Love token
A/N: Thank you very much for supporting and inspiring me! You're great! All of your inspirations suggested me to let Cole and Phoebe get mad/furious :) :) :) Yeah, they do… So review, please!
Part 8
Cole was sitting on an armchair in Fiona's consulting room, being full dressed, waiting for her brewing the potion. He looked totally haggard. Fiona recognized his physique wasn't as hot as before, he was always out of energy coming back here at Saturday nights. Her potion was supposed to keep him well for a week, it seemed to lose effectivity sooner now. She shook her head, feeling sorry that she's going to lose him, the best lover she'd ever had. She would surely be missing him while having sex with other mediocre demons. Nonetheless, Cole's here tonight. After imbibing her potion, he would be all hers when his virility was provisionally recovered.
"I double your dose now." Fiona said "Can do nothing else for you. Your time's coming."
Cole didn't open his eyes, he had already known it, his only wish was having enough time to select the best family for his daughter. The Lakes seemed good, he hoped little Phoebe would be in harmony with them. Suddenly, his cell phone rang.
"You bring it to here?" Fiona frowned.
"My daughter isn't home. I knew she'd call me." However, Cole realized it wasn't her "Hello!"
"Mr. Turner, Phoebe's gone!" Mr. Lake said worrily.
"What?"
"She's playing with Tom. My son said she ran outside, and never came back. We've searched around, but couldn't find her anywhere."
"My daughter has disappeared?"
"About fifteen minutes. Please check if she's coming home, we're going out to look for her from our house."
"I'll do the same here." Cole hang up, and rising to his feet.
"What are you doing?" Fiona asked.
"Go looking for my daughter."
"Are you crazy? You'll disintergrate 1 hour later without my potion."
"I'll come back." Cole answered hastily, then shimmered away.
He understood the Lakes couldn't help, because little Phoebe would have shimmered home if she wanted to. So the first place he came was his own house, but his daughter wasn't there. He tried to phoned her, it didn't work either. If magic was involved, they had never been exposed to the witches in town, even if they found little Phoebe by accident, the pendant should protect her, and she could easily shimmer out of their way. Evils wanted her as well. What if it shifted into his form to lure her? Cole felt regret he hadn't told her that. He used the rest of his energy shimmering to the Underworld searching every nook and cranny.
All of his efforts were in vain. Desperately, he shimmered back to his house.
"Phoebe!" he called.
Nobody answered to him. He had no energy left, his legs was going to betray him, he dragged to his bedroom, and rummaged the cabinet to get the last vial of daily restorative potion there, it should give him enough strength to shimmer to Fiona's place. He wouldn't die not knowing what had happened to his daughter.
After drinking the potion, Cole collapsed on his chair, revolving it along with the desk, closing his eyes exhaustedly.
Phoebe and her daughter materialized in the living room, she found the girl standing still on her spot, refusing to move forward. She pushed her gently, but little Phoebe remained unmoved, it seemed she didn't want to see her father right now. Phoebe sighed, she herself had been hurt so much when she'd been missing her own father knowing he had left her. Cole was even worse, not only was he getting rid of his responsibility, but he's also giving his daughter to another family. She felt ashamed to have thought about reconciling to him. There's no family needed her to be complete. Cole didn't deserve it, oh, who said he needed it anyway, Phoebe derided herself. But she deserved a good husband, and her daughter deserved a good father. Her heart was yearning for a complete family. She tried hard holding her tears back, composing her countenance, and walked up.
Suddenly Phoebe remembered what had happened the other night in his bedroom through her daughter's words, she stiffened thinking he could be staying with that woman tonight, all of her good thoughts to him now disappeared. As a psychologist, Phoebe knew some people might love their mates more than their own lives, but other family relationships were nothing to them.
The door was part open, but no sound was heard. Cole, appeared to her eyes, was half sitting half lying on his chair, appeared to her mind, was alive, appeared to her heart, was alone. She shoved the door wide letting him know her coming.
Cole heard a squeak, his expression lit up with hope. It's better be little Phoebe, or he would have some news of her at least. If the newcomer wanted to kill him, he had no luck to escape. But he knew it didn't, because the killer would have already attacked. He opened his eyes looking out.
His health shouldn't be too bad to give him this hallucination. The woman he didn't allow himself to dream of was here. The love of his life or his worst enemy was standing in front of him. Cole stood up walking around the desk.
"Phoebe!" he called in a weak, but happy voice, sounding like he had just retrieved something invaluable.
