Eli: Hello! LOL, don't worry Chaosti, nothing died to inspire me to write.
Actually, the opposite is about to happen. My aunt's going to have her baby
soon. (Everyone thank her because it was finding out that she was pregnant
that made me make Sara pregnant way back in chapter 7.) Lot's of stuff to
do to help. That's why there are fewer chapters. I'm not loosing interest
in the story. Hell, I have a sequel planned out for when I am done with
this, if people still wish to read it. Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy!
Bethany walked up to the door. She rang the doorbell once. When no one answered it after ten seconds, she began pushing it over and over and over again till Gabriel opened the door.
"Hi Uncle Gabriel!" She said cheerfully. He nodded and let her in. He looked at Ian and shook his head.
"Didn't you teach her that a doorbell is not a toy?" He asked groggily.
"Yeah, but I thought you could use a wake up call." Ian replied as he entered. He smirked. "Guess I was right, too."
"Shut-up. You here to research or to annoy the hell out of me?"
"A little of both." Gabriel glared at him as they went into the office. Ian plugged in his lab top into Gabriel's computer and soon the two were typing away.
Teresa was in the living room watching TV as she sat in the floor with some crayons and paper. She looked up when Bethany entered. "Hi Beth."
"Hey Reese. Whatcha doin'?" She asked as she sat down next to Teresa, putting her backpack down next to her.
"Drawing. See?" She held up her current picture. Bethany looked at the picture and smiled.
"That's you and your dad."
Teresa nodded. "Uh huh." Bethany titled her head and pointed at Gabriel.
"Why did you make the circles on his wrist so big?" She asked. Teresa shrugged.
"Felt like it. He got those cause he got possessed by your grandfather, you know."
"I know. My daddy told me. My daddy got possessed by my grandfather too."
"Yeah. My daddy had to fight that bed Lucretia lady." Teresa replied. Bethany shrugged.
"So did mine." Bethany answered. "And he didn't get hit." She added, a bit more coldly than she wanted. Teresa looked back at her challenged and smirked.
"So, did he say anything about where he came from?" Gabriel asked. Ian shook his head.
"He said he has been with Irons for as long as he could remember." He answered as they hacked into missing children's files.
"So we have to start from scratch?" Gabriel asked. Ian sighed and nodded. "Damn, this is going to take forever."
"I know."
"You know, Ian. We might be able to speed this up." Gabriel mentioned casually.
"How?"
"Well, he does look an awful like Irons...." Gabriel stated hesitantly. Ian looked at him and shook his head.
"He isn't." He said simply. Gabriel nodded.
"Just a suggestion. I-" Just then, they both heard Teresa and Bethany screaming at the top of their lungs. They rushed into the living room, almost tripping on the computer cords. They stopped at the door when they saw that everything was fine, save for their daughters arguing.
Ian and Gabriel had to hold back laughter. Each sentence was starting with "My Daddy", and then was followed by something they thought to be impressive.
"I can't believe they are arguing about this." Gabriel mumbled as he shook his head.
"Believe it." Ian mumbled back.
"My daddy's smarter than your daddy!" Teresa shrieked.
"My daddy can kick your daddy's ass!" She screamed back.
Before either one of them could say anything else, Ian and Gabe walked in. Both girls shut up instantly.
"And what might you two be arguing about?" Gabriel asked sternly.
"Nothing." They both answered innocently.
"Don't give me that." Gabriel replied. "If we hear either of you screaming at each other again, neither of you will be going on your field trip to the museum with your class. Got it?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"Yes, Uncle Gabriel."
Ian looked at Bethany and added "Your mother is going to hear about this." Bethany nodded her head sadly.
Satisfied, they left the room to go back onto the computers. Bethany and Teresa sat down on the floor.
"So where's Dominic? I thought he was suppose to come, too." Teresa asked calmly, as if she and Bethany had not just been arguing a minute or so ago.
"My mommy took him to the doctor's. His shoulder was still hurting and he might need a cast." She answered as she took out a Lara Croft action figure from her backpack. Teresa nodded and started playing with her necklace.
Bethany looked at the necklace curiously. "When did you get that?"
