Esther stood in the women's bathroom with Charlie while some of the others had taken the man that Gladys had bitten, she learned his name was Howard, to the hospital. After the shit that just happened, Esther was going to have a cigarette and get the hell out of there. She asked Charlie for one, because she was holding one as well. "I won't tell if you won't." Esther assured her. Charlie had explained that Bob, the owner of the diner, didn't want her smoking while she was under his roof, especially since she was pregnant. She also filled Esther in about how she ended up with a baby she didn't want, how she ended up with Bob and Jeep, and why she didn't want the baby to begin with.

"It's a silent reminder of him, you know?" Charlie dragged her cigarette, noticing that Esther hadn't even lit hers yet. "You gonna light that?"

"What?'' she watched as Charlie pointed to the unlit tobacco stick. "Oh, yeah." she reached into her pocket and pulled out a Zippo. It was silver and had angel wings on the sides. Once the cigarette was lit, she snapped it shut with the flick of her wrist. "I forgot about it." she laughed nervously, the turned toward the sink to stare into the mirror.

"As I was saying," Charlie continued. "I- woah." Esther turned to see what Charlie was 'woah'ing at. "That tattoo's hot."

Esther laughed. "Thanks. I drew it when I was in middle school. I decided I'd make it my personal art." she lifted her arm. "I have one here, too."

The pregnant woman looked at her. "Can I see them?"

"Yeah." she smiled in assurance while taking off her shirt, leaving her in a bra. Charlie was a girl, and Esther was proud of her toned figure, so she didn't really mind.

"Damn." Charlie giggled. "You're a good artist." Then her voice filled with concern. "But, what are these?" Her cold fingers traced the aged scars and burn marks that sketched her back.

Dammitt. Esther thought. She'd forgotten about those. "Do you hear a car?" she asked, quickly putting her shirt back on.

"Percy's back so soon?" A worried expression spread across Charlie's features. The enlarged woman ran out of the bathroom, Esther not far behind.

The group that had left earlier was back, but they still had Howard. Esther thought this was extremely odd. The hospital was eighty miles up the road. They would've been there by now if they hadn't turned around, so what happened? Esther asked the question aloud, and Percy answered.

"I gotta get my bible!" he huffed hurridly.

"Why?" Bob asked him.

"'Cause somebody's gotta start prayin'."

"Before we do that," Esther interupted. "Can we get demon bitch out of here?"

"Good idea." Jeep seconded with a southern accent.

The group stared down at the dead body as Esther lifted the plastic from it's face. Gladys' eyes were pitch black and she had baby shark teeth. A bone jutted out of her cheed where Percy had hit her with the frying pan, and blood surrounded her mouth. Her temperature was raging, which was a bit scary for how long she'd been dead.

"My God, she's burnin' up." Esther pointed out.

"How is that?" Bob asked. "She's been dead for over an hour."

"I don't give a fuck how long she's been dead." the one named Kyle scoffed. "The bitch just walked on the ceilin'. She ain't stayin' in here."

Esther pointed to the plastic. "Just wrap the body up in this and take it to the garage until we can find a better place to put it." Kyle looked at her like she was crazy, so she added, "Would you rather take two hours to bury her? Didn't think so."

The men did what Esther suggested, and Charlie put a hand on her shoulder. "Esther," Charlie whispered so no one else in the diner could hear her. "Those scars.. on your back. Are those from ab-"

"They're not anything." Esther snapped at her. She shrugged the older woman's hand off of her shoulder and put her leather jacket on. Then, she went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her, and sat in the corner. She pulled her knees up to her chest. For the first time since that night, Esther James cried.

The tears spilled onto her jeans. Esther was thankful that she didn't wear make-up that day. All the memories were pouring from the spot that she has stashed them into for so long. The pain; the screams; the way her father would use her shirt to bind her hands as he burned her back with a white-hot, metal rod; the force that he would use when slapping his belt until she bled; the swift movements used when he slashed the razor across her spine; how he slapped her when she bled onto the floor. Then, the gunshots; the silence; the soft, comforting voice; the strong, muscular arms; the tattoos; the armour; the wings.

Three nights previous, she'd dreamt of him, like she did every night since then, but this dream was different. She was laying in the desert, like she was when she fell asleep, and he landed next to her. His glorious wings were spread, and the sunset had made him even more beautiful. He kneeled down next to her and kissed her forehead. "My child," he smiled, something that she had grown to love about this beautiful creature made by God. "You and I will meet again in the future." His deep voice was tinted with a british accent. She loved it. She loved him.

She had asked him once, in a dream, why angels weren't allowed to have relations with a human. His answer was that it was dishonorable to Him, that if it was truly meant to be, the angel would have been made human for them to be together. "If the seraph were to be called back to Him," he explained. "one, or both, would suffer heartache."

Esther believed that even if she didn't get to see him, dreaming of his gorgeous face, or of hearing his beautiful voice was enough. She couldn't wait until she could see him again. Her heart filled with excitement and joy as she thought of wrapping her arms around him. She wiped her eyes and took off her jacket, because she was getting hot. She put her iPod into her ears, playing Zomboy. She was a sucker for some good dubstep.

Swaying her head, Esther exited the bathroom with her jacket and iPod in hand. She looked in front of her, and there stood a man who made her mouth gape open in surprise. Two duffle bags in his grasp, he looked exactly like him. Same build, height, face, but no wings. She shook her head and giggled at herself. He stared back at her with a knowing smile. He was wearing a jacket, so she couldn't see his arms, but she saw his neck.

Esther saw the tattoos.

She gasped loudly and dropped her belongings, jerking her earbuds out of her ears as her iPod dropped to the floor, and ran towards him. He, too, dropped what he was holding and wrapped her into a tight embrace. Esther pressed her lips to his neck. "I can't believe it." she smiled, then she felt him shiver. Her hands searched his shoulder blades. "Where are your-"

"I'll explain later." he kissed her forehead as he always did.

"Before I forget, this time," she giggled. "What's your name?" Esther felt embarrassed for asking, but if she didn't now, she probably never would.

A chuckle rumbled through his chest, vibrating through hers as well. "Michael."

"Michael." Esther repeated with a smile. His name tasted of sweet candy on her lips. "I've missed you."

"As I you, my Esther." He ended their hug, then, "We will talk later." Michael pointed toward Charlie. "In the meantime, stay with her, keep your weapon at the ready, and for the love of God, don't do anything brave."

Esther nodded, then kissed his cheek. He had said she was his Esther. She was his. This overjoyed her to the brink point. She strode over to Charlie. "Hey, I'm sorry for snapping earlier." she shrugged. "I just-"

"It's fine." Charlie interupted with comforting smile. "Most people wouldn't want to talk about it. But you looked pretty cozy with Michael over there." she smirked while Esther blushed. "You two have a history?"

"You could say that." Esther blushed even harder. To her, 'having a history' didn't even come close.

Michael owned her heart, and Esther wasn't allowing a refund.