Chapter Twenty-Three
"What the hell?" Cole uttered when he was shimmered into the foyer. Before he could even consider how his unborn son managed to shimmer him halfway across the neighborhood into their new house, he heard Phoebe's scream and he darted into the living room. He found her in the center of the dusty, empty room on the chaise he'd only created a little while earlier in the attic. "Phoebe!"
Phoebe was hunched forward, hugging the backs of her thighs, as she strained and pushed. She had no idea he was even in the house until she heard him shout her name. She lost concentration as she turned her head but, fortunately, the contraction was already subsiding. "Cole…" she cried as she reached out for him and nearly lost her balance.
Cole was instantly at her side and kept her from falling off the chaise. "What're you doing?" he nervously asked as he quickly straddled the chaise behind her and began massaging the sides of her abdomen as she leaned back against him. "And how'd this get here?"
"I'm having a baby!" she suddenly shouted as she twisted position to glare at him. "And I guess the baby thought it'd be a helluva lot more comfortable than the hardwood floors!"
Cole patted her belly, "I'm proud of you, Junior…such a good baby helping Mommy like that."
Unamused, Phoebe slapped away his hand. "Damn it, where the hell have you been?"
"I'm sorry," he seriously apologized as he kissed her temple. He pushed away her matted hair and kissed her again, "Paige thought a demon had taken you and we couldn't track you."
"Because of the damn shields we put up!" she snapped as she suddenly lurched forward again and tightly hugged the backs of her thighs. "Oh, God…"
"You can do this," Cole encouraged as he returned his hands to her abdomen and gently massaged her through the contraction. Her eyes were squeezed shut and he calmly continued, "Focus on the baby. Focus on him coming into this world. That's it…you're doing great."
Phoebe slowly relaxed and sagged back against him. "Thank God you're here," she sighed. "Where're my sisters? And Ava? Are they on their way?"
"Not exactly," he reluctantly admitted.
"What do you mean?" she anxiously asked as she turned her head to look back at him. "Cole, they have to come! They have to be here!" she panicked. "I can't have this baby without them! Don't they want to come? Oh God, they don't, do they? They're furious with me. They blame me for all of this, don't they?"
"Of course not," Cole retorted before he tried to calmly explain, "Phoebe, you -- the baby -- shimmered me out before I could tell them where you were. All we figured out was that you'd gone some place safe. But I'd forgotten all about the house. I knew it couldn't have been the penthouse and the mausoleum was empty and --"
"What?" she shrieked. "How could you think I'd want to have a baby in a dark, filthy, cold mausoleum?!"
"Phoebe, I --" he tried to explain.
"You have to get them!" she groaned as she felt the start of another contraction. She got back into position and began pushing again. Cole counted to ten softly in her ear. "Keep going," she told him through clenched teeth, "I can do this." Cole continued counting and, when he reached twenty, she exhaled and fell back against him. She felt him kiss the back of her head and shift position. "Where…where are you going?" she nervously wondered as she grabbed his arm to keep him in place.
"To get your sisters," he replied as he slipped out from behind her. "I'll be right back," he assured her as he kissed the top of her head.
"No, you can't!" she cried as he straightened.
"But you wanted --" he started.
"You can't leave me, Cole. Dammit, this's all your fault!" she suddenly shouted. "You're the one who did this to me! You and your damn virile invincible sperm! Why'd I even bother with birth control? If you think you are ever touching me again --"
Cole smiled in amusement and kissed her mid-rant. "It'll take less than a minute," he said as he stepped away.
"You step one foot out of this room," she tearfully threatened, "and I will vanquish your sorry ass so fast you'll wish you were safe and sound back in the Underworld!"
"What?" He was completely surprised by the vehemence in her tone.
"Oh, God, I'm sorry," she cried as she quickly reached out for him, "I didn't mean it. Cole, I'm so sorry. Please don't leave me. Please. I can't do this without you. I love you, I'm so sorry……"
Cole quickly knelt next to her and held her as she trembled. In teasing voice, as he lightly kissed her temple, he whispered, "My beautiful, crazy, insane witch."
