"Have you heard about the rebellion of the Vessels of Wrath?" Benjamin asked.

Leo took a sharp intake of breath, and Benjamin turned an approving smile towards him.

"I see they still give Whitelighters proper training up there."

"Was that you?" Leo asked, deeply impressed.

"That was us," Benjamin said. His smile faded when he noticed the confused look in Leo's eyes. "They didn't tell you I had accomplished that by myself, did they?"

"Actually, they did," Leo said. "They said that a witch had vanquished Asmodeus and..."

Leo stopped as he saw Benjamin's pained expression.

"I'm sorry," he said, embarrassed, "I didn't mean to..."

"Well, it's not your fault," Benjamin sighed. "You're just repeating what you've been told." Then, turning to Cole: "Just out of curiosity, son, how do they tell this story in the Underworld?"

"They say the Source himself hunted Asmodeus down," Cole said.

"I hate to say that," Benjamin said, with a sad smile, "but I like the Source's version better. The Elder's version makes me feel like a fraud."

He sighed and proceeded:

"But I guess I should start by telling the ladies about the rebellion. And the two of you" -- he pointed at Cole and Leo -- "had better forget all you have heard about it and listen to me, because this is first hand testimony."

The others listened with great interest as he explained:

"Asmodeus was one of the demons known as the Vessels of Wrath. In 1882, he incited some of his peers to mutiny against the Source. While the fact that the Underworld was being torn apart, with demons fighting among themselves, was good news for the side of Good, the bad news was, Asmodeus didn't choose targets: he and his followers attacked both sides with the same murderous fury. Also, they were maniacs: they killed for pleasure and didn't care about the risk of exposure."

Both Cole and Leo nodded in silence: so far, Benjamin's story matched what they had learned.

"I wasn't given the details of the negotiations. All I know is that the Source sent his ambassadors, the Elders sent theirs, and both parts agreed that Asmodeus had to be stopped. So, a witch was assigned by the Elders, and a demoness was sent by the Source... and that's how I met your mother," he said, looking at Cole.

"So, you worked together," Cole said, stunned. "You and mother... vanquished Asmodeus?"

"Yes, we did," Benjamin said.

"And you... fell for her?"

"Well, not immediately," Benjamin said, smiling as the memories came back to him. "Actually, we hated each other at first sight. You see, I was convinced that the Elders were making a terrible mistake, and found the idea of working with a demon just outrageous. And your mother felt pretty much the same way about me. But we had a mission to accomplish, and were both determined to see it through no matter what. We both agreed that it'd be easier if your mother stayed at my house until the mission was over; I lived alone, so she just had to stay out of sight in the morning, while the housemaid was there."

Cole gave him an inquisitive look, and Benjamin explained, shrugging:

"It was the Victorian Age: a man and a woman living under the same roof without being married... it'd have been the end of my career, had somebody found out."

"At first," he proceeded, "we tried to deal with it as quickly and with as little interaction as possible, put it behind us and get back to our lives." -- Benjamin chuckled slightly and waved his head -- "Of course, that not only didn't work but also we almost got ourselves killed. Finally, we accepted the fact that we'd have to work as a team if we were to defeat Asmodeus."

"Long story short, it took us a full six months to vanquish Asmodeus, but we finally did it. Once their leader was dead, the mutineers were easily defeated, and it was time for your mother to return to the Underworld... except that by that time I knew that I could never let her go."

A somewhat dreamy smile lingered on Benjamin's lips as he concluded:

"So I proposed to her."

"And she said yes?" Cole asked. He looked just like a little boy listening to a fairy tale, staring at his father with eyes bright with wonder.

"Well," Benjamin said, "not right away. First she went on, and on, and on, about how I was insane, and how she would have let Asmodeus finish me had she known I harbored a death wish, and how it was impossible... but eventually, yes, she said she'd marry me."

"Why?" Cole couldn't help but asking.

"Well," his father said with a mock insulted tone, "I like to think that it was because she loved me as much as I loved her."

"But, dad," Cole said, hesitantly, "she was a demon. She couldn't... demons can't love."

