So, I had this idea about what might happen if Ruby's brunette meatsuit had a twin who crossed paths with Sam and Dean completely by accident. When I started writing it I decided that Twin needed a friend. And since I had a Gen character why not make Friend a Danneel character? So I did, and Friend was supposed to be a supporting character. But she drew me in with her sass, and quickly became my favorite. Of course I wanted to know more about her, but that story was supposed to be about Twin, not Friend. Then I hit a wall with that story, and decided to redo the whole thing after a little break. And what better place to start a story than at the beginning? Because of Friend this story no longer starts with Twin's drug problems (that may not even exist anymore), but with Friend's daddy issues. Hopefully we'll be able to work our way up to Twin, but for now let's go back to 1978 and meet Friend's parents. Groovy? Good. Carry on my wayward readers. ~SG

Prologue

August 11, 1978

Sixteen-year-old Alexa Monroe checked her reflection in the cheval glass mirror in her bedroom, making sure her crocheted top and bell bottom jeans looked okay. She checked her hair and makeup, stressed over her jewelry and shoes, and finally deemed her appearance perfect.

Once she was ready she climbed out of her bedroom window since her parents thought she was in bed, and they wouldn't have let her go anyway. She was supposed to be grounded. Severely grounded. But she was sixteen and in love, and she didn't care what her parents thought of the man she had fallen in love with. Yes, Richard was thirty-five and her teacher, and she knew their relationship was technically wrong, but it wasn't wrong at all. It was perfectly right.

He wasn't married, he didn't have a family, and he wasn't taking advantage of her or forcing her to do anything she didn't want to do. And even though she was only sixteen she knew what she felt. She wasn't confused. She was in love. She loved Richard, and he loved her. No one had been seduced, no one was being lead on or tricked, no one was being used. It may not look right on paper, or compared to her family's impossible standards, but in her heart she knew it was right. She knew Richard loved her. She knew he would never hurt her.

She reminded herself as she climbed down the lattice on the side of the house that her parents' opinions didn't matter. What did they know about love anyway? They were only together for appearances. They'd gotten married because it was expected, and she knew for a fact that her father was having an affair. Her mother knew too. In fact, Alexa had heard the news from her mother.

So, who were they to judge her love life? At least what she had was real.

She rode her bike to their meeting place at Greenwood Cemetery, and stashed it so she could pick it up later before sneaking into his car. She wanted to greet him with a kiss, but someone might see them. She hated living in such a small town. She had to stay ducked down in the seat until they got out of town and were safely on their way to New Orleans nearly an hour away. It was ridiculous that they had to go through so much trouble just to have a few hours together, but she was willing to do whatever it took to be with him.

"I'm sorry about my parents." she apologized when they got to Lafayette Cemetery where they were safe among the mausoleums. She didn't think anyone else knew, but somehow her parents had found out and they had threatened to have him arrested if he didn't stay away from her. "They don't know everything though. They don't know about the baby."

She was about two months pregnant, and had only recently found out. She'd told him last week during their last trip to the city, and neither one of them were sure how to handle the situation. It shouldn't have happened. None of this should've happened. But it had.

She'd been in his class as a freshman and again as a sophomore, and if it weren't for the fact that he cared so much for his students this never would've happened. But she had suddenly shifted from a well-behaved and quiet student that loved to learn to a troublemaker that acted out just enough to get detention almost every day.

It had been a sudden shift, and after about a month he finally decided to find out what was going on. She didn't want to open up at first, but he had finally cracked her and discovered that home was not somewhere she wanted to be. Her parents weren't exactly abusive, but they put so much pressure on her to be perfect. She came from a well-to-do family, and they wanted her to be the perfect student, the perfect daughter, the perfect whatever she needed to be to keep their polished image squeaky clean. An affair with her English teacher and a pregnancy scandal certainly didn't fit the bill.

But that's not what this was. Her family just didn't understand, and he couldn't really blame them. But this wasn't an affair. He loved her, and he was perfectly happy to take care of her and their baby if only he could.

"I have to tell you something, Lex." he said. "And you're not gonna like it. You may not even believe it."

"Why wouldn't I believe it?" she asked, touching his arm. "You've never lied to me."

"I have actually." he admitted. "I'm not who you think I am."

"What?" she blinked.

"I am, but you don't know the whole story."

She pulled away from him now. Were her parents right about him? They couldn't be.

"Is this a joke?" she asked, trying to laugh it off. He loved to play little tricks on people. That was part of why all his students liked him so much. He was a fun teacher. He was a fun person. This had to be a joke.

