Chapter Twelve

"Phoebe," Cole panicked when he appeared in his empty living room, "are you here?"  He flung open the bedroom door and found her curled up near the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow, and he exhaled with relief. "I called the office and was told you'd gone to the doctor."  He quickly knelt before her and brushed hair from her puffy and red eyes.  "So I went to Ava but she'd already sent you home but you weren't there and I didn't want to worry your sisters by asking about you," he breathlessly added.

Phoebe opened her mouth to tell him but suddenly sucked in her breath and pressed her hand against her lower abdomen.

"Phoebe?" he asked in fear as he placed his hand on hers.

Phoebe grabbed his hand and squeezed it through the brief pain.  She gazed at his concerned face and slowly admitted, "I've been having contractions."  This time, Cole gasped in surprise and she quickly assured him, "Ava said it'll be normal to occasionally feel them throughout the rest of the pregnancy."

"But…" he asked warily as he caressed her cheek.

"But they're only supposed to be every now and then and mildly annoying and go away," Phoebe sniffled, "but mine haven't."  She wiped her eyes and quietly admitted, "She thinks it's stress-related and wasn't happy that my blood pressure was so high or that I'd spent my lunch hour with the Tracker.  Don't say it…please.  I feel horrible enough as it is.  I thought we could handle it without you.  I would never have done anything to --"

"I know," he assured her as he interrupted and kissed her hand, "and I wasn't going to say anything.  I also know I've been a bit overprotective lately and that I don't often say it but, Phoebe, I do trust that you know what you're capable of handling."  Phoebe didn't answer and he was still concerned by her pallor, "Have you eaten at all?"

"When I got back to the office," she quietly answered, "but I couldn't keep it down.  Ava said it was probably a nervous reaction to everything going on."

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital," he suggested in concern and clasped her hand tightly in his.

Phoebe shook her head, "Ava said the best thing to do was go home because as long as the contractions weren't coming at regular intervals or extremely painful, they'd probably go away if I lay down and rested.  She did tell me to consider working from home tomorrow."  Cole nodded understandingly and she continued in a rush, "She said it was perfectly normal but that I still shouldn't ignore what my body's telling me but the house is too crazy these days with the baby and with Paige practicing and asking for help and Piper with her potions and still trying to keep on top of things at the club and I didn't know where else to go and I'm so scared that something's going wrong," she cried as she reached out for him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Cole awkwardly pulled her closer and comforted her as she released her pent-up emotions and cried.  After several moments, she had calmed down enough for him to gently push her back down.  "Close your eyes," he suggested as he fluffed the pillow for her to hug again.  He brushed away some of her remaining tears and waited for her to control her breathing better and listen.  "You need to rest," he quietly told her, "and forget about everything else for a little while."

"But --" she resisted.

"No buts," he told her as he stroked her hair.  "If Ava said all you needed right now was some rest, then you need to listen.  Don't think about work.  Don't think about demons.  Don't even think about your sisters.  Just close your eyes and relax.  Take deep slow breaths.  In and out.  Don't think about anything other than Junior and his --"

"Junior? Cole, I told you…" she warned as she peeked at him.

Cole kissed the tip of her nose and, with a reassuring smile, quietly added, "Close your eyes.  I'll get some of my files from the office and work for the rest of the day in the next room."

But Phoebe immediately opened her eyes completely and reached for him in panic, "No, don't go!"

Taken aback, he gave her hand a squeeze and smiled encouragingly, "It's okay.  I won't be long."

"No," she insisted.

"Phoebe," he said in concern, "I have to go.  No one knows I've left the office.  When I couldn't reach you, I told my assistant I was on a conference call, couldn't be disturbed, and faded out.  I have to go back in order to leave." He watched her lower lip tremble and assured her, "You'll be safe here.  You know the shields are in place.  I'll be right back."  He kissed her tenderly and vanished.

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"Cole…" Phoebe moaned as she twisted under the blanket.  "NO!" she jerked awake with a scream and sat straight up in the center of the bed.  Cole's arms were around her before she could call out again.  She sagged back against him and tried to catch her breath.

