Chapter8

In the underworld



"God, I haven't been down here in a while." Cole said to Leo, once they got to the underworld. Nothing changed much.

"Can you sense Phoebe, Leo?" Cole asked, whishing he would be able to sense her, too. But Leo shook his head.

"I guess the Source must have some kind of shield around her" Leo replied, so him and Cole fallowed their gut feeling.

It didn't take them to long to find Phoebe, because Cole still knew his way around and had a pretty good idea where the Source would be hiding one of the Charmed Ones.

"Oh my God, Phoebe" Cole yelled out, when he found her. He rushed towards the cage she was looked in. Leo already saw the keys and unlocked the door. Both men weren't to surprised to find Phoebe so easily, she looked horrible. She looked like she was half dead, with dried blood and dirt everywhere. Her face and body was bruised and cut and her hair was dirty and frizzy.

"Phoebe, Phoebe, can you hear me, Leo and I are here to bring you home" Cole said over and over again, but there was no response from her. She looked unconscious, if she wasn't already dead.

As soon as Leo unlocked the cage, Cole got Phoebe out and held her in his arms. "Oh God, Phoebe, what did they do to you?" Cole was shocked to find that his Phoebe was all bony and skinny; she not only looked fragile but felt it too.

"Don't worry, my love, you are safe now. Nothing will ever happen to you again." Cole whispered in his ear and after eye contact with Leo, he shimmered them both back to the Halliwell Mansion, with Leo fallowing.

Back home the girls were shocked to see their sister like that. First Leo healed her and then Paige and Piper took Phoebe upstairs and cleaned her up. During the whole time Phoebe still didn't response to anything, but Piper just kept talking anyways.

"It's gonna be okay, Phoebe. Don't worry about a thing. A bath will do you good, I'll even wash your hair, like I used to do when we were younger. And then you can lie down in your own bed, in your room. Well, actually it's Cole's room now, but you don't mind, right?" Piper smiled and kept talking.

Paige tried to be as helpful as Piper, but couldn't stop wondering what kind of abuse Phoebe must have suffered.

Downstairs Leo and Cole were sitting in the kitchen, with the image of Phoebe all curled up in that cage, in front of them. They both couldn't get over the fact that Phoebe had suffered for so long.

Tears finally came to Cole's eyes. All of this had been too much for him. To see his love like this, to feel her pain, to wonder what she had been through. He had let her down. She had called him in his dreams and he had ignored her.

"Come on Cole, it's gonna be okay. You know that, don't you? Phoebe is strong, stronger then we give her credit for."

"I know Leo, I know. It's just so hard to see her like this. I'm so worried about her. What if she never wakes up again? Then it is all my fought, because I failed to save her. Because of me the Source took her and because of me she suffered like this." Now Cole cried really hard and all Leo could do was try to make him feel better, but he knew that his trying was in vain. Only Phoebe could make Cole feel better.

Once Phoebe was in bed, Cole went to see her. He took her hand in his and looked at her for a long time, before he started talking.

"Remember the time I asked you to marry me and you said you weren't ready? I knew back then that even that couldn't tear up apart. Nothing could, but then things changed. I was stupid enough to let you go once, I promise you that it won't happen again. I love you, Phoebe Halliwell. And nothing will ever change that. One day you'll be my bride. I know it. Nothing will ever come between us." Slowly Cole lied down next to her and held her in his arms and Phoebe finally felt safe again.

Chao