"She hated that she was still so desperate for a glimpse of him, but it had been that way for years"
- Julia Quinn
~~~~~~~~~

I stare at Harry with my mouth hanging open.

"She... She what?" I whisper weakly.

"She just can't take any more Louis."

"You have to stop her! You have to-"

"I can't Louis, I've already told you that we have no control over the free will of humans."

"Why didn't you put something in place for her like you did for Lola?" I shout.

"Because-"

"Because she's not important." I snap. "She doesn't benefit your 'divine plan' so you're just going to let her die!"

"All souls are important-"

"That's not true! If you cared about them all equally you wouldn't let this happen!"

"Look at it from our point of view Louis!" Harry snaps suddenly. "People die all the time! I wish I could save every single one of them but they make all the choices! They put all of their energy into killing each other and fighting and destroying the world around them and we can't stop them! The only thing we can do is try and guide them to a time when-"

"You have to stop this from happening Harry."

"I can't." I can hear the frustration in his voice. "I would if I could!"

"And she's pregnant?"

Harry nods.

"Jesus Christ." I mutter.

I think hard. I'm scared of the passing time, I mean, if ten years can pass in a second here it could already be too late.

"I need to go back." I say suddenly.

"What? No! You can't!" Harry's voice is filled with panic.

"How am I classified?"

"What?" He looks panic stricken.

"You said that all souls have to be accounted for, otherwise it tears a gap in the fabric of time... So what am I?"

He hesitates, not wanting to tell me.

"Harry..."

"You haven't passed. You're not counted as having passed over." He says cautiously.

"So I'm still counted as a rogue?"

"Yes, but you're not really a rogue, rogues choose to stay, they-"

"Yes but technically I am! So I can go back!"

He shakes his head, looking nervous.

"Louis, this can't happen! Rogues stay on earth because they're confused or trapped, you're neither! It's never happened before, you're supposed to pass over!"

"What happens if I don't?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you seem to know bloody everything... What will happen if Adele and her baby survive?"

"It's not that simple Louis! To send you back I'd have to pretend you were going to pass over then let you slip away, do you realise the amount of trouble I'd be in? I'd be deliberately messing with the space/time continuum, changing the entire future for one single soul! Lucifer was sent you-know-where for less than that!"

"Harry..." He won't look at me. His wings are twitching and I've never seen him look so stressed. But I don't care. Adele's life has been crappy enough with her spending eternity stuck in that house feeling guilty over her child.

"Harry, please. Just tell me what would happen if I went back."

He stares at me for a second before walking away muttering to himself. His long legs pace the floor and he seems completely oblivious to me.

I need to get out of here. But how? Without Harry's help it seems impossible.

I'm beginning to give up hope when suddenly he stops rigid.

"Oh!" He exclaims. "Oh my word! How on earth did we miss that?"

"What?"

He turns to me, looking confused.

"Adele's baby..." He's still talking to himself.

"What about it?"

He holds up a hand to silence me as he thinks. He's frowning to himself. Suddenly he looks up at me.

"Well. I didn't see that coming... It'll be my my fault of course..." He mumbles himself. "Really, Raphael's supposed to deal with this type of thing... I mean it's all very well and good him missing it but who'll get the blame? Haniel of course... Bloody scapegoat that I am..." He's muttering away looking extremely irritated.

"Erm... Harry?"

He looks up suddenly, remembering I'm there.

"Ah! Louis! Excellent news, Adele isn't going to die!" He says lightly as if he's discussing the weather. "At least not straight away."

"What... Why?"

"Well apparently her son, it's a boy by the way, congratulations and all that stuff, is going to make quite an impact as a diplomat bringing peace to the Middle East... We've been waiting for a soul like this for years! That would have slipped through the radar if it wasn't for you!" He claps his hands together and he's back to his usual self.

"Right then poppet! We'll just get you moved along to the other side and then I'll be on my way, I've got a lot to rearrange now! Actually there was another ghost in the house-"

"What?! There was another ghost as well as me and Niall?!"

"Yes. He died on that piece of land in prehistoric times, there are quite a few Neanderthal ghosts knocking about all over the world... It was so bloody difficult to explain the concept of heaven to them to get them to pass over. I mean there's only so many ways you can grunt out a message about divinity." He sighs theatrically.

