Phoebe shuddered as she closed the bathroom door behind her, wishing she had put something on over her pajamas before she left the bedroom. She silently made her way back to her and Cole's room, stopping only to listen at the door to Paige's room, where Ben was sleeping. Hearing nothing, she smiled and proceeded towards her own bedroom; what she heard when she approached the door, though, made the smile quickly vanish from her lips.

Even through the closed door she could hear Cole's whimpers, and Phoebe promptly opened the door and hurried inside. Cole had kicked away the covers, and was blindly groping her side of the bed, reaching out for her as he called out in his sleep:

"Phoebe... Please..."

Phoebe turned on the light before she ran towards him, knowing from previous experience that when Cole woke up he wouldn't know where he was right away. Climbing on the bed, she grabbed the hand that was reaching out for her, calling his name:

"Cole, it's okay. Wake up, baby, wake up, you're having a nightmare."

As soon as her fingers closed around his hand, Cole gasped and opened his eyes.

"Phoebe!" he called out hoarsely, propping himself on his elbow, and Phoebe promptly pulled him towards her. He pressed his face against her breasts, not the gesture of a lover, but of a frightened child seeking comfort.

"It's okay, baby," she whispered softly, lowering her face to kiss his head. "It's okay, it was just a bad dream, you're safe now."

"No one," he muttered in a strangled voice. "No one... All gone..."

"Shh, baby, it's over now," Phoebe said, in a low, soothing voice, as she rubbed his back, "it was just a nightmare."

She changed position slightly on the bed and gently made him raise the head that was buried on her chest to look around the room.

"We're home, baby," she said, stroking his hair. "It was just a nightmare, you're not alone."

"Oh, dad," Phoebe thought in dismay, closing her eyes and pressing her face against his head, "what have you done?"

She knew that those nightmares left both Cole and Leo worn out, and she could only hope that this time there wouldn't be as many of them as there had been the first time. They were two of the strongest men she knew, and Phoebe didn't even dare to try and imagine what could frighten them that much.

She kept rocking him gently, murmuring words of love and waiting for him to calm down as the nightmare slowly faded. When she felt him relax in her embrace, she kissed his forehead, asking softly against his skin:

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said quietly.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No," Cole said. "I just..." -- he paused, grimacing -- "I'd rather not. Not now."

"Okay," she said, fondling his hair.

"Can we go look at Ben?" Cole asked after a while, giving her a somewhat sheepish look.

"Sure," she said softly, smiling at him.

He sat up on the bed and slid his feet into his slippers, and together they went to Paige's bedroom. When they got there, Phoebe silently opened the door and they both tiptoed their way towards the crib; without a word, they watched their baby boy sleep, and Cole put his arm around her shoulders, smiling at the sight of Ben holding his own ear, his hand closed around it, just like his mommy sometimes did in her sleep. They stood like that for a while, until Phoebe tugged lightly on Cole's hand, and he somewhat reluctantly followed her back to the hallway.

"Tomorrow you'll have the whole day to play with him," she whispered, smiling as she gingerly closed the door behind them. "Now, let's go back to bed."

Once they were back in their bedroom, Phoebe made a point on tucking Cole in before she joined him under the covers; she laid on her side, with her back to him as he spooned her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

She was tired and in need of sleep but, knowing that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep right away, she tried to think of something to talk about, something that would take his mind off the nightmare and at the same time help keep her awake.

"So," she said, fondling the arm that encircled her, "will you tell me what you and Spike talked about this evening?"

"Well, you know," he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. "Stuff."

"Guys' stuff?" she asked with a little smile, and Cole chuckled slightly before answering.

"Sort of," he said.

He shifted his weight on the bed, finding a more comfortable position, and added:

"He's fallen head over heels for Buffy."

"What?!?" Phoebe said, swirling around to face him and accidentally hitting his nose with hers.

"Ouch!" they both exclaimed at the same time.

They snickered, and then Cole smiled and leaned down to kiss the tip of her nose, and Phoebe kissed his, and they kissed and nibbled and giggled for a while, but eventually they settled back on their original position because, between fighting Liusaidh and playing their own private games earlier that night, they were both indeed spent.

"So..." Phoebe said once Cole spooned her again. "Spike, huh?"

