Chapter Twenty-Eight

Cole was about to attack the invader but, when the light finally dispersed, he let the energy balls fade away and sank down on the edge of the lounge.

"Grams!" Piper chastised as she and Paige relaxed their stances.

"Are you trying to give us heart attacks?" Phoebe complained as she reached out and placed her hand on Cole's arm.

"Sorry," Penny apologized, "but it's been so long since I made a grand entrance of my own." She stepped towards her granddaughter and, with a soft smile, asked, "And how are you feeling, my dear?"

"Thinner," Phoebe retorted even as she transferred her son into her grandmother's eager arms.

Penny carefully cradled the sleeping newborn and told Phoebe, "Just wait until you hear that smart mouth from him"

Phoebe smiled at Cole and he squeezed her hand in return. "So, Grams, you come alone or is --"

"Mom!" Piper excitedly called out as her mother appeared within a soft white glow.

"I don't understand," Ava whispered in awe, "aren't they dead?"

"It's never stopped them before," Victor remarked as he acknowledged his ex-wife with a nod.

Patty greeted Piper with a hug and kiss and then reached for Paige. After she hugged them both again, she turned to Phoebe. She knelt next to the lounge and hugged her daughter tightly, "Are you all right? Leo said you'd nearly died."

As her mother brushed her hair from her eyes and kept eyeing her for injury, Phoebe confessed, "Actually, I did." She heard her mother's gasp and quickly added, "But Leo and Sam, they healed me." Patty only hugged her harder and Phoebe glanced over at Cole and softly admitted, "And you healed my soul. You and Piper and Paige." He reached over and caressed her cheek and she turned her head slightly and kissed his palm.

"Wait a minute," Piper interrupted, "Leo said'?" She turned to Leo, "Are you telling me that you ignored our call for help because you were with them?"

"Don't be too hard on him, Piper," Penny cautioned. "Phoebe and the baby were in good hands with Paige and Ava. By the way, dear, Lydia sends her love." She barely registered Ava's stunned reaction before she continued, "Leo had a tough task of his own. You didn't think we could simply appear here on our own, did you?" She turned to Cole and said, "He could give you a run for your money in court."

"No thank you," Leo insisted as he handed Melinda back to Piper. "One lawyer in the family is more than enough. Besides," he added with a warning glance, "I haven't won yet."

Patty finally pulled back from Phoebe and wiped her eyes. She then brushed back some of Phoebe's hair, turned to her mother, and, in a slightly choked voice, asked, "Can I hold him?"

Penny obliged and handed the baby to her daughter. She then immediately took Melinda from Piper and dangled her large pendant for the baby. Melinda reached for it, put it in her mouth, and Penny smiled, "She's at that stage, is she?"

"Everything in her mouth," Piper sighed. "The house is covered in drool."

Patty chuckled but stared lovingly at her sleeping grandson and stepped closer to Victor. "He's beautiful," she murmured as she lightly kissed the baby's forehead.

"That he is," Victor agreed. "He is also, however, without a name." He stared intently at Phoebe and Cole, "Well? And don't even think of telling me you're calling him Junior."

"Over my dead body," Phoebe grumbled before her frown slowly turned into a smile. She reached for Cole's hand and he indicated that she should explain. She faced her family and announced, "We've all been through so much over the past few years. Every time we thought we were safe and happy, something would happen and it all changedCole and I want to start over, we need to start over." She glanced at Cole, "We were careless before and took love for granted. We can't let that happen ever again."

"We won't," he quietly assured her. He wiped away some tears that had trickled down her cheek and told the others, "We had reached the end but, by some miracle, we still managed to hold onto that last thread of love we shared." He felt Phoebe squeeze his hand and he continued as he gazed at her, "This baby is proof of that miracle. Proof that our love is real and will endure"

"We saw the end of everything," Phoebe added when Cole couldn't continue. She caressed his cheek and concentrated on him while she spoke to everyone, "But we were blessed with a second chance and with this baby. We wanted to give our son a name that would be a constant reminder of our commitment to one another and of our new beginning."

"It's not Peter, is it?" Penny commented with disappointment.

"What is with the P' names?" Paige muttered.

