Author's Note: I know some of you readers want Eve and Metatron to interact soon, and I promise it's coming, just not yet. I'm on it though!

ROUGHLY 13 YEARS LATER

"Metatron?"

The seraphim turned around to find none other than Rufus, the 13th apostle standing beside him. He had been resting beside a pond, contemplating the events that were to happen later in the day, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

"Apostle? What are you doing in the seraphim gardens?" Metatron asked in annoyance.

"What? A black man can't come into your precious garden? Afraid the black will rub off on something?" Rufus asked indignantly.

Metatron rolled his eyes. "Hardly. Haven't you yet figured out that I don't care about your color? The only thing I'm concerned with right now is your being."

Rufus shrugged, "What about it?" he asked flippantly as he smoothed the font of his robe and looked around. He had never been in the seraphim gardens before; he had to admit that even by Heaven's standards, it was beautiful.

"What is a human doing in the seraphim gardens, apostle?! How did you even get in?" Metatron demanded.

The seraphim gardens were exactly what they sounded like: a separate garden created only for the seraphim, humans were never permitted entry.

"Well, Serendipity did have to pull a few strings..."

"Figures, neither one of you two had much regard for the rules." Metatron said as he folded his broad wings against his back..

"Meant to be broken. Now are you gonna let me see or not?"

"See what?"

"You know what I came here for man, the same thing you're here to see. Let me see Bethany, I haven't seen her since that last day at the church, meanwhile I hear you get to see her anytime you like."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration."

"So it was an exaggeration when I heard that you were sleeping with her?" Rufus asked, smiling in amusement.

"What? Oh, I fell asleep beside her one time-"

"I also heard you were her babysitter."

"Well, just a few times a month...oh, what does it matter? That was years ago."

"I'm saying you need to share the wealth man, quit hoggin' the scions and let us see them too."

"Alright, fine." Metatron snapped his fingers and a portal-like window in the air between them split to show Bethany as she went about her daily life. She had finished her work for the office and was now in her car, headed for the doctor's.

"Whoo! She's still fine!" Rufus exclaimed happily.

"You mortals only think about one thing." Metatron muttered disapprovingly.

"Yeah, and if I remember correctly, so did the angels-you included-at one point. I also remember the price y'all had to pay for all your fun lovin'." Rufus shot back.

"Don't remind me."

"What are you gonna tell her?" Rufus asked seriously.

"I haven't the slightest clue."

"I could talk to her, or maybe Serendipity."

"That might help. But the time is fast approaching, and I want to be there with her when it happens."

"That's good of you, man." Rufus said, putting a hand on Metatron's shoulder.

"Somehow, I don't think that she'll see it that way."

"Give her time, she'll come round, just like the first time."

Metatron shrugged and slipped into his human form. "I certainly hope so. Thank you, apostle."

Metatron didn't hear Rufus wish him luck as he made his quick descent onto the mortal plane. The soft grass of Heaven was swept out from under his feet, and the sky shot out of view overhead. Metatron was reminded of jumping into water whenever he came to earth. He felt the air change around him, a great whooshing sound, and the heat of the sun on his face.

Then, the world came back into focus and he was standing on solid ground. The whole process took about one second, but it was an experience nonetheless.

Metatron did not come to Bethany's house or to Eve's school. He arrived in the middle of a parking lot, outside of a hospital. Metatron knew what has happening inside at that very moment, and hated that he could do nothing to stop it.

He was invisible to the people outside, so he wouldn't be bothered. Metatron sat down on a bench outside the office and waited. He had been waiting for over 13 years and now the day was finally here.

Fifteen minutes later, Bethany stormed out, her face red and tear-streaked.

She was crying, her chest heaving up and down. Metatron ran after her as she was striding straight towards her car.

"Bethany, Bethany!" he called after her.

"Metatron, please, you have to help me. I was just at the doctor's and they told me-"

"I know, Bethany, I know."

