Disclaimer: I do not own either Twilight, Highlander, or Doctor Who, although Gabriel is my own creation.

Italics are all thoughts and flash backs.

Chapter XXI: Bliss

I awoke gasping for oxygen while arching my back violently. My eyesight was still blurry and I was disoriented. I could feel that my body was still in the healing stage, because I felt sore and stiff. Through all of this, I started to get my bearings on my surroundings. I could tell that I was shirtless, due to the slight chill of the air. I smelt smoke from a fireplace somewhere close to me. I also could tell that I had been laid out on a couch and covered with a soft cotton blanket. If I were to assume where I was, I'd guess I was in one of Carlisle's living spaces. After my temporary death, they must have taken me back to the manor to wait for me to awaken.

It took several minutes for me to fully grasp where I was. Temporary deaths are usually frightening and confusing. There is no out of body experience, no dreams. It was as if your consciousness completely shut down, and you were ripped right out of space and time. It was truly disturbing.

I could feel that I wasn't alone in the room. As I struggled to focus my vision, I noticed Tanya sitting on the floor next to the couch. I could vaguely tell that she offered me a loving smile, but her eyes were distressed. Weakly, I reached for her face to cup it in my palm. She held my hand there briefly before turning to kiss it, "I promised that I'd be here once you woke up."

I swallowed to lubricate my throat, which hurt, "Thank you. I'm sorry if I disappointed you at all. I just couldn't think rationally. Oh, I'm so sorry to be the cause of your distress…"

Tanya hushed me quietly, "I refuse to blame you for anything. What happened is irrelevant. I'm just happy that you're okay."

I nodded the best I could while laying on the couch. I could feel more presences in the room, so I began to look around. I could see all of my Immortal comrades within the room, as well as the Denalis, Carlisle, and Esme. I began to sit up, but struggled to do so. Tanya helped into a sitting position and joined me on the couch.

It was now that the full impact of Cain's confession fell onto me. I felt betrayed by the Watchers, specifically Joe. If he did in fact have knowledge of Cain's real history or Aika's murder at the hands of the Watchers, then he and I would have indefinite issues. With that thought, my blood began to boil. I took several deep breathes to regain my composure. I felt everyone in the room take in my tense posture. Tanya grabbed my left hand and entwined our fingers in an attempt to help me relax. I turned my head to offer her a thankful smile, "Thank you, my love."

I then turned my attention to Duncan, "We need to speak with Joe. It doesn't matter how, but this conversation needs to be in person."

"What happened between you and Cain? I haven't seen you this much on edge in over a century." Duncan asked, concerned.

I cleared my throat to try to get rid of some of the hoarseness in my voice, "It's not what happened between us, Duncan. It's what he told me."

Connor stood from his spot on the loveseat, and moved closer to me, "What did he say to you?"

I glanced at every Immortal in the room, attempting to imagine their reaction to Cain's confession. This would change everything, "He said that Lilith caused Abel to grow mad and power-hungry. This eventually caused Cain to confront Abel about Lilith's true intentions to create a massive world-wide empire. They fought, and Cain took his brother's head. Lilith would then cast Cain from his kingdom, and made him Immortal. Her spell, however, created the rest of us. Once she realized this, she formed the Watchers to keep eye on Cain, as well as to encourage a war between the Immortals; effectively creating the Game. Her purpose was to rid herself of Cain and have the winner of the Game by her side in the event that her new world order came to pass," I paused to gaze upon Duncan with an expression that showed my rage, "He also said that the Watchers murdered Aika, not Cain."

Every Immortal in the room looked completely taken aback. No one spoke for ten minutes. Connor furrowed his brows then looked at me, "I… you actually believe him?"

"Cain has a reputation for many things, but he's not one to lie. That, you can believe, Connor." Methos explained from his position leaning against the door-frame of the living room.

"So, you see why I want to speak with Joe. If he knows any of this, then we have been lend on from the moment you discovered the Watchers, Duncan. And, I want answers." I continued through gritted teeth.

Duncan nodded solemnly before standing to exit the room, "I'll call him right now."

After Duncan left, the room slipped into a tense silence. I rubbed my forehead with my right hand to ease my stress. Needless to say, it didn't relieve it. Tanya started to rub her thumb across my hand to help me relax. I sighed lightly, and smiled at her, "I'll be fine. It's just that… everything I had believed for almost two hundred years has been flipped on its head. I'm simply struggling to keep up."

She leaned in to kiss me. After she pulled away she cupped my face with her hands, "Whatever happens, just know that I will stand by you. I will always stand by you."

I smiled and kissed her again, "What would I do without you?"

