Dear All! Here is the next chapter. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 21

Elizabeth paced around the room. Ever since Nicole astral projected back into her own body followed by the arrival of the Charmed Ones, the demoness had to use all her will power to contain the immense feeling of anxiety. One look at her daughter-in-law told her that there was still hope to bring Belthazor back. However, when Nicole explained what the associated risks would be, Elizabeth did not know what to say. Part of her screamed that her son's life was worth any risks and dangers. But she also knew that her two unborn grandchildren were under threat of never seeing either of their parents. That was a terrible price to pay and a terrible decision to take. If her son had been here he would not have wanted his wife to risk and her duty as a future grandmother was to tell Nicole this. But how could she? How could she try to convince her not to try to safe Belthazor when there was a chance: a tiny, risky, but still a chance. Elizabeth was convinced that Nicole felt the same hope that flared in her own heart and the same doubts and fears. And even being the Upper level demoness who always thought of emotions as weakness she did not have the heart to voice her concerns knowing full well that she would be putting Nicole under even more pressure.

Elizabeth sat down on the armchair and dropped her head into her hands. For the first time in her life she felt helpless, she did not know what to do. She smiled bitterly to herself thinking that according to the now dead Elder's Council, evil could not love. And here she was, the Source of All Evil, feeling her own heart tearing in half.

A knock on the door forced Elizabeth to straiten up and when Leo walked in she looked as he was used to see her: cold and distant.

"Any news?" Elizabeth asked.

He shook his head, "No." He hesitated for a moment, "I wanted to ask if Nicole had told you any details about how she was planning to save Cole."

Elizabeth had a strange expression on her face, "What did she tell you?" she asked.

Leo shifted from one foot to another, "Not much, just that she had a potion which would separate her spirit from her body so she could trace Cole's spirit and bring it back to this realm."

"Well, that pretty much sums it up," she replied coolly.

Leo hesitated for a moment and then decided to ask what was on his mind ever since Nicole told him about her plan, "But what if she does not manage?" he asked. "What if something goes wrong?"

Elizabeth eyes flared with anger, "What do you care?" she shot her calmness disappearing. "Nothing will happen to you and your precious Halliwells, so you should not worry."

"I am not worried about that," Leo snapped and when she looked at him sarcastically took a few steps closer to her, "Maybe it is hard for you to believe but I care about Cole and Nicole. They don't deserve this. And I know how much Nicole loves him, she will do anything to bring him back no matter how dangerous it is." He took a deep breath and added calmer, "I am just concerned that she would do something stupid...and pointless... just in order to do something."

Elizabeth set down on the sofa and stared in front of her, "She is not doing anything stupid," she said finally looking at Leo. "It's just very dangerous. If Nicole fails she might not be able to return to her body and therefore fell into an eternal coma. And since she is pregnant her children will risk never seeing either of their parents."

"Nicole is pregnant?!" Leo exclaimed. "But how..." He fell silent when he saw Elizabeth's eyes darken with pain. "How can you let her risk like that?" he asked after a long pause, "Cole would not want her to do it."

Once again the demoness' eyes flared with anger but it quickly died down. "I know that, Leo," she said tiredly, "But I can't... I don't know how to tell this to Nicole and I am not even sure that I should."

The former whitelighter opened his mouth to say something but then closed it and plopped on the chair opposite Elizabeth. Her lips twisted into a wry smile which immediately disappeared. "I see you understand it as well. Nicole knows that Belthazor would not want her to take this risk. But how can she not try, if there is still a chance to bring him back. And how can anybody advise her on what to do? She knows all the risks better than we do, she is the babies' mother and I am sure the choice is tearing her apart. She is invincible and immortal. Would you have the heart to tell her not to try to save him, knowing that she would have an eternity alone, not even being able to summon his ghost?"

Leo shook his head, "But what if things go wrong, what would happen to the children? Who will take them? Lugels?"

"No," the voice came from behind him and both Elizabeth and Leo stared at Nicole who stood in the doorframe. She looked pale but strangely calm. "If things go wrong I want you to take the children," she looked at Elizabeth, "You are their grandmother and I am sure you'll do a great job bringing them up."

Elizabeth looked at her stunned, "But I am the Source of All Evil... I live in the Underworld..."

Nicole shrugged her shoulders, "That's fine," she said calmly, "You brought up Cole there and if they turn up like him, I'll be only happy. And in order to outweigh you being the Source of All Evil I will ask Leo to be the babies' God father. Having the Elder and the Source around them would ensure that the balance of good and evil is preserved."