He immediately regretted his words as he saw Benjamin's expression sadden, but his father's next words surprised him.

"Do you think she didn't love you, son?"

Cole stared back at his father, not knowing what to say. Did he? That question had never bothered him when he was evil. He and his mother had never talked about that, as far as he could remember. He had never wondered if she loved him, just like he had never wondered if the sun would rise in the West the morning after. It was one of those things that are so impossible that you don't even give them enough thought to conclude that they're impossible. She had been a safe haven to a little boy, a strong hand disciplinarian and a role model to a teenager, and an ally and a partner to a grown up man. What's more, she was his; deep down he had always known that she belonged to him in a way she didn't belong to any other creature. And as for the "L" word... well, demons just didn't use it, period. She was his, and that was enough. At least it had been enough until he became a parent himself, and felt his heart swell with love for his own little boy.

Seeing the confusion and worry on his son's face, Benjamin said, softly:

"She loved you, son. I don't know what happened between the two of you after..." -- he hesitated. Not yet. We'll have to go down that road, help me God, but not yet. -- "While I wasn't around, but I can assure you that your mother loved you. Deeply. If you don't believe anything else I say to you today, at least believe this: she loved you just as much as any creature, human or not, could love another."

The sight of his son furrowing his brow and chewing his lower lip, struggling not to cry, had Benjamin fighting to hold back his own tears. He wondered if Cole knew that his mother reacted that same stubborn way to things that hurt or confused her. And that whenever she did that, stiffening and balling her fists, he'd pull her towards him and keep her captive against his heart until she relaxed and allowed him to comfort her.

"But she..."

"She was a demon, thus she couldn't love," said Benjamin. "Yes, I heard you the first time you said that."

He smiled and added:

"That's a very understandable misconception, son."

Seeing Cole's eyebrows shoot up, he asked:

"Do you know what a sophism is?"

"Something that may appear to be a correct reasoning, but is not," Cole said, mindfully. "Right premises leading to a wrong conclusion."

"Very good," Benjamin said, smiling. "I'm glad to see that all those evenings I spent discussing logic with your mother weren't a waste of time."

He looked at the five people staring at him with intrigued looks and proceeded:

"Consider this: major premise, there's no evil love; minor premise, demons are evil. Conclusion: demons can't love. Right?"

Cole just stared at him in a bewildered silence while Benjamin answered his own question:

"Wrong. That's an excellent example of sophism. Can't you see why?"

Getting no response, he proceeded, patiently:

"Let me give you another example. Major premise: there's no such thing as 'good hate'."-- he looked at Leo -- "Right?"

Leo nodded, just as puzzled as Cole was, and Benjamin proceeded:

"Minor premise: Whitelighters are good. Right?"

Again, Leo nodded.

"So, can we come to the conclusion that Whitelighters can't hate?"

"No," Leo promptly said. "Whitelighters can hate, just like everyone else. But they choose not to. They may feel anger, but they don't give in to it: that's what makes them good and..." -- Leo's jaw dropped as Benjamin's reasoning dawned on him, and this one smiled and nodded in approval.

"Likewise," he said, "it's not that demons don't love because they're evil; they're evil because they don't love."

He looked at the astounded faces turned towards him and proceeded, in a teaching tone:

"When a snake bites you, you don't say that it's evil. It's just being a snake. The snake couldn't be anything else; it couldn't act differently. Demons, on the other hand..." -- he held up his hands -- "See, I'm not saying that demons are just like humans; sure they have a great amount of inherent hate, that makes it extremely unlikely that one of them chooses good against evil. But think about it: if demons were just incapable of doing good, could we blame them for doing evil?

Benjamin smiled at their puzzled looks.

"Oh well, you can think that over later," he said, good-naturedly. "For now, just be kind enough to believe that my wife loved me, and that she gave me the five happiest years of my life."

