Cole cradles Paige's lifeless body in his arms, as his cries become louder, frequenly turning into screams. "No, Paige -- Paige, please. Don't leave us. Wake up baby, PLEASE!" Cole begs, caressing her face gently, his words broken through his tears.
"Cole, I'm sorry. She's gone." Leo says. He gets up and puts his arm around Piper, who breaks down crying in his arms. Phoebe kneels down next to Paige, holding Ben, who is crying loudly, in her arms. Cole looks up and glares at Leo and Piper, his eyes filling up with rage.
"You don't think I'm good enough for her. Both of you!!! That's why you're saying this, isn't it? You never did, you never believed in us being together, you treated our whole relationship as a big joke. Well, you can both go to HELL, because we proved you wrong. We're still together. We're still together and you hate it, and you'll do anything to destroy us. That's what you want to do, isn't it? You don't want me to be with Paige. Well, she's my wife. She is MY wife, and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. So just get OUT and leave us alone!" Cole shouts, a glazed look of shock in his face. "Get OUT!!!!" Cole screams, trembling and sobbing and full of anger. The more enraged Cole becomes, the louder and more intensely the baby cries.
"Cole -- would you like to see your son?" Phoebe asks, trying to distract him and to remain calm for everyone's sake as she fights back her own tears. Cole looks up at Phoebe and smiles a tiny bit.
"Our son -- Paige, look, it's our little boy. Phoebe -- I think Paige wants to hold him." Cole says, calming down but still in complete shock and unable to face reality, still rocking Paige in his arms.
"Okay." Phoebe says reluctantly. "Let's help her do that, okay Cole?" she asks, handing him the baby, whose cries continue to increase in volume.
"Phoebe --" Piper starts to say, but Leo interrupts her.
"Leave them alone -- Phoebe knows what she's doing." Leo says.
"Oh honey, he's so beautiful, isn't he?" Cole says. Still cradling Paige in his arms, he takes Ben in his arms carefully and holds the boy close to Paige. Ben starts to quiet down. "See that? He knows how much his mommy loves him. Don't you, Ben?" Suddenly, an aura of white light appears around the baby, and then around Paige.
"Leo, what's happening?" Piper asks.
"I'm not sure." Leo says. This goes on for several minutes, and finally the aura disappears. Phoebe looks down and sees Paige's hand move.
"Paige?" Phoebe says, taking her hand. Paige miraculously begins to stir, and opens her eyes.
"Oh my god." Piper says, rushing to Paige's side. "Paige, can you hear us?"
"Where am I?" Paige asks weakly.
"We're at the manor, sweetie." Piper says, touching her cheek and fighting back tears.
"Is that --" Paige begins, looking down at the baby.
"Your son." Phoebe says. Paige smiles as she looks down at the little boy, who is now resting calmly in his mother's arms, and starts to cry. Cole watches everything that is happening in silence, still holding Paige tightly.
"Cole?" Paige whispers. Cole begins to cry tears of joy.
"I'm here, baby." he says, kissing her on the forehead. "I love you so much, Paige. I don't think I could have lived without you -- you're my whole life." Cole tells her. "You and Ben."
"Is he okay?" Paige asks, looking up at Leo.
"Let me see him for a minute." Leo says, reaching for the baby.
"No!" Cole shouts. "They can't have him -- you tell the elders that they cannot have our son. No one is ever going to take our little boy from us."
"Cole, calm down -- he doesn't want to take the baby, he just wants to check him over, make sure he's okay. Right Leo?" Phoebe says.
"Of course -- I'll give him right back." Leo says. Phoebe takes the boy from Paige's arms and hands him to Leo.
"Paige, he did something -- Ben, he saved you. He brought you back." Piper tells Paige.
"Back? What do you mean, back?" Paige asks.
"Honey -- Leo wasn't able to save you. But your son did." Piper tells her. Paige looks up at Cole.
"Cole -- is this true? Was I dead?" Paige asks, a bit frightened.
