Part Four
Later that Morning…
May 2, 2002
"I'm fine, Piper," Phoebe insisted as she pushed off her covers and got out of bed. "What're you doing here anyway? You know it's not safe for you and Paige with all the demons coming and going from here."
"I'm here because," Piper carefully answered while she watched her sister rummage through the drawers for something to wear, "Queen of Evil or not, you're still my sister."
"Changed your mind?" Phoebe sarcastically quipped.
Piper ignored the comment and continued, "And when my sister shows up in a panic in the middle of the night, faints, and then accuses the love of her life of creating an alternate universe or sending her back in time, well, I think it means she might need someone to talk to. Besides, Cole asked me to come."
Startled, Phoebe looked back at her sister, "He did?" Piper nodded, Phoebe frowned and mumbled to herself, "What's he up to now?"
"I don't think he's up to anything, least not about this," Piper admitted, much to her own surprise. "I think he really was worried about you. Last night…you don't know what it was like seeing you like that."
"Sorry," Phoebe quietly said as she gathered all her clothing. "I'll be right back. Stay here. Cole's running a meeting."
Piper shivered involuntarily at the thought of the Source conducting business right under her nose and her being powerless to do anything about it. 'But', she thought when Phoebe left the room, 'if it means saving Phoebe...' She sat on the edge of the bed and recalled her earlier conversation with Paige and Leo. They'd agreed that Phoebe seemed different from the last time they'd seen her. Something happened and even though Cole had insisted it was only a nightmare she'd never known Phoebe to be so badly affected by one. That hard evil edge she'd gained just a week ago was now missing and she seemed fragile. Like she was barely holding onto herself.
Sunlight gleamed off the pewter picture frame on the nightstand and Piper walked over to it. In the photo, Phoebe was wrapped in Cole's arms and the love between the two was self-evident. It had only been taken a few months earlier, back when Cole was human. Such a contrast, she mused, to the couple she'd seen together last night. She gazed at the new teddy bear that was sitting in the corner and hugged herself as she worried what her sister was going through by carrying the Source's baby. She hadn't lied to Phoebe. Cole's worry did seem sincere. Almost like from before he became the Source. If Phoebe was right about his involvement, how could they fight him if he was powerful enough to warp reality on his own? But even if Phoebe was wrong about reality and right about having been sent back in time, how could Piper convince her to talk about it? Phoebe'd said she felt trapped but refused to explain on the grounds that she might change the future. But from Phoebe's behavior, Piper was scared that the future wasn't such a bright one for her sister and she was willing to risk changing it even if Phoebe wasn't.
A cry of pain startled Piper from her thoughts and she hesitated by the door, unsure if she should leave the relative safety of the bedroom. She was about to call for Leo when Phoebe threw the door open and stalked into the room ranting about some idiotic demon. "What happened? Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay?" Phoebe snapped before she slammed the door. "He deliberately ignored all my attempts to get his attention. I bet that got his attention."
"Damn right it did," Cole announced when he flamed into the room. "You will not keep killing my subjects," he demanded.
"Hormones!" she retorted as she dug around the bottom of her closet for a pair of shoes.
"The first five times were mildly amusing," he angrily conceded, "but you are about to cross a line that you do not want to cross."
Phoebe kicked off her slippers and glared at him, "Maybe if you'd've given me the courtesy of a single moment of your time…After all, I'm only your ever-lovin' pregnant wife."
"Business is business, Phoebe," he coolly stated.
"So you informed me last night," she muttered as she slipped her feet into the shoes and automatically grabbed his arm when she nearly lost her balance. But she quickly dropped her hand and told him, "You don't care that I'm your wife or mother of your child, fine. But don't you dare ignore what I told you about the future."
"What's going on?" Piper nervously questioned. "I thought you were afraid of changing the past."
"Don't put words in my mouth," he ordered with annoyance while ignoring Piper. "I need you in my life. But you had a nightmare," he maintained to Phoebe, "that's all. And a --" The slap to his cheek interrupted his sentence and he looked back at Phoebe who, surprisingly enough, had tears in her eyes.
Stung by his nonchalant dismissal of her earlier warning, Phoebe immediately decided she didn't care whether it was due to Cole or the Source. Either way, he hurt her. Again. Instead, she grabbed her bag from the dresser. "Come on, Piper, you can give me a ride to work."
"Phoebe, wait…" Cole requested. But she ignored him, left the room, and, in frustration, he let a fireball fly at the painting on the wall. As the flames died out and left behind a scorch mark on the wall, he took a deep breath before he indicated to the shadow in the corner and ordered, "Stay with the Queen. Watch her. I want to know immediately if anything unusual happens. Particularly if anyone means her harm."
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Phoebe tried to ignore the knock on her office door but the person was persistent and her headache was already bad enough. "Come in," she sighed before she took a sip from her cup of tea. All the stress from waking up in the past, or in this recreated world, was only aggravating the morning sickness she was afraid she was happy to be suffering. She nearly choked when she saw her visitor. "What the hell're you doing here?" she sputtered.
"I understand you had a difficult evening and morning," the Seer respectfully answered as she approached Phoebe's desk carrying a stemmed glass. "I've brought you your tonic. Perhaps it will help soothe you."
