Last Chance Part 5
Cole was alone in his hotel room, gasping for air as a result of having run across town to escape Phoebe. Why had he fled from her? She would never hurt him, in fact she would be the only one to save him. He grabbed another beer and twisted it open, quickly guzzling it down and throwing the empty bottle in the already growing pile of broken alcohol glasses. Inside, the Source fed off of the newly added alcohol and rage of Cole. Soon there would be nothing able to stop him from taking over and reclaiming his throne, not even Cole's love for Phoebe. He tore at Cole's heart, ripping him apart from the inside out, weakening the human he lived in until he would be ready to be killed and thrown back into his own mind while the Source came back to life. Cole ached to go back in time, to never have left Phoebe, to never have run from her. But she had been crying when she saw him. He knew it was because of all the pain he had caused her. There would be no way he could ever show his face again in the Halliwell Manor. He knew all too well Piper and Paige would never accept him again, and the life they once had planned out would never come to exist. By staying away he was protecting her, he thought to himself. He was protecting her and their baby. How he yearned to be there with Phoebe when she found out what their baby would be and to be there when she delivered the baby, to be the first man to hold his tiny child, to rock it to sleep, sing it a lullaby, to feed it and help Phoebe become the best mother in the world. He knew, however, this would never be and decided to stop remembering the past and hurting himself over and over with the raw memories of a peaceful life as he slowly laid down and allowed the alcohol to put him to sleep. Back at the Halliwell Manor the family was a wreck. Phoebe would not stop crying, much to the dismay of the other three who were trying in vain to comfort her. Why had Cole run from them? Phoebe was ready to take him back into her life, hell they all were. Once again Phoebe's health had begun to deteriorate, leaving her pale and sick often, tired all of the time. Being pregnant was not helping the situation, for every piece of food Phoebe swallowed came right back up within the next hour or so. She had not had a good meal since the night Cole had left. It seemed as though the baby understood that its father was gone and would not let its mother forget it any time soon. It wanted so desperately to be happy, but the pain and anguish Phoebe was going through was also effecting the baby. Piper and Paige both knew that if she kept this up, Phoebe would surely lose her baby. Both of them knew that would only kill her more, for it was the last thing Cole had given her, and without either of them Phoebe would not survive. There would be days when Phoebe was so sick she could not get up, and Leo would attempt to heal her when she was sleeping, but it never worked, for she was wounded on the inside rather than out. Secretly, everyone hoped Cole would come to his senses and return home before it was too late for them all, but each of them knew most likely he would never return. They all tried to be strong for Phoebe's sake, but inside each of them missed him terribly. He had brought something to the family that was irreplaceable, as was he. Life had somehow survived the tragedy of him leaving, but it barely held on as hope vanished more and more each passing day. "Why would he leave? Why would he run? I need him Piper, I miss him too much." Phoebe wailed as she collapsed onto the couch and threw her arms around a pillow. Piper remembered in the past how Phoebe threw her arms around Cole like that when she was upset or hurt, and how he would rock her till she was calmer or asleep, then slowly carry her to their bed. She wiped a forming tear from her eye as she said: "Sweetie, it is going to be okay, we will get him back, I promise." "Maybe he thought you were someone else, perhaps a demon." Paige tried as she gave Piper a "what-I-am-trying" look. "Why don't we try a summoning spell? I know we do not have his blood, but maybe it will work if we try something else." "Like what?" Leo asked as he orbed in, shaking his head, telling Piper he still could nor get a read on Cole. "The athame Emma had, Cole said it was his, would that work?" Paige asked, hoping it would show Phoebe there was still hope. "No, it would only show us where Bealthazor is, and since he is dead it would show nothing. You would be scrying for a long time and come up with nothing." Phoebe explained, glad the teaching lesson and information she was sharing was helping her take her mind off Cole. Witch work always took her mind off everything. "Oh shoot, I am late for my doctor's appointment. Piper can you drive me?" Phoebe asked as Leo let Darryl in. "Sure, let me grab my keys." Piper started, but Paige cut her off quickly. "Why doesn't Darryl take you, because there is probably more demons of the kind we just vanquished and you deserve a break, so go to the doctors and we will see you later." "Sure, I guess. Paige what is going on.?" Phoebe asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Nothing, I swear, now go check up on your baby Phoebe and we will see you after." Phoebe soon left with Darryl, who was more than happy to drive her to the doctors after a few glares