Chapter Thirty-Four
Instead of waking the baby, he bent over the bassinet and spoke softly, "Hey, buddy, go easy on them, okay? They've been on quite a roller coaster ride this past year and they're entitled to a bit of a rest." The baby stirred and he apologized, "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. But, now that you're awake, let me tell you," he added as he reached down and carefully lifted the baby from the bassinet, "how very special your parents are. They want and love each other so much that my heart nearly bursts with love for them. You know what else? You are a pretty special little guy all by yourself. And I don't want you to ever worry about your mommy or daddy not loving you. You have been wanted and loved by them from the moment they knew you existed. So much that they would do anything for you."
"Even kill you," Cole quietly threatened when he instantly appeared behind the invader. His arm was wrapped around the invader's neck and he growled, "Put my son down if you want to live another thirty seconds. If you try anything, I swear there won't be enough people in the world to pick up your pieces."
"Okay, okay," he croaked in agreement as he placed the baby back in the bassinet, "he's down. You can let go now."
"Give me one good reason why I should?" Cole asked as he squeezed his victim's neck tighter.
"Because Phoebe would never forgive you if you killed Cupid," he replied in a hoarse voice.
Cole laughed skeptically, "Cupid? Where're your diaper and bag of arrows?"
"It's no wonder you and Paige get along so well," Cupid muttered.
"Who the hell are you?" Cole demanded. "And what do you want with my son?"
"Cole?" Phoebe sleepily called out when she shifted in the bed. When she realized he was missing she opened her eyes and instantly sat up when she saw Cole with a choke-hold on some stranger. "What's going on? Where's Adam?" As she pulled the bassinet closer, she saw the stranger's face. "Cupid?"
"You know him?" Cole asked her without loosening his grip.
"Of course I do," she replied, "let him go." When Cole complied, she asked Cupid, "What're you doing here?"
Cupid rubbed his neck and smiled, "I couldn't wait until morning. I had to come and see for myself."
"See what?" she asked with frustration as she reached for Adam.
"See what the two of you could accomplish if you opened your hearts," he smugly told them.
"Are you trying to tell me that you're responsible for us being here?" Cole accused as he grew angry. "I don't appreciate being used. What the hell kind of a game are you playing?"
Cupid shook his head and held up his hands in mock surrender, "No game. Honest."
"But you were involved," Phoebe quietly commented. "I know how you operate. Remember?"
"Phoebe," he insisted, "except for one moment of inspiration, I had absolutely nothing to do with you and Cole falling in love. Not now and not when you first met."
"You're the one who convinced me to open my heart," she accused. "You could've prepared me, warned me what was in store."
"I don't get involved," he responded, "you know that. I merely set the stage and let nature take its course. But you also know that I do my best to avert any, shall we say, undesirable relationships."
"Meaning?" Cole glared.
"Meaning, under no circumstances, would I ever have encouraged a demon, half or not, and a witch to fall in love," Cupid replied. "Believe me, the two of you fell in love all on your own without any assistance from me. And I've got to admit that you gave me enough heart attacks along the way to last a lifetime."
Phoebe, who had been smiling at her sleeping son, looked up in surprise, "You've been watching us?"
Cupid nodded and caressed her cheek, "You're not the only one who fell in love that day."
"So now you admit it," she teased. She noticed the look of jealousy on Cole's face and quickly told him, "Before I met you. I fell for him while we were trying to save him. Of course," she glared at Cupid, "I've wanted to strangle him a number of times during the past year-and-a-half for convincing me to let myself love someone."
"I'm sorry?" Cupid shrugged with a smile.
"What moment of inspiration?" Cole demanded. Cupid stared blankly at him and he clarified, "You said except for one moment of inspiration you weren't directly involved with us. What was that one moment?"
Cupid's smile faded, "It doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that you're together and you love one another. Right?"
"Yes, but," Phoebe glanced at Cole and said in a worried tone, "it does matter. If we weren't in control and based everything on that one moment --"
"Phoebe, I swear," Cupid quickly interrupted, "I didn't play with your feelings at all. I merely nudged you both in the right direction."
"I'm growing tired of your riddles," Cole stated with a frown. "Tell us what you did."
Cupid sighed, "That night…the mausoleum. That was the only time I ever interfered with your relationship." He saw they were both waiting for further explanation and he sighed again. "What do you each remember about that night? I mean, what drove you to the mausoleum?"
Phoebe kept her eyes on her son and her voice choked as she remembered, "I was working late and I couldn't find a specific letter I needed. I opened up the middle drawer in my desk and found a picture of us stuck between a bunch of files." She glanced up at Cole with watery eyes. "We looked so happy and it hit me all over again how it ended. I kept thinking how it all had changed so fast and I had to get out of the office. I got in my car and I drove away."
