Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed, I'm just using the characters and the ideas from the show for the purposes of writing this little fanfic!
A/N: Thanks everyone for your nice reviews, I love reading them. And because of them I wanted to get this chapter up quickly. It's kind of long, but Cole and Phoebe will finally realize that Gabe is their son! Yay! Okay, enjoy and as always, take a moment to review! Oh and by the way, the stuff in italics is Phoebe's premonition-enjoy!
Chapter Nine
The room was silent for a moment; no one wanted to take on an angry Leo.
"What do you mean?" Asked Phoebe, her eyes darting anxiously around the room. "What did they do?"
"Why don't you tell her." Leo stated sternly, addressing both Piper and Paige.
"We...we didn't do anythin--" Paige began while staring guiltily at the floor.
"That's bullshit!" Leo yelled again. None of them had heard Leo get this close to cussing before; they were dumbfounded. "The Elders know what you organized with Cole, they're pretty pissed off. You could have sent Gabe off to his death, how could you be so stupid, so selfish? He makes you a little uncomfortable so you ship him off even after I TOLD you he wasn't evil. What were you thinking?" He yelled.
"Wait, you did this?" Phoebe asked weakly, looking at her sisters, her expression wrought with hurt.
"Phoebe...we didn't know..." Piper whispered, already ashamed of her actions.
"You didn't have to know, you just had to trust me and you couldn't even do that." Phoebe turned her back to them to hide her tears. "I can't believe you would trust a demon over your own sister." Phoebe whispered, her back still turned.
"Sounds a little familiar." Paige mumbled to Piper, remembering what Cole had said earlier that day.
"You have to get him back, now." Leo ordered, still looking at Piper and Paige.
"Maybe if you told us a little more about him we would be a little quicker to help." Paige hinted.
"I told you I can't. All you have to know is that he is an innocent, it is therefore your job to protect him." Leo stated. He looked at Phoebe compassionately just before orbing out. Once he was gone the room again became silent.
"Phoebe I really am sorry." Piper urged, daring to break the intolerable silence.
"It's a little late for that." Phoebe said as she headed for the stairs. "I'm going to get him back, if you want to help me that's fine, but I don't expect anything." Before she could finish the sentence she had disappeared up the stairs on her way to the attic.
"I feel terrible." Paige murmured as she collapsed on the couch.
"We should have trusted her. I should have listened to Leo." Piper said as she joined Paige, sulking on the sofa.
"Why do you think Gabe's so important? And when did he become an innocent?" Paige asked, glancing over at her sister, waiting for a response.
"I don't know, but I'm going to help Phoebe, maybe then she won't hate me so much."
"Oh don't worry, I'm sure she hates me more. Or maybe Cole, she might hate him the most." Paige rambled on as the two of them climbed the stairs to the attic where Phoebe sat sifting through an old wooden chest.
"When is Cole coming back?" Phoebe asked coldly when she heard her sisters enter the room.
"We didn't really--" Piper began.
"You didn't talk about it, great. We can't do much until Cole gets back, it could be days." Phoebe sighed deeply and with complete disgust at what her sisters and Cole had done. "Where was Cole going to take Gabe? You must at least know that." The room was silent, Phoebe looked over her shoulder at Piper and Paige who stood, staring at the ground. Phoebe shook her head angrily and continued rifling through the chest.
"We only did it--" Paige started.
"I don't care why you did it Paige. You put an innocent in extreme danger, he could be dead and you would be to blame." Phoebe said without looking at her sisters. Before Paige or Piper could respond Cole appeared in the doorway. He looked over at Phoebe anxiously, hoping she didn't know what he had done. "Where is he?" She asked hurriedly as she stood up to face him.
"Who?" Cole asked, playing dumb.
"She knows Cole." Piper mumbled.
"Where is he?" Phoebe repeated.
"He's in the Underworld." Cole stated simply as he walked idly around in the attic.
"He's an innocent." Paige added, hoping to jog Cole's memory.
"How's that?" Cole asked, his face contorted with confusion.
"Leo said he's not evil and that we have to protect him." Paige replied. Cole sighed exhaustedly before saying,
"I left him with this demon I used to do business with, he's harmless."
"Then why is Leo so worried? Why are the Elders so upset?" Phoebe questioned, almost yelling out of frustration. No one spoke for some time. No one in the room knew the answers, not yet anyway.
"I'll...I'll go get him." Cole suggested, preparing to shimmer out of the attic.
"I'm coming with you." Phoebe demanded, "If you don't trust me, I don't trust you." She added sternly, glancing around the room. Before Paige or Piper could object, Phoebe took hold of Cole's arm and the two shimmered into the Underworld.
* * *
"So where is this demon friend of yours?" Phoebe questioned harshly once she and Cole had reached the lanky depths of the Underworld. Cole glanced quickly at Phoebe as if to acknowledge her question, just before pacing around the room searching for his mysterious demon friend.
"Riley!" Cole yelled as he searched the cracks and caves of the room. "Riley where are you?" He yelled again, waiting for a response.
"Where is he Cole?" Phoebe asked impatiently as she too began pacing around the room nervously. She could sense something wrong in the room, something not quite right even for the Underworld. She tiresomely placed her hand on a rock that protruded from the wall. Instantly, she was sucked into a premonition.
