Faithfully Yours Part 5: A Time in the Affairs of Witches   Chapter 40 "The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what Fiction means."   Oscar Wilde

Paige went up to her room leaving Cole to try and cope with a screaming and wailing Patsy. She peeked in at Melinda and Wyatt who still miraculously were asleep.

"You do something to their room" she demanded of Cole who had found walking up and down stairs seemed to sooth Patsy slightly.

"No" he said "I guess they can just block it. Lucky kids. Don't wake them" he ordered

"I can't block it "said Paige as Patsy wailed again with an ear shattering, heart rendering scream. She sucked her breath, was about to offer to take him, but Patsy in distress caught Daddy's shirt and hung on tight. Paige shrank away as the sound shattered her ear drums

"Get him downstairs "she ordered" before he does wake them" and covering her ears with her hands all but ran to her room.

Paige sat on her bed and aimlessly picked up a few magazines, only suddenly they no longer seemed to have the attraction. She then paced up and down thinking of what sort of trouble Mark was in, if an ogre was after him. Mark was a rebel always had been. She winced. Always would be and always as a whitelighter was a long time. If they allowed him to stay a whitelighter.

Paige thought of the man she had first fallen in love with and how much she had admired him for how he had stood up for those who needed help against bureaucrats, government policy and judgments of the worthiness of many clients all the time wearing an idiotic daffy duck tie.

She remembered with a wry smile how he had managed to manipulate and out manoeuvre the Powers That Be at all levels and still maintain his humour, irreverence and sense of perspective.

Only in those days Mark had only risked his job for pissing the Powers That Be beyond his use to them. Now he risked his existence.  Paige from her experience with those Powers That Be of their magic world, was inclined to believe that they would rather get rid of a problem whitelighter earlier, than later when they could smile with benign self righteousness and suggest that Mark was not right for the job and everyone including Mark would be better off if he was allowed to return and reinvest in his humanity.

Only Paige doubted everyone would be better off, certainly the unemployed people of San Francisco would not have been better off if Mark had taken the slightest notice of rules that prevented him doing what he felt was necessary. Paige understood if everybody broke the rules chaos would have ensured, but sometimes some one had to do …good by doing it. And better it was some-one like Mark who knew how.

Paige conceded maybe it was better that most whitelighters were like that damned Caleb. Whitelighters who did what they were told and listened and quoted the party line, occasionally grimaced but did the Elders bidding.

However just maybe the self righteous belief in there own goodness was needed to be balanced by some-one like Mark holding them to account., testing their superiority, their belief in themselves.

Leo could not do it. It would have cost him his soul in the end if he had gone on trying. Paige sucked her lip. It took a very special person, whitelighter, to hold the system to account and yet make the parts that were needed, work.

Mark always said it was a matter of knowing the right rules to break. However the other whitelighters spoke of him as being a loose cannon. And she wondered seriously if this time he had got it wrong. The guardian Therold may be a pedantic fussy little lore master but he was one of the ogres, the guardians sent to keep the realms in balance. Mark had crossed a line in his area, when nearly all of the magic realm lived in fear of crossing an ogre.  To say nothing of Cole saying he would protect Mark for the sheer pleasure of pissing off Therold. God knows where that would lead.

Paige glanced again at the pile of magazines picked one up, flicked though some of her favourite sports and real men pages, and was too concerned about Mark to find any pleasure in them. A huge, ear shattering wail came from downstairs followed by a whimper.  With a sigh and a mutter about Phoebe's absence and an extra curse for the spites, Paige stuffed a towel under the door and taking a deep breath called loudly "Mark"

Nothing happened. Paige irritably supposed Mark knew there was no urgency and as he did not want to see her, was ignoring the call. She called again. No answer. She picked up one of her art coffee table books of atmospheric nudes and actually started to enjoy it, because if Mark chose to ignore her there were other things she could do.

Paige was interrupted by another ear shattering wail from downstairs. As poor little Patsy cried, Paige covered her ears and called Mark. She all but cried when he still ignored her, then she cursed Cole for not being able to help Patsy.

"Cole" she thought "Damn."

She finally remembered ole had put a magic block on her room so the Elders could not spy on her..

Paige went over to Phoebe's room and yelled Mark as loud as she could and winced as she could barely hear her own voice over the crying from downstairs. Still he did not answer and sniffing back tears she went to her own room and then jumped as Mark orbed in front of her

"What in the hell is that?" he asked mildly as a shriek followed by heart rendering screeching sobs

"Patsy teething" Paige explained awkwardly 3 inches away from him.

