Judgment (The Alternate Earth Series, Book 3) (24 page)

Having given great joy to one member of our group, God turns to face the saddest member of our party, JoJo. He holds out His arms to her, offering what comfort He can in her time of need.

Without hesitation, JoJo goes to Him and accepts His love. She cries on His shoulder, and He simply holds her against Him. As she continues to cry her heart out, God says, “I have a secret to share with you, JoJo.”

JoJo lifts her head from His shoulder to look up at Him.

“What is it?” she asks.

“The rest of your story with Gabe has yet to be told.” God leans down and whispers something into JoJo’s ear.

I can’t hear what He says. I’m certain no one except JoJo is meant to.

When He finishes telling her the secret, JoJo wipes away her tears and looks up at God with a sense of newfound hope.

“That will happen?” she asks, sounding amazed by what God just told her.

“In time, it will come to pass,” God promises. “But I’m afraid I can’t allow you to keep this knowledge, JoJo. I can allow the peace it has brought you to remain in your heart, but the reason will have to be lost to you until the time is right for you to remember.”

JoJo nods. “I understand. Thank You for telling me.”

JoJo hugs God one more time, and He kisses her on the forehead before she returns to her place within the circle.

God then looks at Lucifer, tilting his head as he asks, “Did you learn anything during your visit, My son?”

“Yeah,” Lucifer says, taking a defensive stance, his arms crossed over his chest. “I learned I was right about not opening the seals too soon. That moron back there didn’t know what he was doing.”

God looks unconvinced that what Lucifer said was all that he learned during his time on alternate Earth.

“I believe you learned more than that, Lucifer, but I am a patient parent. I can wait until you are ready to admit it to yourself.”

“Father,” Mason says, taking a step forward, “I have a question for you.”

“Yes.”

Mason looks confused. “Yes, you’ll listen to what I want or is your answer yes to what I was about to ask?”

“I see no reason not to give you what you want, Mason. I understand your reasons,” God glances in Lucifer’s direction briefly, “for asking me to grant your request.”

“What request?” I have to ask, since their conversation is making no sense to me.

Mason walks over to me.

“Do you remember asking me to promise that I won’t die before you do?” my husband asks.

“Of course…”

“I found a way to make that promise to you.”

“How?” I have to ask.

“My father is going to allow me to stay a Watcher, but physically age the same as you. After you’ve passed away, I will ask him to make me human so I can join you in Heaven when the time comes.”

“So that’s an option?” Malcolm asks God in surprise.

God shrugs. “He asked. Brand and Aiden did not. Their greatest wish was to become human. Mason’s is to protect Jess from outside forces that require him to maintain his angelic abilities.”

“Oh,” Malcolm says knowingly, “you mean protect her from the black sheep of the family.”

“I did hear that, you know,” Lucifer tells Malcolm. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out your non-subtle code names.”

“Obviously,” Malcolm smirks. “Considering all the time you blackmailed Jess into spending with you every year, I can’t say I blame Mason for putting off becoming human.”

“Are you sure?” I ask Mason, knowing how much he wants to be human. “You would give up the chance to live as a human, for me?”

“I’m not giving up anything,” Mason assures me. “I’m keeping my sanity and making sure my family is kept safe. That’s what will make me happy.” Mason looks back at Malcolm. “But you will need to take leadership of the Watchers when we return home, Malcolm. I still want to step down so I can spend more time with Jess and the kids.”

“What about your work with the Watcher Agency?” Malcolm questions.

“Jess and I can still help with that, but in a lesser capacity.”

Malcolm nods in agreement to the terms.

God looks back at me. “Your journey has been a long one, and your family is anxiously awaiting your return home. I have gathered them for you in the same place you left the Origin. When you need Me, Jess, all you have to do is pray, and I will come to you.”

I nod my head because I don’t trust myself to speak. I’m not sure what might come out of my mouth, but I know it would be either words of anger or cries of sorrow. I’m not ready to talk to God, and He knows it.

“Thank You for gathering our family and friends together,” Mason tells his father. “We’ve missed them.”

“And they’ve missed you,” God tells us. “Max and Brynlee especially.”

“Let’s go home,” I tell everyone, and I immediately begin to draw on their energy to make the dimensional gateway back to our reality.

