"Birds of Pray"

Chapter 9

"It's Time To Come Home"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I love reviews, I really do. It makes me so happy when people enjoy my stories and when they take the time to tell me so. All that I ask is that you please, please don't put spoilers in your reviews – thanks so much!

Katherine couldn't quite believe what had just happened; had she really just told Gabriel that she would have slept with him?

Judging from the look on his face, the answer was yes, she had.

After a moment, he found his voice. "Katherine… I'm stunned."

She laughed nervously. "Yeah, me too. But you know, if it kept me safe from Lucifer…"

"Ahh," he said ruefully, "I should've known."

For some reason, she felt that she should elaborate. "I mean, it's not like you're not… not… attractive… I guess… it's just that, you know, Greg and I – "

"It's all right, Katherine," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "I know."

Katherine's stomach growled loudly. She looked up at the clock and was astounded to see that it was nearly noon.

"Did you realize that we've been sitting here talking for almost five hours?" she suddenly asked, relieved to have an excuse to change the subject.

"No," Gabriel said, and frowned. "I remember what it was like being human… measuring time in hours and minutes. But I never got used to it, you know? Time doesn't really mean much to me unless I have something important I gotta do."

She nodded. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't." She took a sip of coffee. "Are you hungry? Do you want to get some lunch somewhere?"

He shrugged. "I could eat, yeah."

"All right," she said, rising. "Let's go. I'm getting sick of this kitchen!"

Katherine and Gabriel drove around for forty-five minutes in search of a restaurant that they could both agree upon, and it was not lost on her that anyone who overheard their bickering might easily mistake them for a married couple.

"Look, there's the Olive Garden – how about that?" she suggested.

"What's that? Greek food?"

"No, Italian."

Gabriel shrugged. "Yeah, sure."

She glanced over at him. "Do my ears deceive me? Did we just discover a restaurant that meets your exacting standards, O great Archangel?"

He gave her a look, and she laughed as she pulled into the parking lot.

"Olive Garden," he muttered under his breath as they got out of the car and walked toward the restaurant. "Sounds like they should have Greek food with a name like that."

"Well, they don't," she told him. She stopped walking and looked at him. "Don't tell me you'd rather have Greek!"

"Nah, this is fine," he said, and surprised her by holding the door open for her, just as a human man might have done.

"Why Gabriel, what a surprise," she murmured as she went inside.

"Habit I picked up when I was human," he explained.

"Let me tell you, being human did you a world of good!"

He made one of his little noises in reply: Hnnuhhh.

"Two, please," Katherine said to the hostess. "And how long is the wait?" she asked as an afterthought.

The hostess glanced at her list. "About fifteen minutes," she replied.

Katherine looked at Gabriel, who shrugged.

"All right," Katherine agreed. She peered into the dining room, trying to assess if their wait might turn out to be shorter. "Oh my God," she whispered. "It can't be!"

But it was. Greg was sitting at a table over in the corner, and he wasn't by himself.

He was with a beautiful young blonde girl, and as Katherine stood there staring in shock, the lovely stranger reached across the table and took his hand, laughing at something he'd said. The girl was at least fifteen years younger than Greg… and probably twenty years younger than Katherine.

Without thinking, she marched into the dining room.

"Katherine," she heard Gabriel call. "Is our table ready?" She ignored him, striding right up to Greg's table and glaring down at him.

"What the hell is this?" she spat angrily.

"Katie!" he exclaimed, shocked. His face flushed, and his eyes darted guiltily in the direction of his companion, which was all the confirmation that Katherine needed. "This isn't what it looks like," he tried lamely, and sneezed.

"Yes it is," Gabriel said. Somehow he had materialized directly behind her. "This is exactly what it looks like, and it's been going on for two months."

"What?" She turned to Gabriel. "That can't be!"

"Yes it can." She looked up into his eyes, nodded once, and turned back to the treacherous scene before her.

"You son of a bitch," she grated out. "You lying bastard."

"Thanks a heap, Gabe," Greg said sarcastically. "You're a real pal."

