They ran up the stairs. I heard a few grunts, then a thump.
"You could've caught him," I called upstairs. Sucking in a deep breath, I walked into the kitchen. "Put him in bed!" They had super-powered hearing. I hadn't needed to yell.
The coffee in the coffee maker was cold, so I busied myself making a new pot needing something to do. I needed to keep my mind off of the gaping hole in my heart. My baby girl was at another woman's house, her first moments of life going by without me. If I thought about it, I'd break down and be utterly useless.
Once he woke up, explaining all of this to Lucian was going to be devastating at best.
Michael and Gabriel walked into the room, distracting me. "How is he?"
Gabe chuckled. "He's going to have a headache."
"No," Michael gave Gabriel a wry look. "I healed it."
"You two didn't have to let him hit the floor," I chided them.
Michael grinned. "I hope he remembers that when he gets his memory back."
The coffee maker beeped, so I grabbed a mug and filled it. "So, what's the plan?" I poured a generous helping of creamer into the cup and stirred it. I had missed coffee while I was pregnant. At least I could have a cup of my favorite non-alcoholic drink.
It was getting late in the day. I could've poured a glass of wine. But I needed a clear head. There was plenty of time to drown my grief with a bottle later.
Michael stared at me as I joined them at the kitchen table. "We need more power."
That wasn't such an easy thing. "If I could get into Hell, I could get the contracts." We had millions of contracts. Humans loved to barter their souls in exchange for stupid stuff like money or power. After a few decades chilling down in the pits of torture, they changed their tunes. We generally let them do a rebirth.
The act of signing over their souls created a substantial amount of power, though. That power could be harnessed under the right circumstances.
There were very few objects of power in the world that could help in a situation like this. I didn't have access to any of them.
An idea popped into my head, but I hated to say the words. "For now, until we can unlock his true self and get him back to Hell, I think we should make him forget the pregnancy," I whispered. "He'll remember it again when he's himself. In the meantime, my sweet Lucian won't be in pain. He won't remember."
"What about others he might come into contact with that could remind him?" Michael asked.
Well, dang. I wasn't sure. "We can plug the idea in Linda's mind that she needs to take a week off to go see her grandchildren along with the people at church and his co-workers. Otherwise, I don't know."
Gabriel shrugged as I sipped my hazelnut-flavored coffee. "I think we can alter his human memories. The problem is accessing his ethereal mind."
I nodded. "That's what I hoped. It's why you're able to knock him out, too."
Raising my eyes toward the upstairs, I wondered how much time we had. "When will he wake up?"
"Morning," Gabe said. "We hit him pretty hard with the sleepy juice."
"You two are mean." I stood, then poured the rest of my coffee down the drain. "I want you to knock me out, too." I was still in a human body. Maybe if I slept with Lucian, my mind would heal a little of the grief I felt at handing my sweet baby girl over.
"We can do that." Gabe took my hand. I led all three of us to my bedroom, where Lucian slept on top of the covers, still wearing his suit and even his shiny black shoes.
"You two, I swear." I busied myself by taking off his shoes and socks. "Get me some pajamas."
With their help, I changed my loving human husband into his striped jammies and tucked him into bed.
Then I changed into one of his big tee shirts and snuggled in beside him. "When you fix his memories, replace them with memories of raising Jellybean," I suggested.
Gabe hopped up on the bed at our feet. "This is going to take most of the night."
Michael nodded as he climbed up beside him. "Yeah, we have to filter through all the memories of the pregnancy and replace each one."
"Well, knock me out. Just promise me you'll be gentle with him. Lucian is innocent in all of this."
