Title: Wings of Crimson

Author: Summer Indian Summer

Date Published: 10.18.2004

Rating: PG-13, for now

Summary: At twenty-five, Grace Polk's soul is darker than it was at fifteen. Her life has spiraled out of control, and she's lost all that's important to her. Her daughter, her boyfriend, her father. She's been looking for comfort in the arms of the wrong man, but what happens when the man she can't forget comes back?

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from "Joan of Arcadia."

Author's Note: The first part's a flashback

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November 3, 2007:

It sounded corny even as his brain processed the thought, but Luke really could see his future in Grace's eyes. Their gray blue was shining with promise, and Luke could see his thoughts reflected in them.

They were always on the same page. They had some strange emotional connection that let them know what the other was doing at any moment. Perhaps this was how he'd known when Grace had gone into labor, even though she hadn't called him.

They'd woken up together this morning, and Luke couldn't remember ever feeling so satisfied. It occurred to him, in that moment, that if he were to die he wouldn't mind at all. He'd already reached the peak of his life; he had it all- a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful daughter, and a career blossoming with possibility.

"I love you," Luke murmured quietly, kissing Grace lightly on the lips. "I never want to get out of bed again."

A small smile tugged at Grace's lips and she rolled her eyes. "You always say that. And then Zara starts crying and-"

He leaned in to kiss her again. "Marry me," he whispered. He regretted the words the instant they were out, his brain reeling from the unexpected proposal. Grace would never- she was too independent. It had taken months for him to just get her to move in with him, and even then-

Grace's eyes widened and she turned her cheek. "What did you say?" she asked as his lips grazed her cheek.

He pulled back, looking at her seriously. It was too late to take it back now. "Marry me," he repeated softly.

Grace was quiet for a moment, and as Luke looked at her, he knew she was studying him the same way he'd just been studying her, reading her future in his eyes. "Okay," she murmured, kissing him lightly.

Luke smiled. So it was settled. They'd-
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September 8, 2013:

"Luke! Luke! Earth to Girardi."

Luke snapped his head back to look at Colin, his PR Consultant. "Sorry, I was... thinking. What's going on?"

Colin sighed. "Oy! I should've known better than to be in charge of your PR. Smart guys think too much." Colin laughed. "Seriously, though, Luke, we're going to be a few minutes late. Which generally wouldn't be a big deal, except..."

Luke nodded. "We're holding the mayor up. Okay. What should I say?"

Colin smirked. "Not that smart."

"That's your job," Luke chided good-naturedly.

"And don't forget it. I don't want to come off the pay roll." Colin tilted his head back. "Call him. Now. Tell him... you're running late because the traffic's so horrible in the center that it's put you about ten minutes behind," he snickered.

"How's that going to help? It's just going to piss him off. I'm insulting Arcadia-"

"Yes," Colin nodded, "But he won't mention it to the media, because he's responsible for the construction work in the center. And the media's the true evil, not some bludging bastard who sits behind a desk And the mayor's a shingle short on the roof of life, anyway."

Luke frowned. "Sometimes I wonder why I hired you."

"Because you know no one's better at this job than me."

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Grace watched as familiar scenery whizzed by, utterly confused. Joan had shown up at Java Script with her mother's car twenty minutes earlier, insisting Grace come for a ride. Since Holly had answered in the affirmative for her, Grace had had no choice but to go along, but she was really starting to regret it.

"Seriously, Joan, where are we going? I have to be back at work in an hour..."

Joan just shrugged. "We'll be there in a few minutes. Just wait."

"You can't even give me an address or something, or tell me what part of Arcadia it's in?"

Joan shook her head. "Nah. I'm not sure, really. Well, this part of Arcadia, but I'm not sure what the street's called. Yet."

"Real comforting."

"I'm not kidnapping you or anything. It's for your own good. Calm down."

"So what are you doing? Did God tell you to abduct me?" Grace laughed.

Joan held up a hand. "One night! One night of random drunk rambling, and you're never going to let me live it down."

"Joan, you told us you talked to God and that he sent you on missions, but he looked like a different person every time. Oh, and that once he appeared to you as a talking dog." Grace raised an eyebrow. "You gave us a hell of a lot of ammunition if you didn't want us to use it against you. You were asking for it."

"I-" Joan slammed her hands down on the steering wheel, eliciting a long beep of the horn. "Damnit!"

Grace laughed despite herself. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive? It seems you've forgotten how."

"You don't know where we're going." Joan cast a glance over her shoulder to look at a house she'd passed. "Hey, didn't Adam used to live there? When he was in college?"

"Yes... Can you look at the road? Please?" Grace grabbed the wheel as the car started to swerve into oncoming traffic.

"How is Adam?" Joan asked, turning back to the road in front of her.

Grace shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't talked that much lately. Last I checked his wife was having a baby, though."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"Makes me feel old."

"I'd say that, except I had one at 17..." Grace trailed off as Joan pulled off the main road, and Grace realized where they were going. "Oh, damnit, Joan. No!"

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"Is there anything I should know before we continue with the publicity game?" Colin asked nervously as they approached their destination. "What should I know about the ex?"

"Grace?"

Colin nodded. "Yeah, her."

"She's... an ex. Zara's mom."

"Does Zara know?"

"Zara knows her mother is named Grace, but she doesn't know she's the Grace."

"And what's Aurora think of all this? We have to keep the Queen Bee happy..."

"She's okay with it, I think. She doesn't like it, but she accepts it. I mean, she's going to have to, right?"

Colin raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. But I can't picture Aurora giving in that easily. She's definitely a princess, Luke."