Almost instantly, the vortex of lavender-hued clouds with tiny dots of light intermixed within appears over my head. Off to the right, there is a light which shines brighter than the rest, beckoning me home. I reach out and touch it, welcoming the transitory pain of traveling through the portal because I know my children are waiting for me on the other side.

I soon find myself lying flat on my back, staring up at a star-filled sky with one beautifully whole moon. The sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore lull the deep ache inside my chest over Gabe’s loss, but it’s only when I see the two cherub-like faces of my children staring down at me that the ache is transformed into pure joy.

“Mommy!” they both yell at the same time before lying down on either side of me in the sand to hug me tightly around the waist.

As they begin to tell me everything that happened while I was gone, I close my eyes and listen to their sweet voices, not really paying attention to their words. I just lay there, enjoying the feel of their little warm bodies lying next to mine and the sound of their chatter. I sense Mason sit down near the top of my head and feel him caress my right cheek with the tips of his fingers. When I open my eyes, I notice how blurry my vision is, and realize for the first time that I’m crying, but this time my tears stem from happiness instead of heartache.

I know I’ll never be able to forget my time on alternate Earth, and I don’t think any of us is supposed to. Our experiences there have taught us all just how much we have to be thankful for in our own world, and that the love of family and friends is enough to change any reality. I plan to take that lesson to heart and always remember that we are but one voice in a universe of possibilities.

Epilogue

“Are you sure you’re feeling up to having a party?” Mason asks me, looking concerned over my well-being. “The pregnancy and delivery were so hard on you, Jess. No one would be upset if we postponed this get-together. I don’t want you to wear yourself out thinking you have to please everyone.”

“I’ll be fine,” I tell Mason as we arrange a simple lunch of sandwiches, chips, and fruit on the kitchen table in our Cypress Hollow home. “Everyone wants to see the baby. We’ve put them off for long enough.”

“I don’t think a week is that long,” Mason grumbles, “considering how much blood you lost giving birth to Luke. I think it’s been perfectly reasonable. Thank God Rafe was there during the delivery. I don’t know what I would have done if we had lost you both.”

I walk up to Mason and hug him around the waist.

“I’m fine,” I tell him. “And Luke is growing like a weed. He’s gained at least a pound since he was born. We’re both ready to have our family and friends over. Besides, I want Gabriel and Luke to become best friends. No better time to start their male bonding than while they’re infants.”

“Of course they’ll be best friends,” Mason says, like it’s a forgone conclusion, kissing me on a cheek. “Gabriel is only a couple of months older than Luke, and, as close as you and JoJo have become in the past few months, the boys aren’t going to have any choice in the matter.”

“Isn’t it odd that we chose names so similar? Do you think Gabe knew I would call our son Luke, and that’s why he told JoJo to name their son Gabriel Lucas?”

Mason shrugs. “I’m not sure. What did JoJo say?”

“She just said that it was the name Gabe wanted her to name their son. He didn’t really give her an explanation.”

“Well, it’s probably better to not overthink things. Sometimes life simply has its coincidences.”

I hear the familiar squeak of one of the chairs on the front porch as it begins to rock back and forth. It’s a sound I’ve been waiting to hear since we returned home.

“No,” Mason says, just before letting me go and stomping out of the kitchen towards the front door. “He can damn well wait until you’re feeling better before expecting you to go gallivanting who knows where with him!”

“Mason, stop!” I yell as my husband reaches out for the doorknob. “Please, let me talk to him first. All you’ll do is make him angry.”

Mason turns to look at me, and I can already see that he’s experiencing that exact emotion right now.

“You are in no condition to go anywhere with him!” Mason says stridently while pointing a finger towards the silhouette outside the window.

“I’ll tell him that.” I walk up to Mason and place a comforting hand on his arm. “Listen, he isn’t going to do anything that will hurt me. I’m sure he’s just here to see how I’m feeling.”

“Then you won’t go anywhere with him? You promise?”

“Yes, I promise.”

Mason’s stance eases slightly. “All right. But if I see him phase you anywhere, I’m coming after you.”

“Ok.” I say, smiling at Mason’s overprotectiveness.

I lean up and give my husband a kiss on the lips. “I’ll go get rid of him before he scares our guests away.”

