At the sound of crackling energy blasts Cole Turner threw himself on the scorched ground. It was still steaming from the last time it had been blown apart and he could feel the blue coloured soil burning through his shirt, and even Leo's best ski parka that he had hastily appropriated from the hallstand on his way out of the manor as he remembered the bitter cold of Burvjara. Leo, or more likely Piper who bought Leo's clothes, was going to be pissed at  the damage done to it.

Phoebe Halliwell winced as her office door was shut very loudly

"Thank you very much Elise "Phoebe told the door. "I just love helping you. Its people like you who make saving the world on a regular basis such a rewarding experience."  

So much for rushing back to work after nearly fatal demon attacks, just to keep all her commitments, just because she had a strong sense of responsibility"

"Bugga responsibility "she thought annoyed "Not many pregnant women would try and be that responsible" Phoebe thought outraged. " And conveniently ignored that she had a very ulterior motive for rushing back to work at the Bay Mirror that day.

"And" she thought feeling very hard done by. "I'm entitled to a damn sight more respect considering what Elise owes me. "

And then she laughed out loud. Not even in her most naive days as a young witch would she ever have expected thanks from some-one like Elise, the hard as nails editor at the Bay Mirror, no matter how much it was deserved. Nearly 3 months ago, she and her sisters had saved Elise and several colleagues from the Geztalt demons who had infiltrated the paper .They wanted to subvert its public influence to support evil and push their propaganda on an innocent, and as Piper pointed outed, very gullible public.

The Geztalts efforts to subvert the media had succeeded on a number of levels and the vanquish of one of  the incarnations of the Geztalt had, Phoebe noticed coincided with a small turn around in editorial independence and a small increase in ethical behaviour. But the turnaround had not been so noticeable, that a world wide or even national revolution in press ethics took place The Charmed Ones were convinced the Geztalt and its cohorts were still very influential on other papers and media institutions

Elise had been one of the first to realise that the paper was being manipulated. It takes a manipulator to know one Phoebe had declared, and it had come close to costing the editor dearly. Elise had not understood that she had seen a demon dispatched. What she had understood was that Phoebe and her sisters had arrived late at night at the Bay Mirror as her ever so suave new business associate introduced by a colleague called Lori, had turned in a raving maniac with burning black eyes and hissing sulphur breath, threatening her.

Everything had seemed to stop and when Elise had looked around again the executive wing of the Bay Mirror had a stench of brimstone which in Phoebe's mind was still there in certain corners and her office was in a mess.

Despite her haziness though, Elise was clearly aware of something had happened and treated Phoebe's explanation as highly suspicious. She was not entirely convince the evil man had run when confronted by witnesses, as Phoebe insisted, and she glared at Phoebe every time another police enquiry came up about missing workers.

While they were clearing up the office and Elise was frozen, Phoebe had used the time to go through some of Elise's personal papers on the grounds the Charmed Ones needed to check for evidence of the Geztalt's plans. She had been totally disgusted to find that Elise ran the paper, demonic intervention excluded, on a tough ethical basis of her own beliefs that did include playing favourites amongst the reporters. She was quite disgusted to learn Elise  had some very high standards in terms of evidence, the way certain events were reported and the use of the paper to plant stories that had political agendas and not much truth.

"Better than the other way around" Paige told her and got a disgusted snort for her trouble.

"No wonder evil was targeting her" Paige had noted "a not quite but almost incorruptible innocent. She must have really got in their way. So you can stop going through her papers, Phoebe."

"I want something on the bitch "Phoebe had snarled. "Something I can use to get the bitch off my back."

"Geztalt didn't get her "Piper told her firmly. "She wasn't evil, and we stopped her being corrupted. So you are heading into personal gain, and every time there is a backfire you aren't the only one who gets hurt. So get your nose out of that file missy" she ordered Phoebe"

"Being good stinks" Phoebe had fumed

"I know sweetie "said Piper a sly grin on her face. "You just have to have to  learn to accept that being an innocent doesn't exclude being a bitch. Actually may be a fair guide.; Elise wasn't pretending to be likeable, to seduce innocents.'

