"Your Mind can make a Hell out of Heaven

or a Heaven out of Hell."

-John Milton

Jason shifted uncomfortably in his tub as the screaming continued, and he wondered, belatedly, if this was really a torture chamber and there was going to be an angel coming in any second to wring answers from him. The water hadn't cooled, surprisingly, and he tried to take comfort in it, but the nausea that lingered suddenly leapt in his chest, and he nearly emptied the contents of his stomach into the water. That would be gross, though, and he managed to choke the bile down before this bath took a turn for the worst. He was scared half to death when, suddenly, the doors were thrown open.

He had to admit, he squealed like a character in those cartoons when someone sees them in the shower. This time, however, he didn't have a bathing brush thing to bonk the intruder on the head with, though that would've been quite disastrous since that intruder just so happened to be his wife. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly as Piper was shoved into his quarters by a group of very scratched-up and bruised guards, who seemed glad to slam and lock the doors in her face. The healing angel banged on the cold surface her fists, screaming profanities that were so lewd that even a sailor would cringe a little, and Jason's heart stuttered a bit in his chest as he saw Piper as she'd been before.

Her hair was no longer white, but rather the glossy brown that it'd been before, and all of the makeup that she usually wore to make herself look old and wrinkled was completely washed away. She'd even had the time to braid her hair back, and her signature feather was in its rightful place once more. It made his heart ache, and he wished he could call out to her (despite the fact that she'd thrown herself into a rage and was completely oblivious to his presence), but instead he had bigger matters at hand. He snapped out of his love-struck trance and scrambled to find a towel, not that Piper hadn't seen everything already, but there was no towel to be found. Anywhere. It was just him, his birthday suit, and his glasses, which had slid down his nose and were now balancing precariously, and he quickly pushed them back up as his head whipped back and forth in a vain attempt to try and see if there were any escape routes.

Piper was breathing hard, muttering some very profound things under her breath as she leaned her forehead against the door and clenched her fists at her sides. She seemed pretty pissed, and he wondered if he made his presence known she'd take out all her anger on him. It had happened before, but instead of throwing punches she'd hurled insults, and even if she wasn't actually yelling at him per say, it still felt like she was. Despite this, there was also the possibility of some R-rated lovey-dovey stuff. It wasn't like Jason wouldn't be on board with it; he loved sex just as much as the next guy, but the only problem was that he was severely out of practice. Your sex life isn't really that good when you're an eighty-seven year old man with bad lungs, and you can't really get laid in a nursing home, where there walls are thin and there are monitors patrolling the halls.

He was so caught up in his worries that he nearly didn't notice that Piper had turned around and was rubbing her temples with her eyes screwed shut, attempting to reign in her temper. Jason contemplated whether making a mad dash for the unmade blankets on the bed was reasonable, but that's when he heard a surprised, "Jason?!"

"Uh…hey, Pipes…" he greeted rather awkwardly, leaning against the cold edge of the tub and trying for nonchalance. Piper's mouth had dropped open, and her eyes had gone as wide as saucers as she outwardly and unashamedly ogled him.

"You're…"

"A stupid, idiotic, completely unbelievable moron for getting captured, I kno-"

"…beautiful," she whispered, her tone brimming with a combination of awe and disbelief. She began to walk forward, but Jason chuckled nervously and held up his hands to stop her before she got to close.

"Um…I was in the middle of taking a bath when you…came in," he explained sheepishly. "Not clothed." Piper seemed about eighty thousand percent done.

"I'm your wife. I've seen it all," she deadpanned, ignoring Jason's undignified protest as she stormed toward him and planted a kiss on his lips. He froze up at first, his heart fluttering wildly in his chest, but eventually he smiled softly into the kiss, allowing his eyes to slide closed, and kissed black. They were like that for what felt like years, just kissing unhurriedly, and when Piper eventually drew away he let out an indignant huff. She grinned and lowered herself down onto the edge of the basin, stripping off her shoes and socks and rolling up her pants before dipping her feet in. Jason regarded her nice, delicate feet for a moment and wondered if tickling them was worth the scolding he'd get, but one withering look from Piper was all the answer that he needed.

