Author's Note: I hope you guys don't hate me for taking so long to update. I hadn't even realized it had been so long until I went to upload chapters eight and nine. I'm sorry! *self-flagellation as punishment* Anyway, I hope you enjoy! And as always, comments are welcome! ^^

Chapter Ten

She hated him. That's all there was to it. He may look like Adam, with his soft blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes, strong arms that used to hold her and reassure her everything was ok, but she hated him. She couldn't ever remember glaring at Adam, let alone glaring at him all morning long at least a dozen different times for different reasons. Michael had decided that they all needed to be up before the sun broke the horizon so they could greet the morning, whatever the Hell that meant. When Nicole refused to open her eyes and be a chipper as the angel, he had ripped the blankets from her bed. Thus, the first glare. He then proceeded to chatter on and on about who knows what; Nicole had stopped listening. She was forced to listen again, however, when Michael began complaining about how they didn't have an east facing room. Dragging them around the building, Michael then stood stalk still, excitement and anticipation building in his eyes as the first rays breeched the horizon. Nicole didn't hate the sunrise, in fact, she found it rather enjoyable; but, as a hunter, she did not do mornings well.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Michael asked in awe.

"Terrific," Nicole mumbled in response.

Perplexed, Michael turned to her, "You don't sound very enthused."

More glares. Nathan, however, seemed to share Michael's cheer. When the angel had awakened him, he had popped right up bright eyed and bushy tailed. He was dressed and ready for the day, watching the sun rise as if it was the most glorious thing ever.

"Cheer up, Nicole," Nathan playfully punched her arm, his signature smile lighting his face, all shock at their present circumstances gone. "Michael means well."

Michael nodded his head, "Yes. Greeting the sun is good for the soul. It's the promise of a new day, a new beginning and an escape from the evils of the night."

"That's just great," Nicole yawned. "Unfortunately, those evils of the night can really keep a girl up all night."

"You need more sleep," Michael stated bluntly. Nathan nodded his agreement.

It was sick, Nicole thought as she watched them nod their heads in sync up and down, how much they were alike. Yet, they had major differences, too, as they quickly found out when getting ready to check out of the hotel. Nathan came out of the bathroom holding a towel, washcloth, the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and soap. As he passed the small table housing the coffee pot, he added the packets of instant coffee mix to his pile.

"What are you doing?" Michael asked as he watched Nathan load his new belongings into his bag.

"Packing," Nathan replied nonchalantly.

"No," Michael insisted, "You are stealing. That is against the commandments. This nice establishment has placed those out for weary travelers to use when they come to rest for the evening. By you taking them, the next guest will not have them and will not rest well."

Cocking an eyebrow, Nathan glanced at Nicole before replying, "They replace everything before the next guest comes. Plus, we already paid for them when we paid for the room."

"Not the towels," came the quick rebut, "And you did not use those items last night while you were here. They are for use here."

"Relax, man," Nathan zipped up his backpack and threw it over his shoulder.

Michael stepped in his way before he could leave the room to put his bag in the truck, "I cannot allow you to leave with those items. If you do, I will be forced to punish you."

Nathan grinned, "You sound like my mother when I would sneak a cookie from the cookie jar." He raised his voice to a higher pitch to imitate his mom, "Nathaniel, you put that cookie back right now or I will be forced to punish you. And you know what that means, young man."

Nicole fought hard to hold back a smile as Michael stood firm. They all stood there for several minutes before Nathan's smile fell and he roll his eyes. Under the angel's watchful gaze, Nathan unpacked the stolen items and placed them on the table.

"Happy?" He asked, throwing the now lighter bag over his shoulder.

Michael seemed to glow as he smiled, "Yes." With that, he turned and marched out of the room to the truck where he climbed in, slid to the middle and buckled his seat belt.

Nathan grinned and shook his head, "He's like a happy little puppy."

Nicole pulled the door closed and whispered to Nathan, "Yeah, but don't tell him I snuck a towel into my bag when he wasn't looking."

Laughing, they climbed into the truck and began their journey. It was still early and the small town they had driven to the night before was still asleep for the most part. There were a few early risers walking down Main Street where the only shop that was open was the diner. A quick stop there for some coffee and pastries to go and they were on their way on the open road. Nathan tried to turn on the radio, but it was all static. With a heavy sigh, he tapped his fingers on his leg. On the road for twenty minutes and he was already antsy.

"So, Michael," Nathan broke the silence, "Tell us about yourself."