"Any time, Gregory," Gabriel replied tranquilly.

Greg sneezed loudly and grabbed a napkin. "Damn!" He looked up at Katherine and smiled apologetically, wiping his nose. "Listen, Katie-Kate, I – "

"Drop dead!" She picked up his half-full wineglass and dashed its contents in his face.

"Hey!" Greg protested, wiping a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon out his eyes and blinking up at her in shock. Then he sneezed several times in quick succession.

"You're crazy!" the blonde girl exclaimed, staring up at her wide-eyed.

"Oh, Honey, you have no idea," Katherine agreed.

"Who are you?" the girl demanded, and Katherine stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm his girlfriend. I'm surprised you didn't figure that out by now."

"Girlfriend?" she echoed, clearly stunned. "I'm his girlfriend!"

"Uh oh," Gabriel said, but he didn't sound a bit perturbed. In fact, Katherine would have sworn that he was enjoying himself, which infuriated her even further.

"You want to make a fool of yourself with this little blonde bimbo, fine," she told Greg from between clenched teeth.

"I'm not a bimbo!" the girl protested, and Greg sneezed again.

"Shut up," Katherine told her, and returned her attention to Greg. "Just don't come running back to me. This is it. We are through."

She moved to leave and Greg jumped to his feet, grasping her arm. "If you'd just calm down and listen – "

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say, Greg," she said coldly, yanking her arm away.

"This is your fault!" Greg said, glaring at Gabriel. His attempt at outraged anger was somewhat undermined when he sneezed explosively.

"My fault?" Gabriel asked, incredulous. "How is it my fault that you decided to have an affair with one of your interns, Gregory?"

"You've been poisoning Katie against me from the start!"

"Oh save it, Greg," Katherine said. "You're just making yourself look more ridiculous."

"It must be sad to be old and desperate," the blonde girl mused, leaning back in her chair and sipping her wine. "I almost feel sorry for you."

Katherine smiled grimly. "Listen, Sweetie, you're welcome to him – I have bigger fish to fry at the moment."

Greg sneezed. "It's him, isn't it?" he asked in the tone of a man who'd just made an amazing discovery. "You're screwing Gabriel!"

"No – I'm not, actually. But now that you said it, yeah, I think I'll go home and do just that! Why the hell not, right?"

Gabriel was clearly taken aback by this news. "Uh… what?"

Katherine grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go." He was so stunned that he allowed her to drag him along.

"Wait a minute," Greg called, hurrying after them, sneezing. "You can't do that!"

"Oh yeah? Watch me," Katherine said.

"Hey – I told you last night I'm not into that stuff!" Gabriel protested.

"Good grief, Gabriel – 'watch me' is just an expression!"

"But… Katherine… don't you want to eat lunch?" he asked.

"We'll order delivery…" she glanced over her shoulder at Greg. "And we'll eat it in bed!"

"Katie!" Greg yelped, following them out the door. The blonde girl came hurrying after him.

"Let her go," she advised. "He's ugly anyway – they're a good match!"

"You two are a better one," Gabriel said suddenly. He turned and moved close to the girl, and she took several quick steps back in surprise. "Does your fiancé… Robert… does he know about you and Gregory?"

Her face flushed crimson.

"How about it, Carolyn?" Gabriel persisted.

Her head jerked up. "How do you know my name?"

"Ah, you look like a Carolyn," Gabriel said dismissively.

"Fiancé?" Greg asked numbly, staring at the blonde girl. "You're engaged?" He sneezed and wiped his nose on his napkin.

"Oh yeah, she's engaged," Gabriel confirmed as Carolyn stared down at her shoes. "To some doctor… intern… he's just starting out. See, he's her back-up plan if this thing with you falls through."

"You're lying," Greg said, but there was no real conviction in his voice.

Gabriel shrugged. "Ask her," he advised, gesturing at the girl. She continued to stare at her shoes, and her face was very red.

"She sure looks guilty to me, Greg," Katherine said with a shrug. "But what do I know? Obviously I'm not the best judge of character, am I?"

