Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.

The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... Cole

One Last Chance

Sunlight. Air. Breeze. Phoebe looked around her room. Her curtain was drawn and the window had been opened. Cole entered the room carrying a tray with eggs, bacon, and orange juice on it.

Phoebe smiled that after everything, Cole was still taking care of her.

He smiled back at her, and he placed the tray in her lap as she sat up. She took the fork and took a bite of the eggs. She set the fork back down and motioned for Cole to sit down.

He sat at the foot of the bed looking toward her.

"Thanks," she whispered. She couldn't say much - she only wanted to forget the horror of last night, not remember it. Hey, she was raped; could you blame her?

They both needed to accept it. Phoebe was raped - plain and simple. Cole had come to save her, but he was too late. The demon had already finished what he came to do.

"Don't mention it," Cole began. "It's my job... to protect you. It always has been. I know it has."

Phoebe couldn't bring herself to look at him; instead, she picked up her fork and began eating again.

Cole didn't stop her - food is for eating. But Phoebe thought about Cole instead of focusing on eating. She just couldn't figure him out. Oh, but she was going to. She was going to all too well...

...And all too soon. It was a new day.

x x x

Paige yawned. She was tired. She was hungry. She was... her.

She walked downstairs to get food, only to be slightly grossed, yet slightly amused when she heard moans coming from Piper and Leo's room.

It was almost as if Paige had a split personality. ... how cute! Ew...how gross!'

She fixed herself a quick bowl of cereal. She would need her Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Today she was going to find a job! It was a new day.

x x x

"Stop," Piper managed to say. She was overwhelmed with exhaustion and pleasure - so much so that she couldn't keep going anymore.

It was 7:30 AM, and she needed to be at the club by 9.

Leo climbed off of her, exhausted as well. Both were thoroughly satisfied from the previous evening... and morning... and if they were both in the mood, later tonight!

Piper got up when she had the strength, and got dressed and went downstairs. But Leo lay in bed - much too tired to get up.

But everything was okay now. Everything was fine. It was a new day.

...A new day for everyone.

x x x

"Phoebe, can I ask you something; it's kind of blunt..." Cole trailed.

"Uh... sure."

"Are you single because you like being lonely or because you're afraid of getting hurt?" When she didn't answer, Cole pressed on, "Phoebe, do you want to answer my question or not?"

"I'm not going to; not now, anyways. Wh-... when the time is right... I will..." she trailed.

"Alright," Cole answered.

"Paige still doesn't know you're alive," Phoebe stated.

"Huh?" Cole heard some sort of mumble, but it was barely loud enough to understand. Plus... it was random...

"Paige..."

"What about her?"

"She doesn't know you're alive."

"And your point is...?" Cole questioned.

"Nothing; never mind. I'll tell her... over the phone, of course."

"Yeah; oh, hey, about that: make sure she doesn't orb to me and slap me 'cause... well... that would... hurt."

Phoebe let out a light-hearted laugh. Cole smiled. Phoebe was hurting, but he was making everything okay.

He loved making everything okay.

x x x

"Hello?" Paige answered her phone. It was Phoebe.

"Hey, Paige," Phoebe announced from the other end.

"Phoebe? Look, I can't talk right now! I'm getting ready for a job interview?

"Paige... there's something you need to know though-"

"Phoebe, I'm serious! I can't-"

"But Cole is alive!" Paige didn't answer. She was in to much shock. But Phoebe knew she was still on the line. "There's more..." continued Phoebe. "He's been assigned to me."

"What do you mean 'assigned to you'!"

"He's my whitelighter."

"I can't handle this right now." Click. Paige had hung up. 'Oh my God! C'mon, for once, give me a break. I have to find a job, and now I have to deal with Cole?' Paige thought. 'Damn.'

x x x

"Cole!"

Cole turned around. "Oh! Hey, Leo! What's up?"

"Nothing... but what are you doing at Toys R Us?"

"I'm a kid at heart," Cole replied. "No, actually, I sensed you here. I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out or something; but then these toys really opened my eyes. And I realized... Spiderman is the coolest!"

Leo laughed. "Sure, I'll hang out with you; just let me pick up some more things for Wyatt. Christmas is on its way, you know! At least I'll know to get you a Spiderman gift," Leo poked.

Cole responded with a light laugh, and followed Leo helping him pick out toys that boys Wyatt's age like. Then they went to check out, and they were at a restaurant eating lunch in no time.

x x x

"Paige Matthews?" a tall, dark-haired man questioned. He had a deep voice and was nicely cut, though it was hard to tell because of his business suit. However, his tall figure only made him more appealing.

When Paige nodded her head in affirmation, the man invited her inside his office. "My name is Bud Rogers. I'm the CEO of this company. I understand you want to be a social worker here?"

"That's right!" she said firmly.

