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Disclaimer: Cole Turner, Darryl Morris, Prue, Piper, Paige, and Phoebe Halliwell. Leo Wyatt, Jenna, and Andy Trudeau and all other characters that have appeared on the series "Charmed" as well as the concept of Charmed and all backstory are the copyright property of Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent, and the WB Television Network. No copyright infringement was intended. All original characters as well as the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
And the next chapter as promisedg.
Darryl closed his eyes as he sought to quickly re-enter the Dreamscape secure in the knowledge that Dr. B would keep the Charmed Ones and Leo away from Cole. His Guardian senses had told him that there were magical beings behind him but he paid them no mind secure in the knowledge that they weren't going to get anywhere near Cole. Apart from the various protection spells that permeated this particular underground floor of the hospital there was also Simmons, Cam, Dr. B, and himself that they would have to go through and that simply wasn't going to happen. His faith in Dr. B and the others allowed him the safety to leave his back to the Charmed Ones and to return to his friend. Cole needed him and he wasn't going to let him down.
As he re-entered the Dreamscape and spotted Cole he just knew that his charge had also sensed the Charmed Ones. He quickly ran to Cole who was sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest and was rocking back and forth. As he lowered himself to the ground next to his friend he saw the tears trailing down Cole's cheeks and he hated himself for having left him there all alone. Before he could get a real good self-guilt trip going though Cole stopped rocking and brought is head down to rest in Darryl's lap. Darryl smiled and stretched his legs out in front of him and in no time he had Cole once again wrapped around his right leg, his head resting on his thigh.
It worried him a little that Cole hadn't said a word. Normally they would use this time to talk about things that were best left out of the light of day, but ever since his charge had seen the Charmed Ones a few hours ago he hadn't said a word, simply curling up around his leg and staring at the memories that played out around them. Knowing that what Cole needed the most was just his presence next to him he acquiesced to his friend and remained silent as he once again began to rub gentle circles on Cole's back. He knew Cole would talk to him when he could so for now he simply settled for watching the random memories that were playing themselves out around them, some coming from his charge others from himself. It was like watching the three days following the shooting in fast-forward with occasional random moments slowing down to play themselves out for them.
The night after the shooting – Friday 6:30PMDarryl woke up slowly and it took him a second to remember where he was. As soon as he heard Dr. B's voice though it all came rushing back and he quickly looked down at his friend. Cole was still sleeping with his head resting on Darryl's shoulder, his hand still holding onto Darryl's. He noticed that at some point during their little nap Dr. B had removed the oxygen mask from Cole and he took this as a good sign.
"Well, I see one sleeping beauty has rejoined us." Dr. B's voice was quiet as she didn't want to startle her Grandson. She couldn't help but smile at the little picture the two boys made. The image of a pair of puppies flashed into her head and she had to work at holding back the laughter.
"What's so funny Dr. B?" Darryl could see she was on the verge of laughing and he just knew that it had something to do with himself and Cole.
"Sorry and you don't want to know." She didn't get the chance to say anything else as she noticed Darryl turn his attention back to Cole who was starting to wake up.
Cole wasn't sure where he was all he knew was that he felt safe, a feeling that was only a vague memory for him and he was loath to give it up just yet. Slowly though he became aware of the fact that it was a person he was lying on, the heartbeat under his ear a dead giveaway. Even so he didn't tense as he had expected and it was then that he realized that it was Darryl he was lying on. He wasn't quite sure how he knew that it was Darryl he just did. Slowly he opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. As the light stabbed painfully into his head he quickly turned his face into Darryl's shoulder trying to escape the pain. He wasn't even aware of the whimper that escaped his lips.
"Dr. B turn down the lights please." Darryl asked in response to his friends whimper. He watched Cole closely as she did as he asked and was relieved when he felt the tension leave the muscles under his hand. As Cole slowly turned his face away from his shoulder Darryl took a good look at his friend's eyes. They were clear for the first time in almost two days and Darryl was relieved. The last two days had seen his friend go through trauma after trauma and he had worried as to how it would affect him. "Better?"
"Yeah, thanks." Cole found himself smiling a little as he simply enjoyed the feeling of being pain free for a change.
Darryl watched the smile form and relaxed even more. If Cole could smile then he was all right and Darryl planned on taking advantage of his friend's current well being. "Dr. B is it safe for him to move around yet?" Darryl couldn't help but chuckle a little as he watched the realization of his position spread across Cole's face. "Relax and the next word out of your mouth had better not be 'sorry'." Darryl had seen the look and just knew what Cole was about to say and he just didn't want to hear it. Cole hadn't done anything wrong and he was going to make him see that if it was the last thing he did.
"Just a second. I want to check the injection site first." Dr. B said as she moved around the bed so she was standing behind her Grandson. "Hey little kitten." Dr. B said as she leaned over and gave her Grandson a quick kiss on the cheek before carefully pealing back the bandage she had placed on his back before. She snickered a little as she saw him shiver. "Sorry, I forgot how ticklish you are."
Cole felt himself turning bright red as he felt Darryl laugh at his Grams' revelation. "Grams." He whined and felt Darryl laugh even more but Cole was the one laughing a second later. As he shifted a little his left hand, which was still trapped between himself and Darryl, apparently found a ticklish spot of Darryl's. Now it was Cole who snickered as Darryl jumped.
"Dr. B." Darryl whined as he heard her chuckling again.
"Sorry boys but what can I say. I'm easily amused." She laughed full out at the twin put upon looks she was now getting. It took her a minute but she finally got her chuckles under control. "Okay Darryl, he's fine for moving as long as he takes it slow and the same goes for you." She moved to the foot of the bed and simply stood there watching. "Boys it's late and you both have to eat something so up, up, up. Slowly." She said when neither of them seemed to be moving but just lay there staring at her.
"Okay partner, you heard her. It's feeding time and I for one am hungry. How about you?" Darryl had lifted up his legs so Cole could straighten his own legs out when Cole's stomach answered for him. "I'll take that as a yes."
Cole joined Darryl in his laughter, the last of the tension draining away from him. He had been afraid when he woke up but the fear hadn't been extreme and it left quickly. Darryl was still here with him so he assumed he hadn't done anything wrong that he didn't remember doing. This made him feel a little better but he was still on guard, he had to make sure that he didn't do anything wrong or he was sure he would drive Darryl away from him and he just didn't think he could take that right now. He had been alone almost all of his life but his need to stay close to Darryl was great and he wasn't quite sure what to make of this need. Deciding that food was more important at the moment he simply pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being; later he would talk to his Grams about them but not now.
"Darryl, don't even think about it, you just stay on that bed. Just sit at the other end of the bed. That way you won't be in each others way while you eat." She had seen Darryl about to get up and she just wasn't in the mood to be picking him up off the floor, not to mention the panic that would send Cole into. When Darryl looked over to her she put on her 'stern' face as she moved the two tray tables over to the bed. Darryl might not have known what her 'stern' face meant but her Grandson did.
"Darryl, do yourself a favor and just do as she says. That's her 'stern' face she's wearing and trust me when I say that you can not win against the 'stern' face. Many have tried and all have failed." Cole had seen the look on his Grams' face when she saw Darryl getting ready to get off the bed and it raised a few questions for him. He wanted to ask his Grams but decided it could wait, after all there was no point in ruining their meal. However, when he saw the IV in Darryl's hand and the bandage on his back as it peeked out from under his friend's shirt he couldn't stop himself, he feared for his friend and he needed to know what had happened.
"Darryl, your back and…… and your hand. What happened? I didn't" Cole didn't get any further in his self-guilt trip before Darryl spoke.
"No you didn't do anything." Darryl didn't know where the question had come from until he remembered the IV in his own hand. Before he had a chance to even open his mouth Dr. B explained.
"Darryl is right, you had nothing to do with either. The bandage is there for the same reason yours is there. Cam found a solution to the poison remember." When he nodded she continued. "We took some CFS from Darryl and made the antidote to the poison."
"Darryl you didn't have." Cole started and then stopped when he saw the look on his friend's face. He simply wasn't used to people helping him or being kind to him and it caught him off guard at first. The look on Darryl's face though told him all he needed to know. "Thank you." The words were almost whispered.
