Here is the next chapter. Let me know what you thin.
Chapter 13.Piper and Paige were sitting in the kitchen having lunch. All morning they had been shopping for baby clothes and now both were happy to sit down and have a cold drink.
Paige was already on her second sandwich when a small vortex appeared in the middle of the kitchen. Before the two sisters could react the vortex disintegrated leaving Phoebe standing in its place. The middle Charmed One looked as if she had just seen a ghost.
"Phoebe," Piper asked warily, "Is it you?"
Her younger sister stood silent for a second and then muttered in a tired voice, "Of course, it's me, Piper."
"How did you get here?" Paige asked keeping a safe distance.
Phoebe smiled bitterly, "Magically," she explained sarcastically, "Did not you notice?" She ran her hand through her hair and added in a flat voice, "Cole sent me."
Her sisters forgot all their suspicions, "Cole?" Paige asked shocked. "How? ...Why did he do it?"
Phoebe observed her for a moment, then sighed and plopped on the chair, "I crashed his wedding," she explained. Shocked stares were the only comments to her words. "He is getting married," she said defensively, "to Nicole Berg. Today, or better said, he did get married this morning at least by the laws of the mortal realm. The demonic ceremony will take place in the evening," she added her lips twisting into a grimace, "I am surprised we have not received an invitation. Maybe it got lost in the mail."
Paige and Piper exchanged nervous look, "How did you find out?" the latter asked carefully.
"Because Katherine told me." Phoebe chuckled again, "Can you imagine, she is not keen on this wedding. Even less than you were, when I married Cole." She could not contain her hysterical laughter anymore. "What a coincidence..." she managed to mumble. "Do you think they would divorce as well?"
Piper and Paige now looked downright worried. "Phoebe, are you OK?" her youngest sister asked.
Phoebe lifted her head and seared the youngest Halliwell with a deadly glare, "No, I am not OK, Paige," she yelled. "Did not you hear me, Cole is getting married... I just saw the love of my life getting married to another woman. How do you think it makes me feel?"
Paige did not know what to say, she shot Piper a lost look and the oldest Charmed One decided that it was time to interfere.
"I am so sorry, honey," she murmured softly, putting a comforting hand around Phoebe's shoulders.
But her sister threw it off, "No, you are not..." she yelled. "You have never wanted me to be with Cole, from the moment you met him. You did everything to separate us. And what better separation could be than him being married to this bitch Nicole Berg?" The tears stood in her eyes and she brushed them away viciously.
Piper was taken aback by Phoebe's outburst but she calmed herself down and said softly, "I know you are upset, Phoebe, and I understand, believe me, but you will feel better with time. This is just a shock reaction."
A barking laugh answered her, "Feel better?" Phoebe repeated. "What a load of crap. You have no idea," she hissed, "both of you. It does not get better, it gets worse, every month, every day and every minute. It's the biggest lie in the world that time can heal everything. It only heals the surface but deep inside the wound just gets inflamed and more painful," she fixed her older sister with a hard stare. "It's been too short for you, Piper, to understand me, but you'll learn it the hard way, just the way I did. And then all you will want to do is to crawl into the nearest hole and die, just so it will not hurt anymore."
Piper stared at her sister in horror, getting more and more pale with every word, and Paige was getting worried about her pregnant sister. "Enough," she shouted to Phoebe. "Why are you ganging on Piper like that? It was your decision to divorce Cole. If you were so unhappy without him why did not you ask him back?"
The moment the young witch finished she immediately regretted her outburst. Phoebe turned to her like a fury, "Oh, yes, it was my decision," she shot, "and you had nothing to do with it. How convenient, Paige! It was all my own fault. But what about you? I know that you hated Cole the moment you learnt about his demonic past and did everything so we would not be together."
"You wanted him out of your life as well." Paige yelled defending herself, "you were talking about it all the time."
"I was scared and confused," Phoebe cried out, "Come on, Paige, I had just lost my husband and my baby. I was not myself. And instead of telling me to take it slow, to think about it you just ganged up together and kept telling me that Cole was evil. You knew I loved him, when I turned into a Mermaid you went to him because you knew my feelings for him. But not even once you told me that it would be okay to take Cole back. Not even once...! You all were going on how evil he was and I listened to you. I was so tired I could not keep fighting against you." She paused for breath and seared her sisters with a hateful glare, "Well, I am done listening to you," she said. "From now on I will take control of my life."
And with these words she turned round and ran upstairs. Her sisters stayed in the kitchen stunned by her outburst. Paige was the first one to return to reality, she made a move to go after Phoebe, but Piper stopped her. "There is no point, Paige," she said sadly, "She won't listen to you and plus you don't have much to say." She rubbed her face looking tiredly around. "We have made a huge mistake," she whispered, "and we will pay for it."
Paige set down next to her oldest sister. Phoebe's pained tear stricken face still stood in front of her. "I don't understand," she muttered, "How could we not have noticed? How could we misread the situation so badly?"
Piper shook her head, "Phoebe was always a good liar. I think this time she went a bit far and fooled not only us but herself as well."
Paige snorted, "Well, she definitely has woken up to truth... But I am not sure I like it very much."
Piper put her hand around her shoulders, "Well, hopefully she'll get over it and we have to make sure she does not do anything stupid, cast a spell or something..." She stopped mid-sentence and the next moment both her and Paige were running up the stairs towards the attic. "Paige, orb there," Piper yelled trying to climb the stairs as fast as her big belly would allow her.
Her sister followed her order. When she reappeared in the attic, she saw Phoebe sitting in the circle with a Book of Shadows on her lap.