"Shhhhhh. You just rest, baby. You're gonna be fine now, that's all that matters." Cole tells her. Leo kneels down next to her and hands the baby back to Paige.
"He's perfect, Paige." Leo tells her. "His empath abilities are VERY strong -- as are his whitelighter powers. He is one special little boy."
"That's why his cries kept getting louder just now -- Cole, he was taking on your pain." Phoebe says. "Poor little guy -- he's too young to understand any of this."
"Actually, he can handle it much better than any of us could. That's what empaths do. And when he took on Cole's pain, once he was in Paige's arms he was able to use his whitelighter powers and channel that pain into reviving her." Leo tells them.
"But what about his demon side? I mean -- does he have one?" Piper asks.
"I don't sense any." Leo tells them. "He's all good."
"Oh, Ben -- we are so happy to finally have you here with us." Paige says, and she reaches down and gives Ben a gentle kiss on the cheek.
"He's even more beautiful than I imagined him to be." Cole says, holding Ben's tiny hand gently. Ben wraps his tiny fingers around one of Cole's fingers and holds it in very tight grasp. Cole smiles. "Look at how strong he is -- you are going to be a handful, aren't you young man?"
"And he'll be worth every frustrating minute." Paige says, smiling happily. She looks up at Cole. "I love you so much." she says.
"I love you, too." Cole says, kissing her on the lips, and then kissing Ben on the forehead. Cole looks up at Leo. "I'd like to take my family home now. Is that okay? Is she going to be alright?" Leo lays his hands on Paige, checking her over.
"I think she'll be just fine." Leo tells him. "Just make sure she stays in bed and rests for now -- if you need me, just call for me -- otherwise, I'll be by in the morning to check on both of them."
"If you need any help with Ben, just let me know -- his Aunt Phoebe will be right there to spoil him rotten." Phoebe tells them.
"Thanks Phebes -- we appreciate it." Paige tells her.
"I'll see you tomorrow -- I'll bring Melinda over, I bet Ben will be so excited to meet his cousin." Piper says.
"That would be wonderful -- I love all of you so much." Paige tells them.
"We should go, you need your rest. We'll see you tomorrow." Cole says to everyone, and he wraps his arm around Paige and Ben and they shimmer out of the room. Phoebe kneels down on the floor where Paige had been lying -- her blood covers the entire area.
"She's not gone." Phoebe says. "Lilith -- we didn't vanquish her. All we did was weaken her."
"Don't worry about Lilith -- you've taken more power from her than anyone has ever been able to. I don't think she'll bother us again." Leo says.
"I'm not so sure." Phoebe replies. "I need to go -- I need to get out of this house." Phoebe says, and she runs out the door.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Phoebe! What happened to you?" Eli asks as he answers the door. "Are you alright?"
"I have a nephew." Phoebe says, entering the house. She hasn't even noticed that her shirt has blood on it from Paige.
"You're bleeding." Eli says, leading her to the couch. Phoebe looks down.
"Oh -- no, that's not me. That's from Paige." Phoebe tells him, a bit in shock.
"Paige? Is she alright?" Eli asks.
"She is now." Phoebe replies, and then breaks down sobbing in Eli's arms. Nicholas enters the room.
"Dad -- what's wrong?" Nicholas asks.
"Go to my room, Nick -- get one of my t-shirts." Eli tells him, and Nicholas leaves the room. "Shhh -- it's alright. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"My sister almost died because of me. This whole family has spent the past year in a living HELL because of me. I'm the one who brought Lilith to us. I'm the one who was so insecure and so un-trusting of Cole and our love and everything -- I killed a man, Eli. I killed an innocent, and my whole family was put in danger, and Paige almost died today. I don't know how they'll ever forgive me." Phoebe tells him, sobbing the entire time.
"He forgives you. Miles -- he said he knows you didn't mean it." Nicholas says, entering the room and giving a shirt to Eli.
"Here -- let's get you out of these clothes." Eli says. "Nick, turn around for a minute." Nicholas turns around and Eli helps Phoebe take off her blood-stained blouse and put on his shirt. "Nick -- who is Miles?"
