Gabriel held his hand out with a wondered expression upon his face as the flurries dissolved on his opened palm. "Remarkable. You did all this by yourself?"
"Not on purpose."
"You would have been an excellent archangel." Gabriel praised.
Beelzebub linked arms with Cassi. "Men, Cassi, any men, whether they be human, angel, demon, or whatever, are not worth the trouble. One day you will find someone who is worth changing the weather for and until then… you go ahead and tell any bugger to fuck off and if they don't, they'll answer to me!"
"I'll make sure." Cassi laughed.
The three entities walked along the isolated shore where no human in their right mind would go into the ocean during the dreadful weather. Gabriel had asked for a tour around the area and so Cassi had taken them to her favorite coffee shop, some nearby shops where they sold beautiful trinkets, and finally, she offered to take them to the beach. The nephalem was grateful Gabriel and Beelzebub did not reject any questions she had of heaven and hell and would answer her truthfully. She had learned the reason Gabriel had given up being supreme archangel and her heart pounded happily when his reason was the same her papa had given up his; for love. Sides did not matter for either of them and Gabriel was fully prepared to be cast down to hell if only he could be with Beelzebub. Meanwhile, both ex rulers made fun of the fact Crowley and Aziraphale took longer to confess their feelings when, for them, consequences be damned. "Do you want a child?" Cassi questioned.
"Em, we have discussed it." Gabriel glanced over at Beelzebub. "And after much discussion, we thought it best to just be us. If we want one further along the lines, then we shall have yet another discussion."
Beelzebub smiled. "In the meantime, we have you and you can visit us whenever your fathers drive you to the brink of insanity."
Cassi giggled and shook her head. "They are not bad. The only thing really is they still treat me like a child and technically, I'm still grounded because of…a long story."
"They only want to keep you safe." Gabriel stated.
"And they will." Beelzebub added.
"Angel! Angel!" Crowley slammed the door to the library. "Angel!" He continued through gritted teeth.
Aziraphale sighed heavily, removed his glasses, and closed his book. "I know, I know."
"Then do something…he's your guest!"
"Mine? How is he my guest?" Aziraphale stood from his chair and proceeded to shelf the book in hand. "May I remind you, they just showed up."
Crowley crossed his arms. "He's an angel…you're an angel…your former boss, your guest!"
Aziraphale rolled his eyes and did not bother to listen to Crowley's dismay. Not that he did not care what concerned his partner but for the two days Gabriel had been in their home, Aziraphale heard nothing but complaints from Crowley, even for the tiniest tidbits.
Crowley pulled Aziraphale back into the room by his arm as the angel tried to escape. "He always comments on whatever it is I'm watching on the telly, never shuts up, touches my things, and keeps drinking my wine! Not to mention, he has no sense of privacy!"
Aziraphale released himself from Crowley's tight grip. "Hmm, he really does need to learn how to knock, and you were the one who offered him some wine."
"To try, angel! Not to drink it all! Tell him he needs to go!"
"They have no place to go for the moment and they are doing us a favor by watching Cassi while we are on our honeymoon. I don't think two weeks will discorporate you."
Crowley stammered. "Right. Okay, thi-thisss iss how you want to d-do this? Fine!" He cleared his throat and straightened his stance. "Either he leavess, or I do!"
Aziraphale bit his bottom lip, trying desperately not to laugh.
"And I mean it!" Crowley huffed.
Aziraphale smiled lovingly and kissed the demon's cheek. "Of course you do, dearest." He gently patted Crowley's chest and sauntered out of the room.
"Tsk, I'm not…ngk, I'm being ssserioussss." He followed the angel.
"I know. Your hissing means business."
"Aziraphale." He growled.
"Crowleeeey." Aziraphale playfully mimicked.
The angel, demon in tow, chuckled his way to the living area where he found Gabriel, Beelzebub, and their daughter going over his wedding journal where he had planned and organized all things wedding. "Aziraphale," Gabriel started once he felt the angel's presence, "Cassiopeia tells me you will not be getting married in a church. Exactly why is that?"
Aziraphale took a moment before answering as he felt the answer was obvious. "I'm marrying Crowley."
"Yes, I know you're marrying Crowley but why not in a church?"
"So, erm, me being a demon just flew by you, did it?" Crowley leaned against the wall, his annoyance on display.
"Yes," It was Gabriel's turn to sound annoyed, "I know you're a demon but just have Cassiopeia bless you for the day."
The ineffable family exchanged glances wondering if what Gabriel had uttered was exactly what they had heard. "Excuse the rudeness but you can't bless a demon." Aziraphale chastised. "No offence, dearest."
Gabriel took in the baffled looks he was getting from the small family. "Um, I can't, you can't but Cassiopeia can. It was in the files."
"What files?"
