Wonderful Ruin

My dear, wonderful, beautiful, words-cannot-describe-how-much-I-adore-you readers:

This is the final chapter of Firstborn. (author pauses and cries briefly) This is my first completed fanfiction, and I am so thankful that I was able to share this experience with such a fantastic group of lovely people. If I wasn't positive that my mother was going to kill me if I didn't get to bed within the next five minutes, I would thank each and every one of you personally. Unfortunatley, this is not the case, and I must be brief:

Thank you to each and every one of my lovely readers and reviewers!

AnimeAlexis, your story inspired this one. So this last scene is for you:-)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed: Yet:-)

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­Wonderful Ruin

(Hallway, facing staircase. Phoebe stands by the small table, looking through a diaper bag)

Phoebe: Extra blanket, hat, toy, keys, bottle, diapers…wipes. No wipes. (Shouts) Piper!

Piper's Voice: (annoyed) What?

Phoebe: I'm out of wipes! Do you have any extra baby wipes?

(Piper, looking ready to pop and very uncomfortable, waddles in from the dining room, toting her own diaper bag and pulling Chris by the hand)

Piper: Phoebe, I am about to give birth to my third child, my second one (mock glares at Chris) still hasn't mastered the big boy potty, and our sister, who isn't even out of her first trimester, already has more baby things than Chris and Wyatt had combined!

Phoebe: Soo…are there any extra wipes?

Piper: (rolls eyes) Of course there are. They're in the nursery.

Phoebe: (grins) Thank you! (She goes and pats Chris on the top of the head) Hey Pumpkin! (Chris giggles and Phoebe runs upstairs)

Piper: (calls after her) Just hurry up! I'd like to get to the zoo and back before my water breaks!

Phoebe's Voice: Meet you at the car!

Piper: Urgh! (She shakes her head and pulls Chris out the door)

(A baby starts to cry. Camera to the living room. Baby Melinda is in a bassinet by the fireplace. Cole walks over and stoops to comfort her)

Cole: Shh, shh, cutie! It's all right! (He makes a funny face, and Melinda laughs) There you go! Hey. (He takes her little hands in his and playfully swings them about) Your Uncle Cole needs Melinda's help. It's true! He needs to see somebody very important; can you call her for me?(Melinda coos and claps her hands. White smoke swirls into the living room. Cole looks down at the infant and smiles) Good baby.

(The smoke condenses, and Prue Halliwell seeths when upon Cole standing by Melinda)

Prue: Cole Turner, get away (she starts to stride over) from my niece—

(Phoebe enters, walks through Prue)

Phoebe: And we can't forget the baby! (She scoops up the giggling Melinda and looks at her quizzically) What are you laughing about? (She shrugs and starts to walk away, Melinda looking over her shoulder.)

(Camera to amused Cole, angry Prue)

Cole: Prue, she's looking at us. Wave!

(Prue forces a smile and complies. Phoebe exits, still chattering)

Phoebe's Voice: And we're gonna see lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

(The door opens and shuts. Prue spins to face Cole, hands on her hips)

Prue: (voice low, dangerous) Don't you ever manipulate my niece like that again. Do you hear me?

Cole: It's nice to see you too, Prue. Thanks for finally answering my calls.

Prue: I answered Melinda's call, not yours. Now what the hell do you want?

Cole: So much for pleasantries. (Drops cheerful façade) Answers, Miss Halliwell, answers.

Prue: I'm not telling you how to get out of here, because A) I don't want to, and B) because you—

Cole: Can't. I know. I'm damned to stay her without love for all eternity, watching what could have been pass me by, yada yada yada—although that's going to be a bit harder now that your lovely little niece can see me.

Prue: I'm leaving. (She turns around)

Cole: You know, I just saved your sister, her family and the power of three.

Prue: (faces him, arms crossed) Fine. You have thirty seconds to keep my interest.

Cole: Phoebe and I had a son together.

Prue: Yeah. A son that was never born, because it was evil. You know, the Source of all Evil. Like father like son.

Cole: See Prue, that's just it. Phoebe conceived before she vanquished me.

Prue: So?

Cole: Oh come on, Prue, you're smarter than that. Little Warren—

Prue: Warren?

Cole: Sorry, that's what Phoebe named him in her delusions—our son didn't receive the Source until after I died. He started out good.

Prue: (pity) Cole, the child was conceived after tricked Phoebe into eating chocolate drugged with an evil fertility potion while on the honeymoon following the dark ceremony that joined the two of you in unholy matrimony, and her prenatal vitamins consisted of an elixir made of pure evil. I don't think he stood much of a chance either way.