"Elise makes me sick "Phoebe cursed as Paige rolled her eyes and Piper lifted her hands to unfreeze her.

Ever since Phoebe then bitched non stop how she hated it when people she hated turned out to be better than she wanted them to be.

Phoebe glared at the door, Elise had just slammed and then muttered Elise makes me sick. And clutched her mouth as a wave of Pookie's every time but morning sickness hit her. Pookie had great timing, never causing problems for demon attacks but managing to catch Phoebe in every other phase of her life.

As Cole's reaction to her complaints was to point out Phoebe wanted to be a mother again and the timing just meant Pookie was well on her way to being a typical Halliwell, the sudden wave of nausea reminded Phoebe of her issues with Cole too.

She started digging madly in her bottom drawer for a cracker. The office door opened as Phoebe pulled out a small bag of crackers and gingerly nibbled on one.

"Elise makes me sick " she told her assistant Cheryl. Cheryl was a small dark girl in her late twenties who had been married since she was 19 and had two children and was working part time to just pay the bills "Husbands make me sick too "she added.

"If husband's had to get pregnant they would not pass it off as just morning sickness." Cheryl answered . She smiled. "Elise makes everyone sick" agreed Cheryl "But you're just a bit vulnerable at the moment," she pointed out glancing at Phoebe's true to form expanding belly, which clearly protruded from her bright pink floral hipster  pants and cream beaded blouse that did not have the bottom button done up. "You sure you shouldn't be over the nausea by now."

"Nearly," said Phoebe ruefully glancing at her already huge belly. "My sister wasn't as big as this when she gave birth. Last time I looked like a cow by the time I was six months and this is worse. And" she added swallowing uncomfortable "only a god damned man would call this morning sickness and say it was natural."

"You know men" Cheryl grinned.

"That is something I do know" Phoebe answered smugly.

"It was every hour of the day sickness with me too," Cheryl agreed. "Why don't you go home? The column is up to date and I can handle any enquiries." and she grinned maliciously.

Phoebe nibbled on the biscuit. "Nah "she said smiling sweetly despite Pookie's effect on her. "I think I will spend some time on those answers about free love and morality…. as I have the time to put in the research. You can go home if you like" she offered brightly "I can manage okay."

Cheryl frowned. "Nah "she said "think I might tidy up the files."

"The ones near the main walkway?" asked Phoebe sweetly"

Cheryl giggled "You going to tell your husband?" she asked.

"Why hurt him, to know I looked at another man?" Phoebe giggled " Anyway he has been so wrapped up in …his own work the last few month, he never asks what I'm doing. Serves him right if I start looking at other men. You going to tell yours?'"

"Only if he pisses me off "said Cheryl. "Probably will find out within about 5 minutes of me getting home." she added "You know men.

"I do "Phoebe grinned then swallowed a little as Pookie objected.

"I mean how often do you get a chance to see one as lookable as John Cotton in the flesh." Cheryl asked dreamily. then thought for a while "Although Cole is pretty goddamn lookable "she added ."If John Cotton turns out to be short, I'm going to kill myself "she said.

"Cole's not that lookable when he's wandering around like a zombie "Phoebe grizzled.

"Maybe you should ask Phoebe how to get his attention" Cheryl suggested slyly.

"Phoebe already told me "said Phoebe "And the next time I can pin him to the bed for 3 minutes he is going to get the full extent of Phoebe's excellent advice. I know men" she added. "Want some advice on dealing with husbands that piss you off?" she asked

"No "said Cheryl "I like yelling at them." She glanced at her watch "I'm going to do that filing. I'll call you um ... when I um need some …help. Gaye down at reception is ready to call me as soon as he arrives."

"You're a pal" said Phoebe smiling as Cheryl left.

Phoebe remembered Elise had been bitching about her absences and thought she had better do some work for the Mirror. She pulled out a file of letters she had been saving from various readers asking about affairs in marriage. There were some letters from readers disturbed to find their partners had had affairs, others from readers who had had affairs and were confused about what had happened, some others from people who were unhappy in their marriages but wanted to stay because of children, family or finance and wanted to look for something outside the marriage.