"The man -- he's right there, you don't see him?" Nicholas says, looking just over Phoebe's shoulder. Phoebe turns around slowly. "He said you shouldn't cry, Phoebe -- you didn't do it. He knows that, and he's not mad at you."
"You can talk to ghosts?" Phoebe asks.
"Sometimes." Nicholas says. "When they have something important to tell me. He's gone now."
"Nick -- why haven't you told me this?" Eli asks.
"Mom told me not to." Nicholas replies.
"You talk to your mother?" Eli asks. Nicholas looks to his right, as if looking for approval from someone.
"She said it's okay to tell you now." Nicholas says.
"She's here? Lauren?" Eli says, smiling.
"She likes you, Phoebe. She says you'll be a good mom." Nicholas tells her. "She said she sent you to us. Dad, she wants me to tell you that she said it's okay -- and that you shouldn't be afraid to love again. She just wants you to be happy -- and that being happy won't bring evil in -- it'll keep it away."
"Come here, sweetie." Phoebe says, stretching her arms out to Nicholas. Nicholas runs to her and gives her a big hug. "I love you. I love both of you." Eli wraps his arms around both of them.
"I love you, too." he says to Phoebe.
"You two want to kiss and stuff, don't you? I'll go to my room." Nicholas says, and he leaves. Eli laughs a bit.
"Can't keep anything from him, can you?" he says, and he kisses Phoebe on the lips. "So -- what do we do now?"
"I don't know. You ready to break that vow of yours?" Phoebe asks.
"I just might be." Eli tells her. "But I'd rather wait till we're married." Phoebe gets a shocked look on her face. "I do intend to marry you, Phoebe. If you'll have us."
"Us?" Phoebe asks.
"Yeah -- me and Nick. We're kind of a package deal. You don't have to answer me now -- I wasn't even really expecting to ask you tonight, but --" Eli begins.
"Yes." Phoebe says. "I'll marry you." she tells him, and pulls him into a kiss.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning, Paige starts to awaken and reaches for Cole but finds his side of the bed empty. She sits up and sees Cole sitting in the rocking chair across from the bed, sound asleep, holding little Ben in his arms. Paige smiles as she slowly gets out of bed, making her way to their side. She touches Cole on the shoulder, and Cole wakes up. "What are you doing out of bed?" Cole asks, turning and looking up at Paige.
"I'm fine, sweetie. Just wanted to say good morning to my two favorite guys." Paige tells him. Cole stands up, Ben still in his arms, and heads toward the bed with Paige, and they climb in under the covers and snuggle together, as Cole hands Ben over to Paige.
"He woke up in the middle of the night; he was being kind of fussy, so I thought I'd try rocking him, see if that would get him to sleep. I guess it worked for me." Cole says.
"I didn't even hear him." Paige says.
"You were sound asleep. And I didn't want to wake you up after the adventure you just had. You feeling okay?" Cole asks.
"I'm perfect. I just wish he hadn't come into this world in such an awful manner. You don't think he'll remember, do you Cole?" Paige asks.
"I hope not." Cole says. "He seems okay -- I think he might be hungry, though."
"Did you try feeding him?" Paige asks.
"I kind of, don't have the equipment for that." Cole says. "And we didn't have any kind of formula on hand yet, so -- that job's all yours, baby." Paige looks down at Ben nervously.
"Okay, um -- I hope I know how to do this." Paige pulls her sleeve down and postions Ben for feeding, and he immediately begins doing so as a knock comes on their bedroom door.
"Can we come in?" Piper asks, peeking around the corner. "We didn't want to orb right into the room."
"Why not, Leo does it all the time." Cole remarks.
"Yeah, I learned my lesson." Leo replies, entering behind Piper, holding Melinda in his arms.
"Come on in -- he's just having his breakfast." Paige says, covering herself a bit.
"Well, that's what we're here for -- if you don't mind we thought we'd invade your kitchen and I'd whip up a nice meal for all of us. I think it's the least we deserve." Piper says.
