So this is my first RM fic but i just had to do it after reading the latest one. I had too. It like, set itself up for it. But yeah. I'm an Algaliarept fan. So read and review and tell me what you think.

Loves!

-Pk

Shunned. Two months ago it would have been the worst possible word you could say to me. Worse than "there's a crazy demon after you". Worse than "I'm sorry Rachel, we had to release Trent on bail". Worse than "Sweety, your real father is a rockstar that bailed on us after I married your human father". But who would have guessed that after all of it, the shunning was one of the best things to happen to me?

Ever since then everything turned around for me. Because I was shunned by the witches, and only the witches it seemed, seeing as the elves (posing as humans), humans, Weres and vamps are still backing me, (thanks to Trent, Edden, David and Ivy, respectably) I can still go out, still go shopping, still get runs. And thanks to the shunning by the witches, I am now a full time special Inderland associate employed at the FIB. But probably the most unusual thing about all of it, was the way Al started treating me.

Algaliarept, my demon as he's called by, well, everyone but me, used to be a pompous, annoying, self-righteous demon in a green velvet frock coat. Well, ever since I was shunned and couldn't shop at any charm shops anymore, Al's been getting my stuff for me. Rather, he took back his name and mark and has the stupid kids that summon him get my stuff for me, and then has me go out with Glenn and Jenks to arrest their stupid, demon summoning asses. If their humans. The witches that do it... I don't want to know what he does with them. I think he's back to selling familiars. But we have a don't-ask-don't-tell thing going with that.

The first time Algaliarept showed up in my kitchen on a random evening, I was actually sitting down to have dinner with Ivy, David and Glenn. We were supposed to be talking about what we were going to do about the recent string of blown-up houses when he popped in out of no where. Without so much as a call, even. I guess the up-side to that was a) I learned that David could Were in thirty seconds or less, b) Glenn is smart enough to grab my splat gun instead of trying to use his FIB issue one and c) Ivy can vamp out and have him pinned in under a second. But when he dropped the paper bag on the floor and told me to look into it I was surprised. It had contained fern seeds.

"You're really fond of that little pixy of your's." He had said. "So I thought I'd bring him something to help." It had shocked all of us and Ivy let him go. Before anyone had said anything, he had helped himself to dinner and was eating with us. Turns out the witches who had been summoning him were the reason the houses were blowing up. Surprise, surprise. What really got me was the way he just... Fit. Just fit in. When all five of us started talking... It was like Al belonged there.

That was about a month and a half ago. And three times a week he's been bringing me supplies since, and twice now, he's actually called and seen if he could come over for dinner, since he didn't feel like cooking for himself, lazy ass demon, and Peirce had gotten away again. That's why I set up tonight's dinner. I had called Al last night to invite him over for dinner with me, Ford and baby Holly. Holly and Ford both really interest him, so he had said yes. But why I really wanted Ford here was for more than Al's amusement. I wanted my shrink, and yes, he is my shrink, I do go to him when I have to when something's wrong, to tell me what's going through Algaliarept's mind. So he's bringing Holly over with her playpen and we're going to put her just far enough away where he'll feel Al's emotions and not mine. Clever, right?

The smell of coffee broke me out of my reverie and, grabbing my oversized Vampiric Charms mug, I poured myself a cup. The warmth was nice against the chill of the church but I had taken one of the space heaters and put it in the living room. I couldn't have dinner in the sanctuary, not with Al coming, so instead of trying to fit the playpen in the kitchen, I was going to set it up in the lining room. Which was why we weren't having anything big, just a homemade pizza. The doorbell went off and a shrill of tiny, tinny pixy voices all started at once. The noise grated on my eyeballs as it got closer.

"Ms. Morgan!" One of Jenks's daughters was flying around my head. "A baby's here! A baby!" A harsh chirp came from the hall and the noise stopped as Matalina flew in. She had been feeling much better since Al started bringing Jenks and her stuff to help prolong their lives.

"Come along, sweety," the little pixy woman said, "Let's leave Ms. Morgan alone, okay?" The little girl nodded. "'Kay Mama." I smiled at her and held my hand out. She lit on it and smiled a motherly smile. "My kids say that Ford is here with Holly. Do you want me to let them in?" I shook my head. walking towards the sanctuary.

"I'll do it." I said as she took off again, rounding up her kids. I smiled and walked through the dark foyer, pulling on my jacket along the way. I opened up the door and smiled at Ford. The man was standing their with Holly in his arms and a diaperbag over his shoulder.

