Here's a breath of peace for the angels, before Lilith's plan really takes off!

With November over, I feel I can admit that I was attempting the sequel to this story as my NaNoWriMo novel. 50,000 words in a month, right? Well, I managed 51,623 words in November… but the sequel isn't finished yet! Does that count as a success or a failure?

The end is in sight, though, so I'm really very hopeful. I have all of December to finish it up. With any luck, I'll be able to begin sharing the sequel with you with the start of the new year!

Jordan Walker-Newell, it's great to add you to my list of reviewers! I'm glad you like my portrayal of the Archangels. I love writing them!

FALL WITH YOU

"And?"

Michael sat behind his desk, hands folded loosely on the surface, his frozen expression fixed on Gabriel's face. He looked utterly unconcerned about the message Gabriel had brought before him, though Gabriel wasn't sure if that was genuine disinterest or if the Archangel was simply not bothered to change his expression.

"How is this a concern?" Raphael had followed Gabriel's summon to join his brothers in Michael's office, standing off to the side with his arms crossed. He, at least, looked disgruntled, but Gabriel knew that was more from being interrupted than from the news that the fallen angels had been claimed by the demons.

"They're all going to the Underworld! They'll become demons!"

"Are you trying to get us to mourn them, or celebrate?" Raphael asked, frowning at Gabriel. "Demons are pests, not threats."

"This was their intent from the beginning." Michael still hadn't moved. "I saw it in Azazel's mind. He wanted to rejoin his master. Let him." Michael flickered, holding a report now, his attention focused on that instead of his younger brother. "Let them all. It is the only mercy they will receive after what they did."

"I agree with Michael. If the fallen ones are lost to Heaven, good. We don't need the likes of them cluttering up humanity's Heaven." Raphael shook his head. "Honestly, Gabriel, you get excited about the smallest things."

"But what if it's not the smallest thing?" Gabriel slammed his hands down on Michael's desk, trying to catch his older brother's attention again. "Azazel! Alive again! He was Lucifer's right hand angel. Do we really want that mind turned against us?"

"Azazel is already alive again," Raphael pointed out. "And his human form is just as brain-dead as you left his angelic form."

"But what if-"

"Gabriel…" Raphael stepped forward, curling his fingers around Gabriel's arm and giving him a tug. "You broke Azazel. He's no longer a threat. None of the fallen are a threat. No demon has ever been a threat. And if they are a threat? I will handle it."

"But-"

"Let's leave Michael alone," Raphael stressed. "Come on, Gabriel."

With one last look at Michael, who was steadily ignoring them both, Gabriel relented and let Raphael tug him out of the office. "Raphael, I'm serious, I think we have a genuine problem brewing here! Lilith was very excited about these formerly angelic souls."

"They don't have grace anymore, Gabriel. Without their grace, they cannot manifest their swords. Without their swords, they cannot kill an angel. We will win if they try to fight us."

"You know damn well that's not the only way to kill an angel," Gabriel grabbed Raphael's arm, forcing him to stop. "Raphael, if they remember anything, we could actually be in trouble. Azazel's not the only one they have. Alastair is down there. His mind wasn't broken. If the demons' racks can unlock his memories… and Abaddon? Do you honestly think she'd be a weaker opponent than one of the Nephilim? If they could disarm an Angel, these fallen-"

"If they attack us, my angels will repel them. Stop worrying. It isn't suited for an Archangel."

"If they attack us, they'll attack mine first," Gabriel snapped back. "My angels are on Earth, within easy reach of the demons."

"Then call to me and run away." Raphael folded his arms as he fixed a level stare onto Gabriel. "I still don't see what your problem is."

Gabriel stared back at Raphael. "You're not even trying to consider a worst-case scenario."

"You're overreacting."

Raphael was not going to be budged. Gabriel knew his brother too well. He groaned in frustration, turning his back on his twin and flying off without another word. He'd find understanding elsewhere.

Cariel glanced up as Gabriel entered his office, offering the Archangel a crooked smile. "You look furious. Raphael again, or was it Michael this time?"

"Both!" Gabriel flung himself into his chair, slouching low in the seat, his wings bunched up high. "More Raphael than Michael. I can't even bring myself to get too mad at Michael. He's just so…" He flapped a hand before crossing his arms over his chest with a huff.

"So not there?" Cariel asked, picking up some papers scattered by Gabriel's dramatic flumph and heading toward a cabinet to file them properly. "Broken? Missing part of himself?"

"Yeah…" Gabriel closed his eyes and pressed his fingers against his eyelids. This was a familiar conversation, shared between the two of them for the past eight years. It was easier to talk about how damaged Michael was, or how frustrating Raphael could be, than to address the gigantic pink dancing elephant in the room: the accusation from the traitors that Cariel had been Gabriel's lover.

Gabriel had been thinking about how to deal with Cariel's affection on and off ever since his lieutenant had kissed him in the ocean all those centuries ago. He was no closer to a solution today than he had been when it had first happened. All he could think to do was pretend it didn't exist. He pretended he felt nothing more than deep friendship for his second, that the love he felt for Cariel was strictly brotherly.

