CHARMED

"Witchful Thinking"

by shel

© august 2006

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.u. – bedtime on a stormy night…

timeline: august 2012…

archive: please don't without expressed permission…

notes: fluff that wanted to be told…there are minor references to s5's 'a witch's tail,' s3's 'once upon a time,' s4's 'enter the demon,' 'size matters,' and 'muse to my ears,' s2's 'heartbreak city,' s7's 'something wicca this way goes', s8's 'still charmed and kicking,' 'kill billie: vol. 1' and 'the lost picture show,' s7's 'seven year witch,' s8's 'vaya con leos,' 'generation hex,' 'kill billie: vol. 2,' and 'forever charmed,' and s3's 'all halliwell's eve'…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…

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Part One

"It's your turn, Trishy, to choose the story," Phoebe reminded her three young daughters as she eased herself onto the middle one's bed. Almost immediately the three began vying for position next to her and she tried not to grimace when the three-year old accidentally jabbed her in the side. "Easy, Vicky, I'm not going anywhere," she assured her youngest as she fingered her daughter's long tousled hair, "and neither is your soon-to-be baby sister."

"Wanna hear 'bout you 'n a mermaid," the little girl told her, nuzzling her nose into Phoebe's side, trying to wrap her arm around Phoebe's expanded middle.

"It was very cold," Phoebe honestly commented as she positioned her daughter more comfortably next to her, "and I've already told you that story a hundred times. Besides, you know it's Trishy's turn tonight."

"That's right," the four-year old proclaimed as she snuggled close on Phoebe's other side, "it's my turn 'n I wanna hear 'bout you 'n Auntie Prue 'n a fairies."

"C'mon, Trishy," the six-year old complained from her sister's other side, "you chose that last time. I wanna hear somethin' different. Like Momma 'n Auntie Paige switchin' bodies."

"I wanna mermaid!"

"Fairies!"

Phoebe sighed as she let her girls argue quietly. It had been a great idea of hers to teach the children family history by sharing those events as bedtime stories but a slight backfire was that it took even longer to get the kids to sleep. The girls were nosy little creatures and constantly interrupted with questions, eager to learn and apply their magic immediately. Unconsciously stroking Vicky's arm, she closed her eyes.

It had been a long day at work and the long wait followed by the long visit in the doctor's office hadn't helped ease her tension. She was tired, her back ached, and she desperately wanted a hot fudge sundae. The arguing was growing louder so she opened her eyes. Momentarily amused by the realization that her girls were a true mix of their parents, with all their stubbornness and tenacity, she smiled as she let herself bask in the love surrounding her.

Phoebe felt so blessed to have not just the one daughter she'd foreseen in numerous premonitions but also two more. And she didn't regret a single moment of the pain she'd suffered in order for it all to come true. At least she didn't think so. How could she? These little girls were her world. But when Trishy pushed Sami, she sighed and acknowledged that, as much as she loved her daughters to death, they were oftentimes more than a handful. As if on cue, the baby within her kicked and she sighed again. She was definitely outnumbered. "Enough, you two. I'll read you a story tonight. Weren't we in the middle of Paddington?"

Startled from the shoving match with her sister, the six-year old turned to Phoebe, "No…we wanna hear 'bout you 'n Daddy."

"Didn't I tell you a story about us last night, Samantha?"

"Uh, huh," the little girl nodded eagerly, "when he saved you 'n Auntie Piper 'n Auntie Paige 'n the future."

"Which was a very good thing, because…"

"Because otherwise you wouldn't've married 'n had us!"

"That's right," Phoebe agreed as she leaned over Patricia to kiss the top of Sami's head, "and nothing's more important than that, my ladybugs." She tapped her finger on the tip of Trishy's nose and smiled back at the little girl who giggled in return.

"When's Daddy coming home?" Sami suddenly asked.

"He's busy," Trishy announced, "makin' people fall in love."

"Daddy doesn't do that." Sami disagreed.

"Uh, huh," Trishy emphatically nodded, "I heard it."

"Maybe you misunderstood, sweetie," Phoebe suggested. "Daddy can't make people fall in love. No one can."

"Cupids can," the four-year old declared.

Phoebe smiled, "Not even Cupids, my ladybug. You see, two people already have to be in love for Cupids to help them."

Even Sami looked puzzled, "But if they're in love, why do they need Cupids to help?"

Phoebe thought a moment before answering, "Because sometimes they don't realize they're in love, or still in love, and Cupids help them figure it out. Or sometimes love isn't enough and they need Cupids to help guide them to be together."

"Like Uncle Leo guides witches?"

"In a way, Sami," Phoebe nodded. "Now, look at the clock, my ladybugs, and tell me what time it is."

"Time for bed," both girls pouted.

"That's right," Phoebe told them, "so into your own bed, Sami. I'll be in your room in a minute to tuck you in."

"But we haven't had our story…"

Phoebe glanced down at the three-year old cuddled into her side sound asleep and decided, "All right, which book?"

"But Mommy…" the older two whined.

