Heaven's Help
By Laura Janvrin

Jeremiah swung his sword in an elegant circle until it came to a rest in the
demon's heart. He pulled it out with disgust. As he knocked the insides of the
monster off his sword, the demon fell next to him. He looked up to notice his
partner, Rebekka, knock off the last one.

Jeremiah's black hair fell in front of his blue eyes as he scanned the temporary
battlefield. "Think Michael's going to be mad?"

Rebekka smirked, "Not at all."

They both snickered at the sarcasm.

"Well, I guess, it's time we found out." Jeremiah spat as they started the trek
to Vatican City.



No one noticed the discrete figures walk up to the palace-like building.
Originally an old house, now a palace, the Vatican served as the main
headquarters for a special group of soldiers. Their cover was the Catholic
Church itself.

The two quiet soldiers walked in the back. The two guards at the door
disregarded them. Their oversight could be their fear of the soldiers or it
could be that the guards did not sense them. The matter did not bother either
party.

The two soldiers, a man and a woman to be precise, calmly walked to the tucked-
away room with nothing on their minds but their last mission. They both lightly
tapped the old wooden door once.

"Come in," a man behind the door spoke in a strained voice.

The partners looked at each other with a sigh before entering. They were the
cause of the man's strain.

"No formalities, just sit." Michael breathed as he ran a hand through his sandy
blonde hair. It looked tousled from his hampered gesture.

Both were quiet. They had agreed beforehand not to speak until spoken to. They
wanted no chance of getting into more trouble.

"I simply don't know what to do with you two anymore." Michael glanced at them
as they both looked down in shame. "I'm given these two soldiers. I'm warned
'they're trouble-makers, be careful.' I'm careful. They're the best soldiers I
have. I think they're ready so I give them the Dameon trail. I say, repeatedly,
'don't kill everything; some things may be able to help us to find the invisible
trail we lost over 1500 years ago.' They promise me they'll be careful. But, no.
Yesterday I hear that two of my soldiers are involved in a battle in Germany so
I send a cleaning crew. They get there and do you know what they find?" Michael
didn't wait for an answer. He yelled the answer to them. "They find 47 dead
soldiers of Dameon!"

"Sorry," the two mumbled quietly.

Michael turned away from them, fed up. There was a long moment of silence before
Michael continued in a quiet voice. "I'm putting both of you on a new mission.
No battles." Michael turned back to his desk and sat down.

"But-."

"Sir-."

"No arguments." Michael glanced at the solitary file on his old oak desk as he
continued. "There are two people in Toronto. One Dr. Natalie Lambert and one
Detective Nicholas Knight. They are in love."

"If you'll excuse me, Michael, this is a human case, Sir. We're fighters. We
don't do humans," the man pleaded.

"If you won't mind to keep your comments to yourself for the rest of this
meeting, Jeremiah."

Jeremiah looked down. "Sorry, Sir."

Michael continued. "By the way, this isn't a human case...completely." Michael
noticed this caught both of the soldiers's attention. "Nicholas and Natalie have
been best friends for 6 years. There have been no dates, no profession of love."

"Why?" Rebekka asked.

"Nicholas Knight isn't his original name. It's Nicholas DeBrabant."

Jeremiah and Rebekka's jaws dropped collectively. Nicholas DeBrabant had been
something of fascination of theirs and most other Soldiers. The vampire seeking
repentance. The only vampire to ever seek repentance.

"I'm guessing," Rebekka started, "that this Natalie knows of his evil, otherwise
she would not have waited 6 years."

Jeremiah glanced at his dark brown haired counterpart. "Yeah, but she more than
knows. She's helping him find a...'cure', isn't she?" Jeremiah looked at Michael
for confirmation.

Michael nodded and smiled. Now these were the soldiers he was told about. "Yes,
but there's some things you should know first. Nicholas's vampire sister,
Jeanette, performed the mortal love cure. Needless to say, she became mortal.
This inspired Nicholas and Natalie to try it after some tragic circumstances.
Because of the conditions both were in, Nick's starvation state and both having
experienced tragic losses the past few days, they went about it wrong. Natalie
was almost killed and so was Nicholas. They both came out of it
alive...physically. Nicholas is slowly preparing to leave. Certain powers have
convinced both to stay by dreams. You have a few months at the absolute most.
Think yea can handle it?" Michael let the proper English slip a bit.

Both smiled mischievously. "Ohhhh, yeah."



Nick heard laughing before he entered Captain Reese's office. He walked in to
find Captain Reese and Terry, Nat's boss, laughing with two strangers. They both
looked up from the seats across from Captain Reese's desk as they heard him
enter. The one on his left was a man. He had black hair, not long but not short
either, and a short beard. He wore the clothes of a medical examiner. The one on
his right was a female. She had dark brown hair that came just below her
shoulders. Part of it was pulled back in a ponytail while the other half hung
loose. She wore glasses and an empty holster.

"Nick," Captain Reese said with laughter still in his voice, "this is Detective
Harleigh Mauves and this is Dr. Riley Stevens. Both just transferred from the
States. Hotshot team. Apparently Harleigh is a star detective with a record
similar to yours and Riley's help with the police department in their previous
department could also compare to your record."

"Oh, I don't think we're that good." Riley added modestly.

"I betcha I could call a Captain in Washington D.C. that would disagree with
that." Reese laughed. Everyone joined in but Nick. After a moment Reese sobered
up. "Nick, as I was saying, this is Dr. Stevens and Detective Mauves. Dr.
Stevens is going to give Nat help in the morgue and Detective Mauves is going to
be your partner."

"I don't want a partner." Nick stated simply. It was only a month after Tracy's
death but the deaths of two partners made him weary of getting another. He also
needed to leave soon.

Reese softened his tone. "Nick, I know losing Tracy was hard. She was the second
partner you lost after all and I am truly sorry. I miss her too, but you don't
need to train Detective Mauves in. She can handle herself."

Just then Natalie walked in. "You wanted to talk to me?" She asked then noticed
Nick in the room. She noticeably moved herself to the other side of the room.
Riley and Harleigh glanced at each other. This was definitely the couple Michael
was talking about.

"Yes," Terry said when no one spoke. "We would like to introduce you to the new
staff. This is Detective Harleigh Mauves and Dr. Riley Stevens. Dr. Stevens will
be working with us. Harleigh is Nick's new partner." The woman finished out
quietly.

Nat spared a quick concerned glance at Nick before turning back to Terry,
"Fine."

'Oh, this guy really has gotten to her.' Jeremiah's comment was like a whisper
in the wind.

Rebekka glanced at him before standing up. She shoved her hand at Nick. "I guess
we're partners now. Call me Harley."

Nick slowly took her hand. "Call me Nick," He responded, barely audible.

Jeremiah followed her lead. He stood up quietly. "Call me Riley."

Natalie took his hand in a professional manner. "Call me Dr. Lambert."

