Tess opened her eyes slowly. Finally, they focused on the ceiling and she yawned, starting to stretch. The soreness in her body made the stretch more of an excruciating task. She felt a heavy weight and looked down to see Silas's head against her leg. The sight was oddly comforting for her. She leaned forward and looked at his sleeping face. His slightly brown lashes and closed lids hid his golden eyes from her sight. His features were completely flawless and she wondered if all angels looked perfect. She brushed some of his brown hair back in place, almost giggling when he wrinkled his nose. Silas brought her more comfort then she ever thought was possible. Tess jumped when her phone rang. She picked it up quietly, wondering who would want to call her in the morning.

"Hey Tess." Came a sad voice from the speaker.

"Hello Mrs. Fletcher, I'm so sorry for your loss."

"I know you are." Levi's mom answered.

"So, is there anything you need?"

"Tess, you know Levi cared very deeply for you."

"I know, and I cared for him too." Tess gulped, she didn't need to start the day off sobbing.

"I would like you to speak at his funeral." Tess felt like a stone sunk to the pit of her stomach.

"Speak?" She squeaked out.

"Yes, it's what he would have wanted you to do." Tess long out a long breath, pressing the palm of her hand against her forehead. It all seemed too early for this.

"I'll do it." She huffed out.

"Thank you, Tess. The funeral is tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Tess felt a headache coming on.

"Yes, the gunshot wound in his head is causing his flesh to decay quicker than normal." Tess glanced at Silas's sleeping form. The flesh was decaying because of the unseen wounds of Silas's sword.

"Alright, what time?" Tess asked.

"Three o'clock. We're having a dinner at the house afterwards." Mrs. Fletcher answered.

"Alright. Um, I will see you at the funeral then?" The words felt sickening.

"Yes." Mrs. Fletcher's voice cracked and she hung up the phone without a goodbye. Tess closed her phone and leaned back. This was going to be hard, she would have to drone on about how Levi's death was such a tragedy, and how him taking his own life was such a rash decision.

"I'm going to lie to so many people." She said to herself. That seemed rouse Silas from his sleep. He opened his eyes and immediately switched his gaze to her.

"You look awful." He said.

"Thanks." Tess growled and jumped out of bed. She stormed toward her bathroom, the only retreat in her own room. Silas jumped up and Tess heard him gasp in pain. That was enough to keep her from slamming the bathroom door.

"Let me see." She said over her shoulder, motioning for him to sit on the counter. Silas eyed her wearily, but came and sat. She pulled up his pant leg and removed the bandage she had put on the previous night. Her nose wrinkled as an arid scent reached it. Puss ran out of the wound and it was red; along with being swollen.

"Silas, I thought you said you heal faster than humans!" She said angrily, glaring at him. Silas shrugged.

"Must have got infected." Tess narrowed her gaze.

"Do you think this is some kind of joke?" She said sharply. Silas seemed completely surprised by her aggressive tone.

"Tess, what is your problem this morning?" He asked defensively. Tess held back the tears that threatened to spill.

"Levi's mother asked me to speak at his funeral." Tess answered, her voice barely above a whisper. Silas's gaze quickly softened.

"I'm so sorry, Tess." He said, drawing her into to a hug and Tess surprised herself by not retreating.

"What am I going to do? What will I say? They don't even know what really happened." Tess muttered. Silas took a long breath and slowly let it out.

"Lie." He whispered. Tess looked up at him.

"Don't angels have a rule of some kind against lying?" She asked curiously.

"No, actually we are allowed to lie, like I did when I first met you." Silas said with a small shrug. Tess remembered back when he had introduced himself, but the flashback only brought memories of Levi . Tess wished she could just curl up and let the world melt away.

"I'll come with you to the funeral." Silas offered, but being her guardian angel Tess knew he would be there anyway, visible or invisible.

"That would be great, Silas." Tess answered. Silas smiled at her and sat back down. Tess cleaned out his wound to the best of her abilities and tried to push the worry of blood poisoning out of her thoughts. Silas's eyes wandered around the bathroom as if he wasn't concerned at all. There was a knock on Tess's door and a jiggle of the doorknob, testing to see if it was locked.

"Tess, you need to come eat breakfast." Christian's irritated voice drifted through the thin wooden door. Tess sighed, looking away from Silas and turning to the mirror. She could cover up her wrists with some bracelets and most of the bruises on her neck with her hair. Silas looked at her and nodded as if knowing to leave, then faded from her sight. Tess finished dressing and unlocked her door, slipping out of her room. Walking down the hallway, she entered the kitchen silently. There was a plate of eggs sitting at the table, obviously prepared for her. She sat down, aware of her parents watching her every movement. She stabbed her eggs with her fork a little bit before her mom finally spoke.

"How are you feeling?" Her mother asked timidly.

"What do you think?" Tess growled back, she hated all of their questions. She saw her father's gaze harden.