"I'd like that, Piper -- thank you." Paige says.
"Hey -- about last night -- what I said to the two of you -- I'm sorry about that, I just --" Cole begins.
"You were consumed with grief, don't even give it a second thought. I probably would have had the same reaction if I had been in your shoes." Leo tells him.
"What did you say?" Paige asks.
"Don't worry about it, Paige. We're all family here now. Right, Cole?" Piper says.
"Right." Cole replies happily. "We're family."
"Speaking of family -- where's Phoebe?" Paige asks.
"She's off somewhere with Eli." Leo says. "I don't know this guy very well -- you guys are sure you're okay with Phoebe dating a warlock?"
"Hey -- he's a good man. He and his son -- they saved my life, and Paige and Ben's. I owe them everything." Cole says.
"Wow. I'm impressed." Paige says.
"Hey, I'm entitled to change my -- perspective on things. Isn't that right, miss 'let's vanquish Cole'?" Cole teases.
"Point taken." Paige says, smiling and giving Cole a kiss.
"Well, I'm gonna get started on that breakfast. Leo, you want to help me?" Piper asks.
"Sure, if this young lady will let me put her down for five minutes." Leo says.
"She's so happy Leo is back -- he hasn't been able to put her down all night, the minute he does she screams her head off." Piper tells them. "I guess she just wants to make up for lost time with her daddy."
"We're so glad to have you back, Leo." Paige says.
"Oh, that's right, before I forget -- one of the elders paid me a visit this morning. I have something for you." Leo goes to Paige's side and takes her hand, and a rush of energy flows through her body. "Since Cole's no longer a 'demon' so to speak, and since Ben here turned out the way he did -- they wanted you to have your powers back." Paige smiles. "Go ahead -- try them out." Paige thinks about it for a moment.
"Diapers." she finally says, and a bag of diapers that is sitting on the floor orbs into her hand. "Here you go." she says, taking one out and handing it to Cole.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" Cole asks.
"Well -- I finished my job. Now it's your turn." Paige says, and she hands Ben over to him.
"I don't know how to change a diaper." Cole says, the reality of parenthood hitting him hard.
"Well, I didn't know how to breast feed, but I figured it out. You'll do fine." Paige says, a big smile on her face. Cole looks up at Leo.
"You want some help?" Leo asks.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Cole says, and they leave the room, as Paige laughs to herself.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later that day, everyone is gathered in the living room of Cole and Paige's house. Paige is holding Ben in her arms, and Cole sits next to her, his arms wrapped around her. Leo sits in a chair holding Melinda in his arms. "Well, everything's cleaned up." Piper says, coming out of the kitchen and sitting down next to Leo.
"Piper, you didn't have to do that, I could have cleaned it later." Paige says.
"YOU just had a baby yesterday. You shouldn't be doing anything except -- breast feeding and changing diapers." Piper says.
"Actually, the latter is MY job, I've been informed." Cole remarks.
"What, you want to trade?" Paige teases.
"Trust me -- I would if I could." Cole replies. The front door opens, and Phoebe peeks in.
"There you all are! WE have some exciting news!" Phoebe says, entering the house with Eli and Nicholas.
"We're getting married." Eli says, putting his arm around Phoebe.
"Really? That's wonderful! When?" Paige asks.
"We don't know yet -- soon, we hope." Phoebe says. "We're gonna keep it simple -- just family."
"We'll probably need your help, Cole -- with the adoption." Eli says.
"Adoption?" Piper asks.
"I'm going to adopt Nicholas." Phoebe says. "Isn't that great?"
"Well -- you just tell me what you need and I'll be glad to help. It's the least I can do." Cole says.
"Can I hold him?" Nicholas asks Paige, looking at Ben with fascination.
"Sure you can -- sit down here -- here you go, just be really careful and make sure you hold his head up." Paige says, handing Ben over to Nicholas.
"Cool." Nicholas says. "He's gonna be my cousin now, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I guess he is." Phoebe replies.
