Part Five

Piper didn't know if she should cry tears of joy or sadness but she pulled Wyatt back while she let her husband work.

"She's fighting me," Leo realized.

"Maybe Wyatt should help again," Paige suggested, just as Phoebe stirred.

"Stop," Phoebe weakly ordered as she struggled to open her eyes. "Hey, Leo, welcome back."

"Don't talk," he instructed.

"Stop," she repeated with a painful shake of her head. "Don't want to be saved."

"What're you talking about?" Paige uttered.

"Met my destiny," Phoebe replied. "Time to be free…"

"Not when you've found love," Paige insisted. "I know you're hurting but you can't give up now."

"Tired," Phoebe closed her eyes. "Time to let go…"

"No, Pheebs," Piper whispered as tears fell from her eyes. She kissed Chris and encouraged her sister, "Don't let go."

"It's time for you to have faith."

Piper gasped at the newcomer who approached her sisters, "Cole!"

He ignored them all and concentrated only on Phoebe. He lifted her hand from the floor and brought it to his lips, "Don't let go."

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Phoebe sat in the sunroom and watched the boys playing on the floor. It had been three days since the events at Magic School and she still had no idea what to say to Cole who, thankfully, had kept his distance from her. That is, when he wasn't off somewhere doing who knows what. Of course, she'd barely spoken to her sisters either. Both Paige and Piper were spending much deserved quality time with their husbands. The doorbell rang and she waved to her nephews as she left the room to answer it.

"Can I come in?" Billie meekly asked.

"Of course," Phoebe quickly replied. "You know you're always welcome here. How are --"

But Billie cut her off. She didn't want to hear the question. "It's all a little surreal, y'know? I mean all I wanted was to find my sister and when I do, I lose both her and my parents in the space of two weeks. I feel…I feel like I'm all alone."

Phoebe threw her arm around Billie's shoulders, "You're not though, you're not alone. You've got me and Paige and Piper."

"You're not my sisters."

There was no anger in her voice but the comment was sad enough to drive home the point and Phoebe dropped her arm. She glanced up to see Paige and Piper coming down the stairs, "No, honey, we're not. But we love you and want to help."

"I'm so sorry, Billie," Piper apologized. "I wish there had been some other way."

"We wanted to save her," Paige added. "We wanted, we tried, to save both of you."

"But she didn't leave us any choice," Phoebe quietly concluded.

Just then, Leo, Henry, and Cole entered from the kitchen and Billie stared at them, "Guess you all get your happily-ever-afters, huh…"

Phoebe reached out first, "Honey, that's not what --"

Billie shrugged off her hand, "It's okay, I understand what happened. That's why I came over. To tell you that I've had time to think about it all and I do realize you had no choice."

"Accepting that, Billie, is your first step on the road of healing."

All turned to find the Angel of Destiny standing in the living room.

Piper reached for Leo's hand and frowned at her, "You could've warned us."

"I did," the Angel smiled. "I gave you the information you needed."

"You didn't think we needed to know the truth about Billie?" Paige complained. "You might've saved some innocents."

"Like my parents," Billie said.

"You told us we had to fulfill our destiny," Phoebe accused, "how many more sacrifices have to be made to do that?"

The Angel told them, "You are the greatest witches of your time but it wasn't just your destiny at stake." She indicated to Billie and Cole, "It was theirs too."

"Cole was already dead," Paige reminded her.

"He existed in limbo," the Angel countered, "and, thusly, still had an effect on the living. He changed his fate and earned his reward. As did Piper, as did Billie."

"What reward did I earn?" Billie scoffed. "My parents and sister are all dead."

"You gave them the gift of love," the Angel warmly replied. "Billie, your parents had been destined to die by burning alive at the hands of your sister. But your intervention changed all that. You gave your sister a chance to make peace with her parents, whom for so long she believed had abandoned her. And you gave your parents the chance to let her know how much they loved and missed her."

"They were murdered," Billie insisted.

"But they died happy, Billie." The Angel rested her hand on the young witch's shoulder, "They died knowing their two daughters were together and safe and loved them in return."

"I guess," Billie shrugged.

