Disclaimer in first chapter.
CHAPTER 2
Van Helsing contemplated taking Anna somewhere other than his quarters within the Holy Order's walls, but then realized that there was no safer place for her to be as she regained her strength and wits. He had sneaked her through one of the back entrances and stealthily led her down the darkened corridors until they arrived outside the door of his room. While he was completely ecstatic that she was alive, he wasn't sure how the others of the Holy Order would react to seeing a woman who had only a few weeks before been dead. He didn't want them to think that she had been brought to life again by forces of evil. That just wouldn't be good.
Once inside, Anna sat down on Van Helsing's bed while he began digging through his clothes to find her something a little more suitable to wear other than his trench coat. He knew she would want to get clothes of her own, some that actually fit, but in fear that he might lose her again if he left her alone, he had decided to let her borrow some of his until she had the strength to go into town with him and buy some of her own.
"Van Helsing—" Anna started.
The man glanced over his shoulder at her. "Gabriel."
She frowned in confusion. "What?"
Van Helsing straightened, turned toward her, and then walked over to her, handing her the bundle of clothes he was carrying. "My first name is Gabriel," he informed her.
Anna looked at the clothes in her hands and then back up at the man standing in before her. "Perhaps I am remembering things incorrectly because I was under the distinct impression that you could remember nothing of your past."
Gabriel smiled down at her. "I see that your memory is returning unlike that of my own."
Anna's brow furrowed in further confusion. "But—"
He interrupted her. "I was merely told that my name is Gabriel, by an unreliable and rather malevolent source at that, but I something within my own soul is telling me that it is the truth." He paused a moment before simply saying, "I am Gabriel."
After taking a long moment to think about it, Anna smiled slightly. "Gabriel," she tried it out and then nodded, her smile growing wider. "I like it. It suits you."
Van Helsing nodded in return, smirking. "I'm glad you approve."
Anna shook her head at him and then looked back down at the clothes in her hands. She lifted a couple of the garments up and then stared up at Gabriel once again.
"I know they aren't what you are used to wearing, but until you have regained your strength and are well enough to venture out to purchase your own clothes, I thought it prudent to give you something at least a little warmer to dress in," the man explained quickly, willing himself not to blush.
"They're fine for now," she said as she stood up. She continued to stare at Gabriel for a long moment before she made a motion with her hand for him to turn around. "Would you mind?"
"Oh! Right." He immediately turned his back to her so that she could slip the clothes on with a little more dignity than if he were watching. He shook his head slightly, silently berating himself for acting like such an imbecile.
Just as Anna took off the trench coat and began to slip on some of the other clothes, there was a knock and then the door swung open.
Carl stepped inside looking rather frazzled. "Van Helsing! Friar Lawrence said he saw you walking through the corridors with a wo—" When he finally noticed that Anna was standing, and nude no less, his eyes went huge. "It's- ah, it's-ah—" He looked over at Gabriel and then back over at Anna, who was clutching a shirt to her chest in an attempt to cover herself somewhat. "But she...and we...the fire and the burning! She's-she's dead! She's ashes floating in the sea!!"
Anna looked over at Van Helsing in question, who in return grabbed Carl, pulled him in the room, and then slammed the door shut. "Lower your voice, Carl," the other man said in a low hiss.
"But-but how?" the young friar asked. "I mean, she was dead! We burned her body! How can she be alive?!"
"I died and you burned my body?" Anna interjected, beyond confused now.
Both men looked at her and nodded before they turned back to each other. "I can't really explain it, Carl. I prayed to God that He'd return her to me and He did."
"How is that possible?" Carl questioned, not sure if he should believe it or not. "I've been praying to be taller for years and the Lord has yet to grant my request!"
"You asked God to bring me back to life?" Anna questioned, her expression of bewilderment becoming more prominent now.
Gabriel glanced at her and nodded again before he looked back at Carl.
"You're not the supposed 'Left Hand of God', Carl. I have served Him long and hard," Van Helsing said, "And it wasn't until now that I ever asked something of Him."
"So He simply brought her back to life?" Hands on his hips, Carl gave the other man a skeptical look.
"Yes!"
"Will you two stop?!" Anna finally exclaimed, thoroughly exasperated now. "I AM standing right here in case you have forgotten." She waved at the two of them when they turned their heads to look at her. "And also, if you haven't noticed, I am desperately lacking clothing. So, if you'd please turn around, I'd like to put something on!"
Both men stood frozen for a moment, staring at her, before they both realized what they were doing and quickly turned around so that they were facing away from her. Carl glanced over at Gabriel and then quickly diverted his eyes back to the wall in front of him. "Was sending her back like...THAT...God's sense of humor?" he questioned quietly.
Van Helsing nodded swiftly. "That is what I was thinking."
"Ah."
Anna finished putting on the clothes she had been given and then looked over at the two men. "I'm finished," she announced.
They both slowly turned and looked at her. There was a long moment of silence.
"All right then," Carl finally said, startling everyone, even himself, by breaking the stillness of the silence the three of them had created, "I'm going...to go," he pointed toward the door, "out there and...I'll," he tried to think of something to do, "go read through some books...to uh, make sure...um...nothing bad will happen because of...this." He gave Van Helsing and Anna a small, vacillating smile before he scurried out of the room.
Gabriel watched the door close before he turned his attention back to Anna. A lopsided grin lit up his face as he stood there, head cocked to the side slightly, fighting the urge to comment on how adorable she looked swimming in his oversized clothes. Anna gave him a stern look and he quickly wiped the smirk from his face. "Uh, we'll have to go out and buy you some clothes that fit properly...When you're ready to..."
She stepped up to him, her face still serious. She didn't stop until they were mere centimeters from each other and then she tilted her head back so she could look Van Helsing in the eyes. "You spread my ashes in the sea?"
Gabriel nodded. "Yes," he replied. He too was now serious. "You said you had never been to the sea...So, I took you there." His voice was soft and his features solemn, but his eyes were filled with emotion. Sadness. Grief. Love. Longing. It was all there as he remembered that day.
Anna gazed into his eyes for several long moments before she reached up with her hand and pulled his head down to hers. Their lips hovered mere millimeters from each other for a few seconds before Anna finally moved in to seal the kiss. It was gentle and tentative at first, but quickly grew more heated.
Finally, they broke the kiss and just stood there, foreheads touching, catching their breath. Anna looked into Gabriel's eyes again and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you for taking me to the sea."
(A/N: I hope y'all liked chapter two. I hope this story is making sense. crazy eyes Anywho, the next chapter probably won't be up for a few days. Probably not till Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm having my four wisdom teeth pulled on Friday so I'm going to be out of it Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and maybe even Monday, but I promise you that I will be contemplating how to word the next chapter as I sit around high on pain medication! LOL! Remember to REVIEW!!)
