Chapter Eighteen
"This is your fault," Paige charged Cole.
"No, it's not," Phoebe countered in a drained tone as she struggled to remain focused. "He only tried to help. He…" She gazed at him and suddenly realized, "You're here. But I thought, I mean, I saw --"
"Power stripping potion," Cole explained simply, with a glare to Paige.
"I'm sorry," Phoebe whispered as she began trembling. "I'm so sorry, I promised you…" She suddenly turned to Paige, "How could you? He was only doing what I wanted."
"Calm down, sweetie," Piper told her while she shared a concerned glance with Paige, "it's not her fault. She, we both, saw him turn into Belthazor and stab you. We thought he killed you. And he nearly did."
"Because I begged him to," Phoebe weakly argued. "I didn't want your potion. He --"
"He's fine," Paige interrupted while trying to maintain her composure. Right now, in spite of how she felt about Cole, the last thing she wanted for Phoebe was to get caught in the middle again. Phoebe looked about ready to collapse.
"Like hell," Cole muttered before he quickly lied to a pale Phoebe, "It's for the best. I'll be fine."
"See?" Paige told her sister with a hint of annoyance due to his first comment.
But she didn't see. Cole had only tried to help and fate still screwed him. Or, rather, her sister did. "Oh, Paige…" Phoebe's trembling only increased, her knees buckled, and her sisters quickly helped her to the sofa. "It's not right," she cried to him. "You were finally…"
"Phoebe?" Piper sat next to her sister and rubbed Phoebe's arm with concern when Phoebe stopped speaking.
"What's wrong?" Cole wondered while he knelt before her. He touched her knee and tried to assure her, "It's not your fault."
"She was brought back from the edge of darkness," Leo reminded them. "I can only heal her so far and it may be a few days before she's gathered her strength back."
"C'mon," Paige suggested as she sat on the sofa, on Phoebe's other side, "let me orb you to your room so you can get some sleep. You've had one helluva day."
"No," Phoebe shook her head, "not yet…Cole's…" She stared at him in confusion, "You're…you're…different. Something's off..." The fuzziness she felt frustrated her to no end. "I know my power's a bit off but I'm definitely sensing something strong but I just can't quite make it out…"
"Power," Cole quietly acknowledged with a slight nod. "I can feel it."
Phoebe ignored Piper's gasp and added, "But there's something familiar about it…"
"Great," Paige groaned, "he's evil again." She glared at Cole and demanded, "What'd you do, absorb the Dark Starling's power when it was vanquished?" She turned back to Piper, "Who knows what he can do now…"
"I can't do anything thanks to you," he angrily reminded her.
Phoebe shook her head but immediately grabbed onto Piper when a wave of dizziness caused the room to spin. "No…not evil…" she murmured with her eyes closed.
"Leo?" Piper questioned as she steadied her younger sister. Phoebe slowly opened her eyes and Piper gently asked, "You okay?" Phoebe nodded and Piper pulled her closer and wrapped an arm around Phoebe.
Meanwhile, Leo had closed his eyes and concentrated on Cole. On the power he felt emanating from Cole's being. After a moment, he looked at the others and nodded somberly, "He's a Whitelighter."
"What?" four voices exclaimed at once.
Leo sighed and explained, "Every Whitelighter has an individual, um, energy code, if you will."
"Like demons," Cole agreed distractedly while he stared at his hands and watched them glow with a golden light for a second or two.
"Always wondered why specific demons could appear when called rather than any demon from the same breed," Phoebe commented as she watched him. She could barely make out the confusion she was sure he was feeling.
"It's more than that," Leo added. "Sensing Cole now is as if I was sensing Chris."
"Damn him," Cole muttered. "That's what he did." The others stared at him as he realized, "It was a spell. I could barely hear him but it must've been a spell to transfer his powers to me."
"Great," Piper rubbed her temples, "just great."
"Vanquish me," Cole suddenly said.
Paige grinned, "First thing that's made sense all day."
"What?" Phoebe uttered in surprise.
"I can't be a Whitelighter," he told her. "I did what you wanted, it's time to return the favor."
"No," she declared as she leaned forward and pressed her palms to his cheeks. "You're strong enough to handle this."
