Heaven's Mistaken Gift
by: Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell
Co-written by: That70sShoLova
Chapter 8: Start of Something
Slowly, as Phoebe's pregnancy progressed day by day, that extremely human feeling piled up in Jared's chest and slowly turned into rage. That slut! How could she sit in right next him and flirt with his best friend? She was carrying their baby girl and she hit on Cole shamelessly.
That's when Jared turned to alcohol. He was surprised at how good it tasted. It was a human drink that made them think and act like idiots, but he loved it. He loved it because it made him blissfully unaware of what was going on around him. So, every night, he would hit the bars while Cole would screw around with his girlfriend. It was a nice little routine.
At about ten o'clock, Phoebe walked out of the bathroom wiping her mouth of dried spit. Even if she barely had anything in her stomach the morning sickness didn't stop. Not that she expected it to.
She sat on the couch, pulling her feet up onto it and laying down as well as placing a cold cloth on her forehead.
She sighed. "Well, Melinda, being as you didn't me eating those spicy tacos, do you know what you want me to eat?" she asked, laying her hands on her belly.
"I could make you something," Cole said, walking up the stairs behind her and sitting on the couch beside her as he helped her sit up. "What would you like?"
She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "I don't know. But I do wish Jared didn't go out every night."
Cole sighed. "Yeah, I know how you feel, but I'm still here."
"Yeah, but I—" the next second his lips touched hers softly and swiftly. She pulled back dry heaving into the empty trash can beside the couch. There was nothing there, but spit though he still had a need to hold her hair back. That long soft silky hair which he took in his hands as she almost tumbled off the couch had his hand not been around her stomach.
"It's okay, Phoebe," he whispered into her ear. "Don't try to make it stop. That'll only make it worse."
She nodded, feeling her stomach settling down as she sat back against him. "Why won't he help me anymore?" she asked as he sat back with her in his arms.
He hesitated. The truth sounded so good to him right now, but…he couldn't. He couldn't let his guard down. Couldn't let her in. She'd grow into a powerful witch, one he knew he'd have to kill one day and while she would remember nothing of this event, he'd remember all.
But would that stop him from loving the young girl now…ever…?
The answer was simple. No.
"I don't know," he answered. He just couldn't take mind off her.
She could feel her temperature rising—maybe it was a side effect, maybe it wasn't—but she shed her light jacket and leaned into him in only a ratty white shirt from Jared's closet. She smiled.
Jared stumbled out of the bar after having had way too much to drink. He stopped to steady himself against the brick wall and let the cool air wash his face. For the past couple of weeks, he had realized just how great this intoxicating liquid was.
It made him blissfully unaware of his surroundings. And what two people were doing.
He looked around with bloodshot eyes and noticed the blurring shapes of cars and people. However, he figured no one was paying attention to him, and if they were then oh well. What could they do? So, he shimmered to that dump of a place he called home.
He stumbled up the rickety steps and banged open the wooden door. He looked at the scene before him, his demonic eyesight coming in, making him once again sober.
Phoebe lay on the couch, in his thin white t-shirt, cuddled up to Cole, his best friend, who was pressing a wet cloth against her sweaty forehead. He gently pressed his lips to her mussed hair.
What the HELL was going on?
"What the Hell, Phoebe?" he yelled.
Phoebe jumped up. "Jared. I—I was sick a—and—"
"SICK? SICK!" he yelled, grabbing her wrist and punching her with his other.
"Stop! Stop it!" Phoebe begged, holding her swelling eye while trying to pull away, crying.
He glared, the many scotches seeping back into his system. How could she do that to him? He pushed her to the floor and kicked her in the gut. Her hand lay limply on the ground and he stomped on it, causing her to scream.
Cole sat, shocked. He said he was fine with it. What was Jared doing? More importantly, why wasn't Cole, himself, doing anything?
Jared held out his hand a blue light of electricity crackled and danced on his palm. Phoebe gasped and stared at him wide-eyed.
"Zepar!" Cole shouted angrily. Jared's head shot up. "Stop!" He didn't listen and pulled out a pocket knife. Cole growled and shifted into his demonic form and attacked his partner. He threw an energy ball at him and Jared stumbled back a little.
Phoebe looked at them and fainted in shock.
"What are you doing?" Balthazar asked. "Why are you doing this?"
"ME? What are you doing getting so cozy with her?" Zepar asked.
"She really was sick! She wasn't lying! She's been sick all night! And doubting you, I might add."
"She's supposed to doubt me, Balthazar! I'm not human and neither are you!"
"That doesn't mean she knew that! And, well, I had to stop you."