"This morning. My Daddy found it in a drawer. It was my mom's." She said quietly. "I wish I could see her. She and Daddy look so happy in their pictures." Teresa said. She sighed and put her necklace back under her shirt.
Bethany bit her lip and looked down a bit. "Reese, what if I told you I could show you your mommy, but only for a little bit?"
Teresa looked at her, a bit confused at the question. "I would ask if I could see her, why?"
Bethany nodded and put her hands out. "Sit across from me and give me your hands."
"Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"You'll see." Bethany said, smiling a little. Teresa moved in front of her and took her hands. She tried to pull back when she saw the witchblade's silver tendrils start spreading off from Bethany's wrist. "It's okay, Teresa. Nothing bad will happen." She assured her as the witchblade wrapped part of itself around Teresa's wrists.
"What's happening? Where are we going?" She asked frightened as her eyes started to close.
"You'll see. Don't worry, I'll be with you." Bethany answered before they both were swept away.
~ Gabriel entered the old building. The musty smell of old books was suddenly around him. He looked around for the owner of the store.
"Anyone here?" He called out.
"Back here." He heard from the side, behind a bookshelf. He went over and found a woman on a ladder, attempting to reach something that was on the top shelf. "I'm gonna kill Mystra for breaking the other ladder. Dumb blonde." She mumbled to herself.
Gabriel studied her. She had on black capri's and what looked like a Metallica T-shirt. He coughed and she stopped reaching and looked over her shoulder. She started climbing back down. "Oh, you must be Gab-" Just then, she lost her footing and fell. Gabriel caught her before she fell on her behind, almost getting brought down with her.
The two of them were breathing pretty heavily for a bit. After a minute, they both realized they were still gripping each other. "Gabriel Bowman?" She asked as she got back onto her own feet.
"Uh, yeah."
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that. You're here to pick up the first addition Spiderman with Stan Lee's autograph, right?" She asked as she put her hair down and began to fix it back up into a pony tail.
"Right." He answered.
"This way." She started leading him into the front of the shop. She stopped at a counter and went behind it. She took out the comic and handed it to him. "You'll find everything to be perfect." He nodded. "You don't talk much, do you?" She asked, playfulness present in her voice.
He looked down at her. "Actually, people say I talk too much." She looked at him questionably. "You surprised me because-"
"You thought I was a guy?" She finished for him. She smiled when he nodded. "I get that alot. Not alot of gals in the business. Sorry to disappoint you."
"You're not disappointing at all. Clumsy, but not disappointing." He replied quickly. She looked at him amused.
"Thank-you, I think." She answered as she took the money he had just taken out of his wallet. She turned around to get his change.
"What's your name?" He asked her.
"You know it, Mr. Bowman." She replied, a smirk in her voice.
"I doubt it is actually 'Angel_Eyes'" He heard her laugh as she turned back toward him. She gave him his change.
"You would be surprised." She said and she smiled. "Good day, Mr. Bowman. thank you for your business and your assistance."
Gabriel returned the smile and left the store.
///////////
She had just locked up her store for the day when she noticed someone watching her from the corner. She turned her head a bit to get a better look. She smiled and shook her head as she started heading home.
He started losing her when she turned the corner. He sped up to catch her. When he turned the corner, he saw she was only a few feet away. She turned around on her heel and looked at him.
"Are you stalking me?" She asked, trying to seem upset but was failing miserably. Any other guy and she would have put her kick boxing skills to use. But there was something about this Bowman boy. Well, not boy so much as man......
"No, just wanted to know where you lived." He said as casually as possible. Then he felt the need to smack himself for sounding like a stalker. What the hell was he thinking? This was Nottingham's thing, not his. Hanging around Sara and her boyfriend were starting to play on him. Thank God she didn't seem creeped out.
"It would have been easier to ask. Isn't stalking illegal?" She stated, trying to look appalled. He smiled.
"You look everything but appalled." He told her. "Actually, you look beautiful." She looked surprised at that comment.
"Thanks."
"Don't you think that earns me a name?" He asked. She came closer to him till she was right in front of him.
"And what will you do with it?"
"Learn it, praise it, and hopefully get the person who it belongs to to go out with me." He answered.
She smiled. "Angelique Garnier." Gabriel closed his eyes and laughed. She nodded. "Told you my name was angel eyes."
