Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, don't sue me.
A/N: Just watched my first episode of Charmed without Cole. I don't mean without him in it. . .I mean knowing he's not coming back. I guess you know what I mean. Anyway, I didn't like it at all. The way there's absolutely no remorse, it was terrible. I hope fanfiction will last me until a miracle takes place.
* * * * *
"The guilt trip! He laid the guilt trip on me!" Phoebe exclaimed collapsing onto the couch.
"What did he say exactly?" Prue asked, sitting down next to Phoebe. Piper leant against the armchair.
"You know. . .'I want you, you don't seem to want me.'" Phoebe said bitterly. Her eyes softened. "I don't know what to do."
"Hang on, I missed something. Didn't you not want him?" Piper asked.
"She didn't really not want him. She just never realised that she did want him until now." Prue explained, ignoring the glare Phoebe threw her. "The ball's in your court now, you have to decide what to do."
"I know. . ." Phoebe began. "You're my sisters, what should I do?" Phoebe asked them suddenly. Piper opened her mouth, but Prue stopped her.
"We're not going to make any decisions for you. Personally, I don't trust the guy. But if you do. . ." Prue was interrupted by Phoebe.
"Have you ever had that feeling that there's someone out there who gets you. . .like there's nothing you can say without them knowing what you really mean?" Phoebe said, her thoughts way beyond the room she was in.
"Not really." Prue said truthfully. She looked at Piper, who shrugged.
"Well. . .I may sound crazy. But you'll know what I'm talking about when you do." Phoebe said with a smile.
"You really like this guy." Prue said with a small smile. Phoebe looked at her oldest sister, then to Piper.
"I do." She said with a nod.
Prue stood up suddenly. She hurried up the stairs.
"Hurry. Grams will be home soon." She said disappearing out of view. Phoebe and Piper shared a confused glance before following Prue to the attic. When they found her, she was leaning over a map, and scrying crystal hanging from a thin piece of string that was clasped in her hand. She looked at Phoebe and gave her a smile. "Here." She handed Phoebe the crystal. "Just close your eyes and hold the crystal over the map. Think of Cole, and voila . . .we've found our guy."
"Prue. . .we can't. . ." Phoebe began.
"Don't worry about it Phoebs. Grams won't find out about it. . .it's not like it's major magic anyway." Prue said with a shrug. Phoebe sighed and held the crystal over the map. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to think of Cole. Almost immediately the scrying crystal was forced down onto the map.
"I did it!" Phoebe exclaimed surprised. She leaned over to look at the map. Prue and Piper followed suit.
"Alright. Now we find him, you talk to him. Then we get home without Grams knowing anything." Prue said optimistically.
* * * * *
"You guys aren't coming up?" Phoebe asked nervously, not taking her eyes off the four-storey block of apartments.
"We'll wait for you down here." Prue said, suppressing an amused grin. Phoebe nodded determinedly. She ran her finger down the list of names being accommodated, stopping when she saw the black printed name, 'Cole Turner'. Room 14.
"Okay." She took in a deep breath, before opening the door and heading up the stairs, not taking her hands off the smooth, wooden railing. She searched for the room, finding it after a while. Stopping in front of the shabby door she raised her hand to knock. She paused. She shook her head hard and quickly knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. This time she heard something from the other side of the door. She held her breath as the door opened. Cole's face appeared, tired. His eyes grew wide, genuinely surprised to find her standing there.
"Uh, hi." She said nervously.
"Hey." Cole said quietly. He looked back into his apartment. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you." Phoebe said, giving him a smile. Cole stepped back and opened the door wider.
"Come in." He offered. She stepped into the apartment, and looked around at the room. It was neater than she expected it to be. "How did you find me?" Cole asked, after closing the door.
"Umm. . ." Phoebe paused. "Phone book." She said quickly. Cole seemed about to question her, but decided against it.
"Okay." He said after a second. "You wanted to talk about something?" Phoebe shuffled her feet slightly.
"Yeah. About what we talked about today." Phoebe explained.