"Hello, Rachel." He said, a smile on his face. Holly hiccuped and he rocked her. It was a heartwarming scene. "Hey Ford. How's Holly?" The baby squirmed and opened a bleary eye at me. Ford smiled and handed me the diaperbag and held out Holly. I winced.

"Ford I can't take her." I said, guilty. He luaghed and held her hands up. They were gloved. Relieved, I took the sleeping baby, careful that none of her flesh touched mine. "I'll take her into the back." I said, watching him wrestle the playpen out. "Do you need help with that?" It came free and he fell backwards onto the curb. I winced and tried not to laugh.

"No... No, I'm all right." He said, getting up and shutting the door. "I'm fine." The FIB agent hoisted the playpen up and followed me in, swinging the door shut behind him. We were greeted by a chorus pixy children playing with Rex. They had found one of my old shoelaces and were dangling it down and flying up when she jumped for it. Ford laughed, a warm sound that felt right. I walked into the back of the church with him trailing slightly behind me.

"So why curious about Al all the sudden?" He asked. I sighed, setting Holly down on the couch and the bag on the floor next to her. I helped him set up the playpen, nervous and not knowing why. He frowned, and I was sure it was because he could tell I was nervous. Looking for a distraction, I thought of the coffee in the kitchen. I wanted to have Ford calmed down before Al got here. It was going to be close; the sun was setting in about fifteen minutes.

"You want some coffee Ford?" I called back out of my kitchen. I paused, then opened the oven to check on the pizza. It was looking good, and I brought the salad out. I had salad, pizza and cheesecake today, in a mind that it would probably keep everyone happy and cheesecake was one of my favourites to make. A memory of making cheesecake for Kisten once went through my mind and was gone.

"I'd love some coffee, if you didn't mind." I jumped, almost dropping the mug I had in my hand. I hadn't heard him come into the kitchen. I leaned back on my counter and handed him the mug. I didn't know why I was so jumpy. Maybe because this was the first time I had Ford over for anything more than an appointment. Maybe it was because Peirce had gotten away again yesterday morning and the demon had seemed really excited about coming by. Or maybe just that I didn't tell Ivy or Jenks, because I knew they'd cancel their run to protect me. No, I couldn't have them here. Al would just close up then, like he always does when Ivy's around.

"Why're you nervous?" He asked, his brow furrowed. I shook my head, glancing at the sunset. Al would be here any minute. The timer on the stove went off and I pushed off the counter, grabbing the ovenmits and pulling the pizza out. It bubbled happily with it's white sauce. I knew Glenn would like a red one but Ford seemed to just not like them. Not be afraid. Just didn't like them. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen.

"I don't know Ford... Maybe because I know that Al's a demon and even though he's been behaving lately I don't know if he'll stay that way or if it's just a ruse." The human nodded and set a comforting hand briefly on my shoulder.

"I wouldn't worry about him. I don't think he'd try anything with Holly around. I'm pretty sure banshees can kill demons too." I nodded, wondering. He didn't touch Holly before and I didn't think he wouldn't now unless he knew that she couldn't hurt him. I glanced out the window again and caught the empty spot on the sill. Mr. Fish was still in the Ever-After at Al's apartment. I left him there after I saw the way the little fish had made the demon happy. For the first hour or so I was there last time the only thing he did was stare at the little beta in a bowl. I smiled and felt a pull on my line.

"He's here." I said, pulling plates out of the cupboard. I set them down and pulled a mug out for the demon too when I heard the back door open. The tell-tale tap of Al's boots echoed through and the demon entered the kitchen, a paper cup holder in his hand and three coffees in it. Ford looked over at him and smiled.

"Didn't feel like having it black?" He asked the demon. Al shook his head and grinned at me. "I know my itchy-witch likes the coffee I order for her. It would have been rude to bring something for myself and for her without something for you." Ford nodded and set his empty mug down on the counter. Something clacked with it and I looked down. Ford's amulet was on the table too, hidden by Ivy's over-sized mug. It was a whirl of conflicting emotions that settled on an excited red. I heard Holly laugh from the living room and noticed that the shrink and demon were gone. I put the pizza on a platter and cut it, carrying it, the plates, forks and salad in the living room. I paused and sighed. My living room had been shifted and converted into a dining room, thanks to Al, probably. I set the platter and the plates down and saw the demon cooing over the baby banshee.

Curious, I went and stood by Ford. Looking at the amulet I saw that yes, he did seem to be getting Al's emotions, the red nice and steady with the excited look on his face. The baby giggled as the demon sprouted bubbled out of no where for her to pop. He looked over at us and set her down, leaving her with one last bubble. The demon slid into a seat happily, inhaling.

