Bliss watched as Imp crept across tha floor. She was makin pretty good time. Her uppah body was off tha floor, an' she dragged herself along with her arms, kinds pushin with her legs. Bliss was sittin nexta me, watchin his sistah. He looked at me. "Don't her legs work?"

"Sure they work. Look, there." Imp had stopped ta examine a vein runnin through tha marble floor. She kicks her feet when she's thinkin.

"I mean don't they work to stand up? Is Imp gonna limp like Daddy Heph?" There was no real worry in Bliss's voice. Heph had been tha way he is all Bliss's life. Bliss doesn't really see anythin odd about Heph's twisted legs or scarred face. They're part of someone he loves, so they're all right. I love that kid.

"Nah. Imp's just gotta get biggah, an' strongah, an' work on her balance. She's a little slower'n you were about walkin, but she'll get there."

Bliss smiled at me curiously. "You 'member me when I was that little?"

"Aw, heck yeah, kiddo. I knew you when you weren't nothin but feathas an' eyes, seemed like."

He watched as Imp reached a low table and sat in front of it, studying it. "You watched me when I learned to walk?"

I felt my smile fadin a little, an cleared my throat. "Nah, fraid not. I was, um, away then."

It had been when Cupe an' Psyche were still hitched. I'd heard about it, though. Cupid showed up at my place, totin Bliss an' so excited he was almost moltin, babblin about his little boy growin up. Then he put Bliss down an' I got ta see him take two wobbly steps before he plopped down on his butt, gigglin. We had wine an' cakes ta celebrate (Bliss gettin mosta tha cakes). While we were watchin him smear crumbs around, Cupe quietly told me that he had ta share this with someone, an' Ares was in tha middle of a war, an' Dite was presidin ovah a festival in Corinth. I asked about Psyche. He picked up Bliss an' materialized a cloth, startin ta clean tha baby. He said he didn't know where she was. I changed tha subject then, I changed it now. "Watch Imp!"

Imp had grabbed tha table leg an' was tryin ta pull herself up. Problem was her legs didn't bend tha right way fah her ta get up that way. Didn't stop her from tryin, though. She tugged an' pulled. Her face squinched up an' got damp an' pink... *Hm, kinda like she does when she's makin a poopie. I better check her didie in a little while.* She was gruntin an' makin little noises that were probably baby swears.

"Boy, she means business, don't she?" Bliss's voice was admiring.

"You betcha. That's her othah dad comin out." I tapped Bliss on tha nose. "Life lesson, squirt: Love is wunna tha most persistant forces in tha universe."

He nodded solemnly. "He never believes me when I tell 'im I don't need a bath."

We watched Imp. She hugged tha table leg an' strained. She sat back an' shook her hand at tha table. "Bah tah! Bah! Oo mm uh bah!"

Bliss laughed. I cocked my head. "Okay, give." Bliss had turned inta our interpretah for Imp."

"She's mad at it cause it won't let her climb up." He yelled, "Bad table! Bad table!"

Imp gave him a 'you said it, brothah' look. She lay down on her tummy, grabbed tha leg again, an' started ta strain. She managed ta lift her torso off tha floor a coupla inches, then plopped back down, on her face. She rolled ovah on her side, kicked her legs, waved her arms, an' screamed! I felt a mild tickle of energy, and hurried ovah to pick her up. Cupe had noticed that there was a significant rise in tha numbah of 'who tha hell were you lookin at?' squabbles between couples whenevah Imp got pissed about somethin. I thought that we were gonna hafta talk ta Hera 'bout maybe puttin some sorta bindin on Imp's godly powahs till she reached tha age of reason... *snicker* I'm sorry, that term is soooo damn funny. Anyways, if we didn't, when she hit tha terrible twos there could be enough jealousy-induced love troubles ta screw with tha population rate of Greece.

I snagged Imp an' picked her up. "Darn that ol table!" I kicked it. I sweah, she shook her hand at it an' cussed it out in baby talk. I know that cause Bliss put his hands ovah his ears an' grinned. "Tell ya what, Imp-ress, that ol' table can't stand against botha us! Lemme help ya." I lowered her nexta tha table. "Grab hold!" She stiffened her legs, but didn't reach fah tha table. "Grab hold, Imp! Hang on." She peered ovah her shouldah at me, lookin perplexed.