"Why couldn't you have just used him for Lola-Rose if he was there anyway?" I ask.

"Because we didn't want to take the risk of him not understanding. To be honest I wouldn't use him now if there was any other way. Don't worry about him, he's just a bit S-L-O-W... Honestly, he's spent the last few millennium trying to draw pictures of boars on the wall. He's happy enough but I'm sure I can get him to move along in the babies place, if I can get him to understand me that is-"

"What do you mean in the babies place?" I ask sharply.

Harry looks at me, slightly non- plussed.

"Adele is 5 months pregnant Louis, don't ask me how she doesn't realise... It happens sometimes, she's barely showing and she's so wrapped up in her misery that she just doesn't know. In a months time she'll be six months along... The baby will be premature but-"

"So you're still going to let her die?" I say quietly.

"It's not my choice Louis!"

We stand silently for a while. He looks exasperated but I don't care, I need to make this right for Adele.

"I'll go in her place." I say suddenly.

"What?"

"I'm still classed as a rogue. That other guy can pass over for the baby and I'll go for Adele."

Harry stares at me then thinks for a second.

"Actually... Actually the babies future is even better if Adele lives..."

"No shit sherlock." I mutter.

"Why are you so willing to do that?" He questions.

"Because then I can just wait for her on the other side." I explain patiently.

Harry nods and turns away quickly.

But not before I see the look on his face.

"What?"

"What, what?" He says innocently.

"Just tell me what the problem is now Harry." I sigh.

"It's... Um... We're not entirely sure Adele will ever pass over." He says quickly.

"Why? I thought you couldn't tell who becomes rogues and who doesn't until it happens?"

"Yes but with Adele, we've already got a good idea that she'll choose to stay. She's the type of soul that'll get confused, we're almost certain. She's never belonged anywhere in her life... And those type of people are most likely to cling to the earth, they need to feel that security. The unknown terrifies them."

"Even if she knows I'm waiting?"

"Louis... If you save Adele she'll live for a very long time. Things dim in the memory of humans and she'll never move from that house in her lifetime. She'll never forget you but there's no guarantee that the memory of you promising to wait for her will be enough for her to trust whichever angel tries to collect her. The memory probably won't be enough pull her from the security of the only place she's ever felt safe." He says softly.

"Well couldn't I collect her?"

She'd pass over with me. We both know it.

"You can't." He sighs predictably. "If we start letting souls wander in and out of heaven the-"

"-Whole space/time continuum blah blah blah." I mutter. "So either way I'll never see her again?"

I look round at the deserted church.

"Let's just go Harry. I'd rather she got stuck in the house because she feels safe there rather than because she's mourning her baby."

Harry nods slowly.

"Take me hand."

"What?"

"You need to hold my hand."

"Why?"

He grabs my hand with a dramatic eye roll and instantly the church disappears.

We're floating in that nothingness again.

"Right." He looks serious. "I'm going to put you back in the house now, but I'm not coming with you. It's about three days before Adele dies... I need that long to convince this cave man fella to do what we need him to do. I'll bring him along in about a week and then we can all move on from there. Don't try and contact her or let her know you're there, that's very important! We need this all to play out exactly as planned... Because I'm so bloody soft I will let you spend some time with her before she goes back to her body though. You will have to witness what Adele does to herself and I'm sorry, but just remember that it's all going to work out. Right?"

"Right."

We float in nothingness for a minute as he goes over the plan in his head.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Can we stop holding hands now?"

He looks down at our linked hands.

"Oh. If you like... It's quite nice though isn't it?"

"You're so bloody weird Harry." I pull my hand away.

Even though angels are non-sexual it feels a bit odd to be holding his hand while he smiles at me.

"Right. You've got the plan?" He checks. "You go back to the house. Wait a few days, I'll turn up with the caveman guy, Adele dies, you two spend a bit of time chatting and kissing and all that human stuff, Adele and her son return to her body and you and Mr Prehistoric pass over to the other side in their place. Got it?"

I nod quickly and Harry smiles, happy with himself for coming up with this solution.

Because what he doesn't realise is that I have another plan entirely.