"Phoebe, no," Paige yelled, rushing towards her sister, but she was thrown away by the magical barrier.
"Stay away, Paige," the middle Charmed One ordered. "It's not your life." She returned to the book and oblivious to his sisters' calls read out a spell.
"In my life's darkest hour
I call upon the ancient power
Take me into my past, take me back
Into the moment of my gravest mistake."
She repeated the spell again and felt herself spinning down a vortex. She closed her eyes and waited till the spinning stopped. Then she carefully opened her eyes and found herself standing in an empty corridor of the office building. Where could she be? The corridor led into a large atrium and Phoebe realised that she was in the Palace of Justice.
She stared at the clock which showed the date and the time. Everything became clear, she had returned to the day when she divorced Cole. She swirled around and saw herself and Darryl walking towards the judges chambers. Phoebe just had enough time to hind behind the plant.
"Don't worry, Phoebe," she heard Darryl saying. "You will get your divorce."
"I know Darryl," the past Phoebe sighed. "But sometimes I feel I will never get him out of my life."
"Fool," Phoebe swore silently. She watched them walking pass her and decided to follow them. She was trying to remember what she did on the day, impatiently waiting for a moment when she could catch her past self alone. And the opportunity presented itself. When Darryl and past Phoebe almost reached the judges chambers, somebody stopped him, and she excused herself and headed towards the restroom. Phoebe smiled and slipped into the bathroom after her. To her relief there was nobody else in there and she came face to face with her past self. The brown eyes that she saw everyday in the mirror grew wide in surprise. "Who the hell are you?" past Phoebe asked assuming a fighting stance.
"Relax," her future self answered, "I am you, just 6 months older."
"I don't believe you," past Phoebe eyed her suspiciously. "It must be one of Cole's schemes."
Phoebe snorted, "I wish," she said gloomily. "Look, stop being such a fool. Nobody sent me here, I did it myself. To warn you, or better said myself, from committing the gravest mistake of my life."
"Which is?" the past Phoebe asked slightly less hostile.
"Divorcing Cole," Phoebe answered calmly. She noticed her past self tensed, suspicion returning to her eyes. "For God's sake," Phoebe rolled her eyes, "stop acting like a paranoid freak. I am you, I can tell you where you bought every piece of clothing you are wearing now. I know that yesterday you had a shit day and tomorrow Elisa is going to yell at you because you have no inspiration what's so ever and your column read like chewing gum. And I even can tell you why, because you keep dreaming about Cole. And trust me if your divorce him it would get even worse." She paused. Her past self stared at her in shock. Phoebe took a deep breath and continued, "That's why I came here, to warn you, to make you face your own feelings until it's too late. You have a chance to save yourself and therefore myself from a lot of pain. All you need to do is not divorce Cole. Take him back while he still wants it and hold on to him, just as you would be holding on to your own life."
She stopped and watched the mixture of feelings on the face of her past self. Suspicion, confusion, fear and doubt were written all over it. The past Phoebe exhaled quickly and asked hesitantly, "You talk as if Cole would not want to be with me in your time?"
The reminder of how Cole rejected her just a few hours ago hit Phoebe with an impact of a bullet. She cringed and forced a wry smile onto her face, "Bingo," she answered dryly. The face of her past self expressed a great doubt and Phoebe's anger spilled out. "You can stuff this doubtful smile up your backside," she yelled. "If you don't do as I say in six months time Cole will marry another woman. And when you try to stop the wedding he will coldly announce that the love you shared is dead and buried and he has moved on! What? Why such big eyes? Don't you recognise the words? Did not you use them yourself? You are getting pale? Great, it means my words are getting through as well."
She stopped yelling and caught her breath. Her past self was standing in a state of complete shock. "What..." she stammered, "What shall I do?"
"You have to go and tell Cole you want to start over again," Phoebe said trying to sound calm. "Tell him that you have been just scared and confused. But you remembered all the good times you had and want to give it another go. And kiss him, you were always better at kiss than tell."
Past Phoebe looked around, her thoughts in a complete disarray. "What you did was personal gain," she said finally.
Future Phoebe just scowled at her, "Trust me, if you get Cole back now, the Elders would be more than happy. Otherwise somebody who is much more interested in evil than in good will get to him first." She grabbed her past self by the shoulders, "Look, we don't have much time. So I will just cut through all this talking and show you a bit of the future so you can decide for yourself."
With these words she took past Phoebe's palm into her hands and tried to relax. First nothing happened but then images started flowing between them. Cole dancing with a blond haired woman, smiling at her, his arms wrapped around her waist; Cole winning a Court case, swirling around and kissing the same woman, his eyes shinning happily and finally Cole putting a ring on the woman's finger and then his icy blue eyes staring at Phoebe while he raised his hand. The premonition stopped as abruptly as it started and the past Phoebe staggered back, her eyes wide in horror.
"I have to stop it," she whispered, "I have to..."
"That's the spirit," her future self agreed contentedly. "Now go, they are probably waiting for you and remember, hold on to him." She pushed past Phoebe towards the bathroom door and stayed there watching how her past self hurried towards the judge's chambers. With a sinking heart she saw how Darryl was about to open the door when the tall figure of Cole appeared next to them. They exchanged a few words, which Phoebe could not hear, but she saw her past self taking Cole by the hand and talking to him emotionally. Darryl's eyes grew big in shock and he tried to say something but past Phoebe just pushed him aside and turned back to Cole whose face expressed disbelief mixed with hope. And the next moment she reached for his lips and they kissed. Immediately everything around Phoebe started to spin, and she was drawn into the same vortex that brought her here. Her eyelids became very heavy and she fell into a deep sleep.
