A.N I've been having serious writers block which is my reason for the delays, but thanks to my good friend Steffi I've had an idea for it. Slightly Angst
Disclaimer I don't own Charmed etc.
Chapter 14
Goodbye Baby
Six months later Paige was finally settled into Cole's apartment, she lay on the bed and looked around a smile playing on her lips and her hands rested on her bump. Cole hadn't been impressed when she moved in, half of her stuff had taken up the apartment and her clothes had forced Cole's out of his own closet. She had given him a sexy smile and a passionate kiss though, and he moved his clothes from the closet to the drawers. In her opinion she was dealing with being pregnant quite well, though Cole was spending a lot of the time in the underworld and it was causing tension between them leading to less time where they could be intimate with one another. She had accepted it though, after all Cole had spent most of his life in the underworld it was all that he knew but she couldn't help but worry. Everytime he shimmered out, Paige had to fight the feeling in her heart and mind that he wasn't coming back. He usually did, most of the time he was tired and he retired to their bedroom before falling asleep. She would be lying if she said she wasn't bothered by it, she just wanted to feel him close to her again. What made it worse was that everytime he finally shimmered home he had been hurt in one way or another, a cut on his chest or another bruise on his arm, she couldn't stand back and let her boyfriend be hurt but he always convinced her he was okay and that everything was better now that he was home with her, she never questioned it though he was always too tired or worn out from his injuries to continue or argue back. She decided that she would talk to him when he got back, carefully she sat up and picked up her phone ready to call him but to her surprise he shimmered in. His figure in front of her, his eyes were drooping slightly and he had a few cuts on his body, he slumped down onto the bed and Paige let out a gasp as she saw the extent of the damage on his back. He didn't want to look at her though; he was too ashamed to say he was in trouble down in the underworld. Too ashamed to ask for help off of his pregnant girlfriend and too ashamed to admit he couldn't handle what was going on. He had to lie again, and tell her everything was fine, but it was getting more difficult. He was shimmering out more and more, trying to keep her safe from the demons that came after him. In trying to get his reputation back once again in the underworld he had killed an upper level demon, a demon which many of the others highly respected and now a bounty was out for his death. It was even harder to tell her the thing he knew would rip her apart, the one thing he knew she wouldn't be able to deal with him telling her. He had seen his own death, in his own house, in the not to far future. He knew deep down he was going to die soon, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Paige. With a heavy sigh he turned to face Paige who had gotten off of the bed and was searching through a drawer, he saw her pull out a bottle of ointment and his eyes followed her figure as she made her way round to the front of him, he looked up at her and saw the fear in her eyes,
"Paige, I'm okay" he assured her, the first words out of his mouth, as she removed his dust ridden jacket, she shook her head not wanting to reply and started to unbutton his shirt, he raised his hands and took hers within his "I'm fine I promise its just a few cuts and bruises" he felt her wrap her fingers around his larger hand,
"No its not Cole" she let her hands drop and found herself becoming angry "Its not just a few cuts and bruises, its everytime I see you, you have a new injury to yourself" Cole opened his mouth to protest but she continued "I hate seeing you like this. I hate not being held in your arms, or feeling your heartbeat. I know it sounds selfish but I'm sick of being lonely when you're not around and being ignored when you are" His eyes connected to hers as she felt tears prick them "I'm scared everytime you shimmer out that your not going to come back" she added as an afterthought. Cole sighed and put his hand on her waist, she moved away from him and picked up the ointment, pouring it gently onto a cotton pad and applying it to the side of his head where a cut was starting to weep again.
"Baby please" He moved his head and stood up in front of her putting his arms gently around her "I'm fine, don't get upset" Paige put the small pad and ointment on the side and hugged Cole tightly, closing her eyes and resting her head against his chest.
"I couldn't cope if you left me" she admitted quietly, she felt Cole kiss the top of her head and stroke her back, Cole felt the sudden harsh guilt feeling in his stomach,
"Don't think about it Paige please" he breathed, Paige pulled away from him and looked up at him, he moved some dark hair out of her face and smiled slightly "I've missed you" Paige put her hand on his chest as she smiled back. He lowered his head and kissed her, letting all his emotions flow into the kiss. He had missed her; he didn't know how he could even think of breaking it to her that he was being hunted again. He felt her return his kiss and gently sat on the bed and let her push him back so her body was laid on the top of his. This is where he wanted to be, with Paige, he didn't know how long it was until the inevitable was going to happen and he wanted to spend what was left of his time with the woman he loved.
