What If

[hollyhalliwell]

This was a fic I wrote a while ago, and believe I posted it at a different site. Hope you enjoy it!

Every person in life comes to a point where they wonder...what if? Would things have been different if I had made better decisions? Would I have had everything I wanted? Or would things have turned out horrible either way?

The fic "What If" takes place in the present, but with one significant change. In the season 4 episode of Charmed, The Three faces of Phoebe, Phoebe askes Cole "Is there something you're not telling me? About you? Something that I don't know?" (She was referring to the Source.) Instead of telling the truth, Cole answered, "No."

What would have happened if Cole told Phoebe the truth? Would it have changed anything? How would it have effected the Charmed Ones? My fic is the alternate reality of this, and takes place about two years after the event. The story will focus around Phoebe, Cole, and the rest of her family. Of course, there is no Charmed without the constant struggle between good and evil! I hope to present you with suspence, romance, and action. (Not to mention a few surprizes along the way) In other words, get your reading glasses and get ready for a lot of Drama!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rain drenched her clothes and hair, as she stared up at the darkening sky. Thunder rumbled through the air, and she shivered from the cold night wind. This didn't seem to register in her mind, but Piper Halliwell's voice did. "Phoebe! Get your but in here right now! You know better than to be out in the rain during your condition!"
Phoebe looked up at her sister, who was standing by the door of the Halliwell manor. She tried to muster up a smile but her tear streaked face wouldn't allow it. She tried to speak, but the only sound that came from her mouth was a sob. Instead, Piper ran to her younger sister, and cradeled her close. Together they walked into the entrance of the Halliwell manor, and Piper shut the door. They made there way to the couch, where Phoebe rested her head on Piper and cried.

"Shh. Honey. You'll be okay. We'll find a way out of this. I promise." said Piper.

Phoebe let out another sob. "It...it was never supposed to happen this way. I've tried to be so strong these last 2 weeks...but...but..." Phoebe started to cry some more. "I just...m..m..miss him so much. I've tried to find him...but what if he's dead? I can't live without him." Phoebe rested her hand on her bulging belly. "We can't live without him."
Tears welled up in Piper's eyes, as she remembered the pain she and Wyatt went through when Leo became an elder. There were times Piper thought she'd die of the loss. The only thing that did keep Piper alive was her hope that her and Leo would have a life together again. Her hopes had been answered when Leo quit being an elder, and once more became a whitelighter. She only hoped that Phoebe, and the twins growing inside her 7 month pregant sister, would find her husband again.
She looked down into Phoebe's eyes. "I miss Cole too, honey. But you can't give up. He has to be alive somewhere. And I promise you that as soon as we find him, we will kill the a$$ that stole him from you and your babies."
Paige walked into the living room, and looked at the sight before her. "Phoebe, I love Cole like a brother, and I promise you that nothing is going to keep us from finding your husband." Paige crawled onto the couch with her sisters, and together they wept through the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phoebe scooped her elbow length hair into a ponytail. About a year ago, she considered cutting it really short, but resisted because she knew Cole loved her long hair. Tears welled in her eyes, but her anger stopped them. Someone took Cole, took her husband, took the twin's father. Phoebe patted her extremely large stomach, as she vowed once more that nothing would stop her from finding him. Absolutely nothing.
Ever since Cole went missing, Phoebe didn't go to work. Instead, she spent the hours of the day in the attic, trying to figure out what demon would soon be recieving a death sentence from the Halliwells.
Phoebe's thoughts were interrupted when Leo orbed into the room. It was impossible for him to miss the sorrow and hope in her eyes. "I'm sorry Pheobe." he said. "The elders still have no news about Cole's wherebouts."
She sighed, and welcomed the hug that Leo provided for her. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm as good as I can be, but it's time I get back to the attic. There are sitll some spells I would like to try."

"Phoebe." Leo persisted. "This is not healthy for you or your babies. You barely get two hours of sleep a day, and your in your third trimester. Heck, two days ago you fainted! You are not helping anybody by going to the BOS. We've already been through it a dozen times."

