Change of Events Chapter: 2
A few weeks past and Fred and Wesley's relationship was going well. Wesley seemed happier, as did Fred, and everyone could see it was truly meant to be. People in the office knew what was going on, mostly the people Fred and Wesley worked closely with. Wesley was still upset with what Angel said mostly because he was wrong and he had doubted Wesley. Angel didn't say much to them and treated them the same as before they were dating. Angel knew office romances don't always go over well, and something could happen to change everything. All Wesley knew was that he was happy and that was because of Fred.
Fred sat in her office working on the most recent lab reports when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in" she said looking up.
"Hey" Wesley greeted. Fred smiled back her gorgeous smile and stood walking over to him. Fred kissed him softly and stepped back.
"What's up?" she asked.
"We have a staff meeting in an hour, Angel just told me" he explained.
"Oh, no. Only an hour? I still have to finish this paper work" she said half turning as she pointed to her desk.
"Don't worry about it. Get as much as you can done and tell Angel you'll get it to him as soon as you can" Wesley suggested.
"Okay, then let me get back to my work" she said kissing him again before he exited.
About 45 minutes later she heard another knock on her door.
"Crap" she whispered as she hurried to finish. "I'm not done yet Wes" Fred said as the door opened revealing Knox. "Oh, Knox, I thought you were . . ." she trailed off.
"I know" he said closing the door and walking towards her desk.
"I have a meeting in fifteen minutes and I have to finish this report. This really isn't a good time" she explained.
"Oh, do you need my help?" he asked. Fred didn't work as closely with Knox anymore since she began dating Wesley.
"No, I can handle it" she said rounding her desk, trying to usher him out.
"Are your sure?" he asked. Now she was getting annoyed.
"Yes, I'm positive" she said putting her hand on his chest pushing him out. He grabbed her wrist. Fred looked at her wrist and then up at him and he pulled her closer to him. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.
"Come on, don't tell me you never thought about it" he said leaning down for a kiss. Fred let him kiss her but when he didn't pull away she tried to push him off. Finally succeeding and wiping her mouth.
"No, Knox, I'm with Wesley. This is wrong" she said.
"Yea, but you want it" he said walking towards her again.
"No, I don't, I love Wesley" she said backing up like a scared animal.
"You can't fight it Fred" he replied forcing her against the wall. Fred looked around the room, trying to find a way to move away from him. Before she could even think, he was pressed up against her.
"Stop, Knox, please" Fred begged. He grabbed her wrists disabling her from pushing him away. He kissed her forcibly almost violently which scared Fred. She tried to break away from his hands. He just laughed at her struggling. A tear rolled down Fred's face as she tried to hit him. Then he removed one of his hands and slapped her. She almost fell to the ground but he pulled her back up. He stroked her hair and she flinched from his touch. Then he reached one arm around her waist, freeing one of her hands. She punched him hard in the face and ran for the door.
Wesley checked his clock noticing he had five minutes until the meeting began. He gathered his research and headed off for Fred's office. As he exited his office he bumped into Gunn.
"Oh, sorry Wes" Gunn said. "Where are you going, we have a meeting?" he said pointing to Angel's office.
"I know, I'm just going to get Fred" he explained.
"Oh, okay, I'll tell him you guys will be here in a minute" Gunn replied.
"Thanks" Wesley said proceeding on his way to her office.
Fred reached the door as Knox grabbed her from behind. "Come on Fred, I just want to have a little fun" he said turning her around in his arms grasping her shoulders.
"Stop, please" she pleaded, now with several tears stains etched on her face.
"I can't do that Fred. See, you made me believe you liked me so now I want what I deserve" he said.
"You're not going to get it from me" she replied, wriggling against him trying to get free.
"Hmm . . .I like the way you wriggle" he said grinning. Fred spit in his face, causing him to shut his eyes, but keep his grip on her. When he looked up he threw her against the wall across the room again.
Wesley entered the labs spotting certain people Fred introduced him to. He nodded to a young lab technician and waved him over.
"Hey Brad" Wesley greeted.
"Hello, Mr. Wyndham Pryce" he replied.
"Is Fred in her office?" Wesley asked.
"Yes, she's been in there all day I think" he answered.
"Great thank you" Wesley said as he continued on his way to Fred's office.