from Paige, unseen by Phoebe. It was then that Piper whirled around, as soon as Phoebe was out the door, and demanded to know what the hell was going on. "Well, you know how I have a sixth sense for detecting evil? I was thinking, if the Source were to be getting stronger, or even if he were not, I would still be able to detect him, right?" "Kind of like how other demons can. Cole told us about this when we were still trying to find you." Piper responded. "Right, so now all we have to do is find Cole, knock some sense into him, and drag him home. If he refuses we could always freeze him or knock him out with something heavy." Paige grinned. "What? I have given this a lot of thought." "Okay, so do your thing Paige. Find Cole, and we will go there." "Well, I only did this with the creepy house before, give me a second." Paige concentrated on her "radar" as she searched for Cole's aura. "Got him! He is in a hotel downtown. Come on!" Paige grabbed Piper's wrist and orbed her there as Leo followed behind. When they came into the hotel room the first thing they noticed was it smelt awful, like alcohol and uncleaned, well , everything. They found Cole passed out on the bed, curled up around a half empty bottle of vodka. "Well, I certainly did not know Cole was so fond of beer." Paige exclaimed as she tripped over the pile of empty bottles on the floor. "Okay, do you want to knock him out or should I?" "Paige." Leo warned. "Right, okay Piper, freeze him and I will orb him home." "No wait, Cole has to make this decision on his own, otherwise what is stopping him from leaving again? That will kill Phoebe." "So what are we going to do?" Leo asked. "I have an idea." Piper said as she lifted Cole's head, careful not to wake him, and punched him straight in the face, sending him flying off the bed. "Piper!" Paige exclaimed as Cole woke up, looking slightly confused as he held his chin in his hands. "What the hell? Get out!!!!!" Cole roared as he ran towards Piper, unaware of who she was in his intoxicated state. "Calm down!" Piper said coolly as she froze him, then unfroze his head. "Are you going to stop being an asshole, or do I have to hit you a few more times to knock some sense into you?" She unfroze him, allowing him to clambor around like an idiot. "What the hell do you think you are doing, abandoning our sister then drinking yourself into a coma! What happened to you? Why the hell are you so insitent on hurting her?" "I try not to." Cole roared, "But no matter what I do she gets hurt. She is better off without me." He waved his arms wildly as if to prove his point, but instead on emphasizing what he was saying he knocked over a lamp and fell, hitting his head on the television. "Oww! Dammit!" He cursed under his breath. He was falling apart without her and he knew it. "That is not true. The only reason she is a wreck is because you left her. She cannot live without you Cole, and the same applies to you. Gosh, you did not kill her baby, the Source did. And both you and Phoebe made it clear to the rest of us that you and the Source were two different people. So why do you believe you are hurting her? She needs you. And no offense, but this is no life, living as a drunk in a hotel room. What would Phoebe think?" Paige said as she offered him a hand up. Cole's mind had blocked out all she had said, except for one thing. Let her ramble on, Paige had a habit of doing that, but one idea stuck in his mind. "She misses me?" he asked, completely confused. "She is hurting because I left her? Not because of me? God what an asshole I am!" Cole once again stumbled and fell, but this time Paige let him stay there. "Leo, I think you should heal that bruise." She whispered, then talked out loud to Cole. "You had better come home, everyone misses you. And Phoebe cannot go on like this. Hell, she does not eat, sleep, anything. And that means not only her life is in danger, but the baby's too. Come home Cole, but do yourself a favor and clean up first." Paige said as she picked up the remaining alcohol. "And no more of this stuff either." With that Leo healed Cole and orbed home without him. Piper gave one last long glance at him and said "She really misses you Cole. Come home. Please." And with that she and Paige orbed home, leaving Cole to his own thoughts. He was wrong. She did love him! His heart soared at the thought, but then his spirits fell. "Shit" he said "There's no way I can go home like this." And with that he fell asleep again, but not because he was drunk with alcohol, but because he was dreaming sweet dreams of his fiancé and little baby, and the family they would have when he came home. He would make it up to her, somehow, but for now he needed his rest so he could find a way to make her forgive him. Meanwhile, at the doctor's, Phoebe was undergoing a typical ultrasound to make sure her baby was okay. The doctor had suggested a few new foods to try after she reported nothing stayed down anymore. But of course she had forgotten to add in that her fiancé was gone and she felt like dying. The doctor put on the cold gel and began to tell her what her baby would be, but Phoebe looked away and told him "Please stop. I don't want to know until Cole is with me." And with that she grabbed her clothes and ran out into Darryl's car, waiting for him, and crying hysterically all the way.