"Hey partner, that's what friends are for." He saw Cole's uncertain look and it just drove home the understanding that Cole wasn't used to having friends much less close friends. Oh he had the Nation but that was different. If anyone had asked him though he wouldn't have been able to explain how he knew that, for some reason he simply just knew. Not for the first time Darryl found himself thinking about Dr. B. He still knew next to nothing about her and yet he trusted her completely. The fact that she cared for Cole only solidified that trust. Deciding to leave it till later he shook off the thoughts and simply sat down to eat with his friend.
Dr. B watched as Darryl carefully moved to the foot of Cole's bed. Once he was comfortably situated and Cole was also she brought the tray tables over and placed one in front of each of the boys. "Okay boys what's it going to be?" She said as she rubbed her hands together.
"What do you mean Dr. B?" Darryl asked slightly confused.
"Really Grams?" Cole had no idea that he looked and sounded for all the world like a little kid so he had no idea why Darryl and his Grams started laughing. "What?"
Darryl and Dr. B looked at each other and just snickered. "Nothing."
Cole looked from one to the other and simply shook his head, which he realized just a little too late, was a very bad idea. He quickly reached out and tried to grab the tray table in front of him but missed, the wave of vertigo making him misjudge the distance. He wasn't able to tell up from down, but he did know he was falling. The chance to panic never came though as he felt a hand wrap itself around his wrist arresting his fall and then his Grams was at his side. He felt her hand on the back of his neck as she guided his head back to his pillow.
"Did I or did I not say slowly. Shaking your head is not a slow activity young man. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths and Darryl relax. This is perfectly normal." She never took her eyes off her Grandson as she explained to a worried Darryl what was happening. "When we gave him the antidote it shifted the level of his CSF. It will take another day or so at the most mind you for it to even itself out. Until then young man remember slowly."
"No problem Grams. Slowly. Got it." Cole didn't have any intentions of moving any other way until she told him he could, the feeling he just experienced not being one he wanted to repeat any time soon. As he opened his eyes he found Darryl's worried gaze looking back at him. He found comfort and embarrassment in that gaze. The fact that Darryl was worried about him made him feel less alone, but it was embarrassing to display so much weakness and he began to wonder if Darryl would find him to be too much of a burden and leave. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he failed to hear the sound of the heart monitor he was attached to speed up in response to his emotions.
When Darryl heard the increase in his friend's heart rate he put it together with what he was suddenly feeling and what he knew of his friend. His conclusion was that his friend was beginning to worry again and he was pretty sure what about. Thinking fast he started snickering that earned him one confused look form Cole and an even more confused look from Dr. B. "Sorry but I've been told before that I could give a saint a headache but this is the first time I've managed to do it without even trying." He laughed out loud as the other two looked to each other and then back to him. "You said it was the introduction of the antidote right?" She nodded in agreement. "Well since it was my CSF that was a major part of said antidote then I guess you could say that I got his attention without even trying." He continued to snicker as he got a double eye roll in response.
"That was just terrible Darryl. Hmmm, I wonder?" Dr. B had figured out what Darryl had been doing fairly quickly and couldn't help but take advantage.
"Wonder what Grams?
"I wonder if I didn't maybe take just a little too much from our friend over there." It was Darryl's turn to roll his eyes at them as they snickered. "All right," Dr. B said once she got her snickers under control, "what's for dinner boys?" She found herself laughing again though a moment later as their answer came in stereo.
"Pizza please." The boys looked to each other as they dissolved into a fit of giggles.
As Dr. B rolled her eyes once again and she suddenly came to the realization that very soon she and the boys would probably be making 'eye rolling' into both an art form and possibly even an Olympic sport.
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Saturday 2PMDr. B walked into the boys' room and stopped dead in her tracks as what looked like a miniature green tree went sailing by her head. As she looked over to the bed she nearly dropped the med tray she was carrying. Cole was sitting on his bed and Darryl was sitting in his chair, which was about six feet away from said bed. There was a meal tray in front of each boy and it appeared that they were eating a late lunch, however it was clear that most of the food had ended up being sacrificed in one volley or another.
As she watched they each set a baby carrot piece on their spoons and were about to launch when she cleared her throat. The effect was instantaneous and highly amusing as their aim was off set by her presence. The two carrot pieces collided in mid air and hit the floor. The boys looked first to each other and then to the floor and then to her. They looked for all the world like a pair of deer caught in the headlights of an on coming semi.
"I don't even want to know." She looked down and carefully stepped over another miniature green tree, which she realized upon closer inspection was in fact a piece of broccoli.
"Good afternoon Grams," "Good afternoon Dr. B."
Both boys tried for innocent but they quickly knew that she wasn't buying so they settled for humbly hanging their heads.
"Good grief, not the humble hanging of heads. Oh please." She rolled her eyes as their heads shook as they snickered. She was glad that they were relaxed and enjoying themselves but she had the feeling she was about to be the wet blanket of the day. The tray she held contained the auto hypos the boys were going to need to learn to use and they needed to learn soon. No one knew how long it would be before the bullet moved for the first time and she wanted them to be prepared, to that end she had an extra hypo in her lab coat pocket. This hypo had the real stuff in it unlike the other two that contained a general saline solution that couldn't harm a flea. Since the change in Cole's CSF, which Cam had found out had actually changed his DNA profile as well she wasn't sure the old med combination would work. So after she had put the boys to bed last night she and Cam spent the night in the lab making a new and improved version of the med, this one being a combination of morphine, curare, and a potion made with Darryl's CSF profile. If this new version worked they were going to have to come up with a way of synthesizing Darryl's CSF and soon. Cam was still back in the lab working on that problem and Dr. B knew she'd have to keep an eye on Cam and make sure that she also got some sleep. She hadn't been happy when they found out that they were going to have to use Darryl's CSF, the thought of making Darryl go through a Tap procedure every few weeks was unacceptable to Cam so Cam had set about finding an alternative. It seemed that Darryl's actions on her Grandson's behalf during this entire crisis had earned Darryl a place in Cam's heart and that meant that she would also do everything she could to protect him, the fact that he was Cole's Guardian only added to her need to protect him. Dr. B shook herself back into the moment as she carefully made her way across the vegetable littered floor.
"I can assume from the casualties I just walked over that lunch is officially over?" She waved her hand over the battlefield and the fallen combatants disappeared. "We are going to have to make sure that we have a linoleum kitchen floor and a wooden dining room floor because I for one don't do carpets." She snickered at their wide eyes. "What did you think I was going to do, move into either of your places? Please, neither on is big enough for all of us."
"What do you mean all of us?" The response was in stereo and she found herself snickering again.
"Later. Right now we have a more pressing problem. Uhm have you both eaten lunch or have you simply strategically tossed it about the room?"
"We ate." Again the response was in stereo and she could just see the amusement she was going to get out of this over the years, oh yes definite amusement happening here.
"All righty then let's just clear this away first." She waved her hand and both lunch trays disappeared. As she set the tray down that she had brought with her she noticed a look of fear flash across her Grandson's eyes and she hated it. Apparently Darryl saw it too and he didn't like it either.
"Okay then Dr. B what do you have for us here." Darryl quickly moved from the chair he was sitting in to the bed. As he made himself comfortable, sitting cross-legged next to Cole he made sure that he was close enough in case Cole felt the need to reach out for him. Darryl had figured out fairly quickly that Cole used physical contact to help center himself whenever he became afraid or lost in his own nightmares and he had seen the same fear that Dr. B had so he made sure that he was close enough to his friend if he needed him.
"Okay now what we have here are the hypos I told you about the other night upstairs. Right now they are simply filled with a harmless saline solution and we are going to practice with them." Dr. B looked from one face to the other and just knew it was going to be a long day.
During the next thirty minutes she showed them where to place the hypo for the best results and demonstrated how to reload them just incase. She believed in being thorough and she saw no point in changing now, besides it would give Cole a measure of control especially when it became obvious that there was almost no way for him to administer the med to himself. If the pain level was going to be as high as she and Cam had predicted there would be no physical way for Cole to inject himself, it was going to be up to Darryl and it looked like Darryl might already be realizing this point as well. Her attention was drawn back to her Grandson though as he complained once again.
