The Wings of Love

"Hey, sleepy head!"

Phoebe barely moved, and Cole smiled, amused.

"Come on Phoebe, it is late already…"

"Oh, can't I just get a little more time in bed?"

"I wouldn't mind," Cole answered, while pulling her to him, "I certainly wouldn't mind at all."

Phoebe smiled even with her eyes closed, as she cuddled closer.

"But of course, I promised to Piper…" She said reluctantly.

Cole sighed while caressing her hair, then her shoulders suggestively.

"Can't she just have Paige go with her, this time?"

"Cole…I promised. Besides, I know that she is a little nervous and she trusts that I somehow have experience now…"

"Why don't you call ahead? Leo might be back."

"It does not matter. She said that he already left her twice during a prenatal class because of the Elders."

"Well then, I guess that you have to go," he whispered softly, while kissing her neck.

"Oh, you're not fair," she replied, but still smiling.

"Who's not fair," he asked, as candidly as he could, but while pushing her shoulder strap aside.

He started down her shoulders, depositing little kisses that only teased her more, and she sighed contentedly against her best intentions.

"Oh," she whispered under her quickening breath, "I am sure that I have some time…"

She then pulled him to her, already parting her lips and forgetting altogether about her promise.

Their kiss deepened, as she began responding in kind to his ever more demanding caresses… However, just then, the baby's cries brought them out of the moment rudely.

Phoebe still tried, while letting her hands slide languorously on his back:

"Let Paige do it…"

Cole pulled away with a grimace and a sigh…

"Hum, I forgot, she is already at work…"

"Oh… Well, I guess that I should be getting dressed then…"

Cole gave her a long look, and then turned away reluctantly. Before going out the door, he added:

"You know, I love our son, but sometimes…"

"Cole!"

"Oh, alright, you know that's not what I mean…"

In fact, Phoebe knew exactly what he meant, as she watched him going out of the room.

She looked at the door for a long moment, wondering about this. It was true that lately, their moments alone had been scarce.

With all that happened, and the comings and goings in the house, they were overdue for a vacation. She was still considering it, as she got up and dressed up quickly.

"You are supposed to breathe deeply, then relax Piper…You are so tense, one would think that your time has come!"

Piper turned to her sister with an annoyed expression.

"How am I supposed to feel? I am seven months pregnant and my husband is constantly off god knows where. He has not even been able to attend one complete session yet…"

Phoebe frowned:

"I thought that you said you understood?"

"I may understand, but that does not mean that I have to like it. The way things are going, he will be with another charge when this baby is born…"

Phoebe could sense the bitterness in her voice. She knew the feeling too well. At about the same time during her own pregnancy, she had feared more than once that Cole would not be there at all for them. However, she could sense that there was something more to it.

"Are you sure that it is his absences that are making you this upset? After all, he has been doing this since we've known him, it is nothing new…"

Piper was trying, yet again, to get her breathing right and she gave up with a sigh, turning to Phoebe.

She was about to snap at her, without really knowing why, then she thought better of it.

"I don't know. I think that those hormones are playing tricks on me. I…"

"What," Phoebe questioned, suddenly alerted by her vague attitude.

"Well…It seems to me that Leo has been more distant in the last week…"

Phoebe smiled reassuringly.

"Oh come on, Piper. Leo loves you. This is not going to change…"

"I know," Piper uttered, although hesitantly. "But still, I feel like something is on his mind. And ever since he lied about Cole, I cannot be sure that he is not hiding something else…"

Phoebe frowned but continued affectionately:

"Ok yes, he did lie, but it was for a good cause. I accepted what Cole did already, you should really forgive him for this little thing."

"I did forgive him…"

"Maybe, he is not sure of that?"

Piper shrugged, and her eyes fell on a few other couples, who were still practicing their breathing, or just smiling at each other. They looked so happy, and normal. That brought a thought to Piper. "Normal, that is it, I long for normal again."

"What?" Phoebe questioned her out of turn comment.

"I mean look at them. They have no magic in their lives, only normal problems. No orbing, or demons, or fighting evil in all the senses of the word. Maybe that is just what we need? A vacation from magic?"

