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Gabriel Gives An Impromptu Therapy Session, And Surprisingly, It Works (S9-S10 time-jump, canon)

The council in Alexandria was an effective way of leading. It made sure that every part of an argument was discussed, and no single person made the complete decision. But I still knew there was one person who oversaw the whole group, community and outsiders alike.

"Gabriel." I announced my presence when the man walked past the house, a binder tucked under his arm as he marched. He almost missed me completely, stopping suddenly as I descended the steps.

"Belle." He smiled, waiting for me to join his side. Half his face was shielded by a hat, the weak sun cutting off into shadow along his nose. "What can I do for you?"

I shuffled on my feet, a shrug in my shoulders. "I wanted to thank you for my place on the council. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it." I had only been in Alexandria for a a few weeks now, the Hilltop already taken care of by Ezekiel. Gabriel was one person who agreed it would be a waste of my talents to give up my leadership role altogether, which was why he allowed me a position among them.

"It's no problem, really. Alexandria is happy to have you with us." He dismissed me quickly, making to leave before I spoke up again.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about that." He turned back to me, his eyebrows quirked with curiosity. "I mean, I wanna do it, I do. But I really wanna get back in the infirmary, too. Maybe we could work out a way I can do both." My tone turned up into a question, my lips pulled into a pleading smile.

Gabriel whipped his head back and forth, a decision in his features until he eventually sighed. "I need to write tonight's sermon, but we can talk in my church." He offered, taking off in that direction before I could answer.

I instinctively followed him, my legs moving quickly to keep up until we reached the building. It had changed a lot since I was last inside, the old stone structure reinforced with wooden beams and platforms. But it still looked the same, the glistening stained glass windows refracting light onto the gravel.

"Are you coming in?" Gabriel waited at the door, his foot sticking out to keep it open.

It felt like there was an invisible barrier stopping me from getting any closer, my feet sticking to the ground just a few feet away from him. I hadn't been there that day, but I could picture it in my mind from what I had been told.

Rick and Michonne helping him into the church, dodging flaming bushes and piles of rubble from the Saviors bombs. The tearful goodbyes and heart wrenching feeling as that final gunshot rang through the still air-

"I don't- This is where he died." I muttered, squinting through the crack in the door. It was ridiculous of me to feel this way, to hang on to such a tiny detail of something that happened a long, long time ago. But the dull ache would always be present in my chest.

Gabriel's confusion quickly turned into realisation as he let the door swing shut, inviting me to sit on the bench outside. I huffed as I took a seat, my fingers dragging down my face as if to wipe away the stressful sensation.

"I know it was years ago, and I should've moved on by now. I'm happy, I'm with Siddiq, at least I was, but-" I explained, but the nagging was still in the back of my mind.

Gabriel listened intently, a light frown on his lips as he processed my words. "Grief is a strange thing. You can feel like you're perfectly content until it suddenly becomes too much to bear." He acknowledged in a kind tone. I hadn't spoken to the man that often, just the usual passing conversation and small talk.

I had already said to Daryl that I wasn't sure if I could ever move on from things like this. But going to the church shouldn't be this hard, not after all this time.

"Have you considered that your relationship with Siddiq might be strained because of these losses?" The priest suggested, a crease forming between my eyebrows.

Siddiq and I hadn't formally broken up, at least not in a verbal way. But I figured since he spent the nights in his own room and tended to avoid one on one conversations with me, that was the message he wanted to send. I couldn't blame him, the pressure of a relationship was something he just couldn't handle right now. I wasn't sure if I could either.

I lost a lot that day, some of my closest friends and family. It felt strange even now that I couldn't hang out with Enid and tell her what I had for breakfast, or the irritating but amusing thing Heather did as an excuse not to go to sleep.

But Siddiq had watched it, he was forced to sit there and see it before his eyes without the power to stop it. We just couldn't be there for each other, not right now.

I shrugged casually, my fingers picking at a chip in the wood. "Probably. I know that right before, we had it all figured out. I almost told him I loved him at the fair. And then everything changed." Gabriel really did have a way of encouraging you to confess.

"It's been a few months since then, and I understand you lost a lot. I'm sorry about that." He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, meeting my eyes earnestly. "But you can't climb out of a hole if you keep digging. If you don't get out now, you'll be stuck in it forever. I suggest you talk to him, work out what went wrong so you can help each other heal. Both of you deserve happiness and I truly believe you can find it in one another."

"Thanks, Gabriel." I subtly sniffled, my eyes blinking hard at the emotional words. "But I still don't think I can go in that church."

The man breathed out a chuckle, nodding his head in agreement as his mind whirred. "Are you a religious person, Belle?"

The question surprised me, my lips hanging open in the form of words even though no sound came from them.

Religion wasn't something I thought about a lot, in fact I usually tried to steer clear of it altogether, I always had.

"I wasn't before. I didn't believe in anything at all until I met Hershel." I told him, my lips peeking up at the mention of my friend. He was the person who taught me that God was a possibility, that there was a plan for me that I just needed to wait for. "I believe that there's something out there, I just don't know what."

"If you can believe in 'something', then why not the Afterlife?" Gabriel proposed. "A place where the good people go to continue their story after death. Would you believe that Carl is there?"

I frowned suddenly, my teeth digging into cheek harshly. "Maybe he is and maybe he isn't. But it doesn't matter if it's better up there, or if he's happy and okay. Because I know he would rather be here with his family. He was a selfless person and I think he would want to keep his daughter safe instead of himself. He would've wanted to see the future of this place. He would wanted to be with me."

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I wrote this a really long time ago and never published it and I didn't like having it sitting around so here, have this random Gabriel/Belle chapter

They're not a duo I write very often because I'm not a huge Gabriel fan, but I'll admit he has his moments