Stunned into calmness, she snapped, "Well you should know!" She felt Cole tense and she quickly pulled back in shame, "I did it again…Cole, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant to say that. Why can't I keep it in the past like I should? Why haven't I learned my lesson? How can you ever forgive me if I keep throwing it all back at you? God, you should leave me. I don't deserve --"
"Hush," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around her, "it's okay, Phoebe. I know it's just the pain and the fear and the hormones. I know how you really feel."
"It's not an excuse to hurt you," she whispered hoarsely. "It doesn't make it right. It --" She moaned as she was hit with another contraction. She squeezed his upper arms and tried to breathe through it. "Have to push…" she groaned as she tried to shift position.
Cole supported her back with one arm while he placed his other hand on hers on the back of her thigh. As she pushed, he counted and encouraged her in a soft voice, "That's it. You're doing great, baby. Keep going. Just a little longer."
As the contraction eased, Phoebe's hands slid down from her thighs and she weakly leaned to the side, against him. "Please don't leave me," she pleaded as she pressed her face to his chest. "Please, Cole. Just call them," she requested as she limply put one arm around his waist.
"The phones lines won't be connected until next week," he reminded her as he gently pulled her hand away. "I have to go back."
"What about your cell?" she asked as she finally looked up at him with watery eyes. "Please?"
Cole sighed and reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone. "I was afraid of this," he told her as he showed her the phone. "The battery's dead." He dropped the phone back in his pocket and quickly pulled her into a hug.
"It's not fair," she whispered in defeat, "I don't want you to go."
"Do you love me?" he suddenly asked as he tilted her chin up towards him.
"You know I do," she admitted with confusion.
"Do you trust me?" he then asked. "I mean really trust me?"
"With my life," she whispered. "With our baby's life," she softly added as she reached up to caress his cheek.
Cole smiled and covered her hand with his. "Then believe me when I tell you that I will be right back."
"But --" she began.
"No buts," he interrupted. "I swear, Phoebe, on my father's soul, I'm coming back."
"Could you," she hesitated, "could you wait until after the next contraction."
"Is one coming?" he quickly asked as he prepared to support her.
"Not yet," she admitted as she reached out for him. She tugged on his shirt and buried her face again in his chest and confessed, "I'm scared, Cole."
"Of what, baby?" he quietly asked as he kissed the top of her head and reached behind her to stroke her back.
"That's good," she sighed in distraction as she arched her back slightly.
"Lie down," he suggested as he gently pushed her down on her side, her back to him. As he massaged her lower back, he asked again, "What are you scared of?"
"That something's going to go wrong," she sniffled, grateful she couldn't look him in the eyes.
Cole stopped what he was doing and, with his hand resting on the small of her back, he wondered in a worried tone, "Premonition?"
"No," she lied, "just a feeling…"
He sensed she wasn't being truthful but realized that it wasn't the time to press her. He actually saw, never mind felt, the change in her body as the contraction began. As she moaned, he helped her back into her seated position and talked her through the contraction. As soon as it eased, he gently lay her down again and kissed her forehead. "I'll be right back," he promised, "and then we'll all be here to welcome Junior into our family." Phoebe merely nodded silently as tears trickled down her cheeks. "Everything will be all right," he assured her even though he was completely unnerved by her bleak expression.
"I love you," she told him in a voice barely above a whisper. She felt his concern when he suddenly kissed her. She closed her eyes and felt his desperation as his lips lingered on hers. He was afraid, she realized. Afraid for her. For their baby.
"Less than a minute," he stated in a choked voice before he stood up.
She watched him disappear and, careful not to touch her belly, whispered, "Baby, hold on, just a little longer. Daddy's bringing help." She shuddered as the image she'd seen before, when she'd been alone and stroked her belly during a contraction, flashed through her mind. "God," she whispered, "please don't take him from us. Not again. Please…" Phoebe began to softly cry as she waited helplessly for Cole to return. "Hurry, Cole, hurry…"
*********** ********** ************