“I’ll be watching,” Mason warns as he reaches for my jacket on the coat tree by the door. Mason holds the coat open for me. “Put this on. It’s still chilly outside.”

Even in the middle of February, our days are still on the cold side in the Deep South. It even snowed the day Luke was born.

“Oh, wait a minute!” I say, quickly walking back to the kitchen to grab something out of a cabinet by the stove. I stuff my prize into a pocket of my coat and walk back to the front door.

“What did you have to get?” Mason asks out of pure curiosity.

“Can’t say,” I tell him with a wink. “It’s top secret.”

“Should I be worried that you’re keeping secrets from me already?”

I sigh. “No, Mason. Trust me. This one isn’t anything important.”

“That’s how it always starts,” Mason warns me. “He’ll have you keep a small secret for him and work on that until he has you keeping larger secrets from me.”

“Please,” I practically beg. “I can’t have this conversation today. You’re just going to have to trust me.”

“I trust you. I just don’t trust him with you.”

“I’ll be fine,” I say reaching for the doorknob. “I’ll be right back.”

When I go out onto the porch, Lucifer stops rocking in his chair and watches me closely as I sit down in an identical white rocking chair beside him.

I pull out the packet of Twinkies from my coat pocket and toss them onto Lucifer’s lap. He chuckles as he looks at the package of sugary goodness.

“I really shouldn’t,” he says, but stuffs the clear plastic bag into his coat pocket. “But it would be rude not to accept a gift.”

“And we all know you hate being rude.”

Lucifer considers me closely for a moment before saying, “I heard you popped out another son for the mongrel you married, Jessica.”

“Yes,” I reply, deciding to ignore Lucifer’s disparaging remark against my husband, “Mason and I have another son. His name is Luke.”

Lucifer’s eyes narrow, as if he’s noticed something peculiar about me.

“Why do you look so pale?”

“It was a difficult pregnancy and birth,” I explain. “I ended up losing a lot of blood, and it’s taking me longer than I thought it would to recover.”

“You conceived while we were in that alternate reality, didn’t you?” Lucifer asks almost like an accusation.

“Yes, but what does that have to do…”

“Mason couldn’t keep it in his pants for a few weeks?” Lucifer questions hotly. “Didn’t he realize the danger he was putting you in?”

“Danger?” I ask, not quite understanding what Lucifer is talking about. “What danger?”

Lucifer looks angry, but not at me. He simply shakes his head in disgust and says, “Never mind. The danger to you has passed. It’s of no consequence now.”

“Is Luke in any danger?” I ask, not understanding why conceiving him on alternate Earth was a bad thing.

“Like I said,
never mind
. I didn’t come here to talk about your spawn with Mason anyway. I came here to cash in on one of my days with you.”

“I can’t go.”

Lucifer raises an eyebrow at me. “Can’t or won’t?”

“I’m too weak, Lucifer. I need time to rest. If you come back to me in another week or two, I’ll go with you, but not today. Unless these little day excursions of yours are meant to kill me.”

“If I wanted to kill you, Jessica, I would simply snap your neck.”

“Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“Then give me some time to get my strength back. Rafe’s done all he can to heal me. I think my body has just been through too much trauma this past year. It needs some time to heal on its own.”

“I don’t believe Jess is asking for very much, do you, Lucifer?”

Both Lucifer and I look up to see God leaning against one of the posts on my front porch.

“What did she do?” Lucifer questions like he knows me so well. “Pray for you to come and rescue her from me?”

“No,” God replies. “I actually came down to see
you
, My son.”

Lucifer looks more irritated than surprised. “And why in the world would You want to do that?”

“Because I love you,” God says simply. “Is a father not allowed to visit his child from time to time?”

Lucifer quickly stands from his seat.

“I will be back in exactly two weeks,” Lucifer says to me. “Be ready.”

Lucifer phases, and God sighs.

“I take it that didn’t go the way you wanted it to,” I say to God, feeling sorry for Him.

“It never does with that one,” He admits, telling me that this isn’t the first time He has tried to speak with Lucifer. “Mind if I sit down?”

I shake my head as I suddenly feel a pang of guilt.

This is the first time I’ve spoken to God since returning home. He said He wouldn’t come to me until I prayed to Him, but, apparently, even God has limited patience.

