Author's note: I know, it's been a while. *sheepish* I've been settling into my new home and job, and this chapter was ridiculously difficult to write. It also happens to be my first scene of this kind, so please don't judge too harshly! Enjoy. :)

"There must be a way to switch one soul for another?" she speculated, trying to placate her love with a gentle look.

Iehovah followed her line of sight and observed his son a moment as his futile struggling subsided, then turned back to Audrey with a small, gloomy smile.

"And sacrifice Gabriel's love for my own?" He shook his head slowly. "That'd be incredibly selfish of me, however kind your offer."

"It wasn't a request," she declared before he turned away again.

"Audrey," Gabriel breathed, low and hysterical as a tear began rolling down his feather-soft cheek.

"It'll be okay," she told him, holding her arms out to signal to Michael that he could let him go. He lunged forth as his brother released him and swept her into his embrace. Audrey's eyes returned to Iehovah, who was watching with a mix of surprise, hope, uncertainty and longing. "Take my body and give it to her," she instructed him. "I know it's not great... it's definitely not fit for a Goddess, but it's something. And then once she's back, you guys will be able to create stuff again: you can make her whatever body her heart might desire, and you can put me back in my own."

"What you're suggesting is an extremely risky business," Iehovah elucidated evenly. "The switch must be timed precisely, because without a soul, a body is dead, and therefore of no use to anybody."

Audrey's confidence faltered a little, but she didn't let it show. For Gabriel's sake, she held her head high and nodded, knowing that nothing would ever change unless she took the chance.

"Do it."

Iehovah looked up at Gabriel, whose eyes were shut tight as he rested his lips against Audrey's soft, fawn hair.

"Gabriel?"

His son turned his head away in the opposite direction to lean his cheek atop her parting instead, but he nodded.

"I trust you," he whispered through his tears, tightening his arms around her.

"Very well," Iehovah concluded quietly after a pause, looking up. "The sun is setting. Go and rest; we'll carry out the procedure tomorrow."

With one last look at the couple, he returned to his bright, titian-skinned Seraphim, who lifted him back up to his balcony where he disappeared into the shade of the hollow tree, before they soared across to the smaller balcony of the one to the right and retired themselves. The Cherubim spread their sandy wings one by one, flying in single-file towards the tree to the left of Iehovah's, and some of the darker-winged angels headed for the one next to that. The rest vacated the building via the arches, leaving only the newly-reunited Archangels standing in the dying glow of the sun through the leaves above.

Gabriel remained with his face turned away towards the back wall, stock still and deathly quiet. He maintained his hold on her even when Lucifer approached.

"I get to sleep in my own bed tonight," he smiled slightly at Audrey, seemingly unsure whether to be happy or sad, "thanks to you." He reached up and brushed her errant hair off her face with his fingertips, and she smiled back.

"I only got the ball rolling," she replied modestly, rubbing soothing circles over Gabriel's back; "It was all you." Lucifer shook his head with a grin.

"Thank you, for believing in me."

She watched him use his new, vermillion-tinged wings to launch himself into the air and disappear into the last tree. Raphael followed close behind after a sympathetic smile in her direction, and Uriel took off after him as Michael padded across the mossy floor of the arena to rest a hand on Gabriel's shoulder.

"It's an incredibly brave and noble thing to do, Audrey, but you must think this through." His brother lifted his head at his words, but Michael couldn't look at his terrified, tear-tracked face. "There's more than just your life riding on your decision."

With that, he stepped back and kicked off towards the tree's opening as the sun's last rays finally disappeared, leaving Gabriel and Audrey alone in the dim glow of the hundreds of candles around the arena.

Long minutes passed in the near-darkness, and the small of Audrey's back began to ache from the angle it was forced into by Gabriel's herculean grip. She reached behind her, pushing gently on his arm to try to persuade him to release her. When he never moved, she sighed and pushed against his chest in an attempt to straighten her posture.

"Gabriel," she murmured softly.

The only warning she had was the bending of his knees, and her fingers grasped at the high collar of his black tunic as the arm around the back of her waist slid down to create a seat for her, before he pulled her, somewhat angrily, into the air with his powerful, raven wings. Soaring backwards facing up at him, her heart raced but she felt no fear. She watched an ivy-adorned archway pass overhead and they were free.

The inky, purple sky held more stars than she'd ever seen, but she closed her eyes against them and pressed her mouth to Gabriel's shoulder as they sailed, silently, over Heaven. There were two beats of his great wings to every breath she took, Audrey noted, and the cotton of his tunic smelled vaguely metallic, like blood.

She thought back to when she'd awoken in the motel room to find a giant, intimidating archangel sobbing on the edge of her bed; how he'd removed his frightening, bloodstained armour, just because it made her uncomfortable. He'd been her saviour, and she'd been his.

