CHARMED

"Pier Pressure"

by shel

© february 2007

disclaimer: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…

rating: pg-13

summary: a series of heart-to-heart talks one spring evening…

timeline: 20 years after the series finale, 'forever charmed'…

archive: please don't without expressed permission…

notes: this was written as an entry to a contest at thecharmedones. com with the following guidelines: must take place season 3 or later and must include these 15 words (which i've indicated in bold & italics): coffee, black cat, pink baby roses, new orleans, any tv celebrity chef, ipod, coca-cola, scrapbook, hot chocolate, painting, ghirardelli, rainy day, new power (create one), pier 39, and sunset…there is minor reference to s5's 'centennial charmed,' s6's 'chris-crossed,' and s7's 'the seven year witch'…please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…

"It's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair."

"I thought you were on my side!"

"I am, Chris," Phoebe assured him in a calm tone as she glanced about to see if anyone around them was distracted by his outbursts. It was a warm spring day and the pier was filled with tourists and, knowing the conversation was about to drift into magical subject matter, she tugged on his sleeve and pulled him towards a less busy spot. He certainly wasn't any happier and she sighed, "You're caught up emotionally and not thinking clearly."

"Clear enough!" he glared at her. "On the phone you said you'd help me!"

Phoebe held her cup of iced coffee in one hand and pinched the bridge of her nose with the other before turning her gaze to the sea lions lounging on the dock before them. "I said I'd listen and I said I'd talk to your mom. But that doesn't mean," she clarified, "I think eloping's even remotely a good idea."

Chris threw his hands up in the air. "How can you, of all people say that? Not only are you an empath but you're married to a Cupid! You're all about love! And you know what Bianca and I have is real."

Phoebe took a sip and nodded, "No one's denying your love for one another."

"Then why?" Chris angrily hurled his empty bottle of Coca-Cola into the recycling trash bin. "Why can't I marry her?"

"Your parents have already given you several good reasons why you should wait," she reminded him. "But now you're talking about running away behind all our backs."

"We want to get married," he insisted before sullenly turning silent.

Phoebe drank the last of the coffee as she gathered her thoughts. Chris's emotions were all over the place and she needed to make sure she didn't say the wrong thing that would push him away. "You're so young," she murmured.

"Not so young that I haven't already vanquished over a hundred demons," he snapped.

"That's not what I mean and you know it," Phoebe chastised. "You're only twenty-two, Chris, and you and Bianca have your whole lives ahead of you. There's so much about marriage that you don't --"

"We know money'll be tight for a while," he interrupted, "and we don't expect our families to support us. Bianca and I are both working and --"

"Money's a concern, sure," she agreed. "But marriage is an adjustment for each person no matter how old you are or how long you've been together. You and Bianca barely know yourselves much less each other. Give yourselves time to learn and grow. Allow yourselves time to become more secure as individuals in order to build a stronger foundation for a partnership. If the love you share is meant to be, waiting a few more years won't --"

"Give me a break," Chris spat. "The only reason you want us to wait is so the mighty Charmed Ones can come up with a decent reason why they can't have a demon in the family."

Controlling her own growing temper, Phoebe squeezed his arm a little too tightly, "That's not true." She watched his eyes look down at her hand but she remained firm, "You can't ignore the fact that Bianca is a Phoenix. And it will always be a part of who she is. There will always be a struggle for her."

"I know!" he uttered as he jerked his arm free. But just as quickly, his anger seemed to drain away and he wondered, for half a moment, whether his aunt's empathic power had anything to do with that. Not that it mattered really; he was too tired to argue anymore with his one ally. "I don't mean to be a pain," he quietly said. "But this isn't some whim for us. We've thought long and hard about it and we know what we want and we know what we're up against. Bianca wants to be good. She is good. She believes in…she's good, that's all there is to it. Isn't that enough?"

"All the best intentions in the world can't help protect you," she gently told him, "or spare your hearts from the pain."

But Chris continued as if he hadn't heard, "She's good and I know you can feel it. You, more than anyone, know her intentions are the best and you know she wants this life with me." He waited for his aunt's nod and was silent a moment as he watched some happy couples stroll by them. "Why does it have to be so hard? Why do we have to fight to be together?"

Phoebe felt his pain even as her own heart pounded with familiarity. Ever since Chris had become involved with Bianca, memories of her past churned to the surface more easily and more frequently than she might have otherwise expected. He wasn't asking any questions she hadn't asked all those years ago but that didn't mean she had any answers for him even now. She broke her gaze from Chris to watch the sea lions again. "Did you know that Pier 39 was always one of my favorite places to visit when I was growing up? Your Aunt Prue and I used to --"

"I didn't call you to talk about my dead aunt."

