Legacy 107: Soul Searching
Part 2
Xxx
Phoebe Halliwell sat on the floor of her dressing room, carefully running her hand through her son's hair as his head rested on her lap. Even though he was an adult, and he still carried a lot of resentment toward her, it felt like the right thing to do. He looked exhausted and scared, like he had been running for something for a long time. As she looked at him, she was once again reminded how much he looked like Cole. When there was a knock on the door and Phoebe panicked. She could not explain how Julian suddenly appeared in her dressing room, or what was wrong with him.
"Just a minute!" Phoebe called out.
"Mrs. Halliwell, we need you on set in five minutes." One of the assistants said through the door.
"I will be right there." Phoebe replied.
Phoebe looked around and tried to figure out what to do. She realized there was only one thing she could do, so she called out for Coop. Her angelic husband appeared in a flash of pink light. When he saw her sitting on the floor with Julian, he seemed confused and a little hurt.
"Is that…?" Coop asked.
"My son? Yeah." Phoebe said.
"What happened?" Coop asked.
"I don't know, he just showed up out of nowhere. He asked for help." Phoebe explained.
"Phoebe, you don't know what is going on." Coop said. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
"That doesn't matter, Coop." Phoebe replied. "He is my son and he needs my help."
"Can you trust him?" Coop asked with a frown.
"I have to." Phoebe admitted. "But I can't do this without you. They need me on set."
"What do you need me to do?" Coop asked.
"You need to take him." Phoebe said. "Take him to our hotel room, make sure he rests. I will be there as soon as I can."
Coop looked at Julian and he seemed conflicted. Phoebe realized this could not be easy for him. After all, Julian was the son of her and Cole. It was a painful chapter of her life that Coop knew all about, but they never spoke of. As loving and supportive and Coop was, being confronted with her past like that had to be rough. She could understand if he was angry or jealous, but she needed him.
"Alright, I will take him." Coop said reluctantly. "What are we going to tell the girls?"
"We will figure that out when I get back." Phoebe said. "And thank you."
"Of course." Coop replied with a faint smile. "I love you."
"I love you too." Phoebe said.
Coop kneeled down next to her and placed a hand on Julian's arm. Together, they disappeared in a pink glow. Phoebe quickly got up and checked herself in the mirror. She grabbed a tissue to wipe her tears and fix her make-up. There was another knock on the door and she headed to her interview. As if there was any way she could focus now.
Xxx
In a modern and minimalistic loft apartment, Elizabeth Turner headed down the stairs dressed in a sleeveless grey dress and heels. On the table lied the Grimoire and an ancient urn, just a few of the powerful magical artifacts she had picked up since her return. However, none of that really mattered until she got the thing she wanted most of all, her son. She walked to the full length oval mirror in the corner and waved her hand. The image of an empty room appeared.
"What the hell?" Elizabeth asked herself. "Where is he?"
Elizabeth kept waving her hand and the images in the mirror kept changing. However, she could not find Julian anywhere. Eventually she closed her eyes and focused on trying to sense him. When she found him, her eyes opened in shock.
"No!" Elizabeth said.
Another image appeared in the mirror. A dressing room, where her son was lying on the floor held by the very woman that had abandoned him. Elizabeth screamed angrily and threw an Energy Ball at the mirror, causing it to shatter. Julian was hers, she was not going to give him up to the Halliwells. He did not belong there, especially not with her.
Elizabeth headed over to the table and opened the Grimoire. She held out her hand over a page whispered in a demonic language. A wind started blowing through the room and a window flew open. The Wraith appeared and hovered before her.
"I have an offer for you." Elizabeth said. "Forget my son for now, I have a better soul to offer. The soul of a Charmed One."
Elizabeth knew she could not control the Wraith, so she hoped it would agree to her deal. The shadowy demon seemed to consider her offer and let out an unholy screech. It nodded and Elizabeth smiled at her success.
Xxx
In an attempt to forget about Noah and the kiss they shared, Prue had made her way to the hotel longue and was sitting at the bar with a cocktail. She looked up when someone sat down beside her and noticed it was her sister.
