Epilogue

Four Years Later…

Phoebe lifted her daughter and swung the little girl around again. "I love you, ladybug. Now no more talk about demons, okay?"

"Because we'll talk about them when we get home," a gruff voice commented from behind them.

"Daddy!"

Her daughter reached for her husband who had managed, as usual, to sneak up on her unnoticed. For half a moment she wondered if she'd let her defensive instincts slide too much and that maybe a workout session with him might be a good, if not fun, idea. But as their daughter climbed over into his arms and the boys cheerfully greeted him, she avoided meeting his intense gaze. She'd recognized the anger their daughter surely missed and she could quote his next line of the argument. "Don't start," she warned with a public-friendly smile, "this isn't the time or place."

He ignored his wife and asked his daughter, "And why do you want to talk about demons on this bright and sunny day?"

"Wyatt and Chris said that demons're comin' to get us," the little girl tattled. "But Momma says there's no such thing, right, Daddy?"

"The boys know better than to talk about demons outside the house," he carefully said. "Isn't that right, Wyatt and Chris?"

Knowing they'd messed up, both boys stared at their feet and glumly replied, "Yes, Uncle Cole."

"And it won't happen again, will it?" he inquired. Both boys shook their heads and he took in his daughter's gleeful expression. "They made a mistake," he told the not quite-four-year old, "and they're sorry for scaring you. Now what do you say to them?"

"I fogive you," the little girl dutifully told her cousins.

"Forgive, sweetie," Phoebe automatically corrected with a slight smile. "You forgive them."

"That too…"

Cole couldn't help but chuckle and nuzzle his daughter's neck sending her squirming with peals of laughter.

"Uncle Cole?"

Concentrating on maintaining his hold on his daughter who was reaching for the ground upside-down, he managed to spot Wyatt's worried expression and he immediately lifted her back upright. "What's wrong, Wyatt?"

"I know we shouldn't've teased her in school but…" The boy dug his sneaker's toe in the dirt, twisted it slightly, and didn't continue.

"Wyatt?" All thoughts of their near-argument forgotten, Phoebe exchanged with Cole a look of concern before she knelt in front of Wyatt. She reached for the boy's hand and lightly swung it to and fro, "Wyatt, you can tell me. You can tell me anything."

"You'll get mad," Chris informed her.

"I might not be happy about it," she told the boys, "but I promise I'll do my best to understand." But Wyatt still looked reluctant so she said, "I can't help make it better if you don't tell me."

Wyatt looked from his aunt to his uncle who confirmed her promise. He squeezed her hand and, in a hushed tone, admitted, "I know they're here."

"Who's here?" she asked in confusion as she scanned the school grounds. "Is someone following you? Cole…" she worried as she looked up to him.

"He means the demons, Aunt Phoebe," Chris corrected as his uncle also began looking around them.

"Tell you what," Cole quickly offered before Phoebe could respond. "How about, instead of going home, we all go to the park and have some ice cream and talk about the demons?"

Wyatt seemed unsure, "Really? We can ask questions an' everything? You won't tell us to stop?"

"We'll answer any questions you have," he assured the child.

"Cole…."

Wyatt perked up for a moment before shaking his head, "Mom'll get mad if she finds out. She doesn't like us talking about demons."

"Don't worry about your mother," Cole sternly told him. "I'll explain everything to her."

"Cole…."

Chris excitedly tugged on Wyatt's sleeve, "I wanna double scoop of chocolate chunk!"

"I wanna 'nilla cone!"

Phoebe rolled her eyes, "How any child of mine could prefer vanilla to chocolate is beyond me. Are you sure the fairies didn't switch you with someone else's little ladybug?"

The little girl covered her mouth and giggled, "You're so silly, Momma."

"Among other things," Cole quipped before kissing his daughter and setting her down on the ground. He instructed the three youngsters, "Go to the car, we'll be right there." He watched them race off before he faced his wife who had the gall to look annoyed with him. "Just what the hell did you think you were doing?"

"Me?" she retorted. "What about you? You know damn well we decided not to tell the kids the truth about demons and now you want to rui--"

"You mean Piper and Paige decided," he accused as he interrupted.

"I happen to agree with them," she firmly declared.

He threw his hands up in the air, "Of course you do. I'm only your husband, why should you listen to me?"

"Don't start," she warned. "You agreed al--"

"Against my better judgment," he reminded her. "I never --"

"You agreed," she interrupted, "along with Leo that it was best for the kids. And look at them, they're healthy and safe and fine."

"Did Wyatt look fine?" he countered with exasperation. "Did you hear him, Phoebe? He knows. He knows the truth, the real truth."

Phoebe shook her head in denial. "He's a little boy who knows about magic and is imagining the rest. Demons aren't around us and they're not waiting to kill us."

