A/N: I'm glad you all seem to like my story! Thank you for the reviws.
Disclaimer: I don't own it..... wish i did, but what's a girl to do, ne? ^_^
*********
"What?!!!" Sara practicly yelled.
"I'm just telling you what Knottingham told me." Gabriel held out his hands in innocence, "I swear, if I knew more I'd tell you but I don't."
"I know you would." Sara ran her fingers through her hair as she paced the length of her living room / kitchen.
"It's not all that bad, yet." Gabriel said as he grabbed a glass and headed for the sink, "I mean, they're still looking for the Wielder. They don't know who they're looking for exactly and for all we know they could be in China."
"I supose." Sara lifted her gaze from the floor in time to see the glass in Gabriel's hand break.
"Damn it!" Gabriel held a bleeding hand over the sink, "And once again the world decides it hates me." he brushed glass shards into the sink as Sara rushed over.
"No, no. The world can hate only one person at a time and right now it's working on me." Sara smiled when Gabriel chuckled at her comment.
Pulling a clean dish towel from one of the cabinets Sara wrapped his hand up tightly, "Keep pressure on that." she instructed as she grabbed their coats.
"No way, Sara." Gabriel said when he realized what was happening, "You got to say 'no' and now it's my turn."
"Gabriel." Sara raised one eye brow at him as she held out his coat.
"I don't want to go to the hospital." Gabriel protested as he craddled his injured hand against his chest.
"Gabriel, you're already bleeding through the towel." Sara pointed out as her heart began to pound, "We need to get that looked at."
The desperation that had entered Sara's voice moved Gabriel's legs and within minutes they were in the emergency room.
*********
"Back again, Mr. Bowman?" Gabriel smiled meekly up at the doctor who had addressed him.
"I just like the attention." Gabriel joked as he saluted the doctor with his bloody, toweled hand.
"Now," a short brunnet nurse closed the curtain, cutting to conversation short, "It say's here that you were in a car accident 20 days ago."
"Yes." Gabriel replied with a blank look.
"Wow...and how exactly did this, " the nurse nodded towards his hand, "happen?"
"I was getting a drink when the glass just broke." Gabriel shrugged and looked at Sara, "any thing to add?"
"No that was it." Sara said as she played the scene over and over in her mind, a neat little trick the Blade had taught her.
Gabriel's face remained blank if not somewhat curious when they opened the wound to clean it and stitch it up but by the time they had finished Sara was sure she would have a bruise on her arm where Gabriel had held onto her.
"There." the nurse smiled at them both as the male doctor finished, "That didn't seem to bad."
"Tell that to my arm." Sara laughed when Gabriel let her go.
"Sorry." he smiled, looking like a little boy as his cheeks turned pink, "I don't like needles."
Sara opened her mouth to reply but shut it quickly as a frozen scene of Gabriel standing at her sink came to mind. Focussing on it Sara gasped when she saw a reflection in the window that didn't resemble either of them.
'Move, Sara.' came a small wisper, 'Now.'
"We should get out of here." Sara said with a meaningfull glance at Gabriel as she tapped her ear in what she hoped was a casual manner.
"Yeah." Gabriel's eyes widened slightly, "You have all the information about mailing me the bill, right?" he asked the nurse.
"Unless you've moved everything should be taken care of."
"Thank you."
**********
Hurrying through the parking lot Sara was cursing under her breath as she fought to find the key to Gabriel's 'new' car on his cluttered key ring.
"I found it easily earlier, God damn it!" she tossed the key ring to Gabriel who held it up in the dim light of the street lamps.
"Ok, ha, ha, very funny, Sara." Gabriel said as he lowered the ring, "Let's just go."
"What?" Sara asked, completely lost on what could possibly be funny.
"The key." Gabriel said in a tone that sounded as though he were trying to convince himself of something, "You took it off and you're just pulling my leg."
"I don't have it." Sara walked over to the other side of the car were Gabriel stood and pulled the key ring out of his hand.
"It's not there."
"It has to be!" Sara looked up to see the unmistakeble form of Ian Knottingahm walking towards them.
"You should leave." he said as Sara noticed blood on his coat.
"Are you hurt?" she asked as Gabriel stepped behind her.
"Sara?" Gabriel said quietly, "Um...We're not alone."
