Hi. Uh, remember me? Sorry about the lengthy hiatus. Writer's block, rewrites, school, trying not to flunk out of school....that sort of thing. But I have new chapters coming, and an ending worked out. I hope you like this chapter. I think I wrote four different versions.
Also- as always, none of the directly derived Witchblade stuff belongs to me.
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Sara hustled Jake out the door as soon as was humanly possible. Gabriel and Adrienne had even pitched in with the more mundane casework so the blond detective would leave sooner. Driving home, Jake had the nagging feeling that he was somehow out of the loop, but there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, he didn't even know for sure if there was a loop to be left out of.
Adrienne flopped down on the floor and announced cheerfully, "I set wards around the whole apartment. No one outside this apartment can hear us, and if someone tries to come in, we'll know because the lights will flicker and your clock radio will go off. "Gabe looked unabashedly impressed. Sara's expression was one of amused skepticism.
"State of the art security system, huh?"
"Hey, look who's talking, Miss I-wear-a-sentient-bracelet-that-turns-into-a-sword-and-talks-to-me."
"Touche."
"Hey," Gabe piped up, "Can you guys quit squabbling and get on with telling...what ever it is you haven't told me?" Aside from becoming somewhat impatient, Gabriel was feeling almost as uncomfortable with both Sara and Adrienne as he had while waiting with Adrienne alone. According to Sara, the two women had met only a few days before, and yet it seemed as though they had been close for years. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous. It wasn't because he was displeased that Sara had found family, he just felt shortchanged somehow. Even though he wasn't family, Gabe had know and befriended Sara quite a while before Adrienne made her existence known. But he gave it only a passing thought as he looked expectantly to Sara and Adrienne to begin their promised explanation.
Sara looked at Adrienne. Adrienne looked at Sara. Finally, Adrienne spoke up. "All right, I guess I get to start." She adjusted her position on the floor so as to be more comfortable, then, she cleared her throat and began. "Please save all questions and comments until the end of the lecture. And remember, this material will be covered on the final."
Sara snorted audibly, and then listened again to Adrienne's account of their relation and the involvement of the Witchblade. When she had finished, Sara picked up and filled in a few of the blanks in the story.
After studying his friends (for he now considered Adrienne one) thoughtfully for a moment or two, Gabriel spoke. "I think that was the plot of a series of fantasy novels I read once," he declared. This comment sent Adrienne, Sara, and eventually Gabriel himself into peals of laughter.