"How do you know all this stuff?" Greg asked, glaring at Gabriel. "What are you, some kind of weirdo stalker?"

"No… I just know things."

"Greg, who is this guy?" Carolyn asked, frowning.

It was Gabriel who answered her. "That's a very long story," he told her sincerely.

"Yeah," Greg agreed snidely. "I'm sure it is. Maybe one day you'll tell us that 'lawng stahwry', huh?" He moved very close to Gabriel and pointed a finger right in the angel's face. "But you listen to me, buddy," he continued, "I'm on to you. You're up to no good, I know it."

Unfortunately, the impact of this little speech was lessened quite a bit by the uncontrollable sneezing fit that suddenly seized him.

"You just keep telling yourself that, Greg," Katherine said as she unlocked her car. She shook her head. "I don't know how I could have been so wrong about you." Her eyes filled with tears, and she wiped them away angrily. "Goodbye, Greg," she said sadly, and got in the car.

"Wait, Katie – "

"See ya, Gregory," Gabriel called cheerfully, his hand on the car door.

"Gabe, you'd better not even think about touching her, or – "

"Or what?" Gabriel asked, interested. "What'll you do, Gregory – sue me?"

Greg made a fist, glaring at Gabriel. "Oh, wouldn't I just love to – "

"That's enough, you two!" Katherine shouted, climbing back out of the car. As much as she hated Greg at the moment, she didn't want to see what would happen if he finally succeeded in riling Gabriel.

"Katie, stay out of this!" Greg said angrily. "He's had it coming since the night we met!"

"Listen, Greg," she said, hurrying over and grabbing his arm. "You really don't want to do this. Trust me."

"Come on, Greg – let's go finish our lunch," Carolyn pleaded. "You just made partner… you don't want anyone to see you brawling in a parking lot with some weirdo!"

Greg looked from Carolyn to Katherine and back again.

"You both think I can't take him!" he finally said, sounding really angry now. Clearly, his pride was seriously wounded, which only made him more determined. "Just because he's taller than me doesn't mean I couldn't beat his sorry – "

"Yeah?" Gabriel had finally had enough. "You wanna dance? Come on, Monkey Boy," he goaded, beckoning Greg forward with a gesture. "Let's dance!"

That was all the encouragement Greg needed. He pulled free of the hands that restrained him and lunged at the other man.

But Gabriel somehow wasn't occupying that space anymore, and Greg found himself colliding with the side of Katherine's car hard enough to rattle the windows.

"Ohhh…" he moaned, sliding to the pavement.

"Greg!" Katherine and Carolyn yelled in unison.

Gabriel bent down, grabbed the lapels of Greg's suit jacket and hauled him to his feet in one fluid motion. "Are we all done here, Gregory?" he hissed, clearly hoping that the answer to that would be 'no'.

Greg sneezed violently, gave an inarticulate cry and took a swing at Gabriel, his fist connecting with his opponent's jaw in a satisfying solid punch that actually hurt his knuckles.

Gabriel's head snapped back from the force of the blow and he made an ominous growling sound low in his throat. Greg's eyes opened wide; he'd never heard a human being make a sound like that, ever. Before this thought could fully register, Gabriel had shaken off the punch and hoisted him into the air, effortlessly lifting him up so that his feet were dangling at least a foot from the ground.

Gabriel looked up at the astonished human, regarding him with the same deeply interested look that an owl might give a mouse right before swallowing it whole. "I said… are we all done here… Gregory?" he repeated calmly, almost pleasantly.

Greg took a deep breath.

"Don't do it, Greg," Katherine advised.

"Greg, honey, come on," Carolyn pleaded.

Greg suddenly seemed to realize what everyone else around him already understood: He was embroiled in a fight that he couldn't possibly win. With effort, he relaxed his fists. His shoulders sagged.

"Yeah, Gabe, he said quietly, his voice low with undisguised resentful anger. "Sure."

"Hhhnnn," Gabriel said, sounding disgusted. He let the human drop to the ground. Greg staggered a bit and then moved away, sneezing.