Both Leo and Elizabeth stood speechless and Nicole smiled at them. "I know what you are thinking," she said calmly, "I know that Cole would not want me to risk. And he would want me to be here for the babies. But I can't NOT try...I would not be able to live with myself. And don't feel guilty. I am not asking for your advice or approval. I have taken a decision and I will carry the responsibility for it. Whatever the outcome."

Uneasy silence fell in the room. Finally Elizabeth stood up, "Fine," she said calmly. "It's your decision and we will respect it. But you can't keep me completely out of it. I want to help. I gave a promise to Belthazor that I would help and protect you. And I would like to keep it as much as possible. From what I understand you will need to turn back time when you bring Belthazor' spirit back. Tempus will do it. And I will be at the Schwarzlight Manor to back you up."

Leo nodded approvingly, "And I will be there as well."

Nicole shook her head. "No. Everything has to be as close to the real past as possible. The less our alternative reality differs from truth the better. Plus I don't know what the consequences of my attempt will be so the less people are involved the better. The only help I can accept is Tempus." She took off the wedding ring from her finger and handed it to Elizabeth, "When me and Cole are back the ring will flash. This way you know that it's time."

The demoness took the ring and pulled another one from her pocket. And when Nicole looked at her questioningly, explained. "This is Belthazor's. The demonic wedding rings are enchanted, they are indestructible. Could be very useful for different rituals." A velvet box materialized in her hand and she placed both rings in there, "They'll be waiting for both of you."

Xxxxxxxx

An hour later Nicole opened the door into her uncle's Mansion and headed straight to the office. It looked exactly the same as eight months ago when her destiny as one of the Chosen Two and a Lugel had begun. So many things had happened since then. The most important of which was being with Cole. She pushed this thought out of her head. She could not think about him at the moment, it was physically painful to realize that he was not next to her. So she concentrated on the task ahead. She had to get him back, no matter the cost. And if it was not meant to be then so be it. But if it was then her and Cole could be together again.

Nicole turned to Celina who was following her and asked in what she hoped was a calm voice, "Shall we go?"

The French woman nodded, "Yes, as soon as you are ready."

Nicole smiled wanly, "I think I am never going to be ready."

Celina gave her a reassuring smile, "I believe that you will make it," she said softly, "I don't think Robert would have told you about it if he did not think you had a good chance of success."

The younger woman stared at her, "How do you know that it was my father?"

Celina shook her head, "Who else? Robert was always a rebel, brilliant in everything, especially breaking the rules. But because he was so talented he always got away with it. Nobody else would be able to escape the Upper dimension and tell you about the way to track Cole." She took a step towards Nicole and put a comforting arm around her shoulders, "I knew Robert very well, he adored you and he would have never even came up with this suggestion if he thought that the risks outweighed the chances."

Nicole smiled at her, "I know," she whispered. "It's just... My father said that Cole would not remember me. And I don't know how to convince him to come back?"

"I don't think you should worry, Nicole," Celina smiled at her reassuringly, "Just tell Cole about your life together. Your love is so strong, it lives in his heart and maybe he won't remember how you met but he will remember how he felt about you."

Nicole lowered her head, "That's what I am worried about," she whispered, "Does Cole really love me? I mean I know he cares about me and we fit each other very well. But I sometimes think that Cole's love to me is more of a brotherly type, deep and tender. It's not ardent and crazy like with Phoebe. He just does not want to get hurt again and with me he's guaranteed a calm, safe family."

Celina was completely shocked by her words, "You can't be thinking that," she cried out. "You should know that Cole truly loves you. You were meant for each other."

Nicole smiled unsurely, "Maybe. But I keep thinking that if Phoebe had never rejected Cole, we would not have been together." She shook her head, "Not that it matters, I am happy with him... was happy and I will do my best to save him. But sometimes I doubt that I will be able to convince him to return. He never really says that he loves me. Only twice, once during the wedding ceremony and once after I told him about the baby. It's as if he does not want to lie to me."

Celina shook her head, "You are wrong Nicole, you are so wrong. Cole loves you with all his heart and any word you use to describe his feelings for you is not going to even come close to the sheer passion and depth of his love. If he does not say it very often then maybe it's his character or he is scared... But he feels it, trust me. And you are wrong thinking that if Phoebe and him had not divorced you would not have ended up together."

