Part Thirteen

Moments Later…

May 2, 2004

Piper held Wyatt tightly, kissed the back of his head, and finally broke the silence when she suggested in a choked voice, "Some things are simply meant to be."

"Everything happens for a reason." Even as she spoke the words, Phoebe heard Grams's voice echoing in her mind.

"What's going on?" Cole demanded when he suddenly blinked into the room. "Piper, what the hell're you doing here?! Phoebe, you're supposed to be resting!" Then he noticed the tears glistening on Phoebe's cheeks. "What's wrong? Is it the baby?" he asked, trying not to panic, as he quickly knelt in front of her and stroked her belly.

"Hi, hunny," Phoebe happily greeted in her baby voice and reached out for him. "Happy Six Months Wedding Anniversary!"

But Cole pushed away her roving hands, stood up, and cursed, "I knew Paige should've stayed here." He glared at both sisters, "Phoebe, take a nap. Piper, take Wyatt and go back to school."

"Don't I even get a kiss?" Phoebe complained as she tugged on his pants. He looked ready to explode and she muttered as she folded her arms awkwardly across her chest, "I swear I saw more action on our six months divorce anniversary."

"This isn't a joke," he snapped.

Phoebe rolled her eyes, "What'd you two rehearse this?"

Cole ignored her and accused Piper, "What'd you say to her? She's not supposed to be under any stress right now and the only reason I agreed to moving back here for the last month of her pregnancy was because she wouldn't be alone in the house and would be safe."

"Here?" Piper snorted. "This's the first place demons come to attack. What else have I missed since I've been banished to the school? And what exactly did my son tell you?"

"You weren't banished," Phoebe argued as she struggled again to sit up. "It's just too dangerous for you and Wyatt to be here and there's no place safer than in a magic school staffed by witches and run by an Elder."

"Go back," he ordered Piper. "Now! Before Gideon has to restrain Leo with magic."

"What?" Piper exclaimed as she nearly lost her balance off the edge of the sofa. Cole had quickly turned from gently forcing Phoebe back down and caught her in time. She let him help her stand but then pushed him back and demanded, "What's going on? What happened to Leo?"

Cole ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. If his fate in Phoebe's premonition wasn't constantly in the back of his mind, his being in the presence of two stressed-out pregnant Halliwell witches might prove to be enough to drive him insane. He stared at the two fuming sisters and realized it was better to first appease Piper and get her back to the school and then deal with Phoebe. "Leo had an…unsuccessful chat with Chris right before he discovered you and Wyatt were missing. And he nearly tore the school apart looking for you."

"So that's why you and Paige both flew out of here before," Phoebe realized. "You lied to me!" she exclaimed. "You told me Paige needed to get back to a new potion and that you had to find Leo to go over a new plan to flush out the traitor."

"And that's the truth," he confirmed. "It just got a little sidetracked because of your sister," he explained with a frown to Piper. His features softened when he focused again on his wife and he caressed her cheek. "We didn't want you to worry until we knew for sure what happened."

Phoebe eyed him and saw the love and concern written all over his face but she pulled away his hand, "You went to the Underworld, didn't you?" He reluctantly nodded and she bit her bottom lip, "You shouldn't've gone. It's too dangerous."

In a calm tone, he promised, "I'm fine, Phoebe. I stuck to the lower caste demons. No one recognized me, don't worry."

"Why didn't you just read my note?" Piper suddenly asked.

"What note?" he nearly growled. "There wasn't any note."

"Of course there was, I left it on the desk in my room," Piper stated. "I didn't want anyone to worry."

"Leo didn't find any note," he frowned. "And, believe me, we turned that room upside-down looking for clues. Who would've taken it?"

"The traitor?" Piper feared. Cole reached out to steady her and she insisted, "I know I left it on th--"

"Uh, guys," Phoebe interrupted with a grin, "I found the traitor." She chuckled from their shocked reactions and pointed to a small piece of white paper sticking out of Wyatt's overalls' pocket.

Cole forced a smile and reached for Wyatt. He hoisted the boy high in the air and used magic to keep Wyatt suspended. When Wyatt giggled and babbled happily, Cole finally relaxed with a natural smile of his own.

