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R and R

Why am I always the one getting hurt? Phoebe thought, this guy had been channelling heat though his hands, and was burning every part of her clothing, along with her top layer of skin, he had also taken a liking to cutting her with a rusty knife, the cuts were shallow and bled freely, if her friends didn't come through that door soon, she wouldn't last much longer. It had went on for hours, he kept burning her, and just when she thought it was over, he would do something else, like lick her burnt flesh and begin again.

'Hmmmm… I can see why my little brother's into you, you're sexy and you're not a screamer, but I bet you look even better with you top off!'

Phoebe's eyes widened, she closed her eyes in horror as he started to unbutton the burnt remains of her blouse, and she felt so vulnerable in just her bra. She had given up on screaming half an hour ago, she was only wasting her breath as the piece of tape over her mouth prevented her from saying anything. She felt his hand on her stomach, it was like having an iron pressed against her, he removed the tape from her mouth and kissed her forcefully.

'Don't die yet baby, I can't wait to see what you look like without those jeans,' he whispered in her ear, he ran his tongue across her ear and began to pull down her jeans. For the first time since this had started, Phoebe began to cry, she was going to be raped and killed and there nothing she could do about it.

'Phoebe! Wake up!'

Phoebe sprang from her bed and sat up in a bolt-right position, she was covered in sweat. Lexa was sitting next to her; she had come in and woke her up.

'Are you okay?' Lexa said with concern.

'No. No I'm not alright! It's like he's haunting me, Lea! Every time I close my eyes it's like it's happening again!' she began to cry as Lexa pulled her into an embrace. This was becoming a regular occurrence in Sanctuary, Phoebe kept having nightmares about her traumatic experience with Brennan's brother, Lexa would come and wake her up, as she was screaming in her sleep and after that, neither of them would be able to get back to sleep. This routine had drained both girls greatly of their energy and it was beginning to take its toll, as all members of Mutant X were tired.

Because of Phoebe's emotional state and fatigue, she had hardly been up for missions. And with Lexa up with her every night, she was tired also; this made them lose control of their powers slightly. This left Brennan and Jesse with all the missions, they would come home at night and just go straight to their rooms and the next day this horrible cycle would begin again.

It was really only Jesse and Lexa had talked with each other, as Brennan was avoiding everyone, especially Phoebe, and she wouldn't even come out of her room most of the time!

After three weeks of this, Lexa decided she'd had enough, and hatched a plan. She found Jesse at the computers as always.

'Jesse, we need to talk,'

He turned round on the computer stool 'I know,'.


'Alright, let's start with what we know,' Jesse suggested, they had moved to the rec area where they would be comfortable to talk.

Lexa flopped back in the chair she was in 'We have one team-mate who's wallowing in guilt and another who's traumatised and afraid to come out of her room, not to mention the stress that all four of us are feeling,'

Jesse sat forward 'But what can we do though? Both of them are refusing help but we are still the one's being left to pick up the pieces,'

'If only we could find a way for Brennan to feel that Phoebe's forgiven him and to help Phoebe through her problems both at the same time,'

Jesse suddenly looked up to meet her eyes.

'I have an idea,'.


Brennan was sitting in front of his computer; his fatigue was showing on his face. He had dark circles around his eyes and barely awake at his desk. There was a knock at his door, he wearily told the person to go away, but Jesse entered all the same.

'Jess, if it's another mission then forget it, I'm ready to pass out here!'

'No, it's not another mission, although I think you should get out of here for a while,'

'What do you mean?' Brennan asked

'Look, Bren, we both know you've been out of it lately, maybe you should go up to your Mom's? From what you told us, it'll be beautiful this time of year,'

'I dunno Jess…'

'C'mon man! Think about it! You'll be able to spend some stress free time with your family! And…you know… you're gonna have to tell them about Ryan sooner or later…' Jesse trailed off.

Brennan looked down at the floor, he would have to tell his family about his brother and how he died, but how could he explain it? He knew that Ryan had had to pay for what he did to Phoebe. Another pang of guilt swept over him when he thought of Phoebe.

On the other hand, it would be great to see everyone again, his sisters, and the new kids that his Mom had taken in, not to mention going around the stables again.

'I think I will,' Brennan said with the first smile he had had in days.

Now this was the dangerous part of the plan, Jesse decided just to come right out with it.

