Father Zein returned to Sanctuary with Cassandra and Sadie in the middle of the night. For much of the ride back the young women remained mostly quiet. When Father Zein had a question, it was usually Cassandra who quickly, simply answered. She confirmed they hoped to be picked up by morning, and that Sadie might need to be hidden away somewhere secure until the battle against the Order was finished with.

"I have been honored to play my small part in keeping the both of you safe," Father Zein said. "If there is more I can do, let me know."

"However we can repay you, tell us." Cassandra spent much of the ride back with a hand on Sadie's knee. Sadie, for her part, crossed her arms as if she was hugging herself and said little.

But when Cassandra made her repayment offer, she did pipe up to say, "Yeah, for real. You've been great." Still with the far off look in her downcast eyes, she mulled over how to articulate the next thing she wanted to say. Eventually, she just went with, "Thank you, Father," and said the last word with all the respect she could inject.

Neither woman quite knew what to make of the village upon their return. On the one hand the lack of any electric lighting was jarring. On the other, the lack of light pollution allowed for a sky that was more blue than black, studded with countless stars and the glow of a half-full moon. When Cassandra shook Sadie and referred her up at the lights overhead, she forgot her melancholy for a moment and looked up in wonder.

"Wow… don't get that back in Gotham," she said.

Father Zein chuckled as they pulled up the jeep into a tiny garage at the back of one of the shops. "I'm glad you're pleased." The priest stepped over to a shelf on the side, stepped up to Cassandra and Sadie, and held a small, brass object. Upon a moment of inspection, Sadie realized what it was.

"Uh, there isn't a genie in that lamp, is there?" She asked. "I've had some bad experiences with them lately."

The priest chuckled, struck a match, and lit the tiny wick within the lip of the lamp. "No, just a means of making fire. I'll lead you back to Anne's home, come along."

As they followed behind, Sadie leaned toward Cassandra and said, "I've never actually known how those were supposed to light up. It's kinda weird seeing it for real."

Father Zein led the way back for just a few minutes before they paused at a familiar-looking house next to the market, just a few peddlers remained out for the night. The priest extended the lamp toward Sadie, who took it. "I will leave this with you for the night, there's a cap on the end, just seal it when you're finished with the light."

Sadie nodded. "Thank you. For everything else too, obviously. It sounds like we'll be out of your hair tomorrow, thanks for keeping us safe through tonight."

"If anything should go awry, I'll do what I can to protect you," Father Zein said. "For now, sleep well, and go with God."

Cassandra and Sadie both nodded as they departed, then turned to their home for the night. As they stepped upward, Sadie whispered, "I thought your priest friend back in Gotham was decent, but this one—you find me somebody like Zein back in Gotham and I'll hang out with them any day of the week."

Cassandra laughed, then lowered her voice. "Careful, Anne's probably asleep."

"Right, right." Sadie quieted to a whisper as they stepped into the dark house. "Wouldn't want to come off as ungracious guests. Let's see if we remember which room we're in."

They did, as denoted by the backpack on the floor. Cassandra set the Sword of Salvation in one corner and found the undermost layer of the Angel uniform sat folded at the base of the bedrolls. She ran her hands along it and nodded, satisfied. Then she looked to Sadie. "Are you tired?"

"I don't know." She set the lamp on top of the chest that held the sheets in the corner and let out a long breath. "I am, but I'm restless… if I try going to sleep I'm going to be all alone with this big, scary next step."

"I'll stay up with you a while." Cassandra sat down on one of the rolls.

"You sure? I don't know how long I might be stuck processing this."

Cassandra patted the roll and managed half a smile. "I'm an…" she had to find the word again. "Insomniac, remember?"

Sadie laughed and seated herself as instructed. "No, you're not. You're a tireless guardian who looks after people in the dark of the night. Right now, that sounds a lot better."

For a few moments, both just sat there, uneasy. Eventually, Cassandra asked, "Do you need to talk about it?"

Sadie hugged herself and looked down. "Well, you heard the same stuff I did, right? I need to disappear for a while." She rubbed at her forehead. "I've tried really hard to just roll with this situation, tell myself it was an exciting adventure with people I love. Sometimes it really was all that. But now…" she trailed off for a moment. After some thought and with a lump in her throat, she said, "I barely got to see Peter and Charlene while I was on break. My friends at school aren't going to know why I just disappeared." She sniffled as she looked back up. "If they've really gotta lock me down, I might not hear or see you for a while either."

