A/N: Okay, it's been a really long time since I've written anything on
this. Probably all the old fans of it think I've dropped off the face of
the earth. Well, I haven't! I'm still here. Just full of writer's block
since, June 2002!
Anyway, sorry. But here's like a 9 pager so, hopefully that'll make up for
it? Maybe? Sorry for the delay!
Feedback is a must!
Journey Chapter 19 "The Lost Chapter"
Several Years Later
"Stop it! Just stop it already!" Charlotte Wyndham-Pryce screamed at her fiancé, as she paced before him.
"I will not stop, because I've yet to do anything wrong!" Journey yelled back from where he was lying on the bed. "You stop!"
Charlie squeezed her eyes shut. "You know, you're absolutely impossible to be around when you get this way."
"Impossible to be around?" He sat up quickly. "Impossible to be around? Well, you know what? If I'm so impossible to be around, maybe you should leave!"
She stopped pacing to look at him. After a moment's pause, she nodded. "Okay. I will." She turned and stomped her way to the door, slamming it behind her. He knew she was standing there, just outside the door, though she'd tried to make it seem as if she'd truly left him. She even went as far as to pretend to stomp her way down the stairs. Journey shook his head.
"I'm not coming after you! You can wait out there all day if you want to, but I'm not going to come after you."
She opened the door enough to stick her head inside. "You know.. you suck."
He smirked. "Okay.. I suck? I think you have that backwards, sweetie."
She glared at him. "I can't believe you!" She yelled as she re-entered the room. "You are a Class A Jerk, you know that?" She told him as she started pacing again. Journey was sure, that by the end of the day, there was going to be whole in the floor from all her pacing.
Journey sighed. "Charlie-"
"Don't 'Charlie' me, cheater boy! I am no where near done yet." She shook her head. "I mean, I just don't understand it. First you tell me you love me, that I'm the only one for you. You beg me to marry you-"
Journey shook his head. "Hey.. I-I didn't beg you."
"And now you're cheating on me and acting like a jerk? So, am I to assume that everything you previously said to me was a lie?"
"Well, you know what they say when you assume-"
"Always such a smart ass." She said bitterly. "I mean, you're not even taking this seriously."
"Yes, I am. Taking this seriously." He rolled his eyes.
"Oh, whatever. Don't you EVEN give me that crap."
"What crap?"
"That, 'Oh, I'm such an innocent little boy' act. We both know you're not innocent. Or just a boy."
Journey lowered his head and sighed. After a few minutes he asked, "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to tell me the truth. I want you to apologize."
"Charlie, I told you the truth twenty minutes ago when you asked me the first time. You refused to believe me, which led to a shouting match, which led to you leaving the room, then re-entering the room, and beginning the fight all over again. Now, do you want the truth? Or do you want what you want to hear?"
"I want to hear the truth." Charlie told him as she came to a stop in front of him.
He looked her straight in the eyes. "There's nothing to tell you, Charlie, because nothing happened."
"Ugh!" She groaned, backing away and resuming her pacing. "Sure, okay! So everything my brother told me was a complete and total lie?!"
"Oh. Okay, I see. So, Milo told you this?" Journey asked, standing up. "Is that the same brother Milo that hates me? Or is this a different one?"
"He doesn't hate you. He just disagrees with you."
"Yeah, disagrees with me enough to LIE about me."
"Okay, you know what? I'm tired of hearing you slam my brother. As of now, we are officially separated. When you decide that you want to tell the truth, you know where to call."
"Hey, give me my ring back."
"What?"
"You heard me."
She glared at him. "Fine. " She slid the platinum ring off her finger and threw it at him. He grabbed it and shoved it in his pocket. Then, with one last look at him, she stalked out the open door and slammed it very loudly behind her.
Journey sat there on his bed, listening to her footsteps as she stomped down the stairs. "She can leave for all I care. She can leave and never come back."
Five seconds later, he was up and running after her.
----
"I am so not joking, young man." Cordelia told her son as she shifted toddler Ava in her arms. "All I want is for you to sit there and be quiet. And if you ask me one more time---"
"But Mom!" 7-year-old Dylan interrupted.