When she opened her eyes she found herself in her bedroom at the manor. The clock on her nightstand told her it was just 6 am. Phoebe set up in bed and stared at the tall figure standing next to her vanity case. Her heart flattered wildly. Cole straightened his tie and bent down to pick up his briefcase.
"Cole," Phoebe whispered not believing her eyes.
He turned around and she saw his clean shaven face and blue eyes which she missed so much, "Sorry," he said, "I did not mean to wake you up."
"You did not," she answered hastily her eyes taking in every bit of his face. "I woke up myself."
He smiled vaguely, "Well, you should go back to sleep. It's very early." He picked up his briefcase and headed to the door. But Phoebe grabbed him by the arm,
"Where are you going so early?" she asked worriedly.
"I am going to work," he answered simply.
"Why?"
Cole looked at her strangely, "You know perfectly well why, Phoebe," he said quietly. "We talked about it yesterday, let's not start again."
"But I don't understand," her heart sank with a horrible feeling.
Cole pulled his hand out of her grasp, "What don't you understand, Phoebe?" his voice sounded cold and distant. "That I don't want to live in the house where two out of three people can't stand me. Or you have not noticed that Piper can barely tolerate me and Paige hates my guts. So don't blame me if I prefer not to meet them at breakfast."
"I am not blaming you Cole," Phoebe pleaded worriedly, trying to organise all new memories, which started to appear in her head. "I just don't want us to start the day being angry with each other."
Her words had an effect and she noticed how his face softened. He set down next to her, "I am not angry Phoebe," he said trying to sound calmer, "But I feel really frustrated. I know that you don't want to leave your sisters and I can even understand why, but it does not change the fact that we can't live in one house. So unless you agree to move out from the Manor I just don't see how we are going to get through this."
"But Cole..." she started.
"No, Phoebe, let me finish. I have been trying really hard to repair the relationship with your family but it just does not work. Instead it gets worse and worse every day. I am half expecting to find poison in my coffee. I am not saying that it's only their fault but it's obvious to me that we can't live under one roof anymore. There is too much baggage between us." He stopped noticing her sagged shoulders and sighed. "Look," he tried to sound gently, "I want to be with you but I can't do it here. And I was serious yesterday about moving out and the sooner the better."
Phoebe looked at his tired face and her heart fell. "But, Cole," she started carefully. "You know how things are here, we need the power of three and with the baby coming and Leo gone we need to stick together."
He stared at her for a moment and then got up and headed to the door. "Cole," she cried out after him, "You can't just leave like that, we need to talk."
He stopped in his tracks and turned round, "Talk about what, Phoebe?" he demanded angrily. "The fact that I don't understand the situation? Or that the Charmed Ones' duty always comes first? I've heard it all before and I have tried my best to fit into the Power of Three life but it does not work. Don't you see it? We are not a family anymore."
Phoebe could not contain herself anymore. Tears started streaming down her cheeks. She risked so much to get Cole back, even went against personal gain rules. All this just so that could yell at each other. She heard Cole sigh. He approached her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Phoebe, don't cry," he said tiredly. "I know this is difficult. But we'll figure out a way."
"I don't want to lose you", she whispered through sobs.
"You won't," he put his arm around her shoulders.
Phoebe snuggled to him. It felt so great to be close to him, to be able to breath in his smell. She lifted her head and kissed him. He responded but quickly pulled away. "I have to go," he said gently.
"Why?" she asked breathlessly.
"Because I have to read this contract we've been working on. We are supposed to sign it at noon and we have a board meeting at DLM at 8 to discuss whether we are going to accept the deal."
He got up and Phoebe felt strong disappointment and resentment, "Will she be there?" she asked annoyed.
"Who?" Cole picked up his briefcase again.
"This blond bitch Nicole Berg."
"Phoebe," Cole sighed tiredly, "Will you stop with this whole jealousy thing? It does not suit you." And before she managed to retort he opened the door, "Call me if you need me." With these words he left and Phoebe stayed in her bedroom staring after him.
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Elizabeth looked through the dark red liquid, "Are you sure it does not have any side effects?" she asked suspiciously.
The creature sitting next to the table shook his head, "Have I ever been wrong, Belthora? Or have I ever lied to you?"
Elizabeth stopped studying the liquid and turned to the table, "No," she admitted, "But this is no ordinary potion. I need this to work but at the same time I don't want anything bad happening to her. She is my son's fiancé."
"If you don't want to do it than just don't. You were the one who asked me for this potion."
"I know," the demoness snapped. "But you know as well that I can't just sit and do nothing."
"Sometimes doing nothing is the best thing to do," her companion remarked philosophically.
"But not when my son's life is at stake."
A pair of penetrating eyes stared at her sternly, "The future holds secrets that even I can't read," the prophet spoke solemnly, "And it's better not to meddle with it. You were wise so far not to interfere too much and let things go their own way. Don't mess it up now."
Elizabeth sighed and started passing around the room, "I don't know," she said finally, "Maybe I should have just killed her? If she was dead there would not be even a chance of him risking his life to save her and their child?"
"No," the prophet shot in a commanding voice. "You know perfectly well that his destiny is tied to hers. Without her - his life would be doomed, with her - he has a chance. And deep in your heart you want them to be together. That's why you don't want to harm her and you did everything in your power to bring them together. You've done your share. Now you have to wait and hope for the best."
"But it's my son. I can't just sit and wait for him to die."
