"I really am sorry, honey," said Cole. "You have no idea how badly I feel. I was trying to hard to be the man you want me to be. After all this I don't know how I'm ever going to make it up to you. Or how you can ever trust me again."
"Stop that," said Phoebe. "It wasn't you. It was the Source. I know you did everything you could to stop him. He was just too powerful for you, that's all. He's the Source of all Evil. It took the Power of Three to vanquish him the first time. There's no way you could resist that."
"I hate to say it," said Paige from the doorway to Phoebe's room, "but she has a point. I didn't trust you Cole because I thought you had fallen back into your old demonic ways. But Michael explained it to us. He said it wasn't you. He said it was the Source."
"She's right," said Piper standing next to Paige. Leo was standing behind Piper. "We're familiar with possession. We know that it's the creature doing the possessing that's responsible not the host. We never trusted you completely because you had been a demon for a hundred years. I guess we just never believed you could change."
"Phoebe did," said Leo. "She never lost faith in you."
"I appreciate that," said Cole. "But I let him do it. I should have been strong enough to resist him. I was an upper level demon for a hundred years. I was able to vanquish the Triad. I should have found a way to stop him."
"Do you remember me telling you about the Woogy?" Phoebe asked. "The creature that lives in the basement?"
"Yes," said Cole.
"I remember when it possessed me," said Phoebe. "It was the same way. I could hear and see everything that was happening. And I nearly killed Prue and Piper. But it wasn't me. It was the Woogy."
"And when Barbas, the fear demon, attacked us," said Piper. "When he used his power we were literally frozen with fear. Until we learned to overcome him there was nothing we could do. We weren't strong enough to stop him until mom helped Prue."
"Well, I've never been possessed," said Paige, "or suffered attacks from Barbas. But I do remember when I first became a Charmed One. I borrowed the Book of Shadows and took it to work to punish one of my co-workers. Only it backfired on me. But I still remember the feeling of power I felt. It was almost intoxicating. I could easily have been swayed to evil."
"Cole," said Leo, "we can all understand what you went through. I've been a White Lighter for more than sixty years. I've seen my share of possessions and people who were overcome when they got too much power too fast. And in your case it wasn't just that. You were possessed by the most powerful demon in the underworld. We can only imagine what you must have been going through."
"Thanks, all of you," said Cole. "Considering everything that's happened in the past few weeks I couldn't really blame you if you didn't trust me any more."
"I guess we were just too wrapped up in our own lives to really see what was happening to you," said Piper. "What with our jobs, fighting demons, and everything else we were just so distracted to see that you were going through problems of your own."
"That means a great deal to me," said Cole. "But I still plan to make it up to all of you. Especially you, Phoebe. I've put you through the most."
"Well," said Phoebe, looking at Piper and Paige, "I realize it was probably the Source that asked me to marry him. But like you said, you were in there, too. So I figure an appropriate punishment would be if I held you to that proposal. You can spend the rest of your life making it up to me."
"You still want to get married?" Cole asked. "Even after everything that's happened?"
"I fell in love you, Cole," said Phoebe. "That has never changed. And now there's no reason for us not to go through with the wedding."
"Once we finish with the Source," said Piper. "Unless we can stop him it won't make much difference what plans you make."
"What about you guys?" Cole asked looking at Piper, Paige, and Leo. "If Phoebe and I get married I'll be a part of this family. Would you guys be okay with that?"
"Just don't get possessed by the Source of all Evil again and I think I'll be fine with it," said Piper.
"Well," said Paige. "I'm still not convinced you've changed completely. I understand that what's happened recently wasn't exactly your fault. But like you said, you were an upper level demon for a hundred years. I guess I'll have to see that you've changed for myself before I can trust you completely. But if Phoebe is willing to take you back I guess I can live with it."
"Leo?" Cole asked.
"Who am I to argue with the Charmed Ones?" Leo asked. "I'm like Paige. I'll have to see that you've changed before I can accept it completely. But I figure you deserve a second chance. Everyone deserves the right to show that they've changed."
"Thanks," said Cole. "And I have changed. I'll prove that to you. Starting with helping you stop the Source."
"Oh no," said Phoebe. "You're mortal now. And you were just possessed by him once. I'm not taking the chance of that happening again. You aren't going anywhere near him."
"There must be some way for me to help," said Cole.
"Let's just wait until Michael gets back," said Piper. "We need to know what he's planning before we make any decision."
"And right now my future husband needs some rest," said Phoebe. "So I suggest we all get out of here and let him get some sleep. We can deal with the Source once Michael returns."
The four left the room to allow Cole to get some sleep. Jarrod had returned home. Michael had explained there was nothing else he could do and he wasn't equipped to deal with the Source. Michael didn't want to put him at any more risk than necessary.