"You've told me you didn't know how you got there," Cole recalled. He turned to Cupid, "That was you? You sent her there?"
Cupid nodded and, in a quiet voice, added, "I had to do something to save her."
"Save her?" Cole whispered. Suddenly, he felt weak in the knees and sat down on the bed next to Phoebe and their son.
Phoebe squeezed Cole's upper arm even as she cradled their son in her other arm. "The ride was a blur. I always felt it was a miracle I didn't hurt anyone and wasn't killed because I was in no condition to have been driving when I was that upset." She turned to Cupid, "I should have died, though. That's what you're saying? That night. I should have died. But you stopped it."
"You were driving aimlessly and lost control of the car around a sharp curve," Cupid admitted. "You were killed instantly…I couldn't let that happen."
"How did you know?" Cole asked in a hoarse voice as he shifted position and pulled Phoebe close to him.
"One of the Destiny sisters owed me a favor," Cupid confessed, "and told me in advance. She knew I checked on Phoebe from time-to-time and wanted to prepare me for the shock. I suppose she knew I would interfere but she didn't stop me. I'd watched a number of your confrontations in the mausoleum and thought it was probably the only place the two of you could meet and work things out…one way or another. So, I reminded Phoebe of the mausoleum."
Stunned, Phoebe uttered, "I don't remember."
"You're not supposed to," he told her. "I was simply a whisper in your mind. Once you had a destination in mind, you made it there without incident."
"How did you get me there?" Cole asked after he tightened his embrace and kissed Phoebe's temple.
"You were more difficult," Cupid acknowledged, "because you were angry. It was easier getting through Phoebe's terrible pain than it was your intense anger."
"I was ready to kill her," Cole whispered with shame. Phoebe quickly nuzzled his neck but he shook his head and nudged her away.
"Let it rest," she quietly told him. "That's what you told me tonight." But Cole didn't look at her and she continued, "Right after Adam was born, remember? You told me it was time to let that night go because we only have love now. Cole…"
As Cole hugged Phoebe and buried his face in her hair, Cupid spoke, "I wasn't sure if your love was enough anymore but I had to try. Where I merely whispered to Phoebe, I practically shouted to Cole before he finally went to the mausoleum." He watched the couple comfort each other and continued, "All I did was set up your confrontation. What you said or did when you discovered one another was in your hands. Not mine." They finally glanced back at him and he assured them, "Your son and everything you feel for each other is solely due to the both of you. I had nothing to do with it and yet…I couldn't be more proud." He indicated to Adam, "He has a beautiful soul and is definitely his parents' son."
"Meaning?" Cole asked with sudden annoyance.
Cupid laughed, "Meaning he's going to keep the both of you on your toes." He smiled at Phoebe, "I'd better go."
She nodded and, to her pleasant surprise, Cole stuck out his hand to Cupid. "Thank you," she told Cupid as she leaned against Cole.
Cupid shook Cole's hand and then advised, "The two of you can accomplish miracles." He indicated to Adam, "In fact, you already have…Never forget your love."
"We won't," Phoebe assured him, "but you'll be watching, right?"
"Always," he promised with a wink. "Besides, I've a feeling I'll be seeing you again soon."
"What's that mean?" Cole questioned.
"Oh no," Phoebe uttered as she cradled Adam closer to herself, "he's not even a day old. There's no way you're sending him a girlfriend yet."
Cole laughed but he saw Cupid silently grinning and he carefully asked, "You're kidding, right? You can't have a girl for him already."
"Oh, he'll be quite the charmer, all right," Cupid smiled, "but he'll have eyes for only one witch."
"Don't tell me this!" Phoebe insisted as she shook her head. But, just as quickly, she guessed, "It's Kaylie, isn't it?" She poked Cole, "I told you she'd be perfect for him. Hmmm, I didn't know she was a witch. But that would explain the connection I felt to the house when we first saw it and the good feelings I sensed from Whitmans. And didn't Janice and Michael seem a bit secretive when they showed us their new house when we asked for ideas about the nursery? Wait until -- This's so --"
Cole interrupted her plans with a kiss and told her, "No matchmaking until Adam's been home for at least a day." Phoebe blushed and he kissed her again. "That goes for you, too," he ordered Cupid.
Cupid merely smiled, "We have no choice in whom we love. You, more than anyone, ought to know that…Bye Phoebe."
"Bye," she murmured as she smiled back at him.
"That's not an answer," Cole realized but Cupid had already disappeared and he glanced back at Phoebe. "What?"
"I love you," she stated with a smile and tugged on his shirt to pull him closer for a kiss.
Cole carefully pulled Phoebe back with him against the pillows. He caressed his sleeping son's cheek and told her, "And I love you. Always and forever."
"Always and forever," she repeated as she carefully snuggled close to him.
Adam gurgled and, at the same time, both parents told him, "Of course, you too…"
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