"No, buts! I've got to put Ava down for a nap and I can't do that with you bothering me every five seconds."
Ava grabbed a lock of her mother's dark hair. "No nap!" She declared giggling.
Cordelia pried her hair free. "Yes, nap." Turning back to Dylan, she added, "I'm not telling you again, all right? Just---"
"Mo-om! Kyler is waiting for me to come over and spend the night!"
"Dylan Patrick Chase! Enough! When your dad gets home, he can take you."
"I can walk, thank you very much."
"No, you very much can't! There is no way I'd let you walk through the streets of Los Angeles alone."
"Who said anything about taking streets?" Dylan asked.
Cordelia let out an exasperated sigh. "Oookay. You're totally misunderstanding the whole parent-child relationship. I say 'no', which means 'no', when means 'you'll do what I say or I'll bust your butt.' Any questions?"
Dylan glared back defiantly.
"None? Good. Now, I suggest you park your butt somewhere and be quiet. Play with Ollie and Jakers or something."
He scowled. "I don't think so." He cast a disgusted look at his twin brother, Oliver. "Maybe in some alternate universe. I'll be outside until Dad gets home." And with that, he headed for the door.
Cordelia watched him go, shaking her head. "Stay in the yard, okay?" She yelled after him. "I mean it!" Turning to her son, Oliver, she sighed. "I'm sorry about what he said, Ollie."
"Don't worry about it, Mom." Oliver said, calmly petting his seeing-eye dog, Jake. "I don't hold it against him. I probably wouldn't want to play with a blind kid either, if I were him."
"But he's your brother." Cordelia stressed. "He shouldn't act like that."
"It's okay, Mom. Really." Oliver told her. "He'll grow out of hit someday."
"I used to think that, but these days, Ollie, I just don't know." Cordelia fretted. "I'm beginning to think he never will."
"He will, Mom. Trust me."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I don't know. I just do." He paused. "Perhaps you'd better give Ava to me before you drop her."
Cordelia frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to dr-" A vision slammed into her skull and she suddenly realized just why she might drop her baby girl. She quickly closed the distance between them. "I'll be right back," she told him, as she handed him her sister.
Oliver shook his head as he settled Ava on his lap. "Take your time. We've got everything under control. Don't we, Ava?"
A tear trickled down Cordelia's cheek as she slowly backed away. "Thank you." She whispered before running out of sight and earshot.
Oliver sighed sadly; grateful once again that he was blind, just so he couldn't see his mother cry. He softly stroked Ava's hair. "Oh, Ava. Why can't Dylan at least be civil to everyone? He upsets Mommy so much, doesn't he?"
Ava nodded. "Yep, yep!"
"Yeah, I think so too." He kissed the top of her head. "Okay. Well, let's learn something today." He gingerly picked her chubby hand and moved it to where it was covering one of his eyes.
"Peek boo!" Ava giggled.
Oliver smiled, and his vision-less eyes lit up. "No, not peek-a-boo, silly. Eye. Can you say 'eye'?"
"No," Ava told him as she shook her head.
"It's all right. You'll learn. Anyway, you have eyes, too." He moved her hands to cover her own eyes. "See? Eyes. You see the world through your eyes."
Ava stood up and leaned in real close to Oliver's face until their noses were touching. She patted the area around his eyes. "Ollie no eyes?" She asked.
"Ollie has eyes. They just don't work like Ava's does."
She tried to kiss his cheek, but mostly just slobbered on him. "I sorry. Ollie sad?"
"No, Ollie's not sad."
Ava reached for his hand. "Here." She shoved his hand onto her tiny eyes. "For you."
"Thanks, but that's okay. Keep them. You'll need them."
Suddenly they heard two pairs of feet running down the stairs.
"Char! Charlotte! Wait! Don't go, please!" Journey called as he hurried after her.
"Stay away from me! I'm sure you have some other girl on the side you can date."
The door slammed once. Then twice.
"Uh-oh!"
