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Gabriel worked as quietly and quickly as he could on the sleeping human girl. He refused to call her by her given name, though it was inked on his arm and echoed through his skull, a reminder of his failures and shortcomings that he hadn't even been aware of until she came along. He willed her to stay asleep, mostly because he didn't want to deal with her foul language and constant heated stares, like he was the root of all her problems and she'd like nothing more than to get rid of him. A smaller part, that he denied existed, wanted her to remain sleeping so she would not have to deal with the pain of him stitching up her wounded neck.
Gabriel had landed at the abandoned house he had scouted out several days ago. It would take time for the Fallen to relocate the girl, and by then he had planned to be moving onto the next safe house. He had stocked this house with the necessities, which included a first aid kit because humans were so fragile, cause point the one he was currently sewing up.
He had walked into the bathroom to see two Fallen attacking her, and another striding towards her. Gabriel had to admit she fought bravely, though meaninglessly since there was no way she could have won that fight if he hadn't shown up. She hadn't cried out when the Fallen had tore out a piece of flesh, though she was lucky it had possessed a child and couldn't open its mouth any wider. He wasn't surprised by her fighting spirit; she had shot a flare gun in his face and attempted to choke him all to save people who left her without a glance backwards.
Gabriel's muscles clamped down, tensing up as he thought of the betrayal. It was not the same magnitude of the one he suffered through but they were similar. The human male who had been driving had hesitated, he had the cleanest soul of anyone in the filthy dinner and he had known it would kill the human girl if he put his foot on the brakes but it had been a choice between the whore who carried a child that was not his own, or the girl willing to give up her life. He chose the whore, just as God chose Michael. Would always choose Michael though Gabriel had followed all His orders without fault or question.
Gabriel pulled his hands away from the girl, she was already hurt enough and in his anger and pain he might forget how easily human skin broke or bones snapped. He bowed his head, closing his vibrant blue eyes and took three deep breaths to try and calm himself.
Comparing himself to a human, especially this human, was absurd. She had one moment of unselfishness, while he had lived his whole life burying his own thoughts and feelings to serve Him completely. Gabriel's orders were to protect her, this tarnished disgusting human, and he felt like it was more of a punishment though all he had been doing was listening to His orders, as he always had done.
Gabriel continued to see to the human girls wounds, standing up when he was done and staring down at her. Half her face was covered in blood, along with her neck and her shirt was soaked in it. Still forming bruises were appearing on her arms and knees, probably her back also though it was covered by her shirt. Her hand, neck, and forehead were bandaged and that was all he should have felt like doing but he did not want to leave her to sleep in her own blood. He remembered a long ago time, when he had passed out from savage wounds and woken up, wounds healing and dried blood caked to his body. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
He gathered a bowl of warm water and a washcloth before going back to her side and placing the items on the floor besides the couch, which the girl was sleeping fitfully on. Gabriel didn't have the patience for her whimpering or fidgeting so he placed his hand on her head and made her mind blank, but not before seeing she was having nightmares that involved her dead family members and him. He tried not to think about that.
Gabriel pulled a curved, wicked looking knife out of his boot that had a gold handle and the same ancient writing that adorned his arms scrawled on the blade. He cut away her shirt and shorts, careful not to cut her but not taking anymore care than that. He pulled away the rags before placing the blade back in his boot and beginning to wash away the drying blood, pausing as he stared at what was around her neck. Gabriel dragged his eyes away from the feather before scrubbing at the drying blood.
Gabriel could have healed her wounds completely, all angels possessed that skill, but he had thought that particular ability was useless and did not know how to use it properly and he would not risk it again. Other angels would have been more preferable to this job, ones who had not given up on the human race like he had so many centuries ago, but he was the one stuck now. Never to see Heaven until he was either called back or this human died.
He couldn't help but think that if he had let her die that night in the desert he wouldn't be here now, feeling banished and rejected. Gabriel did not know why he did it, why he decided at the last moment to take the brute force of the crash. It nearly hadn't of worked either, her arm had gotten twisted beneath him and crushed, and her leg had broken also. He had held her too tight and broke several of her ribs and somewhere in the midst of all that she had hit her head so hard on his breast plate her skull had cracked open.
When they stopped rolling he had pulled himself off of her and stared down at her broken body. She had stared at him with green eyes filled with pain and acceptance. What stopped him from taking off and going after the baby again were her words. Her soul had been ready to leave her body but he had pushed it back into place while his free hand had hovered over her body, looking for the wound that was causing her death.
