Let's jump straight in today! I'm out for Spring Break, so maybe I can write some more between my job and essays. Thanks for the follows and faves again!

This wasn't just veering off into nothing, guys. Prepare for a few emotions.

Catherine took her jacket off and Balthazar pretended not to notice. This whole situation was beginning to get very irritating, but at least she seemed just as frustrated about it as he was. They argued all the way back to the motel room, then quickly fell into a companionable silence as they tried to figure out what was going on. They couldn't talk to or take a closer look of anyone from the offending restaurant until the next day. Not to mention this seemed to have nothing to do with Raphael and their current problem of archangels.

He stood next to the small table, placing down one book and picking up yet another, thumbing through it. "If we weren't cursed," he grumbled, "we could just keep going."

"We can't just leave things the way they are here," Catherine commented from one of the beds, rubbing her temple while looking at the computer screen. She had realized that this could probably not be Aphrodite. It could be Eris or some other Pagan God or something else entirely and it was causing too many conflicts on how to handle this situation.

"Raphael is more important," he argued firmly, glancing back to her.

Her lips pulled into a thin line, but she knew he was right. The archangels were far important than this nonsense. Cat nodded, rising from her spot and bringing one of her books back to the pile they had on the table.

Balthazar looked back to the book in his own hands. "We could still leave, anyway," he argued before thinking on it. "It'll probably fade away or we can ignore it or something."

"A curse is a curse," she sighed, leaning against the table and looking at the contents. "It'll just get worse until we become part of the Stepford community, too." He grimaced, but she ignored it and continued. "Maybe we don't have to handle everything, but this needs to be broken before we leave this place."

"I suppose that's a little better," he grumbled under his breath, staring at the words on the page but actually just waiting for her rebuttal. It didn't come, so he just kept quiet. Fighting was easy. It was familiar and normal for them. Whatever has been going on lately was different and unnatural, especially given the source. At the same time, it was kind of a nice and exciting change. It felt less like a curse and more like an excuse or justification for some of the things he's thought about since losing his grace... or since they really got involved in this whole mess. That didn't change the fact that it was still wrong and it still felt wrong, no matter how nice it was. Maybe he had been thinking things like that for awhile where it concerned his Catherine and maybe he had too much pride to admit that out loud, but this was a two sided deal. It was wrong to give into something that was fake, but it was worse when he knew that most of it wasn't fake for him while it was all fake for her... It was just easier to fight rather than think about it.

After a moment, he glanced over to her and realized she hadn't been quiet just to avoid another argument. Catherine was looking at their gathered materials with a furrowed, dissatisfied brow. "We're not getting anywhere," she sighed again. "If anything, we've fallen back. There's too many options of who this could be and we don't have enough resources to handle half of them." After another moment of contemplating, Cat finally reached over a small stack of books for her phone. "I'm calling Gabriel."

That statement definitely gained his attention and he looked over to her like she had slapped him. "I'm sorry?"

She didn't really notice the look or tone his voice had taken. Catherine just scrolled through her contacts unawares. "They can probably find a lot more information on this thing than we can out here. Hell, he's an archangel. Maybe he knows something we don't."

"I'm an angel, too."

She blinked and looked up slowly from her phone to him. "... I know."

"We don't need Gabriel," Bal argued again.

Catherine blinked at him again, confused. Was this going to be another episode like they had at that stupid restaurant? "Yeah. We do. We don't even know what we're doing here aside from acting weird."

"No, we don't need him," he argued back again, closing his book and tossing it on to the table. "We can handle this ourselves without crawling to him for help. I'm getting sick and tired of his so called help."

He seemed legitimately angry, but the reason didn't make any sense. "What are you talking about?" she finally asked, assuming that there was no sense in this argument to be given, but still worried as to why he was so angry about it anyway.

"We don't need him!" he nearly screamed, realizing slightly too late he had shocked her but also didn't really care whether he did or not. It was one of those things that only whispered in the back of his mind before but had grown into something heavy in his chest as a human, and he couldn't stand it anymore. "He doesn't care. He'll do what he has to do and move on. He won't think twice of consequences, especially of those around him. Don't you see? He doesn't like or hate us! He's completely indifferent. He doesn't care!"