Knox pushed himself against her again, nuzzling and kissing her neck. Fred just stood there crying. "Please, stop, please" she whispered, praying even though she knew her efforts were fruitless.
As Wesley approached her door, he heard movement on the other side of the door. He didn't think anything of it and knocked.
Knox whipped his head to look at the door when he heard a knock.
"Fred?" Wesley called.
"Help me, Wesley hel-" she began but Knox smothered her cry with his hand.
Wesley barely heard her plead but knew something was wrong. He reached for the door knob.
Knox looked back to Fred, his hand still against her mouth. She knew she had to get to Wesley. She licked his hand and he jerked his hand away as she pushed him off with all her strength. Wesley entered the office to see Fred running towards him and throwing her arms around him. He embraced her, dropping his papers and then noticed Knox.
"I'm sorry, I tired to yell, but I couldn't. I tried , I . . ." Fred trialed off through sobs.
"Shh, you're okay now" he said. He escorted her out of the office. "Go, to my office and wait for me there" he said. She shook her head. "Yes, you'll be okay, I will be right there" he said. Fred looked at him, then to Knox and then exited the office. Wesley glared at Knox walking towards him. He punched him to the ground. "If you ever lay a finger on her again I will kill you" he yelled angrily.
"That's going to look. The good guy killing a human" Knox said wiping blood from his lip.
"You're not even human anymore" Wesley said as he began to leave. "Oh, and you're fired" he said.
"You can't do that, only Fred or Angel can fire me" he said standing.
"Well, I'm speaking on behalf of Fred, and I'm sure she doesn't mind me firing you" he said as he left. Wesley rushed back to his office. When he entered he didn't see Fred, but he could hear her. He followed her cries to his desk. She was huddled under his desk, knees pulled to her chest and head down, rocking slightly. He knelt next to her and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Fred" he called softly. She lifted her head to look at him with tear filled eyes.
"Oh, Wesley" she said hugging him again. "I thought that I could trust him. I thought I didn't have to worry about this sort of thing here" she said.
"It's okay, it's over, and I fired him" he replied. Fred looked at him.
"You what? Can you do that?" she asked.
"I don't know but I just did" he said. "Come on" he said helping her stand up. Suddenly Harmony appeared at the door.
"Um, knock, knock" she said.
"Yes, what is it Harmony?" Wesley asked.
"Uh, the boss wants to see you, Wesley" she said. Wesley nodded.
"You sit here and I'm going to talk to Angel" he said. Then he turned to Harmony. "Can you tell Lorne to come in here and sit with Fred" he asked. Harmony nodded as she left the office. "We did miss some of the meeting, so I have to talk to him" Wesley said.
"I don't think he wants to see you about the meeting" she replied looking down.
"I know" he said as Lorne came in. "Hi Lorne" Wesley greeted.
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked concerned. Wesley pulled him aside and explained everything.
"So, will you just sit with her until I come back?" he asked. Lorne looked over at Fred.
"Of course" he replied walking over to a still frightened Fred. Wesley kissed Fred on the top of her head and left. "So, how are you doing?" Lorne asked. Fred looked up at him.
"I don't want to talk about it" she said looking down again. Lorne nodded and sat in silence with her.
Wesley knocked on Angel's door.
"Come in" Angel said. Wesley entered a bit scared. Angel just looked at him for a few seconds. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" Angel asked. Wesley didn't know how to answer. "You fired someone without consulting me" he yelled as he stood up.
"He needed to be fired" Wesley said.
"That's not your call. You're not in charge of Fred's staff" he said. "Just because you're dating her doesn't give you the right to intervene with her employees" Angel explained. "And I found out you hit him?" Angel yelled.
"He attacked Fred!" Wesley yelled back.
"It's not your business" Angel replied.
"Yes it is my business. He hit the woman I love, I made it my business" Wesley explained.
"Wes, I told you things would get complicated and now they have" Angel said.
"Yes, but I fixed it, I fired him" Wesley replied.
"You can't do that Wes. And it doesn't fix it" he said.
"I am not breaking up with the woman I love because some jerk decided to hit on her" Wesley said defensively.
"Fine, then you have to pick. It's your job or Fred" Angel answered.
Wesley just looked at him in shock.
"You can't do that" Wesley said.
"I just did" he replied.
"My personal life is none of your business" Wesley said.
