A/N: This fan fic takes place shortly after Fred returned to Los Angeles from Pylea. I do not own the copyright to ATS.
Extensive, elaborate equations written in an erratic fashion decorated the walls of the hotel room that Winifred Burkle had made her home. Old habits die hard, and the blatant hypergraphia that controlled the young woman was not about to die any time soon. Spending five years as a human slave, stripped of one's identity, and existing ("living" would be stretching the truth) in a cave was bound to take its tole on one's sanity.
Without fail, for each night she languished there, Fred would lay her sore head against a hard stone and wish for a better life. By the time he saved her, she could barely even remember her own name. It was odd when he called her "Fred", she was so used to simply being called "cow". The fact that she had forgotten so much about herself had terrified her when she was taken back to Los Angeles, but slowly, her memories were coming back. Every single memory, thought, equation and formula that sparked in her magnificent brain had been recorded on the walls. What if she forgot everything again? The very thought petrified her.
Easing back into a regular life had been difficult. She would spend what seemed to be forever in the shower, scrubbing her skin red raw, often until it bled; believing that Pylean dirt was still remained on her skinny body. Food was also difficult, all Fred had eaten since her return was tacos, and lots of them. The way she ate was peculiar, scooping out the filling with her fingers and rejecting all utensils that she had been offered.
As for social-interaction, it was near non-existent. When Angel disappeared to grieve for the woman with the strange name, Fred hadn't left her room once. How could she be sure that Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia were trustworthy? It was Cordelia that concerned her the most. She was beautiful and though Fred hadn't heard her say as much, she felt as if Cordelia viewed her as a liability, a burden. Cordelia would also have crippling visions which made Fred wonder if she was truly on the side of good. But it wasn't really her place to say anything. All of them were giving her shelter and food for now, which she was immensely grateful for.
Until he came back, she would remain in the new cave that she had built for herself. It was all she knew.