"Well, I am afraid you're going to have to. Listen to me, Belthora, whatever happens, Belthazor will rise to glory no magical beings have ever achieved. This is a destiny that any demoness can only wish for her son."
"No mother can wish her child to face a death threat," Elizabeth exclaimed emotions showing on her face.
"But so far he's been really good in avoiding it," her companion objected. "I told you that the danger in the next 6 months would be the gravest. That's why I've agreed to give you this potion. I believe that the knowledge of the future is given to us for a reason, so we could prepare ourselves and avoid the danger. But no one can change his or her destiny. In case of Belthazor, his life is linked to the existence of the whole Universe and so does his fiancé. I can feel it but I don't know what it is. The truth is shielded even from me."
Elizabeth sighed, "I hate not being able to do anything," she admitted finally.
"You've done everything you could," the prophet assured her, "and you have the knowledge, which will allow you to be prepared. But for the sake of your son, stop here, don't try to interfere more than you have done already and especially don't tell him what you know if you want to save his life."
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When Cole arrived to work he was in a shit mood. Again he had a fight with Phoebe. It was becoming a regular event for them. And no matter how many times he told himself that they were merely going through a rough patch, deep in his heart he started to suspect that it was not just that. Him and Phoebe always seemed to have a rough patch. Of course a lot of stress was brought in by the magical side of their lives but somehow Cole felt that their problems lied deeper.
Ever since he got back from the Wasteland he had tried to rebuild his relationship with Phoebe and with her family. The second part had failed utterly and completely, where as his marriage seemed to carry on. But it was not easy. Cole snapped out of his gloomy musings. He did not have time for that. His life was hectic enough, juggling his job, being one of the Chosen Two and a husband of the Charmed One was not easy. Sometimes he felt that his life was spinning out of his control.
"You are early today," he heard a soft voice. The half demon lifted his head and his eyes met with the pair of green ones belonging to Nicole Berg.
For a second he just stared at her. She was so beautiful that every time Cole saw her he forgot to breath. He shook his head and smiled at her, "Just wanted to be ready for our meeting." He pointed at the contract opened in front of him. "But you?" he looked at the clock hanging above the doorframe, "it's only seven and you are already here?!"
She shrugged, "I could not sleep," she explained simply. "Too much thoughts in my head. With everything going on..." she did not finish her sentence but he did not need it. Cole understood her perfectly well.
"I know," he said gently, "But we'll get through it."
She nodded and turned to leave. "I'll see you at the meeting," she said looking up at him and he had familiar feeling of drowning in her eyes.
"Yep," he managed to say trying his best to tear his eyes from her. When she left the half demon pushed the contract away and buried his face in his hands. This was getting out of hands. Since the first time he saw her Cole was drawn to Nicole, almost against his will. And it was getting stronger with every day he knew her. At first he thought that it was because of their magical connection. Being the Chosen Two they shared a link, which allowed them to exchange thoughts, powers and even multiply their abilities. But as time went on, Cole realised that Nicole became his friend. He trusted her explicitly. He could tell her anything and not fear that she would not understand. He never felt as relaxed as when she was with him. She was the closest person to him, maybe with the exception of Phoebe. And for sure Nicole knew about him more than the rest of the world combined including his wife.
Cole rubbed his face and quickly got up. It was wrong of him, completely wrong. He was a married man. Phoebe was his soul mate. She went through so much to be with him and deserved better than that. "She also killed you," a voice at the back of his head told him. But Cole squashed it. It did not matter. He loved Phoebe. And he knew she loved him. Everything else was not important.
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When Phoebe got downstairs she found Piper and Paige already there. They were chatting and greeted their sister distantly.
"Where is your demonic husband?" Paige sneered.
Phoebe did not like her expression but she decided to stay calm until she had a better idea of what was going on here.
"He's gone to work," she said calmly. "He has an important meeting."
"Of course," Piper's mouth twisted into a caustic smile. "Making another plan to take over the world. I wonder what he is going to invent this time."
"Does not matter," Paige remarked derisively. "He'll find something, then he'll try to kill us, we'll vanquish him and then he'll pop back up as if nothing's happened, apologise and our Phoebe here will take him back. And then everything will start again."
"Hey," Phoebe could not contain her anger, "I am standing right here. Don't you think you could use a little more tact when talking about me and my husband?"
"Why?" Paige stared at her. "So that we can all pretend that we get on? I think it's a little too late for that, Phoebes."
The middle Halliwell looked at hostile faces of her sisters. "Why are you doing this to me," she asked tears standing in her eyes. "Don't you understand that I love him, and I can't live without him?"
Piper who so far did not say much looked at her sister crossly, "Oh, I understand, Phoebe. But can you understand us? Do you think it's easy for us to watch you putting yourself in danger time after time? How many chances have you given Cole and how did they all end? You maybe are prepared to risk again and again. But I have already lost one sister and watching you put your own and our lives in danger is too much for me."
Phoebe looked around wildly, "But he is different now," she said unsurely. "And I believe we can make it work. We just need to be open about it."
"Open?!" Paige interrupted her, "Phoebe, wake up. Cole is a demon. Nothing can change him, he's evil. I was sure that you thought the same. And I still don't understand what happened to you six months ago when you brought him back into our lives. And I don't understand how you can be so selfish as to put us in such danger especially with the baby coming and Leo gone."
The frustration Phoebe felt spilled out. She jumped to her feet and glared at Paige. "So you want us to move out?" she yelled. "Well, just say so and we will leave tomorrow."
Piper shook her head, "We don't want you to move out Phoebe, we have to stick together especially with the reorganisation of the Underworld. We are just trying to make you see the reality and finally get rid of your obsession with Cole."