A young blonde man ran towards the Halliwell manor his face sweaty and his clothes ragged over his body; he got to the top of the steps and banged on the front door as he waited for someone to answer. Finally the door opened and a pretty brunette woman answered the door, shock registered on her face as she saw the young man on her doorstep,
"Oh my god!" Phoebe exclaimed "Are you okay?" the young man shook his head and coughed loudly as he put his hands on his knees,
"A…demon" he started. Phoebe's eyes widened and she put her hand on the man's shoulders.
"Come in" she helped him walk in and closed the door. Carefully she led him to the living room and sat him down on the couch "Piper" she called as she walked towards the bottom of the stairs "Piper come on" she repeated, she heard her sisters footsteps come down the stairs pulling at the bottom of her top,
"What? What is it? I was about to take a shower" She stood in front of her sister and looked at her, Phoebe nodded with her head towards the living room,
"Innocent"
"Oh right yeah now that makes sense" She walked past her sister and went to the living room "Hey…" she looked at Phoebe who had walked into the room, but she shrugged in reply "Sorry I didn't catch your name"
"Simon" the man replied quietly "Look I haven't got time for pleasantries. I'm magical but I have no idea how to make this potion" He pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket and thrust it into Pipers hand, he looked between the sisters desperately "It has to be strong enough to kill a once higher level demon. He's not as powerful as he used to be but he's still dangerous" Piper unfolded the piece of paper and looked at the ingredients, before passing it to Phoebe who also scanned the small piece of paper "Please help me" Phoebe sighed and nodded,
"I think we can, Piper what do you think?" She glanced down at her sister who seemed to be thinking then nodded in agreement,
"Yeah I think we can" She got up, followed by Simon "It shouldn't take us too long" With that she led the other two into the kitchen where her and Phoebe got to work on the potion.
Cole sat up in bed, thoughts raced through his mind how he was going to tell Paige that he wasn't going to be around anymore, he couldn't exactly tell her over dinner that he knew he was going to die in the next few days. He listened to Paige breathing softly next to her and turned his gaze to her, she looked so happy and content where she was, it may have been early but she was worn out so Cole let her sleep. Her hair spread on the pillow behind her, her fingers clung to the sheet that was wrapped around her body, Cole could feel the tears in his eyes form again, he knew couldn't leave her. He loved her too much, he swallowed hard and stroked her hair gently, and he saw the corners of her mouth form into a smile under his touch. He kissed her forehead gently and got up, quickly putting his trousers on which were on the floor and walked to desk and took out a pen and paper, and he glanced over at Paige one more time and began to write the letter to her. Once he finished he put it in an envelope and put it in his jacket pocket before he got undressed and climbed into bed with Paige putting his arm around her. He was going to lose her and there was nothing that could be done about it.
Piper held the purple liquid up to the light and closed one eye and she turned it slowly, Phoebe sat with Simon at the table as they watched Piper make sure the potion was right,
"Thanks for this" Simon said, smiling slightly "It means a lot that you would help a guy in trouble like me" Phoebe patted the top of his hand,
"It's what we do. It raises the question though, how did you know how to find us?" She asked, Simon shuffled in his chair and fiddled with his jacket buttons,
"You're the Charmed Ones" He answered "Is it ready yet?" He looked up at Piper and she walked towards him,
"One potion good for the vanquish of one demon" She told him holding the vial out to him,
"That's all I'll need it for" He replied and stood up "Thanks again, I wont forget this" The sisters smiled at him, and he made his way quickly out of the room. The sisters watched him go and glanced at one another as they heard the front door slam shut.
"That was…" Phoebe started getting up "Weird. Which demon do you think he needs it for?" Piper shrugged
"No idea" She admitted and started to clean up the mess. "Least we aren't the ones doing it this time" She smiled as she threw a dishcloth to Phoebe who caught it with one hand and nodded in agreement. Simon turned the corner at the bottom of the street and smiled as he looked at the potion in his hand, he walked into an alleyway before shimmering out.