Mark winced as the decibels went up "Only advice I can give you on that one is to run" he said softly never taking his eyes from his face.

Without asking he reached back and opened her bedroom door noting the magazines tossed around the room. He carefully refrained from commenting "What can I do for you?" he asked in a whitelighter voice.

Paige swallowed "Mark" she said longingly.

"What can I do for you?" he asked softly.

"Make love to me like its never going to stop" she whispered putting her arms around his neck.

Mark took a huge deep breath. Then he ran his hand through his receding hair "I think I can do that " he said smiling as his eyes lit with anticipation.

"Good "she said and still with her arms locked around his neck explained  "Therold was here. He and Cole had l world war 12, I think, mostly about you saving Glock."

"Who was for and who was against?" Mark asked his lips almost on hers.

"You're in big trouble" Paige whispered into his lips

"I've had worse trouble" he said coming up for air some minutes later.

"Have you?" she breathed

"No" he agreed.

Their concentration was broken by the screams and sobbing as the wails became ear shattering again.

'"How the hell can anything that small make that much noise?" Mark shook his head.

"You need to be around kids more" Paige told him and winced as the wail came again.

"Let's get out of here." Mark said orbing with her.

Later hidden away in the grey nothingness if the Rim, the space between the realms, where they may have stayed for ever or for a very short time, Paige, her clothes half put back on, leant back against a rock and with her arms clutched around her knees watched Mark get dressed.

He caught her watching him and suddenly shrugged awkward, embarrassed. "I'm not your dream man" he said a little rushed, then he turned to face her "But then I never was, was I?"

"You're my man" she said her voice wavering

He suddenly grinned. "This is here you're suppose to say I'm better than all those pictures."

"They're not real" she said "They're airbrushed. You're.."

He laughed.  "Not airbrushed" he said.

"Mark "she said "Be serious. I'm worried ": she said "there is an ogre after you. A guardian. And even if Phoebe could charm Therold out of and she'd do it for me…."

"Phoebe would do it to prove she could do it" Mark said dragging his clothes on. He sat beside Paige, putting his arm around her.

"I'm frightened" Paige said "for you Mark. Even if Phoebe charmed Therold out of it, Elders are so scared of Ogres and Powers That Be, they won't be into second chances." she said"

"So am I pet" he said slowly. "I have a reason not to … want to piss them off. I knew there would be trouble when I healed Glock and I know what the answer will be…when I am too much trouble for them."

"You used to be too much trouble for the Powers That Be in employment" Paige said "And you never cared how much power they had, if you thought you were right."

He stared ahead,  hen smiled softly "Pet back then you know I knew who I was and what I was and what the opposition was. I knew the system and I knew…" He shrugged "I was surer of who I was fighting. What I was fighting for. Surer of me."

Very slowly she touched his hand. "What about in the beginning, back then. Were you sure then?"

He laughed "No I remember "he said " the first time I really went after them, or they really went after me it was bluff, I played it hard, I manoeuvred." he grinned "when you're young you believe in your own invincibility and immortality" he smiled . "When you get older… wiser. You know you aren't and maybe that is why you consider ... things more."

Paige looked at him "Isn’t it the young who die in battles" she said "the ones who are convinced of the invincibility and immorality?".

"Yes" Mark nodded "Otherwise they wouldn't fight. But fight long enough, see enough, and you know you the risks. When you fight. You stop being young."

"I think that is how you win the battles" Paige said "Knowing the risks and the cost, knowing what it is worth."

Mark thought about it and grinned "I know the risks" he said.

"You could have not fixed Glock" Paige said. "If you were worried about the risks."

Mark stood up and held out his hand to her. "I have to go" he said "and I could not have not fixed Glock. I was supposed to save beings who are hurt by fighting evil magic. I have no problem with that. I have a problem with deciding I only partly save some people because of the risks."

"It was funny Cole didn’t feel it" Paige mused "and he chases justice. Therold chases lore."

"Am I supposed to know that?" Mark asked " I think the elders will be pissed off I pissed off any guardian, I'm not sure arguing I didn't piss off the supposedly dead Belthezor is a useful argument." he pulled her into his arms and kissing her hard "I'm not I'm not scared to go "he sighed "I am scared to lose you."

She kissed him back "Burvjara is a pretty good example why … people whitelighters .. .born rebels…are needed." she told him. "I saw what Caleb was saying to get Jade's kid and those other witches to war."

"I'm just a lowly newbie "Mark said.

"Did that stop you before as a mortal " she asked "from doing what is right?"'

"No "he agreed as he kissed her again and then orbed.

…………………………………………..