"Shoot." Cole said, running his hand through his hair in an effort to neaten it. Which, in Phoebe's opinion, wasn't necessary.
"Well, I've been thinking about what you said. And you were right." She said quickly. He raised his eyebrows, and she continued. "I've never really had a real relationship with anyone. . .I mean a REAL relationship. Something that's more than just boyfriend-girlfriend." She shook her head, trying to make sense. "I just. . .I felt something with you Cole. It's like you get me. I couldn't not explore that." She gazed up at him cautiously. He seemed speechless.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked. "I mean, it's not like you've had much time to think about it."
"Believe me, I've thought about it." She said with a smile.
"So you want to give this a go?" He asked softly, taking a step forward. Phoebe smiled.
"Yeah." She tilted her head as he leaned in to kiss her. A piercing scream forced her to pull back. She spun around, recognising Piper's voice. "I have to. . ." She didn't continue. Instead she opened the door and bolted down the stairs, not paying attention to Cole as he called after her. She swung open the main door and hurried outside, stopping abruptly as she saw both her sisters standing metres away from her. Someone else, a woman, was standing in front of them, her back towards Phoebe.
"One of you will do . . ." The woman was saying quietly, but just loud enough for Phoebe to make out the words. Phoebe held in a gasp as the woman formed a fireball above her hand. "Hmm, I wonder who it should be . . ." She taunted. Phoebe's eyes darted to her helpless sisters. She looked around, hoping to find something that she could use as a weapon. Nothing. "I wonder . . ." To Phoebe's horror, the woman turned around and stared straight at Phoebe.
"I--" Phoebe's words caught in her throat, completely vulnerable. She didn't have time to move, much less defend herself as the fireball caught her in the stomach and threw her to the ground. She heard one of her sister's cry out her name. She couldn't make out which one, she head was throbbing so hard. She looked up and saw the woman standing over her. "What do you want?" She managed to let out.
"I really don't see what was so hard about killing you. . ." The woman said with a smug smile. She formed another fireball in her hand. "It's easy enough." She pulled back her arm. Phoebe clenched her eyes shut, opening them seconds later when the fireball didn't hit her. Instead she looked up to see the demoness staring to their left. Reluctantly Phoebe turned, and a breath caught in her throat as she saw a tall, large demon. His skin was a dark red, and he had some sort of ancient markings on his face. "Belthazor." The woman said with a smirk, not so smug this time.
The demon she spoke to didn't look particularly happy. The woman seemed to notice this, and the fireball in her hand vanished. She looked down at Phoebe, the fury evident on her face. Belthazor quickly walked forward and grabbed the woman's hand, shimmering them both away.
* * * * *
"I told you I would do this!" Belthazor said loudly as he shimmered both him and Rasilyn back to his apartment. His features changed back to Cole's.
"Do you blame me for not believing you?" Rasilyn said with a smug smile, tracing a line down Cole's chest. Cole grabbed her hand roughly and pushed it away.
"I will do this." He said more firmly. "Without your help." With that he shimmered to the top of the stairs. He couldn't hear Phoebe or her sisters. He clenched his teeth, and taking every ounce of mental stimulation, threw himself down the stairs.
* * * * *
"Are you okay?" Piper asked helping Phoebe up. Phoebe dusted herself off as Prue joined them, slightly shaken.
"I think so." Phoebe said, hardly convincing. "What about you guys?"
"We're okay, for now." Prue said. "I think we should get home, we have to tell Grams about this. That woman came after us specifically. We're lucky to still be alive."
"Why are we alive?" Piper asked suddenly. "Why did the maroon-faced muscle demon help us out?"
"I don't know. But we have to go." Prue said, her voice shaking. She turned to Phoebe, and more quietly she asked, "How did things go with Cole?"
"Cole?" Phoebe asked, before remembering where they were. "Oh my god! Cole! What if he saw something?" She immediately turned around and sprinted back into the building. She stopped abruptly, clasping her hand over her mouth, as she saw him lying at the foot of the stairs unconscious.
