Chapter 1

In a small café, in downtown Los Angeles, Wesley Wyndam-Price was ordering lunch for himself and his colleague. The small, mousy brunette sat across the table from him and laughed as he requested beans on toast. Typical English. That was one of the things Winifred Burkle loved the most about him. He could be so English sometimes but without being to prim and proper. When the waitress left the table, Wesley turned to look at Fred and held her hand across the table. He loved these lunchtimes when they could just sit and talk. He was quite happy to just sit there with her. Nice, quiet, relaxed…

A high-pitched beeping noise echoed through the café, breaking the peace and soon after there was another series of beeping. Fred and Wesley broke apart and each retrieved a pager from their pockets. Then they turned to look at each other and without so much as a word, they grabbed their jackets and headed towards the door. Fred stopped, kissed Wes on the cheek and he smiled. "I'll wait in the car for you." He left the café and Fred went back to the table… The waitress returned with a plate in each hand but the people who'd ordered were nowhere to be seen. On the table were a five dollar note and a message scribbled on a napkin: "Sorry x."

In the new office of Angel Investigations (i.e. Evie's apartment), Wesley and Fred burst in. "It seems we've got some uninvited guests," said Wes. As they entered the living room, a group of greenish-black demons turned to face them. One of the windows had smashed and a line of sun streaked down the middle of the room. Angel had grabbed a large dagger out of the weapons cabinet and dug it into the gut of the demon nearest to him. He had a large gash across his head and a couple of bruises but he hardly seemed to notice. Spike swore at the top of his voice as the demon he was fighting, speared his hand with a spike on its arm.

Angel's half-vampire wife Evie, bubbly red-head Willow and her girlfriend Tara were stood across the room holding hands and muttering under their breath. A purple ball of light hit three of the demons off their feet. They were some of the most powerful witches in the world, but the demons just didn't seem to be dying. Fred grabbed a book and ran under the table to start research. Wes retrieved his pistol from his pocket and opened fire at the demons. It didn't seem to hurt them but it certainly distracted them from fighting. However, one of them had escaped Wes' shots and dived at him. The gun went off as he fell and he looked up to see where it went.

The witches had broken their group and Willow and Tara were holding Evie up. She had a small bullet wound in her side. Wes lowered his head, horrified by what he'd done... He stood up and thumped the demon that'd knocked him over. Wes turned back to Evie who raised her head in full fang-face. This often happened when a vampire was shot. She threw a fire ball at the demon Wes had just hit and it disintegrated on contact. Fred looked up from under the table, "well, that's one way to kill them."

"I think I've got another!" exclaimed Angel as he decapitated a demon with an axe and it fell to pieces.

"Let's get' a choppin'!" shouted Spike, as he grabbed a sword and started hacking up demons…

Chapter 2

Wesley, Fred, Angel, Spike, Evie, Willow and Tara were sat on Evie's floor, covered in demon goo and absolutely exhausted. "This is why I came to L.A," Willow stated.

"Really?" asked Wes.

"No," she sighed, "just making conversation."

"Well, I need to patrol," said Evie as she stood up from where she was perched on overturned sofa and she was leant against the window ledge, "I don't suppose anyone has the energy to come with me?" Spike stood. "I'll come. Gotta get back to the crypt anyway." Angel raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Evie and he hadn't been together for a while but it didn't mean he had to approve of her relationship with Captain Peroxide. Just before she reached the door, Evie grabbed her long, black leather coat from where it hung on the hook and turned to face the group. "If you've got nothing better to do then you can clean this place up," she said, "the sooner we get a new place, the better." Using Evie's apartment as their new office was not exactly convenient and extremely cramped. With Angel living with her as well, she never had anytime alone. That probably explained why she spent most of her time in Spike's crypt. Well, there were other reasons…

Evie and Spike departed, and closed the door behind them. "You know, I've been wondering," said Tara, "whatever happened to your old office?"

"Long story," Angel replied, "basically, it blew up."

"Oh. I wish I hadn't asked." Fred stood up. "We should start cleaning this place up. It's a tip!" Willow smiled and turned to Tara. They joined hands and spun round to face the rest of the room. A mini whirlwind spun round the room and when it disappeared, the room was completely restored to its normal order. Wesley turned to them with a look of disappointment, "that's not really what magic is for."