Phoebe startled, such a melodious voice she had fallen for, especially when he had been speaking of how much he had loved her. It overflowed with emotion right now. He actually was not calling her though. His hand held out waiting for his daughter, she turned around seeing the girl slowly walk towards her and clasp her arm. Phoebe felt proud.
Cole dropped his hand, moving his eyes up, they looked straight at each other finally.
"Let her go,… please!" he said, wasn't sure if Phoebe had come alone or her sisters were somewhere nearby "My daughter is innocent."
"You no longer have rights on her." she snapped.
"I've got out of your life. You should do the same to us now." Cole kept his voice low.
"She's mine as well!"
"What do you mean?" he frowned.
"She's also my daughter." she said firmly "I'm not going to let you do that to her. She'll move in with me."
"No, you can't be serious." Cole rejected "Leave us alone."
"Not when you're giving her up." Phoebe felt her daughter squeezing her hand.
Cole awkwardly looked down hiding his eyes filling with shame and guilt. It seemed he's going to fall down, he leaned back on the desk.
"I'm sorry, sweetie!" he stuttered. The girl didn't look at him.
"Me too. My daughter shouldn't have a father that willing to give her to some strangers." Phoebe said.
Cole grasped the edge of the desk supporting himself, one hour to his limitation was passing through, he must come back to Fiona right away. Yet, his exhaustion didn't spare him the feeling of hurt from her word. 6 years and something never changed. He's always so bad in her judgement.
"Half human is never a human. No surprise you're that irresponsible." She added coldly.
Cole glared at her in pain. He might have been used to her insulting his demonic half, she now hated the whole of him. His demon part was evil, his human part was irresponsible. "That's good, Phoebe, you know very well how to torture me!" he thought.
"We'll talk later." He ended their meeting.
"Not necessary. We're leaving."
Phoebe actually didn't mean to insult him. Oh yes, she did. She'd had a longer time thinking of him as a great father, all of a sudden she heard he's going to push their daughter away. She wasn't quite sure it's true, it's just what her daughter had heard from another kid after all. However, she and her daughter were being pulled apart, the chances to see little Phoebe was getting rare this week, it devastated her. She needed time with her daughter, and didn't want Cole to make all the decisions on their daughter by himself. She had expected him to oppose her, that her word was nonsense, and he wasn't giving up little Phoebe.
But he admited it.
Her insults not only hurt him, they hurt herself as well. The only man she had loved with all her love, her heart, and everything she had, turned out to be a humble one. Phoebe bitterly figured out Cole was the kind of people that just had a tiny heart to love only one person. That's why he hadn't been able to understand why she had chosen her family over him, though she had truly loved him; that's also why he had never asked her about their child after returning from the Wasteland in his first time.
"I disapprove." he stammered.
"She's my daughter, I'll do everything and anything for her." Phoebe interrupted, swallowing a choke in her throat.
Cole saw her firm resolution showing on her expression. He hadn't considered Phoebe would easily reunite with her daughter, but motherly love was more sacred than he thought. She might be right about his demon half, but he would never be irresponsible if he had a choice. Her holding their daughter looked so perfect, he wished he could explain everything to her, and together they would build a happy family.
It's just impossible. If so, he'd rather let his family - yes, Phoebe and little Phoebe were his family even though they wouldn't accept him - hate him than mourn for him.
"Phoebe's staying here." Cole emphasized.
"No way." Phoebe protested, she talked to her daughter "Let's go, baby!"
Cole flicked his hand, the pendant on little Phoebe's neck glowed, Phoebe was pulled out of her daughter, getting a big shock. Cole grabbed his daughter's arm leading her to her room.
"No, let me go! No!" the girl whined, trying to get free.
Cole put her inside, then slamed the door shut. It glowed a few seconds before turning normal.
"Let me out!" his daughter echoed.
"Free her!" Phoebe shouted "Don't you dare do that to your daughter?"
"Go to bed, Phoebe! We'll talk about you lying me when I come back!" Cole said to the girl, then turned to her mother "You think I'll give my daughter to the Charmed Ones? Never!"
"Are you challenging me?" Phoebe fumed "Don't underrate me! This damn door can't stop me, you can't stop me, bastard!"
Cole shimmered out.
Phoebe was really flying in a rage, but he had already left.
"Mommy!"
A/N: Have a nice weekend! I wish I could see "The seven year witch" this Sunday!
