Paige, and Phoebe arrive together at the hospital. "Hi -- I'm Paige Turner. We got a phone call, my husband was just brought in here, Cole Turner. He was in a car accident." Paige says to the nurse behind the desk, fighting back tears.
"Have a seat ma'am -- I'll see what I can find out for you." the nurse says, and she and Phoebe sit down.
"He's gonna be okay, right? He has to be okay, Phoebe -- he just has to be." Paige says.
"Shhhh, it's alright, just calm down. I'm sure Cole will be fine -- and I know right now he'd just want you to stay calm, okay?" Phoebe says.
"Maybe you should go back to the manor -- Piper probably shouldn't be alone." Paige says.
"She wanted me to come with you. She said she'll be fine." Phoebe says. A doctor comes into the waiting room.
"Mrs. Turner?" he calls out.
"I'm Mrs. Turner." Paige says, standing up, as does Phoebe.
"I'm Dr. Richards -- I'm a neurological resident here." he says, shaking her hand.
"Where is Cole? Where is my husband, can I see him?" Paige asks.
"He's stable -- for now. Please, come with me, I'll take you to him." the doctor says, and he glance at her stomach. "Is this your first?" he asks.
"Yeah -- only six more weeks to go." Paige says. "Oh, this is my sister Phoebe, I want her with me if that's okay."
"That's fine." the doctor replies. "Mrs. Turner, your husband was lucky to get out of this alive. Miraculously, he suffered no broken bones or serious internal injuries. He did suffer a collapsed lung on his left side and the trauma team inserted a chest tube. Right this way." he says, and she and Phoebe follow him down a hall and through a door. Cole is lying unconscious in a bed in and ER cubicle, hooked up to several machines. A large bandage is wrapped around his head, clearly covering a serious head injury.
"Cole -- oh, baby." Paige says, rushing to his side and kissing him on the cheek. "Has he been awake?"
"No." the doctor replies. "That's what we're concerned about. We did a CT scan of his brain -- he suffered serious head trauma in the accident. The outer wound is superficial; he may have some minor residual scarring but that can be removed with surgery if desired. Unfortunately, the head trauma caused a blood clot on his brain. I'm very concerned that it will rupture, and it could cause serious brain damage -- or death."
"Can't you do something for him?" Phoebe asks.
"We want to operate and remove the clotting before it ruptures -- it's really his only chance at this point, it's already too large for any kind of medication to shrink it. Brain surgery is always a risk, but -- we have a good team here, and your husband is young and in otherwise excellent health -- we have every reason to believe he'll pull through just fine." the doctor tells them.
"Phebes --- I can't lose him." Paige says, squeezing Cole's hands. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." Paige says, now crying. "He was on his way home -- I just asked him to stop and pick up a few things at the store. It could have waited, I didn't need him to do that, and --"
"Paige, come on -- it's not your fault. It was an accident." Phoebe says, hugging her.
"But Phoebe -- surgery? We're not used to dealing with things like that." Paige says.
"What she means is, our family is used to a more -- homeopathic way of healing." Phoebe says.
"Well, I'm afraid that's not an option here." the doctor tells them. "Mrs. Turner, I'm sorry -- I can get another doctor in here for a second opinion, but I firmly believe that if your husband doesn't have this surgery -- soon -- he probably won't survive. It's your decision." Paige puts her hand on her belly, sensing that Ben is extremely upset.
"It's okay, honey -- Daddy's right here, and he's gonna be fine." she says, and she takes Cole's hand and holds it up to her belly. "See -- Daddy will be just fine." Paige looks up at the doctor. "Do whatever you have to do -- please don't let my husband die."
"We'll take good care of him, Mrs. Turner, I promise. You'll need to leave now, we have to get him prepped for surgery. And there will be some paperwork for you to fill out in the office." the doctor tells her. Paige reaches over and kisses Cole on the lips.
"I love you so much, Cole -- and Ben loves you, too. We'll both be right here when you wake up, okay?" Paige says, and she and Phoebe leave the room.
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"Hey, thanks for coming." Phoebe says to Eli, who gives her a kiss on the cheek as he enters the hospital waiting room.
"No problem -- any word yet?" Eli asks.
"No, nothing. He's still in surgery." Phoebe says.
"Well, here -- I got you girls something to eat." Eli says, handing her a bag.
"Thanks." Phoebe says, and she walks over to Paige, who is standing and staring out a window, softly crying to herself. "Paige, honey -- Eli brought us some dinner." Phoebe tells her.
"Thanks -- but I'm not hungry right now." Paige says.
