Nora's POV
Patch and I hadn't gotten home until well passed eleven o'clock. I was desperate to get more details from Noel about what happened. I wouldn't wake her up if she was sleeping I decided. She probably needed it after such a horrific experience. Matt had left at about seven in the evening and I wasn't sure what had happened over the weekend. Patch had approved that he could stay. What Noel didn't know was how much more trusting Patch was about their relationship than I was which really made no sense at all, except that I was pretty sure she was more open about it with him than me, which again, really made no sense at all. We could both hear the TV when we opened the door and Noel came barreling around the corner to give each of us a tight hug. It wasn't in a terrified or scared way, just a, I missed you a lot way.
"Do you know how much food it takes to keep two bored teenagers from starving to death over the course of three days? A lot more than was in our fridge," Noel quipped, crossing her arms over her chest as if she was the one being stern with us.
"Yes, you've withered away," My husband teased with a smirk at our daughter. Much like Patch, Noel had inherited the perfect physique of an athlete who didn't even have to work out, which she did anyway. Even if she was my daughter, I was a little jealous of her perfect curves and model worthy body.
"I lost a pound dad, for all we know, I'm underweight, and that's a health risk," I looked between them, how were they still on this conversation after what had happened Friday night?
"Then I hope a strong wind stirs up and blows you away because you've become so flimsy," He said without any regret. My mouth fell open, but Noel only laughed. They were staring at each other, probably mind speaking, and then even Patch laughed out loud at whatever Noel had said, probably far from anything I would've deemed appropriate.
"Okay, you two have had your fun. Show us what happened at the volleyball game," So we all stood there motionless for several minutes as everything that had occurred from the eyes of Noel until the police were able to open the doors. She'd hadn't seen Dabria and I was grateful for at least that, though it didn't make me feel any better that Dabria knew who my daughter was. Patch suddenly met my eyes and his own grew soft.
"You need to go to bed Angel. You've barely slept less than thirty minutes since we called Noel," I wanted to object, but a huge yawn stopped me. Noel sat back down on the couch while Patch flat out carried me upstairs. I tried to hold on to my anger towards Dabria and my fear for Noel, but I couldn't fight the weight of my heavy eyelids as Patch gave me a good night kiss.
Patch's POV
"You mind showing me the unedited version of what really happened that night?" I asked once I made it back downstairs. Noel didn't look surprised or even the least bit panicked. She flicked off the TV as I sat down in my favorite arm chair and watched me calmly.
"Why didn't you call me out when mom was down here?" She countered with curiosity filling her voice.
"I could've called you out when you told me what happened over the phone Saturday morning, but I didn't, quit stalling," She smirked at me, her shoulders shaking for a minute as she contained her laughter, and then her solemn gaze returned to mine.
"You have to tell me what you know first," She was like Nora in that sense; she didn't want to give away too much without gaining back something in return, especially information. Noel had her ace up her sleeve, but I also had mine.
"Matt's your guardian angel, isn't he? You know, I didn't figure it out until I took your mom upstairs because I couldn't sense your energy anymore. Then I noticed from when we'd walked into the house and coming back down the stairs, the different shift after the break. His energy is all wrapped up in yours, like a twist, and humans can't do that with fallen angels or Nephils, but guardian angels can, which happens with prolonged contact," Noel only smiled and shrugged with a nod, still remaining laid back.
"He told me, that day that you called him, and we decided to wait to tell you. Guess the cat's out of the bag," She did jazz hands before the smile slipped off her face and she looked at me seriously. I felt her memory go back to the volleyball game and she played every adrenaline filled moment from watching the bullet barely miss Matt to jumping out of the window. It was all from her eyes, but that was okay. She was observant and caught small details, just in case they mattered later. When she reached the end of her mental reel, I didn't bother digging around in her head because I knew she would pick up on it, and instead went back to my own.
"Daddy?" I didn't hear her until she repeated herself. I was trying to put a puzzle together that didn't have all the pieces. I understood that Noel was powerful and would prove a threat to fallen angels, but there was something I wasn't seeing, and I knew I needed to find out what it was soon.
"Yes Princess?"
"Will they come for you and mom, if they know it means getting to me?" She spoke as if she was centuries old and not my sixteen year old daughter. There were times I wanted to turn back the clock and watch her grow up all over again. I didn't want to hear her talking like that. We were blunt with each other though, we didn't sugar coat, even if Nora wished we did. It wouldn't be fair to Noel in my opinion.
"It's a possibility, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. That's no way to live. I've been there; when Hank used your mom against me . . . It's feels like you'll never be happy again. Which means there's just as much of a risk with fallen angels taking Matt, but there's no one hundred percent guarantee they will, right?"
"Right, I just . . . if there's something I can do, daddy, I—"
"The most you can do right now is be safe. Until we figure out what's going on, no going out with friends, even a big group. For volleyball, I'll be sitting in at your practices and of course your games and tournaments, and I guess, to at least ease some of the stress, you can have Matt over as much as possible," She got that look, like she wasn't completely agreeing with everything I said.