"Balthazar."

He didn't hear her worried voice, or perhaps he was just ignoring the interruption. All he did was step closer to her, the anger mixing with a desperation for her to understand what he had been hatefully thinking. "I care about you!" he admitted, still moving closer.

Catherine was stepping back in sync with his movements. "Balthazar," she tried again in hopes to get him back to Earth and calm him down.

He just continued on, "I'll protect you! I'll help you! Not him! He doesn't care about you! I do! I'm the one that's here; not him!" He thought back to when Gabriel saved her life from the ghost and left without a word. Back to when he could have saved her from Michael and didn't. When he helped her get over what had happened that night and hardly even registered her existence over the next few days. It hurt enough that Bal hadn't helped her himself, but the fact that Gabe seemed to have earned her trust while he couldn't care less for her tore it. Now she was seeking him for help when they were in a tight spot.

"Bal," she gasped his name as her back met the wall. He was still approaching, though, so her hand moved hardly a few inches in front her which did very little to slow him.

His hands found her arms and he gripped her tightly. Not enough to hurt her – because that would completely backlash on his entire argument – but he just needed to make her understand that this actually was a big deal to him; that this had been a worry and a selfish pain for him. If she knew, then she would believe in him and not just simply accept how useless he was over and over again.

He was much closer now, breath brushing against her hair while he tried to unclench his jaw. "I care about you," he said again in almost a whisper. "I'll protect you when there's danger. I'll help you when you need it. I'm the one that's here with you. I'll keep you safe. Me... I care about you."

Catherine didn't know what to say this time and he had finally paused in his heated speech. Saying his name hadn't worked before in calming him down, but she didn't know what else to do. He was so close to her, so emotional, and the things he was saying- She forgot about their shared curse for a moment and words failed her.

He was waiting for her to do something, anything that meant she heard and understood him, but she just stared back at him instead like she was speechless. It was a look somewhere between shock and disbelief, but he couldn't pin down what she could be thinking. Balthazar just watched her for a long moment, licking his lips without thinking and trying to figure out what to say next. You're mine. Believe in me. Please. Would that make her understand? He looked over her face again and remembered when she had asked him if she had been worth his sacrifice. Back then, he should have just opened his mouth and allowed whatever words he had to tumble out, but he didn't. He looked over her full lips, the small creases and blemishes on her skin, the curve of her cheek, her bright eyes that showed only a very dull reflection of her soul. He leaned in, trying to get a better glimpse, then he finally opened his mouth and kissed her.

Despite what had been happening, this still surprised Catherine enough to not initially stop him. By the time her mind came back to her, his arms had already moved to her back and waist and he wasn't pulling away like last time. Something told her – or perhaps encouraged her – that she had missed her chance of stopping him and one of her hands slowly moved up to his neck. The action only seemed to spur him on and, before she knew it, he was already kissing her harder.

He still wanted to make her understand. He wanted her to know that he cared for her, that she needed him as much as he needed her, that she was his and not his brother's. He didn't want her to go to Gabriel when she needed someone. He wanted her to go to him. So, he kissed her harder and deeper to try and make her know that, because saying the words weren't going to work when it hardly made any sense to him. His hand moved down from her ribs to grip at her waist, while he very quickly broke away for air before pressing his body flush against hers and went back to her lips.

It wasn't like she was helping to stop him, though. Her hands were against the back of his neck, trying to pull him closer. Her mind was completely wrapped into the moment, until he finally broke their kiss a second time. But one of Balthazar's hands shot down to her thigh, before he pulled her up against the wall and held her in place, moving his attentions to her neck this time. Her arm wrapped over his shoulders, but Catherine's eyes still opened and she realized what was going on.

"Balthazar."

Her voice sounded breathless even to her own ears, and she wasn't surprised that his only reply was his teeth grazing across her skin. She wanted to just let him keep going.

