A/N: I took a few liberties here with "facts" (I say loosely) from actual S5 episodes, notably the "ancient quatraine," which was so factually inaccurate it wasn't even funny. I adjusted the timing and the translation to make it fit a little better. Because unlike Charmed, I try to get my facts straight. ;)
Phoebe sighed in contentment, caressing her belly. "It won't be long now, my love," she murmured, leaning back against Cole.
His arms came around her, holding her tightly. "Good," he said.
Grateful for his presence, Phoebe relaxed against him, closing her eyes. She'd felt strangely uneasy these past few days as her due date drew near. She couldn't put a finger on the reason for her disquiet, only that her confidence was waning, and she suddenly felt unsure about her every action. Fortunately, Cole was there to help her through her confusion, handling all matters demonic with ease. They were in the Source's presence chamber now, having dismissed the last of those who petitioned to see their liege and his queen, and Phoebe wanted nothing more than to retire to their own chamber and rest in Cole's arms. "Are you eager to see your son, baby?" she said in response to his statement.
He slid his hand over her belly, resting it there possessively. "Eager to get back my power," he growled.
"Don't be greedy," she scolded, opening her eyes as she put her hand over his. "Our son and his destiny are what matter. The most powerful force of magic the world will ever know..."
He pulled her around to face him. "I'm also eager for him to be out of my way," he said in a low voice, glancing down at the protruding stomach that kept him at bay.
She swatted his chest and giggled. "Is that all you ever think of, baby? Be patient."
"No," he said, then added, "But I've found one or two demonesses to keep me satisfied in the meantime. They've been very eager to service the Source."
She stiffened in his embrace. "What?" She couldn't possibly have heard him right.
"You heard me," he said. "I have certain needs and you're in no condition to see to them now. You don't expect me to just wait for you, do you?"
"Yes. I. Do." she hissed, trying to conjure a ball of fire. It fizzled and died in her hand. She stared at her empty palm in shock. "What...?"
"Something wrong?" Cole said, more than a trace of mockery in his tone.
"I...I don't understand... Seer!" she called.
"Yes, my Queen?" the Seer said, bowing respectfully as she appeared before her.
"What's wrong with me?" Phoebe asked, her anger with Cole momentarily forgotten as fear took hold of her. "I don't...I don't feel right. My powers aren't working and I feel...so confused."
"You are near your time, my Queen," the Seer said simply. "The power of the Source is settling in your baby to prepare for his birth. Its influence over you is therefore lessening."
"I don't understand," Phoebe said again. She put her hand against the wall to steady herself as her legs started shaking.
"You were never meant to hold the power of the Source," the Seer said. "It should have passed from father to son when the time was right. And now as your son nears his birth, your true nature is re-emerging." She held out her hand, and a wine glass filled with an amber fluid appeared in her grasp. "Do not worry, my Queen. It will be a simple matter to strengthen the evil within you again, and set your heart at ease. You need not be troubled by a conscience."
Phoebe looked around desperately, filled with dread as the extent of her situation began to sink in. "No...no...I...I don't want to be here. I want my sisters. I want to go home." Her voice cracked as tears started to roll down her cheeks. She turned to Cole and flung her arms around him, pleading, "Take me home, Cole. I don't want to be here."
He roughly seized her wrists, thrusting her away from him. "You'll be there soon enough." Glancing to the Seer, he asked, "How much longer?"
"The Wiccan Sabbat is two days away," the Seer said. "Your son shall draw his first breath then, as prophesized."
Phoebe struggled against Cole's grasp. "Cole! Don't listen to her! Take me home! Please!" she begged. But his eyes were cold and gave her no comfort, and somewhere in the confusion of her mind she knew the reason why. The part of him that would give his life for her was gone, leaving only the cruel, power-hungry demon. His soul had been ripped from him, and she had done it.
He turned her around and twisted her arms behind her back. Gripping her wrists with one hand, he took hold of her jaw with the other, nodding at the Seer. She moved before Phoebe, tilting the contents of the glass between her lips as Cole forced her mouth open. Coughing and sputtering, Phoebe swallowed, and the liquid burned a hot trail down her throat.
Relaxing his hold on her, Cole looked to the entrance of the chamber. "Guards," he called. Two demons, one male, one a red-haired female, knelt before him. "Take the Queen to our chamber," he ordered. "See to it that she is comfortable, but she is to be confined to her bed. Restrain her if necessary, but if you cause any harm to her, you will pay dearly."
The demons nodded and rose; he pushed Phoebe into their arms. "Cole!" she cried as they started to lead her away.
"Wait," Cole said. Phoebe felt weak with relief, while the Seer looked at Cole in concern as he approached the demons. He addressed the red-haired demoness, bringing his hand to her cheek. "After you have the Queen safely in her room, attend me."
There was no mistaking the unconcealed lust in his eyes, and the demoness smiled. "Yes, my liege," she said. "I am yours to command."
"No! Cole!" Phoebe screamed one last time, trying to break free. He coldly ignored her cries and turned his back on her, speaking in low tones to the Seer. Then the tonic began to take effect, and she felt as if she were in a dream. Her struggles ceased, and she docilely allowed herself to be led back to her chamber.