Phoebe was planning on writing a series of articles, looking at the question from all sides and trying to find some common ground. She planned to firmly state her view that fidelity was a responsibility and a condition of the ethical and moral contract which was marriage and as such needed to be honoured. She wanted to make very clear there were consequences for breaking that contract regardless of how justified you felt but at the same time acknowledge that the relationship between two people was very complex and people who were not faithful needed to be listened to and their concerns acknowledged.

Phoebe picked up the first letter and read it and despite her intentions to be supportive of all sides was extremely irritated by 3 pages of an email written to her by a man who claimed that being faithful to any one woman was unnatural. It was against all rules of natural selection and having sex with any number of women did not mean a man did not love his wife, the writer claimed, he was following the dictates of nature. And, wrote the man, the laws of monogamy were archaic and evidence of government hypocrisy. Phoebe, who heard more gossip at the newspaper than most people knew, conceded he had a point in the last statement. She was amused to see he had signed the email formally as faithfully yours.

She started to read the next letter which was from a woman asking if fidelity extended past separation or was implied until the divorce was official. Phoebe swallowed a little, remembering back to when she and Cole were separated, getting divorced and she had slept with Miles. She would never forget the expression on Cole's face when she went to Miles if she lived forever and she thought, maybe that was a good thing.

Thinking of Miles, Phoebe was reminded that, whatever choices you made, you were responsible and must answer for all those consequences. She sighed, Phoebe Halliwell had learnt many things since the day she had become a witch, many of which she would prefer not to know.

Writing about other people's spouses and partners invariably made Phoebe think of her own spouse and just at the moment, she was worried about him. Cole's work in the strange realm lost in war, was hurting him badly. He was often withdrawn, lost in thought and taking the pain of the war as his sole responsibility, owning it.

All Phoebe could do was listen to him when he wanted to talk, hold him when he sat silent ,make him laugh when she could, and give him space when he needed it. And she was sick to death of it.

It was one thing to be supportive and understanding for a crisis in his work, but this was his work, what he chose to do, and when he solved this problem as she was sure he would do, it would be back to Africa, or whatever other crisis arose, or whatever court case he took on, and she had not married him to be the little woman forever standing behind him supporting him as he  bounced from crisis to crisis and ignored her. She married Cole because she loved him, she married him to be his partner, lover and friend. She married him because she could not live without him..

Phoebe giggled suddenly. If she was being truthful she had to admit she married him, well she married him because he pretty well made her, guilted her into it. She stayed with him because she loved him, and she shared a life with him because they were soulmates, they enjoyed being with each other, they were happy together. Phoebe recalled very clearly an ex demon who said he had never known what it meant to be happy as a way of life until he met her.

And in her view Cole was in danger of forgetting that, or taking it for granted, which was as bad.

True he tried very hard not to let the Guardian interfere with his commitments. He some how or other was keeping the law practice going but he was doing a great deal of the paper work at night when she felt he should be sleeping. Eduardo, his clerk, was fielding appointments and Paige was muttering noises that he could take on another lawyer .

"And I guess you just happen to know some-one?" Cole had come back to the family long enough top ask.

"I do as a matter of fact" Paige told him smugly.

"Any lawyer who has to go to an employment centre to look for work isn't some-one I would trust with my clients"  Cole told her firmly.

"You know shit" Paige told him firmly.

"I'll give you that" Cole  sighed and left before the argument got going.  For Cole to avoid an argument was a sure sign how stressed he was about Burvjara. In Phoebe's view a good argument was what kept Cole based in reality.

Paige had pursed her lips and told Piper she was worried about Cole.

"You don't think he is going evil?" Piper asked nervously

"No I think he's getting so distracted about his guardian role he is letting family slip "Paige answered and "god help him when Phoebes decides she has had enough of that.

"I'm not deaf : said Phoebe who had deliberately kept quite watching Cole with a fearful intensity.