"Grams can you please just take this thing out of my hand. It would be much easier if I didn't have to work around it." Cole asked as he moved to stand in front of her. Cole had asked his Grams to remove his IV when she had removed Darryl's earlier in the day but she had said no. She had removed the IV itself but because he still was on IV antibiotics three times a day she left the shunt in. He could see the logic but it still bothered him, it actually scared him a little but he had no idea why and he quickly decided not to dwell on it.
"No." Dr. B never got to say anything else as Darryl sneezed and the hypo he had in his hand came into contact with the back of Cole's thigh. Cole, who hadn't been expecting it jumped and losing his balance he fell into Darryl's chair.
"Oh Gods Cole I am so sorry. I didn't mean to do that it's just my arm swung down and I wasn't paying attention and I am so sorry." This time it was Darryl who was saying it and Cole who didn't want to hear it, much to Dr. B's amusement.
"Darryl relax I am fine you just startled me and I'm not one hundred percent on my balance yet." Cole just rolled his eyes as Darryl continued to look contrite. Darryl opened his mouth but Cole was faster. "Don't even think about saying it."
Darryl looked at his friend, gauging his expression and reading his eyes and what he saw there made him relax. He hadn't really hurt Cole but he did reprimand himself about being more careful in the future. Not wanting Cole to lose the relaxed mood he was in he raised his hands in mock surrender and joined in. "I didn't say a word." It had the desired effect and Cole's laughter quickly joined his.
"Okay Darryl, come over here please. I want to go over the placement one more time." Dr. B knew that Darryl had the placement of the hypo correct already but she just needed to make sure, for her own piece of mind. She never saw the gleam that had entered her Grandson's eyes or she wouldn't have exposed Darryl so openly to the juvenile revenge he was about to have perpetrated upon his person.
Cole watched as Darryl slid off the bed and went to stand in front of his Grams placing himself directly in front of the chair Cole was still sitting in. He knew Darryl was still a little worried about having hurt him so he decided to prove to his friend that he was fine and what better way to do that than turn about. Fortunately for him his Grams was too centered on Darryl to notice what he was doing. With a stealth born of a century of practice he stuck up on his unsuspecting friend and tripped. Darryl never had the chance to turn as Cole's right hand landed on his shoulder as his left hand, hypo still in hand, hit Darryl right in the rear end. Darryl's reaction was immediate and amusing.
Darryl felt Cole's hand on his shoulder and began to turn, his movement quickly stopped though as he felt the hypo connect with his derrière causing him to jump forward. His forward momentum making him connect with Dr. B and they both went down. The only sound in the room was Cole's snickers as he and Dr. B sorted themselves out. Both knew that they should be at least a little upset with Cole but as they looked up from their positions on the floor they just couldn't do it. Cole was relaxed and laughing and neither of them wanted to ruin the moment and as they turned and looked at each other they simply rolled their eyes as they picked themselves up off the floor.
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Saturday 7PM
Darryl watched as Cole fidgeted once again with the shunt in the back of his hand, Dr. B having disconnected the empty bag of IV antibiotics about twenty minutes before. He knew Cole didn't even realize what he was doing because he had been doing it off and on all day long. Since he couldn't even begin to guess as to why it bothered his friend so much he was reluctant to ask, afraid he might ruin his friend's good mood. Instead he decided to wait and ask Dr. B about it. Cole's voice brought him out of his thoughts and back to the moment.
"Hey Darryl, what time did the initial call come in to us?" Cole had his paperwork spread out on the table; most of it mixing with Darryl's but neither of the boys seemed to mind. It was controlled chaos on the table, very much like their desks at work; it was their system though and it seemed to work just fine for them.
Darryl looked down at the papers before him and unerringly found the one he was looking for. "Uhm… let's see." Darryl scanned the page for a second before finding the answer. "The initial call to us was at 6:30PM."
"Give or take a freckle or two. Thank you." Cole quickly wrote the time down and moved onto the next form. He was actually glad that Darryl had been able to convince his Grams to let them do their paperwork; it helped to keep his mind busy and off of other things. He was still finding it difficult to keep his fear in check and this only served to make him more nervous about appearing too needy or too much of a burden to Darryl. His greatest fear being that Darryl would think this and leave.
As he stood up to move the now completed file to the chair with the others he felt a weird tickling in his head. He never got the chance to even call Darryl's name as the tickling turned to a searing, burning pain. The file fell uncaringly to the floor as his hands grabbed his head, crying out as the pain literally ripped through his head. As his legs gave out he barely registered the arm that came around his waist or the cold metal as it pressed itself into the back of his neck, his entire world was now consumed by the pain that was tearing through his head.
It had seemed like an eternity to Cole but as suddenly as the pain had come it simply washed away. Cole would have been happy if he hadn't felt himself being washed away right along with it. He was vaguely aware of someone's arm coming around the back of his knees as he felt himself being picked up. Somehow he knew it was Darryl and the rising darkness didn't seem so scary all of a sudden because he knew he wasn't alone. Just as the darkness was rising, trying to swallow him he felt his Grams' presence join Darryl's and he knew he was safe. This time as the darkness closed over him he wasn't scared because he knew he wasn't alone. Safe was the last word his mind thought before he was simply swept away.
Darryl had been watching Cole carefully, he wasn't exactly sure why, it was just a feeling but one he wasn't about to ignore. Because of this he noticed right away that there was something wrong. As soon as he saw the file begin to fall from Cole's hand he was on his feet, grabbing the hypo that Dr. B had given him. Quickly grabbing Cole around the waist from behind with his right arm, he arrested his friend's fall and then quickly placed the hypo on the back of Cole's neck and pulled the trigger. He dropped the spent hypo as soon as he felt Cole's body going limp against him. Thinking quick he brought his left arm around the back of Cole's legs and swung his friend's now limp body up into his arms, his dark head coming to rest on Darryl's shoulder. Cole was a large man but for some reason Darryl had no problem carrying him.
"Yet one more question to ask Dr. B." He said to the empty room. Before he made it to Cole's bed though Dr. B appeared next to him.
"When did you inject him Darryl because I need to start the clock to see how long this new med is going to last." Dr. B asked as she followed Darryl the rest of the way to her Grandson's bed.
"Just a second Dr. B, let me just get him comfortable first." Darryl gently placed Cole on his bed and made him as comfortable as he could before turning back to Dr. B. "It was about two minutes ago." As Darryl watched Dr. B check Cole's vitals and reattach the heart monitor leads he decided that now was as good a time as any and it would take his mind of off his own panic at the moment. "Dr. B why does the shunt in his hand bother him so much? It's almost as if he's afraid of it."
Dr. B looked to Darryl and decided that it couldn't hurt to tell him and if all went according to Prophecy Darryl would soon know everything there was to know about Cole and vice versa anyway. She took a deep breath and began to explain how Cole's mother would sometimes pin little Cole to the wall of their cave with an Athame through his hands if he annoyed her or did something she didn't like. How the demoness would sometimes leave him like that for hours, his arms held high over his head pulling on his little shoulders if he started to relax; how even little Belthazor wasn't immune to this particular Athame.
"What do you mean?" Darryl's voice was low and controlled, it was dangerous and Dr. B knew it.
"The Athame had been created by the Source when Cole was born. The bright blue stone embedded in the hilt is the color of Cole's eyes because she used a piece of both his eyes to help her father make it." Dr. B saw a tear slide down Darryl's cheek at her words and knew that if the demoness showed her face right then Darryl would gleefully and painfully tear her into little tiny pieces with his bare hands. "The stone is like a power amulet and it prevents Cole or Belthazor from using their powers when the blade is in contact with their skin. If she pegged little Cole then little Belthazor couldn't come out and vice versa." She saw a look pass through Darryl's eyes and she couldn't quite understand it.
"He couldn't protect little Cole." Darryl knew that little Belthazor would have done whatever was necessary to protect little Cole but with this Athame he was powerless as well.