'And… you know… why don't you take Phoebe?'

Brennan's smile vanished as he looked at his best friend with a look that could kill.

'What!?'

'She needs a vacation just as much as you do, and you never know, a relaxing trip into the country could help her through the trauma,'

Jesse deliberately struck this nerve, hoping that Brennan would want to do everything in his power of help his friend.

'Let me think it over,' was his answer.

That was good enough for Jesse; he left Brennan to his thoughts and went to meet up with Lexa.


'So, you talk to Phoebe?'

'Yeah, I was very subtle, I asked her if the opportunity for a vacation rose, would she take it?'

'What did she say?'

'She said she didn't know, but I can tell she would jump at the chance,'

'Okay, ' Jesse began 'Do you know what to do tonight?'

Lexa gave him a wary look 'I don't know, it seems a little cruel for Phoebe,'

'Don't worry, if Brennan doesn't react the way we think, then you can be on standby,' Jesse assured her.

'Fine, I just hope you're not wrong,'


It was another one of those nights, Brennan couldn't get a wink if sleep. He rolled over in his bed and looked at the digital clock on his nightstand, the red lights were flashing 3: 41, he sighed and turned over again. His heart skipped a beat when he heard Phoebe begin to scream in her sleep again, it was ever since that had started, that Brennan had had trouble sleeping. He expected to hear Lexa running down the hallway any minute now, as she was the one who always tended to her, but after around three minutes, there were no footsteps. He wasn't about to let Phoebe suffer anymore so jumped out of bed and went to wake her up himself.

Brennan ran into her room, she was writhing underneath the covers of her bed and was screaming loudly; he began to shake her vigorously, knowing that she wouldn't wake up if he took the gentle approach. Phoebe's eyes shot open and she sat up, breathing heavily and clutching her chest.

'Hey, it's all right, he's gone,' Brennan said softly.

'For now,' her voice was shaky.

Brennan took her hand 'Listen to me, he can't hurt you anymore, if he tries, he'll have to get by me, okay?'

Her breathing slowed down back to its normal rate, Phoebe smiled 'Thanks,'

Although Brennan wasn't sure, he thought he saw a flicker of peace in her eyes that he hadn't seen for almost a month. He began to leave, when Phoebe tightened the grip she had on his hand.

'Brennan? Could you… stay here tonight? You know, until I fall asleep?'

He looked at her 'Sure,' he took the blanket at the bottom of bed and draped over the sofa in her room, making a makeshift bed.

'No, I meant… here,' she patted the area of bed beside her.

Brennan hesitated, but he saw the look of hope and fear on her face and reconsidered. He wordlessly lay down in the bed, and was surprised when Phoebe cuddled up to him, he cautiously put his arm around her, and was surprised when she welcomed the gesture and moved even closer to him.

After about 20 minutes, Phoebe was fast asleep; Brennan watched her body move up and down in time with her breathing. He decided it was time to leave, but as he began to move, Phoebe whimpered and clenched her fists around the fabric of his t-shirt, holding on to it, not wanting him to leave. Brennan realised that he wasn't going to get away without disturbing her, and she really needed a good night's sleep, so he made himself a little more comfortable and tried to get to sleep.

No, not again, no! She was chained up again and could see him coming towards her, but it wasn't him, it was Brennan. He run over and blasted the shackles with his powers, freeing her. He took her in his arms as she leaned against his chest, they both look at each other as Brennan leaned in and…

Phoebe woke up, a little disorientated. She looked around, noticing Brennan sleeping peacefully next to her; she smiled softly at this sight, and rested her head on his chest again, falling back into a dreamless slumber.


'Lexa? Have you seen my jeans with the rips in them anywhere?' Phoebe asked her friend; she was packing for the trip that she was going on. Brennan had asked her this morning to come up to the country with him as a vacation, she was a little wary. Considering how she had exposed a weaker side of herself last night, but she decided that she really needed to get away.

'Umm… there're in your hand,' Lexa said with a smirk on her face.

Phoebe gave her a blank look and put the jeans into the bag.

'Hmm… a little distracted, are we?' she asked Phoebe with a grin 'wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you're going away… with Brennan… would it?'

