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The arms around her were a comfort, but at the same time, they were also just making things worse. Nonetheless, Jody turned slightly, just enough to lean in and cuddle up against the angel holding her. When Anna brought out the wings, Jody gave up and just let the sobs come. There was no fighting them anymore.
Anna held her, letting her get everything out until she was out of tears. “You’ve heard the news, then? They plan to sign the peace treaty?”
“Yeah.” Jody reached up and wiped at her face. “Which, don’t get me wrong, I know it’s the right call. We all fought for what we believed in, but it’s reached a point where there’s no hope. All continuing to fight to the last soldier will do is guarantee that we lose everything instead of holding on to what we still have.”
“I’m glad you’ve accepted that,” Anna said softly, holding her tighter. She seemed startled when Jody discovered she was not yet done with the tears. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… the war’s over,” Jody tried to explain. Anna didn’t get it, so Jody forced a shaky deep breath and tried again. “You said you would stay here until I didn’t need you anymore… and now the war’s over. I’m… yeah, it always takes a few weeks for orders to make their way through chains of command, and soldiers sometimes hear the orders and decide they want to get a few last licks in before they obey, but… it won’t be much longer before you…”
Anna reached up and ran her fingers through Jody’s short hair, gently scratching the scalp. It sent a shiver through her. “I never meant that I would leave when the war ended, Jody. Close your eyes.”
Jody did. Anna’s forehead touched hers, and Jody found herself watching the scene from years earlier.
Jody was running before the body hit the ground. She threw herself on him, but she knew as she did it that it was too late, that Sean was gone and she was a widow. The tears came, and she reached for the gun. “Dammit, Sean, what were you doing out here with this? You were supposed to stay hidden!”
Jody was the soldier. She was the one who was supposed to be fighting off the battalion invading their planet. Sean was supposed to be with their son, Owen, keeping him safe. If Sean was here, then Owen had to be… couldn’t be…
She picked up the gun and stared at it. The soldiers nearby were still in battle. She should be. But she couldn’t. “I can’t do this, Sean, not without you and Owen. I… forgive me, but…” She checked the gun – empty. That was okay. The battle was still going on. She could get up and go find one of the Imperial soldiers invading her world. They wouldn’t…
“Be not afraid.”
Jody turned, throwing a hand up to shield her eyes from the glow in front of her. “Finish me off. Please.”
“No.” The glowing being held out a hand. “You mustn’t give up, Jody Mills. You are still needed.”
Jody shook her head. “By who? Sean’s dead. Owen’s…”
“Sean instructed your son to hide when the soldiers came. He came here to hold them off, to give Owen a chance not to be found.” The hand inched forward slightly, and Jody reached for it. “I can take you to Owen, if you like.”
Jody hesitated, hand inches from the glowing one. “I can’t just abandon the war. The Empire, they’re… they’re horrible. They’ll destroy us.”
“If the Empire wins, things will change a great deal. That is true. However, you have more to think about. You have your son, Jody Mills. If you return to your army, continue to fight… what will happen to Owen?”
Jody shuddered. Owen would be taken by Imperial soldiers, if he wasn’t killed. The best case was that he would be given to an Imperial family and raised indoctrinated in their ways. The worst case… she could prevent. All she had to do was live. “What are you?”
“I’m an Angel of the Lord.” The glow intensified as giant wings unfurled behind the glowing being. “I’m here for you, Jody. I will be as long as you need me.”
“You’ll notice my wording,” Anna whispered to Jody now, in the present. “I said nothing about the war. I am here, as long as you need me. If these tears are because you think I’m leaving, now that there’s peace, then it seems you still need me.”
“I do,” Jody whispered back. “Owen and I… if I have to raise him alone, I can. Don’t you… you never did tell me what was so important about me or Owen that you intervened. If God can’t interfere to protect the planet, how much less is one or two people?”
“God didn’t send me. I came on my own.” Anna gave her a wry smile. “Like you, I found myself in a losing war where I could win a small battle that felt more important to me. I’m… a poor excuse for an angel. We’re supposed to be above petty things, focused only on God’s will and the big ineffable plan. I couldn’t live like that, and when I felt your pain screaming out to me, I realized what I had to do. I couldn’t keep fighting against my nature or the orders I was given by Heaven, but I could save you and Owen.”
“Why me? I’m not the only person who lost someone and didn’t realize everything I had to live for despite that. Even if Owen had been dead, others lost just as much.”
“And here’s where I admit that I’ve asked myself that same question every day for the past six years,” Anna said slowly. “I heard prayers from so many others. I heard, and I grieved, and I did was I was supposed to do. I honestly don’t know what it was about you that I couldn’t ignore, that made it impossible for me to turn away and grieve and continue my war.”
“If you ever figure it out, let me know? And in the meantime… look, I don’t…” Jody stopped to get her tongue and her brain on the same page. “I still need you. It feels like I’ll need you the rest of my life. I love you, and I don’t want to lose you. Is that okay?”
“That’s perfect.” Anna leaned in, gently kissing Jody. “I am completely okay with being beside you as long as you live.”