Part Two

"Well, this was unexpected," Coop commented as he watched his wife cradle his body, rocking it as she sobbed.

"That's what makes dying so much fun."

Coop spun in surprise to face the person who spoke. "You should know."

"Ouch."

"Cole Turner, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I exist here," Cole coolly replied. At the Cupid's raised eyebrow he acknowledged, "Not specifically in the manor but in limbo which exists on another --"

"I know about limbo," Coop interrupted. "Every Cupid grieves over charges that are lost to limbo. And at the risk of repeating myself, what the hell are you doing here?"

Cole eyed the newcomer and recognized a compatriot when he saw one. The Cupid loved Phoebe and that love was returned and no one knew more than he what that felt like and what it meant. "I felt her pain and didn't want her to be alone when you died," he admitted.

"What do you mean you felt her pain?"

"It doesn't matter," Cole told him.

"It does to me," Coop insisted before his eyes widened in realization, "You're still connected to her. Even in limbo…I didn't think that was possible for anyone."

There was no bragging in his tone when Cole stated with a shrug, "I'm not anyone. However, the only question before us is why you're here when," he indicated to Phoebe, "the two of you are meant to be together."

Coop's gaze narrowed on his wife's first husband, "You say that as if you mean it."

"I do. I want Phoebe to be happy," Cole shrugged again. "It's all I've ever wanted." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Which's why we have to figure out how to save you. That was a leech, wasn't it?"

"No Cupid has ever survived a leech attack," Coop verified. "I felt my essence being pulled out and the damage was done before Phoebe and Paige ever reached me. That body's just a shell housing negative energy and emotions waiting for orders."

"But Phoebe vanquished the leech," Cole pointed out. "It can't alert the demon that sent it in order to control you so your body's safe for the moment."

"If a demon sent it," Coop sighed. "Sometimes, leeches are just lucky in sniffing out a Cupid."

"Well," Cole considered, "it has been relatively demon-free around the manor for the past few months."

"You've been watching?"

"Now and then. Don't worry, I'm not spying on Phoebe," Cole said a bit too defensively. "But we're going off-topic. Without worrying about a demon coming to control your body, how will you siphon off the leech's energies when we get you back?"

Coop stared once again at the man who still held a piece of his wife's heart. "Why do you care? If you're here in limbo, you're here for eternity. Why try to help me go back to Phoebe? What's in it for you?"

"I told you," Cole frowned at him, "Phoebe's happiness. She loves you and wants to be with you. She deserves to be with you."

"You really do love her," Coop realized with more than a bit of wonder.

"Not much of a Cupid," Cole sniffed with distaste, "if you're only now figuring that out."

But Coop was still amazed, "After all you did to her, after all she put you through, you truly do love her."

"And I always will," Cole curtly replied as he suddenly shifted his gaze back to Phoebe. "I've never made a secret of it."

"Then maybe we've just learned why I'm here." Cole turned around again as he added, "Maybe we can help each other and, in turn, make Phoebe happy."

"I'm listening," Cole warily said.

"Once I leave here," Coop began, "and return to my body, I'm not going to recover. There's not enough left of me to fight the leech's energies and I will die. But you…If you came with me maybe I --"

"What?" The word exploded from Cole. "Are you crazy?"

"You're strong, Cole. Merging our souls might be the key to fighting through the evil that remains."

"At the risk of repeating myself," Cole sneered, "are you crazy?"

"Think about it," Coop eagerly suggested, "you spent your life, over a century, as a demon acting on those very emotions that a leech thrives on. You would have the strength to handle what the leech's left behind. My remaining soul could help guide you to deal with them, create a balance, until you'd be rid of them. I might actually become the first Cupid to survive a leech attack."

"No."

"But it could --"

"I won't be subject to a split nature," Cole spat, "not ever again. I won't spend my days coping with two halves vying for control. I won't."

"But that's not --"

"No."

"It won't be like Belthazor or the Source," Coop exclaimed with exasperation. "It won't be you versus me. Our souls will have merged to create a new single one, one that would have both our memories and experiences. One that would share each of our strengths and --"

"And weaknesses," Cole harshly reminded him.

But Coop was determined to convince him, "There wouldn't be any conflict, at least none that wouldn't be natural and expected as --"

"Even if," Cole uttered, "even if I considered this half-assed scheme of yours, Phoebe would see right through it." Cutting off Coop's protest, he immediately continued, "We know each other too well and she would kill me before she'd let me be you. She loved me once but she's moved on and her heart belongs to you now."

"And do you think her heart will survive losing me?" Coop countered. "I know her too, Cole, and I know that if we don't do this she'll lose faith in love, in herself, and she'll end up here in limbo…with you. So why not be with her in life? Do this for her so she'll live. Give yourselves a chance at a happy life together."

But Cole didn't want to let himself believe in the possibility and he shook his head, "Phoebe's strong, stronger emotionally than even Piper. She'll heal and move on just as she did after I was vanquished the first time."

"Not this time," Coop argued relentlessly, "and you know it. Phoebe's had too much pain from love, experienced too much loss, and she will not recover from this. If she doesn't die heartbroken, she'll spend her life growing old alone and bitter and, in the end, she'll find herself in limbo among the lost. Her life will have been wasted. You owe it to her to save her."

"She doesn't want me. And what then," Cole angrily challenged, "she'll become lost anyway and end up in limbo but then she'd be alone because I'd be alive and stuck in your damned body."

