"You have my deepest appologies-" Angeal began while watching Anise move around the room. It was something he felt he had to say.

"For what?" Anise asked as she check the suitcase zipper. It wasn't running smoothly and she was fidgeting with it. Finally the zipper gave way and she continued closing the luggage.

"Because I'm aware that you're returning home early because of me." Angeal's voice was low and soft as he tried to keep the guilt out of it. He fought the urge to look at his shoes as Anise stopped moving.

Anise paused as her hands rested on top of her suitcase, the corner of her lips twitching in agitation and surprise. She turned around looking at him curiously before asking how he knew that.

"You left your hotel receipt on the counter, I…glanced over it." He said, rather ashamedly, feeling like the little boy who was caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Although he didn't know how exactly that felt because his family never could afford that small treat in the midst of all their other bills pilling up.

"Well, I only planned to stay one day here, the extra was just in case I decided otherwise. I don't like being so far from my children." She lied through her teeth, not about the length between herself and her kids because in that short time, she did miss them. But that wasn't the case, she did plan on two days but felt that under the circumstances it was best she returned home as soon as possible..

"I see." He easily saw through the lie. Her pupils were dilating, and fingers twitched incessantly at her sides. Whether it was because they had just shut off the air conditioner or her worry, he took it into consideration.

"Anyways, it's a long drive home so we'd better get some rest. I'll take the pull-out couch and you can have the bed-"

"I'd rather have the sofa-"

"No, no. I'm not the one who was just brought back to life. I'm sure the Lifestream wasn't all that easy on your body in bringing you back." Anise said firmly as she turned back to the luggage before placing it on the ground and over by the doorway. She looked over to the First Class who sat on a chair by the entertainment system, looking rather…nervous? She wasn't quite sure what the word was, but it was easy to tell that he was uncomfortable.

"What is it?"

"I just…think you're doing too much for me."

"Oh, none of that!" She sighed with a shake of her head. " I want you to come with me, after all I'm the one that suggested it."

He sighed, closing his eyes then nodded, knowing she was right. He felt like he was taking advantage of her in some form or another. However, she had it set in her mind that he was going to come with her and she was going to do her best to help him in any way possible. With that known and not wanting to argue any more than necessary, he gratefully took the bed while she rested on the couch.

The only sounds in the room that night was the air conditioning and Anise's soft breathing, which compared to the sounds of guns and the clash of swords was soothing to Angeal's ears as he listened for her rhythmic breathing to signal that she was asleep. It took some time, after all, there was a video game character sleeping in her hotel room. Eventually the gentle breaths began a pattern and she was resting, unlike the SOLDIER 1st who sat up with his fingers pressed to his temples. He didn't want to bother her over the stabbing pain behind his eyes. He figured it would pass but it seemed to be getting stronger with each passing minute. Wanting something to distract him, he got out of bed and strode over to where the woman was sleeping and silently knelt beside her.

He didn't quite get a close look at her features, and for some odd reason it seemed like his usual Mako enhanced vision wasn't as sharp as before. Her light brown hair fell a few inches past her shoulders and pale pinkish lips. It was easy to tell that her skin wasn't naturally tanned as it was now, he could see a slight tan line across her shoulders. After seeing the line, he recalled something else she mentioned. She wasn't married. Naturally, he glanced over to her hands to see that there was no wedding ring or the usual mark of one after being worn for so long. Seeing no trace of the ring, he knew from that small fact that it had been years since she last wore the ring. Usually, took in the least, six months for the markings to completely disappear.

"Who would have thought that watching all those detective movies with Zack actually paid off?" Angeal murmured to himself with a soft chuckle then stood up, moving back to the bed seeing that there wasn't anything very special about the woman who helped him. It did leave him pondering about what awaited them when she finally reached home. She didn't mention much about her children, except that she had ten year old boy named Rudy and a six year old daughter that went by the name of Cheri. However, there was one thing that did bother him. How did the little girl even know about him and of his coming to their house before her mother had even made up her mind about it?

He abruptly clenched his teeth as another sharp stab of pain flared behind his eyes. He decided that maybe he ought to try to rest, after all it was probably just his body adjusting to this new world…he hoped.