Phoebe gave her a sarcastic chuckle 'Don't start, or I'll open fire on the Jesse situation,'

Lexa's grin vanished as she continued to fold Phoebe's belongings 'I don't know what you're talking about,'

'Oh really? I'm an empath remember? I can tell when people have the hots for each other, you're lucky I'm not affected by other peoples emotions too, if I was I'd be like an animal in heat!'

Lexa continued to deny 'I have no idea where you're picking up feelings of attraction, but it certainly isn't from me,'

'Whatever, just sort out the sexual tension before I get back,'

'Lexa turned to her, wearing a devious smile 'Likewise,'

Phoebe gave her a mock-offended look before throwing one of her pillows at her

'Just think,' Phoebe put on a romanticised voice 'The two of you…alone…in this big ol' rock… something's bound to happen,' she giggled as she picked up her bag.

'Yeah, yeah, just get out of my sight, missy,' Lexa laughed, softly hitting her on the back as they left the room………

'It's about time!' Brennan shouted at the appearing girls that were coming into the garage.

'Oh calm down, I didn't take that long considering the short notice!' Phoebe answered. She walked over to Brennan, who seemed to be ready to go.

'So, how we getting there? Helix? Your Camaro? The Mustang?' Phoebe asked casually.

'Not exactly,' Brennan stepped to the side to reveal a run down, rusting old pick-up truck.

'You've gotta be kidding me!' Phoebe said dryly

'Well, no one can say you don't travel in style, Bren,' Lexa circled the vehicle, holding back a laugh.

'Look it's just to keep up appearances with my family, if I show up with a flashy car and a pretty girl,' he smiled when he said this 'they're gonna start asking questions which I can't answer,'

Phoebe glared at him 'Flattery will get you nowhere, and neither will that car,'


After 10 minutes of arguing, Phoebe had given in and hopped into the truck, hoping that it wouldn't give out on the way. The journey had been silent so far; they hadn't been alone with each other since last night and leaving questions floating about in both of their heads.

Phoebe decided to break the tension 'So, I take it your family doesn't know about Mutant X?'

'No, they don't, as know we have a lot of enemies…'

'I have the cuts and burns to prove it,' Phoebe muttered.

'What?'

'Oh, nothing, continue,'

'Well, anyway, we have a lot of enemies, and I wouldn't want them to be hurt because of me, like you were,' he trailed off.

Phoebe looked at him sympathetically 'Do you blame yourself for what your brother did to me?'

Brennan kept his eyes on the road, avoiding her gaze 'Yes, Ryan wouldn't have even been near us if he didn't want revenge on me, and he wouldn't have…' he didn't know what to say 'to you if weren't connected to me, he knew that the best way to get back at me was to go for the people a care about,'

Phoebe spun her head round to look at him; she smiled 'You care about me?'

'Like you even need to ask,' he muttered.

After a while of no one talking Phoebe spoke.

'Brennan?'

'Hmm?'

'I care about you too,'

Brennan looked at her with a smile, and after that the conversation seemed to lighten and the journey became a lot more fun………

It was around one in the morning; Brennan had stopped the truck at a run down gas station. Phoebe sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat, using the coat that he had offered her as a blanket. As he was getting out of the car to fill up the tank, looked at her, she looked to calm, her hair had fallen like a curtain in front of her resting eyes, she curled up, only moving slightly now and again. Brennan smiled at this sight, she was beautiful when she was sleeping, but just as beautiful awake as well.

After paying for the gas and getting some extra strength 'stay awake' pills, Brennan got back on the road and headed towards home. He had rolled down the window so that the cold January air would constantly hit his face and keep him awake, but it was this noise that woke up Phoebe.

Her eyes squinted open 'Mmm… Brennan? What time is it?'

'Just after three…' he answered, his tiredness was clearly audible in his voice.

'What? Why didn't you wake me up sooner? I could have drove for a while,' she sat up, protesting.

'You looked so peaceful, I didn't want to disturb you,'

'Yeah, well, I'd rather give up a couple hours of sleep than die in a fiery car crash because you fell asleep at the wheel. Come on, pull over this hunka junk and switch seats with me,'

Brennan didn't have the energy to argue with her, and some sleep sounded good right about now.

'But you don't even know how get to where we're going,' Brennan said.

'Just give me a couple of directions and I'll be fine, we're on a straight road, how hard can it be?'

He sighed 'How long do you think you'll be able to go?'

