A/N: I don't own Charmed or any of its characters... Thanks so much to lizardmomma, Jess Maximoff, Darth Keyara, BelovedSlayer, LeftWriter224, and sg90210 for taking time to review :D Here we go... the last chapter!
At 7:15, Phoebe and Cole hearted into the Halliwell Manor.
"That was a good idea," Cole whispered to Phoebe, with a grin. "It gave us extra time to… uh you know." He wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively, to which she simply rolled her eyes and blushed.
"Piper? Leo?" she called, as they walked into the empty living room.
"I'm in here," Piper called back, from the direction of the kitchen. "Leo's changing the boys, and Paige and Henry aren't here yet. Make yourselves comfortable. I just have to finish up a few things in here."
Just as she finished her sentence, they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Piper? The boys are ready. Oh hey! Phoebe! Cole! Wow! It's really you again!" Leo exclaimed, with Chris in his arms, and Wyatt standing behind him. There was an awkward moment, which Phoebe used to excuse herself, as she headed to the kitchen to help Piper, leaving the two men to talk.
Leo put Chris down, and said to Wyatt, "Why don't you two go play with your toys till dinner, okay buddy?" Wyatt nodded, and grabbed his little brother's hand. Together they walked through the door to the conservatory.
"Leo," Cole started. "I'm really sorry. I've already apologised to the girls, but I owe you an apology too. I never meant to cause so much trouble, and I'm sorry for putting you in danger."
The tension which Leo had felt earlier, at hearing about Cole's return, dissipated immediately. He recognised that this was the Cole he had befriended, not the madman he had come to know later. He smiled at him easily, "Cole, don't even sweat it, man. I know about everything that you went through. The Source, the powers from the Wasteland, the Avatars; I know about everything. I'm sorry too. We should never have let it get that far. We should have helped you. But, hey, this is our chance to make it up to you. By the way, I don't know if Phoebe ended up mentioning it, but I owe you big time. Thanks so much for everything you did for me and Piper when you were in Limbo. I know it was so Phoebe didn't give up on love, but it stopped us giving up too. I've never been happier, and now I have so much more time with my boys, and Piper. I really can't thank you enough!"
Cole returned Leo's smile with a relaxed grin of his own. "So we're good? Because, once I got over your boring pacifist crap, you were my only friend, my best friend. Not to sound sappy, or anything," Cole cleared his throat, "but, I would really like a second chance with that friendship too."
Leo's smile grew wider. "Yeah, we're better than good! Come here, man!" He spread his arms out wide, indicating that he wanted a hug. Cole rolled his eyes, but happily obliged. They slapped each others' backs, in a very manly way, and pulled back.
"Well, what's going on here?" teased Piper, as she and Phoebe came back into the living room.
"Nothing," Leo said, as he sat down, with Cole following suit. "Just guy stuff. Right, Cole?"
"Right," Phoebe said sarcastically. "Is that a tear in your eye, Cole?"
"Ha ha," Cole responded dryly. "Okay, so we were making up. Whatever, it's no big deal." The smile on his face alerted the whole room that it was, in fact, a big deal, and all four occupants were thrilled that they could relate as a family once more.
"So," Cole said, looking between Piper and Leo. "Can I officially meet Wyatt and Chris?"
Phoebe bit her lip, waiting for the awkwardness to return, but she need not have worried.
"Wyatt? Buddy? Can you and Chris come in here a minute?" Leo called loudly.
Chris came running through the door, with Wyatt trailing behind shouting, "Slowly, Chris!" At his mother's stern look, he yelled defensively, "I tried mummy! He don't listen!"
"He doesn't listen," corrected Piper.
"Yeah!" replied Wyatt, leaving Piper shaking her head in amusement. She would have to talk to them later.
"Cole, this is Wyatt, and this is Chris," Leo said proudly. "Boys, this is…"
"Coop!" Wyatt interrupted, rushing to jump into his lap. The adults exchanged glances in confusion.
"I didn't know you and Wyatt were close," Phoebe said to Cole.
"Well I had to bond with him when you guys were in hiding. I guess he was so scared, that when I reached out to him, we became friends. You know how kids are," Cole reasoned.
"But why can't he see you, Cole?" Leo asked. "Why does he see Coop?"
"I can explain that," Phoebe interjected. "The spell I cast only lets those that love Cole see his true self. Wyatt and Chris never knew Cole, so it doesn't affect them."
"Maybe that's a good thing," Piper said. "They're so young that it would confuse them if we asked them to call him Cole at home, but Coop in public. The fewer people that know about this, the better, Cole. We don't want you being attacked by the Underworld again."
"Uncle Coop!" Phoebe exclaimed. She turned to Cole, "Maybe this was how the future turned out after all. Maybe Wyatt, from the future, still calls you Uncle Coop, instead of Uncle Cole, even though I found out who you were!"
As they all contemplated this new information, Paige and Henry orbed in.
"Paige, really? Could we not have driven?" Henry complained.
"Ha! Be even later? Do you want Piper to kill us?" she shot back, before noticing they had an audience. "Uh, hi guys! Nice day," she tried.
"Hi Paige," Piper said slowly, staring her down.
"It's not my fault!" Paige put her hands up. "Henry had to work late!"
"I thought he had a day off," Phoebe raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay. But it was his one day off in ages, and I didn't have to work, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity…" she trailed off blushing. Henry looked away in embarrassment, elbowing Paige in her side.
"Too much information? Yep, that was way too much information," Paige rambled. "So, how are you guys?"
Cole stood up, and offered his hand to Henry. "I'm not sure what Paige has told you about me, but I hope we're good."