Cole did try to fulfil his family role but Phoebe was used to him succeeding when he tried and he was nowhere near succeeding, which made her believe he was not trying hard. He made point of spending time with Melinda and Patsy and Wyatt, tried to be there  for bedtimes and stories every few nights often coming home for them and  then shimmering back to work and court and then to wars and back for breakfast. Only the children were becoming aware that he was making time, not being there, and when he was there physically, he wasn't always there mentally. Patsy had taken to catching Cole's trouser pocket, jacket or shirt and hauling at it to get his attention, even when he was reading stories . Phoebe was worried because Patsy was empathic. He knew where Cole's head was and went it was not with family or his children.

Melinda got Unca Cole's attention by orbing in his face, or doing something so naughty even he was pulled out of his distraction which was driving Piper and Leo to desperation as the list of broken and destroyed toys and  trinkets and walls covered with non-washable texta drawings over them, grew.

Phoebe was determined that before Pookie arrived Cole, had better work out where he was and what he wanted, and if he did not  know how, well Phoebe was more than capable of telling him.

And then she sighed. Damn she was thinking about Cole like he was, god forbid, a husband. Her fantasy man, her dream, her Prince Charming. She wondered if Cinderella ever got pissed at Prince Charming when he was off fighting wars or was meeting his cabinet. Maybe Prince Charming just stayed around looking gorgeous and being Cinderella's hero. Not everybody else's.

And if all Prince Charming did was hang around Phoebe wondered did he get fat and boring just sitting around getting under Cinderella's feet all the time. At least Cole was not fat. He was in fact eminently lookable, and if he wasn't her husband, she would probably, she would definitely, have hung around office corridors to get a good look. Not that Phoebe appreciated other women looking at him, when he wasn't available for looking.

Phoebe was pulled from her ponderings by Cheryl banging on the office door and calling her. Phoebe forgetting about nausea jumped to her feet and went to the outer main office where under the pretext of helping Cheryl with the files and along with most of the women in the office she sighed with admiration as John Cotton, sportsman extraordinaire, sometimes actor, and number one on the list of hottest men of the moment was ushered into the conference room by four executives and the editor in chief, where he was meeting with the Board of Management about a sports column he was gong to write. Well have ghost written actually. 

John Cotton was clearly dressed for the press photographs. He was wearing tight, tight jeans, that revealed a backside worth sighing over, dying over in fact, a baseball cap pushed back so his big square jaw and slightly off centre once broken nose were revealed and shown to advantage and a tee shirt that showed off every one of his muscles He carried a jacket over his shoulder and every woman sighed as he passed. Just near Phoebe he flicked the jacket off his shoulder and put it on, rippling his  he muscles as he did so.

Phoebe and Cheryl whimpered and he winked at them.

"He's not short "whispered Cheryl.

Cotton obviously heard because he half turned his head to them, Phoebe flicked her hair as he looked and licked her lips.

It was undeniable she thought. He was gorgeous if you liked big muscles and just plain big. And tight jeans, and calculated designer stubble. Perhaps it wasn't the brightest face on earth but what the hell. And Phoebe was consciously aware that his eyes fell on Pookie and then to her face and then to her breasts.

Not one to miss the interest, Phoebe smiled a little smile. Phoebe knew men. Some of them found the fertility symbol highly potent. She flicked her hair and licked her lips again. Cotton nodded his head. .Phoebe knew men.

"Say what you will about muscle" sighed Cheryl "It sure makes a man ... a man."

"And not just muscle" whispered Phoebe "those jeans are tight. How does he get into them?

One of the girls sighed "I could get into them."

"Hmm "muttered Elise who had come up behind them "that would not only require being female and available."

"Bitch "thought Phoebe "rain on some-one else's fantasy

……………………………………..

In Burvjara, Cole sat back leaning against a rock and trying to ignore the pain in his back caused by the burns that he would not be able to completely heal until he could get back to an atmosphere that did not explode with his magic.