Sara turned to where Gabriel was pointing and saw the shadows just beyond the street lights moving.
"Get him home." Ian said as he held out a silver object, "Stay there. It may be a long night."
Taking the silver object Sara realized it was Gabriel's key.
"So I take it our, shadowy friends are solid enough." Gabriel smirked and Ian smiled at him.
"Enough to draw blood." Ian bowed to them before walking off towards the shadows.
**********
After locking everything from the doors and windows to the old laundry schute they both crashed on Gabriel's bed fully clothed, shoes and all, but Sara couldn't sleep. When she did manage to drift off her dreams were haunted by images of the past.
At one point Sara found herself wondering the field where Joan had found Travis' body. Everything looked the same yet this time it was oddly silent. The loss of Joan's keening left Sara feeling empty and very much alone as she watched Joan cradle Travis to her. Kneeling down next to her Sara could see the trail left by tears on Joan's face, one just like her own, in the dirt and blood that had yet to dry.
Feeling her own heart tighten at the loss, the current day Wielder had to force herself to stand and look away.
'I never thought you'd leave her side.' a voice in Sara's ear caused her to jump.
Turning she came face to face with Gabriel. Her Gabriel.
'I saw it.' his voice was sad but his lips weren't moving, 'I saw it all. Starting with her death and then working my way back here...back to you.'
'How?' Sara heard her voice shake as Gabriel looked down at Travis.
'How isn't the question I've been asking. It's why.' Gabriel's hazel eyes held a trace of fear and a small gleam of hope, 'We see what we're ment to see.'
'Most see what they want to see.' Sara sighed feeling everything shift around them.
*********
Sara's eyes flew open and she sat up to see Gabriel sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her.
"Did that really happen?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to speak.
"Yeah." Gabriel sighed and turned to look at the still dark windows, "Joan couldn't cope without Travis." he said suddenly.
Sara didn't know what to say so she just sat there waiting for him to say more. After a few moments he did.
"Every Wielder has a Guide to help them in finding their feet once they get thrown onto destiny's wheel. Travis was Joan's. They help to calm and collect everything in the Wielder's life. They act as a 'filter' I suppose when it comes to these voices that you and all the others have heard. Once this 'filter' is gone....the Wielder no longer knows wich voice/warning/spirit or whatever you want to call them, to listen to. The messages get jumbled and the Wielder has no way of sorting them out."
"So they question their purpose when they start to get confused and loose their minds." Sara finished when Gabriel didn't, "I know." she smiled, "I've been close to it many times but I've always found my way back because there was someone leading me." she slid into a sitting position behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist with her legs on either side of his.
"She died, you died because I died." Gabriel tried to pull away from her touch but she was one step ahead and placed her legs over his to keep him from being capable of standing, "Without Travis Joan began to rant, the voices never slept and she was called a witch and was burned alive because those 'voices' wouldn't leave her alone."
"She died because no one wanted to believe that such things could be true." Gabriel stiffened against Sara, "The voices are another thing entirely. One I'm not sure how to explain." she pulled him back till he was leaing against her.
"I don't want to fail you." he said quietly.
"You never will." she kissed his jaw gently then his neck, feeling his body relax into her's.
"But what if they win?" he asked with a sigh.
"Then we try again next time." Sara smiled, "Life is precious.... yet we all worry about the wrong things. Life does and will always come again. You have done too much in this life to ever be called a failure."
Gabriel was silent for a moment then replied to her statement with a sleepy, "I love you, Sara."
Sara nodded with a small smile, "I love you too, Gabriel."
*********
Sara hadn't wanted to leave Gabriel alone but he had forced her into going to work.
"I'll be fine." he kept saying, "Sly's coming over to lend a hand-" Sara laughed "Uhh, yeah, no pun intended."
"I'll call you every chance I get." Sara said just before kissing him good bye.
********
"So how are thing's with Gabriel?" Danny asked once Sara was seated behind her desk.
"Good. Why?" she asked cautiously, the static in the air was thick, something was up.
"Just wondering." He smiled and changed the subjct when Jake entered the office.
Around noon Sara called Gabriel and Sly answered the phone.
"You're boy's in the middle of packaging up a shipment, just a second."