"Sweetie, you're pregnant, you have to eat. Come on -- you need to sit down, too. If Cole finds out I didn't take care of you during all of this he's gonna go ballistic." Phoebe tells her. She and Paige sit down.
"I love him, Phebes. I really, really love him -- I guess I didn't even realize how much until now." she says.
"He loves you too." Phoebe says. "The way he looks at you -- and the way he smiles every time he talks about Ben. It's not the same as it was when he was with me. I always thought I was supposed to be with Cole, but -- maybe he and I were just a way to bring the two of you together." Phoebe starts to open the bag Eli has given. "Here -- just eat a little bit. For Cole -- and for Ben."
"Okay -- I'll try." Paige says. Phoebe gets up and goes over to Eli.
"I'm really worried about her." Phoebe says. "Ben is such an emotional little boy, and -- she and Cole are so tightly bonded to him right now. And Ben seems to thrive on the strength from both of them. Paige has been having such a hard time with this pregnancy lately -- I don't know if she can do this alone."
"She's not alone -- she has you and Piper." Eli says.
"But we're not Cole." Phoebe says.
"When my wife was pregnant with Nick, we went through similar things. She claimed she could talk to him -- she felt everything he felt. It took quite a toll on her the last few months of the pregnancy, too. Maybe Ben is gifted in a similar way -- Paige has sensing abilities, right?"
"Yeah -- and ever since the elders took her whitelighter powers, and as Ben grows, they've heightened even more." Phoebe tells him. "She needs Cole so much right now -- I just can't believe this is happening. It's not fair."
"I just can't help but wonder if Lilith had a hand in all of this." Eli says.
"It was an accident -- a witness saw it, a dog darted out of nowhere, he swerved and ran off the road." Phoebe says.
"From what I understand, Lilith can alter her form to be anything -- human or animal."
"You think she caused this?" Phoebe asks.
"I don't know -- but honestly, I wouldn't be that surprised. Would you?" Eli asks, just as Cole's doctor comes out into the waiting room.
"How is Cole?" Paige asks, quickly rushing to him.
"He made it through the surgery. All we can do now is wait and try to be optimistic -- however, there is a chance that he could have some memory loss, or some brain damage -- and Mrs. Turner, you have to understand that, despite our best efforts, there is a slight chance your husband may never wake up." the doctor tells her.
"No, I don't believe that -- Cole will come back to me. He has to." Paige says. "I'd like to see him now."
"Of course." the doctor says.
"I'll go with you." Phoebe tells her.
"No -- Ben and I need some time alone with him." Paige says, and she follows the doctor into Cole's hospital room. She sits down on the edge of his bed, reaches over and gives him a kiss on the forehead, then takes his hand. "Cole -- I know you can hear me, honey." she says to him. "You're gonna be okay -- but you need to come back to us, baby. You need to wake up and come back to us." Paige takes his hand and puts it up against her belly. "See Ben -- your Daddy's right here. And he's going to be just fine. So there's nothing to worry about. Nothing at all." Paige says, fighting back tears. She continues to hold his hand up against her belly as Ben kicks, and after a few moments she feels his hand move slightly, and she feels a gentle sqeeze come from his hand. "Cole?" she says, and she touches his cheek softly. "You can feel him, can't you? He loves you so much, baby -- you come back to us for him. Come back for Ben. Come back for me." Paige climbs into the bed with Cole and curls up next to him, closes her eyes and drifts off to sleep . . . .
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The next morning, Piper enters Cole's hospital room -- Paige is still curled up on the bed with Cole, asleep. Piper touches her shoulder. "Cole?" Paige says, waking up.
"No, it's me honey." Piper says.
"Who's taking care of Melinda?" Paige asks, sitting up.
"My dad is with her -- come on, I'm gonna take you home." Piper says.
"No, I -- I can't leave Cole." Paige says. "He needs me."
"He needs you to take care of yourself and of Ben." Piper says, noticing that Paige is very pale and her eyes are extremely red from crying. "When's the last time you ate something?"
"I -- I don't remember. A little bit last night, I guess." Paige says.
"See -- honey, you're pregnant, you have to eat. You have to take care of Ben, you have to put him first. You know that's what Cole would want -- if he wakes up and sees you like this he's gonna have a fit and you know it." Piper tells her.
"He squeezed my hand last night, Piper -- I was talking to him, and had his hand on my stomach, and Ben was so happy to feel his Daddy there, and he kicked, and Cole squeezed my hand. He's coming back to us Piper, I can't leave him now."
"Paige, that's wonderful, but you need to go home and rest. I just talked to Phoebe -- she's helping out at your office calling clients Cole had scheduled, and then she'll be on her way here. She'll sit with him while you're at home getting some rest."
