Disclaimer: I do not own Dominion, its locations, characters, plot, etc. I do own this crazy idea and a love for angels, and a few characters thrown in...

Summary: Six weeks post 1x04 The Flood, AU. Ever since Michal returned to Vega after being stabbed, some of the Corps soldiers noticed he wasn't always the stoic, aloof archangel Vega's known for years. And Alex is about to find out why. Also...William Whele has a secret to tell about a night that went normally to everyone else but was actually something much bigger.

To az99882002, jaguar24: Thank you for the follows and faves!

To Verity Knight: Michael's been through hell already and I just made it worse huh? I'm really good at cliffhangers...whoops...Carla's got spunk huh? ;) She's so much fun to write. Yes, ch. 27 was 18 weeks, ch. 28 was 20, and this is still the 20th week, just a few days later. Not necessarily supposed to, just able to, some people no matter how many appointments will never get a clear ultrasound and have to wait til the very end. Or there's Rogers who knew from the first DNA test. O.O on the topic of names...read on my friend! You are very welcome, you support me with this story, makes sense I share a bit of that to keep you going! We Dominion fans must stick together! Thank you so much and enjoy!

To Mina: Yeah just a little...thank you so much!

To Guest: Made things really interesting...what the...How Did You Know? Sshhhh! ;) Thank you!

To Guest 2: You're welcome! Thanks for the review!

To DominionFan2778: I'm a bit of hard writer huh? Yeah...I'm a bit obvious...(Carla is so fun!) Thank you so much!

To MissSass (Guest): Boy you were busy! Wow! Thank you so much for each and every review! Hmm...that request would be fun to try out, let me get this story done and then see what I can do...Wow! Here's another chapter!

Geez Louise over a hundred reviews! Thank you all so much! Keep them coming because I just write faster with more reviews!


Chapter Twenty-Nine

Xxx

First time he regained consciousness, all he could feel was pain...deep, clawing agony that stole his voice and made even existing like he was burning in hellfire-which he'd felt before and vowed never to again-It hurt to breathe to the point his throat was closing up...the screaming coming from him was no more than airless howls as the throbbing only intensified.

Someone was holding him, that much he could tell, their arms were wrapped around his upper chest and shoulders, their head was against his, anytime they spoke the hot air could be felt on his forehead.

That's as conclusive he could get for the current situation...oh and he was crying-full, gut wrenching sobs-that left him shaking in the other person's arms.

Something changed...he had no idea what, couldn't even comprehend why he was in such pain until it all mercifully went away.

The darkness creeped up on him again, and he let it swallow his mind once more...

Xxx

The second time he woke up, it was to soft sunlight in a private hospital room, at least judging by the bed he was on, the curtains on the ceiling, and hearing the softly beeping monitors nearby, he was on the maternity floor again. He couldn't see much, laying on his back with his head barely tipped up at all, the best view he had was the pale ceiling and that still had a bit of the oxygen mask in his rather blurry line of sight.

He was also blissfully numb, no longer feeling that burning pain, no longer feeling his stiff ankles, no longer feeling his sore back, no longer feeling the weight of his growing stomach…

No longer feeling the growing weight…

That sent a jolt of fear through his chest and he coughed, the oxygen mask still over his face feeling uncomfortable as he tried to move. The best he could do was move one arm, the other was too sluggish and painful to respond fully.

He must have gained the attention of someone...more like two someones as the curtains on both sides of his bed were ripped back, Alex instantly on his right side when he managed to move his gaze that direction. His panic wasn't letting him hear the soldier, all he could do was try his damnedest to get up and figure what the hell happened…

Where….where….was….NO!...

Someone was pinning his left arm down, not that he could move it much anyway but it stilled a lot of his thrashing. Alex was holding his right, fighting his weak movements and trying to get his attention. The two voices of the people with him, oh wait, that was Caroline with him, she and Alex were arguing…

He tried to pull away from them, groaning in groggy frustration as they didn't let him move, their grips iron hard, why was he so weak?

"Michael...stop it! You're going to make it worse!"

That he understood, and he tried to calm down, it didn't work and Alex growled in frustration.

