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Gabriel Knight and the Changeling	By : Scribe Category: +G through L > Gabriel Knight (series) > Gabriel Knight (series) Views: 1333 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the game that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Gabriel Knight and the Changeling

Part Three
Friedrich awoke to warmth and the peaceful rhythm of Gabriel's breath fanning across his throat. *He sleeps like the dead,* Friedrich thought affectionately. Gabriel was on his side, snuggled close against Friedrich, an arm and a leg thrown across his lover's body.

Von Glower lifted his hand and gently stroked Gabriel's hair. He didn't want to wake the younger man, but he couldn't resist. He loved Gabriel's hair. It was a rich mixture of red and brown, but it shone with gold glints under bright lights, and it fell to his shoulders in silky waves. It was Gabriel's pride, and Friedrich's joy. He'd spent a lot of time with his hands buried in that soft mass, guiding Gabriel as he pleasured him. He'd also spent long minutes just carding his fingers through it as they sat together in the evening, talking quietly or simply gazing into the fire, enjoying each other's company in silence. That was one way he knew that they had both made the right choice--they could be still together.

Thin sunlight seeped through the bedroom curtains. Friedrich sometimes lay abed late these days--Gabriel was an expert at coaxing him to linger, but he was not a naturally slothful man. He carefully lifted Gabriel's arm and slid out of the sleeping man's loose embrace. Gabriel mumbled a sleepy protest, his hand grasping vaguely, but he didn't really awaken. Friedrich pulled the sheet up over Gabriel's bare shoulders and put on the robe he'd left thrown across the foot of the bed.

The baron went downstairs and started the coffee. He had begun using the dark, chicory-laced roast that Gabriel (a New Orleans native) favored, and luckily found that he had a taste for it. He enjoyed indulging Gabriel in small things, watching his whole-hearted enjoyment of all things sensual.

Confident that the aroma of fresh brewed coffee would lure his lover downstairs, Friedrich started an omelet. Even though he had lived his entire life in Europe, he was seldom satisfied with a 'continental breakfast', preferring something more substantial. Gabriel could seldom stomach more than coffee and perhaps a beignet before noon.

Upstairs Gabriel's nostrils twitched. Even before lycanthropy had sharpened his senses such a delicious aroma would have lured him up from the depths of sleep. He surfaced slowly, yawning. *Somethin's missin'.* His hand quested across the bed. The sheets were cool, without any residual body heat. No Friedrich.

He groaned, peeling his eyes open. *I guess I'm gonna have to work harder at wearin' that man out if I don't want him gettin' up at the crack of dawn.* He sniffed. *Well, bless 'im, he does know what I need.*

Gabriel got up and dug a pair of sweats out of the dresser, putting them on without bothering with underwear. He stopped in the bathroom long enough to brush his teeth and his hair (the hair taking considerably longer), then padded barefoot down to the kitchen.

Friedrich was just sliding an omelet onto a plate, but he looked up with a smile. "Good morning, my heart. Did you sleep well? I think you were a little restless last night."

Gabriel poured himself a cup of coffee. "Yeah, Ah had dreams." He frowned. "But Ah can't remember what they were. They were pretty vague. Mostly just... feelins."

Friedrich sat at the table and cut a forkful of eggs. "Dark feelings?"

"Yeah." Gabriel sat beside him and took his first sip of coffee, closing his eyes in bliss. "What other kind would make me restless?" He felt Friedrich's hand on his leg, and smiled. "Yeah, those would, too, but not this time." He shrugged, drinking again. "Probably that sauerbraten Ah had before bed last night. Ah ought to know by now not to eat that close to bedtime."

Friedrich gave the firm thigh another squeeze, then went back to eating. "Considering your nature it could very well be a premonition."

Gabriel finished the cup and went for more. "Eh, Ah doubt it. Ah'm not likely to be eligible to work on any psychic friends hotline."

Friedrich shook his head. "Don't dismiss it so quickly, liebchen. You have a sensitivity to the supernatural--it's bred into your very blood."

"Yeah? It wasn't too swift when it came to you, was it? Took me long enough to figure out you weren't your typical European noble."

"Some things are not evident from birth--they have to mature. I did not make my first change until adolescence. Your mystical side has always been there. You neglected and ignored it before your uncle died, but it still showed. Your career choice for instance. You could have written anything--mysteries, humor, westerns, pulp sensations, but what did you choose? Horror and the supernatural. You've always been closer to the darkness than most, Gabriel."

"Maybe. There's certain mamas an' daddies in N'awlins might agree with you on that. Ah had more than one of 'em call me the devil."

Friedrich shook his head, smiling as he took his empty plate to the sink and began to wash it. "Joke all you want, Gabe. You know very well what I mean. You have talents..." Gabriel had moved up behind him. Now he put his arms around Friedrich's waist and pressed against his ass. "Other than the physical ones. This little interlude we are having is good, but you're going to have to go back to your duties of Schattenjaeger, and you might as well reconcile yourself to that."