"Maybe if they bring another bed in here for me -- I'll be fine." Paige says.
"No, you won't be fine, because you'll spend every second you're here focusing on Cole and not on YOU. I am NOT taking no for an answer -- you're going home." Piper says. "We're going to get you something to eat, and you're gonna get some rest, okay? Then you can come back -- maybe by then Cole will be awake and on his way to recovering, and he'll be really relieved to know that you and Ben are okay. You've been there for me the last couple of weeks -- it's my turn to return the favor now." Paige looks at Cole, and kisses him on the cheek.
"I'll be back honey, okay? You just keep getting better -- Piper is right. I don't want you getting all upset with me for not taking care of myself. See, I'm behaving, just like you would want me to. I love you, baby -- I'll be back." Paige gives him one last kiss, and she leaves with Piper. A few short moments after Paige and Piper leave, Cole begins to stir a bit.
"Paige." he whispers in a weak voice, then drifts back into unconsciousness just as Lilith appears in the room.
"Paige, Paige . . . . . why couldn't you have just died the first time I tried to kill you like you were supposed to? All this has done is bonded those silly Charmed Ones even closer together to protect their precious little Paige since you're no longer up to the task." Lilith says, and she pauses for a moment. "Then again -- there just might be a way to break that bond -- at least between two of them. You may be useful after all, Cole. Let's see if these whitelighter powers of your brother-in-law's actually work." Lilith lays her hands on Cole for a moment. "Just enough to get you on the road to recovery without anyone becoming suspicious. Oh, but we can't forget -- well, you can. Let's see what will happen if your darling Paige no longer exists -- as far as you're concerned, anyway." Lilith lays her hands on Cole's forehead for a few moments. "That should do just fine." she says, and she vanishes just as Phoebe enters the room, talking on her phone.
"I don't know how long I'll be, I'm sorry. Paige doesn't want him to be alone -- and she really needs to rest, Piper and I need to really look out for her until Cole has recovered. I'm so glad you understand Eli -- sure, if you want to come by here later that would be fine. Give Nicholas a hug and kiss for me. Okay -- bye." she says, hanging up the phone, and she sits down in the chair next to Cole's bed. "Thanks a lot Cole -- I had to cancel lunch plans with Eli to sit here with you, I hope you're happy." she says to him. "Yeah, you like that don't you? Mr. anti-warlock." Phoebe sighs in exasperation. "Come, on Cole, wake up -- you've got a wife who's just a wreck and kid who needs his father and we've all got a crazy, psycho-bitch demon to vanquish and a whitelighter to rescue -- this is so NOT a good time to for you to be sleeping on the job." Phoebe touches his face gently. "Come on Cole -- we all need you." Phoebe says. Suddenly Cole begins to open his eyes. "Cole? Hey -- can you hear me?" Phoebe asks.
"What happened? Where am I?" Cole asks.
"You're in the hospital -- you were in an accident." Phoebe tells him. Cole turns and looks at her.
"Phoebe." he says, and smiles.
"Yeah, it's me -- boy, you had us all worried sick." Phoebe says, fighting back tears. "But you're gonna be okay now, that's all that matters." she says, squeezing his hand.
"Why am I in the hospital -- was it the bounty hunters? It wasn't Shax, was it?" Cole asks.
"Bounty hunters? Shax -- Cole, what are you talking about?" Phoebe says.
"Why didn't Leo just heal me? Phoebe, I can't be here, people will find out about me -- that I'm -- different." Cole says.
"Cole, you're not different, you're mortal now, remember?" Phoebe asks.
"Mortal?" Cole says, and he tries to sit up, then lies back down, grimacing in pain. "It hurts -- Phoebe it hurts so much. Please -- I know I'm not Leo's favorite person but if he can just try and heal me --" Cole begs.
"Cole -- Leo is gone. He's with Lilith, remember?" Phoebe says. Cole gets a look of shock on his face.
"How do you know about Lilith?" he asks. "You can't -- you can't know about her, she'll kill you."
"Cole, just calm down. It seems like you're having some trouble remembering things, but that's okay. You suffered a very serious head injury, the doctors said that memory loss might happen. But it'll be okay, you're just a little confused right now, that's all." Phoebe says.
"I'm not confused -- I know who I am, I know who you are -- and I know that I love you, Phoebe. I know how much I love you." Cole says, looking up at her and squeezing her hand.
"Cole -- you are confused. We're not together anymore. You're with Paige now." Phoebe tells him.
"Paige? Who's Paige?" Cole asks.