"You don't know that," Nicole objected.

"Yes, I do," Celina replied calmly. "After Phoebe crashed your wedding, she created an alternative reality in which her and Cole had never divorced. And it ended up the same way as this reality. Cole fell in love with you and left her."

Nicole looked surprised, "How does it happen that I don't know about it?"

Celina shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I guess it was important that we learnt the truth. And if you had known about it, the experiment, if you can call it that, would not have been pure. It was not done by Lugels, but by the power above us. And if this power helped you and Cole to be together maybe it would help you to bring him back."

Nicole smiled and for the first time in the last hours her eyes sparkled with hope, "It's the best encouragement you could have given me, Celina."

She kissed the older woman on a cheek and quickly stepped into the vortex. The French woman followed her and they reappeared in the Lugel's realm. There Nicole took a deep breath and in a swift move swallowed the potion. Her eyes flew open and her body slipped on the coach. Celina settled it in a comfortable position and prepared to wait.

In the Underworld the Source was sitting in her private Chambers her eyes never leaving the sight of two rings. At the Halliwell Manor Phoebe Halliwell was sitting in exactly the same pose in her room staring at Cole's picture her lips whispering a silent plea. And in the Elders realm Elder Wyatt was conducting a meeting between whitelighters. But his thoughts were far away with a man and a woman who were neither his relatives, nor friends, but he would have given anything to see them again.

xxxxxxxx

How long had she traveled for, a minute, an hour, a day? Nicole could not say. But she knew perfectly well, what the purpose of this journey was. Thank God, she retained her memory. The different realms passed around her with the speed of a high-speed train. They were strange and empty, completely different from the realms she visited before. But she did not care how they looked. What was important that Cole was not in one of them and she had to continue her search for him. She had no idea how far from the Upper dimension she was and when would she reach Cole. She stopped even worrying on whether she would be able to convince him to come back with her. It was not important at the moment. First she had to find him. Just one step at a time.

Her pass was becoming darker and darker and suddenly she felt something. Just a bleak feeling but she could not miss it. It was Cole's essence. She could not be mistaken.

"Cole," she sent a telepathic signal, "Can you hear me? Cole!" If Nicole had a heart it would have probably stopped beating now, so intense was her wait for an answer.

And finally it came, "Who is it?"

"It's me, Nicole. Do you remember me?"

There was a pause, "No, I don't. I don't think I've ever met you."

Nicole mentally cursed, "Did you really think it would be that easy?" the voice at the back of her head snapped at her. "Cole you have met me," she tried to put all her love for him into her telepathic message. "I am your wife and I am here to bring you back."

"Back where?"

"Back to our realm. To our home, where we live."

Another pause followed. "I don't remember," he finally muttered, "And I don't have time to stay here and talk to you about it. Maybe later. Now I have to go. Sorry."

"No, wait." Nicole called after him. "Please wait and let me tell you. It won't take long."

Nobody answered and Nicole cursed again. Cole could be such a pain sometimes. She did not let him get away far and caught up with him. "Cole Turner, would you just slow down!"

"I told you I have to go."

"No, you don't," she cried out. "You have to stop and listen to me. I am your wife and I am pregnant with your children. So I suggest you stop running away from me."

He stopped and Nicole caught her breath. "That's not true," he said, but she noticed the hesitation in his thoughts.

"Oh, yes it is. Just try to remember. We met eight months ago and fell in love. We got married a little over a month ago. And we are expecting twins." She stammered, "Well, you don't know about it yet, all you know is that we are going to have a child. But in reality it's twins."

There was another long pause during which Nicole was trying to figure out what else she could say to convince him of the truth. And after what seemed like ages another wave of telepathy reached her, "I am sorry but I think you are mistaken. I don't know you and I am sure that if we were married I would have remembered by wife."

Nicole sighed in exasperation, but she did not let herself to lose her head. "But do you remember anything else? Except for your name, do you remember anything before the moment you have got here?"

He did not answer and if Nicole was not a fleshless ghost she would have been keeping her breath. Her words made an impact; she could sense confusion in him and was scared to add anything else which could change the situation for the worse. The silence lasted very long and Nicole decided that she had to say something. "Cole?" she asked tentatively. "Are you OK?"

His answer made her wince, "No, I am not OK," he hissed. "I can't remember anything. Is that what you wanted to hear? That's why I have to go because when I reach this place I will find out the answers to my questions. And also who had sent you after me."