Paige glumly studied the Dragon Blade. "This just keeps getting better and better," she said.
"At least Cole's alive," Piper said. "Well, sort of. But I've been stuck in one of those daggers as well, and I came out just fine." She picked up the dagger and peered at it. "Can you hear me in there? You'll be just fine."
"Should I try to orb him out?" Paige wondered aloud. "Like I did you?"
"And put him where? In a shiny glowy orb?" Piper said. "We kinda need a body to put him into."
"So we need demon Cole to put soul Cole back into," Paige said. "Then what do we do? I orbed yours into you but that was when I was getting a power boost in Limbo."
Piper flipped through the Book of Shadows. "I don't know. There are spells we've used before..."
"The potion I used to swap bodies with Phoebe?" Paige suggested.
"There's the power switching spell, too," Piper said, studying the page. "And one Phoebe used to get into her past life's body. But all these needed the caster to be willing to switch. Cole can't and Belthazor won't."
"So we wing it," Paige said with forced cheer. "No demon can withstand the might of our bad poetry."
Piper pushed the Book away and sank back in her chair, feeling overwhelmed. "We have to figure something out. Phoebe's due date has to be soon. And we still don't know what we're going to do to save her...save them." Tears began to blur her vision. "I don't know what to do... Paige, I'm so scared..."
Paige perched on the arm of the chair, putting her arm around Piper's shoulders. "Hey," she said. "It's my turn to fall apart. You went last time, and you can't go twice in a row, it's not fair."
Despite herself, Piper smiled a little. "I didn't know there was a sign-up sheet," she sniffled.
"Of course there is," Paige said. "We can't go to pieces at the same time. So we have to take turns. And the schedule clearly says that I get to go next."
Piper laughed. "What would I do without you?" Piper said, hugging her youngest sister.
Leo orbed into the living room a moment later, and Piper looked up at her husband. "Any news from your bosses?" she asked hopefully.
"It's not good," he said. "They've been looking into what Phoebe said when she was here. She wasn't lying. Her and Cole's baby may destroy the world."
"With what, a temper tantrum?" Paige scoffed. "It's a baby. What can it do besides cry and fill diapers? Though then again, diapers can be pretty potent weapons."
"It's what he'll grow into," Leo said.
"Well, it won't matter because he's going to grow up safe and well, here with us," Piper said firmly.
Leo frowned. "Piper, I know you don't want to hear this, but the Elders -- some of them -- want you to kill the baby, any way you can. It can't be allowed to live."
"Tell them to go to hell," Piper said. "The baby is an innocent. It may be possessed by the Source, but it hasn't directly harmed anyone yet. So if we can get to him before hurts anyone, we're good, right? Like when Phoebe was a banshee or Paige was a vampire. Or what about that stupid forty-eight hour window? If he hasn't used his powers for evil, he's not evil."
"Maybe..." Leo said reluctantly.
"All right then," Piper said, considering the matter closed. "We just need to figure out when Phoebe is going to have the baby. Cole told me she wants to have him here, in the manor. But we can't just not leave the house for a month, waiting for her to show up."
"The Elders told me something else," Leo said. "A witch uncovered an ancient prophecy. Most of these things are meaningless, but a demon tried to kill the witch before she could tell her Whitelighter about it, so maybe it could mean something."
"What was it?" Paige asked.
"It roughly translated as 'Two planets burn as one over a sky of light and magic shall rest on a holy day to welcome the twice-blessed child,'" Leo said.
"Twice-blessed?" Piper repeated. "By good and evil? Do you think this is talking about Phoebe's baby?"
"Hey, aren't the Northern Lights supposed to get really bright in a couple days?" Paige said.
Piper looked at a calendar on the wall. "February second. That must be it."
"Groundhog Day?" Paige said, cocking her head. "Phoebe wants to have her evil child on Groundhog Day? That's so...not scary."
Piper smacked Paige's arm. "No, Imbolc. It's one of the Wiccan Sabbats and you should know that. It's the center point of the dark half of the year -- it's supposed to mark the return of spring...life returning to the world."
"Or darkness keeping its hold if you pervert it," Paige said. "Hang on, let me look something up..." She pulled out her cell phone and wandered into the next room for a few minutes, then announced when she returned, "Saturn and Jupiter are in the night sky now, pretty close together."
Raising an eyebrow, Piper asked, "When did you learn about astronomy?"
"When I learned how to dial the phone number of the science geek I had a date with a couple weeks ago," Paige said with a grin and a mock curtsey.
"Okay, so if this prophecy is right, we know the date then," Piper said. "But what does 'magic shall rest' mean?"
"Doesn't sound good, whatever it is," Paige said. "In fact, I would qualify that as bad."
Piper stood and started to pace. "We can't do this alone. We need help."
"The Elders say you should..." Leo began.
Piper threw up her hands, accidentally blowing a hole in the wall in her frustration. "Dammit, Leo, I don't care what the Elders say. You will go back up there and tell them that if they don't want the spawn of all evil running around and if they want the Charmed Ones whole again then they will get off their asses and stop telling us what to do and send some help instead!"
Leo smiled at her in admiration. "I'll see what I can do," he promised.
"And if they don't help," Piper said grumpily, "when we're done with the Source I'm going to go up there and blow them up, too."
