Previously: "Our flight back to Rome isn't until tomorrow morning." He noted, changing the subject. "The report will only take a couple of hours, so we have the rest of the day to ourselves." Beaming, she compiled a list of things she wanted to do, noting somewhat sadly that this would be like the honeymoon she and Jude had never had the chance to go on.

A Flaw in the Plan

Chapter 10

When they eventually returned to Rome, they were much happier and more relaxed than when they had set off. Celine was glad she had a chance to see the beautiful Sagrada Familia of Barcelona before it could be destroyed by the arrival of the meteor, but was even happier that she had managed to accomplish part of her plan to prevent Jude's death.

Back at the Vatican, in their respective uniforms again, their time in Barcelona had felt like a very pleasant dream and not necessarily reality. After a few days of what felt like limbo, with her and Jude tiptoeing around each other, somewhat awkward now that they were firmly reminded of their commitments to the church, she had decided to take matters into her own hands and snuck into his room at night. He had been happy to see her and the step she had taken had solidified their relationship into something far more tangible. It felt a little strange that she had to essential confirm to Jude that their brief holiday away from the Vatican had not been a simple fling. She had not had to take such action after Malta, but perhaps that could be attributed to the fact that instead of more or less jumping into bed together, as they had done in Barcelona, in Malta they had confessed their feelings beforehand and jointly made the decision to break their vows.

Something else at the Vatican had also caused Celine to feel no small amount of smugness, Christof was still stuck in Naples trying to figure out what was going on. She doubted that he had the initiative to actually try to blend in with the people there and seek out the woman at a bar like she and Jude had. She knew that Jude was also quite pleased that Christof was away as it meant that they could work without interruption.

What had been less pleasant to experience was the dream that Celine had shortly after she and Jude had consummated their relationship. Before it she had still be toying with the idea of convincing him to go to Slough before Mary had the chance to die to perhaps prevent the outcome, but the surprisingly vivid dream she had of the woman's death seemed to be a message from God that she should not involve herself in this particular matter. With a heavy heart, she did as she was told and made sure not to mention anything about Slough to Jude, the date he had planned to set off would be after the event had already occurred so her earlier changes would not affect the outcome.

Soon enough, he received the e-mail from Jamie informing him of Mary's death. She had been there when he had read it and had promptly embraced him once he had stuttered out the news, attempting to give him what little comfort she could. His reaction had been mostly shock, tinged with sadness. True devastation would have required him to have known the woman better.

"He wants me to come to the funeral." He said against her hair, holding her tightly.

"Then we go to the funeral." She replied firmly.

"I'm going to e-mail Layla. I don't know if she has spoken to Jamie yet, but if she hasn't he will need family now more than ever. She and Frankie will be far more of a comfort than some stranger he happens to share DNA with."

"That sounds like a good idea." She remembered that after the funeral, Jamie had set off to try to find Layla and Frankie. Perhaps they would be reunited more quickly this time around. "You deal with that, and I will sort the arrangements for us to leave as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

Convincing their Vatican superiors had been easy enough once Celine had found and shown them the video with Mary's declarations, she had even shown them the link between Jamie and Frankie, and suggested that the little girl's survival may be proof of the woman's claims. With the go-ahead she had booked the flights and assembled a report showing that Jamie was not the messiah. Jude would have to tweak it later, but the majority of the work was already done so they could focus on the tragic situation.

Arriving at the airport, she spotted Dave holding up a sign marked 'Jude Sutton'. Nudging Jude, she pointed him out and they immediately made a beeline towards him.

"Jaime's sorry he couldn't make it, he's trying to make the arrangements but it's been difficult."

Arriving at the graveyard where Mary was to be buried, the truth of his words became clear. They had managed to procure a coffin, but everything else had been done by themselves. The dirt on Jamie's sleeves indicated that he had been the one to dig the hole. He looked exhausted and miserable, but his expression changed abruptly upon catching sight of herself and Jude walking with Dave. Whispering a quick 'good luck' to him, Celine joined Dave and Paula by the sidelines as the father and son introduced themselves to each other.

"Does Father Jude bring you everywhere he goes?" Paula asked rather bluntly. "This is a rather private family matter, it seems a bit odd to bring a co-worker."

"Our work at the Vatican is very important, we had to justify our trip here by claiming it was related to our task. It would have been strange if he travelled alone." She answered vaguely.