Henry took his hand, and shook it warmly. "I don't really know what's going on, and I don't know if I want to know a lot. This magic stuff really hurts my head. All I know is that Paige says you're a good guy, and that you saved her, and her sisters, from trouble. That's more than enough for me, Coop."
Paige looked at Henry, bewildered. "You still see Coop?"
At Henry's shrug, Phoebe explained once more that Henry had never met Cole, so the spell didn't affect him.
"This is going to get confusing," Paige sighed.
"Not necessarily," Cole pointed out. "To everyone else, I'm still Coop. It's probably best if we get used to calling me by that name. I know that no one is actively looking for me right now, but the Underworld, or what's left of it, will have their eyes on you three. And if Phoebe is suddenly spending time with a guy named Cole... Well let's just say that demons are going to get suspicious, no matter who I look like. "
"Cole's right," Leo agreed. "It'll be hard enough for the four of us to remember to call him Coop, especially now that we can see his true form. But it'll be too much for Henry to remember that he's actually Cole, and remember not to call him that. If he just sees Coop, he might as well call him that. If Cole's identity is ever revealed, the threat against him will put us all in danger. We can't let that happen." He directed his gaze at his sons.
Cole's eyes followed Leo's and he understood immediately. "Leo, if it ever comes to that, I won't let anything happen to anyone else, especially not your boys."
"So, then let Henry call him Coop, and the rest of us will make sure that we do in public too. It may seem confusing, but we've managed it before, remember? It took us a while to get it right, but eventually the Bennett cousins lived together without any problems," Phoebe reminded them.
As Piper and Paige nodded, Henry put up his hand. "So, um, I kind of stopped understanding what was going on a while ago. Who are the Bennett cousins?"
"Why don't we explain over dinner?" Cole suggested. Noticing the amused looks he was receiving, he protested, "I've really missed her cooking, okay?"
As Piper brought out the dessert, Phoebe glanced at Cole, and squeezed his hand. He nodded to her with a shrug.
"Cole and I have something to tell you guys," Phoebe smiled. She raised her left hand, showing off her ring, "We're getting married!"
"Now before you all jump in, let me assure you that we're both ready for this," Cole emphasised. "It may seem sudden, but it's something we've been waiting for, for years now. There's no one we'd rather be with, than each other, so there's no reason to wait."
The couple looked around the table anxiously, waiting to hear the objections, but none came.
"That's great news!" Leo exclaimed. "Welcome to the family, uh again, Cole!"
"Congratulations," Piper smirked. "I've got to say, though, we kind of saw this coming."
"Just do us a favour? This time, no dark ceremony, please?" Paige quipped.
"Fine," Cole chuckled. "And no invisible bridesmaids either," he joked.
"Actually," Phoebe smiled, "I have the perfect place in mind. And if she will help, the perfect person too."
[Flash orward- 8 x 22- Forever Charmed]
Phoebe clasps Cole's hands in front of an altar at Magic School.
"Do you, Phoebe Halliwell, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" asks the Angel of Destiny.
Phoebe looks into the deep blue eyes, that few other people can see, and grins, "I do."
This time there was no fanfare, no desperate attempts at perfection, because she knew that finally getting to marry Cole, free of any outside influences, ensured that nothing could ruin her special day.
[Flash Forward- about 15 years into the future]
Cole was seated in an armchair, in the living room of their new house, and looked up at his hovering wife. The kids were at school, and Phoebe had worked from home to be with Cole, whose charges had all given him the day off.
He shut the book he was reading, and grinned, "It's amazing, Phoebe!"
Phoebe's face lit up with joy. "You really think so? Do you think people will actually buy it? It was a lot harder than writing a column. Are you sure it's good?"
Cole stood up, and kissed her sweetly on the lips. "It's perfect. I guess you really owe me, I mean the Source, for everything, huh?"
"What are you talking about?" Phoebe asked in confusion. "What does the Source... Oh, yeah I guess you're right! If he hadn't gone after the old columnist..."
"Then you would have never filled in for her," Cole finished. "And you would never have become the amazing writer that you are. It's a great story."
"Well we've been through a lot to get where we are," Phoebe pointed out with a smile.
"I just wish you could write about all the trials you had to overcome to finally 'find love'. It would be even more amazing," Cole said wistfully.
"As long as we know, that's all that matters. It took us a long time, but it was worth it. Hey, we even achieved your human dream! Three wonderful daughters, a nice house, and we finally got that dog!" Phoebe hugged Cole tighter.
"You forgot the beautiful wife," Cole whispered. "I love you, Phoebe."
"I love you too, Cole," Phoebe replied with a kiss. "I love you too."
A/N: Well that's the end of my first Charmed story! I can't believe it's finally finished! Thanks to everyone who read this story and encouraged me to continue writing it.
A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed this story:
BelovedSlayer
ColeTurnerFan
Marie Nomad
JRose
Joleca
Pholefan
lizardmomma
Shinigami of Nightmares
Fiction Ghost Writer
HalliwellMB
Jba008
Ashley
Nicole f 111
Jess Maximoff
Darth Keyara
Colerige Turner
LeftWriter224
sg90210
Thanks also to those others who added me to Favourites and Alerts:
Meredith Webber
Midnightangeloffire1
Isaeire
cuticusblondicus
jlsbaybee
phoebeandcole3
spazy drama queen
XandallthatjazzX
paigematthewsfan21
gema13
angminer
FreeAmber
CharmedJeff
xtinepena
abishop47
CakiieHere
Lydily
umpcai
rara012
geniusbookworm
And another big thanks to everyone else who read Meant To Be! You guys are so awesome I hope you enjoyed it! :D :D