Chapter 19 – At Home With The Gregorys.

"Carmella, you little beauty!" Phil picked her up and swung her around, as Steffi giggled amidst her protests that their kitchen was too small to do that.

"Put me down you fool! And call me Steffi, please." She shrieked happily, and let Phil wrap his arms around her and kiss her more passionately then she could ever remember him kissing her before.

"Mommee! The hoops are burning!" Grace said as she rushed into the kitchen again. Steffi jumped and pulled reluctantly away from Phil to turn down the heat on the dinner. She smiled as she felt him nuzzle her neck gently and whisper quietly in her ear.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you more. Now then, who's up for hoops, mashed potato and sausages?" Grace jumped up and down excitedly, and Steffi ushered her over to the table with a smile. There was a pop as Phil uncorked a bottle of wine, and he poured two glasses out before bringing them to the table. Steffi made sure Grace was sat down nicely, and went out for the dinner. When she came back through, Grace was no longer sat at the table, but was running around the living room whilst Phil stared at her quizzically.

"She faded… why did she fade?" Steffi shrugged and put the plates down on the table, kissing her husband on the forehead.

"I'm sure I don't know, but I do know that if she doesn't sit down by the time I've counted to three she won't have anything to eat tonight. One." Grace stared at her mother challengingly.

"Two." Steffi leant against the table and kept eye contact with her daughter.

"Three." At the last possible second, Grace faded into her seat, and Steffi sat down. Phil raised his glass to propose a toast.

"To new beginnings."

"New beginnings!" Steffi said with a smile, and touched her glass with his. Under the table, she rubbed his leg gently with her foot, and they smiled at each other.

About half way through dessert, Steffi found herself staring at the clock. She realised slowly that it was quarter to seven, and she gasped.

"Phil, you're going to be late! You've only got fifteen minutes till your shift starts…" She drained her glass and began to stack up the ice cream bowls. Phil stood up regretfully and went to get his things from the bedroom as Steffi took out the dirty plates. When he went to the front door to put his boots on, Steffi stood in front of him with her arms folded tightly across her chest to keep out the December cold. When he looked up at her, there were tears in her eyes.

"Hey, sweetie! What's wrong?"

"Maybe I don't want you to go risk your life again… I want you to stay here with me."

"Honey, much as I would love to do that, you and I both know that I've got to. And I'll be back before you wake up in the morning."

"Not good enough," she said quietly. "I want you there when I go to sleep too." Phil sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I can't take a sicky – I'd feel bad!"

"Isn't that the point of a sicky; you feel ill so you don't go in?"

"Baby…" he said as he took her face in his gloved hands, "I promise you that one day I won't have to do all these awkward shifts. But for now I've got to, especially now we've got a number two to think of." He kissed her again, and she pulled his arms around her as she nestled into his big coat and warm jacket.

"I still don't want you to go… stay here with me tonight. I'll make it worth your while…"

"Oh yeah? Well, tempting as that sounds, I really can't." He smiled slightly as she stood on his toes, reached up and kissed him softly.

"Take care of yourself… I love you." She pulled his coat together and buttoned it up for him as he stroked her cheek. "Have you got your thick socks on? And your vest? And make sure you put the heating on in the car. And drive safe if you do go out tonight. And don't forget to use the anti-freeze on the windscreen. And…"

"And you sound like my mother!" Phil laughed. "I will be careful, I promise. In fact, I shall walk down to the precinct just so you know I'm okay." She pulled a scarf off of a hook on the door and wrapped it round his neck, and straightened his coat.

"When Grace falls asleep, I'll tell Jane next door that I'm coming down to see you and bring you some coffee. I know the stuff down at the precinct tastes like boiled mud."

"Why did I ever want to divorce you?" Phil said with a grin. "Okay, so what time will you come down? I want to be there to see you."

"About nine. I'm putting Grace down now, but you know what she can be like at night when you've been home with her." She opened the door and tried to smile as he walked out the door. When he'd gone out the door, she called down the corridor to him.

"I love you!"

"I love you too, darling."

A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed is the creation of Brad Kern and Aaron Spelling, not moi.

This was just like my way of showing that even alcoholic, nicotine-dependant screw-ups can do domestic bliss. Hope you liked it!