"Can I see it yet?"
Wesley rubbed his temples, he'd had a constant headache for a week, ever since he's been given the job of translating the texts that Thea had recovered from Wolfram and Hart. Fred helped when she could but she had other jobs to do and a family to look after.
"Go on then." He threw a photocopy of the coded files down to the persistent girl who'd made a second home camping out in his office.
Thea remained silent for a few minutes before asking, "what does in-cin-er- rate mean?"
Wesley let out a deep breathe before answering. "It's like burning something until only the ashes are left. Why do you ask?"
"Cause that's what this says I can do to vampires with my mind, cool."
The ex-watchers eyes grew wide. "You-you can read it?"
Thea looked up at him and grinned. "Yeap. Of course."
Wesley promptly fainted.
~~~~
Thea skipped happily out of the office, through the lobby and upstairs in search of her Barbie. On the seating in the lobby Molly was busy cleaning one of her brother's wounded arms.
"I said 'wait for Angel', but would you listen? No!" She pulled the bandage too tight causing Charlie to hiss.
"Ok, I get it!" He replied in an angry tone. "But it was Conner's idea."
"That's it, blame me."
Charlie and Molly looked round to see Conner supporting a hobbling Alanna entering the hotel. He helped her over to the seating and lowered her down. She winced in pain but made no fuss; a sprained ankle wasn't exactly the worst injury she'd ever received.
"Well, you're the one with the super powers and you're the one who went with Angel last time to fight them and said they were easy to kill!"
"Ok, so I was wrong," Conner admitted. "The Jessep demons in Leah's vision were slightly bigger than the ones we fought before."
"The ones you fought before were babies!" Charlie snapped back.
"Talking about Leah," Molly changed the subject quickly. "Anyone check on how she is?"
"Sleeping," Alanna said. "Conner checked." She smiled at her boyfriend. Conner returned the smile and leant in to kiss her. Charlie coughed loudly, separating the couple from their hormonal trance.
The four teenagers had been so caught up in their conversation, they hadn't noticed Thea's several traipses from upstairs to the office and back again.
"Do you know why Wesley's asleep?" she asked them.
"Asleep?" Charlie repeated.
"Yeah, I was reading him some of this and he fell asleep." She handed him the photocopy.
Molly rushed over to the office and disappeared inside.
"How could you read this?" Conner asked, looking at it over the other boy's shoulder. "It's not even words let alone English."
Thea frowned at him. "Of course it's in English, silly."
"He's out cold, guys,"" Molly called out. "Maybe we should call the adults?"
"Will do, sis." Charlie got up and flicked a switch on the wall twice. All the lights in the hotel flicked off then on again. This signalled that everyone was needed but it wasn't a matter of life (or unlife) and death.
One by one everyone appeared downstairs. Angel and Spike easily carried the unconscious ex-watcher out of the stuffy office and into the lobby. They lay him down on the floor and hoped that he would be able to explain himself when he woke up.
As if on cue, Wesley began to stir. "Thea?" he murmured. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and leant over him.
"I'm here," she said proudly.
He starred at her for a minute before groaning and sitting up. "Why did nobody tell me that she could read the files?"
The others looked at him, completely puzzled.
"They didn't know," Thea explained. "Nobody would let me look at them. The little girl told me that they were only for me and nobody else but you wouldn't let me look!" She crossed her arms and huffed.
"We're sorry, honey," Buffy cooed, picking up daughter up. "But could you read it out to us?"
Thea nodded and Fred passed her the copy that she'd been working on before being called out on another case.
Thea cleared her throat and began to read. "Immortal's are not just what people think. They have many hidden powers that are normally never discovered. An example of these are the power to incinerate vampires with the power of the mind. Like the magical bird, the Phoenix, Immortal's can heal both humans and demons with their tears. Immortal's blood is rare and almost priceless and is widely sort after by many trading in the black arts. There are currently 66 Immortal's known in existence. Forty live on Earth and battle demons, ten work in other dimension, three are unaware that they are Immortals and thirteen are unaccounted for." She finished and waited for some kind of praise or approval but she received none.
The hotel remained unnaturally quiet.
"It seemed a bit..." Gunn started, breaking the silence but he trailed off, not wanting to insult anyone.
"Simple," Wesley, Angel and Spike finished for him.
"Exactly."
"Well, maybe it was meant to be like that?" Wesley guessed. "I mean, if it was indeed written for Thea then maybe they were written so that she understood them."
"What about those files I found?" Conner asked. "They had some seriously heavy stuff in them."
Thea double checked the paper to make sure she hadn't missed anything. On the back, some new words started to appear. "Look!" She held it up so the adults and teenagers could see.
"Um... Thea, honey, it's blank," Spike explained.
"No, it's not!" She protested. "It says- fake."
"You mean the files were a fake?" Angel asked.
The writing on the back of the paper changed to 'yes'.
Thea nodded and yawned.
"Come on," Spike picked up his daughter. "Time for bed for you."
"But I'm not, *yawn*, tired."
Spike raised an eyebrow at her and carried her upstairs.
