L. Castillo - After the Fall

“Good. See, that wasn’t so hard.” Rachel got up from the sofa and skipped to the door.

“The ceremony’s next week,” she sang.

He balked. “Next week?”

Rachel turned. “Too soon?”

“I don’t think it’s too soon,” Naomi said.

He looked into her eyes and brushed a hand over her cheek. She’d been through so much. She deserved happiness right now. They both did.

“No, it’s not.”

Rachel squealed. “I can’t wait to tell Uri. He thought Lash was going to freak. He was so wrong. See you in the morning. Oh, I have so much to prepare,” she said as the door closed behind her.

“As I was saying.” Gabrielle continued as if she hadn’t been interrupted. “I’m here on business. After discussing it with Michael, we felt that you both deserved to know what has transpired since you’ve been...on leave.”

Naomi raised an eyebrow. It was obvious to Lash what she was thinking. She probably thought Gabrielle was avoiding the subject of Jeremy’s death. She wasn’t used to Gabrielle’s word choice, especially when it came to touching on something so personal like grief. As always, Gabrielle was all business.

Lash thought they would have bonded over the experience of her saving his life, that perhaps she would be more personable with them. He sighed, apparently not.

“Chuy and Welita, are they okay?”

Gabrielle turned to Naomi. “Yes. I’ve taken the liberty of checking in on them for you. You can look in on them from the bridge any time you wish.”

He did a double take. Gabrielle was just full of surprises.

“Thank you,” Naomi sighed with relief. “I was worried that Sal would go after Chuy, especially since...Jeremy...was assigned to him.” The name caught in her throat.

“You’re correct in your assumption, Naomi. Jeremy was there to escort your cousin after his death.”

Naomi gasped and squeezed Lash’s hand. “Chuy’s not still... he’s not going to...”

“He’s not in danger of dying anytime soon. That all changed with Jane Sutherland.”

“Jane? What happened to her?” Lash asked.

“Saleos was about to kill Naomi’s cousin, and Jane pushed him out of the way. She sacrificed her own life for his. It was her selfless act that changed everything that followed after,” she explained.

He couldn’t believe it. He was so sure Jane Sutherland was on Lucifer’s side.

“She believed Welita. I know she did. And you were right, Lash. There was good in her,” Naomi choked. “You saw it when no one else did.”

“There is good in all, Naomi,” Gabrielle said softly. “Everyone is given free will to choose which path they’ll follow. She chose with her heart and was willing to give up all the worldly power that Lucifer bestowed on her.”

“What about the man people know as Luke Prescott?” Lash wondered how they would handle it now that Lucifer was gone.

“Luke Prescott died by being struck by lightning. It’s not common, but it’s been known to happen.” She turned to Naomi. “It may be of interest to you to know that the news media did get a hold of the evidence that Eduardo managed to steal.”

“Eduardo?” he asked.

“She means Lalo,” Naomi said.

“Yes, him. The girl, Ms. Dalene, was given some type of settlement for the death of her aunt. And as for the shooter, law enforcement is still looking for him. Saleos is gone for now, but Michael will keep a look-out for him.”

Gabrielle stood. “Well, that’s all the information I have to share with you. And Naomi, we can resume your training as soon as you’re ready.”

“Uh, I wanted to talk to you about that. I was wondering if...” Naomi bit on her lip. “Uh, I don’t know how to say this.”

Gabrielle arched an eyebrow. “I think I know what you’re going to say.”

“You do?”

Lash looked at Naomi, puzzled. “What’s going on?”

“She doesn’t want to be an archangel.”

Naomi let out a breath. “Yes. I mean, it’s just not for me. I’d rather be a seraph like Lash. I don’t know if that’s possible. Is it?”

Lash watched Gabrielle’s lips curl into a smile, and his jaw dropped at the sight of it.

“Being an archangel is not for everyone.” She threw him a glance. “And I believe you are more suited to work as a seraph. I’ll talk to Michael. I’m sure he’ll agree.”

Naomi stood and escorted Gabrielle to the door. “I’m so relieved. I thought I’d have to be an archangel forever.”

“We all have a choice, Naomi. That doesn’t change when you become an angel.” And with that, she walked out the door.

“Lash is doing better, Welita. I know he’s just as excited as I am about the binding ceremony this afternoon. And I can’t believe I’m finally going to meet Michael. I’ve been hearing about him all this time, and I still haven’t met him. He’s going to conduct the ceremony. Oh, and Gabrielle came by early this morning and told me that Michael agreed that I can be a seraph and work with Lash.”

Looking over the bridge and watching Welita rocking in a chair on the porch of her new home, Naomi sighed. She’d been to the bridge every day since Gabrielle’s visit. “Everything is finally coming together, and I’m so happy. I just wish I could help Lash let go of some of his guilt about what happened with Jeremy. I don’t think anyone could except for Jeremy, himself. Oh Welita, I miss him so much. We all do.”

She watched Welita look up into the sky and smile. She knew Welita could feel her presence. It was a happy day for Naomi, the first since losing Jeremy. Part of her wondered if the ache in her would ever go away. As Rachel said, Jeremy would’ve wanted them to be happy. She was right. The world moves on, even when all you want to do is crawl into bed and stay in there forever.

Bear padded slowly to Welita, which made Naomi frown. The poor girl was getting old. She wondered what happened to animals when they died. She ached with the thought that Welita might be losing Bear soon, knowing how much she loved that dog.

She smiled as Chuy jogged up the porch steps and scooped Bear up with one hand. Turning, he handed her to a little girl with strawberry curls and a splattering of freckles on her nose. “Here you go, Little Orphan Annie. Take Bear inside with you.”

“My name’s not Annie; it’s Emma. Megan,” she whined. “Chuy’s calling me Annie again.”

Naomi chuckled and shook her head. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to the fact that Chuy married Megan. After the shooting, Chuy and Megan became inseparable. She didn’t know what to think about that. She’d never seen him so taken by a girl before. It wasn’t until he took Megan to meet Welita that Naomi saw that he had fallen head over heels in love with her. He’d never taken anyone to meet their grandmother.

In broken Spanish, Megan spoke to Welita. Naomi was impressed and touched that Megan would learn another language just for her grandmother. She could tell that Welita loved it.

It was when Megan was shown a photo of Naomi and Chuy that Naomi really started to like her. How could she not like someone who called her the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen? Megan even blushed with embarrassment when she was told that Naomi and Lash were an item.

That made Naomi smile.

When Naomi first saw that Chuy and Megan were about to marry, she thought it was too quick. They hardly knew each other. Then she remembered the time difference between Earth and Heaven and had a change of heart, especially now that Megan was eight months pregnant.

“Chuy, stop teasing her.” Megan slapped his arm playfully. “Welita, come inside. It’s too hot to be out.”

Welita looked into the sky and waved. Naomi waved back. Thanks to Megan and Emma, she felt a sense of peace, knowing that Welita would be spending her last days surrounded by those who loved her.