"You'd never let that happen," Coop assured him. "You love her, Cole. And what's more, she loves you. Don't look at me like that. You know it's true."

"The blood loss has gotten to you," Cole scoffed as he folded his arms across his chest in annoyance.

"I'm a Cupid. I know her heart."

"So do I!" If only he could blast the Cupid back to his body. "Phoebe loves you. She wants her future, her family, to be with you."

"I know. And I love her but I can't stop this from happening. I told you before, no Cupid has ever survived a leech's attack." He pointed to his wife, "When I married Phoebe, I promised her that our love would grow stronger with each passing day. But, Cole, no matter how strong it is, it can't save me now. Only you can."

But Cole wouldn't be swayed, "Phoebe will understand, she's lived with sacrifices before. I won't be the one to put her through this pain. Every time she would look at me she'd know how I helped take you away from her. I won't do that to her. Or to me."

"Not even to save her?"

"I've died for her before, I'd do it again or rather," Cole quickly corrected himself, "I'd stay dead for her."

"I don't have the time to argue with you about this and knowing you as --"

"What?"

"Through Phoebe's heart and memories," Coop assured him. "You're not a taboo subject between us, Cole. We've talked about you and about your relationship with Phoebe. Like I was saying --"

"This isn't right."

"For who? I'm dying, Cole, and I'd rather die knowing Phoebe will find happiness with her true love."

"Now I know you're crazy." Cole turned from him in the hope Coop would simply return to his body and leave him be.

Coop stared at Cole's stiff back. "Remember the apple peel?"

Cole snorted, "Yeah, 'C' for Coop."

Coop ignored him, "Remember Phoebe's face when she said your name? She knew you were her future."

"She was wrong," Cole declared as he turned back to face Phoebe's husband. "Apples may be the fruit of all knowledge but that little fortunetelling with the peel is nothing more than an old wives' scam for hopeless romantics. Have you ever seen an apple peel turn into an 'M' or a 'Q'? No, it was merely a coincidence at the time. You don't have the same conflicts I had with her. You fit well together. You're the one Phoebe is meant to be with."

Undeterred, Coop recommended, "Let the 'C' stand for both Coop and Cole. We each love Phoebe and neither of us regrets a single moment of what we shared with her."

"No, I don't," Cole reluctantly admitted.

"Then help me save her, Cole," Coop earnestly requested. "Love her and she'll find her way back to you. I promise. I'm a Cupid but more than that, I know my wife and I know that you were one of her biggest regrets."

"I know," Cole rued quietly. "I hurt her worse than she'd ever been hurt before or since."

"Not what I mean. She regrets that she failed to save you," Coop clarified.

"Of course she saved me," Cole retorted. "Look where I am. Instead of being wiped from existence, which I surely deserved, I'm in limbo. I'm here because of her, because of her love for me!"

"You know that and I know that," Coop suddenly smiled, knowing he'd won, even if Cole had yet to realize it, "but it's time for Phoebe to know that."

Cole noticed Paige orb from Phoebe's side and he could feel Phoebe's grief. "You've admitted a part of your soul still remains so why are you so sure Phoebe can't help you recover on your own? Why are you so desperate for me to do this?"

"You know Phoebe's saying that everything happens for a reason?" Cole nodded and he continued, "I'm a Cupid, Cole, and I'm also happily in love with my wife. There's no reason for me to be in limbo unless it's to help set you free."

"Assuming I want to be free," Cole muttered.

"You do. And I told you before," Coop replied patiently, "I know you love each other."

"We hurt each other and both have a lot of healing to do before we can -- No, it's definitely not worth th--"

"It is worth it," Coop emphatically stated. "It's worth all the risk and the pain. You'll help each other and you'll heal together. The love is there, Cole, you simply have to trust in it. Besides, being a Cupid, it'll be a bit easier for you to --"

"What the hell does that mean!"

"Part of the package, Cole," Coop grinned. "My ring, powers, they all come with the body and what's left of my spirit."

"Not how I understand it," Cole glared at him.

"Oh? And how many Cupids have you known, dealt with?" He didn't wait for Cole to respond and patted Cole's arm, "Don't worry, you've been a lawyer so this'll be a piece of cake."

"It won't work," Cole argued. "If there's anything I learned from being completely human, it's that I need my powers. I need the strength and power and the adrenaline rush of using them. And while I may no longer be evil and would use them for evil, it doesn't mean I want some pacifistic hearts and flowers type power."

"I'm not here to debate with you the power and strength of love," Coop snapped. "You'll just have to adjust to what's comfortable for you."

"You're not listening," Cole growled. "I am not a Cupid!"

"You will be so pay attention to Lesson One," Coop ordered. "Cupids have to be strong beings in order to influence a stubborn hard-headed idiot who refuses to see what's right in front of them. Cupids have powers for a reason and can be almost as sneaky as any demon in order to accomplish their goal."

"Is that how you got Phoebe to fall for you?"

"Quit sniping," Coop demanded. "Each Cupid has his/her own personal methods in dealing with charges and you'll be no different. Do your job however you want as long as you don't hurt the very charges you're trying to help. Besides, you'll still have me to guide you along." Cole glared defiantly at him in return but Coop merely returned the gesture until he spotted Paige orb back next to Phoebe with Piper at her side. "Time's up, Cole. Accept this offer for what it is – a gift of life, of love."

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