Gabriel shook with a discomforting sadness as the incubus leader, and the vampiress he held with his arms and wings, disappeared into nothing before the morning sun. He was sure that nothing would dull the pungency of that moment in his eternal memory. The field was quite aside the low cries of Veti for her lost lover, and the gentle whispers from Henry and Jay-Jay. The Archangel eyed the rubble around his feet, the grass and weeds which tumbled underfoot; the fields afar and the small, rustic, broken house which sat at the edge of his vision. Gabriel smiled then, briefly. He looked again at the trouble around him, his meaninglessness there. After everything seemed to be settled, and all that could be done, had been, Gabriel excused himself and set down the dirt road. He strolled up to the farm house with a boyish shyness, knocked on the door. 

The redheaded woman opened the door, the morning sun creeping in through the door, she’d nailed a bedsheet to the roof to cover the hole. The woman smiled when she saw Gabriel, there was a familiarity between them which spanned eons and was, somehow, well-formed. She invited him in for tea and toast, he accepted. And then he fixed her roof—well, he fixed her roof as well as he could. He nailed some boards up and put in a temporary support beam until her son got home. After everything was said and done, and Gabriel felt like he ought to head back to London, he stood and walked toward the door. 

“Did you all win?” The woman asked abruptly, they hadn’t actually spoke all that much in the time he spent there.

“Yes,” Gabriel answered as he opened the door, he looked back a little apologetically, “I’m sorry I wrecked your car.”

The woman waved her hand, “[i]pfftt[/i], don’t worry about it, darling. It’s a price worth paying.”

Gabriel looked at the woman with a sort of far off stare, what she said had resonated with him in a way she would never understand. He thought of the price, far higher than the woman could conceive, everyone had to pay in order to take down the despicable, so-called God-Wolf. Some more than others, but everyone that was there through the fight felt the price, it was a collective burden. Gabriel understood that now, and he didn’t know how to thank the woman, he never would be able to. So he just nodded, walked through the door, and closed it gently behind him. 

---

[i]*A Year Later*[/i]

Gabriel’s hair was tossled in the wind as he drove down the little paved road which yielded to the dirt passage way he’d seen more than a couple of times before. He hadn’t driven himself here more than once before, so he was a little more than please when he was able to make the left turn into it. He held a spliff between his lips and puffed as he made the motions, then drove parallel to the hill owned by the woman he’d come to know and respect, Veti. The two worked briefly as partners after their return from that fateful battle. Gabriel came to know more about her past and her dramatic relationship with Thad/Max. She was a strong woman, and an even stronger agent. But, then she announced the beautiful surprise, she was pregnant, and with twins no less. 

Gabriel had worked hard, he showed his usefulness as an fighter, an undercover agent, a leader, a source of an oxymoronic innocent wisdom. Since he worked so hard he was able to afford the classic mustang he drove down the dirt road now. A black and yellow masterpiece, he was quite proud. He’d been working on other things as well. At every opportunity available he would pay Jerusha a visit. They’d built a nice, unassuming relationship which could heat up at any moment, Gabriel felt confident in that. 

The Arch angel glanced over to his sword, which sat in the seat next to him, a signal of the steely justice he’d been meting out. He had not, however, forgotten his original mission. The horn His Majesty had sent him sat under his bed at the London HQ, ready to be used when the time was right. And he’d been taking great pains to understand the struggles of the human experience. Gabriel still wasn’t entirely sure what was expected of him, but he was always revitalized when he remembered that his creator had placed great faith in him, in all his wisdom. Gabe smiled as he remembered that now, making the final turn to head up the hill toward the cottage. He discarded the herbal remedy he’d taken to in the ashtray next to him. 

Artie ran along the car for a little while, looking at Gabriel every so often, then he ran ahead. Gabe pulled up to the house just as Veti greeted her panting hound. The angel stepped from the car, one pistol holstered on his hip, as he necessitated, and waved to Reginald ahead of his arrival. 

“Hey there, old man.” He gave his boss a handshake, smiled warmly. Gabriel looked at the babes nuzzled in Veti’s arms and made baby noises at them, entertaining himself and the little bundles of joy. He found peace here, amongst friends and an adopted family, something he never thought he’d have in all of his desperate dreams.