Chapter 3

Matchmaker? Telekinesis? Mind-Control? Gabriel was spinning around those three concepts as he lay fully clothed, save for being barefoot in his bed. He didn't know whether to be pissed off, annoyed or flat out ecstatic. In truth, he felt all three.

Gabriel had left Rachel and Holly down in the kitchen, telling them that he had to be alone so he could think for a while. He had also tried to get more information about SOMA out of her, but she was dead set and determined not to tell him any more about them until she got the OK from her mother or SOMA itself.

The fifteen-year-old was also trying to come to terms with everything that had happened to him over the last to days. Two say that the last two days didn't fit into what he considered his 'normal' life, would be putting it very mildly. The last to days had sent Gabriel's mind into a proverbial hurricane. He just wasn't used to it when he found out most of the things that should have been fiction, turned out in reality to be face. I mean, Telekinesis? Mind-Control? He thought, bemused.

And then there were the other things that had sent his quintessentially impassive front into an uproar. One of those things was his new acquisition of a new girlfriend and lover. Gabriel wasn't new to love, but he was new to the girlfriend-boyfriend kind of love. And he knew for a fact that was what his feelings for Rachel were. He had no clue WHY, but he knew he was in love.

The only other person that he had became even mildly comfortable with (save John) lived about two hours away. Her name was Erica Williams. Their friendship was still a little strange to him. Strange, because he had almost took an instant liking to her. And Gabriel rarely did that. The other strange thing was, difference wise, they were like night and day. Add to that, she was two years younger than he was.

When they met, he had just turned fourteen and she was twelve. They had met at school, and wouldn't have met at all if it wasn't for Erica's big mouth in the lunch room. The reason being, that Gabriel tried his hardest to blend in and go unnoticed when he was in school. The first words he remembered ever coming out of Erica's mouth when he noticed her were: "I can't help it if you're I.Q. is still your shoe size! Pick up a book, it might help. Though, without osmosis, I think you'll be shit outta luck."

Gabriel didn't know why the little fiery redhead took it upon herself to tell the school bully this. A school bully that out weighed her by about a hundred plus pounds. He found out later though, and he couldn't blame her.

Who he could blame was the bully. After she said that, Gabriel guessed that the bully decided it was really ok to beat on girls just as well as boys. One right hook later Erica was laying on her back, busted lip and all. Crying up a storm.

Gabriel got expelled forever from that school on that day.

It was one of those days that Gabriel acted without thinking. He didn't remember the books he was carrying just fall helplessly to the floor. He didn't even remember crossing the lunch room. What he did remember was tearing into that bully with every fiber of his being. He heard later that the bully stayed in intensive care for well over six months. It took three students and two teachers to pull him off the boy. Gabriel had every intention of beating him to death.

The next day, Erica showed up with a fat lip on his foster-parents doorstep. "Hiya." was all she said, before she walked in like she owned the place. She also did most of the talking, since Gabriel didn't talk much. But she didn't seem to mind.

Ever since that day, they had been best friends. Gabriel gave a smile at the memory. I wish she was here now, I could use a little advice. He thought. Then looked at the clock. He had been in his new room now for almost three hours, doing nothing but thinking. All that thinking and he was still as confused as he was before he came in.

And he was a little worried about what Dawna was going to do to him for destroying a three thousand dollar window, accident or no. "I guess there's one way to find out." Gabriel said to the ceiling in a subdued voice. Since he wasn't mad anymore he was getting more and more worried about how he had acted earlier.

Just as Gabriel got out of the bed, put on his shoes, and stood up straight, there was a gentle knock on his door. "Yeah," He called out, but not too loudly.

The door opened slowly and Dawna walked in slowly. Her face was drawn with worry. "You're not going to ask John if he'll move you, are you." Her tone was blunt, but anyone with eyes could see that the woman was worried. Dawna watched as Gabriel shook his head in a negative manner and let out an explosive breath that even she didn't know she was holding.

