A/N: A new title for the first "episode" and it's longer. Some of it you might realise is in fact the old chapter, with more added in and stuff. I'm happy I've started rewriting it; I just hope everyone else likes it too.
Krevlorneswath watched the rain running down the window of the taxi he was sat in, being taken to the home of the family of one of his old colleagues. He couldn't shake the image from his mind of Wesley lying dead on the floor, covered in blood. The only thing that had made the scene more bearable was the body of the demon that had killed him; Cyvus Vail.
Wesley hadn't been the only casualty that day. Charles Gunn had also lost his life at the hands of the Circle of the Black Thorn, and Lorne had spent the last year tracking down what was left of Gunn's family – it seemed they'd thought Gunn and his sister, Alonna, had been dead a lot longer than they had actually been.
Now Lorne had travelled to the UK to inform Roger and Elizabeth Wyndam-Pryce about their son's death a year ago.
"Here you are mate"
The voice interrupted Lorne's thoughts and with a bump he was brought back to reality. The jerk in his seat indicated that the taxi had come to a stop. He looked out of the window of the taxi and groaned. Glancing down at the piece of paper he held in his hand he realised there was no turning back; he'd come this far, and he wasn't going to turn back now.
"That'll be £15.75," the taxi driver said, turning his dark face towards the demon.
Sighing, Lorne reached into his pocket and pulled out a £20 note. He murmured his thanks as he got out of the taxi and headed towards number 197.
He stopped outside the steps leading up to the door and triple checked the piece of paper just to make sure he was at the right address. Sighing again, he trudged up the steps and rang the doorbell.
An ageing woman answered the door; she had dark brown eyes, and, although getting old, still retained some of the beauty of her youth.
This must be Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce, Lorne thought to himself, as he said, "Hi. I'm, er, looking for Mr. and Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce? I have some news about their son, Wesley."
"Come in," the woman said, kindly. "I'm Elizabeth Wyndam-Pryce. My husband's as work I'm afraid but I can pass on any message."
Lorne was led into a large living room furnished with two-seat sofas, a large armchair, a bookcase covering a whole wall and a coffee table. Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce offered him a seat and looked at him curiously as she sat down. "You seem familiar," she asked.
"I used to work with Wesley in Los Angeles," Lorne replied. "First with Angel Investigations and then with Wolfram and Hart. I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce took a deep breath and asked, quietly, "He's dead isn't he?"
"I'm afraid so." Lorne put a comforting hand on her shoulder and continued, "Is there anything I can do?"
Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce nodded and said, "Could you please tell Allison? I don't mind telling Roger myself, but I can't face Allison."
"Who's Allison?" asked Lorne.
"Wesley never told you about her? They were always so close; it's going to break her heart." Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce wiped her eyes and said, "Allison's Wesley's sister."
XXX
That evening found Lorne in a club that reminded him very much of the karaoke bar he'd run in Los Angeles. Demons and humans mixing together, and no one with a thought to kill each other; a sanctuary.
The bar was situated in the middle of the club, and was surrounded by several metallic tables and chairs. There was also a stage on the opposite side of the club to the main entrance, where at present a Kulak demon was playing music in front of a large blue neon sign that read Joel's. The main difference between this club and Caritas was that this seemed a standard night club the demons and humans could attend, whereas he'd run a smaller karaoke bar off a side street in Los Angeles.
Lorne crossed the room and sat down at the bar, watching the people working behind it. Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce had told him Allison worked here at night, and there were two females, one male, and one grey-ish demon working behind the bar. Lorne decided he could rule out the demon and the male, and was debating how to break the news about Wesley to his sister when the blonde girl stopped in front of him.
Smiling she asked him, "Are you going to order a drink or just sit there for the entire night?"
"Actually I need to speak with Allison Wyndam-Pryce?" Lorne replied. "It's about her brother."
The smile vanished from the girl's face, as did the colour. "I thought … maybe there was some other reason he didn't phone. But there wasn't was there?"
"Oh, sweetheart," Lorne said sadly. "I didn't realise you were …"
Allison backed away from the bar, blinking her eyes, seemingly trying to hold back tears. She shook her head and croaked, "Its fine. I knew, really. I … I just kind of hoped." She lifted her hands and ran them through her hair, leaning back against the wall. As she breathed in and out slowly, the guy from behind the bar came around to see her.
Lorne watched the pair, and picked up very strong caring vibes from the guy, and assumed either he was seeing Allison, or he wanted to. The guy put his arm around Allison, who clearly looked upset, kissed her forehead, and muttered something to her. She nodded, and silently left the bar and exited the building.
Lorne was about to leave too, feeling he'd done enough damage, when the guy said; "You're the demon who told Allison 'bout Wesley?"
Sighing reluctantly, Lorne nodded. "I didn't even have to tell her," Lorne said, miserably. "Poor kid, she took it pretty rough."
