A/N The Charmed Ones did eventually vanquish Belthazor, Cole's demon half, but only after months of letting the half demon be a part of their lives. It's not a strategically sound idea to let a demon, half or otherwise, into their lives, especially when the demon part had a century of experience at being the dominate part and especially given that the demon part was sent to gain information on them and kill them. For all they know, Belthazor could have just been tucked up in a corner of Cole, watching, listening and learning.

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"Okay, ground rules before he wakes up." Xander said, after the girls had succeeded in vanquishing Belthazor and Cole was still alive. "Same as Sam, he has to earn trust before he finds out techno vamps exist and for now, he doesn't find out Cordelia is a Warren witch. A witch in general, because he's smart and he'll notice we're both part of your coven and fight demons. Phoebe, I recommend you don't date him until his emotional state stabilizes. He's going to have enough to deal with between the emotions and commiting to a human life. The added complication of a girlfriend and everything associated with that will just make it harder. He's not even sure what he's feeling. We can tell him, but he needs to understand it for himself."

"I want to protest, but if I'm honest, you're probably right." Phoebe looked down and her sisters were gathered around her, even Prue who wasn't even thinking 'I told you so.' "What about the D.A. investigator? He's looking for Cole."

"Cole was attacked once before, by the human working with a Guardian." Piper pointed out. "We witnessed it and he's been attacked again. Cordelia partially healed the wound, it's not life-threatening anymore. I suggest we call Daryl and Andy and have them make a report. We say Phoebe was worried about him and came to check on him, which she did, and found him unconscious and injured. He could claim a home invasion or an attack on the way home and was delirious, confused or something and came home, only to pass out. It's only been a few days since he was last seen."

"Maybe he can even use the attack to explain why he's barely done the job as a D.A." Cordelia suggested. "He could claim weird phone calls, suspecting that someone was following him. Paranoia following the attack. Which proved not to be paranoia when he was attacked again."

"He'd be ordered to mandatory counseling." Xander nodded. "Which would help stabilize his emotional state, but we'd have to vet and monitor the therapist. Cole's current state could make him say things that could lead to other problems."

"We be a support for him, like with Sam." Cordelia continued. "We put Sam in contact with A.A. and we visit him and encourage him. He's getting better, we can do the same for Cole. Granted, there's no former demon's anonymous, but a lot of support groups refer to the problems of addiction as wrestling with demons anyway, so if Cole slips and uses the term, it won't really seem out of place. He's risked everything he knew and was for Phoebe, even if he doesn't understand why, it's enough of a reason to help him. Even if he wasn't an innocent suppressed by his former demon half for a century."

"I believe Magic happens for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason is." Phoebe said quietly. "And back when we first met Cole I had a premonition of him in trouble. Turns out he was in trouble and not just from the serial killer working with the Guardian. Maybe it was my instincts or maybe he was subconsciously asking for help, but in the end, that doesn't matter. What matters is that he needs help and we're in a position to help him. Thank you, guys, for your willingness to help."

"You were willing to help me with Sam, even though it hurt you." Cordelia reminded her. "I'm in the same boat you were then, he was part of Andras going after my parents. But he's also proven he has strength and courageous to fight, well basically everything he's ever known. For you. We'll get him stabilized and then you can figure out where you go from there and maybe by then we'll have gotten to a point of forgiveness for his part."

"It's not easy to say I forgive." Phoebe nodded. "There's lots of little steps. Still working on it myself, but I know I don't want to still be angry and that's a step forward. After the big Andras inspired fight we promised each other to be honest with our feelings, in the hopes of avoiding giving demons an in to manipulate us."

"It's a good policy." Xander grinned. "Come on, let's wake him up and get him started on his new life. Daryl and Leo finally have a chance to do the 'threaten the boyfriend' thing and the sooner Cole is stabilized, the sooner they get to threaten him."

"Oh. Crap."

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A/N Yes, I likened being a demon to addiction, it's basically what the Buffy show used to explain Willow's problems, which could possibly have been avoided if her psychologist parents had paid any attention to her or Giles had used any of the mandatory training he should have had as a Librarian.

But having drama means oblivious, or in the case of Xander and Faith, abusive adults apparently.

Phoebe did express the belief that Magic happens for a reason several times in canon.