Oliver nodded his head. "Uh-oh's right."
---
"Charlie! Will you stop and listen to me?"
Charlotte walked even faster, her long brown hair swaying quickly from side to side. "No, no. Don't let my leaving interrupt your scheming time. I'm sure you have another girl all lined up." She told him, climbing into her car and making it roar to life.
"Charlotte, at least let me try to explain."
"Don't waste your breath." She said, throwing the vehicle into reverse. "Instead, hold your breath until the someday that I decide to call you."
And there she left him, with a squeal of tires and a roaring of the engine.
"Dammit!" Journey exhaled loudly as he watched her drive out of sight. After a few minutes, he turned slowly and headed back up the walk.
"Is there a problem?" Dylan asked from his position on the concrete rock bench in front of the hotel.
Journey stopped abruptly and looked over at his younger brother. "No, no problem, " he said, walking over to join him. "Just crap, that's all." He paused. "So, what are you doing out here?"
"Waiting for dad to get home."
"Oh, yeah? Well, from what I understand, he may be awhile. So if it's anything I'd be able to help with---"
"Mom won't take me to Kyler's. She won't even let me walk over there. By the time dad gets home, it'll be 20 years from now." Dylan shook his head. "Moms are so stupid."
Journey laughed. "They're not so stupid. They're just looking out for you. Mom doesn't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Well, I could at least take the sewers and get there-"
"No sewers. What if you got hurt down there? It could be days before anyone found you."
"I guess. But dad does it all the time."
"Yeah, well, Dad's-"
"I know. I know." Dylan interrupted. "Dad's dad."
"Yes, he is. And Dad can take care of himself." Journey explained.
"So can I!" Dylan protested. "Everyone assumes that just because Ollie's disabled that I'm disabled too."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa.. hold on there. Ollie's not disabled."
"UH, yeah, he is."
"Oh, yeah. How so?"
Dylan looked at him incredulously. "HELLO! He's blind!"
"And that makes him disabled. Answer me this: Oliver leads a very normal life, wouldn't you say?"
Dylan thought about it. "Yeah, I guess. Except for the fact that he's blind and everything."
"In my vocabulary, someone who's disabled is disabled because something beyond their control inhibits them from living life to the fullest. Ollie could take this lying down. But he doesn't. Therefore, he's not disabled." Journey paused. "Just because he can't see, doesn't mean he can't see what's going on. Ever played board games with that kid? He's beat me at chess for at least the last three years!"
"What exactly are you trying to tell me, J?"
"All I'm saying is be patient and obey your mother. And also be nice to your brother. No one will ever know you as well as he does." Journey looked up at the sky. "Now, go get ready and I'll take you to Kyler's."
Dylan grinned. "Thanks, Journey! I'll be ready in five minutes."
Journey smiled at him as he ran excitedly into the house. "Ookay! One crisis averted."
As he walked slowly back into the Hyperion, Journey heard Cordelia calling his name.
"Where are you?" He asked loudly, stepping into the lobby. He noticed Ava and Oliver playing on the floor with Jake. "Where is she?"
"Basement." Oliver replied quietly.
"Ohhhh." Journey said, sighing. Cordelia in the basement meant vision. Shaking his head, he headed towards the basement and stepped inside. When he'd walked down four of the steps, he reached up and tapped on three certain bricks. A panel slid open, revealing another flight of stairs. He ducked inside the panel and the door quickly closed behind him.
Cordelia's back was towards him as he walked into their secret basement shelter. "Good, you came." She said weakly. "I was afraid you wouldn't hear me."
"I heard you, Cordy. Now what's the problem?"
"Okay.. uh.. someone is going to be kidnapped in the alley where 26th and 15th intersect. By a -" She paused, placing a hand to her head. "A green, scaly, slimey six eyed demon. It's nearly 5 feet tall, and has three legs. It'll take place soon, so go upstairs and find out what we're up against. I'll stay down here in case something comes to me in one of those 'aftershock' visions."
Journey nodded. "I'll get right on it."