"Don't mind her," Terry chuckled. "Call her Natalie."

Riley turned his charm on. "I'll call the lady whatever she desires." His blue
eyes never left Natalie's green ones.

Rebekka could feel the vampire in Nick start to brew.

'Bad move, Romeo.' Jeremiah heard float to him.

'Wait, Sunshine.'

Natalie never once flinched. She turned and walked abruptly out of the office.

'Smooth, real smooth.'

'I got to her, Partner.'



Harley sat quietly at her new desk. She glanced up awkwardly. Nick hadn't said
anything. He just sat there working on some paperwork. She stared at him hoping
to get him speaking. Five minutes of that didn't work so she doubted more time
would.

"Nick?"

"Yes?" He didn't look up.

"Are you going to just sit there leaving me hangin'?"

"Here." He tossed paperwork on her desk.

She looked at the papers and rolled her eyes. "Are you always an idiot?" She
asked rudely.

He glanced angrily up at her before turning back to his desk. "Why? Can't you do
paperwork? The Captain said I didn't need to train you in!"

Harley didn't need to glance around to know that all the attention was focused
on them. "Don't get touchy." She spoke in a calm, quiet voice to soothe his
anger. "I don't need to be trained in. You're giving me paperwork about cases I
know nothing about. You are going to have to inform me of these cases."

Nick took a deep breath when he looked at her. "I'm sorry. I'm a little touchy
right now."

She smiled. "To say the least."

Nick couldn't help but smile at her.

"You know you should smile more often. It suits you."

Nick glance defensively at her.

"Don't take that in the wrong context. It was an observation. I've been down
that other road and don't plan to return."

Michael watched Rebekka as she talked. He sighed. He knew that road with her
intimately. He was pulled out of his revere as Nicholas talked.

"I know what you mean."

"Knight! Mauves!" Captain Reese yelled from his office door. "Get moving;
there's been a murder!"



"Nice office," Riley commented as he looked around the room at the dead bodies.

"Yeah, it's cozy." Natalie commented sarcastically. Riley could still hear
professional tone. No hope getting too close to her too soon.

The room was quiet for a minute as Natalie glanced at the papers on her desk.
Just as she was about to speak again the phone rang. She picked it up and said
Lambert into the receiver mechanically.

"We'll be right there."

As soon as the receiver was hung up, Riley asked, "What was that about?"

"Murder. Come on. I'll introduce you to the crew."



"They're near, Sir."

"Who?" The blonde almost white haired man spun the chair around to face the
young servant.

"Jeremiah and Rebekka." He stated simply.

"Why?"

"Their assignment is not necessarily us but it has to do with us."

"How does it deal with us?"

"A certain friend of yours is their assignment."



Nick kneeled in front of the body. He jumped slightly when he saw Riley kneel
down next to him. He glanced across the body to see Nat and Harley kneeling down
too. The four started detective work. Harley and Riley were the only two that
were perfectly comfortable.

'Are they being cold or are we in Antarctica?' Jeremiah smirked at Rebekka.

'I was beginning to wonder.'

'Let's have some fun.' Jeremiah stood up. All four followed his lead with Harley
glancing curiously at him. Natalie continued talking as Riley walked over to the
other side of the body. Thinking he was going to continue walking to another
place so the group could talk without the body, Nick followed his lead. Riley
walked so Nick would be standing closest to Natalie on their way by. Once they
were at the right angle, Harley got the idea. As Natalie started to walk, Harley
pushed her towards Nick. As Nick reached out to catch the falling Natalie, Riley
and Harley started to walk faster, a lot faster.

"What was that for?" Natalie yelled as she caught up to them.

Harley turned around but kept walking. "What are you talking about?"

"You pushed me!" Natalie accused angrily.

Harley glanced at Riley, confused. "What is she talking about?"

"I don't know." Riley shrugged. 'I'm beginning to think Michael should make an
Academy Awards for us.'

'Agreement here.' Harley turned around so she was walking face first. 'Where's
Nick?'

'Back there, stunned.'

'So did you find what you needed?'

'Yeah. The physical attraction is definitely not the problem for either.'

Rebekka glanced up to see Jeremiah fighting a smirk.

'You scare me.'

'I know.'



LaCroix looked up as he felt Nicholas enter the Raven. Before his son was in his
sight he felt another presence, one that would not be seen. It was a Soldier of
Light. He smirked. Michael was definitely the curious type. He would have to
worry about him later.

"Nicholas!" LaCroix greeted.



Natalie picked up the dry cat food and started to hoist it into her cart. Half
way to its destination the bag decided to start breaking. She looked at it in
horror. Just as her day seemed to get worse, a gentle hand helped the bag
continue the journey unaffected.

"There you go." Riley's soft voice calmed as his hands finished the bag's
journey.

Natalie turned around, stunned. "What are you doing here?"

Riley smiled. "Shopping. You?"

Natalie blushed as she looked at the ground. "Yeah, me too."

"Care to finish it together?" Riley started to walk past her.

Natalie glanced back up at him. "Sure."

Riley picked up a box of baking soda. He examined its package carefully. Natalie
looked at him, curious. "Looking to see if it has a rip?"

Riley glanced at her, confused for a moment, then smiled in recognition. "No. To
tell you the truth I was looking the box over to see if I needed it."

Natalie cocked her head at him.

"You see, I'm not a good shopper. Harley used to help me shop, but she said with
this new job I have to learn."

Natalie smiled. "What happens if you mess up?"

"Well, I have a full proof plan if I make a mistake. Har's on the other side of
the store doing her own shopping. When I'm done, she's going to inspect what I
buy."

Natalie laughed. "You two make quite the pair."

Jeremiah laughed at the unknown joke she just made. He and his partner had been
quite the pair since the beginning of time.

"You can share my cart if you want to." Natalie nodded toward the items he was
carrying.

"Sure," he smiled as he tossed the items into the cart.

Riley and Natalie walked a ways in silence. Riley's mind was hard at work. How
to bring up the touchy situation?

"So, do you have any family around here?" Riley's words seemed foreign even to
him.

Natalie was quiet for a few minutes. "I did."

"Did they move?" Riley knew the answer before he even asked the question.

"No. Do you have any family around here?" Natalie quickly moved the topic.

Riley was quiet a long moment before answering. "Not really. My only family, you
can say really, is Harley. Do you have any friends like that?"

Natalie didn't really want to answer but Riley's serene blue eyes seemed to
beckon her to. "I did."

"Doesn't sound like much of a friendship exists anymore. What happened?" Riley
held a curious tone to his voice so his true aim was less conspicuous.

Natalie thought a moment. How does she go about telling this without really
telling it?

As Natalie thought about how to answer the question, Jeremiah saw an invisible
figure walk on the other side of Natalie's cart.

'Are you a little rusty at talking to humans?' Michael's smooth voice had a hint
of laughter to it.