"Come on Wes, you're beginning to sound like Giles now. I've got the magic thing all under control. Promise."

"I trust you." He turned to Angel who was looking glum. "Angel?" He looked up but his eyes were dark and sorrowful. Wes wished he hadn't said anything. "You okay?" Angel just looked at him. "We'd better go. Leave you guys to talk," said Willow and Tara and Fred followed her out the door. Fred gave Wes a little wave just before shutting the door. "So what's the problem?"

"No problem, just thinking about things," he replied.

"Evie?" Angel looked depressed. His brown eyes shone in the light and he looked slightly tearful. Evie was a sensitive subject for Angel. "Yup. Evie. Among other things."

"I thought things were going well between you two."

"Yeah, things are fine. Just… I dunno, I guess I miss her."

"Of course you do. You were married for over seventy years." Wes sat down next to him. "You're making me feel old now!" Angel said to him.

"Come on Angel, you're not that old!" Angel gave him a withering look. "Well, you're quite old, but…"

"It's okay Wes. I know how old I am," Angel interrupted, "I'm older than Spike." There was a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Ahh, so this is what the brooding is all about."

"Spike?" Angel asked in disgust.

"Spike and Evie," Wes corrected him.

"Oh," there was something strange in his tone. Talking about Evie and Spike was clearly painful but talking would help him get over it. Eventually. "Do we really have to talk about this?" Angel asked as he stood. Wes stood too. "I think we really do," he replied. Angel turned to him. "You know when I was the boss, no one made me talk about anything!"

"Well, that was then and this is now." Just as Wes said this his mobile phone began to ring. "Hello? Oh hi Fred. Yes… yes I'll be right home. See you soon." Wes turned to Angel. "She wants me home."

"You should go," Angel told him.

"You'll be okay?" Wes asked as he put on his jacket.

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Go home. Fred'll be waiting for you." Wes turned to look at him before he left. "Everything'll be okay." Angel half smiled. Enough to make Wes believe him and he left. Angel turned to the window and went out on to the balcony. It was dark, close to midnight. He couldn't believe the day had gone so quickly. One minute Evie and the gang were here, then the next minute, he was alone. Alone. Again. He stood up and walked through the lounge. He turned to see his lack of reflection in the mirror. Evie may have been a vampire but she still had a slight reflection. A little bit of human still left in her. He missed that…

Evie was walking through one of Los Angeles' many graveyards, with Spike strolling along side her. He reached inside his pocket and removed a packet of cigarettes. He rummaged round for something that he couldn't seem to find. Evie smiled. Spike was looking for his cigarette lighter which was probably at her flat, stuck down the sofa or something. She put her hand in the inside pocket of her leather duster and removed a small silver object which she handed to Spike. "What's this?" he asked, smiling at her.

"Just call it a gift," she replied. He looked at what lay in his hand. It was a small, sleek, silver lighter and it has his name engraved on the front in loopy letters. "Wow," he said, "I don't know what to say". Evie smiled at him. She leant forward and he bent down slightly to kiss her. However they were interrupted by a sudden downpour of rain. Evie let out a little squeal and Spike grabbed her hand. He pulled her into his crypt which was only a few yards away. He closed the door quickly behind them.

It was quite a small crypt with only one room, but it had a lower floor which was Spike's sewer entrance and his way around town in the daytime. It was dimly lit with just a few candles and there was a small television set which looked oddly out of place in these surroundings. "It's quite romantic isn't it?" Evie turned to Spike.

"I guess it is." She kissed him and removed his coat…

Chapter 3

A couple hours later, Evie emerged from the crypt, looking a little worse for wear but beaming. A shirtless Spike came to the door and kissed her as she left. She walked further into the graveyard leaving Spike to get some sleep. She heard a rustling behind her a spun around. "Spike?" Nothing. Evie shrugged her shoulders and turned back around. Facing her was one of the ugly demons they had faced the previous morning. It caught her off guard and knocked her backwards. She hit her head hard on the ground. She flicked her feet up in the air and jumped up onto her feet. She morphed into her vampiric face and said, "That hurt. You're gonna pay for that!"

