Author's Message: Thanks so much for reviewing everyone, the more reviews I get the faster I will update! Just a side note, after the newest episode of Charmed airs (Baby's First Demon) this fanfic will have to be considered an alternate universe, if anyone cares. ( Also, this chapter will be rated PG- 13 for a few swear words, nothing much worse than what's said on the show though.

Chapter 2: Explanations

Cole was extremely relieved not to have been blown up, but he could tell the shock Piper was currently gripped in wouldn't last long. He didn't think the Elders would save him twice, not considering his past. The ex- demon could hear noises coming from the other rooms, and he knew Piper's sisters would be out of their bedrooms at any moment. Cole didn't know if he was ready to face Phoebe right now; his heart still ached from the way she had vanquished him twice now, the way that he had destroyed their relationship. However, as shimmering away wasn't an option any more, Cole realized that all he could do was try to explain before the Charmed Ones tried to vanquish him.

"Piper, it's ok," he held his hands up in a sign of peace, though Piper didn't look very convinced. "I'm not here to hurt you, I swear." Just then another man's voice - Leo's- rang out.

"Piper, are you all right?" The baby was crying softly in the background, as Piper and Cole stood in silence for a few moments. Then, glaring at Cole, Piper called back to Leo.

"Keep the baby in the room, Leo. I think we've got a problem here." Despite her warning, Leo stepped out of the room, holding a 2-week old infant in his arms. His eyes fell on Cole, and he instinctively held his son closer, stepping next to Piper as well to protect his wife.

Before any of them could speak, Paige and Phoebe came out of their rooms, each holding a standard-vanquishing potion in their hands. Phoebe stopped dead in her tracks, the bottle dropping out of her hand to crash into the floor.

"Phoebe-" Before he could finish, the Charmed One dropped in a faint, and without thinking Cole moved forward to catch her. It felt somewhat comforting to hold her in his arms again, though that comfort did not last long.

Paige hadn't seen much of Cole before she had traveled into an alternate universe to kill him, but most of what she had seen was the demonic side of him. "Get away from her!" Cole looked as though he might refuse for a moment, before slowly holding Phoebe's limp form out to her sister. He knew that as a mortal he would be no match against the Charmed Ones.

Leo looked towards the ceiling, a frown on his face. "Piper, the Elders are calling me..it sounds urgent. Can you handle him on your own? I can take Wyatt with me; he'll be safe." Leo sounded pained, obviously not wanting to leave his wife alone with the demon that had once been their greatest threat. However, something about the way that the Summoning had sounded made him realize that it was important.

"We'll be fine Leo, just.hurry." Piper's expression was determined and angry on the outside but in her mind's eye she was seeing Prue's body, the blood pooling from her stomach, and the way Leo shook his head as he tried to heal her. She didn't want to lose another sister.

Leo orbed with Wyatt, and Paige carefully took Phoebe. Piper gestured for Cole to move down the stairs. "Move it. You so much as breathe wrong, and I swear I'll kill you." Her voice was serious, all joking aside. She had no idea how Cole had managed to cheat death yet again, but she knew that it was no longer a laughing matter. Now there was another little life at stake if he went homicidal.

The trio moved into the living room. Cole took a seat on a couch, and Paige laid Phoebe down on the cushions opposite the ex-demon. Both Piper and Paige stood protectively near their sister, as Cole grew increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. Just as he was about to speak, Phoebe stirred, her eyes fluttering open. Her gaze fell on Cole, and she instantly sat up, struggling to silence the scream that had nearly escaped her throat.

"Piper, please tell me I'm having another nightmare." Her words were barely above a whisper, as she stared at Cole, her hands shaking slightly. Cole looked away, unable to disguise his pain at her words.

Piper laid a hand on Phoebe's shoulder, though she was still glaring at Cole. "I'm sorry honey, it's not a dream. Somehow this bastard has managed to come back again." Phoebe stiffened, and for a moment it looked as though she might faint again. Instead, her voice wavering, she addressed Paige.

"You said he was never coming back, Paige. You said there was no possible way. Oh God, I can't handle this. I just can't." Paige didn't know what to say, and neither did Piper. After all, it isn't every day that a demonic boyfriend came back from the dead..twice.

Phoebe had tears in her eyes as she spoke to Cole directly now, for the first time. "Why, Cole? Why do you keep doing this to me?" Piper squeezed Phoebe's shoulder tightly, as her younger sister felt tears trickle down her cheeks.

Cole tried as best he could to distances himself from the pain he, too, was feeling. She was rejecting him again, and this time he knew that there would be no way for him to get her back unless she came to him willingly.

"Phoebe, I'm not doing this to hurt you, I would never want to hurt you-" Cole looked into her eyes, wishing he could hold her again, but knowing that he would be blown to pieces if he so much as laid a finger on her. "The-the Elders sent me back; don't ask me why, all they would tell me was that I hadn't fulfilled my destiny yet."

At this point, Cole's voice became full of bitterness, remembering how hard he had tried to end it, only to have the Elders, of all beings, bring him back to Earth. "I don't know what the hell they're talking about; it's obvious I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere. At least in the Underworld I could be alone with my pain. Now they want to rip another gash in my heart."

"I cannot believe you!" Piper's voice was loud in the silence. "Can't you see what you've put her through? If you love her at all, you wouldn't come back, and you certainly wouldn't make up some fucking story about how the Elders sent you back! Why can't you stop dwelling in your own self-pity, and think about Phoebe's well-being! Get it through your skull: You are a demon, and you cannot fight the evil inside of you!"

After Piper's outburst, there was silence once more, until Phoebe broke it with a half-strangled sob. "I HATE you!"

Cole flinched, as though her words had physically harmed him. He met Phoebe's gaze, and his words were spoken quietly. "I'm mortal."