"Balthazar."

A low growl rumbled deep in his chest and she bit the inside of her cheek. This was probably the only time he'd ever touch her like this, which was the problem to begin with. This wasn't him. This wasn't how they were. But still, this was probably the only time he'd ever touch her like this...

"Bal, stop."

He did instantly, but froze still as if the very word coming from her mouth had shocked him. He remembered their stupid curse, what he was trying to do and realized that, yes, she wanted him to stop. Balthazar slowly pulled away from her neck, a little surprised at how the whole thing had ended up. Trying very hard to ignore her red lips, he managed to mumble out, "Sorry."

"It's okay," she whispered back, not looking to him at all. "It wasn't you."

His eyes stayed on her for a moment but slowly glanced down and away. It wasn't him? How he very much wished to change that statement and make it into something that was far less painful. Even if he wanted to try, though, she wouldn't believe him. Maybe, hopefully, she was just referring to the kissing and had taken what he said about Gabriel to heart, but he also doubted it. He blinked again and realized he was still holding her up against the wall. Instead of muttering out another apology like a halfwit, Bal just moved back and gently lowered her back. He felt cold again.

With her two feet firmly planted back on the ground again, Catherine sighed and looked back to their little table, trying to think about their situation and not what had just happened. However, she still stayed by the wall for fear of her legs being a little wobbly or something. It was a stupid fear, but she figured it was better safe than sorry if she acted nonchalant enough. "We have enough weapons and angel blades can kill nearly everything, especially Raphael's. You're right. We don't need Gabriel for this." She glanced back to him for a brief second, just long enough to see his surprise, before looking away again.

He blinked and nearly refuted her but held his tongue again. He didn't want to refute her. He didn't want Gabriel's help. They were fine on their own. However, he also figured they were done for the night after that whole... thing. Balthazar looked at their tiny room and the two beds and remembered her coming from the shower that night a few days ago- "I'll sleep in the car."

Cat deadpanned. "What?"

He took a moment to stare at her before raising a hand. "I'm not even going to begin to explain why. You know why. I'm sleeping in the car."

"No, you're-" She waved her arms at him and scowled. "We're fine. It's fine."

"It's not fine," he argued, actually happy they were fighting again. At least this was normal, if sometimes infuriating. "Did you black out for the last five minutes? We're not fine."

Cat shifted her stance as if she was about to start pacing the room, but stood still and glared at the door. "All right," she finally said calmly, "all right. I'll sleep in the car."

It was his turn to glare. "What? Why would- No!"

"You'll freeze to death!" she shot back. "I know how you are. You don't hide it well when you're grumbling about the cold in the middle of spring."

"No! It's cold! It's dark! Didn't you-" He quickly swallowed his words, nearly referring back to his earlier rant. He still wanted to protect her, not the other way around. "You're not sleeping out there. I'll be fine."

"You sleep like a rock!" she argued again. "If a tree fell on the hood, you wouldn't wake up!"

"Well, you're not doing it!"

"Then no one's doing it!"

He stared at her and, for the life of him, could not think of a comeback other than- "... Fine!"

"Fine!" She waved her arms again and walked around him, apparently ending the conversation.

He wanted to pull his hair out.

This was worse than Abbadon and she felt like this wasn't even close to what he was capable of. A warm liquid drained against her arm. She tried to relax and focus on something, anything, to try ignoring the pain. The heels of her boots dug into the earth. One of her hands clawed into the dirt until her nails were torn and raw, but she didn't notice. She tried to focus on not biting her tongue and clenching her teeth too tightly when she could help it. Another chocked sob escaped her throat and she couldn't tell if it was tears or blood running down her face.

He stood over her, his calm, young face tilting in slight confusion.

She tried to look pass him and into the trees, stars, sky- but it was all blurred. Only his face was in focus, but she still tried to not look at him.

His voice was rough, still, a little deep. "It's easy." Her teeth clenched again. "Scream. Pray. Something... Anything." Her fingers dug deeper into the ground and she tried to muffle a whimper. "Scream, Catherine. I'll stop if you scream."