"It is when you punch and then fire one of my employees" Angel replied.
"You, it's always about you Angel. As long as everything is alright with you then everything must be fine" Wesley said. "Fred is still scared and I know she doesn't want to have to work with Knox every again. If I quit, she will too" he explained. "Then you'll lose two more employees. So you take your pick. Either fire Knox for good, or lose me and Fred" Wesley ordered as he left Angel's office. Angel just watched him leave and then sat back down at his desk. He pounded his fist in his desk causing a loud thud noise. Harmony then entered his office.
"Is everything okay boss?" she asked. Angel didn't even look up.
"Not, now Harmony" Angel replied. Harmony quickly left his office and got back to work.
Wesley entered his office nodding to Lorne allowing him to leave. Before he exited Wesley stopped him.
"Thank you Lorne" he said. Lorne smiled and looked back at Fred.
"She didn't say much, but I can sense she's shaken up. Make sure you take care of her" he said. Wesley nodded then Lorne left.
Wesley leaned against his now closed door and just stared at Fred. Even though she looked fine physically, he saw something wrong in her eyes. After a few minutes of silence Fred turned her head to look at Wesley. He gazed into her eyes and saw fear and pain. His eyes saddened by her expression and he slowly approached her. He knelt next to the chair she was sitting in and cupped her cheek with his hand. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. Fred felt so safe and carefree with Wesley. He had a way of making her forget everything around them. When she finally opened her eyes he was smiling at her and stroking her hair. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Then he stood up directing her to do the same thing. She held his hand as she stood and rounded the chair. Then Wesley suddenly hugged her, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting and protecting way. Even though neither of them spoke, Fred knew he was saying sorry for what happened and that if he could have stopped him he would have. Fred felt like crying but smiled instead. She knew she would get over this and Wesley would help her. She was so glad she had a man like Wesley to love and care for her. After what seemed like an eternity, they stepped apart. Wesley jerked his head towards the door, indicating to leave. Fred smiled and nodded in agreement. Wesley turned and wrapped and arm around her waist as Fred did the same to Wesley. As they left Wesley flicked off the lights and closed the door.
To be continued.
A few weeks past and Fred and Wesley's relationship was going well. Wesley seemed happier, as did Fred, and everyone could see it was truly meant to be. People in the office knew what was going on, mostly the people Fred and Wesley worked closely with. Wesley was still upset with what Angel said mostly because he was wrong and he had doubted Wesley. Angel didn't say much to them and treated them the same as before they were dating. Angel knew office romances don't always go over well, and something could happen to change everything. All Wesley knew was that he was happy and that was because of Fred.
Fred sat in her office working on the most recent lab reports when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in" she said looking up.
"Hey" Wesley greeted. Fred smiled back her gorgeous smile and stood walking over to him. Fred kissed him softly and stepped back.
"What's up?" she asked.
"We have a staff meeting in an hour, Angel just told me" he explained.
"Oh, no. Only an hour? I still have to finish this paper work" she said half turning as she pointed to her desk.
"Don't worry about it. Get as much as you can done and tell Angel you'll get it to him as soon as you can" Wesley suggested.
"Okay, then let me get back to my work" she said kissing him again before he exited.
About 45 minutes later she heard another knock on her door.
"Crap" she whispered as she hurried to finish. "I'm not done yet Wes" Fred said as the door opened revealing Knox. "Oh, Knox, I thought you were . . ." she trailed off.
"I know" he said closing the door and walking towards her desk.
"I have a meeting in fifteen minutes and I have to finish this report. This really isn't a good time" she explained.
"Oh, do you need my help?" he asked. Fred didn't work as closely with Knox anymore since she began dating Wesley.
"No, I can handle it" she said rounding her desk, trying to usher him out.
"Are your sure?" he asked. Now she was getting annoyed.
"Yes, I'm positive" she said putting her hand on his chest pushing him out. He grabbed her wrist. Fred looked at her wrist and then up at him and he pulled her closer to him. "What are you doing?" she asked nervously.
"Come on, don't tell me you never thought about it" he said leaning down for a kiss. Fred let him kiss her but when he didn't pull away she tried to push him off. Finally succeeding and wiping her mouth.
"No, Knox, I'm with Wesley. This is wrong" she said.
"Yea, but you want it" he said walking towards her again.
