"Strife, are you sure she's ready for this?"

"We'll nevah know till we try, Cupe. Anyways, it ain't as if we're askin her ta run in those new athletic meets they're talkin about namin aftah Olympus. Snap up a few more really soft pillahs." He did. "Okay, pile 'em up, then kinda punch a nice niche in tha middle."

Cupid piled tha pillows on tha bed, against tha wall. Then he used tha side of his hand ta kinda chop a depression right in tha middle. I hefted Imp up an' looked in her face. She stared back at me, suckin on her fist. "Okay, kiddo. Ya ready ta take anothah step toward bein an adult?" She stuck out her tongue, an' I snickered. "I love ya, too, Impy. Here we go."

I took her ovah ta tha bed an' settled her on her teeny butt, then leaned her back against tha pillows, so that they kinda squooshed out on eithah side of her. I kept holdin her, my hands undah her arms. She looked up at me an' said somethin along tha lines of *baah muh*.

I stood there a little more, an' Cupe said, "Strife? You have to let go for us to find out if she's ready to sit up."

"Don't be in such a hurry."

I heard tha patter of feet, an' Bliss came up, peerin up at me undah my arm. "Stwife? You said you was gonna come see the temple I built." Bliss had been on a buildin kick with tha wooden blocks Joxer had given him for his last birthday.

"Yah, sure, kid. In a minute. We're gonna see if Imp can sit up."

"Oh." He didn't sound too enthusiastic, but I didn't pay much attention.

"Back up a little, son," said Cupid. "You're kind of under Strife's feet there. You don't want him to stumble while he's holding Imp." Bliss backed up, frowning. "Okay, Strife, it's time. Let go."

I kinda moved my hands ta tha side. I wasn't touchin her, but there wasn't but a half inch between her an' my hands. I stayed right there, ready ta catch her if she started ta tip ovah. She didn't. She didn't even wobble. She just kinda leaned back, slumpin a little. Tha pillows were real soft, so her little wings weren't squashed. I dared ta move my hands a little farthah away. She waved her arms, an' started ta tip. I started ta shove my hands back in place, but she stopped tippin an' just sat there, tilted a little ta tha side.

"She did it!" Cupe an' I did a high five. "Coolness!" I bent down, grinnin at Bliss. "Howsabout it, Bliss? Aint'cha proud of yer little sister?"

He looked at Imp, then back at me. Then he clapped his hands tagethah, real slow, three times, turned around, an' left. Cupid blinked. "If I didn't know him better, I'd say he was being sarcastic."

I gave Cupe a pityin look. "I know sarcasm, an' that was sarcasm. What's up with him? He's usually so excited about whatevah Imp does. I think I bettah go have a look at that temple he built. Don't leave her sittin for too long, 'kay?"

I went ta Bliss's room. He'd managed ta push his bed against tha wall, leavin tha middle of tha room open, an' had rolled up his rug. He was sittin in tha middle of a big, open square of blocks. Tha walls were so high that all I could see was tha top of his head curly gold head. I went ovah an' peeked down at him. "Hey." He looked up at me, then looked down without sayin anythin.

I squatted down. "No roof?"

"I haven't figured out how to do a slanty roof. I don't want to do just a flat one."

"We'll talk ta Heph. Maybe he can figure somethin out. Tell me, Bliss, how'd ya get in there without knockin it down?"

"I flew."

"Really? I didn't know ya had that much control of yer landin."

His bottom lip stuck out. "Well, I'm not surprised. You haven't paid much attention to me."

*Uh-oh.* I tried ta keep my voice casual. "Ya think?"

"I been waiting for you to come see my temple forever, for at least three hours."

Well, I guess three hours seems like forevah when yer Bliss's age. An' he had asked me ta come look at tha temple more than once. Come ta think of it, he'd asked Cupid, too. I don't think he came in ta look, eithah.

"Sorry about that, kiddo. Imp had a bubble that just wouldn't come up, an' it was makin her cranky."

He scowled. "She's always cranky lately."