Bliss said, "Grag the table, Imp!"

Imp's face lighted, an' she latched onta tha table edge. I looked at Bliss. "How tha Tartarus do ya do that?" He shrugged. "Okay, Imp, here we go." I slowly let her support her own weight, but kept my hands on her, incase her knees buckled.

She gave me an' Bliss a pleased look. "Ha!"

"Applaud, Bliss. I can't let go right now." Bliss clapped fah Imp. She beamed. Hm, wondah if we oughta see about addin Vanity ta her godhood?

Cupid came in, unslingin his quivah. "Honey, I'm home." I shook my head. That time we snuck inta tha Halls of Time an' watched sitcoms from tha 1950s has certain hangovahs. At least he's stopped callin Bliss Beaver. We greeted him with a chorus, Imp included, though her's was just, "Da!" Yeah, we finally got her ta drop Mama. Now Cupe is Da an' I'm Pa. I'm workin on gettin her ta double syllables. Bein called Pa makes me feel like I should be sittin on a porch, spittin tobacco juice, with a buncha hound dogs around me.

Bliss scampahed ovah an' got a hug, then took Cupid's crossbow ta put it away. Cupe coulda just flashed it inta storage, but he knew how much Bliss liked helpin his daddies. Cupid came ovah an' squatted down beside us. He ruffled Imp's hair (yeah, she had enough ta ruffle now. I was constantly chasin 'Dite away from her ta keep her from bein wrapped in pink ribbon.), then kissed her on tha forehead. Imp kinda arched up ta tha kiss, like a cat. Well, yeah, ya know what they say about cats an' jealousy, so I guess it was ta be expected.

"Hello, my little sweetheart," Cupid crooned, strokin her wings. Then he reached ovah and ran his hand back inta my hair, pulled me toward him, an' gave me a kiss not on tha forehead, and considerably wetter than tha one Imp got, yowza! He pulled back with a final lick an' smiled at me. "Hello, my big sweetheart."

"How'd it go taday, Hunkaluv?"

He laughted. "Busy. There was a Maiden's Festival in Kalikos, that happened to coincide with a Wine Festival." He smirked. "The village population of maidens is going to be significantly smaller tomorrow."

I cackled. "I knew I was gettin some energy from somewhere."

As we spoke, Cupe was stroking Imp's pudgy lil' arms with one big fingah. She was watchin it move up an' down, up an' down. When he got ta her wrist, she suddenly moved. He looked down ta find her lil' hand wrapped around his fingah. "Oo, captured by Jealousy!"

He shuffled back a coupla steps, till his arm was outstretched, with Imp still holdin his fingah. "Wanna come to Daddy, sweetie?"

"I don't think she's ready fah that, Cupe. She just now stood up."

"Maybe she's not ready for it, but that never stopped you from trying something, did it?"

"True." Imp was lookin back an' forth between us. "Up ta you, doll. Try it if ya want. Aftah all, yer still wearin tha extra paddin, if ya fall." I let go of her. She immediately started ta wobble. Her eyes got real big, her legs bent, an' she plopped flat on her butt. She still had hold of Cupe's fingah, an' she grabbed it with her other hand an' immediately started tryin ta pull herself up.

"Oof! You're getting big, Imp!" Cupe said.

I gave a mock gasp. "Cupe! Imagine, talkin ta a female about her weight! Imagine how Dite would react ta somethin like that."

Cupid rolled his eyes. "I'd rather not, thank you. Hang on, baby." He started to pull. With him pullin an' Imp strainin, she got about halfway up before she lost her grip on his fingah an' flopped down again. She did tha whole limb wavin, wing flappin, baby cussin thing again, an' Cupe an' me sniggerin didn't help.

Bliss came back in. "Why's Imp mad now?"

"Pretty much the same reason as last time," Cupe told him. "She's about decided she wants to learn to walk, and she can't quite do it yet."

Bliss plopped down on tha floor nexta Imp, pettin her hair an' wings. "It's okay, Impy. You'll get it. Just remember, I'll help you any time you want."

Imp immediately crawled inta Bliss's lap. She grabbed at him an' struggled. He sat still while she managed ta haul herself upright till she was standin between his legs, both arms around his neck. She was real pleased with herself about that, an' she laughed. She started ta try ta climp farthah up Bliss (I dunno where she thought she was goin. Maybe she wanted ta sit on his shouldahs.)