Phoebe glared at him. "Leo, what do you want from me? My husband is missing, maybe even dead. We have all the magic in the world, and I still can't find him. I can't just lounge around the house all day!" Tears stremed down her face, but was nothing new to Phoebe.

Leo let in a deep breath, full of pain. "No Phoebe, I don't want you to lounge around the house all day. I want you to take care of yourslef. I want you to trust that Paige, Piper and I will not let you down." Leo let in another breath to steady the quakes in his voice. "Phoebe, you know that Cole was my best friend. Look at me." Leo tilted her face so she was staring into his eyes. "Just take an hour to rest on the couch. If not for yourself, than for your babies." His eyes pleaded. "Please."

She nodded, knowing that it was no use to argue anymore. Leo was right. She had to keep the babies healthy. She started to wabble down the stairs, and Leo was close behind her, making sure she didn't trip. Then suddenly she grabbed his arm as the bone shaking preminition hit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile.....the Underworld

Cole wheezed as a kick landed to his stomach. He wiped the blood off his face, but prepared for another blow. Instead, the demon laughed vicously. "You fool! Fight back! The Belthatzar I used to know would have never taken this crap from me!"

"I'm not Belthazar anymore." he repeated. "I'd die trying to hurt you."

"Very well. I guess you are right afterall. Besides, I need you in order to get your wife. More specifically, I need your wife to get your unborn babies."

Cole jumped forward, this time too angered to hold himself back. As predicted, it was no use. The demon slapped his body against the wall with one wave of an arm. "Don't worry." he said. "You'll reunite with the witch soon enough. It's just too bad that it won't be a happy reunion."

Cole looked the demon in the eye. "I won't let you get to my family Jarft.I mean it."

Jarft laughed. "That's the beauty of it Cole. You can't stop me. The thing is, Phoebe loves you too much not to find where I've hidden you. And when she does come, I can garuntee you she'll never leave again!"

Cole shook his head, determined to stay positive. Somehow, someway he had to tell Phoebe this was a setup. The only problem was, he had no idea how. Without powers, he was useless.

Ever since Cole met Phoebe, his only goal was to get her to love him. Once she loved him, his only wish was to keep her loving him. Now, he'd do anything in the world if she'd stop loving him, so she wouldn't attemp to find him. So she wouldn't fall into Jarft's trap, and risk losing her life and the twin's in the process.

Jarft left the room, and Cole silently wiped his eyes. Never in his life had anything make him shed a tear, but never in his life had he been so hopeless. Somehow, his family had to be saved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Phoebe, are you okay? What did you see?" Leo asked, panicking.

Phoebe stared at him. "I uh...I better sit down."

Leo led her to the couch, and called Piper and Paige. Piper walked in from the kitchen, Chris asleep in her arms, and Paige came in with headphones on her head. As she looked at the faces of Leo and Phoebe, she removed them. "Guys, is something wrong?" Paige asked.

"Phoebe just got a preminition." said Leo. "She was on the stairs when it happened."

"Well, what'd you see?" persisted Piper.

"I uh...." Phoebe stammered. "Cole, he, he's alive." The faces of Leo and the other Halliwell's lit up.

"Are you serious Phoebe? That's great!" exclaimed Piper. "But you don't seem too happy about it."

Phoebe bit her lip. "I'm thrilled. I really am, but I'm...I'm just confused. You see, Coles face was all bruised and bloody. And he probaly lost about 10 pounds." Phoebe took a deep breath. "But I expected that. I mean, he was kidnapped by a demon after all. But what bothered me was he...he had a tear rolling down his face. Ever since I've known him, Cole has never cried. Even after he became human, he was never upset enough. I just...Cole wasn't crying from his bruises. He..he was crying from his heart."

"That's understandable Phoebe." piped in Leo. "Cole has been separted from you for over 2 weeks. Plus, you are getting close to giving birth to your twins.I know that if I was put in that position with Piper that I would feel the same way Cole does."

Phoebe nodded. "I know, but this was different...somehow."

"Phoebe?" asked Paige. "Was there anything around Cole in your premonition that may be able to help us find him?"

