Authors Note: Hola peoples! So, I'll be updating this by Thursdays or even sooner, But I apologize, I've seem to have gotten sick :( I'll hopefully make sure the next chapter DOES get on time though. Thanks for your patience! Enjoy! :D

Unexpected

I couldn't believe it. No, he couldn't be here. He couldn't. But no matter how many times I rubbed my eyes, or try to blink away the mirage, he was still there.

Michael, the archangel of heaven, stood there, propped up against the doorway. Even the peeling paint and rotting wood couldn't diminish Michael in all his glory. He was here. But why?

"What are you doing here?" I couldn't raise my voice more than a whisper in fear that he'd disappear if I broke the silence. Of course, he didn't.

"I heard you." I held back a shiver as his words slipped from his lips, smooth as silk. I don't know what came over me in that instant; whether it was utter relief, a moment of lunacy, complete and total reckless behavior, or just the deep need to be held. I whispered softly, "Michael." But before I knew it, I ran to him, embracing the seraphim as if he was a long lost friend who had dropped in to pay me a visit. "Michael!" The utter euphoria of seeing him washed over me. Burying my face against his shoulder, I felt hot tears begin to trickle down my face. In this fragile state, I just hugged him against me and in return, Michael made no hint to object. Whether he cared or not I didn't know, but one thing was for sure; Michael could always say the right thing. "Yes, that is my name."

I couldn't help but laugh between sobs at his obvious reply. I finally released him, but kept my hand on his arm, for comfort. "I'm sorry; I just couldn't believe you came here is all."

Michael nodded, unsmiling, but warmth lay in his blue eyes as he said "It is all right."

Realizing he was still in the door way, I flushed. "Oh! Please do come in." Michael stepped inside, his footsteps quieter than death's, and observed the accommodations.

"Have you been well Charlie?" Each time he spoke I had to catch my breath. Michael's wings lay tucked against his back- a newer feature than the last time I'd seen him- but he looked healthy and strong. I snagged a loose strand of hair behind my ear and answered quietly, "yes. We're still on the way to the prophets though."

"I know, but I've come to warn you once more."

I couldn't help but be confused. "About what? Are we in danger?" I glanced back at Eli.

"Yes, in a way you still are. You are always in danger, but this one is closer to home." Michael shrugged away my hand, and I had to restrain myself from holding his arm once more.

"What do you mean closer to home Michael?"

Instead of answering, Michael just stared at me, as if pleading for me to answer the question for myself. But what could he want me to say? But it clicked. "Wait- Jeep? Jeep could be dangerous to me?" I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to cry. Laughing hadn't solved anything when I first heard a ludicrous notion such as "your-baby-will-save-the-world," but no tears would come… Yet.

"Yes, I know how foolish this may seem Charlie but you must believe me." I fell calm as both his palms pressed against my forearms. "You need to listen carefully; Jeep may not even realize how dangerous of a place he is leading you, but you mustn't let him direct you astray."

I nodded.

"Now, Jeep may offer to take you for a detour, for you will be passing Death Valley. When he offers to camp there for the night, you must say NO. That is a place truly filled with evil, whether it be by the hand of God or the devil I do not know. But whatever you do, and no matter what Jeep says, do not stop there. I have tried to enter, but the earth would not bade me entrance to that ground."

The look on my face must've given away my utter confusion, worry, and above all- terror at what Michael told me. It seemed anytime we encountered one another, he'd be telling me something bad.

In that instant though, he did something unexpected. He cupped my cheek, and with a gentleness I'd only felt when my mother tucked the sheets around me, he kissed my forehead and whispered. "Have faith."

Before I knew it, he was headed for the doorway. In my mind, I knew he had to go- he had sent his message and would now depart. But my heart felt that aching, that need for him to stay. And in one moment, I had reacted.

"Michael!"

My arms once again found him, my palms pressed against his breast plate, and my cheek softly brushed by the feathers of his glorious wings. I squeezed my eyes tightly, pulling Michael closer as if to not let him go. I didn't want him to. We stayed in that position for what felt like hours, but as cliché as it seems, the real time that had relapsed were mere minutes. I didn't want Michael to leave me; I was sick and tired of everyone leaving me. A mother who had abandoned me, an ex boyfriend who had not only left me, but knocked up as well, and now Michael; who now freely would depart from my company to do God knows what- seriously.

"Charlie."

I opened my eyes instantly. Had he said my name? It had been barely a whisper. "Charlie, let go." Now I knew Michael was speaking, but as I came to, I realized his wings had gone frigid as had the rest of his body. Instantly, I felt ashamed for my rash behavior, and stepped away. I looked down at the carpet floor; a gross, coppery color with shades of tainted yellow and faded red dotted the carpet.

Then, out of no where, I felt a warm hand once again rest upon my cheek. I knelt into it, my eyes closed and breathed through my lips. How nice it felt to have his warmth radiate through my skin, to feel his heavenly presence once more. My mind felt drugged, intoxicated, and I wasn't even sure I was still coherent until Michael spoke:

"Charlie, will you fulfill one wish from me?"

At that moment, I would've given my soul to fulfill anything Michael asked of me. "Hmmm, yes?"

And in a soft whisper against my ear, Michael said. "Don't open your eyes."

I was about to smile, laughing sweetly, and ask "why can't I open my eyes Michael?"

But I could feel why.

No word could describe the sensation I felt as his lips met mine, how they melted together, a glow flowing through me from the crown of my head to the pinky toes on my feet.

And as soon as it had started, it ended. I didn't even have enough time to open my eyes! I had to feel the absence of Michael's lips and breathe to realize he had stopped kissing me. I would've groaned in protest, but he silenced me as he spoke, a hint of breathlessness and- desire?

"Don't forget what I told you. Have faith." And he was gone, leaving me (with eyes open) filled with tears that spilled over my warm cheeks, trembling from the thrill I had felt when we'd kissed, the yearn I felt for those sweet lips to return to mine, and the loss of an archangel who had filled my soul to the brim with longing- and of desire. Now I knew why I hadn't cared when my mother had left or my ex. I had never loved their essence, their presence, and the person they were. They had been people, more parts of phases in my life, but what I had felt with Michael was not something I could shake off. It was real. No wonder the archangels were gifts from God. But how damned was I that I should desire one of God's favorites?

"Shit."