They had been at it for hours, going through journal after journal. Some of them were put away in a box labeled as already read. This was not Hamish's first time reading in the journals and he had a pretty good memory. Therefore he knew that there was nothing useful in that specific box. Gabrielle was thankful for that since it made the number of journals ahead of them significantly smaller.
"And you really think there is something in here?" She finally asked after adding yet another journal to said box. "Well, I have no idea, to be honest. But Vera thinks it is possible, so we'll check it all. It would go much faster if there were more people involved, but since we are the only ones who seem to care..." The woman sighed. "Yeah, I know. What the hell are they doing anyways? I mean, Vera helped get Lilith back. You would think that at least Lilith would be willing to help." At that Hamish just shook his head. He knew Timbers champion too well. She never liked Vera, even after the older woman had healed the cut on her hand, even after everything Vera had done for them. She always was the enemy, no matter how hard she tried not to be.
Again silence fell over them as they looked through some more journals, one handwriting worse than the one before. And the further back in time they went, the more the language changed. It was getting quite tiring, so finally Gabrielle had enough. "I think I need a break. How about we grab something to eat? And then we can continue here later." To her surprise, he didn't object. No quite the opposite.
"You're right, go get something to eat. And I should probably-" For a moment he considered his words, thinking about a plausible lie to tell her, but then he remembered, that she already knew. Despite how he tried to be discreet, apparently, she had figured out that he was involved with vera. So he could just be open with her. "I need to check up on Vera. She sometimes forgets to eat anything, so I make sure she doesn't starve." Gabrielle could see him slightly blushing, even though he tried to hide it by looking down.
She had to admit, it was kind of cute to see him caring about her so much. In fact, the two of them were a pretty good match in Gabrielles opinion. A little like Romeo and Juliette, but hopefully without the tragic ending. They both were leaders of their secret clubs, witch and werewolf. Both seeking nothing but peace.
"Do you think-" Her words were merely a whisper as she didn't dare finish that question. Suddenly she felt foolish for even considering it, but now Hamish was looking at her expectantly. And as he realized she wouldn't continue, he finished her sentence for her. "You want to come with me? But you're scared that you won't be able to control Midnight around her." Now it was her time to blush and look to the floor. He had never seen her this nervous about anything. Actually, he never would have thought to be sitting here with her of all people, talking about Vera like this.
"I mean, when I am there, I could protect her if necessary." At those words she looked up at him again, her eyes hopeful. "But, it is not my decision to make. I'll call her, and ask if she is ok with it." He knew this was a risk. It was obvious that Gabrielle didn't want to hurt Vera. But she was Midnight's champion and that wolf definitely had other plans for the Grand Magus. However, he just told her, that he would ask and so he did.
The phone was ringing for quite a while until he finally heard her voice. It sounded weak, almost like a whisper and he suddenly got all tense. "Hey, are you ok? Where are you?" The concern in his voice didn't go unnoticed by the young woman sitting next to him. "I'm home, taking another day off work." He could hear why. She didn't sound that great. "I'll come over. Is there anything in particular you want to eat?" He could almost hear her roll her eyes, but in reality, he knew, that she loved it when he cared for her like this.
"Bring whatever you like, I probably won't keep it down anyways." That answer nearly broke his heart. She has had bad days more often lately. And by bad days he meant the ones where she constantly got sick. Sometimes he could use his magic to lessen her symptoms but it didn't always work. "Ok, I'll be right there." His sentence was complete but Vera could hear in his voice that there was something else. "And?"
After taking a deep breath and glancing over at Gabrielle, who was patiently waiting, he took the risk. "Would you mind if I bring Gabrielle along? And before you oppose, please let me explain." She didn't like the idea already, but still, she gave him the benefit of the doubt. "She's been working with me, reading the journals. Apparently the others have other plans for today. And Gabe and I talked a little. She's concerned about you as well." He made a pause, maybe a little too long because another "And?" came from the other side of the phone.
"And she knows about us." He finally managed to say. "But I didn't tell her. She figured it out herself. And she won't tell anybody." He quickly added in fear of being accused of telling others about them. He wouldn't do that. He could never do that to Vera. After all, he loved her more than anything and wouldn't dare to risk what they had.
Vera kept awfully quiet and for a moment he thought his heart would stop. Until suddenly her voice came back, still rather weak and tired. "Ok, I guess we can try. But only if you really trust her to control her wolf."
When they were standing in front of Veras's house, Gabrielle started feeling really nervous. She was slightly trembling, already able to feel her wolf wanting to come out. But it was still manageable. It was no struggle at all to keep him in. Even when the older woman opened the door and told them to come in, everything went well. And as she took a closer look at her Idol, she was quite shocked. Vera looked pale and weak. She must have lost quite some weight since she last saw her. And she could have sworn that Vera swayed a little, fighting for balance while walking.
"How did you find out?" Was the first question she was confronted with as soon as they sat down. Since Gabrielle already knew about them Hamish didn't hesitate to sit close to his girlfriend and put an arm around her.
"Well-" Gabrielle started. "He smells like you. Plus, he spends a lot of time with you. Sure, the excuses you make are plausible. He is the leader of the wolves, you are the leader of the order. The two of you are working together. And also your day jobs as Chancellor and TA-" She paused and looked at them. Despite how sick Vera looked, they did make a rather cute couple. "I had my suspicions even before I first noticed, how much he smelled like you. And don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you smell bad." She quickly added. "I do like the perfume you use and even without it."
Suddenly she felt like a young schoolgirl confessing to a crush and she couldn't hide a slight blush. "I'm sorry. I don't want to seem weird or anything." And for the first time since they got here, Vera got a little color in her cheeks as well. It didn't exactly make her look healthy, but at least a little more alive. "Thanks, I guess. And yes this is kind of weird." Vera added a smile to those words, a genuine smile that surprised the younger woman.
"So, you've been reading the journals? Anything interesting so far?" Gabrielle nodded but then again thought about her response. "Well, there are a lot of interesting things in there. But nothing related to what Hamish had described to me."
"We were just taking a break to visit you. But honestly, I don't think the journals will be much help to us." She didn't exactly look disappointed, but neither did she look pleased. "Well, it's ok. We will find out something eventually. Maybe once I go back to work and take a look in the temple library." Her voice sounded even weaker at the end of that sentence if it even was possible. "You should go to bed, get some sleep," Hamish said concerned. Oh, how she hated it when people told her to get some sleep. Lately, she felt like she barely spent time outside the bed. Then again, it was for the better, because in her current condition the was not much else she could do.
"Sorry, you came all the way here just to leave already." But she didn't have to apologize. The two of them didn't mind that their visit was so short. "I am glad I got to see you at all. Midnight is surprisingly quiet at the moment." Something Vera was quite thankful for. At least there was one less wolf out for her head. And with Gabrielle, they got a new ally. Although she wasn't quite sure how she felt about someone else knowing about the relationship. Sure, Vera was glad that Gabrielle approved of it, but she would still rather have nobody know about it.
Hamish finally decided to bring his girlfriend to bed and afterward he and the younger woman went for something to eat, before returning to their research.