"Um..." Phoebe said, trying to clear her mind. "He was in a cave, obviously in the underworld. There was a blue circlular symbol carved on the ground. If you hand over a pencil and paper, I just might be able to draw it." Piper handed Phoebe the pad, and Leo handed over the pencil. When Phoebe was finished drawing the symbol, she handed it to Leo.

"I'll check with the elders to see if they know what it stands for," said Leo, as he orbed away.

"One more question." said Piper. "Leo said you got your preminition when you were on the stairs. What could have triggered it.?"

"The babies?" Phoebe asked. "Maybe the twins have some built in connection with Cole."

"It's possible." said Paige. "God knows Piper had weirder things happen to her when she was pregnant with Wyatt and Chris."

Piper nodded. "Okay, Paige you go to the attic and check for information in the book of shadows. I'll be up in a couple of minutes to help you." Phoebe started to wobble her pregnant body off of the sofa. "And as for you missy." Piper pointed at Phoebe. "You better not move your butt off this couch. I'm going to go make you a healthy lunch, and after that you're going to take a long nap."

Piper held her hand up, when Phoebe opened her mouth to complain. "Don't even think about disobeying your older sister. Besides, if the twins have a link with Cole, maybe they can send you another preminition or something while you're asleep.

Orders given, Piper marched out of the conservatory and into the kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paige flipped through the BOS, for what felt like the 100th time. Nothing was of use, unless they knew what demon they were against. She sighed as Piper came into the attic carrying a tray of cookies and milk.

"Nothing?" Piper asked.

"Nope." replied Paige. "Did you finally get Phoebe asleep?"

"Yeah, but I'm really worried about her. All she's going through...It's just...I don't think I could ever be as strong as she's acting. It makes me wonder if she's just putting on a brave face."

"Well, if she is holding everything she's going through inside, we'll just have to make sure we're there for her when she finally breaks."

Together, the two sisters shared a sisterly moment, and Paige nibbled on a double chocolate chip cookie. "I miss Cole." she said suddenly. Paige took a deep breath. "Two years ago, I'd never believe I'd say this, but I actually miss that bugger. He's become more like a brother to me then I ever thought possible."

Piper smiled. "I think he's grown on us all." Tears clouded in her eyes as she took a sip of her milk. "Remember a couple months ago when it was Prue's birthday? You, me, and Phoebe, we were all so sad. I don't think I ever missed Prue more than I did on that day. It was probaly about ten at night, and the rain was just pounding on the house. All of the sudden, we all heard the front door slam, and we were afraid that demons were attacking." Piper smiled at the thought. "And then Cole showed up in the kitchen with balloons in one hand, a cake in the other, and a smile across his face. He told us how Prue would want us to celebrate, and that she would have been ticked off if we didn't have a party."

Together, the sisters half laughed and half cried until Leo orbed in. "Boy, have I got a lot to tell you about that symbol Phoebe found." he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what information did you get?" Piper persisted.

"It turns out that the symbol Phoebe saw in her preminition stands for a demonic tribe called the Gadgerob." Leo began

"Could they have come up with a weirder name than that? I mean, Gadgerob? It sounds like something a baby with no teeth would say." Paige stated matter of factly.

"Stay on topic." Piper ordered. She turned to Leo. "So what exactly does this tribe do?"

"The Gadgerob is a group of middle class demons who link their powers together so they can gain even more power."

"And...." Paige asked. "What else?"

"They can take human form, and try to convince other magical beings to become part of their system. In other words, the more people in it, the stronger the tribe, and the more powerful the being, the more powerful the tribe." he said.

"Now you're saying magical beings." Piper stated. "Before, you said demons were the only ones in the tribe."

"Well you see." Leo said. "When members from the tribe take their human form, they are able to manipulate their magical beings. For example, they may get their victim to fall in love with with a member of Gadgerob. Or they may become a father figure to a young magical witch. My using weknesses such as love, they convince the victim to become part of the tribe."

"But if some of the victims are on the side of good, how can they turn their backs to it so easily?" Paige asked.

"Once their powers are connected with the rest of the tribe," Leo began, "The evil of the other demons consumes their soul. They're lost to the world of evil."