He headed upstairs and into Wesley's office. After picking up a few heavy books off the shelves, he plopped himself down in Wesley's desk chair. He flipped idly through the first book in the stack, trying to find anything pertinent to their demon. Finally, he gave up, and pushed to book aside. He leaned back in his chair as he pulled out the ring from his pocket and held it up to the light. The light floated through it, casting a shimmering of lights across the room. He twirled the platinum ring gently in his hand. He remembered buying it for her.. remembered how he felt when he bought it. Like no other girl would ever mean as much. But it was hard to feel that way now, when she was always accusing you of cheating every other week. He sighed. It was getting tiring. Maybe the separation was a good thing.
The office door flew open, and Dylan stood in the doorway. "Ready!" He beamed.
'Crap.' Journey thought. "Uh, Dylan, there's been a change in plans."
Dylan's face fell. "Let me guess. you can't take me either."
"I can take you.. it'll just be a while. Mom had a vision.. I have to help her out. You know how it is."
Dylan looked at him for a minute, then nodded. "Sure. I know how it is." He said in a hollow voice. "I'll just be waiting outside."
"As soon as I find out the specs, we can go, okay? Just give me thirty minutes."
Dylan nodded, and left the room.
Journey sighed, put the ring away, and went back to researching.
--- "They're really starting to make me mad. Stupid family. They don't care. No one cares about me. It's always Oliver this. Or Ava that. Or let's help this person. Never pay any attention to Dylan."
Dylan kicked at the dirt with his shoe. "I could be at Kyler's house right now, playing that new video game. But, nooooooo. I'm stuck here, in dullsville. Left with blind deaf retard brother and a baby brat for a sister. Waiting on someone to walk me over there because I'm just a big loser baby to the rest of them."
He walked slowly in a circle, trying to think of some way to occupy himself for the next thirty minutes.. or longer.
"You know.. if I waited on Journey, I may never get to Kyler's today. Everyone else is inside.. I bet I can just sneak over there and no one will know. And then they'll think I've run away! And then they'll have to think about me for once."
He ran inside and grabbed his things. The only one to see him leave with all his things was Ava, and she didn't know enough words to tell anyone anything. "Man! I should have thought of this sooner!"
TBC (Maybe)
Feedback is a must!
Journey Chapter 19 "The Lost Chapter"
Several Years Later
"Stop it! Just stop it already!" Charlotte Wyndham-Pryce screamed at her fiancé, as she paced before him.
"I will not stop, because I've yet to do anything wrong!" Journey yelled back from where he was lying on the bed. "You stop!"
Charlie squeezed her eyes shut. "You know, you're absolutely impossible to be around when you get this way."
"Impossible to be around?" He sat up quickly. "Impossible to be around? Well, you know what? If I'm so impossible to be around, maybe you should leave!"
She stopped pacing to look at him. After a moment's pause, she nodded. "Okay. I will." She turned and stomped her way to the door, slamming it behind her. He knew she was standing there, just outside the door, though she'd tried to make it seem as if she'd truly left him. She even went as far as to pretend to stomp her way down the stairs. Journey shook his head.
"I'm not coming after you! You can wait out there all day if you want to, but I'm not going to come after you."
She opened the door enough to stick her head inside. "You know.. you suck."
He smirked. "Okay.. I suck? I think you have that backwards, sweetie."
She glared at him. "I can't believe you!" She yelled as she re-entered the room. "You are a Class A Jerk, you know that?" She told him as she started pacing again. Journey was sure, that by the end of the day, there was going to be whole in the floor from all her pacing.
Journey sighed. "Charlie-"
"Don't 'Charlie' me, cheater boy! I am no where near done yet." She shook her head. "I mean, I just don't understand it. First you tell me you love me, that I'm the only one for you. You beg me to marry you-"
Journey shook his head. "Hey.. I-I didn't beg you."
"And now you're cheating on me and acting like a jerk? So, am I to assume that everything you previously said to me was a lie?"
"Well, you know what they say when you assume-"
"Always such a smart ass." She said bitterly. "I mean, you're not even taking this seriously."
