A/N: Thank you to my awesome beta, CyneNoir, for cleaning up my mess. You rock!

Chapter One: Guardian Angel

Everything was going great so far, though we’d been driving for over an hour already. Mother and Father were singing silly songs in horrible, pitched voices, attempting to get me to join in. Our dog, Max, was barking along joyfully. I couldn’t help but laugh at their goofy antics and they, in turn, sang louder in opposition to my laughter. Before we knew it, all of us were gasping in laughter, even Max, who barked loudly, tongue lolling. We never even saw the truck.

And then, suddenly, a crash, an explosion, and an infinitely soft voice. Nothing more than a whisper.

‘Live, Carmen, be safe. That’s the last thing I’ll ever ask you to do, son.’

When I woke up, I was crying; warm, salty drops slipping quietly past my nose and cheeks, some leaking into my mouth and drying it further. I opened my eyes blearily, my matted lashes clinging to my wet cheeks, as I attempted to lift myself up. Something lifted with me: a hand, and it was attached to a sleeping person.

The man from before. He must have stayed up with me all night, his warm hand the one I’d felt wrapped around my own before finally succumbing into a restless slumber. I was sorry for making him suffer this way, but it wasn’t like I’d asked him to stay up with me. Normally, that would be my parents’ job but...since they were...gone, I suppose it had fallen to him, though I couldn’t think of why it should.

Fresh tears suddenly welled up in my eyes when I realized that I would no longer have anyone to call my own. Everything would remain just as it was at the moment. My life would be placed into the hands of a stranger, whether he cared for it or not, until I was of age and then—then I would be dumped like yesterday’s trash. No one would care if I were sick or even if I died. My body began to shake from the force of my sobs, though I did attempt to hold them back for the sake of the sleeping man. My attempt, quite obviously, failed.

He woke up slowly, stretching languidly like a wild cat, but snapped completely awake when he realized where he was. It was hard to assess him, his eyes equally obscured by his mirrored lenses and choppy blonde bangs. My first impression of him, because of his almost impassive facade, was that of coldness, but I soon realized how wrong I was. His body, just like his hand, was warm as he pulled me into an engulfing hug, wrapping his large figure around my tiny frame like a mother would wrap a blanket around her child. I should have been scared of him—he towered over me like a mountain and could easily break me in half—but oddly enough, I felt safe. Soon I was clutching him back, with all the desperation of a lost child—something I guess I really was when it came right down to it—and crying into his dark suit. His whispered soft nothings into my ears as comfort.

“There, there, Carmen. There, there, kiddo.” I couldn’t understand why this man, this stranger, was so kind to me, but, because of my heartbreaking pain, I accepted it and nuzzled my cheek against his hard chest just like Max used to do to me when he was only a puppy. I felt something feathery press into my hair—his lips, perhaps?—before he was pushing me back on the bed, infinitely careful in his movements. “Just rest now, Carmen, it’ll all be okay. I promise.”

Oddly enough, I took his words to heart. I fell asleep in his warm half-embrace, the sweet, smoky scent of his jacket lingering on the edge of my dreams. My last thought before falling into my slumber was who are you? But he didn’t get a chance to answer—perhaps because I could never ask it aloud. My sleep was dreamless and I didn’t awaken until the doctor walked into the room hours later.

The doctor was a kindly man with laugh-lines around his wide mouth. He had crinkly blue eyes that even sparkled in the hospital’s bleak lighting and he always told me silly stories in an attempt to make me laugh. So far I hadn’t even cracked a smile, though I had come to like him quite a lot.

“My name is Doctor Jason Bennet,” he told me one day, as if he’d remembered my eternal inability to just ask and felt obligated to make up for his mistake. “And I am your personal doctor. You can relax around me, okay? Because all I want is to make you better.”

When he told me that, I believed him. Normally I wouldn’t because, after all, he had sedated me on my very first day here, but he had his reasons. I had mine too, of course, and he had no right to take away my reactions from me, but again, what he did was probably for my own good. He, too, knew it wasn’t completely right and he tried to repent.

“His name is Edward,” he told me abruptly as I stared after the suited man’s broad back. I looked up at him in surprise, only to find a small half-smile on his face. He looked very amused. “Edward DeAngelo, and he is now your new Legal Guardian. It was decreed in your parents’ will.”

This, like most other things, was news to me. I had never even known an Edward DeAngelo and my parents never mentioned him. Why would they leave me in the care of a complete stranger? I suppose no one knew the answer to that, save Mother and Father themselves, and I couldn’t very well ask them, could I? I’m sure you could see my dilemma here, and the doctor did too.

“He’s a good man,” he reassured at my surprised and sullen expression. “And he’ll take care of you. He’s the CEO of Fallen Angel Records, you know, and it surprised just about everyone that he took you in, especially because of the tenderness he displays whenever he’s around you. You’ll be just fine with Mr. DeAngelo.”

