Phoebe sat in the conservatory, wearing a pink spaghetti strap camisole and black yoga pants. The lights were off but the fire was burning, casting its glow about the room. At twenty-two years old she was absolutely beautiful and absolutely scared.

The rewards she and her sisters had or would receive in the coming days scared her, mostly because she was afraid of what it is she would see. Sure, she had gone through a rebellious stage when she was younger, but her sisters had always been her best friends and confidents; Phoebe had always looked toward them as models for how she should act but had rarely followed through. She was afraid that seeing what had happened in all of her past lives would only confirm that no matter when or where; no matter what life she had lived, that she had always been a failure.

Picking up her wine glass, she took a slow sip of the sweet substance and let herself wallow in her insecurities for another second, unaware that she was being watched. Unaware of the thoughts running through the cupid's mind, she sat there and contemplated until she heard his steps and turned to look at him.

"I'm not a demon," he said when she reached for an athame under the couch cushion.

"Then who are you?"

"My name is Coop; the elders sent me down to you. I'm a cupid," the tall man explained.

"And you had nothing better to do than just stare at me," she questioned him harshly.

His eyes squinted and he was pleased when he saw her eyeing him in confusion. "Is this something you do a lot? You insult people or come off strongly in order to shift the attention off of you," he asked, "because that defense mechanism isn't doing what you want it to do. You're not protecting yourself; you're pushing others who want to care about you away."

"Wow, you're here for two seconds and you've got me entirely figured out," Phoebe said sarcastically. "Gold star for you, Coop the cupid. Well, now that you've figured me out I guess you can go now," she said standing up only to be yanked down by his firm grip.

"I'm not like the others who you pushed away, Phoebe. I'm not going anywhere until you've opened your eyes and your heart to the world around you. You're young now, Phoebe, but if you won't allow yourself to heal then you're going to be alone when everyone else around you moves on with their lives. Do you want to be alone?"

Phoebe shook her head and looked into his eyes, as she remembered looking into Cole's. Cole's had been ice blue waves of intensity every time she looked in them, warm with passion as he fought off his inner nature for her love. It had been exciting and overwhelming and life affirming. Coop's eyes were the darkest chocolate but were completely different to look into. There was no war inside this person; there was serenity and sincerity and love, so Phoebe did something she wasn't accustomed to. She let herself trust love.

Paige was outside in the back yard practicing her new powers. So far she could make it rain and create electricity. Fire was coming along and Piper's garden looked the best it ever had, but Paige could not seem to get the hold of wind.

"Why don't we take a break," Leo decided. "You've been putting a lot of time in and now that you've defeated the Rowe coven you're gonna have a lot more time to practice without anymore threats coming after you."

"Alright," the twenty year old said. "I have to get ready for dinner with Henry, anyway," she finished and was met with teasing 'ooh la la's from Piper and Prue who had been watching from lounge chairs.

Paige stuck out her tongue as she passed them to enter the laundry room and Prue gave her a smack on her butt, receiving a pained look from her baby sister that sent her and Piper into fits.

"Alright, well I'll leave you two alone," Prue said rising from her seat. "I have errands to run anyway. Do you guys need anything?"

"No, but Phoebe made a list of herbs that she and Coop are going to need for their work if you wanna pick that up," Piper suggested.

It had been three weeks since the scene in the conservatory and the third charmed one was starting to show signs of a changed disposition. Prue was glad that the cupid was getting through to the witch; Phoebe never saw her potential as much as the sisters had and Prue wondered where it stemmed from. Phoebe was one of the most intelligent people she knew. Maybe she wasn't a neurosurgeon but that didn't mean anything as few people were.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna just get that list then and be on my way. See you guys later," she said and made her way into the house.

Phoebe and Coop sat on the floor inside her room, meditating and just focusing on taking one breath at a time. She was pleasantly surprised that Coop wasn't setting her up with guys as she had initially expected. He had explained that before she could put herself out there that she needed to work on herself and that's what they had been doing.

The past three weeks had been like an intense round of therapy and Phoebe was gaining some of her naturally abundant self-esteem back. In fact, Coop had helped Phoebe decide what the next course in her life should be and she had registered to be a full time student the next semester declaring a major in psychology; not every woman was lucky enough to have their own personal cupid around to straighten them out and Phoebe wanted to take what she was learning and help others apply it to themselves.

