Part Fifteen
Moments Later…
May 9, 2004
Paige reached Phoebe's side first and sat on the edge of the bed while she tried to rouse her moaning sister. Cole had rushed to Phoebe's other side so she attempted to scan Phoebe's belly by holding her hands above it. "I know healing's not really my thing," she tried to assure him, "but I'm not sensing anything wrong with her or the baby."
He acknowledged Paige's diagnosis with a nod but was more concerned that Phoebe was still caught in the throes of her nightmare. He had finally resorted to lightly shaking her by her shoulders when her eyes snapped open. "It's okay," he quickly told her when she wheezed for breath, "you're safe. I'm here, Paige's here. You're safe."
"The Seer," Phoebe croaked as she struggled in his grip. Not fully aware of the situation, she did see Paige sitting next to her and she reached desperately for Paige, hoarsely imploring her sister for help. "She's taken my baby…"
"No, sweetie," Paige promised her older sister in a soothing tone, "the Seer's dead and she's not coming back." Phoebe shook her head almost wildly but, with Cole's help, Paige pulled Phoebe up. Phoebe trembled in her arms and she glanced to Cole with worry.
Just as worried, he at least realized what had happened. For the third time that week, she'd had the nightmare. He edged closer to the sisters and stroked Phoebe's back while she was still held in Paige's arms. And he whispered in her ear that she was okay, that she'd had a bad dream.
"We should get Piper," Paige suggested to him in a whisper while Phoebe continued to tremble and pant heavily.
"She'll be fine," Cole disagreed while he maintained physical contact with his wife. He brushed some hair from her eyes and he watched closely until she finally focused on him.
"Cole?" It had to be a dream. She squeezed her eyes shut and continued to rock in Paige's arms. He couldn't be there. He was gone. Because of her. And now so was the baby. "He's gone…" she softly cried.
"No, Phoebe," Paige swore, trying not to panic from her sister's confusion, "Cole's here. He's right here."
Phoebe slowly opened her eyes again and, when she saw him sitting by her side, his face creased with worry, she hesitantly reached out to touch his face. The longer her fingers ran over the stubble on his cheek, the more real he seemed, especially when he covered her hand with his and moved it in synch with hers. But, wordlessly, she dropped her hand and stared from one face to the other.
Paige cast a quick glance to Cole before she said, "You're okay, Phoebe, you had a bad dream. The baby's fine, she's still here." As if to prove her point, she guided Phoebe's hand over the baby and then smiled when the baby kicked, "See? She's all right."
Phoebe quickly squeezed her sister's hand but turned back to Cole and reached for him. As soon as Paige released her into Cole's arms, she buried her face in his chest and began taking rapid breaths. "You're here," she whispered, "you're here."
While exchanging a sigh of relief with Paige, he soothed Phoebe, "That's right, baby, I'm real. It was only a flashback to a nightmare you never had."
"It was so real," she murmured. "The Seer was in the delivery room and took my baby." She finally looked up to him and apologized, "You've been so patient and I should've known bet--"
"You can't control your nightmares," he interrupted, masking his worry and frustration, "so I don't want to hear any more apologies…I only wish I could make you feel safe."
"You do," she quickly told him and hugged him tighter, "oh, Cole, you do. The safest place I know, remember?"
Paige, however, glared at Cole. All the time they'd spent together planning to catch Gideon, he'd never once mentioned Phoebe having any nightmares. And she grew more irked the longer he ignored her. But she also realized that Phoebe was more important than in starting up with Cole so she gently brushed Phoebe's hair once with her hand and asked, "How long have you been having them?"
Phoebe shrugged and slowly pulled herself free from Cole's embrace. She ran her hand over the spot the baby was still kicking and answered, "Haven't had it since my first trimester…but now…" She shrugged again and toyed with the edge of her blanket, "Couple of times, I guess…"
"It's just a date in the year," Cole cautioned her with a firm kiss to her forehead, "stop giving it significance."
Phoebe caught her sister's confusion and reached for Cole's hand before she explained, "In my premonition…I saw…lived…" She glanced back at him for strength and squeezed his hand when she found it. In a more confident voice, she began again, "Remember I told you that I'd helped you vanquish Cole? So I was still pregnant when he…after…and the Seer was still alive. But I coped. I had you and Piper and I had the baby and…And a week later, I'd started losing control to the evil." She smiled sheepishly at her sister, "You, uh, were, uh, sorta on the receiving end of a lot of it." Paige merely patted her hand so she took a deep breath and continued, "The Seer put her plan in motion and performed a ceremony that stole the baby from inside me." Her voice lowered as she recalled, "And we destroyed her while she carried the baby along with all those demons in the chamber…the Source…all that evil…we did it…finally…but the price…God…"
Paige waited a moment while Phoebe wrapped herself in Cole's arms again. And then she brought up Cole's comment about the date. "It happened today, I mean, would've happened today? I mean…you know what I mean…"
Her ear pressed to his chest, listening to his heartbeat, Phoebe confirmed her sister's speculation, "Two years ago today." But, in a sudden rush, she told Cole, "I didn't want to think about it, didn't plan to. Especially not after today, how you made me feel this morning and then our visit to the doctor and then lunch, I felt so…I wasn't even worr--"
Cole interrupted her nervous rant with a lingering kiss to her lips and then gently pushed her back into the pillows. "It was a nightmare. The Seer's gone and no one is going to take our baby." He indicated to Paige to help fix Phoebe's blankets while he stood and picked up the snack table that Phoebe had knocked over. Using his power, he transformed the shards of her broken glass into a small stuffed teddy bear holding a tiny red heart. She smiled but he noticed her hand shook when she accepted it. "They'll have to go through me first," he declared as he gave her hand a squeeze.