There was a loud ripping noice and a curse or two when the phone was dropped and then, "Hey, how's everything on your end?"
"Good, if not a bit dull." Sara smiled then asked, "How did you manage to package something with only one good hand?"
"Very carefully." Gabriel laughed, "It's been fun odering Sly around though. He volunteered to help and I've just been telling him what to do."
"Sounds fun." Sara grinned as Danny looked up at her, "Well, I check in again later. Yup, bye."
"'One good hand'?" Danny asked.
"A glass broke last night and he ended up with a few stitches." Sara explained.
"Ouch. How'd that happen?"
"I'm not sure." Sara looked up as a man in a long coat walked towards their closed door but paused to chat with Dante, "One second, he's getting a glass of water and the next, there's blood in my sink."
Sara hadn't taken her eyes off of Dante and the man in the winter coat.
Dante suddenly turned and knocked on the door before opening it, "Petz-ini, this is Mr. Knowl. He's here to see you."
Danny left behind Dante to give them some privacy but Sara noticed that as any good partner would do, he remained close by.
"Let me get to the point, Miss Pezzini and save us both some time." Mr. Knowl sat in the chair by the closed door and stripped off his gloves, "Have you ever heard of an object called the Witchblade?"
'Has this guy ever heard of tact?'
"Pardon?" Sara asked a bit taken back by his forward nature.
"The witchblade. Have you ever heard of or seen it before?"
"I don't know what you are talking about." Sara tilted her head to the side as she wondered if this guy was one the 'one's' Ian had mentioned that killed Travis.
"I believe you may be lieing to me." Mr. Knowl looked agrivated, "Now try again."
"You do realize that you are sitting in a police station, do you not?" Sara asked, thankfull that she was wearing a long sleeved shirt, "And I have already answered your question, so I will not 'try again'!" her tone had turned deadly.
Mr. Knowl nodded and stood, "Good day then,Sara. I will be seeing you again soon."
And, pulling one of Ian's tricks, he was gone.
*********
A/N: That was a long one. ^_^ Please review.
By the way, the whole 'the world can hate only one person at a time and right now it's working on me' is an actual comment one of my friends made when he realized that he had created quite the problem for himself. ^_^ I just had to add it.
Disclaimer: I don't own it..... wish i did, but what's a girl to do, ne? ^_^
*********
"What?!!!" Sara practicly yelled.
"I'm just telling you what Knottingham told me." Gabriel held out his hands in innocence, "I swear, if I knew more I'd tell you but I don't."
"I know you would." Sara ran her fingers through her hair as she paced the length of her living room / kitchen.
"It's not all that bad, yet." Gabriel said as he grabbed a glass and headed for the sink, "I mean, they're still looking for the Wielder. They don't know who they're looking for exactly and for all we know they could be in China."
"I supose." Sara lifted her gaze from the floor in time to see the glass in Gabriel's hand break.
"Damn it!" Gabriel held a bleeding hand over the sink, "And once again the world decides it hates me." he brushed glass shards into the sink as Sara rushed over.
"No, no. The world can hate only one person at a time and right now it's working on me." Sara smiled when Gabriel chuckled at her comment.
Pulling a clean dish towel from one of the cabinets Sara wrapped his hand up tightly, "Keep pressure on that." she instructed as she grabbed their coats.
"No way, Sara." Gabriel said when he realized what was happening, "You got to say 'no' and now it's my turn."
"Gabriel." Sara raised one eye brow at him as she held out his coat.
"I don't want to go to the hospital." Gabriel protested as he craddled his injured hand against his chest.
"Gabriel, you're already bleeding through the towel." Sara pointed out as her heart began to pound, "We need to get that looked at."
The desperation that had entered Sara's voice moved Gabriel's legs and within minutes they were in the emergency room.
*********
"Back again, Mr. Bowman?" Gabriel smiled meekly up at the doctor who had addressed him.
"I just like the attention." Gabriel joked as he saluted the doctor with his bloody, toweled hand.
"Now," a short brunnet nurse closed the curtain, cutting to conversation short, "It say's here that you were in a car accident 20 days ago."
"Yes." Gabriel replied with a blank look.
"Wow...and how exactly did this, " the nurse nodded towards his hand, "happen?"
"I was getting a drink when the glass just broke." Gabriel shrugged and looked at Sara, "any thing to add?"
