author: Lucinda

rating: pg 13.

main characters: Willow, Cordelia, Alex Dane

pairings: hints of Cordelia/Jason Nesmith, Willow/Alex Dane, Gwen DeMarco/Angel

disclaimer; I own nobody from Buffy/Angel or from Galaxy Quest. There may be a few minor original characters.

distribution: Bite Me, WLS, NHA, Twisting the Hellmouth, anyone else please ask, I'll probably say yes.

dedicated to Rose, who I blame for the idea.

note: AU post season 6ish for BtVS timeline, AU season 2 for Angel. Tara split with Willow and left town. Willow resurrected Buffy who was rather cold and doing naughty things with Spike. Willow felt left out, unappreciated and very hurt by Buffy's reaction to her resurrection, so she moved to LA. Darla stayed dead. Post Galaxy Quest the movie.



Alex heard Benny talking with Melanie, the woman in charge of the wardrobe department, often required to produce a last minute miracle of costuming in close conjunction with the make-up team. He couldn't hear everything, but he caught enough words and phrases to know that they were talking about the costumes for the Princess and her entourage, and that the hand-maiden was a fair skinned red head. He found himself smiling, certain that the only redhead that they could mean was Willow.

Willow as the handmaiden to the Princess... His mind started on an elaborate and unlikely fantasy that if ever written would read like a very bad science fiction romance, where the somewhat unusual looking doctor on the space ship goes to the planet and falls deeply in desire with the lovely handmaiden, expressing this in multiple smut laden chapters and scenarios... Definitely not quality literature by any standards. He wasn't even entirely certain where these ideas... well, he knew they were because of Willow, but he wasn't in the habit of concocting elaborate sexual fantasies about women he'd only briefly met.

She was definitely worth thinking about, but... it felt almost indecent to be thinking about her like this. They'd barely met, and he didn't know very much about her. She didn't seem like the sort who tried to inspire rampant lust in the people around her though. He wished he knew what had caused her to get such a hold on his thoughts, why he was thinking so much about her. He had to figure it out, if this kept up, it would be hell on his work. That wouldn't be worth it, not for passion filled daydreams. Now, if they were real interludes with Willow...

He'd probably get charged with sexual harassment.

A part of him wondered if Willow would be interested in a relationship, possibly a very long term relationship, with an actor. Would she be willing to commit her time and emotions to someone who put in long hours somewhere else... and just might be ending up acting romantic in front of a camera with another woman. There was a quiet, reasonable part of his mind that was suggesting that perhaps he should spend a little time getting to know Willow before trying to pick out the proper sheets for them to share.

Part of him was wondering if that scripted sub-plot with Dr. Lazarus and Tawny would cause him more problems than the screen-time was worth. It had never been a major concern before, especially since he'd so rarely had a romantic role and a serious relationship at the same time. He wondered if it was unrealistic to hope for a future with Willow, before concluding that it was, in fact, every bit as unrealistic as believing that there was really a starship Protector that could cross the gaps between stars. Utterly improbable, and without the Thermians, it wouldn't have happened, but it did. They'd built the Protector, and borrowed them to save their people from a terrifying alien menace.

That had been the most nerve-wracking experience of his entire life. For the first time, lives depended on his actions, and there were no retakes. What if the Thermians came back, needing the help of the Protector once again? What if there was some galactic danger that he was dragged into helping again? How could he ever hope to explain that to Willow?

If he wanted to consider a future with her, he really needed to find out her last name. And if she liked Italian food.

He left the set, his mind already compiling a list of things he wanted to know about Willow... the sort of things that he could ask in public anyhow. Maybe it was just a reaction to all the strangeness that had been happening anyhow. Maybe it was just a passing attraction.

What were her hobbies, and her interests? What sort of things did she find entertaining? Did she read, and if so what sort of things? Were there any food allergies?

Even as he found his mind filling with questions, he wondered why she was making such an impact on him. It was almost uncanny... and rather unsettling. To think that someone he'd only spoken to briefly could occupy so many of his thoughts...

It almost reminded him of the whole Tev'Meck mating bonds that he'd seen so often in the fanfictions written about the show. It was quite the interesting idea... that suddenly, an otherwise rational adult would be seized by the uncontrollable desire to woo and win a certain person, the one person that they wanted to spend the rest of their life with. Most of the time, he took it as a sign that there really were fans of his character.

