-November 2022, 3 months after Eden's rescue-

Zeke woke up in a cold sweat, the nightmare he had dissipating from his view. He sat up, running his fingers through his hair. Nights where he actually slept soundly were hard to come by lately. He and Mick usually took turns when it came to having these nightmares, but tonight was different. He turned over, expecting to see his pregnant wife sound asleep beside him. But instead, she was sitting at the edge of the bed. Her breathing was steady and calm, as if she had been up for a little while and was getting ready to lay back down.

"I'm ok." She spoke as she turned to face him. She had known he was awake before he even saw her sitting there. She heard his panting, and could feel the worry in his body before he uttered a word. "All three of us are ok."

He exhaled, scooting himself over to her, placing his arm around her cold shoulder. "Hey."

She turned to him, her cheeks stained with tears. "Hey."

He held her hand tightly, his body shivering as he no longer felt the warmth of the comforter. "Come lay back down" He whispered. She nodded in response, letting him lead her down back under the covers. They nestled together tightly, the warmth of each other's body giving them safety.

He felt her bump rest against his side, a roundness that was lodged between them, slightly pushing them apart. He loved feeling her bump resting against him. It gave him peace, and feelings of pride as he remembered she was carrying their children.

He remembered that day three months ago after saving Eden. It still gave him anxiety when brought to his memory. Thankfully Michaela was fine, but he still lived with the fear of something happening to her, something happening to them, every day since.

Now at twenty-two weeks along, Mick was doing well. Her morning sickness had faded, giving her the ability to eat normally once again. Her bump was growing, and she was starting to become happy. But that didn't stop the fear they felt for their daughter and son.

When their doctor told them they were having a girl and a boy, they were not shocked one bit, but instead so excited to see their vision confirmed. It was official, and they could scream it from the rooftops.

"Same dream?" He asked his wife, his lips touching her temple. His words whispered softly, giving her comfort. "No." She nodded, trying to recall what she had seen. "This one was…" She paused, holding back tears.

"You don't have to explain." He knew just by the tone of her voice what dream she had had… because he had had it too once.

He pictured it while shutting his eyes. They looked down at the children in their arms, breath gone from them. Taken from this world too soon.

It haunted him every night since.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

She turned her face, a tearful smile encompassing her tired blue eyes. He wiped a falling tear from her face, planting a kiss on her lips.

He held her face with his left hand, keeping her close to him once their kiss finished. Mick sighed, putting her hand over his. "What if-?"

Zeke didn't let her finish her sentence. "No. Not what if. They're gonna be fine." She pulled away from him, sitting upright and staring off into a corner of their room. She turned her head to him after a moment, her face pale.

"But you can't promise that." She replied, hope dissipating from her voice.

"No. But Gabriel can, and he did."

Mick swallowed hard, her gaze turning to the other side of the room, shifting her body weight to her side. Zeke followed, wrapping his arms around her, laying on his side as well.

"You're gonna be fine…. You all are."


Everyone was gathered at Ben's. Papers, badly handwritten notes, research, and all different books were scattered across the table. Ben's glasses were cracked on the floor, and a spare pair was set beside him. Grace sat in silence, watching her husband lean against the island, his cheek squished against the cold marble in frustration. Mick sat next to Grace as Zeke stood beside Ben, trying to help him.

"But Angelina's still out there, isn't she?" Asked Zeke.

"It just makes no sense." Olive spoke from the doorway.

"Gabriel never mentioned him when I was taken to Sheol. How is he one of the fallen?" Cal asked as he paced the room, eventually throwing himself onto the couch. Confusion fell upon their faces as they searched for answers.

How has this become normal everyday life for them?

"You know what, we've been at this for hours. Let's just take a break." Zeke spoke, trying to get everyone to relax. This wasn't the best way to get things done, he knew that. And when everyone was up in arms like this, that was when bad things happened.

"That actually sounds like a great idea." Mick said as she spun her chair around.

"I think we could all use one." Grace nodded, giving her brother-in-law a soft smile. Olive begrudgingly walked to her room, giving her thoughts time to cool off, while Cal found himself making his way to the garage to keep looking for clues.

Ben kissed Grace on the forehead. "I'm gonna go lay down."

"Ok" She whispered, squeezing his arm in return.