"No that was it." Sara said as she played the scene over and over in her mind, a neat little trick the Blade had taught her.
Gabriel's face remained blank if not somewhat curious when they opened the wound to clean it and stitch it up but by the time they had finished Sara was sure she would have a bruise on her arm where Gabriel had held onto her.
"There." the nurse smiled at them both as the male doctor finished, "That didn't seem to bad."
"Tell that to my arm." Sara laughed when Gabriel let her go.
"Sorry." he smiled, looking like a little boy as his cheeks turned pink, "I don't like needles."
Sara opened her mouth to reply but shut it quickly as a frozen scene of Gabriel standing at her sink came to mind. Focussing on it Sara gasped when she saw a reflection in the window that didn't resemble either of them.
'Move, Sara.' came a small wisper, 'Now.'
"We should get out of here." Sara said with a meaningfull glance at Gabriel as she tapped her ear in what she hoped was a casual manner.
"Yeah." Gabriel's eyes widened slightly, "You have all the information about mailing me the bill, right?" he asked the nurse.
"Unless you've moved everything should be taken care of."
"Thank you."
**********
Hurrying through the parking lot Sara was cursing under her breath as she fought to find the key to Gabriel's 'new' car on his cluttered key ring.
"I found it easily earlier, God damn it!" she tossed the key ring to Gabriel who held it up in the dim light of the street lamps.
"Ok, ha, ha, very funny, Sara." Gabriel said as he lowered the ring, "Let's just go."
"What?" Sara asked, completely lost on what could possibly be funny.
"The key." Gabriel said in a tone that sounded as though he were trying to convince himself of something, "You took it off and you're just pulling my leg."
"I don't have it." Sara walked over to the other side of the car were Gabriel stood and pulled the key ring out of his hand.
"It's not there."
"It has to be!" Sara looked up to see the unmistakeble form of Ian Knottingahm walking towards them.
"You should leave." he said as Sara noticed blood on his coat.
"Are you hurt?" she asked as Gabriel stepped behind her.
"Sara?" Gabriel said quietly, "Um...We're not alone."
Sara turned to where Gabriel was pointing and saw the shadows just beyond the street lights moving.
"Get him home." Ian said as he held out a silver object, "Stay there. It may be a long night."
Taking the silver object Sara realized it was Gabriel's key.
"So I take it our, shadowy friends are solid enough." Gabriel smirked and Ian smiled at him.
"Enough to draw blood." Ian bowed to them before walking off towards the shadows.
**********
After locking everything from the doors and windows to the old laundry schute they both crashed on Gabriel's bed fully clothed, shoes and all, but Sara couldn't sleep. When she did manage to drift off her dreams were haunted by images of the past.
At one point Sara found herself wondering the field where Joan had found Travis' body. Everything looked the same yet this time it was oddly silent. The loss of Joan's keening left Sara feeling empty and very much alone as she watched Joan cradle Travis to her. Kneeling down next to her Sara could see the trail left by tears on Joan's face, one just like her own, in the dirt and blood that had yet to dry.
Feeling her own heart tighten at the loss, the current day Wielder had to force herself to stand and look away.
'I never thought you'd leave her side.' a voice in Sara's ear caused her to jump.
Turning she came face to face with Gabriel. Her Gabriel.
'I saw it.' his voice was sad but his lips weren't moving, 'I saw it all. Starting with her death and then working my way back here...back to you.'
'How?' Sara heard her voice shake as Gabriel looked down at Travis.
'How isn't the question I've been asking. It's why.' Gabriel's hazel eyes held a trace of fear and a small gleam of hope, 'We see what we're ment to see.'
'Most see what they want to see.' Sara sighed feeling everything shift around them.
*********
Sara's eyes flew open and she sat up to see Gabriel sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her.
"Did that really happen?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to speak.
"Yeah." Gabriel sighed and turned to look at the still dark windows, "Joan couldn't cope without Travis." he said suddenly.
Sara didn't know what to say so she just sat there waiting for him to say more. After a few moments he did.