"Hey-hey-hey...Michael...what's wrong?"

His throat was tight as he managed to get the words out, slightly pissed they were slurring together as it made everything that much harder...and confusing.

"W-where...gone...not…"

Caroline stiffened beside him, and must have snapped something at Alex because he snapped back, hands instinctively tightening on Michael's arm when he tried to fight them again.

"Stop fighting me!"

"Move his hand!"

Michael tried to pull away again, finding himself too weak to do so and just having to give in as Alex forced his right hand to his side, spreading the fist out to be open and resting his own hand over Michael's shaking fingers until he could figure it out.

The archangel couldn't feel where his hand was touching his stomach, that was numb completely. His hand though...could feel the firm swell beneath his skin just fine, the growing bump on his abdomen still very there.

Caroline chuckled a tad hysterically at his reaction when he sagged into the mattress even more, eyes closing in relief. Michael did tense up when his hand slipped down, losing the feeling again. Alex quickly corrected it after dragging a chair over to sit down, holding Michael's hand in place against his side so he'd stay still.

"Better?"

It was difficult to nod laying flat on his back with a mask over his face, but Alex saw it either way, turning slightly to speak to Caroline as his thumb rubbed the back of Michael's hand soothingly.

"Go get the doc, he wanted to know asap."

"Will do, start explaining things ok? Don't know how long he can last right now."

Alex gave a half-hearted chuckle at that, shifting his chair to be closer to Michael's head so the archangel could see him.

"Hey...I need to move your hand alright?"

Michael tensed, instinctively tightening his fingers a little on his stomach to avoid moving.

"I'm not moving it away alright, just...here…"

Alex slid his hand under a couple of Michael's fingers, still allowing the archangel to keep his hand in place, but let the soldier do whatever the hell he was trying.

"Michael...not going to take that mask off yet alright? Just tap or squeeze my hand for yes or no, ok?"

Yes

The grin on Alex's face made Michael relax, getting a good look at the chosen one as the soldier rubbed at his face a little before speaking. Alex looked terrible, dark circles under his eyes, a bruise on his jaw, and his eyes were puffy and irritated from crying. His unit was a mess...shaken up and exhausted.

The chosen one noticed his concern, forcing a weak smile, "I'm fine, all of us are, just need some time, Carla's working with her sister on the other side of the floor, needed time away, but we'll get her back over here in a bit."

Michael nodded a little, shouldn't surprise him that his unit was like this, at least they were coping. Alex didn't let him dwell too much on that, bringing his thoughts back to his questions he needed to get done before Michael fell asleep again.

"Are you in any pain?"

No: It was hard to flex the tips of the two fingers to squeeze against Alex's hand, but that was marginal in comparison to how shaky his arm was already and Alex was the one doing all the work.

Alex sighed in relief, then laughed at himself, "Figured as much, shouldn't be at this point."

Michael's brow furrowed in confusion, head tipping just a little so Alex could see he didn't understand.

"Had to put an epidural in to control the pain, they've got it turned up so high right now I'm surprised you're not floating on cloud nine."

That explained why he was so numb, could barely move even one arm let alone feel the rest of his body.

"Do you remember what happened?"

Yes

He remembered the appointment with Rogers...training...showing the form block to Williams and Richards...falling...the ambulance...Rogers...NICU...early…

Michael panicked again, tensing up and trying to fight Alex's hold. He didn't hear the door open, nor did he hear Rogers' initial greeting, it was hard to focus on too many things at once. He assumed Alex explained the situation, Rogers grabbed his right hand and put it back against his side, this time higher up than Michael had managed before so he knew what he was feeling.

"Calm down...you're still pregnant I swear...but you need to calm down before you make things a lot harder on all of us."

Michael moaned softly as he nodded, breath hitching even with the mask. Caroline took Alex's place, sitting on the very edge of the bed as she gently rubbed his shoulder, wiping his face when the tears started again.

"It's ok...it's ok, I promise...just breathe...with the mask, it doesn't work the other way…"

Her joke got an actual laugh from him, startling himself with the abrupt noise as he slowly let the tension drain away. His hand remained splayed out over his stomach protectively, barely letting Rogers do his assessment, but the doctor managed and sat down next to the bed with a loud sigh.

