A week later and Phoebe still hadn't actually done what she had sworn she would do. In fact she hadn't approached Cole at all, and he had kept his promise to her and had stayed away. And much to her surprise, she found herself missing him, which made her all the more sure of her decision to get him back. The only problem was that she was afraid to talk to Cole and to have to admit how wrong she had been, to have to ask him to come back. Also she was afraid of telling her sisters about her decision; she knew they would flip out. But at the same time she knew she needed to do it, and do in before she went to Cole. That was why she was currently sitting on the couch with both her sisters and Leo sitting in front of her.
"Ok Phoebes what's with the family conference?" Piper asked jolting her out of her musings.
"Well" She started "I have something to tell you all, I've made an important decision, and I need you all to support me in this, no matter how you feel about this. Keep in mind that this is my life and that if you love me you won't get in the way of my happiness"
"My god Phoebes no need to be so depressing, you can't have done anything too bad, unless you decided to take Cole back" Paige said jokingly.
Phoebe just sat there, bit her lip and looked away.
"WHAT! No way! You've gotta be kidding me, you have lost your mind, what's the matter with you, this is the ex-source of all evil, the bane of your existence, the man that days ago you said you were dieing to get out of your life" yelled Paige.
"I know, but well we talked and he explained some things and I realized that he deserved another chance" Phoebe said faintly.
Piper sat there not saying anything, so Phoebe turned and looked at her and asked her "Well what about you, what do you think?"
Piper paused and finally said "Well I'm torn, he has done a lot of horrible things both in the past and while he was the source. But he did a lot of good things too, and I know that I've never seen you happier than when you were with him. So I really don't know what I think, but does it really matter? Now that your minds made up I doubt I could talk you out of it."
"Excuse me; have you lost your mind Piper?" Paige asked "You're actually saying that you're not totally against this?"
"Well, I want Phoebe to be happy, and if it takes her going back to Cole to be happy then I guess I'll just have to deal with it and give her the support she wants." Piper said.
Phoebe beamed "Thank you so much" she said and rushed to give Piper a hug. "You don't know what this means to me, I really want your support in this"
"Well I don't know what the hell is wrong with Piper, but you certainly don't have my support" Paige snapped.
Piper gave her a stern look and said "Will you really be that selfish, and let a personal grudge of yours ruin any chance of happiness your sister has?"
"It's not like that" Paige said.
"Yes, it is. This is Phoebe's decision and if you can't put your personal feeling aside for the sake of your sister, I would say that's a huge act of selfishness"
"Oh so your gonna take her side are you, I should have know that no matter what you'd side with her" Paige snapped.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Piper asked.
"Oh don't play dumb, I know that if you had to choose between us you'd pick her without a second thought!" Paige practically yelled.
Piper and Phoebe both looked shocked and Piper said "Paige that's not fair. I've known Phoebe all her life and have worked to make sure she is safe and happy. I've known you about a year. How can you expect me to turn against Phoebe who's always been here for me, especially to support you in some stupid grudge your holding. It's nothing personal. I just know Phoebe better, and because we've been sisters so long we are a lot closer, it's just a matter of time and such. I still love you and consider you my dear sister, it's just complicated"
Paige just turned away looking like she wanted to cry. "Ya whatever" She said.
Phoebe bit her lip and decided to interrupt "Look Paige, I mean you shouldn't be so mad at Cole..."
Paige interrupted her with "What! Not be angry with Cole, your mad, completely mad. He tried to kill me and did countless horrible things to me."
"But it was not him!" Phoebe yelled.
That made Piper, Leo and Paige all look at her funny. And Piper finally said "Hun, I know you may want to block that all out, but that doesn't mean it did not happen."
"No, that's not what I meant. Did you ever think to wonder how Cole became the source?" Phoebe asked.
"Oh come on, he wanted power, what else" Paige snapped.
"No! He got possessed!" Phoebe yelled "When he took in the hollow to save us, might I say again, to save us! When he took it in the seer said that she had seen us die and that this way the only way, but then when we put the hollow back in its crypt the powers went back to the original owners, but since the source was gone and there was a void in Cole it took advantage of him. The source possessed him, he tried to fight it, he saved us many times we don't know of, fighting to stop some of the sources plans, to gain enough control to help us, but eventually he lost all control and all he could do was watch in horror as the source used his body to hurt us. I can't even imagine what he went through. I feel so guilty for just assuming he went bad and being so quick to vanquish him"
"Phoebe" Piper said soothingly "We did what we had too, the only option available to us at the time."
"I know, but I should have seen it, that he was possessed, I should have tried harder to save him" Phoebe said sadly.
"Well" Piper said "It looks like you've been given another chance to make it work, so alls not lost."
"Ya, and I will make it work this time, this time I won't fail and I won't give up on him" Phoebe said and then continued with "I just need all of your support, I don't want to have to choose between you and him again."
"I'll support you whatever you do, and so will Leo" Piper said and Leo nodded.
Then all three of them looked at Paige, who it her lip and looked away, looking at everything but Phoebe. Finally she met Phoebe's eyes. "Fine" she said "I'll deal with it, I'll live with it, but I won't like it."
Phoebe smiled and said softly "Thank you guys, this means the world to me, I just want to try and get my life back. To try and regain all that I lost. And its means so much that you will support me. And please, I can't ask you to become friends with Cole, but at least be civil and keep in mind that it was not him that hurt you. I wish you'd try to give him another chance too."
Piper nodded and said "We'll see."
Phoebe gave a slight smile and told them "I'm going to try to get him to move in here with us."
"What!" Paige said "I said I'd put up with him, not that I'd live with him."
"Need I remind you that this house actually belongs to Piper and me, so I can have whoever I want here" Phoebe said.
"Oh, so your gonna pull that card, what you want me to move out, is that it?" Paige snapped.
"No, not at all, I'm just saying that I have the right to have him here. And anyway wouldn't you rather have him under eye so you can know if he's turned evil" Phoebe said. "And also I just couldn't bear to live at the penthouse, it has so many bad memories attached to it" she looked to Piper, clearly hoping for understanding. And she found it in the sympathetic eyes that met hers.
"Alright sweetie" Piper said "I'll support you in this, and I agree that it's best to keep Cole under our watchful eyes so that we know what he's up to."
Paige grimaced, but nodded. Clearly seeing she did not have a choice. Phoebe smiled and looked grateful.
"Thank you. And now all I have to do is convince Cole" Phoebe said and with that she headed towards the door. Determined to do this while she still had the momentum.