"What are we drinking to?" Penny asked with a smile as she waved at the bartender. "Oh, that bartender is cute."
"Just trying to forget the fact that I just kissed Noah." Prue admitted.
"Shut up!" Penny called out and tapped her on the shoulder. "Finally."
"Finally?" Prue replied annoyed.
"You like him, don't you?" Penny asked as the bartender handed her a drink and winked at her.
"I do, but not as long as he is still hiding stuff from me." Prue said. "I have no idea who he is or what he has done."
"What does it matter? He is still a Whitelighter, so it couldn't have been that bad." Penny replied with a shrug as she took a sip.
"Could you keep it down on the whole Whitelighter talk?" Prue said as she nodded in the direction of the bartender, who was cleaning glasses nearby.
"Oh come on, like he knows what we're talking about." Penny replied.
"Can we just stop talking about it in general?" Prue remarked. "How was the beach?"
"It was alright, I think I got a nice tan." Penny replied. "So what? You're just going to get drunk on fruity cocktails and ignore what happened?"
"Pretty much." Prue replied as she finished her drink and ordered another one.
"Alright, suit yourself." Penny said as she stood up. "I got a hot bartender to flirt with."
Penny headed to the other side of the bar and the cute bartender she mentioned quickly changed places with another one so he could talk to her. Annoyed that things were going so smoothly for her sister, Prue grabbed her new drink and took a big sip.
Xxx
When Julian woke up, he vaguely remembered being with his mother. He shrugged it off as a dream and turned around, only to find himself in a strange bed in a strange hotel room. He instantly sat up and remembered what had happened. When the Wraith was about to get him, he desperately teleported to the one person who could help. It was a stupid impulse that he already regretted. He did not want anything to do with the Halliwells.
Julian threw the sheets off noticed someone had taken off most of his clothes, except his underwear. He looked around and noticed the Cupid, Phoebe's husband, entering the room.
"You're awake." The Cupid said. "You should probably take it easy, you were pretty worn down."
"I don't need your help." Julian replied as he stood up. However, he instantly felt dizzy and sat back down.
"We haven't been formally introduced. I'm Coop." the Cupid replied.
"Why am I here?" Julian asked impatiently. "Where are my clothes?"
"You needed to rest and your clothes were dirty, so I sent them to the dry cleaners." Coop replied. "You can take a shower and borrow some of mine later, but first you need to get some sleep."
"I don't need you to tell me what to do." Julian snapped at him. "I am not safe here."
"Then tell me what is going on, so we can help." Coop replied.
Julian stared at the Cupid and wondered what the hell he was thinking. He was the husband of his so-called mother, the woman who abandoned him. He was half demon, nothing but a reminder of the life she had with his father, so why was he being nice to him? Why was he taking care of him? He did not understand, nor did he want to be taken care of.
"Why are you doing this?" Julian asked with a frown.
"Because my wife asked me to." Coop replied.
"Just like that?" Julian asked. "Even though you know who I am?"
"Not just like that, because I love her." Coop replied. "And you are important to her, despite how you feel about it."
"Why?" Julian asked.
"Because you're her son, even if you don't see it that way." Coop said.
"Some mother she is." Julian remarked bitterly.
"She is an amazing mother, to our daughters, your sisters." Coop said. "She never had that chance with you, which is something she regrets with all her heart."
"How do you know that?" Julian asked.
"I know her, maybe even better than she knows herself." Coop replied. "And I am not saying this is easy for me, because it's not, but I do it because she wants me to."
Julian fell silent. He really did not understand, but he was too tired to think about it. Still, with the Wraith after him, he could not rest. It would track him wherever he went.
"I need to get out of here." Julian said. "Before it finds me."
"Before what finds you?" Coop asked.
"The Wraith." Julian replied. "The thing Elizabeth sent after me to extract my soul."
"It's not going to find you here." Coop said.
"Of course it will." Julian said.
Julian tried to get up again and nearly fell, though Coop caught him in time and place him back on the bed again. He really hated the Cupid and his caring attitude. It was something he never experienced before and it made him uncomfortable. He attempted to struggle at Coop threw the sheets over him, though he was too tired and reluctantly gave in.