"Well, Angelique, what do you say to coming with me for a walk?" She nodded and took his arm.
///////////
"Tell me about the last girl you kissed."
"Tough one. Let's see. Oh God." He shook his head.
"What?" She asked.
"It was one of my best friends. We had a moment. Can't believe it happened at all. Had a bit of a crush on her, but I knew it would never happen."
"Things cool in between you two?"
"Well, not at the moment, but not for that reason." He pulled away from her a little.
"Then what?" She asked, trying to pull him back.
"She's marrying her boyfriend." He mumbled.
"Oh, thought you didn't care about that." She said quietly, obviously a bit hurt.
"No, no, no. It's not jealousy, it's just he isn't....... He's bad news. I'm just worried for her. She's my friend and I don't want to see her get hurt."
Angelique nodded. "Hey, my building is like three feet away."
"Oh, you gotta turn in?" He asked. She nodded. "So, I guess I will see you around. not that I am going to stalk you anymore or, I was stalking to begin with. I'm not perverted like that or anything. I just-"
Angelique turned so that they were face to face. She rested her arm around his neck and smiled. "You know what? You do talk too much." She said amused before she kissed him.
///////////
Angelique was just about to hand over a book when a delivery man came in. "Angelique Garnier?"
"Yeah?" Angelique asked. He handed her a box. She signed for it and he left. She opened the box to find a small bottle that had some type of perfume in it. She opened it up and the scent of honey suckle filled the room. She looked at the note that came along with it.
Angel eyes,
Didn't think I noticed you stop by that patch of honey suckle the other night? Well, surprise! Hope you like it.
Gabe
Angelique smiled and put it in her pocket for safekeeping. She then remembered she had a customer. "I'm sorry about that." Angelique told her.
"Oh, it's quite alright dear." Angelique smiled at her.
"So when is your baby due?"
"Anytime. Me and his father are just counting down the days." She replied happily.
"So it is going to be a boy?"
"Yes."
"That is so great. Have a name picked out?"
"Yes, Dominic. Like his grandfather." She said proudly. Angelique wrote something into her logbook and then handed her her book.
The woman smiled. "Thank you very much."
"No, thank you, Mrs. Carver. Hope you have a good delivery."
~
Coming Attractions:
Not Forgotten
Bethany walked up to the door. She rang the doorbell once. When no one answered it after ten seconds, she began pushing it over and over and over again till Gabriel opened the door.
"Hi Uncle Gabriel!" She said cheerfully. He nodded and let her in. He looked at Ian and shook his head.
"Didn't you teach her that a doorbell is not a toy?" He asked groggily.
"Yeah, but I thought you could use a wake up call." Ian replied as he entered. He smirked. "Guess I was right, too."
"Shut-up. You here to research or to annoy the hell out of me?"
"A little of both." Gabriel glared at him as they went into the office. Ian plugged in his lab top into Gabriel's computer and soon the two were typing away.
Teresa was in the living room watching TV as she sat in the floor with some crayons and paper. She looked up when Bethany entered. "Hi Beth."
"Hey Reese. Whatcha doin'?" She asked as she sat down next to Teresa, putting her backpack down next to her.
"Drawing. See?" She held up her current picture. Bethany looked at the picture and smiled.
"That's you and your dad."
Teresa nodded. "Uh huh." Bethany titled her head and pointed at Gabriel.
"Why did you make the circles on his wrist so big?" She asked. Teresa shrugged.
"Felt like it. He got those cause he got possessed by your grandfather, you know."
"I know. My daddy told me. My daddy got possessed by my grandfather too."
"Yeah. My daddy had to fight that bed Lucretia lady." Teresa replied. Bethany shrugged.
"So did mine." Bethany answered. "And he didn't get hit." She added, a bit more coldly than she wanted. Teresa looked back at her challenged and smirked.
"So, did he say anything about where he came from?" Gabriel asked. Ian shook his head.
"He said he has been with Irons for as long as he could remember." He answered as they hacked into missing children's files.
"So we have to start from scratch?" Gabriel asked. Ian sighed and nodded. "Damn, this is going to take forever."
"I know."
"You know, Ian. We might be able to speed this up." Gabriel mentioned casually.
