AUTHOR: Rebecca Parker
EMAIL: NumfarGal@aol.com
RATING: R
SUMMARY: Buffy's with Lindsey to get Faith out of prison, and Angel just found out. Uh oh.
PAIRING: B/L
FEEDBACK: I do the dance of joy upon receipt of feedback.
DISCLAIMER: Joss and Mutant Enemy own all.
DISTRIBUTION: At my site, Our Own Destiny, and all the usual suspects. Anyone else, please ask first.
DEDICATION: To Moe, for always feedbacking me so kindly, and to Jenfr, who told me to put this ahead of more site work.
NOTE: Sorry it's been so long! I'll try to be better. Also, I might be sending this out to new lists, so all previous parts can be found at http://www.ourowndestiny.com
Kate walked past the collection of shattered glass in front of the
Bloomingdales entrance and watched as several policemen took reports from dazed
onlookers. She had been working at her desk when the report came in over the
radio, and she knew it was him; there had been no doubt, even though his name
had never been used.
They had described him as approximately 6 feet, 2 inches, dark brown hair, long overcoat. They had briefly told of the incident at the mall; how the man had smashed several of the storefronts; how he threw two security guards against the wall as if they had weighed no more than a bag of feathers. They had described how he had escaped almost unnoticeably, and how no one had seen him since.
Kate had no doubt in her mind that it was Angel who had turned this stretch of the mall into a mosaic of glass and cops. But what interested her the most was the one sentence that kept repeating in her head as if on some type of loop: "Suspect was seen with a young brunette, approximately age 18."
Kate knew there was a very good chance that the girl described was Cordelia Chase; she usually followed Angel around on whatever case or escapade he was fixed on, but a memo which had found itself on her desk this morning made her think twice. Faith O'Neal had been released from prison the night before. Kate had stared at the memo for a good ten minutes before it had sunk in; Faith's confession had guaranteed that the Slayer would serve at least 10 years in prison before they even thought about letting her out. So how the fuck was she out less than a year after her arrest?
After only 10 minutes of researching an answer, Kate had found it: Wolfram & Hart had, out of the blue, gotten her off on a technicality. It was their usual trick when they were up to no good- spring some low life free so they could perform some service for the firm- that service usually being one Kate would be forced to investigate the next day.
"Pat," Kate said, walking over to the lead investigator and hoping the lunch she had sprung for the other day had greased the wheels she was about to take out for a ride. "What's your take on this?" she asked, watching as a cleaning woman came over to begin to sweep up the glass now that the investigation seemed to be wrapping up.
"Lockley," Pat said, looking her over. "Well, unless there's been some massive breakdown in communication, this isn't a domestic disturbance case, which means I really don't have to answer your questions."
"Come on Pat," she said, taking a step to him as he began to walk away. "Look, let's just say I have a personal interest in this case."
"You seem to be having a lot of those lately," he commented, closing his book and tucking it in his pocket. "Seems if I think about it, I can remember a certain detective getting in trouble for letting you in on an investigation where you didn't belong a few months ago."
Kate sighed. "Listen, O'Donnell got out of that one with no more than a slap on the wrist. Now if my gut is right about this, I have a feeling I know whose behind this, and I think I'm the only one who can stop him."
"Angel, right?" Pat said, shaking his head. "I don't know if you want to stop him so much as to put him behind bars or to fuck him up against them." He laughed, looking at her as she frowned. "Come on Lockley. You know I can't talk to you about this."
"Damnit Pat," Kate said, feeling the anger inside her threaten to overflow. "From what I heard over the radio, you have a man smashing a good portion of the mall over an encounter with an unidentified female. Now you and I know it went beyond just a domestic disturbance, but if anyone sees you talking to me about it- well, it's pretty easy to explain. We just play dumb."
"I'll have to play," Pat corrected her. He sighed, seeing she wasn't about to give in. "You know, you better watch out, Kate. A lot of us still like to watch out and protect you for your Dad; but then again, a lot of us are getting just a little sick and tired for how much you're making us do it."
"Save me the speech," Kate said, crossing her arms. "Just tell me what you know."
"You're a real bitch sometimes, you know that?" Pat said, taking a toothpick from his pocket and popping it in his mouth.