"That's terrible." Piper said.

"One more thing." Leo persisted. "Upon gaining so much more power lately, the tribe is looking for a new leader. Someone who will not only be the leader of the Gadgerob, but also the leader of the underworld."

"A new source." Paige whispered.

"You don't think they kidnapped Cole so he could become this new leader, do you?" asked Piper. "I mean, he isn't magical anymore, and he would never do this willingly."

Leo sighed. "But he does have the expierience of being Belthazar once in his life, and he was able to overcome the source."

"You're right." said Paige. "But I still know Cole like he was my brother, and Piper's right. He would never become the source willingly. Especially because him and Phoebe's love is stronger than ever, and he's about to be a father."

"Yeah, something just dosen't add up." Leo said shaking his head.

Their converstion was interruped by Phoebe's cries from downstairs. "Demon!" they could hear her scream. "Help!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Underworld...

Cole sat up, as he started to gain conciousness. The first thing he felt was the pounding headache that started at the center of his skull, the first thing he smelled was his own metallic taste of bood, and the first thing he saw was the pure evil within Jarft's eyes. Cole never imagined that the Gadgerob tribe had gained this much power in so little time, or that they had gained this much hatred along with it.

"So the mighty Belthazar wakes again." Jarft laughed in amusement at his own, hilarious joke. "I thought that you would be glad to know I sent my first message to your wife. He was nothing more important than a common warlock, but I believe he was able to leave the first clue back to me."

Anger sizzled through Cole's blood as he spit near his feet. "I swear that if you hurt Phoebe or my childeren, I will be your worst nightmare. It dosen't matter if you kill me, cause hell, I'll find a way back. Than I'll tear you to shreds, and make sure that everything that ever meant anything to you will be gone."

The demon shook as if he were shivering. "Oh, I'm just quaking in my little old boots!" He laughed again at his hilarious humor. " Besides, you have nothing to worry about, Cole. I wouldn't kill your poor old wife, I need the twins she's carrying to join my side. They are part of the prophecy, and they will obtain their rightful stands as heads of the Gadgerob. With my mentoring, they will lead the underworld!"

That was it! Cole's anger bubbled over the pot, as he lunged for the demon. His fist connected against the hard flesh of Jarft, and he heard the sickening thud of bone being cracked. Jarft reacted with a swift kick of his arm, and sent Cole flying across the cave.

Cole's last thought before he was sucked back into the now familiar thud was, 'I'm going to kill him. I swear I'm going to kill him.'

Jarft smiled in delight as his evil lips curved into a horrific smile. "Don't worry Cole. I'll treat the twins as if they were my own."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile....At the manor

"Are you sure you're alright?" Leo asked for the fourth time as he examined Phoebe.

"I'm fine." she responded. "It was just weird. I woke up, almost sensing the warlock's presence in the room. He didn't say anything...he was just watching me. When he saw that I was awake, he jumped towards the couch, and threw a knife at me. It missed me by a couple inches, but I didn't think about it at the time. That's when all of you ran down, and Piper stabbed him from behind."

"What's so weird about that?" asked Paige. "I mean, warlocks attack all the time."

"I don't know, it's almost like..like he threw the knife so it wouldn't hurt me on purpose. Like he didn't want to kill me, he just wanted to warn me."

Piper picked up the dead warlock's knife. "Let me take it up to the attack." she said. "Maybe the BOS has an idea at what it's used for."

"No need." said Paige. "I know exactly what kind of knife this is, and boy is this not good news."

[hollyhalliwell]

~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, what's the knife mean?" persisted Piper.

"Well." said Paige. "It's called a disaster knife. They're used widely around the underworld, though mostly from demons to demons. It represents a warning for..."

Phoebe cut her sister off. "Let be guess a warning for a coming disaster?"

Paige nooded. "Yep. These knifes can come in all kinds of different sizes, colors, and shapes, but all of them share one thing." She pointed to the symbol carved into the bootem of the knife.

"And I bet I know what the symbol stands for." said Piper. "Disaster?"

