Yay for me! Chapter 4! If any have been wondering, i don't count the
prologue as one. It's simply the prologue. Well, here's the next chapter,
and thaxs for all of you have reviewed. Keep reviewing, if for my muse's
sake at least. ;-)
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Chapter 4- Difficult Confrontation
It had been a week since Phoebe had either seen or heard from Cole ever since their encounter at the market place. Their lives had thankfully settled down since then, and Phoebe had stopped breaking down in the middle in day. Though, Kara would sometime sneak past her mother's room and hear her crying harder than before she had seen Cole.
*************
Cole however was back in his old apartment where he used to live before he moved in with Phoebe. It seemed that nobody had bought the place, so he just moved back in, the papers filled out all ready He sat on his couch, relaxing against the cushions of the couch.
He was far from relaxation. It had been a week since he had seen Phoebe and that little girl at the market. His curiosity was gnawing at him from the inside, trying to figure out who she was, and how he would find out. Another plan popped into his head as he was looking backwards from his position. His head came up, and his frown turned into a smile.
*************
Phoebe had finally gotten the nerve to go out of the manor. She was walking in aisle 5, picking up some milk for the manor. She reached for the milk, and didn't feel an apprehension as she did before. Though, it seemed that she was a little premature in her comfort.
"Why, hello Phoebe. We seem to be meeting in this particular store quite frequently. Odd, isn't it?" Cole said next to her. As Phoebe looked up, both dreading and excited at the same time of what she was going to see. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally found herself looking into his eyes, and found that she felt just as vulnerable as the day she met him, and as the day he left him.
"Phoebe, you looked surprised. How have you been over the past, what? Four years? Yes, anything new? Friends? Husband? Kids?" Cole asked casually. Even though he seemed so calm in his voice, his stomach was turning in on itself. He was dreading the answer, not wanting to hear that she had moved on and married, even had kids. Part of him was hoping that the little girl had simply been either Piper's or Paige's kid. But another part of him was praying that the little girl was his, against all the odds. So, therefore leading him to his emotions ripping his insides apart.
"Actually, yes, there have been quite a few changes actually." Phoebe responded coolly. If he wanted to play that game, then she was up for it. Cole frowned slightly at her response. He was expecting something different. When he thought back on the Phoebe that he remembered, she was more gentle, carefree, non-confrontational. The woman standing before him was more of a cat baring her teeth. Cole pondered what could've been so drastic that happened that caused such a change in his sweet Phoebe. So, naturally, he decided to 'test the waters'.
"So, Phoebe. Who was the little girl? You know, like last week, when I saw you here." Cole said, referring to their first encounter. He was quite surprised when she looked him hard in the eye. "Phoebe...I don't know what's happened in the past 4 years, and I've regretted what I did those years ago. I want to know what's going on, and what happened here. Who is she, Phoebe?" Cole said sternly, almost as cold as Phoebe, dropping all pretenses by cutting straight to the point. He knew the game they were playing was tiring, and he just couldn't handle it at the moment, being so close to the woman who had invaded his thoughts for almost 4 years. Phoebe was shocked at how Cole suddenly changed the pace, and went for the hard-core truth.
The Cole she knew was cunning, intelligent, and could trick someone into giving up information. Yet, here he was, asking for the straight-out truth. Looking up into his eyes once more, she found an honest expression staring back at her.
"She's your daughter." Cole knew that he had wanted the truth, and had gotten it. From the expression of pain and hardship, both past and present told him that she was telling the truth. Even thought a part of him had been hoping that she was his, he was still shocked to the core from the news. Those three words had rocked him to his very soul, and stood there, his mouth agape.
"B-but, how?" Cole asked, still in shock, barely getting those two words out. Phoebe snickered. Here was the man that she had fallen in love with all those years ago, the man who seemed to be so strong and powerful, was stuttering from three simple words. She was going to take advantage of this, mainly because you don't often find Cole Turner, standing there like a buffoon, with his mouth hanging wide -open.