“I’m also here because Mason prayed to me,” God informs me. “I know I promised you I wouldn’t come until you asked me to, but Mason is My son. He was worried about you.”

“It’s ok. I should have invited You to come over earlier.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say to You.”

“I sense you’re no longer angry with me about Gabe.”

“No. JoJo and I have had long discussions about what happened. We’ve both decided it’s pointless to blame any one person for his death. She doesn’t blame me, and I can’t blame You. It’s just what had to happen. I think we’ve both made peace with that fact.”

“I’m happy to see that the two of you have become so close in the past few months.”

“It helped that we were both pregnant at basically the same time.”

“Yes, that was a double blessing.”

I pause, because what Lucifer said before God showed up is still troubling me.

“Is there something wrong with Luke?” I ask God. “Lucifer seems to think conceiving him on alternate Earth is what caused me to have such a difficult pregnancy.”

“There is nothing wrong with your son, Jess. He’s perfectly fine.”

I can tell by the look in God’s eyes that He’s holding an important piece of information back from me.

“But there’s something different about him, isn’t there? What aren’t You telling me?”

“As I said, he’s perfectly fine. He will live out a normal, happy life. You have nothing to worry about where he’s concerned.”

It’s the ‘where he’s concerned’ that immediately sends up a red flag.

“What is that supposed to mean, exactly?” I ask, wanting specifics but betting I won’t get them.

“It means he will be fine.”

“Then who isn’t going to be fine?” I press. “Will whatever is wrong with him be passed down to his children?”

“Jess,” God says patiently, “you know I won’t answer questions about the future. Simply place your faith in Me that I know what I’m doing. Trust Me.”

I take in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

“You know You’re really irritating sometimes,” I tell Him honestly.

God smiles. “Yes. I’ve been told that more than once.”

“Can You at least tell me how they’re doing on alternate Earth? Are they rebuilding?”

“It will be a very slow process, but yes, they have started to restore their lives.”

“And what about the Watchers and their children?” I have to ask. “You have to know some of them want to become human. Are You going to give them the opportunity?”

“Yes, I have given some of them the option just like I did on this Earth. Most of them asked for the curse to be lifted from their children, but the majority of the Watchers have decided to wait until the humans are back on their feet before asking for their humanity. Rebuilding their world will be a lot easier if they maintain their angelic capabilities.”

“Even Brand?” I ask, certain he would take God up on His offer of humanity so he could marry Jai Lin.

“Even Brand,” God confirms. “I suspect he will be among the first ones to ask to become human.”

I nod, knowing God is right.

“Are we early,
mon ami
?”

JoJo stands on the porch now with Malcolm by her side, whose hands are gripping the handle of a black and purple infant stroller.

Both God and I stand from our seats.

“No, you’re not too early,” I tell JoJo, thankful that God ran Lucifer off when He did. I didn’t want JoJo to have to deal with Lucifer just because I choose to keep him as a friend.

“It’s good to see you all,” God says, looking down into the stroller where Gabriel is sleeping. “He looks exactly like his father.”

JoJo smiles proudly. “Yes, he truly does. I hope he grows up to be just as handsome.”

“I’m sure he will,” God says with conviction. “And Malcolm, how does it feel to have another little one under your wing?”

“I’m just grateful I can repay Gabe in such a small way,” Malcolm replies. “I promised him I would look after his family, and I intend to do just that.”

“I know you will do an excellent job,” God says with full confidence in Malcolm’s capabilities as a protector. “I should let you all prepare for the arrival of the others.” God turns to me. “Whenever you need Me, just ask.”

“I will,” I promise.

The rest of the afternoon is filled with spending time with my family and friends. Nina asks a multitude of questions of all us mothers, in preparation of her first child with Rafe. They didn’t waste any time once we returned home. Within a week they were married, and a month after that, Nina became pregnant. They were both excited about the birth of their first-born, and their child finally brought Rafe back to the States to live.

Faison and Zack’s son keeps us all on our toes, crawling everywhere and playing with whatever he can get his hands on. Zack made it home just in time for the delivery. I’m not sure if it was just Faison’s time, or if the excitement of having us all back home caused her to go into labor, but two days after our return, their son was born.