Piper took Jason's head in her hands and ran her fingers over the lines of his face; the crease of his cheekbones, the slight crinkles around his eyes that always appeared when he smiled, and the smooth, beautiful skin, which was unblemished and unwrinkled. Piper's vocal cords refused to work as she regarded her husband with something that was so much more than awe, and she couldn't believe that he was young once more. It was like a dream come true, and she played with the small hairs at the nape of his neck in order to anchor herself and make sure that yes, this was all real.

He was the same age as when they'd first met, and with all her heart she hoped that he'd stay that way for good; she didn't think she'd be able to bear watching him grow old and frail again, watching him become hunched an unable to function without meds. Now, it wasn't like she only appreciated Jason for his good looks. He was so much more than that. He was charming, loyal, brave, and everything in between, and she'd still loved him with all her heart when he was old. Even so, whenever she'd looked at him during those years in the nursing home, sorrow had settled on her shoulders and dampened her mood. Jason wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be out slaying beasts and taking names, not hunched over a table playing BINGO and complaining about Helen's fruit baskets afterwards. He was supposed to be the strong one (or at least have the illusion that he was the strong one), and he most certainly didn't need to wear adult diapers and need help getting out of and into bed. It had pained her so much to see him like that, and although he hadn't been suffering, he hadn't been happy, either.

Jason seemed to sense that her mind was lingering in a bad place, and he sighed and leaned in to kiss her again, bringing his hands up to settle on her waist. She didn't care all that much that her shirt was getting soaked and she leaned into the kiss, bracing her arms on his warm, damp shoulders and rubbing circles into the velvety skin there. His lips were plush and healthy, not chapped and thin, and her joy was unparalleled as she drew away to kiss at one of his favorite spots, right under his ear. He seemed a bit shocked, like he'd forgotten about that little sweet spot, and his startled grunt melted into a content little hum as he ran his hands down Piper's back. She made a trail of kisses across his stubbly jawline before finally bringing their lips back together.

"I think we should take it easy," Jason mumbled, the sound reverberating low in his chest, and Piper, though she was surprised and rather reluctant, withdrew, burying her face into the crook of his neck as he stroked her sides. She couldn't help but listen to the sound of his deep, even breathing, which, unlike before, was not rattling or ragged in the least, and her heart somehow managed to warm even further. Was it just her, or did he sound nervous when mentioning taking it to the next level? When they were newlyweds he'd practically pounce on any chance to get laid, so much that she actually had to make him work for it. Oh, you got a raise? Let's have a nice night together. You moved all of the furniture into the moving truck by yourself? Good job, wait until we get situated. She even sometimes had to threaten to withdraw from lovemaking in order to keep him in line. Had a drinking contest with Nico and puked all over the floor? He's a fallen angel; he can't get drunk, you moron. No sex for a month. Etcetera.

"I'll get your clothes, I guess," she sighed, rising to her feet and searching for the scattered shirts, pants, and underwear. She gathered them into a heap, her hands slightly damp from the water on Jason's shoulders, but she couldn't find herself to care as she gathered all of the clothing items up into a heap, bringing them over to the edge of the basin. "But now that you're young I'm not going to be cleaning up all of your messes. I don't care whether you're eighty-seven; you look like and are as strong and healthy as a seventeen-year-old, and you can do it yourself. I'm older than the universe itself, and look how I have to labor over you." Jason pouted, obviously preparing for his first wife-ranting experience as a born-again man, but Piper cut him some slack and didn't continue, though she could've gone off on a tangent if she'd liked.

Jason, after balking for a moment, rose from the tub. Waterfalls streamed off of his body and he looked like a god in the light cast by the windows, but nevertheless he seemed a bit self-conscious, and he wrung his hands shyly, looking down. The fallen healing angel didn't mind his nakedness at all, and she admired his hard muscles and sculpted form, which was much like a Roman statue's. Her elation somehow mounted, and she handed him his clothes, though she had to admit that she was a little disappointed knowing that those miles of tanned skin would soon be shielded by the fabric. To her great satisfaction, Jason slipped on his grey boxers and seemed to decide that that was enough clothing, and he proceeded to throw the rest into a nearby hamper, where they literally disappeared to the angel maids for cleaning. Piper's eyes wandered over his chest greedily, from his pecs to his abs (which were surprisingly defined considering he'd stopped working out after the age of forty-five), and trailed her gaze across to the hard muscles of his back, which flexed and shifted as he moved, nearly making her drool all over herself. She smiled as he stretched, and couldn't resist letting her gaze flick to his V-line, which peeked over the lip of his boxers.