All of a sudden Bliss yelled, "Ow!" Imp did wunna those full body jerks I hadn't seen fah a long time, an' started ta tumble straight back. I caught her before she could land an' brain herself or sprain a wing.

"Bliss!" Cupid sounded almost as surprised as Imp looked.

Bliss looked at Cupid, an' there were almost tears in his eyes. His voice was a whisper. "Well, I'm sorry, but... Gee, I'm glad Imp ain't wearing boots." That's when I noticed he was holdin his crotch.

I didn't laugh. If it woulda been Herc, or Apollo, or *snicker* Zeus, I woulda, believe me. Even Unca Ares, though I hope I'da had enough sense ta get out of hearing range first. I scooped tha fussy Imp inta tha crook of my arm, bouncin her tha way she liked. "Ya done good, kid. Ya can't fault someone fah makin a little noise when tha Center of tha Universe gets trod on, an' ya just yelled, ya didn't push."

Imp had stopped cryin an' was starin at Bliss with kind of a worried expression. She pushed at me, an' I put her back on tha floor. She crawled right ovah ta Bliss an' plopped down nexta him. Then she looked up inta his face, pattin his leg an' jabberin at him.

He hugged her. "That's okay, Imp. Just remember not to go kicking a guy in his private parts anymore." He thought for a second, then said, "Not unless he's icky and giving your trouble."

I looked at Cupid an' thought ta him, //If it wasn't fah tha fact that I wouldn't touch Psyche with Charon's barge pole, I'd think tha kid was wunna mine.// Bliss patted Cupid on tha back when his dad started chokin, an' Cupe told him that he thought he'd accidentally swallowed a feathah.

Latah that Week

*grunt* *strain* *climb* *wobble* *plop* "Whaaaaaaaaa!"

"C'mon, Imp. You can do it!" Bliss makes a great cheerin section.

"Bah ka ummme fah!"

"No, the bad chair didn't make you fall. You're legs just got tired. Try again."

*whine*

"C'mon. You're not a quitter."

I looked up from tha scroll I was studyin. It was a new recipe fah a powdah that would cause anyone it got on ta develope a complexion like a speckled robin's egg fah about a week. I was tryin ta figure out if it could be made in liquid form, an' taken internally. If it could, Iphicles was gonna have spiked wine at his next court function.

Imp was just gettin back on her feet, clutchin tha chair. She reached out fah Bliss, but he scooted around behind tha chair. "Come and get me!"

I watched as Imp staggered around tha chair, expression almost grim, holdin onta it fah dear life. She had almost gotten within reach of Bliss when he scooted around ta tha othah side again. She scolded him, but didn't stop movin as she stared around toward him again.

Bliss caught my eye. "She's getting a lot better at this walking, Daddy Strife. Look!" Imp had let go of tha chair for a minute. She was standin there, wobblin, face squinched up in concentration like she was tryin ta do quantum physics in her head. She had both her hands raised up about shouldah height, an' was clenchin her fingahs inta fists. She started wobblin even more, and I figured she was about ta flop again. then she flapped her wings, an' steadied. She started ta wibble, flapped again, an' steadied again.

"Whoa! Way ta go, Imp!" I crowed. "Now all ya gotta do is learn ta use 'em ta steer."

A week Latah

"Okay, where are we goin?"

"Strife, there isn't a really big choice here."

"Look, Cupe, as teeny as she is, a coupla degrees difference in where I'm headin an' where you're headin can make a big difference."

"Okay. How about from here to the bed? That's just a little more than a yard. It shouldn't be too hard for her."

"Awright. Imp?"

She was sittin between us, an she looked up. "Yah?" Cupe an' me both poked fingahs down at her.

She looked from one ta tha othah several times. I shook my head. "Ya don't gotta go through that whole female 'which one do I want?' thing, Imp. Ya can grab both." She grabbed Cupe's fingah an' started tryin ta pull up. "Imp!"

Bliss came in. "Whatcha doing?"

"We think Imp can walk without furniture if she holds on on both sides, but she doesn't seem to get the idea." Imp was danglin from Cupes fingah.

"Oh." Bliss leaned ovah. "Imp?"