Phoebe spun and faced down her nephew, "I know you're hurting but don't you dare --"

"I'm sorry," Chris immediately offered, "I'm sorry, it's just been…I don't know what to do anymore, Aunt Phoebe. I don't know how to make Mom understand that the Elders won't punish us if Bianca and I are together."

"Your mom stopped caring about what the Elders think a very long time ago," Phoebe acknowledged, half in jest.

"Fine," he groaned, "she only thinks the world as we know it will collapse into ruin."

"Your mom does understand," she patted his arm with a sad smile, "better than you think. She lived it all with me."

"Bianca's not about to become the Source!"

"Maybe not," Phoebe considered as stared out at the water, "but it wasn't all about Cole being the Source, you know."

"It's about our natures and how good can't be with evil," Chris dejectedly recited his mother's familiar speech as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and leaned against the railing, his back to the water.

"It's not a matter of black and white, Chris," she quietly commented. "Maybe I'm not the one you should speak to."

"You're the only one willing to listen," he anxiously told her, "and now you're --"

"I'm still on your side, sweetie," Phoebe promised as she set her empty cup on the railing, opened her bag, and tried to find her small pad of paper and a pen. "Just a sec," she muttered as she handed him her iPod and cell phone, "ah, here it is, at the bottom of course." Wrinkling her eyebrows in concentration, she wrote a couplet and nodded in satisfaction when she reread it. Ripping off the sheet of paper, she dropped the pen and pad back into her bag and exchanged the spell for the iPod and phone.

"What's this for?" Chris shrugged as his aunt dumped the items in her bag and zipped it closed.

"Wait until sunset," she cautioned as she slung the bag over her shoulder and grabbed the cup just in time before it blew off the railing, "and, if you say it here at the pier, try to find an area that's a bit more secluded."

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I told my girls I'd meet up with them for a mini-celebration at the Ghirardelli chocolate shop. They definitely inherited the chocolate gene from me," she grinned. But instead of feeling his curiosity over the mention of a celebration, she felt overwhelming confusion so she smiled warmly and assured Chris, "Don't worry, he doesn't bite." Then, as she stepped past him, with a mischievous whisper she confided, "Unless you want him to…"

8888888888888888888888888888

"So you're in love with a demon…"

"So you're not dead…Does my mom know?"

Cole Turner laughed heartily, "So like a Halliwell to ask the wrong question." He chuckled at the young man's indignant snort and he added, "Paige is the sister who doesn't know and there's no need to tell her either," he warned.

"I don't get it. Why'd Aunt Phoebe want me to talk to you? You two still keep in touch or something?" Chris suddenly frowned, "Does my uncle know about you?"

"What if he did?" Cole challenged before shaking his head. "This is about you. Maybe your aunt simply thought I could offer some perspective on your situation."

Chris eyed the demon whose appearance was exactly the same as in the photos he'd seen in his aunt's scrapbook. "She kept them, y'know."

Now Cole was the one confused. "Phoebe kept what?"

"Pictures of you." Chris turned to focus on the sea lions barking and frolicking in the last rays of the day's sun. "When we were all little, Aunt Phoebe and Paige would come up with rainy day projects for us. Aunt Paige's ideas usually involved painting or sketching while Aunt Phoebe's involved scrapbooking. She's very big on holding onto memories and it was pretty much all hearts and flowery stuff."

"Not exactly a boy's activity," Cole suggested.

"Henry Jr. and Wyatt seemed to have enough fun with it."

"But not you."

"I was more into listening to her stories," Chris shrugged. "Aunt Phoebe'd use her own scrapbooks as samples for us and she'd often get sidetracked in telling us about a particular item. The emotions she put into it, it was almost like being a part of her memory." Cole had remained silent and Chris shrugged again, "Rainy day projects were probably their way of keeping us out of Mom's hair while she was busy setting up the restaurant but…I've got a lot of great memories of those rainy days."

"You're pretty close to your aunts," Cole commented, "especially Phoebe."

"It's not that I don't love Aunt Paige," Chris immediately defended.

"But you connect with Phoebe differently," Cole understood. "You do know she loves you and your brother every bit as much as she loves her own daughters."

Taken aback, Chris wondered, "How do you know that?"