In the early hours of the morning, nearly dawn in fact, Phoebe stopped at the front door of the Manor carefully listening for signs of life as she put her keys on the hall table and slipped off Piper's coat.

"Just remember the fifth stair creaks" she told herself as she crept toward the stairs.

Phoebe decided no matter how she thought she had grown up, she was always going to be haunted by the Phoebe of the past, sneaking upstairs drunk, after a night  'out' with the boys, hoping Grams would not hear her come in and start lecturing her. Only this time it was not going to be Grams who started lecturing her, it was going to be pissed off demon/guardian. If he now even cared enough to be pissed off.

Phoebe had intended to come straight home after leaving her not so beloved mother in law. After all she had a baby son who would need her and she had to talk to her sisters, but, as she walked out of the hotel, she had been struck by a vague but terrifying premonition of something very bad about to happen and somehow or other she had ended sitting on the same beach that Piper and Glock and Cole had sat in recent days, trying to fathom what the premonition had meant. She had listened mostly to the waves and thought very hard about what she was going to do, and tried very hard not to think what she thought about herself for the way she had been behaving lately. And the only thing she decided for certain was that Cole was not going to know Elisabeth was around. If he thought Elisabeth was coming after his children and maybe his wife, if he cared enough about his wife, he would protect them. Because that was the one thing about which she really doubted he would resist the temptation to return to his demonic ways. And Matricide was an evil beyond evil, one from which there was no return.

She sniffed a little because not so much time ago she would have thought that the other thing that would tempt him to return to his demonic ways was protecting her. And this time he had not even come. And then she felt what she knew was irrationally anger at Cole, because if he had come she would not be feeling this terrible premonition of something bad about to happen.

As she crept up the stairs all seemed quiet and Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief and was flushed with a bitter anger that no-one was waiting for her, and then she sniffed back the tears.

………………………………………..

Cole had walked the floor with a sobbing and hysterical Patsy until the early hours. He had never had to deal with such soul distressing pain as Patsy cried and screamed his heart out, and nothing but nothing fixed it. Desperate phone calls to Marly had got a herbal mixture of sorts that rubbed on his gums had eased it, or maybe it was the fact that Patsy had punctured Cole's finger again and blood had got on his gums mixed with the salve.

Finally after hours and hours of crying, and a higher dose of children's paracetamol than was recommended and probably Cole's blood Patsy fell into an exhausted and miserable sleep whimpering and crying and sobbing, while Cole sat beside him for an hour.

All the time, he walked with Patsy, Cole had kept trying to keep a feel for Phoebe's aura and at least he knew she was still in the realm, and he definitely did not want to know what she was doing. He was worried about her, and frightened where her fantasies would take her. And managed to convince himself that like with John Cotton, Phoebe's basic belief in the reality of their life together would hit her before she did something, really stupid and the truth was he did not care, as long as he had her.

After watching Patsy for an hour, Cole, totally exhausted, frightened and by this stage coldly angry with Phoebe, for disappearing on both him and Patsy, finally thought he could risk going after her. He went into their bedroom to pick up his wallet, catching his reflection in the mirror, seeing a man whose eyes sunken into his face and next morning shadow that was forming a grey flecked beard, looked if not the 120 odd years he was, the next best thing to it.

"So much for love making everything and everyone happy" he thought and then remembered mostly he was happy. Just not when Phoebe acted more Phoebish than usual.

Just as he was about to shimmer, he was stopped by orbs.

He looked up to see Francesca, an expression on her face that could have been described as seriously peeved on anyone else.

"I have to go" he said.

"No you don't "she told him firmly.

"Phoebe" he said determined

"Can look after herself" Francesca interrupted. "Therold is about to come again."

"You just beat him here did you?" Cole asked smugly.

She smiled her crooked smile "Good wins over Evil. Just. Or in this case angels over demons" The smile left her face, "and I want you to behave."

"Why should I?" Cole demanded. "When he tries to seduce Phoebe in front of me."

"Because he won't "she said putting her hand through her hair, not even hiding her irritation. "and he wants to worship Phoebe not seduce her."

"She's my damn wife, and I'll do the worshipping" Cole said, then he shrugged "but what I really I want to do at the moment is wring her neck, maybe beat her black and blue."

Francesca only just gave him a very irritated school marm glare before as Therold shimmered in.

He had clearly heard what Cole said. And the expression on Therold's face was as close to demonic rage as a guardian could get without acting on it.

"Belthezor" he started to say.

Cole heard a pained whimper come from the boy's room. He went to the landing and saw that Patsy was still asleep but restless.

