CHARMED
"Break from Evil"
by shel
© october 2006
disclaimer: the charmed ones, cole, and leo, and the rest of the cast of characters we've come to know and love, belong to spelling television, inc. and possible other copyright holders. i intended no true infringement on their copyrights; i only wanted to borrow these marvelous characters for a short time in my own scenarios and hopefully return them no worse for wear; the only things i've gained from this story are the satisfaction and pleasure of having written it and in knowing that others may have enjoyed it too…
rating: pg-13
summary: adjusting to being the source and queen has begun…
timeline: one night after the end of s4's 'we're off to see the wizard'…
archive: please don't without expressed permission…
notes: minor references to s1's 'feats of clay,' s3's 'the honeymoon's over,' and s4's 'marry-go-round,' and 'bite me'…please let me know if you enjoyed my tale and why and, if not, why not…and, please, don't bother wasting your time or mine by sending any flames…
Part One
Cole nearly fried the offending phone with a fireball. "What?" he snarled as he grabbed the receiver, glanced at the clock, and saw it was only slightly after three. Barely listening to the caller's voice, he immediately said, "Phoebe, for you." But when his wife merely murmured his name and burrowed into his side, he practically jabbed her with the phone, "Dammit, Phoebe, the phone!"
"My sisters?" she mumbled as she peeked across his bare chest at the digital clock. The shock of the time woke her and she shot up straight in bed. "What happened? What's wrong?"
"Not them," he muttered, thankful it wasn't Piper or Paige. He needed some time to think of a way to deal with them. They were still in shock over Phoebe's rejection of their life but it wouldn't be long before they'd try getting her back. And Phoebe was still too close to them, too near the edge of turning back to good. He needed to be careful about his actions and for that he needed sleep. "Kath, Kathi, Kat…I don't know," he turned onto his side, away from Phoebe, "it's three frickin' a.m."
"Kathi?" Phoebe fumbled with the phone and brought it to her ear, "Kathi? What's going on? What's wrong?"
Cole rubbed his eyes and cursed this Kathi before cursing those Tanzer demons for keeping him up late in the first place. If he hadn't had to deal with them, he might've been able to get to sleep at a decent hour. But, no, they had to be adamant about their list of demands of the new Source and then he'd had to come home to Phoebe who had her own set for him, not to mention the e-mail about his case at work. If the firm wasn't good for his cover, he'd quit without a second thought. Phoebe's gasp broke through his grumbling thoughts and he immediately rolled over to face her. "What?"
Phoebe placed a calming hand on his chest as she spoke into the phone, "Oh, sweetie, I'm so happy for you!" She smiled at Cole who inched up to a sitting position. "Forget about the time, I can't believe you're even talking on the phone!" She patted his chest again before resting her head on his shoulder.
As he awkwardly wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he sighed and put a new item to the top of his agenda: attain the power of listening to the other end of phone calls. "It's late," he reminded his wife when she seemed to grow more animated with each passing moment, "we both have work in the morning."
Phoebe pressed a kiss to his neck, "Are you up for visitors? Cole and I are gonna be in New York anyway and I'd -- no, I'm not kidding, we --"
"We are?" he raised an eyebrow at her.
"I know I didn't tell you. That's the point of a surprise," she nodded, still smiling. "Seriously, we've got a flight out first thing in the morning. I'll come straight from the airport, probably won't be there before five-thirtyish, I guess."
Cole removed his arm and pushed himself back from her, "Phoebe…"
She hushed him with another pat to his chest. "Seriously, sweetie, we had to get up soon anyway to get to the airport. You know how security is these days. Don't worry, we'll nap on the plane."
He had to admit, he was impressed by the way the lies kept tripping off her tongue this early in the morning. She would make a formidable Queen. Still… "Phoebe, get off the phone…"
She blew her annoyed husband a kiss. "Look, Kat, I've gotta go. I'll see you later, literally," she giggled. "Right…You give that adorable husband of yours a big hug and kiss from me, okay? 'Kay, you get some rest. See you soon." She was still smiling as she handed Cole the phone to replace in the base unit.
"Since when are we going to New York?"
"Since I just found out that Kathi had twin girls," she replied happily. "They're five weeks early but Kathi says they're still nearly four pounds each and doing great and she's --"
"And who's this Kathi?"