"What happened?" Prue asked following Phoebe as she hurried to his side. Phoebe knelt down next to him.
"Cole. . .Cole!" She said, lightly shaking him. She let out a breath when he stirred. "Thank god. . ." She mumbled, helping him into a seated position. He blinked once. Twice. Three times, before he realised where he was. He brought a hand to his chest and coughed, his face flinching with pain. "What happened?" Phoebe asked when she made sure he was fully awake.
"I. . ." Cole started, recalling everything. "You rushed out. . .I followed you." He said, frowning. "I tripped. . .fell. . .I can't remember anything after that." He flinched again as she helped him up. "The scream. . .what happened?" He turned to Piper and Prue. The exchanged relieved, yet cautious glances.
"Cockroach." Piper said with a shrug. "We should get going-"
"Piper!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"No, she's right. You guys should go. I get the feeling you're not supposed to be here?" He smiled despite the pain that flashed through his chest. Prue looked wary.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Phoebe asked.
"I'm sure." He said with a soft glance. "I'll see you tomorrow." Phoebe leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek.
"Okay." She said with a smile. As Phoebe and her sister walked out of the building, Cole called out to Phoebe. She stopped and turned.
"I'm glad you came." He said.
"So am I." She said, returning his smile. With that they turned and walked out, closing the door lightly behind them. When he was sure they were gone, Cole shimmered back into his apartment, groaning as he clutched his chest.
"You didn't need to do that." Rasilyn said from his couch.
"Still here." Cole mumbled, not paying her any attention. He headed to his freezer and pulled out an ice pack, placing it on his shoulder.
"I can get someone to heal that for you. . ."
"No. It has to look natural." Cole said firmly, shifting the icepack to his forehead. Rasilyn shook her head in amusement.
"Fine. You're going to too much effort." Was the last thing she said, before she shimmered out of the room, leaving Cole to nurse his wounds.
* * * * *
Well, that's it for now. Review and tell me what you thought.
A/N: Just watched my first episode of Charmed without Cole. I don't mean without him in it. . .I mean knowing he's not coming back. I guess you know what I mean. Anyway, I didn't like it at all. The way there's absolutely no remorse, it was terrible. I hope fanfiction will last me until a miracle takes place.
* * * * *
"The guilt trip! He laid the guilt trip on me!" Phoebe exclaimed collapsing onto the couch.
"What did he say exactly?" Prue asked, sitting down next to Phoebe. Piper leant against the armchair.
"You know. . .'I want you, you don't seem to want me.'" Phoebe said bitterly. Her eyes softened. "I don't know what to do."
"Hang on, I missed something. Didn't you not want him?" Piper asked.
"She didn't really not want him. She just never realised that she did want him until now." Prue explained, ignoring the glare Phoebe threw her. "The ball's in your court now, you have to decide what to do."
"I know. . ." Phoebe began. "You're my sisters, what should I do?" Phoebe asked them suddenly. Piper opened her mouth, but Prue stopped her.
"We're not going to make any decisions for you. Personally, I don't trust the guy. But if you do. . ." Prue was interrupted by Phoebe.
"Have you ever had that feeling that there's someone out there who gets you. . .like there's nothing you can say without them knowing what you really mean?" Phoebe said, her thoughts way beyond the room she was in.
"Not really." Prue said truthfully. She looked at Piper, who shrugged.
"Well. . .I may sound crazy. But you'll know what I'm talking about when you do." Phoebe said with a smile.
"You really like this guy." Prue said with a small smile. Phoebe looked at her oldest sister, then to Piper.
"I do." She said with a nod.
Prue stood up suddenly. She hurried up the stairs.
"Hurry. Grams will be home soon." She said disappearing out of view. Phoebe and Piper shared a confused glance before following Prue to the attic. When they found her, she was leaning over a map, and scrying crystal hanging from a thin piece of string that was clasped in her hand. She looked at Phoebe and gave her a smile. "Here." She handed Phoebe the crystal. "Just close your eyes and hold the crystal over the map. Think of Cole, and voila . . .we've found our guy."
