AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay I added a bunch of little things, took some things out
added a couple big things. I gave it a bit more detail and changed the
fight a little. I think it sounds better so just read it and then tell me
what you think when your done. Let's try for more than one review shall we?
Piper woke much later the next morning than she usually did and trudged her way downstairs. She felt groggy and if she didn't have a cup of coffee she'd be grumpy for the rest of the day. As she entered the kitchen she headed straight for the coffee machine, barely acknowledging the fact that her husband was sitting at the head of the table with the twins in high chairs and Shawn in his lap.
"Well you don't look too good," he observed.
She almost cursed at him, but stopped herself in time to remember the three pairs of virgin ears sitting around the table. Since she couldn't very well tell Leo Phoebe's dilemma without Phoebe's consent, she decided to stick with the safest route. "How was your night?"
Leo shrugged his shoulders. "Coulda' been better. Phoebe already left and took Patience with her. Wanna tell me why she spent the night?"
"Ya' know I'd love to, but that's something Phoebe's gonna have to tell everyone in her own time," Piper shook her head and reveled in the first sip of her daily coffee. "You're a God," she complimented Leo's cooking skills, however elementary they were.
Leo ignored her last comment and focused on the first. "Is she all right? Did something happen with her and Cole last night?"
"I don't know what to make of the situation Leo, I just know I have mixed feelings on the subject, and Phoebe. Well Phoebe's just plain confused," Piper shrugged.
"Tell me Piper, I might be able to help," Leo pleaded. He knew it was a lost cause, asking Piper to tell him something Phoebe should. She may have mood swings and a short temper, but her loyalty to her family was something she took serious. She'd never tell a secret unless it threatened someone's life.
Piper stared at him, worrying her lip. She shouldn't tell him, but it was a dangerous dilemma her sister was in, and everyone knew the story, everyone was there, with the acceptation of Glenn, but he knew never the less. Still, this was Phoebe's dilemma, and she had some time yet before she'd have to tell, for she would soon, but not soon enough. If Phoebe didn't tell, then she would be forced to tell them herself. Either way it would get out. She sighed. "I can't, Phoebe's gotta be the one. She'll tell everyone together in her own time." With that she walked out of the kitchen, fearing she might just spill the beans if she stayed.
* * * * *
ONE WEEK LATER:
Phoebe unlocked the door, holding Patience's hand in one hand and her briefcase in the other. She let go of Patience's hand once the door was open and her daughter raced inside. She let her briefcase fall beside the table near the door for the moment and went immediately into the kitchen for an aspirin. Her head was pounding as if someone were beating her in the head with a sledgehammer.
"Daddy!" Patience exclaimed as she ran upstairs and into the open office of the loft. "You're home!"
Phoebe froze and nearly dropped the glass of water in the sink as she looked up into the eyes of the husband she'd managed to avoid for almost a week. His arms were wrapped around his daughter in a bear hug, but his eyes stayed on her, distant and un-welcoming. "Hey Princess, how was your day?" he asked, turning his attention back to his daughter.
"Great!" Patience exclaimed with enthusiasm. "We made pictures of our families today." She pulled her painting out of her book bag and held it up proudly for Cole to examine.
Cole took the picture from her and studied it noting the three sisters, Leo, Glenn and himself, the cousins and Patience on the side. "Awe it's the best painting in the world Princess!" he exclaimed ignoring the smears of paint and the fact that the heads were larger than the sun. It was a perfectly good painting for a three-year-old, and a masterpiece in his eyes. "Let's hang it right here," he hung it on the wall beside the stairs with thumbtacks in his desk.
"That way everyone'll see it!" she exclaimed.
"Exactly," he gave her a kiss on the forehead and pulled away. "Now how about you go play while mommy and I have a talk?"
Patience nodded and skipped off into the playroom opposite the master bedroom.
Cole slowly stood up from his squatting position, his eyes following Phoebe as she mulled around the kitchen, intentionally avoiding his gaze. She could feel his anger flowing through her before he said a word thanks to her newest power, empathy.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he hit the final stair and she pulled out a package of frozen ground beef.
"Cooking dinner," she replied, still avoiding his gaze and trying to keep her tone light and aloof.
"Tonight's family dinner night, remember?" he reminded her.
"Damn," she sighed as she'd already opened the package.