'I think that the last time I talked to a human was over 500 hundred years ago.'
Jeremiah replied sarcastically. 'What are you doing here anyways? Did you not
trust us?'

'I only trust you two on those rare occasions when you aren't getting into any
trouble.' Michael smirked at him. There was a moment of silence between the two
before Michael quietly asked. 'Where's Rebekka?'

Jeremiah had long since known that the rare emotion of love had existed between
his partner and his present boss. The question didn't particularly phase him as
odd. 'She's on the other side of the store.'

'Human?'

'Not until I signal her that I'm ready.'

'You ready?'

'We have a little plan going on right now.'

'O-Kay.'

"He lost my trust." Natalie said.

Jeremiah was momentarily displaced until he remembered what he and Natalie had
been talking about. "How did 'he' lose your trust?"

'Bye.' With that Michael was gone.

Jeremiah nodded as he continued looking forward.

"I thought he could do something but he couldn't."

Riley thought a moment then commented, "There are two things that could be said
about that. What does ability have to do with trust? The second is that we all
have different abilities. You should not choose your friends by them."

Riley's comments caught Natalie off guard. He was right in a way. Trust and
abilities didn't exactly go hand in hand. But her situation was different. She
trusted Nick but that trust had almost gotten her killed. Natalie decided she
would try to change the direction of the topic again.

"You seem to be very wise, Dr. Stevens. I guess that you have had a lot of
experience in your life."

"Too say the least," Riley smiled at that thought.

"How long have you and Harley known each other?" Natalie smiled at the doctor.

"Forever," Riley smirked then added in his mind, 'Literally.' Out loud he asked,
"How long had you and 'your friend' known each other?"

"Six years." Natalie answered quietly. He was a relentless one.

"How'd meet?"

"He just popped up one night." Natalie snickered at the irony. "How'd you and
Harley meet each other?"

"Our Father introduced us." Riley snickered at his irony.

Just when Natalie was going to question Riley's statement that sounded like he
and Harley were siblings, Harley walked up.

"You ready to leave, Ri?" Harley asked impatiently. She had arrived in time to
hear his statement about their Father and realized what Natalie might be
thinking. She decided to pop up and veer off any questions Natalie may have on
that matter.

Riley stopped short as the realization of what his statement might mean to
Natalie hit him. He smiled appreciatively at his partner at her daring rescue.
Popping up like that could get them in trouble.

"Yeah." He nodded slowly.



'We've been here for over two weeks and have made little if any progress.'
Rebekka sighed. They were sitting in her apartment playing chess in one of the
bare rooms. They did not understand the purpose of or need for furniture.

'Don't give up yet.' Jeremiah smiled at her as he moved his piece.

'Do I ever?' Rebekka moved her Knight.

'Speaking of Knights,' Jeremiah smiled at the idiocy of his pun, 'Have you had
the same feeling I've been having around Mr. DeBrabant?'

'That strange dark feeling that I've felt only once before. Yes.'

'That one we felt when he was near, when Dameon was a little more open around
us.' Jeremiah put his hands together in thought. 'Rebekka, I think we need to
explore this. Maybe ask Michael to come here in reality, so he can feel it for
himself and maybe help.'

'Jeremiah, Dameon isn't our mission anymore.' Rebekka groaned. She knew where
this was leading. It was leading up to the same thing that had gotten them on
ground duty 300 years prior. Really bad trouble.

'Since when have we stuck to the original assignment?' Jeremiah swung his hands
to an exaggerated shrug as he looked at his partner in disbelief.

Rebekka shook her head and smiled at him. 'I've heard this speech before.'

'I learned it from Michael.' Jeremiah smiled at her. Michael was the creator of
the ground troops. There was a reason for that.

Rebekka sighed in resignation. She looked up at him. 'If it helps any, I don't
think that Nick is a red blood.' Rebekka spoke of a demon made in the image of
Dameon. 'I think, if anything, he may have Thee Red One's blood in him but not
enough to consume him totally.'

'I agree.' Jeremiah moved his piece.

Rebekka smirked as she moved one of her own pieces. 'Checkmate. You still want
to call Michael here in reality?'

Jeremiah stared at the board in disbelief minutes before Rebekka's question
phased him. 'Yeah, but let's wait a couple of days. I don't want him coming to
find that we called him for nothing.'

'Yeah.'



"You're late."

Nick glanced at his watch. "So I am."

"Why?"

"I was somewhere." Nick sat down and started to do his paperwork.

Harley glanced at Nick, annoyed. The question wasn't for him.

Jeremiah smiled as he raised his eyebrows to her. 'Impatient today, are we?'

Harley looked down at a paper. She picked up a nearby pen and pretended to do
some paperwork. 'No.'

'Anyways,' Jeremiah smiled as the bottom edge of his black leather jacket swept
over the paperwork as he sat on the desks of his partner and his assignment, 'He
wasn't at his home.'

'No duh, Sherlock.'

'Thanks for the interesting commentary, Rebekka.' Jeremiah smiled at her before
continuing. 'He was at a nightclub called the Raven. The leader of this
particular vampire community, which also happens to be Nick's vampire master,
owns it.'

'Oh?' Rebekka took an interest in this.

'I didn't get close enough to tell what he felt like, though.' Jeremiah looked
down at Nick, who was busily working on paperwork.

Rebekka dared a quick glance at her partner. 'Why?'

'It was funny,' Jeremiah looked at Rebekka's bent head, 'I felt like he knew I
was there.'

'That's impossible.' Rebekka dared a longer look at Jeremiah.

He looked up into the bullpen as he stared off into space. 'It's suppose to be.'



"You've got to get them out, Michael." The blonde headed man spun to the priest
entering the back of the church. The elder man could see that the Angel's face
was unusually sweaty. As he stood up in an exasperated greeting, Michael swept
some of the sweat off his brow. He had been kneeling in prayer, trying to reach
his Soldiers of Light. Father Anders knew that the Angel would not admit to him
that something was wrong, that he could not reach them.

"Why do I need to get them out?" Michael asked the old man.

Father Anders looked at him, concern showing in his every feature. It was hard
for Father Jason Anders not to treat Michael as a little kid. Even though his
youthful good looks made Michael appear to be no more than 35, his age was as
old as time itself. Father Anders had to constantly remind himself of that.

"They found something, the Archive Priests. They were translating some books
found that were of the old text."

"What'd they find?" Michael leaned against a pew as he wiped the sweat out of
his eye.

Father Anders took a breath as he sat down. His age was taking a toll on him. He
looked up at Michael. "They may have been written in the old text, but they
weren't as old as someone may have wanted us to think."

"Who would that be?" Michael breathed. The thought of who it might be crossed
Michael's mind, but he quickly dismissed it as a fanciful idea.

"Michael, the letters are believed to be a correspondence between Dameon and a
gatekeeper of the Hell Doors."

