Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2010 07:36:13 -0500
From: Jason Gordon <jaygordon_1981@hotmail.com>
Subject: A Light ing the Darkness Chapter 15

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction which will include t/t and
m/m relationships, and probably some sex too.  If it is illegal in your
area to read this, or if you are not old enough to read this (you know who
you are), stop here.  Otherwise, please enjoy.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is a companion story to "Things that Go Bump."
The story lines are related and the characters will occasionally interact.
The stories begin at roughly the same time.  My sincerest thanks go out to
Tarton and Darryl the Radio Rancher who kindly edited this chapter.  And
thanks to everyone for writing such encouraging emails.

I am now posting my stories to a Yahoo!Group,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jaygordon_1981/ as well.  I'm putting them up
there a little in advance so I can make final edits before submitting to
Nifty, so if you are interested, you can check it out.  It's closed
membership to avoid spam and flames, so just let me know!




			A Light in the Darkness, Chapter 15
				"Insight"



	When William awakened, he found himself laying in the lush grass at
the heart of Eden's garden, no longer filled with throngs of angels.  It
was just an ancient forest, lit by a supernal light.  Then it struck him --
it was the pain in his hand that had awakened him.  He grabbed his wounded
hand and applied pressure as he sat up to look around.  It appeared he was
the first to come to, and he crawled as best he could to Chase's side.  The
boy's hand was also bleeding, and the dagger had fallen from his other
hand.

	"What did you do?" William wondered aloud to himself as he used the
knife to cut two strips of cloth from his shirt, one to bind up his wound,
one to bind Chase's.  Suddenly he noticed for the first time Sammael's
robes lying on the ground, the demon -- the man, he guessed -- nowhere to
be seen.  Then the pile rustled.  Tentatively, he reached for it, not
knowing what he'd find.  He half expected it to be a serpent, but he never
expected what he did find.

	A beautiful baby boy reached out and grabbed his finger.  "Dear
Lord," William murmured.

	"Indeed," Gabriel said from behind him.  "Sammael couldn't be dealt
with the way Pete was, I'm afraid....  He was never human, and to allow him
to keep his memory, well, that would have been disastrous...."

	"Is he?" William asked, his eyes tearing up.  He'd be seventeen in
a month.

	"He is yours," Gabriel nodded.  "Your flesh and blood.  Your son."

	"I ... I can't," William gasped, choking up.  "It's too much...."

	Gabriel laughed, and said, "After all of this, a baby is too much?
You have Chase and his parents, your uncles, and a not inconsiderable
fortune...."

	William's shoulders sagged and he reached out for the bundle of
baby and took it into his arms.  Looking down into the little face, he felt
his head spin.  Then he looked around, and he had no idea why, but he
handed the baby to Gabriel and said, "Take him to Sarah, and introduce her
to her grandson...."

	Gabriel looked at him peculiarly.  "You don't trust your friends?"

	"Not everyone here," William said, his eyes flickering first to
Pete, then to Avery.  "They're good men, I think, but I'm not sure what
they'd do if they knew...."

	Gabriel smiled, and nodded, and then he was gone.  William laid
beside Chase and took him in his arms, and he fell asleep again before
Chase woke up.  A few hours more passed before the men in the garden began
to stir.

	William woke again as Sebastian knelt over him, shaking his
shoulder.  Chase reluctantly opened his eyes then too.  "What happened?"
Sebastian whispered.

	"It's all over," William said, catching Chase's eye and nodding
almost imperceptibly.  "There will be some things for the Council's
operatives to clean up a few messes, put out a few fires, but ... it's
over...."

	"How do we get out of here?" Sebastian asked.  And then it occurred
to him.  "Sammael?"

	"Taken care of," Chase said.  "And we can get home after we get
outside of the gates...."

	It took about thirty minutes to get all the men up and on their
feet.  Xavier was supporting Aiden.  Matt was groggy but okay.  James and
Avery were helping Pete.  Chase tried to stand, but his right hip and leg
screamed in pain.

	"What's wrong?" William asked, hurrying to his side.

	"My leg's hurt bad," Chase said, tears in his eyes. After a minute,
he asked, "Get me a walking stick to lean on?"  Beneath the tree Sammael
had been leaning on, a largish branch lay on the ground.  William snapped
off a few twigs and tested it.  It was plenty strong enough to bear Chase's
weight.  The slight boy rose, leaning heavily on his cane, and led the way
out of the garden and opened two gates, one to Sebastian's and one to
William's workspace.

