I think this is my longest chapter yet. But you guys deserve it! I've pushed this off for way too long, just when things are starting to get good. Enjoy!

When You Lose Something You Can't Replace

Everything came down upon me at once, forcing my mind to evacuate the memories that Michael was letting me see. I gasped open mouthed as if I was coming back from the dead and opened my eyes wide to a startled Michael. My back slammed against the bar and I began to hyperventilate and flail. Michael pulled me into a bone crushing embrace to steady my spasms.

"What's happening?!" Audrey panicked

"Go help Charlie!" Michael grunted trying to contain my uncontrollable flailing. Audrey practically ran away.

"It's alright." Michael spoke calmly in my ear. "I've got you."

My mind was exploding. I was remembering it all: Gabriel, Michael, my past and my true self. Re-born as a human, Michael was right about me. My human mind couldn't handle this relay of new information; it was like I was downloading Windows 8.1 onto a Commodore 64. It just wouldn't work.

It took several agonizing moments of an extreme headache and seizure activity before I could start to feel my mind relaxing again. My muscles eventually gave out from exhaustion and my flailing ceased, but it wasn't for another minute that Michael's embrace loosened and he pulled away from me to stare deeply into my eyes. He moved his hands to the sides of my face.

I was huffing to catch my breath, and staring intensely back at him. I gave him a silent smile.

"Thank you, my friend."

His expression turned from worry to surprise and he took me into his arms again. I had an intense headache much stronger than the times before due to all this new information, but frankly I was too excited to really worry about it. As he embraced me, I silently scanned through my memories that had once been lost to me. I did find that some memories still were fuzzy. My time with Michael and Gabriel were clear, however how I ended up in a human body was nowhere to be found in my memories.

The tremendous sound wave came again, jarring my thoughts. This time I knew it as Gabriel's Horn, only to be sounded upon Judgement Day. Gabriel...how do I even begin to think about him?

Michael was right, more than right about Gabriel and I. When I was an angel we knew about love from watching the humans, but were bred to not feel such a disabling emotion. And for hundreds of Earth years such was how I lived and fought. But once I met Gabriel, everything was different.

Before I could think further, Michael pulled away from me and stood up. I stared silently at him.

"He's coming for the child." He said and started to load a handgun.

Realization hit me, and I was stunned. "He can't."

"Ever since you left he's changed, he won't listen to anyone other than the Father. He intends to kill the child. Alexandria I am so sorry, I tried to hide him from you for this very reason. You need to go with the child, I don't know how he would react seeing you alive, seeing you as a human. "

"What's happening?" I heard Jeep come into the room cutting our conversation short.

"We need to go." Michael finished loading the clip, "The possessed can't come near the child, but he sent someone who can. Someone like me."

"Like you?" Bob was here also.

"Gabriel. He's come here to do what I wouldn't."

A pause, then Jeep figured it out. "You were the one that was supposed to kill the baby. That's the order you didn't obey."

"We need to go." Michael was trying to get them to move.

"What is he talking about?" Charlie asked coming into the room.

Crap. She really didn't need to hear that.

"Gather up whatever weapons we have left-"

"Jeep, what are you talking about?" Charlie asked again

"We need to go now." Michael finished his sentence

"Michael answer me!" She yelled.

I had to try to convince her that what Michael was about to say would pass as believable. "Charlie," I started and found that my voice was starting to get tired and hoarse. "Michael is here to protect you and the child. He's the good guy, trust me. Please."

"Alex? Oh my God!" Charlie must have seen the blood. She jogged over to me and scanned her hands over me and my wounds.

"I'm alright, please don't worry about me." I cracked a smile. "Michael, tell her."

There was a pause, then he moved over to us and stared Charlie directly in the eyes. He started to explain: "The baby was never meant to be born. But the future has been unwritten. The child lives. And while he does, there is still hope."

Charlie's stare was furious. She crouched next to me for a moment, then grabbing my hand shot to her feet.

