(The song that inspired this book a long time ago) 

Michael heard the other two walking around come morning, but he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He was sure that Church knew he was awake, since he'd shifted a few times to get more comfortable, but he didn't seem to care either way. Him and Hanna were in the kitchen, judging from the sound of their feet against the tile.

"Hold it tightly, Hanna. You don't want to get an ow, do you?"

"No!"

"Good boy, now let's cut..."

There was an almost-mute cutting sound as they sliced something on the plastic cutting-board he'd left by the sink the night before.

"Good job. You have the ants?"

"Yesh!"

There was a deep chuckle from Church but Michael's mind was a bit side-tracked.

Ants?

"Alright, put them on."

"Perfect. Yeah, you can eat that one."

Don't let him eat ants!

"Okay, will you go set it on the table by the sofa please, Hanna?"

"Okay Chesh!"

"Shh, it's not nice to wake up friends while they sleep."

Hanna gave a quiet yip in response, then the sound of feet running first on the tiled kitchen floor, then the carpet, reached Michael's ears. A moment later he heard a plate being set down on the coffee table, ceramic tapping the glass surface.

"Alright, come here Hanna. We need to get back to our apartment and get cleaned up before work."

The little footsteps quickly made their way toward the front door. Michael could hear Church grunt a tiny bit as he likely leaned over and scooped the boy up, then the door opened and closed, telling Michael that he was now alone. 

Wait a second... oh crap. Work! 

He sat up abruptly, his head spinning from the sudden movement. His eyes blurred for a moment before he could see what Hanna had left on the table near his legs.

"Ah, that's what they meant."

On the messy white plate was a banana, cut in half, with peanut butter and raisins sprinkled all over it. Most of the raisins missed and were scattered about the plate, but it was still absolutely adorable that Hanna had made it for him. He'd seen a similar snack made with celery, but the banana seemed like a great idea for kids. 

Taking the ants on a log, he ate it on his way to the bathroom. Once he had the water running nice and warm, the food was gone and he was able to get undressed to shower. Michael wanted to make it to work a little bit before Church so that he could take Hanna right away, allowing Church to take care of the meetings he needed to get done. Sure, he still didn't trust him with Hanna and would eventually have to do something about them, but he also needed the money just a little bit more. Especially since he was about to get kicked out of his place for not paying enough of the rent. Besides, Church wasn't hurting the boy... but he was murdering other people. Killing was killing, and God said very clearly that thou shall not kill. 

Finishing up his shower, he got himself dressed in his only decent suit and headed out. The drive was a bit trying since the traffic was getting bad, though that couldn't be helped. Going downtown always took awhile. Thankfully, by the time he ran up to the office Michael noticed that Church's door was still locked.

Yes! I'm here first.

"Chesh, is Migal." 

Turning, Michael saw Church calmly walking down the hall toward him. He looked absolutely, well, perfect. Nothing like the bloodied, exhausted demon he had seen walk through his balcony door the previous night. He was squeaky clean and dressed in a sharp dark blue suit that must have cost at least four times what he'd make on his first paycheck, and Hanna was also nice and clean in a pair of jean overalls... and no shirt?

"Uh..."

"He kept taking it off," Church grumbled as he fished his keys out and unlocked the door to his large office. Not a second after stepping into the room he stalked over to his desk and pulled out several manila envelopes, then knelt and set Hanna down. 

"Hanna, Church has something very important to do today. Will you be a good boy and play with Mr. Michael until I come back?" 

Hanna immediately shouted a screechy "No!" and hugged Church's bent leg, nuzzling against it while blinking back tears.

"Chesh leave afore, no again." 

Ah, he's probably worried about what had happened yesterday when Church suddenly left. 

He'd been thinking about that, too, and thought he'd finally figured out why the demon had suddenly thrown Hanna at him. He was hiding the human boy from the other powerful demons. After all, if a demon as high-up as him was caught taking care of a human child? Michael couldn't imagine that would end very well... especially for little Hanna. 

Shaking the grim thought from his mind, Michael walked over and knelt next to Church, doing his best to smile reassuringly as Church spoke again.

"Hanna, you need to stay with Mr. Michael. I have to go for a little while."

"No!" 

"Hanna, you will stay here and you will behave. If you cry or raise a fuss then I will take longer to get back." 

The little boy sniffled and bit his lower lip, obviously not wanting Church to go, but afraid that if he shouted or cried he might actually keep his word and stay away longer than needed. 

"Good boy. Now behave and have fun with Mr. Michael." 

Church then leaned over and pressed a kiss to Hanna's forehead before getting up. He was gone a few seconds later, leaving Michael with a very hesitant Hanna. 

"Hey there..." 

The boy's big, wide brown eyes looked up at him, fear obvious in their depths. 

"It's okay, Hanna. Do you want to play? I'm pretty good at... uh, tag?" 

He tilted his head, soft blondish-brown hair swishing across his curious eyes.

"D... ag?"

"Yes, tag. You play it by tapping someone on the shoulder, like this..."

Michael tapped on his own shoulder, knowing that it was likely not the best idea to just randomly poke the kid when he was on edge from Church having just left.