At the moment though, he was almost worried that the Thermians had found those stories, and had decided that it was that time for Dr. Lazarus... He couldn't quite keep himself from shuddering. He definitely didn't want the Thermians interfering in his love-life. He could make a mess out of that all on his own, thank you very much.

Or Willow could help...

He sighed in frustration as he made his way back to his condo. He was definitely fixated. All he had to do now was figure out what to do about it.

end part 7.

Willow sat in the car, listening to Cordelia alternately grumbling about Nesmith's ego and arrogance and her gleeful delight in having a substantial part, even if only for one episode. Her friend was delighted, which was entirely good. Even if she wished that her own life would fall into such neat order. She sighed before she could stop herself.

"What's wrong?" Cordelia's current tirade against the gigantic ego of Nesmith cut off in mid sentence, leaving only worry for her friend.

Willow glanced at her friend, a corner of her mind pondering all the ways that Cordelia had grown up since high school, going from the self centered 'Queen C' to someone that really cared. "I guess... I guess I'm a bit jealous of you. Not of the clothing, or the being a seer, but... you know exactly where your future lies, with maybe some acting in there as well, and everything's going so good, and if you think I missed the sparkage between you and Nesmith, think again!"

"Is it because you're alone? I mean, not entirely alone, but... well, have you dated anyone since Tara split? And I do NOT intend to get involved with Jason Nesmith! He's arrogant, conceited, self centered, handsome, obnoxious..." Cordelia kept making little glances over at Willow, as if trying to judge her friend's mood while driving.

"Please, please drive instead of looking at me. So, you think Nesmith is handsome? And um, no, I haven't dated anyone, male or female. The idea of trying to go out, just sort of hoping... it leaves me all trembling and pale." Willow clutched at the door handle, feeling terrified yet again by Cordelia's driving, wishing that she had her own car and hadn't needed to take a cab to the set.

Cordelia's voice was a bit hesitant. "I remember hearing all about what happened when Oz left... you haven't been doing any 'help me get over it' spells, have you?"

Willow winced, wondering if Cordelia was trying to remind her of that mess on purpose or by accident. "Umm... no will be done spells, I promise. Really."

"Willow... that's not exactly a resounding no. You haven't been... you did a spell, didn't you? Oh god, please don't have me falling for random people like Buffy did!" Cordelia's voice held a note of dread.

Willow winced, remembering how badly that spell had turned out. "No, nothing like that. It was just... just a simple divination spell. It was supposed to... if there's actually someone out there for me, it was supposed to help me find him... her... whoever. But... all that happened was you got the part. I don't see how that get's me a special anyone, you know?"

"You cast a spell to help you coincidentally bump into the person your destined to be with? Are you crazy?" Cordelia sounded rather worked up.

Willow scrunched into her seat, closing her eyes to avoid seeing the traffic and buildings as Cordelia sped along. "It wasn't supposed to DO anything to anyone. Just... sort of help me take the right turn to meet them, you know? Make sure I'm at the right place in the right time to meet the right person? Except that I'm sort of thinking that it fizzled. Cause the right someone would at least be sort of interested in me, you know?"

She sighed again, listening to Cordelia go off about how spells shouldn't be used for matters of the heart, as witnessed by the Valentine's disaster that Xander had caused. And her spell after Oz had left. And some lusty thing that had left Cordelia pregnant with demon spawn, which Willow'd had nothing to do with. The list went on and on.

Willow closed her eyes, occasionally nodding as Cordelia went on, her mind slipping into a little fantasy. She was Lt. Rosenberg, newly transferred to the Protector, and had just been sent to the medical area to make certain all the systems were working properly for Dr. Lazarus, and that inevitably lead to what could only be called checking out HIS systems. Which were in perfect working order as her fantasy rapidly progressed far beyond the realm of anything that would ever be shown on network television. Naked, naughty passionate touching, with his voice whispering endearments and encouragement...

If she could, she'd have a few explosive kisses of her own, but she just didn't think that she'd be Alex Dane's type. Surely he'd want someone more... well, not Willow? Someone confident that liked going out into the public, and would probably be able to help him with his career. Maybe a model, or another actress, or someone that wrote or directed... Someone with connections, that understood how the film industry worked.

