Wisps

Phoebe felt like she was floating, a feeling she hadn't experienced since her power to levitate was stolen, and one which she had sorely missed. The idea of flying, levitating, hovering -- whatever you wanted to call it -- had been a dream she'd had since childhood when she used to run around outside with her arms spread out like a bird. Often she'd dream about sprouting wings and flying up to heaven to find her mother, or even to go out and search the country for her father. Wings would open the world to her, she thought.

This sensation, though, was distinctly floating, and Phoebe had no reason to suppose she wasn't, since the there was nothing but darkness all around her. She couldn't even see her hand, even if she held it an inch from her face. For some reason, this didn't trouble her. She wasn't worried, she didn't care. Something horrible had happened, she was sure, but right now, she was simply waiting.

For what, she didn't know.

In the back of her mind, somewhere far off and distant, she could hear Piper. The words she was saying were incoherent, and Phoebe couldn't even tell if she was hearing the present, past or future. Stranger, she could also almost hear her mom calling out to her, but she could see neither of them, nor could she actually distinguish what they were trying to communicate.

"Phoebe?" someone said, right near her ear. Her heart turned over and she turned her head in a futile effort to see who it was, though she thought she already knew. But it couldn't be. That was even more impossible than distant dreams of her sister and her mother while floating in a pool of darkness.

"Phoebe?" the someone asked again, and this time Phoebe was certain who it was. She swallowed hard.

"Cole?" she said softly, in a voice scarcely more than a whisper. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," said Cole. "I...Well I know I shouldn't be doing this...I just..." He sighed loudly.

"Where are we?" asked Phoebe. Dimly, she was becoming aware of something. It was on the tip of her tongue, the realization she knew she was reaching, and yet it remained elusive. For reasons beyond her understanding, she felt calm, despite the fact that her ex-lover was somewhere nearby and she was powerless (this she knew unquestionably) to stop him from doing anything. She should be scared. Cole had been on the brink of insanity the last time she'd seen him. But Paige had assured her again and again that Cole was...

Cole was...

"We're dead," said Phoebe before Cole could answer her previous question.

"Yes," said Cole.

"Well," said Phoebe, tearing up slightly, "it's not exactly how I pictured heaven."

"This isn't heaven," said Cole. "This is something in between. A life of death between heaven and hell. I'm...trapped here, but you won't be."

"I won't?" asked Phoebe.

"No, you'll be moving on. But I just wanted to...I wanted to say goodbye."

Phoebe swallowed hard. "Oh," she said. "But how did you...?" She let the question trail off, knowing Cole would understand even after all these years.

"I have some abilities," said Cole. "And I've been, well, I've been hanging around the manor. I've been...watching you."

"Brushing up on your stalker skills?" Phoebe joked lamely. The lump in her throat was growing significantly.

"I'm dead, but not dead," said Cole. "I don't have much to do with my time."

Phoebe reached out her hand, and it brushed against Cole's arm. She reached down and found his hand, holding it lightly.

"I'm sorry about everything," said Cole, and Phoebe wondered if he was crying. "I screwed up. I know I did. But I was so in love with you."

"I was so in love with you too," said Phoebe. "And I'm sorry that I never heard you out. Or gave you another chance. I was just...terrified. And then everything fell apart so quickly."

"We both made mistakes," said Cole. "And I don't suppose it could have ended any other way, but I wish it had. I really do."

Phoebe nodded, although she knew Cole couldn't see, and squeezed his hand.

"Were you really happy to see me go?" asked Cole.

She sighed. "Part of me was," she said, feeling the inexplicable need to be honest, here at the end. "You brought out a side of me that I was terrified of, and so I became scared of you. And of me. I thought once you were gone, everything would be okay. But it wasn't. Nothing has been right in so long. I can't even pinpoint where it all went wrong."

"Neither can I," said Cole. "I've been thinking about it, but everything seemed to lead to the same point."

"Maybe it really wasn't meant to be," said Phoebe.

"We're soul mates, Phoebe," said Cole, the words determined and strong. "How else could I have stopped you here, simply by wishing it?"

"Then maybe," said Phoebe, "we fulfilled our destiny together. You helped my sisters and me vanquish the Source. We couldn't have done it without you. Maybe that's what you were always meant to do. What we were meant to do together. The rest was just..."

"Yeah," said Cole. He was very close to her now. She could feel his nose brush against her cheek.

"I'm sorry I never said goodbye," said Phoebe.

"This is our goodbye," said Cole. Phoebe turned her head slightly and their lips connected. She was soaring again, as she hadn't in years.

"I love you, Phoebe," he whispered. "I always will."

"I love you too," she said, but he was gone, and there was a cold nothingness left in his place. "Cole?" she said. She turned, and there was a gray light in front of her. "Cole?" She walked towards the light and stepped into it, falling forward into what seemed and endless oblivion. "Cole!" she said again.

But Cole was gone. In front of her was her mother, pulling her into a hug and embracing her warmly. "Phoebe," her mom said, and Phoebe suddenly began to cry wholeheartedly, distraught and in pure pain.

"Phoebe," her mom said again. "Baby, don't cry. It's going to be alright."

Phoebe opened her eyes and through her tears she saw other figures, off in the distance. "Phoebe," said a different voice. Her grandmother. "Phoebe, there's someone here who wants to say hello."

Phoebe turned, blinking back tears and gulping down breaths.

"Hi, Pheebs."

Phoebe laughed, chokingly, and threw her arms around her big sister. "Hi, Prue," she said. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

-Fin-

A/n: I hope you all enjoyed this. The final scene of "Kill Billie: Vol. 2" was simply heartbreaking, and I wanted to express what I was feeling in writing. After pouring myself out through the first chapter (which was an interesting style for my to try and somewhat jumbled on purpose, as I don't think Piper would have been thinking clearly), I sat down and thought about what might have been happening to the other sisters. I think this last chapter may be my favorite, surprisingly. It's the first real Phoebe and Cole scene I've ever written. I am planning to dabble in their relationship some more.

Please let me know what you think.

-Katie