Gabriel had never been impulsive, that had always been a trait of Michael and Sariel, but not one he possessed. He did something without fully thinking it through that night. He found the source of death and put his hand against her side, where one of her ribs had pierced her lung, and he concentrated on healing her. He had done much more than heal her rib though, something irrevocably stupid.
Gabriel cut off the memory and tossed a blanket over the girl, remembering human modesty though her past had proven she cared not of what people saw of her body.
He couldn't be in the same room with the reminder of his failures anymore so he strode out of the house, took off in the air and landed lightly on the roof. From here he had a perfect view of any enemies who dared to approach. Gabriel was close to hoping that the Fallen would find them, he wanted to fight and let his warrior instincts take over so there was no room for thinking. He had too much time to think lately.
When Audrey woke up the first thing she noticed was the soreness, unbelievably aching throughout her whole body. She wasn't even this sore when she woke up from her crash through a windshield, since she had been on so many painkillers. Her shoulder burned like someone was pushing hot ice against it, her hand felt the same way and her head, back, arm and bad leg were throbbing in pain.
The next thing she noticed was that she was naked, underneath a blanket. Alright, not completely naked since she still had her bra and underwear on, but close enough to make her uncomfortable. Audrey forced herself to sit up and wrapped the blanket around her even though her shoulder protested loudly. Note to self: Do not let possessed children gnaw on her shoulder.
Audrey pushed herself into a standing position, and nearly fell over as little black dots appeared in her vision from all the pain throbbing through her body. She forced herself not to throw up as she took in her surroundings. She was in a small living room that looked cozy but had an abandoned feeling to it. She knew that feeling because it was the same way her old house had felt when her family had packed everything into the moving van.
Audrey stumbled away from the couch, barely recognizing that she still had her boots on, and limped down the hall, holding the blanket in a white knuckle grip with her good hand. The first bedroom she walked into had bags in it and she walked over, kicking the bag over and spilling the contents out. Clothes, thank- well not god, but thank someone who seemed to have some mercy for a poor, hurt, confused and half-naked teenager.
Audrey had been forced to wear grubby, ill-fitting hand me down clothes at the orphanage so she had quickly lost the ability to be a clothes snob. None of these clothes were anything old Audrey would have worn before Paradise Falls, but they were just fine for the new Audrey. She picked out a long sleeved black peasant blouse and some shorts before kicking off her boots and putting the clothes on quickly. She pulled her boots back on and began to search through the house again.
There was another bedroom, smaller than the first and bare of anything that would prove someone lived there. The last room was a bathroom, which Audrey made use of and tried not to look too hard at her reflection.
Audrey walked back to the living room and glanced into the kitchen but she had to come to the conclusion that she was alone in the small house. Where was that damn angel? Had he been the one to bandage her wounds?
Audrey stomped her way out of the front door and onto the porch. She was about to storm down the stairs and start shouting to the heavens but a head appeared over the porch, causing her to scream and to lash out, with her fist.
"Fuck!" Audrey shouted as her fist exploded in pain. Blood soaked the bandage, but it was her own as she gripped it with her other hand and tried to stop the burning pain.
"You should stay inside." Gabriel said, landing lightly on the ground and not even phased by the punch.
"You could at least act like it hurt, bastard." Audrey cursed vividly at the angel, who's only reaction was a slight fluttering of his wings. "I think you broke my hand."
"You broke your own hand," Gabriel corrected, causing the girls eyes to narrow at him. He walked up the steps and held out his hand patiently. Audrey glared down at his hand before looking up at him.
"What? You want a fucking high five or something?" Audrey growled out, holding her wounded hand to her chest and wondering if her foot in his groin would do anything. She didn't even know if angels had anything between their legs, he could be just like a Ken doll and the only thing she'd accomplish was breaking her foot. But damn was his jaw hard, it had been like punching a concrete wall. She had heard the saying 'his jaw looked like it was carved out of marble' but Gabriel's jaw really was.
Instead of answering Gabriel reached for her. Audrey's first instinct was to step back but she straightened up to her full height, which wasn't anything impressive next to his massive frame, and glared up at him, daring him to do anything to her. Gabriel grasped her wrist in a hold that was neither gentle nor harming, and pulled her wounded hand away from her chest to look down at it. His other hand hovered over it before it dropped to his side.
"It is not broken, stop your complaining." Before Audrey could find out if he had anything below the belt he pulled her back into the house and led her to the kitchen, where the first aid was sitting on the counter.
