The Inevitable

[jules1]

Chapter 14
Phoebe and Cole stayed with Peter until the boy finally disappeared, and watched his comatose form as he slowly began to wake up more and more. “Well,” Cole said as he watched the San Francisco sun set through one of Peter’s hospital room windows. “There’s no use staying here any longer. Only time will tell if Peter will get his message to your sisters.” Cole turned his gaze to Phoebe, and tried not to notice the sweet curve of her smile as she too watched the sunset. Phoebe had always loved watching the colors of the sky, Cole mused. In truth, it was because of Phoebe that Cole began to watch them himself.
Phoebe turned to him, her thoughts floating around the same line as his. She couldn’t help but notice the calmer and more observant side of Cole. He seemed so much like the man she had fallen in love with, yet so different at the same time.
Phoebe went to lay her hand on Cole’s shoulder so that he could shimmer them out of the hospital, but hastily pulled back as she realized she was beginning to get too comfortable with this man. Demon, she mentally corrected herself. Cole is a demon, not a man, and will always be a demon. Instead, she turned to look at him in the eyes, steel now present in her gaze. “You can go Cole. I want to stay around here a little longer. You don’t have to come get me either. I was practicing my comatose shimmering when you were talking to Peter. I think I’ll be able to get back to the manor myself.”
Cole looked at the determined Halliwell, and decided it was best not to point out that she seemed to be babbling. “Okay,” he said finally. “Just call for me if you need any help.” With his gaze steady on hers, Cole shimmered out of the hospital, and began to check on the other comatose victims one more time before he went to bed.
~~~Meanwhile, in the real world~~~
Piper sat in the fold out chair resting by Phoebe’s bed, and held on to her sister’s cold hand. She wiped the stray tear off her cheek as she realized it had been less than 48 hours since Phoebe had been her normal self. What was Phoebe dreaming about right now, Piper wondered. Did her sister know that she had been in a car accident?
Piper wiped the stray hair out of her face when she heard a knock at the door. “Excuse me ma’am,” said the guy standing at the door. “I have a flower arrangement to be delivered to a Miss Phoebe Halliwell. Is this her room?”
Piper nodded at the man. “Yes, can you j-just leave it on the nightstand?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks.” Said Piper as she watched the young man quietly set the flowers down, and leave the room as quietly as he came. Slowly, she sat up, and went to read who Phoebe’s flowers had come from. Amazingly enough, the room was already beginning to smell like a florist shop. Of course, Piper amended with a smile, Phoebe already had enough flowers in the room if she wanted to start her own business. Even though Leslie had moved away, he had somehow heard about Phoebe’s accident, and had sent some flowers. Another vase had come from Phoebe’s secretary, Darryl’s family had sent one, and two more had come from some Phoebe’s biggest fans. It didn’t take long for news like this to make its way through San Francisco.
Piper unwrapped the card that came with one of the vases the man had just delivered, and slowly began to read it. It was from Elise, wishing that Phoebe would get better, not only because she was an employee, but also because she was a friend.
Piper stretched, and quietly left the room to go to the bathroom. While she was there, she wiped her face clean of tears, and put her messy hair into a ponytail. Knowing she didn’t look that pretty, but not caring in the least, Piper left the bathroom and stopped by the vending machine to get a soda. She took large gulps of her soda, realizing that she hadn’t eaten since the donuts she’d shared with Paige in the early morning. Realizing that she couldn’t stall any longer, Piper began to make her way back to Phoebe. When she opened the closed door to Phoebe’s room, her eyes opened wide.
A big man was in there, who was laying a letter on Phoebe’s chest. With a jolt, the man looked up. “Hi.” She said. “Do you work with Phoebe?”
“Uh, yeah. We, we go way back.” Piper nodded politely, though this man seemed kind of slimy.
“I need, uh, I need to go.” He said abruptly as he began to leave. A shiver ran up Piper’s spine as she realized she had heard this man’s voice before. Without a doubt, Piper knew that this voice was the same one as the she heard on the brutal message left on the message on the Halliwell answering machine. It was also quite possible that Phoebe’s car accident wasn’t really an accident. This man could actually be responsible for almost killing Phoebe.
“You jerk.” Piper said, as she dug in her purse for the cell phone. She had to get a hold of Darryl, and let him know that an obsessed fan may have tried to murder her sister. And that the obsessed fan was in the room right now.
“Oh no you don’t.” he said. Apparently the man was smart enough to know what she was doing. Immediately, Piper noticed that the man was a lot closer to her than he had been when she entered the room. Even more frightening was knowing his fist was getting even closer to her face at the moment. Before Piper had a chance to block herself, the strong fist of his connected solidly with Pipers head.