"Tess, who shoved me last night?" Her father demanded. Tess stiffened. Her father had no possible way of knowing that was Silas, right?

"I don't know what you're talking about." Tess said calmly, but didn't meet her father's eye.

"Tess!" Her father yelled and she jumped, inhaling quickly.

"Don't play games with me," Christian's voice was a low growl, "Who shoved me?"

"I don't know." Tess insisted, this time meeting her fathers hard gaze. Christian seemed saddened at her fibbing.

"I didn't want to have to do this." Her father looked straight behind her and lifted his hand, flicking it to the right. There was a yell as something thumped loudly against the wall. Silas slowly appeared, rubbing his temple with a slight grimace. Tess looked back at Silas and was too shocked to make any comment. Her mouth fell open as she looked back at her father.

"Seems we have a few things to talk about here." Her father said lowly. Tess glanced at her mom who had fallen silent. Silas stood up and looked warily at Christian.

"Who are you?" Silas demanded. Tess's father contemplated his answer, as if finding satisfaction in his newest discovery.

"I will tell you who I am if you tell me who you are. Even though I know exactly who you are." Tess looked at Silas then back at her father. Silas seemed completely at a loss for words when he came back over to Tess's side protectively. Christian glanced at Eugene before talking.

"I am an ordinary human like your mother, except I got a few perks. When I was born, I was an angel, but that wasn't good enough for me. The temptation of power overcame me and in turn Gabriel kicked me out of Heaven. He let me keep my powers, a mistake on his part. I turned rogue, a fallen angel." Tess noticed Silas's narrowed gaze as Tess's mom brought him a chair to sit in.

"Fallen angels are no friend of Heaven."

"Indeed, we are not." Christian answered smugly.

"I began cutting down angels and in turn there was a large reward for my head. I also became a very close friend of the devils." Tess's father hesitated and looked at her, his voice softening.

"I was responsible for many deaths, human included." Tess inwardly gasped. Her father was a murderer! Eugene's voice broke the silence.

"That was, until he killed my angel." She said quietly. Tess and Silas both perked up with curiosity, ready for the story to continue.

"Your father fought against my angel and killed him, but when he saw me it...it changed him somehow." Her mother glanced at her father and Tess could see the affection they held for each other. She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair. The story had taken a more boring turn.

"Your father began to see me in his human form and soon we were inseparable." Tess looked down at the floor.

Like Levi and I...

"It was complicated after that, but your father somehow worked out a deal that allowed him to keep a few of his powers and marry me." Silas looked at Christian.

"You lost your wings." Christian frowned.

"Sadly yes, but it was worth it." Tess wondered what was so big about angels and their wings. Silas answered the question as if reading her mind.

"An angels wings are their crowning glory, to lose them is to lose your honor." He said and Tess nodded in understanding. There was eerie silence for a minute or two.

"So how'd your angel play a part in Levi's death?" Christian asked suddenly. Tess straightened, how would he even know that?

"How did you figure out I was angel?" Silas's words had bite to them.

"Easy, one of my powers I kept was that my mind couldn't be wiped. When you tried to wipe it that night, I knew you were an angel, I just didn't know why you showed up. After you became Tess's science partner, I kept a close eye on you. Once you blocked me last night I figured out you were her guardian angel. With Levi's sudden death and Tess being a seer, I knew something was up." Her father said simply. Silas looked slightly aggravated that her father had figured it so easily.

"So how did Levi die?" Her father asked again, Tess was surprised at the tenderness that entered into his voice.

"Levi was possessed by a demon and attacked me. Silas defended me, but in the process he had to kill Levi." Tess answered.

"And covered it up to look like a suicide," Christian finished her statement, shaking his head grimly, "I can't believe Levi would let something like a demon take over him."

"He regretted it!" Tess said louder than she meant to. Christian looked at Tess.

"I'm sure he did," He paused, with a look of concern crossing his face, "Did he hurt you?" He asked quickly, looking at Tess's face. Tess suddenly realized she had forgotten to cover the gashes on her face.

"No, I'm fine." She lied, not wanting to re-live her experience again.

"Tess, I'm serious. Don't lie to us." Christian's voice lost the comfort it had held moments ago. Tess couldn't help cowering against Silas. His fingers found her hand and Silas intertwined their fingers.

"He didn't hurt her." Silas said flatly. Tess was relieved that Silas lied for her, even if it was wrong. Tess's father narrowed his eyes, seeming to decide forcing Tess to tell the truth would make things worse.

"Can I go to my room now?" Tess asked quietly.

"You haven't even touched your breakfast." Her mom protested.

"I'm not hungry."

"But Tess-"

"Let her go, honey." Christian said gently, touching Eugene's hand. Tess saw her mother's eyes water, Levi's death was definitely affecting the whole family. Tess stood up, slowly walked to her room, not even noticing Silas walking beside her.