Cole was alone in his hotel room, gasping for air as a result of having run across town to escape Phoebe. Why had he fled from her? She would never hurt him, in fact she would be the only one to save him. He grabbed another beer and twisted it open, quickly guzzling it down and throwing the empty bottle in the already growing pile of broken alcohol glasses. Inside, the Source fed off of the newly added alcohol and rage of Cole. Soon there would be nothing able to stop him from taking over and reclaiming his throne, not even Cole's love for Phoebe. He tore at Cole's heart, ripping him apart from the inside out, weakening the human he lived in until he would be ready to be killed and thrown back into his own mind while the Source came back to life. Cole ached to go back in time, to never have left Phoebe, to never have run from her. But she had been crying when she saw him. He knew it was because of all the pain he had caused her. There would be no way he could ever show his face again in the Halliwell Manor. He knew all too well Piper and Paige would never accept him again, and the life they once had planned out would never come to exist. By staying away he was protecting her, he thought to himself. He was protecting her and their baby. How he yearned to be there with Phoebe when she found out what their baby would be and to be there when she delivered the baby, to be the first man to hold his tiny child, to rock it to sleep, sing it a lullaby, to feed it and help Phoebe become the best mother in the world. He knew, however, this would never be and decided to stop remembering the past and hurting himself over and over with the raw memories of a peaceful life as he slowly laid down and allowed the alcohol to put him to sleep. Back at the Halliwell Manor the family was a wreck. Phoebe would not stop crying, much to the dismay of the other three who were trying in vain to comfort her. Why had Cole run from them? Phoebe was ready to take him back into her life, hell they all were. Once again Phoebe's health had begun to deteriorate, leaving her pale and sick often, tired all of the time. Being pregnant was not helping the situation, for every piece of food Phoebe swallowed came right back up within the next hour or so. She had not had a good meal since the night Cole had left. It seemed as though the baby understood that its father was gone and would not let its mother forget it any time soon. It wanted so desperately to be happy, but the pain and anguish Phoebe was going through was also effecting the baby. Piper and Paige both knew that if she kept this up, Phoebe would surely lose her baby. Both of them knew that would only kill her more, for it was the last thing Cole had given her, and without either of them Phoebe would not survive. There would be days when Phoebe was so sick she could not get up, and Leo would attempt to heal her when she was sleeping, but it never worked, for she was wounded on the inside rather than out. Secretly, everyone hoped Cole would come to his senses and return home before it was too late for them all, but each of them knew most likely he would never return. They all tried to be strong for Phoebe's sake, but inside each of them missed him terribly. He had brought something to the family that was irreplaceable, as was he. Life had somehow survived the tragedy of him leaving, but it barely held on as hope vanished more and more each passing day. "Why would he leave? Why would he run? I need him Piper, I miss him too much." Phoebe wailed as she collapsed onto the couch and threw her arms around a pillow. Piper remembered in the past how Phoebe threw her arms around Cole like that when she was upset or hurt, and how he would rock her till she was calmer or asleep, then slowly carry her to their bed. She wiped a forming tear from her eye as she said: "Sweetie, it is going to be okay, we will get him back, I promise." "Maybe he thought you were someone else, perhaps a demon." Paige tried as she gave Piper a "what-I-am-trying" look. "Why don't we try a summoning spell? I know we do not have his blood, but maybe it will work if we try something else." "Like what?" Leo asked as he orbed in, shaking his head, telling Piper he still could nor get a read on Cole. "The athame Emma had, Cole said it was his, would that work?" Paige asked, hoping it would show Phoebe there was still hope. "No, it would only show us where Bealthazor is, and since he is dead it would show nothing. You would be scrying for a long time and come up with nothing." Phoebe explained, glad the teaching lesson and information she was sharing was helping her take her mind off Cole. Witch work always took her mind off everything. "Oh shoot, I am late for my doctor's appointment. Piper can you drive me?" Phoebe asked as Leo let Darryl in. "Sure, let me grab my keys." Piper started, but Paige cut her off quickly. "Why doesn't Darryl take you, because there is probably more demons of the kind we just vanquished and you deserve a break, so go to the doctors and we will see you later." "Sure, I guess. Paige what is going on.?" Phoebe asked with a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Nothing, I swear, now go check up on your baby Phoebe and we will see you after." Phoebe soon left with Darryl, who was more than happy to drive her to the doctors after a few glares