"Then help me! Please, don't let this happen to Eve, she doesn't deserve this. She's just a girl. You can talk to God, I mean it's not too late-"Bethany rambled, panic evident in her voice.

Metatron felt his own heart ripping. "I'm sorry Bethany." Was all he could say.

It was such a lame, pathetic thing to say. Bethany stared at him, her bloodshot eyes going wide, her mouth trembling; her whole body was shaking with anger and fear.

"You've known about this."

Metatron sighed, "Yes." He said quietly.

"For how long?"

"The beginning."

Metatron felt so ashamed, so guilty, so unbelievably horrible that for the first time he actually felt physically sick.

Bethany stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

"I deserved that." He said, clutching his cheek.

"You're damn right you did." She said, her voice like venom.

"Bethany, please, I'm sor-"

"Don't you dare apologize to me! You've known this all along and didn't say one goddamn word. You've been lying to me for years!" Bethany screamed as she beat him with her fists.

Metatron took her blows, not bothering to defend himself. "Don't you think I wanted to tell you? If I had been able, I would've told you a thousand times, but it wasn't mine to tell."

"Liar!"

"If I could change this I would, and you know that. But I can't."

Bethany wiped angrily at the tears coursing down her cheeks. "You can't do anything, can you? You're useless." she wanted to hurt him as much as possible, she didn't care that he was an angel and her friend, she just wanted to make him suffer.

"Metatron, what have you done?"

Bethany and Metatron turned to see a young woman standing a few feet away. She had long dark hair twisted into a braid down her back and was wearing a light blue sundress with a pair of matching flip-flops.

Bethany didn't know what to think, but Metatron knew exactly who it was.

"Not yet, let her say goodbye to Eve first." Metatron said firmly.

Reaper shook her head. "It must be now." She said as she came forward.

Metatron stood between Bethany and the Angel of Death. "No."

Reaper stopped short, confusion etched into her face. "What are you doing?"

"Giving Bethany a chance to say goodbye to her daughter." Metatron turned to Bethany, who still did not understand what was happening. "Go." He said.

Bethany wasted no time as she got into her car and sped out of the parking lot, headed for her neighborhood. Reaper made no move to follow her.

"All this for one mortal?" she asked.

"Yes."

Reaper kept her eyes trained on Bethany's car, even as it faded into the distance down the busy street.

She took a step to the left, Metatron did the same. She took a step to the right, Metatron moved to block her.

Reaper didn't like his little game.

"Stand aside Metatron."

"I will not." He said firmly.

"Then I have no choice, but to force you aside." Reaper stated as she shifted into her seraphim form.

The sundress shifted into a white robe embroidered with forest green, light brown eyes blurred to opaque blood red, a silver headdress appeared over her dark mane, and the razor edged black wings sprouted from her back.

Metatron underwent his own transformation and for a moment the two angels stared at each other, toe to toe. They were invisible to the nearby humans, but no doubt all the beings in Heaven and Hell were watching.

"I do not wish to fight you, Voice." Reaper said.

"Then don't. Leave the scions." Metatron reasoned.

"You know I can't do that." Reaper said. "I should never have told you, it complicates everything. This is proof."

Metatron nodded but did not move out of her way. "I know you will take her today, but I'm not letting her leave without saying goodbye first."

"You postpone the inevitable." Reaper said, hoping he'd relent and let her go. No such luck.

He stood before her, silent. He didn't let her get past him, Reaper was angry now. "I do not wish to hurt you, but I will."

Metatron smirked. "You can try."

Reaper lunged at him, but Metatron ducked aside and tripped her. She rolled onto her back and glared at him, shocked at what he was doing. "No angel has fought another since the Great War. We cannot fight, Metatron, please."

Metatron stood over her. "This isn't fighting, I don't want to hurt you either. But I won't let you take her before Bethany has a chance to say goodbye." His voice was firm, commanding. Metatron had been one of the strongest warriors during the Great War, and his skill was still sharp.