Audrey felt their descent and opened her eyes to see willow trees passing by, and they landed on the grass with a slight jolt. Gabriel's wings folded behind him and her view was obscured by the high arc of the joint; she lifted her head and twisted in his arms to see he was climbing the steps of a dark-wooden, wisteria-entwined pergola. It was fairly small, but bigger than the marble gazebo, and the floor was covered by a thick layer of padding. A small pile of woollen blankets identical to the one she'd left on the seat at the Palace sat in the corner, and it was bordered by large bolster cushions along the low, panelled railing, which bore holes along the top holding tall, metal torch-bearers, allowing the flickering flames to light the grass and the plush, plum upholstery.

"Where are we now?" Audrey asked gently, trying to hide her exasperation; so far, she'd only managed two nights in any one place since all the chaos had begun.

He gestured with a nod towards an inscription in the railing at the back of the arbour, which read, 'Concilio Matra Divina'.

"Council of the Divine Mother," he replied hoarsely. "She used to hold meetings here."

Setting her down on the boards of the walkway surrounding the pergola, he kept her fixed to him but wouldn't meet her gaze. Audrey reached up and tilted his face down towards her; his eyes looked all the more oceanic for the shelves of tears they held.

"Are you angry with me?" She asked, tracing the contours of his face. He closed his eyes tightly, telling her he wanted to say yes, but couldn't quite truthfully feel it.

"You've no idea what you've agreed to do," he whispered, opening his eyes to glare down at her.

"Her life is far more important than—"

"Do not presume your worth is any less!" He cut across her sharply, his frustration starting to surface. As he took her face roughly in his hands, Audrey caught a glimpse of the danger she knew him to be capable of. "Four billion years, I've existed, and never have I felt anything like this. I love you, Audrey," he whispered, "as much as I love Them. You've presented me with an impossible choice."

"I'm not asking you to choose, Gabriel. If it works, you can have both of us."

"That's a very big 'If'."

"You seem to think I'm taking this lightly," Audrey argued, taking a step back to remove her boots, before entering the wisteria-laden pergola. "This isn't the first time I've sacrificed myself, remember?" She turned to face him in the flickering torchlight and Gabriel winced at the memory of her prone form staring up at him from the asphalt, covered in blood and dying in the pouring rain. "Last time, I had nothing left to live for. I didn't really care whether I survived, but now..." an ironic laugh fizzed through her words; "Now I'm in love, and I'm loved in return, and for the first time in my life, I trust in God. I have everything to live for, and I still know I'm making the right choice."

Gabriel's head was tilted to the side in consideration, but his face was a mask of agony. He knew all too well how it felt to be absolutely sure of the path laid out ahead, but he also knew now how quickly and easily certainty could change. A salty droplet adorned his cheek, catching the dancing, orange light of the flames. He recalled his original reason for swearing to stay with her: To restore her faith in God, he reminded himself. It's done, and it's only caused me more grief.

He closed the gap between them, craving her touch, terrified of the prospect of losing her; of her stone cold, miscoloured body and her empty, aventurine eyes; of an eternal life without her uninhibited laughter, or her limitless compassion, or her soothing, remedial presence. He pressed his lips to hers, committing their warmth and rose-petal softness to memory as his thumbs ran back along the line of her jaw, coming to rest in front of her ears. He felt her silken, strawberry-brown hair beneath his fingertips and the steady rhythm of her pulse against his palms. Ingraining every tiny sensation into his heart, imploring her with all the things he couldn't find the words to say.

Audrey pressed herself into his broad frame as his lips parted, and he venerated her with the beautiful new language she'd taught him. She raised her hands to rest on his stomach, finding the wide slash through his tunic where he'd been wounded. Slipping her fingers beneath it, she was only fractionally surprised to find nothing but smooth, unblemished skin over the defined contours of his abdomen. The phantom gash had been just above his navel; she turned her hand to run the backs of her fingers down over the thin trail of soft hair below it, as far as the hole in his top would allow. Gabriel's breath hitched slightly in response and warmth caressed her lips as he hovered over them.

"Have faith," she whispered, but he silenced her instantly by resuming their kiss, lost to the strange, compelling fire her touch ignited.

Releasing her face, his hands travelled down Audrey's back, unconsciously pulling her hips closer, and she felt a distinct, growing pressure against her lower stomach. He smoothed his fingertips under the hem of her loose, white smock top, sending a shiver rolling down her spine and her heart-rate soaring. She reached around his middle to lift his tunic, but in doing so, her knuckles brushed against rigid, satin feathers, reminding her of the buttoned openings down the backs of his shoulders for his wings; reminding her that this was no ordinary man.

Audrey tugged gently down on his burly arms and he yielded, slowly stooping to his knees before her, adamant not to break the kiss. Even so, she barely had to bend at all to meet him while she set about freeing his wings. Large, warm hands ran slowly up her calves and over the backs of her knees as the neck of his tunic drooped lower with each unfastened button. She slid her fingers into the wide arms of the tunic, pushing it down, and Gabriel shrugged out of it, letting it fall around his knees.