Nicole was not prepared for so much anger and pain from his side, "But Cole, nobody sent me after you. I went because I love you and because I want to bring you back so we could be together."

"You are lying," he shot, "If you loved me you would not have tried to prevent me from going. Because only when I reach this dimension my memory will return."

"That's not true," Nicole cried out. "Cole, you have to believe me here. Yes, if you go to the Upper dimension your memory will return but then it will be too late. You will not be able to escape from it. And we'll never see each other, you'll never see your children. So your memory will be for nothing, it will just give you more pain. And I don't want this to happen, that's why I have risked everything so I can catch you before it is too late."

Her words caused a struggle inside him but he suppressed it, "I don't believe you," he said slowly, "It is just a trick, you are trying to prevent me from getting my memory back. But it won't work."

He disappeared and for a moment Nicole did not follow him. The fear that she had been pushing away all the time had crept out and overwhelmed her. Was this the end? She failed to convince Cole to believe her? What could she do? Would she just watch, the love of her love leaving her forever? Would she just go back and admit her defeat or should she follow him to the Upper dimension and trade being with him for ever seeing her children. Nicole cursed. If she was not a ghost she would use all her powers to stop Cole even if it meant knocking him out, but being a ghost she was completely helpless. She did not have any powers except...

Nicole perked up. She was not going to let her chance for happiness slip from her without a fight. "You are not going to get rid of me so easily, Cole Turner. And I don't care that you are such a suspicious idiot, I will make you listen to me, whatever the cost."

She set off after him and soon she could again feel his presence. She got a bit closer till she could establish a definite link with him and muttered to herself, "I am sorry, Cole, but it's time for a grand repeat of our telepathic mishap. I know you hate telepathy but you don't leave me any other choice. I went too far to give up now." She concentrated for a moment gathering all her strength and blasted her own memories into his spirit. A blinding flash hit her but she did not break the contact. His memory was definitely blocked as if covered by layers of bricks. But she was not going to give up and focusing all her power started to methodically break them one by one. She could feel herself weakening. But she could not stop, not now when she was so close.

He was caught by something, by a power which hit him hard and made him stop. And then there was this blinding light. Where was it coming from?... He'd seen this light before. Or had he not? He was not sure. But he was sure that something was boring into his mind. What was that? Where was it coming from? Was it the same annoying ghost, whatshername? She said she was his wife, what a nonsense! He would have remembered something like that! Or wouldn't he? He could not remember a thing about himself, except that he was a half demon turned Lugel... What? What he had just thought? Half demon? Lugel? This blinding light really made it difficult for him to concentrate... Nicole must have gone mad... Yes, that's right, her name is Nicole... But did he remember it from when she told him or did he remember it from before. Nicole...Magical green eyes and soft, warm smile.... Nicole... Nicole Berg... Nicole Turner, his wife... His love... The blinding light disappeared with explosion.

"Nicole..." he screamed searching for her. He could sense her soul, but she was weak, very weak. He rushed closer to her, "Nicole, are you OK?"

"Cole..." he could barely hear her.

"Yes, it's me," he replied hastily, "Are you OK?" She did not answer and he felt her slipping away. "No..." he screamed, "Don't you dare give up on me now. We have to get out of here." He concentrated hard on trying to establish a link with her just as they always did when they needed to amplify their powers. And finally he could feel the flow of telepathy between them but it was so weak. "Stay with me," he whispered softly trying to pour all his love for her into these three words. "Just stay with me... I promise I'll keep you safe, just hold on a little longer."

Xxxxxxxxx

"Heres, Terek, Zes...Heres, Terek, Zes... Heres, Terek, Zes..." Celina repeated the names of the ancient Lugels just to keep herself in the state of meditation. She was worried sick about Nicole and she needed her senses to be extra receptive so she would be able to locate Nicole's and Cole's spirits when they arrived. Repeating the sonorous names helped her to keep her nerves at bay and she purposefully refused to open her eyes and look at the clock. "Heres, Terek, Zes... Heres, Terek, Zes... Heres..." She stopped suddenly sensing something. Is it? Or not? It felt strange, not one spirit and not two separate ones, more like Siamese twins linked together.

"For God's sake, Celina, would you just stop your stupid meditation and help me. Nicole is very weak."

There was no doubt that this telepathic message belonged to some very pissed off half demon ghost. The French Lugel concentrated her powers and once she managed to locate the spirits she ordered Cole, "You have to break your link."

