A/N: Here's Chapter 2! I don't have much to say at the moment, I'll put more notes on the next chapter.

An Unlikely Angel

Chapter 2: What Do You Want?

"What?! You want me to help her?!"

I look back and forth between Clarence and Joseph, thinking they've lost their ever-loving minds. They just stand there, Clarence looking nervous (as usual) and Joseph sporting a beatific smile. They have got to be kidding.

Joseph frowns a little at me. I scowl at him; I'm getting rather tired of him reading my thoughts.

"Then stop shouting them, my dear Loren." Oh, for fu—ah, goodness sake.

I roll my 'eyes.' "Fine. What am I supposed to do?"

Clarence steps up then. "You're going to convince her to stay."

"Stay…what, she's moving? Dear Lord, she's been there for eight years! It's about time she moved on!" Joseph looks at me meaningfully and taps his lips before he points upward.

"Sorry," I say, and I do mean it…this is not the place to take the Lord's name in vain and though while on earth I wasn't much for church, I did, do, believe in God. But back to the matter at hand…

"So, who the hell cares if she moves?" Yeah, I'm still no saint, despite being around, well, saints.

"She's not moving." Clarence says, a bit smugly, I'd say.

"Then…what? Stay at HQ? Stay at JAG? Stay a marine?" Personally, I have no idea why anyone would want to be a marine, much less stay a marine. If you ask me, she'd be better off switching branches.

"No, not any of those, Loren." It's Joseph that answers this time.

I'm getting sick of this little Q&A. It's bad enough I have to help her. "How about both of you cut the crap and tell me what the fu—, ah, heck you mean, then?"

I give Clarence a hard stare. He may be an Angel, First Class, with his fancy wings, but he still wilts under my second-class glare. I look at Joseph next. He's obviously not intimidated by me, and we stare each other down. Finally, he sighs. I think he's exasperated, but he should have known what he'd be getting with me.

"Loren, you must convince her to stay on earth."

So, she's going to be an astronaut? A pilot? Who gives a sh—, er, damn, I mean…oh, fuck it. My non-eyes roll again.

Joseph looks as calm as usual, but Clarence actually seems a tad…pissed at me.

"No, Loren," he says, his expression stern. He reaches out and grasps my shoulders. Wait, what? I can actually see my shoulders when Clarence touches them. "No, Loren," he says again. "You must convince her to stay…alive."

Oh.


"So, what's got her so…distraught?" I sound a little sarcastic, but I really don't mean to. I didn't like her, but I wouldn't want her to…to… Gee, that word's harder to say than I thought.

Suddenly, I find myself getting a little angry. Why would she do something so selfish? And really, what could possibly be so bad in her life that she'd choose to kill herself? For fu-goodness—sake, she had every male in the office panting after her. Even our CO…and especially our resident Boy Scout. It used to make me sick how they'd moon over each other, how he'd go out of his way to defend her no matter what she did or said.

I never told anyone, and it was probably one of the more unselfish acts of my life, but one night I saw them kiss. At a most inappropriate time…and it wasn't a kiss of friendship, that's for damn sure. But I didn't tell his girlfriend…and I didn't tell her fiancé. Of course, her wedding never took place…but not because of that kiss. He almost died, and her fiancé figured it out pretty quick that Mr. Boy Scout would always be more than a friend to her.

I stand there…I guess, fuming a bit that Supergirl, who could have anything she wanted, was playing the drama queen by planning to end it all. I hope she knows that her friends will never forgive her. It's been ten years and I'm still pissed at…why can't I remember her name? Just another thing about this place I don't understand. Anyway, why doesn't she go talk to her buddy? Her friend?

"Because they're not friends anymore," Clarence says, sounding sad.

"At least she doesn't think they are…and she thinks it's her fault." This from Joseph who looks almost as sad as Clarence.

"Well, if you ask me, they were both annoying as hell. I'm sure they're equally responsible." I don't know why, but I'm starting to feel really bad…I didn't like either of them but deep down I know I never tried to like them. They stood in the way of my advancement, and I didn't trust them. Maybe I didn't realize this when I was alive, but here I have to admit that another reason I didn't like them was because they were too…likable. They would never understand what it was to not be liked.

And now here I am, feeling sad because she hurts. Feeling sad because she doesn't have her friend. I'd cry if I knew where my eyes were.

Joseph wraps a wing around me. Or at least I think he does…I'm kinda sick of not seeing my body. Maybe if I earn my wings, I'll get that back.

"So, my dear Loren, will you help her?"

I'm really not sure what I can do, so I hesitate. I'm about to ask a few more questions when someone appears beside me.

Joseph smiles kindly and Clarence puts a hand on Joe's shoulder. Now Joe...he looks sad…I'm trying to think of a way to hug him when I hear him speak for the first time since I've been here.

"Please, Loren? Help her? Help my daughter?"

Joseph's other wing wraps around the broken angel in front of me.

"Loren, I'd like you to meet Joe MacKenzie."

End Chapter 2