Part 7
Calling the police would be the right thing to do, but what if they ask too many questions I can't answer? Wait... I know who I can call!

Searching the refrigerator, Nathan was relieved to see he still had ranch dressing and an unopened pack of baby carrots. He'd been worried that what little groceries he had would have spoiled, after learning how long he was in the hospital. He gathered two plates from the cabinet, figuring he'd have a snack himself, and began preparing them, all the while mulling over what to do next about his little guest. It was awkward having the young girl in his apartment, and he couldn't help but worry about what would happen if anyone found out she was there, what they would assume. He tried not to think about it, but couldn't ease his anxiety. He had to report the child he'd found, but the notion of doing that just made him even more anxious. Then he remembered.

"Micah," Nathan muttered to himself, just as he was pouring a dollop of dressing onto each plate. He laughed. "Oh, thank God Alton got you set up on the police force!"

The writer relaxed and put the rest of the carrots and ranch away, picking up the plates to bring the snack out to Lidia. The little girl was right where he left her, sitting quietly and obediently on the couch, smiling up at him as he returned. Her eyes lit up when she saw the carrots, and she clapped her hands before stretching them out to take her plate.

Nathan smiled and gladly handed it to her. "You like carrots?" he asked once he'd set his plate on the coffee table, so his hands were free. She eagerly nodded, crunching down on the one in her hand. It made him smile even more.

"Are you going to sit with me?" she signed, tilting her head when he began back towards the kitchen.

He nodded, but signed in return,"I'll be right back. I need to make a phone call."

Lidia nodded that she understood, then delved into her snack again while Nathan went for his cell phone.

"Hello?" Enya answered on the other end after a couple of rings. She was the only person in the group whose number he had.

"Hey, are you still over at Gabriel's?" the writer asked, walking around the table. "I'm trying to get a hold of Micah. I have something I need to tell him."

"Yeah, sure. Hold on." There was only a momentary pause while the phone was passed, and soon the angel's crisp voice came through.

"Yes?"

"Hey, Micah, um..." Nathan wondered how he should approach this. "First, do you have your own cell phone, and if you do, can I get your number?"

"Is that why you are calling?"

"No, but it just occurred to me that knowing your number would be a lot more practical than summoning you every time I need to talk."

There was a pause, then a low sigh on the other end. "I will call you from my phone after you hang up. Now, tell me the reason for this call."

"I found a child on the steps of my apartment building. She's deaf and says she has no parents." He waited, wondering what else he should say.

"And?" Micah prompted.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose. "And you're technically a police officer, so I thought I would report it. I don't know. I just have this weird feeling, Micah, and I'm not comfortable trying to explain things to the actual police."

"I think you are letting your anxiety get the better of you..."

"Maybe I am," he readily admitted, then sighed. "But you know, given the fact that I'm caught up in a huge, supernatural game of chess, I don't want to take any chances." As he said it, the implication started to worry him. "Her random appearance might not be so random, and if it's not, I would much rather have someone capable handling the matter."

There was another pause on Micah's end. "I am impressed; you are taking this much more seriously than before. You actually chose to contact me instead of Lumiel or Gabriel."

"Yeah, well, nearly getting someone killed can do that to a person." Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. "And I really don't want to fuck things up any more than I already have. The whole thing is messed up, and I figure if I can't fix things by quitting the game, then I need to be more proactive in it. I can't just wait for things to happen."

"So what, exactly, do you want me to do?"

Nathan hesitated. That was the part he wasn't sure about. "I don't know," he said. "I guess just keep a heads up. If you could file a formal report for a, um, found child, then if everything does turn out to be normal, at least I took the right steps to finding her family. Oh, she said her name is Lidia, spelled L-I-D-I-A."

"I will take care of the proper paperwork and will see if there are any reported missing children in the area. Is there anything else, Nathan?"

"No. No, I think that's it. I guess she can stay here in the meantime."

"Very well. I will call you back shortly so you have my personal cell."

Micah hung up without so much as a goodbye. Nathan ended the call on his end and waited, knowing it would ring any second. Just as it did, he remembered something else. "Micah, I thought of another thing," he said into the phone when he answered it. "I forgot to describe her..."

"Just send a picture to this number," the angel drawled. "It will be better for comparison."

"Oh. Right. Okay." Nathan felt silly for not thinking of that, and as soon as he'd hung up and saved the number to his phone, he went back into the living room to get that picture.

When he returned, Lidia had curled up on the couch, her knees pulled in while she looked up at him with a small pout on her face. Her plate was completely cleared of all carrots... and so was his. She'd eaten both. "You had more," she signed to him. "I tried to make it even, but I just ate them all. I'm sorry."

Nathan sighed, but smiled at her. "It's okay. I only made myself some so I could snack with you." He pulled up the camera on his phone. "Can I take your picture?"

Lidia slowly uncurled, smiling sheepishly while she nodded. Nathan held up his phone and snapped a quick picture, then sent it to Micah. That done, he took a deep breath.

"So," he muttered to himself. "Proactive."

God, I know I need to start getting more involved with this Sin problem, but where do I even start?