Last Chance Part 2
It had been over two weeks since Cole's secret had been revealed, and life at the Halliwell Manor had returned to normal, except now they were constantly looking for ways to vanquish the Source without killing Cole in their spare time. Unlike the rest of the clan, Phoebe still was not the same Phoebe she had been before Cole talked to her. She spent hours staring out the window into space, walking around shakily and pale, never sleeping or eating too much, her eyes all glassy and looking at you but never seeing you. She barely spoke, only offering small sentences when being asked a question or opinion. The family knew something was wrong, and they often conversed about what was to be done about the situation. She had caught them on several occasions, and, being overwhelmed enough already, had started crying and throwing fits, then turning and locking herself in her room. Cole had spent a few nights on the living room couch because Phoebe had refused to open the door, even for him to go to sleep.
"I know she is fragile Piper, but something has to be done about this." The youngest Halliwell was once again starting up the conversation they all liked to avoid, though it was inevitable it needed to be discussed.
"I agree with you all the way Paige, but it is not as simple as telling her to snap out of it. She had enough weight on her shoulders before all this came up with the marriage, and now she has to add on the fact Cole has been taken over by the Source of All Evil. It is not the easiest thing in the world to accept." Piper argued.
"I know that, but if she is allowed to continue like this she could die. Hell, she will die and we will be right behind her. It is only a matter of time before this depressions kills her off."
"I am not going to lose another sister. Phoebe just needs time to think this out. She needs her own way of ridding herself of the pain. I know I did. When Prue died, all I did was walk around like a zombie, not in the literal terms by the way, and I mourned the way I thought I should until I came up with a solution. And look, I turned out fine. She will be okay, Phoebe is strong."
"Talking about her again?" Cole asked as he entered the room in blue pajama pants and a white top. He yawned lazily, having not slept in a few days, always urging Phoebe to rest a little. "You know she does not like that. If she hears and pulls what she did last time." Cole trailed off thinking of the last time Phoebe caught them talking about her. She ran out of the house into the pouring rain and ran away for three days. Those nights had been torment for Cole, lying alone in their bed, wondering if he would ever see her again. She had returned home fine, saying she had stayed with a friend, but they all were wary of her emotions. She seemed happier when she came home but had returned to her normal self within hours.
"Yes we are. Is she still sleeping?" Piper asked, not willing to take any chance of losing her baby sister for another three days. "If you could call staring at the ceiling for the entire night sleeping, I would say yes."
"See, I told you there was something wrong Piper. She's obviously disturbed." Paige remarked.
"Thank you Captain Obvious. Any more news?" Piper retorted, but before Paige could submit a reply Leo orbed in looking somewhat nervous from his visit with the Elders.
"Where is Phoebe?" he asked, also wary of making her leave again. The last time some magic had intervened and he had not been able to sense her. Frantic that she might be in real trouble or dead, Leo had simply told the sisters he would not search for her because no magic was involved, though he knew something was going on. Piper was just too upset, and he did not want to cause more pain.
"Staring into space upstairs honey. What news do you have?" Piper said.
"The Elders think Phoebe is hiding something."
"Okay, already on that Leo, next on the agenda." Paige exclaimed. "It's obvious she's hiding something. She has not been herself for the past few weeks." She said giving Cole a glance. Receiving a playful hit from Piper, she stopped glaring and listened up.
"Not just from when Cole told us the truth, but from before that. Her mood swings, appearance, everything are totally off and the Elders think it has something to do with you two." He said, motioning to Cole. "They want you to talk to her and see what she is hiding so she does not put herself or anyone else in danger."
"It is not that easy Leo. Why don't they ask her what is bothering her. I am sure if they started to she would just run out of the house again." Cole said. As if on cue, Phoebe rushed in and out of the kitchen yelling, "Goodbye, I will be home later. Going for a jog!"
"See what I mean." Cole commented. The group just sat for a while, wondering what to do.
"This is serious." Piper observed. "She is not herself."
"What if she is really sick?" Leo asked. Thunder began to brew outside, and they all secretly hoped Phoebe would come back soon.
"What if she is pregnant?" Piper posed.
"Pregnant? She cannot be. She would have certainly told me. Phoebe is not pregnant." Cole denied.
"Well, she could be Cole. All the symptoms fit." Paige offered. "You should seriously talk to her. Find out the truth. Maybe she is scared of having kids, or maybe scared you will leave her and will not love her if she is pregnant. It is totally natural for women to feel that way." Phoebe then rushed in because of the upcoming storm and raced to her bathroom without so much as a hello.