	As Chase hugged Sebastian, he whispered, "Come see us soon....  You
and James...."  Sebastian nodded and led his little contingent through the
gate, which Chase closed behind him.  When they were alone with Matt,
Xavier and Aiden, Chase hugged William and asked, "The baby?"

	"Gabriel....  I sent him to your mother.  You're going to have some
explaining to do!  You knew this would happen?" William whispered, as their
uncles and friend looked on utterly confused.

	"It was the only way," Chase said.  "The only way to save him....
He never had a chance.  He's not all that different from Pete, only his
wounds have had an eternity to fester...."

	"So he won't remember who, or what, he was?" William asked.

	"Never....  And it's our job to protect him," Chase whispered.

	"So ... he's ours?"  William asked.

	"Ours....  To be a real human, he needed a human form, a natural
human body.  Our blood, our genes, mixed....  Yes, he's our son," Chase
said.

	"I never thought we'd have to worry about that," William commented
wryly.

	"I'm sorry," Chase replied.  "I know it's a lot....  You don't have
to...."

	"Shut up!" William exclaimed with a laugh.  "I can't let you be an
unwed teenage mother, can I?  It's just ... not what I expected."

	"What's he like?" Chase asked with a smile.

	"Perfect," William replied softly, kissing the side of his head.



	As the boys made their way up to the house, followed by Xavier and
Aiden, Chase hobbling but in less pain, the back door opened and Sarah and
Steve rushed out to meet them.  "Thank God," the woman cried, as she ran
down to her son.  Seeing him flinch as she hugged him, she asked, "What
happened?"

	"Nothing," Chase said, putting off the narration until later.  "My
leg's hurt.  How are things here?"

	"There's been a strange light in the sky for hours now....  Things
are ... different.  Can't you feel it?" she asked.

	"Of course he can," William smiled, wrapping an arm around Chase's
shoulder.  "Where's the baby?"

	"Where's the baby, he asks," she said crossly.  "That angel shows
up here with my 'grandson', telling me you'll explain!  And you boys are a
little young to be parents!"

	"Well, you're a little old to be parents," Chase giggled at his
mother.  "Now, where's my baby?"

	"Gideon, or Gabriel or whoever, is with him inside....  Steve went
to get formula and diapers and some basics earlier, but we're not ready for
a baby!  Come on," she said, and William followed her, helping Chase all
the way.

	"Chase," Gideon said, a soft smile carrying in his voice.  "Come
sit!"  Chase hobbled over as best he could and William saw Gideon eyeing
his walking stick carefully.  "Your leg...."

	"It'll be fine," Chase said.  "I'm sure I just hurt it when I
fell...."

	Gideon paused and said, "No...."

	"No?" Chase asked.

	"Your injury is ... metaphysical....  You don't walk away from a
close encounter with the Divine unscathed, child....  When Jacob wrestled
with the Presence alone, he was left with just such a debilitating hip
injury.  You should count yourself lucky...."

	"So there's nothing?"

	"It will never get any better," Gideon confirmed.  Chase's throat
became dry as tears rushed to his eyes again.  But he choked them down and
reached for the baby, which Gideon placed in his arms.  Slowly, gently, he
ran his fingers over the little figure.  Chase smiled.  "He's beautiful,"
he whispered before the tears did overcome him and he clutched the little
form to his chest.  "How can I take care of a baby, Gideon?  I'm blind!  I
can barely keep myself straight!"

	"I'm sorry," Gideon answered as the boy's lover and mother looked
on helplessly.  "I...."

	"You promised," the boy said, breaking.  "You said I'd see
William's face....  Now I'll never even see my son!  I know, I know I
traded in my own hope to save the world, but it all seems a little hard now
that it's over...."

	"Chase," William said, kneeling beside Chase.  "Would you love me
any better if you could see me?"

	"No," Chase sobbed.  "I couldn't...."

	"Do you trust me to help you?" William asked again.

	"Yes," Chase answered, rubbing his face.

	"Then we'll be fine...."  William said, sounding surer of himself
than he was.  Gideon looked away, ashamed at himself before the two boys,
one of whom held the human form of the only being he'd ever truly loved as
an equal.

	Gideon took his leave then, and Matt hurried home to face the music
with his parents.  The family gathered around the television to watch the
events unfolding, which had been initiated by the boys' actions.  Slowly,
they told their story from beginning to end, filling in Sarah and Steve, as
well as Xavier and Aiden, on the origin and identity of the baby Chase was
cuddling.