Katherine watched as Carolyn went to him, laying a hand on his arm. He angrily pulled away, and she heard them begin to argue as they walked toward the restaurant.

Gabriel came to stand beside her. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah," she said softly, watching Greg yank the restaurant door open and storm inside without bothering to hold the door for Carolyn… or even bothering to acknowledge her existence.

Katherine turned to Gabriel and frowned. "You're bleeding…" She put her finger at the corner of her own mouth to illustrate. "Right there."

He wiped his mouth with two fingers. "Yeah, he punched me pretty good."

"Oh, Gabriel," she said, dismayed. "Are you all right? Let me see – "

He waved away her concern. "I'll be fine, Katherine."

"Are you sure?" she pressed, and he gave her a look. "Right, stupid question." She was quiet for a moment. "Thank you for not hurting him."

The angel shrugged. "Aaaah, what're you gonna do?" he asked rhetorically. "He didn't really want to fight with me… he was just, you know, overwhelmed by everything and I was a convenient target."

This statement was so insightful that Katherine tilted her head, regarding Gabriel in a new light. "I was teasing you before, but you really did learn a lot as a human, didn't you?" she mused. "Good for you."

"I got in a couple fights," he admitted. "Usually over stupid stuff. So I know how it is."

"And angels don't fight over stupid stuff?" she asked seriously. "Just humans?"

"Well, we don't fight over women… so today was another first for me!" This made her laugh, and he smiled. "But yeah, we fight over stupid stuff too – we just do it on a grander scale than you people."

"Yeah, I remember," she agreed, and sighed. "You were right about Greg… I should've listened to you. I was just so convinced that he loved me – "

Gabriel reached out and tilted her chin up. "He does love you, Katherine," he told her sadly. "He's just not what you'd call a one-woman guy."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Well, I wish he'd been honest with me."

"Yeah, I know." He released her chin and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll drive you home."

Katherine spent the ride home staring numbly out the window. She felt dizzy, detached, and unable to focus. And her head hurt. It was funny how your entire world could be turned upside down in a single instant.

She was peripherally aware that Gabriel kept stealing worried glances at her out of the corner of his eye as he drove, and was touched by his concern. She was the one who was supposed to be taking care of him, worrying about him… but now he was worrying about her instead. It seemed so odd that less than a week ago this entire situation would have been unthinkable; finding Greg with another woman, relying on Gabriel for support and comfort. The very thought of those things would have made her laugh.

Well, she sure wasn't laughing now… this seemed to be a day for unthinkable things to happen. Had she really said she was going to take Gabriel home and screw him? And was that what he was expecting when they reached her house? She pushed that thought aside, unable to cope with it at the moment.

"Katherine?"

She suddenly realized that the car wasn't moving anymore and that Gabriel was staring at her expectantly.

"We're home," he told her gently. She nodded silently and got out of the car. When she stumbled on the front steps, he reached out and steadied her.

"Thanks, Gabriel," she murmured, reaching into her purse for her keys. "For everything."

"Don't worry about it, Katherine."

She was very aware of his hand at the small of her back as they went into the house. Was he afraid that she would stumble again, or…?

"Listen, Gabriel," she began.

"It's OK," he said. "Let's go sit down."

They went into the living room, where Katherine's eye happened to fall upon the DVD player that Greg had brought her the other night… had all of these unthinkable things happened over the course of only a few days? It seemed like a lifetime ago when she had come in here and found Gabriel perched on her coffee table. She had promised to make dinner for Greg that night –

Suddenly, everything hit her and was standing the middle of her living room, sobbing with her face in her hands.

But Gabriel was there, grasping her wrists and gently pulling her hands away from her face. Through her tears, she saw that he was looking down at her with a kind of baffled compassion, as though he just wasn't sure what to do.

For some reason, this made her cry even harder. Her head was really beginning to ache badly now.

