Baby Please Come Home / set before PROLOGUE

Alisabeth Mateo wasn't one to punch people in the face for knocking on her door, but she'd made an exception when she realized who was standing there. A young girl, who Alisabeth hadn't noticed at the time of her knockout punch, stood wide-eyed and looking down at the blonde angel, who slowly made his way back to his feet.

"Where the hell have you been?" Alisabeth asked, staring at the angel as if she were seeing a ghost. Her dark eyes were dressed with fright, because the last she'd heard of him was from his brother, telling her that he had died. Her skin was the colour of driftwood on a thin but muscular frame. Alisabeth rarely wore makeup and that day was no exception, her hair was tied up into a bun that was clear she had slept with it in and hadn't fixed it.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Gabriel ran his thumb along his lip, looking for blood. A bad habit he'd developed from when he was human the first time.

"You've got to stop leaving then."

"Believe me," Gabriel said, "I know there's nothing I can say that will make anything better, and I sure as hell don't deserve your forgiveness. But, Alis—"

Gabriel was cut off as Alisabeth lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. Because while she was furious, he was back. And, in that moment, that was all that mattered.

While she knew she'd hit something dense and physically in front of her when she punched him, her embrace was unwavering. Like she was afraid if she let him go, he'd leave again. Gabriel's arms slowly wrapped around her, like he was praying she wouldn't let him go either. Alisabeth's body shook from trying to hold back any tears that threatened to come out, her hand finding its way to the nape of his neck. Alisabeth wouldn't let Gabriel see her cry, not on his behalf or anyone else's. It wasn't in her nature, no matter how much she loved him.

"I thought you were dead," Alisabeth whispered. The cold metal of her wristwatch sent chills down Gabriel's spine.

"I was," Gabriel managed. "I have so much to tell you, but that's not why I'm here."

Alisabeth pulled away, despite every fiber of her being telling her to continue holding Gabriel. He stepped to the side, looking at the young girl that he'd brought with him. Tangled blonde hair, eyes so bloodshot it was as if they were tattooed crimson. Malnourished only began to describe the girl's petite frame, the sight of her almost brought Alisabeth's held back tears flooding down her cheeks.

"Come on in, I was just making dinner," Alisabeth stepped out of the way of the door, motioning for Gabriel and the girl to join her. Shutting the door, she walked back into her kitchen. Luckily, Dean had called her and said they had a case and couldn't make it to dinner, but Alisabeth had already started making it, so there was enough for her and the young girl, with plenty to spare.

Gabriel led the girl to where he knew Alisabeth's living room was. Vaguely, Alisabeth could hear the two of them talking, the girl trying to find out where they were and who Alisabeth was. Alisabeth waited for her stove to beep, and carefully placed her chicken on the rack to roast. Pulling off her oven mitts, Alisabeth made her way into the living room.

"Listen up, Goldilocks, she can take care of you. Cas, Eli, and I can't and I think we've proven that by this point," Gabriel was whispering, but his tone was that of shouting—urgent and needing to be listened to.

"I'm not a take a penny, leave a penny that you can ditch pass around as much as you want. I thought you were going to help me get back home," the girl replied, tone begging to be listened to as much as Gabriel's. "Look, she seems like a nice lady, and it's clear you got some illegal angel romance thing going on, but this wasn't the deal. I held that bitch in me for months waiting for you to help me, and I still haven't seen your side of the bargain held up. That's on you, dickweed."

Alisabeth leaned on the wall as she fully entered the room, crossing her arms slightly as she frowned. "One of you needs to tell me what's going on," she spoke clearly. Her voice didn't have to beg to be heard, it just was. Alisabeth looked at the man she loved, "I vote Gabriel."

Gabriel swallowed hard, "It's a long story."

Alisabeth held her hands out to her side, "Chicken's roasting. I've got time." She looked to the girl, stepping forward slightly, "I'm Alisabeth, by the way. You can call me Al."

