CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Okay. You'll be available if I need to talk to you again, right?" Danny sat across from everyone as he scribbled a few more notes in his notebook.

"Of course I will." Dianna had changed into a loose fitting dress that covered her knees as she sat next to Gabriel. "I'll do anything I can to help."

"Good." Danny put the small pad into his pocket and looked at them. "Now, who wants to start." Four sets of eyes stared at him as though they suddenly didn't understand his words. "Come on guys?" He watched as they looked at each other. "Look why don't we start with that thing." He pointed to the bracelet that adorned Dianna's wrist. "I don't know how or when it changed, but it's the same one you used to wear Sara."

"Who wants coffee." Sara suddenly stood.

"You're not getting off that easy Sara." Danny growled.

"No, I'm not. But this is probably going to be a long night. Coffee wouldn't be a bad idea." She turned and walked toward the kitchen.

"It is the same bracelet, isn't it?" Danny looked at Gabriel.

"Yes and no." Gabriel spoke slowly as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and rubbed the palms of his hands together. "It's hard to explain, but when it came to be on Dianna's wrist, it changed to suite her." He looked at Dianna who had begun to absently rub the jewel. "Show him Princess."

For hours each person took turns talking about the Witchblade to Danny. He would stop them with questions off and on, but mainly he simply sat and listened carefully, filing away the things he deemed most important. At one point, while she and Sara spoke, Dianna purposely transformed the bracelet into a gauntlet and then various weapons. Danny could only watch, eyes growing wider with each new item.

"This is unbelievable." Danny finally whispered as he leaned back, draining his cup empty. "I'm seeing it with my own eyes, but I'm having a hard time believing it."

"She has a much better control over it than I ever did." Sara said as she shrugged. "I was afraid of it most of the time. I never knew what it would turn into, or if I could control it. That's why I eventually took it off. I couldn't stand it anymore."

"I see." Danny let her sad words sink in. "And you?" He pointed to Ian. "What happened to you?"

"I was no longer needed." Ian shrugged as though the point should have been understood without being vocalized. "She was no longer the Wielder."

"Of course." He leaned back and looked at the four for several painfully silent minutes.

"So what are you going to do?" Sara finally spoke up, staring at Danny with wide hopeful eyes.

"What can I do?" He stood and scratched his head. "I can't very well put what you have just told me into an official report? I would not only be the laughing stock of the department, but would probably loose my job." Finally he stared first at Dianna then at Sara. "I don't understand a thing that is happening, but I don't think I can or would do anything to stop it. What I will do, if all of you make a promise to me is try to help you as much as I legally can."

"What promise is that?" Gabriel asked.

"First, you call me if you have even the smallest hint you are going to have to use that thing." He waited as Dianna nodded. "And secondly, if you think that Mija is even remotely in danger..."

"Promise Danny." Sara suddenly stood up and approached her old partner. "I love her as much as you do and would never let anything happen."

"Okay." Sighing deeply he shook his head. "This night will definitely go down as one of my strangest." Waving he turned and quietly walked out the door.

"Well." Dianna whispered with wide eyes. "I guess that went rather well."

"Something I should have done a very long time ago." Sara said with sadness heavy in her voice. "I feel so awful now that I kept it from him."

"Sara, you told him when the time was right." Ian had stood and moved to her side, wrapping a comforting arm around her waist. "Come on, we need to get home. It's been a long day and we all need some rest."

Dianna had stayed on the sofa as Ian and Sara gathered their things and left. Her eyes were beginning to close with the heaviness of sleep as Gabriel retuned and sat next to her, scooping her body in his arms.

"What a day." She yawned as he absently stroked her hair and stared across the room.

"I was terrified I would loose you." His words were barely a whisper. "Dianna, what would I have done if I had lost you today."

"What?" Dianna pulled away from him as she turned to stare into his eyes. "Baby? Are you crying?"

"I don't ever want to loose you again Dianna." He paused as he reached out and caressed her face. "I can't loose you again." Tears began to fall down his cheeks. "I can't."

"Gabe, I..." Suddenly she could find no words to say to him. Softly she moved closer and kissed the saltiness away from his cheeks as her hands brushed loose hair off his shoulders. "I love you Gabriel Bowman. I'm not going anywhere."

"But you are." He looked away from her and pulled back slightly, taking her hands in his. "Every time that damn thing wakes up, it takes you somewhere. Somewhere I can't follow. I'm just afraid that one day you won't come back."

"I'll always come back to you Gabriel Bowman." Dianna smiled as she leaned into his body. "Not even she can keep us apart. I fought too long and too hard to find you."

"Do you have a choice?" Gabriel found himself again stroking her hair, smelling the freshness of it. "Sara could never control what it..."

"I'm not Sara." She snuggled deeper into his embrace. "We have an...understanding." Dianna laughed lightly. "She'll not let me loose you. If she does, she knows the consequences."

"And what is that?" Gabriel was genuinely curious.

"You don't want to know." Slowly she stood and extended her hands to him. "Come on, it's been a long day."

"Yes it has." He took her hands and stood, stifling a yawn. "Dianna?"

"What baby?" She let him wrap an arm around her waist as they began moving toward Gabriel's bedroom.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He stopped and turned her toward him. "What happened at the warehouse?"

"I.." She paused as her face darkened. "Not tonight. I probably do need to talk about it, but tonight all I want to do is go to sleep in your arms." She smiled softly. "I don't think this will be the last time, something like this is going to happen."

"Probably not." Gabriel hugged her tightly. "The world is full of very bad people."

"Tonight, I just want to sleep. Tomorrow, we'll talk."

"Tomorrow, we start a whole new journey Dianna Huntress." He lifted her chin and kissed her deeply.

With slow movement, Gabriel Bowman and Dianna Huntress disappeared into the darken room, and into a whole new world where they vowed to be side by side no matter what would come to pass.

Fin