She felt him release her wrists and she brought her hands up to wipe her face, and then his arms were around her and he was pulling her close, murmuring against her hair. He smelled like the night and moonlight and wild things that called to each other in the forest, and she put her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and cried and cried and cried.

Now Gabriel was the one taking care of her. He went to the kitchen and got her a glass of water and a cool damp towel to wipe her face.

He sat down with her on the sofa and held her gently against him until her sobs gradually subsided.

"At least you're not saying 'I told you so'!" she said, looking up at him and wiping her eyes.

He shrugged. "Aaaah, what good would it do?"

"None at all. You just seem like the I Told You So type."

"Not today," he said quietly, and gently brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "Silly little monkey."

"Birdbrain," she whispered.

She felt dizzy and her head was absolutely pounding… probably a consequence of getting so upset, she reflected. She closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his breathing, his heartbeat. She felt so safe there in his arms.

"Gabriel," she murmured, her voice sounding strange to her own ears.

"I'm here." His voice seemed to reverberate inside her head and her mind reeled dizzily. "I won't leave you, Katherine."

"I know." There were bright lights behind her eyelids… all colors… beautiful, dazzling. She wondered vaguely if he saw them too.

She was falling… but Gabriel would catch her. He was her angel. He would swoop through the air on his great white wings and catch… catch…

She struggled to open her eyes and look up at him, but she found she couldn't seem to focus on anything. "Gabriel, my head hurts."

"I know," he whispered. "It'll be OK, I promise."

His voice seemed to come from very… far… away.

"Don't be afraid, Katherine."

So far away.

"Shhhh…"

Her eyes slipped shut.

The lights, the colors – !

Gabriel gently laid Katherine on her bed and folded her hands on her chest. He pressed the back of one hand to her cheek, feeling her warmth, her life.

With a sigh, he jumped up to perch on the footboard of her bed, to wait for the Word he so desperately hoped would come.

Waiting wasn't something that normally bothered Gabriel; he was a patient angel, as one might expect of someone who was accustomed to measuring time in millennia rather than minutes. But now he felt a sense of urgency… what if the Word came, and it wasn't what he hoped for after all? Humans were ephemeral creatures… what if he was wasting precious time, time that might actually make some kind of difference for Katherine?

To pass the time, Gabriel brought his wings forward and began to preen them, running his fingers through the feathers, smoothing them back into place. It was a soothing activity, and he was self-aware enough to know that he wasn't only doing it to realign and neaten his feathers. The whole situation with Katherine had been painful from the start, and right now Gabriel needed the comfort.

There were quite a few feathers that he just couldn't reach and he wished briefly for another angel to help, as was their custom. He did the best he could, and then fluttered his wings briefly to settle some of the impossible to reach feathers more neatly into place.

And that was when it happened, when the Word came – a ribbon of white-hot fire blazing across his brain, filling him, making him whole… and – Praise Him! – granting permission.

I am well pleased with you, My little angel… and how could I struggle for so long to teach you compassion and yet refuse to show it when finally you ask? In the matter of this woman who has become so precious to you, you may do as you will.

"Thank you," Gabriel whispered.

He hopped down from his perch, picked up the phone on the nightstand and punched its buttons.

"911 operator, this call is being recorded," a female voice said in his ear. He put the phone down on the nightstand and turned back to look at Katherine again.

He could still faintly hear the woman on the phone asking him what his emergency was, if he needed help.

He gave a slight smile; he was the Archangel Gabriel. He needed no one's help… not now.

He kissed his finger and waved his hand over the bed.

"Katherine," he whispered. "It's time to come home." He bent over her like a fairytale prince seeking to wake the enchanted maiden. "Give me a kiss."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: From Chapter 6 on, I wrote most of the scenes between Katherine and Gabriel while listening to the song "Breathe Me" by Sia, so in my mind it's kind of "their song". I actually had it on continuous loop on iTunes while I wrote their last two scenes together, and when I went back to reread what I'd written (while still listening to it)… well, anyway. You can hear the song by following the link I posted in my profile.

And yes, now that you ask, that is the song they played over the final montage on the series finale of Six Feet Under!