As always, I apologize for any errors or inconsistencies and encourage everyone who reads this story to review. This is my first Charmed fic, so my writing may be a little rough around the edges.
Chapter Three-Then the Morning Comes
Phoebe smiled softly in her sleep; she was having one of the most wonderful dreams of her life. Cole's arms were wrapped protectively across her, and she could smell his comforting scent all around. She snuggled deeper into her dream, fighting the morning light that threatened to take everything away. Soon she would have to wake up and face the real world, with Jake, not Cole. At the thought of Jake she stiffened instinctively, remembering the horrible events of last night. As her back tensed she felt someone move behind her. She blinked and opened her eyes to see Cole leaning over her, looking worried.
"What's wrong?" he asked, placing feather light kisses across her shoulders and up her neck. She nearly laughed with joy; she hadn't been dreaming. She felt somehow complete, not regretting her decision for a minute.
"Nothing," she said with a reassuring smile, "I was just…thinking." She looked instinctively at her left hand, and Cole followed her gaze. The second he saw the ring he looked as if he'd been smacked.
"What's his name?" Cole grunted, looking away.
"It's not what you think," she said as he started to pull away from her.
"Look," he said sadly, "You thought I was dead, I can't blame you for moving on. I just wish you had told me."
She could tell he was angry, but he didn't want to show it. She put her hand on his arm and looked deeply into his blue eyes. Only Jake could ruin a moment so magical, without even being present at all. Despite the billowing comforter she shivered at the thought of him.
"I don't ever want to see him again," she said quietly, her voice quivering. Cole turned back to her and saw the pain written across her face.
"Did he hurt you?" Cole asked his voice barely above a whisper. Phoebe didn't answer. She burst into tears and buried her face in Cole's strong chest. It was close enough to an answer for him.
Cole held Phoebe close and comforted her, all the while thinking of what he would do if he ever met the guy who had hurt her. He would rip him apart with his bare hands, then put him together and kill him again.
The moment was broken by Phoebe's ringing cell phone. It must still be in the pocket of her jeans. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath before answering it.
"Phoebe, where the hell are you?" Elise demanded, her voice loud enough for Cole to hear through the phone.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Phoebe said, glancing at the clock on the bedside table, "I completely lost track of time, I'll be right there."
"You'd better be," Elise snapped back. Phoebe hung up and jumped out of bed, starting to get dressed.
"Do you have to go?" Cole asked, taking her hand and trying to pull her back into bed. Phoebe nodded and continued gathering her clothes, with had ended up strewn across various parts of the room during the course of the night.
She wanted to avoid going back to the manor at all costs, so she'd have to go without a shower or new clothes. Her skirt was a little ruffled, but otherwise she thought she looked alright.
"Wait…" Cole called as she opened the door. She ran back and kissed him, realizing she had almost forgotten to say goodbye.
"We'll talk later, I promise!" she yelled from the stairs.
Cole was left alone in the room. It was just starting to sink in that everything was real. Phoebe was in love with him; they were together. He eyed the engagement ring that she had ripped off and left on the table. Thinking of another man loving her, and being with her, made his blood boil. He clenched his fist, crushing the ring under his demonic strength.
Then he realized what he'd done. What was he? What was going on? He felt somehow complete, a feeling which, at fist, he had attributed to being with Phoebe again. Now he was thinking that it might be a little more than that. He searched himself for the answer, and found a dark shadow oppressing half his mind. His demon half was back, he was Balthazar again.
Cole had been restored to his original form, and he wasn't entirely sure if that made things better or worse. He had a degree of control over these powers that he'd never possessed over the abilities that he'd stolen in the Wasteland, and his soul was complete now, no longer so vulnerable to possession by evil. But, on the other hand, Phoebe's sisters would never accept him as long as he was half demon.
It was possible that he could convince Piper and Leo, who had known him when he had been using his demon half to fight for good at Phoebe's side, but Paige would never accept it. She was too close minded to see that there was a grey area between good an evil.
He took the small lump of scrap metal that had once been Phoebe's ring and threw it out the open window, watching it land in the street. After he had restored the penthouse to its original appearance, he walked to the bank to see if he could still access his account. It had been temporarily frozen, but when they matched his finger prints they opened it again.