Phoebe only discovered the fireball in her hand when she caught the Seer's wary glance to her hand. "This is my place of business," she seethed as she stood and leaned forward. "Get out. And take that damned tonic with you."
"It is for your own good," the Seer patiently explained as she set down the glass on Phoebe's desk. "You are still torn between two worlds. And you carry within you a strong magical child who, even now, needs to be nurtured more than an ordinary human baby. The tonic is only to help you adjust to the physical demands of your condition."
"This is what I think of your help," Phoebe snapped as she flung the glass to the floor.
"Don't be a fool," the Seer chastised. "You're in way out of your league, Phoebe, and you need guidance if you are to survive as Queen. I suggest you accept it whenever freely given. Especially while you still carry the heir within you."
"Take your threats," Phoebe responded through clenched teeth, "and shove them wh--"
"Is everything okay?" a young woman interrupted when she opened the door and peered into the office. "Sounded like glass breaking."
"My fault," Phoebe sheepishly assured her assistant while she approached. "I dropped a glass. Why don't you call for someone from maintenance?" The brunette turned with a nod but Phoebe called her back, "Do you still have that copy I gave you for Elise?"
"Yeah, it's on my desk," she replied apologetically while she pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. "I haven't had a chance to run to her office yet."
"It's okay," Phoebe smiled as she went to the door, "I may have been a bit too severe for one reader and I'd like to change it. No sense having Elise storm down here if we can avoid it."
With Phoebe's attention diverted, the Seer waved her right hand and produced another glass in her left hand. She glanced to see that Phoebe's back was still turned and she quickly poured the contents into Phoebe's cup of tea. Satisfied, she made the glass vanish and quickly apologized to Phoebe, "I'll take my leave now. I didn't mean to disturb you."
Phoebe merely glared at her and watched the Seer calmly walk away. She barely heard her assistant ask if everything was okay. "Yeah," she murmured with a shiver. "Just bad deja vu." She took the document from her assistant and went back to her desk never noticing the shadow moving across the floor.
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"Phoebe," Cole interrupted several minutes later, "we need to talk."
"Not now," she replied while deliberately focusing on her computer screen. "I'm busy." She reached for her cup and was about to drink from it when Cole slapped it from her hand. "What the hell was that for?" she yelped as she shook her hand to alleviate the sting. "Look what you did," she complained while she quickly tried to mop up the wet pile of letters.
"I'm sorry," he sincerely told her, "but the tea's been compromised and I couldn't let you drink it."
More confused than scared by his behavior, she demanded explanation.
"The Seer," he frowned, "put something in your cup. Perhaps it was only the tonic but I couldn't take the chance." He held out his hand to prevent her from ranting, "I was concerned about you so I placed a guard in here."
Phoebe stared at him a moment before she quietly realized, "You were listening to me last night."
"Maybe I was," he conceded while he closed her window blinds. "We need to talk. In private. Come home with me."
"Maybe I was wrong about this being your doing," she carefully acknowledged. "Maybe I somehow was sent back in time. Maybe the Tribunal felt taking my powers wasn't enough and that I need the punishment of reliving the--"
"The Tribunal doesn't work that way," he disagreed. As far as he knew, she and her sisters had never come before it but now wasn't the time to ask her about it or why she thought she lost her powers. Instead, he simply said, "The Tribunal doesn't hide part of the verdict. Whatever they decide is all that happens." He noticed Phoebe glancing around her office and informed her, "The shadow behind the computer."
"She's history," Phoebe stated while she stared uncomfortably at her computer. "I mean it, Cole," she added as she turned back to him. "How I was sent back isn't as important as --"
"I don't think you were sent back by anyone," he interrupted.
"Well I didn't get here on my own," she quipped, "or you can be damn sure I wouldn't've picked today to come back."
"Why?" he demanded. "All you told me last night was that the Seer is evil and out to become the next Source. You told, no you begged, me to get rid of her but nothing else. Now I've got proof you were probably right and --"
"Not probably," she snapped. "Definitely."
"What aren't you telling me?" he snapped in return. "What do you think's supposed to happen today?"
"What's your theory?" she countered.
"Halliwell, I --" Elise interrupted when she flung open Phoebe's door. She glared at Cole and asked Phoebe, "Lunch break?"
"Just a few minutes," Phoebe replied with growing annoyance. "It's personal."
"Isn't it always?" Elise muttered. "Break's over, kids. You've got a deadline and what you gave me doesn't quite meet it. It's snappy but I want another two letters added to the column and I want them yesterday." She spun on her heel and left without waiting for an answer.
Cole caught sight of the fireball in Phoebe's hand and informed her, "I can have someone take care of her if you wish."
"I don't wish," she snapped. "Go away, Cole, I'm sure you've got some other disaster to plan."
"What is wrong with you?" he unsympathetically inquired. "I know you've been cranky lately but there's more to it. The way you keep looking at me, keeping me at arm's length. Is your sister right? Have you changed your mind about us? About our future?"
"Please, Cole," she requested, unable to look him in the eyes, "just go. I'll be home after work but I can't…I just can't deal with this right now." He flamed out without a word and she sank into her chair. "God," she whispered, "what do I do now?"
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