The next morning he woke up to the sound of the shower running and the smell of lavender body wash was wafted through the air vents. Seeing that it was the start of a new day, he stretched out for a moment then got up glad that the throbbing pain in his skull was gone. However, the second his feet touched the ground it was back like a Bandersnatch in a fury. Fighting back the grunt of pain, he continued to push forwards and towards the object that had caught his eye when he first entered the room the day before. The coffee pot. Once again he found something to distract himself with as he figured out how to work it then succeeded in actually making a decent cup of the hot liquid caffeine. The bitter taste brought back the memories of a certain spiky dark haired teen, Zack Fair, the mischievous Second Class who first introduced him to what was now his lifeblood.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips after taking another sip before moving towards the chair beside the TV system, he could recall how everything had first gotten started…

"Looks like someone's age is finally catching up to them!" Zack snickered as he watched Angeal get up from his sleeping bag with a groan only to send a fierce glare at the peppy SOLDIER before him.

"I'm not that old, Zackary. One of these days, the Goddess be damned, I'll find out how on Gaia you get that much energy. Its inhuman how you keep it up every day." Angeal growled as he stretched his muscles briefly before he stepped away from the tent he was sharing with his student. He had decided to take Zack training out in the fields to fight actual monsters. After all things were much more different in real life than in the Virtual Reality system. And as crazy as it was, Zack seemed to flourish under the harsh morning training regimes Angeal inflicted on him. It was only to make him the best that he could be. He had to admit though, he had taken a lot of pride in his student, he was unlike any person he had ever met. Smart, witty, funny when he wanted to be and so…full of life. Just like a child, everything was still so very new to him. Everything was whimsical in one form or another to the Second Class and that old-yet-new perspective brightened up Angeal's day…and more often than not, threw his day into chaos too.

"Huh? Oh! That's easy!" Zack frowned for a moment then his eyes lit up. He dashed over to his pack only to pull out several white packets then thrust one at Angeal with a happy-go-lucky grin. Angeal, however, didn't know what was actually inside the packets and the first thing that came to mind was-

"Zack. Steroids will eventually wear off and you'll wind up being addicted to them-"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute!" Zack yelped out with a shake of his head. "Those aren't steroids! Its instant coffee mix! Sheesh, you thought I was taking that?"

"What did you expect me to think? That you actually got energy from a sugary-caffeine induced high?" Angeal snorted looking over his student to see if the teen was suffering from some side effect of the coffee.

"Well...yeah." The student replied shyly scuffling his feet, knowing that Angeal didn't approve of his methods of getting through the day.

"You're joking."

"Nope. Give it a try and then you can be the judge of whether it helps or not. Trust me!"

Famous last words. And last it was, because after that morning, Angeal never stepped out of his apartment without having his morning dose of the kindly sugary- caffeine that was coffee. A sharp pang stung at his heart at the fond memory of his student, before everything had fallen apart…before Angeal had hurt him the way he did. Forcing Zack to be his mentor's executioner, then to carry on Angeal's legacy while dealing with the problems he had left behind for his student…and friend. Gods, how he wished he could re-write time. Things would have been so different, if only-

"Hey. What's the matter?" A soft voice said as a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. He looked back to see Anise standing behind him with a towel slung over her shoulder. He glanced over her appearance which was a simple white tank top, faded blue jacket, and dark blue jeans while her hair fell down her shoulders.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." He replied quietly as his eyes darted away from her and down at his now-empty cup of coffee. With drawing into his own world much like a turtle would curl back into his shell.

"O-Okay then. Well I'm going to go downstairs and check us out, so why don't you shower and get ready to go while I do that and grab some breakfast. How's that sound?" She said releasing her hold on his shoulder then turned to grab her purse after seeing his nod of agreement. By the time she had gone to the front counter, signed herself out, picked up a few items from the continental breakfast table and returned back to the room, Angeal was already showered, dressed and had their luggage sitting by the door.

"Wow, you work fast!" She remarked before placing the tray on the table " I wasn't sure what you'd want to I took a little bit of everything."