The girl smiled slightly. Lips pressed together, like she meant kindness, but also knew that Alisabeth had heard her fighting with Gabriel, "Leila," she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Leila," Alisabeth smiled. She looked at Gabriel again, pressing her lips together as if she were trying to fight the words that wanted to escape. "Look, before you tell me this long story, I gotta ask..."

Gabriel swallowed hard once again, "Anything."

"Is... Is she a Nephilim?" Alisabeth asked. She cleared her throat, running her finger quickly along her cupid's bow like she wanted to wipe the words away from her lips, but also wanted to keep herself from puking. "Is she... your Nephilim?"

Gabriel scoffed, "What? Alis, no. Not in a million years."

"Can I ask what a Nephilim is?" Leila asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You're sure?" Alisabeth asked, "I mean, you have to see the similarities between you."

"Did you give birth to her, Alis?" Gabriel asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Don't think I'd be introducing myself to someone I gave birth to, Gabe," Alisabeth replied, drawing in a deep breath. Saying the word Nephilim had sucked the air from her lungs. She knew Gabriel was immortal, that she was just one of the many likely to have been with him over his millennia. Despite her knowledge, it still hurt her to think that Gabriel had been with anyone else when she was right there.

Gabriel smiled sadly, "Then she's not mine, Al." Alisabeth looked at the ground, trying to hide her smile, and her relief.

"Um..." Leila raised her hand, "Nephilim? Definition? Are you guys calling me names in foreign languages?"

Alisabeth laughed, "A Nephilim is the offspring of an angel and a human. You and Gabriel act so much alike, look so much alike, I had to ask."

"And you—" Leila looked at Gabriel, her eyes wide, "You reacted like that? Jesus, don't sound so ungrateful. You'd be lucky to have me as your Niffler."

"Nephilim," Alisabeth corrected, smiling. "And damn right he'd be lucky."

Leila crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Gabriel, smiling at her triumph. Alisabeth laughed as she watched Gabriel's face drop.

"Excuse you, Mateo," Gabriel replied, trying to hide his smile.

"Suck it up, archangel," Alisabeth smiled. "You'll get premature wrinkles if you scrunch yourself up anymore."

"I look good for being millennia old, thank you very much," Gabriel said, unable to hide his smile from Alisabeth.

Alisabeth chuckled, looking back to Leila—who looked mortified; like she'd just seen her parents making out, or worse. "Sweetie, how about you go get some different clothes on? Wash up a bit before dinner while Gabriel tells me the story?" Alisabeth pointed in the direction of her staircase, "Up the stairs, first door to the left is my room, you can help yourself to anything in there."

Leila nodded, fine with any excuse to get her away from Alisabeth and Gabriel's flirting. "Alright, um, thanks... Al." She headed in the direction of the stairs, her footsteps heading up the steps quickly. From the sound of it, she was taking them two at a time.

"Alright, start talking," Alisabeth faced Gabriel, crossing her arms. "Where'd you find a starving teenage girl and why in the hell are you leaking grace all over my living room floor?"

"God, Alis," Gabriel sighed, knitting his eyebrows together, "Where do I even start?"

*****

Despite Alisabeth's plead for Gabriel to stay, she hadn't seen him in weeks. Understanding that there was more to what was going on than what Leila knew, Alisabeth knew she couldn't complain. She just hoped that Gabriel had found a way to get his grace back in his body, because he wasn't going to survive as a human—though in reality, Alisabeth wouldn't mind it. Once Gabriel had told Alisabeth the details she needed to know about what was happening with Leila, Alisabeth understood her role. Get Leila back to health, then back to the Winchesters, who could end this once and for all. (Alisabeth had strained her vocal chords yelling at Gabriel for not telling the Winchesters; her boys could've handled it, and Saint Dymphna wouldn't have been unleashed to some unknown part of the world.)