"Uh-hum. Where do you think Buffy stands?"

"Dunno," she said, with a sleepy voice. "Overall, I'd say she doesn't like him, but sometimes..." -- she yawned -- "I think she sends mixed signals."

"That's what I think, too," Cole said, closing his eyes and pressing his cheek against hers. "She was mad at him for having followed her to San Francisco, yet she didn't let you throw him out..."

"Uh-hum..."

"And the way she scolds him and tries to make sure he'll behave properly... Like she actually cares about the impression he'll make on us."

"Uh-hum..."

"But I'm afraid she'll need to do better than that if he is to cross over."

"He will?"

"He might," Cole said with a yawn. "If he just stops being so damn stubborn... He claims that he can't be good because he doesn't have a soul..."

Cole mumbled a few more unintelligible words before slipping into dreamland. He never noticed that Phoebe had already fallen asleep by then and didn't hear his last sentence; if she had, things might have turned out differently. But Fate had plans for the Slayer and the vampire who had fallen in love with her, and so Phoebe would only learn what Cole had said more than a year later, and by then it would be too late to change the course of events.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Phoebe and Cole walked into the kitchen the morning after, they were greeted by the smell of fresh brewed coffee and the waffles that Piper was making. Leo was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper, but Paige hadn't come down yet.

"Good morning," Phoebe said, walking past Leo and opening the refrigerator to take out the milk.

"Morning." -- Cole's greeting was cut off by a loud yawn. "Sorry."

"Rough night?" Leo asked, lowering the newspaper he had been reading, and they noticed the black circles under his eyes.

"You bet," Cole sighed, sitting by his side. "You too?"

"Yep."

Phoebe took her attention off the milk she was warming to exchange an understanding look with Piper. Sure, helping their husbands through those nightmares was nothing compared to actually having the nightmares, but it was no picnic, either.

"Are you coming back to the manor after your staff meeting?" Cole asked, and Phoebe quickly turned away from the table and back to Ben's bottle, in an attempt to hide her smile. Even after all those years, she still found the idea of Whitelighters having staff meetings quite amusing.

"I hope so," Leo said, good-naturedly pretending not to see Phoebe's smile. "Why?"

"Ben and I have a busy agenda for this morning," Cole said. "You can join us when you come back."

Leo gave him an interrogative look and he proceeded with a straight face:

"I'm thinking cartoons at eight, chase the evil soap bubbles in the backyard at eight thirty, finger painting at ten, and after that nagging Piper to let us have macaroni and cheese for lunch."

"I'll be back in time for the soap bubbles," Leo said, grinning, and Piper smiled as she sat across the table from him and placed the plate with the pancakes on the table between them. Playing with Ben and eating comfort food was the way Leo and Cole usually dealt with the aftermath of those nightmares.

"I'll buy you some chocolate ice cream, too," she said, reaching out and fondling her husband's hand.

"With choco chips," he added.

"With choco chips," she said, nodding.

"Cole, make sure Ben eats all his vegetables before you give him ice cream," Phoebe said, sitting next to Cole and reaching out for the coffee pot.

"This kid," -- they turned towards Paige's voice as she entered the kitchen with Ben in her arms -- "won't have any more sugar until he's eighteen."

"Hi!" Ben greeted them happily.

"Hi, sweetie," Phoebe said as she stood up and took him from Paige's arms. "Did you give Auntie Paige much trouble last night?" she asked with mock seriousness.

"No," Ben promptly said. His sense of past only encompassed the last fifteen minutes, and he had behaved very well during that time.

"Oh, no, I'm sure you didn't!" Phoebe cooed, kissing him. "Thank you," she earnestly said, smiling at Paige.

While Paige smiled back at Phoebe and sat by Piper's side, Cole promptly reached out for Ben, and the toddler gurgled happily when Phoebe placed him in his daddy's arms.

"Hey you," Cole said, carefully pushing his cup away from Ben's curious hands.

"Hi!" Ben said, making himself comfortable in daddy's arms and giving a curious look around. Hey, where's my bottle?

"Xander called a while ago," Piper said, while Phoebe sat next to Cole again and handed the bottle to him.

"Is Anya okay?" Cole asked, frowning.

