Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Charmed. I also have nothing to do with the fabulous song "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence.

Setting: July 2007

Nothing I've Become

Now that I know what I'm without
You can't just leave me
Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life

-Evanescence, "Bring me to Life"

Piper held up a shaky hand that was covered in blood and Cole felt a sharp, piercing fear go straight through his heart. "Piper," he said, going to her, desperate to help her and not knowing how.

"Leo," said Piper, breathing heavily, and Cole shook his head. He had no idea where Leo had gone. The grocery store, perhaps. He hadn't been paying attention. Piper was panicked, Cole could tell, and when she tried to stand her knees gave out and she fell to the floor.

"Oh my God," said Cole, terrified. He looked around the kitchen, fearful, eager to find help, and finally realized there was only one person who would be able to hear him. Running from the room as quickly as he could, he skidded to a halt in the conservatory where Wyatt and Chris were playing. "Wyatt," he said, trying to stay calm. "Wyatt, you need to find your dad. You need to get him home now. Please."

Wyatt looked to the spot where Cole was standing, and for a moment Cole thought of begging the child to bring him to life now. He'd risk his plan, if it meant getting Piper safely to the hospital. But a moment later, Wyatt orbed out.

Please, please don't let him be seen by the wrong people, Cole prayed.

Cole rushed back to the kitchen and found that Piper had made a little progress toward the phone. The blood seemed to be everywhere and Cole had never felt quite so panicked in his life. Why did all of Piper's births have to be so dramatic?

Two more minutes dragged by before Wyatt orbed right into the kitchen, holding Leo's hand. "Leo," said Piper, still shaky, but somewhat relieved.

"Piper!" said Leo. He sounded as panicked as Cole felt. "Wyatt," said Leo, more sternly that Cole had ever heard, "go in the other room with your brother!"

Leo grabbed the phone off of the wall and dialed 911, crouching next to Piper and wrapping an arm around her. "Can you stand?" he asked, and Piper shook her head negatively. Leo kissed the side of her head. "It'll be okay," he said. "It'll be okay."

Piper didn't look like she believed him and Cole didn't either. What was taking 911 so long to answer?

"Hi," said Leo finally. Cole let out a sigh. This was almost too painful to watch. "My wife is pregnant and she's begun bleeding vaginally." There was a pause. "How long?" he said to Piper.

"At least fifteen minutes," said Piper through gritted teeth.

"At least fifteen minutes," Leo repeated to the person on the other end. There was another pause. "She's at thirty-eight weeks. This is her third pregnancy, but the second one was very difficult." There was another silence, and then Leo gave the address of the manor and hung up a minute later.

"It'll be okay," he said to Piper again, kissing her head.

"The boys," Piper reminded him.

"I'll watch them," said Cole, for a breathless moment forgetting that he wasn't really there.

"Paige will be fastest," said Leo, and Piper nodded. Cole's stomach plummeted for a moment. Victor was supposed to be there, not Paige. He thought it would be much more difficult to get away if Paige was babysitting.

Leo picked up the phone and dialed quickly, apparently getting through to Paige without problem. When he hung up again he said, "She's going to orb over. Henry's coming too."

A second later, Paige and Henry were standing in the kitchen too. Upon seeing Piper, all of the blood drained from Paige's face.

"Piper," she said, and Cole could tell she was fighting tears.

"The boys," said Piper again.

"They're in the conservatory," said Leo.

Paige nodded, but Henry squeezed her hand and said, "I'll go. You stay with Piper."

Paige nodded again, and crouched on Piper's other side, taking her right hand and holding it tightly. Cole watched helplessly, as close to crying as he had been in years.

"It's July eighteenth," said Piper, her breath hitching in pain.

"I know it's early," said Paige. "But not as early as Wyatt. You'll be okay."

Piper shook her head, and Paige kissed her hand.

"July eighteenth," she repeated. "Prue..."

Cole's eyes widened simultaneously to Leo's. Prue had died at the end of July, but it couldn't possibly have been the eighteenth. It was too horrible; too coincidental.

"Don't think about that right now," said Leo, but he sounded shaken by the thought too.

"What's wrong?" hissed Paige. Cole rolled his eyes. She never knew when to keep her mouth shut.

"Prue died..." began Piper, then she gasped in pain and shut her eyes tightly.

