After leaving the diner, Mica and Gabriel went for a walk around the city and stopped in front of a chain-link fence, watching children playing on the playground at a school. Some of them were playing soccer, kicking the ball across a grassy field, while others played hopscotch or jump rope with their friends. Gabriel didn't seem all that interested in watching the kids, but Mica insisted.

"You gonna stare at those brats all day?" Gabriel asked.

"They're not brats, Gabriel", said Mica. "They're children."

Gabriel walked away while Mica stayed behind and focused her attention on the children playing soccer out on the field. One boy kicked the ball a little too hard and sent it flying over the fence. The ball would have hit her right in the face, but Mica caught it in time with her hands before it could make an impact. The children ran over to the fence and looked up at the lady in the white coat standing on the other side holding their soccer ball.

"Excuse me, ma'am, could we have our ball back, please?" Asked one boy.

"Sure, Christopher", said Mica, handing the soccer ball back to him.

"Hey, how did you know my name?" Christopher asked her.

"That's your name, isn't it?"

The boy, Christopher, gave her a weird look and went back to the field with his friend to finish their game. Mica continued watching the children until they heard the bell ring, announcing that recess was over.

"Mica!"

Mica turned her head and looked at Gabriel, who signaled for her to come along. The angel girl looked back at the children one more time before continuing to walk with Gabriel through the city.

"I remember a time when you used to love children" said Mica.

"Yeah, well, things have changed", said Gabriel. "I mean, don't get me wrong. I don't hate them or nothing. They're not as bad as most of the grownup monkeys, but they're okay."

"Well, I think they're adorable", said Mica.

Like all angels, Mica loved children, for they were the most innocent, and believed in magic and miracles. It was a little known fact that children often saw angels, and that each one had a special angel watching over them.

Gabriel held his arm out in front of Mica to stop her from walking ahead of him and stared a little red-haired girl with freckles sitting on a bench in front of a store. She looked sad, and for good reason.

"What is it?" Mica asked him.

"I know that kid", Gabriel answered. He went over and down on the bench with the little girl, who looked up at the dark-haired man with tears in eyes.

"Hi, there", said Gabriel, giving her a kind-hearted smile. "You okay, Janie?"

"How do you know my name?" The little girl asked, wiping her eyes.

Gabriel shrugged innocently. "Well, you look like a Janie", he said.

Mica came over and sat down on Janie's right, pulling her close so she could hold the child in her lap.

"Why aren't you in school with the other children?" Mica asked the child.

"Daddy doesn't want me to go to school anymore", Janie answered. "He says it's a waste of time and the teachers know too much."

"That's a strange thing to say", said Mica, suspiciously.

"She's not wrong, you know", said Gabriel.

"Gabriel!"

"What? It's the truth."

"How would you know?" Mica questioned. "You never even been to school."

"I didn't need to go to school", said Gabriel. "I had my own private tutor at home, remember?"

"But you've forgotten everything He's taught you. If God knew what you were saying right now, He'd-"

"Janie!"

Mica and Gabriel turned their heads and saw a middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a mustache come staggering out out of the store, holding a beer bottle in his hand. His hazel eyes were bloodshot as though he had not had sleep in three days. Janie hugged onto Mica, who wrapped her arms protectively around the child to keep her safe, knowing this man, who wasn't even her real father, was in no condition to be around her.

"Get your ass in the car, Janie", the man told her, slurring his words. "We're going home."

Janie tried to break free from Mica's arms, but the angel girl refused to let her go, knowing full well what would happen if she did.

Gabriel was thinking the same thing as his sister and stood up and went over to confront the man.

"If you were any kind of a stepfather, you would love your stepdaughter instead of trying to abuse her", said Gabriel. "You strike Janie again, I'll suck out your soul and trap it in a jar and throw it in the ocean."

"Wha' the hell you talkin' about?" The intoxicated man asked him. "I didn' do nothin' to her."

"You're lying", said Gabriel. "I know what you've done to both her and her mother. You think you're so tough, but you have no idea what I'm capable of doing. I can make your life a living hell if I wanted to."

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try it."

"Suit yourself."

Putting a finger to his lips, Gabriel attempted to put the intoxicated man to sleep by putting his other hand on the drunk's forehead, forgetting that he was a mortal, and therefore, had no powers. Nothing happened, of course.

Mica groaned softly, a look of embarrassment painted on her face. How could Gabriel forget he wasn't an angel anymore and didn't have any powers. He should have known better than to act so arrogantly.

Gabriel felt awkward about the situation himself and pulled his hand away and looked at his palms, then looked at the drunk man, who was just about as confused as he was, and said to him, "Funny, this usually works."

"Yeah? Well, so does this!" Without warning, the man took a swing at Gabriel and punched him right in the face, knocking him down to the ground.

Setting Janie down on the bench, Mica stood up immediately and walked over to the man, putting her hands on his chest and sending a wave of shock throughout his body, causing him to crumble and fall. Right away, the man started yelling and cried out in pain, staring up in fear at the angel woman who stood over him, anger radiating in her golden brown eyes. If the man hadn't hurt Gabriel, maybe he could have walked away unharmed.

"Daddy!" Janie exclaimed, running over to check on her stepfather, who was unable to move or get up. The redheaded girl looked up at Mica and asked her tearfully, "What did you do to my daddy?"