She removed a stake from her pocket -the only weapon she had on her- and dove at the demon. It grabbed her and threw her over its head. Evie rolled as she landed and spun round to kick the demon in its nose –or what she thought was a nose. Whatever it was, she felt it crack under the pressure of the kick. It stumbled back, holding its face and wailing in agony. "Ha, who's winning now?" she taunted it, smiling. It removed what looked like a small golden dagger from a pouch on its very large belt. "Okay now that's not fair." It charged at her, but she hadn't thought it would move that fast, so she didn't get out of the way in time and the dagger slid into her stomach like a knife into butter.

Evie felt a stab of pain and thumped the demon. She looked down and saw the dagger sticking out of her. She yanked it out and swung. It cut of the demons head before it even had chance to realise what was going on. Pieces of demon fell to the floor. "Ewww," she said as she watched, "and OW!" Evie looked down to inspect her wound but she looked just in time because as she watched, it healed with a glimmer, almost like magic. "Huh?" She headed off out of the graveyard, but after only a few steps, Evie felt a cold rush from her stomach that swept all over her. It winded her for a minute but then she was fine. 'How odd,' she thought and left, heading for home.

Evie unlocked the door to her apartment, and entered, shutting the door behind her. She looked around. It was nearly morning and the light was beginning to shine through the curtains. Angel was asleep on a chair to her left. She smiled and went to hang her coat up next to him. As she took it off her wound stung even though it had disappeared, and she groaned slightly. "You're hurt." A voice came out of the darkness and surprised her. She turned to Angel who was now looking at her. "I thought you were asleep," she told him.

"I was. But you're hurt." Evie looked down at him. "I'm fine," she replied, "There's nothing there."

"What happened?" Angel walked over to where she sat across the room to see where she was injured. Feeling a bit awkward, she lifted her top slightly to reveal her stomach, with not a single mark to be seen. "As I said, not a scratch." She looked up and so did he. Evie was looking straight into his brown eyes and got lost in them for a minute before blinking. "What happened?" he repeated.

"Those demon guys from yesterday," she explained, "well, one of them anyway. He attacked me when I was patrolling and jabbed me with this evil-looking dagger." She showed Angel and he studied it for a minute. "Recognise it?" Angel shook his head. "I'll get Wes to have a look at it tomorrow. You should get some sleep. You've had a long night," he told her. Secretly she agreed but she wasn't going to tell him why she was tired. Evie took one last look at him before shutting her bedroom door. He caught her glance and smiled. She returned the smile and closed the door. She had to admit, it was nice to have Angel around sometimes. He could be so comforting.

Chapter 4

Morning splashed the L.A streets in golden sunlight but some people were inside, purposely avoiding it. Angel gazed out the window, still half asleep. Evie's couch wasn't exactly the most comfy thing he'd ever slept on but it was better than nothing. He had lived in Wolfram and Hart so he had lost his home as well as his place of work. In fact, he'd lost more than that. He'd lost his life. It seemed like so long ago now…

Wolfram & Hart 2 months earlier

It seemed quiet for a Monday but that was probably because everyone was working so hard. Angel walked through the corridor and every office he passed had at least two people in, fumbling with papers and flicking through books. This latest bout of evil had them all shaken up and with Angel's new "zero tolerance" rule, no-one could afford to slip up. Angel smiled as he walked past. He seemed to be getting the hang of being CEO of evil incorporated. He reached his office and spoke to Harmony who was typing rapidly on the computer. "Harmony, did that guy from mystics give you his monthly report?" he asked her.

"Yup, he sure did," and she handed him a file full of papers. Just as Angel started to walk off she stopped him. "Err, boss?" she said.

"Yes?" Angel turned to look at her.

"These are for you as well." She handed him a huge pile of files that he could hardly hold on to. "What's this?"

"Oh he said that's the monthly report for the next four years as well." Angel tried to hold back a smile until he got in his office.

When he entered he tripped over the pile of boxes in the doorway, and fell on the floor. All the files flew up into the air and covered the floor. A sniggering came from Angel's desk. "That was very stealthy of you," Spike said with a grin, "have you been practising?" Angel glared at him as he got off the floor. Spike was sat in his big, executive, leather chair, with his big boots on his desk. "What are those boxes doing in the doorway?" Angel asked, furiously.

"Seems like everyone's trying to get in good with the big boss man. Afraid of what you'll do to 'em." Angel started picking up papers but gave up and threw them back on the floor. "Where's that kid?" Angel asked.