"We'd better go," Leo told him. "We'll have to go before the other Elders so that some decisions can be made."
"What decisions?" Paige anxiously wondered.
Cole momentarily closed his eyes, "No." He pulled Phoebe's hands away and looked up at Leo, "Forget it."
Phoebe nervously glanced at Leo before she gazed at Cole, "It'll be okay. Leo will be there to help you adapt."
He abruptly stood up and turned away from all of them, "Not this time. I'm damned tired of always adapting."
"Tough," she retorted as she pushed away Piper's restraining hand and stood up. She shakily walked around him to face him. "Life is about adapting to the unexpected. Everything happens for a reason, Cole."
"That's your belief," he declared, "not mine."
"You can do this," she insisted, "I know you can." He didn't look convinced and she quietly swore, "I believe in you, Cole, all you have to do is believe in yourself."
The telephone rang and startled everyone. While Piper searched for the cordless handset, Leo stepped closer to Phoebe and Cole. "We should go," he quietly suggested but with an air of authority that gave no room for argument.
Phoebe ignored the ringing phone and, with a smile, told Cole, "Give 'em hell, Counselor." He suddenly grinned and, when she suddenly realized what she'd said, she quickly corrected herself, "Not literally!"
Cole chuckled, "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."
"Cole…" she warned.
"Phoebe," Piper interrupted, "Jason's on the phone."
Phoebe looked from the phone in her sister's hand to Cole and wasn't sure what to do.
"He'd be a fool to let you go," he quietly reminded her.
"Thank you for saving me," she whispered as her eyes began to well with tears.
Cole placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for saving me," he repeated before he turned to Leo. "Let's get this over with."
Phoebe watched the orb sparkles disperse in the air and couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Cole's echoing voice, "I still say I'm in hell."
"Pheebs," Piper awkwardly told her, "Jason's waiting."
Phoebe nodded and took the phone. She let Piper lead her back to the sofa and sat down. "Jason, hi…How are you? Is everything okay? I mean your meetings, did they…I mean I hope this morning's events didn't --"
"Can you come back?" he interrupted. "I'm in a break right now but my last meeting was cancelled and I thought maybe we could talk. Or maybe you could talk and I could listen."
Phoebe glanced at her sisters. "Are you sure? I thought you wanted some time to yourself."
"I did," he replied in a tired voice, "I do. But then I realized that I didn't have all the facts and I owe it to myself to at least hear you out before I take that time to think."
"Okay," she quietly agreed, "Paige can bring me back whenever you want."
"I'll be tied up for another hour or so," he told her. "If you could be there before I came back…And maybe…maybe it's not such a good thing if she's there with you. No offense to Paige but…"
"I understand," she nodded even though he couldn't see it. "I'll be there." She disconnected the call and told her sisters, "He wants to see me, to let me explain."
Piper quickly hugged her, "That's wonderful, sweetie. I told you he just needed some time."
Phoebe pushed herself out of her sister's embrace and cautioned, "He still wants time alone. He just wants to hear the rest before he does. I'm not sure going into more detail will make things any better."
"Learning about magic's a big shock for anyone," Paige said. "Remember how I first reacted? I don't think I could've orbed outta here faster." She smiled warmly at Phoebe and assured her sister, "He'll come around. You'll see. Lemme just call Richard, tell him everything's okay, and then I'll drop you off."
Phoebe shrugged, "He's still in a meeting so I have some time to grab a quick shower and change before I go back." She stood and walked to the door and, as she headed down the stairs, she murmured, "I hope he'll be okay."
"I'm sure he will be," Piper called out.
Overwhelmed by everything, Paige sank back into the sofa next to Piper. In a concerned tone, she indicated to the empty doorway and asked Piper, "Who do you think she meant just now? Jason or Cole?"
"Jason," Piper automatically replied before she took a moment. "I think…I hope."
Paige pulled from her pocket the vial containing Belthazor's vanquish. "He's back, Piper," Paige worried, "and all the rules've changed."
"Not necessarily," Piper theorized. "I think maybe they both got some closure and maybe that's not a bad thing. But I don't think she wants him back."
"What're we gonna do if…" Paige couldn't even finish her thought.
Piper patted her sister's arm. "We just have to wait and see what happens."
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