Mica looked terrified upon hearing the way Janie said that. It was only made worse when the little girl ran away, abandoning her stepfather and thinking she would be hurt next. Mica felt guilty about what she had just done and looked at her hands, feeling sick to her stomach. She didn't mean to scare the child away by hurting her stepfather in front of her. She was only trying to defend Gabriel, who groaned as he stood up and held a hand to his nose, pulling it away to look at the blood on his fingers. Casting a glance at Mica and seeing she was distressed, Gabriel looked down at the man on the ground, who continued crying, begging for somebody to help him.

"Not today, pal", Gabriel remarked. He grabbed Mica by her arms and started to draw her away before somebody called the police. "Come on, let's get outta here."

"No!" Mica protested. "Gabriel, wait!"

He lead her away from the the scene of his assault, and although his nose burned as blood continued to flow out from his nostrils, Gabriel still pressed on and never bothered to stop and ask Mica where the little girl had gone. Probably ran home to tell her mama what happened, Gabriel thought. Not that it mattered to him. That was twice this week he had gotten hurt by a mortal and experienced pain, and he was started to get pissed off.

When they turned a corner, Mica finally broke out of her brother's strong grip and questioned him, "What just happened back there?"

"Who cares? You took care of him, didn't ya?" Gabriel asked her, sniffling as he wiped his nose onto his sleeve.

Mica reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to Gabriel for his bloody nose.

"What did I do to that man?" Mica asked.

Gabriel held the handkerchief to his nose and wiped away some of the blood before answering her. "Nothing. You just turned him into a cripple. One less monkey to worry about."

"But I didn't mean it."

"Yes, you did. Why else would you have done it if you did?"

Mica shook her head. "I'm going back", she said, turning around.

Gabriel grabbed her arm again and spun Mica around. "Going back? For what? I just told you what he was doing to that kid, and you still wanna go back and help him?"

"Yes. I don't like what he's doing to his family any more than you do, but I would never think about harming people, not matter how badly they deserve it."

"Are you hearing yourself right now?"

"I am a servant of God, Gabriel, not a blood knight! We're supposed to help people, not hurt them. I may not like some of the things they do, but helping them is the only way I can-"

"SHUT UP!" Gabriel snapped at Mica, who stepped back, scared by the tone of his voice. "You're really full of shit, you know that? You think everything about this world is all sunshine and fairy tales? Well, it's not! It's a sick, mindless, messed up world and you know it. You start acting like you want to be one of them, you'll be turning your back on your own kind, your own brethren! You'd rather be a monkey than an angel, wouldn't you?"

Mica shook her head, her eye lit up with tears. "Oh, Gabriel, you are a fool", she whispered. "I'm trying so desperately to get you to change your mind about humans and become the angel you once were, but you are so blind by jealousy over God's love of humanity, you've forgotten what it's like to be a true angel. A real angel does not hate anyone, not even the most cruel, wicked, sadistic man who ever lived."

"That's not what you said about Hitler", Gabriel mentioned.

Mica stepped forward and said firmly, "Adolf Hitler was a man who tried to take over a nation, but he never, in his entire life, ever thought about trying to take over Heaven. Because of you, innocent souls look to Lucifer for refuge and allow themselves to dwell in the pits of Hell. Do you have any idea how much you hurt me for what you've done?"

Several people were stopping to see what the drama was between Mica and Gabriel, one of them which was Elliott, who was holding his mother's hand while she carried a grocery bag in her other arm.

"What are you trying to say?" Gabriel questioned, angrily. "Are you saying I'm a monster, huh? Is that what you're accusing me of being?"

"I'm not accusing you of being anything", said Mica. "I love you, Gabriel, but it saddens me that you still refuse to love and accept what you've become."

"And what exactly have I become, Mica?!" Gabriel shouted. "Take a good look at me and tell me what you see! You know what I see? Another filthy, dirty, disgusting, goddamn talking monkey!"

Hearing him take the Lord's name in vain, Mica shrieked and grabbed Gabriel by the front of his jacket, slamming him hard against a lamppost.

"Do not take God's name in vain like that in front of me!" Mica shouted. She lowered her voice and said to him, "Soil the name of our Father again, Gabriel, and I will smite you down and cast you back into the fire myself."

"Go ahead, then! You'll be doing me a favor, monkey girl!"

Feeling hurt by her brother's words, Mica looked around at the people that were staring at her and Gabriel. There were other children who were staring at her besides Elliott, some hiding behind their parents and looking at her with fear in their eyes. That was the last thing she wanted to see on any of their faces. This was not how angels were supposed to act. They weren't supposed to fight their siblings. For once, Mica felt ashamed at herself.

Looking at Gabriel, Mica released him and stepped away, continuing to stare at him with deep shame. When Gabriel stepped forward, looking as though he were about to apologize, the heartbroken angel girl turned around and ran away from him, not wanting her older brother to see the tears that were about to fall from her eyes. She knew Gabriel hated when humans cried. The last thing she wanted was for him to see her crying.

"Mica, wait!" Gabriel called out to her. "Please, don't go!"

But it was too late. The angel girl vanished somewhere in the crowd and disappeared, leaving Gabriel behind. Two teenage boys came over and asked if he was all right, but Gabriel shooed them off, worrying more about his little sister than his bleeding nostril and wounded pride. He didn't understand why Mica ran away. Maybe because she threatened to send him to Hell, or maybe because she was frightened of the way he yelled at her. Gabriel sighed deeply, regretting his words and wishing he could take them back. If Mica didn't return to him soon, he would be on his own for the remainder of his punishment, if not permanent stay, on Earth.