Paige was laid laughing on the couch, holding her stomach as Cole hit her again gently with the pillow
"And that's for calling me lazy" he smiled, he sat on the arm of the couch where his jacket was and threw the pillow to the end of the couch where Paige's feet where. Her laughing subsided as she sat up and grabbed Cole by his shirt,
"You're mean" She pouted and pulled Cole onto the couch next to herself and kissed his neck tenderly "Still couldn't live without you though baby" Cole closed his eyes and took a long deep breath, Paige looked at him "What is it?" She asked, she traced the contours of his chest with her finger through his shirt, he sighed and opened his eyes,
"Nothing" He told her "I love you Paige"
"I love you too" She replied smiling. She had never been so happy, she was with the man she loved and carrying his child, anything that ruined this would have to be a big thing.
"No I mean it" He urged "I love you more than anything, and whatever happens please don't forget that" He looked into her eyes as he spoke; she put her hand on his cheek,
"What are you talking about?" She asked, her voice carrying a tone of worry. He sighed he had to tell her;
"There's something you should know" He started. Before he had a chance to finish his sentence 'Simon' shimmered in, the potion in his large hand behind his back. Cole was hit with a sense of Déjà vu and stood up, followed by Paige "Not now please" In one swift movement 'Simon' threw the small vial at Coles feet where it smashed, in unison Paige and Cole looked at one another before the potion suddenly got to work vanquishing Cole. The blast that it caused sent both Paige and 'Simon' flying backwards into the wall. Paige heard Cole cry out in agony, and there was a sudden silence. Paige sat up, ignoring the sharp pain in her side, the tears that had formed in her eyes began to slowly make their way down her curved cheeks,
"Cole..?" She whispered, 'Simon' sat up where he was and turned to Paige, a smile on his face
"Is dead" He told her smugly, Paige snapped her head around to him in time to see him shimmer out. Paige could feel a knot of dread in her stomach as she staggered to her feet.
"Cole" She started to cry harder, the sobs racking her body harshly "Cole get back here" Her throat tightened as she made her way to the couch, collapsing onto it "You can't leave me. I need you." she sobbed, her chest heaving from the tears, she felt lost she didn't know what to do. Her eyes caught Cole's jacket which had fallen to the floor, shakily she picked it up and pulled it close to her face, inhaling his scent, the tears never once stopping their flow. A small envelope fluttered out of the jacket and landed on Paige's knee, in wonder her eyes looked at it and saw it was addressed to her. In Cole's handwriting. Carefully she put his jacket down and picked up the enveloped, curiosity taking over; she opened it and unfolded the letter, reading the words in front of her.
Paige,
I need you to know before anything else you mean more to me than the world. I would have given anything just to be with you for a second. I never meant to be away for as long as I did, and I never meant to leave you and our child in the way that I have. You're the most precious thing that I ever been able to call my own and I lied to you. I told you everything was fine when it wasn't, I know I should have told you but baby this was meant to happen. Having to leave you is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. When you weren't in the room I missed you and when you were I just wanted to hold you. You're the woman I wanted to fall asleep next to at night and wake up next to in the morning. Just because I'm not here Paige doesn't mean my love for you has died because it never will. God this hurts so much, having to leave you, knowing I will never see you smile again, hear your laugh, touch your lips. Please don't cry because I've gone, smile because of what we had. Just because I'm not here in body doesn't mean I've left you, I'll always be watching you, I'll always be there somewhere. What we had Paige has been the most amazing, most exciting, most beautiful thing I have ever felt. You were everything that I lived for and all that I loved Paige, I know you can get through this. You might not think it, but you will get through this and you will make a wonderful mother to our child, I know you will. These aren't comforting words, these words are the truth. I wish I could hold you, tell you it will be fine, but I can't. All I can say is that you will be fine, let me be your memory Paige.
I love you Paige, don't ever forget that baby.
Forever,Cole.
Paige took a shaky breath, her body shuddered in grief, her face was pain stricken and her eyes were clouded with newly formed unshed tears. Cole was gone, and he wasn't coming back. Her whole life was shattered, and she was expected to cope. She coughed from the tension the crying had put upon her throat, and she orbed out. She needed to get away from that house, unwillingly she orbed to the manor. Her old home and once again her new home, she orbed into the arms of her sisters and broke down, drowning in her own steady flow of tears.
A.N Meeep! That was long. Okay so that was more than long but hey I was inspired and dramatic, so sue me. Ha though. You cant as I am only 15! Please Review and I will be a happy little girly.