Special thanks to all of you who let me know about the little booboo with the character names.  I was trying this scene for something else trying to see which it fit but this won.  Anyway thanks again for the heads up.  Power ranger's lightspeed rescue is not a part of this story in nay means. 

Chapter 3Surprises

 "Cole…"  Phoebe breathed at the sight of the man standing in her doorway.  God, he looked good, his hair was slightly longer than she remembered so it brushed his shoulders.  Now though it was however pulled back by a piece of cord.  He was just as tall; his shoulder seemed broader than she remembered but those blue eyes… 

"Hello Phoebe."  Cole managed t make his words come out normally although his heart was lodged in his throat, even seeing her image on the security camera's hadn't prepared him for the reality of seeing this woman once more up close and personal. 

"How…  I mean I don't understand."  She managed not to croak. 

"Why don't we talk about it over dinner?"  Cole suggested glancing around; he really wanted to do this somewhere a little more neutral. 

"I don't know I mean…"  Goddess she wanted to go, she wanted to follow him to the ends of the earth for him but what did he want?  Was he out for some kind of revenge?  Should she be wary? 

"Phoebe," he said quietly taking her hand and pressing a small bouquet of Daisies into her hand. His eyes were an intense blue as he gazed at her.  "A lot has happened and I would like to talk with you."  There was so much earnestness in that gaze she knew it was true and her heart gave a little thud. 

"Alright."  She couldn't help but smile. 

"Come on."  He said once she'd set the flowers on the little coffee table. 

"Let me…"  She was starting for her purse but he stepped in and caught her hand. 

"No need, I can get you anything you'll require."  He said quietly and she looked up at him.  His face was more handsome than she'd remembered and yet it was indecipherable.  Still she saw no malevolence or hatred in those dark blue eyes. 

"Alright."  And they were leaving, her closing the door behind her. 

*** 

The chimera room was like something out of her most enchanting dreams.  It was decorated as if it were not a room at all but a medieval forest.  Goddess, even the seating areas were not as one would imagine, they were in four separate styles.  In the far corner of the room was located a running stream with a series of flat surfaced bolder.  The chairs were stone as sell, like smaller rocks but all could see they were merely padded with a grey cushion.  In another area of the room was set up an actual tavern from the past with serving wenches.  It struck Phoebe that was indeed the bar.  Another section was in the heart of the forest, it was set up with crude stools with boards as were supposedly used in the past for tables during feasts.   In the middle of them set a fire pit where saw a big caldron of something she couldn't distinguish.   The final seating was high above them, along the main wall; little huts lined the wall where it was made to look as if they were strung from tree to tree. 

"Cole…" Phoebe breathed taking it all in.  "It's amazing." 

"I'm glad you like it. I was going for something that you can't fine today."  HE confessed and she nodded. 

"It's incredible."  She smiled loving how it all seemed so dreamlike.   Yet it was not evil, it was real, plaster and wood. Stone and water. 

"I thought that perhaps we could eat by the stream."  Cole suggested. 

"That's perfect."  She agreed and it was funny he'd forgotten just how beautiful her smile could be.  But then he'd worked hard at forgetting.  He'd had to just to survive the pain and loss he'd felt at leaving San Francisco.  From the time she'd walked in yesterday he'd felt the feelings welling up, past all of his old defenses, past all he'd newly built.  How could he have thought he could do this with out falling back in to her eyes?  She was his soul mate; he'd known it from the moment they'd first kissed. 

"Cole?"  Phoebe asked turning to face him.  He'd gone so quiet, what was he thinking? 

"Hmm?"  He asked and found himself staring into those eyes that had haunted him for so long.  Was this all real?  Had she really come there?  Was she truly having dinner with him? 

"Is everything ok?  You're staring."  He murmured softly wondering if this had been a bad idea.  Maybe he'd decided he'd not like to have dinner with her after all. 

"Oh, sorry I was just thinking."  He gave her a little smile and she quirked a brow. 

"Don't worry about it; I do that from time to time."  She told him patting his arm companionably. 

"I'd hope not too hard."  He teased and she made a little face.  It was good; he could make her act like the girl he'd first met.  Maybe this was a good idea after all. 

Just then the maître d" approached. 

"Mr. Grayson your table is ready sir." 

"Thank you Andre."  With that Cole offered Phoebe his arm and preceded to lead her over to a table beside the man made stream. 

"Would either of you care for drinks Mr. Grayson?"  A wine waiter asked and Cole nodded and quickly ordered sending the waiter   off to retrieve the requested bottle. 

"So um where d we begin?" 

"Hmm, how about your show, how's it going?" 

"Oh, it's going great." 

'I help people." 

"That's good."  He murmured.   "You were always a giving person." 

Phoebe blushed and as the wine waiter   returned she allowed Cole to sniff the cork of the chardonnay and sample it for approval.  It was funny, Phoebe thought, he looked as he had back in San Francisco, yet there was a sophistication she'd not before seen.  Even his movements were fluid, even graceful.  Maybe it had always been there but she'd missed it but she didn't really know.  Maybe there just been too much of the demonic crap to really notice.  She felt a pang, had her calling really taken so much away from her? 

"Phoebe are you alright?" 

"I don't know…" 

"What's wrong?" 

"Nothing."  He gazed at her thoughtfully and then asked slowly. 

"Phoebe your not still worried are you?  I'm not after you, not like before." 

"I… I know that."   How could she tell him it was her? "I was just thinking again." 

"Ok, new rule, no thinking tonight."  He said and lashed a little grin. 

"No thinking what so ever?"  She wanted to smile again; he was being so light hearted, man had it ever been like this before? 

