Hello, my readers! Hope you're enjoying my little ramblings here!

Detroit: Thanks for your review. I have been trying to keep Chas and John in character. It's hard, but I think I'm managing okay. Please folks, let me know if I slip up in this department!

Fred the Duck: Okay then… Thanks, I think… (I do actually personally know this woman. Disturbing, huh? Ah well, birds of a feather and all that! We love you Freddy!)

Anyway, on with the tale…

The figure drew a hand through the pool of water and the scrying mirror, and smiled as the image of the woman running through an alleyway broke. It was done…

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"Sit here. Don't move. Don't get yourself into trouble." Constantine forced Chas onto a couch in a secluded corner of the club and looked down at him sternly, saying;

"I'm gonna see if Midnite knows what the Hell is going on. I don't appreciate unwelcome visitors." He stalked off, leaving Chas sitting alone, leaning over with his hands wrung between his legs. He tapped his right foot in time with the music, hoping that his feeling of being watched was just down to good-ol'-home-grown-paranoia. He checked his watch, then rested his chin in his hands, feeling thoroughly miserable. Being the lap dog sucked.

"Chas?" The aforementioned looked up in surprise at the sound of his own name, and felt his heart lighten slightly as he saw Uriel. She was dressed in low-slung combats in a khaki green, and a white crop top with thin straps. Her long dark hair was flowing loose over her shoulders, and Chas was conspicuously aware of her bare midriff. He stood up and was half way through reaching for his cap when he stopped and grinned in slight embarrassment at his idiosyncrasy. Uriel laughed musically, and said;

"We have to stop meeting like this!" She stepped towards Chas, and he indicated t the couch, which she seemed to sink into grate fully. He sat on the other end, leaving a noticeable three feet between them. Uriel looked over at the bar, and a moment later a barman approached with two glasses of orange juice.

"You're driving tonight, right?" she said, handing Chas a glass.

"Uh, yeah." He clutched the drink silently, trying, and failing, to ignore the nervous twitch that he'd suddenly developed; a rapid tapping of his foot. An uncomfortable silence settled over them as it had before, and Chas muttered;

"So, nice weather we're having, huh?" Uriel giggled softly, and said;

"Glad to see your conversation topics have broadened so much!" Chas laughed, starting to relax a little. He wasn't a naturally nervous guy. Maybe it was just being around an all-powerful Elysian being that got him het up.

"So, what are you doing here, mister Kramer?" Uriel said, leaning towards him slightly.

"Aw, John's off having one of his little pow-wows with Midnite. You know, fluffy bunnies, rainbows, cup cakes, the works. So I've been dumped. You?"

"Just delivering a message of eternal damnation to a lost soul." She gave Chas one of those piercing looks, and he stiffened, eyes widening.

"I'm just kidding!" Uriel smiled softly and pushed up the peak of his cap so their eyes locked together. Chas felt himself drowning in her eyes, the colour of the purest ocean. He felt himself blushing, and, desperate to break the tension said;

"I saw Gabriel today!"

The effect that these four words had on his companion was astonishing. Her smile faded instantly, and she dropped her drink, the glass exploding on the floor. She slid off the couch and waved her hand over the pieces, which drew together before the repaired glass flew into her palm. She set it upon the coffee table in front of the couch, and looked up at Chas with an Earth shattering expression.

"Don't ever say that name," she whispered. The boy felt his chest tighten as he saw the beginnings of tears in her eyes. He knelt on the floor beside her, spluttering frantic apologies;

"I'm sorry! I just thought you'd wanna know. She was your sister, after all. I just figured that, well… ah, shit…" Uriel avoided his gaze, touching her face thoughtfully.

"It's just, you're an angel, right? So your job is to love. And Gabriel would have been no exception, so I'd thought you'd wanna know she was okay, see?" Chas wanted to touch her, hold, even violently shake her if it would get a response. He sighed, then said tentivly;

"Uriel?"

"You're right, of course," she said dreamily, "it is my job to care. I've always been weak in the heart." She got to her feet and turned her back on him, saying

"You see, Chas, my name doesn't just mean 'Flame of God.' It can also be translated as 'the Flame of Love.'" She hurried away from him, disappearing instantly into the crowds. Chas thought about going after her for a moment, but then decided against it. What would he say? He flumped down heavily on the couch, and groaned.

"Chas Kramer," he muttered to himself, "you are a stupid ass!"

"Tell me something I don't know." The boy jumped, and looked up to see Constantine towering above him. "C'mon kiddo, time to go." He led them out of the club, and as they ascended to the street, Chas looked around for a sign of Uriel. Unsurprisingly, there was none. They got into the taxi, and John said;

"Home, Jeeves. I've just had a very interesting conversation with Midnite."