"Mother" Patty rolled her eyes. "Peter was your fifth husband and he had a gambling problem."

"Still, he was so romantic," Penny sighed. "I remember one night when he took --"

"Go on, Phoebe," Victor interrupted, hoping to distract Penny from launching one of her many romantic escapades.

"Cole actually came up with the name," Phoebe proudly declared.

"New beginningsIt simply felt right. Ironically," he shrugged, "Phoebe told me it's a family name and she agreed wholeheartedly."

"So, say hello," Phoebe continued as she excitedly squeezed Cole's hand, "to Adam Coleridge Turner."

"Daddy?" Patty looked up at them in surprise.

Paige quickly took Melinda from her stunned grandmother. "Are you okay?"

Penny covered her mouth with one hand and whispered, "Phoebe, you weren't even born while he was still alive."

"I didn't mean to upset you, Grams," Phoebe nervously apologized. She turned to Cole, "Maybe we should change --"

"You will do no such thing," Penny ordered as she bent down and hugged Phoebe fiercely. "Thank you, my darling." She glanced at Cole and reached out to lightly pat his cheek, "Thank you."

"Adam was a good man," Victor commented as he placed a comforting hand on a tearful Patty's shoulder. "Piper, do you remember your grandfather at all?"

Piper shrugged sadly, "Vague images really. I remember flannel shirts that always smelled funny."

"His cigars," Penny reminisced.

"I hated when he smoked those things," Patty sniffled as she kissed the baby's forehead.

"I was only two when he died. I'm not sure Prue even remembered him," Piper quietly added.

"Somebody mention me?"

The others turned and gasped as Prue suddenly appeared in the room within a pale blue glow.

"P-P-Prue?" Piper barely got the name out as the aura faded.

"It's me," Prue nodded with a wide smile.

Piper took a step closer to her big sister. She reached out tentatively and gasped when Prue immediately pulled her into a hug. "Oh, Prue" she cried as she squeezed her sister tightly.

"I've missed you too," Prue tearfully admitted before she pulled away enough to gaze at Piper's face. "And I'm so proud of you," she added as she brushed away Piper's tears. "And you," she indicated to Phoebe and to Paige. "I couldn't possibly have been blessed with better sisters."

Paige looked at her uncomfortably, "But you don't even know me."

As Penny took Melinda from Paige's arms, Prue stepped away from Piper and went to Paige. She embraced her youngest sister and confessed, "But I do. They may not let me interfere but they can't stop me from watching over you. Over all of you. The last time I was only able to see Phoebe but now, thanks to Leo, I can --"

"What's she mean?" Piper interrupted as she turned to her husband.

"The three of you nearly died protecting yourselves, and the world, from Hasoaf," he told her as he gently brushed away her tears, "and I couldn't let the Elders ignore your sacrifice."

"But we didn't sacrifice anything," Paige questioned as she wiped her eyes but held her oldest sister's hand, "we're all okay."

Leo hesitated a moment before he revealed, "After Victor and Sam healed me, I was called into a special meeting to help figure out a way to destroy Hasoaf when all of you were so badly wounded. That's when I learned that there'd been a premonition shortly after the witch in New Delhi had been killed. Hasoafhe was a bigger threat than any of us realized and he would have --"

"Are you telling me that, for months, these Elders of yours deliberately put them in danger?" Cole growled and shrugged off Phoebe's calming hand from his arm.

"They thought it was in the best interest of all concerned that --" Leo began.

"To hell with their best interests!" Cole shouted as he jumped up. "Do they have any idea what we all went through?"

"Cole" Phoebe pleaded.

"Damn it, Phoebe," Cole yelled, "you nearly lost the baby last month fighting Darlak. And what about the other --"

"And Piper nearly died two weeks ago fighting the Grouslings," Leo countered. "I know how many times we came close to losing them, Cole."

But Cole wasn't appeased, "They've known since the beginning about the danger from Hasoaf and said nothing. They held back from us valuable information that could've prevented --"

"Cole, please," Phoebe tugged on his arm, "Leo didn't know. It's not his fault."

"Leo made them see the error of their ways," Penny quietly stated as she lightly bounced Melinda in her arms.