"Prue. . .we can't. . ." Phoebe began.
"Don't worry about it Phoebs. Grams won't find out about it. . .it's not like it's major magic anyway." Prue said with a shrug. Phoebe sighed and held the crystal over the map. She squeezed her eyes shut and willed herself to think of Cole. Almost immediately the scrying crystal was forced down onto the map.
"I did it!" Phoebe exclaimed surprised. She leaned over to look at the map. Prue and Piper followed suit.
"Alright. Now we find him, you talk to him. Then we get home without Grams knowing anything." Prue said optimistically.
* * * * *
"You guys aren't coming up?" Phoebe asked nervously, not taking her eyes off the four-storey block of apartments.
"We'll wait for you down here." Prue said, suppressing an amused grin. Phoebe nodded determinedly. She ran her finger down the list of names being accommodated, stopping when she saw the black printed name, 'Cole Turner'. Room 14.
"Okay." She took in a deep breath, before opening the door and heading up the stairs, not taking her hands off the smooth, wooden railing. She searched for the room, finding it after a while. Stopping in front of the shabby door she raised her hand to knock. She paused. She shook her head hard and quickly knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again. This time she heard something from the other side of the door. She held her breath as the door opened. Cole's face appeared, tired. His eyes grew wide, genuinely surprised to find her standing there.
"Uh, hi." She said nervously.
"Hey." Cole said quietly. He looked back into his apartment. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you." Phoebe said, giving him a smile. Cole stepped back and opened the door wider.
"Come in." He offered. She stepped into the apartment, and looked around at the room. It was neater than she expected it to be. "How did you find me?" Cole asked, after closing the door.
"Umm. . ." Phoebe paused. "Phone book." She said quickly. Cole seemed about to question her, but decided against it.
"Okay." He said after a second. "You wanted to talk about something?" Phoebe shuffled her feet slightly.
"Yeah. About what we talked about today." Phoebe explained.
"Shoot." Cole said, running his hand through his hair in an effort to neaten it. Which, in Phoebe's opinion, wasn't necessary.
"Well, I've been thinking about what you said. And you were right." She said quickly. He raised his eyebrows, and she continued. "I've never really had a real relationship with anyone. . .I mean a REAL relationship. Something that's more than just boyfriend-girlfriend." She shook her head, trying to make sense. "I just. . .I felt something with you Cole. It's like you get me. I couldn't not explore that." She gazed up at him cautiously. He seemed speechless.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked. "I mean, it's not like you've had much time to think about it."
"Believe me, I've thought about it." She said with a smile.
"So you want to give this a go?" He asked softly, taking a step forward. Phoebe smiled.
"Yeah." She tilted her head as he leaned in to kiss her. A piercing scream forced her to pull back. She spun around, recognising Piper's voice. "I have to. . ." She didn't continue. Instead she opened the door and bolted down the stairs, not paying attention to Cole as he called after her. She swung open the main door and hurried outside, stopping abruptly as she saw both her sisters standing metres away from her. Someone else, a woman, was standing in front of them, her back towards Phoebe.
"One of you will do . . ." The woman was saying quietly, but just loud enough for Phoebe to make out the words. Phoebe held in a gasp as the woman formed a fireball above her hand. "Hmm, I wonder who it should be . . ." She taunted. Phoebe's eyes darted to her helpless sisters. She looked around, hoping to find something that she could use as a weapon. Nothing. "I wonder . . ." To Phoebe's horror, the woman turned around and stared straight at Phoebe.
"I--" Phoebe's words caught in her throat, completely vulnerable. She didn't have time to move, much less defend herself as the fireball caught her in the stomach and threw her to the ground. She heard one of her sister's cry out her name. She couldn't make out which one, she head was throbbing so hard. She looked up and saw the woman standing over her. "What do you want?" She managed to let out.
