By My Side

"Wow," breathed Phoebe. The sight of a glistening Cole setting the tree in its stand was a sight to behold. The tree wasn't bad either. Phoebe had to control her laughter as she watched him struggle to keep the tree upright as he set it down in the tree holder. He had probably never had to do this before, let alone do it by himself.

"That's it," Cole said between deep breaths. "It's finally up." He was just about to sit down on the couch for a much-needed break when Jake grabbed his hand and begged, "Now can we put all of our decorations on it? Please?"

"Maybe he needs a little break, Jake," Phoebe admonished reaching for the large box of ornaments. Unfortunately, Cole reached for them at the same time. Their hands touched and they both looked up into each other's eyes. The look in his smoking eyes was not one of friendship, but something much deeper. "Could he have the same feelings for me that I can't help but have for him?" Phoebe wondered to herself, not even daring to hope. Deciding it was probably just lust, she snatched back her hand as if it had been burned.

"I...um...I'm going to o and pop some popcorn so that we can string together popcorn strands for the tree," she laughingly explained while hurrying out of the room.

Cole watched her rush out of the room. "Was it just wishful thinking on my part or was she feeling the same spark as me?" he wondered to himself.

"Cole, come on," Jake begged, pulling on his arm. "Let's decorate the tree."

With one last longing stare in the direction of the kitchen, Cole picked up the box of decorations and followed Jake to the tree.

Phoebe watched as Cole expertly lifted Jake up so that a cowboy mouse ornament could be placed on a high branch. He was so gentle with her son. She had never heard him speak a harsh word to Jake. Brushing a tear away before it could fall, she headed for the microwave, but stopped short. He thoughts had again taken her in a dangerous direction. Thinking of Cole as Jake's father was just going to hurt both mother and son. She had to try and distance herself from Cole in any way possible.

Pulling the popcorn out of the microwave made her briefly think about her own parents. Every Christmas Eve while she had been growing up, they had all gathered around the Christmas tree and strung freshly popped popcorn onto strings. Then, her father had helped her to wrap those strings around the tree while her mother would capture the moment with endless snapshots. That had been her absolute favorite part of Christmas as a child. But, instead of getting depressed this year about the people and traditions that she no longer had in her life, Phoebe was going to start her own special traditions with Jake.

With a renewed sense of determination, Phoebe took the bowl of popcorn into the living room and sat down on the couch next to a sleepy-eyed Jake. The excitement from the day had obviously caught up to him. His eyelids were drooping and every other word that spilled from his lips was punctuated with a yawn.

"I think that it is about time for you to go to bed, little guy." Phoebe reached for him, but was stopped by Cole.

"I can take him, Phoebe. If that is okay with you?" He posed his statement as a hanging question, but was already gathering up Jake securely in his arms. When Phoebe smiled and gently nodded her consent, Cole turned and headed up the marble staircase towards Jake's bed.

Phoebe studied the work that they two guys had accomplished while she had been busy hiding out in the kitchen. Not only had they managed to hang all of the ornaments on the tree branches, they had also wrapped the lights around the tree like a colorful swirl of sprinkles on an ice cream cone. The floor was littered with empty boxes and leftover wrappings.