"Whatever." Luke glanced anxiously out the window and swore under his breath. "There's cameras!"

Colin laughed. "What did you expect? They're renaming a bloody street after you. They're gonna want to capture the moment." He paused, looking out the window himself as they pulled to a stop. "Quickly. More about Grace. Is she going to be here?"

"Uh, I told her to stay away. But she's never listened to anyone, so... What do you want to know? Uh, I was sixteen. She was seventeen when Zara was born. We moved to California in 2007 and got married pretty much right after."

"Married?" Colin hissed. "How the hell did you leave that out of what you'd told me about her?"

Luke shrugged. "Didn't seem important?"

"You're as thick as your wallet."

Luke was quiet as the chauffeur opened the limousine's back door and he prepared himself for the camera flashes. "You aren't going to like this," he muttered as he scooted over to the door.

"Tell me."

"We never got divorced," he said as he pushed himself from the car and offered himself as a sacrifice to the hungry newsman.

Colin followed closely, his lips set in a thin line. "Remind me to kill you when this is over," he hissed, scanning the crowd.

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"They had to pick this street," Grace complained moodily as she stood on the outskirts of the crowd with Joan.

Joan frowned. "What's wrong with it?"

"This is where we used to meet up after school," Grace explained, but her words were lost as the crowd turned wild, cheering and shouting as a limousine pulled to a stop.

"That's Luke," Joan said needlessly, standing on her tiptoes to get a better view. "And Colin, I think."

"Who's Colin?"

"Luke's PR guy. He's ridiculously hot."

"Please tell me you don't hit on the guy who makes a living off of sucking up to your brother."

Joan rolled her eyes. "I don't. I have a boyfriend. And we're very happy together."

"Uh-huh." Any further goading was cut short by a glimpse of familiar blonde hair through the crowd. "Wow," Grace muttered as she saw a group of men pushing Luke through the crowd.

Joan nodded, her eyes on the dark-haired man standing next to Luke. "I told you. Colin's hot."

Grace just nodded as she realized Luke was walking straight toward her. Frowning, she glanced around, and noticed Joan had positioned them right next to a veiled street sign. "Joan," she hissed, looking frantically for somewhere to escape to.

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He'd expected to have to fight his way through a crowd of hanger-oners, bur he certainly hadn't expected to see her standing right next to the sign. "Grace, Grace, Grace, Grace," he alerted Colin anxiously, looking anywhere but at her.

Colin smiled tightly, muttering "Deal with it" out of the corner of his mouth.

Luke mirrored the smile as the mayor and Gavin Price met up with him, each holding a microphone.

The Mayor laid a hand warmly on Luke's shoulder, turning to the crowd. "Arcadia," he said into the microphone, "I'd like to introduce to you a good friend of mine, Mr. Lucas Girardi." Luke raised an eyebrow. It must've been an election year, but he was a bit slighted the mayor had made an incorrect assumption about his name. "We were blessed to have him in our population for his teenage years, and now Mr. Girardi has returned to Arcadia a successful young man, ready for the honor of being one of Arcadia's heroes. "Arcadia, this boy doesn't just portray the dream of Arcadia. He is the dream! And now, let me present to you the man who shaped Mr. Girardi into the man he is today through the fine institution of Arcadia High. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give to you Mr. Gavin Price!"

Mr. Price stood there awkwardly as the crowd cheered, his gaze flickering from Luke to Grace and back. "Luke was fifteen when he came to my school. And contrary to what the mayor has said, he was one of the few students at Arcadia High whom I didn't need to shape. You see, Luke was already the man he is today, even when he was fifteen. Luke stood out not just academically, but also as a leader of the school and a friend to all. Those of you familiar with the man behind the name will know that Luke has taken on great responsibilities since he was just sixteen. I'm sure we haven't seen the last of Luke, and I'm sure he'll continue to influence the world we live in. Now, I think we should turn the mic over to Luke himself, don't you all?"

Luke's panicked expression seemed to go unnoticed as the crowd cheered and Mr. Price handed him the microphone. "Um, wow," Luke said nervously, "I don't usually have to make public speeches, because outside of Arcadia I don't think many people know who I am. But, uh, I guess I can try." He glanced around nervously, his eyes lighting on Grace.

She stood there calmly, staring up at him with empty eyes, and Luke had to wonder if she was even listening to what was saying. Did she care at all?

"Uh... Arcadia's given me a lot to be thankful for. Not just my family, but my high school... friends. They've all been there for me in some way or another, whether physically or just in my mind. I've been fortunate to meet many people who challenged me... some more than others. I remember one time when I was doing a physics lab. I started to copy down a measurement, and my lab partner told me I could go one place further. Those words stuck with me. Everyone can always go one step further than they think, give that much more detail to an otherwise good experiment." Luke frowned, glancing at Colin, who nodded. "Uh, I think I've blathered on enough, and I'm pretty sure all you guys want is for me to rip that sheet off the sign, right?"

The crowd answered with an excited cheer.

Luke gulped, aware Grace was leaning against the sign. He walked over slowly, trying to keep his nervousness from showing as photographers snapped away. He was at her side, suddenly, and she didn't even attempt to move. She just stood there, pressed against the sign. It infuriated Luke, and he reached above her to pull down the sign, his side brushing against her as he leaned in. He pulled angrily and the sheet tore down.

Luke Girardi Circle. He couldn't help but feel there was a double meaning in there somewhere. Because with Grace this close to him, he could almost fool himself into thinking he'd come full circle. Almost.
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