Part Five

Later that Evening…

May 2, 2002

"I'm fine, Piper," Phoebe sighed as she acknowledged her two sisters waiting by the patio's French doors. She dropped her bag on the sofa, "But it's late, I'm tired, and I don't want to talk."

"Too bad," Piper responded as she and Paige stepped closer, hands behind their backs. She had agreed with Paige to take the vanquishing crystals but had insisted that they keep the rocks from view unless they couldn't change Phoebe's mind. Ever since Phoebe had appeared in their hallway, Piper couldn't help but hope that this was their chance to get her back. If they could make Phoebe see, truly see, what Cole had become, they could save her. She ignored the pain of the sharp edges digging into her palms and held the crystals tightly. "We want to help you but you have to tell us what's going on."

Cole suddenly flamed in and glared at his unwelcome guests. "What's going on?"

"If he wasn't the Source," Paige muttered, "I might've found that bit of timing mildly ironic." To him, she snidely greeted, "Your majesty…"

"Look," Phoebe announced when she held up her hand, "I'm not up for any sisterly intervention and I'm certainly not in the mood for any lessons on the Queen's proper behavior. I just want to lie down. So if you'll excuse me…"

He took a step closer to her and, with growing concern, asked, "Are you okay? I wasn't told that anything else happened."

"Anything else?" Paige commented with a glance to Piper who seemed just as clueless.

Phoebe wearily shook her head and told him, "Not unless you count a fire in my trash basket as 'anything else'."

"What?" Piper gasped.

Phoebe was about to explain about the baby's power display when she spied the white crystals her sisters were hiding behind their backs. "No!" she shouted as she shoved her nearest sister, Paige, to the floor. Paige's two crystals slid across the floor but, when Phoebe automatically stretched out her hand to send them up in flames, she suddenly doubled over in agony.

Piper darted forward but Cole reached Phoebe first and she could tell he was just as surprised by what had happened.

On her knees, practically curled up in a ball, Phoebe moaned and pressed her fingertips into her temples and tried to massage away the horrible ache. She never thought she'd feel that awful evil burning ever again. "Not supposed to happen yet…." she groaned.

Mindful of the flames atop her head, Cole pulled Phoebe closer to him and was relieved when the flames extinguished themselves just as quickly as they had appeared. He kissed the top of her head and was further relieved when he smelled only her cherry blossom shampoo instead of smoke. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. Considering her behavior towards him of the past day, she couldn't have been too angry because she was pressing herself even closer to him, burying her face in his chest. He kissed her again and murmured her name.

"It's happening again," she mumbled. "It isn't fair," she softly cried while he gently kneaded the back of her neck. And a part of her wished it didn't feel so good, so right, because she knew that she had no right to alter the past. Not when so many others would be affected. She knew what had to, was going to, happen and she unintentionally let out a sob.

"It'll be okay," he calmly told her while he stroked her back. "Your body's going through some changes and you're a little scared but you'll be fine. Why don't you relax with a warm bubble bath? After a good night's sleep, you'll feel like a new person in the morning."

"You wish," Paige snapped with a warning glance to Piper. She finally got to her feet and stood close to her sister. "What's going on?" she whispered. "What's happening to her?"

"Get out," Phoebe ordered her sisters when she pulled away from Cole. She accepted his help to stand but then immediately stepped away from him. From them all. "Take those damn crystals with you and get out!"

For the first time, Cole noticed the crystals on the floor and in Piper's hands. A part of him was annoyed that he'd allowed himself to be so distracted by Phoebe that he'd missed the signs of danger. "Came here to vanquish the big bad Source? Well, go ahead," he sneered, "here's your chance." He watched them hesitate and he added, "Just remember, you need the Power of Three."

"Don't go there, Cole," Phoebe quietly warned him while she rubbed her upper arms with growing anxiety, "or you might be in for a nasty surprise."

"So that's how it is now?" he angrily wondered. "What happened to your promise of remaining by my side? Were you lying when you said that we were all the family you wanted or needed?"

How could he do this to her? Or was that the point? Was it her punishment to relive this night and its aftermath? Phoebe glared at him, "I don't know how you can keep denying that you sent m--"

"Phoebe," Piper cautiously interrupted, "you know it's for the best. It'll hurt now, maybe for a long time, but it's the only way."

"You're good," Paige agreed before she called for her crystals and gripped them tightly in her hands. "You don't belong with him. You're a good witch. You care about people. About helping the innocent."

"Just go," Phoebe requested in a tired voice. "I need to handle this my way. Go before you get hurt."

"I suggest you listen to her," Cole added while keeping a watchful eye on his wife. She was too pale and emotionally vulnerable to her sisters' pull. He had to act quickly to make sure that Phoebe didn't go back to them. But, before he could move, the Seer suddenly appeared in the room.

She bowed her head and questioned, "You wanted to see me?" She turned to Phoebe and immediately produced a glass filled with an amber liquid. "Perhaps now you are ready for your tonic?"

"Bastard," Phoebe hissed to him through clenched teeth.

"Get rid of it," Cole ordered the Seer before he turned to Phoebe and apologized, "That's not why I called her." He thought the Seer seemed intrigued by Phoebe's reaction, almost smiling, so he quickly and sternly asked, "What did you put in my wife's tea? Bear in mind that she is the Queen so choose your words carefully."

The Seer glanced down and respectfully told him, "She was distraught and not thinking clearly. I've tried to explain that her body needs the tonic in order to ensure that her condition remain without complications. It is only to strengthen --"

"That's not what the tonic does," Phoebe nearly shouted, "and you know it. The only thing the tonic strengthens is the evil growing within me."

"Phoebe," Piper uttered in concern.

At the same time, Phoebe had turned to Cole, "Take care of her. Now. Or I will."

He shook his head, "That's not the way it works, Phoebe."

"You either trust me," she accused, "or you don't. Choose now."

"An ultimatum from you?" he smiled in amusement. "Would this be my payback for your choice?"

She mentally counted to five but still clenched her fists, "This isn't a game, Cole. Our lives are at stake."

The Seer watched the pair and frowned. "I did not foresee this."

"What?" Cole demanded when he immediately focused on her.

"I did not see that your witch would not be able to withstand such a pregnancy," she responded apologetically. "I'm afraid that, unless something is done, both her life and that of the child are at risk. It is possible you will lose them both…and the future I have foretold for you."

"What do you advise?" he inquired while ignoring Phoebe's irate outburst.

The Seer cast him a demure glance and humbly suggested, "Transferring the child to one who is strong enough to withstand the magical nature of such a significant pregnancy."

"You bitch," Phoebe gasped. "Not again! I'm under no spell this time!"

"Phoebe, wha--" Cole began before Phoebe interrupted by firing a string of flame at the Seer. "Phoebe, don't. There are other ways."

"No," she insisted while she now used her second hand in her attack. "You were right when you told us she was evil. She is and she will destroy you," she informed him. "She'll destroy us all to get her way." She ignored the Seer's screams and kept fueling the flames with more fire.

Cole watched the Seer writhe in pain and knew he could no longer prevent her death. Only mildly concerned by Phoebe's look of determination and anger, his mind was already planning on how to compensate for the loss of the Seer's assistance. Perhaps the power coursing through Phoebe. He could train her, mold her, into a new Seer. A most powerful one. They would be unequaled in all the Underworld. And, with their son, their future was ensured for ages. It was Paige's gasp that brought him back to the scene before him. He placed his hand on Phoebe's shoulder and quietly told her, "It's over."

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