"She's had a hard life," admitted the guy. "I'm James Carling, Allison's boyfriend." James extended his hand to Lorne, who shook it cautiously.
"I'm Lorne. I worked with Wesley in Los Angeles." Lorne turned to look at the exit, and asked, "Will she be alright?"
James shrugged. "Dude, I hope so. She doesn't like letting her emotions show; thinks its some kind of weakness."
"Why does she think that?" asked Lorne.
"Roger," James replied simply. "Allison's a genius. There's no question about it. She passed her Watcher's exams three years before the expected pass age; I'm twenty-one and I'm due to take them this year. She passed them at eighteen, two years ago, and Roger told her that her mark wasn't good enough. She was one mark off full marks. Allison's everything Roger wanted out of Wesley, except that Allison's a girl."
"What about her mother?" asked Lorne, thinking of the kind woman he'd met earlier that day.
"Allie loves her mother, and vice versa. But that doesn't affect how hurt she is by her father." James paused for a moment, before muttering, "Bastard."
Lorne got up from the bar and said, "Well, I really must be going. I've done enough damage here tonight without upsetting anyone else. It was nice to meet you James."
As Lorne crossed the club to the exit, he couldn't help thinking about Allison's reaction. She'd clearly been upset by the news of Wesley's death, but Lorne hadn't picked a single vibe up off her; he'd only picked vibes up from her boyfriend.
Lorne was still pondering over this as he left the building, and was caught by surprise when a vampire slammed into the wall next to the entrance of the club. He was even more surprised when he saw who'd thrown the vampire.
Allison was cornered by three vampires, including the one she'd thrown against the wall, who had now leapt up and was facing her again.
"So many Slayers," one of the vampires said, "And I haven't had the pleasure of sucking one dry yet."
"That's a shame," Allison replied, "because now you never will."
Allison withdrew a stake from the pocket of her jeans as the vampire leapt forward to attack her. She reacted by kicking the vampire in the stomach, and stabbing him in the chest with her stake.
The second of the pair made to grab Allison by the arms, and the third kicked her in the stomach towards Vampire #2. As her hands were gripped, Lorne feared he may have to intervene, but Allison snapped her head back, smashing the second vampire's nose and breaking it. He released her arms and Allison kicked the vampire in front of her as she drove her stake into the chest of the vampire whose nose she'd broken.
The third vampire leapt up and lunged at Allison, pushing her back against the opposite wall. Allison felt her head bruise as it collided with solid brick, and retorted by driving her knee into the vampire's groin. As he released his hold on her, Allison jabbed her elbow into the side of his face, sending him to the floor. She retrieved her stake and pushed it into the vampire's back towards his heart, turning him to dust.
She pushed her hair out of her face with her arm, and took in the sight of the green demon who had watched her dust the vampire, as though she hadn't realised he was there. "Thanks," she said, quietly, looking at him.
"Whatever for?" Lorne asked, bewildered.
"Telling me about Wesley." Allison went to turn, but before she left she paused and added, "My flat's a two bedroom flat. If you need somewhere to stay …"
Lorne smiled at the young girl stood in front of him. She was clearly hurting from the death of her brother, but she still had the kindness to offer him a bed for the night. "Would I have to pay rent?" Lorne asked.
Allison shrugged and replied, "Depends how long you end up staying there."
She motioned for Lorne to leave with her, and she led him through an alley onto the next street across from the club.
"You're a Slayer?" Lorne asked her, making conversation.
Allison's gaze fell to the floor. "I've been training to be a Watcher my whole life; it's what father wanted. I passed my exams two years ago, just before I got called. So, yes, I'm a Slayer. I'm some experiment the Watcher's Council decided to try; training Potential Slayers up as Watchers. I guess you could say the experiment was a success."
Lorne sensed the hurt in her voice, and asked her quietly, "How close were you with Wesley?"
"He was my best friend. He phoned me about a year ago and told me he might be dead in twenty four hours." Allison took a deep breath and approached a small door just off from the main street. She was quiet as she turned the key in the lock and led Lorne into a small hallway with a set of stairs and a second door. Allison led the way upstairs and unlocked a second door at the top of the stairs, guiding Lorne into her flat.
Allison showed Lorne the spare room, and gave him the tour of her small flat. After telling him James would be coming round later, Allison left for a shower and bed.
Lorne lay down on the single bed in the second bedroom, and wondered why Wesley had never mentioned Allison. She seemed to be a nice kid, but then, Lorne supposed, Wesley had rarely spoken about his homelife, and when he had it didn't seem like a standard happy home. If they'd been as close as Mrs. Wyndam-Pryce had said, then maybe it had pained him to talk about her.
As Lorne let his exhaustion take him to sleep, he thought he heard Allison crying in the bathroom connecting his and her room.