Wesley rubbed his temples, he'd had a constant headache for a week, ever since he's been given the job of translating the texts that Thea had recovered from Wolfram and Hart. Fred helped when she could but she had other jobs to do and a family to look after.
"Go on then." He threw a photocopy of the coded files down to the persistent girl who'd made a second home camping out in his office.
Thea remained silent for a few minutes before asking, "what does in-cin-er- rate mean?"
Wesley let out a deep breathe before answering. "It's like burning something until only the ashes are left. Why do you ask?"
"Cause that's what this says I can do to vampires with my mind, cool."
The ex-watchers eyes grew wide. "You-you can read it?"
Thea looked up at him and grinned. "Yeap. Of course."
Wesley promptly fainted.
~~~~
Thea skipped happily out of the office, through the lobby and upstairs in search of her Barbie. On the seating in the lobby Molly was busy cleaning one of her brother's wounded arms.
"I said 'wait for Angel', but would you listen? No!" She pulled the bandage too tight causing Charlie to hiss.
"Ok, I get it!" He replied in an angry tone. "But it was Conner's idea."
"That's it, blame me."
Charlie and Molly looked round to see Conner supporting a hobbling Alanna entering the hotel. He helped her over to the seating and lowered her down. She winced in pain but made no fuss; a sprained ankle wasn't exactly the worst injury she'd ever received.
"Well, you're the one with the super powers and you're the one who went with Angel last time to fight them and said they were easy to kill!"
"Ok, so I was wrong," Conner admitted. "The Jessep demons in Leah's vision were slightly bigger than the ones we fought before."
"The ones you fought before were babies!" Charlie snapped back.
"Talking about Leah," Molly changed the subject quickly. "Anyone check on how she is?"
"Sleeping," Alanna said. "Conner checked." She smiled at her boyfriend. Conner returned the smile and leant in to kiss her. Charlie coughed loudly, separating the couple from their hormonal trance.
The four teenagers had been so caught up in their conversation, they hadn't noticed Thea's several traipses from upstairs to the office and back again.
"Do you know why Wesley's asleep?" she asked them.
"Asleep?" Charlie repeated.
"Yeah, I was reading him some of this and he fell asleep." She handed him the photocopy.
Molly rushed over to the office and disappeared inside.
"How could you read this?" Conner asked, looking at it over the other boy's shoulder. "It's not even words let alone English."
Thea frowned at him. "Of course it's in English, silly."
"He's out cold, guys,"" Molly called out. "Maybe we should call the adults?"
"Will do, sis." Charlie got up and flicked a switch on the wall twice. All the lights in the hotel flicked off then on again. This signalled that everyone was needed but it wasn't a matter of life (or unlife) and death.
One by one everyone appeared downstairs. Angel and Spike easily carried the unconscious ex-watcher out of the stuffy office and into the lobby. They lay him down on the floor and hoped that he would be able to explain himself when he woke up.
As if on cue, Wesley began to stir. "Thea?" he murmured. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd and leant over him.
"I'm here," she said proudly.
He starred at her for a minute before groaning and sitting up. "Why did nobody tell me that she could read the files?"
The others looked at him, completely puzzled.
"They didn't know," Thea explained. "Nobody would let me look at them. The little girl told me that they were only for me and nobody else but you wouldn't let me look!" She crossed her arms and huffed.
"We're sorry, honey," Buffy cooed, picking up daughter up. "But could you read it out to us?"
Thea nodded and Fred passed her the copy that she'd been working on before being called out on another case.
Thea cleared her throat and began to read. "Immortal's are not just what people think. They have many hidden powers that are normally never discovered. An example of these are the power to incinerate vampires with the power of the mind. Like the magical bird, the Phoenix, Immortal's can heal both humans and demons with their tears. Immortal's blood is rare and almost priceless and is widely sort after by many trading in the black arts. There are currently 66 Immortal's known in existence. Forty live on Earth and battle demons, ten work in other dimension, three are unaware that they are Immortals and thirteen are unaccounted for." She finished and waited for some kind of praise or approval but she received none.
The hotel remained unnaturally quiet.
"It seemed a bit..." Gunn started, breaking the silence but he trailed off, not wanting to insult anyone.
"Simple," Wesley, Angel and Spike finished for him.
"Exactly."
"Well, maybe it was meant to be like that?" Wesley guessed. "I mean, if it was indeed written for Thea then maybe they were written so that she understood them."
"What about those files I found?" Conner asked. "They had some seriously heavy stuff in them."
Thea double checked the paper to make sure she hadn't missed anything. On the back, some new words started to appear. "Look!" She held it up so the adults and teenagers could see.
"Um... Thea, honey, it's blank," Spike explained.
"No, it's not!" She protested. "It says- fake."
"You mean the files were a fake?" Angel asked.
The writing on the back of the paper changed to 'yes'.
Thea nodded and yawned.
"Come on," Spike picked up his daughter. "Time for bed for you."
"But I'm not, *yawn*, tired."
Spike raised an eyebrow at her and carried her upstairs.