"When you tap their shoulder you shout tag loudly and then they run after you."

His mouth dropped open, then curved into a huge grin of excitement.

"Migal tag!"

Hanna smacked his bare shoulder and started running, giggling loudly as Michael watched him, trying hard not to crack up at the boy's mistake. 

Well, at least he likes the idea of tag, but he kind of got it wrong... though I guess it doesn't matter much.

Michael got up and ran after him after a moment, being sure to move slowly so Hanna thought he was winning. They ran around for a few minutes before Michael got close enough to get his attention, then tapped his own shoulder and shouted "tag!" 

Hanna skidded to a halt so fast that he tumbled onto the carpet, but was hopping up like a jackrabbit almost immediately. He dropped back to his hands and knees a second later, then gave out a loud growl. 

I guess that's where the idea for the dog bed had come from. 

 Before Michael could think of a response there was suddenly a hyper Hanna running after him with his arms outstretched yelling like a dinosaur. 

A species swap is perfectly logical, too.

They ran around for awhile before Michael got close enough to Hanna and shouted "tag!" as he tapped his own shoulder. He watched with a smile as Hanna turned and started running around Church's desk, but when he heard a loud thump sound, Michael hurried over. 

Uh oh.

When he came around the side of the desk where Church's huge office chair sat, he saw Hanna curled up on the floor, holding his hands to his head with red running between his fingers.

"Oh crap!"

The boy whined in response as Michael dropped to his knees, yanking his jacket off and quickly wrapping it around Hanna's head. He pulled the sleeves tight, then tugged the boy into his arms. They were out the door in a blur, then downstairs and outside. Michael knew that he should have driven, but the Urgent Care was just one block down the street... and he made it there in less than three minutes.

Panting like crazy, he stumbled into the waiting room. Thankfully, it didn't seem very busy and the second a doctor walking by the receptionist area noticed Hanna's injury he quickly took him from his arms and rushed him into one of the treatment rooms. Michael hurried to follow after him, answering his questions as he got Hanna situated on a padded exam table, then removed the jacket tied around his head to reveal the gash there. 

"Okay, sweetie. Can you sit still for me for a few moments? This is going to hurt, but I promise it will feel much better once I'm finished cleaning it up," the doctor said with a reassuring smile. 

Hanna was shaking from head to toe, tears just barely contained in his terrified eyes.

Walking over to Hanna, Michael took his hand and pulled out his cell phone with the other. Within a second he had Church on the phone and told him that Hanna was hurt and at the Urgent Care office down the street. The line went dead a moment later, making Michael feel uneasy. Tucking the phone away, he took Hanna's hand in both of his own and squeezed gently. 

"Hanna, Church is coming right now, okay? He'll be so excited to see how strong you're being."

The doctor leaned down and gently began dabbing at Hanna's forehead with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.

"You're doing very well, hun," the man said as he worked. 

He switched the cotton ball out for another, but this time Michael couldn't smell alcohol on it.

"This will make the pain go away, and make you feel a bit funny," the doctor said with a reassuring smile. 

Hanna still looked petrified as he squeezed Michael's fingers as hard as possible. 

"Okay, I'm going to give you a few small stitches. I promise they won't hurt. Just stay still for one more minute."

When Hanna saw the needle and thread coming towards his face he whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut tight. Michael carefully freed one of his hands and wrapped him in a partial hug, giving the doctor just enough room to stitch up his injury without being in the way. He had to admit, the guy knew what he was doing. He got the wound cleaned and stitched up in less than four minutes, and was soon unwrapping a big bandage with Toy Story characters on it. After pressing that against Hanna's forehead gently he smiled and reached into his pocket. When he pulled his hand out again he had a little dum-dum lollipop.

"Here you go, sweetie. You did great."

Hanna hesitantly took the candy and Michael thanked the doctor, telling him that he'd pay before they left but they needed a minute for Hanna to relax again. The man nodded and left, letting Michael return his complete attention to the scared little boy.

"Hey kiddo, why didn't you cry at all? I know it hurt and I wouldn't have been upset if you did."

Hanna licked his shivering lips and shook his head.

"Chesh sets no to cry." 

He didn't cry all this time because Church told him to behave and not complain in his office?

Hanna sniffled and looked down at the candy in his hand but Michael knew that he wasn't interested in it. What he was interested in, however, came storming through the door a moment later.

Church scooped Hanna right up into his arms, not giving a damn about the blood still on the boy's chest and face as Hanna buried his nose in the demon's neck. Loud bawling came just seconds later. The doctor even checked-in on them again because of the volume Hanna was putting out. They both reassured him that the boy was just really happy to have Church back and he quickly dismissed them to head to another patient. 

When Hanna finally quieted they stepped out of the room, but right as Michael was going to start explaining what had happened, Church glared at him and stopped walking. Michael hesitantly did as well, turning to face him with a feeling of dread in his belly.

"You're fired. Stay away from him or I'll kill you."

Leaving the threat hanging in the air, Church walked away, leaving Michael standing in the little lobby, completely at a loss for... anything.