"Through us first," Paige corrected as she forced a smile for her sister. She caught Cole's hint and, in a bouncier tone, informed her sister, "Big bad demon here agreed to reward your good report from the doctor with a shopping surprise."
All thoughts of her nightmare instantly forgotten, Phoebe eagerly leaned forward and kissed him, "Baby, you're the best!" she exclaimed as she pushed aside her blankets. "I promise I won't break the bank."
"You got that right," he retorted when he prevented her from getting out of bed. "Piper's coming."
"Okay," she conceded, "if it makes you feel better, I'll go with her." She tried pushing away the blankets again but he didn't budge and she looked from him to her sister, "Don't tell me I'm going shopping on the 'net…"
"Nope," Paige grinned, "Piper's already done the shopping." Amused by her sister's shocked pout, she sympathized, "It's not the mall but it'll be fun. You'll have all these presents to open. And we all know how much you love presents."
"It'd be more fun," Phoebe grumbled, "if I could pick the presents for myself…in the store."
"I'll send Piper back," Paige smiled before she nodded knowingly to Cole.
"What about you?" Phoebe suddenly asked, having missed the silent communication between her sister and husband.
"Big sister quality time," Paige nonchalantly shrugged. "I'll stay at the school with Wyatt."
Touched, Phoebe reached for her sister's hand, "Little sister quality time later, okay?"
After Paige nodded appreciatively and orbed out, Cole kissed Phoebe on the top of her head, "I'll be downstairs reviewing some depositions. You need anything…"
She nodded but, when he started to walk away, she tugged him back. "I need you," she quietly told him. "Always…"
He brought her hand to his lips and lightly kissed it. "Be good," he advised. She rolled her eyes and, shaking his finger at her, he repeated, "Be good."
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Paige stared hopelessly at the open texts before her. She bounced Wyatt on her knees and complained to him, "You'd think with all these books at our fingertips, I'd've found something."
"I told you before, Paige," Gideon announced when he entered the library, "you won't find such spells in these books."
She indicated to the books and said, "But these were powerful witches who lived during times when their lives were in constant danger. You're telling me none of them ever had need for controlling someone's emotions?"
"I'm not saying that at all," he shook his head, "but these books were meant to guide future generations by teaching them of the past. Spells such as the one you seek are complex and, in the wrong hands, dangerous and would never have been written down in such a public manner."
"How are we the 'wrong hands'?" she frowned. "And where do I find the more 'private manner'?"
"Spells to control a person in any way," he lectured, "can cause irreversible damage if cast with even the slightest alteration. They should be used only in the most dire of circumstances because they border on the side of evil."
Paige considered his words a moment, "I understand how they can be misused. I think we've all lived on the edge of evil at one time or another. But I don't understand why they haven't been written down somewhere. Anywhere."
"I know of a book," he offered, "a book written more than eight centuries ago. It would contain the spell you seek."
She leaned forward eagerly, "Would you get it for us?"
"It's a companion to the Grimoire," Gideon stated and waited for her reaction.
She kissed the top of Wyatt's head and said, "Guess that's out then…So how do you know about this book?"
"From a demon with whom I once had to associate. So why do you want this spell?" he asked intently.
Stunned, she was even more sure her suspicions about him were right. "You worked with a demon?"
"One must use whatever resources one can find when fighting evil," he cautiously replied. "Surely you've discovered that in your years as a Charmed One."
"Yes, but --"
"Where's Piper?" Chris breathlessly interrupted when he orbed into the room.
Paige spun in her seat and gasped when she saw her nephew. She set Wyatt on the floor and rushed to Chris's side.
He was holding his left shoulder and sported a large bruise over his left eye. Blood still trickled from the corner of his mouth and he pushed away Paige. "No time…Gotta get Piper and Wyatt away."
"Piper's with Phoebe," she informed him. When he suddenly leaned against the table, she quickly said, "Long story so tell me what's going on. Who did this to you?"
"Melora," he uttered before he took a painful deep breath. "I think…too busy fighting…"
She guided him to the chair but he refused to sit. "Okay, you stay here with Wyatt and I'll go look them up in the Book."
"You won't find them in your Book of Shadows," Gideon told them. "Melora is the current leader of the demons of darkness who have not gathered since the late 1500s. I believe that's before your Book began, correct? The question is, why would she surface now?"
"Little too busy fighting for my life to ask," Chris sighed. "Can we just --"
"No need for flippancy," Gideon chastised. "This is rather unexpected. Consider all possibilities and then mount your defense."
"We don't have time for this," Chris nearly shouted.
"Calm yourself, Chris," Gideon recommended, "or you won't be any help. Now, demons of darkness…why choose this time to attack? What's in it for them? What do they hope to accomplish and what are they after?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Paige retorted while helping support Chris. "Wyatt. Chris, you stay here with Wyatt and call for Leo and tell him to heal you. I'll go home and we'll work on some plan."
Chris shook his head, "I've gotta go back with you. I'm the one who fought them so you're gonna need my help finding them and we may need the Power of Three to stop them."
Paige glanced at Gideon and apologized, "It seems we've done nothing but impose upon you and your staff since we've met and your lives have been put in danger more than once but…"
He wave aside her concern and smiled, "Wyatt will be safe here. If I can be of further assistance, anything for the greater good…"
Paige hugged Wyatt and straightened his overalls, "You be good for Gideon, okay? We'll be back soon." Wyatt reached for her and she lifted him in her arms and spun him until he giggled. But she gave him one sound kiss and set him down on the floor again. "Love you, little guy," she whispered into his soft blond hair before she kissed him one last time. Supporting Chris, she led him to the door and muttered, "Let's get this show on the road."
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