"I'm sure he also wanted to bring a friend." Dave added, beaming at her. The attention he paid to her seemed even stranger to Celine now that she knew he would marry Paula.

"As well as." She agreed.

"Well it's going to be a struggle to fit you both in the house." Paula said.

"That won't be necessary, we have two rooms at a hotel." She had justified the extended stay to their bosses by explaining that Jaime's grief over his recent bereavement meant they would have to tread slowly and carefully, meaning they would need a few days to come to a conclusion on his supposed divinity.

"Oh." She looked disappointed, probably because she would not get to spend as much time with Jude as she no doubt thought. Dave had a similar expression on his own face, until Jaime called him over, leaving herself and Paula. The two women watched as the coffin was carefully lowered into the hole that Jaime had dug. Once their task was complete, Celine and Paula joined them.

"We're going to say a few words, before we bury Mary." Jaime announced, looking to see who was going to volunteer. Seeing that no one else was, Jude hastily began, fully aware that of the small assembly he was the one who knew her best, and even then he did not know much.

Anticipating that he would be expected to speak at the funeral, Jude had spent much of the flight frantically trying to remember Mary and think of things to say. It had been a struggle considering they had known each other for such a short period of time so long ago. Nevertheless he managed to deliver a nice speech about Mary's unique personality, how spontaneous she was, and how she had such a different outlook on life. She could see that Jaime in particular was touched by Jude's words, no doubt because he was hearing about a side of his birth mother that he had not had the chance to see himself.

Dave spoke up next briefly, talking about the impression he had received in the short time he had known her. He mentioned something that Celine thought was rather odd by speaking about his admiration of Mary's ability at making ridiculously intricate scale models. Only Jaime seemed to understand what he had meant by that. Paula said a few words about how grateful she was that Mary had given her the chance to be a mother to Jaime. Then finally it was Jaime's turn, he expressed his desire that he could have known Mary better, and that he was sad that their time together was cut so short and so brutally.

Speeches done, Jaime and Dave began laying the earth on top of the coffin. Celine went to stand by Jude's side as he watched the wood of the coffin disappear. He slipped his hand into hers as he murmured a few prayers for Mary's soul. Looking up she saw Paula looking at them suspiciously, but did not let go of his hand. Once the ground was level again, Jude gave her hand a grateful squeeze before releasing her. She stepped slightly away from him, trying to avoid giving the impression that they were very close. Now was not the time to reveal their relationship so soon after Mary's death. Funeral complete, they all returned to the house where Paula immediately busied herself with brewing some tea.

"Thank you for coming today." Jamie said to Jude.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have come earlier, work has been quite busy."

"So will you be leaving soon?" Jude looked at her for clarification.

"I cleared it with the Vatican, we can stay today and tomorrow, but we will have to leave the morning after." She explained.

"It's a bit odd that with the end of the world approaching, they have you working so hard." Dave noted with a frown. "You would have thought they would have let you all leave and enjoy the time you have left."

"We are investigating and disproving the messiah claims." Celine explained, she looked at Jamie apologetically. "Your mother's speeches are why we were able to come so quickly."

"Not your average day job then?"

"No." Jude managed to crack a smile. "We were in Barcelona last week, the false messiah there took quite a shine to Celine." She gave him a dirty look for telling them that, but he just smiled back at her benevolently.

Paula reappeared with the tea, handing them each a cup. Dave went to bring in the remaining cups, accidentally giving Celine his 'Sexpert' mug again. He retrieved it with a sheepish grin. Paula invited the two to stay for dinner, she accepted on behalf of both of them, wanting to make sure Jude got to spend as much time with his son as possible in the next two days. Paula sent Dave to the store to pick up some more items, her tone making it clear that it was an order not a request, and with the same voice she asked Celine for help in the kitchen. The intent was clearly to give Jude and Jamie some privacy, so she accepted without complaint. Once in the kitchen, Paula set her on a task of chopping up some vegetables as she washed up some dishes.

"So, are you and Father Jude going to be using those two rooms or just the one?"

AN: Next chapter: Celine's reaction to Paula's question, and more Jude/Celine moments. I'm now near the end of writing the fic and I think it will be 16 chapters in total. I will be updating Tuesdays and Fridays, so next update will be the 15th.