Part Eleven
A short while later, after conversation seemed to be flowing easier between them, Phoebe revealed, "I learned so much during my time with you. About my craft, my career, and about myself and what I wanted out of life, out of love."
"And you think you've found it now with this guy in your life?" he uncomfortably asked.
She stared at him in surprise, "How'd you -- My sisters told you."
Cole nodded, "While they were warning me to stay away from you and demanding that I don't ruin your life."
"I'm sorry," she winced. "They shouldn't've said anything."
"Would you have?" he challenged as they continued to walk through a dimly lit cavern.
"If it came up," she admitted before she indicated to a pair of menacing-looking shadows that were moving across the wall to their right.
"Just keep walking," he advised in a low tone. Once they passed the danger, he asked, "So, what's he like?"
"Cole, I --" she began.
"You owe me several answers," he reminded her.
"But you don't really want to know that" One look to his face confirmed for her that he did want to know. But, feeling uncomfortable discussing Jason with him, and partly out of a desire not to hurt him any further, Phoebe chose a simple answer. "He's a successful businessman with a hand in many different venues."
"How'd you meet?" he questioned in spite of himself.
She sighed but replied, "He owns the paper and took an interest in my column. It wasn't long before he wanted to take a more personal interest in me and, after a while, I let him."
Cole stopped walking and seriously wondered, "Does he make you happy?"
"How about those Forty-Niners?" Phoebe nervously chuckled while she walked past him.
But Cole remained standing in his spot. "Answer me, Phoebe," he quietly ordered.
"Yes," she softly replied without turning around, "he does." She heard his sharp intake of breath and faced him. She couldn't mistake the pain reflected in his eyes and she whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he assured her as he started walking again. "In some warped way, I'm actually glad you've found someone."
Phoebe placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "Are you sure?"
"All I ever wanted, Phoebe, was for you to be happy," he sadly commented before he strode ahead.
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Leo rushed to the bed the instant Piper sat up with a start. He tried to calm her while she glanced wildly about the room, holding her hand over her heart. "It's okay, Piper, it was just a dream."
"Phoebe," she uttered. Her heart was pounding so badly she thought it was going to burst from her chest. It took her a moment to realize that Leo was talking to her. She tried to move but he kept her firmly in place, "Leo, I have to find her."
He pushed some of her loose but matted hair back behind her shoulder and spoke in a calming tone, "She's okay, Piper. You had a nightmare, that's all."
"A nightmare," she repeated to herself. She glanced at him before she looked down at her trembling hands. "But it was so real."
Leo reached for her hands and held them securely between his own. "But it wasn't, it was only a dream."
"But what if it comes true?" she nervously asked.
He smiled patiently, "Phoebe's the one with premonitions, remember?"
"I'm serious," she replied in a quiet tone. "It was Cole," she recalled with a shiver. "He lost it when Phoebe wouldn't take him back. He kept harassing her and, when she was standing at the altar ready to marry Jason, he killed Jason right there in front of her."
"It was only a dream," he reminded her. "Cole would never do anything like that to Phoebe."
"You don't know that," she cried. "Demons can't love, that's a fact, no matter what Cole says. We brought him back from the edge of madness. What if it's her happiness with Jason that sends him back over permanently?"
"Cole's not an ordinary demon," Leo quietly said as he pulled Piper into his arms. He stroked her hair and assured her, "Cole can love. You've seen it and you believe it." He felt her shake her head and he insisted, "You do, Piper, and that's why his betrayal hurt you so much. Because you saw his love for your sister and even felt him care for yourself. And you cared for him in return but he let you down."
"He tried to kill me," she snapped when she suddenly pushed herself back, "tried to kill Wyatt before he was even born!"
Leo shook his head, "If Cole had truly wanted that, you'd both be gone. I'm not condoning his actions, Piper, merely letting you know, there was always more to Cole than you were willing to accept. And one thing is certain, he would never deliberately hurt Phoebe."
"He killed her!" Piper raged. "After she watched in shock as he killed Jason, after he killed everyone in the church's pews, after he killed Paige, after he killed your son," she spat, "he twisted her neck like a rag doll and threw her body at my feet. All because he couldn't accept her rejection of him one more time."
"It was only a dream," he repeated in a slightly less convincing tone.
But Piper, haunted by her recent memory, didn't hear him and continued in a dazed tone, "The look on his face, in his eyes. Evil. Pure evil. And I knew he had just become the Source again. I looked around me at the bodies of my entire family, everyone I ever loved, and I asked him to kill me. I begged him to kill me. But he just laughed in my face. He knew leaving me alone would be the worst possible punishment. Taking them from me and leaving me all alone."
Leo pulled her back into his arms and held her while she cried. He whispered to her words of comfort, stroked her hair and her back, and patiently waited for her to calm enough to talk to her. He suddenly heard her mumbling and pulled back slightly in order for her to repeat her words.
She couldn't look him in the eyes and shook her head, "This plan's gonna backfire, Leo. Even if we save Phoebe, he's only gonna kill her later when he can't have her back."
"Have faith," he softly advised as he tilted her chin up slightly. "Whatever they've been through, there's still love between them. Perhaps now things will be different."
Her eyes narrowed. "That sounds like you know something," she accused.
He chuckled, "Let's just say I've been keeping something of an eye on Phoebe."
"How?" she wondered suspiciously. "You can't sense us when we're down there."