"I'm here," he assured her as he held her from behind.  "The premonition?"  She nodded and he lightly kissed her temple.  "It's only because of the stress," he reassured her in a calm tone.  "You're fine and the baby's fine," he added as he gently ran his hand along her abdomen.  "Any more contractions?"

"I'm not sure," she shakily admitted.  "I guess not.  I guess I fell asleep," she realized as she looked at the blanket that hadn't been there before.

"That's good, then," he commented.  He leaned forward and spoke to her stomach, "Thank you for letting Mommy get some rest."  He kissed it and gave it a gentle pat.

Phoebe rolled her eyes and finally relaxed in his arms.  She rubbed her eyes and asked, "What time is it?"

Cole looked at the clock, "Almost dinnertime.  Speaking of which, I've been invited out for dinner."

"Where?" she yawned as she leaned back against him and pulled his hands around her expanded waistline.

"Your place," he answered with a grin.  "Your sisters invited me."

"My sisters?" she asked in disbelief as she twisted slightly in order to see his face.  "Are you sure?"

He nodded, "Maybe the thaw is finally starting."  He kissed her forehead and slid out from behind her.  He stood next to the bed and announced, "I'd better call them and take a rain-check.  If they even offer one, that is." 

Phoebe shook her head, "Don't.  I'll be fine."

"The first dinner with them will be hard enough," he cautioned, "and tonight you don't need any added stress."

"We can't push it off," she insisted, "especially not when they finally made the first move."

"They? First move?" he exclaimed.  "Are you kidding?"

"You know what I mean," she answered with a yawn.  "This is important, Cole.  You have to come."

"All right," he slowly agreed, "but the first hint of an argument and you are out of there."  He watched her stifle a yawn and suggested, "We don't have to leave yet.  Why don't you take a quick nap?"

"I just woke up," she grumbled half-heartedly as she rubbed her lower abdomen with a frown.

"If you don't want to listen to me, maybe you'll listen to him.  I think Junior's trying to tell you he needs more sleep," Cole teased.   "Go on, I'll wake you in a little while."  But Phoebe didn't react to his tease as he'd expected.  "Phoebe?"

"Don't leave me," she pleaded as she suddenly reached for him.  She gazed at him and whispered, "Hold me?"

Cole gently pushed her down onto the bed and waited for her to settle comfortably on her side.  Then he carefully climbed back onto the bed and lay on his side behind her.  He propped himself up with one arm and wrapped his other around her.  After she tugged on the blanket and snuggled closer to him, he gently massaged her belly.  After a few minutes of companionable silence, he quietly asked, "Better?"

She nodded and, just as quietly, said, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked as he continued his comforting ministrations.

"For behaving like such a bitch for the past two days," she tearfully confessed, "all because of something so stup--"

Cole cut her off by leaning forward and kissing her cheek.  "I love you," he told her, "and I'm sorry I haven't been more understanding about what you've been going through.  Here you've been trying to be super-witch without complaint but even though you may be a super witch to me, you can't do it all by yourself and you shouldn't have to.  I should've realized what was going on and been more of a help to you.  Leo made me see that I --"

"Leo?" she interrupted with a sniffle.

"Yeah," he admitted, "he gave me some insight into what he went through with Piper and --"

"You bonded?" she interrupted again, all tears forgotten.  "You and Leo?"

"I wouldn't go that far," he said.  "Although…"

"Although what?" she warily asked.

He leaned forward again, kissed her cheek, and informed her, "I was invited for dinner.  Maybe this is the turning point."

"Maybe," she considered as he rested his hand on her stomach.  She intertwined her fingers with his and told him, "Janice Whitman called this afternoon shortly after I got here.  They have a bit of a problem."

Cole tensed, "Don't tell me they're backing out.  We've already gone to contract."

"No," she quickly said, "but she did ask for a favor.  It seems the renovations on their new house won't be done when they expected and she wanted to know if we would mind rescheduling the closing for two weeks later."

"But that would push off our own schedule," he complained.  "We'd only be left with about two weeks to move in and get everything ready before the baby's born."  Phoebe stiffened slightly and he sighed, "You already agreed, didn't you?"