"I guess you have a lot of questions, huh?" Dawna continued as she walked over to where Gabriel was standing.

"Are you mad at me?" Gabriel asked as Dawna stopped beside him.

Dawna gave him a bemused look. Out of all the questions she was expecting, that was not one of them. She let out a bark of laughter after she figured out what he was talking about. "Good lord, child. No, it was only a window. I'm just glad no one got hurt." She noticed that Gabriel's usual impassive face had a guilty look to it.

"I really didn't mean to do it."

Dawna put one of her slender arms around Gabriel's shoulders. "I know you didn't, Gabriel. Even Rachel knows you didn't. So lets just forget about it," She stated in soft and soothing tones. Then she gave him a knowing look. "I'll bet that you have a lot more questions than 'Are you mad at me'." Her eyes looked like they took on a little twinkle.

"That'd be a pretty safe bet." He replied with a hint of amusement in his voice. He couldn't help but feel a little comforted with Dawna's arm around his shoulders.

"Well, I tell you what, Kiddo, you come down stairs and have dinner with us lonely girls and I'll give you as many answers as I can. But you have to wait until after dinner." She stated as she took her arm away from his shoulders.

Gabriel rolled that idea around his head for only a second before figuring that it was more than a fair deal. "Lead the way." This was stated with a small grin.

"Do you still think he's mad at me?" Rachel asked as she took a seat at the dinner table. Dawna had just left to go talk to Gabriel about ten seconds earlier.

Holly gave her friend a sweet, if not understanding look. It was still a little unnerving to see her friend so nervous. Usually the blonde girl had such control of her emotions that she might as well have had them locked behind a steal door.

But when she told Gabriel that Dawna was playing "Matchmaker" and he gave her a completely blank look... Well, it was a completely blank look to anyone that wasn't paying complete attention to the boy. But the tell-tell signs like the mild tick under his eye and the intense clenching of his jaws informed both girls that he was pissed, but holding it in, because he promised. Holly noticed that it almost made Rachel cry when Gabriel told her that he had some thinking to do and turned his back on both of them, going to his room.

"He's probably over being mad by now, Rach- but I would imagine that he's probably still annoyed. But you have to admit, he does have the right." Holly told her friend in her usual blunt, yet gentle way.

Rachel placed her elbows on the table and rested her forehead in her palms, letting out an explosive sigh. "I knew nothing good would come from keeping this shit from him," Then she sat back in her chair, and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Fuckin' protocol".

"You better be glad your Mom ain't in here, girly." Holly replied, a low chuckle following.

That made Rachel smile a little, just a little. Then she took on a more somber expression. "What I'm I gonna do if Mom decides not to lay it all on the line for him? 'Cause you know he'll be looking to me for the answers. And I can't tell him because it the stupid, fucked-up, goddamn-"

"Rachel!" Holly exclaimed. She had never heard her friend use so many curse words in one sentence in all the years she had known her. Not that she disapproved, but it was shocking, none-the-less. She must be more stressed than even I thought... Guess that's what love gets ya. She thought wry. "Calm down. I think everything will work out fine. Besides. I think your Mom will give him enough answers to pacify his curiosity and when the time comes, he'll know the rest. Plus, I think most of his attention will be focused on you and his training," Holly then gave her friend a wicked leer. "Probably mostly on YOU though!"

That comment made Rachel blush a beautiful shade of red. So, she reacted like she always did when her friend made her embarrassed or uncomfortable. She reached out and slugged Holly hard in the shoulder. Hard enough for Holly to fall out of her chair with a resounding THUMP! But it was apparently not hard enough to make Holly not bellow out with laughter instead of pain. Holly laughed long and loud.

She became quiet when she heard Dawna's stern, if not a little amused voice. "Children, I will not have these kind of antics at my dinner table. And, oh my, aren't you a lovely shade of red, Rachel."

