Val was floating, buoyantly drifting in one of the sulfurous tar pits in the Swamps of Desolation. That explained the pleasant warmth that surrounded her. The smell was wrong, it was too light, more like Zack's pleasant smell.

She must be dreaming, she decided. Still wrapped up in his arms in his bed, she knew she would have to wake soon. She did not want to wake, she wanted to stay here nestled within the safety of her cocoon, surrounded by his warmth.

Val realized she was being carried as her body slowly swayed back and forth. What was he up to now, she wondered. She may have finally found her match in him, with his newly tapped stamina.

"I have you love, come back to me now," Zack whispered softly in her ear.

Her chest swelled with his words, and she let the feeling blossom out. Love, she liked the sound of the endearment. Love was a nice word, a nice feeling. She had never experienced love before, other than what she felt for her siblings.

That was different, that warmed her differently. Made her feel complete in a different way. This was tender, warm, and accepting. Yes, she decided. She was in love with Zack and that was wonderful. Wonderful because he was wonderful. With Zack, she was...

"Safe," Val sighed.

She snuggled back into his warmth, not ready to let go of this moment. She had been in pain earlier but the more she relaxed into Zack, the more it melted away. She was safe with him; he would not laugh at her love. He would treasure it as he treasured her.

Pain suddenly lanced up her arm as she tried to move it. That was not right, her arm should not hurt. Warmth enveloped the limb, and the pain disappeared. Val knew there was something wrong despite his warm embrace.

Something was happening around her; voices were angrily speaking back and forth. She could not focus on them, though she felt she knew them. They were far away, probably just a couple arguing outside.

She wondered what it would be like to argue with Zack. She was raised in Hell after all, she did have quite the temper. She doubted he would be daunted by it; he would most likely find a way to distract her. Maybe she should test her theory with something small to see what he would do.

Either way, she was not concerned, not with him. Val did not concern herself with time and improbability as she floated. She relaxed into the feeling and accepted it. She could worry about it being love or not being love later.

"Val, my light," Zack whispered.

He was stroking one of her horns as he spoke to her, and she hummed contentedly. His finger traced along the length before combing through her hair. She could feel his tender reverence as he stroked along her wing.

"Time to open your eyes," Zack pleaded.

No, Val thought. She did not want to come back to the real world yet, she did not want to leave this half-state of being. She was content here, half with him, half at home. She wished she could share her true self with him, truly feel him stroking her as she dreamed.

He was right though. She did need to wake up and go home. Odd that she considered Alexander's penthouse her home now. Home had been Hell for so long now that she had missed the change.

She found it to be true as she thought about going back and finding Alexander waiting for her. If he held true to his new pattern, the coffee would be about done when she walked off the elevator. She smiled as she anticipated how she would have to keep him from burning down the kitchen.

Despite the magnetic pull she fought against; he was rubbing off on her. She would be so bold as to call him a friend now. A friend that she wanted to see naked, maybe next to Zack for a little comparison.

"No time for that now, love," Zack chastised lightly.

There was that wonderful word on his lips again. Such a phenomenal word, love. She loved her siblings. She loved him. She loved doe eyed Lily. She even loved the little rascal AJ. And she loved her dangerously charming Alexander. She loved them all, she did not care if that was too many people to love. They were hers, and she was theirs.

"I love you," Val murmured.

His arms tightened slightly around her, and she felt the odd pain in her arm. Zack was kissing her temple softly, his breathing tickling across the fine hairs.

"I am going to hold you to that," Zack whispered. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," Val said.

The voices were becoming clearer now. The couple that was arguing was not outside, they were next to them. It was her siblings and Meg. That could not be right, they had no reason to be with her and Zack in his room.

"I won't let them hurt you," Zack promised.

Hurt her, why would they want to hurt her? Zack was not making any sense. She started to claw her way out of the dream, but it hurt. Pain filled her body, radiating from the source in her arm. It felt like she had been injected with venom.

She whimpered at the pain. It carried with it the pain of the memory. Her terror at realizing that the twins were in danger. But they were safe now.

Alexander! She had left him at their mercy. She had to go back for him, she had to get him out. Was she too late?

"Look at me Val," Zack demanded.

She forced her eyes to comply and finally lifted her lids. She was looking into Zack's beautiful eyes, filled with concern. Concern for her, she realized as pain flared up suddenly and she groaned.

"She's awake," Ama announced.

Val saw her sister peek at her over the white blanket that was covering them. Not a blanket, Val realized. A glorious white feathered wing. A wing that was attached to Zack!

