he needed to have a plan on where to go next.
The gear was packed; they would only be able to bring with them what the four could carry on their backs. Gabe knew the wedding was bitter sweet for Rachel, she had been reunited with Damon, only nights earlier, and now she would have to leave him again. Rachel was no fool and Gabe was confident she knew the safest place for Damon was far away from the two of them. They would be running, every moment of every day, looking over their shoulders. Even though Damon had resisted the idea of letting his sister leave without him, he eventually relented.
Gabe made sure the boy was nowhere near him and Uri as they planned their routes in case he had some idea of tagging along anyways. Dina was clever enough to help out by insisting she and Rachel needed help with the wedding preparations.
“Gabe?” Michael’s voice called out behind him.
Gabe turned, a little surprised by Michael’s appearance. He appeared to be a dashing, wealthy English country man from another time period in his tuxedo.
“My goodness sir, you clean up nicely.” Gabe complimented.
“Why thank you son, you don’t look so bad yourself.” Gabe looked down at his deep gray suit. There hadn’t been time for him to get a suit of his own, but much to his surprise and delight, one of the guards at Iron Gate was eager to allow Gabe to borrow his. The ivory tie he wore had been given to him by Dina, made from a piece of Raimie’s family flag. Gabe remembered fondly how Raimie had always been quite proud to learn of his family and their history in The Guardians. Dina knew all too well how much it would mean to Gabe to have a piece of his friend with him that day.
“Thank you, sir, let’s just hope Rachel thinks so.” Gabe replied.
“Something tells me it doesn’t matter what you are wearing. When she sees you, I think it will be one of the greatest moments of her life.” Michael offered with a warm smile.
Gabe felt his breath catch in his throat. He had hoped one day he and Michael might be able to speak like this to one another again. There was no disappointment in his voice, Gabe noticed, only warmth.
“Gabe, I have been wanting to talk to you.”
“Yes, sir, what is it?”
Michael looked at the crowed that was gathering in the courtyard. “A lot of things happened at Rampart I wish I could change now.”
“Really, there’s no need to—”
“If it’s ok with you, this is something I do need to say.” Michael interrupted, waiting for Gabe’s nod to continue. “I know we kept a lot of secrets from you. At the time I thought it was necessary to keep you and everyone safe, but that doesn’t mean it was right. I meant what I said then, though, about everything being your choice and that we would all still care about you no matter what your choice was. That hasn’t changed, we all care about you so deeply and I’m proud of the journey you took to figure out who you are. I am greatly honored to be here, to see the man you’ve become.”
“Thank You.”
“I don’t know Rachel very well, but from what I can see she is an amazing woman.” Michael continued.
“She is—” Gabe interjected.
“I will do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe, just know that.” Michael added before turning and joining the crowd.
Gabe gasped, his head spinning from the words he had just heard. After all those years nothing had changed. He still had a place among the Guardians; there was no need for him to hang his head in shame. They welcomed him home with open arms.
“Sophie, don’t!” Gabe heard Dina shout in the distance.
Hearing the commotion in the distance, Gabe made his way around the outer edge of the courtyard, trying to get a better view of what was unfolding.
At the far end near the great oak tree, Gabe caught sight of Dina and Sophie arguing. Pushing through a group of bystanders, he came closer so he could more clearly hear.
“I don’t care, it’s not right.” Dina snapped, staring intensely at her friend.
“He loves me, Dina, not her.” Sophie insisted in an angry voice.
“Christ, Sophie, if he loved you then he wouldn’t have ever asked her to marry him. For that matter, if you love him as much as you say you do, then you