He pulled her in his arms and kissed her fiercely but her limb body remained unmoving. As his desperation began to reduce, he pulled away to search her face and found her eyes filled with restrained tears. She dare not look at him but sustained her gazed fixed on the marble floor. He pulled her at arms' length and continued to search for any sign of fight in her but all that was left was defeat. She sobbed silently and continued to stare at the floor. He hoped he could give her comfort, give her peace, give her back her light, her life. Anything, he would give her anything- if only he could. He let her go, defeated. His love for her was nothing; it meant nothing anymore now that their hope was gone. He could see it- in her watery eyes, in her tear stained face, and in the way her limbs hung at her sides. She was dead. They were dead and it was his fault. He hated himself. He hated that he had gone throw with the ceremony. It didn't help, he still loved Schuyler- he loved her more than anything else in the world, even more than heaven. His bond to Azrael was nothing compared to what he felt for Schuyler. For God! She was his light- his only light. He had not felt such hope since Gabrielle…
And now? Now he had broken her heart and his to save everyone else- everyone else will live while they lived death inside.
He wanted to pull her in his arms that instant and never let her go but as he thought that Azrael called in his mind, Jack! Jack where the heck are you? We have to go to the committee now.
Jack had to use all the control he had to keep Mimi from hearing what he didn't want her to hear. I'm going. I'll meet you at the limo ok, he though to Mimi and looked at Schuyler for what would be the last time now that he was bonded to Mimi.
When she finally looked up, she saw everything she was feeling in his eyes. The tears she had been holding escaped and rolled from her cheek to her jaw and then fell onto the beautiful marble floor. Schuyler wished she was dead for the pain she was experiencing that moment was unbearable. How could she have let this get so far? Why did she have to love Jack with all her soul?
His gorgeous green eyes were so bright from the salt water barring them. She couldn't blink. She knew this was the last time she would be able to see him- see him without Mimi, she corrected mentally- so she collected as much strength as she had left and got off the bench she had collapsed into-after Jack had kissed her- and went outside without one glance back.
Oliver saw Schuyler as she was marching towards a cab and ran to her side. His heart was racing like a madman's when he saw her tear stained cheeks. "Hey. Hey! Sky, what's wrong?" he was so worried about her.
"Nothing, Ollie," she said with this lame attempt of a smile, "I just wanna go home ok?"
Oliver decided it wasn't a good idea to let her get a cab alone in the state she was in so he graved her left arm to stop her and said, "You are staying with me for a few days"-when she tried to argue, he help up a finger to her mouth and continued-"no, I know you're going to tell me- and everyone- that you're ok but your house is empty and your heartbroken, so I'm going to take care of you whether you want me to or not." He stared intensely into her eyes to assure her, and after a few seconds she smiled– a real smile this time. "Thanks," she said finally. They walked together to Oliver's town car and got in.
Jack's gaze followed her until she disappeared inside the car with Oliver. He knew she was safe with Oliver but the pain of seen him at her side, comforting her, was so unbearable it brought him to his knees. Jack sat in the ground, filling his hands with his face for a few minutes. When he was sure he had gained some composure, he walked outside to find Mimi standing by the limo impatiently. She was holding the door open and searching the crowd. Jack noticed that her white gown hugged her body too tight and revealed too much of her skin, much like every other dress in her possession. When she spotted him her expression changed to a welcoming grin. As soon as he reached the car she asked, "what took you so long?" in a tone that couldn't conceal her excitement and her sense of victory. He didn't feel like answering her so instead he kissed her forehead and helped her in the car.
The ride to Force Towers was a silent one. Mimi was engorged with her Blackberry, giving Jack some much wanted thinking time. They both knew how this meeting with the Committee would go. They would be expected to hunt every Silver Blood, capture Leviathan, and destroy Lucifer- like they had done multiple times before. The Committee would be convince that this will be the last time and that Abaddon and Azrael's bonding will make all this possible- and the Blue Bloods will be able to live in peace at last. Jack knew better. After centuries of failed attempts at destroying Lucifer, he knew that this plan was useless. No matter if he and Azrael fought Lucifer together, he always found a way to come back. Even with Gabrielle and Michael's help, it had always been the same battle. The same result. The same future. It was always them- Abaddon and Azrael- who 'finished' Lucifer, but never truly did. Nothing had changed in a thousand years- except Schuyler,he corrected. Schuyler. Gabrielle's love child had never before existed. For a thousand years he had fought to keep himself and Azrael together because there were destined to be together- as had Michael and Gabrielle before she fell for a Red Blood and rejected her bond to Michael.
They reached Force Towers then. Mimi looked at him expectantly so Jack looked at her and offered what he hoped was an encouraging grin. Mimi's response smile was full of that love and devotion she had offered him for centuries. They walked side by side into Force Towers and into the meeting room where the rest of the Committee waited patiently for their arrival.