Recovery 2
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).
"Oh, my God." Sara said as she ran forward quickly. The boy wasn't moving, and Arianna was turning him over. Sara slid down on her knees and quickly put hand to the boy's neck. She gave a small mental sigh of relief. He still had a pulse. It was very weak and erratic, but it was there. Sara did not know how she could have handled telling her daughter he was dead.
Her daughter looked at Sara worriedly, and said, "Is he alright Mommy?"
"Of course," Sara replied firmly, even as she wondered inside. "Now, you need to step back and let mommy work." Her daughter nodded, and took two little steps back.
Sara pulled the boy a little farther away from the shore, and began to examine him. He was still breathing, and he didn't appear to have any water in his lungs. His clothes were heavily torn, however, and he had a series of peculiar wounds all along his body. When Sara put her hand to his head, she jerked it back as if burned. The boy had the highest fever Sara had ever felt.
Sara opened his eyes to check and see if they were dilated, and barely bit back a gasp. The child looked absolutely normal, until you saw his eyes. To Sara's shock, the child's pupils were shaped like hourglasses! Sara realized this child had to be magical, and she also know she could never take him to a hospital. One look at the child's eyes and pretty much every newspaper on the planet would know magic was real. Sara looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized no one else was around.
"Come on, honey, we need to go." Sara said as she gently picked the child up. Arianna nodded, and picked up some of their beach things. Sara hurried to the car, and put the child in the passenger seat. She needed to get him someplace safe, and in a hurry. Sara didn't know what was going on, but she knew if the child wasn't treated soon, he would die.
***
As Cole walked into the house, he heaved a sigh, and shouted, "I'm back."
"That's great, can you come here honey?" Phoebe called out.
"Where are you?" Cole questioned.
"I'm in the living room," Phoebe replied.
Cole turned and walked into the room, and found not only Phoebe but everyone sitting there waiting for him. "Well, this can't be good," Cole commented. He tried to make it sound funny, but it came out harsh.
Phoebe winced, and then said, "Cole, Mortanos just stopped by. They're going to hold a memorial service for our son, since their.since the body wasn't found. He invited us to go, its tomorrow."
Cole bit back a frown as he replied, "Well, I guess that's alright.kind of pointless to mourn a living person though,"
"Cole, Gabriel is dead, you have to accept that," Leo began.
"No, I don't," Cole snapped, "My son is like me, a survivor. I came back from worse odds than this, like the Wasteland. Unless his soul shows up and specifically tells me that he's dead, I won't believe it."
Piper eyes were full of sympathy as she said, "Cole, not even the Guardians can sense him. I went through the same thing when Prue died. I didn't want to believe, I just couldn't believe. But sooner or later, you have to realize he's gone. It's not healthy otherwise."
"No, no," Cole said as he shook his violently, "Gabriel is alive. He has to be."
"Why Cole, why does he have to be alive?" Michael asked insistently.
"BECAUSE I CAN'T BE FORGIVEN IF HE'S DEAD!" Cole shouted as, unnoticed, tears began to flow down his cheeks.
"Cole, you did nothing wrong, why do you need to be forgiven?" Leo asked.
"I'm his father, it's my job to protect him," Cole replied hoarsely, "if a man outlives his son, then the man failed in his son. I failed him, I failed all of you,"
Phoebe walked over and said fiercely, "Cole, you did NOT fail. You did everything you could,"
"I should have told him about the Triangle, so we could use it before," Cole said bitterly.
"Cole, I'm sure you had a good reason not to tell us. Why didn't you?" Paige questioned.
"I knew the Triangle could only be used by someone evil, and would be fatal to good, but I.I still should have done something sooner," Cole remarked. "But I wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough, and now my son is DEAD, and it's all my fault," Cole fell to his knees and began to cry, racking sobs that tore through him.
As the family got closer, Piper bent down and looked him in the eye, "Cole, you are the only person in the history of the world to overcome Kain's touch. Not even the Guardians were strong enough. And if you hadn't have done that, then Gabriel would still be dead, and the world would fall to evil,"
"But." Cole began.
"No buts," Phoebe interrupted, "You did everything you could, and more than anyone else could have. I don't think even Gabriel would blame you or hold anything against you. You know our son, do you honestly think he would blame you?"
Cole forced himself to remember all the good times, the nights he had spent watching Gabriel sleep, the seconds of watching that turned into hours without him realizing it. He looked up at Phoebe and said through devastation and grief, "Oh, Phoebe. I want him back!"
As Cole dissolved into weeping, Phoebe, Paige, and soon the entire group pulled him into a hug. They gave him comfort and love as he finally wept for his son, who had given so much for this world.