But Cole wouldn't give in, not this time, "You and your sisters have fooled yourselves into believing this is Utopia and are setting up your children for a fall. What'll you do when they pay the price for your illusions?"

It took all she had not to slap him in front of the kids. "How dare you?" she seethed. "If not for the Avatars you wouldn't even be here, our daughter wouldn't even exist."

"I'm well aware of how I was brought back and I never let Leo forget it," he informed her through gritted teeth. "And I'm well aware of how our daughter was conceived that night but I guarantee you there wasn't a single Avatar involved."

Tired of this well-worn argument, Phoebe lowered her voice and wondered, "Why can't you drop it? Why can't you just be happy that our kids are growing up with normal childhoods? They'll grow up to use their powers for helpi--"

"They'll never be prepared for the return of the demons if you keep the truth from them," he exclaimed.

"Demons aren't returning," she hissed as a rush of anger swept through her, "and keep your voice down." She looked in the direction of the car where her daughter waved to her. She waved back with a smile before spinning on her heel to face her equally annoyed husband, "For two years now, ever since we helped the Avatars, we've been demon-free and Trish --"

"Needs to know the truth," he interrupted with growing anger. "I'm not saying our daughter needs to be thrown into a world of demons and evil. But we do need to explain things to her on her level of understanding."

Until now, she'd always been so emphatic about her point of view concerning the aftermath of their decision to help the Avatars. But now…Her shoulders slumped as she realized that they'd never have to argue about this again. She'd just lost and yet couldn't admit to him that it was because she was so afraid he was right. But he couldn't be right. Demons couldn't be coming back. She glanced at her daughter and wanted to hug the little girl and never let go. She practically cried to him, "She's barely even four, Cole!"

"And Wyatt's six!" he retorted. He'd seen the change in his wife's demeanor and noticed the tears forming in her eyes but wouldn't let them sway him. Instinctively, he understood why the Charmed Ones had made their choice but it was time for Phoebe, at least, to start facing the facts. In a calmer tone, he added, "Wyatt remembers the demons. He remembers the attacks we used to have nearly every day. So does Chris for that matter. And you know how powerful Wyatt is, Phoebe. You have to admit the truth that Wyatt can sense the evil. And you have to conv--"

"Wyatt's not evil," she gasped. "How can you even say such a thing?"

He tried to remain patient at her misunderstanding, "I didn't say he was, just that he can sense it. Why do you think he teases Trish?"

"Because that's what six-year-old little boys do to little girls who are practically their little sisters!" Phoebe didn't want to hear any more and desperately clung to her initial belief. Cole was wrong. Demons weren't coming back and she and her sisters had made the right decision to keep the past from their kids. The kids wouldn't grow up looking over their shoulders wondering when the next attack would happen. "Wyatt's only telling stories to spook her," she decided.

"He's warning her!"

"Of what? Demons no longer exist."

He was nearly speechless and had to stare at her for a moment. She seemed completely serious. "Now you're scaring me if you actually believe that crap you feed the kids…"

"So help me God, Cole, if you don't sto--"

Cole grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly, "Demons weren't vanquished. They were trapped. And they will escape. And then you'd better pray to your god that our children are prepared to fight or we will lose them and our future." She seemed stunned and slightly dizzy and he immediately pulled her into a hug and apologized. "I know this scares you and that you don't want to hear this. But I need you to believe, Phoebe. I need you to believe that evil still exists in the Underworld and is working on breaking free. I need you to believe so that we can prepare the next generation before it's too late."

"You're shaking," Phoebe whispered as she gathered strength from his embrace.

"Because I'm terrified," he admitted. "I've lived for over one hundred and twenty years but none of them hold a candle to the past four that I've spent with you."

"Hey, what about the year-and-a-half we spent together when we first met?" she teased in mock anger as she tried to push herself free.

But he only wrapped his arms more tightly around her, "I'm serious, Phoebe. The past four years have brought me a happiness I never imagined possible but they can all disappear with the blink of an eye. And I don't know where I'd be if I lost you or Trish, hell even Paige."

Pressed against his chest, she swore to him in a muffled tone, "You're not losing me or anyone in your family, Cole, especially not Paige who'd make it her mission as a Whitelighter to haunt you." When she felt his body relax slightly, she looked up at him and chastised, "Besides, you're the one who kept pushing her buttons after Kyle's blunder with the FBI so is it any wonder she tried to vanquish you again?"

"When I find that potion…" he growled.

"She'll only go back in time to get some more of your flesh and make more," Phoebe grinned, relieved the tense moment had passed.

"You didn't even try to stop her," he sniffed indignantly.

She shrugged, "Guess Trish and I would've just had to visit you in the Wasteland."

"Cute…" he quipped with a sarcastic smile.

"I know I am," she grinned with amusement. "Now let's go home so we can --"

"We're going to the park for ice cream," he reminded her, fully prepared to argue all over again.

