Liljdpegasuschic160: Ok, well this idea came out of nowhere really. I had no intention whatsoever to write another fic right now. I'm busy enough as it is, but I seem to enjoy getting as little sleep as possible nowadays. So, I was watching 'We're off the see the Wizard' the other day because I also seem to enjoy feeling depressed and crying. lol Anyway, I was thinking about how horrible the ending of that episode is, and decided to take matters into my own hands and fix it. Some would say 'Charmed and Dangerous' was the beginning of the downfall of Phoebe & Cole's relationship, but if you think about it, Cole needed to absorb the hollow to save the sisters and the world. The real problem was in this episode when Phoebe failed to save Cole, and for some reason, only God knows why, she listened to the stupid seer. This is how that episode should have ended, happily...

Read, Review, & Enjoy!

Third Times a Charm

Chapter 1: Destined Happiness

"Malus into exitus omne"

Pain.

First there was pain.

Pain and light, as the source's powers began to separate from his levitated body.

Faintly, as if in a dream, he heard the Seer's seductive voice attempting to manipulate Phoebe. His back was to them, but he could feel their presence. He could always feel Phoebe and he knew she was close.

"Save him," She said, just above a whisper, "For your son".

'NO!', Cole tried to shout, as his helpless limbs began to flail uncontrollably. 'It's a trick! She wants our baby for her own! Don't think for a minute that she cares about us!'

No matter how he screamed on the inside, the words never seemed to form.

Phoebe watched as the wizard, with one hand outstretched, pulled what looked liked a life force out of Cole. She struggled with her reasoning, as she attempted to take it all in. Just an hour ago she had received the premonition that had confirmed the deep, suppressed suspicions she'd be having about him.

Cole was a demon.

Not just any demon.

Cole was the source.

He had lied to her. All this time, he had lied.

Now the Seer assured her that the only way to save the life of her love and her child, was to choose a side. Evil of course was what the Seer intended, but seeing Cole now made her remember why she had put herself in this position in the first place. She loved Cole, and nothing she could think of would ever change that. Hell, she just revealed him to be the source of all evil and her feelings for him were left undiminished.

She tried to trick her mind into hating him, to tell herself that he deserved to die, but despite her best efforts...

"Phoebe, what are you waiting for?" The Seer's voice brought her back with it's slightly edgier tone.

She scanned the scene once more, searching her mind desperately for the answer. She placed one hand lovingly on her abdomen, and looked down. Deep inside her was her son...their son, and she was not going to let the Seer tell her how to raise their child.

Phoebe knew from experience how it felt to be evil. Numerous times she had been forced to fight evil growing inside of her, and thinking back on those experiences she realized that that was something she never wanted her baby to have to go through.

The only way her family was going to survive was if they were all good. Cole had told her that once before. There was no such thing as evil love.

She had made her decision.

An earlier encounter had shown her that the Seer could not be affected by her power. At least her newest, demonic power.

If she could just distract her long enough for the wizard to complete the ritual and for help to arrive...

In one swift motion, Phoebe threw back her right arm and elbowed the Seer in the face, calling for Leo in the process. The seer fought back and the two continued to duel, when a cluster of bright lights began to accumulate on the other side of the room.

Moments later, Leo fully formed with Paige and Piper on either side. All looked stunned at the events playing out before them.

"Phoebe?" Piper asked, looking around slowly. "What's going on?"

"No time to explain," Phoebe answered, as her right leg swung back in a high roundhouse kick, hitting the Seer and sending her to the floor.

Noticing the wizard, Piper turned and raised her hands to blow him up.

"Whatever you do, don't hurt the wizard," Phoebe yelled, causing Piper to lower her hands.

"Why not? Phoebe he wants to Grimoire for himself."

"Just do what I say," Phoebe snapped, trying desperately to defeat the Seer, who much to her frustration, seemed mostly unfazed. "A little help here?"

Her request snapped Leo and Paige back to reality, but both were still unsure on how to handle the situation.

The source's power, almost completely separated from Cole, continued to illuminate the otherwise pitch black penthouse.

From the other side of the room, Phoebe could sense their hesitation and added, "We need a power of three spell to vanquish her. She said it herself."

One final kick to the head sent the Seer back to the floor where she stayed long enough for Phoebe to make her way over to her sisters.

The bright, transparent figure of Cole was now completely severed from his body, and as soon as it was free it infused itself in the wizard who began to convulse violently before falling to the floor. Cole collapsed along side him, seemingly unconscious.

Phoebe started for him, but both her sisters seized her arms, holding her back.

