Roanoke, Virginia

"Jane, can you get that doorbell? Our hands are full." I requested while looking up at the Baker residence, wondering if I made the right choice.

"Of course," Jane replied, leaning forward and using her left arm to reach out and hit the button. She was holding onto her unconscious but somehow half-standing son with her right arm.

"I don't sense anything about this place," Melgreth admitted quietly, admiring the large four bedroom house. "I deduce that this home is heavily warded."

Just a moment later we heard a voice on the other side of the front door. "Cousin Lynn?" It was Danny. "I can tell you're not alone. Is it safe?"

"Yes Danny," I reassured. "I'm sorry I didn't call. There's an emergency and we need help."

Another moment passed and the door unlocked and swung open. "Whoa," he gaped upon seeing us all. "What happened?"

"Don't just stand there Danny; let them in!" Mindy scolded from behind him, coming forward and kicking away the salt line at the door. "If there's people injured we should help them."

"Thank you guys," I sighed in relief, taking the first steps inside the house and immediately turning right. I followed the fraternal twins down the hallway that opened into the living room.

"Danny, can you pull the couches together? I'll get some sleeping bags." Mindy continued. "Cousin Lynn, how many are more hurt than the others?"

"The two I'm slugging right now just need to sleep it off," I admitted. "The other three need the attention."

Danny snapped his fingers to use celestial power to pull the two loveseats closer to the couch that was center. As soon as Mindy made two sleeping bags appear closer to the stairs, I dropped the human girl on my shoulder and then Colby on the sleeping bags.

Jane entered the living room with Drew. "Over here," Mindy instructed, guiding Jane to the closest loveseat. Then when she helped lay Drew down she widened her eyes. "Is he a Nephilim?"

Danny looked over at us from the sleeping bags. Doesn't surprise me he wanted to check on Colby, his prank apprentice. "Yes," I confirmed. "His name is Drew."

"Your friend from New York?" The twins seemed to connect the dots asking me. I nodded at them both.

Finally Mel drifted in but she stopped at the doorway into the living room, staring at us. "Her face!" Mindy gasped. "It looks like Colby's!"

I learned pretty quickly to overlook the demon faces and focus on their meatsuits. I watched Mel's dark brown eyes narrow from cringe. "Do not compare me to that idiotic little boy."

"Mel, you can put them over here." I told her. However, she didn't move.

"They're nervous of me, my Lady." She noticed. I quickly looked over my cousins and Mel seemed to be right.

"She's a demon like Colby?" Danny asked cautiously.

"She is also mine and my brother's protector." I added. "I trust her with my life."

Something I said made them appear stunned. "Brother?"

"Mel?" I nearly pleaded. "Get over here."

"Yes my Lady," Mel obeyed, dragging Daimon and Megan towards us. I helped her lay Daimon on the couch and Megan on the other loveseat.

"Should we call our mom? She's at work." Danny wondered.

"If you can, do it." I encouraged. Danny nodded and headed across the living room into the kitchen, presumably where a home phone could be.

Mindy was now kneeling down with Jane at Drew's side. "Hi." She whispered.

"Hey," Jane said back quietly. "Thanks for helping us."

"You're welcome," Mindy replied. "Is he your son?"

"Yes," Jane answered. "Can you help him?"

"What's wrong with him?" Mindy asked back, now looking over Drew.

"Ah..." Jane honestly didn't know where to begin so I filled in for her.

"I think he used too much power. More than he's used to."

"Like an overload?" Mindy guessed, beginning to use her powers. Her chocolate eyes were glowing almost a faint blue color. She slowly ran her hand from Drew's head down to his feet. "Hi Drew! I'm Mindy. Are you okay?" She seemed to call out.

We all looked at Drew but he remained still on the loveseat with eyes closed. "Are you talking to him?" Jane assumed.

Mindy nodded. "I reached out to him. He's just really tired, don't worry. He wants to rest."

"Oh goodness yes," Jane sighed in relief, hugging Drew.

"Incredible," Mel gawked quietly. "Lady Lynn, why didn't you tell us about these precious Nephilim?"

"I made a promise to Gabriel." I admitted.

"Gabriel?" Mel repeated. "You mean they're-?" She gasped, keeping her eyes on Mindy. "You look just like him. OH MY DEAR."

"Thanks," Mindy said with a slight nod.

Danny returned from the kitchen. "Mom's on her way." He announced. "Hey can I help heal someone?"

"Over here," Mel urged. "Daimon's got a hole in his chest and I'm not sure what happened to Megan."

"Tei tried to rip out her Grace." I blurted out mistakenly.

The twins stopped. "Tei?" Mindy repeated.

I sighed. "Teivel's awake."