He began to kneel down beside her and she screwed her eyes shut. Someone once put it in her head that pain was worse when her eyes were closed, but it was better than looking at him. She tried to shift her focus again, going back over the hurtful argument she had nearly ten minutes ago, yet it felt like forever. She repeated what he told her in her mind over and over, not focusing on their meanings, but trying to focus on his voice. It was spiteful and angry, but it was the only words of his she could remember. She replayed it over and over and over until his voice stopped being angry and became calm and almost happy and suddenly he was saying something else, but she couldn't make out what. She didn't care.

"Scream." The other voice broke through, tearing what thin balm she had apart. His calm voice was gone and she couldn't bring it back. Could hardly remember it now. "We can wait if we have to."

She felt his hand on her. Her heels dug into the dirt again. She couldn't breathe. The world turned a searing white.

Catherine jolted and woke with a start. At first, all she could see was the darkness and she began to panic again, but her eyes slowly adjusted to the light filtering in from the windows. Slowly, her breathing attempted to even out as she remembered where she was. Trying to find Raphael. Got cursed instead. In a motel somewhere off the interstate. She glanced to Balthazar, who was facing towards her but fast asleep in his own bed. His back had been facing her when she cut the lights off.

After shifting, she stared up at the ceiling, still trying to get rid of the last remnants of that dream. She honestly didn't want to stay up another night, especially when it really mattered if she was on top of her game or not the next morning. Balthazar didn't seem to notice her lack of sleep lately, but it really wasn't all that bad. Sort of.

She took a few deep breaths and glanced back over to him. After watching for a second, she realized that he was actually shivering. He had bundled himself into a ball under the blankets and was still freezing. When he first complained about the cold, she chalked it up to him not being used to the human body. Lately, she had started to gather a different theory. Perhaps his grace really was a source of heat. Something that burned white hot.

Catherine blinked away the thought and watched him for another second or two before sitting up. She took her own blankets and folded them over so as not to carry it so awkwardly, and she rose from the bed. Quietly, though she wasn't lying when she said that he slept like a rock, Cat walked across the room and draped her sheets slowly across him. She waited a moment or so, but little affect was shown. He had stopped shivering so hard, but goosebumps still dotted his skin and she frowned. He would have definitely gotten sick in the car.

After a moment's debate, wondering if their friendly curse had brought the idea to her or not, Catherine decided to help them both. She wasn't going to go back to sleep if she was cold and not distracted and he was only going to start shivering again if things stayed this way. Without much more thought, officially deciding that her sleepy mind was what put her up to the idea, she slipped into bed with him. She usually woke up before him anyway... Cat thoughtfully kept her hands to herself and only got close enough to him to barely feel his even breath. She definitely didn't want to push things and this was creepy enough. Still, she couldn't help but watch him a bit before closing her own eyes. "I care about you, too," she muttered beneath her breath, drifting back off into a sleep where Michael didn't exist.

Unfortunately, it wasn't too long until Balthazar realized that there was some sort of a change. A different smell, a new heat source, something was off in his confusing and unexplainable dream world. But when he opened his eyes to see, he realized that he wasn't where he used to be. He was in that motel room and the memories of recent times came back to him. He tried to quickly think back on the dream, as he often did after waking up to try and remember what was going on, when his thoughts stopped and he wondered if he was dreaming again.

Catherine was sleeping beside him... Once glancing to her own bed and back to his a few times, he realized that she had brought her own blankets with her. It was too simple and nice to be a dream, so he just blinked at her. Was this some sort of thing from their stupid curse? Why did she feel like this was a good idea? He offered to sleep in the car for a reason.

But he just watched her and didn't have the heart to wake her. She looked peaceful resting like that. He had seen her rest plenty of times before and he often took the opportunity to study her a few times. It was probably deemed weird by humans. They didn't like that staring thing. But he still just watched her and eventually looked up to the door.