That, too, surprised me. After all, why would a music mogul take in a boy who couldn’t even speak? And a company like Fallen Angel Records? They were famous for signing the best of the best, not for charity work. Once upon a time, I suppose I could’ve counted as the best of the best—I was something of a musical prodigy. The voice of an angel, people would say—but not anymore. So why?

Perhaps it was because of my status. When you considered it, I was something of a fallen angel myself. If I had the voice of an angel before, then I was nothing more than a mortal now. Maybe that’s why he wanted me. To show the world how kind he was, taking in a singer who couldn’t even speak. Oddly enough, that hurt and it hurt a lot. I slumped back into my bed spiritlessly and Doctor Bennet looked surprised.

“What’s wrong?” he asked gently, just as my new guardian—Edward—returned to the room. He looked from the worried Doctor Bennet to my slumped figure and appeared to piece things together, if only a little. I buried myself deeper into the mattress, pulling the blanket over my head, and felt a small indent on the side of the bed. Edward reached out a hand and placed it over one of my own, though it was still hidden under the blanket along with the rest of me.

“What did you say to him?” he asked the doctor in a cold voice. I wanted to reproach him, to tell him not to be so cruel to the kindly man, but I couldn’t. I don’t think he would’ve listened even if I could.

“Nothing. He just seemed curious as to who you were so I told him. You obviously weren’t going to tell him any time soon and he has a right to know.” At that point I peeked out from under my blanket, just a little. Both Edward and Doctor Bennet seemed to be staring each other down, though it wasn’t very obvious where Edward was concerned because of his shades.

They tore their gazes apart soon enough when I tugged on Edward’s hand slightly. I offered him a small, questioning smile and he returned it.

“Ah, I almost forgot—” he said suddenly, reaching into his pocket. The doctor turned away and began to walk out, but not before he, too, offered me a smile. I smiled back and waved slightly before turning back to Edward. For some strange reason, he looked a little shy. I stroked his hand a little, hoping to be encouraging, and I suppose his embarrassment died down because he offered me something.

It was a small notebook; beautifully crafted with gold lettering and spirals so I could insert more pages if needed. My name was written on the center of the notebook in delicate, gold letters that sloped and curled. The symbol of white feathers stood out starkly against the black of the notebook, outlined in gold. To put it simply, it took my breath away.

“You can write things in here...your feelings, things you want to say, anything you want really...” His words sounded a bit rushed and his lightly tanned face was artistically painted with a flush along the bridge of his sculpted nose. Tears filled my eyes at his kind words and he grew further alarmed, looking completely horrified with himself. “Err..sorry. I hope this doesn’t seem insulting to you, Carmen. I mean, I will hire you the best sign-language tutor available, but for now...maybe you could use this?”

I wiped my eyes and smiled a little, surprising him.

“Why are you smiling?” he asked softly, sounding a little suspicious. His tone only made me smile wider. At that point, I think I was really scaring him, so I offered him a small mercy.

Picking up the notebook, I wrote two small words: /Thank you./ He flushed again after reading them and a genuine smile stretched out on his full lips.

“No, Carmen, thank you!” This surprised me. I mean, after all, what reason did he have to thank me? Though I didn’t understand his confusing words, I remained smiling as he wiped the tears away from my eyes with the pads of his fingertips, lingering for a second longer than necessary. “You don’t have to worry about anything, Carmen, because we’re going home soon.”

/Home?/ I wrote into the small notebook, still a little confused. Though he was my guardian, I doubted he would want to live with a teenaged mute. What could I possibly offer him in return? He answered my question soon enough.

“Yes,” he began in a very firm voice, grabbing my shoulders so I could look up into his eyes and see the truth within them. “Yes, we’re going to go to our home soon, Carmen, and I won’t let you get hurt ever again."

My eyes welled up once more. Our, he'd said, and I couldn’t feel happier. Perhaps he really cared for me, just as he sounded like he did? Perhaps I was gaining something for my tragic loss? I could only hope so because it certainly felt that way. He pulled me into his arms again, whispering kind words into my ears once more, and I relaxed into his grip. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad? A small part of me couldn't wait to get home, if only to get to know him better. Perhaps even to become a family. I think I'd like that.

A/N: Handsome man isn’t Kyle. Who he is may just surprise you – or not. It depends. Personally, I suck at suspense, though I am a pretty good guesser, but I don't really know how you are at these things.

Thanks: Everyone who has read, reviewed, added this to their story-alerts or favorite stories. Also, I'd like to thank the people who commented on LJ.

Vspirit: I hope you think this chapter is interesting too.

Josie: Yeah, there are some amazing fics here on FP. Just look at my favorites if you want to read some really good ones. This won't compare to those.

ElflingEryn: Thanks for your kind words. They were really encouraging. I went into Edward--the handsome man--a bit more in this chapter and I hope you like his character.

R&R: I hope you didn't find the chapter boring because I worked hard on it. Yesterday I cut my finger and it kept stinging when I tried to type. Today I'm fasting. As you can see, I'm suffering, but I still wrote this for you. Hopefully that encourages you into leaving me reviews. Please review!!