She tried to rear back and immediately cried out from the pain that exploded in her arm. Zack crooned at her as he coaxed her back down. He continued to methodically rub her back while Val struggled to orient herself.

She was in the kitchen, her sibling's kitchen. Zack was under her and nearly naked. Looking to the other side, she could see her brothers and Meg. They were all on the floor with her.

Under them looked like a murder scene, blood smeared across the pristine feathers of Zack's wings. Zack's angel wings. His angel wings curled over her demon wings.

No...no, no, NO! This could not be happening. Val's breathing became ragged as it felt like someone reached into her chest and started yanking at her heart.

"No," Val said in dismay.

She started shaking her head in denial, tears stinging her eyes and falling onto his chest. Val squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare. No, she refused to believe this was reality. Refused to believe that she could open herself to love just to have it so cruelly ripped away.

"Val," Meg said kindly. "You did it, the twins are safe."

Val opened her eyes and looked at Meg. She saw the truth in them, but her relief was momentary. She remembered her last glimpse of Alexander, wobbling to his feet and launching at their aggressor.

AJ suddenly appeared, ducking under Meg's arm. Val tried to smile at him, but it was hard to accomplish. She felt like her soul was being pushed through a meat grinder.

His eyes were puffy from crying and dry snot covered under his nose. Val lifted her arm that did not hurt and started to wipe it away. He threw himself at her and hugged her through the wings.

"Go save Daddy," AJ whimpered.

Lily was there now as well, Lammia leading her and pushing her brothers aside.

"You angel?" Lily asked her between hiccups.

"No munchkin," Val told her. "I'm no angel."

Lily looked at her with eyes that suddenly appeared much older.

"You my angel," Lily said firmly. "You save Daddy now."

Val tried to stem the flow of her tears, but it seemed now that the font had opened, she could not turn them off.

"Cry later," AJ told her. "Have to save Daddy now."

Meg and Lammia both embraced the children and tried to pull them away, but they refused. Val marveled at their resolve despite the opposition. If she had failed at everything else, at least she had not failed them.

"Up," AJ demanded.

"Fall down go boom, get up, try again," Lily said to her.

Their words kicked Val into motion. She pushed Zack's chest with her good arm and rose to straddle him. Zack propped himself on his elbows as he watched her, prepared to catch her if she fell.

She looked down at her chest and ripped the plastic seal off her chest. She marveled at the lack of scar before reaching over her shoulder and ripping one off her back. She felt reenergized like never before, minus that throbbing pain in her arm.

"Take it easy now," Ama tried to coax.

Val looked at her mutilated arm as it all came crashing back at her. The bone appeared to be repaired, and the bleeding mostly stopped, but the rendered flesh looked foul. She looked at Zack with an unspoken question.

"I can't heal that," Zack told her.

So, her boyfriend was an angel, one that could heal. Ex-boyfriend, she amended as a different pain cut through her. No, no time for that right now. Alexander needed her, the twins needed her.

She looked at the supplies littering the floor and reached for a dressing. Z grabbed it for her and began tearing it open. She looked down at her naked form and then closed her eyes. She felt the chinks of her armor clicking into place while Z tugged the bandage tight around her arm.

"Val, you can't be seriously planning to go back out," Ama told her.

Val opened her eyes, moving her gaze from Zack to Ama.

"I can," Val told her with resolve. "And I will."

She stood up, firmly ignoring the pain radiating through her. Her kids needed her to bring their father home, and she would either succeed or die trying. Zack rose as his own armor began clicking into place, shimmering brilliantly compared to the black of hers.

He pulled her against his body and looked her straight in the eye. His jaw was set with his own resolve as he took her on.

"Not without me," Zack told her firmly. "I just found you, I'm not letting you slip away now."

Her heart broke more at his words. Her Zack, so firm and supportive. Her love for him expanded and the pain of having to let him go became more poignant.

She would go to battle with him gladly but afterward, she would have to turn herself in. Judging from the poison that coursed through her veins, filtering painfully into her cells, her end would not be long. If she was lucky, the bite would end her before Astaroth could execute her.

"This is a suicide mission," Ama scolded.

"Then we'll go out with a blaze of glory," Bachon responded.

Z and Bachon flanked them, armed for battle. They reached up their arms and embraced Zack and Val, dipping their heads to touch hers. Zack dipped his own head to place his forehead against hers.

"On your command love," Zack whispered to her.