"Downstairs" he ordered and shimmered

"How could you an angel allow that…him to suggest such a thing about his beautiful… about such a wonderful… about Phoebe" Therold demanded in Francesca's face.

"Downstairs" Francesca said firmly and orbed.

Therold wordlessly followed them to the dining room. Once there before either Cole or Francesca could say anything, Therold ordered Cole back to Burvjara, telling him that the Brotherhood were resisting the Geztalt's push for power and had succeeded in keeping the Source's favour.

The Geztalt he explained cornered by the Brotherhood and needing to be seen to be stronger than their enemy, were about to invade Burvjara and Good were preparing to stand up and hold Burvjara against them. And the Brotherhood were in all likelihood preparing to fight there as well.

"Brotherhood are more likely to find a way to help Good defeat the Geztalt than openly battle them" Cole murmured. "It's not their role to wage war."

"It is your role to get in there and stop this" Therold ordered. "To go to Burvjara and put and end to all this, once and for all."

"Yeah sure, no worries "Cole drawled shifting his weight form one foot to another ready for action "It's not like I haven't been trying to do it the other times I was there".

Therold sucked his breath and they stood there eyeballing each other. Then they both jumped s if a bomb went off when the fifth step of the stairway creaked as Phoebe tried to sneak upstairs.

As Phoebe realised she was sprung, she stopped defiantly and glared down at Cole "Don't you even dare speak to me after what you did with Margaret." she said looking down at him over the landing

"Attack isn't always the safest from of defence Phoebe" Cole said his voice so quiet that Francesca frowned and Therold petulantly stuck his lower lip out. "Where were you?" Cole asked moving to the bottom of the steps "Going to tell me you've been off fighting demons" Cole asked sarcastically.

"I was with a… a… a.. friend …from work. I needed to… talk to some-one ..I " Phoebe  muttered stalling, and only just stopping her hand covering her mouth by diverting it to push a hair strand behind her ear, classic signs of lying. Cole did not miss it.

Cole sniffed "Since when have you been friends with demons" he asked conversationally. "I can smell them on you" He added not so conversationally.

"Don't be ridiculous." Phoebe snapped thinking hard how she was going to get out of it.

"I know you" he said moving up the stairs slowly while she held her ground "You went tearing off to your fantasy friend" he said. "How far did you go with your fantasy this time?" he snarled "" what did you do?" 

"What do you mean what did I do?" Phoebe stalled still feeling in control because he was 5 steps below and she could look down on him.

"How far did your fantasy go?" Cole insisted taking a step up.

"It went as far as reality" Phoebe said deciding this was the moment for some honesty.

"Did you go to bed with him" Cole asked taking another step and eyeballing her  "have sex?"

"Of course not " said Phoebe indignant.

"You stink of demon" Cole told her two steps away and looking down on her "Your friend was a demon?" he asked hi voice rasping.

"Its none of your business who I see" she brazened out.

"You damned liar "he said the cold anger in his voice deadly looming over her as she struggled to maintain her place in the face of his anger. "That's it isn't "he said "all the fantasies playing around with demons, that is what it is with me isn't  it. You want to fuck around with evil, get the thrills and that's what you've been doing going tonight. You know I can forgive you anything" he sneered "Can you forgive me anything" he hissed through his breath as his hand came toward her.

Phoebe flung her head back, thrusting Pookie forward..

"Did you go to bed or have sex with demon George?" he asked.

"I did not have sex with him" Phoebe said. "He's a shit."

"So that's a reality" Cole murmured.

"He isn't you" Phoebe insisted.

Cole snorted "And it you got out of there as soon as reality hit. About 6 hours ago."

Phoebe caught between explaining how she vanquished George and why  she had not come straight home, sucked her lip.

"So no one wants a fantasy to be real" Cole snorted when she did not answer "Friend Therold here he doesn't want to sleep with you; he just wants to worship you."  He attacked.

"Stop acting like an arsehole Cole" Phoebe said feeling on much safe ground arguing about Therold than George.

"Then tell me what happened " he insisted in ager and frustration, standing over her right in her space."

Phoebe swallowed, thought of Elisabeth and how little it would take to push Cole over the edge in this mood…and the consequences. "Nothing else happened. I went to the beach" Phoebe insisted not looking at him then burst into tears.

"Crocodile tears" Cole said scornful, the expression on his face was not pretty "I can smell the demon on you."

Therold raised his hand as if he wanted to smite Cole. "She needs protection" he declared his face and bald head a bright angry crimson.