	"And he won't ever remember?" Sarah asked.  "He's really human,
just like the rest of us?"

	"He won't, mom," Chase said with a smile, "but given his heritage,
he might be a little more than your average human...."  When the baby got
fussy, Sarah hurried to mix some formula.

	She returned with a warm bottle and handed it to her son, who fed
the baby like a natural.  "We can't just keep calling him 'the baby' Xavier
noted, and we sure as hell can't call him Sammael, so...."

	Chase said, "I had a thought for a name, but we haven't had a
chance to discuss it...."

	William smiled, "What were you thinking, baby?"

	"Alexander Abernathy Jennings," Chase said, and he felt William's
arms around his shoulder squeezing.

	"That's wonderful," William said, beaming.

	"Agreed," Xavier smiled.  "Your father would be proud, William!"

	When evening came, Xavier and Aiden retired to their own house, and
Sarah and Steve made the boys a light dinner.  Steve sat quietly and let
Sarah do most of the talking.  Then he suggested, "In the morning, why
don't you and I go and pick up a crib and a few things for Alex, William?"

	"Sure!  That will be great," William nodded.  "What are we going to
do with him tonight though?"

	Steve thought for a moment and then called a neighbor across the
street whose children had a baby that sometimes visited, and asked to
borrow the travel crib they used for such occasions.  Not surprisingly, the
neighbors, who had always been friendly, were in an exceptionally generous
mood.  Mrs. Busch arrived at the front door toting the crib momentarily.

	"I could have come to get it," Steve protested.

	"But then I wouldn't have gotten to see the baby!  Where is he?"

	"In here, Mrs. Busch," Chase called.

	"What a beautiful boy," she exclaimed, but then looked puzzled.
"He looks just like you did when you were a baby!"  She looked around
smiling, confused.

	"The baby is mine," Chase said, smiling apologetically at his
parents.  The neighbors would love that!

	"Oh, dear," the woman said.  "Well, that's ... congratulations?"
Sarah smiled and nodded to let the woman know it was an appropriate
occasion.  "I thought you and he," she began, looking at William.

	"We are," William answered.

	"Well," she said, looking thoroughly confused but smiling, "you
have a beautiful baby!  Let us know if there's anything else we can do!"
Then she hurried off.

	"This is going to be confusing," William laughed.  "We need some
sort of story...."

	"That can wait," Steve answered, carrying the travel crib up to the
boys' room and setting it up.  William took the baby and helped Chase up
the stairs to their room and lay the sleeping bundle in the crib.  Then
both boys stripped to their shorts and crawled into bed and fell instantly
into a deep sleep.  When Alex woke at 2 a.m., William hurried down to get a
bottle warmed up and returned to feed the baby, which felt incredibly
smooth against his bare chest.  "You are cute," he whispered, "baby
Alex....  Will you ever forgive us for being so weird?" he asked with a
soft laugh.  After he burped the baby, he held the little guy until he fell
asleep before setting him softly into the crib and returning to his own
deep sleep.



	The next day, William and Steve drove to the Wal-Mart to buy an
inexpensive crib to go in Chase's bedroom at the foot of the bed, as well
as a diaper disposal container and more diapers, bottles, and formula.
Then they picked up a few changes of clothes to tide Alex over until Sarah
could go on a shopping spree.  Steve also picked up a new digital camera.

	Seeing William laughing at him, Steve asked, "What?  Isn't this
what grandpa's are supposed to do?  Not that I was expecting Chase to get
knocked up so soon," the man added with a twinkle in his eye.  William
laughed and they shopped on.

	"We need more room," William said after a long pause.

	"Well, I suppose I can clean out my office for the time being,"
Steve began, but the look on William's face he paused.  "That's not what
you meant, I guess...."

	"Not exactly....  And in a few months you're going to need a lot
more room.  Room for three growing babies, for grandchildren to visit....
And, well, we need more space too...."

	"You're too young," Steve began, and William laughed.

	"I hid alone in the mountains after my parents were killed, I
outdid much more powerful magickians to prove my love for your son, and
together we turned the tide against the devil....  I think we've earned
some credit!"  Steve nodded for him to go on.  "I don't mean we'd want our
own place.  Not exactly...."

	"Spit it out, son!" Steve exclaimed, laughing.