Michael's blue eyes took in the Priest in a slight disbelief. "A correspondence
between Thee Red One and Thee Dark Angel themselves?"

"There's more," Father Anders stood up as if to emphasize his point more.
"Dameon wrote to Thee Dark Angel he had found him a son. The Gatekeeper wrote
back in question as to who the child was." Father Anders walked closer to
Michael as if he were telling him the deepest, darkest secret, which, in a way,
he was. "Dameon wrote back that the name would do well to be in secret for fear
that the Archivers or the Soldiers of Light themselves were translate it too
quickly, but that he would give Lucifer the seal of the man's family, for taking
the son would make the seal extinct. It was the seal of the DeBrabant family."

Michael turned and started to run out of the church. Father Anders parting words
barely catching his ears. "May God be with you, Ancient One."



"Why do we have to stop here?" Harley asked as Nick slammed the Caddy's door
shut.

"I have to visit someone real quick," Nick responded absently as he walked to
the doors of the Raven.

Harley shook her head as she leaned back in the passenger seat. She waited
merely a minute before walking into the Raven after Nick.



As Nick sat down next to LaCroix, LaCroix found interest in the front doors once
again.

"I believe you have a curious partner."

Nick glanced back to the doors. "I told her to stay there," he all but growled.

LaCroix looked Nicholas's new partner over. She was about 5'5" with a strong
build. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore black
wire rimmed glasses. As soon as she was a few feet away from LaCroix, she
stopped short. She glanced at him in startlement then continued walking up to
Nick. LaCroix smirked at her. She had felt him. He did not care. It was too
close to time for him to care. She couldn't stop him now. No Soldier could stop
them now.

"I told you I'd be right back," Nick yelled at her.

"I know, but there was a call over the radio," she lied. "We've got to go."

Nick looked at her curiously before obliging. "Bye." He nodded at LaCroix before
leaving with his nearly frantic partner.

As soon as the two were out the door, LaCroix summoned two Enforcers that were
at the bar.

"Yes, Sir," they both bowed in respect.

"Go to the City Morgue."

"You want us to kill her, Sir?" The elder of the two Enforcers asked.

"Yes. Also the new Coroner." LaCroix turned to his drink.

The word had passed quickly. They knew who and what the new Coroner was. "But,
Sir, we can't kill an Angel."

LaCroix's head spun angrily towards them. "Don't you think I know that! That's
why you're not going alone." As if out of magic, two figures appeared beside
LaCroix. They stepped forward out of the darkness. Out of fear, the two
Enforcers stepped back. The vampires knew who they were. They belonged to Thee
Red One. They were Demons.



"Cause of death is strangulation..." Natalie droned on into the small tape
recorder as Riley assisted with the autopsy.

Jeremiah felt it seconds before he had sight of it. He spun around to face them
as they entered. In doing so, he pushed Natalie out of the way causing the tape
recorder to knock out of her hands and clunk on the floor.

There were four of them, two vampires and two demons. He knew that he could not
take them down alone without being at full strength. It would ruin his mission,
but there was a mortal life at stake. In a flash of an eye, his human clothing
had gone and his black leather was back, his wings clutched close behind him.
His sword hung protectively at his side.

"So, Jeremiah, miss us?" One of the demons mocked.

"About as much as you missed me," he barked back.

"You missed us that much?" The other demon smiled as he started a journey behind
Jeremiah.

In a blink of an eye, Jeremiah's sword was out and held firmly to the demon's
throat. The blow wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt like Hell.

The demon's red eyes glared at Jeremiah. "No need to be so feisty, Soldier."

As the Red Demon at the end of his sword attempted to keep Jeremiah's attention,
the other Red nodded to one of the Enforcers. It had not gone unnoticed by the
Angel. Jeremiah's other hand flew to his pocket and pulled out a dagger. The
next thing the Enforcer knew he was walking into a dagger sticking out of the
wall at eye level. The Enforcer grabbed at the dagger annoyedly. His hand flew
away once he touched it. It had been dipped in Holy Water.

"I've had enough of this!" The Red across the room screamed. The Demons flew at
Jeremiah while the Enforcers flew at Natalie.

Natalie froze with fear, as the Enforcers seemed eminent at her throat. She
closed her eyes waiting for death, a death that she was going to freely except,
when they never came. She immediately opened her eyes.

There Nick was, ripping into the Enforcers. She also saw Harley. She was ripping
into both the Enforcers and other men.

She saw Nick kill one of the vampires and Harley, the other. Riley shoved an
elegant old-fashioned sword into one of the men's hearts. Despite all of the
what-should've-been-fatal-blows that the man had already received, this proved
to be the one blow that killed him. As the other man prepared for an attack on
Riley, Harley caught him mid air and swung him towards a wall. She held him in a
vice like grip, pinning him to the cold tile.

As the man struggled, Riley spoke quietly to Harley. She glanced at him and
smiled as she handed his neck off to Riley. Riley grabbed his neck and lifted
him a few inches off the ground in doing so. He started speaking to the man but
not in a coherent language.

Natalie looked at Nick for a translation, but he shook his head no. She was then
startled when Harley's voice appeared beside her. "Did Dameon send you?"

"Why should I tell you?"

The group watched as Riley beat the demon's head against the wall for the
obnoxious comment. The man spit something out, but Nick and Natalie were both
sure it wasn't blood. "So, let's for a moment say that he did send you. He's in
Toronto? What do you think?" The banging took on a slight echo this time.
"Toronto it is then. Why did he send you?" The man took on an evil smile as
silence prevailed in the room. Riley's face scrunched up in anger as he stepped
back a few steps with the man still held in the air on his hand. With a growl,
Riley threw the man's body at the wall. He hit it with a hard thud as he slid,
unconscious, to the ground. The wicked smile remained on his face. Within
seconds, a giant swirl replaced the man's body on the ground, and, then, the
swirl itself disappeared.

Silence remained as Riley and Harley looked at each other. When only silence
continued to remain, Natalie spoke, anger lining the edges of her voice, "Would
someone mind explaining this?"

"Not here," Riley spoke quietly.



Nick never let his guard down. He stood rigidly in the kitchen of his loft.
Harley smiled at him as his eyes darted back and forth between her and Riley.

"Don't be so suspicious, Boy," Harley calmed.

"Why should I not be suspicious?" Nick spat out at her.

Her face almost mocked him with her next statement, "We, after all, are not the
only ones that are lying here."

Nick looked at her silently.

Riley, who had been pacing near the windows, at last let his voice fill the air,
"He should've been here by now."

Harley looked at him, her voice barely above a whisper, "If they are planning
something, they could be blocking him."

Riley's voice responded in an even quieter tone, "That could kill him."

"It could kill us all."

"What is going on?" Natalie barked from Nick's armchair.

"You want this one, Reb, or should I take it?"