It was December, about eight days before Christmas started and the first day of Hanukkah. Alisabeth had already brought out her menorah, having shined it as soon as she and Leila had talked about what Leila celebrated for the holidays. The Shammash had already been lit, ready to light the eight days' worth of candles on the rest of the menorah. Alisabeth had offered to let Leila be the designated person to light each candle, but Leila had bargained to make it so that she and Alisabeth each lit four.

It hadn't taken long for Leila to trust Alisabeth. Maybe three days before her regular appearance in whatever room Alisabeth was in happened. Leila didn't have any personal belongings, so Alisabeth always made sure her study with all her books was open so that Leila could help herself to anything she wanted to read. Leila would sit quietly in the corner of any room Alisabeth happened to be in, it didn't matter if it was the study or the kitchen, the dining room or the living room. The books changed every so often; Leila would read anything. Lore books, fantasy books, books Alisabeth had inherited from Bobby's house, and books she'd taken from her old home. More than once, Alisabeth saw Leila had her old copy of The Outsiders that Alisabeth had read religiously when she was younger. In the few weeks they'd spent together, Leila had read the entirety of S.E. Hinton's novel six times; at least, that was the amount Alisabeth had noticed.

The first few days with Leila in the house, Alisabeth had gone to the grocery store as if she were feeding Dean Winchester. Considering she hadn't eaten much in months—Leila had revealed that to Alisabeth after sheepishly apologizing for being so hungry, to which Alisabeth had told her to eat as much as she wanted, and that it made no difference to her—Leila was doing well. She was beginning to slow down on the eating, having caught up from her malnourishment from hosting Saint Dymphna. (Alisabeth would never let Gabriel hear the end of that—the dumbass.)

Leila didn't talk much, spare the thank you's Alisabeth received during mealtimes and the odd question about a book, or how to pronounce a creature in the lore books she was reading. Slowly, Leila was coming out of her shell.

"Al?" Leila asked quietly, from her seat on the floor. While Alisabeth had plenty of chairs to spare. She had looked up from a book on werewolves, one that she'd been reading for the past couple days.

"Yes?" Alisabeth asked, smiling kindly.

"I..." Leila paused, pulling her lips to the side of her face as she tried to think of the words she wanted to say. "I saw some paints in a room, the other day... I-I wasn't snooping or anything, just kind of wandering cause you were out at the store and I got bored, and, I mean it's fine if you say no, but I was wondering if I could, you know..." Leila trailed off, wincing at her unfinished sentence.

"If you could borrow it?" Alisabeth finished, Leila nodded. "Course, anytime. Help yourself, it's all yours."

Leila smiled, "Thanks."

Alisabeth knew Leila was going to be quiet, Gabriel had warned her that once she got used to Alisabeth, she was going to have a hard time keeping her quiet. Frankly, Alisabeth hoped she broke through that barrier soon; her house was far too quiet most days. Sam and Dean occasionally popped by, but Alisabeth—against her better judgement, but under Gabriel's request—had told them she was going to be working a case until further notice. This was to keep them away from the house and, as a more pressing matter, keep them in the dark about Leila and what had been happening the last few months. They would find out soon enough, it just needed to be timed properly. Gabriel had promised that Alisabeth would not be to blame for keeping her boys in the dark, because she couldn't bear to hurt them.

The two had a small, quiet dinner. Cauliflower soup sat on the stovetop, freshly baked bread in the oven, with Alisabeth's brownies baking on the rack below. Leila stood at the edge of the counter, carefully cutting vegetables to go in the spinach salad that Alisabeth was making. While Alisabeth had never asked for Leila's help in preparing dinner, she knew that the teenager needed to focus on specific tasks to try and escape the flashbacks her brain was constantly serving her.

A loud bang sounded from upstairs, Leila and Alisabeth exchanging wide-eyed looks.

"Behind me," Alisabeth said, still managing to look reading to kick ass in her red and white striped apron caked with flour from making bread dough.