The middle Halliwell looked at her sister's faces and her heart sank. Everything here was completely wrong. "He is not my obsession," she said in a chocked voice, "He is the love of my life."
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"Nicole," Cole called after the young woman when she was leaving the board meeting of DLM investment. She turned around and waited for him to catch up with her. They headed towards their offices and as always when he was close Nicole felt a knot forming in her stomach. "I wanted to ask you a favour," Cole said hesitantly, "Can you meet with Leo on your own today?"
She looked at him slightly surprised, "Sure," she said. "No problem." Her eyes looked at him worriedly, "Is everything Okay?"
He smiled lightly, "Yeah, everything is fine. I just want to take the afternoon off so I can pick up Phoebe and maybe go somewhere with her."
"Ah," Nicole forced a smile on her face. "Good idea," she stopped in front of her office trying to sound calm and wishing that she could just hide behind the door. "Don't worry, I'll meet with Leo on my own."
"Thanks," Cole smiled at her, "I owe you one."
"Don't mention it," she replied and hurried to disappear into her office.
Cole stared after her for a moment feeling almost a physical pull to go after her. He shook his head and went into his office.
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When Elizabeth left the wooden hut in the Signa plain, she shimmered into her Underworld apartment where she was supposed to meet her son. But he was not there. She shook her head disapprovingly and shimmered to the Penthouse. To her surprise he was not there either. The whole place looked very differently as if nobody had lived there for several months. This time Elizabeth felt really worried. She tried to sense her son and quickly located him in his office. But what the hell was he doing there, when they were supposed to prepare for the evening wedding ceremony. Not risking shimmering to his work, the demoness decided to use human technology. She picked up her mobile phone and dialled his office number,
"Good afternoon, Cole Turner's office," she heard the secretaries voice, "can I help you?"
"Yes, I would like to speak to Cole Turner," the demoness asked politely.
"I am sorry, he has just left the office for the rest of the day. Do you want to live a message?"
"No," Elizabeth sighed with relief, "I'll catch him on his cell." She hung up and shimmered back into her Underworld apartment expecting to see him there. But the place was still empty. The demoness cursed and shimmered out. She reappeared in a parking garage and from a distance could see her son getting into the car.
"Cole," she called after him at the last moment remembering to use his human name.
He lifted his head and looked at her surprised. "Mother, what are you doing here?"
She headed towards him, her eyes glimmering angrily, "I think it is you who should explain what the hell are you doing here?"
He stared at her in surprise, "I don't know what you're talking about," he finally said confusion obvious on his face.
Elizabeth seared her son with a glare, "Belthazor, what about the wedding?"
Cole frowned, "What wedding?" he asked puzzled.
The demoness heaved a frustrated sigh, "Your wedding, Belthazor. Which is to take place tonight."
The puzzled expression on his face turned into a worried frown. "Mother," he said warily, "I am already married." He lifted his hand so she could see his ring, "For the last nine months."
It was Elizabeth's turn to look confused. "What?" she asked. "But how is it possible? You and Nicole only got engaged less than a month ago."
Cole's eyes became icy, "Is this some kind of a joke?" he asked. "Because it's not funny. You know perfectly well that I am married to Phoebe. And even if you disapprove of it, it's the fact of life and you'll have to live with it."
Elizabeth stared at him, her brain working wildly. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong. And there could be only one explanation. Somebody had created an alternative reality. And this was dangerous especially considering the prophecy. The demoness took a deep breath to calm down. She forced herself to smile.
"I am sorry, Belthazor," she mumbled feverishly thinking of an explanation. "It was my mistake," she stepped back into the shadow of a concrete wall. "I'll better go," she added and shimmered out.
Cole stared after his mother in total shock. She was acting really weird, as if she knew about his dream. Last night he dreamt that he and Nicole were getting married today. It was so realistic that when he woke up it took him a while to realise it was not real.
He ran his hand through his hair trying to concentrate his thoughts on picking up Phoebe. Some quality time just with the two of them would do a lot of good to their relationship and maybe they will figure out a way to sort things out.
When Cole got to the office building where Bay Mirror was situated he headed straight to the elevator. He did not tell Phoebe that he was coming. It would be nice to surprise her for a change and not by blurring behind her. They could spend the afternoon like normal people. He strolled towards her office and opened the door without knocking. The view that greeted him was very different from what he expected. Phoebe was standing next to her desk and her boss Jason Dean was kissing her. The next moment she pushed him away, "Cole..." she uttered.
He stared at her for a minute than turned around and headed towards the elevator.
"Cole!" Phoebe called out after him, "Wait, I can explain..." She ran towards the door but it slammed in her face. She tried to open it but in vain. Her husband did not even have to turn his head but his magic sealed the door better than a lock. Only when he disappeared into the elevator Phoebe managed to open the door, she rushed out but stopped half way. It was too late. By now Cole had already blurred away to the places she did not even know existed.
Her shoulders sagged as she returned to her office.
"Phoebe," Jason called after her, "I am sorry, I did not mean for our relationship to come out like that."
The witch just stared through him her eyes filled with tears, "Why?" she whispered, "Why? Was it just not meant to be?"
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Nicole blurred back behind her uncle's house and slowly walked to the front door. She was totally knackered. It has been a long day and emotionally draining one. She smiled bitterly to herself. Every day now was emotionally draining. Ever since she met this damn Cole Turner, her life was a constant struggle devoted to suppressing her feelings for him or at least hiding them.