"No he couldn't. Well at least not until he was older."
"What do you mean?" Darryl turned and looked at Cole, his expression now slightly confused. He thought he had heard Cole say his name but his sleeping friend hadn't moved so much as a muscle so he couldn't have. Even so he continued to watch Cole as Dr. B spoke to him.
"When Belthazor was older he managed to pull the Athame out of the cave wall and destroy it but the damage to his hands when he did that carried over to little Cole to a point. The IV is in the same location as the Athame had been that time. The ghost memory of the pain apparently still haunts him." She watched as Darryl continued to stare at Cole, the set of his jaw spoke of his anger and the white-knuckle grip he had on the guardrail showed his attempt to control it. She was about to comment on it when Cole began to thrash about on the bed, his arms and hands moving as if looking for something. She watched as Darryl began to call Cole's name. "Darryl he can't hear you. The med Cam and I designed is strong, it has to be to stop his pain." Dr. B never said another word though as the impossible once again happened between Darryl and her Grandson.
Darryl had past upset and pissed off and was entering livid when he heard Cole call his name again. He had turned to simply look at his sleeping friend when Cole suddenly started to thrash about as if looking for something. Instinctively he started to call Cole's name, ignoring Dr. B.
When Cole had rolled over so his hand touched Darryl's he immediately began to try and wrap himself around Darryl's arm. When he couldn't get what he wanted he started to whimper but never once woke up.
Darryl couldn't stand hearing his friend whimpering so he reached over and tried to comfort him as he had before. This time however Cole took advantage of Darryl's new position and wrapped himself completely around Darryl's left arm. As Darryl gently rubbed circles on Cole's back the whimpering subsided and he relaxed, however he never let go of the arm he was wrapped around. Wanting to make Cole more comfortable Darryl tried to untangle himself from him but the minute he pulled on his own arm Cole started to whimper again and tried to tighten his hold on Darryl even more. Cole's grip wasn't all that strong and Darryl knew that that was due to the drug he had given him for the pain, though by all rights he shouldn't even be able to move around to begin with. As soon as Darryl stopped trying to remove his arm from Cole's grasp Cole calmed down. Not sure what to do he turned to Dr. B but one look at her face told him that she didn't know either.
"He shouldn't even be able to move much less react to you Darryl. I mean the combination med should have put him completely out." Dr. B really had no idea what to do for her Grandson at this point because this wasn't supposed to be possible. As she thought about it only one conclusion came to mind and that was that a connection had already been made between her Grandson and his new Guardian. Carefully she went back over the events of the last two days and it finally clicked, the moment that whatever it is that happened occurred. That first night when Cole had panicked and before she had the chance to do anything Darryl had managed to call her Grandson back from where his mind had run to. When she had looked at the two boys at that moment with her Dragon eyes she had seen that power coming from Darryl, power that Cole had followed back to reality. The first part of the Bonding process had initiated itself at that moment apparently. She had been so caught up in trying to reach Cole and making sure he was all right that she had missed it then. Now she wasn't sure what to say to Darryl. Deciding on waiting till Cole was able to listen as well she simply did what she had to. Unfortunately Darryl had seen her make the connection.
"All right Dr. B spill." Darryl knew she knew something and he needed to know, now. As Cole began to whimper again Darryl's hand automatically began to rub gentle circles on his back and he once again quickly calmed down. Once Cole was resting quietly again he turned back to Dr. B and waited for his answer.
"All right Darryl, yes I do know something but I'd rather wait and talk to both of you at the same time. Please Darryl?" She had seen the look on his face and knew that he didn't want to wait so she had gone for pleading with puppy face and fortunately that worked.
"It's serious isn't it?" Darryl wasn't sure what to think but where his friend was concerned it was probably going to be serious and bad news.
"Darryl relax and don't look at me like that. Yes I know something but it is a good something it's just that he doesn't know about this yet and I'd rather wait till I can talk to both of you at the same time." She watched as he debated with himself but in the end he acquiesced, as she kind of knew he would. He wouldn't do anything to hurt Cole and that included anything that might be considered an abuse of his trust.
"All right Dr. B, but as soon as he wakes up you spill. Deal?" He barely got the word out when he swayed dangerously, saved from hitting the floor as Dr. B grabbed him. "Whoa what… what's going on?" He tried focusing on her but instead found himself once again standing in a cave in what he now quickly recognized as the Underworld, at least that's where he thought he was. The sound of a scream behind him made him spin around.
In front of him was a scene he simply knew was from Cole's time as the Source's prisoner. He saw Cole hanging from chains that were wrapped around his wrists and attached to a horizontal bar that left his bare feet dangling about a foot off the ground. The same hooded demon that had branded little Cole, the demon he now knew was the Source had a fireball hovering over the palm of his hand.
I want those powers Belthazor and I will have them. The Source's voice was low and icy. Darryl had no idea what the demon was talking about and he didn't really care, all he wanted to do was stop the Source from doing what he knew he was going to. He didn't think he'd be able to move, just like the other times he had been caught up in Cole's past but then he stumbled forward just barely keeping his balance. It was then that he noticed another figure, this one sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees and rocking back and forth. Just as he realized that the figure was Cole, his Cole since he was wearing the same PJ's he had been wearing when Darryl had put him to bed, he heard the Source speaking again, the sound of the voice drawing his eyes back to the scene of torture.
I told you a long time ago that you were mine to do with as I wished and here you are, still mine to do with as I wish. There is no one who is going to lift a finger to save you Belthazor. Your loving family doesn't even know that you are gone. Now I want those wonderful powers that you have been hiding from me all this time. I want them and I will have them. The Source launched the fireball at Cole's bare and already burned back.
As the Cole that was hanging raised his head, screaming in pain Darryl was prepared to see tears and pain in those eyes but what he wasn't prepared for was the desolation that was staring back at him as well. When he heard the whimper from beside him he looked down and realized that this time both he and Cole were watching the memory play out before them. Just as Darryl started to reach his hand out to him, Cole began to reach up for him raising his head at the same time. Darryl felt his own tears begin to fall as he saw the same look of desolation in his Cole's eyes, one that turned into fear and then resignation as his arm fell back by his side as he began to fade from Darryl's sight. Suddenly Darryl found himself back in their room looking at Dr. B.
"Darryl what just happened? Where were you?" She had a feeling she already knew but she needed verification. If he answered her question right she knew what she had to do.
Darryl looked around for a second before answering. "I was watching a memory just like before only this time Cole was there with me watching as well. He was sitting on the ground with his legs pulled up and rocking back and forth. He was crying and when he looked up at me he looked …… oh my God Dr. B he's still there and he …… and he thinks I left him. I could see it in his eyes as he faded out but it wasn't him that faded out it was me and he watched me leave him. You have to find a way to send me back. Now!" He turned to look at the man who was still wrapped around his arm and he could feel him begin to shake as his hand was becoming wet with his friend's tears. "Dr. B you have to."
She watched as Darryl began to panic and since he had already answered her question she knew what she had to do. "Calm down Darryl. I know where you were and how to send you back. First get into bed." If the situation hadn't been so desperate she would have laughed as Darryl, not even bothering to ask why, simply shifted Cole around enough so he could climb in next to him. As soon as he did Cole literally burrowed in next to him, resting his head on Darryl's chest. She could now see how Cole's body had begun to shake, his tears now forming a small puddle on Darryl's chest and she had to fight to keep her own emotions in check. Taking a deep breath she pushed her own panic into a corner of her mind and concentrated on helping Darryl get back to Cole. "Okay Darryl, here's the facts. You were on what we call the Dreamscape. It is a place where a person can watch his or her own memories, sort of like watching a movie. Now since Cole was also there and you were seeing his memories that means that you are linked. I will explain that later." She could see the desperation in his eyes, his need to get back to her Grandson and she had no desire to leave her Grandson stranded all alone for long either. "Now just close your eyes and think about Cole. The trick is you have to open yourself to him, all of yourself. You have to let him into your heart and your soul in order to get to his Dreamscape. Do you think you can do that?" She watched as he closed his eyes, hoping that he would be able to consciously do for himself what Cole had unconsciously done for him a few minutes ago. As she prepared herself for the task of showing Darryl the way she was surprised when she sensed him shift to the Dreamscape of his own accord. She knew that he had entered her Grandson's Dreamscape because a few seconds later she watched Cole's whole body stop shaking and begin to relax. The quiet sobs that she had begun to hear had stopped as well. Yes Darryl had reached Cole all on his own. "He is the Guardian." Her words were spoken to an empty room but she still felt the significance of them nonetheless. "Your time has come my little kitten and yours as well Darryl. You are the Chosen Ones."