"True," he winked, "if I was still a Whitelighter." He chuckled when her mouth dropped open in surprise. "Look, all I know is that there's an aura of peacefulness about her which hasn't been present in a long time."
"That isn't true," she insisted. "She's in love with Jason and doing so successfully in her job. Phoebe's been so incredibly happy and at peace."
"Jason does make Phoebe happy," Leo agreed, "but he also makes her confused and unsure. Right now, though, she's completely at ease which, considering all the danger she's in, should tell you something about her time with Cole."
Piper impulsively hugged Leo tightly. "I don't want to lose her," she whispered.
"And that's the real fear behind your nightmare, isn't it?" he quietly probed. "It's not Cole and his return because you know, deep down, that if it comes to it, you can fight him and win." Piper merely clung to him tighter and he continued, "Your greater fear is losing Phoebe. And not just losing her to death like Prue. You're more afraid of losing her to evil."
"How many times can she beat the odds?" Piper whispered into his shoulder. "How many times have we protected her from her past, changed her future? What if this is what's meant to happen?"
"Have faith," he encouraged her again.
"Easy for you to say," Piper cried, "when it's not your sister's life at stake!"
"Not fair," Leo gently rebuked even as he continued to hold her.
"I'm sorry," she cried harder and buried her face in his chest, "I'm sorry. I'm so scared"
"We are doing everything possible to make sure Phoebe stays safe," he promised. He kissed her forehead and had begun to move away when Piper suddenly grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him back for a passionate kiss. He broke free and stared at her in confusion, "What're you doing?"
Surprised herself by her instinctive reaction, Piper didn't answer and kissed him again instead. She kept her hold on him and then breathlessly told him, "I need you, Leo. I need you to make me feel safe again. You're the only one who can make me feel so loved and safe."
He caressed her cheek and, in a choked voice, assured her, "You are safeand loved."
"Please, Leo," she quietly urged while she undid the top button of his shirt, "I miss you. I need you. I need to feel your arms around me, to hear you whisper my name"
Leo tried to pull away but, looking at Piper, feeling her, breathing her, was too much for him to bear. And, as he pushed her back into the pillows, he murmured, "I've missed you, Piper, so much."
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Cole stole a glance at Phoebe while she walked quietly next to him. She had been right earlier. He didn't want to know about some new man in her life. But he also hadn't lied when he said he was happy for her. Damned if I'm not more confused now than when I appeared in the attic.' And now, after this revelation, he had no idea what to say to her. The last thing he wanted to know about was her plan for the future. Because I still want her back and I don't see how that's ever going to happen now.' He glanced at her again but was spared from further contemplation when they came upon an intersection. He looked to the right and then left and noticed four demons approaching. "Stop," he whispered harshly as he held an arm out in front of her to prevent her from walking.
Phoebe nervously peered around Cole and caught sight of four dark figures with cloaks flowing around them. She slowly pulled the sword from its strap on her back and gripped it in front of her. Unconsciously, she took a step closer in Cole's protective stance and inhaled sharply when she actually saw the horrific faces of the creatures.
"Easy," Cole whispered, "they're just Uglands and won't attack unless provoked. Stay still, don't make a sound, and they'll pass us without a problem."
Phoebe nearly sagged against him in relief when, as he had predicted, the foursome merely glanced in their direction and silently walked past them. While Cole carefully led the way down that left passage, she replaced the sword in its hilt. "We're almost there," she called out to him, "aren't we? That's why you're so much more tense now."
"How do you do that?" he exclaimed in frustration as he spun back to her.
Surprised by the outburst, she asked in return, "Do what?"
"No games," he demanded as he strode back to her. "I want to know."
"All right," she nervously agreed before her own frustration grew. "Why don't you make yourself a bit more clear so I know exactly what the hell you're talking about?"
"Fine," he gritted his teeth while he towered over her. "How the hell do you know exactly what I'm feeling? From the moment you saw me in the attic, you've been telling me exactly what I'm feeling and you've been right every single damn time. Are you reading my mind?"
"If I could do that, that would've saved us a lot of pain," she angrily retorted, "now wouldn't it?" She ignored his protest, pushed him back, and stalked past him.
Cole cursed himself for losing his cool with her. She was under enough pressure and didn't need to deal with his frustrations too. Unfortunately, it seemed that they were back to a nasty square one. Then he remembered that her life was on the line and that took precedence over either one's hurt feelings. "I'm sorry," he apologized when he caught up to her, "I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. But I've never found telepathic creatures a pleasure to deal with and this has been more than a bit unnerving."
"How do you think I felt when it first happened?" she snapped. She was mentally kicking herself even as the words were coming out of her mouth. It wasn't Cole's fault. She knew he was still reeling from her brief conversation about Jason and he had no idea about her new power. So, in a calmer tone, she informed him of her latest power advancement.
"Prue couldn't handle becoming an Empath," he recalled while they continued to walk. "How're you dealing with it?"
"Well, I left the basement," she murmured to herself. He chuckled sympathetically and she glared at him. "I drove my sisters crazy until they drank from a potion to block my power. And forget about the general public, I thought I'd end up in jail if I didn't learn to control it. And as you can see, when I'm distracted, I still can't."
Cole cast her an amused glance. "I distract you?"
"Like no one else," she grumbled before she caught his expression from the corner of her eye. "That wasn't a compliment!" she snapped again and stormed off.
He chuckled heartily to himself and let Phoebe walk off some steam before he rejoined her.
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