Chapter 5: Both Sides

When Phoebe felt steady, she helped the still trembling Cole sit down in the sun room, let go of him, wondered towards the dining room and looked around. It all seemed different from how she remembered it being just after Prue's death, but she couldn't spot anything that could've been the handy work of a demon.

The major difference was Paige standing next to the wall, "are we back?" She questioned her.

"So you do live here as my sister?" Phoebe wondered.

"Where have you two been? I was about to scry for you," Piper rushed in from the kitchen, hearing their voices, but munching on a large doughnut, "you can't just disappear like that because I'm bound to go down the underworld looking for you and we all know that would be too much agitation for the baby…"

"Baby!" Phoebe exclaimed and gave her a bear hug, as much as she could avoid pressing her midsection, "you're pregnant!"

"Well, duh! Where have you've been? I mean really!" She questioned, just to be more surprised by Paige strangling her with her cuddle too.

"Well, we are back," her youngest sister established, "that is one thing good, but Piper, this is not Phoebe! I mean it's not our Phoebe, who's major aim in life is how to write her next column for the paper."

"I work for a paper?"

"See? She doesn't know what she does in this life. You are an advice columnist."

"Who is she then?" Piper crunched her eyebrows.

"Evil bride of Cole from a reality he created…"

"Oh, Cole!" Phoebe remembered, running back where she left him, trailing her sisters behind herself, "you okay?"

"I'm fine now," Cole nodded, "I feel powerful. The way I should be here. I could shimmer to a star and back if you wanted me to and I could bring you, well, a part of it…"

"Whaaat?" Piper shook her head slowly, "oh no, no, no. Phoebe of whatever reality, come to your senses! And Cole, why don't you just go to constellation Draco and stay there?" Piper raised her hand to send Cole flying to the wall. She knew it wouldn't last, but he was a bit away from Phoebe for the second being…

"No! Piper," Phoebe touched her hand, "Cole is good. He proved it, didn't he Paige?"

"Well," the addressee raised her chin frowning, maybe he can't touch an evil book, but that doesn't mean he's not going to harm us, just wait! More to the point, he mummifies you and he's good? Kills a woman to take our house for himself?"

"Could I maybe remind you that all has happened because you believed something that wasn't true and blamed me for…" Cole interrupted, just to be stopped by Piper himself.

"Shut up, Cole! If you don't want to take part in another pointless invincibility wrestling game!" she threatened.

"Ookay," he stepped back, "maybe I should go, Phoebe. I made enough mistakes in the past to know that the power of three can't and shouldn't be separated. I'm sure your sisters will tell you all about how heartless I am and then we'll be back to square one. But maybe you, as opposed to yourself in this world, would know we did survive hell staying together," he shimmered out making one of the hardest choices ever. Another oversight on his part previously was about how Phoebe didn't like being pressured. Maybe if he left her alone this time…he arrived to the mausoleum fearing the worst. She wasn't aware of the penthouse yet and she would find him there, but in all honesty to himself, he didn't think she will come, not with nice intentions towards him anyway. He was determined he will stay there forever, or at least for a couple of human lifetimes if she doesn't come searching for him…

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Intending to be self confined to a crypt alive for half an eternity Cole didn't have any urgent business, but he still paced up and down, adrenalin running in his veins from his previous fight, fright or flight situation with Phoebe. Whatever he did, it didn't seem to work out and he was anticipating that he wouldn't be able to figure out what else to do, nor keep to his plan of secluding himself from the world, because the Avatars will turn up again and force him to take part in whatever they wanted him for. He did not fear them, they were just last on his to do list. In defence, he sat down and willed himself to take a trip into the part of his brain that contained his powers and tried to access the collective to find out for himself what they wanted from him in advance. He was concentrating on distinguishing the numerous voices in his head and didn't notice that Phoebe was descending the stairs, jumping back at her touching the side of his hand lightly, convinced that the Avatars detected his doings and came in person to annoy him further.

"Did I scare you?" Phoebe mused at the unusual sight.

"You? Now?" Cole glanced about, he was sure that sooner or later he was going to see the sisters too, coming for another try at vanquishing him, once they figured a new way.

"You didn't think I was going to come," Phoebe sat down next to him, "but a good surprise fits well with your birthday."

"Good surprise…" Cole repeated quietly in awe, only his mouth moving, eyes a little wider.

"I know that it wasn't you that made me evil and unhappy, or you for that matter," Phoebe explained, "it was circumstances and my own choices. With the better circumstances here and the experience, I'm sure I could make the right choices this time. Right choice is to guide you in that direction. Besides, as Paige pointed out, we can't vanquish you here…"

"Oho, what a reason…do they not want their own Phoebe back?"

"Oh, yes, they do, but I wouldn't exist then. And I don't like that. I managed to convince them I'm not evil, so they won't do anything about it now."

"What about the things I've done to get you back? Did she not tell you about it?"

"You've done worse in my reality. I still couldn't leave you."

"But you said it was because of Piper."

"Piper can take care of herself. I wanted you to change sides, that's why I didn't say I still loved you, silly."

"You did?"

"I do, Cole, I always will. Didn't I tell you that?"

The End.