"Michael...for the love of god…"

That earned a slight grin, it wasn't often Michael heard such blasphemy that used to turn his stomach, but coming from Rogers it was a relief in the panic.

"When I made that bed rest threat I was joking, you didn't have to go and test me on it."

Michael grinned behind the mask again, eyes flicking to Caroline as she started absentmindedly combing her fingers through his hair, fixing any tangles and getting the dark strands to lay better. She smiled reassuringly, shifting the mask enough for his words to be less garbled when he tried to speak.

"Didn'...try...to…"

Rogers let out a laugh, rubbing at his face in exhaustion, "Sure did give us run for our money though...Lannon here tells me you remember what happened, what's the last thing you can clearly think of and I'll go from there."

"NICU...prepped...ambulance…"

The doctor nodded, "That might not have been the best place to lose consciousness, but at least you didn't feel anything, the nerve monitors were lit up like old fireworks."

Michael nodded slowly, waiting for more information which was relayed promptly.

"The new muscles and blood vessels, like I told you, are prone to complications. As the womb expanded with the developing fetus, there was pressure building on the scar tissue on your stomach from the stab wound. That twisting wrong at training was enough to stretch the adhesions, there was a split in the blood vessels and you bled into your stomach. All the pain was from the blood loss to the muscles, nothing else. The bruising was so bad before surgery I couldn't see the fetus at all until we'd drained the area in OR. I called NICU proactively, I didn't want to risk getting caught without help."

The archangel nodded again, eyes closing briefly in exhaustion and relief, it took a lot of effort to open them again, Caroline's soft chuckle made it a bit easier, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle to stay awake much longer...fighting wasn't even the right word, he was losing the fight and it was pretty damn obvious.

Rogers let him have a moment before leaning forward, "I do have to keep to a bit of my threat, you are not getting out of that bed until the stitches come out, while the operation was done laparoscopically, you're not moving at all until the incisions are closed and healing."

"Step down…"

Caroline's brow furrowed as Michael spoke, "Michael?"

"Can't...train…" Michael swallowed, trying to get the words out as his throat tightened up with anxiety, something he hadn't really felt in a long time, "...can't risk...again...I can't...lose…"

Rogers sat back, waiting patiently as Michael lost his composure, breathing hard (with the mask) as Caroline ducked her head down to rest against his, holding him around his shoulders carefully as he shook with the tears. Michael's hand actually moved from his stomach, holding on to her as it all set in and he realized just how damn close he was to losing...to losing…

Losing everything

Alex spoke up once Michael was able to settle enough he wasn't struggling to breathe, face still continuously damp as Caroline gently combed her fingers through his hair to calm him down. "I'll get Blake to talk to Riesen and the captains, we'll get you pulled from the sessions immediately."

Michael nodded, weakly gripping Alex's hand in thanks before the soldier left, knowing he'd be gone only for a few minutes, as relieved as he was Alex was still tense as hell.

The doctor waited until the door was shut before looking to Michael again, "I'll speak with Riesen as well, I can arrange for more of your care to be at the Stratosphere, it was one thing for that radio blip with the Corps...this...this has gotten all over Vega in the three days since you were brought in. People are uneasy."

The archangel grimaced, but nodded in agreement, this changed everything...two steps forward, one step back.

"There is something else , the blood tests done throughout these couple months, compared to before this pregnancy...Michael, you know that-well basically-the "power" that heals you, your immunity in being an archangel. There are...no traces of it in the blood tests, whatever was left after the last blood test, done after your cold...Michael you are essentially human. The power...it's gone."

Xxx

Michael didn't remember falling asleep after Rogers finished speaking, he knew he didn't let Caroline go once she and the doctor got him settled a bit better, mostly adjust the blankets and the circulation compression wraps, the ones he couldn't feel at the moment. Alex came back in just before Michael lost the fight against the exhaustion again and settled into a daze before slipping into black, the chosen one settling in the doctor's chair and letting Michael's hand take his, careful of the IV's and monitors taped up the archangel's arm. Caroline hadn't moved from his side, somehow managing to remain on the edge of the bed as he slept, needing her presence and body heat.

