“Mia, both times, it was Ted carrying you to safety.”
“Yes.”
“Focus on Ted. Let Stephen go. In the orchard, after you said goodbye to Neil, you begged Sariel to open your heart, so you could let him in. Sariel took away the imprint of Stephen’s hand on your heart but left Stephen’s energy there because it was keeping your heart beating. Don’t blame Sariel for this. Your relationship with Stephen was founded on friendship; he never thought Stephen would leave you. None of us did.”
“So, when Stephen let go of me…”
“You experienced your first attack. I think it woke up this little device. What’s it for?”
“It makes me totally invisible when I’m wearing my armor. I used to only be invisible when seen from above.”
“Yes, I remember,” Michael said. “The second time your heart hurt?”
“After we crossed out of the GSD.”
“Stephen was no longer powering you with his love. This device took over. I could leave it or take it out with the locket and chain. Do you really need to be invisible?”
“No, I guess not.”
“Do you want to be invisible?” he clarified.
“Not really. It was handy, but I don’t expect I’ll need it again.”
Michael studied the task before him. He opened himself up, asking for guidance. His brother walked in. “Mia, Raphael is here. Do you mind if we work on you together?”
“Can I ask one thing first?”
“Yes?” Raphael asked.
“No horns. I’d rather go straight to Purgatory.”
Raphael looked at Michael. “Let’s not give her horns. Roumain already has a strong hold on her.”
“I can still hear you,” Mia said.
Michael moved so she could see his face. “I’m going to put you to sleep now…”
~
Ted looked up from his workbench and said, “Mia’s back.” He ran outside and then up the hill to the aerie. She was walking down from the hillside. She smiled a crooked smile and started running towards him.
He lifted her up and held her in his arms, her feet dangling.
“Hello, wife.”
“Hello, husband. How long have I been gone?”
“Two days.”
“Really?” Mia asked, worried.
“Nope. I lied. Six hours. You must have had one hell… one heaven of a conversation.”
Ted set her down and looked into her eyes.
“Yes, indeed. I also have to return this to Jeff,” she said, pulling the chain out of her pocket. “It’s amazing, but I don’t need it anymore.”
“Was this the source of your pain?”
“Not exactly, but it did keep me alive. Evidently, Jeff’s a genius at anticipation. He knowingly, or unknowingly, built a pacemaker into this baby,” Mia said, dropping it into Ted’s hand. “They also took away my tattoo, but…”
Ted pulled off his shirt. “His was gone from his shoulder too.
“But,” Mia continued, “evidently, it was more of a communication device than an actual bonding. According to Michael, we don’t need proof of our love. Raphael agrees. I think they don’t like Altair having any undue influence over us.”
“It served its purpose, but I shall miss it,” Ted said. “It looked cool.”
“On me, it was pretty large.”
“Honey, you had a large canvas to put it on,” Ted leered. “So, what about your heart?”
“It wasn’t broken, just missing the spectral energy that was keeping it beating. I don’t know how they fixed it, but I worry they woke some other stuff up too. They should be the patron saints of mad scientists.”
“Hey, finally, some saints I can believe in,” Ted said, putting his arm around Mia. “Let’s go inside and see what’s changed before the others arrive for the meeting.”
“Meeting?”
“The PEEPs meeting you wanted me to…”
“Yes! I remember now. I was distracted by our having time to ourselves.”
“Cid and company have vacated the homestead. I put my foot down, and sent them all to Orion’s to hang out while we got things sorted. They will, however, be back in force in two hours.”
“That’s hardly enough time,” Mia complained.
Ted picked her up and ran with her.
~
“What the hell did she do to my closets?” Mia asked, standing naked, trying to locate her comfy clothes.
“Sabine means well, but she messed with my stuff too,” Ted said, exiting the shower. He walked over and kissed Mia’s neck and moved his hands over her body.
“When you’re ready, let’s destroy this body by putting another baby in it. It’s like brand new. I feel like such a pervert. Miss how these used to sag,” he said, caressing her breasts.
“How about we put a baby in your body,” Mia threatened. “I’d like to get a handle on our boys before we start adding to the group.”
“I want a sweet little girl that looks just like you,” Ted said.
Mia flashed back to Abigor’s apartment.
“Give me permission, and I shall put a beautiful daughter in your belly.”
“Let’s wait. I need time.” That’s what she told Ted, but what she thought was, “I need time to forget Hell.”
“No problem, I’m not going anywhere,” Ted said, pulling her towards the bed.
The front door slammed and feet pounded up the stairs. Mia ran into the bathroom before the door burst open.
Dieter and Mark stood there, too excited to notice Ted was just in a towel.
“I have to talk to Mia,” Mark said.
“Give her a minute to get dressed. Go and wait in Dieter’s room,” Ted instructed.
Mia pulled on her clothes, wondering what was so important for the boys to burst in on them? She brushed her hair, noticing silver strands. She flipped on the light. “Ted, is this gray?” she asked.
Ted walked over and looked. “No. Whatever it is, is shiny. Platinum?”
“I hope