"Maybe I will talk to her when she gets out of the shower." Cole said, offering a worried glance up the stairs where Phoebe had run.
Twenty minutes later Phoebe exited the bathroom and crept into her room. She was feeling slightly ill, but she could never tell anyone why. Sure, they might find out sooner or later, but there were ways around that, ways to avoid it. Inside she was screaming to tell someone what was happening to her, to help her come back to sanity. They could never understand, but she wanted so horribly to make them. **If they ask** she decided. **Then I will tell them, but only if they ask** She curled up in a fetal position towards the window and tried to sleep. It had been so long since she had relaxed. Since before Cole had told her of being the Source. If only she could get a moment's rest.
Cole slowly walked down the hallway and cautiously opened the door. Phoebe appeared to be sleeping, and, not wishing to disturb her, he quietly sat on the edge of the bed and began rubbing her back. They stayed like that for ten minutes before Phoebe slowly rolled onto her other side to face Cole.
"Good morning." He said with a soft smile playing on his lips. It was moments like these he truly enjoyed, where she looked so darn cute and vulnerable all curled up on the bed.
"I was not really sleeping." She confessed, offering a sheepish smile.
"I know, but you were relaxing and I wanted to make sure you stayed that way. How are you feeling? Was your jog any fun?" Cole fumbled for words as he fought himself not to grab her and hold her to him and start begging her to come back, to become the Phoebe Halliwell he had fallen in love with. That would only upset her further. "Look, I am going to just cut to the chase here. There is something wrong, something you are not telling me this time. And I want you to know whatever it is, you can tell me." She looked at him with her innocent brown eyes, all ready to lie once again to the man she loved. "Piper suggested you might be pregnant." He brought forth slowly. "Is that true, or is there another reason your acting so unusual."
Phoebe looked at him and knew she could no longer lie to everyone. This secret had weighed upon her far too long, it was time someone else helped her carry the burden. Maybe he would shrink away from her, maybe he would take most of the pain away, but no matter what, Phoebe knew he deserved to know the truth. She opened up to him, letting him into her heart, allowing him to feel all her emotions, releasing herself of the anguish and torment she had carried for so long with four small words.
"Cole, I was pregnant."
More later! Writing the 3rd chapter right now. Fixing up my other fics to post. Hope you like! Will Cole understand, or will he misinterpret?
It had been over two weeks since Cole's secret had been revealed, and life at the Halliwell Manor had returned to normal, except now they were constantly looking for ways to vanquish the Source without killing Cole in their spare time. Unlike the rest of the clan, Phoebe still was not the same Phoebe she had been before Cole talked to her. She spent hours staring out the window into space, walking around shakily and pale, never sleeping or eating too much, her eyes all glassy and looking at you but never seeing you. She barely spoke, only offering small sentences when being asked a question or opinion. The family knew something was wrong, and they often conversed about what was to be done about the situation. She had caught them on several occasions, and, being overwhelmed enough already, had started crying and throwing fits, then turning and locking herself in her room. Cole had spent a few nights on the living room couch because Phoebe had refused to open the door, even for him to go to sleep.
"I know she is fragile Piper, but something has to be done about this." The youngest Halliwell was once again starting up the conversation they all liked to avoid, though it was inevitable it needed to be discussed.
"I agree with you all the way Paige, but it is not as simple as telling her to snap out of it. She had enough weight on her shoulders before all this came up with the marriage, and now she has to add on the fact Cole has been taken over by the Source of All Evil. It is not the easiest thing in the world to accept." Piper argued.
"I know that, but if she is allowed to continue like this she could die. Hell, she will die and we will be right behind her. It is only a matter of time before this depressions kills her off."
"I am not going to lose another sister. Phoebe just needs time to think this out. She needs her own way of ridding herself of the pain. I know I did. When Prue died, all I did was walk around like a zombie, not in the literal terms by the way, and I mourned the way I thought I should until I came up with a solution. And look, I turned out fine. She will be okay, Phoebe is strong."
"Talking about her again?" Cole asked as he entered the room in blue pajama pants and a white top. He yawned lazily, having not slept in a few days, always urging Phoebe to rest a little. "You know she does not like that. If she hears and pulls what she did last time." Cole trailed off thinking of the last time Phoebe caught them talking about her. She ran out of the house into the pouring rain and ran away for three days. Those nights had been torment for Cole, lying alone in their bed, wondering if he would ever see her again. She had returned home fine, saying she had stayed with a friend, but they all were wary of her emotions. She seemed happier when she came home but had returned to her normal self within hours.
