"What the hell happened?" Piper asked Paige as she lightly patted Phoebe's face.

Even though her eyes were closed, Phoebe whispered, "Cole?"

"I don't know," Paige answered as she pushed Piper's hands aside and held her own hands over Phoebe's face. "I heard a thud and when I opened the door, I found her on the floor. I only got her onto the bed when you came in. Piper, this isn't working. Why can't I heal her?"

"Leo?" Piper turned to her husband for help.

Paige moved aside as Leo stepped in. He held his hands over Phoebe and waited but they didn't glow.

"It's probably a natural illness," he told the sisters. "At least we know it's not demonic," he added with relief as he stepped back from the bed.

Piper sat next to Phoebe, felt her sister's forehead, and commented in concern, "She's burning up."

"What's in her hand?" Paige asked when she suddenly noticed Phoebe's clenched hand.

Piper pried open Phoebe's fingers and murmured, "Oh, Phoebe." She turned to Paige and said, "It's Cole's ring."

"Damn him," Paige muttered. "He's not even here and he's still hurting her." She looked down, saw the letter on the floor, and picked it up. "She must've reached for this. It's still sealed," she realized as she placed it back on the vanity. "Do you think, maybe…"

"Maybe what?" Piper encouraged.

"I don't know," Paige shrugged, "maybe she had a premonition and it was too much for her. Maybe something terrible…about Cole."

Piper turned to Leo and asked in a worried tone, "She's never fainted before but she's come close a couple of times. Could Paige be right?"

Phoebe stirred and moaned, "Piper… Not real…Cole…Baldiron…"

"Baldiron?" Paige questioned.

"I've never heard of them," Leo admitted. "I'll go up and see what I can find out."

********** ********** **********

Phoebe stirred, opened her eyes, and found Cole staring back at her with worry written all over his face. "Cole?"

"Phoebe," he sighed in relief.

"What's going on?" Phoebe asked as she pushed the comforter away and struggled to prop herself up against the pillows.

"Not yet," Cole suggested. "You've been out for a while now and still need to lay down. We had to call Ava."

"Ava?" Phoebe questioned as she tried to shake her head clear. "For a fever?"

"A burn," Cole answered with concern. "From the Baldiron's attack. Remember?"

"This isn't real," she insisted as she shook her head.

"She treated the burn and it should help until Leo or Paige gets back to heal it completely," he continued to explain.

"But I'm not --" Phoebe began as she tried to get up.

"But nothing," he insisted as he gently pushed her back against the pillows. "Listen to your husband for once. From the moment the twins were born, you haven't given yourself a moment's rest." He brushed some hair from her forehead and reached for the washcloth from the bowl of water that was on her nightstand. As he lightly pressed the cool cloth to her forehead and cheeks, he quietly continued, "You've got to stop blaming yourself, baby. I know the difficult pregnancy and premature labor scared you. It scared me. But it wasn't your fault and you've got to start taking better care of yourself or you won't be able to care for them."

"You don't understand," Phoebe complained as she pushed away his hand. "This is all wrong. I never had a baby, let alone twins, and I'm certainly not married to you!"

"Of all times to pick a fight," Cole commented in a frustrated tone as he dropped the cloth back in the bowl.

"I'm not picking a fight," she argued as she quickly leaned forward. "I just --" Phoebe swayed slightly and stopped speaking as she brought a hand to her head and closed her eyes.

"See?" Cole muttered even as he tenderly supported her and gently pushed her back. He reached for the nearby glass of water and offered it to her. "Ava said you should drink plenty of fluids."

Phoebe managed a few sips before she pushed the glass away. She closed her eyes and said, "Cole, listen, please." She opened her eyes and found him waiting for her to continue. She barely had the energy to keep the tears from falling and she took a deep breath and wiped her eyes.

"It's okay," he calmly told her. "Take your time."

"I don't know what's going on," she quietly admitted. "It's like I'm a stranger in my own home. Those children, as beautiful as they may be, they aren't mine. You aren't my husband. I wish…I wish that I…I don't know, maybe I'm in some sort of alternate universe or maybe I'm just dreaming but I know I don't belong here. I'm sorry. I just don't."

Cole pulled her into an embrace as she began to cry. "It's okay, you've been through a lot the past few weeks. Hell, the past few months. This is probably just that postpartum stuff they warned us about."

"You don't believe me," Phoebe cried.

Cole comforted her and, after a few moments, she had calmed enough for him to pull back. He cooled her face again with the washcloth and quietly told her, "I promise you, the one responsible will pay. No one will get away with hurting you or our children. I swear." Phoebe's tears began to flow again and he tenderly brushed them away as she tried to shake her head in frustration. "Phoebe, nothing is more important to me than you and our family. And that includes your sisters and even Leo. I promised you that when you agreed to give us another try and it's worked. You see that don't you? We did find another way. And I will not let anyone or anything try to destroy it."

"Another way?" Phoebe sniffled. "What way's that? For you to be the Source and me the Queen of all Evil?"

"No, of course not," Cole looked at her in confusion. "Phoebe, I thought we worked past all this two years ago. All your…our…doubts. As the strongest Source the Underworld has ever seen, I promised you and your family protection while you still did your Charmed Ones thing. Even the Elders agreed to the idea. Of course, seeing as how I helped save their angelic butts from the Avatars, I don't see that they had much choice."

"The Elders would never agree to that," Phoebe insisted as she pushed Cole back and crawled out of bed, "and neither would I." She swayed slightly as she stood before him and he reached out to support her. "What have you done to me? Is this all your doing? Some warped way to get me back? Did you create this happy little world and expect me to stay?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Get you back from where?" Cole asked in annoyance as he stood next to her. "Are you blaming me for what happened? That's it, isn't it. You actually think that I asked a Baldiron to attack my own children?"

"You did what?" Paige exclaimed as she entered the bedroom.

Cole rolled his eyes before he turned to face Paige. "Private argument. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Paige answered as she strode past him to Phoebe's side. "Please continue. I believe you were about to explain how some bug getting past your own guards and our protective amulets wasn't your fault."

"Paige…" Cole growled.

"All right," Paige said, "truce." She helped Phoebe back to the bed and added, "Piper told me that you were hurt. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner but I'm here now and I'll fix it up. C'mon sit down."

Before Paige could sit her down, Phoebe grabbed her sister's arms and blurted out, "This is all wrong, Paige! I'm not your sister. Cole's done something! Changed everything. It's all different!"

Paige turned to Cole and, in a worried tone, asked, "What happened to her? I thought it was just a shoulder burn."

"Paige, please, you've got to help me," Phoebe pleaded as she swayed again.

"Phoebe," Cole called out as he rushed forward.

"Not real," Phoebe mumbled as she began falling when the world suddenly went black.

********** ********** **********