Darryl barely heard Dr. B's words and he didn't have time for them right now so he files them away for future use, all of his attention was on finding his friend again. As soon as the scene around him solidified he went in search of his companion. Quickly he scanned the area, trying very hard not to let the memory that was still playing out around him distract him from his task. He was beginning to panic when he heard a small whimpering sound coming from behind an outcropping of rocks in half-moon formation to his right. Five long strides brought him to the hidden alcove the outcropping of rocks created and what he saw there literally brought him to his knees, his own tears flowing freely. Cole was curled up in a very small ball in the corner furthest from the alcove opening, his knees pulled up and his arms crossed over his chest as he tried to make himself as small as he could. His eyes were closed but Darryl could plainly see the tears as they fell.
He softly called Cole's name and when Cole's eyes opened he thought his heart was going to break. The fear was easy to read but it was the uncertainty that tore at him especially knowing that it was he who had put it there. He had done to Cole exactly what he swore he never would; he had left him alone. Not knowing what to do he once again let his instincts take over.
He found himself carefully moving closer to the shaking, curled up form of his friend. He was still on his knees, which was a good thing because as soon as he opened his arms to his friend Cole launched himself at him, wrapping his arms around Darryl's waist. Darryl simply wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulder and tried to make out what Cole was saying; when he did he hated himself a little more.
"I'm sorry…… I'm sorry…… please…… please don't go away…… again…… please. I won't do…… do it again. I promise. Please." Cole was crying so hard it was hard for him to speak but he had to make sure that Darryl didn't leave again; he just couldn't stand to be alone again, especially not here.
Darryl couldn't stand it; Cole thought he had done something that had made him leave. "Cole you didn't do anything and I didn't want to leave, I just kinda got sucked outta here. I came back as soon as I could and now that I know how to get here you'll never be alone here again I promise." He felt Cole starting to relax a little so he did the same. Cole's next words though made him tense again.
"You promise?" Cole knew he shouldn't ask but he just couldn't help himself, he was just so confused and scared. He couldn't wake up and he couldn't make the memories stop and he knew he would go crazy if he were left here all alone again. It was cruel to ask Darryl, his only friend to stay here with him but his own terror was getting the better of him. "I'm sorry…… I didn't mean…… I mean I…… I just want to wake up. I want to leave. Why can't I wake up? Why?" A scream from the Cole in the memory made him tighten his hold on Darryl as he tried to curl up into a small ball again, trying to make himself so small that he wouldn't be noticed. He wasn't even aware of what he was doing.
Darryl suddenly understood a few things better and because of this he continued to let his instincts guide him knowing that they could do for his friend what his rational mind couldn't; there was simply something about this place that made it easier to let go and allow his emotions to take control and for that he was thankful. The thought of accidentally hurting his friend again was not an option and somehow he just knew that it was the right thing to do so he did just that, he let go of his rational mind and embraced fully his instincts.
"Yes Cole I promise I won't leave again." The rational part of his mind told him not to make promises he couldn't keep but his instincts told him that he wasn't doing that and that his friend needed the reassurance. He had never ignored his rational mind before but at this moment he didn't have a problem doing just that especially when he felt Cole begin to relax a little in his arms. "Come on my friend, let's move just a little here so I can sit down that way we'll be a little more comfortable. All right?" The arms locked around his waist didn't loosen in the least. "Cole, I'm not going anywhere I swear, but my legs are going numb here like this and I could really do with sitting down right about now." This time he got a reaction but one that made him instantly regret what he had said and showed him, in no uncertain terms, the fragileness of his friend's emotional state.
Cole quickly released Darryl and scurried off back to the corner he had come from, once again curling up into a ball only this time he stayed in a sitting position and started to rock back and forth. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He kept repeating over and over as his silent tears continued to fall. A few heartbeats later, when the Source's laughter began to ring throughout the memory that surrounded them Darryl watched as Cole hid his face behind his knees and clamped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the sound.
Darryl quickly moved to Cole's side and as the laughter died down he began to hear his friend's whispered words. "I want to wake up. I want to wake up. Have to wake up. Have to wake up." Over and over the words were repeated as Cole continued to rock back and forth. Carefully Darryl sat down next to his friend, stretching his long legs out in front of him to get the circulation going in them again. He then slowly reached out to Cole, making sure that he didn't scare him anymore than he already was and when his hand touched Cole's back he could feel his friend's whole body shaking as he rocked. Unable to stand it any longer he grabbed Cole around the shoulders and guided his head down, as soon as Cole's head came to rest in his lap he felt Cole wrap himself tightly around his right leg. He could feel Cole's tears as they began to soak through his pant leg but he didn't care, the fact that Cole's body had begun to stop shaking was all that mattered to him at that moment. The fact that he could offer his friend the comfort he knew he so desperately needed would have made him smile except he finally realized a horrible truth as Cole's previous words suddenly registered in his brain.
"I want to wake up. Have to wake up."
Tears ran down Darryl's cheeks as he realized that it was because of the pain med that he had given Cole, that's why he couldn't wake up. Cole was trapped here and would always be trapped here whenever he gave him the pain med, trapped here and unable to wake up until the med wore off. Three hours was the time frame Dr. B had gauged Cole to be out for which meant that they were stuck there for another two hours and forty-five minutes. He suddenly felt the arms around his leg tighten their hold as the Source's laughter was heard again quickly followed by the screams of the Cole in the memory. Darryl wasn't sure he was going to survive another two hours and forty-five minutes of this, he could only imagine the emotional pain his friend was going through. As he continued to rub circles on his friend's back he could only hope that somehow they would both survive this and then Dr. B could find a way to not let this happen again.
Saturday 10:30PM
Darryl felt a sudden and violent shift of the world around him. He knew without even opening his eyes that they were no longer on the Dreamscape when he felt a quick shift next to him. Opening his eyes he found himself sitting on Cole's bed staring into the eyes of his friend who was also now sitting. His relief at Cole finally being awake and free of the nightmares was short lived though when he saw the wildness in the eyes staring back at him, or rather through him. He barely had time to register that his friend was moving when Cole hit the ground, falling onto his hands and knees. The heart monitor leads snapped off causing the machine to show a flat line response and the alarm to sound off. Darryl had started to move before Cole had even fully hit the ground so when his friend's head snapped around at the sound of the blaring alarm he made a connection. Once again his rational mind told him that he didn't have enough information but his instincts told him otherwise. His instincts told him that Cole couldn't see what was really around him and his instincts were right.
Darryl managed to get to Cole just before he knew his friend was going to bolt and quickly grabbed him from behind, locking Cole's arms to his sides as he made sure he stayed out of kicking range.
"Dr. B he can't see that he's awake." The look on her face would have been one he would have found funny if the circumstances weren't so dire. He felt Cole's chest rise and fall unevenly as his friend struggled with both him and breathing at the same time. "Cole relax, it's me Darryl. Come on now and just relax and breathe please. You're safe, we both are. It's over." He tried to keep his voice calm and even as he had before in hopes of getting through to his terrified friend. As Cole's words became understandable though Darryl knew that it wasn't going to work this time, not against this terror. This terror had a name and that name meant power and pain for Cole. He looked up at Dr. B, his tears flowing freely as he kept a firm grip on Cole afraid he might hurt himself if he let him go.
Cole wanted to believe, a part of him so desperately wanted to believe that it really was Darryl's voice he was hearing, that what he was saying was true but he just couldn't. It had happened too many times and with each revealed lie came an ever-increasing feeling of painful desolation. The addition of Darryl was new but that didn't make it any less dangerous so he continued to struggle against whatever was holding him. His fear however was beginning to get the better of him again and he was finding it harder and harder to breath.