Gabriel sighed, resting his forehead against the other man's back. "Ah know, Ah know. Hell, if Ah'd wanted responsibilities Ah'da gotten married a long time ago."

Friedrich laid his hands over Gabriel's, where they rested on his stomach. He said quietly, "Sometimes Fate does not give us a choice, liebling. We take what we are given, and make it work." He felt a tugging at his sash and looked down to see Gabriel's nimble fingers undoing the knot. "Gabriel..."

Knight had gotten the robe open and slipped his hands inside, smoothing his palms over Friedrich's flat belly. His hands slipped lower to brush at the crisp pubic curls. "Oo, you dirty man. Not even a pair of underwear. Well, you know what the courts say about things like that, don'tcha? You're askin' for it."

Friedrich sighed, feeling himself beginning to stir. "This is not Fatal Attraction, Gabriel. I have no desire to make love in the sink."

Gabe nibbled at the nape of his neck. "Then come back to bed with me."

"You should start on your rewrite."

"Ah need inspiration." The phone rang. "Damn. Ignore that."

Friedrich pulled his hands loose, raising one to his lips. "We can't do that." He slipped from between Gabriel and the sink, knotting his robe closed as he went. "You know that Nichols and Ubergrau have instructions not to contact us unless it's important." He lifted the receiver and spoke into the receiver. "Ja, von Glower here." His eyebrows rose, and he looked at Gabriel. "Yes. Yes, I am well. He's up." He offered the receiver to Gabriel. "Gabriel, it's Gerde." Gabriel hesitated, staring at him. He hadn't spoken to his assistant since he'd gone to America months before. Friedrich said gently, "Gabriel."

He took the phone. "Hi, Gerde."

The woman's voice was tentative, but Gabriel sensed no fear or hostility. "Gabriel, I am so happy to hear your voice. I... I hope I am not troubling you, but..."

"No, Gerde, it's all right. Ah'm glad you called. Ah'm sorry Ah haven't called before." He rubbed his neck. "Letters are a pretty cold way of dealin' with someone you consider a friend." He paused. "We're still friends, aren't we?"

There was a moment of silence, and finally Gerde said softly, "I hope so, Gabriel. I hope you'll come back to Schloss von Ritter... someday. But I wish this call was only for friendship's sake."

Gabriel felt a prickle run quickly across his scalp. *Somethin's comin'. Shit, an' there's no chance of gettin' out of the way.* "Tell me about it."

"I can't, really. Last night I received a call from an old woman in Karlstad. That is near you, yes?"

"Mm, about two hour's ride, if you ain't in a hurry. What did the old doll want?"

"It was a little hard to tell. She said she could only speak for a minute. I think she was trying to keep someone from finding out that she was calling."

Gabriel straightened. "Is she in danger herself?"

"No, I don't think so. It's more that someone would disapprove of her calling a Schattenjaeger."

"What's her problem?" Gerde made a questioning sound, and Gabriel rolled his eyes. He said patiently, "What do ya think her problem is, an' does she need a Schattenjaeger, the cops, or a psychiatrist?"

"Well, she was very upset, but she seemed lucid, except..."

"Gerde..."

"She said that her great-grandchild had been kidnapped from the hospital. The little boy was only a day old."

Gabriel winced. "Damn, that's horrible! But she needs to be talkin' to the local cops, or maybe whatever Sweden has that passes for the FBI."

"She said that she thinks her grandson has already started the official investigation, but she has no confidence in the authorities."

"Can't say Ah'm exactly enamored of th' official channels myself, but this sounds out of my line."

"No, if it's what she fears it is very much in your line. She believes that the child was stolen by the faeries."

Gabriel was silent for a moment. Finally he said heavily, "Gerde, you're tellin' me that this old darlin' thinks that Tinkerbell took her grandbaby?" Friedrich looked up sharply. Gabriel grimaced at him, but his lover put down the paper that he had picked up and listened more closely to Gabriel's conversation.

"And left a faerie child in its place. Yes, I know how it sounds, but, Gabriel, she isn't so very far away from you." Her tone was coaxing. "If you could just see her and talk to her. If a Schattenjaeger assures her that there was nothing supernatural in the child's kidnapping, it would make things easier for her, I'm sure."

"Ah dunno, Gerde." Gabriel wasn't too reluctant to perform his Schattenjaeger duties, but he damn sure didn't want to go traipsing all over just because someone who was probably senile had seen fairies at the bottom of the garden.

"Please think about it, Gabriel. There was such pain in her voice. Whatever actually happens, she truly believes that the baby was replaced by a changeling."

He sighed. "Gimme a little time to think about it. Ah'll call you back this evenin' or tomorrow."

"All right. If she calls back, what should I tell her?"

"Girl, don't try to guilt me into this." Gabriel was suddenly irritated with himself. This was an old woman, and she had to be heartbroken and afraid. "Tell her I'm evaluatin' the situation." *I'm gonna cave, I just know it.*

Gerde knew it, too, because her voice was vibrant. "Thank you, Gabriel. Perhaps when you finish... I mean, if you decide to take the case..."