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked as she kept a nervous eye on Cole.

"He threatened to turn in his wings if they didn't make it up to you somehow," Penny informed them.

"What?" Piper gasped as she spun from facing Prue to her husband.

"They readily agreed to let your mother, grandmother, and even Prue visit," Leo shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "And, when I asked them to view the whole incident from --"

"Incident?" Cole shouted. "Is that what you called the past nine months?"

Phoebe heard her son's unhappy wail and gripped Cole's arm, "Cole, please, the baby"

"It's okay, little one," Patty crooned to the baby in her arms. She cuddled the baby close and sighed in relief as his eyes quickly closed and he fell back asleep.

Leo watched Cole seethe and announced, "They'll leave you both alone."

Phoebe exchanged a worried glance with Cole and asked her brother-in-law, "What do you mean?"

"They still have their reservations about Cole and his ability to remain good," he cautiously explained, "but they realize that your destinies are tied together." Leo saw that Cole finally began to relax and unclench his fists and he added, "If you want to remarry, they will accept your decision without interference."

"How generous of them," Phoebe muttered.

Surprised by her reaction, Cole teased her with a warning glare, "Phoebe"

As Cole brought Phoebe's hand to his lips, Leo continued, "But you should also know that it's not going to be easy. They're worried about your son."

"What about him?" Cole asked defensively.

"Just like Melinda, he has a powerful heritage concerning magic and," he answered somberly, "that makes him a potential target too. But the Elders are almost more worried about him because of Adam's demonic blood."

Phoebe looked annoyed, "He's only one quarter demon. Isn't that cancelled by the fact that he's a full witch?"

Leo shook his head, "They're concerned that his demonic heritage makes his potential for being swayed to evil much greater than Melinda's."

"Our son isn't evil," Phoebe angrily stated.

"And he won't be," Cole declared. "He will be raised to respect his powers and use them properly. I will not let him suffer the same fate I did growing up."

"I'd die before I'd let that happen," Phoebe insisted. "He's not going to be torn over who he's supposed to be."

"No one's saying he will be, sweetie," Prue told her. "You both just need to be aware of the concerns about him, about what he might have to face, so that you can prepare him."

Penny kissed her great-granddaughter's cheek and announced, "We don't have much time left."

"So soon?" Piper asked in a small voice.

"First things first," Prue decided as she stepped up to Cole. Without warning she punched him in the jaw and sent him sprawling down on the lounge.

Phoebe was jarred and grimaced in pain as Cole propped himself up next to her. She reached out to him as he rubbed his jaw. "What the hell was that for?" she yelled at her sister.

Prue stood before Cole and coolly replied, "If you ever put my Phoebe, or any of my sisters, through that hell again, I will personally come down and vanquish you myself."

Cole surprised himself and laughed. He smiled at Prue, "I'm sure I deserved that. Anyone else want to take a free shot?"

"Cole" Phoebe warned as she shifted position with discomfort.

Piper stepped in front of him and looked him in the eye. "You mean it?" she questioned. "No retaliation?"

"Go ahead, Piper," he encouraged as he held up his hands in mock-surrender.

She raised her hand but, after a moment, dropped it to her side. "Nah," she decided, "I'll find more subtle ways to torture you."

"You can't be serious," Phoebe gasped. "Haven't we had enough?"

Piper was surprised by her sister's reaction and began, "I'm kiddi--"

"No," Phoebe shook her head, "no more." Panic within her rose at the thought of her sisters wanting to vanquish Cole. After everything they'd been through. "I thought we learned, grewI thought you saw how Cole's changed. He's good," she said in a rush. "He loves me and he's saved you over and over and you can't still want to -- I love," she began wheezing, "Can't lose him -- Can't handle -- I -- Adam -- No --" Phoebe couldn't catch her breath and brought her hand to her chest as it began to burn.

"She's hyperventilating!" Ava realized as she rushed toward Phoebe.

Cole had immediately pulled Phoebe closer to himself but he couldn't calm her down. "Come on, Phoebe, you have to calm down," he requested. But her condition seemed to worsen and he looked at Ava, "Please, can't you help her?"

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