"Duh, the heavenly files Gabriel gave you, you know, from heaven." Beelzebub defended their partner.
Aziraphale took a step forward. "There was no such thing in those files."
"Yes, there was. It was in the section which discussed all about nephalem's powers." The small family glanced at one another, looking for any answer and so, to prove a point, that there was indeed such a section, Gabriel gestured to his partner to demonstrate.
Without a word, Beelzebub walked over to Cassi and palmed her forehead. After uttering words under their breath, the nephalem's demeanor changed. The room fell silent as a tense atmosphere loomed in the quaint space. Cassi had closed her eyes, and, after a silent moment, she opened them, only to reveal nothing but two hollow black orbs. She emitted a small growl as she sniffed the air like a curious animal.
Feeling the change in the atmosphere, Aziraphale moved towards his daughter, and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. "Darling?"
Cassi practically whiplashed in turning to face her father. Her head lifted slightly, as she sniffed the air once more, growling, and in a split second, she launched towards her angel father.
"Hmph." Aziraphale was tossed back a step and if it wasn't for Crowley's quick reflexes, the angel would have fallen to the floor.
"What the fuck!" Crowley leaped and shielded Aziraphale from their own daughter. One hand looped around the angel tightly, while the other was extended in front of him.
Cassi growling subsided as she sniffed the demon's palm and began to rub her head on it, seemingly pacifying her.
Gabriel clapped his hands together. "I can't believe it worked!" He exclaimed in wonderment. "Are you sure we can't have one?"
The nephalem turned to the sound of the other angel in the room and sniffed the air, and, like before, launched at the angel. "No, we can't!" Beelzebub grunted as she used their body to shield Gabriel. "Go. That way." They pointed at Crowley. "To your dad. Go on." They turned her around in the right direction. "Call out to her, Crowley."
It took a moment for Crowley to react because seeing his lovely, tranquil, angel-like daughter become some sort of creature was not something he was expecting. "Ca-Cassi," he spoke cautiously, "come, please" He gestured with his hand as well for his daughter to see, if she could even see as it seemed she went be pure instinct.
Cassi's ears perked up at the sound of a voice, and she pointed her nose up in the air once more, trying to locate a familiar presence.
"I told you," Gabriel squealed, "like a pet."
Cassi located her father and rubbed herself on his palm, almost as if marking herself on him. The sounds emanating from her were that of a purring cat, a big cat to be precise. Crowley and Aziraphale looked upon her in horror, not because they were afraid of her, but because they did not recognize their daughter in that federal creature. If she was able to become a practically rabid demon, and, now believing Gabriel that she was capable of blessing a demon, what other things were dormant within her?
"Change her back!" Crowley hollered, vain popping on his neck.
"Slowly hold your palm out, Aziraphale." Beelzebub instructed. "Crowley, make sure you stay in front of him or there is no telling what she will do."
Aziraphale did as instructed, and he carefully extended his arm out around Crowley. He could feel his heart pound heavily in his chest, wishing to see his daughter return to her normal self. Cassi growled and sniffed the angel's palm. A second later, the nephalem whimpered and rubbed her head on his hand like she had done with Crowley.
Beelzebub nodded in encouragement. "Let her recognize you. She launched at you before because she registered you as any other angel. She needs to acknowledge you as her parent."
Seeing Cassi's eyes depleted from her beautiful moving galaxy made Aziraphale almost want to cry. Her new eyes held no love and no life. This creature was not his and his beloved's daughter, it was an entirely different entity unknown to him. He could not feel a hint of love radiating from her, not even the smallest wave. This creature was pure demon, in fact, it felt as if she was more demon than the average ones down in hell.
"Bless her." Gabriel instructed. "Beelzebub cursed her and now you have to bless her."
"Wha-what?"
"To change her back. You need to bless her. Technically it can be another angel but the nephalems from before were blessed to their neutral side by their angelic parent. They were the only ones who could get close enough without being attacked.
Aziraphale gulped and tried his best to keep her steady while she kept rubbing her head on his palm. "Bless you, our darling girl." He whispered.
Cassi closed her eyes and her purring subsided. There was another shift in the air as Cassi opened her eyes, and much to her parents' relief, they were back to her galaxy giving eyes. However, they soon lost their spark as she fainted. Crowley's reflexes kicked in once again and he managed to cradle Cassi into his arms before she could hit the ground.
Crowley slammed his hand onto the dining table. "That damn boy must've stolen those papers. I told you I never liked him!"
Aziraphale tugged his fingers. "Ugh, quite right. He must've since there was nothing regarding nephalem's powers within the files. Only their history, family trees, and records of the ones walking among earth."
Crowley placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward. "Hang on," he stammered, "before you said neutral side. Exactly what does that mean?"