Phoebe hushed her daughters and pointed to their sister, "Victoria's already asleep." But Phoebe was helpless to the quivering lips of her girls and sighed, "If you're quiet, I'll tell you about when I was shrunk this big." Phoebe gestured with her fingers to indicate about six inches and frowned when her daughters shook their heads. "What do you mean no?"

Sami told her, "That's lame, Mommy."

"Lame," Trishy solemnly echoed her big sister.

Not sure how upset she should be that her daughters thought the truth, her own past, was lame, Phoebe sighed, "How about I tell you a story about a Muse named Melody?"

"I don't think we heard that one," Sami commented to her younger sister.

"Uh, uh," Trishy agreed as she snuggled next to her mother. "Wanna hear 'bout Melody."

"Okay, then," Phoebe smiled as she began, "your Auntie Piper had to make a party at P3 and……"

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The rumbling of thunder woke Phoebe and she glanced at the clock before awkwardly propping herself up. As she turned to the other side of the bed, a flash of lightning illuminated her husband standing in the doorway watching her. She rubbed her eyes and yawned, "How long've you been standing there?"

"A while," he admitted with a smile. "I love watching you, is that a crime?"

She shook her head and crooked her finger, inviting him closer, "D'you just get in? D'you get those two lovebirds back together?"

He grimaced and approached, folding his arms across his chest, "Never have I seen two more stubborn beings who can't see what's staring them right in the --"

"Never?" Phoebe teased with a grin, interrupting. She was about to pull him closer when she suddenly wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Why do you smell like a Grifford demon?"

"Because a Grifford demon crashed my little Project Love-Nest," he complained. "Filthy, messy, gooey, I'm telling you --"

"What? Did it --"

"Calm down, Phoebe, everyone's fine," he quickly assured her. "Mr. Bottoms was so grateful I found the runaway missus that he even gave me a bonus which, I might add, I tried to return but he insisted and, seeing as we've got a fourth little girl on the way, I figured the money could come in handy." But she didn't smile and he brushed his fingers along her cheek, "Don't worry, it's not personal gain since he forced it on me and the heavens won't come crashing down over a few hundred dollars." A rumble of thunder mocked him and he shook his head as he continued, "The Griff was disposed of and both Mr. and Mrs. Bottoms are enjoying their first night of their new start on the road to happiness." He kissed the top of her head, "Go back to sleep, I need a shower first."

"And burn those clothes," she muttered distractedly when he left the room. She stared at the empty doorway which lit up from another lightning bolt. Then, getting out of bed, she smiled as she tugged her nightshirt over her head.

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He sensed her presence in the bathroom but continued to scrub his legs before, without looking at her, he finally questioned, "How long've you been standing there?"

"A while," she grinned, "I love watching you, is that a crime?"

"Only if you don't do something about it," he teased as he opened the glass door and helped her into the shower.

But she didn't let him kiss her and held him at arm's distance.

"Don't I pass inspection, Ms. Halliwell?" he asked with amusement.

"That's Mrs. Turner to you," she poked him in the chest. "What's the big idea of demon hunting in front of innocents?"

"Hey, the Griff attacked first!" he protested.

"And you enjoyed every minute of it," she stated, poking him again. "Don't deny it; you can't hide your feelings from me."

"Just my luck," he muttered, "to fall in love with an empathic witch."

"And you love every minute of it," she smiled as she awkwardly stood on tiptoes to kiss him.

"Damn right," he agreed, kissing her back. He let the water cascade them both before he began lightly rubbing her belly with the soapy sponge. "Sorry I didn't have a chance to call earlier but Mrs. Bottoms had me running around in circles. Amazing woman considering it took eight hours to track her." When she chuckled, he questioned, "What's so funny?"

"You, Turner, P.I., demon-extraordinaire," she replied as she took the sponge from him, turned him around, and began stroking his back. "You spent the entire day running all around San Francisco in order to find one single human woman. I could've just scryed for her, y'know."

"My client, my job," he pointedly told her, "my way. Besides, I didn't run all over the city, I shimmered," he smirked as he turned around again to face her. "And I don't want to talk business now. I want to hear about you and my girls. They get to sleep okay?"

"Eventually…They didn't want to hear about Paddington. They wanted a Charmed story and," Phoebe rolled her eyes, "of course, each one wanted to hear a different one."

"Vicky wanted to hear about you as a mermaid, didn't she?"

"That little girl was born to be in the water," Phoebe sighed before looking up at him, "she must get that from you because not even being a mermaid's changed my mind 'bout the water."

"I beg to differ. We have some pretty amazing times in the water," Cole playfully tapped her nose with the sponge and smiled when she sneezed and rubbed her nose free from the suds. "So what story did you tell them?"

Pressing her fingers into the small of her back, she sighed again, "I made a mistake of telling them about Melody."

"Because then they wanted to know all about Muses and whether a Muse was in the room with them?" He took some shampoo and began to lather her hair.