"Well, she's got somethin called colic, Ace says." He snorted. "Hey, watch it! Cupe tells me you bawled pretty much from two months ta four months, continually. Cut Imp some slack." Bliss didn't reply. He poked at one of the blocks, leavin a neat hole in tha wall. "If ya keep doin that, yer gonna knock it down."

"So? Nobody's interested in it."

He shoved, an' tha wall crumbled, takin tha othah walls down, too. "Hey! Why'd ya do that?"

He jumped up, an' I was surprised ta see his face was flushed. He was angry. "I can do it 'cause it's mine." He picked up tha blanket that Imp had been layin on earlier. "And this is mine!" He ran out of the room.

In our bedroom I heard Cupe say, "Imp! Careful… Oops! Baby, what's got you so excited?" I hurried inta tha room ta find Cupe sittin on tha bed, holdin Imp. He looked up, recognized how worried I was, an' said quickly, "It's okay, hon. She just got agitated for some reason. She started kicking and waving her arms and flapping, and she pitched over, but she landed on the mattress."

"Well, thank goodness fah that! We'll just wait awhile ta try that again, won't we, booger?" I asked her. She stuck out her tongue again. I stuck mine out right back at her.

Cupid shook his head. "I have two brats."

I sat next ta him. "Ya got three. Bliss ain't exactly livin up ta his sweetness an' light image. He mentioned somethin about nobody payin attention ta him."

"Uh-oh."

"My thoughts exactly."

"But he seemed to be taking things so well. He loves Imp, I know it."

"Sure he does, but ya gotta remembah, Cupe, he was tha only baby for a long time. There's bound ta be a little adjustin, now that he's sharin tha spotlight."

Cupe looked guilty. "I haven't been spending as much time with him as I usually do and…" now he looked upset. "I think I wasn't all that attentive when I was with him. I've been preoccupied lately. It's spring--my busy season, you know. Add to that the fact that the Amazons are thinning out and Artemis finally gave permission for me to do something about it. I was scheduled to have a dozen of the Amazons fall in love with men, and you know what a bitch that is."

I answered reflexively. "Appropriate choice of words, cuz. An' what with gettin back ta work an' takin care of Lil Miss Green Eyes…" I felt guilty. "Crap. I haven't told him a story in a week."

Cupid looked miserable. "He was trying to tell me about something at dinner last night and I asked him to be quiet because Imp was spitting most of the formula back out."

"I told him I didn't have time ta preen his feathahs last night."

"I snapped at him when he brought me my quiver and spilled all the arrows." His tone was pleading. "I was worried that he was going to stick himself with something he wasn't ready for."

We stared at each othah, an' both sighed. "We're insensitve bastards, all right." He nodded in agreement. I got up. "I bettah go see if I can patch things up."

Before I could go anywhere, Bliss came outta Imp's room, carryin a stuffed bear. He glared at us. "This is mine, too."

*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!*

"Imp!" Cupid tried ta hang onta our suddenly squirmin daughtah. I've nevah seen a baby so excited. Her lil arms an' legs were goin like windmills. Cupe had her up against his shouldah, an' when she flapped her wings she smacked him in tha face so hard I was surprised latah ta see that he didn't have a black eye. Cupid looked at me wildly. "Whaddid I do? Whaddid I do?" Bliss looked disgusted, turned, an' stomped back ta his room. That was quite an accomplishment, seein as how he was barefoot.

I wanted ta go aftah him, but both my husband an' my kid seemed ta be havin some sorta fit. I hurried ovah. "Give her ta me."

"I'm scared to let go! I'm afraid I'll drop her."

"Cupe! Gimme!"

He handed her ovah. I'm good at hangin onta small, squirmy things. Why, you ask? Ya got any idea how much mischief ya can cause with a well placed rat or snake? Drop a mouse down wunna tha Muses togas sometime.

I flashed Imp's diddie off an' gave her a quick once ovah, lookin for obvious signs of damage. I thought maybe wunna tha pins had snapped loose an' stuck her, but she looked fine. She looked terrific, in fact. Her skin almost glowed, an' her eyes were almost shootin green sparks. "I don't get it. She's not hurt."

*eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!*

"That ain't a 'I'm hurt' yell. It ain't a 'I'm wet' or 'I'm hungry' yell eithah."

