Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of the characters.
The future of the world rests on the shoulders of... Cole
One Last Chance
"Phoebe, lookout!"
Phoebe rolled herself over as a black-cloaked figure drove its fist into the concrete floor of the basement. Phoebe then swung her leg around throwing it hard into the demon's ankle, tripping it.
Cole ran over to where Phoebe was to help her up. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. A bruise had formed over Cole's right eye, and his face had little scrapes all over. But as soon as Phoebe applied pressure to her left leg, she fell back down.
"Oh c'mon," said the demon. "Don't tell me you're already in need of a break. We were just getting started." The cloaked demon immediately transformed into the familiar figure of Paige Matthews. She took one look at the two and snickered.
"It's not funny, Paige. I think it's broken," Phoebe said.
"It's broken?" An even more concerned expression found its way across Cole's features. He quickly put his hands over her leg, but nothing happened. "Damn it!"
"Still having trouble healing?" Phoebe asked through clenched teeth.
"I think I broke my power..."
"Is that even possible?"
"Shut up, Paige," Cole and Phoebe said in unison.
"You guys are just upset because a little pacifist whitelighter kicked your ass."
"Oh please. Five more minutes and we would've had you," Cole told.
"Had me? Oh, whatever," Paige rebuked. "I'm disappointed in the two of you. You guys used to be great a great team." She paused, making a reflecting face. "But now you guys are bent out of shape."
"Are not," Cole whined.
"Are to!" She paused. "C'mon... I beat you, and that's just sad."
"You didn't beat us," Cole replied.
"Did to!"
"Did not!"
"Okay, well... as wonderful as this argument is, can we please heal my leg now?" Phoebe intervened. Cole once again placed his hand over her leg, and once again, nothing happened. "DAMN IT!" Cole swore.
"Leo," Paige called. Familiar sets of blue and white orbs formed into the shape of Leo.
"You called?" He took one glance at the three and ran over to Phoebe. Once her leg was healed, Leo healed Cole's face and a single scratch that lay on Paige's cheek. "I thought you guys were training!"
"We were!" Phoebe replied.
Leo glanced around the room. "Then why is that window up there broken?"
"Hey, Leo, could you heal my hand, too?" Paige asked. "I kind of... punched the floor..." Leo did as he was told. "Oh, and the window is broken because I threw Cole's face into it."
Leo grew wide-eyed at Cole. "She did not," Cole followed.
"Oh, did you trip and the glass broke your fall? – no pun intended, of course."
"Shut up, Paige!" Cole yelled.
"Really, I think I'm gonna be sick," said a two-month-pregnant Piper, who had been sitting on the steps of the basement for the whole training session.
"Me, too," said Phoebe.
"Yeah, see?" Piper followed.
"No, seriously. I think I'm gonna hurl." Phoebe wasted no time in running upstairs to the nearest bathroom.
"What a pleasant way to put it," Piper said. "Let's describe it and make the pregnant woman throw up!"
Cole ignored her. "Think she's okay?"
"She'll be fine," Piper told. "Oh, and Cole?" Cole raised his eyebrows. "She did throw your face into the glass."
Cole sighed. "I know, but I had to salvage what little dignity I had left."
x x x
"Phoebs, you okay?" Cole called through the bathroom door. No answer. "Phoebs?" The door swung open.
"Yeah... I'm fine!" She looked more pale that usual and had indeed been acting a bit strange lately. She had a fake smile plastered on her face, and Cole could tell.
"Right," Cole paused. "Are you sure? You haven't been looking too good."
"Just dandy!" she replied.
Cole raised an eyebrow. "I'm taking you to the doctor."
"Cole, don't be ridiculous. I'm fine."
"Okay, one, you said 'dandy', and two, your wisdom teeth are showing. C'mon, let's go." Phoebe sighed and, defeated, did what she was told.
x x x
"How long have you been nauseated?" a female voice asked.
"A day or two."
"Anything other than nausea?"
"Sometimes I feel light-headed... drowsy..."
"And has your minstrel period come?"
"Yes."
"On time?"
"Actually no. It was three days late."
