A/N: Here's the next installment, earlier than I'd planned, but I doubt you'll complain. Lol. Hope you like the twist to the story!

FanficFemale: Thank you. This chapter will sort of change things, so hope you like it!

lizardmomma: Thanks, hope you like this chapter!

Rocky: If Phoebe and Cole do eventually have kids in this story, they won't be half-witch half-demon. I agree that it's way too overdone. I can't tell you yet what they'll be, though. But thanks, hope you like this chapter!

Shadow Cat17: I'm so glad! Hope you like this one, especially the twist. It sort of brings things back to the beginning of the story.

Charmed4Life322: This chapter makes up for the lack of Phoebe/Cole last chapter. Hope you like the twist!

Another Phoebe: Honestly I haven't decided if they'll have kids yet, but I promise that if they do, they won't be all lovey-dovey. It wouldn't fit well with the tone of the story, plus I don't think that's how they would've been on the show if they'd have kids. Thank you for your review, hope you like this one!

Chapter Twenty-One

When Phoebe woke the following morning, the first thing she noticed was Cole watching her from his side of the bed. She pulled the sheets tighter around her body as she sat up. "What?" she asked finally when he didn't say anything.

He shrugged. "Just waiting for you to wake up. I have a surprise for you."

"Oh really? What kind of surprise?"

"You'll just have to get dressed to find out." Cole got out of bed, taking his time in gathering some clothes and making his way to their bathroom. Before he disappeared inside it, he flashed her a mysterious smile, causing her to flash back to last night and how amazing it was.

She put on her black silk thigh-high nightgown that lay strewn across her dresser and decided that while she was waiting for Cole to get out of the bathroom she might as well make some coffee. What was waiting for a grand surprise without coffee?

Cole emerged about ten minutes later, his hair still a little damp from the aftermath of his shower. His towel was draped around his torso, exposing his muscled stomach, and Phoebe couldn't help but admire his six-pack. Silently he slid past her to take his own cup of coffee. Phoebe took his place as she gathered her things for her own shower.

When she came out of the bathroom about half an hour later, Cole was in the bedroom rifling through her dresser and gathering various items and placing them carefully in a rather large suitcase. He didn't seem to notice her arrival so she said softly, "Are we going somewhere?"

Cole didn't even look up. "You could say that. I need to get some of my things. Can you finish packing your stuff? I think I got most of it but if there's anything you might need that I forgot then feel free to bring it."

Phoebe frowned but couldn't help but feel excited with anticipation. Had Cole planned a romantic night out on the town and had so many activities lined up that there was no way they'd make it back to the penthouse? Or was it something even more exotic like a trip to Paris? She quickly dismissed that idea; they weren't packing enough for an overnight trip in an overseas country.

"Should I bring my computer?" she asked.

He paused, seeming to think about it, but shook his head. "No," he said finally. "There won't be any need for it where we're going."

"And where exactly would that be?" she asked. She'd never been good with unplanned vacations even though this one she was actually looking forward to.

He grinned again. "You'll see soon enough."

And with that teasing sentiment still ringing through her ears, Phoebe continued to gather other miscellaneous items and putting them into the suitcase he'd left her.

Finally, after what felt like hours, Phoebe had gathered as many clothes as would fit, some shoes, makeup, her toothbrush and toothpaste, some tampons, and some books. She had no idea where they were going, and if the trip was a long one, she didn't want to have to depend on the outside scenery for entertainment.

"Ready," she announced as she finished zipping up the overstuffed suitcase.

"Did you pack everything?"

Phoebe nodded. "As much as I could."

"Good. Where we're going, we might be for a while."

Phoebe fought the urge to ask where that was again. She knew Cole wouldn't tell her. He was big on mystery, and seemed particularly excited for this one.

"I'm ready, too. Take my hand," he said, holding out his hand for her to take.

She did. "Are we going to save on airfare and shimmer there?"

He laughed. "We don't need an airplane to get where we're going."

The next thing Phoebe felt was the familiar feeling of her molecules disappearing and reappearing somewhere else just a second later. But, she thought as she looked around at the dark caverns of her disturbingly familiar Underworld surroundings, she had been wrong about one thing.

She wasn't going to like her surprise.

When Prue woke up, she was immediately struck by how calm the world seemed when she had nowhere to be. The sun streamed in from the windows, bathing her bedroom in a rich golden glow. It was nice to be woken by nature and not by her alarm clock for once. She glanced at the time on her alarm clock and noticed with some surprise that it was almost ten.

Prue knew that Paige had long since left for the social service building where she worked so she didn't even bother going to her room and seeing if she was still there. Instead she went to Piper's room, but was shocked to discover that it was empty.

"Piper?" she called, praying silently to herself that her younger sister would answer.

She did. "In the kitchen!"

Breathing a sigh of relief, Prue turned on her heel and headed downstairs.

She found Piper in the kitchen as she'd said, cooking eggs and bacon. "Wow," she said in greeting. "So this is how you treat yourself when you have the house to yourself."

Piper smiled. "You know, normally I don't, but I'm in a better mood now that it looks as though we're finally going to come to some kind of understanding with Phoebe."