Mindy gulped and Danny narrowed his eyes. "He did all of this to you guys?"

"Unfortunately," Mel said.

"I'm gonna kill him," Danny threatened, heading over to Mel. He knelt down to inspect Daimon's wound Tei caused. After a quick check Danny's already blue eyes started glowing, moving his hand over Daimon's wound. He lowered his hand and shocked himself when the wound started closing up from his power.

"Wonderful," Mel praised him gently. "Thank you sweet boy."

Mindy made it to the other loveseat where Megan lies. "Is she a Nephilim too?"

I shook my head. "I think she's similar maybe. She's human with Grace but... I have a feeling it's not hers." I explained, recalling what Tei told her.

Mindy moved her hand over Megan the way she did Drew. "Lynn?" She said in a near-panic.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Why does she have our dad's Grace?" She asked back. Immediately Danny looked over from helping Daimon.

That's why Tei mistook Megan for Gabriel. "She's the Chosen One." I announced.

"No way," Danny denied. "That was just a story our dad told us when we were little."

"Sometimes stories are true." Mel input.

The twins were in obvious shock and awe. Daimon wakes up, scaring Danny a bit. "Whoa there." Danny nearly jumped back because Daimon shot up from the couch.

"Sister?" He roared, looking all around.

"I'm right here," I replied calmly, walking towards him. "Mel's here too."

"Where is he?" Daimon narrowed his blue eyes and kept looking around. We knew who he meant.

"Not here," Mel told him. "Drew's mother knocked him out with his cane."

Mindy chuckled at that. "Nice!" She told Jane, who merely nodded and half-smiled. I knew she was still worried about Drew even though he was just resting.

"Nobody messes with my son." She declared, smoothing over some of his light brown hair out of his face.

Danny felt himself being stared down by Daimon. "What's wrong?" He asked with a gulp. Mindy looked over from Megan's side.

I smiled to reassure everyone. "Daimon, I want you to meet Danny and Mindy Baker. They're our cousins. They're our family."

Mindy waved politely. "Nice to meet you, Cousin Daimon."

"Family? Cousins?" Daimon repeated. "I... I do not understand."

"Don't be upset," Mel urged him. "They... they're Gabriel's children."

"GABRIEL?" Daimon instantly yelled. "That TRAITOR?" He clenched his fists and leaned forward.

"Traitor?" Danny repeated sadly. "No, not my dad."

"Daimon you need to relax." I told him. He literally growled at me and then stared down at his lap, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Eventually he pulled his shirt up to check on his wound only to find it gone.

"Who healed me?"

"Me." Danny gulped.

Daimon wouldn't look at him, but he still said, "You have my gratitude, Gabriel-Son."

Danny didn't really respond. He looked at me confusingly and then at his sister.

"I don't think I can help her," Mindy admitted, pulling her hand away from Megan. "I can't talk to her like I did Drew. I'm not sure what to do."

"I've got an idea," I realized. "But I need your mom's permission first."

With that simple fact, our waiting began. Jane eventually broke the silence. "Lynn?" She called out a little while later.

"Yeah?" I said back. She hadn't left Drew's side and I was almost across the living room by Colby. I'd cleaned up his bloodied face, thankful that Rylie didn't hurt him more than he did.

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked me with a concerning tone.

Before I could reply, Danny emerged from the kitchen again, just behind the couch Daimon was originally on. Mel had now joined him. "Does everyone here like apples?" Danny asked for everyone to hear.

I curiously looked around but everyone mostly nodded. "Awesome." Danny shred a strange grin before he turned back into the kitchen. Jane was looking at me.

"I feel fine," I finally told her. "It's been a long day."

Jane didn't budge. Her brown eyes were so narrow I almost gulped. "Are you sure you don't feel any different?" She nearly sounded interrogating.

I shrugged. "Are you asking because of what Tei said to me? Why did you want him to stop?"

Mindy had been sitting with me for a while now. "What happened?"

"During the fight, Tei said a bunch of weird words to me," I started. "I knew it was the Enochian language but I have no idea what he actually said. All he told me was that he Blessed me."

Jane sighed but it sounded heartbreaking. "You knew what he was saying?" Daimon was the one who asked her. She nodded, looking down at her sleeping son.

"I heard those words from Drew's father when I met him. After that... I was pregnant with Drew."

Mel reacted first by gasping loudly. "HE DIDN'T!" She reached over and grabbed Daimon's shirt out of fear. "TELL ME HE DIDN'T-!"

Did Jane just tell me that I'm... no that's impossible. There's nothing human about me at all. How could I-?