"I count on it," Kate said, smiling. "So?"
Pat laughed, and after a moment, went on. "Suspect fits your Angel's description, but from past experience, we know he can be a bit hard to nail." Pat smiled. "Guess you figured that out too, hon? Doesn't like the blondes so much anymore?"
"Fuck off," Kate said, brushing his remark to the side. "What else?"
"Well, security camera shows a couple of old friends," Pat said, spitting the toothpick out and smiling. "Lindsey McDonald was with the unidentified blonde the fight was over," he said, shrugging. "Not much we can do about that one. Those boys are untouchable."
"And the girl? The brunette?"
"Do I even need to tell you? By the look on your face, you know already."
"Faith?" Kate asked, and she cursed when he nodded. "Not even out of jail for a day, and already she's a material witness in a major crime."
"Major crime?" Pat said, looking around. "Kate, come on. Wake up. We have some vandalism here, and nothing more."
"Assault against police officers? Harassment? Come on, Pat. It's a bit more than damage to public property."
"Kate, give it up. My gut's telling me this case isn't going to go anywhere besides the bottom of the chief's birdcage."
"Yeah well," Kate said, her tone angry, "my gut's telling me that something big is going down, and this is the time that I'm going to nail him once and for all."
"Well, a girl's gotta hold onto hope, huh?" Pat said, laughing as he turned away. "Shame what happened to you, Lockley. You used to show promise."
Kate watched him as he walked away, her hands shaking with anger. She hated being treated this way; hated being regarded as a joke. More than anything, she hated having her father and his legacy thrown in her face. It wasn't much of a legacy now that Kate knew the truth. If she could just get that one arrest she wanted so badly- Angel's- she knew that respect would replace the ridicule- and that maybe she could be proud again of being a Lockley.
++++
"Angel," Faith said, running to catch up to the vampire who hadn't spoken to her in blocks. He had left his car in the parking lot of the Beverley Center, something she had tried to tell him wasn't smart when fleeing a crime scene, but he didn't seem to care. Or maybe he didn't seem to hear. Either way, they were walking back to the Hyperion, which she knew was quite a few miles away.
"Fuck," she said when he once again did not answer her. "Angel, cut the shit," she said, putting all she had into her strides so she caught up to him. "Talk to me," she said, pulling on his arm, and not surprised when he quickly swatted her away.
"Leave me alone," he retorted, stopping to look down to the spot Faith had fallen to. He sighed, cursing himself as he leaned down to help her up.
"I got it," Faith said, shrugging his outstretched hand away and jumping to her feet. "You're a real asshole when you're pissed, you know that?" she said, stretching the shoulder she had fallen on.
"I didn't mean to," Angel said, but the memory of what had spurred him into this fit of rage returned and he growled as he turned away. "You shouldn't be around me right now," he said, starting to walk briskly from her again.
"Shit Angel," Faith said, catching up to him again. "You're like a fucking little kid with this act. So B's fucking Lindsey? You know he'll just hurt her, and she'll come running back to your arms. Isn't that how these little soap operas usually turn out?"
Angel hurried his steps as he felt his demon moments away from emerging. Hearing Faith talk about what he just discovered- he didn't need that; he didn't need any reminders. He could still see her lips on his, his hand slipping underneath her shirt to places where he had touched; to places which he longed to touch again.
"Faith," he said, his teeth grinding against each other almost painfully. "Take a cab," he said, not looking at her but instead hurrying on.
Faith sighed, getting a little tired of this. "Where ya gonna go, Angel?" she asked, not letting him be rid of her. She looked up at the street signs and sighed. "Oh, yeah. That's real smart of you and all - heading to Wolfram and Hart. Boy, I bet they won't see you coming," she said sarcastically. "You're playing right into their hands, Angel. Figured you were smarter than that."
"Faith, I'm warning you," he said, turning to her suddenly and showing her his demon side had finally emerged. "Leave me alone."
Faith frowned, their faces merely inches apart as she stared into his eyes, seeing his demon stare back. "Never figured you to be so pussy whipped," she said, not even flinching as he growled again. "Now you spent a lot of time preaching to me in prison about the dark," she said, putting her hand on his chest. "You gonna fall that easily back into it? Thought I had a better teacher than that."