"Yes, I am. Taking this seriously." He rolled his eyes.
"Oh, whatever. Don't you EVEN give me that crap."
"What crap?"
"That, 'Oh, I'm such an innocent little boy' act. We both know you're not innocent. Or just a boy."
Journey lowered his head and sighed. After a few minutes he asked, "What do you want from me?"
"I want you to tell me the truth. I want you to apologize."
"Charlie, I told you the truth twenty minutes ago when you asked me the first time. You refused to believe me, which led to a shouting match, which led to you leaving the room, then re-entering the room, and beginning the fight all over again. Now, do you want the truth? Or do you want what you want to hear?"
"I want to hear the truth." Charlie told him as she came to a stop in front of him.
He looked her straight in the eyes. "There's nothing to tell you, Charlie, because nothing happened."
"Ugh!" She groaned, backing away and resuming her pacing. "Sure, okay! So everything my brother told me was a complete and total lie?!"
"Oh. Okay, I see. So, Milo told you this?" Journey asked, standing up. "Is that the same brother Milo that hates me? Or is this a different one?"
"He doesn't hate you. He just disagrees with you."
"Yeah, disagrees with me enough to LIE about me."
"Okay, you know what? I'm tired of hearing you slam my brother. As of now, we are officially separated. When you decide that you want to tell the truth, you know where to call."
"Hey, give me my ring back."
"What?"
"You heard me."
She glared at him. "Fine. " She slid the platinum ring off her finger and threw it at him. He grabbed it and shoved it in his pocket. Then, with one last look at him, she stalked out the open door and slammed it very loudly behind her.
Journey sat there on his bed, listening to her footsteps as she stomped down the stairs. "She can leave for all I care. She can leave and never come back."
Five seconds later, he was up and running after her.
----
"I am so not joking, young man." Cordelia told her son as she shifted toddler Ava in her arms. "All I want is for you to sit there and be quiet. And if you ask me one more time---"
"But Mom!" 7-year-old Dylan interrupted.
"No, buts! I've got to put Ava down for a nap and I can't do that with you bothering me every five seconds."
Ava grabbed a lock of her mother's dark hair. "No nap!" She declared giggling.
Cordelia pried her hair free. "Yes, nap." Turning back to Dylan, she added, "I'm not telling you again, all right? Just---"
"Mo-om! Kyler is waiting for me to come over and spend the night!"
"Dylan Patrick Chase! Enough! When your dad gets home, he can take you."
"I can walk, thank you very much."
"No, you very much can't! There is no way I'd let you walk through the streets of Los Angeles alone."
"Who said anything about taking streets?" Dylan asked.
Cordelia let out an exasperated sigh. "Oookay. You're totally misunderstanding the whole parent-child relationship. I say 'no', which means 'no', when means 'you'll do what I say or I'll bust your butt.' Any questions?"
Dylan glared back defiantly.
"None? Good. Now, I suggest you park your butt somewhere and be quiet. Play with Ollie and Jakers or something."
He scowled. "I don't think so." He cast a disgusted look at his twin brother, Oliver. "Maybe in some alternate universe. I'll be outside until Dad gets home." And with that, he headed for the door.
Cordelia watched him go, shaking her head. "Stay in the yard, okay?" She yelled after him. "I mean it!" Turning to her son, Oliver, she sighed. "I'm sorry about what he said, Ollie."
"Don't worry about it, Mom." Oliver said, calmly petting his seeing-eye dog, Jake. "I don't hold it against him. I probably wouldn't want to play with a blind kid either, if I were him."
"But he's your brother." Cordelia stressed. "He shouldn't act like that."
"It's okay, Mom. Really." Oliver told her. "He'll grow out of hit someday."
"I used to think that, but these days, Ollie, I just don't know." Cordelia fretted. "I'm beginning to think he never will."
"He will, Mom. Trust me."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I don't know. I just do." He paused. "Perhaps you'd better give Ava to me before you drop her."
Cordelia frowned. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to dr-" A vision slammed into her skull and she suddenly realized just why she might drop her baby girl. She quickly closed the distance between them. "I'll be right back," she told him, as she handed him her sister.
