Eternal Flame
epilogue (1)
a week later "And what about you and Leo?" Paige Matthews countered. "Did he push you over the edge yet?"
She laughed. "We're not going to be tackling a divorce, if that's what you mean. Matter of fact, we're far from it. I...I think it just bothered me that he was spending so little time with Melinda, and it just got me thinking. Kind of leads me to more...possibilities."
"Lin was pretty upset about it," she whispered. "Said that she loved you guys too much to see you split up. Have to say I'm with her one hundred percent on that one."
"She's a good kid," Piper agreed. "Her sister could learn a lot from her."
"Actually, little Lizzie may just surprise you. She's learning pretty quick."
"Then they're learning from each other," Piper confirmed, smiling.
"Yeah, well try telling that to Phoebe," she mumbled, quickly looking away, as she pried loose a piece of lingering thread upon her shirt, mindlessly twirling it beneath her fingers, as she shrugged.
"Phoebe knows what you did for her, trust me. But you have to understand that with everything that's happened lately, she just hasn't felt like herself."
"But I'm not her problem now. Cole is. And as much as it pains me to say this, I almost feel like she deserves what she got."
Piper studied her a moment, as she took a sip out of the mug, lightly scrunching up her nose. "Did you just say, what I think you said?"
"I'm going to talk to him. He saved her, Piper. He saved Alex, and he saved his wife. Shouldn't that count for something?"
"And maybe there are just some relationships that can't be worked out in the long run. You can't make something out of nothing."
"But I know she still loves him. I can see it in her face. She's tearing him apart."
"So be it, Paige. But we have far more important things to deal with. For starters, just because Halloween made them a no-show, doesn't mean-"
"Actually, it wasn't. We fought off a ghost. But Grams supposedly knew him, so it was cool."
"Grams?"
"Yeah, who would've thought, huh? But that's not- look, I know I haven't always been easy on the guy, but I really do want to fix this."
"Paige."
"I'm serious, Piper. I'll bet Phoebe already knew she would be tested. And I think she's angry at herself, because she didn't know it was him the whole time. She fought him and they bled together....and she never knew."
"And we've been through this before. Cole....Source...big vanquish. It's all in the cards. Halliwells are destined to have miserable romances."
"But yours isn't," she pointed out. "You and Leo always find a way to-"
"Leo and I have just as many disagreements as they do." She took another sip, rolling her eyes, as she abruptly looked away. "You're just not around to see them all."
"The point is, someone needs to knock some sense into that man, and I think I am just the person to do it."
"And you can't come between them like that. They need to do this on their own," Piper argued.
"Who needs to do this on their own?" a voice yawned, as the figure let himself into the kitchen, still clothed in his pj's from the night before, a white t-shirt and a pair of worn plaid bottoms hanging casually about his well-built frame, as he bent to examine the coffee pot with a renewed sense of interest, his completely gorgeous visage still refusing to pick up a razor.
"Um...nothing, no one," Piper stammered, quickly shoving her mouth inside her cup again. "So, how did you sleep?"
"Good. Great. Wonderful," he said quietly, letting his gaze absentmindedly move to a standstill, his strong hands perched upon the countertop with a careless intensity.
"Well you don't sound good, great, or wonderful," Paige remarked.
"You're still allowed to speak with her in the same room," he whispered. "So, really, how do you think I'm feeling right now?"
"You won't know if things have changed, until you take another step," she told him. "You have to-"
"Maybe you're not clear on the concept, Paige. She left me. So, in all honesty, shouldn't it be left up to her to come up with the apology? I mean...if I don't say so myself."
"You just did," she whispered back, her heart breaking for him.
"Are you sure you're well rested enough to go to work today?" Piper added, eyeing him up with a slight concern.
"Just peachy."
"Yeah, see, and he's never used that word before. Something's wrong with him," Paige insisted, as she lowered her voice even more.
"Have you seen my keys?" he asked, completely oblivious to them.
"Well, that depends. Did you actually take them out of the car last night?"
"Okay, what's wrong?"
"I-"
"Just say it, Paige. Alright? Come out and just say whatever's on your mind right now. I know you want to, so just say it. Tell me what you want to, and get on with it."
"You're bleeding again," she stated matter of factly.
He narrowed his eyes, his handsome features filling themselves with pure confusion. "I'm sorry?"
"Your hand. Here. Let me see."
"Can you please just find out how my daughter is doing?" he managed softly, as he winced from the slight pain that crept up into his bruises and cuts, gritting his teeth together rather intently. "I haven't seen her in seven days, and I- dammit..."
"Abby said demon the other day," Piper volunteered.
"Really?"
