Present Day: New York City

The image of a young girl lay before me on the desk. Golden locks hung over pale freckled skin. Eyes as blue as the sky. The face of innocence. Her mutilated body had been found in Central Park. No one was ever arrested. The evidence was scant. Suspicions fell on her step father. He had adamantly denied any connection to her disappearance and death. But that didn't stop him from being arrested and tried for the crime. In the end he was exonerated and all charge were dropped.

I sighed. Nothing was coming to mind. I went over the photos in the file over and over. It was cold case nearly thirty years old. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair. My eyes were blurry. Shaking my head, I leaned back and closed my eyes.

"Persi?" My husband's voice startled me slightly. I opened an eye and looked up at him. Standing over me at six foot two inches. His blues eyes riddled with concern. His muscled arms folded across his well-built chest. "It's time for lunch." He said gently.

"I'm not hungry." I leaned forward towards the desk again. My gaze returned to the photos of young April Jennings.

He sighed. "Yes you are. You haven't had anything to eat since this morning. Now come on." He used his stern cop voice.

I sighed heavily and pushed myself back from the desk. I bumped my belly on the edge. He was right. At six months pregnant I needed to be more consentience of my body's needs. I felt my baby shifting within my womb. "Okay Bryan." He held his hand and helped me stand up. He walked a few feet ahead of me.

"You want Chang's again?"

I nodded and reached for my sweater hanging on the back of my chair. "That sounds good. I could use some eggrolls." My mouth watered. I craved egg rolls a lot lately. We started towards the door. Then like something out of a movie time began to slow down. Bryan was caught in mid-sentence. I sighed.

"Is that you Malachi?" Malachi, an angel was like my guardian. He was sent by God to keep an eye on me. He had the ability to slow down time. I heard a whoosh I knew to be angel wings. I turned towards the sound but the face was not Malachi's. It wasn't Michael or Gabriel either. His skin was a rich dark brown. He was muscular and had a handsome face. Though there was a menacing scowl upon it.

He stopped in front of me. "Certainly not. I am Amenadiel."

I had heard the name before. Visits from angels was not something all the unusual for me. Most people might find it unusual but not me. I shifted my weight. "To what do I owe this visit, Amenadiel?"

He made an attempts at a smile. IT would have been nice but I detected a hint of malice in it. Most of the angels could smile and not send chills down my spine. Amenadiel however did. "I have come on a mission from God. Your father Lucifer, has left Hell. And I am here to ask your assistance in getting him back."

My dark eyes examined the angel. I shrugged my shoulders. "He leaves Hell all the time."

The angel sighed. "Well, this time he left for good. He is refusing to return. We need to get him back." His eyes traveled upwards. "My Father needs him to return."

I sighed. I hadn't seen my father in several years. We had a bit of a falling out over my choice in career and hadn't spoken since. "Your Father…" I trailed off. My eyes looked towards the ceiling. Amenadiel's father, otherwise known as God, the almighty. The angels all shared one father. Which meant that he was my grand…

The angels deep voice broke my thoughts. "I need you to convince him to go back. The balance of the universe rides on it."

A kick against my ribs made me grab my stomach. This baby was so active. It made me stumble slightly. I sighed and looked at the angel. "What makes you think he'll listen to me?"

"I don't."

I rolled my eyes and took a few steps towards my frozen in time husband. I brushed hair from his face. "I haven't spoken to him in several years. I mean I don't even know if he'll talk to me."

"You must try. You need to get him to agree to return home, Persephone."

The way he said my name sent chills down my spine. I was rarely afraid. I had spent ten years in the US Marine Corps and the last five as a cop. But the way he spoke made it sound like a threat. Like if I didn't succeed bad things would happen. I sighed heavily. My stomach rumbled. "I will try my best."

The angel took a step towards me. His face inches from mine. I swallowed hard. Facing down hardened criminals and insurgents in Iraq hadn't frightened me as much as I was scared right now. "I don't want you to try. You need to succeed." His voice was low and frightening. He backed up and his black wings unfurled. With a flap he was gone and slowly time returned to normal speed.

Bryan was standing there looking at me. One second I had been next to my desk and the next I was in front of him looking white as a ghost. His brows furrowed as blue eyes looked upon me. "Did you have a visitor?" Bryan was well aware of my parentage. My mother had been a famous movie star and singer. My father, the Devil. At first it weirded him out. But he had gotten used to it. He knew when one of my angelic relatives would show up.