"Come on, let's go." she stared at me and refused to look back at Michael.

I tried to move, but my legs were mush and it only ended up looking like I was a fish out of water, flailing on the floor. Charlie looked worried, but I kept on smiling to keep the calm.

"Guess I'm grounded."

Charlie wouldn't accept it. "Jeep, carry her. Audrey, the baby." she ordered and turned on her heel to retrieve her son. Jeep was walking over to me in the meantime.

When Jeep had one hand on my waist, events unfolded. As the savior was passed through hands, Sandra shot to her feet and grabbed the child from their arms. Michael had his weapon drawn in an instant and pointed it straight between her eyes. Jeep stopped trying to pick me up to go get the baby back and I used my arms to turn myself around the corner of the bar to see what was happening.

"No, please!" I reached and cried out once I saw the child in Sandra's arms. She was backing herself towards the door.

"What are you doin?" Bob demanded. Nobody moved.

"You heard what he said, they just want the baby." Sandra tried to give a reasonable explanation to what she wanted to do. "I'm gonna give them the baby, and then they're gonna let us go."

"You give him back to me right now." Charlie's voice was angry and terrified.

It was in that moment that my human body started shutting down. I was too busy getting my memory back my adrenaline overclouded the real issue that I had lost a lot of blood and could not support the proper organs and muscles. I collapsed onto my side and gasped in pain.

This was really it now. People were still talking, but it was all muffled and blurred. I heard Gabriel's Horn sounding again, and tried hard stay awake. I concentrated on the floor tiles, and kept on trying to move any part of my body.

Come on, just a few more minutes please.

I heard a gunshot, and then another.

And then I started to hear very heavy and familiar footsteps come in the diner.

My neck muscles allowed me one last movement to turn my sight towards the door.

There he was.

My Gabriel.

He was as perfect as I remembered, and my heart that was suffering from a massive arrhythmia from the blood loss found a way to pick up its' beating once I saw him.

"Gabriel." I squeaked out.

But he couldn't hear me, he was too intent on the child. With a tremendous force he slammed his mace down upon Jeep and the baby, but had missed once Jeep rolled away. He was furious and determined. This was the look of the warrior Gabriel, Michael was right. Something had changed in him.

Bob had tried to stop him, but a human against an Archangel was almost laughable. Gabriel quickly and mercilessly killed the middle aged man with a slice to the abdomen and punch to the face that sent him flying. I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing, my perfect Gabriel killing that of which he swore to protect from Lucifer and his following. I heard Jeep scream at the sight of his fathers' death.

Gabriel stood in silence watching as Michael urged the rest of the humans to leave. His eyes never faltered away from starting them down and my body couldn't move to get his attention. My throat burned and wouldn't work to call out for him. I was just another body to him, not worth any of his attention.

Once the group had been ushered out, there was so much tension in the room between the two generals of God's army it was maddening.

"I knew He'd send you Gabriel. You were always so eager to please Him." Michael stared his ally down and started slowing pacing the room to face him directly. He was moving in my direction.

"Unlike you...the rebellious son." Hearing his voice again made my heart once again flutter.

Michael finally reached me and stopped directly between my field of vision to Gabriel. He was trying to hide me, trying to distract Gabriel into not realizing who I was.

"No wings." I heard Gabriel speak. "They would've helped you now."

"To not feel their burden is a dream." Michael remained calm.

"You think you can defy Him and not pay the price?"

"The child lives. He lives. It does not matter what happens to me."

"Yours is a fool sacrifice Michael. You can help them run but they won't escape, Neither will you my brother."

"I'm not running anymore."

Come on body, one more thing. I wasn't going to let them fight and I wasn't going to let Michael tell me to keep quiet any longer. I inhaled deeply.

"Please...don't." My voice found itself again.

There was a pause.