"No, I'm just kidding, but I had to think of something, didn't I?" she protested.
"You. Out," Paige instructed.
"What, why??"
"Because," she simply stated, raising her eyebrows.
"Paige, you have no-"
"Bye," she emphasized, impatiently waving a hand.
"Ugh. Fine, fine, fine. I'm gone. But don't you dare go and drink all my coffee," she warned. "That pot cost money to make."
"Yeah, yeah," Paige sided, taking a deep breath.
"Is everybody....always so touchy around here?" he returned, his gaze traveling after Piper, as she boarded the stairwell, disappearing out of sight.
"Well, I wouldn't know." She paused a moment, a grin taking shape over her face. "I live with you guys, remember?"
"How could I forget?" he mumbled, softly.
"Look, it's going to be okay. Alright? Phoebe may run a lot, but you're the one man she's never given up on. And I mean that." Pulling herself out of her chair, she reached for the roll of gauze perched near the toaster, winding a safe amount of it off onto her fingers, as she bent to examine his wound. "I may not have always liked you, Cole...but out of everything- this whole stupid Egypt thing, the Sterling monster wannabe thing, the works...you're really not a bad guy. And yes. I am being sincere in the rarest of my moments, so you can feel free to grab a bag a little later if you want to."
"No," he whispered. "You really don't mean it. But hey, I guess it's the thought that counts, right?"
"So what's your problem?"
"Excuse me?"
"Despite what you may have heard, I'm not exactly the best liar. But then again, neither are you."
"I..."
"Chloe's death was far from your fault. You tried to save her all the while she was with us. What she did- she chose it, Cole. It was her choice. She believed in you, despite what she may have done to prove herself otherwise. She was on our side."
"I know that."
"Then why are you beating yourself up about it?"
"What I do on my own grounds in grieving, is my business, okay? It's not for you to decide."
"Not even when it involves the woman you love?" she asked, taking hold of his hand, as she gently unwrapped the old gauze from it with caution, setting it randomly aside.
"The woman I love?" he directed his gaze upward towards the ceiling then, a strange smile drifting over his face, as he appeared to consider it a moment, shrugging as he enclosed his bottom lip over the top, his fingers fliching ever so briefly. "Why are you doing this?"
"Cole-"
"The woman I love, doesn't feel a damn thing for me."
"You don't know that."
"Oh, she's hiding it, is she? Well, that's funny, you know- because you honestly could've fooled me on that one."
"You won't know if you don't go there and-"
"Paige, she had the locks changed. If that doesn't say she's had it with me, I don't know what does."
"So? Phoebe has done a lot of crazy...well...things since she's been with you. It wouldn't be the first time."
"And weren't you the one trying to talk her out of getting back together with me about two years ago?"
"That's wasn't me," she quickly added, refusing to meet his stare.
"Oh no?"
"No...my....evil doppelganger came to visit, and I was merely a pawn in her game."
"Nice try."
"Told you I was a terrible liar," she confirmed, securing his injury in the fresh piece of material, securing it tightly for good measure.
He carefully inspected it, as he calmly raised his eyebrows in complete shock, running his free hand over it, as he threw her a small half smile. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome," she sided, as she began to move away from him, tossing the remains into the garbage can.
He hesitantly turned to place a hand upon her shoulder then, stopping her dead in her tracks. "Paige, wait."
"What's up?" she offered, giving him her full attention once again, confusion tainting her features.
"If what you say is- look, I'm willing to take my chances, but it doesn't mean you have to be let off the hook either, alright?"
"Me? Um...last time I checked I wasn't married to Phoebe," she told him rather oddly, as she laughed slightly.
"Yeah, and you haven't exactly been on her good side these days, have you?"
She rolled her eyes. "So she tells me. But in truth, I really wouldn't expect that to be of any interest to you."
"You have to promise me that you'll go and you'll get things sorted out between the two of you," he said simply, crossing his arms over his chest.
"And if I don't, and wish to cower in fear and drink in my own pity?"
"Then you've already made your decision without even trying," he murmured.
"How do you always know how to make people feel so damn bad?" she inquired then, as she sighed deeply, throwing a dish towel over her shoulder, as she edged herself closer to the sink, her hand reaching down for the enclosure, as she nonchalantly started running the water.
"Because she kicked you out too, and I won't let you forget it," he managed, as he threw her a wide smile. "I'll go first, but you're definitely going second."
