Twice Cursed
Empathic Duty

A/N (IMPORTANT): In light of the events that are taking place in Season Seven, I have decided to revamp the background information of this story. Instead of the whole AU backdrop that I put up in the beginning, Twice Cursed now simply takes place approximately ten months after the Season Seven episode Charmageddon. Other than that, however, nothing has been changed. I know that in the first twelve chapters, we see Leo and Piper happily together and Leo as their Whitelighter, but keep in mind that ten months is a good stretch of time. These details will be explained gradually, basically in these immediate chapters.

If you have any questions, you can first check the first chapter of this story, where I reiterate in slightly different words this information, or you can contact me for any reason at all at my email address, which can be accessed through my FF profile.

"I can't believe that you still remember an obscure restaurant that you've been to once in your life," Phoebe remarked as she and Cole strolled down a street in Sacramento, their stomachs full from a satisfying lunch.

"Obscure?" Cole said in faked outrage. "That restaurant—" he indicated behind him "—is, in my opinion, the best thing to come out of this city."

"How did you even come across this place, anyways?" Phoebe asked him as they randomly crossed an intersection.

"It was after the Siren incident," Cole said lightly, "and I happened to hit upon the restaurant after spending two days in the Andes." He paused as Phoebe digested the information. "The owner, Ralph, knows quite a lot about you."

"Oh." Phoebe bit the inside of her mouth and looked straight ahead. "Is that why he was looking at me like that? Why would he remember, anyways? Sacramento is a big city and it has been a while since the—Siren incident."

Cole cleared his throat. "He probably remembers me because I uh, kind of trashed the restaurant a little bit the first time I was there."

Phoebe stared at him. "I had a few drinks," Cole hurriedly began to explain, "got a little mad. I didn't do anything irreparable—just smashed a couple of plates and broke two glasses."

"And he still lets you in to his restaurant?" Phoebe asked, trying to keep her voice neutral and trying not to think of the few months prior to Cole's second death.

"Well, I paid up front after I calmed down a bit, and the reason I calmed down was because—well, because he knew what I was going through," he said. "At least some of it," he hurriedly clarified again. "The whole losing-the-love-of-your-life thing…" he trailed off as Phoebe tensed up slightly next to him and looked away.

Cole tried to turn the topic away from their tumultuous past when Phoebe tensed up even more. Cole looked questioningly at her when Phoebe stopped and put a hand on his arm. She indicated down the block with her other hand. "Someone's in trouble," she said tersely. Without another word, she set off into a jog, heels clacking as Cole, a bit stunned, started to follow her, confused as to what Phoebe seemed to sense.

She veered off into a narrow alleyway and stopped short when she saw a warlock holding an athame to the neck of a terrified black woman. The warlock looked up at Phoebe.

"Witch," he sneered, then in one motion threw the woman away from him and waved both his hands at Phoebe, sending a shower of thorns directly at her. Cole immediately saw what had happened and threw an energy ball at the warlock even as the woman's screams echoed in his ears. Yet, from the corner of his eye, he saw the thorns moving away from Phoebe and directly toward the warlock. He snapped his head toward Phoebe's direction, and instead of seeing her levitated in the air, he saw her with her arms held out, as though she was pushing something away from her. The warlock's own thorns and Cole's energy ball reach him at the same time and the warlock exploded with a strangled cry.

Without so much as a blink, Phoebe hurried to the woman who seemed to be in her early twenties. "Are you OK?" Phoebe asked anxiously as the woman put a hand to her heart and drew in deep breaths. Cole, shocked, stood in the background, his mind not wrapping around the events that had just taken place.

"You're a witch?" the woman finally managed out as her breathe became more even. "I'm one too," she continued before Phoebe could respond. "My mom and aunts are too. I know all about warlocks, but it's the first time—" she drew in another deep breath. "Where did you come from?" she asked. "You came out of nowhere."

Phoebe smiled a little bit as she bent down and retrieved the woman's bag, which was tossed in a small stagnant pool of water. "It's alright now," she said as she reached for some tissues in her own bag to help wipe the water off. "The warlock's vanquished. Still, though," she added as she locked eyes with Cole, "Do you have a coven? Maybe we should bring you there and see if there's a bigger picture that's going on here." Just then, Phoebe noticed the slashes on the woman's arms and shirt, and the bruises forming from where the warlock had gripped her neck. "But first of all, you have to call for your Whitelighter. You're hurt."

The woman nodded, still seeming a bit faint. "Kyle!" she called out.

Phoebe stared at the woman. "Kyle?" she asked, even as a shower of blue-and-white lights appeared before them and assembled into the familiar shape of Agent Brody.

"Andrea?" Kyle asked worriedly as soon as he materialized, taking a step toward the woman without noticing Phoebe. "Are you OK?" He held out his hands and healed her.