"Knock your socks off." She smiled as she looked down at the ground.

Riley walked to the center of where everyone was located and leaned against a
wall. "For starters our names are not Harley Mauves and Riley Stevens. They are
Jeremiah and Rebekka."

"What are your last names?" Nick interjected from the kitchen.

Jeremiah's face almost turned sympathetic. "We have no last names." He stopped
to take a barely audible breath before continuing. "We are not a Coroner and a
Detective. We are not from the States. We are Soldiers. We are from Heaven."

"Soldiers?" Natalie asked.

"You know us by the name Angels."

Natalie's jaw dropped. Nick just stared at Jeremiah's face, looking for signs
that he was lying. Jeremiah continued. "We are Fighting Angels. We battle Satan
and his Demons."

"What's that have to do with us?" Natalie asked impatiently.

Jeremiah looked at her. "Well, it's not suppose to have anything to do with you.
But, if you hold on a second, I may be able to answer that question." He looked
at her for a minute before continuing, "About 300 years ago, my partner and I
were assigned to the Ground Troops. Basically, it was our punishment. It was a
demotion for us."

"What were you getting punished for?" Nick's smooth voice came from by the
table.

Jeremiah glanced at him and, then, looked away. Rebekka looked up and answered,
"We left our post. We left because we thought we would do better elsewhere. A
Demon army invaded and stole some Ancient Books."

"You got demoted for that?" Natalie asked.

"They were the Books of Our Lord," Riley answered.

"We tried to make up for it. We recovered them. They liked the thought but not
the method." Rebekka looked back at the ground again.

"What was the method?" Nick asked.

"We used a few humans in the process," Rebekka muttered.

Nick and Nat nodded. Nat knew it was a serious topic but couldn't help but
smile. They were like bad grade school kids trying to be good but not quite sure
how.

"So that's how you got demoted?" Nick leaned against his table.

"Well...not really," Jeremiah smirked. "It was the topper on a long list.
Raphael said we were good Soldiers and he would give that recommendation to the
leader of the Ground Troops, Michael."

"What happened then?" Natalie wondered, now caught up in the story.

"Michael kept that consideration in mind as he gave us our first assignment,"
Jeremiah leaned his upper body onto his hands which were on the edge of the
sofa. "Our first assignment was Dameon. He's also known as 'Thee Red One.' He's
Lucifer's right hand man, so to speak. In a fight between The Father Almighty
and Lucifer, Dameon was on a mission. He was fighting Michael, the soon-to-be
leader of the Ground Troops." Jeremiah stood up straight again as he walked back
from the group a couple of steps. "Something you need to understand is that the
only way into and out of Heaven and into and out of Hell are portals, portals
that can be opened by either God or Lucifer and it can only be opened for a
certain amount of time. Once it's closed, neither Demon nor Angel can come back
in until God or Satan says it so. Portals open every 10 human years or so,"
Jeremiah shrugged his shoulders. "Gatekeepers are assigned to the gates to make
sure only Angels and God's Claimed Souls may enter Heaven's Gates and only
Demons and God's Lost Souls enter Hell's Gates.

"Anyways, Dameon and Michael were fighting and Michael ran off to enter Heaven's
closing Gate, leaving Dameon behind to think he had defeated Michael. He didn't
make it to Hell in time. As a punishment, Lucifer made him stay on Earth until
he completed some business for him."

"Later on Michael did some things which constituted him to be the leader of the
Ground Troops. His first assignment was to bring Dameon back to Hell," Rebekka
offered quietly.

"That was over 2000 years ago," Jeremiah looked the group over before
continuing. "One-thousand, five-hundred years ago Dameon's trail was lost.
Dameon constantly changed lives, going from human to animal to demon in a blink
of an eye. He found a perfect persona because we haven't found him yet. Michael
assigned us to his trail."

"What happened?" Nick's voice was quiet.

Jeremiah looked at the ground as he answered. "We did some things, killed too
many of his demons, messed up. Michael assigned us to our first human case."

"What happened with that?" Natalie's voice held an innocent, curious tone to it.

Jeremiah looked at her but did not answer. Rebekka explained. "Our first
assignment was to help two people find their true love for each other, convince
them to try again. Those people's names are Natalie Lambert and Nicholas
DeBrabant."

Natalie looked at Nick as she denied the truth. "We're not in love."

Nick's face showed his pain.

"We do not have time to lay the truth out for you, Natalie," Jeremiah's tone was
biting. "Those men that attacked us at the Morgue. Two were Enforcers; two were
Dameon's demons. They're also known as Red Ones. The Enforcers, obviously, were
after you, Natalie. The Reds were after me. That's how I knew Dameon was here."

"Yes, Children, I'm here," LaCroix's voice assaulted them from the stairway.
Jeremiah spun around to look into the demon's red eyes. He backed away. Rebekka
was at his side in mere seconds. LaCroix all but cackled before he looked at
Nick. "Nicholas, I'm surprised at you, hanging out with this holy scum."

Nick didn't know how he knew it, but he knew that this wasn't the LaCroix he had
always known. This was something else.

"Sorry, Son, to disappoint you," LaCroix smiled as he seemed to be reading
Nick's thoughts, "The LaCroix you always knew was a fabrication." LaCroix sat
down at the bottom of the stairs. "The name's Dameon. My friends call me Thee
Red One." The last was said with a smirk at Jeremiah and Rebekka.

Rebekka, unbidden, was at Dameon's throat. Dameon's age made him faster. He was
holding a sword to Nick's throat when he stopped. "Doing that can be deadly."
His remark was directed at Rebekka. "Thanks anyway," he smirked at her. "It
gives me a chance to take what I came for." On that note, LaCroix knocked Nick
out cold with a hard blow to the table and was out of the loft by means of the
skylight.

Rebekka closed her eyes in frustration as she hit the railing. Jeremiah looked
at her then up at the skylight.

Meanwhile, Natalie had stood up and, in a lame attempt to save him, ran to the
loft door. In seconds, Jeremiah was in front of her grabbing her in a hug as she
started to scream.

"Get him! Why aren't you going after him? You're Angels! Aren't you suppose to
save us?" Jeremiah didn't speak. Natalie tore away from him and went up to
Rebekka in a plea. "Aren't you going to help?!"

"Natalie!" Rebekka spun around. "Calm down! You running around here ranting and
raving ain't gonna help us!"

"Rebekka!" Jeremiah's blue eyes shot a warning at his partner.

"Reb," suddenly calm hands were sitting on the young Angel's shoulders. She
didn't turn around. She didn't need to. "I know he makes you mad beyond words,
but there is no need to take it out on Dr. Lambert here."

Natalie looked at the man behind Rebekka. He was just over 6 feet. He had
straight dark blonde hair and soft brown eyes. By the way he touched her, the
way he looked at her, and the way she responded, Natalie could tell they were
very much in love.

