Chapter 10: Tangent

Cole managed to catch the teddy with the black magic hat that Paco threw in his direction and watched with amusement as the little boy with curious and intelligent eyes running around and around the table with a look of natural joy on his face.

Suddenly, he stopped, "mommy," he ran out the hall, "open the door! Open the door!" He instructed the adult who followed him.

Cole complied, having no doubt in his mind, that the child was right and his mother was coming up the steps to the manor. Paco has inherited his father's sense of smell, and he could tell the presence of anybody that came in half a mile. Thankfully, that was the only demonic thing about him, although when he projected himself somewhere, it looked similar to a shimmer.

Phoebe bumped into the small, running figure on the porch and pulled the boy up into her arms, "have you been good?"

"I was just playing with my toys, mommy," Paco assured her.

"Thank you for taking care of him," she looked at Cole.

"He's my son too now," he said softly and wrapped his fingers around hers.

"Very well, then," she squeezed his hand, "you don't mind if you spend more time with him? I don't know how this pregnancy will affect me, but if I go by the previous one, I will seriously need some help…"

---------------------------------------------------

Phoebe came back to reality to find Paige has orbed out to take the Elders' call, and everybody else was staring at her, waiting for a verdict on the world's fate from her vision. Cole has holding her at the elbow to steady her.

"Oh, I don't know about today, the Elders, or anything, only that…that was a vision showing me the future hardly a few month away, from the way Paco looked. And that we don't have to worry about a thing."

"Apart from everything being back the way it was before the Elders started messing with it," Paige orbed back, "apart from that one over there," she indicated Cole, raising her shoulders.

"You said you don't do racism anymore," Cole looked at Phoebe questioning Paige's behaviour.

"Hey, take it from me, we worked with demons worth than you before," Paige assured him, "just a little in law fun I'm having here…"

"Come on guys, he needs some time away from criticism," Phoebe pulled Cole with her and down the stairs to the place they once shared their sweetest moments. Never in her life was she more eager to be his, and his only.

The End