Her mind set off on a new tangent, one where she was sitting at an elegant table in an expensive restaurant, Alex Dane seated across from her in an elegant suit, smiling at her as he poured a glass of white wine for her...

But things never went that smoothly for her. He would never want someone like her. She was probably meant to grow old and wrinkled alone, with her computer and a couple cats. Frowning, she remembered what it was that she helped with. Fighting demons, thwarting the occasional apocalypse, and helping the helpless. She would be killed by some horrible violent battle, dying in great pain with no loved one left behind to mourn her, only her friends her in LA.

Merciful heavens, her thoughts were getting morbid. Maybe she should let a nice steamy fantasy take her thoughts off her probably lonely and loveless future. She was with Alex Dane, shipwrecked on a desert island, with no radio, no way to call for a rescue...

end part 8.

Cordelia was still very unhappy as they entered the lobby of the Hyperion. Willow casting spells while emotionally unstable was a very bad thing. It wasn't that Willow messed up all the time, but when her emotions got tangled up in something... the results were unpredictable. Possibly even dangerous.

Although a simple divination spell sounded harmless enough... What could... no! She refused to even think the words of ultimate jinxing. Just because they weren't over the Hellmouth anymore was no reason to abandon all caution.

Willow wanted to find out if there was someone in her future. She wanted someone to snuggle up with and kiss. That made perfect sense, but to use magic? That way lay certain danger. She felt as if she was about to get a headache just from thinking about it.

There was this feeling, as if her skull had just contracted, squeezing her brain, and she saw these flickering images... herself and Willow in flowing pale gowns, jewels glittering at their throats and wrists... herself in the same gown, kissing Nesmith-Taggert, Willow holding a sword, eyes filled with fear... and a creature roughly the size of a pony, covered with orange-brown leathery skin and huge fangs growling at Willow who was still in the flowing ivory gown...

She had fallen backwards, into Willow, her eyes squeezed shut with a few tears trickling down her cheeks. She was gasping for breath, her head feeling all muzzy from the vision. "Ohhh... why can't I ever get a normal job?"

"Cordy? What... okay, that was a vision, what did you see? Do we need to find Angel?" Willow's voice was a soft murmur near her ear, filled with concern.

She reached up, wiping the stray drops of water from her face. Carefully, she stood up again, taking a few breaths to make everything settle again, feeling surprised and grateful that this vision had lacked the mind numbingly painful intensity of some that she'd received. "There might be a problem on the set... there was this leathery pony sized demon... we were there in long pale gowns and you had a sword. I think it's sort of a heads up that we should be careful."

Willow nodded. "Right... fanged, pony sized nasty... we can look... well, I can look it up while you go over your lines, since you have a speaking part. I get to be monster bait... that's a bit more familiar."

The pair of them went into the study, where the books of demons were kept, neither one appearing to notice the very startled Angel who stood in frozen shock in the shadows. If they had seen him, they would most certainly have been better prepared for what he would do next, but as they hadn't, they simply went into the room, Cordelia memorizing her lines as Willow searched the big, heavy dull books of demons, a surprising number of which either slimed, bled or otherwise ruined clothing.

As she flipped the pages of her script, one that was notably thinner than the scripts of the main characters, she noticed something. There was leeway for a return appearance. Taggert and his ship had come to arrange a resupply of some sort of mineral for their ship which her planet had in abundance. If they needed it again... Meaning if her character was popular enough to have a return appearance, she could be brought back in. Her smile was radiant, and she could hardly wait to share the wonderful news.

"There's room for a return appearance! I could be in another episode!" She showed Willow the sections supporting her hope, and saw her friend nod with an amused little smile.

"You think I'm having that skewed priority thing, don't you?" She had to ask, hoping that Willow didn't see her as the same shallow, self-absorbed girl that she'd been in high school.

Willow giggled a bit, her eyes sparkling. "Well... maybe a bit skewed. But on the other hand, you didn't get the feeling that this was a big scary threat, so all we should need to do is find it's listing, look up the vulnerable areas, and take a sword with us so that when it shows up, we have something that isn't a prop to use against it. And it's good to pay attention to your career, and I hope you do get a return appearance."