"It's a four-star restaurant now," Cole said, ignoring the inquiry. "Piper must be very proud. I'm sure you all are."

"Rachael Ray was in town and stopped there last week," Chris informed him. "She and Mom gave an impromptu thirty-minute dessert bake-off for a couple celebrating their fortieth anniversary. Mom was glowing for the next three days. Seems Rachael must've also promised her a write-up in an upcoming issue of her magazine."

"I'm happy for her," Cole smiled. "All Piper needed was the confidence to go ahead and live her dream."

"All she needed was for demons to lay off us for a while," Chris disagreed. "Mom's always been the one who wanted a normal life for herself, for us, and that means no demons."

"All the Charmed Ones wanted a normal life at one time or another," Cole corrected. "But as she and your aunts have realized, have been made to realize, you're witches and a normal mortal life just isn't in your future. What she, what you all, needed to find was the right balance between magic and --"

"I think she still loves you," Chris interrupted.

"Of course she does," Cole smiled, knowing Chris wasn't referring to Piper. "The love Phoebe and I have for each other is real and true…it just wasn't meant to be."

"And she wanted me to talk to you?"

"Who better than the demon who tried to be good?" Cole countered.

"Because we all know how well that turned out," Chris sniped.

"Grow up, kid," Cole sharply advised. "You want to be an adult witch, you start acting like one. Your family happens to be behind you on this and you'd be stupid to blow them off with a fool-hardy stunt like eloping."

"Behind me, yeah, right," Chris scoffed. "That's why Mom's barely talking to me and why Aunt Paige's got everyone working overtime on protective amulets."

"Including one for Bianca or have you forgotten?"

"Fine," Chris grudgingly agreed, "so she made one for Bianca too. It doesn't change the fact that they'd all be happier if I dumped the love of my life."

"That's not true and you know it. They're worried about you," Cole stated. "They're worried about both of you, that neither of you are truly ready for the trials ahead."

"We know it won't be easy." Chris tried to keep the whine from his tone but he was growing even more frustrated listening to a demon that shouldn't even exist. "And how is that possible anyway, that you're here, I mean. You were vanquished in an alternate reality before Wyatt was even born."

Cole turned from the young man and leaned his elbows on the railing. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself the momentary pleasure of the warm salty breeze flowing past his face. "It's too long a story for the time we have." He opened his eyes but gazed out at the setting sun, "Tell me, Chris, what's the urgency in marrying Bianca?"

"How'd you know I want to marry her? Just how often do you talk to my Aunt Phoebe? How do you know all these details about my life?" Chris asked suspiciously. "You seem to know an awful lot for a non-existent demon."

"You keep saying that and yet here I am." Cole faced Chris, "What happens when Bianca's forced by circumstance into a situation where she must act a certain way, one which then forces you to make a choice, a terrible choice?"

"Bianca and I'll find a way to compromise," Chris declared.

"Mistake number one," Cole commented, having expected an answer along those lines. "There is no compromise when it comes to good and evil, Chris. Either you are or you aren't. You can't have it both ways."

"That's not true," Chris argued. "How many times have the Charmed Ones worked with evil? They had to compromise."

"Not exactly," Cole reasoned. "They used whatever means they could to accomplish their goal. But their goal was for good and they were never swayed from it. Your mother, your aunts, they stayed true to their inner natures while the demons stayed true to theirs."

"Please," Chris rolled his eyes, "even I can recall times when they were possessed or were under a spell and gave into evil."

"Perhaps," Cole conceded, "but it was a temporary situation and it ultimately didn't change their inner nature."

"Witches can change sides just as easily as demons," Chris maintained.

"Not the Charmed Ones. They are the most powerful witches of this time, Chris, and they will always remain a force for good." Cole sighed, "You and your siblings and your cousins, you're of the same strong lineage but it won't be the same for you just as it wasn't for witches earlier in the line. You can be tempted. You will be tempted. Your mother and aunts want you to be strong enough to resist when the time comes. It's the only way you'll be able to protect Bianca."

Chris stared at him for a moment before cautiously worrying, "That sounds a bit ominous."

"Only the strongest demons can survive following an unnatural instinct to do good," Cole stated, "and not for very long at that. Fate usually has a way of stepping in to maintain the balance."

"Is that what happened to you?"

"Fate," Cole nodded as he turned away from Chris to look out at the ocean, "and love." Both were quiet for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts, before Cole questioned, "Have you and Bianca talked about it? I mean really talked about what it feels like for her when she does something good, like helping you and Wyatt vanquish a demon?"