"I do not understand," Michael replied after a moment of thinking.

"Tell us about you, what you like to do, where you're from, what's your family like. You know, things like that," Nathan explained.

"Why?"

"So we can get to know you," Nicole answered, though she couldn't quite keep her tone of voice friendly. She really didn't want to get to know him; he was after all, inhabiting Adam's body. "So we can be, you know, friends or whatever."

Michael thought for several more minutes before stating, "I am from Heaven."

"Is it nice there?" Nathan asked to build on the conversation.

"It's Heaven," Michael gave Nathan a duh look.

Nicole burst out laughing, "The angel uses sarcasm!" Her laughter filled the air and was light and carefree, just like Adam remembered. From inside his mind, he soaked in the sound. If he had been in control of his body, he would be smiling.

Michael felt Adam's response to Nicole's laughter and found it curious. Yes, the sound was beautiful but he had no idea a sound as simple as a laugh could make another feel so happy inside. Michael turned his gaze to Nicole and watched as she calmed down, the smile still on her lips as she watched to road and shook her head. The sunlight made her eyes shine and brought out so many colors in her hair, which was pulled back in a pony tail. This human, Michael decided, was certainly a curiosity that he would have to figure out.

Nathan's voice broke Michael's thoughts, "Of course, I should have known. What about family?"

Turning his attention back to Nathan, Michael replied, "I have many brothers and sisters in Heaven. We all fight in the war."

"Sweet," Nathan commented, "I have an older brother that's fighting in Iraq. He writes now and again. I also have two younger sisters. How many siblings do you have?"

"Millions," was Michael's simple answer.

"No kidding. Dinner must be a fiasco," Nathan grinned.

Michael cocked an eyebrow, unsure what eating had to do with his siblings, "We do not eat and if we did, we wouldn't do it together." Before Nathan could figure out a reply, Michael turned to Nicole and figuring it was human custom to do so, asked, "How many siblings do you have?"

Nicole glanced at him, "Me?"

"Yes," Michael nodded, "I assumed it was the acceptable thing to do, ask you the same question so that you may participate in the friend-making, get-to-know-you process."

"Right," Nicole focused again on the road, "Well, I don't have any siblings."

"None?" Michael asked, taken aback. "Were your parents not fertile? Was your mother barren?"

"What? No," Nicole blushed and kept her eyes firmly on the road. As the red rose in her cheeks, Michael found it be both very strange and very pleasing. He could feel Adam's reaction to it as well. To Adam, the sight was adorable, enduring, and it brought up more of his feelings of love.

"Why are your cheeks turning red?" Michael had to ask, had to find out what this meant.

It was Nathan's turn to laugh as the red deepened and Nicole sputtered, "They're not – it's just – I – ugh!"

"She's embarrassed!" Nathan laughed, holding his stomach as he laughed harder. "You just embarrassed her, Michael! That's awesome! This girl never gets embarrassed."

Thinking that it was an offense, Michael's eyes widened, "I am so sorry. I did not mean to embarrass you. Whatever I did, I did not mean it."

"It's fine," Nicole insisted, "Just no more asking about my parent's fertility. That's not something I want to explain to an angel, alright? Suffice it to say, they did ok. And besides that, I had an older brother but he died a long time ago."

"I am sorry," Michael's face fell at the news.

Sensing a need to change topic, Nathan cleared his throat, "So, where are we headed?"

"California," Michael replied at the same time Nicole answered, "Kansas."

"We are going to California," Michael insisted. "That is where Lucifer is. I must stop him."

Nicole leveled a cold stare at the angel, "No. We are not going to California. We are going to Kansas. There is a woman there that might be able to help us."

"We do not need help," Michael argued, "I must stop Lucifer and send him back to Hell."

"I already told you that is not going to happen," Nicole tried to keep her voice calm and level. "Lucifer can wait until we've figured out a way to either keep Adam safe or find you a better way to run off to fight him. Missouri might know a spell or something that could help. Plus, she has a job for us to do in town. We'll go help her, get her advice and then go from there."

"But I need-" Michael began only to be cut off.

"No!" Nicole barked. "I'm the one driving, just fold your arms and be quiet."

Unfortunately, Michael was very good at following orders. He crossed his arms and closed his mouth. This girl was only a human, yet she was commanding him. Michael knew he didn't have to obey her orders but he did anyway without understanding why he was. She may have been driving, but with his powers, he could just as easily whisk them to California in the blink of an eye. But something stopped him. This girl was definitely very curious.