She rounded the corner and stopped. The object of her thoughts was sitting on the porch, his head buried in his arms.
"Cole?" she asked carefully.
He lifted his head and smiled, "Hi," he said getting up. "I was not sure where you were meeting Leo so I decided to wait for you here."
He looked tired and somehow strange but Nicole could not pinpoint what it was that was different about him. "Are you Okay?" she asked concerned.
"I am fine," he gave her a reassuring smile and added softly, "especially now."
She could not understand what he meant but the intensity of his gaze made her uneasy. She busied herself with finding a key and then slipped passed him to open the front door, "I thought you were spending the afternoon with Phoebe," she remarked trying to figure out what had brought him here.
Cole smiled distractedly, "It was just a plan, you know, how these things are. Did not work out."
He followed her into the house. Nicole could feel him staring at her back. She placed her bag on a small table and was about to walk into the living room when she felt his hand on her shoulder. The young woman froze and swirled around coming face to face with Cole.
"You are so beautiful," he whispered, his hand caressing her cheek. "Unbelievable."
Nicole's insides turned upside down. She back away from him, "Cole, are you drunk?" she asked her eyes searching his face.
"No," he answered quickly. She lifted her eyebrow and he sighed, "Well not any more," he admitted. And when she turned away, he caught her hand, "I am not lying to you," he said firmly. "3 cups of coffee, an icy shower and half an hour of blurring through different dimensions usually get the alcohol out of your system," a small smile touched his lips and quickly disappeared. He lowered his head so his eyes looked straight into hers, "I would never come to you drunk, Nicole, not to do what I came here for. I respect you way too much for that."
His mouth came down on hers and Nicole was lost. His lips were soft and demanding at the same time and she felt as if she was going to fall, but his hands wrapped around her waist pressing her against his body. He deepened the kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth. Nicole felt herself melting in his arms. But a small voice at the back of her head was screaming at her to stop, to stop now, when she at least can pretend that there was something left of her pride. It took all her will power to pull away from him. She staggered back,
"No," she uttered, "no...please, Cole... Don't do this to me..."
He did no move, his eyes sparkling at her. "I won't let you go," he said quietly, "I know how you feel about me Nicole. That night after you came back from Oris, during the ceremony, I learnt everything."
She reddened and then her eyes sparkled furiously, "It does not matter," she shot. "You are a married man and I am not going to be your mistress, even if it costs me part of my foolish heart."
"I am not asking you to be my mistress," he exclaimed with outrage. "How could you even think I would offer you something like that?!" He took a deep breath trying to come down, "I don't want to live with Phoebe anymore. I don't love her. I want to be with you and only you."
She stared at him, her heart flaring with hope but her mind was throwing buckets of icy on it. Nicole sighed, "Cole, please... I don't know what happened between you and Phoebe, but if you have any feelings for me, leave me out of this. As things are now I can deal with whatever feelings I have for you. I can work with you, we are a good team and maybe even good friends. But if we cross this line there won't be a way back. And we have an important task to finish. You and Phoebe have been through rough patches before and you always managed to find a way out. Your love is very strong. You'll figure it out this time as you did in the past because you were meant for each other, you are soul mates."
"We are not meant for each other," he yelled, and seeing her wince added calmer, "and we are definitely not soul mates. Listen to me, Nicole. I am not going to lie to you. I thought the same things before. That me and Phoebe were destined to be together. But I learnt the hard way that it was not true. And you know why? Because me and Phoebe never trusted each other. She was always scared about me returning to evil whatever it means in the Halliwell's codes of practice. And I always was scared that she would choose her sisters over me. And we both were proven right. I think our love, or whatever it was that we had, took a final blow when she vanquished me. You know yourself what it means to die. Well I died twice. Once when Belthazor was stripped from me. And then when the Charmed Ones killed the Source and me alongside him. And every time my wife was involved in my death, though I never wanted to see it that way. After Belthazor was gone and when I was in the Wasteland, even after I got back I needed something to live for. In the Underworld I worked for the money and power. With Phoebe I fought to be with her. My humanity did not allow me to go back to my old demonic life and I did not know any better. So I clung to Phoebe as the only thing I had. But since I met you my life has changed. Being one of the Chosen Two and a Lugel gave me a goal. But it did not fill the emptiness in my heart. You did that. I never had such strong feelings for a woman in my life than I have for you. I want you all: your mind, your body and your soul. And I will fight anything and anybody that stands on my way so I could be with you." He took a step closer to her and took her hand in his. "Please give us a chance, Nicole," he whispered. "What we have is too good to miss."
She stared at him tears standing in her eyes. Her whole being was torn apart. She finally managed to find her voice, "I don't want to be hurt again, Cole," she whispered, "I..." she swallowed harshly, "I won't be able to live with myself if you decide one day to go back to Phoebe."
He lifted her chin so she was forced to look at him, "Look at me Nicole. Today I saw my wife kissing another man. And you know what I felt? Relief. I was relieved that it was not just me who understood that we were not "destined to be together". I felt free. That I can finally move on and start my life with you." He paused and then added quietly, "I am not a saint, Nicole, and never was. But I swear to you that I will do everything I can to make you happy. If you let me..."
He was standing so close to her, his eyes sparkling like sapphires. And Nicole could not resist it. She made a small step towards him and was immediately captured by his arms. His lips came down on hers and both were lost. They kissed for ages, his hands travelling up and down her back and her fingers running through his hair. Very slowly without stopping to kiss they made their way to the living room. Her jacket and blouse disappeared and his lips travelled from her lips towards her neck. Nicole moaned. His jacket and shirt followed her clothes and he pressed her against him. Her legs wrapped around his waist, allowing him to lift her up and they blurred to the bedroom. There he laid her on the bed and set next to her his eyes taking in every line of her body. "God," he whispered running his hand from her neck down, "I thought that it would never happen to me, only in my dreams."
