...Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

-1 Samuel 18:1 (NIV)

#

Foggy Nelson hadn't slept a wink.

It would have been fine if he had lost sleep over a girl. Hell, he would have been thrilled to lose sleep over a girl. Any girl.

No such luck.

Instead, he was stuck losing sleep over a seven foot tall blond guy.

With wings.

The conversation Foggy had had with Captain Tal left Foggy shaken to the core of his being. He pulled up a Bible website, reading and re-reading David and Jonathan's story in every translation that he could understand (and a few that he couldn't). The website had a search engine, so Foggy searched for what the Bible had to say about friends (which scared him) and watchmen (which only scared him more). Finally, Foggy slammed his laptop closed with a frustrated sigh when he realized that his problem boiled down to one thing:

How could he possibly help Matt keep his faith in something that he knew almost nothing about?

Maybe I oughta talk to an expert on the subject...

He looked out of his window and saw that the sun was just starting to brighten the sky. Foggy checked the clock on his computer. 5:30. He remembered that Matt had once told him about going to confession first thing in the morning: just after sunrise mass but before he got to the office for the day.

If I hurry, he thought, I just might beat him there...

#

Father Lantom was finishing up some sort of elaborate-looking prayer when Foggy arrived at Holy Cross, so he tried to move as quietly as he could, slipping through the back door and sitting in the closest available seat.

The priest spotted Foggy as soon as he opened his eyes. He gave his benediction, then shook hands and greeted each of the twelve people in the congregation before making his way to Foggy's seat in the back. "Mister Nelson!" he exclaimed. "This is quite the surprise! I'm usually starting to keep an eye out for your partner right about now."

Foggy looked uncomfortable on top of being exhausted. "Is there some place we can talk. Father?" he asked the priest. "Some place a little more...private?"

Father Lantom appreciated the younger man's discomfort. "Step into my office," he told Foggy. The priest then leaned down and told the younger man in a conspiratorial almost-whisper, "I just gotta lose the monkey suit..."

#

Foggy accepted the steaming mix of milk and coffee, grateful both for the beverage and for having something to do with his hands. Father Lantom took his own latte, stirring in two packets of sugar before sitting down next to the younger man at the conference room table. "So how can I help you today, Mister..."

"Please," Foggy insisted nervously. "Call me Foggy. My...my friends call me Foggy."

"All right," Father Lantom agreed. "What's on your mind, Foggy?" When the younger man didn't immediately respond, the priest decided to test a theory he had just thought of. "Does this have anything to do with the angel you saw the other day?"

Foggy's face paled. "You know about that?"

Father Lantom enjoyed Foggy's expression far more than he knew he should have. "Of course," he teased...then immediately backtracked when the younger man looked about ready to panic. "Easy, Foggy, easy! Matt mentioned the angel before he asked us to leave when the two of you found the tunnel. The comment stuck out to me..." The reality of who he was talking to and what they were talking about finally struck the priest. "Did you two meet an angel the other night?"

Foggy nodded. "Two, actually. They've been helping us for the past two days."

Father Lantom sat back in his chair, stunned by what the younger man had just told him. "What...what did they say?"

The priest held onto his own coffee mug for dear life as he fought the urge to write down every amazing thing that Foggy was telling him. "Incredible," he kept whispering, shaking his head. "You're telling me that Matt's gifts allow him not just to experience this world on a level that very few people will ever experience, but that he also sees the spiritual battle that goes on all around us, every day?" Father Lantom sat back, stunned into near speechlessness when Foggy nodded. "Wow," he exclaimed. The priest's level amazement was tempered by the look that unmistakably mixed emotions playing across Foggy's face. "So what about this is bothering you so much?"

"It's not so much what Matt can do," Foggy admitted. "It's what Captain Tal said about my part in all of this."

"You mean being Matt's guide?"

Foggy nodded. "He seems to think that this whole system hinges on me."

Father Lantom started to feel like he was catching on to the gist of the younger man's problems. "You mean the whole 'as the Guide goes, so goes the Watchman' thing?"

"Yeah," Foggy agreed. "His last words to me were, 'Keep him faithful. Keep him strong. Keep him humble. The creator will take care of the rest.' How the hell am I supposed to do that?!"

Father Lantom stood up and stepped away from the conference table. "I think I may have something that will help," he shared. He pulled a Bible from a nearby bookshelf, flipped it open and pointed to a passage. "Read this."

Curious, Foggy looked at the book, reading Father Lantom's suggestion aloud. "Two are better than one: They get a good wage for their toil. If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help. So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm? Where one alone may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken." Foggy sat back and tried to consider what he had just read. "So you're saying that this passage is about me and Matt?"

"Not just you and Matt," Father Lantom replied. He pulled out a piece of paper and drew a triangle on it, defining the points as he spoke. "You, Matt and God. Think about it like this: you already know Matt has this relationship with God. I take it you're not a religious man?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" asked Foggy, sarcastically rolling his eyes.

Father Lantom chuckled in sympathy with Foggy's comment before pointing to Foggy's end of the triangle. "Then this is you, over here. Now God never changes, so his point on the triangle never moves. If you try to pull Matt closer to you, what happens to his connection to God?"

"He moves further away," Foggy replied.

Father Lantom nodded in agreement. "Now, if you move yourself closer to God, what would that do to Matt's point on the triangle?"

Foggy studied the triangle closely. "It can't pull him farther away from God, can it? He would either stay where he is or get closer to God, himself, wouldn't he?"

"Exactly!" agreed Father Lantom. "Now, there are a lot of other scriptures that reinforce this, but the point is this: the best way to help Matt stay faithful is to build your own faith."

"And how do I do that?" asked Foggy.

Father Lantom smiled. "That's why they pay me the big bucks." Foggy glared at the priest, who replied with a wink and a quiet chuckle. He closed the Bible and passed it over to Foggy. "Start there."

"The Bible?" asked Foggy.

Father Lantom nodded. "For most people, this is where we learn about who God is and what he wants from us. Granted, you have a few more resources than the rest of us, but this is still square one..."

#

Matt held his cane at both ends, biting his lip to do his very best not to interrupt the two men and spoil the moment. For all the years that Matt had known Foggy, his best friend had shown no interest in anything remotely spiritual. Ever. So if it took meeting with two angels, nearly getting killed by a demon and being given a mission directly from God to convince Foggy to pursue a relationship with him...

He could live with that.

A/N: Father Lantom had Foggy read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12.

That's it for this one. Thanks again to Evenmoor for the idea! I hope you all enjoyed it!