"New destinies await you," the Angel told them with a mysterious smile. "Face them proudly…"

They stood in awkward silence after the Angel disappeared until Piper finally cleared her throat and invited, "Stay for dinner, Billie. There'll be plenty of food."

Billie shook her head, "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, I understand why you had to do it but Christy was my sister and I…I'm sorry but I can't forgive you. Not now, not yet."

"We understand," Phoebe assured her. "You need time. But if you ever, ever, need us, we're here for you."

Billie nodded and opened the front door again, "I'm gonna finish the school year and then, I don't know, maybe I'll take my last year off. But right now, I don't want anything to do with magic or with you."

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Two days later, Phoebe found herself at work staring at the bunch of flowers in Michael's hand. "I'm sorry, Michael, but this just isn't working." She quickly maneuvered herself around her desk and took his hands in hers, "You are such a great guy and I know you've been trying so hard but --"

"There's someone else, isn't there?"

"I'm not sure there's a future in it," she honestly told him, "but I can't seem to let go and I have to let it play out." A knock on her door interrupted and she sighed, "Come in."

Though her face expressed surprise, Michael wasn't mistaken about the way her eyes lit up. Without waiting for introductions, he kissed Phoebe on the cheek, "I hope it works out for you."

"Hope what works out?" Cole asked as he watched the young man walk away.

Phoebe shook her head to clear away the surprise, "What're you doing here?"

"I think it's time we talked," he simply said. "You free for lunch?"

"Already ate," she automatically replied but quickly indicated to the sofa lest he think she was making an excuse. She popped her head into the doorway and instructed her assistant, "No calls except a family emergency." She turned around to find Cole still standing. "Something wrong?"

"You tell me," he countered. "Not even your sisters are avoiding me. I'll leave town if that's what you want but until you talk to me…"

"You'd leave town?"

He couldn't help it and he reached out to sweep some errant strands of hair behind her ear. "If that's what you want."

"You've changed," she softly realized.

"You've noticed."

"I'm sorry, Cole, it's just…you were gone for so long and I thought I'd dealt with all the emotions but then you came back and --"

"Ruined your life."

"Saved my life," she corrected. "You're always saving my life, Cole. Just once I wish I could've saved yours."

Finally, he smiled, "You did save my life, Phoebe." He caressed her cheek, "The first time you told me you loved me after you learned the truth about me. You knew the demon and you still loved me."

She ached to feel his arms around her, his lips on hers, but she found the strength and stepped back. "It's not that easy. Don't you think I want you in my life, Cole? I always wanted that. But I'm afraid of having you in my life. I'm sorry but I don't know how to make it better."

"You think I'm not scared, Phoebe?" He couldn't help but chuckle, "How many second chances does one person get?" He placed his hands on her shoulders and kept his gaze on her eyes, "I'm afraid of failing too. But I promise you, if it meant saving you, I'd gladly die a failure."

"You won't fail," her voice cracked. "You're stronger now. You've, I don't know, grown."

"So have you," he smiled with assurance. "The question is, where does that leave us?"

"Risking our souls again, I guess," she timidly replied.

"So how about dinner?"

"I just had lunch," she frowned.

"I meant tonight," he rolled his eyes. "Is that French place still open? You know the one we --"

It was if he'd been talking in a foreign language. "I don't understand, are you asking me out?"

"I believe that's what I did," he stared in confusion.

"Like on a date?"

He scanned her office, "Are you okay?"

"Why?"

"Because suddenly you're acting very strange."

"No," she lightly slapped his chest, "I mean why a date?"

"Because we can't pick up where we left off," he shrugged. "We've both changed and we need to learn who we each are before we can move forward. So, how about it?"

"I've got a meeting at five," she found herself saying. "Seven-thirty okay?"

"Okay," he nodded as he turned to go.

Taken aback that he didn't even try to kiss her, she called out to him just as he was about to close the door behind him. When he turned back, she told him, "You were wrong. About being able to heal, I mean. My heart's been broken for a long time, Cole. And so many people have been trying too chip away at the guards it put up. But…"

He stepped back over the threshold and encouraged her to continue.

She met him in there and stood on her tiptoes to softly kiss his cheek, "But you're the one who got through. The only one."

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