"Smells intoxicating." He said, handing the coffees out to each of us. "Peirce can't cook for the life of him." He said, laughing lightly. I smiled. "I hope you like it." I said. "Ford doesn't like tomatoes." Al nodded and paused. I tensed, and felt the whole room do so. He shrugged and gathered a slice and some salad, dismissing it. But the air didn't change. It was tense and we were all quiet for a while as we dug in. Ford was the one to break it with a sound of deep bliss after biting into my pizza. Satisfied, I helped myself.

Ford's amulet was on my lap and Holly was behind me, insuring that Ford was only feeling Al, not me. I sighed, relaxing again as their voices washed over me. It was comfortable, like home. The men were talking of simple things, past girlfriends, how work sucked (which I had to laugh at; it seems like that's the one thing to bind anyone together) and eventually settled on Holly.

"She's a beautiful little girl, Ford." Al said, holding his coffee in his currently ungloved hands. it was still piping, and my guess was that he was spelling it warm whenever he needed to. "Are you going to have any yourself?" Ford choked and the amulet reflected his overpowering embarrassment. Coughing, the FIB agents stammered out a quick, "I don't even have a girlfriend right now." Before shutting his mouth. Algaliarept laughed and then fell silent. The amulet changed to a deep, depressed blue and I looked over at him.

"Al...?" I questioned, not liking it. The demon looked up, a sad smile on his face.

"I had a girl once." He said, staring down at the table. I recognized it suddenly as the one from his kitchen. "Beautiful demoness." He said, taking a slip of the coffee and shutting his eyes. When he opened them the red was blurred and shining. "Before Newt took out all the other females, I had someone I wanted to settle down with. I was still young then. And none of us can ever beat Newt." He frowned, concentrating on remembering. Or maybe forgetting. "She was beautiful." The amulet shone a pure, happy yellow, reflecting a long lost love. My heart clenched. Reaching out, I set my hand on Al's and saw Ford do the same. The demon smiled and sighed, looking over at Holly.

"I love kids." He said, smiling at her and blowing her more bubbles. The baby squealed and tried to catch them. "I'll never have any now." He said, turning his gaze back to Ford. A hard look lit his face and the human recoiled slightly. "Have them while you can, Ford. You don't know what you're missing until it's not there anymore." Ford nodded and I sat back, feeling the sorrow leave the air. Holly silenced, and we all looked at the little girl. She looked scared.

"Holly?" Ford questioned, going to her and picking her up. I slid his amulet into my pocket and took the left overs into the kitchen, setting them in the fridge. Something was amiss, and I paused, grabbing my splat gun from the counter. I came back out to see them both over with the baby as she panted and pointed towards the back door. I couldn't see anything and came over to them.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, nervous. Something felt wrong here and I tapped the line, spindling some line energy in my chi just in case. Al looked at me and straitened, reminding me again of how tall the demon was.

"We don't know." He said, looking at the door. I saw the unfocused gaze and guessed he had his second sight up. I brought mine up too, looking out over the graveyard. About a hundred yards away, something was glowing oddly. I wondered if it was a ghost or something.

"What do you think it is?" I asked, and the demon shook his head. His blackened aura was visible to me right now and probably for the first time, I caught the faint rim of a purple right around him, almost smothered by the smut. "I don't know, Rachel." He said, looking intently at it. Behind us Holly wailed. I dropped my sight and he did the same. I went to one of the boxes by the door and grabbed a toy out, handing it to her. It seemed to calm her for a moment before she held it with a death-grip.

"What's wrong, Holly...?" Ford bounced the baby and stroked her head. She was crying, but it wasn't upset crying. It was scared crying.

"She looks terrified..." I said, wanting to reach out and hold her. Al tensed beside me and I looked up. "Al?"

"Get down!!" He exclaimed, shoving us back into my couch. The table and chairs vanished back into the Ever-After as my back door blasted in, the fragmented wood shattering into the living room and hallway. I watched as Al hit a large piece of wood aside like nothing. I scrambled up and he held me back.

"Circle yourself." He said, venom in his voice. "Yourself, Ford and the baby." He growled and a woman's laugh caught me. The Walker was standing in the blown-out doorway, radiant as she had been when I had dinner with her and Edden. Al was standing between us and her, her eyes trained on Holly. "Holly..." She cooed, a wanting gaze in her eyes. "Holly, Holly, my baby... They took you from me but I've come for you..." She started forward and I drew back by Ford and Holly, my circle going up in a millisecond. Ford jumped and jolly quieted, taken in my the shining band of Ever-After. Al stood his ground in front of us.