"Spell first, Cole later." Piper said, relaxing her grip on her arm.

Phoebe nodded and stepped back between her sisters, keeping their arms locked. Focusing and channeling all her anger toward the Seer, Phoebe began to chant a power of three spell.

"Let us now your life erase

and see no future for your face

By the power of three we vanquish thee

and leave no memory in your place."

In a burst of blinding, white light, the Seer vanished, leaving nothing but the pain and corruption she had caused.

As soon as the lights had faded, Phoebe released her hold on her sisters and ran to Cole, kneeling at his side.

"Cole? Cole!" Phoebe said, shaking him in a desperate attempt to wake him. "Leo," Phoebe looked up, her eyes pleading.

The whitelighter nodded firmly, and knelt down opposite her. His hands came to hover over Cole's chest, a golden light emanating from his palms.

The light faded when Cole let out a small gasp, attempting to sit up straight.

Phoebe aided his efforts, pulling him close to her in a tight embrace.

"Phoebe, I can't breathe," Cole said, in a strangled voice.

"Oh my God, did the ritual backfire?" she asked, holding him even closer.

"No, it's not that," he tried to continue.

"What, what is it?" Phoebe said, stroking his hair.

"Your holding me a little too tight."

Phoebe let out a relieved laugh and released her hold on him, her hands now finding a place to rest on his face. She stroked his cheek with her thumb. Her smile was full of affection and concern.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but where is the wizard?" Piper asked, her voice full of panic.

"And where is the Grimoire?" Paige continued, moving toward the podium that had held it minutes before.

"The wizard is The Source now," Cole said, rising to his feet. Phoebe stood at his side with one arm wrapped around his back, the other resting on his stomach.

He looked down at her, with sorrowful eyes.

"I'm so sorry Phoebe. I tried to tell you, but the Source he was overpowering, he forced me to..."

Phoebe stopped him with a small finger to his lips. "Now's not the time. We need to find the wizard before he finds a way to proceed with the coronation."

"Phoebe's right," Leo said, moving to Piper's side. "I mean, we already know how to vanquish the source, so that's not a problem. It's just..."

"Finding him that is.", Piper finished for him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Any ideas on where he went?"

It was a question for everyone to consider, but she had directed it mostly at Cole.

"He could be anywhere, but the underworld is definitely a good start. He'd want to preform the ceremony as soon as possible before anyone finds out that he's the source. That way when he revels himself he'll be far too powerful to stop, even if the factions try to challenge him."

"Ok, so we need to find him quickly.", Paige said, biting her lip and looking up in thought. "We could try scrying..."

"But we don't have anything to make the connection strong enough to find him quickly. Especially if he's in the underworld. It will make him all that harder to find."

Cole stepped forward and Phoebe released him, watching intently.

"When the wizard and I performed the ritual, we had to use our own blood. Maybe when we did some of his blood mixed with mine. You could use that to scry for him."

"Even if it did, it would've been trace amounts. It might not be enough to find him.", Leo said.

"Might means there's still a chance," Cole argued, giving Leo a hard stare. "Do you have any better ideas?"

"No, this may be our only chance," Piper said, letting her arms fall to her sides. "But we need to create a spell of some sort because we don't have map of the Underworld to work with."

"Ok, well we'll figure this all out at the manor," Phoebe said, moving back to Cole's side. "Let's get outta here."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Got it!," Paige exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

"What, you have an idea?," Piper asked, looking up from the Book of Shadows that lay draped across her's and Phoebe's laps.

They had been in the attic since they arrived home, searching vigorously for a solution to their immediate problem.

The room was mostly dark, except for a collection of assorted candles burning steadily on the waist high table in the middle of the room. Piper and Phoebe sat next to each other on the love seat, Paige until now sat on the red arm chair with Leo standing close by, observing their work intently. Cole separated himself from the group, pacing slowly past the windows. His eyes were cast downwards with his arms behind his back.

Paige made her way over to the table to grab the scrying crystal.

"No, I have a solution. We don't have a map of the Underworld right?," she said, not waiting for an answer. "Well, what if we created a map, and then used it to scry for the wizard?"

Piper pushed the book completely onto Phoebe's lap, and moved to stand next to Leo.

"What do youmean make a map? How will we make a map?"

"With a spell of course!" Paige said, taking the book from Phoebe and tucking it under arm.

"But first, we need Cole," A slight look of anxiety crossing her face, "After all, who knows the underworld better The Source?" She paused for a second then added, "Ex-Source," with a shrug, noticing the stern look on Phoebe's face.