It wasn't, but Gabriel was good at pretending.

Cariel seemed to be following Gabriel's lead, if he knew about the accusations at all. Gabriel wasn't entirely sure if Alastair had told Cariel that Gabriel knew, but he wouldn't put it past the deceitful Seraph. Alastair loved wreaking havoc. He might have told Cariel just to see the expression on his brother's face.

Gabriel heaved a sigh and let his arms drop, dangling over the sides of the chair to trail against the floor, trying to change his mental subject. "The demons have claimed the fallen angels."

"Already?" Cariel hummed thoughtfully, closing the low drawer he was rummaging in and standing up again. He flicked his wings idly and strode over to another cabinet. "I would have thought they'd want to wait a few more years, to be safe, but I suppose they'd rather not risk any of the souls escaping with an early death during a time of innocence."

Gabriel sat up, frowning at Cariel. "You knew?"

"Knew? No." Cariel turned to meet Gabriel's gaze full-on. "Suspected? Of course. It's what I would have done."

"What you would have…?"

"You moron." Cariel was the only angel allowed to look fondly exasperated at Gabriel without causing a fuss. Sammael used to be able to, but Lucifer wasn't. It was this unfortunately familiar look that Cariel gave the Archangel as he approached the chair across from him and took a seat. "If you were the exiled Archangel, I would do everything I could to get back to your side. However, if you ordered me to stay here in Heaven and be your eyes and ears in the Host, I would do so, but not before first creating a back-up plan so that should my true loyalties be discovered, I could still return to you. Azazel's method is crude, but it got the job done. Spirit turned into soul. Soul goes to the Underworld, becomes demon. Demon rules at Lucifer's right hand. Of course, that's assuming Lucifer was in on the plan."

"Lilith was," Gabriel pointed out. "Why wouldn't Lucifer be?"

"Because of that nasty in-between stage." Cariel wagged a finger back and forth. "Angel falls, becomes something less. Becomes human. Lucifer hates humans."

"He hated our interference with humanity. Not humans themselves." Lucifer had said as much to Gabriel once, centuries ago.

Cariel was shaking his head slowly. "Maybe at first, but after the whole bloody war? If I were in his place, exiled for not bowing to humans, attacked by my most beloved partner—assuming I still loved my partner—attacked by you? I'd hate humans for all the pain their mere existence caused me. And what is a demon but a ruined human? Lucifer would never respect an angel who willingly gave up his grace and power to become a human, even if it were to ultimately return to his side, unless he were the one who ordered it."

"But you still would have carried out the plan if you were in Azazel's place?"

"Of course," Cariel answered without any hesitation. "Better to be a demon but at your side than an angel and forever separated."

Cariel seldom spoke of the depth of his feelings toward Gabriel, though it was very much an open secret between them now. Even if Alastair hadn't told him, he couldn't imagine Gabriel was so blind as to have missed all the signs. Gabriel looked away. "You think Azazel felt like that for Lucifer."

"We all do," Cariel said quietly. "Did. The four original lieutenants. Filiel, Azazel, Marmoniel, and me. We all love the Archangel we serve. We would obey any order if it came from the lips of our Archangel. We would lay down our lives without a single thought if our Archangel were in danger. Filiel did, for Michael. And we would destroy anything, anything, that stood in our way between us and returning to our Archangel's side. I knew Azazel would never follow Michael the way he did Lucifer the moment you told me about his reassignment. I just never thought he'd try to take all of Heaven down with him." Cariel ducked his head, staring at his hands. "Oversight on my part. I know I would've."

"Do you think they're a threat? Azazel and Alastair and all of the other fallen?" Gabriel asked quietly, studying his second.

"It's hard to tell at this point." Cariel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "No fallen angel has ever fallen again. Their souls are all accounted for in Heaven's halls. We don't know what the effect of the demons' torture will be on their spirits. But I'd say… yes." Gabriel frowned, and Cariel explained. "Their memories aren't destroyed when they fall. The souls of the dead fallen we have here all know that they were angels once. Their minds were locked away when they fell, and unlocked when they returned to Heaven. Alastair, at least, has all his memories somewhere in his mind. Azazel might be the only one not a danger, after what you did to him, but we don't know what the act of dying and falling will do to those memories. It's not Heaven—will they stay hidden away? They'll be tortured. Will that be enough to break their memories loose? If Alastair recovers his mind, will he be able to use his 'persuasion' skills to unlock the others? Can the damage to Azazel be healed?" Cariel spread his hands in a helpless shrug. "Until these questions are answered, we don't know enough to say no."

"Raphael thinks they're not dangerous. He says I'm over-reacting. Michael says he knew this would happen all along and is allowing it. They've both been treating me like a fledgling." Gabriel shoved away from his desk and stalked over to a window. "It's like they've completely forgotten that I was running Heaven while they were recuperating. I oversaw both of their choirs, and my own! I didn't let anything fall behind. I busted my wings for them, and they're just-"

"Overcompensating." Cariel shrugged again from the desk. "They know you took over, Gabriel, and that scared them. Not you, but just that they needed you. Michael and Raphael aren't exactly comfortable with showing weakness or giving up control."