"That kid?" Spike didn't have a clue what he was talking about, as usual.

"You know, the kid, the boy?"

"Oh well that narrows it down considerably!" Angel gave him an evil look as he hit Spike's feet off his desk. "The boy that was here. His parents were killed by vampires."

"Oh him. Dunno."

"Do you care?"

"It's tough on him that his parents are vamp food n'all but I don't see what it has to do with us." Angel sighed. "His gran brought him here to have some counselling. From people who knew what happened and didn't think they were mad." Wesley entered and turned to Angel and Spike. "I presume you're talking about young Michael?"

"That's it! His name was Michael!" Angel's revelation didn't seem to impress the others. He sat back down. "Fred's talking to him. She's good with kids." Wes smiled when he thought of Fred. "Come on, we're supposed to be meeting Evie at the cemetery. And we're late." Angel and Spike stood immediately. "Let's go."

Evie was walking back from the cemetery; she had given up on Angel, Spike and Wes. They were supposed to meet her twenty minutes ago. She turned the corner and Wolfram & Hart came into sight. She smiled as she saw the three of them emerge from the door. Less than ten seconds later there was a loud bang and flames erupted from the building, throwing the vampire duo and the ex-watcher off their feet into the air. Evie nearly screamed as she ran full belt towards them. A few seconds later, she had reached them and they appeared to be okay. A couple of burns and a bit shaken, but apart from that, they were fine.

"What the bloody hell happened?!" Spike yelled.

"It just exploded!" she replied.

"Oh my God!" Wes was staring directly at the burning building, his eyes full of horror. He turned to look at the others. "Fred!" Shock swept over the group as they realised their friend was trapped inside with a young child. Wes stood and started to run towards the smouldering Wolfram & Hart. Evie and Spike grabbed him by the shirt before he'd got any further. "Not a good idea," Evie told him. He struggled but couldn't break free of the vampires' grip. Spike looked up puzzled. "Err, Evie? Where's Angel?" Now it was her turn to be horrified as she spotted Angel running into the building. "ANGEL!" she screamed at the top of her voice.

Spike grabbed her round the waist and held her tight. She didn't know whether it was to keep her back or to comfort her. Maybe both. Evie began to calm down slightly when there was another explosion that was so big, it blew the three of them backwards by about ten yards. Evie had landed on Spike and she struggled to get free. He still had his arms around her, even when she stood up. She knew he was just looking out for her but she didn't have time to be nice. She kicked her leg up backwards and caught him between the legs. Spike groaned and buckled in pain as Evie ran off. He looked up to see her disappear into the flames.

Inside, the building was coated in fire, Evie was surprised it was still standing. She ran down the corridors, dodging broken wood. A large flaming beam fell just behind Evie, catching her leather jacket as it went. It pulled her to the floor but she quickly got up again and ran off leaving her jacket on the floor. She spun round the corner to where the science lab should have been. She could just make out the silhouette of Fred, holding Michael as tight as she could. Evie didn't notice. She was staring at the figure that lay still on the floor.

She ran to Angel's side and knelt on the floor. He was covered in burns but still alive. He could just open his eyes and looked up at her. Angel smiled but it hurt under his burns. Evie grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I… I," Angel struggled to talk. A tear ran down Evie's face. He lifted a hand to wipe her face. "I love you." The words just about left his mouth. "I love you too," she replied. He smiled one last time before exploding into dust. Evie opened the hand with which she'd been holding Angel's. A silver claddagh wedding ring lay in her hand…

Angel looked down at his wedding ring that sat on the middle finger of his right hand. He smiled. Evie had kept his ring after he'd died, as though she knew he'd come back. He heard a noise behind him. As he turned round, Angel spotted Evie walking in, dressed in a small black skirt and a midnight blue blouse. Her scarlet hair was loose by her shoulders but it wasn't straight like it used to be. It curled and twisted. It made her look very elegant. "Hey. You look nice."

"Thanks. You were miles away."

"Not really. Just thinking." He went over and sat beside her on the sofa, while she was putting on her shoes. "Did you know I'd come back?" he asked, "You know when I…" He couldn't finish his sentence. She looked up and her eyes were filled with tears. "When you died." She finished his sentence.