"Uhuh." Paige grimaced. "So in other words, another demon has it out for us, and this warlock was just a messenger. My bet is that he's connected to Cole and the whole Gadgerob thing."

"Gadgerob?" asked Phoebe. "What are you talking about?"

Paige, Piper, and Leo quickly filled in Phoebe on the information they had obtained from the elders.

"Oh my god." she said. "Do they really want Cole to rule the underworld? I mean, he would never to it of his own will." Phoebe sat up straiter on the couch to defend her husband if need be.

"We all believe you." said Leo. "We're just as confused as you are as to why they would want Cole."

"Oh my god." Phoebe's eyes widened. "You don't think they wanty my babies, do you?" she rested a protective hand over her bulging belly.

"No." Piper shook her head "If they wanted the twins, the Gadgerob would have gone strait to kidnapping you. They wouldn't have bothered with stealing Cole."

"Maybe they are using him as a lewer to get Phoebe." suggested Paige.

"No." This time Leo shook his head. "I don't think so, it's too complicated. I mean Phoebe's seven months pregnant, and is carrying two kids. It wouldn't be that hard for two demons to shimmer her off the street. It's not like she can run anymore. Besides, they would have contacted us by now. Demons aren't known for their patience, and I'm pretty darn sure they wouldn't have wanted to keep Cole alive and healthy for two weeks before even making their first move."

Everyone nodded their head in agreement. Paige added, "And I mean, It's not like babies can rule the underworld." She looked at Phoebe's stomach. "The twins haven't even been born yet!"

"Now that we are all pretty sure that the Gadgerob aren't after the twins, I say we get back to the subject at hand." suggested Piper. "How can we trace this knife back to our demons?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile....In the underwold

Jarft waved his hand, and in the process conjured a body length mirror. He looked at his new facial features and smiled broadly.

"She'll sense your evil when you touch her. It's no use Jarft, you better just give up now." said Cole for about the millionth time.

Jarft turned his body away from the mirror, and walked towards Cole. He glared into his eyes, and spoke in a deathly, cold manner. "Phoebe won't even realize that I'm not her real doctor. She's so preoccupied by your absense that she won't even give me a second thought. I mean, heck, I look like Dr. Harrison, and I can sure as hell act like Dr. Harrison. Besides, it's not like the real OBGYN can warn her that he's dead." Jarft's smile spelled evil in every way imagianable as his eye's crossed to the oppisite side of the cave where the Doctor was huddled in a dead heap.

"Phoebe and her sisters will know by then that the only reason the Gadgerob kidnapped me was to lewer her and the twins here." persisted Cole

"They won't even suspect it." Jarft replied back. "In their minds, A demon would not take care of a human for weeks before taking the first move. Besides, I could have kidnapped Phoebe off the street very easily if I had wanted too." he took a deep breath, than continued. "And normally, I would. The only difference is that if I want the twins to be part of the Gadgerob, they have to commit willingly. That's the only stupid ruled that the Gadgerob actually have. The problem is, because the twins are still in Phoebe's stomach, she has to be the one to commit their lives to evil. If she does commit the twins while she's still pregnant with them, their evil will consume her too, which is a double bonus."

"What if Phoebe refuses?" Cole asked

Jarft answered, eager to spread his brilliant plan. "When the twins are born, they will still have a very large connection with their mother. So in other words, they still can't commit theirselves. Phoebe will still have to do it. However, she will not become evil in the process. I'll just kill her."

"Phoebe would never allow the babies to become evil." Cole said, his voice mean with threats to Jarft.

"Oh yes she will!" Jarft shouted. "Afterall, I do have the love of her life in my posession. Once I tell her that the only way for you to be set free is if she commits her childeren to evil, she'll come around."

"I'm not even enough for Phoebe to commit the childeren to evil." Cole growled. "You'll never get our babies!"

"That's where your wrong!" Jarft growled back. "Phoebe's hope that somehow she can save the babies from evil even after she has already commited them to the Gadgerob will persuade her to take my deal. Of course, once the babies are commited the tribes bond will be too strong for her to tear them from it!"

"Phoebe's smarter than you think." Cole said. "She'll kill you before you can even blink."