When he did finally wake up, no one from his unit was in the room, judging by the cracked door and the sounds of garbled voices, they were just outside eating and letting him rest.

Or giving General Riesen sometime with the archangel alone. Riesen didn't speak as Michael had to work out how to turn his head back the other way, blinking to focus again.

"Gen'r'l…"

"Good morning, I would have preferred to meet with you over lunch or something, though you seem to have the ability to decide for yourself."

Michael chuckled, shifting a little and realizing the oxygen mask had been removed while he'd been asleep, that helped a bit. He cleared his throat, speaking easier now, "Not intentionally."

Riesen echoed his chuckle, leaning back comfortably in his chair, "I am glad you are alright, Captain Mason came to me straight from the training session, least to say he caused quite an upset to the senate, I have never seen that man so shaken. Rather long wait until Nurse Fields was able to inform us you were alright and being transferred from the OR/ICU."

The archangel nodded, "Wasn't easy on my part either."

That earned a soft snort, Riesen shifting a little in his chair as he sobered, "As pleased as I am for your well being, both of you…" The general nodded to Michael's hand that had drifted to his side again, "I do have a reason to be bothering you so soon."

"Yes?"

The general sighed, "Michael, all the trauma of the accident and then surgery, like Rogers has told you, has caused a great deal of stress to your body. And it's reacting accordingly, there is still a risk of preterm labor with all the trauma, your blood pressure is bordering on dangerously high and that can trigger cramps and lead to..." Riesen trailed off.

Michael bit his lip, "Losing-"

"Yes." Riesen cut him off, not letting Michael finish the thought and risk breaking.

A low sigh slid from Michael as he forced himself to remain calm, closing his eyes for a moment as his hands balled into fists before relaxing as he looked back to Riesen, waiting for him to continue.

"Consul Thorn...has been working with Senator Julien and the doctors here to develop a new blood pressure medication for a while now, and Rogers is willing to approve using it with you if you are agreeable."

"There's a catch...isn't there?"

"Nothing gets past you does it?" Riesen teased gently, earning half a grin.

"I was over two months pregnant before I even knew general."

"That doesn't count, not like you were expecting that."

Michael shrugged, nodding for Riesen to go on, "What's the catch?"

Riesen sighed softly, "Because it's such a strong drug, meant to work fast and only need one dose, it has a potential to cause reactions. They are subtle and not life-threatening, but unless the administrator knows the signs of an issue, side effects could go unnoticed, due to everything well you...Consul Thorn would need to be in the room monitoring you while the IV is in place."

Another sigh, and Michael's gaze drifted away as he mulled it over, slightly ticked that his mind couldn't coherently think this through as fast as he'd have liked. He looked back to Riesen, opening his mouth to speak and settling for just nodding in agreement. The general nodded as well, hand briefly gripping Michael's before he stood to likely go find Dr. Rogers.

Michael didn't wait for any of his unit to reenter the room, preferring to sleep for now while the epidural was still turned up so high, Rogers was going to start backing it off later that night so Michael could move a bit and not create more issues with stiffness or bed sores. The archangel suspected sleep was going to be a bit difficult as he adjusted to the pain.

Xxx

Dr. Rogers and General Riesen weren't messing around, Michael woke up early evening to a second IV needle attached to his veins, this one in his right arm as the left was still covered, judging by the faint tingling they'd moved that IV up a couple inches.

Consul Thorn hadn't immediately noticed he was awake, sitting next to the bed with a computer pad balancing on her crossed legs as she watched the IV drip, gaze flicking to the vital monitors on the other side of the bed like clockwork and making notes.

Michael didn't speak, letting her take the time to realize she was being watched on her own. Only when she carefully tipped his right wrist to check the IV port and the surrounding skin did Becca realize Michael was conscious when he balled his fingers into fist at her touch.

"Michael."

"Consul."

The formality of his greeting made her shoulders stiffen, face fighting with the emotions in her eyes to remain impassive as she sat back to make a quick note. Becca looked to be fighting with herself for a moment, finally sighing and setting the computer pad aside.