Cassandra began, "We don't know that—"

"Yeah. And not knowing is one more hard part right now." Despite the interruption, Sadie's voice had gone soft. "I dunno… is it right for your whole life, with your friends, and your family to be upended so you can play bodyguard for me?"

"Not like that," Cassandra said.

Sadie swallowed as she mulled over a reply briefly. She settled on, "I know we don't want it to be that way. It just feels like where we're stuck."

Cassandra scootched closer, wrapped one arm around Sadie and ran the other through her short hair. Sadie leaned in; her wet eyes pressed to Cassandra's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Cassandra said. "Sorry it's so overwhelming right now."

"God, I'm a mess." Sadie pulled away just a little and wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry. This… this is the world you live in every day, isn't it? Fighting bad guys, making personal sacrifices, everything. I must seem kind of pitiful right now."

Cassandra shifted both hands to Sadie's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Don't say that. You weren't meant for all this." She slid her hands up and cupped Sadie's face. "I wish you could just be home too. That you were safe and happy again. To draw, to paint, everything." After a solemn second, she added, "It's one more thing I'm fighting for."

Slowly, Sadie raised one of her own hands and clutched one of Cassandra's. "You weren't meant for this either, you know." After briefly gathering her thoughts, she pressed on. "It's great what you're doing, and I know it's part of your beliefs that when you have skills like yours, you need to use them to make the world right. And you should keep it up as long as it feels right." Then Sadie squeezed the hand. "But it's not your fault how you were raised. It didn't make you, 'meant for this.' It made you braver and more prepared than me, but no one should have to fight the battles you have."

After just the weakest chuckle, Cassandra said, "I'm supposed to be comforting you."

Sadie let out a strained laugh of her own. "Well, too bad, I've got stuff I wanna say too." The quiet that followed somehow felt uneasy for both of them. After a few seconds like that, Sadie asked, "Are you still sure I'm worth all this."

"Of course." Cassandra answered fast, before she'd fully thought over the question. After a brief consideration, she said, "Wait, how do you mean?"

"Did the timing just work out? Have we only made it this far because I wandered into your life at the right moment and gave you the right car ride?"

Cassandra sighed. "Not this again."

"There are boyfriends you could have that would get you and all your baggage better than I do," Sadie said. "Girlfriends too, I bet." Her voice started to quaver again. "Sometimes I just feel like I don't deserve you, and it really makes me wonder, you know?"

Cassandra pulled her in close and their lips met. Both women just lingered there for a few seconds, held together in that kiss, before Cassandra separated and rested her head against Sadie's. "Always treated me like a real, caring person. And you didn't stop, even when you learned the other parts of me. You always teach me I can be more." She paused just a moment to mentally collect her evidence. "Love just going out and being close. Love that we eat things I've never heard of. Don't always understand all your art, but you make me see it's beautiful." Cassandra released the forehead press just long enough to kiss Sadie's temple, then took the position again. "No one else I could be with matters. Just want to be with you."

At first, all that put a satisfied little smile on Sadie's face. But then she broke eye contact and, from the slump in her neck, lost the forehead touch as well. "I don't know how I can get through this if they split us up." She started struggling to speak again. "This whole thing's just so big, and I've been clinging to you like a lifeboat."

Silence overtook the both of them again, neither sure how to respond to one another in that moment. Sadie's mind swam with the combination of pain and affection all knotted together and laid at her feet. Cassandra lingered on those matters too, but something else had maintained itself in her mind in that moment. The conversation with Father Zein earlier lingered in her mind. Their message, in its most positive possible interpretation: "Stop believing your faith is so special." A decision with that interpretation and the rest of the priest's wisdom percolated in the back of her mind all day. And, at last, she made a decision. Or, she at least took the first step toward making a decision. "Scared of being separated, so I want to give you something. Don't know when I'll have another chance."

"Yeah? Some kind of going away present?" Sadie put on the best shrewd smile she could manage. "What did you have in mind?"

With her heart suddenly pounding, Cassandra leaned forward and pulled Sadie at the same time. Again, their lips met in the middle, and for a few eternal seconds, they held one another close in a passionate kiss. With another little tug from her pulling arm, Cassandra brought Sadie into a laying position on the bedrolls. The two started kissing again and, with the slow, hesitant movement of a moment so long lingered over, Cassandra reached down and slid her fingers first along the waistband of Sadie's jeans, then slipped down the front, into her underwear.