They could just keep going and pretend nothing's wrong. It really wasn't fair to her, though. Perhaps he could go out and find their monster tonight instead of waiting until it was ready for them. He just wanted to find Raphael. He just wanted to do something that meant they were one step closer to it all being over. He had been on this planet for far far too long and around her even more so. Sometimes he had a thought that scared him. Sometimes it didn't, and that fact scared him.

He looked back down to her and watched her breathe steadily in a calm and relaxed sleep. It took a few seconds before he slowly moved closer and wrapped an arm around her. She shifted in her sleep, but eventually cuddled into him and stopped moving again. He watched her...

This was so small, so simple, and he didn't want it to end. It was just such a tiny thing. Completely unlike Heaven. Not what the souls perceived of Heaven, no. They lived in moments like this all the time and, frankly, he never really got the allure of it until now. No, no, he meant his Heaven. Where Michael and Raphael rallied armies together to fight their war. Where Castiel abandoned for the mortals. Where he stole everyone's precious toys and ran away. Father left. They all left. They all fought amongst each other and died and for what? For orders? He left for a reason. He was tired of it. Tired of losing people, tired of being useless, tired of being their toy soldier. And once he gained his own life and helped someone he cared for, everything was taken. Again.

Maybe this was better. Maybe just laying here and watching her sleep was better. Hell, maybe just being here alone was better. Maybe he didn't want to lose it all again. Maybe he didn't want to watch everything he loved die again. Maybe he wanted an ending... Maybe he had found a good ending.

He held her tightly to him and buried his face into her hair. Maybe that was just the curse talking.

When Balthazar awoke the next day, his bed was empty again and Catherine was milling about their room. It was so normal and surreal that it forced him to wonder if last night really had been a dream. It was entirely possible. Still, he ignored it and acted like it never happened at all. It seemed to work just fine.

Things were normal again. They had resolved to go back to that forsaken restaurant and end their problems one way or another. The two of them got their weapons together like on most days and things were all perfectly... fine. They were even talking like nothing had happened. Then they got into the car and Catherine gave him an odd look. He barely had time to question it before she was kissing him again. As nice as that was, it put an end to their perfectly fine morning. Balthazar found that the best way to come back from their random make out sessions was to start an argument, which they both participated heatedly in all the way back to the restaurant. It really did help to ignore it all and pretend that neither of them appreciated the others advances.

He shoved the door open ahead of his partner, not minding if they got looks from the public if he oh so accidentally tried to slam the door back on her. It didn't work, not that he looked back to check or anything. He just heard her growling as she walked in behind him. Before she could do or say anything, he was already smiling to the attending waitress, which was luckily the same girl from last night. "Good morn-"

Bal's words were cut off by an elbow to his ribs. "Hi," Catherine smiled to the waitress. "We just wanted to stop by and see if your manager was in."

The poor girl looked between them with a smile she was trying very hard to keep on. "Sure," she pointed to the other end of the room. "She was just talking to some customers. Sheryl!" Cat turned to see the person in question and frowned. "These people would like to speak to you."

The older woman looked back to them and smiled the same smile she had given them the day before when she was chasing a kid down the sidewalk when they first arrived in town. Catherine recognized her and began to go back over the event in her mind again. Had something happened that she had missed?

She heard Bal's breathless mutter beside her, as if he was talking to himself in disbelief. "I know what this is..."

Cat glanced up to him, but the manager was now within earshot. She stopped in front of them with a smile, hands clasped in front of her. "You must be the two from the Health Department last night," she nearly chuckled, "Anything I can help you with?"

Quickly, Balthazar nodded. "We need to talk somewhere private, darling." He had dropped the pleasant tone of voice, which Cat easily noticed, yet he still kept up the small endearment. The manager, however, didn't seem to take any notice at all and just nodded in turn and began walking to the back. Catherine fell in line to follow, but Bal grabbed her arm and pulled her back so that he could go first instead. As much as she wanted to argue, she just gave him an odd look and stuck close.