"Hum, yes," Piper said, "but he strongly emphasized the importance of not mentioning bunnies or anything related to them when she comes over today. Apparently, she had a very rough night, too."

Even though Cole had expected that, he winced at Piper's words, and Phoebe said, reaching out and stroking his arm:

"Do you think maybe Anya would like to come help vanquish the evil soap bubbles?"

"Actually, I think Anya already has plans," Piper said before Cole could reply. He gave her an inquisitive look and she explained: "Buffy, Willow and Dawn are taking her shopping: they promised to help her buy lots of shiny trinkets for her house and that seems to have lifted her spirits."

"I'm sure it did," he said smiling.

Ben impatiently reached out for the bottle, that Cole was absently holding out of his reach, and he gave the toddler an apologizing smile:

"Sorry, buddy. Here it is."

The bottle had handles that allowed Ben to hold it all by himself -- an accomplishment of which the toddler was very proud --, so Cole just put one arm around him to keep him still as he turned to Piper again:

"So, what time will they be here?"

"Willow said she'll be here at around three, but I don't know if the others will come with her or just give her a ride and then go back to the mall. I think Buffy and Dawn also want to do some shopping of their own."

"Well, I'll be back from work at the usual time," Paige said, finishing her coffee in one gulp and grabbing a croissant as she stood up. "If you need me before that, just give me a call."

She started to leave, then stopped at the doorway and turned around, saying:

"But please, try not to need me: I'm running out of excuses to leave early."

She blew Ben a kiss and quickly exited through the door, while Leo stood up, too, saying:

"I'd better be going, too. Don't forget my ice cream," he added, smiling as he leaned down to kiss Piper.

"I won't," she said, stroking his cheek.

After Leo orbed out, Phoebe asked, spreading butter on her toast:

"Do we have any idea of what we're looking for?"

"You mean, with Buffy's pendant?" Piper said. "Well, I don't, that's for sure. I'll be searching the Book of Shadows for 'bad luck', 'curses', maybe 'jewelry'... But it's too vague. Cole, do you know anything that can help us narrow our search?" she asked, turning to him.

"Sorry," he said. "Amulets and charms, that was never my style. Have you taken a closer look at the pendant yet? To be honest, I don't even know what it looks like."

"I think it looks like a small heart," Phoebe said, unsure.

"Or two hearts entwined," Piper said.

"Maybe." Phoebe glanced at her watch and stood up, saying: "When Leo comes back we'll know for sure."

"Have fun with the evil bubble balls," she told Cole, leaning down to kiss him lightly on the lips.

With one last smack kiss to Ben and a wave to Piper, Phoebe grabbed her purse and quickly left to work.

"Mama?" Ben asked Cole when Phoebe was gone.

"Mommy went to work," Cole told him, taking the empty bottle from the toddler's hands and placing it on the table, "You know, with Elise and the others."

Ben crunched his nose, expressing his discontentment. He didn't like the Elise. He didn't know what an Elise was, but he knew that when mommy mentioned the Elise, she usually frowned and made little upset sounds. Ben chewed his lower lip, pondering the idea of sending his new friend the hot hot hot water after the evil Elise.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Willow arrived at 3 p.m. sharp, and Anya came with her, saying that Buffy and Dawn wanted to have a "beauty afternoon" and claiming that she was already beautiful enough. Anya loved pretty clothes and jewelry, but remaining still while people cut her hair and did her nails made her restless.

Ben was taking his afternoon nap, and since Anya wasn't thrilled at the perspective of doing research with Piper, Leo and Willow, Cole walked her to the living room while the others went to the solarium.

"I'm sorry to hear about your nightmare," Cole said, placing the girls' shopping bags on the floor and the baby monitor on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch.

"So is Xander," Anya said as she sat down on the other side of the couch, tucking her legs under herself and stealing all the pillows, like she always did. She sighed and added: "It seems that I kicked him lots of times last night, in places that should never be kicked."

Cole grimaced in sympathy for Xander. Phoebe usually didn't kick in her sleep, but she had, once: one hell of a wake-up call.

"There will probably be more of them," he said. "But I suppose you already know that."

"Uh-hum," she said, nodding. You didn't dwell in evil for more than one thousand years without learning a thing or two about nightmares.