Angel put his arm around her and held her close. "Yeah, I guess I hoped you'd come back. It was so painful when you were gone."

"I'm here now." He felt her arms loop around him. "Are you okay?" Angel looked down at his wife as she lay her head on his shoulder. "Fine. I… I just missed you. That's all." Evie was being a little too affectionate seeing as though she was dating Spike. Not that he was complaining. She sat up and looked straight into his eyes. She ran her hand through his hair and down his face. He held her hand, not exactly sure what was going on. He soon found out. Evie leant up against him and kissed him tenderly on the lips. Angel pulled back slightly, looking puzzled. She just smiled and that was all he needed. Angel kissed her and they leant back on the sofa…

Chapter 5

In was almost midday and Angel woke up to the sound of ringing. He sat up quickly and soon realised he was alone. He was sat up on the sofa wearing nothing but the duvet that Evie spread across. Evie. She was gone. Without saying anything. It was the first time they'd slept together in months and yet there wasn't a word. He leant across to see Evie's flip mobile phone on the coffee table and it glowed as it rang. Angel picked it up a noticed that I said "Spike calling" on the front display. He pulled a face and flipped the phone open.

"Yeah?"

"Angel?" Spike's confused voice echoed through Angel's ears.

"Yeah it's me. What do you want?"

"Evie." That probably wasn't meant exactly how it sounded but it still tensed Angel up. "She's out. Classes I think." For the past few weeks, Evie and Willow had been going to classes at a university. Evie was a schizophrenic when she was alive and so hadn't had much of an education. And she could pass as a twenty-four year old.

"Oh." There was silence on the other end. Angel gritted his teeth as he spoke. "Can I help?"

"Not unless you know how to deliver babies," Angel moved the phone away from his ear and stared at it as though it would suddenly explain what was going on. It didn't. He held it back against his ear. "What?"

Spike explained that he'd gone out for some cigarettes and beer when he stumbled across a young pregnant woman being attacked in the sewers. Two demons. The ones who had attacked them the other day. It had only taken him a half an hour to dispose of them but as soon as he had, the woman had gone into labour. "Can you get hold of her? Ring her or something?"

"Well firstly, she's in class and secondly," Angel replied, "I've got her phone you twit!" Spike swore at him on the other end of the line. "Can't Willow contact her? You know psychically?"

"Willow's in class with Evie."

"What about Tara?" Angel thought for a moment. "I'll see if I can get hold of her. Stay on the line while I put you on hold."

Angel pressed the hold button and scrolled down Evie's phone book in the cell phone. He found Tara and pressed CALL. It rang a couple of times before she answered. "Hello?"

"Hey Tara. It's Angel. I need your help…"

Tara arrived not long after Angel had called her. He had sounded worried on the phone but he said he'd explain when she got there. He opened the door before she even had chance to knock. "Hey. Is everything okay?" she asked.

"I need your help." Tara followed him into the apartment which was actually looking worse than it did yesterday. Angel's duvet was squashed on the sofa, and the cushions were wonky. The rug on the floor was flipped over in the corner and Angel didn't look much better. His hair was ruffled and he looked tired. He wasn't wearing any socks either and his shirt was only half buttoned up so his bare chest was clearly visible. If Tara hadn't been gay, she might have felt uncomfortable with him dressed like that, especially seeing as though she didn't know him that well.

He walked over to the sofa and picked up Evie's mobile phone off the table and held it against his ear. "Yeah she's here. I'll ask her." Tara was very confused. "Who's on the phone and ask me what?" she asked.

"Spike and can you contact Evie?" Angel answered.

"Erm I'm not sure. I can try," she replied. She went to sit on the floor and she removed her coat. Tara crossed her legs and closed her eyes, keeping perfectly relaxed. Her mind searched through the atmosphere scanning, looking for Evie. No sign. Tara strained to search for her until she finally felt a magical presence. "Evie?"

"Hello?" Willow's voice came from the other end, somewhere far away and surprised Tara. "Willow? Is that you?"

"Yeah it's me. What's up?"

"Angel asked me to contact Evie. Don't know why I just know there's trouble. But I can't seem to find her."

"You won't, she's too far away to get a decent reading. I'll try. I'm a bit closer, I might be able to reach her."