"Are you suggesting some kind of memory projection spell?"

Cole entered the conversation when he realized he was involved, and moved up suddenly behind Paige.

"Precisely," Paige said, not even bothering to turn her head and acknowledge Cole.

"Can we do that?" Phoebe asked, looking to her husband.

Instead, Piper answered and stepped foreward, "I don't see why not. We've done crazier things in the past. Besides," she continued, grabbing a pen and pad off the table, "Our best work comes from improvisation. Come on", she said, helping Phoebe up, "let's go."

Once Phoebe was out of the way, she pointed to the seat, "Cole, lie down."

He did as he was told, even though the old, love seat was hardly big enough to accommodate his large frame. He did the best he could, trying to relax.

Phoebe moved to Piper's side, and as the two tried to write a spell, Paige took an athame to Cole's hand, covering the crystal with drops of his blood.

"Finished!" Piper said, holding the spell above her head.

Phoebe took the paper from Piper and moved to Cole's side,"I hope this works."

"Don't we all," Piper mumbled.

Taking his hand in hers, Phoebe began to recite the incantation.

"Scrying secrets come to me,

so I may see his memory

to help us find our evil foe

for his location we must know"

As soon as the last words were uttered, a short beam of white light shot out of Cole's forehead. Cole himself seemed unconscious, as the end of the beam widened to form a flat plane parallel to the ground. Soon, images began to form on the table of light. Three dimensional scenes appeared, moving images of demons, caves, and cages. It was as if they were looking down into a box full of miniature people in a town. In this case, demons in the underworld.

Paige took the crystal she'd been holding, and dangled it over the hologram, moving it around in small circles.

Surprisingly, the crystal dropped, and even more surprising, it didn't go right through the illusion. Rather, it landed with a thunk on a larger cave near the center of the map.

"Found it!" Paige said, memorizing their destination, so she could visualize it and orb her sisters there.

"Wow, that fast. That's a first." Phoebe, said looking at Piper with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, well, let's just count our blessings. Paige, grab the sack to hold the Grimoire. Phoebe go get the protective crystals. We'll need them to contain him long enough for us to say the spell and vanquish him. The wizard will be using his illusions against us this time. We can't take any chances."

Both sisters nodded and did as they were told. Phoebe was halfway to the door when she realized something and turned back to Piper.

"Shouldn't we do something about Cole? We can't just leave him like that."

Piper observed her unconscious brother-in-law with slight disgust.

"Why not? He's less likely to get in the way. Besides, we've got enough problems already."

"Piper!," Phoebe commanded, one hand on her hip.

"Oh, fine!," Piper said with a roll of her eyes.

"Scrying secrets were revealed,

leave us now please be concealed"

Seconds later, the light hovering above Cole's head flickered out and he regained consciousness. Bringing a hand to the back of his head, he moaned, sitting up straight.

"Did it work?," He asked, looking around the room.

"As a matter of fact it did,"Paige cut in, entering, sack in hand "For once that demon brain of yours came in handy."

"Paige," Phoebe said, this time scolding her younger sister.

"What? I'm just stating the obvious. After all, we just discovered he's the source of all evil...or was...not that it makes a difference."

"Actually, it makes a big difference." It was Leo's turn to speak. "Without the source's power, Cole is human. He's an innocent. An innocent that needs your protection."

"Right," Paige said with a nod of her head, pursing her rose red lips.

Piper, sensing some tension, said, "Well then Leo, you can stay here and keep an eye on Cole while we go and kill the real source of all evil."

"Shouldn't we take Cole with us," Paige suggested, "After all, everyone down there still thinks he's the source, so we can use that to our advantage. They'll do whatever he tells them."

"I suppose so," Piper began, "But if they call our bluff, Cole will be stuck powerless and he'll be just one more thing we'll have to worry about. We have to focus all our attention on the Grimoire. Once we have that, we'll have the upper hand. The wizard will most likely come here looking for it, and when he does we'll vanquish his sorry ass. Although, it will definitely be a plus if we can get the book and vanquish him all in one trip."

"Piper's right," Phoebe said with a nod, "We can't risk losing Cole. I almost lost him once already, and once is enough for one day."

Cole rose to his feet and stood next to Phoebe, wrapping an arm around her back. Looking down into her eyes, he consoled her without saying a word.

"We still need to talk," She said quietly, placing a hand on his chest.

He nodded slightly, taking the hand and caressing the top of each finger with a calloused thumb.

"Once you vanquish the source we'll have plenty of time to talk. For now, just concentrate on stopping the wizard. We can deal with our issues later."