"Jeez Cole, has it really been that long? I would've thought you'd have known how." Phoebe said, with a grin. Behind that grin though was a queasiness that threatened to bring her lunch to the surface.
"Not funny Phoebe." Cole said, all humor gone from his voice. He leaned against the cold surface of the milk aisle. He didn't even pay attention to the cold that was biting through his shirt into his side. All he could really think of was, 'I have a daughter. I'm a daddy.' Thoughts similar to that were swirling through his mind. Phoebe was looking at his expression as he leaned against the aisle for support. If he wasn't going to be talking to her, then she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She quickly turned away from him, and began to quickly walk away from him.
"I want to meet her." Phoebe froze in her spot, again. She turned back to him, and saw him staring at her, eyes full of apology. From how much pain was filled in them, she would have liked better to see them full of rage, and hate.
"Fine. Come by the manor. You know where it is." Phoebe said curtly, before turning away again.
"You might need this." Cole said, while tossing her a carton of milk, just as she was turning to him. She caught it as she faced him, and glared at him angrily. He grinned back, looked at her retreating back. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Wait! What's her name?" Cole asked sheepishly. Phoebe stopped again, smiling with out turning back. She was wondering when he'd ask her that.
"Kara." After that said, she walked away from him, leaving him to his own thoughts.
"Kara...Kara...nice name." Cole mused as he turned away. He would have to get some things before he went to meet his soul mate, and his daughter.
*************
The next day
: Ding-dong: The doorbell sounded throughout the manor. "I'll get it!" "Cole!" Leo exclaimed. It had been so many years since he had last seen his friend. Ever since he had left Phoebe, they hadn't seen or heard from him. Then he remembered that small fact, and the matter with Kara. His eyes became dark, willing to protect Phoebe if he wanted to hurt her again.
"Leo. It's been so long! How have you been? Had any kids yet?" Cole asked cheerfully. He had decided to wear some jeans that were loose enough for comfort, but tight enough to raise a few eyebrows. He had a simple, yet stylish red sweater, and dark sunglasses that hid his deep blue eyes.
"Yes, it's been long, I've been fine, and no, I haven't had any kids yet." Leo answered rigidly, unsure of how to deal with him. If it weren't for what had happened 4 years ago, he would've gladly invited him in. But it did happen 4 years ago, and he was almost a stranger now.
"Leo! Who...oh, it's you." Paige said crossing her arms when she saw who was in the door. Ever since Cole had hurt Phoebe and caused her to cry ever time someone mentioned him, she disliked him, and she wasn't going to forgive him easily for breaking her heart. 'Perfect time for him to come back. Phoebe was just getting back together, and now he shows up. Does Phoebe know yet?' Paige thought, not allowing him to come in.
"Paige, good to see you again. May I come in?" Cole asked, putting on the politeness mask.
"Uh-huh, yea sure, and no you cannot come in." Paige said, standing defiantly in the doorway. Cole frowned, looking from Leo to Paige.
"Paige! Pa-oh there you are! Cole, yea hi, okay, if you would just wait in the living room." Piper said, coming down the main hallway. Paige gave Cole a death glare, warning him to just try and hurt Phoebe again.
Cole glanced back at Paige, and then Leo. Leo merely shrugged and went into the living room. Paige followed behind him, giving her hair a flip as she turned. Cole gave a sigh, knowing that this was going to be tough. As Cole took his seat, Paige and Leo took a seat on the couch opposite of Cole. He began to feel nervous under Paige's scrutinizing glare, and Leo's sympathetic look.
"Um...Piper? Where's Phoebe? And Kara?" Cole asked, looking up from the two, only to be met by one that was even more judgmental.
"They're upstairs. Just wait, and they'll be coming down soon." Piper answered, turning her back on Cole and heading to the kitchen to check on the food. Phoebe had asked her to prepare some food for her excruciating dinner with Cole. Cole gave out another sigh, and tried to relax into the couch, though it was hard with two people giving out death glares.
