Disclaimer- Charmed belongs to the WB network and Spelling television. This is used for entertainment only and not for profit of any kind.

Recap Chapter 7- Cole flew in from NYC to be with Phoebe in her moment of need and is staying with her in the hospital. Phoebe sent her sisters home, because they were exhausted. So, now, Cole is taking care of her.

A/N- A great big thanks to charming-prue for helping me finish my chapter. You are an inspiration and I am glad you made this chapter even better. So, thank you! :D

And to my lovely fans, thanks for your reviews! I am officially on summer vacay & I am going to California for the summer on June 18th. So, I'll try to get at least two more chapters out by then. You guys have a fantastic summer :)

Chapter 8

A few days later, the hospital decided to release Phoebe in Cole's care but they were reluctant at first. Thus, because Phoebe was still a little debilitated and have not yet regained her total strength. Cole had made a vow to himself that he would make sure she retains her health when she gets home. Eventually, Cole signed all the papers and got her prescription drugs that she requires. He was extremely ready to take her home where she belongs.

Their car was parked in front of the hospital door when Cole pushed Phoebe's wheelchair out. He assisted her into the passenger seat and made sure she buckled up. Cole got into the car himself after tossing Phoebe's stuff into the backseat.

"Where do you want to go? The manor, or the penthouse?" Cole asked looking at her healing bruises. "The penthouse? Are you serious?" Phoebe asked; her eyes lighting up at his question. "Yes, of course. Phoebe...It is our place after all. Well, until I get our home built," Cole stated. Phoebe looked at him and said, "You do too much, Cole. Why?" "Because I want to make you happy and because I love you too much to not do anything," Cole grinned. Pause for a sweet moment between the two.

"I would love to go back to the penthouse with you," Phoebe answered his hanging question. "Say no more," Cole stated driving off.

The elevator that led to the penthouse seemed so foreign to Phoebe. She hasn't been there since Cole left town and everything looked different. Phoebe stepped into the penthouse with Cole helping her stand. "I'll be okay," Phoebe insisted removing his arm from her waist. She struggled with the first couple of steps, but then stood upright on her own.

Cole watched in silence as Phoebe picked up a picture of them. They were sitting on the beach just enjoying the company of the other one. Nowadays, they were lucky if they got to eat dinner together like they used to.

"Remember when we used to be so in love?" Phoebe asked running her fingers on the picture frame. "We are still in love," Cole insisted embracing her. "Not like we used to be. I remember that I could not do anything without you around. It was like I couldn't breathe, you know?" Phoebe asked with a faint smile. "Yeah?" Cole said. "Well, it's just different now. We're distant, busy, and tired all the time..." Phoebe explained. "It happens when you try to put two totally different lives together. It's nothing we can't work out," Cole insisted.

He was always so full of hope and Phoebe admires him for that. "Yeah, I guess your right," Phoebe said pulling him closer. "What do you want to do?" Cole asked. Phoebe took a deep breath before answering.

"Cole, I want him in jail. I just want to know that he won't do it to any other woman out there," Phoebe stated. "Are you sure?" Cole asked wanting to make sure it's something she wants to do.

With Cole's reputation, it could tear them apart in the media. "Yes, I'm sure," Phoebe said firmly looking at him in his beautiful eyes. "Okay, I'll take care of it. Why don't you go rest while I go run some errands?" Cole asked. "Where are you going?" Phoebe asked running her hands through his hair. "There's nothing in the fridge. So, I'm going to go grocery shopping," Cole stated. "Why don't you call the chef?" Phoebe asked whining. She really wanted to spend some quality time with him, and cooking is a tedious thing.

Cole smiled at her and asked, "Got used to living with your father?" "No...Not really..." Phoebe lied. "Will you be okay at home alone for a couple of hours or so?" Cole asked. "Yeah...I suppose. I'll probably go to sleep for awhile," Phoebe said. "I love you..." Cole kissed her forehead. He added, "I'll be home as soon as I can." Then, Cole left. Phoebe looked at the silent penthouse.

As Cole was out and about, he was also making Phoebe's 23rd birthday plan that was next weekend. He wanted it to be something relaxing, but also enjoyable. And it has to be only a close circle of friends & family. Phoebe would really enjoy that. So, he was talking on the phone with his assistant while trying to go grocery shopping at the same time.

"No, no clubs and definitely no strippers. I want something simple...Something...different," Cole said. His assistant was only drawing a blank. "Think, if you were a birthday party. Where would you be?" Cole asked searching for some ripe strawberries. Suddenly, the idea came to him.

"I got it!" Cole exclaimed excited. "What?" His assistant asked. "My yacht. I could throw her a party on my yacht. It makes sense, right?" Cole asked. "Sure, why not?" His assistant questioned. "Can I count on you to totally plan this whole thing out and get everyone informed?" Cole asked. "Tell me what you want, give me a list of people, and I'm sure I can make it happen. How long do I have?" He asked. "A week," Cole replied. "Speed work. That's why you hired me," He stated. "Okay. I will talk to you later," Cole hung up.

Quickly, Cole got the rest of the groceries and drove home. It was almost 6:30 and dinner was nowhere near done. He was just worried that Phoebe might be hungry.