"No…… no…… lie. It's always a…… lie. Won't give in…… can't…… have to…… to protect them. Will protect. Lying again…… made mistake…… Darryl wouldn't…… wouldn't help…… me." Cole knew he was too weak to get free but his fear made it impossible for him to stop struggling. He never saw the look on his friend's face, the pain that his words had caused plain to see as Darryl realized the truth of his words.
Darryl felt like he had been physically punched in the gut as Cole's broken words hit home. Shame rose rapidly in his heart as he saw the truth his friend had spoken, the truth that he wouldn't have tried to save Cole in the past, the truth that in his own blindness he had let an innocent man suffer and die because he refused to see, to listen. When Belthazor had been killed and he had bailed Cole out the night he was arrested for driving without a license Cole had been asking for help and he had ignored him. As a trained cop he should have heard, should have seen but instead he chose to ignore. A man died a horrible death after months of suffering because he had ignored him, had turned a deaf ear to an innocent's cry for help.
"Not again." Darryl's words were quiet for they were an oath to his friend. He had promised him he wouldn't leave him again and he intended to honor that promise. Once again he gave himself over to his instincts and let them guide him. Carefully he crossed his arms in front of his still struggling friend and grabbed Cole's hands. He held onto those hands tightly and carefully placed his mouth close to Cole's ear, needing to make sure that he heard him, really heard him.
"Cole, listen to me please. I made you a promise before. I promised you I wouldn't ever leave you alone and I broke that promise. I didn't mean to but that is no excuse. I have no right to ask but I am going to anyway. Please give me another chance. I am your friend and I will always be here for you no matter what, but please just give me another chance. Listen to me. You're free and he is gone and he can't come back. It was only a nightmare. You're safe. You're safe I promise. Please believe me." He felt Cole's struggles begin to lessen as he spoke and he could only hope it was because he was listening to him, believing him and not because there was something else medically happening to him. He wasn't sure how much more his friend could take but he was positive that he himself wouldn't be able to take it if this was another medical issue. The pain of seeing his friend continuing to suffer was almost too much to bear, but bear it he would because he had no intentions of leaving him alone ever again.
Cole heard the words and again didn't want to believe them but when the person holding onto him had grabbed his hands he felt a small piece of hope begin to rise within him. Darryl. He remembered Darryl holding his hand and telling him it was all right and it had been all right. He remembered Darryl make the promise and he remembered the look on his face when he had faded away from him, leaving him alone. Alone in a nightmare. He stopped trying to get away and simply listened to his words as he felt the hands holding his never let go.
"Darryl?" It was only a whisper, as he still had to fight his fear, his breathing still difficult because of it.
"Yes my friend it's me. It's me and you are safe now. The nightmare is over and we are awake and in our room." He hadn't even realized exactly what he had said until Cole repeated it back to him in his need to be sure.
"It was a…… nightmare? We're really…… in our…… room? It's over?" He carefully looked over his shoulder to his friend's face and looked at his eyes and he knew it was true. It had been a nightmare but this time Darryl had been there and it had confused him, then he remembered the pain in his head and the shot in his neck. Darryl had done that for him, had helped him but then he had showed up in his nightmare only to fade away after promising not to leave him. As he continued to look in Darryl's eyes he could see the worry plain as day but he could also see pain and he suddenly remembered what he had said. He had said that Darryl would never try and save him. Shame flooded through him because Darryl had done just that, just like he promised he would. Darryl had even endured his nightmares so he wouldn't be alone. As his own words echoed back at him he quickly got to his feet when he felt Darryl loosen his hold on his hands. He had hurt his only friend again and he needed to put some distance between them in case Darryl decided to leave.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I…… I didn't mean it. I know you would…… would." Cole grabbed onto the edge of the bed as the room started to spin and his legs began to give out. His balance still hadn't returned to normal from the antidote so he couldn't even tell which way was up much less stop himself from falling. He never hit the floor though as he felt someone catch him just as he saw Darryl's face swim into his view. He's saving me yet again, Cole thought to himself as he felt Darryl pick him up and carefully deposit him on his bed. And what do I do but hurt him by saying that he would never help me. Cole felt tears begin to gather in his eyes and as they silently fell he cursed himself one more time. He was tired and scared and confused but he did know that he didn't want Darryl to leave so as his tears continued to fall he begged his friend to stay.
"I didn't mean it. Honest I didn't. Please don't leave. I know you came back and I'm sorry for what I said. Please don't leave." He felt his Grams take hold of his right hand and he turned to her, hoping that she would help him make Darryl stay. "Please Grams. I'm sorry and I didn't mean it please make him stay. I don't want him to leave. Please." He quickly turned back to Darryl though when he felt him take a hold of his left hand.
"I'm not going anywhere Cole. Do you hear me I'm not leaving, not now not ever so please relax. I know why you said what you said and I understand."
"I didn't mean it. Really I didn't. Please don't leave." Cole's frightened and tired mind had heard Darryl's words but couldn't really grasp them. He felt a form of panic begin to rise within him as Darryl's eyes left his and looked to his Grams. As his tears continued to flow he simply kept asking Darryl over and over not to leave.
Darryl felt his own tears begin to fall as he realized that his friend was beyond understanding what he was telling him. Too many crisis's in too short a period of time and ending with them getting stuck in the sad and horrific nightmare that is Cole's past had finally taken it's toll on his friend. As he looked over to Dr. B as Cole continued to cry and beg him not to leave he finally realized what she was doing. He watched her as she attached a full IV bag to the shunt in Cole's hand and, just as she had done their first night there, she uncapped a full syringe and emptied it's contents into the IV bag that was now hanging over Cole's bed. After punching the directions into the machine the IV line ran through she looked over at him and he could finally see the tears that had been falling from her eyes and he realized that her tears had been as quiet as Cole's had. They both cried silent tears and this time Darryl's silently joined theirs. He looked back down to his friend as he waited for the sedative to kick in. He suddenly thought that he should have been trying to stop her from sedating Cole in case it sent him right back to his nightmare but then he realized that he seemed to know a few things he shouldn't.
He knew that this drug wouldn't have the same effect as the med he had given Cole. Of course his mind thought about why they simply didn't just use this sedative since it obviously works on his friend without the getting stuck in the nightmare side effect. Then another part of his mind reminded him that the pain med is part curare, part morphine, and part potion; the combination of which is lethal to all save Cole himself. He was startled when Dr. B spoke, her words answering the questions in his head.
"We can't use this drug because it won't stem his pain from the movement of the bullet. His pain would easily negate this one. Like sodium pentathol can put you to sleep but any sharp pain would wake you right up. It's the combination of drugs and anesthetic gases that you breath during surgery that allows you to remain unconscious and pain free. The pain level the bullet is inducing and then the spell amplifies is too much for any drug or combination of drugs except the one Cam and I made. Believe me when I say we tried everything. I'm sorry Cole and I'm sorry Darryl. We will continue to research but for now it is the only option." Dr. B had heard what Darryl was thinking through Cole. He didn't even realize what he was doing but that didn't stop him from acting as a conductor between herself and Darryl as each of them held onto one of his hands. She had heard him and answered him and as she watched him look back to her Grandson she also knew that Darryl understood what was going on, she was sure he didn't know exactly how it was happening but he was getting good at simply going with it when it came to Cole and magic and for that she was eternally grateful.
Darryl did understand and, like Dr. B he too was eternally grateful. He looked back to Cole as his words were becoming quieter and more slurred with each passing moment. Yet again though he seemed to be fighting the drug and Darryl simply wasn't going to have it. Cole needed rest and he was going to make sure that he got it this time.