She nodded and apologized in a small voice, "I know I should've discussed it with you but she was so upset and she had the contractor in the other room and the baby was crying and I couldn't hand--"

"It's okay," Cole quickly assured her as he kissed her temple.  "It's unexpected but we'll manage."

Phoebe sniffled and quietly told him, "I like her.  I know we've only spoken to them a couple of times but I have this strong feeling like I know they're good people.  Couldn't you sense it when we saw the house the first time?"

"I did," he agreed as he kissed her again, "and their new house will only be a few blocks away from ours.  It might be…nice to try the normal life and have neighborhood friends…Do you think it's even possible?"

"With us, anything is possible," she sighed.  "You know," she suddenly commented, "Kaylie will only be a few months older than our son."

"Matchmaking?" he teased as he pulled his fingers from hers, stroked her arm, and kissed her again.

"She sounds like an angel, don't you think?" Phoebe considered.  Just then she felt a kick and quickly reached for Cole's hand so he could feel it.  "And this one's a little devil," she chuckled, "just like his daddy."

Cole smiled as he realized just how far they'd progressed in their relationship if she could tease him like that and he tried, "Just like his mommy, you mean."  Phoebe actually giggled from his tease and Cole sighed in relief.  "So do you think maybe he's ready for some dinner now?"

"Mmm," she contemplated with a smile, "I'm not sure about him, but I know Mommy is."  She struggled to push herself up and complained to Cole, "A little help here."

Cole chuckled and helped her sit before he got off the bed and offered her a hand.  "You're sure you're up for this?"

"I'm ready," she nodded, "let's go."  She suddenly frowned and said, "In a minute."  She turned to leave him but stopped and asked, "If I go in there, it won't be --"

"It's down," he assured her with a groan.  "I've learned my lesson."

"Thanks, honey," Phoebe smiled and stood on tiptoe to kiss him, "I'll be right out."

Even after she had left the room, Cole still stood in his spot.  "She called me 'honey,'" he realized with a smile.

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"Sit," Paige ordered Phoebe, "we can finish clearing up."

"Don't be ridiculous," Phoebe told her younger sister as she pushed back her seat, "I can handle carrying in a few plates."

"Phoebe," Cole warned as he placed his hand on her arm, "not tonight."

Phoebe glared at Cole but remained seated.  "Fine," she sulked as Paige joined Piper in the kitchen.  "I'll just sit here like the helpless pregnant female I am."

"If you're helpless, then I'm an archangel," Cole muttered.

Not wanting to get caught in the middle of a potential blow-up, Leo quickly announced, "The baby, I'll be right back."

"I don't hear anything," Cole glared at him.

"Probably my link with her," Leo suggested unconvincingly.  "You'll see soon enough for yourself."

"Chicken," Cole muttered when Leo orbed out of the room.

As soon as he was gone, Phoebe leaned over and kissed Cole on his cheek.  "Thank you."

Surprised, he asked, "For what?"

"For biting your tongue every time they baited you," she smiled.  "You showed remarkable restraint.  Much better than me."

"They're not my sisters," he shrugged.  "At least they didn't seem to mind what you were dishing out."

"They deserved it," she commented.  "It went well, right?" she suddenly asked nervously.  "You don't think they were really offended, do you?" she worried. 

"No more than you or I were," he assured her.  "We're all testing the waters," he told her.  "It's still going to take time for us all to relax enough around each other."

"It's never going to be like it used to," she sadly realized.

"No," he agreed, "but that doesn't mean it will be bad."  She nodded and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.  "How are you feeling?" he asked.  "And I want the truth," he stated.

"Good," she assured him.  "I'm still a bit tired but I'm feeling much better…I'm glad we had tonight, before dinner, I mean."

He brought her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it, "Work for both of us has been so busy and with Hasoaf and everything else…We need to make time for us.  Just the two of us."

"More than just a few hours alone," she agreed.  "Maybe tomorrow," she suggested hopefully.  "If I call in sick under doctor's orders, maybe you could take the day and we could spend it together?"

