A/N: I wasn't sure how often to update, and so far I'm just adding new chapters when I have them. But I may be dwindling in the future, as I'm having a lot of work to do. I hope you're all enjoying it

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Chapter V - Absence of the Heart

It was a dream. It had to be a dream. She would wake up, alone and cold, in her dark bedroom, and everything would be all right again. The dreams would stay as dreams, and she wouldn't have to worry about the past anymore. All she had to do was wake up.

"Oh no," Phoebe said, not managing to keep her balance. She slunk down into a settee by the wall, and put her heads in her hands. "Oh no, oh no..." she repeated over and over again. Piper and Paige rushed over to her, whilst Leo, after a confirmed look from Piper, orbed the boys away. Paige sat next to Phoebe, whilst Piper crouched down in front of her. She put her hands on Phoebe's knees.

"It might not be him," she said soothingly, trying to think of ways to explain how this had happened.

"Yeah," Paige said, putting a comforting hand on Phoebe's back. "We think it's a shape shifter, probably sent to us in connection with – "

"No," Phoebe said, interrupting her and taking her head out of her hands. Tears had already formed in her red eyes, and her mascara was smudged. "It's him."

Piper and Paige looked anxiously at each other.

"Are you sure?" coaxed Piper, getting up and sitting on Phoebe's other side. Phoebe stood up out of her sisters' reach and edged towards Cole. She circled him, like a vulture over a kill. The ripping pain in her heart was difficult to bear, and she had to turn away from Cole as she blinked back the tears. It couldn't be him. He couldn't be back – hadn't he done enough damage? Was it not enough that she had to live with the ghost of him in her heart forever?

"I'm sure," she sniffed, looking back over to the settee. "What happened?"

At that moment, Leo orbed back in. He looked worried and frustrated.

"The boys are back in magic school," he said quickly to Piper. He then turned to Phoebe. "We don't know how or why he's back, Phoebe. We don't even think it's him."

"But I promise, we won't let him get away. We'll vanquish him, or quarantine him, or... something. I promise, we'll keep him away from you."

"It's all right," Phoebe said in reply to her eldest sister. She didn't want to be afraid anymore. She didn't want to hold on to something she'd rather forget. Their last goodbye had been short, and she hadn't really known if it were final. I guess not, she half laughed to herself.

"Phoebes, we will get through this," Piper said consolingly. "But how do you know it's him?"

Phoebe looked up, her eyes hardening with courage. She could do this.

"I've been having dreams lately," she said distantly, walking over to the Book. "Of Cole. Of all the times we vanquished. I wasn't sure if they were premonitions of the past, or just nightmares. I guess they were warnings."

She leafed through the book absently. She knew that the answer to her problem wasn't in there. Paige looked at the frozen figure in the circle of crystals.

"I guess it's just too much not to be a coincidence, then?" she asked, a deep part of her wishing that Cole were a shapeshifter. Phoebe nodded. Piper, Who had been thinking quietly to herself, turned back to Paige.

"Get the potion ready," she said. "Demon or no demon, this guy's gonna talk. And I'd rather not have to blow him up – yet."

"All right," Paige replied, and this time did not hang around. She was down the stairs in a couple of minutes. Leo, on the other hand, looked rather worried.

"Something wrong?" Piper asked sternly, picking up on it. Leo frowned, and shook his head. After a minute or two of staring at Cole, trying desperately to keep herself together, Phoebe jolted herself back into a state of living.

"You guys, I'm going to go and help Paige," she said, following Paige's suite. "I need to keep myself busy."

Piper didn't object as her sister left the attic. That just left Leo and Cole. She wondered idly how long he could stay frozen under her spell. She should stay and keep an eye on him. Perhaps he would give her opportunity to use some of her well-earned firepower...

"Piper..." Leo said slowly, coming over to her. His face was hard, and concentrated. She knew that he was serious.

"What is it?"

"I'm pretty sure this is what the Elders were talking about. About the balance being shifted, and you guys being in danger."

"What do you mean?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow. She glanced to Cole. "Are you saying that because of him, or lives are in danger, yet again?"

Leo didn't need to give an answer. She already knew what he meant.

"Oh, this is just perfect," she retorted. "You know, I knew he was up to something..."

This time, it was Leo's turn to frown.

"What do you mean?"

Piper cleared her throat, but didn't say anything. How could she? It was not as if she could simply admit to seeing Cole three weeks previously and not telling anybody. She had sworn that she would forget about it, and the fact that Cole was there didn't mean anything. It didn't mean he had a 'plan', or that he would return. He was being punished for everything that he had done to the sisters. But apparently, Piper was wrong.

So, instead, she flinched, and played with her hands.

"I may have sort of... met Cole. A few weeks ago."

"What?" Leo cried, his voice beyond shouting.

"Shhhh!" Piper hushed.

"I'm sorry Piper, but... how could you not tell me? When did this happen?"

Reluctantly, Piper told him everything about her visit from Cole when she had been attacked by the thorn demons. She told him how he had helped, and offered advice, and strengthened their love. She also mentioned how much she didn't trust him, and that she hoped she would never have to see that smug grin on his face again. She also, however, admitted to feeling sorry for him, too. He was trapped to watch the love of his life live and grow without him, getting happier and happier. Or so it seemed.

"And now, here he is. Apparently the cosmic void is less of a void and more of a 'get of jail free' card," she finished.

Leo frowned, and began pacing the attic.

"How could he have got out of the void?"

"I don't know!" she snapped, fed up of always being expected to have the answer. She didn't give Leo any more chance to argue, as she too began her way out of the attic. Leo tried to follow after her, but without even looking back, Piper commanded, "You stay here. Don't let him out of your sight. I want him to be in one piece when I start blowing things off of him."

