"Sam, when can I see them again? I'm really worried about my two angel babies." Tess folded her arms and glared at the other angel with an expectant expression.

"After you finish this part of the assignment, Tess, dear. Now you know that you can't just pop in on them. They need some times to themselves." Sam gave her a loving pat on the back.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I mean, what if they get attached to this? What if they like life like this?" Tess asked in a worried voice.

"That's God's business, now I have to help those troublesome teens while you go your way. There's been quite a change of plans since this new situation has taken place," Sam told his charge. Tess nodded and disappeared. Sam sighed and whispered a quick prayer up to the heavens. "Oh, Father, give me strength, give Tess hope, and give Andrew and Monica trust."

"You're Sam, right?" a female voice asked. Sam looked up to see a young, blond petite coming out of a building.

"Yes," he answered truthfully.

"Good, they've been expecting you," the girl said. She carried a large bag and a few folders and binders in her left hand. She gestured towards the building in back of her. Sam read to himself the name: Chicago ChildCare and Services.

Sam walked through several revolving doors until he saw the face of a middle-aged man. Sam didn't have to read the nametag to know that this was who he was looking for.

"Greg, I presume?" the angel asked. The man looked up, smiled, and nodded.

"You must be Sam." The man motioned him over to sign a few papers. "We're glad to have you on the squad. You'll start work this afternoon if that is all right with you," Greg told Sam.

"Yes, I'll be looking forward to this," he said eagerly. Greg handed him a few sheets of papers that told him what cases he would be working on and where to go.

A young man with black hair stepped into a fire hall. He looked around him and immediately his eyes fell upon Tess who sat behind a desk.

"Are you Brian?" Tess asked with a grin, for she already knew who he was.

"Um…yes. Where's Derek?" he asked nervously.

"I'll be filling in for him for a few weeks. He's on vacation. So, do you always come in early?" Tess asked Brian.

"Yeah, chief appointed me captain. Why is Derek gone?"

"I told you, Baby, he's on vacation. You can take care of problems with me," Tess said sincerely.

"Okay," Brian mumbled. He walked into a small room towards the back of the hall. It was a training room where the fighters worked out. "Oh, man, Jim," he said to a fellow fighter. "The plan's off." Jim looked surprised at his friend.

"What do you mean, Brian?"

"Derek is gone. He's replaced with Tess and I wouldn't even dream of having her instruct on this." Brian laid his back down on a training bench and slowly lifted the weight above him. "Now what? Derek's not getting back for a few weeks."

"Maybe we can just pull this of ourselves," Jim suggested.

"Yeah, right. But wait! Maybe we can get some of the boys to join in. I'm sure Tom and Kevin would go for it," Brian told his friend.

"I bet you're right. Ah, the genius of the hall reigns again. Perfect."

"But if they don't…" Brian wavered. "Then we'll be caught immediately."

"I guess we'll have to make them," Jim said in a haunting tone. "Ever heard of…"

"Aren't you boys going to hurry it up? The others are already outside doing their usual rounds," Tess said, entering the room. She instantly put a finger of her nose, realizing what terrible, sweaty odor filled the room.

"Oh, yeah, I guess," Jim said. He and Brian set the weights back and got up, puffing and wiping sweat off their foreheads.

"Let's go," Brian said. He gave a convincing wink at Jim, thinking that Tess didn't see. What he didn't know, was that she had been in the room, invisible but there, the whole time.

"Oh, Father," she said quietly. "Please, unless it be your will, don't let those kids pull this off.

*Sorry, this was a short chap. Confused yet? Maybe if you think back to the beginning of the story to where they mentioned firefighters, you'll start to piece it together better. Just a note, there were two total times that I mentioned firefighters in the story. They all fit together. You'll see*