From the look on their faces, it was clear that they would definitely need some time to think that over, but that didn't upset Benjamin. Despite the incurable optimism that often made the Elders wave their heads and sigh in exasperation, he was no fool: he knew that even the most open minded people needed time to adjust to new concepts, and that those who changed opinion too quickly often changed back just as fast. Also, one look at Cole's face was enough to assure Benjamin that he didn't have to worry about the one thing that mattered the most for him: whatever Erzsebet's wrongs might have been, they hadn't been enough to severe the bond between mother and son. While Cole's mind might need time to accept the reasoning about demons and love, the specific fact that his mother loved him was something his heart clearly had no trouble accepting.

"Dad," Cole finally said, "how did the Elders... and the Source react?"

"Well," Benjamin said, with a sigh, "we didn't go ask for the Source's blessing, so I can't tell you what his reaction was but, if it was anything like the Elders' reaction, I pity the demon who delivered the news."

"Did you tell them before or after the two of you got married?" Leo asked, thinking of his own failed attempt to marry Piper in secret.

"Well..." -- Benjamin scratched his head, for the first time looking slightly embarrassed -- "I didn't actually get the chance to tell them. Samson -- my Whitelighter -- he, hum, sort of bumped into Erzsebet and I, and we... well, there was no need for words. Obviously, that wasn't how I intended to break the news... And, after that, everything happened very fast."

Benjamin sighed sadly and added:

"I lost my right to a Whitelighter that same day."

He gave Cole a sad look and added:

"If I had handled things better then, instead of burning the bridges the way I did, things might have turned out differently..." -- he stared at the fire for a while, pensively -- "Or maybe not. I'll never know; I guess that's one of those things you just have to live with. Anyway," he said, turning to Cole again, "I regret some of the things I said then. Sam wasn't just a Whitelighter; he was also a good friend, and he was doing what he thought was the best for me. But I was..." -- he smiled that dreamy smile again -- "as in love as one could possibly be. I couldn't think of anything but the fact that your mother had agreed to marry me, and it was... intoxicating. Nothing else seemed to matter then."

Cole instinctively pressed Phoebe's hand tighter against his heart, and she squeezed his hand, smiling softly. They knew the feeling. On the two-seat couch, Piper cuddled with Leo and he affectionately kissed her forehead.

"So, you married her," said Cole. "In...?"

"1883," his father said. "January 13th."

"And no one tried to stop you?"

"Ironically enough," Benjamin said, "both sides shared the same opinion: everyone thought it'd be just a matter of time before your mother turned me into evil. But the Elders wouldn't do anything against me before I was officially evil, and the Source was patient enough to wait until we both showed up in the Underworld, willing to do his bidding."

"But you didn't," Cole said, giving his father a hesitant look. "Right?"

"Son," Benjamin said, smiling, "I said we're witches, not warlocks. But the Source just couldn't believe that he had lost his grip on one of his upper level demons, so he concluded that your mother was doing what he would have done in her position. And the Elders..."

"... were just being the Elders," Piper said. Benjamin turned to her, surprised, and she said, shrugging: "They can be queasy sometimes."

"Yes, I'm afraid they can," Benjamin said, amused. "But they let us be, and we were both grateful for that. We had two wonderful years... well, when your mother was pregnant with you, it wasn't wonderful all the time, but..."

"How did she get pregnant?" Cole asked, interrupting him. Benjamin raised his eyebrows, and Cole promptly explained himself: "I mean, demons and humans... there's no such thing as accidental pregnancy."

"No, there's not," Benjamin said. "Your mother taught me how to prepare the potion that'd allow her to get pregnant."

"And you agreed?"

"Yes," Benjamin said, looking genuinely surprised. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well... Did you know I'd be half demon?" Cole said.

"Your mother being a demoness, it was pretty much expected, son," Benjamin said, patting Cole's hand and giving him a reassuring smile. "And no, that didn't bother me, if that's what's worrying you. Remember, your mother was one hundred percent demon, and I loved her with all my heart."

Cole smiled back at him, and shifted position slightly on the sofa. Looking up at everyone was starting to make him dizzy.

"Dad, can I sit up now?" he asked. "I feel better already, I promise."