"Thank you." He said before reaching over to the apple that sat on the far corner of the tray as they started their breakfast and half an hour later, they were walking into the parking lot of the hotel and towards a dark blue Ford F-150. They made quick work of loading up the luggage into the bed of the truck then things took a turn for the worse. Angeal was about to slide into the passenger seat when the sharp stabbing pain abruptly turned into bright flashes of light and the stabbing feeling turned into one of burning.

"Angeal! What is it?" Anise said as she reached across the driver side to the 1st Class, who merely brushed her off, not wanting her to worry about him, but the damage was done and she had gone on mother alert.

"Don't you dare tell me nothing's wrong. You're in pain, I'm taking you to the hospital-"

"No. I'm…fine. Just a headache-"

"You know I don't believe that."

"I'm aware. But…I'd rather not go to a hospital, considering I have no files anywhere on this planet proving my existence. The pain is passing, let's just go now." He argued with her as she shook her head. Eyeing him skeptically she reached across Angeal to yank open the glove compartment, pulling out a small 3x2 inch packet and placed it in his palm.

"I'd feel much better if you let me take you to the hospital, but if you're intent on being stubborn, then just take this. Its painkillers that should in the least take the edge off the headache." She said then grabbed the water bottle sitting in the cup holder across from her and thrust it into his other hand. "Take it or I will take you to the hospital."

A few moments later the packet was empty, the water in the bottle was half gone and they were on the road. Anise didn't make conversation till after they were out of the city, since Angeal seemed to want to soak up every piece of scenery and object they drove by then at last they were met with endless countryside.

The sights of the prairies and fields instantly sent that nostalgia feeling back to Angeal as his supposed 'headache' died off. Some things were very much like his hometown of Banora, and yet so very different, everything about this world was familiar and alien as well. Eventually the silence between the two began to eat at them and Angeal decided to find out more about her home.

"Well…We live out in boonies, or in more proper terms, I live in a very small remote country town. Sort of. My home is half an hour from the town and it takes 15 to 20 minutes to reach any neighbors." She explained with a small smile as she recalled the place she called home.

"There's a 2 story farm house, a stable in the back, chicken coop and a few cattle. I have like about 10-15 acres of land behind the house…I don't know how much that would be on Gaia, but it's a good sized piece of land. The kids just love it out there…"

It was ten o clock at night when the two drove down a small country road and up an even smaller dirt path leading up to the farm house that Anise had described to the dark haired SOLDIER. He glanced over to Anise to see the smile daring to appear on her lips as she saw her home and a few of the lights lit up in anticipation for her.

"I thought I told those kids not to stay up past 10." She scolded but Angeal could easily hear the happiness hidden behind her chiding tone. He smiled glad to see her so relaxed and happy, however those happy feelings were blown away like feathers on the wind when the truck came to a halt in the driveway and the almost like a flash of lightning the pain was worse than anything he could have ever possibly imagined.

He doubled over in his seat, his hands instantly moving to clutch his head as the pain seared throughout his skull. He didn't understand why this was happening to him. He had no major injuries and what ever could be classified as a major injury wouldn't actually be quite so severe because of his Mako enhanced healing. He could hear Anise shaking his shoulder frantically and for the first time in meeting her, he heard her swear worse than some of the SOLDIERs he had worked with. Wanting to reassure her that he'd be fine, he turned towards her but that simple movement sent his head spinning and rushing into an overwhelming darkness.

"Damn it, Angeal! I told you we should've-Argh!" She snarled out as she leapt out from the driver's seat and ran the length of the truck to his side to fling the door open and have his heavy frame fall on her once again.

"Mommy?"

"Mom?"

Anise's eyes darted over to the two smaller figures standing on the front porch waiting for her happy return, she glanced at unconscious SOLDIER 1st then back to her kids before waving them over.

"Rudy, come here and help me. We need to get him inside, Cheri, get the door open-" Anise said quickly as she reached across Angeal to unbuckle the seatbelt and slowly slide him out of the car. She felt her son appear next to her anxiously, stopping for a moment she looked down at him and lightly ruffled his hair. "Its okay honey, he's just not feeling very well at the moment. But right now I need you to be my big strong boy and help me get him inside the house, okay?"