"Natalie Lambert," Jeremiah spoke. "This is Michael."

Michael, without breaking physical contact with Rebekka, reached out and shook
Natalie's hand. "Michael, leader of the Ground Troops."

"Dr. Natalie Lambert," she shook his hand.

Michael could feel the woman shaking. He turned to Jeremiah. "Sorry I couldn't
have gotten here earlier. What did I miss?"

Jeremiah took a deep breath. "Nick's vampire master is Dameon. He just took
Nick."

Michael nodded slowly. "Yes, I kind of figured that."

Rebekka turned her head towards him. "How'd yeah figure that?"

"Well, there's some things that the Archiver Priests found that may be of
interest. We'd better sit down."



"Master."

"Master." Both Demons bowed.

Dameon turned with a vengeance. "You were suppose to get rid of them!"

"We tried, Master," one attempted explaining, "but we didn't expect both Angels,
let alone your son."

Dameon ripped both of their heads off. "Correction. Nicholas will be my
brother."



"Nick's going to be the Son of Satan!?!" Natalie screamed at Michael.

Michael shook his head. "Not if we have anything to do about it."

"Well, how are three Angels going to stop an army of Satan?" Natalie stood up
and walked into the kitchen. She kept her back to the group. They could tell she
was almost near tears.

Michael looked at the other two soldiers before standing up and following
Natalie to the kitchen. He laid his hand lightly on her shoulder. "Dr. Lambert,
all we have to do is delay him. When the portal to Hell opens, so does the
portal to Heaven. The Lord knows that Lucifer will be sending out an army for
this. God will send out an army too. We just have to delay them until that
time."

"You said Dameon's got a pretty big army up here now," Natalie protested.

Michael smiled over at Rebekka and Jeremiah before turning back to Natalie.
"Just before I assigned Rebekka and Jeremiah here, I had them assigned to
Dameon."

"I know that."

"Did you know why they were taken off that case?"

"They said it was something messy." Natalie turned her tear stained face up but
didn't look at Michael, Rebekka, or Jeremiah.

"Yeah, it was something messy alright. They killed 47 soldiers of Dameon. And
that was an easy day for them."

Natalie gave him a weak smile.

Michael smiled back at her then turned to his Soldiers. "Reb, do you still have
the rental car?"

"Yeah," she nodded. She had rented a car for their mission here. It was
mandatory for human missions.

Michael nodded then turned to Jeremiah. "You up to some horse riding, Jer?"

Jeremiah smiled knowingly. "Always."



"Master, the cross is ready." Dameon looked over the army of Soldiers of Dark as
his servant informed him of their progress.

"Good," he smiled, "And how is the soon-to-be Son?"

"He's still unconscious in the truck. He'll be incapable of movement when he
awakens."

"That's good," Dameon nodded and grinned wickedly. "You're dismissed."

Dameon walked patiently around the army standing perfectly at attention. They
would not move for at least another hour.



A while later, a Demon ran up to him. "He's awake, Sir."

Dameon smiled. He walked to the back of the old truck. As soon as Nick had
gotten his bearings Dameon spoke. "Ahhhhh, Nicholas, you finally decided to join
reality."

"Where am I? What the Hell's happened?" Nick tried in vain to look around him
but to no avail.

"Do not worry. You're in a truck in the middle of a field." Nick looked at him,
his eyes wide. "Ahhhh," Dameon nodded, "you want to know what's going to happen.
Well, you, my son-my brother are going to get the greatest honor. You're going
to become the Son of Lucifer." Nick shook his head furiously. "First, though,
you have to be hung, hung on a cross. We need to hold your crucifixion. We're
going to mock the Maker, so to speak."

Nick tried to struggle against his bonds. "No, no, my brother. Do not struggle.
It will be of no use. I have drained most of the blood from your body. You're
weak...now. Later, you will be strong, stronger than me, stronger than God. You
will be the Son.

"No!!!!" Nick's voice was heard throughout the silent field.

Dameon smacked him across the face. "We're going to have to do something about
those manners, Boy."

Dameon and Nick stared at each other a moment before their attention was drawn
aside.

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!"

Dameon ran outside. He looked all around for the source of the yelling. He could
hear thumping. Horse's hooves. It was too dark out to see anything beyond the
lanterns they had lit. After a moment, though, the noise was in the light. It
was Michael. He was on a jet black Clydesdale. His sword was drawn and, hanging
on the end, was Dameon's personal assistant. The sword, no doubt, had Holy Water
on it, which had a blessing from On High. Michael looked Dameon in the eyes
before throwing the Demon on the ground and taking off into the night again.

After a moment, Dameon and the others heard a car engine from another direction.
After a tense minute a stark red Blazer rode right over the tight line of
Soldiers. They weren't dead but injured. The car stopped hood to hip with
Dameon. He could see Rebekka and the good doctor sitting in there...barely
hiding a smirk.

Dameon knew what they wanted...and Nick was Lucifer's property. He would protect
him at any cost.

Suddenly, Dameon heard some more thumping. He looked to the left of the Blazor
to see Jeremiah riding a similar horse to what Michael had been riding. The
horse jumped over a corner of the hood of the car and took off straight towards
the car Nick was in. About 30 Demons got in his way. He looked at them, smirked
and turned the horse. He kept the horse at a slow walk. As soon as the Demons
looked like they were going to part, Jeremiah turned his horse sharply and took
off for the car again. The Demons got back into line. Jeremiah stopped the horse
and his grin broadened.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Dameon shot out.

Jeremiah just smirked at him. There was another yelling a moment later. Dameon
and Jeremiah looked up in the direction Michael had come from before and saw him
again. He was carrying another Demon.

Dameon glared at him. "Are you going to try and kill them each one by one?"

Michael nodded. "I'm going to try." He smiled.

Dameon turned to his army. "Don't just stand there! Get them!!!!"

As the army rushed to beat the Angels, they all sped away into the night. Dameon
smiled as he and a few other Demons got set to work.



Natalie looked out of Rebekka's window to see Jeremiah on a horse. He was
holding another horse. Rebekka kept looking at him while being careful not to
hit him. Finally she glanced at Natalie.

"Do you think you can handle rough driving?"

"Yeah...I think I can." Natalie nodded slowly.

Rebekka nodded as she looked back in front of them. "When you hit them, you
won't kill them but sting them momentarily. Be careful not to hit any of us. We
want our full capacities, not theirs." Rebekka smiled.

"Where are you going?" Natalie asked the Angel.

"Jeremiah's friend over there." Rebekka nodded towards the horse her partner was
holding.

Rebekka rolled the window down and grabbed at the reigns Jeremiah was handing
her. His horse sped forth as he felt her get a good grip on the leather. Natalie
saw how Rebekka was driving with one hand and grabbed the wheel with her right
hand, knowing she was going to have to take the wheel while the car was in
motion.

