Authors: Stephanie Jackson
Dani nodded, “He said some
t
h
ing before he…before he went away:
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat.
He said it to me on
c
e
before, too.
He told me if I wanted to know what it meant that I should ask you.”
“It’s Old Gaelic,” Michael said. “It means
‘
My heart is within you.
’
He was telling you that you’re carrying his child.”
“I’m pregnant?” Dani asked in awe.
Yes,
you
most defi
nitely
are.”
“How?” Dani asked. “When?”
“You’re a grown woman, Dani. I think you know
how
,” Michael said with a small smile. “As to the when? It happened the first night Gabriel made love to you.”
“But he said he couldn’t get me pregnant. He said his body wasn’t capable of it
.
”
“He lied,” Michael said. “He didn’t want you to know that Lucifer was going to kill him. He wanted you to be happy in the time you had left together.”
“But I take birth control.”
Michael laughed, “I don’t think birth control pills are
much of
a match for
Archangel
sperm.”
“Did he know the first time we had sex that I would become pregnant?”
Michael nodded, “He knew.”
“Then
why
did he do it?” she cried. “He could have
lived
.”
“He did it because he
loved
you, Dani,” Michael said. “He was willing to give his life to be with you, even if only for a few days.”
“He couldn’t have known for sure that Lucifer would kill him,” she said. “Gabriel had Lucifer on the ground. If it wasn’t for Raphael, Lucifer wouldn’t have had that chance to stab Gabriel.”
“Gabriel
knew
he was going to die, Dani,” Michael said. “
All
of the fathers
of the Daughters of God die; we told you that. Gabriel knew it would be no different for him. It usually happens in the last couple of months of the pregnancy, but that wasn’t an option in this case.
“The only thing that can kill an
Archangel
is another
Archangel
,” he explained. “Raphael was too weak to face off against Gabriel, and I
certainly
wasn’t going to attempt it. Lucifer was the only one who stood a chance of defeating Gabriel, and he wasn’t going to wait until you were in your third trimester to rise up.”
“So Gabriel is dead because of me?” she mumbled.
“No, Dani,” Michael said and took her hand. “Gabriel
chose
this. He loved you more than anyone has ever been loved. The first time he made love to you, he did so with the full knowledge of what would occur.
“The price of loving you was worth it to him. And I had never seen him as happy as he was when he was with you. You gave him a purpose in life. You made him…better. What happened to him was not your fault. ”
“Then why do I feel so guilty?”
“Because
you loved him
, Dani,” he said, lightly squeezing her hand. “The guilty feeling will fade in time. And you’ll soon have his child to remember him by.”
“A baby,” she said
in
wonder, laying her hand on her stomach. “Will you stay with me until it’s born?”
“No,” Michael said with a smile. “I’ll stay with you for the rest of your life.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Dani said. “I know you have responsibilities in Heaven.”
“I do have to stay with you. I made a promise to Gabriel,” he said. “And I can fulfill my duties in H
eaven and still watch over you.
And I would have watched over you even if I
hadn’t
of made a promise to Gabriel. You made my brother happy, and for that, I love you, Dani. I’ve never had a sister before, but I have one now.”
Dani jumped when there was a knock at the door.
“It’s your friend,” Michael said. “I’ll give you two some ti
me alone. You can tell her what
ever you want, but I ask that you not tell her what I am. To her I’m Michael Jenkins, a home health care nurse. I’d like to keep it that way.”
Dani nodded. Michael vanished and she went to answer the door.
2.
“It’s about time,” Donna said, giving Dani a hug. “You slept forever. How are you feeling?”
“Horrible,” Dani said. “
And
I’m pregnant.”
“You’re
what
!?”
“I’m pregnant,” Dani repeated.
“Holy shit!” Donna said. “Is it Gabriel’s?”
“Of course it’s Gabriel’s,” she said. “Who else’s would it be?”
“Should we be celebrating or crying?”
Dani gave a tight smile, “I’m thrilled about the baby, but Gabriel’s gone.”
Donna’s eyes narrowed, “Gone where exactly?”
Dani did what Gabriel told her she shouldn’t do. She told Donna about who Gabriel
really
was. She told her the whole story from the moment she’d met Gabriel, up to when he died three days before.
Donna listened to the whole story without interrupting her.
When Dani was done Donna gave her a pitying look, “Oh, honey. You
really
think he was an angel?”
“I
know
he was,” Dani said, beginning to wish she hadn’t told Donna about Gabriel. “And he wasn’t just
any
angel, he was an
Archangel
.”
“Sweetie, his name
may be Gabriel Angel, but he’s not a
real
angel. Surely you can see how crazy that sounds.”
“His last name
wasn’t
Angel, because he didn’t
have
a last name. He was
the
Archangel Gabriel.”
Donna gave Dani a speculative look, “So you believe you were impregnated by Archangel Gabriel?”
“Yes.”
“And you think this
Archangel
killed
Lucifer
for you before he died from his own wounds?”
Dani nodded, “Yes.”