10 hours later She was at the door now, her eyes peeking through the clear glass window, catching him from head to toe. She stood there for a clear minute, her hand falling on the knob for a few extra seconds, before she finally pulled it open, her long brown hair tied back in a beautiful bun, with two long braids securing it behind her. Her face was purely expressionless, still taking him in. Her mouth was drawn rather tightly, her sense of direction caught offguard by his stunning approach, as she took her uncertainty as an excuse to let her frame of vision run over him one more time. He was beautiful, and in all the time they'd spent with one another, she could never deny it. His face had a five o'clock shadow, and bore some mindless cuts and bruises- but for her, it only added to the man that he was- his sweatshirt sleeves were drawn clumsily up to his elbows, his jeans wearing his frame rather nicely, as she caught sight of two gauze-wrapped hands. His blue eyes mirrored the darkness around her with a profound intensity, and she stepped back. "Why didn't you have Leo heal you?"
"Can I come in?"
"Cole, I really- you know...it's probably not such a good time right now, alright?"
"I only want to talk. You have my word on that."
"Talk?" she repeated.
"About everything you don't want to talk about, yes."
"And what is it exactly that I don't want to talk about?" she countered, her gaze becoming somewhat irritated, as she began to edge the door shut a bit, her reluctance brimming to the surface.
"Why I did what I did back there. Just when I thought I had you pegged, you up and quit on me. You and I both know that's not the Phoebe I know."
"Yeah, Cole, and who is the Phoebe you know, hmm? Because if memory serves, she may as well have disappeared a long time ago."
"Is that really what you think?"
"Look, just go, okay? I'm not ready for this, and I-"
"So when will you be ready? A year from now? Ten years from now? Nothing is going to be any different. So we might as well just have it all out right now. You want to throw me some punches, go ahead. If it makes you feel better, you're more than welcome to take a few shots at me."
She scoffed, her face displaying a sense of disgust, as she proceeded to shut the door, just as he threw out one of his hands to stop her, wincing in extreme pain as the piece of wood nearly crushed his bones to pieces, pulling back slowly, as she tossed it back again, her pretty face etched in immediate worry as she looked at him, her face plagued in true concern.
"I just want to know how my daughter is," he whispered. "I just...I have to know how all of three of them are. If they're...doing good without-"
"You?" she finished.
"Phoebe, I know that I- all I wanted was one last goodbye from her. Then- I'll be out of your life before you know it. You won't ever see me again, and rest assured you won't have to actually try to make a damn relationship work."
That did it. She forcefully yanked him inside, as she slammed the door shut behind her. "They're at your father's now. And just between you and me, we couldn't even cover in one full night why you're just as much a failure as I apparently seem to be."
"So we're getting somewhere, are we?"
"You seem to think that by....standing there the way you are, and...and looking the way you are, that I'm just going throw myself back in your arms again, and pretend like I just imagined what you did? It doesn't work like that, Cole."
"And for the love of God, I cannot ever imagine abandoning my daughter," he whispered again.
"You let an innocent die. Doesn't that mean a damn thing to you, or have you completely lost sight of it while you were proceeding to make puppy dog eyes at me over the years?"
"Oh, that's good. Yeah. Make it all about me. You were always so good at that-"
"Get over yourself, Coleridge."
"So we're on more than just a first name basis now, hmm?"
"And I was with you every step of the way. I was willing to see you through this...this stupid possession, this pointless quest...and you played me the whole time!"
"Do you really think that if I were Wosret, I'd have let you live for a split second? I'd have killed you where you stood, the minute I saw you. You and I both know that's true."
"Paige knows you better than I do, big deal."
"No, Phoebe, it is a big deal. I made you come at me with all you had. I made you show me what you've had in you all along."
"A serious loathing?" she quipped.
"Passion, depth...you're my match. You always have been."
"Yeah, a few years ago, when everything was still sunshine and daises. In case you haven't noticed, the sudden blackness I now see has already taken care of that."
"You really see nothing when you look at me now?"
"More than nothing. A fraction of nothing," she murmured.
"Then I'm going to call you on that bluff."
"Oh please. The only thing you've got on me-"
"Dance with me."
"What?"
"Dance with me." He paused a moment. "If after tonight you're absolutely sure you feel nothing, you'll never have to bother with me again. Ever. It's a choice you have to make for yourself, and I'm not going to let you do it alone."
"Cole, this is...."
He held out his hand- the same hand that she remembered from the cave, so confident, so entirely sure about himself when he gestured so plainly. She let her eyes run over it, the strength it exuded, the warmth it had once had over her. Closing her eyes, she took it, as she felt his other slip lightly around her waist. He began to step in time to an invisible tune, his blues failing to close right away, as he held her, his composure threatening to crumble from being as near to her as he was. He could almost sense her strong will to resist him, the tension in her palms slowly wearing thin.
