Dear peeps,

I just want to let everyone know, that from here on out I will try very hard to post weekly updates, on either Sunday or Monday nights, with the exception of next week, cause my mom and I are going to Cape Cod to visit my cousins. So, then, on with the show!

The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Witches in Love

By JewWitch

Chapter 2

"See, now aren't you glad we took a study break?" Phoebe grinned, laughing as Paige dipped her backwards on the crowded dance floor at P3.

"Well, it is Friday night," Paige agreed, "and I think I was starting to go a little cross-eyed…finals just make me all tweaky. You were right as usual, babe."

"Oooh, Paige, you are so gonna regret saying that," Piper teased, dancing alongside them in Leo's arms. "You just forfeited your right to win an argument for at least, oh, the next fifty years!"

"Whatever," Paige sighed, tightening her grip on Phoebe's waist as teasing fingertips grazed the nape of her neck. "As long as we're both still here in fifty years, I'll be happy." Phoebe smirked up into Paige's love struck eyes, and leaned in to kiss her.

"Ahh, young love," Piper sighed melodramatically, looking up at the ceiling with the back of her hand resting against her forehead. "Excuse me, I have to go cue up the power ballad!"

"C'mon, Paigey, let's go get a little privacy," Phoebe said with a roll of her eyes, leading her girlfriend by the hand into one of the private booths along the far edge of the dance floor. Just before they reached the curtain, Paige skipped forward and wrapped both arms around Phoebe's stomach, her momentum carrying them both through the red velvet curtain and onto the inviting couch beyond, where they flopped down giggling, transitioning flawlessly into a long, deep kiss.

"Finally got you alone," Paige murmured against Phoebe's lips, her fingers gliding lightly up under her girlfriend's wispy skirt.

"Mmm…" Phoebe sighed, before gently grasping Paige's wandering hands and pushing them back down. "Paige, you know I love you, but I am not gonna do it in Piper's club."

"Why not?" Paige pouted.

"Welll," Phoebe drawled, a shy smile quirking her lips, "Aside from the fact that we'd have half the club in here the second one of us starts screaming…I kinda had something else in mind when I brought you back here." Reaching around Paige, Phoebe wormed her hand behind the furthest couch cushion, coming back with a black velvet box. "It's something I've been meaning to give you for a long time." Paige stared open-mouthed at the little black box, eyes wide as saucers. "Don't you wanna open it, baby?" Phoebe asked softly. Slowly, Paige reached out with shaky fingers and took the box from Phoebe's outstretched hand, and opened it to reveal a glinting silver ring. Inside the band were etched the words, Phoebe loves Paige, followed by a tiny sideways figure eight—the symbol of eternity.

"It's white gold," Phoebe said softly, when Paige remained speechless. "I thought it would look better with your complexion."

"Oh, baby, it's—it's—it's too much. How can you afford this?"

"Oh, I'll be paying for it for a while yet," Phoebe grinned, gently taking the ring from Paige's trembling hand and slipping it onto her finger. "I just love wearing your ring so much; I love that every time someone sees it, they know I belong to you…I wanted to give you that, too. You're worth every penny, baby, and a million times more." Paige didn't even realize she was crying until Phoebe reached out and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Do you like it, my angel?"

"Oh, Phoebe, I love it—and I love you!" Paige laughed, throwing her arms around her girlfriend's neck and kissing her passionately. Phoebe reached out and grasped Paige's hand, entwining their fingers so both of their rings sparkled side-by-side. They both turned their faces to look down at their interlocked hands.

"That is such a beautiful sight," Phoebe sighed, resting her cheek on Paige's shoulder.

"Yeah," Paige agreed dazedly. "I feel a little guilty, though."

"What? Why?" Phoebe looked up quizzically.

"Cause I didn't have to pay for your ring," Paige explained softly, relaxing her grip on Phoebe's hand to graze her nails over her palm. "It was my grandmother's."

"Oh, sweetie…you gave me your grandmother's ring?" Phoebe's eyes softened until she looked about ready to melt.