"No, I don't, I love Wesley" she said backing up like a scared animal.
"You can't fight it Fred" he replied forcing her against the wall. Fred looked around the room, trying to find a way to move away from him. Before she could even think, he was pressed up against her.
"Stop, Knox, please" Fred begged. He grabbed her wrists disabling her from pushing him away. He kissed her forcibly almost violently which scared Fred. She tried to break away from his hands. He just laughed at her struggling. A tear rolled down Fred's face as she tried to hit him. Then he removed one of his hands and slapped her. She almost fell to the ground but he pulled her back up. He stroked her hair and she flinched from his touch. Then he reached one arm around her waist, freeing one of her hands. She punched him hard in the face and ran for the door.
Wesley checked his clock noticing he had five minutes until the meeting began. He gathered his research and headed off for Fred's office. As he exited his office he bumped into Gunn.
"Oh, sorry Wes" Gunn said. "Where are you going, we have a meeting?" he said pointing to Angel's office.
"I know, I'm just going to get Fred" he explained.
"Oh, okay, I'll tell him you guys will be here in a minute" Gunn replied.
"Thanks" Wesley said proceeding on his way to her office.
Fred reached the door as Knox grabbed her from behind. "Come on Fred, I just want to have a little fun" he said turning her around in his arms grasping her shoulders.
"Stop, please" she pleaded, now with several tears stains etched on her face.
"I can't do that Fred. See, you made me believe you liked me so now I want what I deserve" he said.
"You're not going to get it from me" she replied, wriggling against him trying to get free.
"Hmm . . .I like the way you wriggle" he said grinning. Fred spit in his face, causing him to shut his eyes, but keep his grip on her. When he looked up he threw her against the wall across the room again.
Wesley entered the labs spotting certain people Fred introduced him to. He nodded to a young lab technician and waved him over.
"Hey Brad" Wesley greeted.
"Hello, Mr. Wyndham Pryce" he replied.
"Is Fred in her office?" Wesley asked.
"Yes, she's been in there all day I think" he answered.
"Great thank you" Wesley said as he continued on his way to Fred's office.
Knox pushed himself against her again, nuzzling and kissing her neck. Fred just stood there crying. "Please, stop, please" she whispered, praying even though she knew her efforts were fruitless.
As Wesley approached her door, he heard movement on the other side of the door. He didn't think anything of it and knocked.
Knox whipped his head to look at the door when he heard a knock.
"Fred?" Wesley called.
"Help me, Wesley hel-" she began but Knox smothered her cry with his hand.
Wesley barely heard her plead but knew something was wrong. He reached for the door knob.
Knox looked back to Fred, his hand still against her mouth. She knew she had to get to Wesley. She licked his hand and he jerked his hand away as she pushed him off with all her strength. Wesley entered the office to see Fred running towards him and throwing her arms around him. He embraced her, dropping his papers and then noticed Knox.
"I'm sorry, I tired to yell, but I couldn't. I tried , I . . ." Fred trialed off through sobs.
"Shh, you're okay now" he said. He escorted her out of the office. "Go, to my office and wait for me there" he said. She shook her head. "Yes, you'll be okay, I will be right there" he said. Fred looked at him, then to Knox and then exited the office. Wesley glared at Knox walking towards him. He punched him to the ground. "If you ever lay a finger on her again I will kill you" he yelled angrily.
"That's going to look. The good guy killing a human" Knox said wiping blood from his lip.
"You're not even human anymore" Wesley said as he began to leave. "Oh, and you're fired" he said.
"You can't do that, only Fred or Angel can fire me" he said standing.
"Well, I'm speaking on behalf of Fred, and I'm sure she doesn't mind me firing you" he said as he left. Wesley rushed back to his office. When he entered he didn't see Fred, but he could hear her. He followed her cries to his desk. She was huddled under his desk, knees pulled to her chest and head down, rocking slightly. He knelt next to her and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Fred" he called softly. She lifted her head to look at him with tear filled eyes.
"Oh, Wesley" she said hugging him again. "I thought that I could trust him. I thought I didn't have to worry about this sort of thing here" she said.
"It's okay, it's over, and I fired him" he replied. Fred looked at him.
"You what? Can you do that?" she asked.
"I don't know but I just did" he said. "Come on" he said helping her stand up. Suddenly Harmony appeared at the door.