"How can you be sure?"

I gave 'im a superior look. "A mothah knows. Nah, this is a 'I'm feelin too damn good an' excited ta keep my trap shut' yell." She started ta quiet down a little. Tha squealin stopped, an' she slowed down till it was only tha usual arm an' leg wavin. I dressed her again an' handed her ta Cupe. "I don't know what the hell it is. She don't seem ta have suffahed for it. Still, ya bettah run her ovah ta Ace an' have him take a look."

"Check. What about you?"

"I'm gonna stay here an' try ta make peace with Bliss." He flashed out an' I started for Bliss's room.

Bliss was sittin on his bed. He had tha blanket ovah his shouldahs, like a cape, tha bear tucked firmly undah his arm, an' his thumb plugged inta his mouth. With tha free hand he was windin a curl around his fingah. I hadn't seen him do that since he was about three. "Hey, can I come in?"

He unplugged long enough to say, "It's your house." Ooo, sullen. If I hadn't been worried about him, I'da enjoyed it.

I sat nexta him. "It's our house-you, an' me, an' Cupe, an' Imp. This is your room, but it's our house." Again he removed tha thumb. "I thought maybe you needed it for Imp."

"Bliss, why wouldya think that? Imp has her own room."

"Mine's bigger. I thought you'd want her to have it…" his voice dropped. "since you like her better." I felt my heart squeeze. I tried ta put my arm around his shouldahs, but he shrugged me off. That hurt. Back when I still considered myself a piss-poor excuse fah a sentient being, Bliss had been wunna tha few people who was always glad ta see me, an' nevah, nevah pulled away from me.

This time I managed ta get my arm around him. He tensed up, but he didn't pull away. "Whatevah gave you that idea?"

He looked up at me. "You only pay attention to Imp now." His bottom lip trembled. "You and Daddy both."

"Aw, Bliss." I hugged him, an' aftah a minute I felt him relax a little, leanin against me. "Honey, I'm sorry. We didn't mean anythin by it. It's just that Imp is such a teeny baby now. She can't do anythin for herself. We hafta do it all, an' yeah, it takes a lot of time. That's no excuse for ya feelin neglected, though. Me an' your Dad coulda put some things off a little while an' spent more time with ya."

"Yes, you could."

I laughed. "Not gonna let yer old man off tha hook easy, huh?"

"Nope."

"That's my boy." I stroked his hair, then started straightenin out some feathahs that had gotten mussed. "Things'll be different from now on, kiddo, I promise. I think I can talk yer Dad inta takin a picnic on tha beach tomarrah. How about that?" He nodded. "If ya want, we can leave Imp with Unc Ares or 'Dite."

He thought about it a minute, then said magnanimously. "No, she can come."

"Good boy."

We were quiet fah a minute as I got tha last of tha feathahs ta lay straight. His voice was very small, and he didn't look at me when he said, "Stwife? It's all right."

"What's all right?"

"If you don't love me anymore. I understand."

Well, that shocked tha shit outta me! I turned him around. "Explain that, please."

"Well, you gots Imp now." He became fascinated with wunna tha chrome studs on my leathahs. "I understand if you only gots enough love for her 'n Daddy."

"You think cause there's anothah child in tha family, I don't have enough love fah botha ya?"

"You gots to divide it up more ways," he said, his tone of voice sayin this was only logical.

"That ain't tha way it works, kiddo." I stood up, takin his hand. "C'mon, I'll show ya."

I led him back inta our room an' got him ta climb up onna chair at tha table. I materialized three bowls, half full of watah. "All right," I said, pointin at one bowl. "Here's Bliss." He stared at tha bowl, then looked at me like maybe everyone who said I was crazy was right. "Work with me here." I pointed ta the second bowl, sittin beside tha first one. "This is Cupid, hunky God of Love, an' daddy ta Bliss." I pointed ta tha third bowl, sittin a little apart from tha othah two. "This is Strife, sexy God of Mischief."