"Why Michael?"

His echoing sigh made her stiffen, watching him carefully as he spoke, "Why what?"

"Just why? Why go through with this? Why put yourself at such risk...why put Vega at risk?"

"Becca-"

"Why Michael?" Her voice was almost desperate, biting her lip for a second, "Why give up what we had?"

Michael nearly growled, his throat was too dry and tightening up as the conversation continued, "It should never have gotten that far."

Becca seemed to deflate at this, glancing up as the IV monitor beeped. Now that the drug was done and well into Michael's veins, she should have left...Michael wasn't sure if he wanted her to or not, not like he had a choice when she carefully and professionally removed the bag and replaced it with another, this one simple saline to aid in the archangel's body absorbing the drug properly.

"Why would you let what we had go? Michael, I didn't...I don't want anyone but you-"

The archangel grunted as he pushed himself up just a bit to lay higher on the bed, wincing in pain at the IV needles tugging in his arms, "Why Rebecca-"

"Michael?"

"How do you know I'm capable of love?"

The repetition of the question made the woman falter, eyes watering as she choked a moment, "Let me try…"

Michael didn't want to fight her, didn't want to accept what she was doing, to be honest the archangel didn't know...well anything about this, his mind running on autopilot as Becca moved to sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for his permission. His nod was forced, not quite hesitant and not quite true either.

Instantly he could tell her kiss was hungry, trying to force as much passion and whatever she counted as love into it. His, as loathe as he was to admit it, was desperate, managing to bring his right hand up and hold on to her with whatever weak strength he had left. He almost wished there was something there, wished that a spark would ignite and make things right again, give him something to be grounded to when everything was slipping through his fingers.

And yet...nothing…

The archangel slowed his reciprocating, mind drifting now that it had decided this wasn't worth it. The IV in his arm tugged painfully again and that caught his attention. Commonly used chemicals in blood pressure medications should have caused serious reactions by now. The only way it wouldn't was if the drug had been mixed with lesser used chemicals, ones that had to be tested to get the right combination to not affect an angel's blood…

Michael pulled back slightly, stiffening in Becca's arms as she leaned away in confusion, face etched in concern.

"Mi-"

"How did you do it?"

"Wha-"

"How...the drug...how did you get it to work?"

"What-" Becca stuttered, visibly trying to back pedal through her thoughts to understand. "What are you talking about?"

"The drug Consul, how did you get it to work?"

Becca tried to brush this off, shaking her head as she fussed with the empty bag she had set on the chair, "Through science, Michael you need your rest, don't worry-"

"Becca." Michael reached his hand out, grunting softly at the strain to grab her wrist and turn it to see the label on the bag. "Methyldopa….the only way this would work is getting the right balance of the propylene glycol…"

"Yes…" The woman was hesitant, watching Michael's face carefully, "Your body can't handle Labetalol, so I altered Methyldopa to be compatible-"

"It's not in the file."

"Wh-what?"

Michael's voice started to shake, mind throwing the worst possible explanation at him first, "That's not in my medical records…"

"Michael-"

"How? How did you get the drug to work?"

"Don't Michael, you need to rest-"

His hand gripped her arm as hard as he could, unfortunately for his anger and luckily for Becca he wasn't able to manage very much pressure.

"Tell me."

Becca sighed, "I found the right combination of glycols through experimenting ok? Ran dozens of scenarios and once the right dose was worked out, everything came out perfectly."

She opened her mouth to speak, stopping herself when she caught the look in Michael's eyes as he realized just what she wasn't saying. There was only one way she found the right combination.

"You tested it…"

"Michael-"

The archangel wouldn't look to her, trying to figure it out in his head just what she had done. There was no way she had gotten his blood samples from Rogers, the doctor was too good at his job and hated the chemist with a passion. No, not chemist...scientist...

"Tell me you didn't...Becca-"

"That's not-"

"Tell me."

The Consul went to protest, sighing heavily as she sat back from him, Michael panting for air softly as he fought for what weak control he had left.

"How many?" Michael asked, barely getting the words out he was so quiet. His eyes watered, staring at her as his throat closed up and Becca flinched.