"Um, knock, knock" she said.
"Yes, what is it Harmony?" Wesley asked.
"Uh, the boss wants to see you, Wesley" she said. Wesley nodded.
"You sit here and I'm going to talk to Angel" he said. Then he turned to Harmony. "Can you tell Lorne to come in here and sit with Fred" he asked. Harmony nodded as she left the office. "We did miss some of the meeting, so I have to talk to him" Wesley said.
"I don't think he wants to see you about the meeting" she replied looking down.
"I know" he said as Lorne came in. "Hi Lorne" Wesley greeted.
"Hey, what's going on?" he asked concerned. Wesley pulled him aside and explained everything.
"So, will you just sit with her until I come back?" he asked. Lorne looked over at Fred.
"Of course" he replied walking over to a still frightened Fred. Wesley kissed Fred on the top of her head and left. "So, how are you doing?" Lorne asked. Fred looked up at him.
"I don't want to talk about it" she said looking down again. Lorne nodded and sat in silence with her.
Wesley knocked on Angel's door.
"Come in" Angel said. Wesley entered a bit scared. Angel just looked at him for a few seconds. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" Angel asked. Wesley didn't know how to answer. "You fired someone without consulting me" he yelled as he stood up.
"He needed to be fired" Wesley said.
"That's not your call. You're not in charge of Fred's staff" he said. "Just because you're dating her doesn't give you the right to intervene with her employees" Angel explained. "And I found out you hit him?" Angel yelled.
"He attacked Fred!" Wesley yelled back.
"It's not your business" Angel replied.
"Yes it is my business. He hit the woman I love, I made it my business" Wesley explained.
"Wes, I told you things would get complicated and now they have" Angel said.
"Yes, but I fixed it, I fired him" Wesley replied.
"You can't do that Wes. And it doesn't fix it" he said.
"I am not breaking up with the woman I love because some jerk decided to hit on her" Wesley said defensively.
"Fine, then you have to pick. It's your job or Fred" Angel answered.
Wesley just looked at him in shock.
"You can't do that" Wesley said.
"I just did" he replied.
"My personal life is none of your business" Wesley said.
"It is when you punch and then fire one of my employees" Angel replied.
"You, it's always about you Angel. As long as everything is alright with you then everything must be fine" Wesley said. "Fred is still scared and I know she doesn't want to have to work with Knox every again. If I quit, she will too" he explained. "Then you'll lose two more employees. So you take your pick. Either fire Knox for good, or lose me and Fred" Wesley ordered as he left Angel's office. Angel just watched him leave and then sat back down at his desk. He pounded his fist in his desk causing a loud thud noise. Harmony then entered his office.
"Is everything okay boss?" she asked. Angel didn't even look up.
"Not, now Harmony" Angel replied. Harmony quickly left his office and got back to work.
Wesley entered his office nodding to Lorne allowing him to leave. Before he exited Wesley stopped him.
"Thank you Lorne" he said. Lorne smiled and looked back at Fred.
"She didn't say much, but I can sense she's shaken up. Make sure you take care of her" he said. Wesley nodded then Lorne left.
Wesley leaned against his now closed door and just stared at Fred. Even though she looked fine physically, he saw something wrong in her eyes. After a few minutes of silence Fred turned her head to look at Wesley. He gazed into her eyes and saw fear and pain. His eyes saddened by her expression and he slowly approached her. He knelt next to the chair she was sitting in and cupped her cheek with his hand. She closed her eyes and leaned into his hand. Fred felt so safe and carefree with Wesley. He had a way of making her forget everything around them. When she finally opened her eyes he was smiling at her and stroking her hair. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Then he stood up directing her to do the same thing. She held his hand as she stood and rounded the chair. Then Wesley suddenly hugged her, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting and protecting way. Even though neither of them spoke, Fred knew he was saying sorry for what happened and that if he could have stopped him he would have. Fred felt like crying but smiled instead. She knew she would get over this and Wesley would help her. She was so glad she had a man like Wesley to love and care for her. After what seemed like an eternity, they stepped apart. Wesley jerked his head towards the door, indicating to leave. Fred smiled and nodded in agreement. Wesley turned and wrapped and arm around her waist as Fred did the same to Wesley. As they left Wesley flicked off the lights and closed the door.
To be continued.