Cole: (shrugs) You're probably right. Just out of curiosity, though, what happened to him?

Prue: What?

Cole: What happened to him? To my son?

Prue: (incredulous) Um…he vanquished himself and about a quarter of the underworld after the Seer…transplanted him.

Cole: I know that. What happened to his soul?

Prue: Have you not been listening to anything I've said? Even before he became the Source he was still spawn of Satan! What makes you think he even had a soul?

Cole: (forcefully) Because Phoebe was his mother. And a Halliwell. The only force of good in the world that cold make a demon, evil, know true love.

Prue: (softening) Cole…

Cole: (serious) Please, Prue. He's my son. I was supposed to take care of him. I need to know that he is in a good place.

Prue: (looking away) It's…it's all in the past, Cole. What's done is done. You just have to accept that. There's nothing you can do about it anyway.

Cole: (voice hardens) Prue? Where is my son's soul?

Prue: Where it is supposed to be.

Cole: Prue! —(Reigns in his temper) And where might that particular place be?

Prue: (looks at Cole defiantly, then drops her gaze to the floor) Limbo.

Cole: What?

Prue: He's in limbo. After the vanquish I went to make sure all of the evil had moved into the demonic wasteland. Everything did…except for one essence.

Cole: My son?

Prue: Yes.

Cole: (sputtering) Why…why didn't you try to contact Phoebe?

Prue: I couldn't do that! Her child had been stolen from her, she was convinced that it was dead, and the only thing kept her from complete depression was the "knowledge" that the baby would have been evil anyway!

Cole: (looses his temper, shouts) But it was a lie! You could have saved him!

Prue: (yelling back) Who's to say it was even worth saving!? That it wasn't—isn't still evil!? It just wasn't meant to be! Especially with you breaking out of hell and coming back to screw up Phoebe's life!

Cole: Well I—(at this he stops, bites his lip, and takes a breath before speaking calmly) Can I see him?

Prue: Excuse me?

Cole: Can I see my son? His soul, anyway?

Prue: No! You can't leave this plane.

Cole: But you can. You're a ghost. You can go wherever you want.

Prue: I wouldn't be able to bring him back with me.

Cole: Have you tried?

Prue: No, but—

Cole: Just try.

Prue: (thinks) Fine. You saved Phoebe from herself. I'll try to bring him back here, so you can see that there is nothing you can do, and say goodbye. (She turns to leave)

Cole: Promise?

Prue: Yes. (She dissolves in a whisp of smoke)

(Cole paces anxiously. After several minutes, a breezy sort of noise is heard, and Prue mists back in holding something, her back to Cole. Cole sees her and walks towards her)

Prue: Stop.

Cole: (does as she asks) What is it?

Prue: Please, Cole. Don't (voice breaks) don't come any closer.

Cole: Uh, why not?

Prue: Just trust me. It's not what either of us expected. You don't want to see him, not like this. It will ruin everything.

Cole: I think I can take it— (he crosses and spins Prue around, and gasps)

(Ghostly tears are streaming down her cheeks. In her arms she holds the soul of Phoebe and Cole's son. It is a tiny, sparkling, breathtaking bundle of glowing white orbs.)

Cole: (barely able to speak) R-r-ruin? (Dazzled) Wha-what do you mean? He's wonderful. (Prue says nothing) Let…can I hold him? (Prue slowly nods, and carefully gives the bundle to Cole. When Cole takes it, it glows even brighter and seems to dance. Cole and Prue stand awestruck, watching the bouncy orbs in silence.)

(Finally Cole looks up, addresses Prue.)

Cole: Prue, I'm sorry.

Prue: I know.

Cole: I have to try.

Prue: It won't be easy. You'll probably fail.

Cole: Are you going to turn me in?

Prue: (rueful smile) Better name him something other than Warren, and do a psychic cloak as soon as possible. (Serious) Phoebe can never know about this; it would be too much for her to handle.

Cole: Our secret. I swear.

Prue: And Cole?

Cole: Yes?

Prue: I'll be—, don't—, I— (relaxes) Good luck.

Cole: Thank you.

(Prue touches the bundle and disappears in a whisp of smoke.)

(Cole looks down at bundle resting in his arms, and speaks)

Cole: Well, son…let's go get reborn.

(He leans to kiss the bundle. White orbs envelope him, and they shimmer out)

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Thank you so much for reading! Please R and R! And Phoebe/Cole fans out there, don't loose heart! Tune in sometime hopefully soon (i.e., whenever school stops getting in the way!) for the sequel!

PS:-)