Leila obliged, sliding in behind Alisabeth. Heart thumped against her ribcage, Leila felt like she was going to be sick. If something like Saint Dymphna was upstairs, ready to prey on her and Alisabeth, she wasn't sure how much more wear her brain could take.

The two carefully made their way up the stairs, Alisabeth pulling a gun from the back of her pants—Leila would have been more frightened if she hadn't gotten used to Sam and Dean Winchester doing exactly the same thing most of the times they were out looking for demons. Banging continued, Alisabeth had already identified it as in Leila's bedroom, down the hall from her own.

Leading with the gun, Alisabeth slammed her hand on the light switch. A shrill scream sounded, almost causing Alisabeth to take a step back. But she had to stand still for Leila, because she was the only barrier between the disturbance and the teenager.

In front of Alisabeth's worn oaken dresser stood a tall man—if Alisabeth wasn't mistaken (and she rarely was), the man was about Sam's height. He had a thick onyx beard and a guilty expression dressed his lips. He wore a white button-up tucked into white dress pants, with tan sandals on his feet. A white kippah with gold trim around the edges sat on his raven coloured hair, with dozens of wristwatches lining his arms.

In his tawny hands were two of Alisabeth's prized possessions. One was a small gold chain that Dean had given her when he was younger. Alisabeth hadn't been thrilled that he wouldn't tell her where he got it, but she wore it nearly daily all the same. The other was a silver locket, one Sam had got her to celebrate him getting into Stanford (which she was bewildered that he thought that merited a gift for her). It had a small picture of Sam and Dean next to each other, with Bobby smiling and standing above them and Alisabeth on the floor, being hugged by the three of them.

"Put those down now," Alisabeth demanded, making a motion to her drawer with her gun. "You have three seconds to identify yourself, or your balls go first. One."

"Don't shoot!" The man yelled, immediately dropping the jewelry back into the drawer. "I can explain."

"Two," Alisabeth spoke clearly. "Safety's already off."

"Maccabee!" the man said, "Judah Maccabee, that's me. Hi."

"Judas priest," Alisabeth mumbled under her breath, lowering her weapon. "Judah Maccabee?"

"In the flesh... vessel, yeah," Judah managed an awkward smile. "Hi."

"The Hanukkah guy? Led the Jewish into battle?" Leila's eyes were wide. She'd seen too much in her short lifetime already, and yet even something like seeing Judah Maccabee standing in front of her blew her mind.

"That's me. I also like to take credit for that Dusty Springfield song, but I don't tend to advertise that as much as your two," Judah replied. He clapped his hands together, wrists clinking as gold and silver watches and bracelets crashed together, "Look, I'm just going to head out. Sorry for the trouble."

"Wait," Alisabeth said, "You were stealing from me."

"Trying to," Judah nodded. "Yeah. Sorry."

"But you're supposed to be the savior. The rescuer. The one who led us to freedom," Alisabeth replied, frowning. "Not some petty thief."

"Kleptomaniac," Judah replied, as if it explained everything. "Developed the habit over the ages. Didn't mean to, I just got bored one day and needed the same adrenalin rush I got during the war."

"Mater dei," Alisabeth spoke softly. "You're a kleptomaniac?"

"And you like to repeat things, don't you?" Judah asked, "And I wasn't a mother of a God, I was the son of a preacher man. Are you too young to understand my Dusty Springfield jokes? What a shame, those were brilliant while they lasted."

Leila raised her hand, "I understood it."

"Brilliant, I like you," Judah grinned, his black eyes lighting up. "Glad it's not old hat just yet. I can still get a couple good uses out of old Dusty."

Leila smiled to herself, trying to hide it considering how angry Alisabeth looked at Judah. Alisabeth sighed, "You're avoiding the conversation."

"Well I'm sorry that I don't particularly enjoy talking about my stealing habits, thank you very much," Judah replied. "Look, I'll be out of your hair, and on my way. I have other houses to visit and only eight more days to do so."

