Part 54

Michael knew before the garage door opened up that Maria wasn't home and he frowned as he parked the motorcycle and dismounted. He removed his saddlebags and carried them into the house, dropping them on the washer and pulling the movies out. He paused at the refrigerator and opened the door, leaning down to grab a beer and finding himself eye level with a note written in Maria's familiar loopy scrawl. He pulled it out from under the magnet, reading over it as he straightened up.

"Back soon, had to pick up a few things. Maria. P.S., have something besides a beer." He rolled his eyes and dropped the note on the counter along with his wallet and keys before reaching inside once more and grabbing a beer. "Somethin' besides a beer," he muttered, uncapping the bottle and taking a long drink.

He walked through the house, dropping the movies on the coffee table in the living room and going to his room to get his things together so he could take a shower. After what was probably the most abbreviated shower he had ever taken in his life he toweled off, pulled on a fresh set of clothes, and wandered around the house restlessly.

Where had she gone? She hadn't mentioned going anywhere earlier when he had told her he had to go into the city. He knew she wasn't working; he had heard her when she had called in to Gabriel that morning and requested the next week off. Word traveled fast in his circle so he knew the others in his line of work already knew that Stone had been taken out and he hadn't been surprised when the bar owner had given her the time off without question.

He grew more and more agitated as the minutes flew by and even though less than an hour had passed when she turned into the driveway it felt like it had been much longer. He stormed through the house and jerked the door open just as the truck pulled into the garage. He stood on the steps, left hand propped on his hip and his right hand holding his beer while his thumb was hooked in one of his belt loops.

"Where the fuck have you been?" he demanded as soon as the drivers' side door opened.

"I left you a note," Maria said, shaking her head at his snarling tone. She shot a pointed glance at the beer he held as she got out of the truck. "Which you apparently chose to ignore."

"I'm a grown man an' if I want a fuckin' beer I'm gonna have a fuckin' beer," Michael answered crossly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He hadn't been this surly in a while and there was no reason for it now.

"Where have you been?" he repeated, unable to just let the question go.

"I had to run into town to pick up a few things," she answered.

"You weren't here when I got home." Now he just felt stupid for even mentioning it.

Maria paused as she leaned back inside to grab the sacks with her purchases. Damn it, she hadn't considered the possibility that he would come home and react badly to her not being there. "I'm fine," she assured him as she joined him on the steps.

"We just bought groceries last week; what'd you have to pick up?" Michael grumbled, annoyed that he had been worried about her whereabouts.

"Something appropriate for a funeral." She shook her head as she stepped past him to go inside and his mouth shut with an audible snap in response to her words. She smiled at the silence that followed and she knew he was trailing after her as she walked down the hall to her bedroom.

He stood in the doorway as she removed several articles of clothing and shook them out before hanging them in her closet. He wasn't sure what to say or do as she reached for the second sack and he noticed that the logo on the side was from a men's department store. His right eyebrow quirked slightly when she pulled a dark shirt out and held it up, inspecting it for something only she knew to look for, and then she picked up the last item - a garment bag from the local cleaners - and turned and motioned for him to move.

He followed her into his bedroom and watched as she hung the garment bag up on the hook on the back of his door before ripping the plastic off of it. She brushed her fingers over what he recognized as one of the suits that had been in his closet that morning and a moment later she hung the new shirt in front of the suit.

"What're you doin' with my suit?" he asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"I took it into town and dropped it off at the dry cleaners." She fingered the hem of the shirt before glancing at him. "I didn't see a shirt in your closet that really went with the suit for tomorrow so I stopped and picked one up for you."

"Why?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"You've got enough on your mind without having to remember to take your suit in to be cleaned or to pick up a new shirt, and I don't care what you have to say about tomorrow because you are not going alone. I realize you're the tough guy, the I-don't-show-emotions guy, and that's fine, you can still be all of that with me there for moral support." She sighed and turned to walk out of his bedroom. "Now, I'm gonna take a shower and then I'll go make dinner."