Phoebe adjusted her position and sat cross-legged facing her frowning husband, "You're tired, I get that. But you know I've mentioned her before. You know she's a really good friend of mine from my time in New York and that we still keep in touch and she's been…. She's had three miscarriages in the past four years, Cole. You don't know what a miracle these twins are for her. She's --"
"Excited," he interrupted, "hence the call at three a.m." He didn't miss the way Phoebe's hand was brushing along her stomach. She probably wasn't even aware she was doing it. Reaching for her hand, he brought it to his lips for a kiss, "So you're excited and now you've got all sorts of baby things running through that mind of yours." He kissed her knuckles again before she could deny it, "But I'm sorry, New York is out of the question."
She yanked her hand away, "What are you talking about? You can shimmer me, flame me, whatever, there and back after work. What's the big deal?"
Pleased she hadn't even considered her 'no personal gain' rule, he still told her, "Number one, I've got meetings lined up all day, both work-wise and magic-wise, and, number two, you promised you'd let the Seer give you a physical."
"And I will," she grumbled, recalling that promise she'd made in a moment of weakness while they were celebrating their new status the night before. The Seer rubbed her the wrong way and she couldn't shake the foreboding feeling she got in the Seer's presence. Shaking her head free of those thoughts, she lightly rubbed his chest, "We need a break, Cole. It's like every five minutes something else changes. Can't we get away for a little while, just the two of us? Please…"
He placed his hand on top of hers, "I wish we could but --"
"I'm not asking for the whole day, Cole," she interrupted. "I've got a job too. It's just an hour or so, maybe dinner."
"I'm sorry, babe," he leaned forward to kiss her but when she jerked back and pulled her hand free from his, he grew annoyed. "I've got a full schedule and don't have the time to spare, not this week anyway."
"You're the frickin' Source, Cole!" she snapped. "You're telling me the Underworld can't manage a few minutes without you?"
"It won't be a few minutes, Phoebe," he accused, "and you know it. You'll decide to tell Elise you're not feeling well, morning sickness sounds legitimate, so you'll leave work early, maybe lunchtime, and then you'll widen those brown eyes of yours and plead with me to spend the day with you so you can shop for clothing and baby things since you're in New York anyway with the best stores in the world at your feet."
"Don't read my mind!" she demanded.
"I'm the Source," he reminded her.
"You're my husband!"
"And if you want me to stay that way," he coolly informed her, "then I have to meet certain obligations and ensure my --"
"Don't threaten me," Phoebe scrambled off the bed, "and to hell with your obligations!"
"You don't get it," he called after her as she stalked across the room, "where are you going?"
"Bathroom!"
Cole was still seething and about to go after her when he heard the retching sounds fill the silent air. And his anger melted away into concern. Whether it was due to morning sickness or stress, it couldn't be good for Phoebe. The problem was, she didn't yet understand that, completed ceremony or not, his position as Source was still tenuous, that others would be plotting against him and that she was his weak link.
He couldn't give her up and he needed to get through to her in order to protect her and their son. He had to make her see this wasn't a game, that there was more to their new life than the ability to use vast powers without fear of consequence. But by the time she returned to the room, one look at her wan appearance changed his mind about talking. Instead, he pulled aside the covers for her and offered her a cup of tea he had just created.
"I don't need it," she lied as she crawled under the covers and turned her back to him. Her stomach churned even as she declared, "And I won't inconvenience you 'bout New York. I just remembered I've got the power now to travel myself."
"Phoebe…"
"Good night, Cole."
Getting rid of the teacup with a fireball, Cole stared at his angry wife curled under the covers and he rubbed his face. "All right, you win." She didn't speak, didn't even move, and he slowly stretched out behind her. She remained stiff as he wrapped his arm around her waist so he clarified, "I'll take you to New York." When he felt her relax ever so slightly, he brushed aside her hair and kissed her shoulder, "I promise. I'll take you to New York to see your friend."
"Dinner?" When he didn't respond, she poked him in the stomach with her elbow. "Even the Source has to eat."
"Yes, we can do dinner," he murmured with a kiss to her neck.
Phoebe rolled over and kissed him soundly on the lips, "Lunch too?"
"Don't push it," he warned before she began tugging down his pajama bottom's waistband. "Are you sure?" When her tongue replied affirmatively to his ear, he magically removed her nightgown. "There, dinner, and back. That's all."
After trailing several kisses down his chest, she sat up and, lightly tracing his chin with her fingertip, suggested, "Surely the Source has demons to meet in New York…"
Clearly occupied with other matters, Cole pulled her down and, his lips meeting hers, promised, "We'll discuss it later…"
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