Leo hid a smile. His wife may have had a temper, but it sure did help her in times of trouble.

Piper trotted down the stairs. How the members of her family had not yet been killed, she didn't know. There were "almosts" and "nearlys", but everybody still seemed to be all right. Apart from Paige, who was hiding things. And Phoebe who was having trouble coping.

"Just a perfect ready made family," Piper muttered as she stalked into the kitchen. Paige and Phoebe were in front of a smoking black pot, throwing ingredients in left, right and centre. They both looked up when Piper approached.

"Nearly ready?" she queried.

Paige nodded, but frowned.

"I wasn't exactly sure what it meant by 'shimmer hair'," she said, bending over the book she was reading from. "So, I just added head hair..."

"Paige!" Piper said, incredulously.

"Kidding, kidding..." Paige said, hiding a smile. She was so easy to tease. Piper frowned. This was not the time to be messing around.

"It's all right Piper," Phoebe said softly, reading her sister's worried expression. "I think we're nearly ready. Is he still frozen?"

"As far as I know," Piper replied, walking over to the pot. She peered in curiously at the smoking contents, but the smell made her retract. "Phew!" she said, holding her nose; it hadn't seemed so strong on the other side of kitchen. "What is wrong with that?"

Paige smiled.

"I think our mandrake root might be a little... old..." she offered.

"Yeah, just a little!"

Phoebe held something tenderly in her hand. It was the last ingredient. This would be it. For once, she would be able to get the truth out of Cole fair and square, and there was nothing he could do about it. The power this gave her over him was exciting.

"All right, stand back," she directed. The other two did so. Into the pot she threw the final ingredient, and there was a loud pop. Then, all was silent. She turned off the hob, and poured the contents of the saucepan into a bottle. Shaking it around, after she'd put a stopper in it, she turned to her sisters.

"Okay. This is it. Now we'll know."

The other two nodded. As they walked slowly back up to the attic, as if about to face the largest challenge of their lives, it was Phoebe who was thinking about the past. Piper and Paige didn't really believe it was Cole. It couldn't be, because to them, too much didn't add up. But Phoebe knew. Her dreams told her. Her instinct told her. But, most importantly, it was her heart that really gave him away. And now, finally, she could have some closure.


The three girls and Leo stood awkwardly in front of the frozen figure in the attic.

"What do you reckon?" Piper asked, circling him slightly. "Should I unfreeze all of him or just the head?"

"Just shove the potion down his throat, and then unfreeze him."

"Paige," Phoebe protested to her sister's bluntness.

"Sorry, sorry," Paige muttered. I can't help how I feel, she thought.

"Here we go..." Piper said, stepping forward bravely. She opened Cole's mouth and thrust the liquid down his throat. Instantly, he unfroze, and started fighting her off. But Piper was too quick, and was beyond the circle of crystals in seconds.

"What the? What did you to me!" Cole cried, fire igniting in his eyes. He stood panting, gasping and spluttering at the people around him. "Where did you come from? How did you – "

Phoebe stepped forward, and looked him straight in the eye. She felt bravery and courage growing from somewhere deep inside her. She could do this.

"No more games, Cole. No more questions. Tell me what I want to know."

Cole, surprisingly, frowned momentarily, and then shrugged.

"Go ahead. I don't seem to have the upper hand anyway."

"Are you sure this wasn't a 'giving in' potion?" Paige whispered Piper, but was quickly hushed.

"What are you doing here?"

Cole coughed, and thought for a moment. These seemed to be women he didn't want to piss off, so he may as well take time to give accurate answers.

"I don't know. I went to the police station to report a robbery, and then she," he pointed to Paige, "Took me into an office and asked me all sorts of questions. Then she brought me here."

"Actually, that was me," Piper piped up.

Cole's eyes flashed, as if here weren't to be interrupted.

"How... how did you come back...?"

Cole looked confused, and he stepped backwards.

"Back?" he questioned. "I don't understand. Back from where?"

Phoebe rolled her eyes.

"Don't give me that, Cole!" she shouted, losing her temper. "At the very least, you could give me the truth! What do you want?"

"Want?" Cole cried back, picking up on Phoebe's hot temper. "I don't want anything! All I know is that I see some guy running out of an off-licence with a keg of beer, and the owner running after him. Next thing I know, I'm caught up in a mass of dark looks, difficult questions, and I'm held prisoner in some sort of... I don't know what hell this is. What do you want from me? I've told you everything I know!"

Phoebe's courage began to wane. The familiar, sickening, empty feeling she used to feel when Cole was around begun to return, and something that felt horribly like tears began to creep into her eyes. This couldn't be it... he had to have found a way around the truth potion. Unless she wrong...

"Who are you?"

"I am Cole Turner. Distract Attorney for the San Francisco police."

Phoebe shook her head.

"No..." she said helplessly. "No, you can't be..."

"I've had enough of this!" Interjected Piper, stepping up beside her sister. "Can I start blowing bits off now? This... whoever he is... is beginning to get on my nerves."

She put an arm around Phoebe, who breathed loudly, trying to keep herself together. Paige, never one to be left out, comforted Phoebe from her other side. There the three of them stood, together as one. They had beaten everything life had thrown at them, and come up again and again. A little matter of Cole was unlikely to sway them.

"Piper..." Leo said quietly from behind. The three of them turned to look at him.

"What?" she demanded.

He looked up to the ceiling, as if hearing a jingle from the Elders.

"Now?" she whined. Leo shook his head.

"No. It's not that. But... that is Cole. No tricks. And what's more..." He paused, not knowing how to finish his sentence.

"Well?" Paige demanded, throwing her arm out and pointing to Cole. Leo looked up, and couldn't hide the defeat in his eyes.

"What's more is that somebody's erased his memory."