"So now they're wresting it back?" Gabriel huffed. "They can have it! I don't want to be in charge. " He pressed his hand against the clear glass, looking down, through Heaven, through the Borderlands, his eyes growing unfocused as he pulled Earth into view. "Sometimes, I think about just leaving," he admitted to Cariel. "Just running away from all of this crap, and letting them sort it out. It's not… it's not paradise here anymore. I'm happier on Earth than when I'm in Michael's presence."

"What about me?" Cariel asked quietly. "Could I run away with you?"

Gabriel smiled, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the glass. "Of course, but… it would never work. We'd run to Earth, and Raphael would revel in the hunt to bring us back. We'd have to take vessels, and there are only so many humans we could choose from. He'd just have to track them all down until he found the ones we were hiding in, and then he'd drag us back before Michael. You'd probably be executed on the spot for betraying Heaven. They might petition Father to give me the same fate, or lock me away like Lucifer." He laughed bitterly, closing his eyes. "We can't leave, Cariel. We're trapped here. Forever."

The Archangel could hear the soft sounds of Cariel rising to his feet, the whisper of his wings together as he walked. Cariel's touch to his back, both hands pressing lightly between his own wings, came as no surprise. "Let's pretend anyway."

Gabriel looked over his shoulder at Cariel, and Cariel smiled at him. "Let's pretend they can't find us. We run away, take vessels, meet up somewhere. We'd have to have a story for why we're traveling together. Family? No, your vessels are paler than milk, with that red hair, and mine are…"

"Decidedly Roman stock," Gabriel said with a little smile. Cariel's vessels tended toward olive skin and dark hair, with most of them settled around Rome and her neighboring towns. "We could be married."

A pleased flush spread through Cariel's grace at that suggestion, and he nodded. "Husband and wife. You could be the husband, a wild barbarian from the north-"

"-who fell in love with a Roman woman, and she brought him home to tame."

"We settle in Rome, then?"

Gabriel nodded. "I'd be a curiosity. The Emperor himself would want to see me."

"Rome's a Republic," Cariel corrected gently. "Caesar wasn't really-"

"For now," Gabriel interrupted with a little smirk. "I looked ahead. We're getting a new empire on Earth." He flexed his wings and looked back to Earth. "The Emperor would want to see me, this barbarian who spoke flawless Latin."

"You'd impress him with your oration."

"I'd have a place at his side, and his ear. I could encourage leniency toward God's chosen ones, let them develop their religion without persecution."

"And advise him on how best to conquer the barbarian lands without making a mess of things. All the while, I'll be at home, befriending all the senators' wives and gaining a reputation for having the very best parties. Everyone who's anyone would want to be our friends."

"It would help that they're blessed just by being in our presence. Good fortune favors those we favor."

"And woe betides any who incite our wrath."

Gabriel laughed, turning to face Cariel, letting the Seraph's hands slide over his body to rest on his chest. "What would our house be like?"

"Hmm…" Cariel tapped his fingers against Gabriel's chest as he thought aloud. "We wouldn't live in the center of the city. Too crowded, no place to stretch our wings. It would have to be on the edge of town, maybe in the hills. Large, but cozy. Smaller than this tower. Lots of bedrooms."

"For the slaves?" Gabriel asked. Even as angels who required no food, bathing, or sleep, they would need slaves to keep up the appearances of a wealthy Roman family. They would have to make sure their slaves either never suspected their masters weren't human, or never had reason to say anything…

What was he doing? Planning a non-existent future with Cariel? They would never have a cozy Roman home or melt into Roman society. They were angels, trapped in Heaven by their brothers and a hive-minded obedience to an all-too-absent Father.

"For the future children we will insist to all our friends that we wish to have… is something wrong?" Cariel noticed the change in Gabriel's mood and frowned, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Gabriel?"

"It's impossible." Gabriel closed his eyes and turned his face into the caress. "We'll never have a life outside of Heaven. Maybe I should have left when Lucifer offered."

"Don't say that," Cariel scolded. "If you had followed Lucifer, you'd be locked away with him now, and I'd be at Azazel's side. We will find a way through this. Maybe we can't leave now, maybe we won't ever leave, but we will carve out a corner of the universe to be our paradise again, even if it means we have to change Heaven from the ground up."

Gabriel snorted derisively. "Better chance of running for it, never settling in one place long. Not to Earth, but maybe to another planet. Easier for Raphael to sense our light somewhere unpopulated, but more places to run to. Maybe we could even try to make it Outside, where even Father has no dominion."

"See?" Cariel smiled. "Not impossible. Just difficult. We're good at difficult."

Difficult indeed. Going Outside was a terrifying thought. Gabriel had no idea if Outside, where Death came from, where Father theoretically came from, was even real. He had no idea if an angel could survive Outside, or if it would be even more hostile than the Void. Far safer to try to hide from Raphael in a crowd of life on Earth. Could there be an alternative type of vessel? Raphael would search every human… but could an angel possess an animal? Or a mountain? Could Gabriel become a volcano? He didn't know. The more Gabriel realized he didn't know, the more certain he was of one thing.

There might actually be a way out.