Title: Tongues of Men and Angels
Rating: TA for implied?romance.
Summary: Glimpses of grace: the story of one brother and two sisters. Through the grace of God, all things are made new.A series of drabbles. Ish. Gabriel/OC. Ish.
Disclaimer: *obligatory insert*

Chapter XXXIII: Revelations
You will find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

When he finally woke, and rose quickly, the light that came through the dried leaves above was pearly and translucent, heavy with dawn. He brought his fingers to his face, flaking away the remaining dust and salt from the night before. Bethany was only an arm's reach away. She'd stayed with him, he realized, all night.

It moved him.

She was curled in a nest of rubbery succulents and dead grasses, at the foot of a white statue of an angel. Its head and one wing had broken off—he caught sight of them gleaming in the dead plants at its feet—but it still raised its hands in silent benediction over her sleeping form. He wondered briefly if it had been intended to be a rendering of himself, the Angel Gabriel—and if so, the irony was almost painful. In spite of his intention to protect their little travelling band, in truth—both girls had offered him more, from open hearts, than he'd ever given them.

He looked down at Bethany. It was unthinkable, in this moment, that her light might have been extinguished that dark Christmas a few scant months ago. In the night he would vow he'd felt his Father's presence shining through her—not so far away at all. Surely His spirit was within her—had been, perhaps, the whole time, in which case Gabriel had never been abandoned at all.

Unthinking—overcome—he dropped to his knees as he had once done beside his brother, when he'd first pledged his allegiance to his Father's new children. Somehow, bowed low at her side, he found the position easier than it had seemed back when man was new. Her eyes blinked open sleepily: topaz and amber and burnt umber. He could count the striations in them, and he marveled at how close he could be to her, once he had moved to his knees.

In the veiled light of dawn, he touched her hand softly where it curled against the dirt and stone, and though she said nothing—only looked at him with sleepy, perplexed eyes—he heard her voice again clearly as she leaned over her sister in the dark:

This is where I find God.

Word Count: 370
Completed: May 28th, 2011
This chapter is dedicated to Tacy137, for hope.

Coming Soon:
Interlude IX: Hemmed. "You are searching for a reason for the apocalypse." "Among other things."
XXXIV: Metatron. Gabriel is called home.
XXXV: Psalmist. Gabriel tells a story.
XXXVI: St. Peter at the Gates. Reuniting with a brother.
XXXVII: Prodigal. God speaks.
XXXVIII: Joseph, Reuben. Another reunion.
XXXIX: The Stone is Rolled Away. Gabriel comes home.
Epilogue: Seventh Day. A couple enjoys each others' company in a Garden.

****Biblically, revelations might refer to the book at the end of the Christian canon (Revelation), which foretells Armageddon (according to some belief systems). The word literally means something like…a mystery "revealed," or coming to know or understand a secret.