***
"Kylie!" Sara shouted as she put the child down on the bed. A few moments later, a short female orbed into the room.
"Sara, what's wrong? What happened?" Kylie asked anxiously.
"Here, I need you to heal him," Sara said quickly.
Kylie looked very sad as she said, "Sara, we've been over this. I can only heal people wounded by evil, not just any old wounds."
"I know, but this child is magical. I swear it," Sara replied.
"How do you know that?" Kylie asked.
Sara opened one of the child's eyes, and Kylie gasped. "What, how?"
"Heal now, tell later." Sara interrupted.
Kylie bent to heal, but a few moments later she stopped and looked up. She grabbed Sara and said, "We have to talk, NOW!"
Sara looked around, and saw that Arianna was sitting near the boy, looking anxious. "Honey, don't worry. He'll be fine. Kylie and I just need to talk."
Kylie pulled Sara out of Arianna's earshot, and then said, "Where did you find this boy?"
When Sara finished explaining, Kylie looked back at the boy and said softly, "We have a very serious problem."
"Why, what is wrong? Why don't you heal him?" Sara replied in confusion.
"I don't know. I can heal anything that is good, but I can't heal this child's wounds," Kylie replied gravely.
"Surely you don't think the boy's evil?" Sara replied scornfully.
"No, of course not, I can read his good aura from here," Kylie snapped, "but whatever inflicted those wounds was so evil, so pure evil, that my healing cannot overcome it. The only thing I've heard of that would be powerful enough would be."
As Kylie trailed off, Sara interjected, "What? What is it?"
Kylie sighed, and then said softly, "Only Kain has this kind of power. Which means this child fought Kain. And not just fought. These kinds of wounds would take some serious power from Kain. No, this boy was a real thorn in Kain's side. Listen, I'm going to check with the Elders about this boy, and find out what I can do. I'll be back as soon as I can. Until then, try and stabilize the boy."
Before Sara could respond, Kylie orbed out. Sara bit back a curse and looked back at the child in fear. She didn't know if the child could survive this. Most ADULTS she knew would never survive wounds like this child had. Sara had to face the facts. Unless a miracle happened, this child was going to die.
TO BE CONTINUED.
(I do not own any part of Charmed. I just write about it. This continues a storyline begun in Degrees of Evil, and continued in several other stories).
"Oh, my God." Sara said as she ran forward quickly. The boy wasn't moving, and Arianna was turning him over. Sara slid down on her knees and quickly put hand to the boy's neck. She gave a small mental sigh of relief. He still had a pulse. It was very weak and erratic, but it was there. Sara did not know how she could have handled telling her daughter he was dead.
Her daughter looked at Sara worriedly, and said, "Is he alright Mommy?"
"Of course," Sara replied firmly, even as she wondered inside. "Now, you need to step back and let mommy work." Her daughter nodded, and took two little steps back.
Sara pulled the boy a little farther away from the shore, and began to examine him. He was still breathing, and he didn't appear to have any water in his lungs. His clothes were heavily torn, however, and he had a series of peculiar wounds all along his body. When Sara put her hand to his head, she jerked it back as if burned. The boy had the highest fever Sara had ever felt.
Sara opened his eyes to check and see if they were dilated, and barely bit back a gasp. The child looked absolutely normal, until you saw his eyes. To Sara's shock, the child's pupils were shaped like hourglasses! Sara realized this child had to be magical, and she also know she could never take him to a hospital. One look at the child's eyes and pretty much every newspaper on the planet would know magic was real. Sara looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized no one else was around.
"Come on, honey, we need to go." Sara said as she gently picked the child up. Arianna nodded, and picked up some of their beach things. Sara hurried to the car, and put the child in the passenger seat. She needed to get him someplace safe, and in a hurry. Sara didn't know what was going on, but she knew if the child wasn't treated soon, he would die.
***
As Cole walked into the house, he heaved a sigh, and shouted, "I'm back."
"That's great, can you come here honey?" Phoebe called out.
"Where are you?" Cole questioned.
"I'm in the living room," Phoebe replied.
Cole turned and walked into the room, and found not only Phoebe but everyone sitting there waiting for him. "Well, this can't be good," Cole commented. He tried to make it sound funny, but it came out harsh.
Phoebe winced, and then said, "Cole, Mortanos just stopped by. They're going to hold a memorial service for our son, since their.since the body wasn't found. He invited us to go, its tomorrow."
Cole bit back a frown as he replied, "Well, I guess that's alright.kind of pointless to mourn a living person though,"
"Cole, Gabriel is dead, you have to accept that," Leo began.
