~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She calls me from the cold
Just when I was low
Feeling short of stable
All that she intends
And all she keeps inside
Isn't on the lable
She says she's ashamed
Can she take me for a while
And can I be a friend
And we'll forget the past
Well maybe I'm not able
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack was in Prue's office when she got back, sitting at her desk and bouncing Aviva on his lap. Prue had to pause at the doorway, admiring the scene. He looked like a natural, and the baby seemed to adore him.
"Hello, Mommy," he greeted, looking up.
She smiled, closing the door behind her. "Hi."
"So, how's Piper?" he asked as she walked toward him.
"I don't know," she sighed, taking her daughter from him. "She says she's fine, but... If she was fine, she wouldn't be in the hospital, right?"
Jack shrugged. "I guess. But I also know that if it were really serious, you wouldn't be here. You've got to relax, Prue, and trust the doctors to do their jobs."
Shaking her head, Prue placed Aviva down in her playpen, and then allowed Jack to pull her onto his lap. "It's just so hard, especially the not knowing part. The specialist said she has something called Aroya fever, whatever that is. He also said that it's really rare for this part of the world, and it must be, because before I came up here I did some research on the Internet, and I couldn't find anything at all. I don't know what this disease is, what it's doing to her, or anything. I just..." she trailed off, at a loss for what to say, how to describe the fear that was knotting itself in the pit of her stomach.
"Hey, she'll be okay," he said soothingly, rubbing her back.
She curled up against him, resting her head on his chest. "The rational part of me knows that it will be, but still... I think you know me well enough by now to know that I don't scare easily. I'm scared now, Jack, more scared than I've been in a long time."
He kissed the top of her head, struggling to come up with the right words to say that would make her feel okay. For Prue, however, words weren't necessary. Just knowing he was there with her was enough.
-x-
Paige got back to the clinic to find a familiar face waiting at her desk.
"Glen!" she squealed, running into his arms.
He spun her around, then set her down, stepping back to get a good look at her. "God, Paige, do you have any idea how hard you are to track down?"
She shrugged. "Yeah, look who's talking. My apartment caught fire, so I had to move in with my sisters. Also, as you can see, I got a new job. I'm hoping this one will be a little more permanent. I would've told you all this, but I had no idea where the hell you were. And speaking of your recent whereabouts, not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here?"
He tilted his head to one side. "Oh, I just dropped by. I had the feeling you might need me around, especially after I got your last letter. So, how are your sisters? I guess you must like them well enough, to be living with them and all, but really, what's it like having siblings all of a sudden?"
Paige giggled. "It's... crazy. But I love them. I can't wait for you to meet them, and I talk about you enough to know they'll love to see you."
Glen raised an eyebrow. "Talking about me, huh? Should I be scared?"
Paige bit her lip, pretending to be unsure. "Oh, I wouldn't say scared, exactly. You might want to watch out for Prue, she's the oldest and really protective of us. Phoebe you'd like, she was a bit of a wild child herself, so you two probably have a lot in common. Piper... well..." Paige trailed off, remembering where she'd just come from. Her expression, which had been joyful since Glen had shown up, instantly became sad.
Glen noticed right away. "Hey, what is it? What's wrong?"
"It's Piper," Paige said quietly. She told him about Piper's illness, and that she'd just spent most of the day in the hospital at her sister's bedside, ending with, "I'm really scared."
He listened queitly, then when she was finished, said simply, "Good."
She looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing. "Excuse me?"
"Not good that your sister is sick, obviously," he amended. "I mean, it's good that you're scared. It means you really care about her, which means you've finally got a real family."
Paige smiled. "Yeah. I guess that's one way of looking at it." Her smile turned into a frown. "I just hope we don't lose her, especially now that they've just started to feel like a real family to me."
He pulled her into a hug. "You won't lose her. Hey, I know I've never met her, but she has to be pretty strong. She's related to you, isn't she?"
Paige nodded, leaning against him. "I'm just so scared," she reiterated.
He kissed her, running his fingers through her hair. "I know. Which is exactly why you should take the day off and let me drive you back up to the hospital. You're not going to get any work done now, anyway, and I hate seeing you this worried."
Paige sighed, and then nodded slowly. "Okay. Let me just go talk to Cowan, and then we'll leave."