She is in the Underworld, this time with Cole, Piper, and Paige. She looks around the room for Gabriel but he is nowhere in sight.
"Where is he Rafferty?" Cole yells, threatening Rafferty with an energy ball. Rafferty smirks before replying,
"You'll never get him, he will become evil and he will kill you all." Before Cole has a chance to throw the energy ball at the demon, four more large demons materialize behind Rafferty.
"Freeze them Piper!" Paige yells frantically, overwhelmed by the sudden additions to the room.
"You're not getting out of here alive witches," Rafferty threatens, "and demon." he adds, glancing at Cole.
"Try us." Piper encourages. The demons barrel towards the witches. They reach Paige first and effortlessly knock her off her feet.
"Freeze them!" Phoebe yells as she watches Paige struggle to regain her footing.
"I can't, they won't freeze." Piper yells back, ducking to avoid one of the cumbersome demons.
"Like I said, you won't get out of here alive," Rafferty smiles maliciously and walks towards Phoebe, not taking his gaze off of her, "not you, your sisters, your boyfriend...or your son."
"My what?" Phoebe asks, her knees feeling weak.
"Phoebe, are you okay?" Cole asked, placing a comforting hand on Phoebe's shoulder.
"I'm...I'm just fine." Phoebe mumbled.
"Did you get a premonition? Do you know where Riley and Gabriel are?" Cole asked anxiously. Phoebe, unsure of how to answer his question said,
"No, not exactly."
"You didn't get a premonition?" Cole asked, confused by her vagueness. Phoebe ignored Cole's questions, not wanting to reveal what she had just seen. Cole turned away from Phoebe and continued searching the cavern for the demon and the kid.
"Riley!" He yelled again, wanting desperately to get a response so Phoebe's anger towards him would diminish. Before an answer came a demon shimmered in behind them, unfortunately it was not the demon they were looking for.
"Hello, not what you expected?" Rafferty asked, grimacing at Phoebe and Cole.
"Where is he Rafferty?" Cole questioned harshly, referring to Gabriel.
"Who? Gabriel? Oh he's fine, he's at home actually." Rafferty smiled menacingly. Before Phoebe or Cole could respond, Paige and Piper orbed into the Underworld. When Phoebe caught sight of them, her breath caught in her throat, her premonition was about to become reality.
"How nice, a little family reunion, too bad someone's missing." Rafferty mused after he caught sight of Piper and Paige.
"What is he doing here?" Paige asked Phoebe upon seeing (and hearing) Rafferty. Phoebe was too stunned to answer; she had to figure out a way to stop her premonition from happening. Before she could do anything, Cole manufactured an energy ball.
"Where is he Rafferty?" Cole yells, threatening Rafferty with the energy ball.
"Oh no." Phoebe murmured under her breath.
"You'll never get him, he will become evil and he will kill you all." Before Cole has a chance to throw the energy ball at the demon, four more large demons materialize behind Rafferty. Phoebe reacted quickly.
"Cole, this is what my premonition was, they're going to overpower us." Phoebe whispered, scooting next to Cole.
"I thought you didn't get a premonition." Cole whispered back.
"I did, I lied. We have to hurry. He has Gabe somewhere, I think he'll hurt him." While they were talking, the rest of the premonition was being acted out. Paige was flung to the ground and Piper was quickly being cornered in the cave.
"What are you two gossiping about?" Rafferty asked cockily, strolling closer to Phoebe and Cole. "You won't get out of here alive you know," He looked directly at Phoebe, "not you, your sisters, your boyfriend...or your son."
"My what?" Phoebe asked, forgetting about Cole and her sisters.
"Don't tell me you didn't know something was special about him." Rafferty stated, strolling closer and closer to Phoebe. Meanwhile, Cole had joined in the fight against the four big demons. He flung countless energy balls at them only to have them deflected.
"Cole, I think if we kill Rafferty, they'll go away." Piper yelled amidst her struggles.
"What are you talking about Rafferty? Where is my son?" Phoebe asked impatiently.
"Pheebs, you have to kill him, these demons are too strong." Piper yelled to her sister, who had become oblivious to everything around her.
"You know where your son is, you should at least. You've had him in your home for the past day." Rafferty said smiling, glancing around the room at the overpowered witches.
"Gabriel..." Phoebe mumbled to herself, trying to deal with what Rafferty had just told her.
"It's such a shame you'll never see him again." Rafferty grinned evilly and shimmered out, leaving the corpse of an injured demon behind. As soon as Rafferty had left, the four large demons disappeared as well. Cole walked over to the corpse.
"It's Riley, he's alive, but barely." Cole said softly, looking up, waiting for a reaction from Phoebe, Piper, or Paige, but no such reaction came. Piper and Paige were preoccupied with their many wounds while Phoebe stood, her back against a wall, thinking about what Rafferty had just told her.
"Why does he always do that? It's like he just comes here to taunt us." Paige said, referring to Rafferty.
"Pheebs are you okay?" Piper asked, ignoring Paige's initial question.
"No, I'm not okay," Phoebe whispered before looking at Cole, "Gabe's not just an innocent," she began, "he's our son."
A/N (again): So what do you think? I will try to get the next chapter up soon but no promises. Please review, I would love to know what you think!
