Chapter 7: Cross

"How could they go out alone?" Phoebe fumed as she walked down the stairs behind her older sister, who wasn't exactly calm about the situation either.

"Main thing is, they got Barbas, and most importantly they are safe and sound," Piper tried to settle down, "Leo got his revenge and maybe, just maybe he will be home more often now and everything will be normal for a while."

"But they went behind our backs Piper!"

"I can't say that doesn't bother me Phoebe, but I'm trying to be supportive of my husband here! Can't do it if you constantly remind me why I should be angry with him."

"It was like cloak and dagger. Who knows what happens next."

"Do you ever change the record, Phoebe? Is that what really bothers you?"

"Yes…no…okay, what really bothers me is that it looks like Cole has a death wish and he wants to give me a heart attack in the process, " she raged.

"So mainly, you were worried about Cole."

"Oh, Piper, that's not the point."

"It's exactly the point. Point is that you love him and if you do, you stay supportive of him. If he makes a mistake, you stand by him. You can only hope he doesn't make the same mistake again. That's all you can do in a relationship. All anybody can do. I leant that from Leo, and unfortunately I have to use the same measures nowadays…support entails honouring and validating who the other person is and that means allowing for character flaws."

"So what do you think I should do?"

"Well, there's still the issue of drinking. When you really think he's over that, then you can maybe tackle things you're not happy with. At the same time, there's the issue of his coming and going powers…"

"I managed to get her mad again," Cole sat down on Phoebe's bed, head in his hands again.

"You've got a talent there," Leo agreed, holding his hand above the damaged wallpaper to sort it.

"She'll reject me again if I don't get rid of my powers. If only I knew how I got them back."

"I have an idea," he orbed away, having fixed the wall, leaving Cole to anxiously pace up and down in the small room. With the return of his powers, all remains of his withdrawal symptoms were gone, but he was very apprehensive about the developments. Nervous, he searched the room for alcohol. Course, there was none. If there was any in the house, it had to be in the kitchen or the basement. He could have shimmered down, but Leo could have been back in the meantime. Not to mention that if he drank, Phoebe was more likely to be upset with him. He was a caged animal, that's what he was. When he started sweating and panting, he finally remembered that he should try to calm himself down. He would not find the solution hot headed. He sat back down, closed his eyes and put some effort in making his mind similar to an empty blackboard.

That was how Leo found him, "I went back to the hospital where they stored the blood sample they got from you and I put it under a microscope. Well, I'm here to inform you that there were traces of demonic blood in the sample, even when the time you thought yourself fully human. Everybody thought you fully human, the lab couldn't detect such low levels of alien blood. You never lost your powers, Cole."

"I can assure you I lost them."

"More like you were not aware that they still existed. Now what is the difference between your previous state and your current? Chemically I mean."

"I'm not drinking?"

"Exactly. I think some of your powers will be back in time."

"But I don't understand. Demons can drink fine, alcohol doesn't have much effect on them."

"Yeah, but I never heard of an alcoholic demon."

"Well, as I said, alcohol has not enough effect on demons to be bothered with."

"But it did on you. With you being half human, I guess everything is different. It diminished your demonic powers, that's what it did. I have no other explanations. By the way, explanations. I think Piper cooled down by now, it's time I went and played humble…I suggest you do the same…"

Cole continued to anxiously wait in the room. He didn't have the guts to go out and face Phoebe, but shimmering away and leaving the whole thing lying was not an option. He needed to sort things out between them there and then, make her understand some way that he couldn't live without his powers, the same way as he couldn't live without her. Both things were killing him. He worked on his speech when she walked in slowly, and gave a sigh of relief to see him still there, after the dispute they all had.

"Leo told me about you powers," she started.

"And how do you feel about that?"

Phoebe didn't respond, primarily because she didn't know how to. She was in disarray about the meaning of good and evil, and she wasn't sure how would she survive herself it she had to let him go.

"Phoebe?" Cole asked apprehensively, fearing the worst.

"Oh, sorry. Well I'm not sure how I feel."

"Phoebe, you scare me. I…"

"Shh…" She stepped forward, her finger smoothly touching his lips, "just hold me," she whispered. He had, waiting for what came out of this, and she nestled into him, unmoving for as long as a minute. She looked up at him, the tall and strong man looked remarkably like a little boy as he waited for her conclusion. She knew that it was her that gave him strength to fight and believe. She signified harmony to him, a place for him to rest his weary soul. It was a great responsibility, "I love you," she pledged.

"Do you really?" He mumbled, confused.

"Mmm," she assured him, her fingers adventuring between two of his shirt buttons. His abdominal muscles were so inviting, "how's your stomach?" She remembered.

"Fine, I don't feel a thing anymore. You know, demonic constitution…"

"I know, but I worry about you," she stated.

"Thanks for that, and thank you that you're not mad."

"I have one question though. Are you sure you stopped drinking?"

"Yes."

"But how can you be sure?"

"Because of you. I'm scared. I'm scared out my wits that I will loose you if I drink. To be honest…I don't trust you to stand by me if I make any more mistakes," he admitted.

"What a flattering reason," she shook her head. Yes, Cole was definitely obsessed with her, everything was connected to her. She knew what she had to do to make it all better. Show him the world, show him life as it was. All the other purposes and meanings of human existence, all the happiness that came from everyday life. With and without her in it. But she couldn't achieve all that today. What she could do was pull him down the bed and respond to his tender and loving touch…

The End.