from Paige, unseen by Phoebe. It was then that Piper whirled around, as soon as Phoebe was out the door, and demanded to know what the hell was going on. "Well, you know how I have a sixth sense for detecting evil? I was thinking, if the Source were to be getting stronger, or even if he were not, I would still be able to detect him, right?" "Kind of like how other demons can. Cole told us about this when we were still trying to find you." Piper responded. "Right, so now all we have to do is find Cole, knock some sense into him, and drag him home. If he refuses we could always freeze him or knock him out with something heavy." Paige grinned. "What? I have given this a lot of thought." "Okay, so do your thing Paige. Find Cole, and we will go there." "Well, I only did this with the creepy house before, give me a second." Paige concentrated on her "radar" as she searched for Cole's aura. "Got him! He is in a hotel downtown. Come on!" Paige grabbed Piper's wrist and orbed her there as Leo followed behind. When they came into the hotel room the first thing they noticed was it smelt awful, like alcohol and uncleaned, well , everything. They found Cole passed out on the bed, curled up around a half empty bottle of vodka. "Well, I certainly did not know Cole was so fond of beer." Paige exclaimed as she tripped over the pile of empty bottles on the floor. "Okay, do you want to knock him out or should I?" "Paige." Leo warned. "Right, okay Piper, freeze him and I will orb him home." "No wait, Cole has to make this decision on his own, otherwise what is stopping him from leaving again? That will kill Phoebe." "So what are we going to do?" Leo asked. "I have an idea." Piper said as she lifted Cole's head, careful not to wake him, and punched him straight in the face, sending him flying off the bed. "Piper!" Paige exclaimed as Cole woke up, looking slightly confused as he held his chin in his hands. "What the hell? Get out!!!!!" Cole roared as he ran towards Piper, unaware of who she was in his intoxicated state. "Calm down!" Piper said coolly as she froze him, then unfroze his head. "Are you going to stop being an asshole, or do I have to hit you a few more times to knock some sense into you?" She unfroze him, allowing him to clambor around like an idiot. "What the hell do you think you are doing, abandoning our sister then drinking yourself into a coma! What happened to you? Why the hell are you so insitent on hurting her?" "I try not to." Cole roared, "But no matter what I do she gets hurt. She is better off without me." He waved his arms wildly as if to prove his point, but instead on emphasizing what he was saying he knocked over a lamp and fell, hitting his head on the television. "Oww! Dammit!" He cursed under his breath. He was falling apart without her and he knew it. "That is not true. The only reason she is a wreck is because you left her. She cannot live without you Cole, and the same applies to you. Gosh, you did not kill her baby, the Source did. And both you and Phoebe made it clear to the rest of us that you and the Source were two different people. So why do you believe you are hurting her? She needs you. And no offense, but this is no life, living as a drunk in a hotel room. What would Phoebe think?" Paige said as she offered him a hand up. Cole's mind had blocked out all she had said, except for one thing. Let her ramble on, Paige had a habit of doing that, but one idea stuck in his mind. "She misses me?" he asked, completely confused. "She is hurting because I left her? Not because of me? God what an asshole I am!" Cole once again stumbled and fell, but this time Paige let him stay there. "Leo, I think you should heal that bruise." She whispered, then talked out loud to Cole. "You had better come home, everyone misses you. And Phoebe cannot go on like this. Hell, she does not eat, sleep, anything. And that means not only her life is in danger, but the baby's too. Come home Cole, but do yourself a favor and clean up first." Paige said as she picked up the remaining alcohol. "And no more of this stuff either." With that Leo healed Cole and orbed home without him. Piper gave one last long glance at him and said "She really misses you Cole. Come home. Please." And with that she and Paige orbed home, leaving Cole to his own thoughts. He was wrong. She did love him! His heart soared at the thought, but then his spirits fell. "Shit" he said "There's no way I can go home like this." And with that he fell asleep again, but not because he was drunk with alcohol, but because he was dreaming sweet dreams of his fiancé and little baby, and the family they would have when he came home. He would make it up to her, somehow, but for now he needed his rest so he could find a way to make her forgive him. Meanwhile, at the doctor's, Phoebe was undergoing a typical ultrasound to make sure her baby was okay. The doctor had suggested a few new foods to try after she reported nothing stayed down anymore. But of course she had forgotten to add in that her fiancé was gone and she felt like dying. The doctor put on the cold gel and began to tell her what her baby would be, but Phoebe looked away and told him "Please stop. I don't want to know until Cole is with me." And with that she grabbed her clothes and ran out into Darryl's car, waiting for him, and crying hysterically all the way.