	"What if we bought some land just outside of town and built a
place....  Two places, maybe, right together?  Close but a little privacy?
We could share a pool or a lake or whatever, have a compound like the
Kennedys," he added with a laugh.

	"There is one problem," Steve said.  "Chase would never want to
move away from Matt...."

	"Matt's old enough to drive....  Maybe he'll get a car?" William
suggested.

	Steve shook his head and rolled his eyes.  "We'll talk about it,"
Steve said with an exasperated smile.  William smiled, too, knowing what
that meant.



	Chase was upstairs with the baby when the doorbell rang.  Shortly,
Sam Roth appeared in his doorway, smiling.  "Is that who I think it is?"
the old man asked.

	"You can't tell anyone," Chase said, confirming his suspicion.

	"My lips are sealed.  May I?" he asked, and Chase held the baby out
for him.  Sam rubbed the baby's belly.  "Let's see....  He'll need to be
circumcised in six more days....  I'll ask a friend of mine if you're
willing."

	"Sure," Chase said.  "How are things going back at Sebastian's?"

	"Sekhmet, Resheph, and Aethon have disappeared....  The Council has
been tracking down some of our remaining enemies.  And then we're helping
the humans ... clear the slates, you might say," Sam said grimly.

	"Assassinations?" Chase asked.

	"And coups and revolutions," Sam said.  "Everyone sees now that
some things have to change....  And change isn't always pretty...."

	Chase nodded thoughtfully and said, "I know....  They say he looks
like me," he added, sadly.

	"He does," Sam said.  "I'm sorry ... for what you had to give
up...."

	"And I'm crippled now," Chase said, patting his hip.  "Guess I just
don't get any breaks, huh?"

	"Chase," the man began, but he could think of nothing to say.  He
handed the baby back to the boy and said, "Did you ever think you'd have a
baby all your own?  A baby with your husband?"

	"No," Chase smiled.  "No, I never did...."

	"Call me to set up the ceremony?"

	"Sure, we'll come by and visit in a day or two," Chase said with a
smile down at the bundle in his arms.

	"Tell William I said hello," the old man said as he bade the boy
farewell.



	Later in the afternoon, Matt came over and helped William put the
crib and things together and talked to Chase.  "It's so weird," Matt
exclaimed as he looked over at Chase holding Alex.

	"So how much trouble were you in?" Chase asked the boy, ignoring
him.

	"Your parents told my parents I refused to leave your bedside, and
they bought it, of course....  So none...."

	When they finished putting the crib together, William took the
tools downstairs and left Matt and Chase alone for a while.

	Chase handed the baby to Matt, who sat next to him on the bed.
Matt held him somewhat awkwardly and said, "He smell's weird...."

	"He smells like a baby," Chase laughed.  Then he put an arm across
Matt's shoulder.  "I don't guess anyone but us and our closest friends will
ever know what you did...."

	Matt looked down at Alex's face and said, "I just followed you...."

	"You brought me back from a prison I was locked in by one of the
most powerful of the angels....  And then you followed me to Hell and back.
Literally....  You saved the world.  Without you, there would be nothing
left here...."

	Matt shrugged it off.  "What else could I do?" he asked with a
laugh.

	Chase leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, before laying his
head on the boy's strong shoulder.  "I love you, Matt," Chase said.

	"I love you, too, little bro," Matt whispered.  "And you too,
little little bro," he added, kissing Alex on the forehead.



	That night, Chase and William slept soundly until around one in the
morning.  Chase suddenly awakened in the silent room and sat up; he could
sense the shadowy figure standing by the window though he could not see.
Chase got up and self-consciously grabbed a long button-up shirt to put on
to cover himself.

	"So modest," the angel said humorlessly when Chase drew near.

	"Well, I'm blind, thanks to your boss, so it's not like I knew who
was here, now was it, Raziel?"

	"Our boss, Chase," the angel responded harshly.  "So, that's him?"

	The angel moved forward to look into the crib and Chase raised his
hand.  "Stop!  What are you doing here?"

	"I wanted to see for myself....  What have you done, boy?"

	"Apparently, what our boss wanted, otherwise he would have toasted
this place and started all over.  You included.  Now, stay away from my
baby....  Stay away from me!"

	"You have much yet to learn, boy," the angel said flatly taking one
step forward.

	"I have nothing more to learn from you, Raziel," Chase answered
with anger.