The woman nodded again, looking at Phoebe. Kyle followed Andrea's line of sight and gaped as he saw the Charmed One. "Phoebe?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"She's with me," Cole said suddenly, his feelings of confusion and his feelings of jealousy as he saw the look of recognition pass between the two making him act. Phoebe threw him an alarmed look as Kyle squinted suspiciously at Cole.

"Who's that guy?" Kyle asked as he peered at Cole, his eyes sharply boring into the former demon. There was something not quite right about the guy, it seemed to him… "Last time I checked, you still lived in San Francisco with Piper and Paige."

Phoebe caught the wistful way Kyle said Paige's name. "And so I am," Phoebe answered. "I was just—here. Around. With him." She indicated toward Cole. "You know. Just around." She smiled so that her wisdom teeth showed.

Kyle gave her another piercing look, one that he had used during his days as a government agent. "Aren't you with that guy—what was his name—Matt?"

Phoebe let out a laugh of relief. "Oh, him? Oh, no—we broke up a long, long time ago. Long time ago. Besides, Cole and I are just friends." As Phoebe said his name, she cursed silently as she realized what she had just said. She barely suppressed a nervous chuckle as she caught Cole's expression.

"Cole…" Kyle echoed, his brow furrowed as he tried to remember where he had heard that name before. He was pretty sure Paige had mentioned his name before…

"Well," Phoebe said brightly, "Andrea, I know you're in good hands now, since I know how able Agent Brody, or Kyle here, is. But we really have to get going. I'll send my regards to my sisters," she continued, looking at Kyle. "Bye!"

She quickly walked away from the pair, grabbed Cole's arm, and led them both out of the alleyway. Once they were out of earshot, Phoebe shoved Cole into another abandoned alleyway. "Shimmer us back to the hotel, now," she said in a low voice, leaving no room for argument. Cole in turn gave her a dark look, roughly pulled Phoebe to him, and brought them back to California.

As they arrived in the recently freshened bedroom of Cole's suite, Phoebe broke away from him and crossed her arms in front of chest. "Nice going there, Cole," she said sarcastically.

"What did I do?" Cole snapped back. "That Kyle or whoever the hell he was still would've found you being in Sacramento suspicious."

Phoebe tightened her arms in front of her and glared at Cole. "For God's sakes, Cole, Kyle was Paige's boyfriend."

"Did I say anything to imply otherwise?" Cole retorted.

Phoebe let out a snort of laughter. "You're kidding, right? You're about as obvious as anyone could be right about now. Jealousy is practically radiating off of you like heat waves. And would you stop feeling so goddamned offended that I called you a friend? I have a husband, and guess what? He's not you!"

"Oh right," Cole said sarcastically, "your husband. The other half in your marriage that you described, in your own words, as a 'truckload of crap'. No, thanks, I'd rather not be him. At least with us—" he stopped.

"At least with us what? What?" Phoebe demanded, even as her voice quivered and her eyes filled up with tears. She choked back a sob as she sat down heavily onto the bed, clutching her head. "No…" she muttered to herself. "Stop it…"

Cole looked at her warily. "Phoebe?" Totally unsure of what was going on, he sat down next to her and contemplated on whether he should try to comfort her.

"You should know exactly what's going," Phoebe bit out. "You're the one who sent Vinceres after us, remember?"

Cole stared at Phoebe from his place on the bed. Vinceres…he was the demon, the demon that was cursed with the ability to feel. Suddenly, the events of the day seemed to make a lot more sense; the way Phoebe sensed the danger the witch Andrea was in, the way she deflected the thorns of the warlock, even the way she seemed to know exactly what he was feeling.

"Yeah, you've got it," Phoebe said flatly as Cole blinked. "I'm an empath." She sucked in her breath as she felt another wave of emotion come over her. She could barely control it; and she hadn't felt this way until she first received her newest power, and a short time when she regained her powers again from the Elders. What was happening to her? She started again when she recognized the foremost emotion she was reading off of Cole. It was disappointment. Phoebe was about to ask him about it when the question died on her lips. She knew the answer to that one. He was dismayed, saddened because he thought that their sudden intimacy was brought by her now-natural inclination toward reading and responding to emotions.

"Cole," Phoebe said softly. He looked back at her. "I'm sorry for snapping at you before; it's just that I was worried, and I was feeding off of your anxiety too, so…" she trailed off as she studied him. "It's strange. I thought I've gotten past the point where other people's emotions didn't directly affect my own actions without my own control over them. I mean, other than that time when I gained back my powers from the Elders—"

"Gained back?" Cole cut in. "What do you mean by that?"

Phoebe looked away uncomfortably. "About two years ago, I had been using my powers irresponsibly and the Elders took them away as my punishment, and as a way for me to earn them back. I did about seven months ago." Phoebe smiled a bit from the shock she felt from him. "A lot of things can happen in three years, Cole."

"Tell me about it," Cole said to himself.

Phoebe gave him a lopsided smile. "Maybe I will," she replied.