Nick quickly hauled the person out of his pool and laid them down on the concrete.  He then noticed the face of the person he’d just rescued and immediately sucked in his breath.  It was the angel in his dreams.  And something that he had not noticed before because of his panic and his need to get her out of the pool...she had wings. 

Shaking his head he said “this is not happening.  I’m still asleep.  This is a dream”. 

Suddenly the angel opened her eyes and looked at him.  She smiled. 

Nick looked at her.  He held up his arm and pinched himself trying to wake himself up. 

“Owww!” he screamed.  “Well, I guess I’m not asleep cuz that hurt like a bitch!”

The angel then sat up.  Nick just looked at her in disbelief. 

“Ar.. ar..are you real?” he stammered.  Slowly he reached out to touch her.

She reached up and took his hand.  As soon as he felt her cool touch Nick jerked back his hand.

“Man, what the HELL is happening to me?! Have I finally snapped?” he screamed. 

“Yes, I am real” she said.  “Look” she said as she reached up and ran a hand down the side of his face. 

Nick sucked in another deep breath as she stroked his face.  The sat there for a while then he noticed she, all of a sudden, was completely dry.

“You’re already dry.  But hey, you ARE an angel so...yeah” he said.  He knew he must sound like a complete idiot but hey, this was his first encounter with an angel.  What do you expect?!?

“What is your name? I mean, do angels have names?” he asked.

“Of course I have a name.  My name is Seraphiel” she replied. 

“Ser..a..phi..el” Nick stuttered out. 

“You may call me Sera if its easier for you” she said.

“Sera” Nick tried.  “That’s pretty.”

Nick stood up and reluctantly offered her a hand.  She took in and stood up as well.  She moved with such grace he was in complete awe of her.

“Would you like to come in?  Are you sure you’re not hurt?” he asked.

“No, I’m ok.  You’re pool broke my fall” she said, smiling at him.

He was almost mesmerized by her smile.  Finally giving his head a good shake and walked towards the back door.  Holing it open, he held out his hand offering for her to enter first.  He still wasn’t completely convinced he wasn’t dreaming. 

He lead her to the living room and offered her a seat on the sofa.  She took it and he sat in the adjacent chair.  He was clueless as to what to do next.  I mean, what the hell do you talk to an angel about anyway?!?!  The whole thing was just so surreal to him.

Finally he asked, “So Sera, what happened?  How did you end up in my pool?” he asked.

“I really don’t know”she replied.  “I just found myself falling and then splashed into your pool.”

Nick has so many questions swirling in his head he didn’t know where to begin.  Then, his stomach began to gurgle.  He blushed.  He remembered he hadn’t eaten yet. 

“I’m sorry.  I haven’t eaten yet.  Are you hungry?  Thirsty?  Do angels eat?” he said awkwardly.

“I don’t know.  What does that feeling feel like?” she asked.

“You just wait here.  I’ll be right back” Nick said and rushed into the kitchen.  ‘Ok, what the hell fo you make for an angel?’ he thought to himself.  He rummaged through his freezer and only came up with a frozen pizza. 

“Well” he said to himself, “this will have to do.”

Nick went to work putting the pizza into the oven.  He was a bit hesitant going back into the living room.  He had no clue what to do or how to entertain an angel.  He was still trying to wrap his head around the whole situation.  He went to the refrigerator and pulled out the jug of sweet tea he had and poured them both a glass.  He carried them into the living room and handed her the glass.  She took it from him and looked at it with a puzzled look on her face.  Nick chuckled.

“Like this” he said and then proceeded to show her how to drink from a glass.  Tentatively she put the glass to her lips and tilted it up.  Some of the fluid dribbled down the sides of her mouth.  Again, Nick smiled but continued to watch.  She pulled the glass back down and smiled widely.

“Oh!” she gasped.  “That’s really good!”  What is it?” she asked.

“It’s iced tea.  It’s a kind of drink.” he said.

“Well, I think I like this drinking” she said enthusiastically, almost spilling the drink. 

“Careful now, you’ll spill it” he said.

“Oh, sorry” she said apologetically.  She then set the glass down on the coffee table. 

They both sat in silence for a good amount of them before the timer went off for the pizza. 

“Excuse me” he said as he darted off into the kitchen again.  He grabbed a pot holder from the drawer and pulled the pizza out.  He faned it a bit to cool it off then cut it up into sliced.  He then dished it up onto plates and headed back to the living room.  He noticed her standing at the window as he set the plates down on the coffee table. 

“What are all those lights all over those houses?” she asked.

“Those are Christmas lights” he explained.  “We put those up to make it festive fore the holidays.  People put up trees and decorate them too.”

“Why don’t you have these things?” she questioned. 

“Oh I’m just very festive I guess” he answered.  Truth was he hasn’t put up a tree since Beth.  Again, too many memories. 

Sera noticed Nick’s face get very sad.  She reached up and put her hands on either side of his face and lifted it to meet her eyes.  They starred at each other for a long moment.  Suddenly Nick pulled away.

“Um, I made us a pizza.  Try it.  I don’t know a single person who doesn’t like pizza.” he told her.

Sera walked back to the couch and sat down in front of her plate.  She just looked at the pizza like it was some kind of foreign object.  Again, Nick showed her what to do.  She bite down into her slice.

“Ohhhhhh!” she exclaimed.  “You are right.  Pizza is wonderful!”

Nick just smiled.  He began to wonder what he was going to do now.