"I've got an afternoon conference I can't miss but," he smiled, "I don't see why I can't spend the entire morning with you."  Phoebe nodded happily and stood.  "Where do you think you're going?" he asked.

"Nature calls," she answered as she stepped away.

"Again?" he asked in surprise.  The knock to his head caused him to immediately apologize and he added, "I'll make it up to you."

"Damn right you will," she muttered as she left the room.

As she stalked past Leo, he re-entered the room and asked Cole, "Doghouse again?"

"No," Cole emphatically stated as he stood.  But he considered the matter as he walked into the living room and added, "At least I don't think so."

Leo chuckled but assured Cole, "It's just a phase."

"It had better be," Cole grumbled as Piper and Paige joined them. 

"Dishes are being washed," Piper announced as she plopped down on the sofa.  "Melinda's okay?" she asked Leo who nodded in reply.

"Where's Phoebe?" Paige asked as she sat next to Piper and looked around.

"Don't ask," both Leo and Cole answered at the same time.

Paige rolled her eyes.  "Well, when she gets back we should have an after-dinner toast," she suggested.  "Non-alcoholic, of course."

"For what?" Leo asked.

"This's the first time in a year that the five of us have been in the same room for more than an hour without someone trying to kill another," she smirked.

"Amazing how you restrained yourself," Cole wryly said.

"Thank you," Paige acknowledged.

"That wasn't a comp--" Cole began.

"Hey, Piper?" Phoebe interrupted when she called out from the hallway.  "What's this?"  She entered the living room and held out a small bottle of purple liquid.  "I just noticed it on the top shelf in the bathroom."

Piper quickly glanced at Paige and said, "It's nothing, Phoebe, just there for decoration.  I thought about changing the décor to purple."

"Hmm," Phoebe considered as she shook the bottle, "it's kind of dark, don't you think?"

Piper glanced again at Paige and said, "Yeah, it was just an idea.  I'd completely forgotten about it.  Why don't you give it to me and I'll try something else."

"Sure," Phoebe shrugged, "I'm not sure why you want to redo the bathroom, though.  I think the colors work fine." 

As she walked towards them, Cole noticed she was about to step on a pacifier and called out, "Watch it."

Phoebe immediately looked down but still faltered when she tried to avoid the pacifier.  Cole quickly caught her but she lost her grip on the bottle and it fell to the floor by their feet and shattered.

"Phoebe," Piper called out in concern as purple smoke and sparks enveloped Phoebe and Cole who were already coughing from the smoke.

"Cole?" Phoebe coughed as she tried to wave away the smoke. 

Cole held onto her tightly and couldn't catch his breath as the sparks grew into flames.  He suddenly doubled over in pain and, as he dropped to the floor, hit his head on the corner of the end table.

"Cole!" Phoebe shrieked in concern as Piper and Paige jumped off the couch with a blanket to smother the flames.  But the flames were already dying out and Phoebe lowered herself to the floor.  She pulled Cole's head into her lap and screamed at her sisters, "That was a potion!  What'd you do to him?"  She suddenly noticed that Cole's forehead was bleeding and uttered, "Cole…" She awkwardly reached into her pocket for a tissue but Leo stopped her just as she was about to wipe away the blood.

"Don't," he warned, "remember his blood is like acid.  You'll be hurt."

"Then heal him," she angrily demanded.  Leo didn't move and she realized, "You won't because you still think he's evil.  Damn it, Leo, he's been trying and you know it."

"Glad you noticed," Cole groaned as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Cole," she whispered in relief, "oh, thank God."  He began to stir and she did her best to help him sit.  "Slowly, take it easy."

"What the hell was in that bottle?" he groaned as he brought his hand to his head.

"No, don't," she cautioned, "you're bleeding."  She quickly put the tissue to his cut and stared at the blood.  "It's blood," she repeated in amazement as she showed him the tissue, "normal blood."  He closed his eyes and she pressed the tissue on the wound again and whispered, "And it hasn't healed itself…"

"It worked?" Paige whispered to Piper.

"What worked?" Phoebe suddenly shouted.  "What have you done?" 