"Cole. I am not going anywhere. I am not leaving. I am staying right here and I am not letting go of you so please just rest." Cole's wet and glazed eyes looked up at him as he finally fell silent. He could see the pleading in the eyes though and he rushed to reassure him again, but first he raised their joined hands so Cole could see them. "You see my friend, I haven't let go and I'm not going to. I am here now and I will be here when you wake up and if you need me I will be here anytime in between as well. Here I am and here I am going to stay. Now just close your eyes and rest." Darryl gently brushed the hair from Cole's forehead, smoothing it back with his free hand as he spoke. He had hoped it would help settle his friend down and it seemed to work. He watched as Cole's eyes finally closed and his body relaxed into sleep, though Cole never loosened his hold on his hand and he didn't mind at all.
Cole hadn't paid attention to what his Grams was doing, all of his energy was focused on trying to make Darryl stay with him. Because of this he never noticed her restart his IV and introduce the sedative into it. What he did notice was the look in Darryl's eyes, the promise that they held, the promise that he wasn't going anywhere. He started to get sleepy again and before he had the chance to panic he felt Darryl's hand on his forehead, the contact like a balm to his confused and frightened soul. He knew Darryl wouldn't leave him, he simply knew now and when Darryl had told him to close his eyes and rest he did, secure in the knowledge that he wasn't alone anymore and wouldn't be ever again. He had a friend now, a real friend that cared about him and that he cared about in return. He may not have ever had a real friend before but he just knew that this is what it felt like. The happiness he felt followed him as he drifted off, as did the feeling of his friend's hand in his.
Darryl looked up as Dr. B wheeled the gurney that they had left outside of their door in the hallway back into the room. Somehow he just knew what she was doing. "Thank you." Was all he said as she smiled at him while locking the wheels into place. Carefully and never letting go of Cole's hand he climbed up on the gurney and waited as she unlocked the wheels and pushed it right up against the side of Cole's bed. As he lay on his side, watching Cole sleep he knew that before their nap was over he would be back in the bed with Cole. The thought didn't bother him. Cole was his friend and if what his friend needed was someone to hold him, to let him know he wasn't alone then he would do just that. Cole had suffered enough and if it was within his power to alleviate even one more moment of suffering then he would simply do it since that is what friend's were for. Feeling somewhat content he too closed his eyes and drifted off because tomorrow his friend was going to need him rested and ready to help.
The memories continued to play out around them but Darryl's attention was now focused on his charge as Cole began to move into a sitting position next to him. His one hope was that Cole was going to talk to him now. He wasn't upset with Cole, not in the least, but he didn't like it when his friend bottled things up, it wasn't healthy and he knew it. Cole had come a long way out of his shell and Darryl was damned if he was going to let the Charmed Ones and Leo chase him back in again.
"Hey there partner, how are you holding up?" He slid down the wall a little further knowing full well where Cole was heading. His friend's body language screamed fear, he didn't need the link to tell him that or to tell him Cole was going to want physical contact with him. It was one trait that they both shared even before they were linked, the need for physical contact when they were frightened. Cole had been surprised by Darryl's easy acceptance of his need until he realized that Darryl had the same need. It had become yet one more thing that connected them together and made things just a little easier for Cole emotionally. As Cole settled in right next to him, Darryl made sure that his shoulder was in just the right spot and then simply waited.
Cole had finally been able to relax enough to let go of his friend's leg but he still refused to relinquish all physical contact so he made his way to Darryl's side and rested his head on the shoulder his friend was offering him. "I'll be fine." Cole knew he wasn't all right so he didn't say it, what he did know was that he would be all right in time. He had his Grams, Cam, Simmons, his fiancé Julianna and Anita, but most importantly he had his Guardian Darryl and he knew that Darryl wouldn't let him fall. They had made a promise to each other all those months ago, even before his Grams had told them of their shared Destiny, they had promised to always be there the other no matter what and this was a promise that neither man had ever broken nor intended to.
"Oh I know you will." Darryl smiled as he spoke the words, words that were an oath to him, a promise. "Why?" He couldn't help but ask his charge why he chose these particular memories; he knew why he had been thinking of this time before he returned to the Dreamscape but he couldn't help but wonder why Cole would chose to want to watch them. An idea had formed in his mind, knowing his friend as he did, but he wanted Cole to start talking and he felt that this might be the best way. He wasn't disappointed as Cole started to talk and also confirmed what Darryl had been thinking.
"It was the first time I was ever truly happy in my life. As dumb as that sounds considering everything we went through during those seven days it was the first taste of true acceptance, understanding, and friendship I ever had and right now…… right now I just needed to remember. It's not that." Cole fell silent for a moment. "Never mind." He chuckled as he felt his friend tense a little at his words. "Forget I even said that last part, it's just that the feelings and the…… emotions are running a little off the scale at the moment and I forgot."
"Hey, believe me I fully understand." And Darryl did as his feelings of anger towards the girls that had once been his friends was almost raging out of control; his need to protect his friend growing accordingly. The fact that Cole was his charge was something that had entered his mind as a secondary thought and it made him chuckle.
"What's so funny?" He could have simply looked, the link having grown to where they didn't even need to really speak about their emotions if they didn't want to, but he didn't. Together, they had agreed that they wouldn't do that, not unless it was necessary or an emergency and a chuckle simply didn't qualify. They took comfort in the link but they didn't use it as a crutch, their friendship was too important, too precious to both of them for that. No he wouldn't look so he asked.
Darryl also knew that Cole could have simply looked and the fact that he hadn't helped calm some of his own anxieties. It showed that his friend wasn't running purely on emotion, that he wasn't retreating back into his shell. When they had first been bonded, seven days after the shooting Cole had used the link frequently. It didn't take Darryl long to realize what Cole was doing or to realize that it was unconscious on his friend's part. The concept of true friendship and unconditional acceptance were so very new to Cole who at that time was still so sure that he was going to accidentally do something that would cause Darryl to send him away that he would constantly be checking to make sure that everything was all right. After a time he found Cole checking less and less and he found himself more content at the same time. It was proof that he was indeed doing right by his friend, that he was helping him and it simply made him feel good.
Just as he was about to answer him he felt Cole flare up the link and his anxieties returned in full force. Turning his head just enough so he could see Cole's profile he knew without a doubt that his friend didn't even know what he was doing. It was starting again and he intended to stop it. There was no way he was going to let those girls open up all of the old wounds, not when he could do something about it and answering his friend's question was a step in that direction.
"I was just thinking about you my friend and the thought that you were my charge as well didn't even register right away. As much as Dr. B keeps reminding me to practice my Guardian talents I can't help but think of you as my friend first and my charge second." To most people his statement probably would have sounded bad but he felt Cole instantly begin to relax at his words. For Cole being called 'friend' meant the world to him, especially when Darryl had the emotions to back it up and he knew that Cole had felt his emotions as well as heard his words. Sometimes words couldn't convey what emotions could and it was at times like these that he thanked the Goddess for the link. Darryl put his arm around Cole's shoulders and pulled him close, literally feeling how weak Cole was now and even though he knew that he wouldn't die it didn't really help his state of mind. Needing to distract himself as well as Cole he decided on a change of memories. "Hey, my friend, why don't we have some other thoughts for while now? Hmmmm? Like maybe our wonderful twins?"
Instantly the scenes around them changed as Cole's thoughts went straight to his caring and beautiful Julianna. He never thought he would ever find true love but he had. His happiness was only increased when his friend also found love again with Julianna's twin sister Anita. Darryl had been hurt when his wife had left; her lack of trust in him had cut deep. Cole was in a unique position to understand this better than anyone so when they had met the twins, a month after the shooting, his first thought was of his friend. After Darryl and Anita had hit it off only then did Cole even dare think about himself. It was when he was talking to Julianna about Anita's growing relationship with Darryl that they came to understand that they were alike in many ways. Julianna had done the same as he had; she had waited till Anita was happy with Darryl before even considering herself. Very soon the four of them had become inseparable and Grams had insisted that the twins move into Raven Manor. The last secret of their Destiny was revealed that very night.