Upstairs
"Okay, honey, are you ready?" Phoebe asked her daughter nervously, straightening her dress.
"I'm fine mommy." Kara said, reassuring her mother, knowing it was hard. She didn't particularly wanted to see this man that hurt her mommy so much, but if her mommy said so...
"C'mon honey, let's go see the man...I mean your daddy." Phoebe corrected herself, knowing that she would have to work that out of her system. Kara nodded bravely, and followed her mother's lead and held her chin high. As she descended down the stairs, she felt like one of those princesses in the stories that she liked to have read to her.
Cole could hear them coming down the stairs and saw the little girl again for the second time. The resemblance was striking and he couldn't see how he had missed it the first time. The hair, the face, but most of all, the eyes.
"Hello." Kara said timidly, looking up at Cole, slightly scared. She partially hid herself from him behind her mother. Phoebe hid her smirk, and then tried to coax her from behind her. Kara finally came out and looked back up at Cole's 6'2. He smiled down at her, and Kara felt a twinge in her heart, as though there was a rush of happiness that had flooded her system. She shook it off, reminding herself that this was the man that made her mommy cry so much.
"Cole, Piper made us some food, so that we could talk about this, alone." Phoebe said, telling Leo and Paige to go discreetly. Paige was about to object, but Leo put his hand over her mouth and kept her quiet. He quickly left the room, leaving the three alone.
"So...then, um...let's go." Cole said, waiting for Phoebe to move towards the dining room.
"OkayâE¦come on Kara." Phoebe said, tugging on Kara's hand to tear her gaze from Cole. Cole followed them in, knowing it was going to be a long meal.
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Well, how 'bout that one? Huh? Huh? As you can see, its kinda winding down, and i'm gonna be ending this soon, :sighs: Well, once this is done, we can move onto A Guardian's Protectorate. One that has been long awaited for. Yay! Well, review this chapter for me will you? Thank you again. (I know, repetitive still, aren't I?)
*************************************
Chapter 4- Difficult Confrontation
It had been a week since Phoebe had either seen or heard from Cole ever since their encounter at the market place. Their lives had thankfully settled down since then, and Phoebe had stopped breaking down in the middle in day. Though, Kara would sometime sneak past her mother's room and hear her crying harder than before she had seen Cole.
*************
Cole however was back in his old apartment where he used to live before he moved in with Phoebe. It seemed that nobody had bought the place, so he just moved back in, the papers filled out all ready He sat on his couch, relaxing against the cushions of the couch.
He was far from relaxation. It had been a week since he had seen Phoebe and that little girl at the market. His curiosity was gnawing at him from the inside, trying to figure out who she was, and how he would find out. Another plan popped into his head as he was looking backwards from his position. His head came up, and his frown turned into a smile.
*************
Phoebe had finally gotten the nerve to go out of the manor. She was walking in aisle 5, picking up some milk for the manor. She reached for the milk, and didn't feel an apprehension as she did before. Though, it seemed that she was a little premature in her comfort.
"Why, hello Phoebe. We seem to be meeting in this particular store quite frequently. Odd, isn't it?" Cole said next to her. As Phoebe looked up, both dreading and excited at the same time of what she was going to see. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally found herself looking into his eyes, and found that she felt just as vulnerable as the day she met him, and as the day he left him.
"Phoebe, you looked surprised. How have you been over the past, what? Four years? Yes, anything new? Friends? Husband? Kids?" Cole asked casually. Even though he seemed so calm in his voice, his stomach was turning in on itself. He was dreading the answer, not wanting to hear that she had moved on and married, even had kids. Part of him was hoping that the little girl had simply been either Piper's or Paige's kid. But another part of him was praying that the little girl was his, against all the odds. So, therefore leading him to his emotions ripping his insides apart.