"It's gonna be impossible getting them up for camp tomorrow," she sighed, contentedly this time, as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of his fingers massaging her scalp. "And maybe you'd better have a chat with Trishy. She thinks you're a Cupid." She opened her eyes when his fingers stopped moving, "Don't look so insulted, it's your fault, you know."

"My fault?"

Placing her hands on his to indicate her desire for him to continue with the massage, Phoebe closed her eyes again and shrugged, "She must've heard you talking about the Bottoms case and thought you were helping them by making them fall in love just like a Cupid."

"Not even a Cupid can make two people fall in love. The love has to already be there."

"I know," Phoebe smiled, "I told her tha-- uh, oh…maybe it wasn't your fault after all."

His gaze narrowed, afraid he knew what she was about to say and he warily asked, "Why would that be?"

She smiled sheepishly and wiped away some dripping shampoo from her eyes, "Because maybe she overheard me when, um, Coop came by yesterday." Quickly placing her palms flat on his chest she said, "There's nothing wrong with him visiting every now and then."

"It's at least once a month," Cole snapped. "He's in love with you, Phoebe. You can't tell me you don't know."

"I know," she quietly acknowledged before capturing his gaze with hers, "and he knows that my heart belongs to you." She lightly pressed her hand to his heart, "You don't have to feel jealous or threatened by Coop. Just think of him as a, I don't know, a guardian angel of sorts looking out for us."

"For you," he muttered.

"For us," she emphatically declared before kissing his chest and murmuring, "I love you, Cole, and I love our children."

"I know," he sighed as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "And I know how Coop helped you with your insecurities when you were pregnant with Sami and we were going up against Billie and Christy. And I'm grateful for that and for still keeping an eye on all of us six years later. And I know you don't feel anything more than friendship towards him but he is a Cupid and you've fallen for them before."

"That was before I met you." She squeezed her arms tightly around his waist and promised, "You won't ever lose my love. Close your eyes, let me show you…"

Cole did as she requested and opened his heart completely to her. And he stood that way with her under the hot shower spray until they both felt peaceful and content. Slowly, he pulled back and, lightly running his fingers along her belly, he asked, "And what about this little one? She give you an easier time today?" But when Phoebe suddenly leaned into him again, his heart began to pound, "Phoebe? Did something happen at the doctor? Is the baby okay?"

She deeply inhaled his scent, pressed her cheek to his chest, and wrapped her arms even tighter around his waist, "She's fine. A little small but --"

He gripped her upper arms and pried her free, "Small? What's that mean small?"

"That means," she wearily sputtered as she wiped some remaining shampoo from her stinging eyes, "now we know why I'm so much bigger at this point than I was with any of the other girls and why this pregnancy's been more tiring than the others."

"Don't talk in riddles," he demanded with worry as he quickly rinsed away the last suds of the shampoo. "What's wrong with the baby?"

"Nothing," she promised as she gazed up at him through squinted eyes. "Her heartbeat's strong and --"

"Phoebe?" he gasped when she abruptly stopped speaking and hunched over, butting her head into his chest. Immediately steadying them both, he rubbed the spot in her side where she'd moved her hand and, simultaneously, he reached for the shower control.

"No," she grabbed his arm after taking a deep breath, "don't turn it off. The water feels so good."

"But --"

"I'm okay," she tried to assure him, "honest. She's just a little impatient with her mommy to tell you her secret."

"I swear, Phoebe, if you don't tell me what's going on right --"

"Our little girls are always good at hide and seek, you know that," she suddenly smiled. "The way they use their powers and can find the --"

"Enough," Cole pressed his index finger to her lips. "Tell me about the baby. Now."

"She's playing hide and seek too," she replied, suddenly averting her eyes from his. Would the news freak him out? They'd never really discussed having children, only the one she'd seen in her premonitions. They'd certainly never mentioned any numbers and simply accepted each additional pregnancy for the surprised blessing it was. But would five children, all under the age of six, be too much for him? And what if the twin was another girl? Would he resent having only daughters?

"Phoebe," he tipped up her chin, "tell me what's wrong…please."

Averting her gaze again, she toyed with some chest hair a moment before quietly repeating, "She's playing hide and seek…with her twin." She felt him stiffen and slowly looked up, "Cole?"

"Twin?" he uttered in a hoarse voice. "Twin? She's a twin?" He immediately gazed down at her belly and, with trembling fingers, caressed it, "Twins. We're having twins," he suddenly grinned, "two more little girls…"

"Maybe not," Phoebe warned him. "Her body was hiding the twin's and we couldn't see for sure. It could be a boy."

"I don't care as long as they're healthy." But panic welled up inside him again and he gripped her arms again, "They are healthy, aren't they? You said her heartbeat's strong, right?"

Sbe nodded, "Both of theirs." He was truly thrilled by the news, she felt it. Even the thought of five girls sent waves of excitement coursing through him. "I love you," she kissed his chest before reaching for the sponge, "wanna help me clean 'em up? Their daddy's still a little dirty and now I am too."

But, instead of speaking, Cole wrapped her tightly in his arms and, under the spray, kissed her passionately.

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