As Cole rolled off her, Phoebe sighed with a smile, "That was"
"Yeah," Cole agreed with satisfaction as he propped himself up on his side and lightly ran his fingers along her shoulder.
But Phoebe sat up straight at his touch. She quickly pushed the sheet aside and got out of bed.
"Where are you going?" he asked as he sat up and watched her retrieve her underwear.
"Home," she replied as she came around to his side of the bed and reached down for her torn blouse. "This shouldn't have happened."
Cole shook his head and grabbed her arm to stop her. "We both wanted it," he told her as he pulled her up.
She sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her clothing. "It was a mistake," she said with a shake of her head.
"So, I should forget what just happened here?" he questioned.
"You have to," she replied softly as she tried to stand.
"No," he quietly insisted as he kept her on the bed. "Not like this." She turned to him for explanation and he tenderly traced the outline of her chin with his free hand. "Maybe we both lost control and maybe we'll both want to kill each other again the minute you leave but I don't want our last time together to have been about lust. We were never about that, Phoebe."
"We had some wild times," she whispered.
"But it wasn't pure lust," he told her. "There was more to us than that and you know it. Beneath all that passion, all that fire, there was"
"Love," she completed. Her eyes were brimming with tears and she weakly tried to pull away.
"Don't go," he requested. He caressed her cheek and tenderly kissed away the tears that had fallen from her eyes.
She closed her eyes and murmured, "Cole..."
Cole trailed light kisses along her neck. When she turned her neck to the side to allow him better access, he reached into her lap with one hand and threw her clothing to the floor. "Phoebe," he whispered as he pulled her to him.
Phoebe looked into his eyes and saw he was different this time. His touch was different. And, she realized, so was hers. And as she pushed him back into the pillows, she allowed herself to remember what it once was like to love him.
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"What time is it?" Phoebe wondered aloud as she lay spooned in Cole's embrace.
He kissed the back of her head and looked at the clock, "Almost eight. I don't know about you but I worked up quite an appetite. Scrambled eggs okay?" He suddenly felt her stiffen in his arms. "Phoebe?"
She slid to the other side of the bed and threw off the covers. "I have to go," she said as she retrieved her clothing. "They'll worry if I'm not there for breakfast."
Cole rolled his eyes. "You're a big girl and don't owe them an explanation."
She snorted as she put on her underwear. "I don't even know how I would explain this."
"So that's it?" he asked incredulously. "What about last night? This morning? What was that?"
"That was good-bye," she answered in a sad voice as she grabbed the rest of her clothing and left the room.
"Phoebe," he called after her. He heard the bathroom door close and he quickly dressed. He stood outside the bathroom door and waited for her to open it. Last night changed everything and he couldn't let her slip away. But he had to be careful or he'd blow it. This was it for them and he knew it. If she walked out, there'd be nothing left and it would be the end.
She knew he was waiting on the other side of the door but she didn't know what else to say. They had no future in spite of last night. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She stared at him but silently pushed past him and went back into the bedroom. She picked up her bag from the floor where she had dropped it the night before. "Will you take me back to my car or should I call a cab?"
"Phoebe," he said, "we have to talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about," she stated. "You tried to turn me evil. You wanted to destroy our livesmy sisters. You killed an innocent, Cole."
"I was desperate," he insisted.
"And that makes it okay?" she charged. "You can't just write this off as some momentary lapse of sanity."
"Why not?" he asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I haven't been thinking clearly for quite a while now."
"We've said things to each other," she reminded him as she sat on the bed and put on her shoes. "Things we meant. They don't suddenly disappear because we made love."
"I know that," he agreed, "but you can't deny how you felt when we made love either."
"I know, Cole, I didn't say this was easy for me," Phoebe sighed as she picked up his turtleneck from the floor by her feet. But --" She gasped as the vision suddenly overwhelmed her.
"Phoebe!" He rushed to her side in concern. He took the shirt from her hand and held onto her as she doubled over.
"You bastard," she cried as she ducked from under him. "You set me up!"
He watched in confusion as she trembled. "What'd you see?"
"The only way to keep me from vanquishing you," she cried. "God, I'm such a fool. I fell right into your plans again."
Cole's confusion turned to frustration. "I didn't plan any of this. Last night was as much a surprise to me as it was to you." She shook her head and he asked, "What the hell is going on?"
"I'm pregnant!" she shouted in frustration.
"Pregnant?" Cole uttered in shock. "Why didn't you say something last night?" he asked in concern before anger suddenly set in. "Who's the father, Phoebe?" he snarled as he advanced towards her. "Miles? Jeric? Some one-night-stand?"
"You are!" she yelled as she backed away from him. "You son of a bitch," she cried as she sank to the floor.
"You're crazy," he shouted as he towered over her. "We haven't been together in months and we know what happened to that baby."
"I'm talking about last night," she answered in a choked voice. "This is a nightmare," she whispered to herself.
Cole laughed in disbelief. "You're telling me that you've been pregnant for all of what six, seven hours?"
"I saw it," she angrily said as she wiped her eyes.
Cole shook his head. "You're remembering the past."
Phoebe struggled to her feet and insisted, "You were holding me from behind and rubbing my belly." Her voice softened slightly as she continued, "I was laughing. We both turned and Piper was there. She was sitting on the floor watching her baby crawl to her."
Stunned, Cole managed a step towards Phoebe. His gaze traveled from her eyes down to her flat toned stomach. He hesitantly reached out to touch it. "This could be a sign. Our second chance," he told her in a quiet voice.
She pulled his hand off. "I'm not ready for this," she told him. "Maybe I was wrong," she stated in a stronger voice.
"When was the last time your vision was wrong?" he asked as he let her pass him.
She began to pace. "You aren't to breathe a word of this to anyone," she ordered.
"You can't just ignore it," he told her as he blocked her path.
"I know that," she practically shouted. "But until it's confirmed," she added more calmly, "I don't want anyone to know about the possibility of this being true."
Cole was about to protest but held his tongue. Their relationship, if they still had one, was tenuous at best and the last thing he wanted was to throw off the balance any further. "Fine," he agreed. "I won't say a word until you say so." A baby. He couldn't help but grin.
"Don't," she warned. "Don't be happy and don't run out and buy anything. Don't even mention it to me. I won't go through it again. I can't."
"This isn't like last time," he told her as he stepped closer to her. "This baby is just as innocent but this time there's no Seer. No tonic. Nothing to change himor her."
Phoebe shook her head as she began to cry, "I can't go through it again."
"You won't have to," he promised as he pulled her into his arms. "I'll be right there by your side. I'll protect you. Protect both of you."
"You can't," she cried, "you can't even protect yourself."
"I never wanted to hurt you, any of you," he whispered as he pulled away. "I just wanted to love you." He walked to the doorway, "I'll get you something to eat before I take you back to the cemetery." He watched her stumble to the bed and curl up on it. "I'm not evil, Phoebe, and somewhere deep inside you know it," he quietly told her before he left her alone in the room.
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