Rachel was sitting quite still at the dinner table. It wasn't because she was embarrassed any longer. To put it simply, all Chosens can sense another Chosen when they are close enough. And since Gabriel tapped into his power, and broken his proverbial cherry, his presence was very strong indeed. So, she didn't hold her head in embarrassment, but in shame for keeping secrets from the boy she loved. Loved. She was quite certain that was the right word, though she couldn't understand how she could feel so very strongly for a person that she had virtually just met.

Holly cleared her throat a bit (trying to keep in another giggle) and took her seat back at the table. "Sorry, Ms. Wilson." She said as she looked up to see Dawna with her arms crossed over her chest and Gabriel standing slightly to the side of her and a little behind her. He was wearing... Yes, he was wearing a rather amused smile.

Then Rachel watched as his intense Spanish-brown eyes set on Rachel. Holly watched with a sense of satisfaction when the amusement turned to concern in the blink of an eye. I'm glad he loves her as much as she loves him. She thought with a slight nod. Of course, she could see the cause of his concern. Rachel was sitting at the table, head bowed, looking for all the world like a whipped puppy.

Gabriel moved without thinking, his steps as graceful as always, and sat down right beside Rachel. But Rachel still wouldn't look at him. C'mon, Gabe, think of something. He berated himself. Then he thought of something, but hoped Dawna wouldn't disapprove.

I'm pathetic. Rachel thought. She thought this because she wasn't even able to look the boy she loved in the eye. But then she felt his soft, but strong hand slip into hers. She watched her hand as it was lifted softly to Gabriel's lips, her knuckles being kissed in the most gentle manner. Rachel then chanced a look at his face. He had a half-cocked smile on and one of his twinkling eyes gave her a playful wink.

That was all it took. Rachel pulled her hand free, reached out with her arms, and enveloped Gabriel in an almost bone crushing hug. "I'm sorry." She whispered into his ear.

"Forget about it, Rach." He said back.

"Ya know, if I had a mush-o-meter I think this moment would be off the scale." Holly dead panned. But then broke into a huge grin. That was sooooo cute! She thought warmly.

Holly looked at her daughter and Gabriel fondly. <'Well done, Gabriel.'> She sent telepathically.

Gabriel just gave her a nod, but couldn't keep the (what he was pretty sure was goofy) grin off his face. While looking at the now happy version of Rachel, he thought: I might have actually done something right.

"Well," Dawna started, slapping her hands together. "Now that that's over with, I think I'll prepare dinner."

A half hour after dinner, Gabriel sat alone on the huge sectional sofa. His eyes were riveted on the orangish-red flames of the propane fireplace. Deep thought was something that Gabriel was used to. As were many people that do not talk that much, preferring to hide in the back ground and watch as the world plays out like a movie. Sometimes it would be a horror movie, or it could be a low budget B Movie.

At the moment, Gabriel felt like he was trapped in a Sci-Fi Movie. He was still holding his overall opinion of it until he got his answers. "Hurry up and wait." He muttered to himself as he watched the flames flicker.

'The Girls', as Dawna put it, told him to wait in the den because they had some things to discuss. Gabriel got the distinct impression that they were in their arguing over how much they should tell him. Gabriel had prepared himself for as much. He pretty much knew that Rachel wanted to tell him more than her mother did.

What the 'The Girls' didn't know was that Gabriel had came to a decision of his own. He decided that he would go with the flow with whatever they told him and would be patient about learning the rest. Gabriel found out long ago that the old saying of 'Good things come to those that wait' was mostly true. But he also found out that, sometimes, just sometimes, if you don't cease the moment, it may be gone forever.

He hoped that this case would be the former and not the latter.

Gabriel's head looked up towards the den's entrance as he finally heard footsteps headed his way. And in walked the three ladies of his life. Judging by the scowl on his Love's face, he made the educated guess that Dawna had won the discussion. He began a silent mantra in his head as he watched the three ladies take a seat. I will be patient, I will be patient, I will be patient...