Her hesitance was enough to say she was lying, her forced tone confirmed it, "How many wha-"

"Don't lie to me."

"Michael-"

Michael flinched, hands balling into tight fists painfully as he looked away from her, his voice was breathless and almost nonexistent when he spoke.

"...get out…"

"Michael-"

"Don't...please leave...please...just-just get out…"

Becca stubbornly remained in place, trying to take Michael's hand in hers and having to fight as the archangel tried to push her hand away, Michael's fist smacked into the side of the hospital bed, triggering the call button before Becca could stop him.

"Please Michael, just let me-"

"No-"

Xxx

Alex looked up from the schedule Blake had been working on for them all, seeing Dr. Rogers' main nurse, leave the station down the hall and walk quickly towards them, eyes narrowed a little in concern.

"Hey Roxi, what's up?"

"Call trigger."

Caroline stood up from where she'd been sitting on the floor, following the nurse into Michael's room when the RN knocked and entered.

"Leave…"

"Michael-"

"Consul Thorn."

The woman jumped at Alex's sharp voice, the soldier not happy that he'd walked in to find Michael in tears and heaving for air as the senator wouldn't listen to his request to leave. Nurse Fields moved to check on the archangel, speaking softly as she crouched next to the bed to be eye level with him, Michael wasn't able to speak, shaking his head to her questions as he almost drew blood from biting his lip.

"Sgt. Lannon this is none-"

"Of your concern, not anymore Consul, I have to ask you to leave the room."

"Sergeant-"

Alex didn't let her speak, turning his head and nodding to Mitch and Connors in the doorway. "Sgt. Dimaro and Sgt. Connors will escort you home with your guards."

"How dare-"

"Good day Consul."

"You can't-!"

"He can't but I can," Roxi snapped, turning from checking everything on the monitors and IV's, "Your work is done Consul Thorn, the dose was administered and judging by your notes you are no longer needed. The soldiers will escort you from the premises, if you cause any kind of disturbance I will have you banned from this floor entirely and suspended from the hospital."

Becca shut her mouth at that, snatching up her computer pad and stalking from the room before the nurse followed through on her threat. Showed how high up Dr. Rogers was if even his nurses held that much authority.

The slamming of the door was the last straw, Michael losing it as Caroline jumped to his side, easing onto the bed as the archangel rolled onto his side and gulped for air as he started shaking. He nodded feebly when Roxi held up the oxygen mask, trying to slow his breathing down with the aid and failing. Caroline stretched out behind him, being supportive anyway she could, mostly keeping Michael from falling backwards as he curled against the pillow Roxi tucked along his chest and stomach to be softer on the incisions.

While the sobs were soft audibly, they weren't gentle physically, jerking Michael's shoulders in halting heaves as Caroline wrapped and arm over his shoulder, forcing one of his hands to lace with her fingers so he wouldn't pop the IV needle out of place.

Alex stepped outside, handing Ethan his gun so he didn't do something stupid like go shoot a senator. Blake, Eric, Max, and Ethan watched as he paced in front of Michael's door, rubbing at his face in frustration.

"Dude...Michael ok?"

"No...well yeah...Roxi said the drug is already showing improvement, that worked...but Thorn said or did something and Michael...he just broke…"

Max handed Ethan his gun as well, backing up step to avoid lunging for it as Blake looked them over, "You two ok to be on shift? I can call Noma back from sleeping and Carla's one corridor over."

"Yeah...we're fine, just give us a min-"

"Sergeants."

They turned as Roxi slipped from Michael's room, carefully shutting the door behind her, through the gap before it closed Alex could see she'd closed the curtains over the window and mostly around the bed, also she had dimmed the lights so Caroline could hopefully get Michael to sleep. The archangel was still pretty bad off, still shaking as Caroline rubbed his back and spoke softly as he cried.

"I don't know what has all been going on with the Archangel, and out of respect and my job I don't want to, nor do I truly care what the hell was going on between him and Consul Thorn, like I just told Michael, I'm informing security the senator is no longer allowed on this floor without an escort and permission from the on duty supervisor. She won't get near this room again."