The manager, Sheryl, led them pass the kitchen and into a room that must have been considered her office, provided the desk and paperwork was anything to go by. "Please," she waved to the room with a smile, "Don't mind the mess-"

Balthazar closed and locked the door behind them, cutting Sheryl's words off. She frowned at them, a little confused for the moment while still keeping her composure, until he pulled the angel sword out of his jacket. She glanced from the blade to him, terrified, then tried to dart through them for the door. "No-!"

Bal grabbed her around the waist and pushed her back into a chair, putting the blade to her throat. "We need to talk."

Sheryl took deep breaths, but Cat looked at them confused, one hand on her gun in its holster. "What's going on?"

Balthazar leaned back up, but still held his blade menacingly. "Seems we've been struck by a cupid's arrow," he said with a deep frown, not looking away from the other angel. "Who are you?"

The angel opened her mouth to speak, but her brow furrowed and she took a closer look at him. "Balthazar?" His jaw shifted. "You're supposed to-... What happened to you? I didn't even realize it was-"

"Who are you?" he said again, stressing every word.

She leaned back into the chair and bit her lip. "Sachiel." After looking him up and down for a moment, she came to at least one realization. "You've lost your grace."

"I've lost a lot of things, sweetheart," he shot back, "but that's not our biggest worry right now."

Her face fell a little and she looked over to Catherine, noticing immediately what she was and fear took her again. "Are you here to kill me?" she asked in a panic before looking back to her brother. "You're working with hunters to kill us?"

He was getting more and more agitated by the second, so Cat stepped in. "We're not hunting angels," she gained Sachiel's attention, "We're hunting archangels."

Balthazar stood quietly and watched the other angel look slowly between them in disbelief. However, while some of the fear had quelled, not all of it did. After a calming breath, he tried again. "We're looking for Raphael."

After a moment of staring at him, Sachiel slowly shook her head. "I haven't seen or heard from him."

Cat's eyes narrowed as she caught on. "Who have you seen?"

"Michael," the angel answered, but bit her lip again from the fallen look she received from the hunter and she quickly shook her head. "I refused him," she argued, as if pleading, "He asked for my grace and I turned him away. I don't know if it was right, but I remember what happened before and I didn't want things to-" Once she glanced over to Balthazar, her own face fell. "That's what happened to you, isn't you? You support-"

"We're trying to stop them," Bal quickly corrected, hoping to steer the conversation away from the current topic. He didn't like hearing of Michael and he especially didn't like Catherine's expressions and body language when she heard of him either. "But first, we need you to lift this nightmare you've set upon us, so that we can continue along our merry way with as less of a soap opera as possible."

The cherub looked a bit disappointed and Catherine desperately wanted a distraction from the fact that Michael had been there, so she couldn't help but wonder. "Why are you doing this?" she asked her, "Pairing us up? Pairing everyone up? What's the point?"

"Well," the angel looked at Catherine and then to the floor, "I fell."

They waited for the rest. Balthazar eventually motioned to her. "... And?"

"And I lost my wings!" she shouted unexpectedly, "You don't understand. I had lost my purpose. I had lost all purpose. I had to do something!"

His brow furrowed. "This is something?" he asked her, motioning out the window, "This isn't a purpose. This is madness."

"No, no," Sachiel shook her head, "I'm doing good here. I am."

Catherine interjected, "This is wrong. It's not them. They're not making their own choices. You're making those for them."

"They're happy," the angel frowned sadly, "They've found love and peace."

Balthazar shook his head. "It's not real."

She looked back over to him again, looking as if she were close to crying. "Maybe not for all of them," Sachiel slowly tried to argue, "but some of them-... Some of them-"

"You need to fix it," he said with finality, expression cold and distant.

Sachiel frowned to him as if she were hurt and slowly looked to the floor. After a moment, she looked up to him and then to Catherine. "Are you sure?"

Cat frowned back to her, but before anyone could say anything, a scream was heard from outside. The two turned for the door, but Sachiel quickly stood and pushed them both aside hard enough for them to fall to the floor behind her. Both noticed that something had already changed, but there was something bigger going on now.

