Baby for You I'll Take This Fall

Italy had so far been a big disappointment. Schuyler and Jack looked everywhere, through all of Lawrence’s papers and files in his study. But they could find anything. Schuyler looked through his file cabinet while Jack sorted through his desk.

Jack? she sent. Something had been bugging her for some time now.

Yes love?”

“What will happen if Mimi finds us before we found anything?” she said out loud. Speaking it in the glom made it sound too final.

Jack sighed. “I know we won’t be able to evade her forever, but I truly hope that we know what to do next before that happens.”

She nodded. “Is it bad to admit half of me wishes she’d find us already so we could stop living in constant fear?”

He was quiet for a moment. “When Azrael finds me, it will be a fight to the death. Either hers, or ours. If she gets through me, she will kill you too. And I can’t let that happen. I cannot lose you. So I will have to kill her first. The thought makes me wish we never find her. But I know she will. Mimi is nothing if not persistent. But she loves me. And I will always love her in a way. I hope that is enough that it will not have to turn to bloodshed.”

Schuyler sighed. She knew Jack and Mimi were bonded in Heaven, and that they were truly each other’s other half. But she had Jack now. And she knew that if she lost Jack, she would be as distraught as Mimi. Could she blame her for trying to avenge what had been hers for millennia? Could she blame either of them for their love?

You are the one I love. Jack sent. If I had found you before we were bonded in Paradise, I would never have been to Azrael. I will love you many millennia to come.

“You say that now Jack,” Schuyler sighed. “But I’m a half-blood. We don’t even know if the cycles work for me. And even if they do, we would have to go back to New York so our blood could be stored for the next cycle. Either way, we will never be at peace.”

Jack touched her mind softly, filling her with his love. “Schuyler, I would rather be in this turmoil till the end of the world with you then live through it in peace without.”

She couldn’t help but grin at that. He was truly hers, and only hers. So what if they had Mimi on their trail? They were together and they would evade her. They would pass this trouble and live through lifetime through lifetime – together. But that reminded her of their task at hand. “We should get back to work,” she said. He nodded and they resumed looking through the files in silence.

Anything? Jack sighed half an hour later.

I know it has to be here somewhere. Lawrence would not leave me with nothing.

“He didn’t know he was done Schuyler,” Jack said the words softly out loud, instead of in the glom.

Done, like Trinity’s finished. Schuyler was still finding it hard to believe that her grandfather was really gone. He would never come back because of Bliss. No not because of her. She could not blame her sister when she knew Bliss’s true father was controlling her. But the thought made her shudder. She wondered how often they had talked to Bliss about everything. Were they really just helping Lucifer? Was he that much closer to walking the earth again because of her?

“I do not think that Bliss willingly told the Morningstar everything,” Jack said, suddenly right by her, his arms around her. It didn’t surprise her that he knew what she was thinking. After all, they had no secrets anymore.

Schuyler sighed and rested her head on Jack’s chest. “I just can’t believe I didn’t know it, you know? I feel like I should have known.”

“Don’t think like that Skye,” he said soothingly, kissing her forehead. “There’s no way you could have known. Lucifer is cunning beyond belief.”

“He tricked all of you into following him into the Fall,” she remembered.

He sighed. “We need to figure out where to go next, and what to do. You’re right. Lawrence would have left you something, or more likely, he left Allegra something since she knew about the Van Alen Legacy. She was his daughter. He would know she’d carry out his work.”

“Okay so let’s see,” she said. “Where would he put it?”

“Maybe with his Conduit?” Jack suggested. “Lawrence put a lot of faith in Anderson. Maybe he gave him something.”

“He wouldn’t,” Schuyler was sure of this. Conduits could either work for the Respiratory or have their memories erased. She was sure Lawrence would know Anderson well enough to know he’d choose a normal life if Lawrence was ever gone.

“So maybe he put codes or secret messages or something,” Jack said.

She knew this was most probable because it was her grandfather they were talking about. He would not put it anywhere when the Silver Bloods could find it. She closed her eyes, trying to sense anything. Maybe it’s hidden by a spell, she sent Jack.

“In New York, Trinity and Charles had our swords hidden by a spell before they were given to us,” Jack said excited now. They were getting closer, he knew it. “You are his granddaughter, his true granddaughter, not just in this lifetime. Gabrielle was your mother and he her father in heaven. You may be able to sense the power of the light.”

She nodded and closed her eyes again, trying to sense anything. But her findings came empty. She sighed in frustration. “It’s not working.”

Jack kissed her then, his lips hard on hers. You can do it. We can do it.

His arms still around her when he pulled away, she closed her eyes again. This time a chill went through her whole being. There was something here. She concentrated harder to find it. Lawrence had taught her an incantation to find what was lost. She knew he had probably blocked it in wards, but it was worth a try. She opened her eyes and the room was filled with light. Jack stood, watching her intently. Abaddon would not be able to see it. He was made of the dark. But she, she was made of the light. Her mother was Gabrielle, she was the daughter of the light. And the light called out to her now. She looked past him, for the source of the light.

Her eyes landed on the wall. She was sure it was where the light shone from. The light disappeared then, but her eyes were locked on the place. There was now a small pad that had appeared. There, she sent Jack.

He followed her gaze to the wall. Schuyler had found it. He knew he would never have been able to find it. He knew that it would be the light that would find it. He knew he would be Schuyler. He kissed her, and took her hand, leading her to the wall. They both knew they were closer to their goal.