Rebekka opened the door and switched the reins from one hand to the other.
Miraculously she was able to hop on the horse without incident. Natalie was able
to move from passenger seat to driver seat mere seconds after Rebekka was on the
horse. She shut the door quickly and pulled on her seatbelt as she pumped the
gas.



Dameon turned to the Demon. "It's almost time. Get him out here." A second Demon
looked at him. "Get the cross ready to go up."

The wind started to blow. Dameon could smell something burning. The fires of
Hell were opening.



Natalie turned the car roughly. She pointed it back in the direction she knew
Nick was in. She didn't care if Lucifer himself were in her way. She was going
to save Nick.



'Jeremiah.' Jeremiah cut off the Demon's head before he looked at his partner.
She nodded towards the Blazer, which was heading towards Dameon, Nick, and the
few other Demons left behind.

'So she does love him. Enough to risk her life for him.' Jeremiah smiled at
Rebekka as they started to make their way back to the center of the field,
Demons trailing behind them.



Nick felt the wind hit his face like a fist. Something was wrong about it
though. It was hot...burning hot. Nick looked up and saw something swirling. It
was red and cloudy.

LaCroix smiled at him. It wasn't until his voice came that Nick remembered this
wasn't LaCroix.

"So, Brother, are you ready to get crucified?"

Nick started to fight the Demons that had him in their grip. "No! Get away from
me! Let me go!"

Dameon grabbed Nick by the neck. "Don't fight. It will only hurt you."

As Nick looked into the eyes of the creature holding him, something clicked.
They had all been wrong. All the doctors, all the miracle cures, everyone,
including Natalie. His "condition", his vampirism, was a metaphysical condition.
And the way back wasn't through LaCroix, it wasn't through any miracle drug, it
wasn't through blood. It was through God and God alone. His condition couldn't
be cured by Janette's method. His condition wasn't like other vampires. He was
bred for something. Something bigger than a vampire, something entirely more
dangerous.

"Yes, Brother," Dameon's voice oozed over him. "You were bred for something
wholly different than a vampire. See, Brother, you were bred and taught in the
ways of the Devil. You are to be the Son of Satan."

As Dameon's tauntings started to sink in, Nick realized something. "You...you
interfering in my life...in my quest for humanity...it had nothing to do with me
getting rid of this supposed gift you gave me, did it?"

Dameon threw his head back as he laughed. "You still don't get it, Nicholas. It
had everything thing to do with the gift I gave you...the gift I am giving you."

"And what gift is that?" Nick yelled out bitterly.

"Me," a voice answered. It wasn't Dameon. The voice was from the swirl, or, more
correctly, where the swirl had been. A darkly clad man stood there. He had
blazing red hair and a stark white face. His eyes were red, all red. No pupil,
just red. He was evil and everyone and everything around them knew it. Nick
looked away. He couldn't look at him...he didn't want to look at him.

"Oh, am I hard on the eyes, Son?" Nick didn't look up nor respond. He could feel
the fear run up his spine. "No need to not look up in fear, Son."

Before Nick had anytime to respond, they all heard the Blazer coming up again at
top neck speed and it was heading for Lucifer. Nick looked at the driver seat to
see Natalie there instead of Rebekka.

"No! Natalie, no!" He got up off his knees and ran towards her in a lame attempt
to stop her. Before he got very far, he was forced back onto his knees by the
Demons.

Nick looked up in time to see Lucifer put his hand up in the direction of the
car. It was force to a stop by an unseen power. It stopped so hard that
Natalie's seatbelt broke and she fell forward into the airbag. Lucifer
impatiently walked up to the driver's side, opened the door, and yanked
Natalie's momentarily limp body out. She was still conscious and she struggled.
It didn't faze Lucifer at all. He walked up to Nick and grabbed his face with
his unoccupied hand. He shoved Natalie into his face.

"See, Son! I guess we're going to have to do something about this now, aren't
we?"

Nick looked at Natalie's terrified face. "Leave her alone. She has nothing to do
with this."

"Oh," Lucifer smirked as he cocked his head. "And you're not in love with her?"

Nick kept his eyes on Natalie's face as he told the same lie once more. "No."

Lucifer smacked Nick hard on the cheek. "You may think you're able to lie to
Dameon here, but never to your Master."

Nick opened his eyes to see Lucifer pull Natalie with him. "What are you going
to do with her?" He asked the question almost fearfully.

Lucifer turned to him and smiled. "What do you think?" He turned back in the
direction he had been heading.

Nick wanted to go save Natalie but fear kept him still. If it were this demon,
Dameon, beside him, he would have gone and tried to save her, but it wasn't. It
was Lucifer, Satan, the Devil. He was scared.

'The Lord is my shepherd. I shall...'

Nick looked to his left to see Rebekka about 10 yards away. She was kneeling by
her horse.

'...not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures...'

Her hands were folded in prayer. Her eyes were closed.

'...he leadeth me by the still waters. He restoreth my soul...'

Her voice was in his head.

'...he leadeth me on the paths of righteousness for his name's sake...'

Nick looked at Lucifer who had Natalie pushed up to the car. He was going to
rape her.

'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil for thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.'

Nick looked back at Rebekka when she stopped. She had her eyes open and she was
looking at him. More of the prayer came to him as she continued.

'Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.'

Nick looked at her in wonder.

'Believe in God, Nick. Have faith. "For we walk by faith, not by sight."'

Nick finally understood. The only thing to fear is God. And the only way to get
around the other fears were to believe in Him, have faith and walk by it.

Nick stood and ran at Lucifer with everything he had.

Amongst the fighting, Natalie was thrown to the side. She crawled a few feet
away then stood and ran towards Rebekka. The two females looked on as Nick, the
supposed Son of Satan, started to fight against Satan.

After only a few moments, Lucifer had Nick pinned on the ground by his neck.
"You'll pay for your insolence, Son."

"No." It was only a solitary word, but it had so much power and force behind it
that it stunned Lucifer. Nick almost smiled. "No," he repeated.

Lucifer was so stunned that he didn't notice the presence behind him until it
stabbed him in the back. He turned roughly as the sword was pulled back out. It
was Michael. Lucifer jumped at the Angel. Nick got up and ran.

They watched the Light Angel and the Dark Angel battle it out with elegant
swords. Just as it looked and seemed that Lucifer was going to beat Michael, a
scream came from the darkness. It wasn't a scream of pain but a scream of
triumph. Lucifer looked beyond Michael to hear the thumping of hooves. It was
Jeremiah. As his horse ran by Thee Dark Angel, his sword swung down and badly
scraped Lucifer on the arm. Dark fluid ran down his arm.

As Lucifer turned around to face down his attacker, a bright swirl started
behind him. It was bigger than the first and lighter. This time, instead of only
one creature exiting, it was nearly a hundred. They were all darkly clad and all
were ready to face battle. The man in front looked like a younger Michael but
his face was softer, not as hardened by Earth battle as Michael's was.