"Mmm hmm..." The doctor contemplated this. "Have you tested yourself?"
"Twice... it was negative both times."
"Well, we'll run another just to be safe. But professionally, Ms. Halliwell, I think it's a semi-mild case of the flu."
"Thanks, Dr. Vanderbeek." The middle-aged African American woman nodded her head.
"Is that your husband outside in the waiting room?"
"Boyfriend."
"Nice catch." Phoebe smiled. Dr. Vanderbeek got a few things and handed them to Phoebe. Phoebe headed for the restroom as the doctor headed towards the waiting room.
"Excuse me, sir?" Cole looked up at the woman in front of him. "I'm Phoebe's doctor, Vanderbeek."
Cole nodded. "Is she okay?" he questioned.
"I believe so. She's either got the flu or she's pregnant. My money's on the flu." Cole looked up at those words.
"So... there's a slight possibility she's pregnant?"
"Slight is an understatement. She began three days late, and she shows some of the signs of a pregnant woman. But my gut tells me that's not it. And I have a pretty good gut."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Cole had a crestfallen face.
"Were you trying?"
"Huh? – Oh... no... buuuuuuuuut it would've brought some joy to the house. We've been lacking it lately."
"Relationship problems?"
"No, not at all. We're just perfect in that area."
"Got some demons in your life?"
"Right on the money."
Phoebe entered the waiting room. "Hey baby; feeling okay?" Cole kissed her forehead.
A slight groan of pain escaped her lips, and she quickly snuggled herself against Cole to feel better. "Love you... no matter what."
"Love you, too, Cole," Phoebe replied, her voice slightly muffled by his shirt.
"I'll call you with the results within a day or two... things are pretty hectic around here," the doctor said as she disappeared into the examination hall.
"Come on," Cole said. "Let's get you home." The couple walked around the corner, and when they were sure no one was around they orbed out.
x x x
Cole returned to the manner, Phoebe still face-in-chest.
"Oh, gee, hey guys... WHERE'VE YA BEEN!" Piper yelled. "DEMON!"
Cole and Phoebe whirled around, only to get thrown against the back wall. A loud groan escaped out of Phoebe's lips before fading out of consciousness.v
"Phoebe?" Cole's voice quavered.
"Cole, help!" Paige yelled as she watched her eldest sister being choked by the demon. Its eyes were completely black, and it reminded Cole a little too well of Belthazor. The demon was a lighter shade of olive green, with strange black ritualistic markings.
Cole stood up and steadied himself before tackling the demon, freeing Piper from its grasp. Piper had barely coughed before flailing her hands. But the demon only laughed.
"He's... he's immune to it!"
"Try freezing him!" Paige yelled. But this move also failed.
The demon formed an athame into its hand. The weapon was thrown, and the blade entered Cole's stomach. The demon shimmered out.
Cole felt as though his lungs were about to explode as he struggled to gain more oxygen, but he never felt more alive. Taking both his hands and placing them over the handle, he was able to easily dislodge it from his body, dropping the blade on the floor. "Why am I the one who always gets stabbed?" Cole asked. Leo rushed over to heal him. "That's crap," Cole said, barely audible.
"What is?" Leo replied.
"That we can't heal ourselves." Cole smiled slightly, but it quickly faded. "I thought that darklighters' arrows are the only thing that can kill us."
"It is... but that doesn't mean we can't get hurt."
Cole rolled his eyes. But then: "Oh my god... Phoebe..." Cole rushed over to Phoebe and held her in his arms. "Leo! What are you waiting for! Heal her!"
Leo ran to her, placing his hands over her.
"What's the matter Leo, why isn't it working?" Cole asked.
"I don't know..." Leo trailed.
In fury, Cole grabbed Leo by the collar, slamming him up against the wall. "Well that's not good enough!"
"Cole, put him down!" Piper shouted.
Cole let go. Tears began to run down his cheeks. He sat down on the floor, head in hands. "I just got her back... I can't lose her again..." he trailed. Then whispered, "I won't." He helplessly put his own hands over her body. It didn't work. "No," he yelled.
"Phoebe..." His voice shook when he spoke.