"I just wish the Powers would but out of my romantic future... unless... it had a glimpse of me... the Princess kissing Taggert. Maybe that's sort of a clue when the thing will attack?" Cordelia was thinking out loud, part of her wondering why the Powers didn't take a little hand in Willow's love life, since she apparently had even asked for one.

"Well, it's always nice to know when danger intends to strike. Hmmm... was it a particular sword in your vision, or do you think anything long, sharp and pointy would do?" Willow sounded as if her mind was working in several directions at once, and she was still leafing through a big book filled with creepy pictures of demons.

"I think it was just one that would match the outfits. I know which one it was, and there's nothing particularly special about it, but it's pretty catchy to look at." Cordelia decided that she could return her attention to the script, and missed Willow's amused snicker.

end part 9.

When he woke up, Alex found himself looking forward to his day on the set. His dreams had been... rather odd. Some had been almost predictable, like the one where he was again dragged into space by the Thermians and expected to perform surgical procedures, which he knew absolutely nothing about. Or the one where he finally had an important role, and couldn't remember any of his lines, bumbling on the set worse than a half drunken amaeteur. Some were of Willow, and those had been delightful... except for the one where he and Willow had been trying to run away from this gigantic snake thing that was telling them that they were being unhygienic, so he would have to eat them.

But now he was awake. There were no giant snake things, he would not flub his lines, and he had never been that uncoordinated. Even better, Willow should be on the set again today, either for some of the persistent technical irritations or to practice for being the handmaiden. Willow would be there... and he might have a chance to find out if it was just the mystery of her that was keeping him so interested.

He found himself humming on the way to work, this annoyingly catchy song that he'd heard on the radio. Something about a mystery woman with eyes of green. He was still smiling as he walked onto the set, right up to the moment where he found the technicians in a fluster, and people on the tall ladders replacing the lights. More problems... It was almost enough to make him believe in curses and jinxing. He sighed, wondering what else the day would hold for him.

Willow and Cordelia walked in, each holding a cup of coffee in one hand, and Willow again had her toolbox with it's assorted stickers, and Cordelia carrying a long narrow bag. They both stopped when confronted with the sight of the lights being replaced, and Cordelia gaped.

"What happened?" Cordelia looked somewhere between worried and baffled.

Willow walked over towards the lights, looking at the old ones. "Something... the lights were damaged. It almost looks like something cut them, which doesn't make any sense at all, you know?" She took another sip from her coffee, her eyes half closed in either pleasure or thought. "Are there any other sudden technical problems? Something for me to fix?"

She was kept busy working on some of the equipment, making various repairs and chatting with the technical staff. It made Alex oddly jealous, and for the first time in his life, he almost wished that he was a set technical support rather than an actor. She seemed at ease talking to them, smiling and he heard her laugh a few times, a cheerful sound that reminded him of running water.

Then he saw the strange man in the shadows, watching Willow. He wasn't part of the technical or security crew, and he definitely wasn't part of the cast, although he did have the right sort of features for acting. Tall, broad shoulders, dark hair and good posture... he wasn't anybody that should be on the set. Frowning, Alex walked towards him, intent on learning why this man was watching Willow. "Who are you, and what do you think you're doing here?"

The man looked at him, his expression brooding and guarded. "I'm... a friend of Willow and Cordelia. I was a bit worried about them."

Alex gave a slow nod, one that made it clear that while he had heard the other's words, he wasn't sure he believed him. "If you're their friend, why are you lurking in the shadows? Why not go over and say hello?"

There was something about this man, this 'friend' that didn't seem quite right. Rather like the shifted Thermians hadn't seemed quite right for humans, even though the shape was there. In the case of the Thermians, it was their behavior and language. With this man, it was... he couldn't quite put it into words, but there was something off about him.

"Cordelia would try to skin me with her tongue if I interrupted her rehearsal." The lurking man had a near smile when he spoke, and then frowned slightly, as if remembering something unpleasant. "Figuratively, of course. And Willow was buried in some sort of complicated electronics. The last time I startled her in such circumstances, she hit her head on the casing and proceeded to insult me while hurling pointed metal tools at me. I think lurking is safer at the moment."