He shook his head. "It's not a joke, but just let me explain before you freak out. Okay?"

She nodded, wary of him now. How could he lie to her?

"I'm not Richard Hensley."

"Who are you?"

"Gabriel." he said simply. "My name is Gabriel. I'm an angel. An archangel."

"An archangel." she repeated. He was crazy.

He wasn't surprised that she was skeptical. Why wouldn't she be. So he offered a little bit of proof, snapping his fingers and making a bouquet of flowers appear in his hand. Her eyes went wide, and she backed up another step.

"You know me, Lex." he said. "No matter what my name is or what I am, I'm still the same person you fell in love with. Even though I'm not technically a person."

"An angel." she said, flabbergasted. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really."

She was shocked at the news, but she couldn't help but believe him. She could see in his eyes that he wasn't lying. She had fallen in love with an angel. "I'm having an angel baby?"

He smiled. "Nephilim technically. Half angel, half human. And that's actually why I'm telling you all of this now. I have to leave."

"I'll talk to my parents." she assured him. "I'll make them understand. We'll figure this out. You can't leave me, Rich...or Gabriel. Whatever your name is. You can't leave me. I love you."

"I'm sorry, Lex." he said, looking heart-broken. "I don't want to leave you, but your parents are only part of the problem. See, I booked it out of Heaven decades ago, and the other angels are looking for me. One of 'em saw me last week. They know where I am, Lex, and that's not so bad really, but if they find out you're pregnant? Oh man. I can't let that happen. It's not supposed to happen. It was an accident, but we broke a big rule, and there's no telling what they'll do to you and the baby if they find out. I don't have any choice. I have to leave. To keep you safe."

"So take me with you." she begged, rushing forward and grabbing his arm. "Rich, please. You can't leave me here with my parents. If they find out about I'm pregnant they'll kill me!"

"I can't take you with me, Alexa." he said. "Then we'd have angels and the police after us."

"What am I supposed to do?"

He had no answer for her. "I don't know, but you're strong. You'll be okay. And if you ever truly need help you can call me."

"How?"

"Pray." he said.

"How is praying to God going to get me you?" she asked. "If you're blowing off Heaven..."

"Don't pray to God. Pray to me. Gabriel." he said. "Pray directly to me, and I'm the only one that'll hear it. But only if you really need to. I can't come just because you need a hug. I hate it, but I can't."

She nodded. She didn't like it either, but she understood what he was saying. She understood why he had to leave her. She just didn't want him to. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know yet, but even if I did it probably wouldn't be a good idea for you to know." He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. "I'm sorry I have to leave you like this, but you'll be okay. I know you will. Be strong for me, okay?"

She sniffed and nodded. "Okay. I will. I'll try anyway. I love you."

"I love you too." He kissed her, made sure no angel could find her by branding her ribs, and then he was gone.

Alexa fell back against one of the mausoleums in the cemetery and burst into tears, sliding to the ground and drawing her knees to her chest. She buried her face and didn't worry about anyone seeing her now that Rich...Gabriel was gone. They would only think she was grieving the loss of a loved one. And that's exactly what she was doing, but it was worse because he wasn't dead. He was just gone.

When she was all cried out she found a bathroom to wash her face in, and hitched a ride back to Greenwood in Slidell. At one point she wondered what would happen if she grabbed the wheel and steered the car right off the bridge and into Lake Pontchartrain, but she'd promised Gabriel she would be strong. Drowning herself and an innocent woman in a shallow lake because she had a broken heart wasn't being strong. Going home to face her parents was being strong, so that's exactly what she did.

So? What do we think? Do we like? Is anyone surprised that I fell in love with Friend when Gabriel's her dad? Actually I fell in love with her way before I knew who her dad was. But still. Can you blame me? No. You can't. And just a heads up. This will be a short story. Only three chapters plus this prologue, but I've been told it ends well, and (hopefully) it will be a series. I already know where I want the whole thing to end, and hopefully I'll be able to get there. And I don't actually live in the NOLA area. Never even been there unfortunately, so I'm hoping the few details I provide are at least close enough. And in case you're wondering, picture an American version of Elizabeth Hurley as Alexa. A sixteen-year-old American version for this particular part of the story. Should I have mentioned that before? Oh well. Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed the prologue. Feel free to review because I do love them oh so much, and stay tuned for Chapter 1. Probably coming tomorrow. See you soon, loves! ~SG