"I can't," he shot back. "I told you she is very weak."

"She'll be fine," Celina replied sternly, "I'll catch her, but I can't do it while you are linked to her, because this way I could return both your spirits into Nicole's body."

"But..." he started.

"Stop arguing with me, Cole Turned and do as I say. Or we all will be in a hell of a trouble."

Reluctantly he broke the contact with Nicole and the next moment he could feel her spirit being pulled away from him.

Celina focused on Nicole's spirit and with a combination of her telepathy and telekinesis pushed it into her body. Not wasting any time she focused again on Cole's spirit and chanted a short spell. Her efforts were rewarded with the transparent shape of the half demon becoming visible.

"Welcome back," the French woman smiled at him. But Cole ignored her. He rushed towards Nicole who was still unconscious on the coach.

"Why is she not waking up?" he demanded.

"She is exhausted," Celina explained. "She will be fine."

"Fine?" he gave her a furious look. "How could you let her risk like that? Are you out of you damn wits?"

"Oh, shut it, Cole. We don't have time for that." She fixed the ghost with a strict glare. "Listen to me. The time is about to be reversed any moment. You will find yourself back at the Schwarzlight Manor seconds before you died. You will be watching yourself from a distance and don't try to change the course of events. But the moment I say "Go" you will have to shoot into your own body. Is it clear?"

He did not have time to reply. The minute hand started to rotate backwards, its speed increasing with every move.

XXXXXXXXX

Her head was killing her...She felt as if millions of needles were poking into her temples. It was unbearable...

"It was one of my best decisions to pass my invincibility to you," she heard.

Her heart stopped and Nicole forced herself to open her eyes.

"It was indeed."

Nicole jerked her head and saw her mother standing near the gate.

"Go," Celina yelled and with a click of her fingers her and Cole changed positions.

The ghost did not waste any time and with the speed of a comet shot into Cole's body.

A massive explosion threw Nicole to the ground. She tried to scramble to her feet but was too weak to get up and only managed to lift herself on her elbows. She looked around wildly, her eyes catching the settling dust of the wreckages of the big SUV and landed on Cole. The half demon had fallen to his knees his eyes looking around dizzily.

"Cole!" Nicole sighed with relief.

His groggy eyes stared at her and finally he whispered hoarsely, "Nicole..."

"No," a loud yell made Nicole jerk her head and she saw her mother staring at Cole with hatred and horror mixed on her face. Katherine snatched a gun from her pocket, "I will kill you even if it's the last thing I do."

Cole flung his hand forward expecting to send Katherine flying into the bushes but nothing happened. The next moment a massive ball of fire and electricity hit the older woman in the chest and destroyed both her body and soul. The half demon turned to his wife, "Thank you," he said hoarsely scrambling to his feet and helping her to get up as well.

She smiled at him, "Don't thank me," she put her hand on her stomach, "Thank them. It was your son and daughter who saved their daddy."

His eyes sparkled and he pulled her into a tight hug. "I am so mad at you," he whispered huskily, kissing the top of her head, "so mad for risking your life that I could probably have killed you myself."

She did not reply and just snuggled closer to him, hugging him tightly. His hands caressed her back and then moved up and pulled her head away so he could look into her eyes. Nicole faced her husband with a bit of a fear but when she saw his sparkling blue eyes she as usuallyd forgot about everything and was completely mesmerized just like the first time she met him. And as usually Cole felt himself drowning in the emerald pools that were full of love and warmth. He sighed and muttered, "What you do to me is beyond..." he could not find the right word and just smiled resignedly, "I can't be mad at you... I love you way too much." She returned his smile and lifted her face so her lips touched his. He responded to her kiss passionately but quickly pulled away, "But from now on, young lady," he gave her a stern look, "I'll be keeping a very close eye on you."

A discrete cough interrupted them and the young couple turned around to see Elizabeth standing with her eyes full of tears. "Belthazor..." she whispered in a low voice.

He took a step towards her and she pulled him into a tight embrace, "I am fine, Mother. Everything is fine." The demoness did not say anything and just silently nodded into his shoulder unable to suppress her tears.

Nicole's eyes darted around the scene trying to find Celina. But the French woman was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Celina," Nicole asked worriedly and turned to Elizabeth, "Do you know what happened to her?"

The demoness pulled away from her son and did her utter best to calm down, "She switched places with Belthazor," she explained hoarsely, "just before the explosion."

"But it should not matter," Cole scanned the surrounding area, "She is invincible."

