Bitter Destruction

I'm very sorry for the long wait. :) Please don't lose faith in Delilah/Prue or me!

Prince of Madness - Thank you so much. You're a wonderful support. :)

I'll try to do updates as quick as possible.

Enjoy!

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When I awoke, it felt like a boulder was crushing my head into the mattress. I moaned quietly, my eyes unable to adjust to the heavy light from the setting sun that peeked through the curtains. My breathing seemed heavier than usual, like I'd just run miles before collapsing. Collapsing...

"Prue..." I called, my voice breaking so it was hard to even tell that I was saying my lover's name.

"Hey, sweetie. You're awake."

The voice was soothing and delicate, but not Prue's. Phoebe's.

"Phoebe?" I squeaked, my eyes opening slightly. She was sitting upon the bed, a glass of water in her hand and a small smile gracing her lips; also, I noted, was a slight distance between us. Moaning again as the ache grew inside my head, I asked meekly, "Where's Prue?"

"The kitchen, I think, with Piper and Cole. She's helping Piper with dinner," Phoebe responded. I lifted myself up onto my elbow, eyeing the glass in the Charmed One's hand curiously. "Here," she said, noticing my look and handing me the object.

I swallowed a majority of the water in one drink, amazed by how wonderful it tasted. When the glass was finished, in a matter of seconds, I gave it back to Phoebe, whom accepted the object with caution. "How is Prue?" I wondered aloud, a little scared to hear the answer. I hoped I wasn't viewed as even weaker now after losing consciousness in front of a ghost of my mother. 'Though maybe I had every right,' I thought stubbornly.

With a sigh, she replied, "Worried, of course, but we all were. It was stupid of us to do that to you. Too unexpected and dangerous. Especially now with the baby." I let my head drop. They saw the weakness clearly. "We're sorry, Delilah," she concluded, her voice thick with sorrow.

I nodded, almost wanting to reassure her that it was okay, that I was fine. But I knew that was a lie. I'd just witnessed my beautiful mother speak about her brutal pregnancy with me. Some of the side-effects were very similar to mine, but maybe not as tragically harmful as hers sounded. I wasn't sure if I felt as bad as I did for her or for myself.

"I need to talk to her," I murmured, forcing myself to my feet.

"Delilah, Prue wanted you to stay up here," Phoebe said warningly as she stood, her body centered between the door and me.

I stumbled, vomit forming at the back of my throat, but I constrained it. "Why?" I hissed, slightly taken aback.

She didn't answer. I shook my head. "This is silly," I mumbled, stepping closer toward her, and she stepped back. "Phoebe?" With each step I took, she would proceed to close the gap amidst us. "Why do you keep backing away?"

"I--" she started, but stopped. She was up to the door now; she looked intimidated, like I were the cat and she were the mouse.

Backing far away so that my calves hit the bed, I stuttered, "Wh-what?" I felt my face form into concern.

Phoebe moved closer, inch by inch, with her hands quivering. "It's nothing against you or anything..." she explained timidly. "But I can't... touch you, or I could get another premonition."

I could recall Phoebe's face of horror when she'd touched me nearly 24 hours before - the anguish and fear staining her eyes, her mouth open and ready to scream in terror, the sharp gasps and sobs that left her. Dropping my head again, I asked, "What did you see?"

Even though she remained quiet for such a long time before answering, I somehow kept my head down, away from her traumatized eyes that I knew would be recalling the vision. "You were on a bed, unclothed, and a man was above you... I could see the back of his head, and he was moving... quickly." The youngest Halliwell's voice was barely audible; I believed she'd kept her head down, as well, but dared not to see. "Suddenly, like a camera zoomed around inside my head, I saw your face--" She paused, choking on something. Out of panic, I peered up, seeing her eyes well up and her hand grasp the base of her neck. "You were in so much pain," she breathed, the emotion in her small voice causing my eyes to fill with tears, too.

Both of us waited for her to continue, closing our eyes to subdue the moisture that threatened to spill over. "I finally saw his face, and to know that he'd done that... just before we went to vanquish him." In unison, our eyelids pulled back, and I could see the misery in her eyes. The guilt that stained her brown irises was apparent. "If we'd come just minutes before... maybe we could've prevented this," she whispered.

Clearing my throat, I responded shakily, "Based on what he told me, what happened was bound to happen. Even if you did shimmer in minutes before, he or The Seer would figure out someway to implant me with..." I couldn't finish.

Phoebe turned away, facing the wall. Like either one of the sisters wanted to hear that they were useless. Thankfully I wasn't having this discussion with Prue; she'd make me regret saying those words. Phoebe only pondered over them, swallowing down emotion at the same time.