Alex considered his explanation for a moment, deciding that it felt plausible. Maybe he would let the guy stay for a bit. "There have been a few odd things going on lately... please be careful."

He walked away, the skin between his shoulder blades prickling uncomfortably at the stranger's presence. Definitely something off about him. Best go practice his lines, after all, he was a capable actor, not the inept hack of his nightmares.

He got caught up in his rehearsals and in the filming for a couple scenes, and then on his break, he made his way over to Willow. She was frowning towards a corner, where Gwen was chatting with... the lurking man.

"Something wrong, Willow? And it did occur to me that I didn't catch your last name..." He tried to keep his tone light, to pretend he didn't feel like throwing daggers at the other man that Willow was staring at.

She turned towards him, a bright smile lighting up her face. "Hey... and umm, it's Rosenberg. Willow Rosenberg... I don't think I said it yesterday. That's Angel." A hand waved in the general direction of the lurker. "He's... he's a friend of ours, but he sort of gets a bit over-protective sometimes. Goes all fussy older brother on us, and would probably be perfectly happy shutting us away from the big scary world... except that we won't let him. So he broods, except that he really doesn't seem to be brooding right now, and Gwen really seems to like him, which could be bad because he's pretty obsessive about his work and keeps weird hours and has a really tormented and ugly dating history... and I'm babbling again." She turned a delightful shade of pink.

He felt a tremendous wave of relief crash through him. Willow wasn't involved with the lurker. They weren't dating, weren't engaged. Maybe he had a chance... Unless she had someone else for a boyfriend. "What do you think he's trying to protect you from this time?"

She gave a mischievious giggle. "Honestly? I'm not sure. Maybe he's trying to protect Cordy from another slimy directorish type, or from Nesmith... although I should definitely tell him to back away from that issue very slowly and carefully. Of course, it could also be that he's done something horrible to the computer at his office, and is in desperate need of a miracle or my repairs. In which case he can wait, because I don't think it's the end of the world."

Part of him shuddered, certain that she had no idea how serious the end of the world could be, or else she wouldn't put things so lightly. But he couldn't expect her to know, to understand that terrible weight of responsibility. There were still days when it seemed difficult to believe that the fate of the, well, a world had rested on his shoulders. The Thermians had taken them away to save their people from attack, and himself, Gwen, Jason, Fred, Tommy and Guy had been forced to save an entire people from anihilation. He still had nightmares about failing, and about his smaller failures that had cost an entire room of Thermians their lives.

"What does he do when you have a date with someone he doesn't approve of?" Alex couldn't quite stop the question. It would be a swift way to uncover her dating life.

She gave a small laugh that seemed almost pained. "Me? Date? Sorry, I know you have a great role in science fiction, but... my life is pretty dateless. I've had a few rather painful wrong choices, and the two people that I loved both left me. So... no dates for Willow. I guess in the real world, I'm not what people want."

He couldn't believe her words. Not that he thought she was lying, but that everyone could be so blind. She was captivating, attractive, and had the most delightful smile... why hadn't someone snapped her up? Maybe he could fix that... "Have dinner with me? Let me prove to you that people in the real world... or at least Los Angeles, can find you charming and enjoyable company."

Her eyes were suddenly on him, so intense that he almost felt like she could see into the very core of his being, uncover all of his secrets. "You... you're asking me out? To dinner? When? Where? Umm... I mean, I'd be delighted..." She turned that delightful pink again, blushing and smiling.

Several naughty ideas for finding out just how far that blush extended flickered through his mind, and he smiled at the images. But it wasn't the time for that, not yet. This... there wasn't a relationship yet, and if he tried to get her into his bed, to explore those delightful fantasies, how would she know that he wanted more? That he was starting to think he wanted her, all of her, in his life? "How about Friday, at a little Japanese place I know? It's not terribly formal, but not exactly jeans, and we could go after the filming is done?"

"I think I'd like that very much." She was smiling at him as if he'd just given her something wonderful.

He couldn't help smiling back, most likely with an equally sappy smile. They had a date. Things were looking up.

end part 10.