"He says he really loves everyone here and he's happy. He wants to go to his dad now -- he says he likes it when his dad holds him and rocks him in the chair -- it makes him feel safe." Nicholas says, handing Ben over to Cole.
"Hey -- you will always be safe with me, Ben." Cole says, kissing him on the forehead.
"So -- I take it you'll have your own place, too." Piper says to Phoebe. "You know, there's a house for sale around the corner."
"I know -- we just noticed it on our way in. We're gonna talk to the realtor tomorrow." Phoebe says.
"I know how important it is for Phoebe to be close to her sisters." Eli says.
"Phoebe, you're sure about this?" Leo asks.
"Leo!" Piper says, smacking him on the shoulder.
"It's okay -- I know you don't know me very well, and you have no reason to trust me. But I love Phoebe, and we're very happy together." Eli says. "We hope you'll be happy for us."
"Of course we are -- welcome to the family. Both of you." Piper says, and she goes to give a hug to Eli and Nicholas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey -- let me help you with that." Cole says, entering the living room as Phoebe finishes cleaning up late that evening. "Never thought I'd see the day when I saw you cleaning a house -- especially one that's not yours."
"Just trying to help out -- did Ben finally get to sleep?" Phoebe asks.
"Yeah, hopefully he's down for the night -- Paige is sleeping already too. I should probably get to bed myself, I didn't sleep much last night." Cole tells her.
"I don't blame you." Phoebe replies. "It was pretty scary. I think I understand now, Cole -- what you went through. With me, I mean. I'm so sorry for hurting you."
"Yeah, well -- that's in the past now." Cole says, and he sits down on the couch with Phoebe, and he takes her hand. "I will ALWAYS have a special place in my heart for you, you know that, right?"
"Yeah -- me too." Phoebe replies.
"And I truly believe that I'm the husband and father to Paige and Ben that I need to be because of you, Phoebe. You're the one who taught me how to love -- because of you I finally found the family I've been looking for my whole life. I will NEVER forget that, and I can't thank you enough for it." Cole tells her.
"I just wish I hadn't -- screwed up so badly with us. When Eli asked me to marry him -- I didn't even hesitate. I think that's the first mistake I made with us -- making you wait so long for an answer. You deserved better -- I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice." Phoebe says.
"He better be good to you -- you let me know if he's not, because he'll have to answer to me." Cole says.
"Thanks." Phoebe says, giving him a hug. "Now go on upstairs -- your wife and son are waiting for you, and I have a wedding to plan."
"I'll see you later -- goodnight." Cole says, and he shimmers out of the room. Phoebe sighs as she looks around the room, and then she stands up, picks up her purse, and walks out the front door. She heads for her car and opens her door when she feels a presence behind her.
"You think this is over, Phoebe? Think again." the voice says, and Phoebe turns around to find Lilith standing there.
"You're not real." Phoebe says. "We vanquished you."
"Did you? Are you sure?" Lilith asks. "All of this is your fault, Phoebe. YOU brought me into the lives of everyone you love. You killed my daughters and you kept me from the children I wanted. And you turned away from me when I so good to you, Phoebe. And you think you deserve a happy ending now? Think again, Phoebe -- there are no happy endings for you."
"Get away from me -- stay away from ME, and stay away from my family, do you hear me!" Phoebe shouts, reaching for her athame.
"There are no happy endings for you, Phoebe . . . . . . . . Cinderalla does NOT always get the Prince in the end." Lilith says, and she starts to laugh. Phoebe stabs at her, but there is nothing there, and Lilith vanishes. Phoebe just stands there for a moment, not sure if what happened was real or not. Suddenly her phone rings -- Phoebe answers it, but doesn't say a word.
"Phoebe? Are you there? Hello?" the voice on the other end asks.
"Yeah -- I'm here." Phoebe finally replies.
"It's getting late -- are you still coming over?" Eli asks.
"Yeah, I'll -- I'll be right there." Phoebe says, and she hangs up. Not knowing what to think, she gets in her car and drives away. When she's gone, Lilith appears on the sidewalk, laughs a bit to herself, then disappears . . . .