"How?"
"Well, he does look an awful like Irons...." Gabriel stated hesitantly. Ian looked at him and shook his head.
"He isn't." He said simply. Gabriel nodded.
"Just a suggestion. I-" Just then, they both heard Teresa and Bethany screaming at the top of their lungs. They rushed into the living room, almost tripping on the computer cords. They stopped at the door when they saw that everything was fine, save for their daughters arguing.
Ian and Gabriel had to hold back laughter. Each sentence was starting with "My Daddy", and then was followed by something they thought to be impressive.
"I can't believe they are arguing about this." Gabriel mumbled as he shook his head.
"Believe it." Ian mumbled back.
"My daddy's smarter than your daddy!" Teresa shrieked.
"My daddy can kick your daddy's ass!" She screamed back.
Before either one of them could say anything else, Ian and Gabe walked in. Both girls shut up instantly.
"And what might you two be arguing about?" Gabriel asked sternly.
"Nothing." They both answered innocently.
"Don't give me that." Gabriel replied. "If we hear either of you screaming at each other again, neither of you will be going on your field trip to the museum with your class. Got it?"
"Yes, Daddy."
"Yes, Uncle Gabriel."
Ian looked at Bethany and added "Your mother is going to hear about this." Bethany nodded her head sadly.
Satisfied, they left the room to go back onto the computers. Bethany and Teresa sat down on the floor.
"So where's Dominic? I thought he was suppose to come, too." Teresa asked calmly, as if she and Bethany had not just been arguing a minute or so ago.
"My mommy took him to the doctor's. His shoulder was still hurting and he might need a cast." She answered as she took out a Lara Croft action figure from her backpack. Teresa nodded and started playing with her necklace.
Bethany looked at the necklace curiously. "When did you get that?"
"This morning. My Daddy found it in a drawer. It was my mom's." She said quietly. "I wish I could see her. She and Daddy look so happy in their pictures." Teresa said. She sighed and put her necklace back under her shirt.
Bethany bit her lip and looked down a bit. "Reese, what if I told you I could show you your mommy, but only for a little bit?"
Teresa looked at her, a bit confused at the question. "I would ask if I could see her, why?"
Bethany nodded and put her hands out. "Sit across from me and give me your hands."
"Why?" She asked suspiciously.
"You'll see." Bethany said, smiling a little. Teresa moved in front of her and took her hands. She tried to pull back when she saw the witchblade's silver tendrils start spreading off from Bethany's wrist. "It's okay, Teresa. Nothing bad will happen." She assured her as the witchblade wrapped part of itself around Teresa's wrists.
"What's happening? Where are we going?" She asked frightened as her eyes started to close.
"You'll see. Don't worry, I'll be with you." Bethany answered before they both were swept away.
~ Gabriel entered the old building. The musty smell of old books was suddenly around him. He looked around for the owner of the store.
"Anyone here?" He called out.
"Back here." He heard from the side, behind a bookshelf. He went over and found a woman on a ladder, attempting to reach something that was on the top shelf. "I'm gonna kill Mystra for breaking the other ladder. Dumb blonde." She mumbled to herself.
Gabriel studied her. She had on black capri's and what looked like a Metallica T-shirt. He coughed and she stopped reaching and looked over her shoulder. She started climbing back down. "Oh, you must be Gab-" Just then, she lost her footing and fell. Gabriel caught her before she fell on her behind, almost getting brought down with her.
The two of them were breathing pretty heavily for a bit. After a minute, they both realized they were still gripping each other. "Gabriel Bowman?" She asked as she got back onto her own feet.
"Uh, yeah."
"Sorry, didn't mean to do that. You're here to pick up the first addition Spiderman with Stan Lee's autograph, right?" She asked as she put her hair down and began to fix it back up into a pony tail.
"Right." He answered.
"This way." She started leading him into the front of the shop. She stopped at a counter and went behind it. She took out the comic and handed it to him. "You'll find everything to be perfect." He nodded. "You don't talk much, do you?" She asked, playfulness present in her voice.
He looked down at her. "Actually, people say I talk too much." She looked at him questionably. "You surprised me because-"
"You thought I was a guy?" She finished for him. She smiled when he nodded. "I get that alot. Not alot of gals in the business. Sorry to disappoint you."