He reluctantly let her draw away to look at him; his bare chest was thinly covered with the same fine, dark hair as his forearms, and it rose and fell faster now, mirroring her own. She leaned down to kiss the slightly paler ring of skin around his neck, where his metal collar had once blocked the sun's rays. It earned her a vigorous shudder, the breath leaving his lungs, and he caught her hips, supporting her as she dropped to her knees to join him.

Trailing her tongue and lips down the front of his trapezius to his collarbone, she savoured his hard, honest response against her stomach. One of his hands crept around her waist, securing her against him, and Audrey reached for the other, guiding it leisurely up over her ribs to cup her breast, remembering with a delirious wave of gratitude that she'd decided against wearing somebody else's undergarments when she'd changed at the motel. Under her direction, he kneaded tenderly through the thin fabric, running his thumb over her taut nipple as she gasped against his chest. Spellbound, he increased his pressure a little, of his own accord, eliciting a hushed breath of a moan from her lips.

Gabriel withdrew both his hands unexpectedly and slowly lifted her shirt, watching, enraptured, as she raised her arms to let him divest her of it, revealing the soft, creamy flesh of her torso. He stretched backwards briefly to push his boots off, drinking in the sight of her tiny, incarnadine nipples, before bending to kiss the one he'd neglected as he lowered her back to the padded floor. Audrey's breaths grew heavier as he laved it lovingly with his tongue, enchanted by the discovery of the ways in which he could affect her.

Straightening her legs between his knees, she reached up to him, finding his hips and tracing the downward grooves delicately to his waistband. She couldn't resist any longer, and stretched down to feel his solid length straining against his trousers. His low, breathless groan of appreciation rumbled from his throat before he even managed to lift his head fully, breathing hard over the sensitive, now slippery bud he'd been tending.

Azure eyes, brighter than ever and full of raw desire, met hers with a sudden shade of trepidation, finally understanding how angels could fall so epically from the Light by the mere touch of a woman, but Audrey quelled it instantly as she lifted one hand to trail circles through the short, dark hair at the base of his skull, pulling the buttons either side of the swell of his arousal from their fastenings with the other. He dipped his mouth to her neck, allowing her to continue undressing him, safe in the knowledge that she wanted this just as much.

Audrey ran her fingertips lightly down his spine between his wings as she pushed his trousers down over his hips, and he arched himself candidly closer, reaching for the opening of her shorts to follow her example. Kicking the last of his own clothing off behind him, he removed hers slowly, exposing her fully in all her natural beauty.

It had been a long time since Gabriel had looked upon a human woman's body with such admiration, and never before with the intoxicating lust he felt now. He'd never associated the two, but rather considered them wholly separate sentiments, having never loved someone in such a way before. Understanding washed over him as he realised, kneeling over her, that it was to take that which had not been offered that would be the sin, not the lust itself. He watched her turquoise eyes travel his looming body hungrily, and he smiled, forgetting the threat of losing her entirely.

Guiding him once more, Audrey moved his hand to her hip and towed his fingertips down through her curls, turning them to show him the silky, slick result of his attentions. She gasped at the slow, studious strokes he continued with as her tuition gave way to abandoned rapture. Her eyes closed and she vaguely registered her legs widening, and her thighs coming to rest atop her lover's. Adoring lips captured her own as a solid, throbbing heat pressed against her, and her quiet whimper sounded helplessly against his mouth.

"Gabriel, please," she whispered, barely disengaging their kiss to do so.

She reached down to grip him, caressing his velvet skin persuasively and pushing him back with her other hand, just far enough to align him to her in anticipation. Gabriel pulled his lips from hers; their mingled, impassioned breaths were loud in the narrow space between them as he glanced down anxiously, taking in their seemingly impossible difference in size, but Audrey tugged on his hips in encouragement and he slid forward steadily, burying himself completely until their bodies met. His hips rested comfortably atop hers; she felt his tense muscles against her ribs; her soft breasts brushed against his chest and his wild, cerulean gaze lit her skin as thoroughly as any physical contact.

Audrey reached her arms up beneath his as he established a slow, reverent rhythm, drawing gratified sighs from her lips. She watched his surprise at the magnitude of the sensations melt into unmitigated awe. Smiling widely through the growing fire within, as his eyes closed and his pace quickened little by little, she slid her hands up his back, finding the joints where his smooth, now slightly damp skin turned to dark, silken feathers, and traced her fingertips up along the immense arc of bones that framed his wings.

Her tender exploration sent an unexpected shiver rippling through Gabriel's body and he gasped, doubling his tempo. A rhapsodic moan escaped Audrey's lips and he slipped one arm beneath the small of her back, steadying himself by her head with the other as she grazed his neck gently with kisses between ragged, whispered confessions.

A mild breeze drifted, unnoticed, through the pergola's wisteria curtain; the moon bathed the lovers in shards of dim, silver light as they crested the wave of euphoria together, before it ebbed slowly away, and they settled contentedly into the lull of exhaustion. In the blissful haze, Audrey turned her head in, eyes closed against a strange, green glow, to rest upon Gabriel's slowing heart, and the warm tingling low in her abdomen was the last thing she recalled before sleep conquered them both.