	"I can restore your sight," Raziel said with an arched eye.  When
Chase didn't say anything, he continued, "Just go to the bathroom for a
moment....  When you return, your sight will be restored...."

	For a second, Chase stood frozen, and then his face contorted.
"You trapped me once, demon, but you'll not do so again!  William!  The
baby!  Get the baby out of here"

	William's eyes shot open and he hurried around to grab the sleeping
infant.  Chase raised his hand and conjured an angelic shield, the one
Raziel himself had taught him, and fought off the angel while William
slipped out with the baby to his interdimensional training room.  He was
torn between going back for Chase and keeping the baby safe, but he knew
what Chase would want.  He banged on the door that opened to Sebastian's
and hoped someone would be downstairs to hear him.

	Raziel laughed and said, "You think you can stop me?  I taught you
everything you know!"  But when he stepped forward, sparks flew from the
shield that repelled him.  Chase slowly contorted the shield into a ball,
imprisoning Heaven's equivalent to Pursan.  The angel screamed and began to
strike out against the sphere.  Chase knew he couldn't hold him for long,
so he began methodically circling the angel, casting magickal circle after
magickal circle to keep him in place.  "WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE, I'LL FIND
THE ABOMINATION AND MAKE YOU WATCH AS I TEAR HIM TO PIECES, YOU FILTHY
BEASTLY PRIMATE!"

	"MOM, DAD, GET OUTSIDE!" Chase yelled down in an unearthly voice.
"Raziel, you taught me a great deal but you never understood the source of
my power," Chase said as he began to carve sigils into the space around the
increasingly violent form.  Each symbol seemed to weaken him further.

	"You are no more than a vessel!  A broken form!  He needed you weak
and blind so you could bear him....  You're nothing!" Raziel exclaimed.

	Chase's eyes gleamed, not with the supernal light of the divine
emanations but with an inner light.  "Then why are you in a cage and I've
got the key?" Chase asked with a smile.  "I've been wondering why God 'did
all this to me' and sometimes I might have agreed with you....  But you
know what I've realized?  He did it not to make me weak to receive Him, but
to make me strong enough to bear Him!  The source of my power is the
converse of Sammael's -- it is the love of my friends, my family, William,
and my love for them.  And you've made yourself a threat to all of that!"

	"I'll," the angel began but Chase just laughed at him as he kept
working his spell.

	"You'll what?  You'll taunt me until you're gone?  You know what
I'm doing!  You can feel it sapping your strength, symbol by symbol, can't
you?  Cutting you off from the Source?" Chase asked, menace seeping into
his voice.

	"Don't!  Please!"

	"Tell me why!  Tell me why, and I'll consider it," Chase demanded.

	"Why what?" Raziel asked.

	"Why have you betrayed God?" Chase asked as James and Sebastian
rushed into the room behind it.

	"Good God," Sebastian exclaimed.  "What are you doing, Chase?
That's Raziel!"

	"And he was just about to explain to us why he betrayed everything
he holds dear, or I'm going to annihilate him!"

	"Chase," James began, but the boy rounded on him with a fierce
expression.

	"HE CAME HERE FOR THE BABY!" Chase exclaimed.

	Sebastian turned to look at the angel and he saw it.  He saw that
demonic glint in the angel's eyes.  "Go ahead, Chase....  Do it.  He's
guilty as sin!"

	Chase went back to work on the matrix until he'd nearly finished
six layers.  Then Raziel cried out, "Alright, alright!  I ... I told Him
eons ago, Sammael couldn't be allowed to survive.  He should have destroyed
him then.  So I've been watching him since then, watching the danger grow
to nearly unimaginable proportions.  And then there was you....  The timing
was perfect!  I knew you could beat him...."

	"You let Sammael out!  You helped him escape!" Chase exclaimed.

	"Of course!  It had to be done.  HE wasn't going to do it, and
Sammael was bloody insane!  If he ever got loose when there was no one to
challenge him...."

	"So you put yourself in God's place?" Chase demanded.

	"I DID WHAT GOD WAS TOO WEAK TO DO!  I was going to destroy evil!
And you were my instrument!" Raziel's eyes gleamed as he spoke and Chase
knew he was lost.

	"You've fallen, Raziel!" Gabriel's voice resonated through the room
making Chase jump.  "All this to destroy Sammael?"

	"The fallen should never have been suffered all this time!  Why
couldn't He begin again at the beginning?  Why subject the world to their
influence?"  Raziel looked pointedly at Gabriel and asked, his tone more
pathetic, "Why couldn't YOU let him GO?"