"We need to get her to the hospital," Paige said.
x x x
The horrible smell of ammonia circled the dimly lit room. It's three white walls did nothing to brighten it in the least, let alone the single yellow one placed directly across the bed. The television was off; the bed was in the horizontal position, occupied by a woman. A very handsome man with a rough exterior sat in a chair in the far corner, away from the door but on the left-hand side of the bed. His lips formed a tight line, and the only emotion you could read were contained in his blue eyes – filled with sadness and grief; it was apparent he was waiting for signs of consciousness from the bedded beau. He solemnly lifted his hands under his chin, leaning over to support his elbows with his knees. He let out a deep, elongated sigh. Yesterday he had been in a state of shock. Earlier this morning, he had a huge emotional release. And now, at ten o'clock in the night, he was entering a state of depression.
"Cole Turner?"
"That's me," he replied getting up from his chair in the waiting room.
"You all with her?" The man was clearly a doctor; his white lab coat giving the first impression, the second the fact it had "Dr. Daniel Emerson" sewn into it. Piper Halliwell, Paige Matthews, and Leo Wyatt stood as well.
"How is she?" Piper asked.
"Your sister has suffered a great deal of trauma to the head. We've done as much as we can, but from here all we can do is wait it out."
"Wait what out?" Cole asked.
"She never woke up from the anesthesia, slipped into a coma about an hour ago."
"Then why weren't we told an hour ago?" Cole's voice rose.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down. I know it's hard, but you're going to have to try or I'll make you leave."
Cole sighed. "How bad is it?"
"Doesn't look good, doesn't look bad."
"Well you've been a great deal of help," Cole replied dryly.
Dr. Emerson didn't blame him. This happened to all the patients' friends and family. "You her husband?"
"Boyfriend," he replied softly. "Why do you ask?"
"How did this happen?"
Cole grew red in the face. "You think I hit her?" he asked, extremely outraged.
"As a doctor, I need to know how this happened."
"I didn't hit her! I'd never hit her! Do you understand me!"
"Sir, calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down! YOU calm down!"
Paige decided to intervene. "Doctor, can we see her?" He nodded, never removing his eyes from Cole. He'd seen cases like this all the time. A boyfriend wouldn't get what he wanted, and after treating the girl horribly, he'd pretend to be the perfect boy next door. "Cole, go find out what room she's in. And when you do find out, go and stay there."
"But I want to know-"
"We'll fill you in later," she said sternly. He slowly peeled his eyes off the doctor and set off toward wing of the hospital with the rooms.
Cole hadn't left the room since yesterday, not even to go to the bathroom. His face was pale from lack of food; all he'd had to drink was a few bottles of water the others would bring him when they visited. He'd known it was a lot, but asked them to give him privacy throughout most of the time since Phoebe had been admitted. He'd ask to come only after lunch and leave shortly after dinner. It was about a four-and-a-half hour time frame, but they had agreed to it understandingly.
He now sat feeling more alone than ever. Coldness seemed to numb his body and he felt the strong urge to hit something. His soft blues fell on the figure in front of him. In that moment, he wasn't sure if anything good was going to happen. He sat and prayed for a miracle.
x x x
"Hey," Piper greeted softly as she, Leo, and Paige entered the hospital room. "Doing okay?"
Cole sighed. "There's no change. She hasn't improved, hasn't worsened."
"I was talking about you – how are you holding up?" Piper said.
"I'm not." She couldn't blame him. If anything ever happened to Leo – well she didn't even want to think about what she would feel like. Then again, she already knew. Memories of the struggles in their past together flashed before her eyes – the first time she admitted she loved him, Leo's struggle to win herself from Dan, Leo almost being killed by The Hollow...
Leo walked over to the other side of Phoebe's bed, across from Cole. "Maybe I could try healing her again." Cole shrugged. He didn't think it'd hurt if he did. Leo's hands began to release a glow, and a warmth that went with it. For a second, Paige who was staring intently at Cole, saw hope flicker into his eyes. But when there was no change in Phoebe's condition, that hope turned to an anger – an anger to keep him from feeling pain.
"Damn it, Leo, you call yourself a whitelighter."