"Yeah," Chris hesitated, unsure where Cole was leading, "but it's getting easier for her."

"Or are you simply facing weaker demons?"

Chris ignored the question and declared, "I'm there by her side. I'll help her and protect her. I'll make sure she's safe."

"A heavy burden for one so young."

"I can handle it," Chris promised.

"So like a Halliwell."

One of Chris's eyebrows arched in curiosity, "That almost sounded like a compliment."

"It was," Cole chuckled. "There's much to be admired about your mother and her sisters, all of them."

"You don't sound very demonic," Chris told him, "even though you've insisted you can't be anything but."

"Only the strongest survive."

"You don't even exist, or you're dead," Chris said, exasperated, "so how is that surviving?"

"I am a demon, Chris, in this realm or any other, make no mistake," Cole answered, "but Phoebe and I both learned the hard way for me to accept who I am and what I can accomplish. You and Bianca shouldn't have to suffer the same pain."

"You were the Source of all Evil," Chris reminded him. "Did you really expect a happily-ever-after?"

"There were moments," Cole admitted, "when we both thought it possible. But things happen and nature takes its course, emotions run unchecked, and fate steps in."

"Bianca and I are different."

"Yes, you are," Cole agreed. "You've already got a stronger foundation than Phoebe and I had at the beginning. And the Underworld isn't conspiring against you as it had been when I'd met her."

"But?"

"But you're both young and there's much about the world you have yet to experience," Cole counseled. "You need time to understand your own selves and the world around you, both magical and otherwise. The stronger you are as individuals, the stronger your relationship will be."

"You sound just like her," Chris mused.

"She taught me a lot," Cole quietly revealed, "or maybe we taught each other….Look, Chris, no one would be more happy for you than Phoebe if your relationship with Bianca flourishes. But no one would be more devastated either. She is so afraid for you, for you both."

Chris turned his gaze to the ocean, to the sun barely visible above the horizon. He knew Cole spoke the truth because there were moments when he'd seen fear in his aunt's eyes. She didn't want history to repeat itself. But then, neither did he. Losing Bianca simply wasn't an option. "Any suggestions," he requested with a sigh.

"A few," Cole replied as he threw his arm around the young man's shoulders and tugged him towards the path. "Let's take a walk…"

88888888888888888888888888888

"I didn't think you'd still be here," Phoebe softly greeted as she came up behind him.

"I've missed the wind in my face, the smells, the…" his comment trailed off without him having ever turned around. "You missed the sunset."

"I'm sure it was beautiful," she said, standing at the railing next to him, glancing up at the stars before settling her gaze on the sleeping sea lions.

"Not as beautiful as you," he murmured as he turned to her, a bouquet of pink baby roses suddenly appearing in his hand.

She accepted them with a warm smile and inhaled their fragrant scent. "Thank you….Thank you for answering the call. I haven't really had a chance to talk to him but Chris did announce at dinner that speaking to an old friend helped him work through some issues," she broke off in a giggle, "I think Piper nearly had a heart attack at the mention of an old friend."

Cole chuckled but his smile faded and he quietly announced, "I have to go…"

"I know," she responded in a suddenly hoarse voice. She met his gaze as her hand slowly reached up to caress his cheek, "I do love you."

Covering her hand with his, he smiled as he gave it a gentle squeeze before guiding it to his lips. Lightly kissing her knuckles, he simply said, "As I love you." With one last kiss to her forehead, he faded back into the realm of limbo.

With a heavy sigh, Phoebe hugged herself and turned back to the water, to the sounds of some stirring sea lions.

"There's no reason to feel guilty, love."

She smiled but didn't turn around to face her husband. "I couldn't tell him," Phoebe admitted, staring up at the dark sky to the stars that seemed to mock her mood. "I wanted to but you know that Cole's accepted his eternal fate in limbo."

"I understand. And given this little crisis with Chris, I know it wasn't really the right time. But, you also can't ignore the fact that you've had the same premonition every few months for three years now," Coop reminded her as stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"The future's always changing," she considered, "and I don't want to give him any false hopes in case something changes. She's barely twenty, Coop. If it's meant to be, it will be, whether it's next week, next year, or in ten years."

"And it has nothing to do with you wanting more time to get used to the idea?" he quietly pressed. "You've sensed her feelings, Phoebe, just like I have. She's already half in love with him."

"It's my fault, I suppose, for telling the girls all about my past with him, making it out to be some sort of fairy tale," Phoebe sighed.