"It's not that easy," Angel said, turning his face downward.
"You're tellin' me," Faith said, letting out a small laugh. "Lemme show you something," she said, taking a step back. "See this?" Faith said, lifting her shirt up to reveal her torso and a scar that slashed across it. "One hell of a parting gift," she said, running her fingers along it. "Kinda makes it hard to wear halters." She smiled, watching Angel eye it. "Not too much of a turn on, huh?"
"Faith," Angel said, feeling his game face dissolve into his human one. "You and I both know-"
"Yeah," Faith said, lowering her shirt. "I know. I deserved it. But it doesn't make it any easier when I see B- knowing she did this to me, and I have to eat shit and grin every time I see her."
"So you're saying I deserve this?" Angel asked, feeling his skin start to crawl as he wondered if she was right.
"We deserve this and more," Faith said, laughing. "I mean, isn't that what you told me once? Something like the road to redemption is rocky and full of shit that's destined to kick our ass because we deserve it?" she said bitterly. "You're gonna let a shit like Lindsey McDonald kick you off your path?"
Angel sighed, feeling his temper start to come down from its high. He knew she was right, knew that he couldn't let this push him over to that dark side he always been sure not to step over the line into. "He was touching her," he said, his voice low.
"Yeah, and he's probably off fucking her right now," Faith said, sighing. He looked up at her, angry. "Yeah," she continued, "he's probably between her legs right now giving it to her good." She smiled. "Buffy always did like it hard, didn't she?"
Angel grabbed Faith, pushing her back hard. "Why the hell are you saying this? You think I like to hear it?"
"No," Faith said, shrugging out of his grasp. "You just have to learn to deal with it, Angel. It's not gonna go away. Better to hear it here then somewhere else. Get used to it. Cause if you're gonna let those assholes get to you, you can throw my ass back in jail cause I'd rather see the bars every day than that."
"I'm starting to think I liked you better when you were in jail," Angel said, turning away.
"Cause you know I'm right," Faith said, shrugging. "That's all it is. You just need to sleep this off and deal with it tomorrow. I can tell you anything you do tonight is just gonna be all fucked up."
"Like hurting you," Angel said, turning back to her. "I'm sorry."
Faith rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I think I can deal with being manhandled by you, Angel. You just need to calm down."
Angel nodded. "I just-"
"Yeah," Faith said, sighing. "I got it. It hurts to see her with someone else. Especially a piece of shit like McDonald. Nothing's gonna change tonight, Angel. So just go home, suck some rat dry and sleep it off."
"I don't actually keep the rats anymore," Angel said, sighing as they started to walk back to the hotel. He didn't want to talk about it anymore- it was bad enough to hear it in his head; he didn't need it verbalized anymore by Faith. But he was grateful to the Slayer for talking him down. If he had made it all the way to Wolfram and Hart's offices- he didn't want to think what would have happened.
+++++
Lindsey closed the door behind Buffy as she silently walked into his apartment. He had expected her to break down as soon as they left the mall, but she had done the exact opposite.
She had gotten into his car without saying a word, and stared out at the road for the drive home, not looking at him or anything else but the two lanes in front of them. He had glanced over to her several times and tried to get her to talk to him, but she wouldn't.
He had started to worry when she turned to him and asked if they could pick up some Taco Bell for dinner. "I'm hungry," she had said, and Lindsey had to smile. Of all the things he had expected her to say, that and an order of 2 hard tacos, a Chalupa and some Cinnamon Twists was not one of them.
He turned his car in the direction of the nearest Taco Bell, and flipped on the radio now that the silence seemed to be broken between them. "I love this song," he said, as "Outside" by Staind came on the radio. "You like it?" he asked, turning to her, but she didn't answer- and it had been like that since.
He watched as she sank down into the couch, opening the bag of tacos and taking out a Chalupa. He looked at her quizzically as he threw his jacket down onto the arm of the couch and took a taco from the bag as well. "You like Chalupas, huh?" he said, sitting down next to her and trying to get her to look at him. She wouldn't. "They're good. Kinda like the best of both worlds with the hard and soft shell."