He let her go, and she started to walk away. Halfway to his office, she turned around. "And Glen?" she started. He looked up at the sound of his name. "I'm really glad your here." He smiled at her, and she walked away feeling better than she had been all day.
-x-
After Phoebe's last class was over, she went straight back to the hospital. When she got there, Piper was asleep, so she went down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. There, she bumped into the blue-eyed stranger from the parking lot for the second time that day.
"We really have to stop running into each other this way," he said, smiling.
Phoebe laughed. "Thanks," she said, still giggling. "I needed that."
He nodded. "Anytime. You looked really worried when I saw you this morning, and if I may say so, you look just as worried now. Seeing as how we keep crashing into each other anyway, should I wait for the next collision or can I just buy you a cup of coffee now?"
She smiled. "Now would be good."
Five minutes later, they were sitting across from each at the table. Phoebe had insisted that, if he was buying their coffees, she would get them each a bagel. However, neither was eating or drinking much. Instead, she found herself telling him all about her sister. He listened attentively, and did what he could to reassure her.
"You know," she said suddenly, "I just realized that we don't even know each other's names."
He smiled at her. "Odd, isn't it, considering how we've been talking? I'm Cole Turner."
"Phoebe Halliwell," she introduced herself. There was a short pause. "Okay," she said, "You know all about me and Piper, so I think it's only fair that you tell me what brings you here."
He nodded. "Fair enough. I'm the District Attorney. I was investigating a case, and I'd just finished up when I saw you here." He coughed, slightly uncomfortable.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Turner, are telling me you ran into me on purpose?"
"Guilty," he admitted.
She grinned. "I'm glad you did."
He beamed back, his eyes twinkling irrisistably again. "You know what? So am I."
****************
A/N: Some of you may have noticed it in my bio, but I changed my e-mail addy. You can now contact me at xCastNoShadow@aol.com. And on that note, a big thank-you to all the people who've been e-mailing/IMing me. I know I've told you all this at least once, but it really means a lot. ::hugs::
~from the song "Shimmer" by Fuel~
She calls me from the cold
Just when I was low
Feeling short of stable
All that she intends
And all she keeps inside
Isn't on the lable
She says she's ashamed
Can she take me for a while
And can I be a friend
And we'll forget the past
Well maybe I'm not able
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack was in Prue's office when she got back, sitting at her desk and bouncing Aviva on his lap. Prue had to pause at the doorway, admiring the scene. He looked like a natural, and the baby seemed to adore him.
"Hello, Mommy," he greeted, looking up.
She smiled, closing the door behind her. "Hi."
"So, how's Piper?" he asked as she walked toward him.
"I don't know," she sighed, taking her daughter from him. "She says she's fine, but... If she was fine, she wouldn't be in the hospital, right?"
Jack shrugged. "I guess. But I also know that if it were really serious, you wouldn't be here. You've got to relax, Prue, and trust the doctors to do their jobs."
Shaking her head, Prue placed Aviva down in her playpen, and then allowed Jack to pull her onto his lap. "It's just so hard, especially the not knowing part. The specialist said she has something called Aroya fever, whatever that is. He also said that it's really rare for this part of the world, and it must be, because before I came up here I did some research on the Internet, and I couldn't find anything at all. I don't know what this disease is, what it's doing to her, or anything. I just..." she trailed off, at a loss for what to say, how to describe the fear that was knotting itself in the pit of her stomach.
"Hey, she'll be okay," he said soothingly, rubbing her back.
She curled up against him, resting her head on his chest. "The rational part of me knows that it will be, but still... I think you know me well enough by now to know that I don't scare easily. I'm scared now, Jack, more scared than I've been in a long time."
He kissed the top of her head, struggling to come up with the right words to say that would make her feel okay. For Prue, however, words weren't necessary. Just knowing he was there with her was enough.
-x-
Paige got back to the clinic to find a familiar face waiting at her desk.
"Glen!" she squealed, running into his arms.
He spun her around, then set her down, stepping back to get a good look at her. "God, Paige, do you have any idea how hard you are to track down?"