"So," she said, abruptly changing the subject, "you're a witch. How does it feel?"

"Weird," Cole said. "Very weird." He though a little, then added: "Uber weird."

"Are you powerful?" she asked. "What can you do? I mean, besides throwing hot water on people you don't like and threatening the lives of innocent fish."

"Well," he said, snickering, "so far, I can't do much. I have power over the four elements, but it doesn't always work as it's supposed to."

"Can you cast a spell? Or make potions?"

"Yes, and yes. But also, no, and no." -- Cole smiled, not even noticing that he was much more comfortable talking to Anya about his magic than he was with anyone else -- "I usually blow things up all over the kitchen, or cast spells that turn Paige's hair blue. And I definitely can't rhyme," he added with a sigh.

"Willow usually casts her spells in Latin," Anya offered. "I really don't know why, since her Latin sucks, but you might try that: you used to be pretty good with Latin."

"Yeah," Cole said. "Maybe."

He stole one of "her" pillows and made himself more comfortable on his side of the couch.

"Anya, does it feel weird," he asked out of the blue, "to be human?"

Anya arched her eyebrows, surprised by the question.

"It's, hum, different," she said. She bit her lower lip, pondering his question. "Not having powers can be frustrating sometimes. The perspective of getting old, white hair and wrinkles and all, is a little scary. But overall, I'd say it's okay. Why?"

"I don't know," Cole said, shrugging. "It's just... I understand how you feel about the powers and the aging: I think about these things, too. But..." -- he sighed and gave her a slightly perplexed look -- "I don't know. Sometimes I feel that there's something wrong. Something missing. I thought I'd feel better now that I have powers again; I mean, I do feel better for not being powerless any more, but still..."

"These are not the powers you were used to?" she offered, tentatively.

"No," he said. "I mean, yes, but that's not the problem. It's like..." -- he sighed heavily and let himself fall back on the couch -- "Being human is right. It feels right. But sometimes it also feels wrong."

Cole closed his eyes and grunted in frustration. The feeling was right there, he just couldn't put it in words.

"I was human once," Anya said, reaching out and placing her hand on his arm, "and then D'Hoffryn made me a demon, and now I'm human again. But you were always both: human and demon. Maybe that's what's bugging you: you're not used to being just one."

She hesitated, then added, with a gentleness that would probably have surprised the other Scoobies:

"Or maybe because your mother is a demon, you feel that you have to be a demon, too."

Cole's eyes flipped open and he looked at her, uncertain. She just returned his stare, though, and he finally allowed himself to relax just a little more as it dawned on him that he had missed Anya almost as much as he had missed his mother, the two women who knew the best of him and the worst of him, in a way that even Phoebe would never know.

"I miss her too," Anya said simply, as if reading his thoughts, and he placed his hand over the small hand that rested on his arm.

They remained in silence for a while, until he said, quietly:

"I saw her. In the attic, as the curse on the pendant was revealed: it came to me in a flash, the first time I saw her kill."

"You saw?" Anya said, perking up. "You mean, like... the way a seer would?"

"Actually, Phoebe is the seer in this family," Cole said with a smirk. "I just..." He stopped, noticing her unsettlement. "What?"

"You saw the past," she said, frowning.

"Why?" he asked. "What did you see, Anya?" he added, straightening up and giving her a concerned look as he understood that she, too, had experienced something that night.

"I'm not sure," she said, quietly. "I didn't actually see anything. I just..." -- she gave him an uncertain look -- "I was looking at Buffy, and all of a sudden I was thinking that in a few weeks I'll be walking down the aisle... I looked at that red light and I thought of a long red carpet, and red roses, and..."

Anya's voice trailed off and she lowered her eyes to the hand that was still resting on Cole's arm.

"I felt all cold and numb inside," she added quietly. "And then Buffy stepped out of the circle and it was over."

"Leo mentioned something about the war this morning," Cole said, frowning. "Lots of blood and all: that's what he saw in the attic. You know, maybe you should talk to Phoebe about that. Like I said, she's the resident seer: she'll probably be able to tell whether your, hum, vision or whatever, if it meant something."