I couldn't focus anymore. I had been looking at Jane but then she became incredibly fuzzy. Someone else gets up and punches the wall by the kitchen doorway. "Hey! What the heck?" Danny yelped from the kitchen.

Someone gently forced me up. I think it was Mindy. "Come with me." She whispered. She guided me towards the stairs not far behind us all the way into a bedroom, presumably hers. I noticed the bed sheets and blankets were various shades of pinks. It smelled like lavender in here, which felt comforting to me.

"I think you should lie down and relax for a while," Mindy urged me, ushering me into the bed. "Does that sound okay?"

"Sure," I replied, relieved I could see her face clearly again. Mel wasn't kidding; Mindy truly resembled Gabriel. Her hair was a bit more blonde but she had his eyes.

"What's your idea that you need my mom's permission for?" Mindy asked next, pulling some blankets over me.

"There's an angel who can help Megan," I admitted to her. "It's not safe for us to leave here right now, so I need your mom to be okay with him coming here. I think Mel is capable of summoning him."

"Who is he? Can we trust him?" Mindy lowered herself to be at eye level with me.

"Yes, he's got a Nephilim child. His name is Ciar." I nodded.

Mindy nodded back. "I'll see what I can do. I'll come back and check on you." Quickly she was gone and I was left alone to the thoughts I'd been ignoring ever since those words left Jane's lips.

I'm going to have a Nephilim child of my own.

Assuming I forced myself to doze off, I realized I did not wake back up in the same bed. Pink sheets replaced by yellow and... silk? A canopy bed streamed with yellow and gold colors. My favorite color.

I turned onto my back and looked up at the canopy. So pretty. Okay, I should figure out where I am. Slowly I pulled the covers off and sat up... only to see Tei just a few feet away, sitting in a silver colored chair and merely staring at me.

"Uh-oh," I said. Mild panic began to rise inside. Did I actually make it to Danny and Mindy's? Or did Tei actually take me away and he gave me fake memories? No way. He has never seen their house, how would he know? "Where are we?" I decided to ask.

"Well..." Tei stifled a smile before looking around the room that held ancient vibes to me. The walls were iron? Stone? Metal? Silver colored something. "This room is very real, but I believe we aren't actually here right now."

Oh, crap. Am I dreaming? I'm still sleeping in Mindy's bed? "Is this because of the Imprint?" No point in hiding it anymore. I'm sure he knows.

"Possibly," he admitted quietly, leaning forward and holding his hands under his nose. "I always felt you and I were bonded. It makes sense now."

I had to know. "How did you find out?"

Tei looked down and then back at me. "Rylie suggested it."

"I see," I checked out the rest of the room. It was lit by various candlestick-type wall sconces. A massive dark brown wardrobe was right of Tei with a window adjacent to it. The dark carpet looked very thin but new. Everything about this room seemed ancient, even the window frame. There was a round glass table at the window with two chairs similar to the one Tei was in. "Gabriel was the one who told me."

Tei narrowed his eyes. "Of course he did."

"Tei, what's this room anyway?" I felt encouraged to exit the bed. I didn't have an interest in trying to leave. None of this was real anyway.

"It's our room now," Tei seemed to gleam, leaning back and lowering his arms. He watched me get up from the bed but he remained seated. "This was my first bedroom as a child. This was my father's castle, but it's mine now."

"This is a castle?" I nearly gasped. "You have a castle and never told me? Big surprise there."

Tei let slip a real smile. "I missed you so much my love, and now I can't find you again. Tell me where you are so I can get you and bring you here for real."

"I can't," I said. "I have to protect the people I care about from you."

"Stay with me and they will always be safe." Tei seemed to offer. Finally he gets up from sitting and approaches me. "May I?" He asked, reaching out his arm.

"What?" I asked in confusion, looking at his extended arm. "What do you want?"

Tei seemed sincere and it freaked me out. "I want to hold my entire world in my arms."

A sense of braveness overwhelmed me. I looked at Tei before I raised my hands and placed them over my stomach. "You mean the both of us?"

He nodded.

"Why did you do this to me?" I asked next, nearly glaring at him.

Tei retracted his arm. "We are bonded my love. Neither of us will ever belong to anyone else."

And there's the crazy I was waiting for. I shook my head and sighed, going back to the bed. "Are you tired?" He assumed.

"I got here from falling asleep, so I'll go back to sleep to get out of here." I decided, climbing back on and getting under the yellow covers.

I heard a sigh from Tei. "When I find you, that demon with you dies."

"Leave me alone Tei. Go sit back in that chair." I scowled, pulling the blankets over my face. I recalled to my times in the Domain, learning how to 'fall asleep'.

I heard Tei listen to me and sit back down. "I'll see you soon my love." Was the last thing I heard him say.