"Well, yeah," Paige said, shrugging with a duh expression. "Who else would I give it to?" Phoebe laughed, even as a few tears slipped down her cheeks.

"Take me home this instant," Phoebe commanded, wrapping both arms around Paige's neck with a soft growl. "I wanna make you scream now."

"Your wish is my command, my lady," Paige purred happily, springing to her feet with a mock-formal bow. Phoebe reached for Paige's hand, locking their eyes together with an intense expression that left little question as to what she was thinking about. They were halfway across the dance floor in about three seconds, before Phoebe stopped suddenly, jerking Paige to a halt, too, as their hands were still entwined.

"Oh…" Phoebe whimpered softly, pressing her hand to her forehead and swaying slightly.

"Pheebs?" Paige cocked her head. "Honey, are you okay?" Phoebe looked up at Paige with a vacant, confused expression, and Paige was struck with the strangest feeling, as she looked searchingly into Phoebe's wide brown eyes, that she was looking at her girlfriend from very far away.

"I don't feel so…" With no warning at all, Phoebe's eyes rolled back into her head, and she passed out cold.

"Whoa!" Paige squealed, catching her girlfriend's limp body before she could crack her skull on the hardwood dance floor. Being only a few inches taller, and not more than ten pounds heavier, Paige couldn't hold Phoebe up on her own, and they sank to the floor together as the crowd around them backed away, staring and murmuring above the pounding music.

"Piper! Prue!" Paige cried, cradling Phoebe helplessly in her arms. The two elder Halliwells were upon them in seconds, Piper clearing the crowd off the dance floor while Prue fell to her knees anxiously beside her unconscious sister.

"Paige, what happened?" Prue gasped, reaching out and feeling Phoebe's face.

"I, I don't know!" Paige exclaimed, shaking her head. "One second she was fine, and then she just fainted!"

"Well, she doesn't have a fever," Prue said quietly, smoothing Phoebe's hair back gently and laying the back of her hand against her sister's forehead.

"She's not sick, Prue," Paige said in an undertone. "She's just…gone."

"Gone?" Prue looked up sharply. "What do you mean, Paigey?"

"I mean, I can't feel her," Paige whispered urgently, eyes darting up to be sure no one was listening to their conversation. "It's like—like something just stole her essence away."

"Something demonic?" Prue asked grimly. Paige nodded.

"Prue, I'm calling an ambulance," Piper said breathlessly, once the club had been cleared.

"No, Piper," Prue sighed, "That's not what she needs…it's the other thing."

"Oh." Piper groaned. "Book of Shadows?"

"Mm-hmm," Prue murmured, her hand running soothingly through her baby sister's silky brown hair, instinctually trying to comfort her though she knew, from what Paige had said, that Phoebe couldn't feel it. "C'mon, let's get her into the car."

Meanwhile, Phoebe was looking around at what appeared to be endless, empty gray space in every direction. There was no ground under her feet, no walls, no sky. Just, nothing. Oh, great, Phoebe thought with a deep frown. Now what's interrupting me from fucking my girlfriend senseless? She resolved that whatever it was, it was going to feel the full extent of Phoebe Halliwell's wrath.

"Hello, Phoebe," said a deep voice from out of the mist.

"Cole," Phoebe groaned, "I should have known."

"Sorry for pulling you into the neutral plane like this," Cole said dismissively, as if it were a minor transgression akin to interrupting her schoolwork. "I needed to talk to you, and I didn't think you'd trust me if I just showed up at the manor."

"And you think stealing my soul is going to engender trust, huh Cole?" Phoebe exclaimed incredulously.

"Now, Phoebe, there's no need to be so dramatic. I haven't stolen anything…just think of it as an inter-dimensional page."

"Paige," Phoebe murmured, putting a hand to her chest as she suddenly realized, amid her confusion, that her empathic connection to her girlfriend had been severed—and that meant Paige couldn't feel her, either. She knew that if their positions were reversed, and Paige had been the one to inexplicably lose consciousness and go into what looked like a psychic coma, she'd be going out of her mind with worry.