She slipped out from his arms and sighed tiredly, "Can't you let it go this time?"

He shook his head and adamantly stated, "It's past time that we told them the truth. But I'm willing to compromise. You can call Piper and Paige and ask them to join us."

"How's that a compromise?" she grumbled. She knew as well as he did that her sisters would only make the conversation with the kids worse. They'd never let him get a word in edgewise and would only bring up Belthazor which would only confuse the kids. No, she was better off talking to the kids alone with Cole first and dealing with the fallout from her sisters later. But she still tried one last time, "They're only children, Cole, they're too young."

"And by the time I was Trish's age, I'd already had over ten kills to my name," he countered.

She glared at him, "And that's supposed to make me change my mind?"

Kicking himself for bringing up that part of his past, he switched tactics, "Do you want these children to grow up as you and your sisters did without anyone around to guide them?"

"We had Grams and ou--"

"I'm talking about the magic, the powers," he snapped. "Don't you remember how lost you felt? Don't you remember how hard it was learning everything on the fly and finding out the important details too late? How many innocents or siblings do you want our children to lose before they learn to --"

"Enough!" she requested in defeat. Even now, Prue's loss was a pain she felt nearly every day. "You've made your point."

"Then we tell them the truth," he declared without sounding victorious. He understood why his wife fought so fiercely to protect the children's innocence. And at last she seemed to truly understand why he fought so fiercely to protect their freedom. In a softer tone, he explained, "We'll tell them there are demons out there but that the demons are trapped right now. And we'll show them how they can protect themselves and each other. We'll teach them about magic, the good and the bad. We'll teach them about good demons and bad demons and good witches and bad witches. And we'll trust them to make their own mistakes as they learn to be the best possible witches this world has ever seen."

Unable to look him in the eye, all she managed to do was sadly complain, "You make the Charmed Ones…me seem obsolete."

Cole quickly hugged her again and bent to murmur in her ear, "Stubborn, pig-headed, selfish, and so beautiful you still take my breath away but never obsolete because I will want you just as you are for all eternity."

Knowing they were still in public she tried to pull away, "I hate you when you get romantic after you've gone all logical on me to prove your point…"

But he wouldn't let go and kissed her passionately before stating, "And that's why you love me."

"For all eternity, Mr. Turner," Phoebe promised. She gazed into his eyes and acknowledged the desire she saw with an unconscious lick of her lips. "We'd better go before we…we'd just better go…" She leaned into him as he silently wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "We'll finish this later," she sighed.

"Damn right we will," he grumbled, wishing he could simply shimmer her to their bed right now.

She happily sighed again and, as they headed toward the kids, she said, "You're wrong, though."

"Of course I am," he muttered. "Why should that ever change?"

She bumped him lightly with her hip and grinned, "This is a utopia."

He stopped walking and seriously told her, "I know you've had a long day but this discussion about an illusion is long pas--"

"Is our daughter an illusion?" Phoebe interrupted as she pointed to the giggling little girl. She then tugged on his hand and pressed it to the slightly rounded belly hidden by her outfit, "Is Junior here an illusion?"

He glared at her even as, beneath her hand, his fingertips slightly rubbed her blouse, "Your point?"

"You're the one who told me four years ago that I could have my happily-ever-after even without the Avatars' Utopia," she replied with exasperation as she dropped his hand and flicked it away. "And doesn't having a loving wife with her own career, a house with a picket fence two blocks away from your in-laws, an extremely well-paying job, a family nightclub slash restaurant, one-point-two kids, and a hamster, and not necessarily in that order, qualify as happily-ever-after?"

Still unsure of her point, he reluctantly answered, "Of course."

"So, then," she tiptoed to peck him on the lips, "don't we have utopia right here?"

"I thought you said I was wrong," Cole smirked, pulling her up for a deeper kiss.

"Oh shut up…" she muttered as she shoved him back and began walking ahead.

"I love you when you go all hormonal on me," he grinned as he admired the way her hips swayed as he watched her from behind.

"I heard that," she called out in annoyance without turning around.

"I love you period," he clarified as he followed. From her headshake, he knew she'd heard and was smiling. He then watched his daughter launch herself at her mother. "Phoebe…" She'd already lifted her daughter up and, when she turned her head and smiled inquisitively at him, he told her, "Maybe there is a utopia after all."

Phoebe nuzzled noses with her daughter before she set Trish down and waited patiently for her husband to catch up. When he did, she gazed into his eyes and grinned, "Silly demon, when will you learn to listen to your wife?"

Cole smiled at her bringing up this particular favorite banter of theirs. "Foolish witch," he responded as he placed his hands on her waist and tugged her closer, "when will you learn to listen to your husband?"

"That's what eternity's for," both replied simultaneously before their lips met in perfect harmony.

The End