Leo looked significantly at Paige, who seemed to finally grasp what Piper had been trying to say and bowed her head, silent.

It seemed forever before the ambulance arrived, but it must have really only been ten minutes. Piper was hoisted onto a Gurney and wheeled from the house, Leo at her side every moment. The paramedics told him he couldn't go in the ambulance though, so he grabbed the car keys on his way out, promising Piper over and over that he'd be right behind her.

Once they were gone, Paige went back into the kitchen to clean up the blood before the boys had the chance to see it. Cole collapsed wearily onto a chair in the conservatory, watching as Henry cuddled Chris and Wyatt, trying to calm the scared children while hiding his own fear. After a few minutes Paige came back in and took Chris from Henry, holding him close. It was a helpless situation, and there was nothing any of them could do but wait.

Eventually, Paige told Henry that she needed to call Phoebe and Victor to let them know what was going on and Henry agreed, promising to play a game with the kids. They ended up playing Candy Land, though it was almost like two different games were going on at once since Wyatt was playing by the rules and Chris was making up his own. About eight turns in, Paige reappeared and made an overly cheery attempt to be interested in the game.

Cole took to pacing the house, not able to stand the facade of normalcy, staring at the various pictures scattered around the rooms and brooding. He wished Phoebe were there, for his sake, but she did not come. Truly, Cole wasn't surprised. Her child was only a month old, and she'd be no use here at present. Finally, he climbed the stairs to the attic and lay on the ground, waiting for the ring of the telephone.

The call finally came just before midnight. Eagerly, Cole ran downstairs and found Paige and Henry in the living room. Paige was sitting on the arm of the couch, holding Henry's hand, silent tears running down her cheeks.

Not Piper, Cole thought immediately. And, oh, not the baby.

Finally, Paige hung up the telephone and turned to Henry, tears still falling. "Is everything all right?" asked Henry. "Please tell me they made it."

"They did," said Paige, letting loose a sob. "They had to completely knock Piper out and do a c-section and a hysterectomy, but both she and the baby are okay."

"Thank God," said Henry, pulling Paige into his lap and hugging her fiercely. "I was so worried."

"So was I," said Paige. "But a hysterectomy–Piper's going to be so upset."

"Maybe it's for the best," said Henry. Cole privately agreed. Piper was so stubborn, he wasn't sure anything less than being physically unable would stop her from getting pregnant if she wanted to. "The doctors told her she shouldn't have any more children."

Paige nodded, and Henry wiped some of the tears from her face. "I think we need to go to bed," he said. "You're exhausted."

"I know," said Paige. "Leo said he would call Phoebe and Victor. He's going to spend the night. He wants to be there when Piper wakes up."

"Of course," said Henry. He stood, pulling Paige with him and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Paige turned off the lights and the couple disappeared upstairs.

Cole lied down on the couch and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Cole woke to the sounds of Paige, Henry and the kids in the kitchen and grinned so broadly it hurt. Today was the day. Today Wyatt was going to bring him back to life. Today he was going to feel Phoebe in his arms again. Today would be perfect.

"–visit Mommy and Daddy and your new sister today," Paige was saying to Chris and Wyatt as Cole entered the kitchen. "They're all going to be so glad to see you." She turned to Henry. "Are you sure it's okay that you took the day off?"

"It's fine," said Henry. "I know I don't do it often, but I can take time off every once in awhile. Besides, I don't want you to have to handle two kids in a hospital by yourself."

"Phoebe will be there," said Paige, and Cole's heart leapt into his throat.

"Still," said Henry, "I want to see the baby too."

"Ah," Paige teased. "The truth comes out."

"What's the baby's name?" asked Wyatt.

"Prudence Melinda," said Paige, smiling.

Wyatt looked positively mystified, and didn't say anything further, Chris, however, grinned broadly and said, "Prue!"

Paige raised an eyebrow, and glanced at Henry, apparently unwilling to nickname Piper's baby until Piper said so herself. "Prudence, yes," said Paige.

Cole did wonder what they would call her. Prudence seemed too much for a little girl, but Prue, as Chris had so unknowingly suggested, seemed as though it would cut too close for comfort. Piper, he knew, was not as close to being ready for that as she thought she might be. Leo seemed to think so too (he had heard him discussing it with Phoebe once), but had not yet said anything to Piper so far as Cole knew. But what other nickname could there be?