Phoebe smiled 'The rest of the journey,' she pulled a flask out of her bag 'My little sister taught me how to make some really strong coffee,'

'What's in it?'

'The usual stuff, along with some magical ingredients, guaranteed to keep you awake for at least seven hours,'

Brennan gave in, he pulled the truck over, switched sides with Phoebe and after giving her a few directions, they set off again, with Phoebe at the wheel.


'Hmm… I don't agree with that,' Brennan said, it was now around twelve thirty, he had taken over from Phoebe an hour ago and right now they were arguing about their definitions of 'the one'.

'How can you disagree?' Phoebe asked with a hint of disbelieve in her voice.

'Sure, the one is a person who loves you no matter what, but that could be anyone! A close friend, a family member, these people still love you no matter what,'

'Alright Mr. Expert, what do you think the one is,' she asked, crossing her arms.

'The one is the person that you trust more than anything in your life, the one is a person that, even if you go your separate ways, no one will replace them in heart, and above all, the one is a person that…' his voice lowered 'you would give up an entire lifetime for, just for one moment with them…' he trailed off.

Phoebe was stunned by the passion in his words and kept silent until Brennan announced they were here.

The road had a corner, which Brennan stopped at; she gave him a puzzled look.

'C'mon, you have to see the view from here!' Brennan told her excitedly. They exited the car and went to the corner of the road. Phoebe let out a sigh of amazement, she was looking into a large, but secluded valley, it had a small river running through and fields stretching as far as the eye could see.

'See that big cottage over there?' Brennan pointed at a little brown dot on the scenery 'That's where we're going… Phoebe?' he looked at her; she seemed to in some sort of trance.

'This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen,' she breathed.

'Phoebe?'

'Yeah?'

'Are you still glad you come?' he asked her.

'Yes!' was her enthusiastic response, he smiled at her and walked back to the car. She watched him walk back to car.

'Definitely,' she whispered to herself.


They drove up the dusty path towards the house. Now that she was closer, Phoebe could really see the size of the place, it was huge! It had three stories, a porch, not to mention an entire farm behind.

'So, is there anything I should avoid saying?' Phoebe asked

Brennan was thinking 'Hmm… I don't think so, but avoid the Ryan thing, let me tell them,'

Brennan left the car in front of the house as Phoebe marvelled at the sights around her, there was a young girl telekinetically lifting weeds out of the vegetable patches, a little boy was glaring at plants, and as soon as he looked at them, they would grow instantly.

'Brennan! What the hell are you doing!' a woman came up to him, shouting and flicking her hands out again and again.

Phoebe smiled and knew what she was trying to do.

'Good witches don't freeze,' she said to the panicky woman.

The woman gave her a strange look, then looked at Brennan

'She's not mortal, Mary, do you really think I would really be that stupid?' she gave him a look 'don't answer that question,'

Phoebe looked at her, she had short blond hair and looked as if she had been on the farm all her life, her face had been kissed by the winter sun and she looked as if she had just stopped working, because she was still covered in dirt.

'I'm Phoebe Haliwell,' she held out her hand kindly

Mary gave her a wary look, but then smiled 'Nice to meet you! I'm Mary Simmons! Haliwell huh? You a Charmed One?'

Phoebe was shocked by that question 'Ho-How did you know?'

'Word travels fast in the magical community, if demons and warlocks know who you are, then the good guys know too,'

Phoebe was unsure about how she felt about that, but she smiled anyway.

'Brennan, your Mom went into the city with Nelle and Sandra, they won't be back until tomorrow,'

'That's a shame, I guess I'll need to wait, where's Ally?' he asked the blond.

'I think she's inside preparing lunch,' she answered 'It was nice meeting you,' Mary said to Phoebe before running back to the field.

The two walked up the stairs to the front of the house.

'Who was that?'

Brennan looked at her 'Oh! Remember how I told you that my Mon takes in magical orphans?' Phoebe nodded 'Well, Mary's been here all her life, she's like a fourth sister to me,' she nodded at his answer and prepared herself to meet his sister.

From what Brennan had told her, Ally was the middle sister of the Mulwray girls and had the power of hydrokinesis, the ability to create and control water. Brennan had also told her that Ally was the most easy-going, so she luck that Ally was the first family member she would meet.

