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Current mood:	creative
Entry tags:	challenge: melodicmuse, character: cole turner, character: phoebe halliwell, fandom: charmed, pairing: cole/phoebe, title: don't know how to let you go

Melodicmuse@LJ: Don't Know How To Let You Go
Title: Don't Know How To Let You go
Fandom: Charmed
Pairing: Cole Turner/Phoebe Halliwell
Word Count: 522
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The WB and Brad Kern own Charmed, but they are evil.
Summary: Cole's thoughts at the end of "Witch Way Now?"
Author's Note: From a prompt of Sarah McLachlan's "Do What I Have To Do." No, I'm not bitter about what they did to the relationship, why do you ask? Thanks to ladybug218 for the beta!


And I have the sense to recognize that
I don't know how to let you go

She had given up.

"Cole, we did the best we could. We tried every way possible to make this work but it wasn't meant to be. And it wasn't because we didn't love each other, it's just love wasn't enough, so now we have to move on, okay, the both of us."

He could still hear her words lingering in the air. He turned his back on her and told her to go, unable to look at her face, not wanting her to see his pain and tears. All he had done for her was for nothing. He had become traitor to the Underworld, constantly on the run for his life. He had slain his brethren, his brothers, to keep her safe. His powers were taken, and the Source of All Evil had possessed him when he had taken the Hollow into himself to save her and her sisters. With the last ounce of strength he possessed, he had tried to give the powers of the Source to the Wizard, but she had put a stop to that, damning him in the process.

"I will always love you," he said as the Charmed Ones vanquished him. And he welcomed the end of his struggles against the power of the Source. Now he wouldn't be able to hurt her anymore. Now maybe he could be at peace.

But he found himself here, in the Wastelands, his soul still clinging to life, chased by the Beast that devoured the last of the essences of vanquished demons. And he found hope in his heart once more. There had to be a way out, and he could be with Phoebe again.

Instead she came to him, simply so she could turn her back on him and their love. She had given up.

His initial anger surprised him. He tried to understand why she would do this to him after all they had been through together, but the pain of her rejection eclipsed all compassion he might have for her own fears and struggles. All he could do was hunt the Beast, taking out his rage by tearing it apart with his bare hands, absorbing the powers of more and more demons until at last he had the power to transport himself from this hell.

It shamed him that for the briefest of moments his thoughts turned to revenge. He wanted her to hurt as much as he was hurting. Make her pay for her rejection. But he loved her too much to let her go that easily.

So he tracked her down. Found her about to be shot and killed by a witch hunter. And he used his new powers to save her life.

The look she gave him, how dare he come back to her like this, even when he was saving her, brought fresh pain to his shattered soul.

But he wouldn't give up. He would never let her go. They had come this far together, and somehow he would see her through her fears and doubts. He would prove to her that their love was strong enough. Somehow, they would be together again.