"Lucifer!" The man's voice boomed through the field.

Lucifer and Dameon turned to the lead Angel. Fear registered on Dameon's face
but only anger showed on Lucifer's.

"It's him."

Nick and Natalie turned to Rebekka as she started mounting her horse again.

"It's who?" Nick's voice was quiet.

"It's Raphael, Michael's old partner." Rebekka pulled the reins like she was
going to take off, but she stopped a moment before leaving. "We don't have much
to worry about now. One thing you don't want is to have both Raphael and Michael
mad at you.

"Why don't you two get in the car and head to Nick's loft? We'll meet you there
in awhile."

With that, Rebekka was headed towards the fight.



Michael held his hand in front of Nick and Nat as Jeremiah and Rebekka headed
into the church in Vatican City. "They have to do this alone."

"What are they doing?" Nat asked.

"They're meeting with Raphael. Ground Troop Angels meet with Raphael after
they've completed an important mission. Usually, it's only when they completed
the mission they were assigned to, but he made a special exception for them."

"Why aren't you going in there?" Nick wondered aloud.

"I can't go in there because of what happens. Raphael asks them if there is
something they want. It's almost like their reward from Our Heavenly Father.
Most Ground Troops ask for entrance back into Heaven. I can't interfere with
their decision in any way."

Natalie looked Michael in the eyes. "Do think they'll ask to go back into
Heaven?"

Natalie could see the fear of that decision. "I don't know." He shook his head
as he looked down.



Jeremiah and Rebekka were sitting in the front pews, looking quietly at the
Heavenly Angel in front of them. They knew the words of his question before he
spoke them.

"Is there something you want to ask The Father for?"

Rebekka and Jeremiah looked at each other. They should want reentrance back into
the Kingdom of Heaven, but they didn't. Both of the Soldiers wanted to stay
here. They loved working on Earth. There were other Ground Troop Angels that
they had become friends with. There were places on God's beautiful Earth that
they loved to see.

And then there was Michael. Both Soldiers loved him, Jeremiah like a brother,
Rebekka like a lover. Jeremiah knew that the time his partner...his sister spent
around the hardened Angel was bittersweet but he knew that she could not get
along well without him.

If neither Soldier wanted entrance back into Heaven, what did they want? Of the
many things they could have asked for, they only needed to ask for one. Rebekka
nodded at Jeremiah. Her brother looked at the High Angel before him.

"In the many years I have been given life, I have seen only two cases of the
truest love. A love between two Angels and a love between a mortal and a
vampire."

"So, what is that you two want?"

Jeremiah smiled at his sister before continuing. "Well..."



"You love Rebekka, don't you?" Nick's question was almost accusatory.

Michael smiled as he avoided the question with a statement. "You love Natalie."

Nick looked at him dumbfounded as Michael turned to Natalie.

"You love Nick."

"Well...," Natalie stalled.

Michael continued with a curious smile on his face. "So, what's the problem?"

Nick looked at him with disgust. His voice was barely above a whisper. "I'm a
vampire. My love could kill her."

Before Michael had a chance to comment, Jeremiah and Rebekka walked out. Rebekka
saw the look on Nick's face and immediately turned to Michael. He just looked at
her.

Jeremiah was the first to speak. "Nick, go in there."

Nick, slightly stunned, looked at him. Jeremiah nodded. His face was passive.

When Nick disappeared into the church, Natalie turned to the two partners.
"What's wrong?"

Rebekka pulled Natalie to the side, away from the men. "Natalie, I need to know
the truth, no going around it. I need the flat out truth."

Natalie nodded worriedly. "Yeah, anything."

"Do you love Nick?"

The question. There was no going around it. Natalie stared at Rebekka. There was
a look in her eyes that said she knew the truth but she needed Natalie to say
it. Nat thought about all the things that had happened in the past. The
laughter, the talks, the movie nights, the pain, the heartaches. Somewhere in
there, she had fallen in love with Nick. She had fallen in love with her best
friend.

Natalie felt tears swell up in her eyes as she nodded. "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded again as the tears begin to fall. "Yes."

"Not his vampire. The man underneath."

Natalie nodded harder as the tears begin to rush down her face. "Yes."

Rebekka smiled.



"Nicholas DeBrabant, Knight, Crusader, Teacher, Friend, Human." The Angel looked
into Nick's blue eyes. "Kneel."

Nick felt his trust blossom, not in this man but in God. He kneeled, not in
front of the man, but in front of God.

"There are many things," the Angel continued, "you need to learn. You need to
follow the path of the Lord from this moment on. It will be a hard path to
follow and, sometimes, a treacherous one, but, no matter what, you need to have
faith in Him and He will guide you. If you fall off the path, have faith, and He
will guide you back onto it. But, no matter what, know that He loves you. Follow
Him and you will be with Him. Do you understand?"

Nick looked the Angel in the eyes as he nodded. "Yes."

Raphael stopped a moment and smiled at him. "The Lord made something very good
when He made you."

Nick smiled back at him. "I thank God for that."

Raphael smiled, nodded, and got set to fulfill Jeremiah and Rebekka's request.



A few minutes later, Nick walked out. He kissed Natalie. When he pulled away,
she stared at him in amazement. "What..." Her voice trailed off.

Nick smiled at her before glancing at a window down the hall. Sunlight was
streaming through it as the sun had already risen high in the air. He smiled
wordlessly at her again. He grabbed her hands and pulled her down the hallway
toward the sunlight. When Nick stood unharmed in the brightness, Natalie pulled
him back to her in a sunlit kiss.

Rebekka smiled as Michael pulled her back in his arms as they watched the couple
kiss.



Natalie fell back in her hospital bed in relief. As soon as Nick cut the
umbilical cord and the baby had been cleaned, the doctor put the boy in
Natalie's arms.

The nurses and doctors congratulated her and Nick and walked out to get the
things they needed. Once everyone was settled, Nick and Nat were left alone with
their new baby boy.

Before they had much of a chance to say anything, three people suddenly appeared
in the room. Nick and Nat looked into the faces of three Angels.

They smiled at the married couple before turning their sights on the baby. As
Jeremiah stepped forward, Michael grabbed Rebekka from behind and hugged her. It
wasn't often that you saw a very rare miracle like this, a baby born to a mortal
and a once immortal.

Jeremiah didn't speak as he looked at Natalie. She smiled and held the baby out
for him to hold. His hands took the delicate infant and he held in next to his
chest. He held the baby on one arm as the fingers of his other hand laid on the
boy's forehead. His thumb traced a cross on the child's head as he spoke words
in a different language.

After a moment the Angel handed the infant back to Natalie. She and Nick smiled
as the Angels disappeared. Their child had a blessing from On High.

Both parents looked upon their first baby. The love was very evident on their
faces.