Carlisle cleared his throat to get our attention. I smiled shyly, aware that the whole room witnessed our tender moment. I never fancied being watched during such moments. I gave Carlisle my full attention, "Yes, brother?"

He looked utterly concerned, "Are you okay, Gabriel?"

He walked toward me in full doctor mode. I shook my head, "I'll live. Temporary deaths are never an experience one simply shrugs away."

"I'd like to check your wounds to see how everything is healing, or what has already healed," Carlisle said with concern still in his voice.

I offered him a reassuring smile, "Really, Carlisle, there's no need. I'll be completely fine in a few hours time."

"Please, indulge me," it was then that I saw how tense he was. Seeing my temporary death must have been devastating to him. I nodded as he knelt down in front of me. He removed the bandage that was across my midsection. I glanced down as well to see how far along my healing was. There was a faint scar still there. It had a slight blue tint to it, so I knew that the Quickening was hard at work. Carlisle hummed in curiosity and mentioned for me to lift my left arm. I did as such, and he began to examine that wound as well. He smiled and stood back up. I could till that the Immortal healing process fascinated him.

I grinned at his gleeful expression, "Satisfied now?"

"That's quite impressive if I do say so myself! Your wounds were so extreme that I honestly didn't know what to do. I understood what you told me of the Immortal healing process, but I never imagined it would heal such extensive wounds!" He exclaimed like a child who spoke of Christmas morning.

All Immortals in the room laughed. After I relaxed, I grinned at Carlisle, "Well, I'm glad you're impressed! Just one question, how long was I out for?"

"A whole six hours, actually. That's a new record for you," Connor tried to take the shock out of his answer by smiling cheekily at me.

I raised my eyebrows in shock, "Wow, I guess there's always something new to experience."

"What's it like?" Tanya whispered at my side.

I sighed deeply before answering her, "There's no thought, there's just complete blackness. It's almost like no time has passed at all. Then you wake up, and you struggle for breath. Sometimes you're in pain, but usually you're utterly disoriented. It's… it's never something you get use to."

Just then, Duncan walked back into the room, "Joe will be here tomorrow. He's catching a plane into Seattle. Just to let you know, I'm not looking forward to this."

I slowly pushed myself to my feet and walked over to my First Teacher. I placed my right hand on his shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Neither do I, Duncan. I just pray that he is completely oblivious to all of this. Now, if you'll all excuse me, I'm going back to my house to change and relax before he gets here."

I still had my jeans on from my confrontation with Cain, which had blood stains on them. Methos reached down to his feet and presented me with my sword. I walked over to him and took it with a thankful smile. I walked out of the house hand in hand with Tanya. I could tell that she was still tense. We walked in silence to my home and remained that way once we entered. I placed my sword on a couch in the living room and continued walking towards my bedroom. Once there, I collapsed on my back onto my bed, still exhausted. Tanya walked over to stand between my legs.

Feeling the need to hold her, I sat up and wrapped my arms around her waist. She leaned into me, and bent down to kiss the top of my head while wrapping her arms around my neck. After several minutes, Tanya pulled away to straddle my lap. I leaned back with my arms behind me, bracing my weight. I gazed into her eyes to see a growing predatory look in them. She smiled slyly at me before placing a hand on my chest over my heart.

"You gave me quite the scare, Mr. Cullen." Even though she spoke in a flirtatious manner, I knew that my temporary death had truly frightened her.

I leaned up to kiss her. We kissed for several minutes before she pushed me unto my back. She hovered above me with both of her hands on my chest to brace herself as she gazed longingly into my eyes. I reached up with my right hand to cup her cheek, stroking it with my thumb, "I promise that I'll never leave you, even in the shadow of oblivion. You have my heart and soul. So, you're stuck with me," I finished with a smile.

She laughed at my last statement, "Oh, as you are with me."

With that she bore down on me completely. We kissed passionately, our arms embracing one another. Soon, Tanya put enough space between us to gaze into my eyes. I could see love and passion present there, as well as lust. Her expression was full of want, "I love you with all of my heart. I can't wait any longer."

"Nor can I, my love." I whispered lovingly as I sat up to kiss her.

…

The next couple of hours can only be described as complete bliss. We confessed our love for each other numerous times throughout our lovemaking. It was perfect. After a while, I feel exhausted as Tanya lay next to me. We kissed deeply and embraced as sleep overtook me in the late hours of the morning.

…

I awoke to the sound of the shower running in my master bath. I could feel like I was on cloud nine. I could smell Tanya all over me and in the sheets of the bed. I smiled contently and rolled onto my back to stretch. I glanced at the clock to see that it was well past noon. With a groan, I jumped out of bed and into the bathroom. I could see Tanya's silhouette in the shower. I smiled as I walked to the door and stepped in to join her.