She nodded in agreement and broke their embrace to complete her task of gathering the crystal.

When it was finally time to go, Piper stood on Paige's left, holding her hand and the burlap sack filled with the protective crystals. Phoebe stood on Paige's right with an extra copy of the vanquishing spell tucked in her skirt just in case.

Cole looked solemnly into her eyes, then at her still flat stomach, then locking eyes once more said, "Be careful."

"Don't worry. I'll be back before you even have time to worry,"she answered, before disappearing in a swarm of blue lights.

"I doubt it," He said aloud to himself, then to Leo, "Well, what now?"

"Now, we wait."

He knew that wasn't what Cole wanted to hear, but patience was what they needed right now.

Cole sighed and plopped back down on the love seat, only to stand again within seconds. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he resumed pacing past the dark stain glass windows.

Patience had never been a virtue he'd practiced, and waiting while Phoebe was in danger made it that much harder, not to mention what could happen to their unborn son.

He knew it would no good to think negatively, but he couldn't help creating the worst case scenario in his mind.

He knew firsthand what the source was capable of, and without a human half to counteract the evil, the wizard would be a lot worse than he ever was.

As always, when situations became tense, time passed more slowly, more painfully. Eventually he sat back down, his legs needing some rest, but it didn't seem to help much. Restlessness was in his nature. He needed to be part of the action. What made it all the more difficult was how well Leo seemed to be handling the situation.

In fact, judging by his brother-in-law's lack of pacing, foot tapping, or just about any movement at all, it would seem that the whitelighter was generally disinterested in the matter.

However, Cole knew better. Leo had more practice at this, three years worth to be exact. He was sure Leo had started out like him, fidgety and a nervous wreck.

The silence was also starting to get to him. He would almost go as far to say that he missed Paige's constant ridicule and disapproval, anything to distract him from what was really on his mind.

Phoebe.

More precisely, him and Phoebe...their relationship, or what was left of it anyway.

He had lied.

It was as simple as that.

Sure he had tried to tell her numerous times, but every time someone or something interrupted them, or worse the source lashed out, giving him a terrible migraine and the feeling of helplessness. Still, Phoebe deserved to know, and he wished that he could have told her himself, instead of her finding out via premonition.

He figured that in a roundabout way he had told her. By suppressing the source with his love for her, he allowed her to get a premonition off of him, warning her of what was to come.

Of course he also had an unexpected helper. His and Phoebe's unborn son. The announcement of the birth had caused him so much happiness and love, that even the source couldn't overcome it.

Even now, he could hardly believe he was going to be a father. What made it even more unbelievable was that Phoebe was going to be the mother. Never in a million years, or in a hundred and sixteen to be exact, did he ever imagine someone like Phoebe blessing him with a beautiful baby boy. He never considered himself the paternal type to begin with, and it never ceased to amaze him how lucky he was in finding the love of his life. Phoebe was his, he was hers, and there was no way in hell he was going to let any evil, even the source, get in the way of their destined happiness.

Still, she could no longer trust him.

Could he blame her?

Her love for him hadn't changed. That was for sure. But he knew things weren't quite the same as they had been during their engagement. A few months before, their love was so strong even God couldn't weaken it. Ironically, they grew farther apart after their marriage ceremony as Phoebe suppressed her growing suspicions while the source used her as a pawn.

With time, Cole knew she would over come her issues of trust, but for now all he could do was sit back and wait.

He was sick of waiting.

Just then, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige materialized before him, relieving some of his anxieties.

Piper looked the worst for wear. Her long brown hair was disheveled and she was sporting a decent amount of cuts and bruises. Paige, brown bag in hand, wore a few wounds of her own, although not as many as Piper. Phoebe, he noticed, with a sigh of relief, appeared to be in the best shape of all. Apart from a scratch on her upper right arm, she looked relatively unscathed.

Still, just to be sure, Leo quickly made his way to each witch and healed her with expert timing and precision. As soon, as the last of the light faded from Leo's palms, Cole spoke.

"So, how did it go? Did you vanquish him? Did you get the Grimoire?"

"Good, and yes to both counts," Piper said, still slightly exasperated.

"Wow, really? You guys managed all that?" Leo said, unbelieving.

"He of little faith." Piper shook her head, a small grin on her face. "To tell you the truth, I'm just as surprised as you are. I expected to have him chase us back her for the final showdown, but apparently he figured he'd have the home field advantage"

Leo was still in disbelief. "So did you get the book first, or vanquish him right away."