Then the world went black.

[hollypop]

I really do hope you update soon.... this story is excellent!!!!

[prue]

Wow. I have read this entire thing and it has left me breathless. I really like how you are portraying Phoebe in this story... you have captured the Phoebe I think that all of us loved in the beginning, before they changed her. You really have great talent. I too hope that you post soon.

[jedahnie]

Come on,
What happens next?
I think this is the plot I want to see on the screen.

[Leo_The_Elder (He's Back!)]

wow, i read this and im gobsmacked! The detail, the pefection! its ace! keep writing!

[hollypop]

I know good writing takes time but please update soon!

[jules1]

First, I would really like to thank everyone for their encouraging comments. I'm thrilled that you love my story!

Now, for the fun stuff....

Chapter 15

Piper sat up on the hospital floor, as Wyatt healed her. When Piper had gotten hit in the face, and fallen unconscious, the jerk that had done it to her had rushed out of the hospital room, and shut the door behind him. Paige and Leo, meanwhile, had been getting Chris and Wyatt ready to go see Aunt Phoebe. For the sake of time –and the constant demon attacks- they had decided to orb into the hospital room. That’s when they found Piper sprawled out on the floor with a bloody nose. Little Wyatt had rushed to his mom’s rescue, and quickly healed her.
Now Piper sat up, as a million questions were thrown at her.
“What happened?” Leo persisted to his wife.
Piper took a deep breath as she sorted through her thoughts. “I um…I had left to go to the bathroom, and when I came back there was a man standing by Phoebe’s bed. I thought he was a co-worker of hers, but when he started talking he seemed very unsure and nervous. For a minute I just stood there, but then I recognized his voice. He was the man who left that sick message on our machine for Phoebe. I called him on it, but then he got all angry and moved in closer to me. At the last second I realized he was about to hit me.
“Why didn’t you try to freeze him?” Paige asked gently.
Piper’s face revealed confusion. “Wait…I…..I DID try to freeze him. But for some reason it didn’t work.” She turned to Leo questioningly.
“Maybe he was a witch or a high level demon.” said Paige.
“No.” Piper said. “I’ve fought enough demons to know one when I see one. He was a 100 percent human jerk.”
“Well,” Leo said. “That only leaves one option. Your powers must be on the fritz. That’s understandable, given all the emotional baggage you’ve been carrying around the last two days. And your powers…”
Piper stopped him. “And our powers are tied to our emotions. Yada, yada, yada. But I have to find a way to fix them. If you’ve forgotten, the Source can attack any moment!”
Leo could see that Piper’s emotional baggage may have affected her powers, but it definitely had no effect on her sarcasm.
For a moment, everyone sat silent. Without the power of three, the charmed ones were sitting ducks. Why hadn’t the source taken advantage of that?
Piper stood up real quick. “I almost forgot!” she said. “The guy left this letter on Phoebe’s lap before he left.” Piper went to pick up the letter. Everyone watched as she slowly opened the envelope and pulled out the white stationary.
“Phoebe,” she read aloud. “Like I said, revenge always catches up with a liar. Enjoy your stay at San Francisco Memorial Hospital.”
“That freak!” Paige yelled. “Do you think he was the one that ran her off the road?”
“There’s a good chance it’s the same guy.” Leo said solemnly.
Their scattered thoughts were interrupted, when a knock was heard at the door. The doctor peeked his head in, and turned to the sisters. “I realize this is a little unusual, but we have a young boy who just came out of a coma, and he says he wants to talk to a Piper Halliwell. I’m not sure exactly why, but...”
Piper turned to Paige and Leo as she raised her eyebrows. Then she turned back to the doctor. “Actually Doctor, believe it or not, stranger things have happened in our lives.”
~~~~Meanwhile~~~~
Phoebe shimmered into the manor, where she found Cole laying on the couch. His eyes were halfway closed, but they immediately popped open when he sensed her in the room.
“How’d it go?” he asked.
She tried to muster up a smile, even though she was scared to death. “Pretty good, actually. Piper should be talking to Peter at this very moment.”
Cole nodded, trying to assess what Phoebe was not telling him. Finally, he decided the direct approach was probably the best. “Phoebe, what are you keeping from me?”
Phoebe fought the urge to spill her guts to Cole, but eventually decided it wouldn’t help things if she kept everything bottled up. After all, the whole reason she was in a coma was so she could reflect on her life problems. “I…Um…There’s this guy named Frank Johnson, who asked for my advice last fall in the “Ask Phoebe” column.