"Don't curse," he warned. "Patience is upstairs." She didn't say anything, but he watched as she pulled a ziplock out of the cabinet and put the meat inside. "We need to talk Phoebe," he suggested following her every move.
"About?" she inquired, knowing full well what he ment.
"You know what I mean Phoebe. This has gone on long enough, tell me what's going on with you," he said not as a request, but a demand. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
"I'm not avoiding you," she lied.
"Oh yeah, then how come we haven't spoken in a week? How come you haven't slept in our bed since you had that premonition? Was it that fucking bad Phoebe?" he asked, his voice slowly progressing into a yell. "Huh? Was it?"
She whirled around nearly bumping into him. "Stop," she told him through clenched teeth.
"Stop what? Yelling?" he demanded. "Why would I stop when this is the only way I can get you to respond to anything I say?"
"Patience is upstairs!" she reminded him, her own temper was starting to boil and unnecessary tears were rising within her.
"Tell me what you saw Phoebe!" he yelled ignoring her protests.
"I'll tell you when I'm ready!" she contoured.
"No, you'll tell me now," he commanded.
"I can't talk to you right now!" she yelled back and pushed past him fully intending to race upstairs. She made it halfway to the stairs before he grabbed her arm and yanked her back to face him.
"Why can't you tell me? It couldn't have been that horrible!" he asked.
"Yes it was!" she screamed and yanked her arm out of his grip. "You don't know what I saw, so don't pretend like you do when you know nothing!" A few tears spilled down her cheeks in spite of her attempt to hold them back and she let herself sit down on the couch of the living room and let her head fall into her hands.
"Then you should tell me and I'll make it right!" he replied. He was still yelling but not as loudly as before.
"If I tell you everything you'll hate me," she answered in as close to a calm voice as she could manage, but her voice wavered with the force of the tears that threatened.
He stopped and stared at her, shocked by her words. "I'll never hate you Phoebe, never," he said softly, sitting down next to her. "Tell me what's got you scared of me Honey. I need to know so I can make it right. I will make it right."
"Piper's going to kill us if we're late," she said in a last attempt to redirect the conversation.
"She'll understand," he replied and took one of her hands in his for she was shacking terribly. He let his thumb stroke the back of her hand gently, a silent urging for her to continue.
Phoebe stared at him while a battle went on inside her. Should she tell him just that she was pregnant? or all of it? The battle raged on, but in the end the whole truth won. "I-I'm pregnant Cole, that's what I saw in my premonition. I saw myself pregnant, I saw myself give birth. To a girl, a beautiful baby girl," she explained.
His eyes twinkled with happiness and he started to open his mouth, but she stopped him. She could feel his happiness and she couldn't bare the thought of crushing it with her next words but it had to be done, he wanted the truth.
"I'm not done. Please hear me out before you decide whether you're happy or angry." He nodded slowly, but his eyes still twinkled and his mouth was twitching as if he were ready to burst into a smile.
"Everyone knows Bera told me something that night, and I've never been able to tell anyone what it was, least of all you. But I guess I have to now," she took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Cole, you have another daughter. She's yours and Bera's and her name is Raven. I was never sure if Bera was lying or not, but now I'm sure. I saw her Cole, she was stealing our baby." She waited a few seconds before looking up.
When she did she was completely and utterly confused, he looked guilty. Her eyes pricked with tears again as she realized the truth. "You knew all along, didn't you?"
"I should've told you," he nodded slowly. "I shouldn't have let you find out that way, not from her. But I wasn't sure I believed it myself. I was 16 Phoebe, I didn't think I was capable of getting a woman pregnant."
"That's why you knew who she was, and all that stuff about her. You knew where her layer was. because you'd been there before?" Phoebe repeated. She wouldn't cry, she would NOT cry.
"I'm sorry," he nodded and hung his head. "I could come up with a million excuses, but none of them would make what happened right."
"You're right," Phoebe agreed quietly. She surprised herself and him by putting her hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. "But you were young," she gave a little laugh, "and you were horny. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen."
It made him smile, but inside he still felt guilty for the million things he'd done wrong, and most of all, for all the pain he'd caused Phoebe. He shouldn't have been such an ass and demanded she tell him. He'd made her cry, something he'd promised he'd never do in his wedding vows, and he'd made her question him. Most of all he was pissed that Bera had had the nerve to tell Phoebe. "What are we going to do now?" he asked as a long silence fell upon them.