"You're not stealing from anyone else, what the hell is wrong with you?" Alisabeth asked.

"Adrenalin junkie," Judah replied. He grabbed his earlobe, and shook it, "You need to listen better, Ms. Mateo. Blimey, I've repeated myself a lot today."

"How do you know my name?" Alisabeth asked.

"Cause you were on the list for this year," Judah replied. He snapped his fingers and a list appeared in his hand. "You were day one of Hanukkah so that I could get some good stuff first. And I figured I wouldn't trip over your set of drawers, but sometimes there are bumps in the road."

Alisabeth snatched the list from Judah's hand, the parchment crinkling. "Household residence, Alisabeth Mateo and Leila Connors. Necklaces, top drawer."

Leila's head perked up, "Wait, me too?"

"Won't be taking anything from you, considering what's yours is hers. But yeah," Judah grinned, "You're on the list."

"I'm on the list," Leila grinned. "Cool."

"Hell yeah you are, gimme some," Judah held his hand up, waiting for a high five. Leila smiled, obliging with a satisfying slap.

"Are we just not going to talk about what's actually happening here?" Alisabeth asked as she crossed her arms, the gun still in her hand.

"Look, it's like this, Al..." Judah paused, "Can I call you Al?"

"No," Alisabeth replied.

"Alright, Al...isabeth," Judah added quickly. "When the war was over, and after the eight days, the Hanukkah miracle, et cetera," Judah spoke as if what had happened hadn't shaped Jewish people for the rest of time. Like the eight days of Hanukkah weren't some of the most important days of the year. As if Judah weren't honoured that there was over a week celebrating him and his battalion. "I had been granted deity status by the big guy," Judah pointed upwards, though both women were already clear on who the big guy was, "And over the millennia, it got a bit boring. Being immortal is not what it's cut out to be, let me tell you."

"So you developed a hobby," Alisabeth continued, cutting the deity off.

"Exactly," Judah pointed to Alisabeth like a gameshow host, his various wristwatches clanging against each other. "Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner."

"You know," Leila said, "Most people when they want a hobby read or paint or something. You immediately went to stealing things?"

"I was born in 191, and that's BC, dear, not AD. I'd be bored to death if I had to paint for all these years," Judah rolled his eyes like the very idea was killing him inside.

"Then you haven't been doing the right painting, Judah," Leila replied. "All due respect."

"I helped Vincent van Gogh discover his love for painting. Leonardo da Vinci found his creativity learning from me. I was the one who taught Adolf Hitler how to paint," Judah paused. "Okay, that last one was a bad example, but I'm pretty sure I know how to paint properly."

"Not the Connors way, you don't," Leila grinned. "Al, do we still have those tarps in the backyard?"

"Yeah," Alisabeth wasn't sure what was about to happen, but frankly, anything that kept Judah from stealing was fine in her books.

*****

On the final day of Hanukkah, Judah was still at the Mateo-Connors residence.

Alisabeth had been out twice to buy more canvases, paints, and balloons. The tarps outside were covered in paint splatter, not that Alisabeth paid any mind to it. At around ten each morning, Leila and Judah would go outside and fill balloons with paint. And until around five at night, they would throw paint balloons at their canvases in various colours to do what Leila called 'splat painting.' To get Judah his adrenalin rush that he craved and keep him from popping off somewhere to steal his followers' belongings, Leila and him would occasionally just run around the yard and throw the balloons at each other—on more than one occasion, Leila had been sent to the shower with vibrant green hair, or Judah with a flaming orange forehead. Albeit messy, Judah and Leila had found a way to feed his adrenalin habit, while keeping belongings safe from the deity.

For the final day of Hanukkah, Alisabeth had been preparing her brisket all day long. While they had a large feast on Shabbat, the last day was always Alisabeth's favourite, and that year was no exception. Nearing dinner time, Leila had prepared the shredded potatoes, onions, eggs, flour, and seasonings and fried them up for traditional latkes. Judah hadn't taken the traditional route but had magicked up some sufganiot for a delicious jelly donut dessert for his part of preparing for their dinner. Judah had also magicked up some cheese with smoked salmon and some other foods for the dairy platter.