"Okay speak to you soon." Tara opened her eyes and jumped back because Angel was crouched right front of her. "Whoa!" Angel stood back. "Sorry. I just didn't know what was going on."

"You and me both," she replied, "care to explain?" Angel told her about Spike's little dilemma. "Oh", was all Tara could say. "Did you find Evie?" he asked.

"No. Just Willow. She said she'd try and contact her."

"I can tell this is gonna get confusing."

"Tara?" Willow's voice entered her head again.

"Will, hey. Any luck?"

"Yeah I got her. But what's wrong? What's the trouble?" From what Angel could see, Tara seemed asleep. She was obviously explaining to Willow what was going on. Angel knew that she was going as fast as she could but he couldn't help being impatient.

Chapter 6

Evie was trying to concentrate but her English lecture was deadly boring. She was nodding off and trying to amuse herself by magically spinning a penny in her hand. "Evie?" Evie jumped into the air and the penny hit the person in front. "Evie?" she realized now that Willow was talking to her psychically and the rest of her class were staring at her. "Sorry," she said, "there was… a bee. I hate the buggers." She just smiled and her professor reluctantly told her to take her seat. Evie did and then spoke to Willow. "Hey Will. You just made me look like a right nut job in front of my English class, popping into my head like that!"

"Sorry Eve," she said, "but we've got urgent business."

"What is it? Is there something wrong?"

"Well, Tara just contacted me and said that Angel asked her to speak to you because Spike rang him with a problem." Evie's head began to spin. "Whoa. Slow down. What exactly is Spike's problem?"

"Well among other things…" Willow had never been Spike's biggest fan, "He's stuck with a pregnant woman in an alley and she's gone into labour. Can you help us out?"

Tara was sat on the sofa in Evie's apartment, drinking a cup of coffee. It was horrible. No milk. Though why would vampires need milk? To be polite, she tried to drink some, and gave up. Angel was pacing the floor furiously. "Why don't you sit down?" Tara suggested, "it can't do any one any good, you making a hole in the carpet." She moved up and he sat beside her, but as she moved, she felt something hard down the cushion. She reached down and pulled out a silver lighter that was clearly very old and well used. Angel just glared at it. It was Spike's. He didn't even want to think how it got down there, not after this morning…

Tara just put it on the table out of harms way. She hadn't known Evie and Angel long, but she knew Spike all too well and all about what happened with Buffy. At one point, he even tried to rape her. But she found out that he regained his soul for Buffy so maybe he wasn't too bad… It didn't matter how good or bad he was, Angel obviously couldn't stand thinking about them together. Trying to steer the conversation away from them as quickly as possible, Tara asked about the thing on the table, "so what in god's name is that?"

"Oh that. It's just a dagger. One of those demons that we fought stabbed Evie with it," he replied. So much for steering the conversation away. "Actually," he said, "I was going to call Wes about that. There are some symbols or something on it that need translating."

Evie sat tapping her pencil impatiently as her professor droned on about the reasons Macbeth had for killing people. 'I suppose I should be able to relate to this,' she thought, 'being a mass murderer and all.' After everything her, Angelus, Darla, Dru and Spike had done, Macbeth seemed like a pussy cat. Willow hadn't been in contact for a while now and she was wondering what was going on. She'd given her basic instructions on how to look after the pregnant woman until some one could get there to help. In the meantime Angel was waiting for Wes to translate something and then was going out to find Spike. It was altogether too confusing.

Pretty much like her situation with Spike. Having Angel around when they weren't together was basically mind boggling. But their work was too important to let a couple of disagreements get in the way.

"Angel?" At first he thought it was Tara, but then he realized it was coming from the door. He went to answer it and Wesley was stood in front of him. "Hey, Wes," Angel greeted him, "How are you?" Wes gave him a funny look. Angel seemed particularly on edge. "I was gonna ask you the same thing," he replied, "What is that you needed me for?" Angel walked into the lounge and Wes followed. He sat down on the sofa next to Angel who was clutching a mobile phone and picked a gold dagger up off the table. "Hmm," he said, "what's this?"

"I was hoping you could tell me," Angel replied, "Evie was stabbed with it last night by one of those demons you've been researching. You found anything yet?"

"Well, I found some references to demons matching their description in the demon texts we rescued from Wolfram and Hart but I'm having trouble deciphering them," he replied.

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