Phoebe lifted her shoulders and let them fall carelessly. "I don't know, but we'll get through this. We've been through tougher jams than this before. We'll find a way."
He nodded in agreement then reached over and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. "I'm so sorry I never told you," he whispered.
"It's okay Cole," she replied.
"And I'm sorry you found out through her," he added.
"It's okay," she repeated.
"And-" he started to say he was sorry for yelling but she stopped him by placing a soft kiss on his lips.
"It's okay Cole, everything's okay," she told him firmly. He sighed and nodded, then let her rest her head on his shoulder, content just to hold her for the moment. God, he loved this woman with all his heart. He'd never ment to hurt her, to make her cry, but he did and that didn't sit well with him. He'd make it up to her some how, some way.
"Mommy? Daddy?" Patience asked from the bottom of the stairs.
Together they looked over at their daughter's tear streaked face. "Oh, Sweety, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked concerned as she walked over to them wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Are you guys still fighting?" she asked, coming to stand in front of them with Pooh tucked under her arm.
"No Princess, we're not fighting anymore," Cole told her and pulled her gently into his lap. "But Mommy and I want to tell you something," he looked to Phoebe for support and she smiled and gave him a slight nod. "You're going to be a big sister. Mommy's going to have a baby."
Patience stared for a moment as if she didn't understand, but then she smiled brightly. "I'm gonna have a little sister I can play with?"
Phoebe looked at Cole and smiled. "Yes you are Sweety."
"Cool!!!" she exclaimed happily. "When's she coming?"
"Oh it'll be a while, Princess, but she'll be here soon enough," Cole explained, smiling at his daughter's innocence.
Patience frowned, but still looked every bit as cute as she did when she smiled. "Well if I'm gonna have to wait then can we go eat now? I'm hungry."
"Oh!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I totally forgot!"
"Don't worry I'll shimmer us," Cole suggested. He took Pooh out of Patience's arms and set him gently on the table, then picked her up into his arms. He stood up and so did Phoebe, then he wrapped his arms around her and smiled, giving her a loving squeeze. She smiled in return as she felt herself disappearing. The vision of the loft was replaced with the kitchen on the Manor of her childhood home.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I hope that's better than the last chapter 5 I had up. Please review and tell me yes or no. Bye!
Piper woke much later the next morning than she usually did and trudged her way downstairs. She felt groggy and if she didn't have a cup of coffee she'd be grumpy for the rest of the day. As she entered the kitchen she headed straight for the coffee machine, barely acknowledging the fact that her husband was sitting at the head of the table with the twins in high chairs and Shawn in his lap.
"Well you don't look too good," he observed.
She almost cursed at him, but stopped herself in time to remember the three pairs of virgin ears sitting around the table. Since she couldn't very well tell Leo Phoebe's dilemma without Phoebe's consent, she decided to stick with the safest route. "How was your night?"
Leo shrugged his shoulders. "Coulda' been better. Phoebe already left and took Patience with her. Wanna tell me why she spent the night?"
"Ya' know I'd love to, but that's something Phoebe's gonna have to tell everyone in her own time," Piper shook her head and reveled in the first sip of her daily coffee. "You're a God," she complimented Leo's cooking skills, however elementary they were.
Leo ignored her last comment and focused on the first. "Is she all right? Did something happen with her and Cole last night?"
"I don't know what to make of the situation Leo, I just know I have mixed feelings on the subject, and Phoebe. Well Phoebe's just plain confused," Piper shrugged.
"Tell me Piper, I might be able to help," Leo pleaded. He knew it was a lost cause, asking Piper to tell him something Phoebe should. She may have mood swings and a short temper, but her loyalty to her family was something she took serious. She'd never tell a secret unless it threatened someone's life.
Piper stared at him, worrying her lip. She shouldn't tell him, but it was a dangerous dilemma her sister was in, and everyone knew the story, everyone was there, with the acceptation of Glenn, but he knew never the less. Still, this was Phoebe's dilemma, and she had some time yet before she'd have to tell, for she would soon, but not soon enough. If Phoebe didn't tell, then she would be forced to tell them herself. Either way it would get out. She sighed. "I can't, Phoebe's gotta be the one. She'll tell everyone together in her own time." With that she walked out of the kitchen, fearing she might just spill the beans if she stayed.