"We'll see about that." said Jarft. He looked at his morphed features of Dr. Harrison one more time, than smiled. "Right now, I have an appointmemnt to see a Mrs. phoebe Halliwell about the twins she's carrying."

Those were Jarft's last words as he shimmered out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Piper..." complained Phoebe. "Paige needs our help to find the owner of that warning knife. We need to be back at the manor finding my husband! Not taking me to the doctors!"

"For the last time." Piper suggested, "Shove it. The sooner we get you to the OBGYN's the sooner we'll find Cole. Besides, I'm sure Cole would make it his first priority for you to keep the twins safe. If you stop going to the doctor, we may not catch any health problems the twins have."

"Okay." Phoebe relented. "But drive faster."

"That's my girl." muttered Piper as she sped up on the freeway. As their car pulled into the parking lot of the doctors office, Phoebe took a deep breath as she climbed out of the car. Piper followed her, holding onto Phoebe's right arm, making sure her siter didn't slip in the rain water puttles.

"You know Piper, I can take care of my own darn self." said Phoebe as she tried to wiggle her arm free of Piper's grip. It was no use, Piper's hands just clenched tighter.

"Preach that prase all you want little sister, but I know for a fact that I could kick your butt as easily as I kiss my husband."

"Okay..." Phoebe started to laugh, as they reached the entrance. Piper opened the door and both sisters stepped in. "Nice comparison," Phoebe was about to say, but the sentence was cut off as a hungary chill raced up her spine.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked.

Phoebe nodded. "Yeah...I think so."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile in the underworld........

About 3 gaurds stood around the cave, close enough to keep watch on Cole but far enough away so they couldn't hear him. On top of all the gaurds was a magical protection that was being used ot keep all good out. Cole knew all this, because the only thing he'd been thinking about since he'd been captured two weeks ago was to get out of the cave and to warn Phoebe.

"Think, think." Cole repeted to himself at he banged his head against his knees. "Let's see...um....Maybe the twins are linked to me, like Wyatt and Chris are linked to Leo." Cole thought it through. "No, I don't think so, because Wyatt, Chris and Leo all have whitelighter powers. Their sensing probaly connects them." he took a deep breath. "Then again, we know the twins are pretty strong, there's no telling what they're capable of. Besides, I might as well try to send Phoebe a premintition through the babies, it's not like I'm getting anything else done."

Cole took a deep breath, as he concentrated, and let the visions of what he believed was in store flow through his mind.

"Don't go to the doctor Phoebe. Please don't go to the doctor." were his last words as he fell into another sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waiting room

"Mrs. Phoebe Halliwell?" called the young nurse. "Doctor Harrison is ready for your appointment."

Phoebe nodded, and with Piper's help wobbled out of the chair. Together, they followed the nurse down the hall and into a small corner room. The nurse shut the door behind her. "I'll go ahead and weigh you Mrs. Halliwell, and then I'll ask you a few short questions. After that, it will be about time for Dr. Harrison to arrive."

Phoebe followed the girl's instructions, and stepped on top of the scale. Her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head when she saw the weight she'd gained from the pregnancy, but she wasn't as upset as she believed that she would be. Most womed hated the weight gain, and all the hormones that being pregnant brought. Phoebe on the other hand, loved every moment of carrying her twins. Most of all, she loved the lives inside her and the connection she had with her childeren.

"You're going into your 8th month, is that right Phoebe?"

"Yes."

The strawberry blond nurse continued with another few basic pregancy questions, and was about done when Dr. Harrison came in. "Thankyou Cindy. I'll take it from here." Dr. Harrison said politly. He turned to Piper and said, "And uh...Pepper is it? I'm going to need you to step outside while I asked Ms. Halliwell a few questions, and do a sonagram."

Piper gritted her teeth, trying to refrain herself from popping the docter in the nose for calling her Pepper. "Not that I know a lot about this stuff Doc, but you never made me leave the room before, and our family is going through a little crisis. I'd rather stay by my sister, were I can see her."