I wanted to say something - whether it was to tell the youngest witch that I was sorry or to complete my last reply, I wasn't sure - but the same ringing sounded in my head like when we were at P3 and the demons attacked. "A demon," I mumbled to myself, catching Phoebe's attention. The ring indicated that the demon was present downstairs.

Phoebe said my name in a questioning tone, but then I was in the living room, turning my head in all directions to find the demon. Phoebe called for her sisters as her footsteps cluttered down the stairs. I glanced around the couch, circled around the table, and entered the sunroom. Hearing the rustle of one of the plants, I jumped around, spotting the dirty, scavenger-like demon. On instinct, I flung my hand forward, a small flame freeing itself and burning the vermin.

Other footsteps entered the sunroom as well, making me spin around to face eight wide eyes. "What?" I asked, confused by their shock. "There was a demon, and I--" The alarm blazed in my mind again. 'The bedroom,' I noted to myself and, like before, I suddenly found myself inside Prue's bedroom, searching for the newest unwelcome visitor. By the nauseating smell of aftershave, I could tell it was a male that had been inside, but he'd shimmered or blinked out before I could destroy him. "Damn it," I cursed, holding down bile.

Behind me I heard something form - the demon reappearing? Another ball of fire formed within my palm and I smirked to myself. I spun to face the demon, my arm moving outward, but I saw the brief image of Prue's face flash before my eyes. "No!" I screamed as the blazing red and orange flew out of my hand into the Charmed One, her body wincing and disappearing in the air.

An enormous weight pressed into my torso. "Oh... Oh no," I whispered, my hands clamping down on my chest. 'I couldn't have!' I argued to myself. 'No, please!'

"P-Prue?" I whimpered, walking towards the wall that she'd stood by before I... "Prue!" I repeated in a wail, fresh tears trailing down my cheeks.

A face peeked through the door and my heart beat faster than it ever had before. "Prue! Prue!" I cried, running into her arms. The warmth of her body never felt so good upon my skin. I ran my fingers up her back then into her dark hair, my lips kissing along the side of her neck. I pulled away to look at her, her eyes especially soft. Between pecks on her lips, I whispered, "I'm - so - sorry," and kissed her passionately when I finished my apology. We both pulled away sadly, wishing we didn't have to stop. "I-I thought I..." I murmured, my eyebrows coming together. "I don't understand."

"I, uh, astral projected," she clarified, though she could tell by my unchanged expression that she had to explain what that meant. "My other power is astral projection - it allows me to be in two places at once."

The creasing above my eyes smoothed out a little. "So I killed... the other you?" I grimaced at the word "killed."

"I managed to go back to my other self before the flames hit." She smiled moderately to show that no damage had been done.

"I'm really sorry, Prue," I repeated. "If it'd really been you, I--" I couldn't end my thought aloud; the tightening of my throat wouldn't let me.

"Well, after we saw you destroy that other demon, I decided I'd have to take precautions," she replied, a small smirk tugging at her lips. I shook my head at her confidence. "And I wish you would've kissed me like before when you told me you were sorry again," she continued, her smirk broadening. I couldn't help but smile and bite my lip, my cheeks flushing with pink.

"Is it safe?" Phoebe called from downstairs.

Prue turned her head toward the staircase then back to me. "Any other demons around that you can sense?" she asked, her face much more serious.

I closed my eyes, listening to the gentle ticking of a clock downstairs, hearing Phoebe and Piper mutter words to each other as they walked into a different room, detecting that Cole had a lot on his mind by the way he scratched slowly along his forearm as he followed the sisters. Nothing demonic was happening; the alarm was silent. "Nothing," I confirmed, opening my eyes.

"Okay," Prue said. "Dinner's ready. Let's go eat."

My stomach growled at what Prue said as though it had ears of its own. "Okay," I said, half-smiling.

We walked down the hall and the staircase into the kitchen. Phoebe and Cole were already seated at the table, though they didn't seem to be speaking. Piper was dishing out the food onto the plates behind the counter. Her eyes were the first I detected on us when Prue and I entered the room. Then Phoebe's concerned eyes, and I expected Cole's to follow, but they didn't. "Everything okay?" Piper asked, not directly to anyone, but I knew it was for me.

"Yes," I said, following Prue to the table and sitting down beside her. Cole sat across from me, his eyelids folded over his blue irises. After clearing my throat, I apologized to them all. "I didn't realize what had come over me," I said, looking at each one of them. "I just... Something inside my head was informing me that something with evil intentions was in the house - just like at P3 before," I said, more to Phoebe, Prue, and Cole. "Then, suddenly, I was standing in the living room, searching for the demon or warlock. Then, after I killed him, the same thing told me that there was one upstairs in Prue's room."