"I'm not a doll, you can't just fucking-"
"Enough swearing." Gabriel commanded and Audrey's chin went up a notch as she continued to glare at the large angel.
"Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck-" Audrey had planned to go through all the swear words she knew but then deflated and went silent when she remembered that her dad had asked her not to swear so much and she had replied with the same thing.
Gabriel didn't know what brought on the sudden silence but was glad for it while he unbandaged Audrey's hand, cleaned the reopened cuts, and then rebandaged it. Audrey was too lost in memories of her parents to scathingly remark, and plainly thanked him. Gabriel should have stayed quiet, he knew that, but he felt compelled to speak, something that had rarely, if ever happened to him.
"If you continue to punch like that, you are going to break your wrist or thumb." Fire again lit Audrey's green eyes as they narrowed up at him.
"So show me how to punch, oh great one." Audrey mockingly said but Gabriel, apparently immune to sarcasm, nodded once and grabbed her good hand. Audrey bit back a reply and decided it would be a good idea to learn how to punch. Gabriel, realizing he had her cooperation for once, folded her fingers into a fist and put her thumb over them.
"Put your fists up," Audrey listened and put her fists up, in front of her face. Gabriel corrected her, pulling her fists about shoulder length apart and just below eye level. "Now punch." Audrey listened again, tossing her fist out before Gabriel once again fixed her. He moved her to the center of the kitchen and stepped behind her.
"No funny business, big guy." Audrey warned.
"Relationships between angels and humans are forbidden, and why would I risk eternal damnation for a human like you?" Audrey had been called every bad name there was, even by her own mother, but hearing it in that deep voice of an angel made the sting hurt just a bit more but she steeled herself from the pain and spun on him.
"And a would-be baby killer has room to judge others?" Audrey glared up at him, wishing he wasn't so damn tall so she wouldn't have to crane her neck to look into his eyes. "You wanted to kill a defenseless baby, how the hell is that worse than anything I've done? You think you're better than me just because God told you to do something? Well I've got news for you Sasquatch, you're not. How many people have been mindlessly tortured and slaughtered in the name of God? Because your God told them to do it? You're not better than them so don't you dare fucking look down at me-"
"You are testing my patience," Gabriel towered over Audrey and his eyes bore down at her, and she suddenly had a lump in her throat that she found hard to swallow down. She was scared, anyone facing this angry archangel would be but she stiffened her shoulders and glared back at him.
"You try to fucking kill me-"
"If I had attempted to kill you, you would be dead." Gabriel stated simply, seemingly recovered from his moment of outrage while Audrey still steamed. "Think about it child, I barely touched you. Do you know how easily it would have been just to reach over-" He grasped her neck in a quick move that Audrey never saw coming. "And snap your neck?" Gabriel had backhanded her, it had left her dizzy with spots in her eyes but it only hurt slightly more than when her mom had slapped her but less than when a guy who had been angry when she tried to push him away had punched her.
Audrey had seen him smash up the floor with his mace and send a grown man flying over a counter with one hit. She knew that he could have killed her easily in the backseat.
"Why didn't you?" Audrey was ashamed her voice came out as a whisper, and even more ashamed she had asked the question at all. Gabriel's hold loosened on her neck as he stared into sad green eyes. Gabriel saw that part of her wished he had killed her, and another part even wished he'd get the job done with now so she could be with her family again and away from the pain and hurt that was her constant companion. Gabriel knew the girl would never give up, she was a fighter and would fight until her last breath, so she would never put a gun in her mouth or open her wrists in the cowards way out but that didn't change the fact that she wanted to die.
"I do not know," Angels didn't lie, but Gabriel had no answer for her. He never questioned his actions, just accepted them for what they were. He also knew that wasn't the answer the girl wanted as her green eyes swirled with something deeper and heavier than sadness. He had never spent enough time with humans to ever feel anything but disgust or disinterest in them, but he wanted to comfort her somehow. The only ones he had ever comforted were his brothers, the other archangels, and that had been with a hand on the shoulder or a hug in some of their darker days.
"So are you going to show me how to punch or not?" Audrey asked before he could decide whether or not he wanted to hug the small girl. She pushed his limp hand off of her neck and gave him her back before getting into the fighters stance he had shown her.
Gabriel put his hand on her hip, making her rotate it when she extended her fist. Audrey forced herself to concentrate on what he was saying and showing, and not how large his hand was on her hip or how his deep, rumbling voice sounded in her ear or the heat that radiated from his body. She hated his archangel but why the hell did God have to make them so attractive?