As the three were placing everything on the table, a knock was heard at the door. Alisabeth frowned, wiping her hands on her candy cane apron. She walked over to the door, opening it slowly.

"I don't need to dodge a fist, do I?"

"Gabe?"

Gabriel had had better days. His cheeks were shallow, sweat beaded on his forehead. Skin paler than normal, but he was still Gabriel. "Look, it took a lot to get Cas to drop me here," Gabriel said, smiling weakly. Alisabeth was a sight for sore eyes—sore everything, really. While Gabriel's grace did regenerate, there was still a small fountain pouring from where his pinky should have been. "Can I at least get a hug, please?"

Alisabeth smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You can have more than that if you want."

Gabriel nodded, resting his hands on her waist, "I'd like that."

Gabriel smiled as Alisabeth leaned in for their first kiss in far, far too long. Footsteps came from behind the happy couple.

"Al? Dinner's—oh. Sorry," Leila said softly.

"Ah, young love," Judah said, smiling.

Alisabeth pulled away, smiling. "We're hardly young, Judah."

"If you don't know who Dusty Springfield is, you're too young," Judah replied. He jut a thumb out in Leila's direction, "Only she's the old one."

"Hey!" Leila exclaimed, "I'm only seventeen."

"Old soul," Judah explained, nodding as he held his hand out for Leila to high five it. Leila shrugged and obliged.

"Well," Alisabeth said, "I know Gabe doesn't eat, but—"

"Actually, been feeling more... human, lately. Is it alright if I join?" Gabriel asked. Alisabeth tried to hide the worry on her face, but evidently hadn't done the best job. Gabriel leaned in close to her, "I'll be alright, Cas is looking for a way to fix it right now."

Alisabeth bit her lip and nodded, "Let's eat."

The meal was full of laughter, despite Alisabeth looking at Gabriel occasionally, to make sure he was doing alright. Despite losing more grace by the minute, Gabriel's smile never left his lips. Leila ate, and ate, brisket, cheese, latkes, there was no semblance of the girl Alisabeth had met weeks before. Judah grinned, helping himself to his magicked sufganiot.

It felt peaceful; like the toils of the world couldn't harm them, at least for the night. They wined, dined, and ate until their belts wanted to burst. After clearing the table, Alisabeth, Gabriel, and Judah headed to the living room to set up the dreidel, Leila claiming she had to use the bathroom.

Walking back down the stairs, Leila held something behind her back. She went into the living room, biting her lip nervously. "Al?"

"Yes, sweetie?" Alisabeth looked at the teenager, smiling.

"Look, I know it's not a lot, and your money got used to get it," Leila began, revealing what was behind her back. "But I just wanted to say thanks for letting me stay here and taking care of me. It's been a while since I've felt like there's a place I belong."

"Oh, you didn't have to do anything for me, Leila. And you're welcome to stay as long as you like," Alisabeth sat forwards, taking what was in Leila's hands into her own.

A canvas was painted orange, with the silhouettes of two boys standing near a falling chain link fence. A tall tree disappeared into the corners of the canvas, a bed of grass blanketing the bottom. Alisabeth smiled, recognizing the scene immediately. After all, S.E. Hinton had been talked about a lot in the last couple weeks, and that sunset scene was one of Alisabeth's favourites in the movie.

"Johnny and Ponyboy on the farm," Alisabeth said softly, smiling, "That's going up on the wall just as soon as I go buy some nails. Thank you."

Alisabeth rose from the couch, giving the teenager a hug. Leila smiled wide, relieved that Alisabeth had liked it. Gabriel stood up, smiling slightly.

"There's something for you, too, Goldilocks. I didn't just come here for some damn good brisket," Gabriel said, causing Alisabeth to give him a curious look.