Benjamin and Leo exchanged a quick look again, and Leo said:

"I think it won't do any harm. Right now, I'm more concerned about him using his powers again."

"Trust me," Cole said, already sitting up, "that won't happen anywhere in the near future." Seeing Benjamin arch his eyebrows, he added, giving his father an embarrassed look: "It's exhausting!..."

"It won't be always that bad, son, I promise you," Benjamin said, amused. "Under normal circumstances, you'd never have started with such a powerful spell; you were like someone who had never exercised before, running the marathon. Now," he added, painfully conscious of the time going by, "where was I?"

"Mother got pregnant," Cole said.

"Right," Benjamin said. "And it was a very difficult time for her. She couldn't use her powers, because yours kept interfering with them. I can only imagine how frustrating it was for her."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Cole sighed.

"Also," Benjamin proceeded, "I knew that your mother had never been pregnant before, but if I knew how little she knew about it, I'd certainly have made her read some books before I gave her that potion."

"Why?"

"You see," Benjamin said, giving Cole a sheepish smile, "I'm a Victorian man. I understand that things have changed a lot since the 19th century, but back then it wasn't a man's job to know anything about babies. Basically, all I knew was that they were small and fragile, and that they cried a lot, and that they required lots of diapers -- although I wasn't aware of many details involving the said diapers," he added, grimacing. He smiled at their amused faces and concluded: "And I'm ashamed to say that I assumed that, just for being a woman, your mother would know what to do."

"I see..." Cole said. "You know, when I started to lose my baby teeth, she thought I was going to die," he added, smiling at the memory.

"I see you got the picture," Benjamin said, chuckling. "Your mother had never seen a diaper in her entire life: she had no idea of what their use was. And, had she had a say about it, your first meal would have consisted on the same things we had for dinner."

"Oh dear..." Phoebe whispered, between greatly amused and utterly shocked.

"But you didn't let her feed me with roast beef and potatoes, did you?" Cole asked, horrified.

"No, son," Benjamin said, patting his arm. "By the time you were born, I had already realized how clueless your mother was. I guess even the most obtuse man would have figured that out if his wife had jolted him awake at 3 a.m., claiming that there was something wrong with the baby and demanding that he did something about it."

He smiled at Cole's inquisitive look and added:

"She was so frantic that it took me a good five minutes to make any sense of what she was saying, but eventually I managed to convince her that it's a good thing when the baby kicks."

"So... she was worried?" Cole said with a smile. His mother had a strict self-control: even her wrath had a cold quality that made it all the more terrifying. Cole couldn't remember ever seeing her frantic, he couldn't even picture her frantic. And he liked the idea of her being out of her mind with worry for him.

"She was in a panic," Benjamin said. "During her entire life, your mother had developed many 'human' skills to help her in her assignments: as the wife of a politician, she was irreproachable. She was the perfect hostess, a bright interlocutor and a wonderful dancer. But when it came to babies, she could take lessons with any peasant. And, actually, she did."

Seeing Cole's interrogative look, Benjamin asked, raising his eyebrows:

"You don't remember Miss McLeod at all?"

"I'm afraid no," Cole said, waving his head.

"She moved into our house the day you were born," Benjamin said. "An excellent woman: very simple, but with more common sense in her little finger than most people have in their brains. You own your life to her," he added, smiling, "between your mother and I, you wouldn't have lasted a week."

"Did she have an accent?" Cole asked, tentatively.

"Yes," Benjamin said, "a very strong one. And she talked endlessly, so it's no wonder you remember that."

"I..." -- Cole hesitated. The memories seemed to be close now, like something that had been sunk deep down in the water and was now finally making its way back to the surface. Like a dead body. He shuddered: suddenly, he didn't want to hear anything else, he didn't want to remember. A cold cloak of fear wrapped around him, and he reached out for Phoebe's hand again, knowing that not all the memories his father would share with him that night would be pleasant. Some of them would bring drowned corpses out of the dark, deep waters they had been in for so long.

"Dad..." he finally said. "What went wrong?"