"Nope none."  He grinned and she did feel herself grinning right back. 

"You drive a tough bargain." 

"Better believe it.  So what would you like to eat?"  Phoebe was scanning her menu when she heard the very familiar voices. 

"Piper just relax, will you? Paige can watch one little baby."  Came a familiar voice and Phoebe glanced up as Leo was helping Piper to sit at a table a few rows over. 

"I know but what if…"  Piper broke off as he pushed her in. 

"Things haven't changed."  Cole said in amusement once more and Phoebe nodded. 

"They love each other very much."  She replied feeling a pang, hadn't she and Cole felt that once? 

When the waiter returned Phoebe ordered a fish in herbs and a salad. 

"I noticed everything on the menu would have been things they could have eaten back in the past." 

"Hmm," Cole murmured sipping his wine.  "The goal when I bought the resort was to make it a wonderland.  The outside a typical family resort but inside this room was to be a dream, one I'd had many a time in my life." 

"You were a hero." 

"Yes, if I couldn't be one for real I could have the illusion." 

"Cole you don't need the fantasy you were a hero to me and my sisters so many times."  Phoebe smiled, how many times had she thought of the bad without the good, how many times had he saved them? 

"One who nearly killed you?"  He laughed bitterly. 

"Not you."  She murmured reaching out and taking his hand.  "Cole that was darkness, true you have it in you but for me you fought that."  Phoebe reminded him matter-of-factly. 

"And I lost."  He mumbled and then preceded to change the subject. 

*** 

A few tables away Leo and Piper frowned.  That hadn't gone as she'd thought or hoped.  No, they'd of coarse known who Phoebe's date was, like they'd leave it to chance.  Not after Phoebe had been hurt so many times. 

*** 

"So," Phoebe said taking a bite of her salad, "you said you'd tell me how you established yourself here." 

"Oh, right, well after I left town I kind of drifted around for a while.  I had some money put away in banks across the world so that wasn't a problem." 

"What, so it was like a road trip?" 

"In a way.  In all of my life I've never just traveled for the sake of traveling."  Cole admitted.   

Phoebe couldn't help but smile at his admission.  Mr. Bad boy had never just had fun on his own?  That was so odd to imagine.  Yet knowing Cole as she'd known him she could understand it.  He'd been all business for so long. 

"Did you enjoy it?" 

"I tried."   He admitted and she thought as he sipped his wine it was truly a night for confessions. 

"I just kept seeing the hurt in your eyes, the love and fear…"   he looked at his nearly untouched salad bowl as if not sure what it was doing there. 

"We were both hurting."   She said softly and Cole felt his heart catch, had she known after all?

"I um…"   She felt as if she'd been incredibly stupid and she had, by not realizing the truth before now.  "Look I'm sorry, I know that won't change anything, I was so horrible and I just want you to know if I could take it all…"  

'Funny we both had to apart to realize so much."   He said with a rye smile. 

"Yeah tell me about it."   Phoebe mumbled and for the first time in a long while her smile reached her lovely eyes. 

It was then he saw it, the flash of her, but not Phoebe, she wore a wreath of wild flowers in her lovely hair, her eyes sparkling as he leaned forward to kiss her soft lips.

"Ha raw!"  A hoard of voice cheered and then he realized why he'd wanted this place, it was tonight, for her.  It didn't make much sense but he'd had the oddest feeling as if that had truly been him.  It was in another world, his hair had been as long as it was now and he wore it the same.  She'd worn a simple brown dress and there was a radiance about her pretty face.

'Cole?" 

"Hmm?"  And then he realized where he truly was, with Phoebe in the chimera room of his resort.

"You ok? You look sort of far away."   Phoebe said with concern. 

 "Yeah, I was just thinking about a business deal." 

"Oh," Phoebe looked back at her nearly empty salad bowl and felt as if he'd slapped her, was she truly that boring? 

Just then their server returned with their meals and they waited while he served them each.   When they were once more alone Phoebe asked. 

"So what happened after your little adventure?" 

"Oh right," Cole took a sip of his wine before saying.   Well I'd come here to try some skiing and overheard the news that the mountain was being sold for back taxes." 

"You bought it."  Phoebe smiled at him. 

"It made sense," he shrugged explaining.  "It needed new ownership and I had the cash." 

"Thus you set up a new life here."  She hadn't thought he'd be able to with all he'd been through but now that he had she didn't know how to react.  She'd been thinking so much of him lately that she wanted this meeting to go better than anything in the world./ 

"Exactly."  He nodded. 

"It's good then, you never did have much of a chance at a normal life."  Phoebe smiled at him, remembering all she'd learned of his past growing up and such. 

"And you, how have things been going?"  Cole inquired sipping his wine. 

"Not too badly."  she smiled at a  bit of news she had been waiting to teol someone."  "Leo and Piper are expecting again."  She smiled fondly at the thought of yet another niece or nephew. 

"They are?  That's great."  Cole liked the light in her eyes even more than the news that Paige was doing well. 

"Yeah, they're so excited."  Phoebe admitted a wistful look coming briefly into her soft eyes before she chased it away. 

"How about Paige?"  Cole asked at the memories of all that had happened with the seer. 

"She is dating one of our innocents."  Phoebe told him, thinking of just how happy Paige and Richard were. 

"Oh, that must be difficult."  Cole said remembering how hard it had been for Pru and Andy. 

"Not really, he knows the truth about her.  He's a witch."  She explained a little smile on her pretty face. 

"Oh, alright."  Just then their food arrived and in a companionable silence they began to eat. 

TBC 

*** 

Ok here comes the typical part, please r/r.  Is it better?  I think I caught most of the errors in the first draft.