"I really don't see what was so hard about killing you. . ." The woman said with a smug smile. She formed another fireball in her hand. "It's easy enough." She pulled back her arm. Phoebe clenched her eyes shut, opening them seconds later when the fireball didn't hit her. Instead she looked up to see the demoness staring to their left. Reluctantly Phoebe turned, and a breath caught in her throat as she saw a tall, large demon. His skin was a dark red, and he had some sort of ancient markings on his face. "Belthazor." The woman said with a smirk, not so smug this time.
The demon she spoke to didn't look particularly happy. The woman seemed to notice this, and the fireball in her hand vanished. She looked down at Phoebe, the fury evident on her face. Belthazor quickly walked forward and grabbed the woman's hand, shimmering them both away.
* * * * *
"I told you I would do this!" Belthazor said loudly as he shimmered both him and Rasilyn back to his apartment. His features changed back to Cole's.
"Do you blame me for not believing you?" Rasilyn said with a smug smile, tracing a line down Cole's chest. Cole grabbed her hand roughly and pushed it away.
"I will do this." He said more firmly. "Without your help." With that he shimmered to the top of the stairs. He couldn't hear Phoebe or her sisters. He clenched his teeth, and taking every ounce of mental stimulation, threw himself down the stairs.
* * * * *
"Are you okay?" Piper asked helping Phoebe up. Phoebe dusted herself off as Prue joined them, slightly shaken.
"I think so." Phoebe said, hardly convincing. "What about you guys?"
"We're okay, for now." Prue said. "I think we should get home, we have to tell Grams about this. That woman came after us specifically. We're lucky to still be alive."
"Why are we alive?" Piper asked suddenly. "Why did the maroon-faced muscle demon help us out?"
"I don't know. But we have to go." Prue said, her voice shaking. She turned to Phoebe, and more quietly she asked, "How did things go with Cole?"
"Cole?" Phoebe asked, before remembering where they were. "Oh my god! Cole! What if he saw something?" She immediately turned around and sprinted back into the building. She stopped abruptly, clasping her hand over her mouth, as she saw him lying at the foot of the stairs unconscious.
"What happened?" Prue asked following Phoebe as she hurried to his side. Phoebe knelt down next to him.
"Cole. . .Cole!" She said, lightly shaking him. She let out a breath when he stirred. "Thank god. . ." She mumbled, helping him into a seated position. He blinked once. Twice. Three times, before he realised where he was. He brought a hand to his chest and coughed, his face flinching with pain. "What happened?" Phoebe asked when she made sure he was fully awake.
"I. . ." Cole started, recalling everything. "You rushed out. . .I followed you." He said, frowning. "I tripped. . .fell. . .I can't remember anything after that." He flinched again as she helped him up. "The scream. . .what happened?" He turned to Piper and Prue. The exchanged relieved, yet cautious glances.
"Cockroach." Piper said with a shrug. "We should get going-"
"Piper!" Phoebe exclaimed.
"No, she's right. You guys should go. I get the feeling you're not supposed to be here?" He smiled despite the pain that flashed through his chest. Prue looked wary.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Phoebe asked.
"I'm sure." He said with a soft glance. "I'll see you tomorrow." Phoebe leaned forward and kissed him gently on the cheek.
"Okay." She said with a smile. As Phoebe and her sister walked out of the building, Cole called out to Phoebe. She stopped and turned.
"I'm glad you came." He said.
"So am I." She said, returning his smile. With that they turned and walked out, closing the door lightly behind them. When he was sure they were gone, Cole shimmered back into his apartment, groaning as he clutched his chest.
"You didn't need to do that." Rasilyn said from his couch.
"Still here." Cole mumbled, not paying her any attention. He headed to his freezer and pulled out an ice pack, placing it on his shoulder.
"I can get someone to heal that for you. . ."
"No. It has to look natural." Cole said firmly, shifting the icepack to his forehead. Rasilyn shook her head in amusement.
"Fine. You're going to too much effort." Was the last thing she said, before she shimmered out of the room, leaving Cole to nurse his wounds.
* * * * *
Well, that's it for now. Review and tell me what you thought.