* * * * *
ONE WEEK LATER:
Phoebe unlocked the door, holding Patience's hand in one hand and her briefcase in the other. She let go of Patience's hand once the door was open and her daughter raced inside. She let her briefcase fall beside the table near the door for the moment and went immediately into the kitchen for an aspirin. Her head was pounding as if someone were beating her in the head with a sledgehammer.
"Daddy!" Patience exclaimed as she ran upstairs and into the open office of the loft. "You're home!"
Phoebe froze and nearly dropped the glass of water in the sink as she looked up into the eyes of the husband she'd managed to avoid for almost a week. His arms were wrapped around his daughter in a bear hug, but his eyes stayed on her, distant and un-welcoming. "Hey Princess, how was your day?" he asked, turning his attention back to his daughter.
"Great!" Patience exclaimed with enthusiasm. "We made pictures of our families today." She pulled her painting out of her book bag and held it up proudly for Cole to examine.
Cole took the picture from her and studied it noting the three sisters, Leo, Glenn and himself, the cousins and Patience on the side. "Awe it's the best painting in the world Princess!" he exclaimed ignoring the smears of paint and the fact that the heads were larger than the sun. It was a perfectly good painting for a three-year-old, and a masterpiece in his eyes. "Let's hang it right here," he hung it on the wall beside the stairs with thumbtacks in his desk.
"That way everyone'll see it!" she exclaimed.
"Exactly," he gave her a kiss on the forehead and pulled away. "Now how about you go play while mommy and I have a talk?"
Patience nodded and skipped off into the playroom opposite the master bedroom.
Cole slowly stood up from his squatting position, his eyes following Phoebe as she mulled around the kitchen, intentionally avoiding his gaze. She could feel his anger flowing through her before he said a word thanks to her newest power, empathy.
"What are you doing?" he asked as he hit the final stair and she pulled out a package of frozen ground beef.
"Cooking dinner," she replied, still avoiding his gaze and trying to keep her tone light and aloof.
"Tonight's family dinner night, remember?" he reminded her.
"Damn," she sighed as she'd already opened the package.
"Don't curse," he warned. "Patience is upstairs." She didn't say anything, but he watched as she pulled a ziplock out of the cabinet and put the meat inside. "We need to talk Phoebe," he suggested following her every move.
"About?" she inquired, knowing full well what he ment.
"You know what I mean Phoebe. This has gone on long enough, tell me what's going on with you," he said not as a request, but a demand. "Why have you been avoiding me?"
"I'm not avoiding you," she lied.
"Oh yeah, then how come we haven't spoken in a week? How come you haven't slept in our bed since you had that premonition? Was it that fucking bad Phoebe?" he asked, his voice slowly progressing into a yell. "Huh? Was it?"
She whirled around nearly bumping into him. "Stop," she told him through clenched teeth.
"Stop what? Yelling?" he demanded. "Why would I stop when this is the only way I can get you to respond to anything I say?"
"Patience is upstairs!" she reminded him, her own temper was starting to boil and unnecessary tears were rising within her.
"Tell me what you saw Phoebe!" he yelled ignoring her protests.
"I'll tell you when I'm ready!" she contoured.
"No, you'll tell me now," he commanded.
"I can't talk to you right now!" she yelled back and pushed past him fully intending to race upstairs. She made it halfway to the stairs before he grabbed her arm and yanked her back to face him.
"Why can't you tell me? It couldn't have been that horrible!" he asked.
"Yes it was!" she screamed and yanked her arm out of his grip. "You don't know what I saw, so don't pretend like you do when you know nothing!" A few tears spilled down her cheeks in spite of her attempt to hold them back and she let herself sit down on the couch of the living room and let her head fall into her hands.
"Then you should tell me and I'll make it right!" he replied. He was still yelling but not as loudly as before.
"If I tell you everything you'll hate me," she answered in as close to a calm voice as she could manage, but her voice wavered with the force of the tears that threatened.
He stopped and stared at her, shocked by her words. "I'll never hate you Phoebe, never," he said softly, sitting down next to her. "Tell me what's got you scared of me Honey. I need to know so I can make it right. I will make it right."
"Piper's going to kill us if we're late," she said in a last attempt to redirect the conversation.
"She'll understand," he replied and took one of her hands in his for she was shacking terribly. He let his thumb stroke the back of her hand gently, a silent urging for her to continue.