She shrugged. "Yeah, look who's talking. My apartment caught fire, so I had to move in with my sisters. Also, as you can see, I got a new job. I'm hoping this one will be a little more permanent. I would've told you all this, but I had no idea where the hell you were. And speaking of your recent whereabouts, not that I'm not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here?"
He tilted his head to one side. "Oh, I just dropped by. I had the feeling you might need me around, especially after I got your last letter. So, how are your sisters? I guess you must like them well enough, to be living with them and all, but really, what's it like having siblings all of a sudden?"
Paige giggled. "It's... crazy. But I love them. I can't wait for you to meet them, and I talk about you enough to know they'll love to see you."
Glen raised an eyebrow. "Talking about me, huh? Should I be scared?"
Paige bit her lip, pretending to be unsure. "Oh, I wouldn't say scared, exactly. You might want to watch out for Prue, she's the oldest and really protective of us. Phoebe you'd like, she was a bit of a wild child herself, so you two probably have a lot in common. Piper... well..." Paige trailed off, remembering where she'd just come from. Her expression, which had been joyful since Glen had shown up, instantly became sad.
Glen noticed right away. "Hey, what is it? What's wrong?"
"It's Piper," Paige said quietly. She told him about Piper's illness, and that she'd just spent most of the day in the hospital at her sister's bedside, ending with, "I'm really scared."
He listened queitly, then when she was finished, said simply, "Good."
She looked at him, her eyebrows furrowing. "Excuse me?"
"Not good that your sister is sick, obviously," he amended. "I mean, it's good that you're scared. It means you really care about her, which means you've finally got a real family."
Paige smiled. "Yeah. I guess that's one way of looking at it." Her smile turned into a frown. "I just hope we don't lose her, especially now that they've just started to feel like a real family to me."
He pulled her into a hug. "You won't lose her. Hey, I know I've never met her, but she has to be pretty strong. She's related to you, isn't she?"
Paige nodded, leaning against him. "I'm just so scared," she reiterated.
He kissed her, running his fingers through her hair. "I know. Which is exactly why you should take the day off and let me drive you back up to the hospital. You're not going to get any work done now, anyway, and I hate seeing you this worried."
Paige sighed, and then nodded slowly. "Okay. Let me just go talk to Cowan, and then we'll leave."
He let her go, and she started to walk away. Halfway to his office, she turned around. "And Glen?" she started. He looked up at the sound of his name. "I'm really glad your here." He smiled at her, and she walked away feeling better than she had been all day.
-x-
After Phoebe's last class was over, she went straight back to the hospital. When she got there, Piper was asleep, so she went down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. There, she bumped into the blue-eyed stranger from the parking lot for the second time that day.
"We really have to stop running into each other this way," he said, smiling.
Phoebe laughed. "Thanks," she said, still giggling. "I needed that."
He nodded. "Anytime. You looked really worried when I saw you this morning, and if I may say so, you look just as worried now. Seeing as how we keep crashing into each other anyway, should I wait for the next collision or can I just buy you a cup of coffee now?"
She smiled. "Now would be good."
Five minutes later, they were sitting across from each at the table. Phoebe had insisted that, if he was buying their coffees, she would get them each a bagel. However, neither was eating or drinking much. Instead, she found herself telling him all about her sister. He listened attentively, and did what he could to reassure her.
"You know," she said suddenly, "I just realized that we don't even know each other's names."
He smiled at her. "Odd, isn't it, considering how we've been talking? I'm Cole Turner."
"Phoebe Halliwell," she introduced herself. There was a short pause. "Okay," she said, "You know all about me and Piper, so I think it's only fair that you tell me what brings you here."
He nodded. "Fair enough. I'm the District Attorney. I was investigating a case, and I'd just finished up when I saw you here." He coughed, slightly uncomfortable.
Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Turner, are telling me you ran into me on purpose?"
"Guilty," he admitted.
She grinned. "I'm glad you did."
He beamed back, his eyes twinkling irrisistably again. "You know what? So am I."
****************
A/N: Some of you may have noticed it in my bio, but I changed my e-mail addy. You can now contact me at xCastNoShadow@aol.com. And on that note, a big thank-you to all the people who've been e-mailing/IMing me. I know I've told you all this at least once, but it really means a lot. ::hugs::
~from the song "Shimmer" by Fuel~