She turned and grinned at me, "I was wondering when you'd awake, dear. For awhile there, I thought I broke you."

I laughed as I embraced her, moving us both under the warm water, "Oh, that you did not, love. It was the best night of my existence."

"As it was mine," She grinned at me.

I leaned in to kiss her deeply, as she smiled into it. It was in that moment that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that every fiber of my being belonged to her. It was extraordinary. No amount of words could express my love for her. It was serenity in its purist form.

I continued to kiss down her neck when she playfully swatted me, "As much I'd love to continue what we left off from early this morning, I believe your Watcher friend will be here today. And, if we don't stop now, I can guarantee you that I'll lock you up in here with me."

As much as I'd like a twenty four hour romp with the love of my life, I did have to speak with Joe. Hopefully, it was to inform him of the truth, and not him confessing his betrayal to us. I can't guarantee my actions in such a scenario.

So, I kissed Tanya one last time before finishing up the shower. After getting dressed and grabbing a quick lunch, we walked leisurely to the main house. As we walked into the threshold, we were greeted by an ecstatic Kate and Irina. They were both rocking back and forth on their heels, with Cheshire cat grins plastered on their faces. Both Tanya and I laughed at the display.

"You two are positively glowing!" Irina explained as see launched herself at us, wrapping us in a tight embrace.

"About God damn time, too!" Kate followed suit.

They pulled away from us, and Kate let out a squeal as she hopped up and down. We all laughed as the one thousand year old vampire acted like an excited seven year old and walked further into the manor. The four of us walked into the living room where the rest of the families were gathered. I immediately noticed the absence of my fellow Immortals.

"They're out on the back porch having a discussion about Joe Dawson." Edward answered, reading my thoughts.

I nodded and walked with Tanya to a space on one of the couches. She perched herself on my lap and I wrapped my arms around her lovingly. Rosalie, who was sitting across from us noticed our demeanor, and smiled knowingly, "Well, look at you two! You're glowing radiantly!"

We both just grinned at her. Tanya was as close to Rosalie as she was to her sisters. They talked about everything, and spent a large amount of time with each other. So, I know when Tanya and I got together, Rosalie was right after Tanya's sisters in congratulations. Rose and I had also gotten close. She was the one out of all Carlisle's children that I'd become closest to. I almost saw her as a daughter, to be honest.

"Thank you, my dear!" I offered Rose thankfully.

The rest of the family offered their congratulations with smiles or tight embraces. I know they've been happy for Tanya and I since the beginning, but this solidified everything in their eyes. Tanya and I weren't complaining, either. We'd been looking forward to this moment in our relationship for some time now. Soon, another important milestone would follow. I can bet on it, I thought smiling at Tanya.

Not a moment later, Duncan walked into the room. He noticed Tanya and I and smiled, but said nothing of it. Something was on his mind, "Good afternoon you two. Joe will be here any minute. He's got a rental car from the airport, and he's got the address. I'll be out front waiting for him."

I nodded my understanding, and Duncan made his way toward the front entrance. All the other Immortals came in after that. Seeing Tanya and I glowing, Amanda saw this as an opportunity to annoy the hell out of me for the next hour. Tanya found it utterly amusing, even commenting on how we argued like siblings. I scowled at the comment.

We were jerked out of our fun by the sound of the door opening. I could hear Duncan talking with Joe Dawson as they made their way toward the living room. Once there, Joe stopped dead in his tracks, eyes wide as he took in the large number of vampires.

"I'm just going to take a guess and say that the Watchers are aware of vampires," Methos commented.

I noticed Joe relax a little, and shrugged, "I was told about it when I was with them, but I never met one until now."

Each Immortal walked over to greet the former Watcher pleasantly, all except me. I sat there with Tanya until they stopped their idle chatting. Joe then searched me out and smiled, "It's been a long time, Gabe. How are you doing?"

"I've had an interesting twenty four hours. I think you should find a seat, Joe. We need to talk…"

A/N: So, chapter 21 as promised! First thing I want to point out is that I had no intention of writing in detail the sex scene with Gabriel and Tanya. One, because I'm trying to keep it T; and two, because I honesty couldn't write it if I tried. I may think that I'm an okay writer, but that is something I just couldn't figure out how to sit down and write.

Second thing, I thought it was a good idea to have the Watchers be aware of the supernatural world. They may not interact with them, but they are aware of their existence. I can go into that in detail next chapter.

And finally, whatever creed or religion you have… Happy Easter!

Until next time…