"Alright," Buddy said. He paused at first; she sounded rude. "Um... first question," he began again as he read over her resume. "Why did you quit your previous job just when you were promoted?"

"I had other things, alright?" Paige snapped.

Buddy cleared his throat and continued. "Could you be a little more specific?"

"Why does it even matter? You're supposed to be interviewing me to see if I qualify... skill-wise. I can obviously do this job, so what's the problem?"

"Gees, what the hell is your problem?"

"Oh, shut up! You CEOs are all talk and no play. You think of yourselves as everything and people like me as nothing. Maybe you should stop being such a 'nice guy'! We know it's a facade; it always is with you people!"

"You are so rude..." Buddy said, "...but I like it."

"Huh?" Paige responded in monotone.

"This company needs some more people like you - people who care but aren't afraid to have to lay it down sometimes. I like your aggressiveness and your attitude. You start tomorrow."

"Alright," Paige exclaimed. Then she thought: 'Hmm...maybe I should find out Cole is alive every day...'

x x x

Leo and Cole finished eating their pizza at a California Pizza Kitchen, but were too stuffed to even stand up.

A bus boy passed and asked the two if they were done. When they nodded their heads, he began to pick up the dishes on the table. Leo and Cole both headed toward the bathroom where they'd both orbed to the movie theatre.

x x x

The phone rang. Phoebe answered. It was Piper calling the manor. "Hello?" Phoebe asked.

"Phoebe?" Piper replied.

"Piper, what's up?"

"Have you seen Leo?"

"No, he orbed out of here before I even woke up."

"Okay, well, I need to talk to you anyways. I think we should keep a close eye on Cole. I mean, even if he is an angel, that doesn't mean angels can't fall. And since it is Cole that we're talking about, the risk is bigger."

"You know what, Piper? I'm sick of you and Paige talking bad about Cole - especially to me. You know, to me, he's a friend. And so if you have something bad to say about him, go tell Paige, but not me. I don't wanna hear it," Phoebe bickered. 'Whoa! Where did that come from,' Phoebe thought to herself.

Piper was silent.

"Look, I'll call for Leo and tell him to get his butt back here." Phoebe pulled the phone away from her mouth and ear. "LEO! COLE! WHERE EVER YOU ARE, YOU BETTER GET BACK HERE NOW!"

"Why'd you yell for Cole?"

"Because I love pissing you off," Phoebe answered.

x x x

"So what movie should we see: The Fighting Temptations or School of Rock?" Cole asked.

"Neither. Phoebe's calling me," Leo replied.

"Yeah, me too," Cole added.

The two whitelighters went to a corner and waited until no one was watching before orbing to the manor.

x x x

"Is everything okay, Phoebe," Cole said as blue orbs circled into two shapes: one was Cole's, and one was Leo's.

Phoebe smiled. "Peachy. Leo, the phone is for you. It's your wife."

"She's your sister, too."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. She was still reeling. The fact was, as much as she was happy that she finally told off her older sister, she was also surprised that she had stood up for Cole in such a valiant way.

x x x

"Hey guys!" Paige announced fifteen minutes later as she entered the manor. She took a look at the scene around her.

Leo was in one of those chairs, and Cole was holding a sleeping Phoebe on the couch. Paige was about to yell, but she whispered to Cole that she'd wait at the risk of waking her sister.

Piper walked in about ten steps behind Paige. She saw Phoebe sleeping and she didn't say anything. She only glared at Cole. Then, remembering what Phoebe had told her earlier, she rolled her eyes and walked over to Leo, kissing him lightly on the lips when she was by his side.

He offered her his lap, and she sat; Paige sat in the second chair on the other side of the side table.

"I got the job," Paige whispered, respecting the fact that her slightly older sister was worn out and sleeping. It was quite interesting for her to see Phoebe sleeping at 2:00 in the afternoon. But who was she to judge?

"That's great, Paige," Piper whispered back, though it was slightly louder. She still wasn't cooled off from what Phoebe had said to her.

"Yeah, Paige, that's great," Leo answered. He looked at Cole, and Cole looked at Paige.

"Yeah, good for you," Cole said with a little less enthusiasm than the other two. When Leo gave him a stern look, Cole continued: "No offense or anything by the way I said it, Paige, it's just... I don't like you... at all."

"That's fine because I hate you," Paige replied.

"Well, don?t let Phoebe know," Piper added sarcastically.

They didn't know that Phoebe had awoken about the time Paige had announced she had gotten the job. "Shut up, Piper. You're just mad because you can't accept the fact that Cole is finally good and there's nothing you can do if I ever feel like screwing around with him."

"That's exactly right! And maybe if you weren't too busy trying to hide the fact that you're still in love with him from us, then you'd be a slightly stronger person on the field," Paige entered the argument.

"How would admitting something like that - even if I felt that way, which I'm not saying I do - would help me when we're fighting demons?"

