Chapter One Hundred and Twelve: Moving On

I've found your fine strength in your moments of weakness
For once I'm at peace with myself
I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long
I'm movin' on

Rascal Flatts – Moving On

Despite the fact that Gabriel had left the church over four months ago to take care of Maggie after her abduction, the office that he had resided in still looked virtually identical to the way he had left it. From the battered lime green couch to the framed pictures on the wall, nothing had changed at all besides the man sitting on the opposite side of the chipped oak desk.

His friend Sidney Chambers was sitting in the seat that used to be his, clad in his black vestment with his white collar banded tightly around his throat. At thirty eight, Sidney looked more like a member of Special Forces than a member of the Catholic priesthood. He was tall, his frame lean and lithe from the time he spent training for marathons. His ebony hair was neatly parted on the left, combed away from his clean shaven face, he rolled those dove grey eyes of his as he tucked the sleek black cellphone between his chin and and shoulder trying to end the conversation that he was currently a part of.

Gabe sipped his coffee mug patiently, before he placed it gently upon the desk in front of him. His cobalt blue eyes roved the walls once more and came to land on the brightly colored activities schedule tacked to the wall behind him. Gabe knew that he'd left the church in good hands when he had walked away and further proof of that was spread across the desk in front of him. Sidney was a good fit for this place, he had known he would be. The two of them had been as thick as thieves in the military, training under the same Catholic Military Chaplin before they were deployed to Afghanistan. Sidney had been assigned to a platoon in the Marines whilst Gabe had been placed with a squad in the Rangers with mostly Irish roots. They'd kept in touch during their time apart through video calls and meeting up when they were on annual leave, they had spent long nights nursing beers and discussing the pitfalls of the job along with everything else in their lives including the truth about his father, the bits that even Maggie didn't know.

It had been near the end of his two year contract when Bart O'Neill had died and Gabe had decided to step up and take care of his sister. He had been honourably discharged and transitioned to a church in the district in their old neighbourhood, supporting his sister and helping her to finish her education before she entered the police academy. Sidney had signed on for four more years but had been injured by an IED a couple of years in, leaving him with permanent burn damage on his right arm and torso. The nerves were damaged too badly for him to have any dexterity in that arm any more so like Gabe he had been given a position close to home, unlike Gabe he had no family to support him through that turbulent time. Gabe and their friends, both from their time in the military and the church had helped him transition and through vigorous physical therapy and immense personal strength he had regained a percentage of the movement back in that arm. He watched as Sidney ended the call and awkwardly used his right hand to place the cellphone upon the surface of the desk. It clattered as it slipped the final few inches onto the wood.

"It looks a lot better than the last time I saw you." Gabe told the other man as Sidney's forearm moved stiffly to rest upon the wood.

"Daily exercise helps." Sidney informed his friend, tilting his head up so he could fix Gabe with his dove grey eyes. "But we didn't come here to talk about my arm."

"No we did not." Gabe agreed before clasping his hands together and letting them rest in his lap. "I'm leaving the church, permanently."

"I'll be sorry to see you go." Sidney said, his gaze lowering as he bobbed his head allowing the information to sink in. "But I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand it. You've lived your life in the service of others for far too long."

"I never saw it like that." Gabe told his friend gently as he leaned back into the chair.

"The best ones never do." Sidney told him, his lips twitching with the beginnings of a smile as he looked at Gabe pointedly. "You deserve to have something for yourself, or someone."

They had spoken about Kim many times and the possibilities she presented. Sidney was the only person that could understand the precarious position he was in, the only person in his life who could be objective.

"You'll have to let me know how it goes." Sidney told him before raising to his feet and showing Gabriel to the door.

Hi guys, thank you for all the well wishing for my husband. He is doing much better, he has returned to work this week but still has to attend the local medical centre to have his wound reviewed and his dressing changed.

Soccer: Lol this is a bit of a wind down chapter from everything that has been going on with Kayla. I hope you enjoyed it.

Lauren: I hope you don't mind this brief reprieve from Kayla's storyline! Anotnio is on the case and he will make sure to do the best to help his friends out. You will get to see all of their reactions and what happens to Mike as a summary of this. Going to Diego's race is just another step in the right direction for these Antonio and Maggie, it's slow going but they are getting there.

Anime: I actually can't wait for you to see Roman's reaction either. Maggie's reaction is coming up, but Antonio takes the lead on the actually talking to Sorenson, he doesn't want Maggie anywhere near him for now.

Phoenix: It was explained in the fire house chapter that Roman had been working a security gig that night and had gotten in during the early hours of the morning and was probably sleeping with his phone off. Kayla didn't want to tell him what had happened with Sorenson over the phone.

Nat: They basically have a phone tree and when something is going down they all rally around one another. Maggie and Gabe are very close and I know that Gabe still worries about her and probably always will as her older brother. He loves Antonio and gets why he needed the space but he is all about Maggie and doing what's best for her.