Willow felt almost giddy, check that, she was definitely giddy, and lightheaded, and she almost felt like her feet weren't touching the floor anymore. Alex Dane had asked her to go to dinner with him! Alex Dane! She had a date with the object of her lustful, wicked fantasies. She was ecstatically happy. She was humming a cheerful little fragment of song, something that she could only remember half the words for.

The only thing keeping her from nearly floating away in delirious joy was Angel. Why was he lurking on the set... well, right now he was chatting with Gwen DeMarco, but that didn't change her main question. Why was Angel here? What had brought him here... and how had he arrived in the daytime? Was he after some dangerous nasty? Checking up on them for some overprotective reason? Absolutely bored silly from staying in the hotel all day?

And while she was pondering Angel, exactly how secure was his soul now, anyhow? That had been her first major casting, and her memories of it were... well, a bit fuzzy. Cordelia would say that was a side effect of being possessed by the ghost of some dead gypsy witch, but... well, things were fuzzy. Maybe the coma had a bit to do with it. Or the concussion. But the main point to all her mental rambling was that she wasn't certain if that evil, vicious clause had been in her casting of the soul restoration.

Considering the way Gwen seemed to be talking to him, the little leaning closer thing, and her hands kept gesturing near his body, inside his personal space... It was pretty obvious that the blonde actress was attracted to Angel. And Angel seemed at least a little attracted to her. She'd definitely better do some research on that soul spell, and fast.

She had a date with Alex... this Friday, after the filming was done. She hadn't had a date since... well, not since Tara had had her brain melted by that evil Glorificus. Well over a year since the last time she'd had a date. And things with Tara had never had the same degree of anticipation, or of lust driven fantasy.

Allowing a small corner of her mind to dwell on the possibilities of her date with Alex, Willow settled herself at the lighting computer, installing a few virus detection programs, making an effort to protect the system from program tampering. Glancing around, she made certain that nobody was watching before whispering a few words over the case, words to prevent any harmful intent from touching the insides. It should at least slow down any further efforts to delay or halt production by tampering with the computers. That just left the cameras, the lights, the props and sets...

Well, maybe who ever was causing problems could still manage. But that would at least cover the computer system. And if she solved everything in one afternoon, what reason would she have to stick around? Oh... she was going to be in a scene with Alex Dane! That was reason enough to stay. Plus there was the amusement of watching Cordy and her whatever it was with Jason Nesmith, and it was pretty interesting to see Angel sort of squirm like he had about Gwen DeMarco... Angel apparently had a weakness for blondes.

She worked on some various electronics, part of her mind trying to figure out if there was a pattern to the damages. If she could find a pattern, it might help her figure out what sort of personality was behind the sabotage. She hadn't got very far when she was pulled over to practice the movements and positioning for her part. She got through by looking up at Alex through her eyelashes, studying him intently. She felt underdressed, he was in his full costume and makeup, and she was just in her jeans and a soft sweater.

It was like the set and the technicians just faded away, and she was standing there, looking into his eyes. She could hear the thrumming of her pulse in her ears, almost like the ocean waves. She felt as if she would be able to perfectly recall every line and plane of him, even the small wrinkle on his sleeve. The intensity of his eyes... the faint smile on his face. It was as if there was nobody else around. And he was watching her with such intensity, she could only imagine that he felt this too, this attraction, this connection.

"Alright, if you're finished, we need to fit the gowns to these two." The voice of the wardrobe lady shattered Willow's focus, drawing her back to awareness.

So Willow found herself being fitted into a long pale gown, not a particularly soft fabric, or particularly expensive feeling, but it looked impressive. She would look quite the impressive handmaiden in this. As long as she didn't get all nervous and shaky that it. All she would have to do was focus on Alex... and as a pin jabbed at her hip, she was reminded of the fact that there might be a problem with a demon as well.

How frustrating. She wasn't even in Sunnydale anymore and she couldn't have a normal day. Couldn't just contemplate her date with the man that starred in her dreams. No, she had to figure out a way to plan for an attacking demon. If she hadn't grown up in Sunnydale, this would all feel very weird... Of course, she had no idea how to explain any of this to Alex. If there was any chance of a relationship, she would have to explain that demons and vampires were real... but that would sound ridiculous. He'd be just as likely to believe in alien abductions.

end part 11.