"Maybe it means that we'll receive lots of ugly presents, all wrapped in red paper," Anya said, "or that the wine at the reception will be sour. Or that we shouldn't invite Willow to the wedding."

Without a word, Cole reached out and gently pulled her towards him. As he rested his chin on the top of her head and patiently listened to her gibberish, he knew that this time Anya wasn't just being her usual rambling self. Whatever it was that she had experienced in the attic that night had affected her deeply, and he promised himself to have her talk to Phoebe before she went back to Sunnydale.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Well," Piper said, closing the Book of Shadows with a satisfied sigh, "that was some pretty impressive research we did here."

"I second that," Leo said. "You know," he added, running his eyes through the several sheets of paper in his hands, "I never thought we could find so much useful information on the Internet."

"And by 'we'," Piper said with a smirk, "he means 'you', Willow."

"And by 'we', I mean 'you', Willow," Leo said with a good-natured smile. He was a hopeless computer illiterate -- or, as Paige had screamed after he had erased all her e-mails, along with every entry in her address book, "an orbing disaster". He had also accidentally made a bid of nineteen hundred dollars on eBay (which, fortunately, had been topped by another user) and password protected a twenty page document on Cole's PC, and now he wasn't allowed to stay in the same room with a computer without adult supervision.

"You're really good," he added, and Willow beamed.

"Well, you know," she said, shrugging. "Not all baddies are vampires: some of them require more than the regular kick-dodge-stake-dust routine. And I don't have a Book of Shadows," she added, giving the book resting on Piper's knees a longing look. "I have to look for information wherever I can find it."

"You should start your own Book of Shadows," Leo said. "Every witch should have one."

"Really?" Willow said, interested.

"Sure," he said, smiling. "And, speaking of things every witch should have, I talked to the Elders about assigning you a Whitelighter."

"Well," Piper said, placing the Book of Shadows in Willow's willing hands and standing up, "since we're done with the research, there are some phone calls I must make, in order to set things up for the band that's performing at P3 tonight. So, if you'll excuse me..."

As she was leaving the room, Piper stopped at the doorway and turned around to look at Leo and Willow, sitting with their heads bent over the open Book of Shadows. She smiled at the way Willow drank in Leo's words, asking questions almost faster than the Whitelighter could answer. "So young", she thought. "Much younger than Phoebe was when our powers were unbound."

Piper sighed and shook her head as she left the room: of course the girl needed a Whitelighter! Anyone with half a brain could see that. As she went to the kitchen to use the cordless phone without disturbing Cole and Anya, Piper had her mind full of things she'd say to the members of the Council of Watchers if one of them ever had the bad luck to cross paths with her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Traffic," Cole said.

"Definitely," Anya said, nodding as she wrote it down, "Traffic sucks."

"Dentists."

"I never went to the dentist," Anya said, raising her eyes from the notepad and giving him an interrogative look.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Cole stated.

Anya shrugged and turned her attention back to the list they were making.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, excited, waving her hand in the air. "I know one, I know one!"

Cole gave her an interrogative smile and she said, deliberately:

"The flu."

"Ouch!" Cole said, grimacing. "You're right: nothing can beat the flu!"

"Okay, I wasn't going to intrude," -- Cole and Anya looked up from the notepad to see Piper standing at the doorway, her expression a mix of curiosity and amusement -- "but I just have to know: what do traffic, dentists and the flu have in common?"

"Top ten worst things about being human," Anya said. Piper gave her a puzzled look and she added, showing the notepad in her hands: "We're making a list."

"Uh..." Piper gave Cole an inquisitive look, not so sure whether to laugh or not. "Cole?..."

"We were bored," he said, shrugging.

"Figures," she said, giggling as she sat in the armchair before them.

"Don't demons ever get caught in traffic?" she asked, reaching out for the jar that was resting on the coffee table and taking a cookie out of it. She raised her eyebrows slightly as she saw how few cookies there were left, but decided to let that one pass.

"You can't cause a traffic jam by shimmering," Cole reasoned, all too willing to take her attention off the cookies, because the jar had indeed been full when he had brought it from the kitchen.

"Or teletransporting," Anya said. Oblivious to the silent interplay between Piper and Cole, she took another cookie out of the jar. "It's the power I miss the most," she sighed.