"Well," Piper continued, "He was there when we orbed in like expected, but he surprisingly had no tricks up his sleeve, or illusions I should say, so Phoebe ans I distracted him long enough for Paige to get the crystals and orb a cage around him. Then, we said the spell," She paused, a worried look crossing her face, "Come to think of it, maybe we should check to make sure he's really dead, because that was way to easy."

"Well the important thing is that your back safe and sound," Cole said, embracing Phoebe in a whole hearted hug. She, on the other hand was less than enthusiastic, merely standing there while he did all the work.

He pulled back, noticing her lack of involvement.

"What is it? Are you hurt? Is it the baby?"

"No, the baby's fine," She said softly.

Placing her hand on his shoulder, she pushed him upright. Her other hand finding his, she pulled at his arm, leading him toward the attic door.

"We need to talk," she said, and noticed the expression on his face. He wanted to delay the inevitable, but she wouldn't let him, "Now," she added, giving his hand another tug.

He reluctantly followed, leaving the rest of the Halliwells to watch and wonder what would happened next.

If only he knew.

Instantly, Cole recognized the smell of wood and musk, that was Phoebe's bedroom. The single lamp in the corner of the room cast a warm glow over the antique furniture that was now empty and bare. Phoebe had insisted on taking everything with her when they moved into the Penthouse a few short weeks ago. The manor had been the only home she'd known, and as much as she wanted a peaceful, private life with him, moving out had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done. Packing every single knick knack she owned gave her a sense of security as she tried to make the penthouse as close to home as possible. She would've taken the furniture as well if he hadn't convinced her that it wasn't the most practical idea.

She sat down on the edge of the bed, her legs barely touching the floor. The mattress sank as he took a seat next to her, placing a hand on her thigh. A few minutes passed and neither said a word, both waiting for the other to start.

Cole finally broke the silence.

"Well, you wanted to talk and I'm listening, so..." He bent forward, trying to look into her eyes which were cast downward, staring at the folded hands on her lap. Without meeting his gaze she whispered, "Where do we go from here?"

He placed a finger under her delicate chin, lifting her head to face his. He smiled softly, noticing the lack of fear in her eyes.

"Wherever you want to go. Just say the word and I'll take you there. I might not be able to shimmer anymore, but that never stopped me before."

She smiled, almost to herself.

"You know what I mean, Cole. Where do we stand? How can I trust you?"

He sighed, covering both of her hands with one of his own.

"You can't."

Biting her bottom lip, she took in truth of what he was saying.

"But you can love me," he continued, giving her hands a squeeze, "and we both know you do. It will take some time, but we'll make it. We always do."

Taking a deep breath, she placed her head on his shoulder, scooting closer. "How can you be so sure," She asked, glancing up at his strong jaw. "What if this time love isn't enough?"

His heart stopped for a moment as he considered her question.

Wrapping an arm around her back, he pulled her even closer still.

"I am more than sure. I am absolutely positive that we can make it through this."

Phoebe sat up, pulling her legs onto the bed and turning to face him.

"I never knew love before I met you. I never knew anything, except power and hate. You made me the person I am today. You're the reason why The Source could never fully destroy me. You saved me Phoebe, in more ways than one."

He brought a hand to her cheek, covering half of her face. She locked eyes with him for a moment before looking down to play with the fabric of her skirt.

"It still hurts," she said, tugging more forcefully at the folds of her clothes.

"I know...and I wish more than anything I had the power to change what happened to me...to us. If I had known that by absorbing the hollow..."

He chuckled quietly to himself.

"Actually, to be quite honest...I don't think I would have done things differently. If it meant saving you and your sisters..." He paused, unsure of how to continue. "Phoebe, you know I'd do almost anything for you, but I will not be a coward. It's just not who I am."

She pulled him tightly into a loving embrace, remembering the last time he had told her that. Piper, grieving over Prue's death, had been turned into a Fury, and Paige had suggested using Cole as bait. She of course had protested, but Cole being Cole, had refused to sit back and wait while they were in danger. She had agreed after hearing the sincerity in his voice, and this time it was no different.

Cole was and always would be her hero.

Sure he had his downfalls, being half demon was definitely one of them, but he made up for everything just by loving her.

He had never known love before he had met her, but neither had she...not really. Cole's love was unlike anything she'd ever experienced, and she was not about to give up on it now.

Liljdpegasuschic160: Ok, well that's that! Please comment (I feed off of your input) especially since this idea came out of nowhere. I have no idea where it's going to go (well, maybe somewhat of an idea) and I need to know if I should continue. Thanks!