Blake was the first one to sigh in relief, "Thank you Nurse Fields."

Roxi smiled, relaxing herself now that her initial anger over an upset patient was fading, a fierce protectiveness taking over as she cleared her throat, "I can't tell you what went on between Thorn and Michael, he's not really talking at all, Sgt. Ryan managed to get him to say something about Thorn experimenting with the drugs, but nothing else."

Alex nodded, "Thanks Roxi, we'll take it from here. Could you let Rogers know to leave Michael alone until later?"

"Of course, Noma or Carla can handle things for the most part, I'll have Dr. Rogers check with you first before coming."

With that the nurse left, heading off to her other rounds while the five guys stood outside the private room, trying to figure out what the heck just happened.

Max was the first one to speak, nudging Eric in the side, "Hey...doesn't Thorn have a shit ton of labs in her house?"

Eric thought for a moment, nodding with a confused look on his face, "Yeah why?"

"She ran tests to make sure the drug was viable for Michael...needed labs for that…"

Ethan shrugged, "So?"

Blake was staring at the floor, eyes troubled as he finally looked up and pulled his ear piece out of his vest pocket, "What did she experiment on?"

"What?"

The V-6 waved his hand to get them to be quiet, flipping his ear piece to the commanding channel, "Sgt. Blake to Captain Mason, requesting private communications."

"Is this urgent sergeant?"

"Yes sir."

"Alright, channel four."

Blake switched his frequency, waiting for Captain Mason to switch over as well, he glanced at the others, shoulders tight.

"What's up Blake?"

"Gotta bad hunch and I'd risk praying to god to be wrong…"

"Mason here, what's going on Blake? Is the archangel alright?"

"Yeah...gotta serious question for ya, what happened to the bodies of the higher angels killed in the attacks a month ago?"

"Oh geez…" Mason swore softly, "Now that you mention it, Consul Thorn worked with the clean up techs, no idea why but she arranged their disposal. Procedure states the bodies are burned."

"Ok thank you sir."

"No problem, let me know if you guys need help or people to rotate out with, Wills and Finch have reserved training room eight for you guys to use when you need it."

"Thank you sir."

"Mason out."

If Alex and Max had to hand their guns to Ethan, Eric had to physically back away from the door and weapons entirely as he turned and punched the wall with a snarl. "Fuck…"

"Guys?"

Ethan's confusion was quickly rectified as realization dawned on them, Alex growling angrily, "Thorn took the angel bodies and experimented on them...that's how she got the drug to work for Michael."

"Yeah but to prove it was viable she'd need a live blood system to test on-oh sonuvabitch!"

Max took his gun back, shifting on his feet unhappily, "There was a sighting from Unit One a week ago or something, they covered it up cuz people were getting antsy...guess Thorn had the perfect opportunity then…"

"And still does." Alex muttered, glancing out the hallway windows to see House Thorn standing tall in the old Wynn Hotel.

Eric grabbed his gun from Blake, nodding to Max and the two straightened up, tightening their vest and holster straps.

"Hey Ethan, go get Carla, the girls will stay with Michael tonight, you guys work out shifts and we'll be back later."

Blake narrowed his eyes but didn't question them, nodding slowly and glancing at Alex, "Lannon go sit with Caroline until Noma gets here, Mack go on. Eric...don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"No prob boss."

Xxx

It seemed to take Michael a lot more effort to fully wake up the next morning, Caroline and Noma hadn't been able to get him to settle down enough to sleep until Connors and Mitch were back and at his door with Alex and Ethan late that night, the first two had had to go explain things to Captain Finch and Riesen, the general had then asked them to accompany him and Senator Julien to speak with Thorn. Least to say they'd both come back with bruised hands from whaling on the punching bags in the training room prior to returning to the hospital.

Rogers, for one thing was pissed at the senator for upsetting Michael, he didn't know why or what she had done, but did know Michael was a mess and his guards were on edge to the point of drawing guns on humans. Second thing, the doctor was a bit miffed Michael had moved, even if it was only to lay on his side but considering he was only four and half days out from surgery to stop serious internal bleeding...it was justified irritation. He didn't make the archangel lay back though, stopping in briefly just after midnight to see how things were going, and found Michael curled up a bit with Caroline stretched out behind him, having finally dozed off herself now that Michael was in a deep enough sleep he wasn't likely to move for awhile. The doctor had left them with minor instructions, mostly to help deal with any pain since he turned down the epidural another notch so slowly get Michael off it.