"Leave, Walker. These people have nothing for you." The demon said, rage apparent in his face. The banshee looked at him and faltered. "Demon..." She said, staring at him. "I have no quarrel with you." She glanced back at me, then over to Holly again. Her face softened and hardened at the same time, a strange look.

"You have no business here, either." He said, and Ford stood in my bubble. "You're not getting Holly." The empath said, a hardness in his eyes. I had to admit the human was brave. I trained my eyes back to The Walker, and aimed my splat gun. I knew it would break my circle, but it would hit her too. So long as Al didn't get in my way. He probably wouldn't be happy about me downing him with my sleepy-time potions.

The banshee scowled, and leapt, her hands like claws, towards Al. My finger tightened on the trigger. Al sidestepped her and she crushed into my bubble, crumpling. I went to pull the trigger and stopped. Al grabbed her ankle and whipped her back through the hole where my door used to be and I was glad it was in the back, not the front where it could hurt the pixies.

I heard a sickening crunch and dashed out, the line energy coarsing back into me like water. I ran out and saw the banshee bleeding in the snow, hate shining out of her eyes. Her arm was broken sickly and there was blood on Al's frock coat and stockings, his normal wig lost somewhere. I paused, never seeing his natural hair before now. It was shoulder length, a light umber colour like young trees. A cold wind blew and whipped my red curls around as I took aim at the angry banshee again. She lunged at Al again.

The demon was laughing as he spun in an creepy reminder of Ivy, landing a roundhouse square in her chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her back about eight feet. I felt him tap the line and saw her rise, dashing at him again, a black fury in her eyes. I wave of line energy slammed into her and she threw her hands up, bracing herself. It hit her and caused her to smolder. Her eyes snapped to behind me where Ford and Holly were watching.

"My baby..." She cooed again, making Al whip back in my direction. "Rachel!" He yelled, flustered and breathless sounding, "I told you to circle yourself!" He growled and turned back to Walker, but she was gone. Scared, I reset my circle. Holly started crying again and I looked up, watching her drop from the top of the church. I screamed.

"Al! Watch out!" She fell on him, pinning him and a strangled sound tore through him. I knew that sound all too well, hearing it from myself, and Ivy and Tom Bansen. "Holly didn't effect him because she couldn't touch him..." I muttered. I ran forward, aiming my splat gun and shooting. The Walker dodged, leaving Al lay there. He was still breathing. Good. I stood over him, watching her as she lunged again. The disheartening ffffft of the empty gun started and she grabbed me. She just barely started pulling before we both went down and her weight was lifted off me. Al had ripped her off and was punching her repeatedly. It probably hurt too much to pull on a line. I would know.

The banshee was twitching, trying to defend herself from the enraged demon. I glanced at the ground, and finding an unbroken splat ball, reloaded. A choked sound came from Al and I saw she had him by the throat. Red hot adrenaline pounded through my system and I raised the gun and shot. She dropped Al and he lay there, motionless. My mind blanked. The mantra of not Al, not Al, not Al... pounded through my mind and I raced forward, landing a swift punch into her middle.

"You bitch!" I screamed, tears running down my face. "You stupid, loathesome bitch!" I screamed, the line energy racing through me again. I felt it in my finger tips and let it overtake me, and, fingers splayed I let it loose, the latin spell falling from my lips.

"Celero Inanio!!" I screamed, feeling the heat and energy run through my body and chi. The banshee looked at me, scared, stunned and hating before she burst into flame. My yard was like noon and I watched her twisted form fall, burning. I dropped the line and ran back to the motionless demon. I pulled him up on my lap and saw him still breathing. Tears of relief spilled through me.

"You stupid, stupid man, Al..." I muttered. I brought up my second sight again and looked at him. His aura was badly damaged; he probably wouldn't be able to jump himself back over the lines. His eyes opened blearily and focused on me. It made me wonder for a moment when they stupid being so alien to me.

"Rachel..." He murmured, voice rough. I nodded and he brought up his arm quick, quicker than I thought he'd be able to, and smacked me in the side of the head. "Stupid witch. I told you to circle yourself. Now she'll get the baby." He heaved himself up into a sitting position and I was vaguely aware of my mom's old Buick pulling up. Ivy was back. Great. I shook my head at him and laughed.

"She's dead." I said, pointing to the spot of melted snow and the ashes surrounding it. His eyes got wide and he stood, shakily walking over to the spot that The Walker had been. I saw him wobble and caught him, letting him lean on me. He looked over at me, his red eyes shocked.

"You killed her?" He asked, looking back at the spot. I nodded and he wobbled again. I heard Ivy call my name and I went to answer, my voice cutting out. Something pulled at my aura, but not painfully. I saw Al straitened and I figured he probably just took some to make himself feel better. I shrugged it off and headed in, the demon following me.