"Goddamn," she whispered with something akin to worship filling her voice, and this made Jason look up, a smirk playing over his lips.

"What was that?" he asked innocently, quirking an eyebrow.

"I said that you're the ugliest fucking thing I've ever seen in my life," Piper snapped, and Jason chuckled richly, having clearly heard his wife's exclamation and simply wishing for her to say it again.

"Does it ever grow dark here?" he complained, turning to regard the blazing light of Heaven through the arched windows beside the bed. "My eyeballs are getting seared out of my skull." Piper had to admit, for a cell it was pretty damn beautiful. Heck, it made Saint Peter's cathedral make a run for its money. She was particularly fond of the stained glass overhead, which had just shifted from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the group of Jews lighting the menorah on the eighth day, their shocked faces revealing that they hadn't expected the oil to last that long. "I don't think the angels understand that some of us need to sleep." Piper raised an eyebrow, confused.

"You're tired?" she questioned, worry laced into her voice. Jason seemed confused, and his brow furrowed as he frowned.

"Yeah, exhausted, why?"

"Human souls aren't supposed to get tired in Heaven. It's paradise; people experience it twenty-four hours a day without even a cat nap." Piper was beginning to fret, wringing her hands behind her back, but she didn't want to make Jason even more panicked than he already was. "Are you all right?"

"I've been a bit queasy," his words came out in a rush, and he seemed to be panicking. He obviously didn't realize that he wasn't an old man anymore and didn't really have to worry about the simplest of colds. "Is that bad?"

How is that possible? she wondered. Nobody gets sick in Heaven. It's Heaven! Instead of voicing her qualms to her husband, she merely shrugged, crossing the distance between them in two quick strides, taking his hands in hers.

"Hey, look at me," Jason looked up, his eyes round and sad, not to mention filled with anxiety. He looked like a kicked puppy, and she was determined to fix that. "It's fine," she whispered, her words having the desired reassuring effect onto her husband, "You're going to be fine." She enveloped him in a hug, listening to the steady beat of his heart as it slowed from its frantic slamming to a relaxed thrum. He wrapped his strong arms around her and lifted her up off the ground, carrying her to the bed and laying her down gently. Piper stripped to her bra and underwear, unwilling to sleep in her sweaty and rather uncomfortable old people clothes, and pulled the covers to her shoulders, Jason sliding in beside her. He pressed her back to his chest, draping his arm over her and relaxing into the covers. Piper didn't sleep, it was physically impossible for her to do so in Heaven, however after a few minutes Jason was snoring, a soft puff from his nose every time he exhaled.

Piper was worried about him. His body had to be truly burnt out if he was to sleep in Heaven, but what kind of continuous physical exertion would make him so tired? With all of those thoughts slamming around her skull, she closed her eyes and waited for Jason to wake.

-Ω-

Jason's body was working overtime, using the last ounce of its energy to make mental room for his company. Giel felt quite relaxed within his human vessel. He watched out of Jason's eyes when he needed to and used his ears when necessary, however he liked to just float around in the darkness, warm and comfortable. It was as cozy as bundling yourself up under heaps of blankets when it was cold outside. Giel felt Jason's body rushing to help heal him, and he could already feel his flesh, very, very, very slowly, shift in order to right his flight feathers. It would take a long time to heal, even if his injury was that small, and he felt bad for Jason as he experienced the aftermath of unconsciously working around the clock.

Giel blessed Jason with a dreamless sleep as his body worked and worked and worked, finally able to rest after a long day. Giel himself was a bit sleepy, and he listened to the comforting and rather sleep-inducing thunder of Jason's heart and the rush of blood to all of his systems. Had he been in his physical form he would've smiled, slowly drifting off into a deep slumber.

-Ω-

(A/N) Yay another chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot

WHERE ARE YOU PEOPLEEEEEEEE? PLEASE REVIEW SO I KNOW I'M DOING SOMETHING RIGHT! I need constructive criticism if I'm going to get better! Go all Gordon Ramsey on me I DON'T CARE