Rudy's eyes lit up for a moment as he gave his mom a firm nod before answering back " Okay mom!"

"I-I swept out the guest b-bedroom! And-and shook out the sheets all by myself, Momma!" Cheri said cheerily as she looked up to her mother then over to the man leaning against said mother. "Don't worry, Momma! It's like you said, right? He'll be right as…right as…what was it, Momma?"

"Rain, sweetie." Anise grunted out as Angeal's full weight rested on her shoulders while Rudy struggled to get Angeal's other arm around his shoulders. "He'll be right as rain. Go get the door, Cheri."

"Okay, Momma!" Cheri instantly raced towards the front door as the two older people staggered forwards under the weight of the Banoran-born man. Cheri looked at the three happily as she swung open the screen door as wide as she possibly could manage and patiently waited for her mother and brother to enter the home. Things were much harder getting him up the stairs compared to getting down the truck. However, slowly but surely they made their way up and into the guest bedroom to find the sheets tucked back and the double window wide open to allow the strong moonlight to stream into the room.

"There we are. Rudy, hon, could you get a rag from the bathroom and dampen it with some cold water?" Anise sighed once they had gotten Angeal laying on the bed without so much as a mumble or grunt from him the entire time they fought to get him in the humble abode.

Without another word Rudy left the room to dash into the bathroom across the hall for the items his mother requested as his sister tip-toed to get a better look at the man laying in the freshly shaken sheets. A smile came across her small features as she looked at him. She thought he was rather handsome compared to some of the men she had seen in town when she went out on the weekly grocery shopping trips with her mother. But, she decided, he didn't look anything like the Prince Charmings in her story books. More like the king or guards keeper even!

"Here you go mom." Rudy said once he returned with the moistened cloth, Anise nodded quickly folding it up length wise and placing it on the resting man's forehead. Once she was sure he seemed comfortable and wouldn't need anything, she ushered her children out of the room and once the door was silently shut, her legs and waist were ambushed by her children.

"Mommy! Mommy! I missed you!"

"Yeah, Mom, it wasn't the same without you." Rudy admitted. He felt as the oldest that his mother's departure shouldn't have affected him, but secretly it did.

"I missed you guys too!" She said hugging both her kiddos, then pulled away briefly to look at each of them seriously. "I need you two to do me a biig favor, okay?"

"Okay, Momma!"

"Sure."

"Well that man in the guest room is going to be staying with us for a while and I want you two to behave the best you can, okay?" she said as her hands rested on each of their shoulders. "Right now, he needs to sleep and might sleep for a few days so that means-"

"We need to be extra quiet, right Mommy?" Cheri pipped up happily as Anise nodded then brought her children closer to her in a hug before kissing each of their heads, motioning them to head off to their beds to be tucked and eventually she herself retired to her own room, exhausted after the long drive and the idea that a video game character was across the hall from her.

However, not everyone in the household was sleeping or had gone to sleep. The little girl slipped out of her rosy colored bed, fiercely clutching her stuffed angel bear as she padded across the wooden floorboards and over to the guest bedroom. She opened the door without fear of disturbing the sleeping guest and moved across the room as her hair cascaded down her shoulders freely. She approached the bed then tip-toed as high as she possibly could while holding up her winged teddy and placing it beside the sleeping SOLDIER with a soft smile as the plush leaned against the large man's chest. Seeing that her bear was safely in place, she lowered herself down and took a step back with a contented sigh.

"Don't worry, Angeal. Mr. Angel will keep you safe, he was my guardian angel before, but now that you're here, I don't need him anymore." She whispered then began to slowly walk towards the door and just before she stepped out Cheri glanced back once more with a happy giggle. "You're my guardian angel now. Don't let mommy, down."

Thank you all for the amazing reviews! I am soo happy to say that Dragonia27 actually Beta read this piece! Yays! Now you don't have such a hard time reading it! Round of applause for her!

~This story was inspired from Dragonia27's story 'Gods Touched' and 'A year of memories' on Deviant Art! All credits go to her!~

God Bless!