Zeev POV
The screeching hit me as soon as I entered the house. Harlee was aggressive and opinionated, sure, but I almost never heard her reach this type of meltdown. Tapping into our link, I realized the only reason I didn't notice it before is because it was the same maelstrom she'd been battling for weeks, ever since we'd rescued her. It had been an undercurrent to our link, a snapping, sizzling pain. Fear and anger Ash and I felt from Harlee all the time, accompanied by bouts of crippling depression that made even me want to curl up in a corner and give up. I had never felt anything like it and Ash and I struggled to stay afloat amidst the emotional pain. To keep her afloat. Only now, now she was unleashing it. Something crashed and I stepped quickly, but cautiously, into the kitchen. Harlee had another dish in her hand and flung it with supernatural force across the room. I looked at her intended victim. Sam. Oh well, that was alright then. I set the groceries down on the counter and calmly began putting away the cold and breakable items before Harlee could reach them. Ducking and weaving calmly around her as she continued to find things to throw. Sam's eyes bugged out at me.
"I HATE you! I would KILL you if I knew how!" Another dish went crashing towards Sam and I ducked her throw. It hit him squarely in the jaw despite his attempts to dodge. I snuck a glance at Harlee as I passed. Ah, she had partially transitioned, Demon eyes glowing, she was drawing strength from that part of herself.
"I can't believe.. I'm STUCK with the person.. THING.. that kidnapped me and tortured me for months, for ETERNITY..." Harlee sobbed. I stepped towards her, intending to comfort her, but she surprised me again by picking up a stool and swinging it at Sam. She growled as he dodged and advanced on him, grabbing a new stool that she continued to swing and stab the legs at him until she began to slow down with exhaustion. Sam deftly took the stool from her and with a resounding slap she struck him across the face.
"I didn't give you PERMISSION to take that from me, did I?" She snapped. Sam looked stunned for a moment, then to both of our surprise, he grabbed Harlee in a hug.
Harlee POV
"What the actual HELL do you think you're doing?" I demanded, my voice coming out muffled with my face pressed against Sam's shirt. There was a subtle shift in his scent and I started to smell brown sugar.
"I'm sorry." Sam released me like he'd been burned. "I suddenly felt compelled, I mean, I thought you needed.. I.. Damn Bonds!" Sam turned on a heel and vanished. Zeev started laughing a full belly laugh behind me.
"What's so funny? I rounded on him.
"Remember, Demons become what their Masters need most. You needed comfort. He was forced to provide it." Zeev laughed harder. "Boy is he in for a shock when he realized this is just the first stage." Zeev wiped at his eyes and held open his arms. I hesitated a moment, but darted to him quickly as tears started to form in my eyes.
"Mistress?" Ash asked quietly, coming up behind us. Zeev was holding me against his chest, and I felt Ash's cool hands rubbing circles on my back to try to calm and soothe me. Answering my unspoken question, Zeev scooped me up and carried me to the bedroom, wrapping me in a blanket, he and Ash laying on either side of me, maintaining contact. Sands appeared and sat on the foot of the bed.
"Harlee, would you like my help?" Sands asked softly. "I could hear your soul crying out to me across the earth." I sat up swiftly and grabbed Sands in a hug too, pulling him down beside us. I could feel Sands' comfort wrapping around me like a blanket, but I was still so angry and upset.
"Shh Harlee. Just let go of that for now." Sands said softly. He rubbed gentle fingers up and down my forehead soothingly. He propped himself up on one arm, his light blue eyes gazing into mine as his long, nearly white hair fell like a curtain around us. Ash cuddled closer to me as Sands' fingers traced down my nose and over my lips. Hesitating for a moment on my lower lip as if contemplating what to do. My tears started to slow, but the hollow ache in my chest persisted. The one that said I should just give up. Sands' fingers ran over my chin and traced my sternum, resting over my heart. I felt Zeev gently gripping my fingers.
"Here Harlee? Is this where the hole in your heart is? Sands asked softly. I felt my eyes tear up again and nodded. Sands hesitated a moment more, but then I felt a gentle pressure on my chest as Sands leaned in, placing his lips against my own. I gasped at the sudden intrusion. I was kissing a freaking Angel! Sands insistently pressed his tongue against my lips as the pressure on my chest increased. I tried to turn my head to cough, but Sands swallowed the cough, sucking in the air I breathed out like it was life itself. My eyes widened, I tried to break free again to ask him what he was doing, but another cough started to itch in the back of my through, building up, threatening to choke me. I nearly gagged on it as it came out, harsh and wracking. Sands' free hand gripped my face and he inhaled greedily. I felt like he should be stealing all the air from my lungs. One more cough burst free from me and he swallowed that one too before licking my lips and kissing me gently, the pressure on my chest decreasing as Sands laid his forehead between my breasts.
"What.. did you do?" I rasped at Sands. My throat felt dry, but there was something else, overall I felt.. different..
"I took away some of your pain." Murmured Sands into my shirt. "It's not permanent. It's like taking the pressure off a geyser. It'll build back up, but for now, you'll be ok." Sands heaved a breath and Zeev kissed my temple gently.
"We just couldn't lose you." Zeev whispered softly, and I blinked back more tears.
Zeev POV
I caressed Harlee's abdomen. It was good to see her finally gaining weight. She mumbled something about not enough diapers in her sleep and I grinned. Ash walked in with a lollipop.
"So are you getting excited yet Poppa?" Ash asked and plopped down at the foot of the bed.
"I share Harlee's concerns. I can feel the Nephilim, but it has not tried to reach out to me. And it is far to still." I frowned.
"We can ask Sands to check it again." Ash suggested softly.
"It would just concern Harlee even more." I answered, rubbing her stomach gently. "Let's not worry her just yet." The small bulge was similar in size to the cantaloupe she loved so much. I kissed it gently and heard Harlee's sigh of contentment.
Harlee POV
I was alone for the first time since being rescued when I woke up and momentarily panicked. I jumped up as quickly as I could, calling for Zeev, Ash and Sands, only to have my head start to feel dizzy and my ears ring. My vision narrowed as blankness crowded in on the edges and with a thump, I hit the ground. There was a jerk from inside me that felt foreign and weird. I clutched the sides of my stomach in fear, rolling onto my side. Did I hurt he baby? There was a flurry of movement an then nothing. Zeev and Ash burst in the door. Zeev took in my tearful express.
"I think I hurt him!" I cried out, wrapping myself around my stomach.
"Oh baby, you couldn't have." Zeev picked me up gently and cuddled me to his chest. "He's a Nephilim, they're almost impossible to kill." Ash was walking beside us and sat on the couch as Zeev entered the living room, motioning for Zeev to place me in their lap. Zeev did and sat down beside Ash, smoothing my hair as Ash kissed my temple.
"Nephilim are half Angel, remember sweetheart? They have regenerative properties. It's ok." Ash murmured against my skin.
"But I fell-"
"It's ok." Ash soothed.
"Oh for fuck's sake-give her to me." Sam snapped.
"No." I glared.
"Next to Sands and Zeev, I'm the best one to check on the Nephilim. I'm a God damned Fallen Angel of Death. I do souls and death for a living, darling." Sam said scathingly.
"He has a point." Ash murmured softly.
"But!" I protested as I was handed over. Sam's hands were surprisingly gentle. He cuddled me in one arm, the other placed gently against my abdomen.
"The Nephilim's fine, you just startled it. It was in a sort of sleep state caused by..." Sam's jaw clenched. "..the abuse your body suffered. The Angel side was dormant, but it's awake now.." Sam hissed and withdrew a burning palm. "And very, very angry."