'I'm home!' Brennan shouted as they walked in the front door, Phoebe was once again amazed at the freedom of magic, there were kids scattered around the living room most of them using their powers!

Suddenly, a girl screamed she began to float up into the air, and the house was built so that there was a big whole running up the middle and rooms on the sides, if the girl dropped from the maximum height, she would be hurt. Bad.

A woman with long dark hair ran out of the kitchen that connected to the living room, she had a tea towel over her shoulder. She looked and sighed.

'Oh no! how are we gonna get her down this time! Nelle isn't here to manipulate gravity… Brennan?' she woman turned round, she looked a lot like Piper, Phoebe thought.

'Hey sis! Having trouble?'

'Yes! If we don't get her down safely she's gonna hurt badly!'

'I'll get her,' Phoebe offered she quickly levitated up to the girl, who was whimpering with fear. Phoebe took hold of her arms and brought her down gently.

'There you go!' she said kindly

'Uh… thanks,' the girl replied before she sat down on the couch.

'Um… Excuse me? Who the hell are you?' Ally asked calmly

'Oh, sorry! I'm Phoebe Haliwell,' she shook hands with the shocked Mulwray.

'Wow! You're a Charmed One?' Ally exclaimed.

Phoebe decided that she would have to get used to this happening, so she just accepted it.

'Yeah,'

'Cool! So, I take it you're here with Brennan?' she smirked and raised her eyebrows.

'Yes, she is, but not in the way you think,' Brennan answered 'We just decided we both needed a break,'

'Well, if you're planning on staying, I'll show you to your room' Ally told her warmly 'Brennan? Could you put lunch out in the dining room? Everything's ready, it just needs to be served,'

'Sure,' he disappeared into the kitchen.

The two women climbed the stairs to the third floor; Ally opened a door close to the stairs and led Phoebe in. She was in awe again, there was a lovely view of the fields from her high up room, and there was an adjoining bathroom, an inviting bed and a large closet in the corner.

'I'll leave you to unpack,' Ally smiled 'Are you joining us for lunch or have you ate already?'

'Umm… No, I haven't ate, lunch sounds great, thanks,'

'Okay, take your time, I'll save some for you if you decide to just go for a nap,'

'Thank you,' Phoebe said gratefully

'No problem, nice meeting you,' Ally left to go back downstairs.

Phoebe looked around her temporary home, and thought that she was going to have a good time.


Night had creeped up on the farm, Brennan was thickly wrapped up as he sat on the porch. His thoughts wondered to Phoebe again, they had been doing that a lot lately, and every time they did, he would wish she were in his arms like she had had been that night.

Just then, the front door creaked open, letting some of the light and warmth of the house escape, he turned to see the object of his thoughts walking towards him and leaned on the wooden railing in front of him.

'Thank you for bringing me up here,' she said warmly

'No problem, we both needed a break,' he replied

She looked down at her feet and shivered, Brennan immediately saw this took off his coat and put it round her. Phoebe snuggled into the collar and pulled it around herself even more.

'I need to tell you something,' she said.

'What is it?'

Phoebe looked away, and then rubbed his bare arm 'Aren't you cold?'

'I'll survive, what did you want to tell me?'

She sighed and looked down again 'One of the reasons I came up here… is because… when you stayed with me that night, the dream began again when I went to sleep, but just before he could do anything to me, you appeared and saved me, and I guess… I've just felt safest with you ever since then and, I don't want that feeling to go away,'

She looked up, expecting Brennan to answer, but he didn't. He brought his hand up to her cheek and lightly brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, he leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers, this simple gesture set off fireworks in Phoebe's body as she closed her eyes. Brennan pulled back and looked at her, both of them could see the desire burning in each other's eyes. Brennan leaned in and kissed her again, but it was returned this time as Phoebe intensified it by wrapping her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair, and trying to bring herself even closer to him. It wasn't long before their tongues were exploring each other's mouths, their hands were roaming everywhere, Brennan had settled his hands at Phoebe's sides, while hers continued to go through his hair. Phoebe suddenly realised what she was doing, she pulled out of the passionate embrace and stared at him for a couple of seconds before running inside and leaving Brennan to try and understand what happened.


Okay! Sorry I haven't updated as quickly as usual, but I really wanted to make sure this chapter was perfect, and I'm satisfied it is!

Chapter 13 'R and R Part 2' will be up soon!