Her body shivered under his touch and her eyes darkened. He lied down next to her and his hand travelled down her belly caressing her thigh and started slowly moving up. Nicole could feel her blood igniting. Her mind was screaming at her, that it was her last chance to stop it and instinctively her hand lied on his chest ready to push him away. If he made one more move she probably would have done it. But as if he read her thoughts he removed his hand and pulled away slightly. Blue eyes stared at her and his voice sounded in her head, "I won't do anything you are not ready for. But I will not go away either." It was the last drop and Nicole's mind lost the battle with her heart. She closed the space between them, her lips searching for his and her hands caressing his chest. It was more than he could take. He rolled on top of her, pinning her arms above her head, his hands and mouth exploring every inch of her body. A soft moan escaped her lips and it was enough to make him lose control. He needed to be one with her, to lose himself inside her and when he made his move he could feel her opening up to him. Their bodies moved in unison. It was like magic. It was bliss.
They lied in each other's arms, feeling as if they were floating somewhere in another dimension. Nicole was feeling empty, her mind completely blank. She did not know what would happen next and did not dare to ask. She wanted to enjoy this moment, to imprint it in her mind. So if it was never going to happen again, she would at least have this memory. She felt Cole's arms tighten around her and lifted her head so she could see his face. He smiled at her and there was so much warmth in his eyes that Nicole felt tears building up in her throat.
"I want to spend this night with you," he whispered softly, "Tomorrow I will face the world and sort things out. But tonight I want to be with you."
She stiffened, her eyes trying to avoid his. He lifted her chin, "What's wrong?" he asked. "Did I say something or..." he trailed off, his eyes widening at the thought that he might have hurt her.
"No," she whispered, her finger caressing his cheek. "It's just..." she paused trying to collect her courage, "I don't know what would happen next."
He shrugged, "I am going to get a divorce, and then we will get married and be together."
Green eyes stared at him, "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Of course, I am sure," he exclaimed, "I told you I wanted to be with you. Did you think I would just leave things as they are?"
Nicole did not know what to say, she buried her head in his chest, "I don't know..." she whispered, "I've never been "another woman"."
He stroked her hair lightly, "You are not another woman," he said slowly, "You are the one I was meant to be with. And I love you more than the words can say."
xxxxxxxxxx
Phoebe woke up with a startle, "Cole," she called. But nobody answered. She looked at the clock. It was 6 am. She must have fallen asleep. Last night after unsuccessful attempts to find Cole, she returned to her room and started her horrible night of waiting. At first she paced around the room but then her despair took the better of her and she started crying. Crying because her life was such a mess, and this reality was not any better than the other. She must have cried herself to sleep and now it was morning and she had no idea of what to do.
A sound of a shimmer made her perk up and she saw Cole appearing in the bedroom.
"Cole," she cried out, "Where have you been? I was worried sick."
He looked at her strangely, "I am fine," he said finally. "You should not have worried."
"But you left so abruptly yesterday..." she continued, "And I could not find you, I even tried scrying for you."
He lifted his hand trying to stop her, "We need to talk, Phoebe," he said sternly.
"Of course," she said. "I wanted to explain everything yesterday, I was trying to find you. It did not mean anything, Cole, believe me." She would have continued to bubble but Cole interrupted her.
"It does not matter," his voice sounded unusually grim, "It does not work between us, Phoebe. And I think it is time to put an end to this." He paused and added quietly, "I want a divorce... I am sorry."
She stared at him in disbelief, "You are not serious," she whispered finally. And when he nodded, she exploded. "How can you do this? After everything you said, after you were begging me to take you back. What happened to "I am not giving up on you, Phoebe, ever?"
He lifted his head and stared at her, his eyes sparkling defiantly, "I have changed," he stated firmly. "I became wiser and realised that we don't have a future. Actually we never had one."
"Don't say it," she yelled in his face. "We were destined to be together. And you know it. It's just your hurt ego that won't let you go of a stupid incident."
Cole laughed bitterly, "You think I am bothered about you kissing your boss? If anything I felt relieved. It meant that both of us were ready to move on. And I did not have to feel guilty."
"You're lying." she yelled, "You arrogant son-of-a-bitch. Don't tell me that it was because we both were ready to move on. All you wanted was an excuse and now you are ruining our marriage so you can go and screw this blond bitch."
Anger flared in his eyes, "You are calling this a marriage?" he retorted, "Phoebe, wake up. This stopped being a marriage a long time ago, we were just not willing to face it. Marriage is based on trust and love. And we lack both."
"I love you," she screamed, "I risked everything for you. I stuck with you even when the whole world was against you."
"And you also killed me," he remarked coldly.
She paled, "I had no choice, you were going to kill my sisters."
"I was fighting to save them," he yelled. "Gees, Phoebe, have you every thought how did it feel to be possessed? To be trapped in my own body and not have any power over it. Being constantly tortured mentally into a total exhaustion, when I thought I was going mad? Every day I had to fight to keep you and your sisters alive. And you did not even try to save me, did not even consider the possibility that I was possessed. I could have expected it from Paige, but you, my wife, the woman who claimed she loved me."
"I was scared and confused," she shouted, "You turned me evil. You made me pregnant with an evil child."