He unfolded the wrapper, watching her do the same. She seemed almost to be in a trance; not hearing what he was saying or seeing what he was doing. He frowned at her. "Buffy?" he asked, and she responded by taking a bite out of her Chalupa. He called her name again, and she still didn't respond.
He took a deep breath, cradling his head in his hands as he tried to figure out what to do. She was acting so strangely- he didn't know how to deal with her. He turned to her, taking her arm and shaking her. "Buffy. Come on. You need to talk to me," he said, his voice forceful.
He shook her for almost a minute before she turned to him and smiled; a smile that made Lindsey's stomach turn over. "Yes?" she said, turning her body to his. She put her food down on the table in front of her and folded her hands in her lap. "Did you want something?"
"Buffy?" Lindsey asked cautiously. "Are you alright?"
"Of course," Buffy said, not even blinking. "Why wouldn't I be?" Her smile widened. "Is there something I can do for you, Lindsey?" She pushed herself closer to him, her hand reaching out to touch his thigh.
Lindsey shook his head. "What's going on Buffy? You're acting really strange."
"Hmm," Buffy said, taking a deep breath and moving closer to him, her hand now making its way up his chest. "Come on Lindsey," she said, her voice breathy. "Don't you want to fuck me?"
Lindsey swallowed hard, her hand, her voice, her everything having a very nice effect on him. But he knew this wasn't right- something about her wasn't right. He pushed her hand away. "Buffy, you know you don't want that."
"Don't I?" she asked, leaning in to kiss him, her teeth biting down lightly at his bottom lip as she pulled away. "Come on, Lindsey. What do you want to do to me? You know I'm yours," she said, her hand moving down his body now, achingly closer and closer to his crotch.
Lindsey sighed, part of him wanting to give in- to take her right there on the couch. He had never been with anyone as good as her- and she had never acted this sexual with him before. But the other part- the part that was left of the Lindsey McDonald of Oklahoma who used to help his mother bring in the wash every day- told him that this wasn't right.
He got up suddenly, looking down at her with disbelief. "Buffy, what's going on?" he asked again. "I know you don't want this."
"What does it matter?" Buffy said, spitting the words out angrily, her mood changing so suddenly that it shocked Lindsey. "I'm your whore. What does it matter what I want?"
"Buffy, you're not my whore," Lindsey said, his voice shaking as he watched her stand up and face him.
"Aren't I?" Buffy asked, moving towards him again. "You think I would have ever fucked you if there wasn't something in it for me? Huh, Lindsey? You think I would have ever let you taste me if I had a choice?"
Lindsey frowned, turning away. He didn't want to hear this- didn't want to be a part of this.
"Oh don't worry Lin," Buffy said, moving with him as he crossed the room. "I'm your little whore for 11 months and 13 days still. Want to know the hours? 3 hours, Lindsey. Minutes?" Buffy looked at her watch. "23. So come on, Lindsey. Use your little whore while you still have a chance."
Lindsey turned back suddenly, grabbing her arms and shaking her. "Stop it Buffy," he said, his fingers digging into her flesh. "I don't want to hear it. You're not my goddamn whore."
"Aren't I?" she asked, her voice starting to shake. "Isn't that what I am now?"
"No," he said, shaking his head and loosening his grip. "You're not," he said.
"I don't know," Buffy said, the tears finally coming. "I don't know what I am anymore."
Lindsey held onto her, feeling her sink against his chest, her body racked with sobs. He stroked her hair gently and walked her over to the bedroom.
Once she realized what she was doing, she looked up at him, confused. "Lindsey?"
"You can sleep alone tonight. I'll take the couch," he said, opening the door and letting go of her. "I'll be right in there if you need me."
Buffy nodded, looking at the empty bed, and back to him. She wiped the tears away and took a deep breath, watching him walk back to the living room. "Lindsey?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself.
He turned back to her, concern etched in his eyes. "Buffy?"
She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. She was going to ask him to just lie with her; to just hold her, but somehow she knew she couldn't let him get that close. She shook her head, watching him look at her with concern.
"Nothing," she finally said. "It was nothing."
He nodded, heading to the couch. "Good night," he said, sitting down on the couch and cleaning up the mess of uneaten food in front of him.
"Good night," Buffy said, closing the door to the bedroom behind her.
To Be Continued....