"You're not disappointing at all. Clumsy, but not disappointing." He replied quickly. She looked at him amused.
"Thank-you, I think." She answered as she took the money he had just taken out of his wallet. She turned around to get his change.
"What's your name?" He asked her.
"You know it, Mr. Bowman." She replied, a smirk in her voice.
"I doubt it is actually 'Angel_Eyes'" He heard her laugh as she turned back toward him. She gave him his change.
"You would be surprised." She said and she smiled. "Good day, Mr. Bowman. thank you for your business and your assistance."
Gabriel returned the smile and left the store.
///////////
She had just locked up her store for the day when she noticed someone watching her from the corner. She turned her head a bit to get a better look. She smiled and shook her head as she started heading home.
He started losing her when she turned the corner. He sped up to catch her. When he turned the corner, he saw she was only a few feet away. She turned around on her heel and looked at him.
"Are you stalking me?" She asked, trying to seem upset but was failing miserably. Any other guy and she would have put her kick boxing skills to use. But there was something about this Bowman boy. Well, not boy so much as man......
"No, just wanted to know where you lived." He said as casually as possible. Then he felt the need to smack himself for sounding like a stalker. What the hell was he thinking? This was Nottingham's thing, not his. Hanging around Sara and her boyfriend were starting to play on him. Thank God she didn't seem creeped out.
"It would have been easier to ask. Isn't stalking illegal?" She stated, trying to look appalled. He smiled.
"You look everything but appalled." He told her. "Actually, you look beautiful." She looked surprised at that comment.
"Thanks."
"Don't you think that earns me a name?" He asked. She came closer to him till she was right in front of him.
"And what will you do with it?"
"Learn it, praise it, and hopefully get the person who it belongs to to go out with me." He answered.
She smiled. "Angelique Garnier." Gabriel closed his eyes and laughed. She nodded. "Told you my name was angel eyes."
"Well, Angelique, what do you say to coming with me for a walk?" She nodded and took his arm.
///////////
"Tell me about the last girl you kissed."
"Tough one. Let's see. Oh God." He shook his head.
"What?" She asked.
"It was one of my best friends. We had a moment. Can't believe it happened at all. Had a bit of a crush on her, but I knew it would never happen."
"Things cool in between you two?"
"Well, not at the moment, but not for that reason." He pulled away from her a little.
"Then what?" She asked, trying to pull him back.
"She's marrying her boyfriend." He mumbled.
"Oh, thought you didn't care about that." She said quietly, obviously a bit hurt.
"No, no, no. It's not jealousy, it's just he isn't....... He's bad news. I'm just worried for her. She's my friend and I don't want to see her get hurt."
Angelique nodded. "Hey, my building is like three feet away."
"Oh, you gotta turn in?" He asked. She nodded. "So, I guess I will see you around. not that I am going to stalk you anymore or, I was stalking to begin with. I'm not perverted like that or anything. I just-"
Angelique turned so that they were face to face. She rested her arm around his neck and smiled. "You know what? You do talk too much." She said amused before she kissed him.
///////////
Angelique was just about to hand over a book when a delivery man came in. "Angelique Garnier?"
"Yeah?" Angelique asked. He handed her a box. She signed for it and he left. She opened the box to find a small bottle that had some type of perfume in it. She opened it up and the scent of honey suckle filled the room. She looked at the note that came along with it.
Angel eyes,
Didn't think I noticed you stop by that patch of honey suckle the other night? Well, surprise! Hope you like it.
Gabe
Angelique smiled and put it in her pocket for safekeeping. She then remembered she had a customer. "I'm sorry about that." Angelique told her.
"Oh, it's quite alright dear." Angelique smiled at her.
"So when is your baby due?"
"Anytime. Me and his father are just counting down the days." She replied happily.
"So it is going to be a boy?"
"Yes."
"That is so great. Have a name picked out?"
"Yes, Dominic. Like his grandfather." She said proudly. Angelique wrote something into her logbook and then handed her her book.
The woman smiled. "Thank you very much."
"No, thank you, Mrs. Carver. Hope you have a good delivery."
~
Coming Attractions:
Not Forgotten