	"I love him," Gabriel said, simple and sad.

	"WHY HIM?" Raziel asked.

	"Everything that made him fall so hard made him so great when he
was still good.  You, Raziel, you were always a prissy, goody-two-shoes,
know-it-all....  You're cold as ice!  I could never love you!" Gabriel
shouted.  "Michael!  Rafael!  Uriel!  Metatron!"

	Soon the little room was filled with archangels.  And Chase felt
small.  The one called Metatron turned and spoke to him in a familiar
voice, the feminine Voice of the Presence.  "Hello, my friend....  I'm
sorry.  We should have seen this...."

	"Damn right," Chase said, trying to stay angry.

	Metatron laughed a sweet feminine laugh and said, "So much spirit!
I need you to undo your spell and release Raziel, and then I need you to
take your friends and your family and join your husband and child in his
training room....  Do you understand?"

	"What are you going to do with him?" Chase asked.

	"Nothing," Metatron said.  "He's done it to himself.  An angel, a
great angel from heaven is about to fall....  And then, he'll be punished.
He'll never hurt you or yours again," Metatron assured.

	Chase nodded, then turned to James and said, "Go next door, get
Matt and his family too?"  James nodded.  The adults would resist, but he
would 'persuade' them.

	Then Chase began to release the angel from his cage.  By the time
he had reversed his spell, Raziel had his power back and he lunged for
Chase as soon as he was free and he nearly had his hands around the boy's
neck when Gabriel grabbed him and smashed him to the floor.  The four
archangels each held down one of his limbs while Metatron took out a knife.
"You are the wisest of all angels and yet you know nothing of us," he said
softly in the Voice.

	Sebastian took Chase by the arm and led him away as the angel began
to carve patterns into Raziel's back with his knife.  All the way down to
William's building, he could hear the angel's screams and his maddened
yelling.

	Sarah was cradling the baby, while Matt and William were pacing.
Matt stood by as William threw his arms around the boy before taking his
own turn.  "What's going on?" Matt asked.

	Everyone gathered near as Chase collected himself.  "This whole
thing ... happened because a ... false friend did a very bad thing.  Raziel
... betrayed us all and let Sammael out of his cell and set this whole
thing in motion.  He came tonight to kill the baby...."

	"Good God," Matt said.  "Are we safe?"

	"We are now....  He's being taken care of, but ... I'm sorry, Mom,
Dad....  I think there'll be some damage to the house," Chase said sadly.

	"It's okay," Steve laughed.  "We were going to move anyway," he
added, casting a glance at William.  Sarah just raised her eyes at him and
glared.

	"I didn't know how dangerous it would be, so that's why James came
for your family," Chase added.

	"Don't worry," James laughed, nodded at the dazed couple sitting
against the wall.  "When I take you guys home, they'll be fine and won't
remember any of this."

	They all jumped as two dark figures appeared a few feet away.  "It
is finished," Metatron said easily.  "Had you not uncovered our traitor....
Well, thank you, Chase....  Again...."

	"Metatron!"  Gabriel said insistently.  "We can't do this!  We owe
him everything!"

	"We owe him nothing," Metatron said without a hint of anger.  "He
acts by the grace of our Master....  You have served Him well, little one,
but you have received your gift!"

	As Metatron turned to walk away, Gabriel said, "I WON'T DO THIS!"
With that, he knelt before Chase and grasped his shoulders.

	Chase only then grasped the angel's intention and said, "No, Gideon
... Gabriel ... don't!"  But the angel leaned in and kissed first his left
eye, then his right, and as Chased collapsed, the angel eased him to the
ground.

	Metatron's eyes flashed with fire as Gabriel began to scream, orbs
of white light flying from his body and circling him in a growing vortex.
"What have you done?" Metatron asked sadly in his own voice before the
sweet feminine Presence spoke through him, raising his hand and smiling.
Gabriel suffered great pain, but the Presence forced those orbs back inside
him.

	"You have disobeyed," the Presence said with a smile that was
hypnotic to all present.

	Gabriel bowed to the ground and asked, "Why have I not fallen?"

	"Disobedience was never the sin of the fallen, Gabriel....  Pride
was their sin.  Your sin was nothing but love, just as this vampire," she
said, pointing to James, "was born in blood by love alone....  There has
been enough of destruction for my tastes," she added, "and too many angels
lost to give you up....  In any case, didn't you think it was all a little
unfair of us?"