"You're right. It feels like we're becoming sisters again," Prue agreed, pouring herself some of the coffee that Piper had made earlier. She sat down at the kitchen table and watched as her younger sister finished frying the eggs and placed them on two plates. She put two strips of bacon on each then walked to the table, placing on plate in front of Prue.

Not realizing how hungry she was, she started eating before Piper even sat down.

Piper laughed. "Don't get too full. We still have lunch with Phoebe today."

"Don't worry about me, Piper. I will definitely be hungry then too."

Piper frowned a little, offended. "Are you saying my food isn't enough?"

"No!" Prue shook her head at once, not wanting Piper angry with her. "That's not what I meant at all! I was just saying that I'm taking advantage of my time off and plan on pigging out accordingly."

"Oh." Piper's expression softened. "Me too."

They ate in silence for a bit. Prue still couldn't get over how quiet the manor was without Phoebe. Back before they'd discovered Paige and Phoebe wasn't in school, she always made her presence known. She was never exactly quiet. Prue wondered vaguely whether that had changed.

"So what time are we meeting Phoebe?" Prue asked, not liking the silence.

"Noon," Piper replied.

"Should we call her? You know, remind her just in case she forgot?"

Piper gave her a puzzled look. "Why?"

"Well," Prue began. "She was never exactly known for her punctuality. Besides, you know how she forgets things."

"Prue, it's not like Phoebe is still a teenager. She's a grown woman." Piper looked as though she were about to laugh.

"I know. I can't help it. She's still my baby sister, Queen of the Underworld or not."

"Not anymore," Piper pointed out obviously. "I think Paige has taken up that role."

Prue shrugged. "That's different."

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing we didn't grow up with Paige. I know she's our sister and I love her like one, but...I don't know, she just doesn't feel like our baby sister. Phoebe does."

Piper looked amused. "That's just because you still aren't used to Paige, you still think of Phoebe as irresponsible, and Paige has a job. You've never been good with change, Prue."

"That's not true!" Prue exclaimed, indignant.

Piper gave her a pointed look.

"It's not! I am great with change."

"Like when you found out we were witches whose destiny was to fight the forces of evil and protect the innocent against them?" Piper asked.

She had a point. "All right, so maybe I have a tiny problem with change. But that doesn't mean I don't welcome it when it comes. I just have some issues adjusting to it."

This time Piper really did laugh. "Yeah. Sure you do." She got up and took hers and Prue's empty plates and put them in the sink. "We should get ready. We don't have that long before our meeting with Phoebe."

Prue stood up and followed Piper upstairs to get ready.

They left the manor around 11:30. Buddy's always attracted a crowd around lunchtime no matter what day it was, and they wanted to make sure they got a table. It didn't take long to get there; maybe ten minutes. The parking lot was already full. By the time they finally found a spot, it was a little after twelve.

The sisters hurried into the restaurant and looked around for Phoebe. They interrupted in their search, however, by the hostess. "How many?"

"Two," Prue replied. "But we're expecting one more."

The hostess nodded. "The wait will be about five minutes."

They decided to wait outside just in case Phoebe was running late too. They hadn't seen her inside so they figured this was probably the case.

But, once their five minutes of waiting was over and their names were called, Phoebe still hadn't shown up.

"Maybe she woke up late," Prue offered.

"Do you think we should call her?" Piper asked, worried.

"Do you have her number?"

Piper gulped. She didn't, and she knew Prue didn't. "We can always swing by her place after we eat to make sure she's okay."

Prue nodded, considering this. "Okay. We'll do that."

Then they went inside to take their table, hoping that they were wrong in their worrying and that Phoebe would come in and ramble out an explanation for her tardiness.

But it never happened.

"Cole," Phoebe said angrily through clenched teeth. "What are we doing down here?"

"We're going to be living down here for a while," he replied, as though the answer should be obvious.

"Why?" she asked, reminded of their time down here while they were on the run from the Source.

Cole sighed. "Because I'm afraid your sisters are influencing you, and not in a healthy way." He bent down so that they were closer in height. "Remember when I first became the Source? You were strong and willful, and ready to rule the Underworld by my side. But now you've changed. I've seen it, other demons have seen it, and I know you've seen it, too. It started once I got you the penthouse, and it's only gotten worse since you've seen your sisters. I think that we need to live down here for a while so that you can be reminded of what we once were."

Phoebe glared at him. "And what if I don't want to? Are you going to hold me hostage?" she asked bitterly.

Cole shook his head patiently. "I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to. But Phoebe, the other demons have noticed a change in you. They've seen the good in you reach the surface, and they're starting to think that we are weak rulers. If they think that, they could be getting ready to lead a revolt and then we'd both be dead. I can't let that happen. So I'm asking you, as your husband, to give this a chance."

Phoebe was silent, mulling this over in her head. She knew Cole was right. If the demons lead a revolt against them, they would stand a chance, even if they got her sisters' help. She looked up at Cole, who was watching her in a strange mixture of anticipation and desperation.

Finally she took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay. I'll do it."

Cole beamed and gathered her in a loving hug. "I'm so glad you said that."

And with that he took her hand and led her down the all too familiar path to the Source's lair.