Jarft/Dr. Harrison shook his head. "The thing is, Phoebe's last trimester carrying the twins is absolutely crucial. If you're in the room why I do her tests, it may distract her or I from getting the right results on these procedures. I'd hate to overlook any complications with with your sister's pregnancy."

Another chill shook Phoebe, but she misjudged it as the severe hunger that the babies always seemed to cause her. "It's okay Piper. You can leave, but while you're waiting can you get me a pack of Cheetos from the vending machine? I don't mean the thin ones either, I want the big fluffy ones."

Reluctantly, not one to disobey doctor's orders, Piper slipped out of the room. Jarft continued with asking Phoebe questions, and was very easily acting out the right part of Dr. Harrison. "Okay. I'll go ahead and get the ultrasound machine ready. You just lay back and relax."

Phoebe followed his orders, but couldn't stop the nagging feeling that something just wasn't quite right. As his hands aproached her belly with the machine, she knew something was way too wrong. She'd been around enough demons to be able to spot one a mile away.

On instant reflex, her foot flew up, and into the adams apple of the demon appearing to be her doctor. "You a$$ hole. What did you do to the real Dr. Harrison?"

An evil snear spread across his face, but he did not shapeshift back into his normal form. "I guess you figured me out Phoebe." He saw her about to open her mouth, but he stopped her. "I wouldn't scream if I were you. I magically sound proofed this room before you came in."

"What do you want?" she asked angrily. She placed a protective hand over her largened stomach. "You can't have my babies."

"I'm not wanting anything from you." he smiled. "Well not now anyway. In fact, I'm offering you a chance to get your weakling being of a husband back."

Her eyes widened. "You have Cole?" Surprize turned to anger. "You better give him back to me with every hair in place, or so help me I will...."

"Oh shut up." the demon added angrily. "If you want him back so bad, all you have to do is come and get him. That is, if you're not too scared that I'll kill you while your playing rescue."

"If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so already." was Phoebe's response. Before Jarft could reply, her vision started to get blurry. She felt herself fall as she was pulled into a brain throttling premonition of Cole. 'Don't go with him, Phoebe.' her husband said. 'Whatever you do, please don't trust him.'

Suddenly, her eyes opened. Piper's face was hovering mere inches from hers. "You're up!" she shouted. "What happened in there? You fainted, and have been sound asleep for almost 15 minutes! I mean, I know pregnant women have dizzy spells every now and then, but sheesh, I was getting worried!"

Phoebe looked around, and her eyes took in her sorroundings. "But how...how did I get here? I was at the doctor's office."

"Dr. Harrison came out saying you fainted, and that you would need some rest. he double checked to make sure you were okay before sending you home, but he said the babies are doing fine. I had Leo orb you home so you could get more rest."

Before Phoebe had a chance to reply, Paige came bounding down the stairs. "I am the King!" she shouted. "I know who's knife this is! All because of my brilliant detective work." She held out the warning knife. "This, ladies and gentlemen, belongs to a demon named Jarft."

"Shhh." Piper said. "You can tell me more after I get Phoebe to bed. I don't want her up, and it's going to be hard to get her back to sleep as it is."

"First of all," said Phoebe. "I'm sitting right here and can hear everything you guys are saying. Second of all, there is no way I'm going to bed right now. Third of all, we really need to talk."

"Nope." said Piper. "No comprimising. Paige will orb you to your room, but you're not getting any imformation out of us until you get a couple hours sleep."

"But..." persisted Phoebe. "I have something really important to tell..."

"Nope," said Paige. "We'll talk to you after you get some shut eye." With that, Paige orbed Phoebe up to her room. After saying goodbye, Paige exited Phoebe's room, unaware of Phoebe's intentions.

"I'm sorry." Phoebe said siletly to her sisters, even though she was the only one in her bedroom. "But I have have to find Cole, with or without your help." She also added a silent sorry to her husband. "I know in my preminition you said not to go with him, but I have to. It's my only chance of finding you."

Phoebe took out her pad and pen, and wrote one sentence. She left it on her bed for the other Halliwell's to find, than whispered. "Jarft, I know you can hear me. I'm ready for you to take me to go see Cole."

More to come soon.....Tell me how you like the story!