"No, I don't," Cole snapped, "My son is like me, a survivor. I came back from worse odds than this, like the Wasteland. Unless his soul shows up and specifically tells me that he's dead, I won't believe it."
Piper eyes were full of sympathy as she said, "Cole, not even the Guardians can sense him. I went through the same thing when Prue died. I didn't want to believe, I just couldn't believe. But sooner or later, you have to realize he's gone. It's not healthy otherwise."
"No, no," Cole said as he shook his violently, "Gabriel is alive. He has to be."
"Why Cole, why does he have to be alive?" Michael asked insistently.
"BECAUSE I CAN'T BE FORGIVEN IF HE'S DEAD!" Cole shouted as, unnoticed, tears began to flow down his cheeks.
"Cole, you did nothing wrong, why do you need to be forgiven?" Leo asked.
"I'm his father, it's my job to protect him," Cole replied hoarsely, "if a man outlives his son, then the man failed in his son. I failed him, I failed all of you,"
Phoebe walked over and said fiercely, "Cole, you did NOT fail. You did everything you could,"
"I should have told him about the Triangle, so we could use it before," Cole said bitterly.
"Cole, I'm sure you had a good reason not to tell us. Why didn't you?" Paige questioned.
"I knew the Triangle could only be used by someone evil, and would be fatal to good, but I.I still should have done something sooner," Cole remarked. "But I wasn't strong enough, wasn't good enough, and now my son is DEAD, and it's all my fault," Cole fell to his knees and began to cry, racking sobs that tore through him.
As the family got closer, Piper bent down and looked him in the eye, "Cole, you are the only person in the history of the world to overcome Kain's touch. Not even the Guardians were strong enough. And if you hadn't have done that, then Gabriel would still be dead, and the world would fall to evil,"
"But." Cole began.
"No buts," Phoebe interrupted, "You did everything you could, and more than anyone else could have. I don't think even Gabriel would blame you or hold anything against you. You know our son, do you honestly think he would blame you?"
Cole forced himself to remember all the good times, the nights he had spent watching Gabriel sleep, the seconds of watching that turned into hours without him realizing it. He looked up at Phoebe and said through devastation and grief, "Oh, Phoebe. I want him back!"
As Cole dissolved into weeping, Phoebe, Paige, and soon the entire group pulled him into a hug. They gave him comfort and love as he finally wept for his son, who had given so much for this world.
***
"Kylie!" Sara shouted as she put the child down on the bed. A few moments later, a short female orbed into the room.
"Sara, what's wrong? What happened?" Kylie asked anxiously.
"Here, I need you to heal him," Sara said quickly.
Kylie looked very sad as she said, "Sara, we've been over this. I can only heal people wounded by evil, not just any old wounds."
"I know, but this child is magical. I swear it," Sara replied.
"How do you know that?" Kylie asked.
Sara opened one of the child's eyes, and Kylie gasped. "What, how?"
"Heal now, tell later." Sara interrupted.
Kylie bent to heal, but a few moments later she stopped and looked up. She grabbed Sara and said, "We have to talk, NOW!"
Sara looked around, and saw that Arianna was sitting near the boy, looking anxious. "Honey, don't worry. He'll be fine. Kylie and I just need to talk."
Kylie pulled Sara out of Arianna's earshot, and then said, "Where did you find this boy?"
When Sara finished explaining, Kylie looked back at the boy and said softly, "We have a very serious problem."
"Why, what is wrong? Why don't you heal him?" Sara replied in confusion.
"I don't know. I can heal anything that is good, but I can't heal this child's wounds," Kylie replied gravely.
"Surely you don't think the boy's evil?" Sara replied scornfully.
"No, of course not, I can read his good aura from here," Kylie snapped, "but whatever inflicted those wounds was so evil, so pure evil, that my healing cannot overcome it. The only thing I've heard of that would be powerful enough would be."
As Kylie trailed off, Sara interjected, "What? What is it?"
Kylie sighed, and then said softly, "Only Kain has this kind of power. Which means this child fought Kain. And not just fought. These kinds of wounds would take some serious power from Kain. No, this boy was a real thorn in Kain's side. Listen, I'm going to check with the Elders about this boy, and find out what I can do. I'll be back as soon as I can. Until then, try and stabilize the boy."
Before Sara could respond, Kylie orbed out. Sara bit back a curse and looked back at the child in fear. She didn't know if the child could survive this. Most ADULTS she knew would never survive wounds like this child had. Sara had to face the facts. Unless a miracle happened, this child was going to die.
TO BE CONTINUED.