Cole nodded to show he was listening.
“Anyway, he thought his wife was cheating on him with the neighbor next door. Frank wanted her to stop, but didn’t know quite how to approach the subject. In my advice, I told him that the best plan of action would be sit down with her, and firmly, but rationally ask her if this was the case. He took it to mean that he should beat up on her, and threaten her to stop seeing the other man. As it turns out, she wasn’t having an affair. Of course, that didn’t stop his wife from going to the hospital with a concussion. That night, she pressed charges and left him for good.”
Cole smiled. “Good for her. I hate it when people are too scared to ask for help.”
Phoebe smiled a little bit too. “Frank decided he wanted to put the blame on me and my advice, even though I didn’t tell him to beat up his wife. In any case, he’s been contacting me the past couple weeks with verbal accusations. I’ve mostly ignored him, because I truly believed he was the type of man who was all talk and no action. Then, when I was watching Phoebe and Paige yesterday, I heard them talk about a horrible message that Frank left on my machine. That’s the first time he has ever called me at home.”
Cole tried to unclench his fists, but couldn’t stop his anger from rising. “Are you sure he has never laid a hand on you?” Cole looked at her strait in the eye.
“Well,” she said. “I’m not quite sure. I mean, he never touched me before me accident, but…I think Frank may have been the one to run me off the road.”
“What makes you think this?” Cole persisted.
“He showed up at the hospital a couple of hours ago, and was in my room.” Phoebe just couldn’t look Cole in the eye. “Piper found him, and recognized his voice from the message. He hit her, and knocked her unconscious. Luckily, Paige and Leo orbed in with the kids a couple minutes later, and Wyatt healed her.”
Cole narrowed his gaze on Phoebe. “Phoebe, look at me.”
Phoebe slowly brought her gaze up to his. “Phoebe, it’ll turn out okay. I promise that I will do everything in the world to help you out.”
Phoebe tired to smile, but resisted the urge to lay her hand in his. “Thank you Cole.”
Without another word, Phoebe rested her head on a pillow and fell into a deep slumber.
~~3 hours later~~
Phoebe opened her eyes very slowly, and realized that Cole had been watching her sleep. Trying to break the very intimate feel of the moment, she searched her brain for something –anything- to say. Finally, her gaze landed on the small object that he was rubbing in his hand. She looked at his face. “Cole, what is that?”
He stumbled over his words as he tried to put the object back into his pocket. “I-uh- it’s nothing.”
“Come on Cole.” Phoebe persisted gently. “Don’t pull back now. I spilled my fears about Frank to you, now it’s your turn to talk.”
Cole’s face slowly began to turn red, and Phoebe realized he was blushing. In all the time that she had known Cole, She had NEVER seen the man blush.
“You don’t really want to hear about…”
Phoebe cut him off. “Yes I do.”
Cole slowly revealed that it was an old battered locket he was holding. “I, uh, this was my Aunt Kathleen’s locket. She was my father’s sister.”
Phoebe nodded, signaling him to continue.
“A couple weeks before my mom killed my dad, they had this explosive fight. It was the same old argument that they had shared dozens of times. You know, the one where she wanted me to embrace my demonic side, and he wanted me to become a true gentlemen. in any case, I could here her threatening him, and him trying to protect me, so I got scared. I ran back into the house, and into my Aunt Kathleen’s room.
Phoebe sent him a questioningly look. “I didn’t know you had an aunt, or that she lived with you for that matter.
He nodded. “Well, she lived with us for a very short time. You see, she was diagnosed with cancer about a year before, and had become too weak to live by herself. She and my dad were very close, so he pleaded with her to move in with us. Anyway, I ran into her room crying that night, and rested my head on her stomach, and cried until I had no more tears to give. She didn’t say a word until a felt her finger tilt my chin up so that our eyes were level. ‘Listen up Cole,’ she said. ‘Because I may not have the chance to tell you this again. The one thing that I’ve learned in my life is to never let others determine your future. You need to look at what’s in your heart and decide that for yourself. You are a bright young boy, and you should never let someone tell you that your dreams are impossible. Your life can only be what you make of it.’”
“She sounds like a smart women,” Phoebe said, captivated by the story.
“She was.” Cole said, while smiling at the memory. He held up the locket. “The next night, she called me into her room, and gave me this. Aunt Kathleen said she’d had it since she was a little girl, and that she wanted me to have it. She wanted me to remember her, and the advice she gave.” His smile faltered a little bit. “Two nights later, she took her last breath.”