The penthouse was dark when Cole stepped inside. "Phoebe?" Cole called out turning on the light. He saw her sleeping soundly on the couch curled up in a ball. Cole pulled the quilt over her freezing body before he dropped the stuff in the kitchen. Cole started to cook dinner, and he was finishing up by 7:30. Out of the corners of his eyes, Cole saw Phoebe sit up with a swift motion. Half terrified, and half disoriented.

Cole went to see what was the matter, and what caused her to wake from a peaceful sleep like that. It was the first time she slept so soundly since the hospital. "What's wrong, baby?" Cole asked moving a strand from her face, revealing a scratch on it. "What happened? Did you scratch yourself?" Cole asked kind of confused. "Why?" Phoebe asked touching her cut. "Ow!" Phoebe exclaimed. Cole grabbed a couple of tissues.

"Here, let me. What happened?" Cole asked. "It was this dream with him. I was fighting against him and I don't know..." Phoebe said dazed. "You're okay, your safe with me. How about some dinner, huh?" Cole asked gently. "I'll be right back," Phoebe said pulling the quilt off of her. Cole let her go and went back to finishing dinner.

Through the middle of dinner Cole talked about the lawyer and how he was being flown over by his father after next weekend. Phoebe didn't say much about the issue, but instead, she nodded at him every once in awhile. Cole felt the tension in the room, and decided he didn't like it. So, he changed the subject.

"Baby, guess what?" Cole asked in a singsong voice. "What?" Phoebe asked softly looking at his mysterious boyish grin. It made her smile, too. The way he looks at her during a romantic dinner always seems to make her blush. "It's your 23rd birthday next week," Cole announced.

Phoebe's eyes lit up and she said, "Your right! Too bad it's too late to do anything." Cole just smiled at her. "Baby, your not planning anything, are you?" Phoebe asked. "Nope," Cole lied. "Yes, you are. You liar," Phoebe accused. "I'm not planning anything. Would I plan anything without you knowing it?" Cole asked. "Yes!" Phoebe exclaimed. "I'm not planning anything," Cole insisted. Phoebe looked at him doubtfully.

They finished dessert and loaded the dishwasher. "I'm going to go take a shower and I'll see you in bed," Cole starting to walk away from her. "Cole, is something wrong?" Phoebe asked. "Not that I know of," Cole said. "Then, why won't you kiss me? I mean, really kiss me?" Phoebe asked. Cole sighed not knowing how to answer. He just wasn't sure if she was ready.

"Cole, I'm not going to die if you kiss me," Phoebe said. "I know, I know," Cole said pulling her into his arms. "I just wasn't sure if you wanted me to or not," Cole explained. "Cole, I'm your fiancé unless that status changed somehow...You have every right to kiss me," Phoebe insisted. "Don't you think I want to, Phoebe? It's just every time I get close to you. I'm afraid that you think I am him and I don't want that," Cole explained. Phoebe looked touched by him.

Cole leaned in to give her a kiss, and it was a tiny peck on the lips before he moved back. "What?" Phoebe asked. "You haven't taken your medicine," Cole stated. "You stopped a kiss for that?" Phoebe asked exasperated. "I promised your sisters I would take care of you," Cole said reading the medicine label on the bottles. Phoebe sighed and popped the pills in her mouth

"That's a good girl," Cole said. Phoebe raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to bed," Phoebe said walking to their bedroom. "Phoebe..." Cole called after her. Phoebe ignored him and went to bed anyways. Cole walked into their room and closed the door.

When Cole entered the room he saw Phoebe sitting no their bed, looking down. He approached her and asked: "Is there something wrong?" She got up and walked away from him saying coldly: "No, everything's fine."

Once again he approached her and said: "Please don't lie to me Phoebe." He knew that she was hiding something from him and he knew that it was hurting her. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said: "I'm losing you Cole." "What?" He asked, totally surprised by her meanings, that were what he least expected.

"I... I feel like our love is gone. I really feel like our love is not as it used to be Cole, it hurts to much, much than those bruises on my skin, more than what he did to me." She explained and tears were now running freely on her cheeks.

"Baby... I... I don't know what to say, everything is just so wrong." Cole mumbled.

"Me here and you in New York, we can't handle it, one day you're going to meet someone there and you'll forget me." She said.

"You don't even take me in your arms." She added looking down and sobbing.

Cole immediately wrapped his arms around her but not too tightly coz he didn't want to press on her cuts and bruises. He inhaled the scent of her hair and kissed her on the top of the head.

"Phoebe, no matter what you can think, no matter how you feel, I will always love you, even miles apart. My love for you is not dying, it's getting stronger everyday, and it's killing me to be away from for, even for what's just two hours." He said.

"Every time I look at you, all I want to do is to kiss you, to hold you, to make love to you, but then I realize that maybe it's not what you want, I know it might be silly but I'm scared just as if it was our first day, like 'should I kiss her?', 'should I take her hand?', I'm just like an high school boy." He said with a smile.

"But I definitely do love you with all my heart." Cole added to his monologue.

Phoebe looked up at him with a smile and replied: "I definitely love you too."

They both smiled and kissed passionately. Once they pulled apart, Phoebe said: "Nice kissing habits for a high school boy."

They both laughed and Cole said: "Not that I don't want to spend some quality time with you, that I deadly want to, but you do have to rest and that's what you're going to do, in my arms."

Phoebe smiled and they both lay down in bed and fell asleep in each other's arms.

TBC

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