I nodded at him but offered little else. Amenadiel's visit had left me frightened. If I failed would God punish me? Bryan placed his arm around my shoulder. "Come on, dear."

We walked out of the precinct and towards a squad car. He opened the door for me and I slid in. I did my best to find a comfortable position. I was staring out the front window as he climbed into the driver's side. "What did Malachi want?"

I didn't say a word. I just stared.

"Persi?" His voice came through my jumbled mind. "Persi, talk to me."

I turned to him and smiled. "I'm fine Bryan."

He furrowed his brow. He knew I was lying. It wasn't always easy being married to another detective. We would forever be trying to read one another. That was what we had been trained to do. He sighed and started the engine. We pulled into traffic.

Chang's was crowded and noisy. It was a popular spot for lunch. We walked in and were greeted by an old woman not more than five feet tall. "Hello Ms. Chang. How are you today?" I said to her.

"Busy." She grabbed menus from the hostess stand and lead us to the back of the dining room.

A couple of our friends and co-workers were seated at a four top table. We sat beside them. One was John Tucker. We fist bumped. "Hey Johnny." I said as I sat beside him. Bryan sat opposite me. The other cop Finn Clark looked up from his noodle dish and nodded.

I nodded at Finn. 'How's my partner treating you Finn?" The young black man looked up and shrugged. Finn had just joined the squad a few months ago. He was temporarily assigned to John while I was pregnant. For now, I was on desk duty.

"Good, Ma'am." He said before shoveling another spoonful of noodles into his mouth.

"Ma'am? Jeez you make me feel old."

Bryan and John both laughed. Ms. Chang returned to the table to take our orders. I ordered egg rolls and noodle soup. My stomach rumbled. I felt the baby moving around. I patted my stomach. "Hold your horses."

Bryan laughed. He was so excited for this baby. His first wife had taken his two daughters and moved to Seattle. He rarely ever got to see them. It pained me to see him hurting. This new baby was like a new start for him. It wasn't easy being married to a cop. But I understood it. I sighed sadly. The conversation with my angelic uncle still weighing heavily in my mind.

"Boy, Malachi really got to you." He placed his hand on mine.

I shook my head. "It wasn't Malachi." Malachi annoyed me. Sometimes angered me. But he had never made me feel fear. For the most part we were friends. I usually enjoyed his visits. I shifted uneasily in the chair. I was about to say something to my concerned husband when Ms. Chang showed up with a big tray with our food on it.

The noodle soup made my mouth water. It was piping hot. Various vegetables and chicken. It was one my favorite things to eat. A plate of eggrolls sat beside the soup. I picked one up. It was hot. I sat there waiting a few minutes for the food to cool. "I need to go to LA for a couple of days."

Bryan had just filled his mouth with sesame chicken. His eyes got big. He chewed for a moment. "Why?"

I glanced at John and Finn. Finn had an IPhone in his hand. He appeared to be intently reading something. John was furiously eating his food. They didn't seem to notice our conversation. "My father is in Los Angeles and my uncle needs me to help get him home."

Bryans eyes remained wide. "He can do that?"

I laughed. "Apparently. But it's upsetting my grandfather and he needs my dad home."

Bryan's blue eyes looked up. It was ice he was half expecting lightning to strike us. He still had a little trouble accepting that my grandfather was the Almighty himself. "Do you think it's a good idea to be flying all over the country?"

I took a bite out of the eggroll. Oh it was so good. Chang's had the best eggrolls in the city. I placed my free hand on my stomach. I loved feeling my baby moving around. SO thrilled I was to be a mother. "Why wouldn't it be?"

He pointed a chopstick towards my tummy. "I thought flying was a bad idea."

"Only in the third trimester, honey." John was now listening to us. I don't know how much he had heard. I tried to be discreet when mentioning my family. I didn't go around bragging that my father was the Devil himself. But people who worked with me had suspected I wasn't like other people.

John straightened up in his seat. "My ex-wife traveled on planes while pregnant all of the time."

Bryan sighed. I smiled at him. "It will be okay honey. You are going to be undercover this weekend anyways." He nodded.

"Okay. But please be careful."

"You too." We leaned across the table and kissed.

John made a face. "Hey, we are eating here."

We all laughed. I picked up my spoon and began eating the cooled soup. My nerves were all over the place. I wondered how my father would react to seeing me. There was so much to do.