He found himself following her back over to her bedroom without making a conscious decision to do so. "I picked up a couple of movies." He shrugged and took a drink from the bottle he still held. "Thought maybe we could have dinner in the livin' room and watch a movie?"

"Okay, that sounds nice." Maria collected a fresh set of clothes and then looked at him. "I know there's some sport or other on TV, so why don't you go see what you can find to watch and before long dinner will be on its way."

He nodded and wandered out into the living room, vaguely detecting the sound of the bathroom door shutting. Before long he ended up in the kitchen and he finished his beer before tossing the bottle in the trash can and then pulled the refrigerator door open to glance over the contents.

Maria stepped out of the bathroom nearly an hour later feeling refreshed and ready to make dinner. She hadn't taken half a dozen steps out of his bedroom before the scent of steak cooking caught her attention and she padded barefoot through the house. She saw the patio doors standing open and she stepped out onto the deck, smiling when she caught sight of Michael leaning against the railing, using the long-handled tongs to poke the steaks on the wire rack.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked, leaning over to grab one of the beers wedged into the bucket of ice at his feet.

"Figured I'd make dinner. I made vegetables, too." He lifted the tongs to pat the foil-covered corn-on-the-cob and baked potatoes.

Maria nodded, deciding that there was no need to lecture him on his choice of meat for dinner; she had agreed to let him pick out one meal each week that didn't fit anywhere in her healthy eating regimen and she always passed along advice about his choices, but sometimes it was best just to let it go.

"Why don't I make a salad to go with dinner," she offered. "Maybe pull out that cheesecake in the freezer and set it out to thaw for later?"

"Can you make some of that strawberry glaze? The one that's spicy?"

"Um-hmm, it won't take long to make. Do I dare ask what you rented?"

He rattled off a couple of titles as he straightened up and flipped the steaks over. "I figured we could both agree on those titles."

"Let me get that salad ready and then we'll settle down for dinner and a movie."

Michael watched her go and then turned his attention back to dinner; he rolled the corn and potatoes so they would cook evenly and then leaned back against the railing once more. He didn't want to put too much thought into her announcement that she was going to the funeral with him or the fact that she had taken the time to have his suit cleaned and bought him a new shirt.

He couldn't deny that he liked the way it felt when she fussed over him, but it was something he was still getting used to. He had promised Stone he would give it a shot, see where it took them, but now he had to figure out how to do that.

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There wasn't a single cloud overhead on the morning of the funeral. The sun shone brightly from its position in the perfect blue sky and there was just the slightest hint of a cool breeze blowing through the trees that were just beginning to come back to life now that winter had passed by.

Maria's gaze moved over the group of people who had gathered at the graveside for the simple ceremony and even though she had met most of them at the bar and gotten to know them just a little she was still surprised by the lack of emotion on their stoic faces.

Michael stood at her side, silent and tense, his eyes once again hidden behind the dark sunglasses. He had been distant during the hour-long drive from the house and she had left him alone, knowing that he was intentionally erecting a barrier between them so he could deal with what was coming.

Indigo stood on his other side, his normally irascible grin replaced by a solemn expression, his gaze faraway as he absently cradled his prosthetic arm.

Marcos and Cailyn stood across from them and Maria could see relief mixed in with sadness on the woman's features. She had only met her on a couple of occasions, but Maria could just imagine how relieved Cailyn must be that Marcos had officially retired from active duty status.

Gabriel stood near Father Augustine, his piercing gaze riveted on the priest as if he were seeking strength from the old man's comforting words. He was flanked by Raphael on his right side and a woman she didn't know on his left. The woman's hand rested in the crook of his arm and Maria briefly wondered if she was the same woman who ran the boarding house where all of his girls stayed.