She looked at him. "Yah?"

"Try holding on to Daddy Strife's finger, too. You'll stay up easier."

"Ah!" She reached ovah an grabbed my fingah with her othah hand.

I blinked at Bliss. "How tha Tartarus do ya do that?"

He shrugged. "It's a kid thing. You wouldn't understand."

"I gotta stop tellin ya tha slang I learn in tha Halls of Time."

We started toward tha bed. Imp staggered between us, legs wibblin an' wobblin. Tha knees went once, but she hung on, danglin, till she managed ta get her feet undah her again, an' we finished up. We got ta tha bed, an' Bliss clapped like he'd just seen tha finish of a hot chariot race. He punched his fist in tha air, chantin, "Imp! Imp! Imp!"

"Ray, Imp!" I picked her up an' gave her a little toss up onta tha bed. She squealled happily, flappin her wings...

An' she hovahed.

It was just fah a split second, but she definitely hung there before she dropped.

Cupe an' me stared at each othah. Bliss laughed, clappin again. He flapped his own wings an' managed ta lift himself enough ta settle on tha mattress beside her.

"Ah, shit, Cupe. I don't wanna hafta start tetherin her."

He sighed. "That won't be necessary, hon. I'll speak to Ace."

My voice was sharp. "We ain't clippin her wings, eithah!"

"Strife! As if I'd ever concent to mutilating my daughter!"

I was a little ashamed of myself. I shoulda known bettah. "I'm sorry, babe. What are ya thinkin of?"

"Her wings don't have to be clipped. He'll just trim the feathers short for awhile. You're too young to remember, but they had to do that to me before I got old enough to know better." He ruffled Bliss's hair. "We didn't have to do it with Bliss--he managed to get in enough trouble on the ground, I guess. It doesn't hurt at all. It's just kind of annoying." He sighed, stroking our daughtah's silky silver-grey wings. "And ugly."

"Crap!" I loved Imp's wings--they were a symbol to me of her othah fathah in her.

Cupe hugged me. "Not for long, love. Probably just till she's about two." His eyes twinkled. "Or until she learns to understand us as well as she understands Bliss."

An' two more weeks

"Daddy?"

Cupe an' me looked up an' chorused, "Yeah?"

Bliss said, "I need a belt, an' I can't figure out how to make one." He held up a long daisy chain. "It keeps coming out all funny." He showed us a thick strand of licorice. "I just can't think it right."

"Whatcha need a belt for, Blissy?" I asked.

"I'll show you." He walked ovah ta where Imp was sittin on tha floor, playin with a ball Heph had made fah her. It made chimes as she rolled it back an' forth. Bliss stood in front of her, then turned his back on her.

Imp looked up alertly, then pushed her ball away. She got on her hands an' knees and crawled ovah ta Bliss. She grabbed his legs in back an' started ta pull herself up. Her head was bumpin up around his butt. I looked at Cupe. "That explains why he ain't wearin tha kilt much anymore."

Cupid nodded. "Having your baby sister poke her head up your skirt would tend to encourage a wardrobe change. Bliss, I still don't see why you need a belt."

"Just watch."

Imp stretched her hands up an' grabbed tha back of Bliss's pants. Then she sat back down. Bliss's pants started ta come with her. He grabbed them in front, but not before they'd stretched in back, showin off a kiddie butt that was just as cute as Imp's baby butt. Bliss looked back ovah his shouldah at us, expression agrieved. "See?"

I was shakin with laughtah while Cupe materialized a nice leatha belt an' helped tha kid fit it on his pants. When he was done, Imp crawled back up an' grabbed tha belt. This time nothin drooped. She crowed happily, an' Bliss started ta walk with teeny, tiny steps. Imp staggered along aftah him. She had a gate like a drunk mercenary, but she was walkin.

We clapped, an' Bliss an Imp conga lined outta there, headed fah Bliss's room. I couldn't stop laughin. Cupe poked me. "That's too much laughter just for Imp tailing Bliss. What is it?"

"I dunno, exactly," I confessed. "But when she dragged his drawers down, an' he was lookin ovah his shouldah like that, I had tha strangest urge ta slap some of Apollo's sun-protection cream on 'em."

Notes: To explain Strife's giggle fit at the end, go here and look at the picture at the top of the page.