Chapter Three

Phoebe tumbled through the mirror and, for a moment, lay stunned on the floor. She slowly sat up, groaned, and held the back of her head as she glanced around the back room. She couldn't remember whether she had been in there three months before, the morning of Paige's accident, so she wasn't sure how much was actually different. The only thing she was sure of was that Misty hadn't had the mirror back then. Misty never kept major magical acquisitions a secret from her or her sisters, because of the help the Charmed Ones could provide, and would have definitely informed them of the mirror. "I don't understand," Phoebe considered aloud, "if there's a gap of three months between us, how did Misty here end up with the mirror in January when she just finished telling me she only got it a few weeks ago?"

"She told me some witch named Clara was killed about three weeks ago," her reflection explained as she sat up, "so maybe I'm not your past after all but some sort of other reality."

"Misty did say that the mirror could be a portal to other worlds," Phoebe recalled. "Maybe we somehow triggered it."

"The blow to the back of myour head," she agreed as she lightly touched the back of her ear. She frowned when she saw fresh blood on her fingertips. "I heard a gunshot"

Phoebe tested the back of her ear too and displayed her red fingertips to her reflection. "Same here. I was in front of the mirror, thinking of Cole and choices I've made, and --"

"Me too," she interrupted in a whisper of surprise. "Almost immediately after the shot, I felt a sharp pain and everything went black."

"Oh my God," Phoebe gasped, "it was us. We opened a portal between worlds."

"Unless Cole" she somberly left her thought hanging.

"No!" Phoebe sharply said. "He was vanquished months ago and has been gone for good. He couldn't have had anything to do with this."

"All right," she relented, "so maybe it wasn't him but -- look at our clothing and our hair! I look like you did a few minutes ago and now you're wearing my outfit! What happened? Why didn't it all stay the same?"

"Maybe we had more of a spiritual exchange?" Phoebe suggested. "Paige said it was something like that when she got caught in Cole's world. Maybe I took over your body here and you took over mine."

"That doesn't make sense," she shook her head slightly and tried to ignore the wave of nausea she felt from the action. "I know I went through the mirror."

"I don't know," Phoebe sighed, "and trying to figure it out will probably only make my headache worse. Besides we don't have the time for theoretical discussions now."

"Having second thoughts?" she wondered. "If this isn't a matter of your past and my future, maybe we shouldn't mess with anything. You're not really me so maybe my Cole isn't really your Cole. Maybe what he did to you won't happen to me."

"And maybe it will," Phoebe quietly said. "Does it matter? Yours or mine, this could be my last chance to save him and I think I have to try. I think I owe it to him to tryUnless you want to go back"

"No," she quickly replied. "I mean, not yet. A world without Cole? I'm sure I can manage here for a little while. Might be just what I need." She stared intently at herself in the mirror and warned, "Save him if you want but make sure he agrees to leave us alone once we've switched back. Make sure he understands it is over. I don't want him in my life anymore. I don't want all the danger that comes with him. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of fighting everything and everyone all the time for something that may have been doomed from the start. I'm just tired."

"I understand," Phoebe sympathized, "I truly do. I felt that way too. For so long. After everything we'd gone through, I thought it could at least be an amicable break. When he returned from the Wasteland, I thought he understood. I thought he had accepted the truth, that we loved each other and always would but simply couldn't be together."

"But Cole didn't let go," she muttered. "He kept coming back and it'sbeen getting worse and worse."

"I remember," Phoebe softly admitted, "but I guess it's different for me now. Maybe enough time has passed. Maybe the men I've met, the changes at work and at homeMaybe you'll feel this way in three months too."

"And maybe not," she strongly disagreed. "After everything Cole's done lately, it would take a helluva lot for me to change my mind about him. Regardless of what happened to him." She shook her head, "I can't believe that, after only a few short months, you've forgiven him for a year of heartache."

"I'm not sure I've forgiven him exactly," Phoebe acknowledged as she stared her double in the eyes. "More that I'm finally realizing that I was wrong in not giving him the chance to talk to me or at least explain what he went thr--"

"I don't want to hear it," she angrily interrupted, "I don't care what happened. I loved Cole so completely, so desperately, but loving him nearly destroyed me, not to mention my sisters, and I won't ever put myself, or them, through that again. I would rather --"

"Phoebe?" a male voice called out while the front door bells jingled. "Are you here?"

"Jason" Phoebe realized. She quickly explained, "Jason Dean, new owner of the paper, who's taken an active interest in my column. He's made me do some journalistic reporting in addition to the regular advice bit. He's arrogant and stubborn, never seems to listen to me and always appears to be indulging me in my own opinions. But, he's charming, often right, and is more attractive than I care to admit. He's made it quite clear he wants to see me on a more social level but we've only had one dinner date so far. I thought it would be easier to start on more neutral, less pressured, grounds so I suggested he meet me here while I picked up something for Paige and then grab a quick lunch."

"Got it," she assured herself' with a nod, "he's a hottie and I'm playing hard to get." She caught her reflected look of annoyance and shrugged a half-hearted apology, "KiddingRemember, we can't let anyone else get their hands on this mirror. Certainly not while we're in each other's worldsI'm back here, Jason!"

"I'm sure she'll let Leo or Paige orb it to the house. Check in around midnight," Phoebe requested. "Hopefully, I'll have everything worked out by then Say you've got amnesia from your injury."

"What?" she asked in confusion when she heard Jason call her name again. "Why?"

"It'll explain the gap in your memory when you can't recall things from the past three months that you should," she quickly answered as she caught sight of Jason entering the room. "And don't sleep with him," she hissed.

"Phoebe?" Jason questioned as he rushed into the room.

She spun at the sound of his voice and swayed slightly. She instinctively grabbed onto the mirror and realized it was solid and back to normal. Her reflection showed her own image. She sighed and realized they were each on their own now.

"What happened?" Jason reached out to support her and knelt next to her. He inspected the back of her ear and apologized when she moaned. "You'd better have this looked at. Did you call 911?"

Phoebe shook her head, "II told you I just came to." She jerked in his grip and tried getting to her feet, "Misty!"

Jason helped her to her feet and placed his arm around her shoulders after she swayed again. "Who's Misty?"

"My friendThe owner," she replied as she took a moment to steady herself, "she was out front when"

"When what?" he inquired. "I didn't see anyone out front."

"She was out front! Misty!" Phoebe panicked as she pushed away from him and stumbled into the front room. She found her friend lying on the floor behind the front counter. "Call for help!" she ordered as she pressed a dustcloth to Misty's bloody shoulder. "Come on, Misty, hang in there"

"Ph, Phoebe?" Misty groaned as her eyes fluttered.

"I'm here," Phoebe said, "and you're gonna be just fine. I promise." Misty's eyes opened a bit wider and she struggled to speak. "Don't talk, Misty. Save your strength. You'll be okay."

"Wexler's Medallion," Misty commented in a hoarse voice. "Took itHave to find it"

"Help's on the way," Jason told them as he came over and knelt next to Misty. He took off his jacket and covered her with it. "She's going into shock," he explained to Phoebe.

Misty hadn't taken her eyes off Phoebe, "Help"

"I will," Phoebe promised but her friend's eyes had already closed. "Jason?"

"Paramedics will be here in a few minutes," he assured her. He caressed her cheek as she continued to press the cloth to Misty's wound. "What happened here?"

"I don't know," Phoebe whispered truthfully. "I don't know."

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