Piper held out her hands to touch Wyatt's outstretched fingers. She smiled nervously at him and spoke to Cole through her clenched teeth, "Get him down."

Cole ignored her and tickled Wyatt's tummy. "He loves it when I do this," he replied with a grin. He then pulled the paper from Wyatt's pocket and read it, "Leo, I'm taking Wyatt home to see Phoebe, Piper."

"See…" Piper gloated before she sighed, "I'd better get back and let him know we're okay." She reached for Wyatt's hand after Cole brought him down. "Come on, sweetie, we're gonna see Daddy and have a talk about not taking Mommy's notes when she leaves them for Daddy."

"Bye-bye, Wyatt," Phoebe waved with a grin.

Piper turned to her sister and smiled when her son waved in return. She pointed at Phoebe, "You, behave and do everything they tell you or you'll have me to deal with." She then focused on Cole, "You, we're gonna have a little chat of our own later."

Phoebe continued to smile as she watched her sister lead Wyatt up the stairs. Then she turned back to her husband and stretched out her arms to him. "C'mere, you. I've missed you all afternoon. I've been lonely and bored."

Wearily, Cole sat on the sofa and helped her to a seated position. She awkwardly hugged him but, as soon as it turned amorous, he disentangled himself and stood again. "We're not having any of that. And don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?" she teased as she lay back against the pillows and patted the sofa for him to sit again. But when he refused, she complained, "I thought you were kidding before. C'mon, Cole, today of all days, we've been married six months. And we're having a baby girl in another month and we've got the whole house to ourselves."

"Were you paying attention to the doctors?" he admonished. "Bed-rest for four weeks. No stress, whatsoever."

"Maybe this'll change your mind," she grinned.

He watched her for a moment but, when nothing happened, he shrugged, "What am I waiting for?"

Phoebe glanced at herself and immediately stopped smiling. She couldn't even bring herself to look back at him. And she could barely contain the sob that slipped from her throat.

"Phoebe?" he uttered in concern and immediately knelt before her. Cole lightly rubbed her belly, "Is it the baby?" But Phoebe flung her arms around his neck and he awkwardly balanced himself as he wrapped his arms around her. "Baby, what is it?" he quietly asked when she began to cry. But her face was buried in his shirt and he couldn't hear her reply so he gently pried himself loose before asking her to repeat her answer.

As he wiped away her tears, she sniffled and tearfully told him, "I forgot. I tried to cast an illusion for you and I forgot that they took my powers."

"Oh, baby," he murmured as he embraced her again, "it's okay. It'll take time to get used to being without them."

"Such a dumb power anyway," she mumbled unhappily, "casting illusions. And like it really would've worked anyway. I know what I look like."

Cole lightly pressed a palm to each side of Phoebe's face and assured her, "I don't need an illusion to see that I am married to the most beautiful woman in the world." She clearly didn't believe him so he brought her lips to meet his for a warm and tender kiss. "You were attractive the night I met you," he smiled before he kissed her again. "You were breathtaking the night I married you," he whispered as his lips trailed feathery kisses down her neck.

"Cole…"

"You were stunning the night I divorced you," he continued as he focused on her arm that wrapped itself around his neck. "You were glowing the night I remarried you," he murmured as his lips found hers again. He quickly moved lower to kiss her belly and then pressed his ear to it as if he could hear the baby's heartbeat. He chuckled when he felt the baby kick in his ear and honestly told his wife, "And you were never more beautiful than tonight when you're carrying our child inside you." He kissed her belly once more before he gazed deep into her eyes and promised, "I love you and nothing will ever change that."

Phoebe wasn't sure she had ever loved him as much as she did at that moment but couldn't find the words to tell him. She reached for him and pulled him close but felt lost when she realized she no longer had her power to even let him feel her love. And, as she clung tighter to him, she nearly broke down again when she guiltily admitted, "It was my fault we almost lost the baby…"

"It wasn't and we didn't," he insisted when he immediately pulled back. "What did I tell you in the hospital? It was stress from Barbas and that trial that started the labor and nothing you did or didn't do could've prevented what happened."