"Yes we are. Is she still sleeping?" Piper asked, not willing to take any chance of losing her baby sister for another three days. "If you could call staring at the ceiling for the entire night sleeping, I would say yes."
"See, I told you there was something wrong Piper. She's obviously disturbed." Paige remarked.
"Thank you Captain Obvious. Any more news?" Piper retorted, but before Paige could submit a reply Leo orbed in looking somewhat nervous from his visit with the Elders.
"Where is Phoebe?" he asked, also wary of making her leave again. The last time some magic had intervened and he had not been able to sense her. Frantic that she might be in real trouble or dead, Leo had simply told the sisters he would not search for her because no magic was involved, though he knew something was going on. Piper was just too upset, and he did not want to cause more pain.
"Staring into space upstairs honey. What news do you have?" Piper said.
"The Elders think Phoebe is hiding something."
"Okay, already on that Leo, next on the agenda." Paige exclaimed. "It's obvious she's hiding something. She has not been herself for the past few weeks." She said giving Cole a glance. Receiving a playful hit from Piper, she stopped glaring and listened up.
"Not just from when Cole told us the truth, but from before that. Her mood swings, appearance, everything are totally off and the Elders think it has something to do with you two." He said, motioning to Cole. "They want you to talk to her and see what she is hiding so she does not put herself or anyone else in danger."
"It is not that easy Leo. Why don't they ask her what is bothering her. I am sure if they started to she would just run out of the house again." Cole said. As if on cue, Phoebe rushed in and out of the kitchen yelling, "Goodbye, I will be home later. Going for a jog!"
"See what I mean." Cole commented. The group just sat for a while, wondering what to do.
"This is serious." Piper observed. "She is not herself."
"What if she is really sick?" Leo asked. Thunder began to brew outside, and they all secretly hoped Phoebe would come back soon.
"What if she is pregnant?" Piper posed.
"Pregnant? She cannot be. She would have certainly told me. Phoebe is not pregnant." Cole denied.
"Well, she could be Cole. All the symptoms fit." Paige offered. "You should seriously talk to her. Find out the truth. Maybe she is scared of having kids, or maybe scared you will leave her and will not love her if she is pregnant. It is totally natural for women to feel that way." Phoebe then rushed in because of the upcoming storm and raced to her bathroom without so much as a hello.
"Maybe I will talk to her when she gets out of the shower." Cole said, offering a worried glance up the stairs where Phoebe had run.
Twenty minutes later Phoebe exited the bathroom and crept into her room. She was feeling slightly ill, but she could never tell anyone why. Sure, they might find out sooner or later, but there were ways around that, ways to avoid it. Inside she was screaming to tell someone what was happening to her, to help her come back to sanity. They could never understand, but she wanted so horribly to make them. **If they ask** she decided. **Then I will tell them, but only if they ask** She curled up in a fetal position towards the window and tried to sleep. It had been so long since she had relaxed. Since before Cole had told her of being the Source. If only she could get a moment's rest.
Cole slowly walked down the hallway and cautiously opened the door. Phoebe appeared to be sleeping, and, not wishing to disturb her, he quietly sat on the edge of the bed and began rubbing her back. They stayed like that for ten minutes before Phoebe slowly rolled onto her other side to face Cole.
"Good morning." He said with a soft smile playing on his lips. It was moments like these he truly enjoyed, where she looked so darn cute and vulnerable all curled up on the bed.
"I was not really sleeping." She confessed, offering a sheepish smile.
"I know, but you were relaxing and I wanted to make sure you stayed that way. How are you feeling? Was your jog any fun?" Cole fumbled for words as he fought himself not to grab her and hold her to him and start begging her to come back, to become the Phoebe Halliwell he had fallen in love with. That would only upset her further. "Look, I am going to just cut to the chase here. There is something wrong, something you are not telling me this time. And I want you to know whatever it is, you can tell me." She looked at him with her innocent brown eyes, all ready to lie once again to the man she loved. "Piper suggested you might be pregnant." He brought forth slowly. "Is that true, or is there another reason your acting so unusual."
Phoebe looked at him and knew she could no longer lie to everyone. This secret had weighed upon her far too long, it was time someone else helped her carry the burden. Maybe he would shrink away from her, maybe he would take most of the pain away, but no matter what, Phoebe knew he deserved to know the truth. She opened up to him, letting him into her heart, allowing him to feel all her emotions, releasing herself of the anguish and torment she had carried for so long with four small words.
"Cole, I was pregnant."
More later! Writing the 3rd chapter right now. Fixing up my other fics to post. Hope you like! Will Cole understand, or will he misinterpret?