"I know I can't make things right," he told her matter of factly, his hands shifting slightly above the thin material of her shirt, as he offered a short sigh. "But you have to know that Chloe knew her fate, and she would have taken her life, despite anything we said to stop her. She gave Ally a beautiful gift, and that gift allowed her to save all of us."
"But how-"
"She cared enough to see that we-"
"No. I mean, how did you overcome it? The possession? How did you do it? You're a mortal. It was impossible...more than impossible. But you did it. How?"
He was silent a moment, as the tears started to come, their traces leaving droplets over his bruised cheeks, as he kept his eyes completely shut, his hand giving hers a small squeeze. "It wasn't hard, because I knew you believed."
"And I still believe in you," she whispered, neither of them meeting gazes yet, her lids closed and casted downward, as she allowed him to continue leading her, her feet completely bare, as she felt the wood floor caress the bottoms ever so slightly. "Cole Turner."
"Celia could never sense Wosret's affection, because he'd never had those feelings for her. It was never hard to do. To see you there, right in front of me, broke my heart- but I had to make her see. I had to convince her, even for a minute, that I was who I was supposed to be. The spirit tried to take hold...but I fought it. It wasn't pure, so the love I had posioned it as soon as it entered my system. Wosret never stood a damn chance."
"But you could have told me, you could have given me a sign-"
"I did," he whispered.
"I don't understand."
"I'd risk my soul for you, despite any cost. You never had to question yourself that I'd ever make it out of there okay. You have belief in me as a man, and it's let me live as a man. I was a demon who learned to love- who learned from your love. The one thing that saved me before, saved me again."
"And you were so brave- stupid, but brave."
"Hey," he objected, forming a slight pout, as he finally revealed his eyes to glance at her, his entire face lighting up.
"Well, you were. I can't even begin to tell you what it felt like going into battle against my own husband. It was....I was scared. I thought you were really the big bad again."
"And my saving your ass never gave you a clue?"
"But you have to admit. There was actually more than one ass that needed saving tonight."
"Whose was that?"
"Yours," she concluded.
"At least your sense of humor is back, even if your love isn't."
"I never said I didn't love you, Cole. You made that assumption purely on your own."
"But I'd be right, wouldn't I? All of this...everything I've given to you, you'd be willing to let it all just slide away like there's no tomorrow, wouldn't you?"
"Why do you do that?"
"What?"
"You have that way of making yourelf so incomplete, even when I'm right beside you. You fail to see yourself even now. But I see you."
"And what is it that-"
"A man who deserves a long overdue apology from his wife," she said softly.
"Phoebe...."
"I was hurt, I felt betrayed, the only man I could've turned to, had just acted out the day of his life in that cave, and you frightened me."
"So...."
"I'm sorry. Okay? Dammit, Cole, I never meant for this to turn out- you have to accept that...."
"So in that case...do you think I should consider dressing up as Wosret for Halloween next year? I mean, just so I can frighten all the little ones who come to the door?"
"Speaking of which, someone hasn't exactly felt the wrath of my pumpkin revenge yet," she sided, tilting her head to look at him longingly, as she traced his jawline with her fingers ever so faintly.
"Pumpkin revenge?" He smiled shyly, as he pulled her closer to him, her petite frame residing against his chest. "Now this I've gotta see."
"Are you absolutely sure about that?"
"I knew you couldn't get rid of me that fast. You've been scheming this entire time, Miss Halliwell, and that's never good."
"Mmm, you caught me." She immediately brought his face down to hers, planting her lips upon his with gentle care, as she shut her eyes tightly again, her entire body all smiles, as he playfully responded to the kiss rather wholeheartedly, giving her a slight tickle in the ribs.
"So let me get this straight. She hasn't seen him at all, hasn't called him, hasn't saved any demons with him...kicked him out again, and still no word on a reconciliation yet? Boy. I guess she's really pissed this time," Piper Halliwell commented casually, as she carefully poured herself a hot cup of coffee.
Cole let his hand rap across the door with a rather steady pace, letting it linger a moment, as he awaited a response. His entire being had grown increasingly doubtful as he drove to her house only minutes earlier, his destination having been one where he was bound to find a tremendous amount of disappointment enclosed in, his feelings still somewhat unspoken and buried just a bit beneath the surface. He didn't know what he'd get in return, but it was sure as hell something that wasn't going to let him walk out of there with the slight ounce of hope he still maintained for them. He was still madly in love with her, and the prospect just ate away at his heart- even more than he was allowing himself to admit to Paige before, his eyes threatening to stain themselves with fresh tears...something he swore he'd never do while he was right here in her presence, trying his damndest to show his motives to her all over again, desperately needing her faith in him. He took a deep breath, and lightly knocked once again.