Alex hadn't moved from the chair next to the right side of the bed all night, Noma on the other side in case Caroline rolled off the bed. Michael's fists had relaxed sometime after two am, the archangel fully wilting into the mattress soon after as the exhaustion won the fight with the tension in his body. Noma wasn't removing the oxygen mask until Michael wanted her to, for one thing the strap would be difficult to remove because of the placement and how Michael was sleeping with his head tucked down into the pillow, and two the archangel slept better when he wasn't fighting for air.

He looked truly relaxed, still out of it in his sleep, but Michael looked better now after several hours. Left arm tucked up by his head and right loosely holding the pillow against his chest and under his stomach. At some point Noma or Caroline had moved the blankets up to his shoulders, Alex had fallen asleep for a bit. Heck, he might please with Blake to talk to Captain Mason and get a couple people so they all could rotate out and get some decent sleep.

Or try to...who knew what mood Michael was going to be in once he woke up and reality came back.

Max and Eric didn't let him dwell on it much longer, stepping inside the room with enough care to not be fully intending on waking Michael up.

"Where have you guys been?" Alex asked softly, glancing as Michael twitched when Blake closed the door behind him and Ethan coming in as well.

Eric grunted, fiddling with his radio carefully, "Taking care of something."

"What?"

"Watch."

Max moved to Michael's bedside, kneeling down and lightly shaking the archangel's wrist. "Archangel...I need you to wake up for a minute."

Michael groaned softly, blinking a little to focus as he lifted his head enough to fully see the soldier next to him.

"Sgt. Angelo…" His voice was sleep heavy but he was able to move enough to pay attention, nodding a little when Caroline sat up so he could lean against her. Max pulled something out of his pocket, gently pressing it into Michael's hand.

The archangel couldn't focus on it very well, squinting a little until Max used his small flashlight to lit up just the object so Michael could see it. Alex glanced over Max's shoulder when Caroline gasped, and saw the shimmering black feather pinned between two pieces of glass.

With a shaky sigh, Michael enclosed the small piece in his hand, eyes closing for a moment to keep the emotions off his face, "Where did you-"

"Lt. Owens to AAC Unit Six."

Blake scoffed at the army radio, but picked it up anyway, keeping it on speaker as Michael turned to listen.

"Unit Six here."

"Any of your guys available, report for Fire Detail immediately."

"Location?"

"House Thorn."

Less than ten seconds later the emergency alarms went off in Vega, the automatic system relaying fire information and evacuation procedures for the area surrounding the senate's estate.

Max remained expressionless as Michael turned back to him, but Eric was fighting a to keep a grin from his face, didn't help Ethan was fighting a laugh by coughing...heck none of them looked too bummed out.

"How-"

"Eric and I worked in House Thorn, know how to get in and get out fast...and where everything is. Had some loose ends to clean up and found that in the process. Thought Corps rules were to keep things clean."

If Michael was annoyed by the stretching of the rule he didn't show it, instead nodding as Blake sent everyone but himself, Noma, and Caroline to go help with the fires. The comm links were going nonstop now, all three basement levels were engulfed in flames and half the first floor was filling with sparks and smoke.

Michael grabbed onto Max's sleeve before he stood, making sure he had the soldier's attention, "Delay the crews for as long as you can…"

Max smirked, nodding as he gripped Michael's shoulder briefly before standing, "Yes sir."

The archangel laid back fully as they left, fingers rubbing the smooth glass for a moment before passing it to Caroline to set on the tray. Michael sighed softly, tugging the blankets up higher as he stared at the bed.

"Michael? You ok?"

"Mhm…"

Caroline hummed softly, hand rubbing the archangel's shoulders gently and smiling when his eyes closed with it, "Whatcha thinking about?"

"Just…"

"Yeah?"

"Let it burn."


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