Phoebe was about to answer that they could not really take a vacation from themselves, but she suddenly reflected that Piper might have a point. In fact, it reached some of her own thoughts of the morning, at least about the vacation.

"You know," she began slowly, "this might not be such a bad idea."

"Oh Phoebe, I was just dreaming here…I know that we cannot change what we or what our husbands are…"

"Yes, but we could…pretend for a while…"

"What do you mean?" Piper asked.

"Well, this morning, I was just thinking that we needed some kind of vacation, Cole and me. But maybe, we only need a change of décor?"

"Hum. You think so? And what about that vacation from magic thing."

Phoebe saw that she had picked her interest there.

"The source is dead. The other demons are rather quiet. What if for once, we all went on a real vacation, the old fashion way…"

Piper smiled skeptically:

"The old fashion way?"

Phoebe was about to explain but she caught sight of the instructor looking toward them irritably.

"Oh," she whispered, "I think that we should concentrate on your lesson. Let's talk about it later…"

When Piper looked at her questioningly, Phoebe nodded vigorously toward the instructor and Piper understood, going back to the lesson.

"You want what," Cole exclaimed.

"I want to go on a vacation without magic, none whatsoever…"

They had all gone to the manor, after Cole collected them from the prenatal class, and he had sensed all the way there that she had something in mind, but she would not say. He had not expected this, however. Frowning, he continued:

"You really want to go on a vacation while we have no idea what is going to come our way? And what's this thing about no magic?"

"Just what I said," Phoebe continued, " I want us to go on a vacation like any other people would. No orbing, not flashing, no using magic for anything. It is not like we cannot afford it."

"But…"

Piper intervened:

"I think that this is a great idea. Magic only brought us trouble until now, and it causes all kinds of tensions," she added, thinking of Leo.

"And where exactly are we supposed to be going," Cole questioned, with obvious annoyance.

Phoebe stared at him in surprise. She had not expected him to be that reticent.

"Why does it bother you so much?"

Cole answered quickly:

"I did not say that it bothered me…"

"You did not have to…"

Rather than answering this, he shrugged and tried to sound less annoyed when he questioned again:

"Where are we supposed to go?"

Phoebe frowned, but answered nevertheless:

"I was thinking of a trip to Europe actually."

"Europe? Why not a tropical Island? It is the middle of winter after all. I thought that it was the usual vacation spot."

Piper answered this one:

"Well, we don't have to do everything other people do, and we really wanted to go back there. The last time was pleasant enough, in spite of the ghost business… However, we did not have nearly enough time to enjoy it fully."

"If that is true, why plan to lose all this time on the trip? I could get us there in the blink of an eye. Then, you could enjoy your vacations all the more."

"No magic, I mean it," Phoebe insisted, provoking another irritated gesture from Cole.

A whitelighter's chime prevented her from questioning him any further on this. However, this time it was Piper who exclaimed, seeing her husband coming back, accompanied by an attractive blonde woman.

"Leo?"

Leo was talking to the other whitelighter with obvious irritation and did not seem to hear his wife's call.

"I told you not to come here. Just go back up. You will do just fine."

"But Leo…"

"No, I mean it. You should not be here…"

The young woman pouted and was already orbing out when Piper called again, much louder:

"Leo!"

This one turned to her, and for a brief instant, she thought that she saw a hint of guilt. However, he quickly smiled and came to her as if nothing had happened.

Piper stopped him at arms' length.

"Hey? Who was that?"

Again, she thought that she saw a shadow cross over his features, but he dismissed her question quickly, with what looked like a forced smile:

"It was nobody, just a new whitelighter in need of help… Won't you let me kiss you? I missed you," he said, as he took another step toward her.

"So, what you mean is that this is another of your whitelighter' secrets that I cannot ask about…"

Leo' smile faded noticeably.

"You know the rules, Piper…"

Piper could not help thinking that he seemed only too happy to use this argument. However, she had missed him too, as he had been gone for over a day. What's more, she decided to keep this discussion for later, as she could feel Cole and Phoebe staring at them.

"Anyhow," she shrugged, "I have some news, and was wondering if you were planning to stick around for more than a few hours?"

This time, Leo smiled frankly:

"As a matter of fact, the Elders promised me a whole two weeks with you."