She shifted her gaze to the left, scanning over others that she didn't know and she paused when her eyes ran across Hawkins. He was wearing sunglasses but the hatred rolled off of him and she worried that he would seek retaliation against Michael for Stone's death. Stone may not have meant for her involvement with Hawkins to be more than a cruel lesson, but the man had become emotionally entangled and he and Michael already had an antagonistic history behind them.

Michael glanced down when Maria shivered next to him and he turned his head to follow her gaze. His eyes narrowed when he recognized Hawkins lurking in the background and a part of him wanted the other man to start something. He knew the other man wouldn't try anything at the funeral, whether it was out of respect for Stone or because he knew Xavier would have him brought in to face his wrath Michael didn't know - didn't particularly care either - all that mattered was that Hawkins wait for revenge.

He had hoped that Xavier's warning would be something he wouldn't have to worry about, but he had a bad feeling about the rookie now.

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Azrael's Sanctuary lacked the normal background noise of music either from the live band that performed a few nights each week or the jukebox that sat in one corner; the only sound was the low murmur of hushed conversation between the different groups who had settled at different tables around the bar and the occasional clink of glasses as drinks were taken in memory of a fallen agent. Gabriel sat at the end of the bar talking to Raphael and Indigo when Marcos and Cailyn stood up from their table, pausing to talk to the solemn owner before leaving.

Hawkins sat alone in a corner of the bar observing the different groups and he nodded to himself when the couple made their way outside, leaving the five people sitting at the bar. His gaze moved between Guerin and the waitress, studying their body language as they sat together without speaking. Words obviously weren't necessary, he thought when she got up to go and get a fresh round of drinks.

Rage began to boil up in him as he watched them, unable to believe Guerin's ability to sit there and act as if he weren't responsible for Stone's death. Bastard! He got up, standing still for a few moments as the room shifted sideways and then righted again.

Maria glanced at the silent man sitting beside her and she slid her hand closer to his arm, touching him with just enough pressure to get his attention. He glanced at her for just a moment, wordlessly asking what she wanted. "Everyone's made it a point to stop and talk to Gabriel," she observed.

"He just buried the last of his family," he answered after a few moments.

She stared at him as he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long drink before setting the bottle on the counter in front of him. "He was related to Stone?" Her gaze shifted to the big man and she shook her head. "I had no idea there was any relation between them."

"Guerin's real good at fuckin' up relationships," a slurred voice came from behind them.

Maria recognized the voice before she turned to look at Hawkins and she shook her head at his sloppy appearance. His shirt was half untucked, his tie askew, and it was apparent that he'd had too much to drink already. He stood there, his stance unsteady as he waited for Michael to turn around and look at him.

"C'mon, Guerin, man up to your failure," he taunted.

"Fuck off, Hawkins," Michael growled.

"You got one of the Company's best agents killed." He shook his head when Guerin finally turned around to look at him. "You brag about all of your successes in the field, so why don't you tell everyone about how you got her killed!"

"Knock it off, Hawkins," Raphael warned.

"Tell them!" he shouted. "You tell them how you were supposed to have her back and you let her bleed to death in that godforsaken jungle!" He took a step closer and shoved Michael back against the bar.

"That's your one and only shot, Hawkins… don't touch me again."

"How is it that you managed to make it out alive and she came home in a body bag?" He moved into Guerin's space and his eyes lit up in anticipation when the man moved to stand up.

"Michael."

A single word, that was all it took, and Guerin backed off. Hawkins let his gaze move to her and he shook his head as an idea began to take root in his brain. "Payback's a bitch, Guerin. Remember that."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Michael shook his head and turned back to his drink.

"Hope your memory works better in that capacity… seems that it wasn't working when you should've been remembering that it was your job to keep your partner alive."

"That's it," Gabriel interrupted, "Hawkins, get out of my bar… you have the next 30 seconds and then I'll be tossin' your ass outta here."

Hawkins tossed off a sloppy salute before turning to leave. He had plans to make and it was going to take some time to get it just right.