"Good, Phoebe. Just keep on breathing and focus on your energy; your mind is clear of everything. Now feel your blood as it courses through you. Imagine its path from your heart through the veins and arteries as it makes its way to your lungs. That feeling of it flowing through you is a reminder that you are strong and healthy and whole. How do you feel?"

"I feel light," she answered. "Unrestrained and kind of tranquil, like I've never been this peaceful."

"Go ahead and open your eyes," Coop said. "It's taken us some time but you have just successfully taken down the block around your heart."

"It's only taken close to a month," she joked.

"Don't do that, Phoebe."

"Do what?"

"Make jokes at your own expense. I know you do it to gloss over how you feel about yourself; it's a defense mechanism but the thing about defense mechanisms is that they usually take a psychological toll on your self-esteem. You are a beautiful, intelligent young woman and three weeks is not a long time to take down the block. For some people it takes years."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I know. Now, I'll see you tomorrow for our work. I've got something special planned and I'm going to need the whole day."

"That's fine, I have the day off."

"Good," he smiled. "Tomorrow then," he said and dematerialized in a dusty red haze of light.

The next day Paige sat across the table from Henry. They had been seeing each other for a month now and were eating at least one meal a day together. She had learned that his parents had adopted him when he was four years old and that his father had always thought Henry would become a fire fighter. Henry told her stories about growing up with the Matthews, a special couple who had loved him more than anything in the world and kept him out of trouble. The more she heard the more she liked him.

"You're a lot like my mom," Henry told Paige.

"Great," she joked in a drawn out voice. "Just what every girl wants to hear," Paige laughed.

Henry grabbed her hand and held it in his. "You know that's not what I meant. I was a momma's boy and I love her more than anyone; or I did," he said kissing the back of her hand.

"Well, I was a daddy's girl. My life revolved around him; or it used to," she mimicked him and he leaned over the table to kiss her. "Huh, I, um," she mumbled when he pulled away from her, her eyes still closed.

"I love you, too," Henry said finishing her sentence.

Prue placed her camera equipment on the dining room table when her mom and Piper came out from the kitchen. "Hey, what are you doing over here," she asked her mom while hugging her.

"Piper invited Sam and I over for dinner."

"Kind of a late dinner," Prue said.

"I know, but I wanted to be here when Paige got home from her date with Henry. She's been spending a lot of time with him but I haven't heard anything about him at all."

"Well, I know they met on her campus," Piper said. "He was a guest lecturer, right?"

"Yeah; he's a parole officer who came in to talk about kids from disadvantaged backgrounds," Prue added.

"I just wish Phoebe were home, too. It's been too long since our last family dinner," Patty said. "I'm glad that things have started going right for her."

"Coop's been a blessing," Piper said as she moved to put all the place settings on the table. "I think he's really getting through to her. I don't think I realized how much work a cupid could do on an individual. You know, I always think of the matchmaking aspect."

"Where is Pheebs," Prue asked.

"Oh, Coop took her to visit her past lives," Piper told her sister and mother. "He came by this morning. Apparently he can use his ring to go back to past loves, and since we tend to travel in groups across lives, he thought it would be good for Phoebe to see what bad habits she's formed and taken with her."

"Heavy," Prue said. "I hope there aren't any more demons in her past. Cole and Anton were enough."

Just then, Phoebe and Coop appeared in a red haze. "Hey, mom," she called and went to hug her mother. "This is coop," she said introducing the cupid. "Coop, this is my mom."

"It's an honor to meet you," Coop said.

"Thank you. Will you be staying for dinner, Coop," Patty asked and Piper rolled her eyes before walking over to the china cabinet to get another plate. "Here, you can sit between me and Phoebe," Patty said leading him to his chair.

"Wanna help me get the food," Piper asked Prue and the two left the others to talk. "Hey, Dad," Piper said to Sam. "Food's ready; we're all gonna sit down to eat," she told him and grabbed a food tray.

Sitting down at dinner, the group joked and told embarrassing family stories. Phoebe glanced at Prue and nodded at the full wine glass. "Since when do you not finish your wine?"

"Finish," Piper scoffed from next to her big sister. "She hasn't even taken a sip."

"Are you not feeling well," Patty said concerned.

"I could heal you if you want," Sam offered. "I doubt the elder's would really care."

"That's okay dad; I actually feel pretty good, considering."

"Considering what," Patty asked.

Prue took a deep breath before answering. "That…I'm pregnant," she told the shocked group.

Sam opened his mouth to say something when Paige came running through the double doors. "I'm getting married," she yelled.