Gabriel nodded and explained. "The everyday Cassiopeia you see and interact with is her neutral side. Remember she is part demon, part angel. What you witnessed was her demon side. The files suggest they are federal, unlike common demons, because their demon side is on full display. Every day they experience a small ongoing battle within them as their demon side curses their angel side, and their angel side blesses their demon side. They are not aware of it but that's what keeps them neutral and able to interact with. And so, when the demon side comes out, it confuses them, and they will attack any angel that's nearby."
"If an angel blesses a neutral nephalem," Beezebulb continued, "they become this holy entity, at least that's what Gabiel and I believe because there was no record of it in the files. Only that-" they turned to Gabriel.
"The first nephalems were only used as secret weapons when heaven came for their small community. Heaven had no idea of what those children were until they battled it out, captured some and consequently interrogated them."
"That's…that's awful." Aziraphale gaped. "That's why heaven is scared of them? Why they round them up?"
Gabriel nodded and clicked his tongue. "She has a halo and wings if you're curious. The weather and, what she told me, the stopping time thing is a unique trait she gets from you." He pointed to Crowley. "She is an extraordinary being because of that regard and one of the most powerful nephalems, or so the files reads."
Aziraphale's mind went back to the Metatron. The angel gulped upon hearing Gabriel's words mirror what the Metatron said about Cassi being extraordinary. The angel now realized it was not a compliment but a statement. As his mind made sense of it, he concluded something else. "You said she can bless Crowley for the day, does that mean a nephalem can bless a demon meaning, the blessed demon would be able to enter heaven without being escorted? They can step on consecrated ground."
"That's why Shax wanted to meet her." Crowley concluded. "Hell wants to send demons into heaven."
"Papa," Cassi called out and entered the kitchen, "my head is killing me." She rubbed the left side of her face with her palm. "Can you please heal me?"
All four entities stopped their conversation and looked at the nephalem, who seemed not to recall her previous events. Gabriel and Beelzebub went tense while Crowley and Aziraphale quickly changed their expressions, wanting not to alert their daughter.
Crowley's chair scraped the floor, and he walked over to his daughter. "You know the rules in this house, Cassi," he placed his hands on her shoulders, "no frivolous miracles. Angel," he looked back, "maybe some tea with some holy water would do her good. In the meantime, we can go harvest some veggies for tonight's meal." Crowley placed his arm around Cassi's shoulder. "Um, angel," he raised his brow, "tea. We'll be in the greenhouse."
Aziraphale cleared his throat and nodded. "Right." He smiled as he stood too. "Go help dad, darling, and I'll be there in a minute with your tea."
Crowley and Cassi had been in the garden for a while before Aziraphale had come out with a scarf and tea for the nephalem. Of course, Cassi complained she did not need a scarf as she wasn't cold in the slightest but at her papa's insistence, she put it on before drinking her tea. "Ugh, it's bitter." She reluctantly swallowed and handed the cup back to Aziraphale.
The angel made a disgusted expression after taking a sip. "Yes, well, Gabriel insisted on making it himself." He then miracled the tea into a decent one. "There we are."
"I thought you said no frivolous miracles." She drank the rest of the warm liquid.
Aziraphale playfully furrowed his brow and placed his palm on her forehead, making sure her headache was truly gone. After he had miracled it away, the angel recalled how just an hour ago, they had been in the same position with his daughter not knowing who she was.
"Angel?" Crowley spoke softly, knowing exactly what the angel was thinking.
Aziraphale sniffed, cleared his throat, and removed his hand. "Cassi, darling, um," he could not stop staring at his daughter and her gorgeous eyes. The eyes he and Crowley had thought of almost a century ago. He absentmindedly began to pick at Cassi curls from the bottom and watch them spring back as he ran gentle fingers through them. "You know, you almost had my eyes." He softened his expression. "Dad suggested it because he did not enjoy our hypothetical child to have his eyes."
"I also suggested pink." Crowley shrugged. "Your hair," he added, "I wanted it to be like your father's but I guess he won that one."
"I love my hair." Cassi glanced between her parents. "Even more so knowing it represents both of you." She tugged on her lone blonde strand.
Aziraphale sniffed. "Indeed, it does."
"Um, is…are…is this you announcing I'm going to have a sibling?" Cassi widened her eyes with excitement in her tone. "Trying to copy-paste some features you like about me?"
"No." Crowley immediately shot the idea down.
Aziraphale laughed loudly, perking up his semi dejected disposition. "You'll have one in two years. Dad promised." He winked and whispered the last sentence.
"Ah, ah, I said we would discuss…discuss it in two years."
"I want a sister." Cassi giggled, ignoring her dad. "Then a brother, possibly another sister. I have given you names already."
Aziraphale guffawed and smiled in delight. "Alright."
"Wha- nononono...n-n-not alright, no." Crowley whined.