"Cole, you send me back this instant!" Phoebe demanded hotly.

"Of course," Cole said mildly, a ridiculously polite expression on his face considering that he was holding Phoebe against her will in a formless dimension outside of time and space. "Just as soon as we've had a chance to talk."

"I have nothing to say to you, Cole!" Phoebe yelled, her hands balling into fists involuntarily.

"Hey, I risked a lot bringing you here!" Cole snarled back, taking a step closer to Phoebe in the gaping void. "I've been dodging demons and bounty hunters for over six months, making sure no one knew you didn't really vanquish me. Coming out into the open like this is a huge risk, you know!"

"Well gee, Cole, the fact that you're still willing to risk mortal peril to exert your will over me makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside," Phoebe said scathingly. "Exactly what is your point, here?"

"I want you back, Phoebe," Cole said simply, gazing down at her with the most honest expression he was capable of. "I'll do whatever it takes to get you back."

"It's too late," Phoebe said quietly, surprising herself with the gentleness in her voice. She supposed she did feel something for him after all, even if it was only pity. "You just need to move on, okay?"

"No, dammit!" Cole growled, grabbing her shoulders in desperation. She immediately twisted out of his grasp, moving into a fighting stance.

"Don't you fucking touch me," Phoebe snarled. "I mean it Cole, we're through. We were through before we even began."

"Look, Phoebe, I'm sorry I tried to kill you…I really am. It was all I knew before…and then I met you, and I remembered what it was to be human, to love. That's all that matters to me now. You have to believe that." His eyes were wide and desperate.

"I do believe it, Cole," Phoebe said gently, "but it doesn't change anything. If you want to honor the love you found in your heart, use it to start over—to be good. Then maybe you can have a real chance to love someone else."

"I don't want to love someone else!" Cole howled, a large vein bulging in his forehead. "I want you, dammit!"

"Send me home, Cole," Phoebe said quietly. "I have nothing to offer you." Cole sighed and looked down at his feet.

"I'm not giving up, Phoebe," he said quietly. Then he became a blur, fading into the larger blur that was all around them, and just as suddenly as she had arrived, Phoebe found herself blinking up at the familiar ceiling of the sunroom. She tried to sit up quickly, too quickly to realize how weak and dizzy she was.

"Ohhh, brother," she groaned, falling back against the cushions as the room spun around her.

"Phoebe!" Paige cried, and before she knew what was happening, Phoebe was safe and warm in her girlfriend's arms, and surrounded by her sisters. "Are you okay, angel? What happened?" Paige asked gently, rocking her and covering her face with soft butterfly kisses.

"I dunno," Phoebe said slowly, blinking around at Prue and Piper's concerned faces. "I…I can't remember." Phoebe wasn't sure exactly why she was lying to them; she had hated lying to her sisters about vanquishing Cole before, but she had done it anyway, out of fear. Fear of what they would do if they knew the truth. Now—well, now she just wanted to protect them, protect Paige from her demonic ex. She had purposely avoided mentioning the fact that she was engaged to Cole, because she knew there was no way he'd leave Paige alone if he knew about her. She had made it perfectly clear to Cole that there would be nothing more between them—why drag Paige down into that ugliness now?

"Boy, are you a rotten liar," Paige said with a smirk.

"Huh?" Phoebe stared up at her girlfriend in shock. Prue and Piper stared at her, too.

"Sweetie, I know you're just trying to protect me," Paige said soothingly, running her fingers loosely through Phoebe's hair. "But you can't protect me with lies…no matter how good the reason. Whatever happened to you, baby, you can tell me. We're in this together…remember?"

"I'm sorry, Paigey," Phoebe whispered, feeling hot tears pricking the back of her eyes. "I…I didn't mean…"

"Ssh," Paige murmured, silencing her girlfriend with a kiss. "I know." Taking Paige and Piper's hands, Phoebe slowly sat up, giving herself a moment to allow the room to stop spinning.

"It was Cole," she admitted quietly. "He said…he said he wanted me back."