Bliss looked at all three bowls, an' ya could almost see a candle pop inta bein ovah his head as he got tha idea. I dabbled my fingah in each bowl. "This is love. Cupid an' Bliss were both fulla love. Then along came Strife." I set tha third bowl with tha first two, an' dabbled my fingah in it. "He was fulla love, too, only there was a big ass cake of ice ovah it, an' Cupid an' Bliss had to melt it ta get ta tha good stuff. But then there was lots of love ta share."

I picked up a bowl and poured some watah inta tha one nexta it. "Cupe gave love ta Bliss." I poured some in tha othah. "An he gave love ta Strife." I put down tha bowl, then picked up anothah an' started pourin. "Bliss gave love ta his Daddy, an' his Daddy Strife." I picked up tha bowl that represented me. "Strife gave it right back ta botha them."

Bliss eyed tha bowls. "There's the same as there was to start."

"Yep. Now, listnen closely. Along came a lil future mischief maker named Impetua." I materialized a fourth bowl. "Whoa, everybody loved Imp." I started pourin. When I picked up Bliss's bowl I said, "Even her big brothah."

When I set the bowl back down, Imp's bowl was almost overflowin. Bliss looked at it sadly. "Look at all the love Imp got."

"I ain't done yet. Then Imp just loved everybody right back." I poured from Imp's bowl, measuring a little 'love' inta each bowl, then set it down with tha othahs. "Now, notice anythin?"

Bliss peered at the bowls closely. Finally he looked up at me, undahstandin dawnin on his face. "There's just as much love as there was before."

"Give tha man a cookie. Yer right, Bliss. Imp brought her own love with her, an' now we're all just passin it around amongst us." I touched his head gently. "Bliss, yer Dad an' me couldn't love you any less. We can only love you more. That's how it is with parents an' kids." I thought. "Well, that's the way it's s'posed ta be, an' it is here."

Bliss looked abashed. "Ooo, I been bad."

I hugged him. "Nah." I chuckled. "If ya weren't a god I'd say ya were just bein human, but I guess I'll say ya were just bein young."

He hugged back this time. "Stwife, is Imp okay?" He sounded worried. "She was making an awful fuss."

"I think so, kid. Yer Dad took her ta see Ace, an' if nothins wrong he should be back…"

*Flash*

"Any minute now. Cupe, what did Ace say?"

Cupid was smilin, but his expression was funny. I think it mixed pride with apprehension. "She's fine. It just has to do with who and what she is." Bliss had gone ovah, reached up, an' was strokin tha baby's head. She gurgled at him, tryin ta catch his hand. She wasn't co-ordinated enough yet. "Hi, baby. Look, I'm sorry if I haven't been…"

"It's okay, Daddy," Bliss assured him. "Stwife explained how you only gots even more love when a baby comes."

"He did?" Cupid looked relieved.

"He said we can have a picnic at the beach tomorrow."

Now Cupid arched an eyebrow at me. "Oh, he did, did he?" I knew he was thinkin about tha list of chores, a scroll as long as his arm, that he still had ta do. He looked down at Bliss an' smiled. "After that, how about if we visit the Muses and see if they have any new stories for you?" Bliss almost bounced up an' down.

"Now that our plans for tomarrah are set, will ya please explain about Imp?"

Cupid sat down, cradlin tha now sleepin baby. "Like I said, it's because of who and what she is. What is she, Strife?"

"Well, duh. She's our kid."

"And?"

"An' Bliss's baby sistah." Bliss nodded vigorously.

"And?"

I blew outta breath. "Sometimes, mistah, ya can take tha teasin too far."

"Her title, Strife."

"Goddess of Jealousy an'…" I trailed off, my eyes goin wide. I looked at Imp. I looked at Bliss. I looked at Cupid.

He nodded. "Thanks to sibling rivalry Imp got her first burst of energy," he patted Bliss affectionately, "courtesy of Big Brother. She didn't know how to cope with it."

"Shit!" I peered at Imp. "Ain't she a little young fah that? I mean, I don't think I started tappin inta my worshipah's energy till I was, like, eight or nine."

"Yes, it's unusual. But then again, we're an unusual family."

I shook my head, sighin. "Ya know, I think maybe we better talk ta Ace about some sort of tonic ta build us up." I looked at my now peacefully sleeping daughtah. "I gotta feelin we're gonna need it."