Phoebe stared at him while a battle went on inside her. Should she tell him just that she was pregnant? or all of it? The battle raged on, but in the end the whole truth won. "I-I'm pregnant Cole, that's what I saw in my premonition. I saw myself pregnant, I saw myself give birth. To a girl, a beautiful baby girl," she explained.
His eyes twinkled with happiness and he started to open his mouth, but she stopped him. She could feel his happiness and she couldn't bare the thought of crushing it with her next words but it had to be done, he wanted the truth.
"I'm not done. Please hear me out before you decide whether you're happy or angry." He nodded slowly, but his eyes still twinkled and his mouth was twitching as if he were ready to burst into a smile.
"Everyone knows Bera told me something that night, and I've never been able to tell anyone what it was, least of all you. But I guess I have to now," she took a deep breath to steady her voice. "Cole, you have another daughter. She's yours and Bera's and her name is Raven. I was never sure if Bera was lying or not, but now I'm sure. I saw her Cole, she was stealing our baby." She waited a few seconds before looking up.
When she did she was completely and utterly confused, he looked guilty. Her eyes pricked with tears again as she realized the truth. "You knew all along, didn't you?"
"I should've told you," he nodded slowly. "I shouldn't have let you find out that way, not from her. But I wasn't sure I believed it myself. I was 16 Phoebe, I didn't think I was capable of getting a woman pregnant."
"That's why you knew who she was, and all that stuff about her. You knew where her layer was. because you'd been there before?" Phoebe repeated. She wouldn't cry, she would NOT cry.
"I'm sorry," he nodded and hung his head. "I could come up with a million excuses, but none of them would make what happened right."
"You're right," Phoebe agreed quietly. She surprised herself and him by putting her hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. "But you were young," she gave a little laugh, "and you were horny. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen."
It made him smile, but inside he still felt guilty for the million things he'd done wrong, and most of all, for all the pain he'd caused Phoebe. He shouldn't have been such an ass and demanded she tell him. He'd made her cry, something he'd promised he'd never do in his wedding vows, and he'd made her question him. Most of all he was pissed that Bera had had the nerve to tell Phoebe. "What are we going to do now?" he asked as a long silence fell upon them.
Phoebe lifted her shoulders and let them fall carelessly. "I don't know, but we'll get through this. We've been through tougher jams than this before. We'll find a way."
He nodded in agreement then reached over and pulled her into his arms, holding her close. "I'm so sorry I never told you," he whispered.
"It's okay Cole," she replied.
"And I'm sorry you found out through her," he added.
"It's okay," she repeated.
"And-" he started to say he was sorry for yelling but she stopped him by placing a soft kiss on his lips.
"It's okay Cole, everything's okay," she told him firmly. He sighed and nodded, then let her rest her head on his shoulder, content just to hold her for the moment. God, he loved this woman with all his heart. He'd never ment to hurt her, to make her cry, but he did and that didn't sit well with him. He'd make it up to her some how, some way.
"Mommy? Daddy?" Patience asked from the bottom of the stairs.
Together they looked over at their daughter's tear streaked face. "Oh, Sweety, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked concerned as she walked over to them wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Are you guys still fighting?" she asked, coming to stand in front of them with Pooh tucked under her arm.
"No Princess, we're not fighting anymore," Cole told her and pulled her gently into his lap. "But Mommy and I want to tell you something," he looked to Phoebe for support and she smiled and gave him a slight nod. "You're going to be a big sister. Mommy's going to have a baby."
Patience stared for a moment as if she didn't understand, but then she smiled brightly. "I'm gonna have a little sister I can play with?"
Phoebe looked at Cole and smiled. "Yes you are Sweety."
"Cool!!!" she exclaimed happily. "When's she coming?"
"Oh it'll be a while, Princess, but she'll be here soon enough," Cole explained, smiling at his daughter's innocence.
Patience frowned, but still looked every bit as cute as she did when she smiled. "Well if I'm gonna have to wait then can we go eat now? I'm hungry."
"Oh!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I totally forgot!"
"Don't worry I'll shimmer us," Cole suggested. He took Pooh out of Patience's arms and set him gently on the table, then picked her up into his arms. He stood up and so did Phoebe, then he wrapped his arms around her and smiled, giving her a loving squeeze. She smiled in return as she felt herself disappearing. The vision of the loft was replaced with the kitchen on the Manor of her childhood home.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I hope that's better than the last chapter 5 I had up. Please review and tell me yes or no. Bye!