"Actually, yes, there have been quite a few changes actually." Phoebe responded coolly. If he wanted to play that game, then she was up for it. Cole frowned slightly at her response. He was expecting something different. When he thought back on the Phoebe that he remembered, she was more gentle, carefree, non-confrontational. The woman standing before him was more of a cat baring her teeth. Cole pondered what could've been so drastic that happened that caused such a change in his sweet Phoebe. So, naturally, he decided to 'test the waters'.
"So, Phoebe. Who was the little girl? You know, like last week, when I saw you here." Cole said, referring to their first encounter. He was quite surprised when she looked him hard in the eye. "Phoebe...I don't know what's happened in the past 4 years, and I've regretted what I did those years ago. I want to know what's going on, and what happened here. Who is she, Phoebe?" Cole said sternly, almost as cold as Phoebe, dropping all pretenses by cutting straight to the point. He knew the game they were playing was tiring, and he just couldn't handle it at the moment, being so close to the woman who had invaded his thoughts for almost 4 years. Phoebe was shocked at how Cole suddenly changed the pace, and went for the hard-core truth.
The Cole she knew was cunning, intelligent, and could trick someone into giving up information. Yet, here he was, asking for the straight-out truth. Looking up into his eyes once more, she found an honest expression staring back at her.
"She's your daughter." Cole knew that he had wanted the truth, and had gotten it. From the expression of pain and hardship, both past and present told him that she was telling the truth. Even thought a part of him had been hoping that she was his, he was still shocked to the core from the news. Those three words had rocked him to his very soul, and stood there, his mouth agape.
"B-but, how?" Cole asked, still in shock, barely getting those two words out. Phoebe snickered. Here was the man that she had fallen in love with all those years ago, the man who seemed to be so strong and powerful, was stuttering from three simple words. She was going to take advantage of this, mainly because you don't often find Cole Turner, standing there like a buffoon, with his mouth hanging wide -open.
"Jeez Cole, has it really been that long? I would've thought you'd have known how." Phoebe said, with a grin. Behind that grin though was a queasiness that threatened to bring her lunch to the surface.
"Not funny Phoebe." Cole said, all humor gone from his voice. He leaned against the cold surface of the milk aisle. He didn't even pay attention to the cold that was biting through his shirt into his side. All he could really think of was, 'I have a daughter. I'm a daddy.' Thoughts similar to that were swirling through his mind. Phoebe was looking at his expression as he leaned against the aisle for support. If he wasn't going to be talking to her, then she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She quickly turned away from him, and began to quickly walk away from him.
"I want to meet her." Phoebe froze in her spot, again. She turned back to him, and saw him staring at her, eyes full of apology. From how much pain was filled in them, she would have liked better to see them full of rage, and hate.
"Fine. Come by the manor. You know where it is." Phoebe said curtly, before turning away again.
"You might need this." Cole said, while tossing her a carton of milk, just as she was turning to him. She caught it as she faced him, and glared at him angrily. He grinned back, looked at her retreating back. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "Wait! What's her name?" Cole asked sheepishly. Phoebe stopped again, smiling with out turning back. She was wondering when he'd ask her that.
"Kara." After that said, she walked away from him, leaving him to his own thoughts.
"Kara...Kara...nice name." Cole mused as he turned away. He would have to get some things before he went to meet his soul mate, and his daughter.
*************
The next day
: Ding-dong: The doorbell sounded throughout the manor. "I'll get it!" "Cole!" Leo exclaimed. It had been so many years since he had last seen his friend. Ever since he had left Phoebe, they hadn't seen or heard from him. Then he remembered that small fact, and the matter with Kara. His eyes became dark, willing to protect Phoebe if he wanted to hurt her again.
"Leo. It's been so long! How have you been? Had any kids yet?" Cole asked cheerfully. He had decided to wear some jeans that were loose enough for comfort, but tight enough to raise a few eyebrows. He had a simple, yet stylish red sweater, and dark sunglasses that hid his deep blue eyes.
