A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for kinda dropping off the face of the Earth. I started college so I've been super busy and haven't had a lot of time or inspiration to write this story. I know this is a short update but I'm trying to get back in the swing of this story so I figured I wouldn't push myself too hard on my first chapter back. I also do not know when I will be updating this again, I just happened to have a random patch of free time and inspiration at the same time to write this, so I might update soon or not for another month. I apologize again but I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 7

Friends in High Places

Emma liked fireflies. There was something about that them just seemed to grab her attention. Maybe it was the calming feeling of being out in an open space, cool air blowing through her hair as she watched the yellow lights of living things blink in and out of existence.

That's probably why she ended up near the river just outside of a forest, grassy planes on the other side of the river swaying to the patterns of the wind. Gabriel had found this place. He showed it to her a while ago, back when she was her old blonde self. God, it feels like just yesterday.

"Okay, where the hell are we going?" she asked as Gabriel led her out of the house, a smirk on his face as he looked at her, amused.

"I want to show you something," was all he said.

"If you take me to Sea World one more time I swear to your Dad I'm gonna shove an orca up your ass," Megan threatened the Archangel.

"Jeez, so violent," Gabriel snorted before flying them to a river. A forest on one side and a field of grass on the other. Her Angel GPS told them that they were somewhere in Maine.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," she said, barely audible as she took in the sight. "Why did you bring me here, Gabe?"

Gabriel just shrugged his shoulders, looking out over the fields. "Don't know. This is just my happy place. I come here when things aren't so great. It makes me feel better. Thought I would share it with you in case you needed it too."

Megan smiled up at her friend. "Thanks," she said, sitting down on the soft grass and staring into the surprising blueness of the river.

Now Emma sat down, tears dripping down her face as she balled her hands into fists. She couldn't believe how stupid she'd been. All this time she thought she was this great hero when really all she's done is brought a lot of pain and a lot of death. What a fucking terrible existence.

She felt like her whole world had come crumbling down and it was all her fault. She shouldn't be The Chosen One. The Chosen One was supposed to protect people and she's done a piss poor job of that.

"Hey…are you Emma?" Emma quickly turned around when she heard a voice come from behind her. There stood a really tall dude, he must've been at least six feet tall, with dark hair and maroon eyes. Every Angel sense in her was screaming that this guy was definitely not human.

"Uh, who wants to know?" she asked, standing up to face him, wiping the tears off her face in the process.

"I'm Damon. Lynn's brother," he introduced, extending a hand for her to shake.

Huh, so this was Lynn's brother. Lynn hadn't told her much about Damon but enough to know what kind of person he was. Which was sketchy, at best.

Regardless, Emma shook his hand, watching the smile grow on Damon's face. "What are you doing here? How did you find me? I have sigils carved on my ribs, no one should be able to find me this easily."

Damon smirked and oh no he's cute. "I'm Lucifer's kid, I know how to find people. And Lynn was worried about you. I happened to be visiting at the time Lynn and the gang got back to home base, aka Grandmother's house, and she was going to go find you but she seemed stressed and Drew was there so I was like fuck it I'll find the red head and talk to her. So, yeah. That's it."

"You certainly have a way with words," Emma laughed, feeling slightly better. But only slightly.

"I know what Death said to you and I get it, that's really fucked up," Damon walked forward a few steps to get closer to Emma. Emma instinctively took a step back. "I'm-I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not a bad guy anymore."

"Sorry, I'm just on edge," Emma shrugged, looking down at the ground.

"You think that you're being a shitty Chosen One, aren't you?" Damon guessed.

Emma nodded. "He was right. I've hurt so many people."

"Jesus, you hero's and your pity parties," Damon sighed and moved to sit in front on the river. Emma copied him so they were both watching the small fish swim against the rough current. "You're not a villain, Emma. Shit, I don't even know you but I've heard enough about you to know that you're one of the good guys."

"But-,"

"No. Let me talk," Damon cut her off, his tone suddenly serious. Why did he give a shit anyway? Was it because she was good friends with Lynn? "I know what a bad guy looks like and you are not one of them. I've hurt people. I lived in hell. I got rid of all the dinosaurs! And you know how cool it would be to still have dinosaurs? It would be fucking awesome."

Emma started to laugh at the thought.

"You, you've helped so many people. Who cares if a few people were lost along the way? You've saved the Earth like three times!" Damon laughed, as if he was unable to believe it. He looked over and Emma almost gasped at how the starlight reflected in his maroon eyes. It was certainly different.

"Who cares? I care! They were people I knew and loved," Emma told him, her stare turning into a glare.

"Ugh, that's not what I mean. Listen, I've lived for a long ass time. I've seen so many wars that I'm fucked up for eternity. And in wars there are bound to be casualties. But it's all for the greater good. Death says that you're acting like a child, that everything you do is selfish, well, isn't that kind of the point? You're still a kid and all you want to do is help people and be a hero! That's the best kind of selfish, is it not?"

Emma was silent. Damon made a good point. It's true that just by existing that many people were bound to parish but without her would there still be anyone left to save?

"I've known Death for a long time and I know he's just saying this stuff to hurt you because he doesn't like you. The guy isn't known for having many friends," Damon told her.

"Why are you helping me?" Emma finally asked.

Damon was silent for a moment. "Because I finally care about this world and the people in it. I need someone to keep it safe for a while," he smiled and nudged her. Emma smiled back.

"Isn't that a bit selfish of you?" Emma laughed.

"Ha-Ha, very funny, ginger," Damon nudged her back.

"Thank you though. What you said, it really helped," Emma told him, finally starting to feel better. He was right. She had to stop letting negative feelings getting in the way of her work. She was helping people. She needed to keep doing that.

"No problem," Damon said. "Helps that you're cu-,"

Damon was cut off when Emma's phone started to ring. She quickly fished it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. Lynn.

She shot Damon a knowing look before answering. "Hey, what's up?"

"Did my brother make you feel better?" She sounded worried.

"Yeah, thanks," she responded.

"Good, because we have a problem on our hands," Lynn finally said.

"Just a normal day, huh? What's the problem?" Emma asked.

"It's Cas, the souls are doing something to his body and he wants to try and get them out. We need your help. Also Drew's here and he says he's sorry," Lynn explained. In the background she heard Drew yell "sorry!"

"Tell him he's forgiven. Damon and I will be there in a second," she told her then hung up.

"Trouble?"

"You know, just the usual Angel bursting with souls who wants some redemption. Your regular Tuesday," Emma said as she stood up.

"Sounds like fun."

"You know Damon, this feels like the start of a beautiful friendship," Emma said with a smile before they both flew back to Lynn's Grandmother's house, ready for whatever came next on their crazy adventure.


Damon belongs to Niknakz93