"You need to go!" she shouted, standing over them. "They have armies. Michael warned other angels would come here for me."

Cat leaned up, but Balthazar was the first to find his feet. "Not until you-!"

"I've undone the spell!" she stopped him, "If you want to find Raphael, you can't get caught by their men. I can distract them while you leave. Michael allowed me to live. I'll be fine."

Catherine stood and looked over to her angel, who looked back to her and then to Sachiel. "Fine."

"Just run out the back. Be careful," she said, slamming open the door and running to the front. Balthazar grabbed Catherine's arm and pushed her in front of him again to run. It was probably a good call since she was trying to turn back and help Sachiel before he dragged her ahead of him, but after a moment she got the idea and ran with him.

Night had fallen and the Challenger sped down the interstate. The ride had been more or less quiet thus far as they ran, until Cat looked over to her passenger. "Did you see any other angels?"

"No," he answered with a groan, "She probably faked it to get away from us-"

"No," Catherine answered back, watching the road. "They were there. I'm sure Michael doesn't take no for an answer."

Balthazar looked over to her, but she said nothing else on the matter. After a beat of silence, he looked back to the road, too, and rubbed his chin. "We just have to find Raphael. That's all. The boys will handle the rest."

She risked a quick, slightly confused, and irritated glance to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means what I said," he told her again. "We find Raphael. That's it."

"And let the others handle everything else?" she asked to elaborate.

"Why not?" The pause his question brought from her was one he didn't care for, especially since he was trying very hard to not make a big deal of all this.

Eventually, she blinked and looked over to him again. "You trust them to get your grace back?"

That made him chew on his lip a bit. "They'll do what they have to."

"We can't just sit on the sidelines while they're out there," she answered, shaking her head, "We'll get your grace back. Me and you."

He watched her for a long moment, shifting his jaw once again. "But Michael has it."

Her hands tightened on the steering wheel and her lips twitched a little, but ultimately ended in a frown. "What? You're scared of him now?"

Bal stared for another moment. "Are you?"

Her knuckles began to turn white and, for a little while, he thought she wouldn't respond. "We'll get it back," she finally answered quietly, "one way or another."

"It's the another part that I'm worried about," he said, beginning to become very angry with the assumptions going through his mind.

Yet, she stayed calm and it managed to keep him from being outspoken for the time being. Until she spoke, that is. "Raphael isn't what's important," she finally answered back. "Your grace is. We'll do whatever we have to to get it back. I'll do what I have to."

He stared at her for a long, tense moment as she expected some sort of comeback from him. Eventually, he shifted and faced the road again, remaining quiet. Arguing was easy, familiar, even normal for them. The silence wasn't. The silence was worse, but she didn't speak up either.

Sachiel sat down in the dark, empty restaurant. They had to close for the evening after the unwanted visitors, but she was right. They had been one of Michael's and she told them the same thing. They left peacefully, never realizing that a hunter and a fallen angel had escaped them.

Yet, she still sighed. Michael was not the only one looking for angels, and she knew that. It's why she was doing what she could for these people. Running and hiding would do no good. It was just a shame that some of her work wasn't really appreciated by some... She didn't know either of them well or what was really going on behind the scenes that they were working with, but she could see something when it was right in front of her. She could also see denial and it always pained her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the dimming of the lights in the room. A coldness seeped into her bones as the world grew quiet, and she looked up to the wall. She knew he was there behind her and she was frightened, but stayed as calm as she could. There was nothing else to do.

"Hello, Lucifer."

"Hello, Sachiel."

His hand fell on her shoulder and the world ceased.

Well, I hope you guys still wanted long chapters. I wanted this section of the story out of the way before moving on, but this could have been two chapters easily.

It's out of the way now, I guess. Let me know what you think! Yay for the super long chapter? Nay? What about the emotions and kissing? Let me know, guys! More archangel stuff is going to happen very soon, btw. :)

Reviews and follows are very welcome. Feedback helps a lot. Thank you. I love you, guys.