"Piper and Wyatt are still in danger," she sniffled as she searched desperately for some answers in his eyes, "and time's running out. I only have two more weeks left to the premonition and I don't know what else we can do to save him and now I don't have any powers and I know they weren't the most impressive demonic powers I could've gotten but it wasn't like I could choose which ones I'd get and then I got so used to having them as if I'd had them all along and now I'm back to where I was in the premonition and I have to earn my powers back but they weren't specific about which powers I'd get back and what about our little girl what powers is she gonna have or did the Tribunal take hers too because I never did display any new powers during the pregnancy and I don't know if sh--"

Cole finally silenced her with a kiss. When he pulled back, he teased with a smile, "You needed to stop for air."

But Phoebe couldn't smile and began to tremble. "I don't have my powers and I'm stuck here…helpless."

"Don't be stupid," he rebuked, "You're one of the least helpless people I know."

"But look at me, I --" she tearfully began.

He firmly kissed her lips before he apologized, "I'm sorry, baby. I know I went into protective overdrive but you have to know I believe in you and your abilities." He nodded as soon as she began to shake her head, "Yes, I do. I have faith in you, Phoebe. The same faith you've shown me time and again and just because you don't have your powers right now doesn't mean you're powerless. You are still every bit the witch you were when we first met."

She sniffled and wrapped her arms around him again and tried to press herself even closer to him. "Tell me this isn't a premonition," she implored in a whisper. "Tell me I won't wake up to find this's all a dream. Tell me you're real."

He gently shifted her position so that she was once more lying on her side and he clasped her hand tightly in his. He guided it to her belly and lightly pressed it to the spot where he'd felt his daughter kick moments earlier. "I'm real, Phoebe. And she's real." But Phoebe seemed ready to cry again and he kissed her before he rested his forehead against hers and whispered for her to close her eyes. She nervously complied and he continued to soothe her in a calm voice while he lightly drew imaginary circles along her belly. When her breathing slowed to a more relaxed pace, he reached for the blanket on the back of the sofa and covered her with it.

But Phoebe opened her eyes in a panic. "Cole?"

"Shhh, I'm right here," he assured her as he sat on the edge of the coffee table opposite her. He leaned forward and, beneath the blanket, lightly massaged her underbelly. He smiled appreciatively when she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. She didn't need to any power for him to feel her love. He could see it in her face, in her body. He couldn't resist kissing her again.

"I love you," she swore wholeheartedly in a soft voice.

"I never doubted it," he smiled.

"Never?" she skeptically asked before she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Almost never," he conceded with a wink before he kissed her again. "Now, close your eyes." He thought he saw a flash of fear but he never stopped touching her and he promised, "You're safe, our daughter's safe, and so are Piper and Wyatt." He lightly caressed her cheek and, when she finally closed her eyes, he softly encouraged, "Shhhh…Rest…I'm right here."

"I don't want to lose you," she whispered when she opened her eyes again. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "I can't do any of this without you. I don't even want to try."

Cole tried not to let his frustration show. Every time he managed to dispel Phoebe's fears, he'd be right back at square one. "I love you, Phoebe. Through hell and back, I've loved you. And I love this little life we've created inside you. But if I have to give my life for you or for her I will and --" he quickly put his fingers to her lips, "and then I'll find some way to come back to you."

"The Wasteland," she lightly snorted, "our own personal Garden of Eden."

Cole laughed and nuzzled her neck, happy and relieved to feel her respond. "Six months down, an eternity to go," he teased when he noticed her eyelids drooping. He kissed her again and returned to massaging her. "Get some rest," he whispered, "I'll be here when you wake up." She barely responded and he smiled in amazement as his beautiful wife nodded off for much needed sleep.

He continued stroking her and caressing her until he was sure she was soundly asleep. And then, resting one hand on her belly, he reached with his other hand for his cell phone and flipped it open. The moment Paige answered, he advised, "You'd better be ready because I don't know how much longer we can keep both Phoebe and Piper out of it. Send Chris back and we'll get to work on Phase Two."

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