Ford was talking to Ivy in the hallway, the living vampire holding a piece of the exploded door. Her eyes were wide and dilated, and she looked from me to Al and back again.

"You were attacked by a banshee?!" She screamed. I couldn't tell if it was out of anger or worry. "Why didn't you call me?!" Worry. I held my hands up in defense and Al stepped around me, straitening his lace. I had a feeling it was a nervous tick. "Ivy..." He said, holding his hands up in a show of peace. "She couldn't. She didn't know she was going to be attacked and she was guarding Ford and Holly." Ivy calmed and looked from Ford and Holly to me and Al.

"Then where's the banshee?" She asked, shifting. I knew she would have gone after Walker if she had had to. Al shook his head. "Dead." He said, gesturing outside. I tensed and he continued. "I killed her." Glancing over I wondered why he lied to her. He smiled, adjusting his smoked glasses and strode over, taking the door peice from her. Anger crossed her face and she stormed out. I heard the front door slam and sighed. Back to square one it looked like.

I looked over and saw Ford, shifting from side to side, a sleeping Holly in his arms. I smiled and nodded, telling him to leave, I'd bring the playpen over to to FIB office tomorrow. He laughed and galnced at Al. Shifting the baby to his other arm he held out his hand to Al. The demon looked puzzled for a second and took it.

"Thank you for saving us, Al." He said, smiling. The demon smiled back, tired, and nodded. "Just... Take care of her." He said, looking at Holly. A look of sadness crossed his face and was gone. I felt a pang of something in my heart and put it off. It was probably just pity. Of course it was. I went back to gathering the door peices and dumped my armload by the doorway. Al stopped with his and I saw again the line's power coursing through him. The peices picked themselves up and put itself back together, reforming the door. The demon pushed it back onto the frame and attached it. Again I felt that pang and this time I recognized it.

I looked at Algaliarept, the demon, my mentor and the man that just saved my life. I almost couldn't believe it. The demon was Rachel-candy... I flushed and clung to the anger I felt. Ford knew! Ford knew and let him come by anyways!! Feeling betrayed, I stormed off, grabbing the coffee Al had brought me and taking a gulp.

"Rachel...?" I looked up to see the demon standing in the doorway to my kitchen, looking lost and confused. I forced myself to untense and sighed.

"Thank you for helping us, Al." I said, looking over at him. "I don't think we would have gotten out of that without your help." He chuckled and I flushed. "What!" I said, slamming the coffee down. He only laughed more, a warm sound that went strait to my middle. The demon sauntered over, his confidence obviously restored from making me flustered.

"Of course, my Itchy-Witch. I wasn't going to let any banshee harm you." He laughed more and ran his hand through the shoulder length hair then paused. I guessed he realized he was missing his wig. Shrugging he came closer. I backed up until I hit the counter. "Al...?" He chuckled again.

"You cried for me, Rachel." He said. I felt the colour drain from my face. Oh God, I had. I looked up to see humour in his eyes. He knew. I could tell, he knew. "Now, why, my little witch, would you do that?" He came closer and I could feel the heat from him. My mind was screaming for me to run, but I couldn't. My legs wouldn't move.

"Rachel..." He said, voice low. He cupped my chin in his hand and tilted my face up to his. So many things were swirling through his eyes. But was shocked me was that the prodominant one wasn't lust. It was love. "Al, I..." I couldn't find my voice. He smiled, and lowered his head down to mine and kissed me. He backed off and I stared at him. Before I could say anything, he was gone, jumping the line back into the Ever-After. I stood there, confused for what seemed like an eternity, my fingers on my tingling lips before Jenks came in.

"Tink's titties, Rache!" He said, flying over to me, dusting heavily. "Another banshee?!" I nodded and he dropped a few inches before recovering. "Did she hurt you?!" I shook my head. Oh God. Al was Rachel candy. I remembered sitting with Ford after my last banshee attack and him speaking to me.

"I think he loves you, Rachel."

"Who, Al?"

Al... I sighed and flushed. "No Jenks." I said, shaking my head. He handed on my shoulder and put his small hand on my face. "Walker didn't hurt me." I said again, looking out the window to where the ley line was in the yard. Jenks buzzed in front of me, too close to focus on.

"Then what's wrong with you?" He said, too concerned to curse, it seemed. I shook my head again and took a breath. Al loved me. The demon. The demon Algaliarept. Was in love. With me. I shook my head again and headed for the shower. My life just got that must more complicated. Wonderful.

Again, red and review