Piper forgot about her concerns right then:

"They have," she asked with a wide smile.

"Yes! I know how difficult it has been for you, and I asked them to give me this time. For once, they agreed."

"Oh that is wonderful," Piper exclaimed. "And such perfect timing…"

"How so?"

Piper told him of their idea and in the meantime, Phoebe decided to pull Cole aside.

"Why are you being like this," she asked, when they got to the hallway.

"Like what?'

She could still feel the irritation in his answer.

"What would it hurt to do this my way?"

"Nothing. However, it is still ridiculous." When he saw that she was about to protest, he continued venting his grievances quickly:

"And why is it that we are going with them? I thought that vacations meant Jason and us. Not the whole family again…"

This was not going well, and the worst for Phoebe was that she had no idea why. Nevertheless, and in spite of her growing irritation with his objections, she answered his last question:

"I just thought that Piper needed some time away from here, as well as Paige…"

"What? Paige too?"

Phoebe sighed:

"Paige has gone through a bad ordeal of her own not long ago, and she could use this vacation as well. What's more," she added quickly, "since we cannot leave Jason behind, she can help us with him and give us some quality time…"

Cole could not help the skepticism in his voice:

"Like she does here?"

The tone of his voice left Phoebe little doubts he was not convinced that she helped as much as she implied.

"Cole! You are not being fair."

"Am I? You do know that we have spent more time dealing with her problems than getting any help from her. I like her fine, but really this is beginning to be a burden."

Phoebe was flabbergasted. She knew that they had not gotten enough quality time lately, but she had not realized that Cole felt so strongly about it.

"I thought that you understood…"

"I understand, Phoebe," he said with a sigh, suddenly deflated.

"I am sorry," he added, "I don't know why I said that…"

He knew however, but Phoebe's pained expression has convinced him to back down on this. Ever since the darklighter had molested her, Paige had been more sensitive, and he often felt that he could not be himself near her. In truth, he understood that Paige had good reasons to be like this. However, it did not make the life in the house easier for any of them. They all walked on eggshells, worried to say or do something that would hurt her. Both Phoebe and him had often found her on the verge of tears. For the same reason, they had not asked her to baby-sit as much and all the advantage of not being under constant attack by evil was lost. They still had as little time to themselves as they did before.

Phoebe was biting her lips, wondering if she should be angry at his outburst or simply try to accept his apologies. However, she was still convinced that a change of venue, and no magic for a while, might help all of them.

"That is alright, I guess that it's true, somewhat. Still, I do think that a vacation would do us all a world of good, and maybe, it would help Paige getting back on track…"

"If you want…" he caved then. Yet, he questioned.

"You are really serious about this no magic business?"

Something in the way he said it told Phoebe that his outburst about Paige had been mostly a cover up for this main concern. She did not feel like starting another argument now however, and she was convinced that he was only a little surprised.

"Yes, I am…"

"Alright then, I guess that this will have to do." He added with a discreet sigh, that Phoebe did not miss. She promised herself to question him further on this later. For now, she only wanted to tell Piper that they were on, and go announced it to Paige as well.

On their way back to the living room, they heard Leo exclaim somewhat in the same manner Cole had earlier.

"What do you mean, no magic?"

Phoebe answered for Piper:

"What's with you guys? Can't we live without magic for a few days?"

Leo was taken aback, and turned a questioning stare toward Cole.

This one just shrugged, unwilling to restart this discussion.

Leo looked back at the girls and finally said:

"Well, if you put it this way…"

Forgetting the men's objections, Piper and Phoebe smiled happily, already in the vacation mood.

Ever since they had gotten on the plane, Cole had become increasingly irritable, to Phoebe's chagrin. The last straw had been when the pilot had announced a detour toward Florida because of a Noreaster storm. It apparently was expanding to most of the East Coast and they had been forced to land there, and to take another plane, which had done nothing to improve Cole's mood. He was complaining just about everything, from the poor service and the turbulence, to the noise level.

"Why we had to put ourselves through that, I will never understand," he was saying now, under his breath.

Phoebe was not certain that he had meant for her to hear, but this time she got angry:

"Ok now, that's enough. What is the matter with you?"

Cole seemed surprised at her outburst.