Piper would have been horrified, but Paige and Henry left the breakfast dishes in the sink without even leaving them to soak in water. Neither of them questioned this, and Cole wondered what he would find if he went into their kitchen. Getting the kids ready also seemed to take much longer than it did when Piper and Leo were doing it, and they weren't ready to go until after ten.

Since they had orbed over, Paige had no choice but to orb them first to her apartment and then to drive to the hospital from there. Cole watched as they left, undeniably sad that he wasn't going too. The sadness had an underlying quality of cheer to it though, as he would no doubt be seeing Prudence for himself very soon. Once Wyatt came home, Cole would be on his way.

Quite unfortunately, positive thinking didn't alleviate boredom, and Cole nearly went out of his mind waiting for Paige and the kids to return. It had been a long time since he'd been alone in the manor and it was as dull as watching grass grow. The family didn't return until nearly two o'clock, and by then Cole was ready to scream in frustration. When he saw them, he actually did.

Leo was with them, though he didn't seem happy to be home. The last thing Cole wanted was for Leo to be home while he was using Wyatt to bring him back. Leo being absent had all been part of the plan. He cheered up again, though, when he realized Leo didn't intend to stay long. In fact, it seemed he had merely returned home at Piper's insistence that he take some time to freshen up. Leo said to Paige, more than once, that he was taking a quick shower and then returning to the hospital. Paige, quite forcefully, insisted that he sleep for at least a little while, and Leo finally, reluctantly, agreed. By the time he woke up it was dinnertime, and Leo stayed to eat with the family before leaving again.

Finally, Paige did something advantageous for Cole and put on a video for the kids to watch while she and Henry did the dinner and breakfast dishes.

"Hey, Wyatt," said Cole, wasting no time once Paige left the room. "I heard about your sister. Congratulations."

Wyatt glared vaguely in Cole's direction and said, "Shh! I'm watching Bob the Builder."

Cole glanced at the TV and then back at Wyatt. He had to be careful here. He might only have one chance. "I just wanted to ask a favor, Wyatt," he said. "Then you can go back to watching your video."

"What?" asked Wyatt, disinterested.

"Be quiet!" whined Chris. Wyatt glared at his little brother.

"I was wondering, Wyatt, if you could make me visible. Bring me to life."

"Why?" asked Wyatt, sounding so much like Piper Cole almost wanted to laugh.

"Well, I'll be able to really play with you if you do," said Cole. He didn't want to imply that he was leaving the house in case Wyatt would refuse. Cole liked to think, perhaps egotistically, that he had come to mean something to the boy.

Wyatt seemed to consider this carefully. "Will you play fort?" asked Wyatt. It was his favorite game lately, but things had been too chaotic recently for anyone to find a great deal of time to play it with him. Or at least to keep Chris from accidentally knocking down the carefully constructed fort.

"Of course," said Cole. It wasn't a lie. He'd be Wyatt's uncle for real again soon, and they'd be able to play just as Wyatt played with Henry now.

Wyatt thought for a moment more. "Mommy won't be mad?" he asked.

"Wy-att!" Chris whined.

"No." Okay, that was a lie. But she'd get over it. He thought.

"All right," said Wyatt. Cole's heart flew. It had worked! Wyatt was really going to do it. For a moment, Wyatt sat perfectly still, his eyes shut. Then he waved one of his arms. The air around Cole shimmered and he felt a cold wind. Wyatt opened his eyes and Chris was staring, no longer interested in the television program.

"Who's that?" asked Chris.

"Mr. Sillypants," said Wyatt. "He's going to play fort with us."

"I'm telling!"

"No!" said Cole, reaching out a hand toward Chris. Chris flinched away and glared at Cole, looking surprisingly like Prue.

"It's okay, Chris," said Wyatt.

Cole nodded in agreement and stood up. "I'll be right back," he whispered.

"Where are you going?" asked Wyatt.

"To the bathroom," said Cole, backing away from the boys. "I'll be back."

Wyatt and Chris both watched as he walked out of the room. As soon as he was out of sight, he ran for the front door, escaping into the early twilight as quickly as he could. Once he was a block away he paused, grinned, and patted himself on the back.

"I did it," he said. He laughed, loudly. "I did it!" he yelled. Across the street a man looked at him strangely, but Cole didn't care.

He had done it. He was free. And he was going to find Phoebe, even if it took all night.