“
And
you believe that he killed Lucifer because you’re the last child of God and the death of you would destroy mankind?”
“I’m the last
Daughter
of God, but yes,” Dani said, cringing at how crazy she sounded. “I’m the reason Gabriel was sent to Earth to kill Lucifer.”
Donna just stared at her.
“You think I’m insane, don’t you?” Dani asked.
“No, I don’t think you’re insane,” Donna said. “I think that this man brainwashed you into believing some crazy shit, and then bailed on you when you got pregnant.”
“He helped you win $15,000! He practically forced you to b
u
y that ticket!” Dani said. “How do you explain
that
?”
“I
t was just a lucky guess, honey. He said so himself,
” Donna said, shaking her head. “People win big money from scratch offs all the time.”
“But…”
“Dani, stop it,” Donna said. “You have to go talk to someone about the way you’re thinking. It’s not healthy for you or the baby…if there
really
is a baby.”
Michael chose that moment to walk through the front door, “Danielle, what are you doing out of bed? You know you’re supposed to be resting.”
“Oh, thank God,” Donna said, turning to Michael. “Is Dani pregnant? Is Dani on any medication that would make her delusional?”
“Yes, she
is
pregnant, but she’s not on any meds that would cause delusions,” Michael said. “Why?”
“Because she thinks an
angel
fathered her child.”
Michael looked at Dani and rolled his eyes, “Sometimes the hormonal changes of pregnancy can alter the chemicals in the brain
and cause confusion. I’m sure it will wear off as the pregnancy progresses.”
“Good,” Donna said, sounding extremely relieved. “I was afraid she’d snapped her gourd.”
“She’ll be fine eventually,” Michael said. “I’ll stay here and take care of her until she’s back to normal.”
“Thank you,” Donna said and turned bac
k to Dani. “I have to go put the deposit on the building for my salon
, but I’ll be back later to check on you.”
She leaned down to give Dani a quick hug and then left.
Michael smiled at Dani when the front door closed, “Gabriel
tried
to tell you what would happen if you told her the truth.”
“I honestly thought she’d believe me.”
“And now you know better,” Michael said. “I would
seriously
suggest you not tell your story to anyone else.”
“Don’t worry,” Dani said. “I won’t. Having one person thinking I’m a nutcase is enough.”
3.
Dani had an easy pregnancy compared to some of the horror stories she’d been told. She
’d
been warned by other mothers to expect everything from heartburn to hemorrhoids, but she hadn’t suffered from either of those.
She hadn’t even suffered from morning sickness. And the only food craving she had was for ambrosia, which Michael brought to her on a regular basis.
She was even able to work through most her pregnancy. She had started working at Donna’s new salon and hadn’t taken her maternity leave until she was well into her eighth month.
Now she was lying on the couc
h with Michael at the other end,
rubbing her feet. Donna was sitting in a chair on the other side of the coffee table.
“I’m bored to death,” she complained to Michael from her end of the couch.
“You’re growing a person,” Michael said. “How can you possible be bored?”
“There’s not exactly a lot of activity involve
d
in growing a baby,” she said. “And I
look
like a beached whale.”
Michael laughed, “You looked beautiful, as always. And it won’t be long now. You’re due in two weeks.”
She tried to get up from the couch, but it was getting more and more difficult to move around.
“What are you doing?” Michael asked.
“I’m thirsty.”
Michael slid out from under her feet, “I’ll get you something. You just stay put and relax.”
“Marry him,” Donna said when Michael left the room.
Dani laughed, “We’re not really compatible in that way.”
“Are you kidding me? That man has a
deep
love for you. He waits on you hand and foot,” Donna said. “And he seems more than willing to be a father to your child. He’s just as excited about you giving birth as you are.”
“He
will
be the father of my baby, but only because Gabriel is dead,” Dani said. “And I’ll never be with another man because Gabriel is the only one I’ll ever love.”
“You have to
stop
with this Gabriel shit, Dani,” Donna snapped. “He’s
not
dead, he
abandoned
you. You have to come back to reality and see the beautiful man that’s in front of you. You better snap Michael up before someone else does.”
“Gabriel didn’t abandon me. He loved me more than he loved his own life,” Dani said, using he
r
elbows to push herself up. “He would never have left me volu…”
“What is it?” Donna asked, seeing the pained look on Dani’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“My water just broke.”
“Shit,” Donna gasped, and then screamed, “
Michael!
Dani’s in labor!
”
Michael sprinted back into the living room and picked Dani up from the couch.
“Start the car,” he ordered Donna.
She grabbed her keys and ran from the house.
“It’s going to be okay,” Michael said in a panicked voice. “Women give birth
all
the time. There’s nothing to worry about. We’re going to be okay.”
“
We’re
not giving birth, Michael,” Dani said through gritted teeth as a labor pain hit her. “I am.”
“Right,” Michael said nervously, as he carried her out to Donna’s car. “I knew that.”
He put her in the back seat of the car and climbed in behind her.
The ride to the hospital only took fifteen minutes, but seemed to take
forever. Once her water had broken the labor pains came hard and heavy.