Author's Note: In the episode "One Wrong Move" the writer took several creative licenses with respect to the nature of land mines to tell a compelling story.

I found this quote in the public domain, Seth Price, a U.S. Combat Engineer said, "The CR-38 is not an AT mine, it is a Anti-Personnel Mine. To a human it is fatal. It bounces up to about crotch level on a man, and blows up-and out, leaving a human cut in half. There is no timer, nor if you lift off of the pressure would it detonate. Once the pressure switch has been initiated, the mine detonates instantaneously."

A handful of military engineers and bomb technicians have discussed this particular episode on Facebook. They agree Lewis could not have survived stepping on a landmine and they all agree there could not have been a moment of pause. He would have been blown up instantaneously the second he stepped on the trigger. But we wouldn't have liked that. We liked the drama and the emotions that came with the episode. So, creative license away, I say.

They all agree it was anti-personnel, not anti-tank. AT mines requires a minimum pressure of 250 kgs to trigger it. Lewis didn't weigh that much even with his gears on. CR-38 is produced by the Czech Republic, not Russia, hence the designation CR. But they all agree the writer got two facts right. The possibility to re-pin and the glueing of the pin hole, they call it krazee glue.

The scene in this chapter where Lewis and Jules used to sit on the ledge of the SRU's building was first introduced in the story "Remembrances of Lewis".

- Maybe tissue alert.

Whispers of Hope

Angel Galileo fell asleep on, of all places, the bench press in the SRU gym. He was on his stomach; his vanity prevented him sleeping on his back, the feathers of his wings always got messed up that way. He initially thought he was dreaming, but his eyes were open and he was awake. His brain eventually told him, It's definitely an Angel.

"Hey," said the other Angel. Galileo sat up quickly and blinked twice.

"You're Spike's new Guardian?" asked the stranger.

Sleepily he replied, "I am, been with him three months." Bewildered, he asked, "And who are you?" with a curious inflection.

The handsome Angel replied, "I'm Alberto, used to be Lewis' Guardian Angel. I meet and greet Spike's new Guardian when I can. I'm a little late I'm afraid. I've been busy with my new charge. He's in a cancer ward in the Children's Hospital." Galileo sat immobile, thinking, Oh dear.

They heard Team One in the briefing room shouting at each other, it was that sort of debrief. Their Angels decided enough was enough and holed up in the staff canteen, bantering and showing off.

Alberto smiled, "Let's go up to the roof. They'd be fine. They debrief unarmed."

Galileo rose to his feet and together they did the human thing. They climbed up to the roof with Alberto taking the lead. They sat on the ledge in the same way Lewis and his former rapelling partner, Jules Callaghan, now Braddock, used to do. Their legs dangled as they watched the sunset. "How's he doing?" Alberto asked, referring to Galileo's charge.

"He's doing well. Been a little melancholy, I notice. He needs someone to share his life with."

Alberto nodded in understanding. "I agree. No one has to be alone unless they chose to be."

"Is Spike choosing to be alone, you think?"

"I don't think so. He just hasn't found the right person."

"The league of Angels seem to think he's afraid to have his heart broken. Afraid of losing someone. He's lost a lot of people."

"Who hasn't?" replied Alberto.

After a few minute pause, Alberto continued, "If you're referring to Lou, Spike knew the minute he stepped on the land mine he was dead. He should have been; the fact he wasn't gave him time to say good-bye.

"Humans are strange. What they think and know in their head and what they feel in their heart... there is a certain disconnect. Spike understood, from all he knows about bombs and mines, he wasn't to blame but he still ached anyway."

It's the beginning of winter. The sun has set on the horizon, the sky dark in places with a magnificent burst of white and yellow in others. Snow flakes were coming down gently, resting on everything. Reflecting light and bouncing it off like silver glitters.

"I was with Lewis the whole time... he wasn't alone. Not for a second, not for a heart beat. At the time, he only had two choices; to die alone or to die with Spike. Surviving it wasn't an option. Lewis made a decision to go alone."

Alberto drew a deep breathe, "What Spike wrestled with for a long time was that it should have been him. That if he had just let the second bomb go off, and he thought about it, Lou wouldn't have been on the third. But Spike didn't want to give up... he's stubborn, you see."

"You can say that again," said Galileo.

"Does Spike still wrestle with the what if?"

"I don't think so. I think he's reconciled with it now. It's been five years."

"That's good to hear," Alberto pause for a second. "I come now and again because when I go to heaven Lewis still ask how he's doing."

"You can tell Lewis he's doing well. How's your new charge?"