"Yes, it's been long, I've been fine, and no, I haven't had any kids yet." Leo answered rigidly, unsure of how to deal with him. If it weren't for what had happened 4 years ago, he would've gladly invited him in. But it did happen 4 years ago, and he was almost a stranger now.
"Leo! Who...oh, it's you." Paige said crossing her arms when she saw who was in the door. Ever since Cole had hurt Phoebe and caused her to cry ever time someone mentioned him, she disliked him, and she wasn't going to forgive him easily for breaking her heart. 'Perfect time for him to come back. Phoebe was just getting back together, and now he shows up. Does Phoebe know yet?' Paige thought, not allowing him to come in.
"Paige, good to see you again. May I come in?" Cole asked, putting on the politeness mask.
"Uh-huh, yea sure, and no you cannot come in." Paige said, standing defiantly in the doorway. Cole frowned, looking from Leo to Paige.
"Paige! Pa-oh there you are! Cole, yea hi, okay, if you would just wait in the living room." Piper said, coming down the main hallway. Paige gave Cole a death glare, warning him to just try and hurt Phoebe again.
Cole glanced back at Paige, and then Leo. Leo merely shrugged and went into the living room. Paige followed behind him, giving her hair a flip as she turned. Cole gave a sigh, knowing that this was going to be tough. As Cole took his seat, Paige and Leo took a seat on the couch opposite of Cole. He began to feel nervous under Paige's scrutinizing glare, and Leo's sympathetic look.
"Um...Piper? Where's Phoebe? And Kara?" Cole asked, looking up from the two, only to be met by one that was even more judgmental.
"They're upstairs. Just wait, and they'll be coming down soon." Piper answered, turning her back on Cole and heading to the kitchen to check on the food. Phoebe had asked her to prepare some food for her excruciating dinner with Cole. Cole gave out another sigh, and tried to relax into the couch, though it was hard with two people giving out death glares.
Upstairs
"Okay, honey, are you ready?" Phoebe asked her daughter nervously, straightening her dress.
"I'm fine mommy." Kara said, reassuring her mother, knowing it was hard. She didn't particularly wanted to see this man that hurt her mommy so much, but if her mommy said so...
"C'mon honey, let's go see the man...I mean your daddy." Phoebe corrected herself, knowing that she would have to work that out of her system. Kara nodded bravely, and followed her mother's lead and held her chin high. As she descended down the stairs, she felt like one of those princesses in the stories that she liked to have read to her.
Cole could hear them coming down the stairs and saw the little girl again for the second time. The resemblance was striking and he couldn't see how he had missed it the first time. The hair, the face, but most of all, the eyes.
"Hello." Kara said timidly, looking up at Cole, slightly scared. She partially hid herself from him behind her mother. Phoebe hid her smirk, and then tried to coax her from behind her. Kara finally came out and looked back up at Cole's 6'2. He smiled down at her, and Kara felt a twinge in her heart, as though there was a rush of happiness that had flooded her system. She shook it off, reminding herself that this was the man that made her mommy cry so much.
"Cole, Piper made us some food, so that we could talk about this, alone." Phoebe said, telling Leo and Paige to go discreetly. Paige was about to object, but Leo put his hand over her mouth and kept her quiet. He quickly left the room, leaving the three alone.
"So...then, um...let's go." Cole said, waiting for Phoebe to move towards the dining room.
"OkayâE¦come on Kara." Phoebe said, tugging on Kara's hand to tear her gaze from Cole. Cole followed them in, knowing it was going to be a long meal.
***************************
Well, how 'bout that one? Huh? Huh? As you can see, its kinda winding down, and i'm gonna be ending this soon, :sighs: Well, once this is done, we can move onto A Guardian's Protectorate. One that has been long awaited for. Yay! Well, review this chapter for me will you? Thank you again. (I know, repetitive still, aren't I?)