"Not so loud, honey," Cole quietly requested as he opened his eyes and pushed her hand away.

Phoebe quickly glanced at him before she faced her sisters and demanded again, "What was that potion for?"

"It was a variation on your power-stripping potion," Piper reluctantly admitted.

"What?" Phoebe gasped in horror.

"We thought that if we could strip Cole's powers," Paige explained, "we'd be able to vanquish him."

Phoebe instinctively tightened her grip on Cole and she whispered in anger, "When? When did you do this?" Piper and Paige exchanged uncomfortable looks but didn't answer.  "Before or after I got pregnant," she demanded through clenched teeth.

"We were angry," Piper quietly replied, "and hurt and --"

"Oh my God," Phoebe whispered as she struggled to stand with Cole's help. "How could you? How could you do that?"

"It's okay," Cole told her in an attempt to calm her growing hysteria.  "I'm okay, Phoebe."

Phoebe inadvertently pushed him back, "How can you say that? You're bleeding, Cole.  That potion did something to your blood and your power to heal.  God, do you even have any powers left?  I can't believe this is happening."

"Phoebe," Piper quickly apologized, "we never meant for this to happen."

"How can you say that?" Phoebe shouted.  "You made the damn potion for a reason."

"But it was months ago," Paige told her.  "We'd completely forgotten about it."

Phoebe shook her head, "I thought tonight was actually a turning point.  God, I've been so stupid in thinking that we were finally --"

"Phoebe," Cole uttered in concern when Phoebe suddenly hunched over and inhaled sharply.  "Damn it," he whispered.  He reached over to support her and encouraged her, "You've got to relax.  I'm fine."  She wordlessly shook her head and he insisted, "I am.  I'm also getting you out of here."

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"What is it?" he quickly asked with worry.

"Phoebe?" Piper uttered as she stepped closer.

Phoebe glanced at her sister and stepped back in spite of Cole's support.  "You're the reason he dies," she whispered.  "Your potion.  That's what does it."  Piper looked shocked and Phoebe held onto Cole in desperation.  "We didn't know how you could be hurt and chained.  But it's clear now.  Don't you see? The potion's stripped you of your powers.  You can't protect us anymore!  Hasoaf's going to come and it's all going to come true!"

"You don't know that," Cole tried to convince her but Phoebe had already begun to cry.  "Look," he said as he created a small energy ball in his hand, "see?" But Phoebe shook her head and he held onto her as she sank to the floor.

"What have you done?" Phoebe whispered to her sisters.  "Why didn't you throw it away?" she asked in a higher pitch.  "How could you tell me you were trying to work things out and keep that potion around? Oh God, what have I done? I'm the one who's responsible," she realized.  "Cole, it's my fault.  If I hadn't broken the bottle…" In horror, she covered her mouth with both hands, and hysterically repeated, "I did it.  It's my fault.  My fault."

Cole quickly embraced her and tried to calm her.  "Phoebe, listen to me, it's not your fault," he calmly insisted.  "It's not your fault," he repeated over and over as he stroked her hair and back.  But Phoebe continued to sob and he noticed she began to press against her lower abdomen.  In a soothing voice, he whispered into her ear a spell he'd used on her only once before.  The night before he'd married her as the Source.  He quickly banished those dark thoughts and repeated the phrases and, after a moment, Phoebe had slumped in his arms.  He tenderly brushed some hair from her eyes and kissed her lightly on her forehead.

"What did you do to her?" Paige anxiously inquired.

"I needed to calm her, quickly," Cole answered as he lightly stroked Phoebe's belly.  "She'll sleep through the night," he quietly assured them.

"She's gonna be pissed that you used magic on her," Piper warned.

Cole glared at her, "I think you should be more concerned how she'll feel about you when she wakes up."

"We really had forgotten about it," Piper sincerely apologized to him.

"I understand," Cole honestly replied, "and maybe, in the morning when she's thinking clearly, Phoebe will too." He looked up to Leo and requested, "Take her up to her room."  To the sisters, he continued, "While we go to the basement and see just how well your potion worked."

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