"What the hell, Cole?"
"What? At least I have an excuse – I'm still getting use to this. You've been a whitelighter for what? Fifty years?"
"Hey, don't try to blame me for this-"
"Heal her, for Christ's sake!" Cole yelled. He shot out of his chair, into a threatening stance. "Heal her," he said between clenched teeth.
"I can't. For some reason, the Elders won't let me."
"Then do something! Anything that would help, I'll take it!" Tears began to fall freely from his eyes. "Please," he pleaded. Leo shook his head. Cole couldn't tell if it was a no, or he was simply shaking it out of pity, but either way it didn't bring Phoebe back. Cole sank back into the chair. He felt no hope, saw no light, and wanted what seemed impossible to have. "It's not fair," he whined. "It's not fair!"
"I know," Leo said softly. "I know."
x x x
Cole sat in his chair, shadows covering his face. However, the grief from his eyes shone like light in the darkness. "Phoebe," he began. "Phoebe, I need you to come back now." But there was no change in her. "Phoebe, this really isn't even funny at all. This is a cruel joke, but I'll forgive you for it; just come back now." No change.
"Damn it, Phoebe! I'll forgive you for this stupid trick, but I will not forgive you for leaving me... Phoebe please, you've got to come back. Phoebe... please... you've got to. It's like I don't even feel anything anymore. It's like it had hurt so much that now I'm numb. At least when I was hurting I felt like I was existing. But now it's like I'm dead. Like I'm here but not living.
"Do you have any idea what it's like? To exist but not live? I do. Oh, believe me, I know. It's like I said before, 'I was dead before I met you, was born the day you loved me'. You remember? Because it's true! Every letter of ever word is true!
"You're the air I breathe, the blood that courses through me; you're my angel. It's not that I can't go on without you. I could go on, save the world, grow old. But I can't live without you. I need you. You've got to come back to me, Phoebe. You've got to wake up." He placed his hands over her heart. A magical glow illuminated the room, a glow so bright the other two Charmed Sisters and Leo saw it through the crack under the door on the way into the room. Cole watched in amazement as a few little scratches on her face disappeared. He was healing her. A smile appeared on Cole's face only to disappear that despite the scratches disappearing, there was no change in her condition. She was still in a silent slumber, still in a coma.
Just then Leo and the girls entered the room smiling broadly. When the saw the clear disappointment on Cole's face, however, theirs had faded almost as quickly as his own a few seconds ago. "It didn't work, did it." Piper's tone seemed to deadpan.
"No," Cole said briefly. "Not really."
They stayed for a bit, but left; they could tell Cole was in no mood for company and respected that.
x x x
A sharp pain shot up her spine. She felt dizzy, and her head hurt like hell to say the least. Her eyes were burning, so she kept them closed. She couldn't hear any movement around her, and she wondered where she was. She focused her attention on the last thing she could remember. Her expression changed from blank to pained as pain throbbed in her head – such a strong pain that it caused her to groan.
She heard a quick movement from her left side. It was abrupt and surprising. She felt a sudden warmth on her hand; someone was holding it. "Phoebe...?" a soft voice called. She recognized it at once; it was Cole. But for some reason she couldn't even open her mouth. She soon found the her throat was dry and sore. "Phoebe... you awake?" She could hear the pleading tone in his voice. "Please... tell me I'm not dreaming; tell me that I heard you." Phoebe decided to try groaning in response. It worked. "Nurse!" she heard Cole yell, followed by what she guessed was his arm sliding across her. He pressed the Nurse Call button on a remote-type figure on her bed. In less than a minute, a nurse entered the room.
"Nurse," Phoebe heard Cole breath. "She's awake." The nurse wore a look of disbelief; she must have been thinking if Phoebe were to wake up it would definitely not be after a mere three days in the hospital. She had the appearance of a grandma; despite her uniform, the frames of her glasses were clearly out of date. Black with rhinestones, its triangular frames extruded a little bit further than her head was wide. Her hair was white and curly, though looked healthy. Phoebe groaned again; this time, the pain she was feeling was nothing but clear.