~~~~~~~

I'm back in the living room of the house.

I was only here an hour ago... But it's been ten years in earth time.

The room is a mess, clothes and mugs everywhere. It can't have been hoovered in weeks. Somehow this makes me more nervous. Adele was always so neat and tidy... How did she get like this? I think briefly of Zayn and Perrie and I wonder if she's still friends with them or if she's pushed them away too.

What else has changed? I can feel nerves building. Will she be a totally different person?

I glance at the clock. 10AM. If Adele is still working it'll be hours before she's home. Harry said not to let her know that I'm here at all... But I have other plans. I know he's too busy to be watching me and he won't have told anyone else to keep an eye on the house, given that he's not allowed to follow out this plan himself.

Slowly I begin to tidy up. Behind the settee I find her Beatles CD and I smile to myself as I put it on. I go through each room in the house, clearing months of mess and dirt and slowly the house begins to look more like it did when I left.

I'm just sorting through some old magazines when I hear a faint noise. It's feeble and I stop for a second to listen.

Out of the mess that is Adele's unmade bed, a tiny furry head pops up.

"Mr T!" I'm ecstatic to see him but my heart sinks as he slowly stands up to greet me. He's ancient now, and his back leg is stiff as he tries to walk quickly towards me, meowing pathetically but excitedly.

"You remember me don't you old boy?" I stroke his greying fur and he pushes his head into my hand. I can see that he's blind in one eye, he's obviously on his last legs.

"I'm glad you're still here for her." I whisper and he looks at me in that way he always did, as if he understands what I've said.

Gently I place him on the floor and make the bed, before lifting him back on. He purrs gratefully. I guess he can't move about like he once used to.

It's 6:30PM and I've been cleaning all day. The house finally looks like it did when I left. The furniture looks shabby, but I'm hardly in a position to pop to the shops to replace it.

I hear the sound of a key scraping in the lock and I freeze.

This is it. I feel faintly sick.

Adele is ten years older. She's been through more pain and loss. And she's pregnant.

I begin to panic, maybe I should just have stuck to Harry's plan. So much time has passed for her...

I hear her enter the living room.

"Oh my god!"

Her voice sounds the same, still sweet and soft.

"What... Who's there?" She says, panicked. She's obviously shocked by the change in the house.

"Someone's broken in..." I hear her mutter, scared.

Yes Adele. Someone's broken in to clean your house. Happens all the time.

I roll my eyes and suppress a smile.

Here goes.

I take a deep breath and make myself appear in the living room.

She's stood with her back to me and I stand for a minute, looking at her long, glossy hair and slim body.

Slowly she turns round and my heart skips.

She's still the same beautiful girl who stole my heart. Maybe she looks a little tired. There's a slight frown line in her forehead that wasn't there before as if she's had too many troubles. But she's still my beautiful Adele and my heart fills with love at the sight of her.

I'd be hard pressed to see the difference between her now and ten years ago. Apart from one thing.

When she turns I see the slight swell of her stomach. She's so thin that I can't help but notice and I wonder how on earth she hasn't. Granted, she doesn't look halfway through a pregnancy, and maybe it's just because I'm looking for it... But still, it's there.

Her wide blue eyes are looking round the room fearfully and I remember that she'll be wondering what on earth is going on.

Slowly, so as not to scare her, I create a warmth around her. Just like I used too.

Her eyes widen and she stands completely still.

Moments pass and she doesn't move. I curse myself. She doesn't remember.

Suddenly tears begin to run down her face.

"Louis." She whispers.

"Louis... Is that really you?"

~~~~~~~~~~

This chapter us dedicated to @tayloridaniels thanks for reading love x