Xxx
When her interview was finally finished, Phoebe quickly changed her clothes and headed out. It was already getting dark as she left the studio and crossed the parking lot to her rental car. As she searched for her keys in her purse, a strong wind suddenly started to blow and Phoebe got a bad feeling that something was going to happen. She hurried to her car, but froze when she heard a high-pitched screech. She turned around and a demonic being in shadowy robes flying at her with burning red eyes.
"Oh crap." Phoebe remarked.
She called out for Coop as she started running. However, before she could reach the car, a strong gust of wind threw her off her feet and the keys blew away. She turned around and saw the demon flying at her with a raised claw, though before it could harm her, Coop appeared in a pink glow and quickly beamed her to safety. They reappeared in their hotel room and Phoebe let out a relieved sigh as she got up.
"Thank you." Phoebe said.
"No problem." Coop replied. "So I take it that was the Wraith?"
"How do you know that?" Phoebe asked.
"Your son told me." Coop replied.
"Is he awake?" Phoebe asked. "How is he?"
Phoebe looked at the bed and saw her son was still asleep. She felt relieved that he was safe. She wanted to reach out to him, but hesitated, since she had no idea how he would react.
"He was awake for a moment but he is still weak." Coop explained. "Can we talk somewhere a little more private?"
"Of course." Phoebe said.
Phoebe followed her husband to the adjacent room and closed the door behind her. It was obvious that Coop was not comfortable with the situation, as he started pacing around. She knew what was coming next.
"What are we doing, Phoebe?" Coop asked.
"He needed help, Coop." Phoebe replied.
"I know, and that is fine." Coop replied. "But what is the plan here? How do we stop this Wraith thing and what is going to happen after that?"
"Just say what you want to say." Phoebe said.
"Okay." Coop said reluctantly after deep breath. "I know that he is your son and that you want to get to know him, but I'm not sure if I can deal with that. Besides the fact that he is a constant reminder of the darkest chapter of your life, we still don't know if we can even trust him. What if he ends up hurting you or one of the girls?"
"I can't turn my back on him, Coop. Not again." Phoebe said. "And I don't think he will hurt us."
"How can you be sure?" Coop asked.
"Because I can feel it." Phoebe explained. "Not only does he have my blood, but he has a soul. That is the reason the Wraith is after him. As troubled as his past is, I know he has a potential for good. I recognize it, because it's the same potential as I see in our girls."
"And what if you're wrong?" Coop asked concerned. "What if his demonic side turns out to be stronger?"
"That is a risk I am willing to take." Phoebe admitted. "Are you?"
"I don't know." Coop replied hesitantly. "So what do we do now?"
"We need to tell the girls. We will need them to stop the Wraith." Phoebe said.
"How?" Coop asked.
"I have no idea." Phoebe replied.
Xxx
When Julian woke up, he heard the argument in the other room. He could not quite hear the words, but it was obvious what it was about, him. He got up and felt a bit better, still weak, but strong enough to get out of here. He headed into the bathroom and stepped under the shower. After cleaning up, he grabbed some of the Cupid's clothes from the closet and got dressed. He was about to flame out when the door to the adjacent room opened and Phoebe and Coop came back in.
"You're up." Phoebe said worried. "You should be resting."
"I'm done resting." Julian replied. "I can handle it from here."
"You can't just leave like that. The Wraith is here." Phoebe said. "Just let me help you."
"Why?" Julian asked.
"You came to me, didn't you?" Phoebe said.
"That was a mistake, don't get the wrong idea." Julian replied. "I was exhausted, I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't want your help."
"You're my son." Phoebe said as she stepped forward and reached out to him.
"So what?" Julian snapped at her.
At that moment, the hotel room door opened and a laughing Penny and Prue came stumbling in. Clearly they had been drinking, though Prue was obviously more drunk, as Penny was supporting her. When they noticed Julian standing in the middle of the room, they were shocked and the laughing stopped. They stared at him, unsure of what to do or say, and Julian felt the same.
xxx