Hey, thanks for reviewing, keep it up! Minor editing in this chapter, and I'm not the most gifted speller so if you find any mistakes that I missed please tell me.

Chapter Two- Alive and In Love

"Phoebe?" Cole asked in a choked whisper. What was going on? Was he alive? Was he dreaming? Was this even possible? She didn't answer him; she just stared blankly ahead of her, stunned.

"Phoebe…" he said again, this time concerned. He took a step foreword and she took a step back, shaking her head over and over. It was all just too much. Then everything was spinning. She squinted as the ceiling collided with the floor and Cole's blurry figure seemed to blend into both.

Strong arms wrapped around her, stopping her fall inches before she hit the ground. She felt him laying her back onto her bed, everything in a daze.

He was really getting worried now. She had drifted into an exhausted sleep and he was only now getting the chance to look at her. Running a finger gently across her bruised skin and the dried blood that streaked her face, he felt the heat of rage rising in his veins. He would find whoever had done this, and he would make them pay.

Footsteps shuffled down the hall, and before Cole could fully turn around the door was swinging open. Paige stumbled in half asleep, but was instantly jerked to attention. She looked at Phoebe, then she looked at Cole, and then she started screaming.

"Oh my god, what have you done?" she gasped. It took Cole a moment to realize what she was talking about, and it only made him angrier.

"You can't think that I would do this to her!" he snapped. Paige just glared at him, "It wouldn't be the first time."

Cole looked at the ground. It was true, and it ripped him apart every waking moment. Paige had a right to be mad, and a right to assume that he was responsible for this. He had done things that could not, and should not, be forgiven.

Piper and Leo had arrived, and Piper was holding a sleeping Chris in her arms. They, too, gasped when they saw Cole, and Leo moved immediately to put himself between the former mad man and his family.

"How are you alive?" Piper asked. Surprisingly enough she didn't sound angry, just curious. Although she hadn't told her family about her time with him in limbo, it had definitely changed the way she felt about him. She was no longer scared.

"That, I'm afraid, would be my doing," said the Messenger, who whirled in a minute later with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, "But I did have a little help from a certain Cupid."

Wyatt, who had been awakened by all the noise, entered the room. He sensed Phoebe's pain and walked toward her. She slowly woke and sat up as Wyatt healed her. Everyone else turned to Phoebe, but Paige wouldn't be distracted.

"What do you mean you brought him back?" she asked the Messenger, horrified, "He was dead!"

"I know you're upset," the Messenger replied, "But I'm sure Cole means you no harm."

The Messenger didn't look entirely sure of this even as he said it, and gave Cole a warning look out of the corner of his eye. He had risked his job for this, and Cole had better not ruin it by doing anything stupid.

"You didn't answer my question," Paige snapped, "Why did you bring Cole back?"

"Because I asked him to," Phoebe said suddenly. Paige spun to face her with a half scared, half disbelieving look plastered across her face. But Phoebe wasn't looking at Paige, she was looking at Cole. Of everyone there he had been the most stunned by what she had said. Now, long after he had given up for good, he dared to hope that he might have a chance.

"I cast a spell to find my true love," Phoebe continued, "And a messenger of Destiny brought me Cole."

The silence was absolute. Everyone was staring at Phoebe. In truth, the realization of what she had just said was only beginning to sink in. How could that be true? How could he be her true love? He had ruined her life, ruined the lives of her family. He had conspired with the Seer to impregnate her with the spawn of all evil, not to mention the innocents he had killed in his drunken madness after returning from the wasteland. Doubt was slowly creeping into her mind, telling her that maybe she had been to hard on Cole. Maybe this was a sign that he meant to be good, that the Source had possessed him and controlled his action. That thought had crossed her mind before, but she had immediately shunned it and pushed it away. It had been easier to be mad then to sort through what had really happened. Then the Messenger cleared his throat to remind the room of his presence.

"Well…um… I had better get going," the Messenger said in a quick and awkward way, "I'm glad I could help you, and…um… I hope everything works out."

Then he was gone, leaving the Halliwells to stare blankly at the man who had brought such hurt and confusion into their lives.

"Look," Paige said, breaking the silence that had settled in again after the messenger's departure, "This doesn't change anything. I don't care why you're here, and if you don't get out of this house right now we'll send you right back where you came from."

Cole looked unsure. Although his first instincts were to stay by Phoebe's side and fight for the love that he would always crave, that particular plan had failed him too many times already. He needed time to think, so he frowned and started to shimmer out. Then he realized that he wasn't sure he could shimmer. Did he still have powers here? With no better alternatives, he might as well try. To his surprise, it worked.

Phoebe had only a second to make her decision. She knew that she loved Cole, but could she trust him? One look into his clear blue eyes told her that he was no longer crazy, but was that enough? She stopped thinking and simply let her heart take over.

Right before he vanished completely he felt something grab onto him, and when he rematerialized in the penthouse, which he was praying was still vacant, Phoebe was in his arms.

He opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing, but she silenced him with a kiss. I brought chills down his spine, and she was reminded that no one else could ever make her feel the way she felt at the slightest touch from him. He received her kiss, shocked, and started to kiss her in return, but he stopped halfway through.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, begging the gods that she would say yes. He didn't think he could bear to be brought back and have her reject him again.

"Destiny just reminded me of something that I've known all along," She replied softly, "I'm in love with you Cole Turner. I always have been, and I always will be."

Was he dreaming? This certainly seemed like a dream. She kissed him again, more passionately this time. He wrapped one arm around her waste and ran the other hand through her hair, breathing in her scent. She snaked a hand under his collar, undoing buttons until she could press her fingers through onto his chest. He pulled her even closer and they shimmered into the bedroom. Three years of pent up longing and passion were just starting to burst forward.