Sadie let out a tiny gasp before she said, "Hang on—wait a second. Don't—"

The request made Cassandra freeze up for a moment, but as soon as she got the message, she pulled the hand away. Each of them stared at one another, each a little taken aback by what just occurred.

With red in her cheeks, Sadie asked, "You—you want to have sex?" She didn't sound mad or more than a little embarrassed, she didn't even sound very confused. Shocked was the only right word for it.

Cassandra bit her lip for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Hard to say it out loud. But yes, if you want to."

"I—I just—" Sadie brought up a hand with her pointer finger raised. When Cassandra nodded, she took a few moments to collect her thoughts. Eventually she said, "I know this is a big deal to you. What happened to getting married first?"

After a slow, uneasy exhale, Cassandra said, "Sure you want to talk about this? Talking spoiled things before."

"No, it didn't." Sadie sat up. "I get it, talking about this stuff is weird, but we need to do it." When a few moments passed and Cassandra didn't respond, Sadie added, "I understand you better than I used to. I'm not going to freak out this time, I promise. Just talk to me."

It took a little longer and another hesitant look, but Cassandra made it as far as nodding in reply.

"So, what happened to wanting to get married first?"

"I want a lot of things," Cassandra said. "Some are in conflict."

"Okay." Sadie drew out the word, then prompted, "Tell me more about that."

"Still want to wait, but scared of when we might get this chance. If you have to go away. If we're stuck fighting. If…" she swallowed hard before she said, "If we lose. One way or another."

Sadie bit her lip and nodded. "I get all that, believe me, I'm thinking about it too." She blew a cooling breath up at her face. "I just… I don't want you to regret this if—ugh no—when. When we win. I don't want you to regret this when we win." Sadie reached out and took hold of one of Cassandra's hands. "And this needs to be more than just being scared. I need to know you actually want this. That even when we—" she stopped for a moment, considered her word choice, then pressed ahead. "Even when we do get married, you're not going to resent that we didn't wait longer."

The fact she'd said 'when,' seemed to backtrack, and then said it again anyway was not lost on Cassandra, whose heart sped to a flutter. "I won't resent." She squeezed the hand she was still holding. "I'm one Catholic doing my best, all I've ever been. And I'm also in love. Was yesterday, am now, will be tomorrow." She looked into Sadie's eyes. "I want everything with you. So maybe right now, the order doesn't matter."

Neither was certain how long they lingered in that place between action and inaction. Curled close to one another, both of their hearts beat hard and fast. But eventually, both determined they beat as one. Sadie pulled Cassandra into a tight embrace and they lingered there for another eternity before she pulled her down so they laid next to one another again. With their clutched hands to guide her, Sadie pressed Cassandra's fingers to the bottom of her shirt.

"Let's do this thing right then." She smiled as she whispered. "Help me get my clothes off."

The two settled into places on the bedrolls and took turns undressing the other. There came moments of fumbling and hesitation. Sadie was out of practice for an encounter like this, and Cassandra had no experience to speak of, but they pressed on. Every time one woman slipped off a garment she took a few moments to gaze and slowly, gently feel the skin that waited underneath. Fingers ran down sides and unclasped bras. Hands gently pulled at hair and caressed breasts. Lips and tongues only separated from kisses long enough for an occasional, "Is that okay?" and, "Mmm, yes, that's so good," and, after enough reassurances, to lick and suck exposed nipples.

Sadie paused a moment as she ran her fingers over the waistband of Cassandra's underwear, the last little garment either was wearing. "Bear with me, serious inquiry, just trying to do this right. Do you masturbate much?"

Breathy just from all the foreplay, Cassandra shook her head. "Only a few times. Church says I'm not supposed to, but it's not really why. Not used to that feeling, and how I was raised makes my sense of feel strong. It's overwhelming." After a moment to consider how negative she'd made it all sound, she said, "Want this with you. Just, please, gentle."

"I promise."

The last bit of clothing was slipped off. For a few moments the two just laid pressed together, skin to skin, forehead against forehead; Cassandra naked but for the silver cross around her neck, Sadie bare but for her dog tags.

As they started to caress again, Cassandra asked, "Do you remember, years ago? You said what we'd do wouldn't even be real in my church."

Between a quick moan, Sadie said, "Yeah."

Cassandra laid another kiss on her lips and said, "Tonight, it's all real to me."