The nurse looked astonished and quickly said, "I'll get her some water to drink. Poor thing must be parched." After she left, Cole turned his full attention on the love of his life.
"Phoebe, I'm here," he whispered, brushing his lips against hers. He quickly placed his hands over her again, and watched as warmth left his hands and traveled into her. Her eyes fluttered open and a smile crept its way onto her face. She swallowed hard, and the smile vanished briefly; her throat was still quite sore.
The nurse walked in with a plastic hospital cup filled with water. She placed it on the rolling table next to the bed and reached for the buttons on the side of the bed. Placing her index finger on the arrow described by the letters U and P, she raised Phoebe and her bed into a sitting position. The nurse murmured, "It may hurt badly to sit up, but it's good for you." With that she handed the water to Cole across from her, assuming he'd want to be the one to give her a drink. He lifted his right hand awkwardly and gently parted her lips. Then he placed the cup against her bottom lip, tilting it slightly. Once she had taken a few sips – some of it falling down her lower cheek and dribbling off her chin – Cole handed the glass back over to the nurse who in turn placed the cup on the rolling table. Then the nurse did a routine check up, which Phoebe passed with ease. It wasn't hard after being healed by an angel.
The nurse had taken Phoebe to get another cat scan when Cole was finally able to contact Leo and the girls. "Leo, she's awake!" A set of blue orbs forming what looked like a man and a woman appeared in the room, followed by another set of female-forming blue orbs a second later.
"Where is she?" Paige asked, noting her sister was missing.
"Getting a cat scan," Cole said quickly – obviously excited – the energy he had from being pinned up in a hospital room for three days finally exploding to the surface. "I healed her," he added; there couldn't have been a more smug smile on anyone's face. The smile quickly turned into a grin. "She's going to be okay."
x x x
"Phoebe!" The oldest and youngest Halliwell sisters screeched when they saw their sister being wheeled into the room, her eyes open and her face already aglow. The two ran to her, throwing their arms around her. The nurse had a disapproving look that seemed to say "Do not overwhelm her." After exchanging brief hugs and kisses, the nurse badgered them away temporarily – long enough to get Phoebe settled back into bed. "We'll have your results shortly, Miss Halliwell." Phoebe nodded in a dismissive way. The nurse left.
The girls shrieked again, Phoebe with them this time. They hugged longer this time. "Good to see your eyes open, Phoebe," Leo told. He was standing at the foot of the bed. Cole moved quickly from standing next to Leo to standing on the side of the bed next to Piper, Paige opposite them.
"Thanks," Phoebe said softly. Despite the healing, she did in fact look a bit drained. "Now all we have to do is convince the doctors to let me go."
"Don't expect it to be too soon," Paige replied.
"In the meantime I'll try and figure out what's worse: my magical life or my normal one."
"It's been a bad week for you hasn't it?" Piper tried to sympathize. Phoebe grunted in response. "On the bright side, you got over your little flu in the coma." Phoebe only grunted again.
x x x
"Alright Miss Halliwell, we'll expect you back in two weeks to run another test or two as a check up," Dr. Emerson informed as a brief goodbye. Phoebe nodded and turned to leave with Cole, but Dr. Emerson pulled him aside before he headed out behind her.
"Mr. Turner, I'd like to apologize about my behavior beforehand. I can tell you'd never do anything intentionally to hurt her. You just have to understand that in my line of work, you have to call them as you see them. And, I'm sorry, but when everyone refused to talk, I saw an abusive boyfriend and a girl not self-confident enough to tell anyone."
Cole nodded, still refusing to forgive him for such a horrible accusation but nonetheless happy that he saw things correctly now. Besides, he would rather have the doctor think that he was abusive rather than the fact that his girlfriend was a witch. He wasn't so sure if it was the whitelighter in him or the love for her, but he was glad the doctor didn't know the truth, and that Phoebe was now free to go home well and very much alive.
Cole dismissed himself quickly without saying a word. Piper's car had been loaded and Phoebe had already seated her self in the passenger seat. He walked up to the rolled down window and placed a light kiss on her cheek, then walked around the other side and climbed in. Then they headed home.