Darryl watched as the memory of the twins first night in the Manor played out around him. Their first meal together at the dining room table, cooked and prepared by Cole and Anita as both Darryl and Julianna were total disasters in the kitchen. The easy laughter of that night sounded all around Darryl and Cole and brought a smile to each boy's face. All four of them had been working during the previous week and working very hard to put up some form of walls so that they wouldn't overflow into each other as it were. The first time Anita and Darryl had spent the night together it had apparently affected Cole and Julianna in a physical way; as Cole felt what Darryl was feeling so Julianna was feeling what Anita was. Cole and Julianna's experience had caused concern, after many, many chuckles and giggles on Darryl and Anita's parts of course. They had talked and were beginning to worry that their future together was never going to happen. That was until Dr. B had intervened and suggested the forming of walls to protect each pair from the feelings of the other. Cole had immediately panicked at the very idea of walls between himself and Darryl no matter what the reason and for Darryl, Cole's emotional well-being and peace of mind were more important so he vetoed the idea. Fortunately for all concerned Dr. B knew what Darryl was doing and why and so she acted accordingly. Three weeks after the four had met they began to work on the walls that would allow them to be with their partner without the physical side effects that would flow through the links that bonded Darryl to Cole and Anita to Julianna.
By the time the week of practice was over Cole and Julianna were also ready to consummate their relationship. They had both wanted to wait to move their relationship to the truly physical level, even before the little accident with Darryl and Anita, because once that line gets crossed the hurt is much greater if things went wrong and both of them had been down that particular hurt road in the past and neither had a desire to repeat the trip.
Darryl watched the memory continue to play out and when he saw Dr. B beginning to clean up the table while shooing them off to their room he couldn't help but smile. Of course both he and Cole had been surprised when they got to their room. Neither one had known what Cam and Simmons were up to until they walked into the room but as soon as they did they understood why the two watch dogs had told them not to worry about the sleeping arrangements since they had already taken care of the problem. As the four walked into the room they all smiled.
There were two king size beds, one on the right hand wall and one on the left hand wall, and a wall was dissecting the room in half. The wall was magic, they could all feel it, and when Cole and Darryl walked up to it the wall simply disappeared. Cole took Julianna by the hand and escorted her to what would become their side of the room. As soon as they had moved far enough away form where the wall had been it returned. Darryl had felt his friend's slight panic at this and instinctively moved closer to the wall, hoping Cole would feel that he was there and calm down but instead the wall disappeared again. It was then that they understood how the wall worked. If either of them moved to within a certain distance to the wall it would vanish, leaving them free to move to the other side of the room and to their partner. Once Cole had seen that Darryl could still feel him and wasn't really separated from him he calmed down immediately. Julianna also had calmed down, as she had been worried about being separated from Anita. The four of them smiled one last time at each other and moved a step back, allowing the wall to return.
Cole watched the memory and smiled as well. That night it was Julianna's tensing next to him that had reminded him that she too hated to be separated from Anita just as he hated to be separated from Darryl. For each of them their anchors were now on the other side of the wall but just knowing that the wall was merely a force field type of illusion that could be instantly broken by any of the four of them helped calm their own anxieties. His smile faltered a little when, in the memory, the moment had come and he had seen her brand for the first time. He couldn't deal with that thought just now so he moved the memory forward to the moment all four connected, to the moment that changed their lives forever as the last piece of their Destiny fell into place.
Darryl had felt Cole tense when he saw the image of Julianna standing with her head down in shame as Cole saw her brand for the first time. Her reaction was so much a 'Cole reaction' as Darryl had come to start thinking of it, that he couldn't help but smile a little. They had known that Raynor had taken Julianna when she was a child and had remained his captive for a little more than two years before Anita and their mother had been able to rescue her. They hadn't known about the brand. It was similar to Cole's own brand and it had hurt him to know that the woman he loved had suffered the pain of the brand just as he had. Darryl stopped the memory and reversed it to that point and again felt Cole tense. He normally didn't take control of the memories away from Cole but this time he did. He wanted Cole to see the look on Julianna's face when she saw his brand for the first time. He simply let his instincts guide him as he normally did when dealing with is friend.
Cole watched as the memories stopped and went back to the moment that Julianna had seen his brand for the first time. As she had traced it with her fingers he had felt the tears fall from his eyes as the old shame and fear rose with in him. His shame at the brand itself and fear that she wouldn't want to be with him now, that she wouldn't want him because he reminded her of her own pain at the hands of Raynor. He watched as she put her finger under his chin, raising his blue eyes to her purple ones and what he had seen there had been only love and understanding, empathy from one survivor to another. There had been a pledge in that look as well and it was mirrored in his own eyes, of that he was sure; a pledge to protect and to cherish, to never turn away. What Cole hadn't realized until this very moment was the Darryl was almost to the wall before he stopped in his tracks and simply stood waiting for something. He hadn't realized how close he had come to having Darryl bring the wall down. His friend had felt his pain and was responding to it and he also realized that it was only when he and Julianna had looked into each others eyes that Darryl had stopped moving towards him. Cole felt himself relax a little at the image in front of him. Darryl wasn't showing him that he didn't trust Julianna with him but that even if he is with Julianna his friend would always still be there, just a thought away. As he let this thought flow through him he relaxed even more. Marriage was a scary prospect and for him it would be a first, he didn't count his marriage to Phoebe since that had been the Source that had married her not him, no this would be a first for him and he had secretly worried that being married would change things with him and Darryl. And here his friend was, while in the middle of this crisis, thinking about how to make him feel safer and more content with the whole marriage thing. Of course he knew it was also a distraction from what was going on in the real world but as usual his friend and Guardian was helping him as well as distracting him.
"Thank you, my friend." His words were quiet but the emotion behind them loud and clear.
"Your welcome, my friend." Darryl had felt the emotions as well as heard the words and was grateful that his plan had worked. He had known that Cole was still nervous about the whole wedding thing, oh he was happy about it but there was still that nagging little piece of him that was still scared that it would somehow affect his relationship with him. So he decided to use the natural 'just go with it' feeling that the Dreamscape offered them to show Cole that no matter what he would always be there for Cole. He was his friend now and always and getting married wouldn't change that. He had gotten up and left Anita to go to Cole when he had felt Cole had needed him. He had shown this to Cole now, when he had no other distractions because he wanted his friend to be as happy as he was about the impending wedding. Yes he knew Cole was anxious to marry Julianna but he had felt this small piece of fear for a long time now and had only just made the connection. The old memories of the shooting and the days that followed and then to the twins' first night at the Manor…… well he had finally put the pieces together and understood the fear. From his friend's reaction he realized that Cole himself had not even understood what he was feeling until right now either. The fact that Cole was relaxing and smiling told him this last tiny little fear over their coming marriages had now been laid to rest.
"And the timing couldn't be more perfect." Darryl turned to his friend and smiled. "It's time to wake up." With that he faded away from the Dreamscape leaving a smiling Cole behind. Knowing that it would take Darryl and Grams a few minutes to wake him up he stayed concentrated on the memories that played on around him. He was afraid like he always was when Darryl left, oh he knew that he had to leave in order to help Grams but that didn't make him any less afraid so he stayed centered on the memory to remain as calm as he could.
He watched as the moment the unknown connection between them flared up for the first time. The four of them had set a new sexual high for themselves and then the unimaginable happened. The four of them found themselves inside each other; they were themselves but they were also each other. They were four individuals suddenly experiencing the physical and emotional responses of themselves and the other three. This sensory overload then sent them to an even higher plateau, one where they co-mingled minds and bodies. When they separated, after what had seemed like hours to them but had in fact only been a few minutes, they found a new Bond had formed. After quick inspection by all four of them they had concluded that this new Bond in no way interfered with the original Bonds between Cole and Darryl as well as Julianna and Anita. The new Bond simply connected all four of them together.
Cole chuckled one more time as the image of his Grams appeared. She had known what was going to happen and had smiled as they had made their way to the breakfast the next morning. All four knew the look, the cat-who-ate-the-canary look and they turned on her as one.
"You could have warned us you know." The four of them had just spoken as one for the first time and he watched his Grams laugh till tears were running down her face. After much 'stern looking face' and eye rolling on their part they too finally broke down and laughed. Their lives had just become more complicated but for some reason they were all more content at the same time as well.
Cole suddenly looked up as he felt himself drawn from the Dreamscape and back into the waking world. Back to Darryl and his family…… and the Charmed Ones.
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