"Why?" Jared growled. "What is she to us? Nothing more than a toy. We'll use her and then throw her away. You know that!"
Balthazar morphed into his human form and looked away as if he had just slapped him in the face. He was right. That's exactly what they were doing.
"You are evil, Balthazar. She is a Charmed One. It will never work out," he continued. "We'll convince her it was only a nightmare. And then, once she has the baby, we'll erase her memory and she'll be something of the past. You can't get attached. We both can't."
Cole sighed, once again, knowing he was right. He knelt down beside her and started to pet her hair. "She's just so easy to fall in love with."
Jared nodded. "Understandable. But this can't continue any longer."
"How will we cover up the bruises?"
"We'll have to bring her to a healer."
Cole brought one arm under her back, the other under her knees and picked her up. "Don't suppose you know one?" he asked as he shifted to cause her head to rest against his chest.
Jared morphed back into his human form. "Yes, I do. Follow me." He shimmered down to the Underworld and Cole followed him.
Cole followed his friends trail and landed in a small cave of the Underworld. In the cave lay a cot, and many shelves lined with herbs.
He walked over to the cot and laid Phoebe down on it. He turned towards the man, a dark skinned demon with dreadlocks. He watched and walked over to her quickly, not questioning what they wanted.
Zepar was a good friend of his, so he knew not to question anymore. The demon grabbed some herbs and mixed them together into a paste. He rubbed them on her cheek and the bruise started to heal.
He lifted her shirt and gasped. He looked at Jared and Cole. "She is pregnant? That is not good."
Jared cursed. "Can you heal her?"
He nodded his head. "I am a healer. I shall try." He gingerly rubbed her stomach with the herbs and looked at the two demons. "She is carrying a demonic baby?"
Jared nodded. "My child."
He tilted his head. "She must be powerful. Why else would you want to get her pregnant?"
"Just heal her already!" Cole snapped.
He nodded and rubbed the mixture on her hand. "She should be okay in a couple minutes."
Jared thanked him and handed him a pouch full of herbs. "For your troubles."
The demon nodded. Cole picked up Phoebe and they disappeared back to the house, where Cole laid her on the couch with a pillow under her head and a blanket over her body. "Sleep well."
Jared sat against the wall.
Cole turned to him. "I don't understand why you're suddenly upset. You said you didn't care."
"I didn't but—"
"You said I could have her!"
"I did, but I didn't expect—"
"So while we have her, she deserves no compassion at all? Is that what you're saying?" Cole asked.
He shook his head. "No, of course not! I think this alcohol is affecting me more than I thought, but it really is just a job." He looked him in the eye. "Isn't it?"
Cole nodded. "Yes, but Phoebe can't know that."
"Cole," Jared said dangerously, "if she really is just a job, then you'll have no problem giving her up?"
"No, but why, all of a sudden, am I more concerned about her well-being moreover, the child's well-being?"
Jared smirked. "Simple, ever heard of falling in love? You said it yourself. I care about the child—"
"—which should mean you care about Phoebe too. Whatever happens to her happens to the kid," Cole said. "Go take a shower and get some rest. Phoebe will want an explanation when she wakes up."
"She'll sleep downstairs with you, that is, if she wants to," Jared said getting up and heading to the shower.
Cole turned around, sitting on the table in front of her. It's just a job, it's just a job, it's…not just a job anymore. Even Zepar knows that. Damn human emotions! Why must you plague me? I'll kill her sooner than he thinks and then where will I be?
He sighed, digging his hands under her blanket and pulling her into his arms and wrapping her up in the blanket.
She opened her eyes, slightly. "C-Cole?" she asked sleepily.
"Sshh, it's okay. Go back to sleep," he said walking down the steps. "You can sleep down here." He laid her on the extra long couch. "I'll be right back." He left the room.
She opened her eyes wider and sat up. The room was so dark, yet so inviting. The lamps weren't even bright enough to illuminate the entire room, but still had a homey feeling to them.
Black leathered chairs could be made out in the far corners of the room, as well as the couch she currently sat on. An old worn coffee table was within footstool reach, but she left her bare feet on the carpeted floor. A huge flat-screen TV sat across from her on a black cabinet with glass doors.
He seemed to have a common color theme, but Phoebe never would've guessed he was so dark from his personality. He'd been so…compassionate and caring since she'd moved in. But, Phoebe supposed, it was just like the saying 'you can't judge a book by its cover'. With Cole, it certainly seemed to be true.
Something about this type of darkness, it felt comfortable. Much more so than being upstairs with her drunken boyfriend's arm never around her and his snoring bouncing off the walls. She wondered how their daughter would ever get sleep with that kind of racket across from her.