"Nothing…" he answered curtly.

"Oh no you don't. You have been a pain throughout this trip… I can't believe you."

"What? Is it not enough that we were delayed because of this stupid storm? If we had done what I said, we would already be at destination."

"What does it matter how long it takes? We are together here, aren't we? Why can't you just enjoy the trip? Even Leo has decided to enjoy himself, even if he thought like you at first."

"I'm not Leo," he answered brusquely.

He regretted it immediately, as Phoebe flinched.

"Are you purposefully trying to ruin our vacations?"

He hesitated, and the old couple in the seats next to them saved him from answering that, as they were arguing as well.

"I cannot believe you. Even fifty years later, you are still throwing him in my face. One would think that you would have forgotten by now."

"I married you, that should be enough for you," the woman answered, but with obvious hostility.

The older man pursued angrily:

"If I had known then…"

These people had been another subject of complaint from Cole, as they had been bickering like this non-stop since the take off. Turning away from them, Phoebe said again:

"Well?"

Cole sighed.

"Alright," he replied reluctantly, "if you must know, I do not like the idea of being on this plane."

"What? Why?"

However, she suddenly noticed that he was very tense, and began to wonder about it. This reminded her of their last "trip", where he had insisted on shimmering her to Europe and wait for the others there. At the time, she had believed that he wanted some time alone with her, but now she saw this in a very different light.

"You are not telling me that you are scared of flying, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, why would I be?"

"Then what?"

Instead of answering this, Cole looked ahead toward the cockpit and seemed to be thinking intensely. Then, he turned to Phoebe with a rare smile in the last few hours.

"Nothing at all, you are imagining things… But I promise you that I will make an effort to be more pleasant from now on."

His change of attitude had been so sudden that Phoebe could not help wondering about it. Still, she was not ready to look a gift horse in the mouth, and if he had finally decided to be enjoying himself, she had no intentions to spoil it. However, the couple beside them continued their animated argument.

"If he had been so great, he would have come back for you. I was the one who helped you through this. He never even tried to find you again…"

"You are just a bitter old man…"

Outside the plane, a strange glow appeared to surround it. In the cockpit, the pilot looked at his instruments in total bewilderment. His copilot finally questioned him about it:

"What is it?"

The pilot took a moment longer before answering, looking at the moving controls in front of him, then back at the instruments, obviously puzzled.

"Would you believe me if I told you that the plane is flying herself?"

His copilot made him a face at that.

"Ha, ha, ha! Come on, Glen, that is such an obvious joke!"

"No, really," Glen said. He was pale as death now.

"The autopilot is disengaged, but the controls all work."

The copilot frowned at him:

"Hey, that is not funny. I am starting to worry about you. Maybe, you should have taken the vacation that they offered."

"Peter," Glen uttered irritably, "I am not joking and you can see for yourself that I am telling the truth."

Peter was very skeptical, convinced that he was falling for his pilot's bad humor, but he still checked his own panel. Just like Glen said, the autopilot was indeed disengaged, but the plane flew normally. In fact, he thought that the ride was smoother than before… In spite of this, Peter's face paled as well. He began looking around, half expecting a ghost to appear in the cockpit.

That is when he also remembered with a deepening panic that they had been nearing the accursed Bermuda triangle…

Back outside the plane, the glow began shimmering with bright colors throughout. Then, electric arcs began to multiply along the length of the airliner.

Inside, the woman continued:

"Clay, you really need to get a grip on yourself…"

This name attracted both Phoebe and Cole's attention, if only as a reminder, but it was not until Clay talked that they truly turned to them in surprise.

"Cole was not half the man that you think, Phoebe…"

"Don't you dare," was the old woman's answer.

By then, Phoebe and Cole thought this to be too much of a coincidence.

Phoebe was about to question them directly, when she noticed lightning through the window beyond them. It was not like any lightning that she remembered however, as it was brightly colored, almost reddish.

She was puzzling over this, when another bright flash appeared, bluish in color this time.
"What the?"

She had barely uttered the words that the whole plane seemed to shimmer, as if they were transported somewhere else, then she did not see anything anymore, as she seemingly lost consciousness.

By Justright/Christine Lemieux