	"Well ... to be honest...."  Gabriel cut himself off.  Then he
added, "The boy was being tested...."

	"Indeed," the Presence smiled.  "And so was his guardian...."
Gabriel's eyes widened.  "That's right!  You've sat on the edge for too
long, Gabriel....  You didn't hate humanity, but you didn't love them
either.  So I gave you to Chase and William....  I tested the limits of
your love for them....  And just as Chase should have been willing to stand
for William even against Us, so should you have been willing to stand up
for Chase....  Your love for him has redeemed you, my friend...."  In the
form of Metatron, the Presence reached out to him and said, "Rise!  If you
wish, you may return with me to the Highest Heaven and sit at our left
hand, as you once did...."

	Gabriel looked at William, and at Chase lying at his feet, and Alex
in Sarah's arms and said, "If I might ... stay until my duty is fulfilled,
Master?"

	Metatron smiled and in a flash he was gone.  Then Gabriel said,
"Let the little one sleep...."  And then he too was gone.  If William
didn't know better, he would have sworn Gabriel had tears in his eyes.

	James helped Matt and his family back to their house, which had
suffered minor damage to upstairs windows.  Sebastian and Steve determined
that the structural integrity of Steve's house had been disrupted, so
Sebastian invited them all to stay at his place until morning.  But Steve
and Sarah agreed they should stay in town, so they called Xavier and Aiden
up and took the boys and the baby to his place.  Chase never woke that
night, and William undressed him and crawled into be next to him.

	The next morning, Steve and Sarah went to meet the investigators at
their house.  No one seemed hopeful that they would determine the cause of
the damage, but the best guess seemed to be a gas main burst.  Right!

	William woke around seven to the sound of Alex's cries, but by the
time he got to the baby he found Xavier popping a bottled into Alex's
waiting mouth.  "You got it all under control?" William asked.

	Xavier smile and nodded, before looking back down at Alex and
talking to him about who knows what.  William shook his head and went to
shower, pulling on some old clothes his dad had packed into a backpack for
him the previous night.  Then he went and sat on the bed next to Chase and
waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Time slowed to a crawl, and it wasn't
until 10 a.m. that Chase began to stir.

	"Chase," William whispered.  "Are you okay?"

	The boy rubbed his eyes and groaned.  Then he cried out and shut
his eyes tight.  "Ugh!  Can you pull the curtains tight?  It hurts my," he
began to exclaim, but stopped.  After a moment, he said softly, his voice
catching in his throat, "It ... hurts ... my eyes...."

	William hurried to the window and drew the curtains tight.  Slowly,
tentatively, he opened his eyes, and felt pain as his eyes.  Gradually he
came to be able to discern lighter and darker spaces.  He could see
William's outline as the boy walked toward him, and as William sat down
next to him Chase reached out and touched his face.  There was none of the
tentativeness in his touch this time.  He could see where empty space ended
and William began.

	"Is it real?" Chase asked weakly.

	"Yes," William said, his smile clear in his voice.  "Gabriel did
it...."  Chase began to remember what happened and William hurried to fill
him in on what had happened after he had passed out.  As William spoke,
Chase's eyes continued to adjust until the world appeared to him as through
frosted glass.

	Chase peered in close at William, frustrated at the fuzzy image he
was getting, but growing more excited with every moment.  Chase stood and
William hurried to his side and helped him into his clothes.  Together they
walked downstairs and found Aiden and Xavier still fussing over the baby,
or perhaps fussing over the baby again.

	"Good morning, sleepyhead," Aiden said, and both men caught the
smooth way Chase looked back and forth between them.  He still couldn't
really see them, but he knew where they were and he could discern major
features.  "My God," Aiden said, coming round the counter and putting his
hands on Chase's shoulders.  He put a finger in front of the boy's face and
watched his eyes follow it back and forth.  "My God, it's true!  You can
see?"

	"A little," Chase said, his voice airy behind his smile.  "It's
really fuzzy, but I can pick out shapes...."  Aiden hugged him and kissed
his head as Xavier hurried over with the baby and threw yet another arm
around him.

	Chase took the baby and held him up and whispered, "I can almost
see you!"



	By the evening, Chase's vision had cleared to the point that he
could see everything as if through a fog.  His parents, William, and Xavier
and Aiden sat around watching him like a television, waiting for something
else to happen, but his sight was clearly returning at a slow, if steady,
pace.