Audrey had never really had a type of guy she was interested in, but she tried to stick with ones who didn't weigh much more than her or weren't that much bigger than her, it was less likely that they'd be able to hurt her even though most did. Gabriel's sheer size frightened Audrey to her very core, and at first it had brought up memories she thought she had buried long ago. Gabriel could hurt her far worse than any of those guys could, but he never did. His strength was tremendous, and even though he didn't try to be careful with her, he had not hurt her. There were no new bruises on her wrist or neck where he had grabbed her and the only time he had actually harmed her was after she shot a flare gun in his face.
Audrey didn't want to feel anything nice towards the archangel, and she especially didn't want to feel safe with him but she was beginning to. That scared her more than his size or strength did. She needed someone to hate, to blame for everything that had happened at Paradise Falls and all that she had lost, and Gabriel had been the perfect escape goat. Then he had shown up, saved her, and proclaimed that he was going to protect her. She had no idea what to do or how to feel anymore.
"Is there water? Can I shower?" Audrey asked after Gabriel declared that she was as good at punching as she was ever going to get. He thought the whole thing was pointless, since he was going to be around to protect her from anything that would cause her to fight.
Gabriel nodded and watched as the girl walked off to shower. He set to work making her food, knowing she would most likely come out of the shower complaining of hunger and cussing at him. She now seemed to be swearing to grate his nerves when he made her angry, which was most of the time.
Audrey let out a satisfied noise as the warm water hit her aching muscles. It stung her wounds but she turned her back to it and lets the hard spray work out the knots in her back. She bowed her head, closing her eyes so she didn't have to see how the clear water turned a murky burgundy at her feet because of all the dried blood in her hair.
There was only body wash, but it was better than nothing. Audrey scrubbed her hair, washing it out several times until the water finally ran clear again. By the time she was completely done the water was going cold and she hopped out and glanced around for a towel but there was none.
"Gabriel!" Audrey yelled, shivering now that the cold air was hitting her wet skin. It couldn't have been more than half a minute after Audrey yelled when the archangel burst through the door, mace raised menacingly as he looked around the modest-sized bathroom. Audrey stared at him in shock before covering herself as best she could and kicking at him. "Get out you perverted jackass!" Gabriel let his arm drop and looked down at the girl.
"You screamed my name, do not do that again unless you are in trouble." Gabriel growled out.
"All I wanted was a fucking towel, now get out!" She managed to shove him out, though admittedly he allowed her to, and slammed the door behind him. Audrey was not a modest person, her old wardrobe would make a hooker proud, but it had been a long time since someone had seen her naked and it left her feeling strangely exposed and vulnerable. Though the archangel stared at her the same when she was fully clothed, she expected he still would look at her the same if she pranced around in bubble wrap.
The door opened and Gabriel's large arm poked in, holding a blanket in his hand.
"This is all there is." Audrey took it, thanking him quietly and then wrapping it around herself. The door stayed opened, but just a small sliver. "Is there anything else you require?" Gabriel's voice rumbled from the other side of the door, low and quiet but completely clear. Audrey needed a hair and tooth brush but his question had left her feeling even more vulnerable than when he had seen her naked.
"No thank you Gabriel." The door closed quietly and Audrey was left staring at it in wonder.
Audrey wanted to hate Gabriel because without that feeling she felt like the rug had been swept out from under her, again, and she just couldn't handle that again. Despite him being an angel she had thought of him as a bad guy, because no matter what there is no justification for hurting a defenseless child. She needed him to be the bad guy because who else was there? God? She wasn't religious, had never been and even if she were her time at Paradise Falls would have shattered any beliefs but even she couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that God was evil.
There was another reason Audrey didn't want to admit that Gabriel wasn't the evil archangel she made him out to be. It had been less than 24 hours and she was already starting to depend on him, even like him when he wasn't ordering her around. She didn't want to be emotionally attached to anyone, especially the archangel, she didn't know if she was strong enough to lose anyone else. And she would, eventually, lose Gabriel. He was an angel after all, not meant for this world, and he'd have to return to Heaven.
After putting back on the blouse, shorts, and her boots Audrey walked out of the bathroom, more confused than ever. When she walked into the kitchen there was a bowl of soup waiting on the kitchen table for her. Audrey tried to ignore the suspicious stinging in her eyes and the way her throat tightened at the simple gesture. Why was the archangel doing this? It made it damn hard to hate him.