A single tear fell from Phoebe’s eye, and she realized how close her face was to Cole’s. Phoebe’s head knew she should pull back, but her heart kept her where she was. Slowly, knowing that it was too late to retreat, she pressed her lips against the one man who had always been in her heart.

[jules1]

Chapter 16
Piper’s eyes widened, half in shock, half in relief, as she listened to Peter inform her of what “Miss Phoebe” had told him. Peter smiled as his mom brushed back the hair that was in his face with her hand. “So, anyway, she said that this Source guy is using the sand man to get to you and your other sister somehow.”
Piper nodded, “And are you sure this is what she said?”
“Uh-huh. Cole was with her too, so I’m sure she was telling the truth. Cole always tells the truth.” Piper smiled, trying to hide the shocked face of Paige as the younger sister raised her eyebrows furiously.
“Well, Peter,” Piper said. “You’ve been very helpful to me today. I’m so happy you found me.”
“Me too,” Peter said, as he watched Piper stand up from the stool she was sitting on. “Will you come visit me again?” The boy asked hopefully. “You have a nice voice. I like hearing you talk.”
Piper smiled, and this time the laughter twinkled in her eyes. Peter was blushing all over, and Piper discovered that the ten year old most likely had a crush on her. Quickly, Piper regained her composure, and ruffled her hand through his hair. “Certainly I’ll come back to visit you Peter. I mean, if it’s alright with your mom of course.”
“Definitely.” Peter’s mom said. “Real quick Piper, could I talk to you a sec before you leave.”
“Sure.” Piper said happily. Piper followed Peter’s mom to the hallway outside of Peter’s room, and Paige and Leo followed her. They kept walking as if they had more important business to take care of, so that the woman could talk to Piper privately.
“So…” the woman said. “You mentioned earlier that you have two boys of your own, so you can probably imagine what I’m going through with Peter. It’s just…I don’t want you to feel like you have to keep visiting him in the hospital.”
Piper smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I really like Peter, he’s a good boy.”
The woman mirrored Piper’s smile, obviously relieved to hear Piper say that. “And I also wanted to thank you for listening to Peter tell these weird stories. From what the doctor says, many coma patients go through a time where they come up with things like Peter’s ‘Sandman.’ It gives them something to think about other than lying in a hospital bed.” She paused for a moment. “But I do have to say it thought it was awfully weird how Peter said he wanted to talk to a Piper Halliwell, and there just so happened to be a Piper Halliwell at the hospital. Then I started to think about it, and he probably heard one of the doctors mentioning you or your sisters.”
Piper nodded, not wanting the woman to suspect that there was anything more to the story. “You’re probably right. I mean, kids pick up everything we say these days.”
Peter’s mom thanked Piper one more time as Piper reassured her that it really was no trouble visiting Peter every once in a while. Then the woman went back into her son’s room, as Piper made her way to where Paige and Leo were sitting. Leo looked very curious, as Paige looked angry.
“Leo and I talked it over.” She said. “And we both agreed that you didn’t look all too surprised when Peter mentioned talking to Cole!” Paige crossed her arms and looked at Piper. “I know you’re hiding something about him from us, and you better start explaining now!”
Piper looked at her sister’s flamed cheeks, and realized how angry she was. Paige always had hated Cole. She then look back up into the brown eyes so much like her own, and tried to think about how she was gong to tell Paige about her visit with Cole in the comatose plane. Piper never had gotten around to telling the other Halliwells that Cole was the man who had helped her reconnect to Leo when the elders nearly tore them apart… How was she supposed to tell them now?
~~~Meanwhile~~~
Peter’s mom walked back into his hospital room, and immediately rushed to his side when she saw the wet tears on his cheeks. “Honey, what’s wrong.”
Peter looked up at the mom that he loved so much, and tried to put on a brave face. Slowly, he told her that he was done keeping how his dad hit her a secret. Either she would tell the doctor, or he would.
That day, Peter made a silent vow to himself. Never again would he allow someone to hurt the one’s he loved.
Peter thought of the advice that Cole had given to him right before he had come out of his coma. He’d said, “Peter, a very special woman once gave me some guidance that I’m going to pass on to you. Never let others determine your future. You need to look at what’s in your heart and decide that for yourself. Peter, you are the brightest kid I’ve ever known, and you should never let someone tell you that your dreams are impossible. Your life can only be what you make of it.”
Cole had leveled his stare against Peter’s. “I mean it buddy. You’re life is only what you make of it.”
Silently, pulled back to the present, Peter looked around his hospital room. When his mom left, Peter looked up and smiled, hoping that Cole would hear him. “Thank you Cole. For Everything”

[hollypop]

I absolutely love how this is coming along.. I'm looking forward to another update