If You Don't Love Me...

"Welcome back, old man." James' smile was as wicked as his soul, if not as tired.

His charge, Caleb, coughed against the rising tide of white cloud that pressed jealously against the blackness of his outfit. "That," He said, "Is the last time I fall in love...this century."

"All the better," James cooed, as they tried for a sense of balance on the infirm flooring beneath him. They strolled aimlessly across the floor of purgatory, unsure of their purpose at this level of the game.

They were, inevitably, waiting for Ed.

James tried to avert his eyes from the brightness that enveloped his form. Doggedly, he looked down, while his charge looked up and around.

There was the constant possibility that Caleb still retained the good, decent part of his soul. Disagreeable business, that.

"Bloody bastard," James grunted, shifting his stance. "Make me wait around up here. At least down there they serve a nice Magma '47..."

"Ah, James," Announced Ed, entering the twosome's frame of sight, "Caleb. So nice of you to finally answer my summons....Four months late!"

"The boy has an excuse," James pointed out, "He was busy downstairs, pursuing young Olivia."

"Ah yes, young Olivia...I hope she enjoys her stay in that mental institution..." Snorted Ed.

"Oh, you're just in a snit because..." James' face pallored, "Oh, that's right. You won that bet."

"Yes. Rafe and Alison decided on a fall wedding." Ed seemed just a hair too smug for James' liking; "Now, you might want to know why I've called the two of you here..."

"Yes," James seemed rather amused by the entire situation, "Before my allergy to angeldust begins kicking up."

"I'll be short: lover-boy here apparently showed evidence of a soul down there on terra firmer-"

"Merely a miscalculation!" James bleated.

"And, until the darker section of his soul was wiped out, he seemed, how should I put this...as though he might just have a balanced personality in there?" He waited for Caleb to deny his assertion, but the young brunette said nothing.

"I..." He shook his head, "Do you want me to admit I felt something for Olivia? You would need to be blind not to see that."

"Not just Olivia; Eve, as well as her child." Ed concluded.

Caleb stared sullenly at Ed's forehead, "I can't do that."

"Kid, you can't fool me," Ed crossed his arms, wrinkling his designer business suit ever so subtly. "Or the Big Guy."

"Ohh," James groaned, feigning a headache, "Not Him again..."

"Yes, Him again." Ed smirked, "He's sent down some orders and we're going to follow them."

"I'm afraid to ask exactly what it wants from me." James crossly remarked.

"Well, my friend, you're going to play the devil's advocate," He looked to Caleb, "It has everything to do with him."

Caleb glanced up from his feet, "I'm going back to Olivia?" He asked.

"I'm afraid not. In fact, you're being sent as far away from Port Charles as possible," Ed announced, "For your own good. Unless you'd prefer a lynching."

Caleb held up a palm, "I screwed things up there. Going back would make things worse."

"Good, then you agree with me," His eyes narrowed, "This is your last chance, Caleb. If you can show us one iota of humanity, then we'll let you go."

"To see Olivia?" He repeated.

Ed shook his head, "I can't promise you anything. But this would be your best chance." Ed pointed to a door that had suddenly materialized several steps away from them. "All you have to do is walk through that door."

Caleb paused, then, decisively, marched toward the door.

"You're making a big mistake, old friend." James intoned.

Caleb paused in the door frame, "It's the only chance I have to see Olivia again." He explained, before departing through he door.

James remained where he stood, shaking his head. What had the world come to?!

"Can I pour you a Magma '48?" Ed asked, sounding bemused. "We're going to be here for quite awhile."

James grunted, accepting the goblet, all the while musing to himself that the beverage tasted more like angel spit when he imbibed in heaven.

****

Torrie Wilson straightened her baseball cap as rain pelted her SUV's windshield. She tore down the dirt road at an alarmingly fast pace, cursing every bump as she jarred upward. She was on her way back from a convention in Jersey.

She and Matt had, naturally, gone through another spat and he decided that he'd prefer heading to the next show with Jeff. She, using her innate knowledge of back roads, was making great time; soon she would hit a fork in the road, which should take her to the town's main drag...leading to the interstate.

Well, at least it was proving to be a quiet, uneventful evening. She calmly sipped her Chai tea and stared out into the driving rain.

Until a naked man fell from the sky a few inches before her front bumper.


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