Oliver shook his head as he settled Ava on his lap. "Take your time. We've got everything under control. Don't we, Ava?"
A tear trickled down Cordelia's cheek as she slowly backed away. "Thank you." She whispered before running out of sight and earshot.
Oliver sighed sadly; grateful once again that he was blind, just so he couldn't see his mother cry. He softly stroked Ava's hair. "Oh, Ava. Why can't Dylan at least be civil to everyone? He upsets Mommy so much, doesn't he?"
Ava nodded. "Yep, yep!"
"Yeah, I think so too." He kissed the top of her head. "Okay. Well, let's learn something today." He gingerly picked her chubby hand and moved it to where it was covering one of his eyes.
"Peek boo!" Ava giggled.
Oliver smiled, and his vision-less eyes lit up. "No, not peek-a-boo, silly. Eye. Can you say 'eye'?"
"No," Ava told him as she shook her head.
"It's all right. You'll learn. Anyway, you have eyes, too." He moved her hands to cover her own eyes. "See? Eyes. You see the world through your eyes."
Ava stood up and leaned in real close to Oliver's face until their noses were touching. She patted the area around his eyes. "Ollie no eyes?" She asked.
"Ollie has eyes. They just don't work like Ava's does."
She tried to kiss his cheek, but mostly just slobbered on him. "I sorry. Ollie sad?"
"No, Ollie's not sad."
Ava reached for his hand. "Here." She shoved his hand onto her tiny eyes. "For you."
"Thanks, but that's okay. Keep them. You'll need them."
Suddenly they heard two pairs of feet running down the stairs.
"Char! Charlotte! Wait! Don't go, please!" Journey called as he hurried after her.
"Stay away from me! I'm sure you have some other girl on the side you can date."
The door slammed once. Then twice.
"Uh-oh!"
Oliver nodded his head. "Uh-oh's right."
---
"Charlie! Will you stop and listen to me?"
Charlotte walked even faster, her long brown hair swaying quickly from side to side. "No, no. Don't let my leaving interrupt your scheming time. I'm sure you have another girl all lined up." She told him, climbing into her car and making it roar to life.
"Charlotte, at least let me try to explain."
"Don't waste your breath." She said, throwing the vehicle into reverse. "Instead, hold your breath until the someday that I decide to call you."
And there she left him, with a squeal of tires and a roaring of the engine.
"Dammit!" Journey exhaled loudly as he watched her drive out of sight. After a few minutes, he turned slowly and headed back up the walk.
"Is there a problem?" Dylan asked from his position on the concrete rock bench in front of the hotel.
Journey stopped abruptly and looked over at his younger brother. "No, no problem, " he said, walking over to join him. "Just crap, that's all." He paused. "So, what are you doing out here?"
"Waiting for dad to get home."
"Oh, yeah? Well, from what I understand, he may be awhile. So if it's anything I'd be able to help with---"
"Mom won't take me to Kyler's. She won't even let me walk over there. By the time dad gets home, it'll be 20 years from now." Dylan shook his head. "Moms are so stupid."
Journey laughed. "They're not so stupid. They're just looking out for you. Mom doesn't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Well, I could at least take the sewers and get there-"
"No sewers. What if you got hurt down there? It could be days before anyone found you."
"I guess. But dad does it all the time."
"Yeah, well, Dad's-"
"I know. I know." Dylan interrupted. "Dad's dad."
"Yes, he is. And Dad can take care of himself." Journey explained.
"So can I!" Dylan protested. "Everyone assumes that just because Ollie's disabled that I'm disabled too."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa.. hold on there. Ollie's not disabled."
"UH, yeah, he is."
"Oh, yeah. How so?"
Dylan looked at him incredulously. "HELLO! He's blind!"
"And that makes him disabled. Answer me this: Oliver leads a very normal life, wouldn't you say?"
Dylan thought about it. "Yeah, I guess. Except for the fact that he's blind and everything."