It was Dawna who spoke up first, trying her best to sound cheerful. But if she had known Gabriel for more than two days, she would have known that wasn't a very good tactic. "Well, Gabriel, it seemed that everything that I was prepared to tell you tonight, by daughter already did." It was odd to Gabriel how the woman could sound cheerful and look annoyed at the same time, but Dawna seemed to pull it off with flying colors.

Gabriel turned to Rachel as she began to speak. He was very glad she wasn't trying to blatantly add fake cheerfulness like her mother did. "Look, Gabe, I'll lay it on the line for you. If we tell you too much before it is time... Well, lets just say that SOMA will be less than happy. And it definitely is NOT good when SOMA is not happy."

Gabriel gave his lover a cross between a frown and a scowl before he spoke. And when he did, it was almost a growl. Rachel actually flinched at it. "They'd try to hurt you???" Nobody but nobody was going to hurt HIS Rachel. It might have been little chauvinistic to think that way, but that was what his true feelings basically boiled down to.

Dawna Gave a small wince, before she started again. "No, 'hurt' is not exactly the word that I would use, Gabriel. But they could certainly make life difficult for us." Dawna heard Holly give a soft snort and say something that suspiciously sounded like: That's the understatement of the year. She decided to ignore it. She didn't want to get into just how powerful SOMA was on this particular night.

"But enough of this. Let us move on to more important matters," Dawna started again, giving Gabriel a very direct look. "Your skills as a Chosen must be at an appropriate level before you are to meet with SOMA. And since Rachel is your chosen Mate, your training lies in her hands." When she finished, she gave a look of silent look, as if handing the part of this conversation completely over to her.

In truth, when it came to Gabriel's training, Dawna had no say so what so ever as to how Rachel handled it. It was the law of SOMA that the senior Chosen handle the training of his or her Mate, if his or her mate is ignorant of their Gifts. They made the law because it was believed that it would draw the two Chosens closer together. And a happy Chosen was more effective for... She REALLY didn't have any interest in thinking of THAT tonight.

Gabriel had a spinning with so many questions that he was almost dizzy. But he was determined that he would remain quite until they asked. Thankfully, Rachel seemed to sense this and asked: "Do you have any question, Honey?" The endearment made Gabriel feel warm in the pit of his stomach.

But that didn't stop him from asking. "Why do you need a Mate so bad?" He asked this fairly bluntly. But he figured a little bluntness was a called for, so he didn't feel a lick of guilt. "Don't get me wrong though, I'm not complaining." The whole time he spoke, his face was completely impassive.

Shit. He just HAD to ask THAT question. Rachel thought, sighing inwardly. She looked to her Mom with a helpless look, but all she got in return was a shrug that said: It's your call. I'm just watching. Then she rolled her eyes at Dawna and received a disapproving scowl in return. "Before I tell you, will you promise to keep an open mind?" She asked, turning her attention back on her Mate.

Gabriel gave her a brief affirmative nod in return. This was one of the big questions in his mind. That and what the hell SOMA was all about. All he really knew about it was that it meant School Of Mental Acuity. But he really didn't think that he could get any more on that score, tonight anyway.

"Ok," Rachel went on. "You have to understand something first. There are only, and I'm talking at the most here, a dozen Chosens in the world. So, basically, what I am trying to say is, I'm trying to say- to put it bluntly, our kind is dying out. For some reason, unknown to anyone, Chosen's are only allowed to have one child in their life... And as you can imag-"

"Would you please get to the point, Rach?" Guess that mantra didn't work as well as you thought, huh Gabe?" He thought to himself with wry humor.

"Guess I was skating around it, huh?" Gabriel gave her a nod. "Well, I need an heir. And only two Chosens can make another Chosen." She then stated, schooling her features in complete blankness, for fear of Gabriel's reaction.

I couldn't have heard that right. "You want me to knock you up?" He winced at his bluntness.