"So, what else do you have there?" Piper asked, pointing at the notepad.

"Aging," Anya held the notepad and read out loud. "IRS, telemarketers, food allergies and people who want to pay for a two dollar purchase with a fifty dollar bill. And the fact that you can't whack them in the head without it being considered bad customer service."

"Not to mention the legal implications of whacking someone in the head," Piper said, managing to keep a straight face. "I'm pretty sure you'd be breaking a law or two."

"Yeah, that, too." -- Anya sighed heavily at the arbitrariness of the human laws that didn't allow you to punish stupid customers who didn't understand the rules.

"Couldn't you find any positive aspects of being human?" Piper asked with a smile.

"Better sex," Anya said, grinning.

"Anything you reply," Piper quickly said, pointing at Cole, "will be way more information than I need."

"I don't intend to reply at all," Cole said, holding up his hands defensively.

"And pancakes," Anya proceeded, unabashed.

"Can't demons have pancakes?" Piper asked, puzzled.

"The regular kind, they can," Anya said. "But not the kind that your boyfriend makes to you when it's freezing cold and you don't want to get out from under the comforter, and so he brings the pancakes to you in bed."

"Or when you've got the flu and they let you stay in bed all day, and your wife buys you truffles on her way back from work and your sister in law makes your favorite food for lunch," Cole said, smiling. "I see what you mean: no one pampers a demon."

"No, they don't," Anya said. "Humans aren't good at many things," she said, turning to Piper, "but they sure as hell know how to pamper."

"Uh, thanks," Piper said, raising her eyebrows. "I guess."

"A demon never shows weakness," Cole proceeded, "no matter how crappy they feel."

He hesitated then added, with a sigh:

"It's rather tiring."

"I bet it is," Piper said gently.

"Also," Cole said with a sly smile, "humans tend to be more forgiving when, say, someone eats all the peanut butter cookies."

"You ate all the peanut butter cookies???" Leo exclaimed as he and Willow entered the room.

"Well, not all of them. There's still a few left," Cole said, peering into the jar.

Leo shook his head and let out an aggravated sigh as he handed the Book of Shadows to Piper and took a cookie out of the jar. Piper's peanut butter cookies were often the subject of heated disputes between him and Cole.

"Honey," he told Piper, "I'll go talk to the Elders again, to tell them what we've found out and see if they have something to add. But don't worry, I'll be back in time to take Ben to the doctor."

"I can..." Cole started to say.

"No!" Piper and Leo promptly said in one voice.

"Is Ben sick?" Willow asked as Leo orbed out and Cole sat sulkily and picked another cookie.

"No," Piper said with a smile, "he just needs to get his shots."

"I could take him," Cole said, frowning.

"Cole, we've already discussed it," she patiently said.

"No, we didn't," he said, stubbornly. "You and Phoebe discussed it and forbid me to..." he stopped when he saw the glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Okay, so I got a little heated..." he said.

"You threatened to sue the doctor," Piper said, cutting him off.

"Ben was crying!" he protested.

"Every baby cries when they get a shot," Piper said, torn between amusement and exasperation. "That's expectable. What is not expectable is that the father cries along with them."

"I didn't cry!", Cole exclaimed, outraged.

"You were this close," Piper said with a smile, holding up her index finger really close to her thumb.

"I didn't cry," Cole said, turning to Anya.

"Anya did," Willow chimed in.

"Well, it hurt!" Anya said, indignantly.

"So," Cole said, giving her a sympathetic smile, "Xander made you take the shots, too, huh?"

"Yeah," she said, grimacing. "Did Phoebe make you take them?"

"For my own good," he sighed, nodding.

"Because we have no antibodies," she said.

"And our immune system isn't prepared to handle modern human viruses," he recited in a monotonous voice, and they both sighed and rolled their eyes.

Just then, they heard Ben's cheerful voice coming from the baby monitor, and Cole promptly jumped to his feet. Lately Ben had developed the inconvenient habit of throwing things out of his crib: anything he could get his hands on -- pillow, toys, and, of course, the much hated socks -- would end up on the floor if he found himself awake and unsupervised in his crib. Phoebe and Cole tried to discourage that habit, but Ben was usually alone in the bedroom when he woke up: by the time they reached him, the damage was already done, and the toddler was too young to understand "no no no" to something that he had done twenty minutes ago.