Cole was tired with the soul weary tiredness that only comes from a great responsibility and a great sense of inadequacy. He had gone weeks without sleep in this realm because try as he might  all he could do was fret at the waste that was the vision he saw every time he closed his eyes . He sniffed the air and although he had been coming to this place for something like a generation of their time he could not get used to the smell of magic gone wrong. He was tired, weary, and longing for the light of the home he knew and in this world, he had been weeks without Phoebe, a month without a shave or a shower. He missed the feel and sense passion of her, he needed her, and he missed her company more than he missed her in his bed, and his body manufactured though it was, ached for her.

It was now dark; a darkness that only came in a ruined landscape. Cole had been told according to legend, the blue ground had waved with magical orange yellow vegetation, spotted with glorious coloured and scented growth that stirred the soul and made the magic  of Burvjara a thing of beauty and pleasure. It had once been a landscape of peace and tranquilly doted with clusters of abodes, and small circles of commerce and learning.

It had once been a realm where magic had grown and developed, a realm that was the core of good magic, its cradle and it's collegiate, supported by an agrarian economy, …once.

Now there was chaos.

Now it was raw and ugly, its inhabitants, living on god knows what as they scavenged for food, hunter gatherers chasing the remains of the once great herds of animals, weaving coarse cloth with their inherent magic, sheltering behind shields of magic from the ever more fearful winds as the furies blew what was left of the devastated lands around.

Once there had been leaders who went to war for a purpose Cole supposed, maybe even a valid purpose. Now there were mostly anarchists, demagogues, and opportunists. Now even why the Burvjara fought was lost in legend and myth, all they knew was that they fought. Somewhere in the cycles the war may have been valid. Maybe even in some places justified, but the reason was long since lost. In the desperate need to win and survive, combatant leader after combatant leader, had made deals with the devil, or at least the source or his minions  and sold their innocence, trading whatever magic powers  they could to demons for weapons and support.

Or they had allied with Good and proclaimed their righteousness and sold their souls to prove themselves worthy and corrupted themselves. A living breathing example of good imploding into evil.

Sometimes Cole wondered if he was going to spend an eternity haunted by even his smallest sins as a demon. In his memories of his demon years, Cole went back to when the old Source had ordered the demonic intervention in this place generations ago. Cole, the demon Belthezor , had been present, standing slightly to attention as his demon master had discussed the advantages to demondom, of what demons could do and gain form this civil war in Burvjara. Strangely Cole remembered from the time, his main reaction to that meeting beyond the fear he had carried as his constant companion in his demon existence, was boredom. He had felt that this damned realm was of no interest and no importance to him. Now it was his passion, his obsession.

Ironic too was that when he had first been called through the spirit winds to this place his first reaction was irritation and annoyance. He was in the middle of one of Africa's more intense magic crisis and he and Phoebe were happily sharing their secret that Pookie  

"How in the hell am I supposed to fix it" he had demanded of his brother guardian, the fussy little monk-like Therold. Therold had just told him that it was written the demon guardian Belthezor would fix the problems of the war torn realm where children were born to breathe burning magic air, where no one in he memories of the ancestors to the third remove had lived without a daily war started supposedly for a point of honour and truthfully in a confusion of greed, moral outrage, patriotism, clan loyalty and propaganda that no longer had any meaning.

"It is written" Therold told Cole peevishly "that you fix it and that the peace engendered fixes a great evil in this realm as a return of the debt." He pressed his lips and dared Cole to argue.

Cole took up the are "I'm not of this goddamn realm" Cole insisted "so how does anything I do, put them in debt to it? I live in the spirit winds and you know it."

Francesca, the whitelighter sitting to one side of this argument, raised her eyes and shook her head regretfully. Although she had absolutely no gift of the future, she did not need Phoebe's premonitions to tell her, that Cole and Therold's mutual antipathy meant that travelling the path to her immediate eternity was not going to be an easy journey.

Therold had pursed his prim lips. "It is written "he said "" I only know it iss written and it is written it will happen soon. It is not my wisdom to interpret the readings and prophesies."