"Every Wielder has a Guide to help them in finding their feet once they get thrown onto destiny's wheel. Travis was Joan's. They help to calm and collect everything in the Wielder's life. They act as a 'filter' I suppose when it comes to these voices that you and all the others have heard. Once this 'filter' is gone....the Wielder no longer knows wich voice/warning/spirit or whatever you want to call them, to listen to. The messages get jumbled and the Wielder has no way of sorting them out."
"So they question their purpose when they start to get confused and loose their minds." Sara finished when Gabriel didn't, "I know." she smiled, "I've been close to it many times but I've always found my way back because there was someone leading me." she slid into a sitting position behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist with her legs on either side of his.
"She died, you died because I died." Gabriel tried to pull away from her touch but she was one step ahead and placed her legs over his to keep him from being capable of standing, "Without Travis Joan began to rant, the voices never slept and she was called a witch and was burned alive because those 'voices' wouldn't leave her alone."
"She died because no one wanted to believe that such things could be true." Gabriel stiffened against Sara, "The voices are another thing entirely. One I'm not sure how to explain." she pulled him back till he was leaing against her.
"I don't want to fail you." he said quietly.
"You never will." she kissed his jaw gently then his neck, feeling his body relax into her's.
"But what if they win?" he asked with a sigh.
"Then we try again next time." Sara smiled, "Life is precious.... yet we all worry about the wrong things. Life does and will always come again. You have done too much in this life to ever be called a failure."
Gabriel was silent for a moment then replied to her statement with a sleepy, "I love you, Sara."
Sara nodded with a small smile, "I love you too, Gabriel."
*********
Sara hadn't wanted to leave Gabriel alone but he had forced her into going to work.
"I'll be fine." he kept saying, "Sly's coming over to lend a hand-" Sara laughed "Uhh, yeah, no pun intended."
"I'll call you every chance I get." Sara said just before kissing him good bye.
********
"So how are thing's with Gabriel?" Danny asked once Sara was seated behind her desk.
"Good. Why?" she asked cautiously, the static in the air was thick, something was up.
"Just wondering." He smiled and changed the subjct when Jake entered the office.
Around noon Sara called Gabriel and Sly answered the phone.
"You're boy's in the middle of packaging up a shipment, just a second."
There was a loud ripping noice and a curse or two when the phone was dropped and then, "Hey, how's everything on your end?"
"Good, if not a bit dull." Sara smiled then asked, "How did you manage to package something with only one good hand?"
"Very carefully." Gabriel laughed, "It's been fun odering Sly around though. He volunteered to help and I've just been telling him what to do."
"Sounds fun." Sara grinned as Danny looked up at her, "Well, I check in again later. Yup, bye."
"'One good hand'?" Danny asked.
"A glass broke last night and he ended up with a few stitches." Sara explained.
"Ouch. How'd that happen?"
"I'm not sure." Sara looked up as a man in a long coat walked towards their closed door but paused to chat with Dante, "One second, he's getting a glass of water and the next, there's blood in my sink."
Sara hadn't taken her eyes off of Dante and the man in the winter coat.
Dante suddenly turned and knocked on the door before opening it, "Petz-ini, this is Mr. Knowl. He's here to see you."
Danny left behind Dante to give them some privacy but Sara noticed that as any good partner would do, he remained close by.
"Let me get to the point, Miss Pezzini and save us both some time." Mr. Knowl sat in the chair by the closed door and stripped off his gloves, "Have you ever heard of an object called the Witchblade?"
'Has this guy ever heard of tact?'
"Pardon?" Sara asked a bit taken back by his forward nature.
"The witchblade. Have you ever heard of or seen it before?"
"I don't know what you are talking about." Sara tilted her head to the side as she wondered if this guy was one the 'one's' Ian had mentioned that killed Travis.
"I believe you may be lieing to me." Mr. Knowl looked agrivated, "Now try again."
"You do realize that you are sitting in a police station, do you not?" Sara asked, thankfull that she was wearing a long sleeved shirt, "And I have already answered your question, so I will not 'try again'!" her tone had turned deadly.
Mr. Knowl nodded and stood, "Good day then,Sara. I will be seeing you again soon."
And, pulling one of Ian's tricks, he was gone.
*********
A/N: That was a long one. ^_^ Please review.
By the way, the whole 'the world can hate only one person at a time and right now it's working on me' is an actual comment one of my friends made when he realized that he had created quite the problem for himself. ^_^ I just had to add it.