"I'll be right back," Cole told the three girls as he quickly left the room, hoping to get there in time to stop Ben.

"Well," Piper said to Willow and Anya as she stood up, "I received some magical supplies this morning and I didn't have time to sort them yet, so if you want to talk more I'll have to ask you to follow me to the kitchen."

"Sure," Willow said as she, too, stood up. "What have you got?"

"Babassu nuts," Piper said, "tucum fiber, pequi seeds, guarana leaves..."

"You've got guarana leaves?" Anya asked, perking up. "I've been trying to get some for the Magic Box for ages!"

"The Magic Box?..." -- Piper gave her a confused look, then remembered what Anya had told them two nights ago. "Right! Your store!"

"Yes," Anya said, nodding. "Can I buy some of your leaves?"

"You can have them for free," Piper said, smiling. "I have more guarana leaves then I could use in my entire life."

"How did you get them?" Anya asked as she and Willow followed Piper to the kitchen.

"Cole defended this curupira who..." Willow and Anya looked confused and Piper explained: "Kind of a nature spirit, with fire hair and feet pointing backwards. This one came all the way from the Amazon Forest, in Brazil, because he knew a guy who knew a guy who knew that Cole is a damn good lawyer. And he needed a lawyer because he was being sued by another curupira, can you believe that? Long story short, Cole won the case, and the guy paid him with all these native plants that are almost impossible to obtain through the ordinary ways, and very useful for magical potions."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Keep the change," Leo said as he paid the cab driver. The guy had put up with Ben singing "Hi Ho Hi Ho" all the way from the pediatrician's office, the least he could do was give him a generous tip.

Leo wasn't really fond of taking a cab when he could perfectly well orb Ben to the doctor's office and back home, but it was a common agreement among the family that Ben and Melinda wouldn't take the personal gain rule seriously unless the grown ups set the example. Besides, Piper had also asked him to stop at the market, and there was no point in orbing outdoors and risking exposure.

He made sure Ben was safely nestled in the snugli before turning his attention to the two grocery bags and getting out of the car.

"Hi! Ho! Hi! Ho!" Ben commanded, bouncing in the snugli and slapping Leo's shoulders vigorously as the Whitelighter walked towards the manor.

Leo couldn't help but smile at the toddler's enthusiasm: Ben disliked the shots just like the next kid, but one lollipop and a taxi ride later he was back to his usual cheerful self. At least when daddy wasn't there for him to pick up on his stress.

"Dis!" Ben said, reaching out and trying to grab the neck of a wine bottle that was sticking out of one of the bags.

"This," Leo said, smiling as he gingerly shifted the two bags to his left arm and used his free hand to open the front door, "is what happens when you let your wife convince you to do some minor task out of the house. Soon you'll find yourself with this huge list of things to do."

"My?"

"Most definitely no," Leo said, laughing.

He closed the door behind them and walked into the manor, announcing out loud:

"We're back!"

"HI HOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ben hollered, figuring that since Uncle Leo was using "outdoor voice", joining in would be appropriate.

"Ouch!" Leo said, grimacing as Ben's battle cry resounded in his left ear.

"I think you want down," he said, dropping the grocery bags on the sofa and proceeding to take off the snugli. Ben's pediatrician was a wise young woman who had a VCR and a TV set in her office to entertain her little patients, but now he wished she hadn't chosen Snow White this afternoon.

"There you are," he said as he placed Ben on the sofa and reached out to rid him of the snugli.

Before he could touch the toddler, though, a strong hand grabbed Leo from behind and sent him flying across the room, while Ben watched, very surprised. Leo managed to roll with the fall and jump back to his feet to face the dark scaled humanoid that was standing between him and Ben.

"No no no," Ben said, frowning at the creature and, to Leo's horror, it turned around at the sound of the toddler's voice and snarled at him.

"No," Ben said firmly again, struggling with the snugli that restrained his movements.

Before Leo could do anything, a second creature, a little shorter than the first one, jumped out of nowhere and threw him to the floor again. At the same time, the bigger one raised his arm, ready to strike Ben.