"They aren't prophesy, they are the result of a goddamn natural phenomenon, an eclipse of the realms, so don't try and make some holy grail out of them" Cole retorted sarcastically. He all but slammed his teacup down.

Even the mutual dislike Therold and Cole had for each other did not make Therold ignore his duties as host. And the tea ritual added to Cole's irritation.  In the 4 months since Cole  had 'met' Therold, his relationship with the guardian had gone from amusement at his prissy dislike to active resentment ,as he recognised Therold's great power and precise wisdom which was not in anyway tempered by the affection and respect that the other guardians, Proctor and Arturo held for Therold.

The relationship was not helped by Therold's blatant admiration and courtly love for Cole's beautiful, charming and gracious wife, Therold's words, based on no reasons that Cole could fathom. Given how much Cole loved Phoebe, he deeply resented that some-one else, another guardian, should feel the need to appoint themselves her champion. That he no longer bothered to hide it, caused Francesca to purse her lips and raise her eyes and Therold to pointedly ask about Phoebe's well being every time he saw Cole. Phoebe on the occasions she met Therold was so delighted to be the object of worship from afar she played the role of the angelic heroine to the hilt. Which added to Cole's irritation and Francesca's amusement.

Francesca had clearly decide that any meeting between Therold and Cole where the monk like guardian was driven by his courtly devotion to Phoebe needed to be strictly supervised and she had been present at every meeting between them, leaving Cole to feel he was being kept on a very tight leash. Cole had exploded several times about Therold to Francesca and she tutt tutted at her most schoolmarmish and told him to learn some respect.

"In the old demon hierarchies you would have been ground to your knees for even thinking such thoughts about a higher ranking demon" Francesca pointed out.

"I don't concede Therold is higher ranking "Cole spat.

"Cole grow up "said Francesca and thought it better not to tell Cole that what he said about  Therold were mild compared to what Therold said to her about Cole especially when he fussed his concern that Belthezor was not worthy of his wife and he feared would not protect her the way she deserved to be protected.

Phoebe's smug smile when Cole complained made him certain Francesca in one of her regular gossip meetings with his wife had told Phoebe just how badly Therold thought of Belthezor. There were times when Cole bitterly regretted sharing any part of his guardian life with Phoebe mostly because she embraced and adapted to it far more easily than him.

At this particular meeting Francesca sipping her tea because no-one friend, opponent or source of constant irritation escaped Therold's ritual of hospitality serving rare and exotic and perfectly brewed tea, smiled warningly at Cole, her crooked face taking on a cultivated neutral expression.

"It may be written I fix it but" Cole slammed his tea cup down turned around and back again to see Therold's prissy irritation evident in the way he held his cup and pushed his upper lip forward. "I don’t have a clue how to fix it "Cole told them.

"Well clearly as it is written" Francesca told him calmly "that you do fix it, so I assume you think you think of something" She smiled "I have faith."

"Gee thanks Mrs Rinaldi" Cole thought  months later in his realm time as he leant back against the rock and it bit into his burned back and he shivered with pain and cold. "Your faith really inspires me to keep going."

And then he laughed out loud, Cole winced at the smell and wriggled uncomfortably, the aching pain in his back made sleep impossible, even if his hyperactive brain had let him. He told himself it really did not matter. Last night in the realm he lived he had lain happily with Phoebe curled against him, his arm protective across her rapidly expanding belly. Happy. And tonight he would do so again.

In his realm, he had spent much time with the combatants from all sides, pushing demanding, and cajoling they keep evil out of the war, because he could not stop the war. He did not know how to stop the war, all he could do was hope that he could keep the great powers out of it and the basic core of good that he found, to his shock, in these beings would somehow sort itself out. Which did not strike Cole as anything as positive as fixing he problem.

Cole leaned back against the harsh stone trying to face some sense of it. He heard some of Glock's small band shuffling around clearly unable to sleep but as with everything else they accepted this with stoic fatalism.

And Cole deciding he hated that fatalism as much as he hated the war hunkered down against his rock and allowed his tired and over active brain to visualise Phoebe and lose itself in the emotion he felt for her.

....................................................................