Weariness overtaking her, Phoebe let her eyes fall closed, wrapping the blanket around her tighter. It may be comfortable down there, but it wasn't very warm.
She woke up by sudden movement. An arm wrapped under her neck and one under her legs. Her body curled around a torso and she looked up with sleep-filled eyes. Once the blurriness went away, Cole's face came into view. She looked down and noticed a blanket on her lap and a pillow set on top.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded in a panic.
He looked down with a smile. "To bed. That couch will give you a cramp in your neck."
She brought one hand up to her neck and the other to her stomach. "Cole? I-I don't want to see Jared."
He stopped and looked at her curiously. "Why is that?"
She pet her stomach lovingly. "Just 'cause."
"Okay," he relented. He stopped walking up the stairs and walked down. She clutched the blanket and pillow and he sat her down before opening the door for her. He then took the materials from her.
He walked her towards his king-sized bed and she took a look around. It wasn't much different from the den. His bed sheets were made out of silk-like material and she brushed her fingers across the black covers and noticed slight bumps of the thread of a design on it.
In a corner, there was a cherry wood dresser with swirly designs engraved in it. Another cherry wood nightstand sat next to the bed. A sole lamp was placed on it, the neck of the lamp was bendable and he had it pointing straight up so the light bounced off the wall and around the room. The floors were hardwood and the walls were painted light silver.
For a man, he had exquisite taste. Cole, being a demon, had the choice of when to grow and when to not. He had lived many years as an eighteen-year-old and picked up a few things a long the way.
She noted how he was still clutching the pillow and sheet and she looked at him in panic. "Don't leave."
He tilted his head in slight confusion before realization dawned on him and he handed the two items to her. "These are for you."
"Oh." She petted her stomach. "W-Where are you sleeping?"
"The den."
"Didn't you just say that it wasn't the best for sleeping conditions?"
He shrugged.
"Sleep with me?" she asked desperately afraid that the nightmares of Jared beating her would come back. "Please?"
He looked at her. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, Phoebe."
"Cole," she gave him a pleading look, "please."
He sighed. "Okay." He walked over and lay on the bed. "Why don't you want to stay with Jared?"
She looked away, embarrassed. "I-it's just-it just doesn't feel right around him. I just feel this scary darkness seep into me whenever I'm around him...Almost as if I can feel his emotions." She shook her head vigorously. "Which I know is wrong. He's the father of my daughter, but somehow, I know you'll protect me. Right, Cole?"
He looked at her, observing how she protectively held her unborn baby and she looked at him with wide innocent eyes. Eyes that looked like the color of coffee, but as sweet as chocolate. Eyes that he was going to corrupt, inevitably.
This whole 'steal a powerful baby' plan was Jared's idea. Sure, Cole was sinister, when he was in his demonic form he was a completely different person, but he wasn't the kidnapping a baby kind of guy.
Zepar wasn't strong enough. He was feeble compared to Balthazar in power. He had been recruited for the Brotherhood and took a liking to Cole for his power. Zepar convinced him that by helping him with this plan he'd have more power than he knew what to do with.
He agreed. Demons were greedy for power.
Cole was no exception.
Meeting Phoebe, though, was a surprise. She acted all tough and rebellious, but she wasn't exactly that rebellious. She wanted to stop being compared to her older sisters. Why couldn't she be strong like Prue? Or smart like Piper? So, she decided to prove to everyone that she was her own person and nothing like her older sisters. But, she was like her sisters. She was a teenage girl who was compassionate and sweet and she was dedicated and easy to fall in love with.
And he stupidly did fall for her.
Now, he was going to steal her baby with her jackass of a 'boyfriend' and leave her to fall into pieces. She'd have no recollection of what had happened. As far as she knew, she did not know a Cole Turner or a Jared Spencer. Who were they? Baby? She had no baby. But, she would always feel a weird sense of emptiness.
Her daughter, Melinda Kali, would be gone. She just wouldn't know it.
He looked into those pools of innocence and love. He fell, getting lost. He hesitantly brought his rough hand, a hand that held so much blood on a regular basis, and touched her soft cheek. "Of course," he replied.
She smiled and leaned into that simple gesture. She crawled closer to Cole and curled into his side. She fell to sleep in a matter of minutes. He ran his fingers through her soft hair and rested his head on the pillow, after pulling the covers up to her chin.
He sighed. What was in the hell was he going to do?
Author's note: So what do you think?
Reviews are much appreciated. Please?
Review thanks to: That70sshowlova, SyndiDowell & HalliwellMB
Thanks to my co-writer: That70sShowLova!
Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell & That70sShowLova