"Wait, really?" Leila asked. "You didn't have to."

"I know, but I figured you needed a friendly face to keep around. I know Alis can get grumpy some days," Gabriel teased, receiving an elbow to the stomach from Alisabeth, who laughed softly. "Come on," Gabriel tilted his head motioning to the front door, and walked outside, with the trio of others following close behind.

Leila heard it before she saw it, "No way."

Gabriel smiled, "Happy Hanukkah, Goldie."

Leila kneeled as a German Shepard ran up to her, licking her face when it got close enough to. "Oh my god, this is the best!" Leila exclaimed as she ran her hands through its fur, her smile never leaving her face. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Gabriel smiled.

"Do I get to name..." Leila paused awkwardly, looking under the belly of the dog, "her?"

"Anything you want," Gabriel replied. "She's yours."

"I'm thinking McFly," Leila said, the Shepard barking in response. "You like that, girl? Who's a good McFly?"

Alisabeth smiled, casually leaning her head on Gabriel's shoulder. "This totally beats the Outsiders DVD I bought her," she joked.

Gabriel chuckled, "It's from you too, Alis. She was a mother of three, the puppies all got adopted before her. Reminded me of you."

Alisabeth kissed Gabriel's cheek, sliding her hand into his. Gabriel smiled, feeling like maybe turning human wasn't the worst thing in the world. With Leila still petting McFly, Judah looked at the couple and then down at one of his watches.

Judah clapped his hands together, "Well, it's getting late. I should probably be on my way."

Alisabeth looked at him, "You've been here for eight days and you're not going to stay for the dreidel?"

Judah scrunched his face slightly as he shook his head. "Been here since 191, Alisabeth. The dreidel bores me to absolute death. Plus, I've only got a couple more hours of powers until next Hanukkah, best not to let them go to waste."

"You're not going to steal things, are you?" Alisabeth asked.

Judah shrugged, "Not sure. Haven't decided yet. Part of the adrenalin is in the decision." He smiled, "Thank you for your hospitality. Until next year, Alisabeth," he tilted his head in her direction, then turned to Leila, "Miss Connors."

Leila smiled, looking up from McFly to Judah, "Keep me posted on if my name comes up on your list again."

Gabriel gave Alisabeth a questioning look, to which Alisabeth just shook her head as if to say don't even ask. Alisabeth looked back to Judah, "Judah?"

"Yes?"

"No offense but," Alisabeth sighed, "If I see you with any of my stuff again, whether it's during Hanukkah or not, I won't hesitate to shoot you. No counting to three this time."

Judah clicked his tongue and pointed to Alisabeth, "Right, noted. Not until next time, Alisabeth. Bye!"

With a snap of his fingers, Judah disappeared from Alisabeth's front yard. Alisabeth smiled, looking from Gabriel to Leila, and back again. This... This could work, maybe someday.

"Well," Alisabeth said, "Does McFly want to join us inside for the dreidel and some more donuts? I mean, it's already—" Alisabeth looked to her wrist and swore loudly in Latin.

Gabriel's eyes widened, "Watch your tongue, sweetheart. There are children present."

"I'm seventeen, dickweed," Leila replied.

"That son of a bitch stole my watch!" Alisabeth exclaimed. Leila snorted quietly, earning a look from Alisabeth, "It's not funny."

"I'm sorry," Leila said, pressing her lips together. "But it's kind of funny. Plus," Leila reached into her back pocket, pulling out a gold watch, "Judah's a heavy sleeper. Snores like a freakin' horse. Here." Leila tossed the watch to Alisabeth, who caught it easily.

"You shouldn't be stealing from people," Alisabeth chided, although she was sliding the watch onto her wrist.

"Maybe kleptomania is contagious," Leila shrugged, "You never know."

Gabriel snorted, "What the hell have you guys been up to since I've been gone?"

"God, Gabe," Alisabeth sighed, chuckling, "Where do I even start?"