	The next morning, Chase woke to find William propped up on his
elbow staring down at him.  "How is it this morning?"

	"Blurry," Chase replied with a widening smile.  "But better...."
William leaned in to kiss him and Chase whispered, "You're cute even if you
are blurry...."  William laughed and tickled him, but before anything else
could happen, Alex could be heard crying for a bottle.

	Chase smiled and grabbed his robe, then ran downstairs to grab a
bottle.  He laughed when he realized he was keeping his eyes closed, but he
knew he could do it faster without looking at this point.  The visual
stimulus was as confusing as it was helpful for useful tasks.

	Back upstairs, he did open his eyes to watch the baby eat as best
he could, smiling at being able to see as if his heart were about to burst.
William smiled and said, "You need to call Matt to come over, and later, we
need to go see Sam...."

	Chase nodded and finished with the baby, burped him, and handed him
to William, who laid him on the bed and tickled his belly while Chase
picked up the phone.  "Matt?  Hey, could you come over here for a second?"

	"Sure, be right there," he heard.  "Amy's here....  Do you mind?"

	"No," Chase smiled, "we're in our pj's but if she doesn't mind,
come on over....  She knows about the baby?"

	"Yeah, but I wasn't sure how to explain," Matt laughed.  "I'll
leave that up to you...."

	Moments later, the door downstairs opened without announcement and
two sets of footsteps hurried upstairs.  "Hey," Amy smiled and went to sit
next to William.  "HE'S SO CUTE!"

	William smiled and let her play with Alex.  "So what did Matt tell
you?"

	"Just that you guys have a baby now?  Who's is it?" she asked, not
looking up at him.

	"Chase's and mine," William said.

	"Who's the mom, silly," she said.

	"He's doesn't have one," Chase said.  "We're his biological
parents...."  He watched her for any sign that she thought he was crazy,
but she just nodded and kept playing with the baby.  Turning to Matt, he
laughed and yelled, "YOU TOLD HER!"

	Matt blushed and said, "She figured it out about you two a long
time ago!  What was I supposed to do, lie?"

	"YES!" Chase laughed.  "But it's okay I guess...."

	"So, what was so urgent?" Matt asked.

	"What the angel did to me....  It started to work.  I can kinda
see," Chase said.

	Matt hugged him tight and said, "That's wonderful!  What's it
like?"  Chase explained how his vision was progressing as Matt and Amy
listened in awe.  When he finished, Matt said, "Wow!"

	"I know!  It's kind of strange," Chase said.  "Hard to get used
to....  But ... it's amazing to see things I've only imagined!"

	Matt and Amy stayed and played with the baby for a while until it
was time for a diaper change, then they made a quick, laughing exit.

	In the afternoon, the Xavier took the boys to visit Sam and make
arrangements for Alex's bris.  While William excused himself to the
bathroom, Sam said quietly, "I think, given events of recent weeks, there
will be no need for you to convert....  After all, you are the HIGH
PRIEST...."  Chase blushed and nodded.

	When William returned, they made all their arrangements and Sam had
an announcement sent out to the community letting everyone know when the
event would take place.  "And you and your husband go buy yourselves a
tallit for the service!"



	On Sunday, the boys arrived at the synagogue with the baby before
morning prayers in suits.  Sarah and Steve, as well as Xavier and Aiden
came along.  Matt and Amy, Charles and Maria, and a bunch of their friends
came too.

	Edward and Carl came in just before the ceremony and sat in the
back, waving a little.  Chase held the baby during the service, and while
the assisting rabbi prepared the cut, William made it.  Alex cried for a
minute, and then it was all over.  After it was all over, there was a
reception.  Sarah held Alex and "introduced" him to all the guests, while
Chase and William mingled with their friends.

	Seth Stein brought Nathaniel with him, and the two of them held
hands as they talked to Chase and William.  When they had a moment alone,
Chase and William cornered Edward and Carl.  "Where have you guys been?"

	Edward blushed, and Carl smiled and said, "I took him out to my
family's cabin when things got hairy, and we holed up out there to defend
ourselves...."

	"So you could defend me, you mean," Edward said leaning into the
boy.

	"Let me guess," William grinned.  "Mostly you just had to find
things to do to stay ... busy?"  Both boys blushed and nodded.  William and
Chase invited them to come by Xavier's that evening so they could catch up
in private.