Alberto smiled pensively, "He's a real fighter that one. He's 10. He has this cancer that comes and goes. He's worried for his mom and dad, doesn't worry about himself much. That's the thing about kids, they don't have a lot of selfish bones in them."

Galileo nodded with understanding. His charge before Spike was a 15 year old boy. Cute, funny, creative, and a bit of a thrill-seeker. He died in an accident. A sudden flashback caused Galileo to gasp.

"Are you ok?" asked Alberto concerned.

"I just had a flashback...that millisecond after the impact and Timothy was out of his body and he saw me for the first time. He was shocked and trembling. He asked me if he was dead and said 'yes'. Then he said to me sadly, 'I should have listened to you.' I felt like saying, 'You should have' but what good would it do. Then he said to me, 'My Mom. She'll be very sad. Will she be alright?' I said, 'Yes, she'll be alright. She's a strong woman. She'll take comfort in knowing you're going to a better place. In a much happier place. And every time she reads of war and famine and hardship she'll be grateful that you'll never have to learn of those things. Then he said me, 'Will she forget me?' I said, 'A mother never forgets. A child is born etched in her heart."

His eyes watered, "Sometimes I think I've failed them both. Maybe I could have done more to prevent the accident."

Alberto replied, "When God created humans, He gave them free will. They have the freedom to chose; the freedom to make informed decisions. If God wanted complete obedience, He would have made robots instead. Your charge made a choice that day, the result was unfortunate but you've done your duty. You're a Guardian, not a dictator."

Comforted, Galileo replied, "You're right. I took Timothy to heaven myself. He wasn't alone too. Not for a second. Not for a heartbeat. This thing we do... it is good, isn't it?"

Alberto smiled broadly, "Never doubt it. It's an excruciatingly difficult job and harder for some of us. Did they tell you before you took this assignment this bunch of people have a high rotation of Guardians?"

"No," he said. "Glad no one told me or I've have refused it."

"Yeah, me too"

Galileo looked down and saw Spike in the car park, "Looks like we're going..."

Alberto smiled, "I have to go too. I'm taking my charge to heaven soon. It's only now a matter of time."

"Thank you for visiting."

"You're welcome."

Galileo didn't hang around with the other Angels. He sat in the backseat waiting for Spike to finish loading stuff in the trunk of his car. That done, he climbed into the driver's seat. Before Galileo knew what was happening, Angel Odette was right beside him and Leah her charge was on the passenger seat.

The two Angels sat quietly. Watching... and listening. They looked at each other and shrugged.

"So wanna talk about it?" asked Leah, her arms folded across her chest.

Spike leaned on the steering wheel, shook his head from side to side, unwilling to look up. Leah reached across, and rubbed his back. Then she belted herself in, "Come on, let's go."

He lifted his head and said, "Go where?"

"I know this place. They serve the best Haitian dishes," she said appealing to the foodie in Spike. He was hungry anyway, very hungry and getting her out of his car would require a lengthy negotiation he didn't have the energy for, so he said in surrender, "Alright, navigate."

It was an unpretentious eatery. Nearly all the tables were taken but one was clearly reserved for them. Leah ordered knowing the Caribbean menu by heart. Spike tasted Griot - deep fried pork shoulder for the first time. "This is amazing," he said smiling broadly. The food, the atmosphere, the company lifting his spirit.

After dinner, they went for a walk, their Guardians following behind. The ground was covered with light and fluffy snow; dustings of snowflakes gently coming down gave the street a magical glow. Leah stopped, tilted her head up slightly and stuck her tongue out. "It's fun. When snow flakes drop on your tongue, you feel the cold and then warmth."

Spike said, "It's like eating snow cones without any flavouring." They laughed at themselves.

A moment later, Spike said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said.

They walked silently after that til they got back to the car, Spike brought Leah home and thanked her again, "What for?" she asked.

"For not insisting I talk. Sometimes a guy just needs time to cool off."

Leah smiled and said, "You know what else you need? Someone to make you laugh." He nodded, a little embarrassed. Leah turned away, he waited until she was at the door. It opened before she reached it. A man came out with a blanket in hand, draped it over her and they kissed lovingly wrapped in it.

He drove away thinking he really need someone in his life. The woman with the scent of Jasmine sprung to mind, "I wonder who she is?" Angel Galileo whispered, "Don't worry, you'll see her again."

Spike smiled, for some strange reason he felt he might see her again.

Winnie was preparing for bed and had a passing thought of the man with a dimpled smile, "Um, I wonder who he is?" Angel Thaddeus heard. He looked up to heaven and said, "If it's the last thing I do for her..." He waited until she was fast asleep before flying across town to have a chat with Galileo; who, as it turned out, flew across town to have a chat with him.

Uh!