"Birds of Pray"

Epilogue I: When I Look To The Sky

Gabriel perched on the edge of the mausoleum, watching the funeral that was taking place below.

He hadn't intended to come here today; he certainly wasn't in mourning for Katherine, and he didn't feel any particular need to see her body laid to rest. It was just an empty vessel now. The real Katherine was safe Upstairs… so why wasn't he up there with her?

Someone landed right beside him.

"I think he'll be all right, Gabriel," Simon said softly. Instead of folding his wings neatly behind him, he allowed his right wing to drape gently over the other angel's back. The sensation of feathers against feathers, wing against wings was delicious, but Gabriel refused to allow himself to be distracted.

"Look, there's Mary," Gabriel said, pointing down at one of the mourners, a young Native American woman in a long black dress. She wore feathers in her hair and a silver armband around her right upper arm. "Boy, she grew up."

Simon smiled slightly. "She's a lovely young woman now."

"Aaaah, behave yourself," Gabriel said teasingly, and Simon laughed.

"I think it's over," the red-haired angel said. "People are starting to leave."

"Yeah," Gabriel agreed. The angels watched as Mary approached Greg and laid a gentle hand on his arm, looking up into his eyes and speaking quietly to him.

"Thank you," Greg said, nodding and wiping his cheeks.

She looked past him, up to where Gabriel and Simon were perched. "You have friendly spirits watching over you," she told Greg, using one hand to shade her eyes against the bright afternoon sun.

He followed her gaze, frowning. "Where? I don't see anything!"

She smiled, gestured. "Up there."

"Yeah, in Heaven," he agreed, misunderstanding. "You know, just yesterday I didn't believe in that stuff."

"And now?"

He sighed. "And now I'm going to go back to Phoenix and try to get my life in order – before it's too late."

"Good for you."

"Hi Mary," a young blonde woman called, and Mary turned, smiling.

"Sandra," she said, embracing the woman. "I didn't expect to see you. I heard you moved to Colorado."

"I never would have missed Miss Henley's funeral," Sandra said, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"That's little Sandra!" Gabriel said, surprised. "They really grow up fast, these humans!"

Simon smiled. "You never noticed that before?"

Gabriel shrugged, his great white wings rising briefly against Simon's wing, which was still draped over them. "Never really paid attention, I guess."

"My cousin dropped me off on his way into town," Mary was telling Sandra. "I'll probably just walk back to the reservation – who knows when he'll be done?"

Sandra laughed. "All right," she said, embracing the other woman again. "Let's keep in touch."

"Yes, let's," Mary agreed. "Life is short."

"I'll e-mail you," Sandra promised. As Mary watched her walk off to rejoin a dark-haired man, Greg came up behind her.

"I couldn't help but overhear… I could give you a ride back, if you want," he offered.

She glanced up at the two angels. Simon smiled and gave her a thumbs-up gesture, and she laughed.

"Sure," she agreed, turning back to Greg. "That would be nice."

"I think I'll have good news for Katherine when we get back Upstairs," Gabriel mused, watching Greg escort Mary to his car. He gallantly held the passenger door open for her. "I think Gregory will be OK."

"And how are you, Gabriel?" Simon asked suddenly, stealing a glance at the other angel out of the corner of his eye.

Gabriel was silent for a moment. "Better," he said finally. "I'm glad I got the chance to talk things through with Katherine before it happened… she wasn't afraid to die. So I managed to do something right for a change, you know?"

"You were a great comfort to her," Simon agreed, watching Gabriel carefully. "And a good friend."

"Never thought that would happen," Gabriel murmured. "Even when I was human, I never really connected with anyone down here… not like that."

"Well, you're not an easy person to know," Simon told him frankly.

"Yeah," Gabriel agreed readily. He began to tick off his shortcomings on his fingers. "I'm abrasive… I always think I'm right… I can be arrogant… I have a smart mouth… and I – "

"And I wouldn't have you any other way," Simon interrupted with a smile. "And neither would He," he continued, pointing upward.

"I don't know how anyone puts up with me," Gabriel said with a straight face. "The Boss said I could even make Job lose his patience!"

Simon laughed. "Just stop terrorizing those poor principalities, all right? Camael said you have two of them thinking that they were personally responsible for that princess who died."

Gabriel shrugged. "They should've been watching her better."

"It was her time and you know it – Angel of Death!"

"Aaahh, they could stand to be more vigilant," he said dismissively.

"You're impossible!" Simon told him with exasperated affection. "You know that?"

"Sure." Gabriel brushed Simon's wing aside and stood. "Ready to go?" he asked, offering his hand.

"Yeah," Simon agreed, allowing Gabriel to pull him to his feet. "Where to?"

"Somewhere they have football. I gotta figure that game out before the week after next or I'm gonna look like an idiot!"

Simon laughed. The two angels spread their wings and took off into the clear blue sky.

Greg and Mary talked briefly as he drove her up the long dusty road that led to the Hualapai Nation.

"She was the best teacher I ever had," Mary told him. "She really cared about us, her kids."

"I know," Greg said, his voice breaking.

"I'm sorry," Mary said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's all right," he assured her, reaching behind his sunglasses with one finger to wipe away a tear. He gave a short laugh. "It's good to remember, you know?"

She nodded.

He leaned forward and turned the radio on and was rewarded with a burst of static.

"You won't be able to get anything on FM," she told him as he twisted the tuning knob. "Reception's really bad out here."

"Well, fudge," he swore, making her laugh. As he was about to give up, music suddenly blared out of the speakers.

" – I can feel you like a notion that won't seem to let me go. 'Cause when I look to the sky, something tells me you're here with me, and you make everything all right."

Greg and Mary exchanged a surprised look. "That's not possible – " she began.

"When I feel like I'm lost, something tells me you're here with me, and I can always find my way when you are here."

Greg smiled through his tears and turned up the radio as loud as it would go.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The song "When I Look To The Sky" belongs to Train.