Audrey sat down at the table and stared at Gabriel's back as he filled empty water bottles with tap water. The first thing Audrey always noted about the angel was that he was huge. He stood perhaps a foot taller than her 5'7 height but he was so broad, his shoulders and chest, that he seemed so much bigger. The large dark gray wings attached to his back only added to his size, and Audrey had to wonder how such a big guy could be so graceful. He never knocked into anything, even though whatever room he was in seemed to small for him.
Gabriel turned around and Audrey quickly ducked her head and began eating, her cheeks heating at being caught studying the archangels back. It wasn't her fault that he had a really nice back, and she had only been staring at his back and only his back even though his tight trousers provided a perfect view of another one of his nice assets, and she wasn't referring to his legs, though those were also nice.
If God hadn't wanted Audrey to oogle Gabriel then He wouldn't have made Gabriel worth oogling, and then wouldn't have put a totally hot angel in such tight pants.
"We can stay here another night but we will be leaving at first light." Gabriel said as he watched the girl eat the soup with relish. He couldn't help the swell of pride at the success of the meal. Angel had no need of food, so he had never cooked before now. He was obviously very skilled.
"If by first light I hope you mean noon." Audrey spooned another chunk o the unidentifiable soup into her mouth. She had no idea how the archangel had managed to mess up soup but she found if she shoveled it into her mouth and swallowed it quickly she didn't have to taste it, too much at least. After living off of hospital food and then the orphanage food she wasn't too picky with what she ate, and she was starving.
"I mean when the sun rises." Gabriel took her empty bowl and filled it before setting the bowl back in front of her. Audrey was starving, but she would rather eat her own hair than have another bowl of that goop.
Audrey looked up at the angel to tell him if he wanted her to live he'd stop cooking and there was no way she was waking up that early but her words caught in her throat. The usually stoic angel was staring down at her with a look she had never seen on his face. He looked proud and expectant. Despite what people thought of her, she did have a heart, and so she choked down her words with a big spoonful of the disgusting soup. She could have sworn she saw the corner of the archangels mouth twitch, like he was trying to smile but didn't know how to.
"Thank you Gabriel." Gabriel's wings twitched at the sound of his name coming out of that usually vulgar mouth. She had only said his name once before, actually screamed it in the bathroom and then followed it up with kicking and pushing him after he rushed to her side. He had heard his name said like a pray, with reverence or fear, or screamed from his enemies but she said it differently. He was bewildered to find he liked the way his name sounded coming from her.
"You are welcome," Gabriel paused a moment, crossing his large arms over his broad chest. "Audrey." He finished and Audrey hid her grin at the reluctance the giant showed at saying her name.
"I'm still not getting up at 6, or whenever the hell sun rise is." Audrey said, not able to resist ruining the nice, calm moment they had going.
"Would you rather wait until the Fallen have found you again? Perhaps a few more wounds will convince you to listen to me." Audrey stood up and washed out her bowl.
"If you had been faster, my great protector, I wouldn't be hurt in the first place." Something dark crossed over the angels face, a look she had nightmares about. She had seen the same look from guys just before they hit her or girls just before they said a scathing remark.
Audrey took a step backwards before she even realized she had, and Gabriel noticed that, and also the look of fear on her face. His anger disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and he suddenly felt tired.
"You should rest, we will be leaving early." Audrey turned and left the kitchen, glad for a reason to get away from the angel. She kicked off her boots but left her clothes on as she slipped under the covers and stared up at the ceiling.
Her feelings were warring inside of her. On one side she continued to remind herself of Gabriel's past actions, and how might be protecting her now but what if he suddenly got an order to kill her? He would do it without hesitation, she knew that. He was huge, unemotional and undeniably frightening.
Then another part of her, a growing part of her, kept reminding her of all the things he had done for her. His orders were to protect her, yes, but not to care for her. Not to get her clothes or a comfortable place to sleep, or even to teach her how to punch properly.
Audrey had no idea what to do.
Gabriel was lost in his own thoughts in the kitchen. He needed the girl to trust him, not fear him, but he felt as if he was walking on egg shells around her. He had no idea what would set off her fear for him. He was trying to be patient, but he had never been very good at that.
Gabriel's head snapped up as he felt the presence of someone drawing near, at a rapid speed. His hand clenched around the handle of his mace, that suddenly appeared, before he turned and walked out of the house.
Hard blue eyes looked up at the sky, waiting for Michael to come.