"Right, right, Gerde."

"You might come back to the schloss for a little while? I... I'd like to meet Friedrich."

*Oh, girl. I don't know if you mean it or you're just tryin' to get on my good side, but whichever it is, it's workin'.* "We'll see. You take care now."

He hung up and went to sit beside Friedrich again, slumping. "They want me to investigate a possible case of fairy kidnappin'. Maybe I can call EuroDisney an' ask for help."

"Don't take this so lightly."

Gabriel groaned. "Friedrich, don't tell me you clapped for Tinkerbell?"

"Do I believe in faeries? Not the kind you're thinking of, schatzie. I suppose you mean f-a-i-r-y, not f-a-e-r-i-e?"

Gabriel blinked. "Ah never knew there were different spellings. Is there a difference?"

"Oh, yes. The modern concept of the airy-fairies only dates from a century or so ago. It was popularized in the Victorian era--they tended toward sentimentality. I believe the image of the tiny, delicate, playful, winged creatures became ingrained in American and European minds in the early twenties, when a couple of English schoolgirls took photos of them."

"Friedrich, Ah do not believe they took pictures of real fairies."

"Of course they didn't, Gabriel. No, the fairies were paper cutouts, but they fooled thousands of people, and not just starry-eyed children. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a great believer. But what I'm trying to tell you is that the sweet image of a fairy is a recent thing, but the darker version, the faerie, have been known almost since oral traditions began.

"Dark?"

"Not necessarily physically, Gabriel, but in a spiritual sense. They are among the soulless ones, and as such they have little regard for humans, save as they provide either amusement or irritation."

"Friedrich, you're talkin' like you really believe in them."

"I suppose that would be foolish." Friedrich gave Gabriel a small smile. "As foolish as believing in, oh, werewolves?"

Gabriel laughed. "Okay, Ah get the message. Me sayin' faeries are unbelievable is th' pot callin' th' kettle black. You think I should take this case." It was a statement instead of a question.

"I think you should at least look into it. It is still early... We can arrive in Karlstad in time for lunch, then speak to this woman. If it is nothing, we can be back before dark."

"We'd better. Ah don't wanna change over in a strange city, when I haven't had time to set up a secure place."

"That won't be a problem, Gabriel. Last night was the final night of this period."

Gabe frowned. "You sure, Friedrich? Ol' Miss Moon looked pretty round to me last night."

"Yes, I am sure. You would be, too, if you would just take time and listen to your body. Take a moment to really consider how you feel--sense the beast." Gabriel's eyes unfocused slightly as he concentrated. "Can't you feel it? The beast should seem less restless."

"You're right. It isn't all that much, but Ah'm pretty sure I can resist changin' over. Well, as long as Ah pay attention to what I'm doin'."

"Precisely. It will become easier in time."

"Well, that's the main argument down, I s'pose." He picked up the receiver and started dialing. "Guess Ah might as well call Gerde and get the particulars." He smiled wryly, and picked up a pencil, tapping it on the pad that they kept near the phone. "For some reason Ah suspect that she'll have all th' information I need ready to go, up to an' includin' street directions, an' a recommendation for a good hotel. Hello, Gerde? Yeah. Ah decided to at least go down an' hear th' old girl out, so if you can tell me..." He shot Friedrich a look. "Well, now that's just real convenient. Yes, you can send it to th' same fax number that th' lawyers use. A map? What would Ah do without you, Gerde? Okay. Take care."

Friedrich was stifling laughter as his lover hung up, and Gabriel gave him a mock glare. "First Gracie, now Gerde, and then you--somebody always pushin' me to do the right thing. At least you have an excuse--you've got that whole alpha thing goin' on."

"And as to that, your alpha says that it is time to get dressed. Come along. While we're at the agent's, I want to warn the cleaners that we may be gone for a few days." Friedrich hadn't wanted to bother with buying or renting a fax, so they had made arrangements with the real estate office that found them this rental. There had only been a few times during their stay it had been necessary to use it, but it had proved to be an efficient arrangement. "If we decide to stay over, I can call back and confirm it, and they can empty the refrigerator."

"Sometimes you're so fuckin' domestic."

Gabriel yelped as Friedrich gave him a sharp swat on the ass. "Schnell, mein seele."

"Rush, rush, rush." Gabriel started up the stairs, and Friedrich took the opportunity to admire the flex of his haunches as he climbed.

"The sooner we get there, the sooner you can either help that poor woman, or give her some small piece of mind."

"I know that, bo, but Ah'm from th' Big Easy--I'll be disowned if I don't at least make a show of bein' lazy."

"Would it quicken your steps if I said that, should you hurry, I believe there will be time to further muss the sheets?" He laughed aloud as Gabriel suddenly began to take the stairs two at a time, then bounded after his lover.
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Gabriel Knight and the Changeling