He rolled his eye, "A child can't be evil, Phoebe. No matter who are his parents. Our son was very powerful and you being stressed out of your brain did not help. So his powers went haywire. That's all it was."
"I don't believe you," she whispered deadly pale. "He was evil. And it was not our child, it was the child of the Source."
His eyes filled with pity. "Phoebe, we lost our child to evil, that's true." He paused for a second and added in a distant voice, "Everything else does not matter anymore."
She stared at him, "Why do you hate me so much?" she asked quietly.
Cole sighed exasperated, "I don't hate you. In some sense I am very grateful to you. You awakened my humanity. And for that I owe you more than I can ever repay. All I am saying is that we both tried our best, but it was never meant to be."
"That's not true."
"Oh, yes, it is. Phoebe, from the moment you found out about Belthazor, you never trusted me, you were always scared that I would turn evil. And I was always scared that if it ever came to it you would choose your sisters over me. And we both were right. I can't live by your rules. All these personal gain stuff. It's not for me. I was a demon for over a hundred years. And though I have changed I would still do things you would never be able to accept. Just like you always be first a sister, than a witch and only after that a wife. And I am not saying it's wrong, I am just saying that it's not enough for me. Call it demonic possessiveness, but I want my wife to put me and our children first."
"And you think that Nicole Berg would do that?" she asked caustically, trying to contain her tears.
Cole seared her with a cool glare, "Leave her out of this," he said coldly.
"Don't tell me what to do," she yelled, "you are dumping me so you can be with her. Something tells me that if this blond bitch was not around you would be much more interested in working on our relationship."
Cole was about to retort, but he restrained himself, "You can think whatever you want Phoebe." He said tiredly, "In all honesty I don't care anymore. I have given up long time ago on trying to convince you of anything. If it's any consolation to you, I am very sorry that it ended this way." He gave her one last look and shimmered out.
Phoebe just sat on the bed staring into space. Her hopes were destroyed. All her efforts were for nothing. Cole did not love her, they were simply not meant to be.
She heard her sisters walking in but did not react. Paige and Piper just hugged her. But the family scene was interrupted by a sudden shimmer. A statuesque looking woman appeared in the room.
"Demon," Paige yelled.
Piper raised her hands but her powers had no effect on the woman.
"Don't bother," she said briskly, "You powers won't work on me witch. Plus I am here to talk."
"Who the hell are you?" Paige asked.
"My name is Elizabeth Turner. Belthazor is my son."
Three sisters stared at her. "Well, he is not here," Phoebe informed the woman anger igniting in her. "And he won't be coming back."
The demoness seared her with a contemptuous glare, "But he was not even supposed to be here, was he?"
Phoebe blanched and her sisters exchanged confused looks. "What are you talking about?" Piper asked.
The demoness smiled ironically, "Ask your sister?"
Paige and Piper stared at Phoebe. The middle Halliwell breathed in harshly, "How did you find out?" she turned to the older woman.
"I was in another realm," Elizabeth explained. "You little time travel did not affect me but it affected the rest and I suggest you do something to return all of us to the real world until something really bad happens."
Paige's face turned suspicious, "Phoebe, what have you done?" she asked warily.
Her sister hesitated for a moment. "I went back in time to stop myself from divorcing Cole."
"But it's personal gain, Phoebe." Piper exclaimed horrified.
Phoebe swirled round, "Do I look like I care, Piper?" she shouted. "Magic owes me."
"But it is not going to pay the debt," Elizabeth remarked. "You messed with the things you have no idea about. The real course of events will restore itself. What we don't know is how many people will suffer as a result of your foolish stunt."
"Phoebe, why would you even do such a thing?" Piper asked.
"I wanted to be with Cole," Phoebe said quietly.
Her sisters fell quiet but Elizabeth just snorted, "Any success?"
Phoebe was not in the mood to listen to her sarcasm. "It's none of your business," she snarled.
The demoness became serious, "Oh, yes it is. You tried to ruin my son's life. And I won't let it happen. Why you did it is beyond me?"
"You won't understand," Phoebe hissed, "It's called love."
"You call that love?" Elizabeth enquired. "Love is not just saying the words "I love you". Love means trust, support. And you could never give this to Belthazor."
"I could," Phoebe yelled, "Before he became the Source, we were so happy. He was a human and we had a whole life ahead of us."
The demoness shook her head, "My son was never a human," she said calmly. "Yes, you stripped his powers. But his demonic blood did not disappear with them. And if you had children they would have Belthazor's genes in them. Would you be prepared to bring up a child who had demonic powers? Maybe even more powerful than his father?"
Phoebe did not reply. She felt tired, lost, almost dead inside. Her attempt ended up in disaster. She turned to the demoness and asked flatly, "What do you want me to do?"
"I need to know which moment in time did you travel too?"
Phoebe sighed, "XXX March 2003. The Palace of Justice. I stopped myself from divorcing Cole that day."
Elizabeth nodded, "I'll take it from here," she said coolly and turned to leave. Before shimmering away she looked at the Charmed sisters, "I suggest that you stay away from my son," her voice sounded commanding. "If you don't want your lives ruined forever." With these words she disappeared.
xxxxxxxxx
Cole and Nicole were curled up together on a couch in the Schwarzlight Mansion. His lips just reached her earlobe and Nicole moaned loudly. "Cole..."
He grinned and his tongue travelled down her neck, "If you want to ask for a break," he whispered into her skin, "I will have to disappoint you. I have been waiting so long to be with you that I am planning to lock us in for the next three days."
She smiled and moaned at the same time. She closed her eyes and felt as if she was spinning down the vortex. Her real life was starting now.