"In my vocabulary, someone who's disabled is disabled because something beyond their control inhibits them from living life to the fullest. Ollie could take this lying down. But he doesn't. Therefore, he's not disabled." Journey paused. "Just because he can't see, doesn't mean he can't see what's going on. Ever played board games with that kid? He's beat me at chess for at least the last three years!"
"What exactly are you trying to tell me, J?"
"All I'm saying is be patient and obey your mother. And also be nice to your brother. No one will ever know you as well as he does." Journey looked up at the sky. "Now, go get ready and I'll take you to Kyler's."
Dylan grinned. "Thanks, Journey! I'll be ready in five minutes."
Journey smiled at him as he ran excitedly into the house. "Ookay! One crisis averted."
As he walked slowly back into the Hyperion, Journey heard Cordelia calling his name.
"Where are you?" He asked loudly, stepping into the lobby. He noticed Ava and Oliver playing on the floor with Jake. "Where is she?"
"Basement." Oliver replied quietly.
"Ohhhh." Journey said, sighing. Cordelia in the basement meant vision. Shaking his head, he headed towards the basement and stepped inside. When he'd walked down four of the steps, he reached up and tapped on three certain bricks. A panel slid open, revealing another flight of stairs. He ducked inside the panel and the door quickly closed behind him.
Cordelia's back was towards him as he walked into their secret basement shelter. "Good, you came." She said weakly. "I was afraid you wouldn't hear me."
"I heard you, Cordy. Now what's the problem?"
"Okay.. uh.. someone is going to be kidnapped in the alley where 26th and 15th intersect. By a -" She paused, placing a hand to her head. "A green, scaly, slimey six eyed demon. It's nearly 5 feet tall, and has three legs. It'll take place soon, so go upstairs and find out what we're up against. I'll stay down here in case something comes to me in one of those 'aftershock' visions."
Journey nodded. "I'll get right on it."
He headed upstairs and into Wesley's office. After picking up a few heavy books off the shelves, he plopped himself down in Wesley's desk chair. He flipped idly through the first book in the stack, trying to find anything pertinent to their demon. Finally, he gave up, and pushed to book aside. He leaned back in his chair as he pulled out the ring from his pocket and held it up to the light. The light floated through it, casting a shimmering of lights across the room. He twirled the platinum ring gently in his hand. He remembered buying it for her.. remembered how he felt when he bought it. Like no other girl would ever mean as much. But it was hard to feel that way now, when she was always accusing you of cheating every other week. He sighed. It was getting tiring. Maybe the separation was a good thing.
The office door flew open, and Dylan stood in the doorway. "Ready!" He beamed.
'Crap.' Journey thought. "Uh, Dylan, there's been a change in plans."
Dylan's face fell. "Let me guess. you can't take me either."
"I can take you.. it'll just be a while. Mom had a vision.. I have to help her out. You know how it is."
Dylan looked at him for a minute, then nodded. "Sure. I know how it is." He said in a hollow voice. "I'll just be waiting outside."
"As soon as I find out the specs, we can go, okay? Just give me thirty minutes."
Dylan nodded, and left the room.
Journey sighed, put the ring away, and went back to researching.
--- "They're really starting to make me mad. Stupid family. They don't care. No one cares about me. It's always Oliver this. Or Ava that. Or let's help this person. Never pay any attention to Dylan."
Dylan kicked at the dirt with his shoe. "I could be at Kyler's house right now, playing that new video game. But, nooooooo. I'm stuck here, in dullsville. Left with blind deaf retard brother and a baby brat for a sister. Waiting on someone to walk me over there because I'm just a big loser baby to the rest of them."
He walked slowly in a circle, trying to think of some way to occupy himself for the next thirty minutes.. or longer.
"You know.. if I waited on Journey, I may never get to Kyler's today. Everyone else is inside.. I bet I can just sneak over there and no one will know. And then they'll think I've run away! And then they'll have to think about me for once."
He ran inside and grabbed his things. The only one to see him leave with all his things was Ava, and she didn't know enough words to tell anyone anything. "Man! I should have thought of this sooner!"
TBC (Maybe)