The three of them stayed in the kitchen, not moving from their spots. Mick held her head in her hands, her other intertwined with her husbands.

"Soooo." Grace spoke, her voice perky and full of excitement. "How are you?"

Mick smiled, turning her head. "I'm fine. I'm always tired, but besides that we're good."

Silence filled the room for a moment, as they each pondered what to say next. Not out of awkwardness, but out of the fact that they had been talking for hours, and had no steam left.

"You know Mick, I'm really proud of you." Grace's voice broke through the silence, her eye's scanning Mick's lovingly. Mick's face lit up at her comment, appreciation for Grace filling her eyes. Then she squinted, teasing her.

'What did I do?" She asked, a laugh escaping.

"I just never thought I'd see you so…." Grace lifted her hand, pulling it down once she found the right word. "Solid."

Mick smiled. "Thank you."

"You were so broken after everything with Jared." As Grace began, Mick felt a pull at her heartstrings. She hadn't thought about him in a long time. From dating, to the engagement, to cheating and pushing Lordes away… it all felt like a distant memory.

"But to see you move on, and find Zeke." Grace paused, giving him a look. A tear rolled down her cheek as she continued. "Get married… and have babies." A huge smile appeared on her face as she looked at the both of them.

She remembered when Michaela was young.

She was such a good aunt, but kids weren't necessarily on her mind… or having a husband for that matter. She remembered her struggles, and how Mick wasn't sure if she deserved love in the first place. How all she really knew how to do was run, not knowing how to fight for a relationship. Yet here she was today, married to an amazing man who wasn't Jared, and pregnant.

Mick became emotional by Grace's words as well, tears falling down both of their faces.

"I'm just really proud of you."

Mick reached out her hand, gripping Grace's tightly. "I love you." She spoke.

"I love you." Grace responded, then reached her hand out to Mick's bump. "And I love you guys too." She whispered lovingly.

Zeke then cleared his throat, turning the attention to him. "I love you too Zeke." Grace teased.

Suddenly Mick felt herself fall into the arms of a calling.

The wind was howling, like a wild coyote in the presence of a full moon. Taking a moment to stabilize herself, she searched into the distance, seeing a wasteland. Evergreen trees swayed back and forth, the wind threatening to rip their roots from the ground. But besides the trees, wherever she was was barren, completely lifeless.

She turned, spotting a figure in the dark.

Adrian.

His bodily form melting away as he morphed from human to raven. Suddenly, a crack of black lightning surged behind her. She turned, seeing an evergreen lit in blue flame. Adrian cawed, flying over Mick's head, and over the aflame tree.

She heard her name through the silence.

She turned, seeing her brother. For some reason she never had callings alone anymore… but she didn't mind. They were impossible to figure out on your own anyways. They ran towards each other, their voices straining over the sound of the raging wind.

"Where are we?!" Ben yelled, grabbing his sister's arm and bringing her closer.

"I don't know. Did you see Adrian?!"

" Yes. What is he doing in our calling?!"

Suddenly, the tree fell to the ground, flames lighting up the grass below them. Adrian flew towards the empty dark horizon, their eyes following his large wingspan against the pull of the black sky.

"Look!" Ben yelled, Mick's eyes turning to his direction. Her jaw dropped when she saw what was facing them.

A large figure floated before them. It's eyes burned red like crimson.

"I've read about you!" Ben yelled through the violent weather. "You're Azrael, the angel of death!"

Azrael didn't move, nor did he speak. Instead he hovered still before them, as motionless as a painting.

"What do you want with us?!" Mick yelled as she backed into Ben, his right arm wrapped around her to keep her safe.

"It's not what I want with you." Azrael whispered. His voice was like melting iron dripping into a aglow by the flame of a blowtorch. The wind stopped as he opened his mouth, the sound fading into distant shrieks.

"It's what you want with me."


ooooooo, the angel of death huh? You know what they say, never make deals with the devil.

So, what did you guys think of this chapter? I whipped it out pretty quickly, and am very impressed with myself haha. I can't believe we're at chapter 20! This whole fic has flown by, it's absolutely insane! I'm not sure how many more chapters I'll need to finish out the story. I wanna say maybe about 10? Maybe 15? Could be less, could be more, who knows lol. At the moment I have no clue.

As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter here, on Archive, or via twitter!

See you next month!

Love, The Color Gray