"She does not" Francesca told him firmly. Francesca put her hand out to Therold who looked like he was about to burst with fear and anger. Therold flung it off and moved forward to the stairs looking up into Cole's angry face and Phoebe's white one.

"Are you really going top try and convince me you weren't in bed with a demon" Cole hissed catching her arm. "I can feel your aura. I can smell it on you."

Phoebe tried to wrench away frightened what he might feel. Cole stepped up and caught her by both arms, stopping just short of shaking her.

"I could wring your bloody neck" he said passionately, angrily. "I could choke you with one hand and enjoy watching you scream. 'That all it is isn't it".

Phoebe, big brown eyes wide, recognising the passion, knew she had dodged the bullet. She looked into his face expectantly. Cole about to lower his mouth onto hers, stopping an inch from her mouth as a squeal like an angry pig came from Therold.

''Keep your cursed hands off her" snorted Therold

"Why so you can jump in and fuck her?" Cole asked, the moment broken and his voice getting nasty again. "Even if you can fuck a women. You couldn't satisfy her. Trust me" he said

"Cole" said Phoebe and Francesca.

"You are not worthy of her" Therold snarled "you have this beautiful good, virtuous…"

And Cole snorted so loud Phoebe felt his breath blast her face.

"Woman, witch" said Therold "and all you can do is talk about fucking. Don't you understand she needs to be protected.  When evil stalks her, she needs to be loved and forgiven and … cherished."

"Yeah well I tried that" snarled Cole "look where it gt me. My wife coming home stinking of demon".

Phoebe moaned, inwardly cursing Therold for breaking the moment when she had Cole under control.

"Care to tell me where you've been" Cole breathed into her face going full circle with the argument.

"None of your damn business" Phoebe said carefully "Its all right "she told a seething Therold with a reassuring smile.' "he won't hurt me…never could, never has"."

"She needs to be cherished" snarled Therold moving up the stairs totally ignoring what Phoebe said,  "she need to be loved. She needs to be guarded.

"Does she "said Cole catching Phoebe's hair and just topping short of twisting it tight. He had his other hand on her shoulder and it tightened as  she looked up into his eyes and he caught his breath at the expression in her eyes.

"Where were you?" he demanded his voice faltering slightly.

"It's none of your business" she said calmly meeting his eyes as his hand deepened on her shoulder and his breath came in short sharp takes. She caught her breath slightly and then leaned back to look into his eyes which caused his hand on her hair to tighten and she yelped while he looked at her with a satisfied smile.

"Get pissed all you like": she whispered sure of what was happening. "Where I was and what I was doing is my business. Think what you like "she declared. "You trust me or not."

Held captive by his hand on her hair and arm, Phoebe held her ground, wincing slightly as he tightened his grip on his hair. Close to Cole's face she could see a smile forming on his mouth, as his hand came up with a movement that she knew from experience was to catch her chin.

"Don't you hit her" roared Therold and shimmered trying to put himself between Cole and Phoebe, and managed to catch Cole's arm.

"Its okay" said Phoebe turning her head and really pulled her hair tight . Cole released his grip a little as she yelped. But Therold just hearing her yelp and looking at Cole's angry face put his hand on Phoebe's shoulder with a delicacy and protectiveness that somewhere else would have amused Cole.

"You shall not hurt  her "declared Therold his voice reaching a loud shrill shriek. .

"He won't "Phoebe started to say.

"Get your bloody hand off my wife" snarled Cole, pulling his arm free from Therold and leaving it in the air.

"You shall not harm her" said Therold his voice hitting a high falsetto and trembling with emotion. As Cole still holding Phoebe's hair turned toward Therold, Therold put his hand out and caught Phoebe's shoulder. With a satisfied sneer in Cole's face, Therold shimmered taking a very surprised and shrieking Phoebe as her hair was ripped out of Cole's hand, with him.

A furious Cole was left almost empty handed, except for a few strands of hair from where he had been clutching Phoebe.

"He took her" Cole said shocked.

"Clearly" said Francesca shaking her head. "Couldn't one of you for once not behave like a demon?" she asked her crooked face contorting with annoyance.

Cole went bright red, his face narrowed "He took her" he breathed in disbelief

"Yes" said Francesca "I saw it.'"

"He took her. That thieving bastard stole my wife" Cole snarled.

"Borrowed "said Francesca. "Phoebe will get him to bring her back" she started to reassure Cole.

"He took her" Cole roared. "Fucking bastard I'll kill them both. I kill him before I let anything…."'

Cole looked around angrily and before Francesca could say anything said again very quietly "I will kill him, I will destroy him."

Then he shimmered.

"Oh good god" said Francesca and orbed.

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