I heard Michael sigh and saw him turn his head to stare me in the eye. They spoke volumes to me. You shouldn't have done that. I could feel him mentally scolding me.

Sorry, I stared back, But I refuse to let this happen as I live and breathe.

"What?" Gabriel sounded completely taken aback.

"It's alright Michael." I assured him

Gabriel spoke again, this time with a fierce determination. "Stand aside."

Michael half-stepped to the right.

We locked eyes. Another pause.

My beautiful Gabriel.

He fell to his knees, dropping his mace in the fall. His eyes never left mine. They were so sad, so painful it made my heart ache.

"It's..." He stuttered

"Her, yes." Michael confirmed his thoughts.

Hearing Michael speak brought him back to conscious thought. He got to his feet and marched towards me. Michael stepped back in-between us.

"Move." Was all Gabriel said. His voice were terrifying.

"It's okay." I breathed.

Another infamous sigh from my friend, and then he walked to the front door of the diner, giving us some space. He turned his back to look outside and crossed his arms. An Archangel, throwing a tantrum. I half-smiled.

Gabriel went to his knees again next to me. He cupped his massive hand behind my head and used the other to bring me up and into his chest. The movement hurt, but felt right all at once. This was the most he had ever touched me and it tingled where his fingers were.

"It's you?" He quietly asked.

"It's me." I answered

He pulled me into a hug, and I felt his face against mine. My poor fragile human heart jolted.

"But...how? You're a human?"

"That part's still a little fuzzy." I admitted honestly.

He stared at me, his beautiful blue eyes. They were colder than I remembered, and yet I could still see it. Some softness was there, buried behind years of discipline.

As much as I wanted to stay right like this forever, I started to feel my time running out, so I had to quickly make my point.

"Please." I begged him. "Please let the child go Gabriel. You know this isn't right."

"Alexandria." He started to argue.

"I love you!"

There, I said it. The look he gave me was comical. Sheer and udder surprise. He was trained to kill and to command, and me using such a strong word left the powerful angel stunned.

I love him. Being a human finally made me realize what those emotions were. I finally was able to know that Gabriel was the only one to ever hold my heart. Growing up as a human I never felt the need to be with anyone, I finally now know why. Gabriel stared at me, and once his expression calmed down again he spoke.

"Love? You...love me?" He was struggling to cope with such a new emotion.

"Yes, my dear Gabriel." Tears flowed down my cheeks from happiness at my epiphany. "As much as the Father tried to keep such an emotion from us, I loved you with all my heart as much as I denied it. You are my night and day, my life, my heaven."

This seemed to work. Something changed in my Gabriel, his stare became soft and I could once again see the angel that had claimed my heart centuries ago. He didn't say anything, but pulled me forward and touched his forehead to mine. He wanted to show me something, so I closed my eyes and accepted the memory.

It was from his point of view, and along with the memory came emotions. It was the time that I had dreamed about days ago. The day God wanted to speak to me in private council. After I had gotten up to leave I felt an intense emotion inside of Gabriel. It was longing and regret. I could feel his mental state becoming confused. He was showing me that I wasn't one-sided in the way I felt.

He was telling me that he loved me, in the way that didn't need words.

Once he knew he knew that his message came across he slid me out of the memory and I opened my eyes to his patient quiet stare. I smiled.

He slowly lowered his face to mine. My heart raced.

Then he kissed me.

All I could see were fireworks. The kiss started out gentle, and as we became more comfortable with each other it transformed into something passionate and fiery. It was the kiss that waited a thousand lifetimes finally being let loose. His lips tasted of spice and fire, my entire body ignited in his heat.

I wanted to be with him like this always, but my message was sent, and my deed was done. It was my time, and I accepted it. I was so tired, and finally ready to die.

Time to come home Alexandria. I heard the heavenly Father calling.

Without a fight, I slipped away.

The End

(Just Kidding)

Nooooooo, right when they are reunited, she has to go and die?! Stick around kids, things are just starting to get juicy!