"You saved him, Phoebe," Coop kissed her temple, "but it's our daughter who will redeem him."

"Unless fate steps in," she whispered fearfully. "I can't do that to him, Coop. I won't. And I won't let our daughter's heart break when I --" she tugged his arms tighter around herself, "just hold me, okay? Just hold me."

"Love will see us through, all of us," he promised as he gently swayed in place with her. "It always will."

After several minutes of companionable silence, she questioned, "You've been gone all day. How was New Orleans?"

Coop kissed her temple again before turning her in his arms, "Three successful happily-ever-afters."

"Busy day, huh," she snuggled closer.

"Not just for me it seems," he commented. "The girls filled me in on the celebration at Ghirardelli's. Didn't think you overdid it just a bit with hot chocolate, truffles, and 'Warm Brownie Sundaes'?"

"Hey, we also shared a healthy 'Very Berry Sundae'!"

"Of course," he rolled his eyes, "healthy."

"Chocolate's the best way to celebrate a new power," she claimed, unsuccessfully being able to fold her arms across her chest in a huff.

"Chocolate's the best way to celebrate anything," he gently mocked, "or nothing, according to Phoebe."

"Still," she wriggled slightly in his arms, "given our own powers, who'd've expected one of our little girls to inherit an active power? It was absolutely worth the caloric celebration."

"She's not so little anymore," Coop sighed. "She's seventeen now."

"I know," she sighed almost identically as her husband. "But it's going to take her some time to learn to control it. She nearly blew out all the circuits in the house when she drew on all the electric power and turned on every light and electronic device we own with a simple snap of her fingers."

"Evidently Wyatt's offered to help work with her on controlling it."

"Good because she also nearly caused a massive pileup when she blew out the traffic light this afternoon with a sneeze." Phoebe nuzzled his shirt, "She could come in handy during summer blackouts."

"Personal gain," he quipped in return. He felt a surge of love emanating from his wife and he smiled, squeezing her tighter. "The girls also mentioned Chris's declaration at dinner, that he and Bianca would wait to marry but that they weren't giving up on their future together. I take it Cole helped with that decision."

"I was having trouble getting through to him. You were right," she sighed, "I should've asked Cole much earlier to talk to Chris."

"I love it when you tell me I'm right," he teased, his lips buried in her neck for a kiss.

Phoebe lightly poked his ribs before giggling when he began nibbling her earlobe. "I love you," she softly moaned.

"And I love hearing that too," he told her as he tipped up her chin kissed her more deeply and passionately than she was able to anticipate.

"Feeling a little insecure?" she wondered breathlessly as she slowly opened her eyes. She wiped some lipstick from the corner of his mouth and promised, "My destiny's with you, Coop, and I don't regret a single moment of our life together."

"But it is hard each time you say goodbye to him."

Phoebe was quiet for a moment before admitting, "It is. I love him, Coop, I always will. You're the one who helped me work through my feelings for him. You're the one who encouraged me to follow my heart and find closure with him."

"Piper's the one who knew he still existed in limbo."

"But if you hadn't set me on the path to closure," Phoebe took his hands in hers squeezed them gratefully, "then I never would've talked to Piper and she never would've confessed to me the truth about Cole."

"I'm glad you found peace, love," he murmured, taking her in his arms again. He kissed the top of her head, "I'm glad you both found peace. I just wish the acknowledgement of your love didn't still cause you both some heartache." He was about to add more but sensed the sadness threatening to overwhelm her and instead he asked, "So what's the story with the new addition to our family?"

She couldn't help but smile, "He followed her home."

"He followed her home? That's it?"

Phoebe smiled but shrugged, "She's your daughter."

"We've spoiled her," he frowned.

"No more than her two older sisters," she nuzzled his shirt again and hugged him tight. "She's gonna grow up to be a Cupid all right, she's just practicing first with animals."

"She's already got four cats," Coop complained. "What are we going to do with a fifth?"

"Her responsibility," she shrugged.

"A cat lover," he rolled his eyes. "Why couldn't she love dogs? Dogs are all about unconditional love. Cats just, they just…they're just there."

"Poor baby," she caressed his cheek, "who knew Cupids had allergies?"

"And you know what she named it? Lucky!" he exclaimed. "Can you believe it? A black cat and she names it Lucky."

"Tell you what, why don't we go home and see if he was named appropriately, see if his luck rubs off for other members of the household," she invited her husband with a seductive grin.

And they did.

And it did.

The End