"I mean, I don't like to relinquish control over my life to someone else, let alone strangers…"
"But Cole, those guys knew what they were doing…"
"Did they? You know what this whitelighter told us…"
"But you didn't know that when you used your magic…"
He kept silent, unwilling to continue this conversation.
"Cole," Phoebe questioned again.
"Are you still mad?"
Phoebe sighed in turn.
"I'm not mad…I just thought we were over this secret thing. I believed you knew you could tell me anything."
"You mean you're not upset about it?" He said turning to her dubiously.
"I am, a little. But not for the reason you think. Cole, I want you to tell me these things. We're a couple now, aren't we? We're supposed to tell each other everything…"
Cole still seemed uncomfortable, but Phoebe thought that it was because of his admission. Indeed, he pursued:
"I guess so… you probably think that it's ridiculous…"
"I mostly think you're a control freak," Phoebe said with a giggle.
Cole moved back and seemed slightly upset at her comment. However, Phoebe was now smiling brightly.
"That's ok though… because you're my control freak and I can live with that."
"You can?" He asked, forgetting his urge to protest as a hesitant smile formed on his lips.
Phoebe grabbed his jacket and pulled him to her playfully.
"Yeah! Just as long as you don't run out on me again…"
"I won't do that again, I promise," he said as he bent forward, intent on kissing her.
However, he stopped only a few inches from her lips as she mumbled dubiously:
"Hum…"
"Oh alright, I can promise you that I won't do it tonight."
"Honesty… now that's more like it," she chuckled. Then she offered her lips without further protestation. They were still in this embrace when the carriage stopped. Phoebe pulled slightly away to ask:
"Are we here?"
"Yes, look…"
She turned around and was astonished at what she saw. The sign over the bistro's door said "Le Bistro de Jouvence". She looked back at Cole with a stunned expression.
"Wow, somehow I didn't think this place really existed…"
"I was a little surprised as well. It changed a lot from what we've seen, but it's still the same bistro."
Cole noticed her hesitation and began to wonder if it had been such a good idea after all.
"Is that ok? I mean…"
"It's more than ok," Phoebe said softly.
He breathed easier somewhat.
"Shall we?"
"What are we waiting for," she asked with a smile.
As they were making their way toward the bistro, a couple was observing them from the shadows. A passing car's headlights illuminated Amelia and Richard's ghostly, but smiling faces, as they watched Phoebe and Cole disappearing inside the establishment.
"How romantic," Amelia uttered, as the light receded.
"Wanna go in?" Richard asked then.
"Thought you'd never ask," she answered sweetly. The two ghostly figures made their way toward the doors in turn. As they were going through them, they were smiling at each other while their essence slowly dissipated.