The two angels wrestled in the parking lot, inadvertently causing an obscene amount of damage to the surrounding vehicles. Back and forth they fought; Metatron caught Reaper in a headlock, but she was able to squirm out of his grasp; Reaper almost got away by flinging Metatron into a van, hoping to stun him, but he recovered more quickly than she anticipated and he caught her in mid air and brought her back down.

"We'll be at this all day," Metatron said as he pinned Reaper to the hood of a Lexus.

"That is doubtful. You underestimate me." Reaper replied defiantly as she broke free and slammed him into a Ford pickup truck.

While the two angels wrestled, Bethany sped towards her home.

She knew she was on a few precious minutes that Metatron had stalled for her; she had to make his sacrifice worth it. Her only hope was that she could make it there on time, before the Angel of Death was able to finish her job.

Metatron and Reaper fought, not to actually hurt each other, but Metatron had to give Bethany the chance to say goodbye. Reaper was furious, Metatron had broken his promise that he wouldn't tell the mortals what he'd known all along and now he was preventing her from fulfilling her one purpose.

"Metatron, release me now!" she screamed.

Metatron, being more powerful and experienced in combat, had locked her hands behind her back, keeping her on the ground and out of the air.

"I will, but not yet." Metatron said.

He was truly sorry for it to have had to come to this, but he owed it to Bethany to give her the chance to say goodbye to Eve. He had thought that Reaper would have put up more of a fight, but he had won pretty easily...or so he thought.

He anchored her by keeping her arms locked behind her, much as a policeman handles a criminal in cuffs. Reaper had stopped struggling, which made him even more wary-she was notoriously intelligent and a magnificent escape artist.

Reaper turned her head to look at Metatron in the eyes. "Metatron, I'm sorry." She said.

He had been gripping her arms at the wrists, but didn't think to restrain her hands. Reaper snapped her fingers and disappeared.

Metatron was suddenly alone in the lot. "Dammit!"

Bethany quickly parked her car outside the house and started up the walkway. Eve was inside; Bethany had to tell her how much she loved her, how proud Bethany was of her, how happy that...

"Oh, shit." Bethany muttered out loud.

The female angel, the girl from the parking lot, was suddenly standing before her.

Metatron had once told her of the Angel of Death, The Collector, a young female seraphim with impressive black wings. That angel was standing before her now, out on the front walk of her house.

The startling crimson eyes bore into Bethany's, the vacant stare of a doll.

The Collector's eyes broke away from hers and she looked down at Bethany's chest.

An aspect of her eyes changed when they moved; still darkly opaque, but no longer blank and lifeless, they took on the otherworldly depths of a shark's eyes.

There was a living, intelligent being behind those horrible eyes, a being that had one purpose: death.

Bethany was afraid, so afraid that she couldn't move when the demonic angel reached out towards her, and laid her hand over Bethany's heart. The world seemed to stop once Bethany felt the angel's fingertips graze her flesh.

The dark angel's hands were ice cold, not warm like Metatron always was. The world around Bethany suddenly seemed darker, slower and silent-it was surreal.

Metatron suddenly appeared on the porch, only feet away. Too far away to help her, she knew. Bethany saw Metatron's mouth moving and saw him running forward, but couldn't hear what he was trying to say.

Bethany looked back to the Angel of Death. The entire world slowed down, and Bethany could only focus on what Reaper was saying, "This is out of his hands, do not hold anger toward the Metatron. You will return home with me."

The dark angel's hand was still over Bethany's heart. She didn't feel so afraid anymore, her body felt numb and her mind was dazed. The entire world around her took on a slow, dreamlike quality.

Bethany looked over the girl's shoulder and watched as Metatron raced down the porch steps toward her. Bethany could see the defeat in his eyes even as he was trying to save her.

Bethany looked past him, through the glass of the front door and could see Jay and Bob in the living room, laughing and watching TV. She really did love those two.

Bethany looked up and saw Eve wave at her from her upstairs bedroom. Her daughter, her darling girl.

Eve smiling and happy was the last thing that Bethany saw before her vision blurred and the world faded to black.