"But no one was there?" Phoebe questioned.

"Someone had been," I responded, "but they left as soon as I entered, I'm assuming."

Piper stood behind me, placing my plate on the mat in front of me, then setting down Prue's. By the beautiful colors and, amazingly, the smell, I had been so focused on devouring my meal that I hadn't heard Piper's question. When she spoke my name, though, I was pulled out of my lock. "Yes?"

She seemed unamused. "So someone was upstairs?"

"Yes, I'm positive," I clarified, nodding my head.

"And you have no way of determining who it could have been?" the middle sister inquired.

I shook my head from side to side. "I smelled aftershave, so I figure it's a male - someone that actually cares what he looks like--"

"You don't find many demons like that," Phoebe murmured humorously, nudging Cole in his chest with her elbow. His body rocked at the gentle blow, but he remained frozen when bouncing back, his eyes closed still. "Cole?" Phoebe asked, shifting looks between her sisters and me before watching him again. "What is it, honey?"

I fiddled with my fingers and tried to control my urge to dive into the precious delicacy in front of me. Cole didn't move for long seconds, hours it seemed, until he shifted and opened his eyes. My fingers stopped their dance and I bore into his light irises, hoping to understand what he could've possibly been thinking.

He had to clear his throat before speaking. "I'm trying to make sense out of this," he said, his voice calm and quiet. "Delilah." I didn't jump, but my skin became clammy and tight. "When was your mother born?"

I had to break the stare when I looked at my fingers as though the answer was written along the digits. "I..." I started, my mind busying itself by going through random dates that cluttered my cranium. Giving up, I looked at him and sighed, "I'm not sure."

His face hardened a little. "When's yours?"

That I knew. "December 13th," I answered quickly. "Why?"

Slouching into his chair, he huffed. "I wish we knew your mother's birth date. We should've asked when we had the chance."

"But why is that important?" Prue asked, leaning over her untouched plate.

"Because The Source," - I shuddered at the name - "would have wanted his heir as fast as possible, I would imagine. I have this feeling that he quickened the pregnancy."

Piper interrupted, "How?"

"The tonic," Prue said quietly, eyeing the half-demon. "Lily said it was given to her daily in the mornings by The Seer." Her dark hair swung as she averted sideways to face me. "She said it made you stronger."

"Probably," Phoebe added with emphasis, "made her stronger. We're not certain about this."

"But it makes sense," Cole countered gently, looking at us all. "And if The Seer wants Delilah's baby just as fast as she wanted Lily's, she'll figure out a way to get the tonic to you."

"Damn it," Piper muttered for all of us, raking her fingers through her hair. "I better tell Leo," she sighed, walking out of the kitchen.

To distract myself, I picked up a fork and stabbed into a piece of meat from my plate, shoving the chunk into my mouth, swallowing the anxiety that was lodged in my throat. Moisture cluttered inside my eyelids, but I managed to keep it from flooding out. The clutter of Phoebe's, Cole's, and Prue's silverware upon their plates made me less tense, for I knew that they were less focused on my issues for the moment.

"Oh," Prue said to me in a hushed voice, a thought jumping to her suddenly. "Piper called the hospital while you were asleep--"

My face turned white and my eyes widened. All I knew about hospitals was that they were white, filled with doctors, and reeked of death. "H-hospital?" I sputtered, my hand resting over my belly.

Prue immediately responded to my look of horror by kissing my forehead. "I wouldn't have let her do it if I knew it wouldn't be a good idea, Delilah," she explained, her eyes filled with sincerity that made me less nervous. A little.

"You'll be with me, right?" I asked, my body quivering with nerves. Prue's lips folded into her mouth, her eyes moving back to her plate. No, Prue! I cried into her head, water cluttering around my irises.

"Shh," she hushed, glancing at Phoebe and Cole, whom were in their own conversation, pecking at their food as they mumbled. Prue faced me then. "I wish I could, sweetie, but I can't lose my job. Especially now--"

"With the baby," I finished in soft tones, shaking my head at the recent common use of that phrase. "I can't do it without you, Prue. Won't the doctor... touch me... and examine me?" The thought of an elderly man's wrinkled hands shoving into me to "feel the baby" made the previously swallowed food come back up.

Prue grasped my hand. "Everything will be fine," she confirmed, and I couldn't help but feel better from her gentle words and sensitive touch. "Piper will go with you to the hospital. We already set up the appointment. If you're uncomfortable, let Piper know and she'll be able to freeze him. It'll be just fine, baby, I promise."

If she didn't have that honest look in her eyes that made me know that she would bet her life on everything she just said, I would've fought against this idea. Giving in, I sighed and nodded, turning back to the plate and forcing myself to consume the small shards into my swollen stomach.

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