"Now you need to tell me about Dabria. Mom kept thinking about her and how much she hated her," I didn't ask why Noel had taken a peek in Nora's mind. Then it really hit me, she was just as much in this as we were. Trying to keep her on a need-to-know basis wasn't going to fly for long. She knew so much now and there really wasn't a point to being overprotective of someone who didn't need it nearly as much as before. I didn't know why that was so much easier to come to terms with about Noel. I certainly never came to terms with it about Nora, no matter how hard I tried. Though they were mother and daughter, there was just something distinctly different about Noel, and maybe that was me.
"I was the one who ripped her wings out and made her fall after she tried to kill your mom. Her hobby had been getting under your mom's skin and helping me with some leads on my . . . former line of work. Needless to say, there were days your mom hated me for it. Dabria should've been eliminated along with the rest of the fallen angels and that's where this mess begins. You're powerful and I guess part of that is because nothing like you has ever been created before. Why you're being specifically targeted by fallen angels, I don't know, but they seem to have an increased resistance to mental attack," Noel sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair and slouched more in the couch.
"Life was a lot easier when it was volleyball, Matt, parents, and friends. When did that become so complicated?"
"When you protected your mom in that alleyway in England," She half smiled, resting her arms on her knees that were curled almost to her chest, and set her chin on them.
"So there's got to be a way to stop the fallen angels. To send them back, right?"
"I don't know yet. Now that we're home, I'll try to track down some old contacts, and find out exactly what happened to allow fallen angels to be released. Until then, you need to get some sleep, princess, it's late," She watched the fireplace sightlessly as she took in my words before standing up. As she moved to go up the stairs, she stopped at my chair, and kissed my cheek.
"I love you daddy," I half smiled in reassurance though I doubted it would do much now that the threat had finally arrived.
"I love you too princess," I whispered as she went up the stairs to go to bed.
Matt's POV
"So mom, I've got some news to tell you," Noel held my hand in her lap as we sat at the barstools of the kitchen's bar area. Her dad knew now, but I had a feeling it was going to be a whole different story when we told her mom what I was.
"What kind of news?" Mrs. Cipriano shot her gaze to ours.
She probably thinks you're pregnant, way to go. Noel rolled her eyes at me.
Shut up Matt.
"Matt's my guardian angel, mama, it's good news," Noel's father was getting his stuff from work and therefore it was only the three of us. She raised an eyebrow at the both of us as if she thought we were joking. Then her eyes narrowed when she realized we weren't. Forget running from fallen angels, this subject felt a lot more on the edge of destruction. Noel stared blandly at her mom, as if they were discussing the weather, and not my heavenly mission to protect Noel no matter what.
"How long have you known? Does your dad know? Of course he knows or else you probably wouldn't be telling me right now," I chuckled awkwardly and Noel squeezed my hand, shot me an award winning smile, and then looked back at her mom.
"When we got home from England, dad figured it out last night, but he told me I had to be the one to tell you this morning, along with the much more . . . R rated version of what happened Friday night,"
"It's PG-13 at best," I told Noel and she laughed. It was good that she was so relaxed, because her easy demeanor seemed to be keeping her mom relatively calmer than I expected. A freak out would've been in order, but Noel took the situation in stride, and gave her mom a half smile before they looked at one another as Noel shared the memory. Mrs. Cipriano gasped as her eyes widened before the maternal thoughts took hold.
"Are you sure you two aren't hurt?" I heaved a sigh as the tension in the room disintegrated and Noel nodded, looking honest.
"Not a scratch mom, I swear," It was then that Noel's dad walked through the door and caught his wife's gaze. It was obvious by Mrs. Cipriano's locked up muscles that she was angry and Noel's dad just shrugged before gesturing upstairs. Noel shuddered as they disappeared at the top of the flight and I looked down on her curiously.
"What's the matter?"
"They'll be up there for hours, that's all I have to say about that, so we'll probably be fending for ourselves as far as food goes. Unless you want to make something more elaborate, it's Mac and Cheese for lunch," I laughed and pulled her onto my lap as she went to get up. She rested one arm on the back of my neck while the other rested against my chest, her fingers lightly interlinked.
"I told you it wouldn't be that bad, but you prepared for the worst anyway," She teased, kissing my cheek, and I laughed a little.
"That's because we both know you have a ridiculously optimistic perspective when it comes to this kind of stuff and you'll be so surprised that the conversation didn't go the way you expected that you won't even know how to work damage control, which is exactly why you need me," She giggled at me.
"So that's all I need you for?" She asked with a mischievous smile and I felt both our heart rates pick up.
"Come here," I muttered and we kissed. When we pulled away, both breathing heavily, she smiled, and kissed the tip of my nose before getting off. The stove top started on boiling the water and I smiled because Noel looked just as sexy in her sweatpants with the volleyball on the butt and a concert t-shirt than she did in her favorite red summer dress. She laughed aloud when she caught me staring and I distracted myself with the newspaper that was still talking about what happened at the gym.
"Do you ever think I'm the one who can fix this fallen angel problem?" She asked and I looked up slowly, fighting the emotion that built up in my chest.
"I try really hard not too," It was the truth. I could take on a three hundred pound defensive tackle without blinking, but the thought of Noel risking her life to destroy the fallen angels terrified me to the bone. Maybe she was the answer, maybe she wasn't, and I sincerely prayed for the latter.
"Matt?" She asked as she walked back over to me, placing her hands on my neck, and read my face like the open book that was to her. She searched and found all the answers, because it was impossible to hide anything from my Noel, "I'm scared too."