"Maybe because you wouldn't drool over Cole when we're trying to vanquish them," Piper replied.

"Pfft, I'm out of here," Phoebe yelled.

"Well, once again, I see that you've developed dad's skill of leaving," Piper said.

"And once again, I'll reply: that's because the two of us couldn't stand living with the two of you!"

Paige was pissed. Piper was pissed. Phoebe was pissed. They were all pissed off, and unfortunately, Andres wasn't there to make their anger grow - they were doing it all on their own.

"Lamp," Paige called. She orbed it towards Phoebe who levitated over it; Piper froze it before it hit her in the face.

Piper moved to the side; the lamp unfroze and hit the wall causing all three girls and two whitelighters to slightly jump.

And they knew what had happened - all except for Paige. Once again, the power of three had been severed, and none of the three felt like repairing it.

Cole and Leo looked at each other then back at the girls.

Piper went into the kitchen, Paige went into the attic, and Phoebe left the manor.

"I'll talk sense into Phoebe; if you can't reach the other two, at least have them sit down in the same room together - preferably the living room. Then we'll orb them to heaven. It's time they know," Cole said.

Leo nodded. "You're right. Since you're the cause of the break, you hold the key to fixing it."

Leo decided to start with Paige; she'd be easier to talk sense into then Piper.

Cole sensed Phoebe and orbed after her.

x x x

"Paige," Leo said walking into the attic.

"Leo, I think something is terribly wrong. My powers are gone and look at the Book of Shadows; the triquetra has been broken."

"Right; okay, Paige, there's something you need to know." Leo told Paige the story of Andres, Belthazor, and what had happened to the Charmed Ones when Prue was still alive. He included how Belthazor had started the anger by manipulating things that had happened to the girls, and how the girls used their powers against each other which severed the power of three.

"Well, if that's true, then why didn't Belthazor kill them when he had the chance?"

"Because the love in Cole was stronger than the evil in Belthazor," Leo replied. "Cole is a good guy; you and Piper just don't see it. That's why I'm going to show you."

"How?" she asked.

"Just trust me, alright?" he answered. "Go down into the living room. I have to talk to Piper first."

Paige nodded and did what she was told.

x x x

"Piper," Leo said as he entered the kitchen.

She was crying. "She's choosing him over family, Leo." Him - she had said it so coldly. She didn't hate Cole - she hated her sister for falling in love with him - and how Phoebe had fallen in love with him, she didn't know. No one did. And she hated it. But she had never hated Cole. She had stuck up for him plenty of times.

"Piper, to her, he is family. To her, Cole is a part of this family. Maybe not to you, maybe not to Paige, maybe not even to me, but to her, Cole is family."

"But... why?" she asked.

"You have no idea what Cole has been through - the pain, the darkness, the anger - well, now you can. Cole is prepared to show all three of you everything. His whole life! He's decided to open up... finally."

"What's the catch?"

"You've got to go into the living room. Cole and I will orb you and Phoebe; Paige will follow."

Piper sighed. "Here goes nothing."

x x x

"Phoebe," Cole said lightly. Phoebe looked behind her. She was only four houses away and Cole had followed her. She was crying. Cole could see the pain in her eyes.

"Come back home, Phoebe," Cole told with a sense of compassion.

"Cole, I can't. I don't have a home."

"Sure you do! 1329 Prescott Street, San Francisco, California."

"No, Cole, you don't get it. Home..." she trailed.

"Home..." Cole repeated, pushing her to finish the sentence.

"Home was a feeling a buried in you."

Cole looked down. He couldn't look into her eyes anymore. All he wanted to do was kiss her, but he couldn't. And now, he had to show her the other half of the truth, the part she doesn't know - the part that the lie covers up.

"Phoebe, it's time that I show you something. Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to let you figure me out. You've been trying for so long - it's only fair that you do. Plus, it'll help you repair the damage with your sisters."

"Right; the severed power of three; you know, Cole, I don't mind being normal."

"I know, baby. Believe me, I know." Cole reached out his hand. She took it.

x x x

Cole orbed into the living room with Phoebe. Before stopping for hellos, Leo grabbed Piper, and Cole and Leo orbed with Paige closely behind.

x x x

"Coleridge, Leonardo; we've been waiting for you," Abraham said in his loud, firm, yet soothing voice.

"You're name is Coleridge?" Paige asked. "That sucks."

Cole only smirked. Then he turned to Abraham, "Sir, it's the right time. They deserve to know."

"Yeah they do," said Cole's brother, Kyle. "Abraham gave us a lift up here."

Avril and Billy were behind Kyle. "Even though we know everything, it's hard to look back on your life..." Avril trailed.

"Thanks," Cole said. He looked down at Phoebe and gave her a genuine smile.

She could only smile back.

But none of them knew the horror that they were about to see, and it was all because they were needing clarity.