His words were confirmed by the sight of Celina who was getting out of the wreckage coughing non stop.

"Celina!" Nicole rushed towards her, "Thank good you are OK."

The older woman nodded trying at the same time to get the small debris out of her hair, "Yes," she managed to croak. "But I can tell you it was a hell of an explosion." She finally stopped coughing and smiled, "I am so glad you are back, Cole," she said warmly.

He grinned back at her, "So am I," he admitted, wrapping one hand around Nicole and drawing her closer. "It's great to be back, though I still don't understand exactly what happened and why my powers don't work."

Three women exchanged uneasy glances and Nicole turned to face her husband, "It's because..." she started carefully picking her words, "Your powers don't work because they were passed onto our unborn children. And even turning back time does not change that."

He stared at her in shock, "You mean I am powerless?" he finally said his voice sounding slightly distant.

She nodded and looked at him pleadingly, "It's the only way I could bring you back. As a human." She saw pain in his eyes and added hastily, "We can try and fix that and I am sure we will manage to restore your powers as Belthazor, but..."

She trailed off and Celina stepped in, "You won't be a Lugel anymore, Cole. Your powers went into your children and they will be the first ever Lugels to be born, they'll be the Heirs of Magic."

Cole ran his hand through his hair trying to get his thoughts together. Conflicting feelings fought inside him. On one hand he was really happy to be back. Being back was a real miracle and he did not want to seem ungrateful. But part of him felt robbed and immensely scared, the memories of what happened the two times he was powerless were very fresh in his mind. The first time he fell a victim to the Source and the nightmares of these three months still haunted his dreams. And the second time was just a few hours ago and he was completely helpless and instead of protecting Nicole and the babies he put their lives at risk. He had a long list of enemies, he was the son of the Source. How would demonic world react when they found out that the mighty Belthazor, the member of the Source's Council and Belthora's son was just a mere human? He would be putting his family at an immense risk by being next to them. His thoughts were interrupted when everything around him suddenly froze.

"What's going on?" Nicole asked looking at the motionless Elizabeth and Darryl.

"It is time!" Celina uttered in great shock.

And then the voice from now completely blue sky boomed, "Yes, it is but only for you."

Celina raised her head and a light smile touched her lips, "I am ready," she said calmly, but then frowned, "But what will happen to them?"

"Oh, they have a destiny ahead of them," the voice answered, "But you had fulfilled yours, you saved the lives of the Chosen Two and came to the end of your pass."

Celina nodded, "Who will replace me?" she asked calmly.

"He will," the voice answered and Celina felt her powers oozing from her. Cole gasped as a something rushed through his body forcing him to bend in half. "The magic both lost and acquired. Use it well, Belthazor."

Nicole could not believe her eyes. Celina took a few steps towards Cole and hugged him. "I am so glad that you will still be a Lugel, Cole," she said emotionally. "I know you will do great things and it's an honor for me that you'll be the one commanding my powers."

"He will be more than a Lugel," the voice said. "From now on the Chosen Two will start the new part of their destiny as a Guardians of Magic. Their duty will be to preserve the peace between good and evil and be the Heads of the High Court of Magic."

Cole and Nicole exchanged shocked glances and the latter asked, "Does it mean that we will be no longer members of the Lugel's Council?"

"No, you will still be members," the voice replied, "but you won't be doing day to day work. Your duties will be in maintaining the peace. You can see this as promotion."

There was a long pause and then the voice continued, "You know the rules, Celina, you have forty days."

"I don't need forty days," Celina objected, "I can go now." She turned to Cole and Nicole, "You understand," she said quietly, "I waited so long for this. I don't want to be apart from him any longer."

Nicole nodded tears standing in her eyes, "I understand," she said and gave Celina a big hug. "Thank you," she whispered emotionally, "Thank you for everything." She pulled away and added, "Say "Hello" to them from me and say that I love them both."

Celina nodded, "I will," she turned to Cole and gave him a tight hug, "Take care of her. She deserves the best."

"I will," he nodded and heard in his head Celina's voice.

"And God help you if you hurt her."

With these words Celina disappeared and the booming voice announced, "You broke a lot of rules, Nicole. But I guess I knew it was coming knowing who your father was. Treasure what you've got and remember with great powers comes great responsibility. Next time magic will not be that forgiving." The world around them unfroze and the Chosen Two sighed with relief. The sun was rolling behind the horizon. The day was finally over.