Epilogue

Five Years Later

Phoebe's heart pounded in her chest as she raced into her daughter's room. She flew to Faith's bedside and gathered the sobbing child in her arms. "Shh, my ladybug, it's okay, Mommy's here, it's okay, Mommy's here…"

"It was a demon, Mommy," Faith cried. "A demon came to get me."

But Phoebe shook her head as she rocked her daughter, "There are wards all over your room, sweetie. It was just a bad dream. Wyatt and Chris teased you in school about demons and you had a bad dream."

"No!" Faith screamed. "Demon, came to get me….came to get me…"

Growing worried that Faith was only becoming more hysterical, Phoebe still turned in the direction she felt Faith was pointing to behind her. And her own terror grew when, in the dim glow of the unicorn nightlight, she spotted the scorched outline on the wall. "Oh, God…" she whispered as she rocked her daughter faster.

"I want Daddy," Faith sobbed.

Phoebe hugged her daughter even tighter, "You know he can't be here, Faith." But Faith only screamed louder for her daddy and Phoebe panicked. In the nearly five years of her daughter's life, Faith had never reacted like this. She glanced up at the ceiling, "Cole, if you're watching…please…we need you…"

"I'm here," he quietly announced as he appeared in the room behind Phoebe. He quickly sat at Phoebe's side and pulled his daughter into his arms. As he rubbed her back and her cries quieted, he glanced at Phoebe who silently pointed to the wall. "You're safe, Faith. I'm here. Mommy's here. You're safe."

While Cole continued to rub Faith's back, Phoebe leaned against him and stroked her daughter's hair. "The demon's gone, sweetie. You're safe now." She rested her head on Cole's shoulder and closed her eyes while taking in some of his strength. "You're safe," she continued to murmur as Faith became calmer and her cries ceased.

Faith suddenly hiccupped and Cole shared an amused and relieved glance with Phoebe. "Am I bad, Daddy?"

"No," he quickly told her with a kiss to the top of her head, "of course not."

"But I used my power," the little girl told him as she curled into a ball, "an' I'm not s'posed to."

Phoebe had to slide down on the bed to meet her daughter's face, "Faith, listen to me, you didn't do anything wrong."

"But you made me go to my room when I used my power on Auntie Paige's book…"

Phoebe caught Cole's inquiring and annoyed gaze and frowned, "She had a temper tantrum because Chris got the prize from the breakfast cereal box and Paige said it was his since he actually eats the cereal and was the one who found it."

"What book?" he sniffed.

Phoebe sat up straight, "What difference does that make?" But before she could go any further with the argument, she felt a tug on her sleeve.

"Am I bad?"

Phoebe quickly framed her daughter's face and lovingly pressed her daughter's cheeks, "You're not bad, my ladybug. Just like Daddy said. You did a good thing. You used your powers to protect yourself."

"Didn't wan' him to get me," Faith whispered, "an' steal me…Wyatt an' Chris were right, Mommy. He came…"

Cole hugged his daughter tighter, "What's she saying?"

Phoebe touched Cole's tense arm, "They were teasing her in school about demons coming. They didn't know…"

"They shouldn't tease her," he warned, "not about that. They're both old enough to know better."

"They're little boys," she reasoned, "who enjoy teasing little girls, especially when those little girls are like their sister."

"I wouldn't tease my brother," Faith piped up with another hiccup.

"I'm sure you wouldn't," Phoebe smiled as she combed her fingers through Faith's hair. She glanced sideways at Cole and, once again, reminded him, "I could always whip up more of that potion and step back in time."

Cole kept his arms around Faith but looked Phoebe squarely in the eye, "We have our miracle, Phoebe. Don't tempt fate."

She brought her hand to his cheek, "We'll discuss this la--"

He recognized the tell-tale signs of a premonition. "What'd you see? The demon?"

"Junior demon, maybe…"

He shook his head as she smiled, "Phoebe…we discussed this…"

She glanced down at her daughter, "I'm guessing sometime in the next few months because she didn't look much older after he was born."

"Well?" he reluctantly asked.

"It was night, dinner I guess, and he spit up all over Paige's new blouse…"

"That's my boy," he grinned.

Phoebe slapped his shoulder before resting her forehead against it, "I knew you wanted this…"

Shaken from his reverie, he told her, "We shouldn't tempt fate. One miracle is more than enough."

"Well, this little miracle is sound asleep," she realized.

Cole glanced down and smiled at the little girl curled in his arms. He gently shifted her back onto her pillows and, with Phoebe, tucked Faith under the covers.

Phoebe reached for Faith's favorite teddy bear and carefully placed it under Faith's arm. When Cole leaned back and watched his daughter sleep, she threw her arms around him. "All to myself now. Let's talk about our son."

"Let's talk about this attack," he quietly countered.

"Not until I'm sure she's asleep," she insisted. "Right now, I just want to hold you and watch our daughter sleep and tell you all about the rest of my premonition. The Triad was wrong y'know. Christy wasn't the key. Because the ultimate power isn't Billie. It's not a person. The ultimate power is --"

"Love," Cole completed for her. She smiled back at him and that only made him more annoyed with her and her risky plan to get pregnant. Still, he couldn't help himself as he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "This isn't what I wanted, Phoebe," he sighed. "You were supposed to move on with your life. You were supposed to find someone to love."

She shrugged and kissed his chin, "It's your fault, y'know. Yours and Coop's. You should've been more specific."

"Not funny," he commented even as he kissed her temple.

Phoebe gently turned his face to gaze directly into his eyes, "I don't care…I love you, Cole Turner, and that's that."

The End