A/N: Muchos thanks to Jen. This chapter hasn't been written for a while,
partly because of essays, but also cuz I had serious blockage. She's
suggested the main structure of the chapter, and also beta-ed it, the only
beta-ed chapter in the fic. See how hard I work!
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Izzy paused, and looked around. The doorway was right there.
"Walking beginning," she muttered. "Any minute now, gonna go in there."
The guard she could see through the glass grunted, and scratched his belly, hiking his shirt higher as he settled back down, and carried on snoring.
"Yup. Any minute. Walking. Yup. Gonna happen."
She leaned against the polished wood of the Wolfram and Hart sign, and took a breath. Behind the glass doors, and guards, and state of the art technology that her mom would be able to overcome, but not her, lay information about herself. Something that would explain who she was. What she was. What would kill her? She swallowed.
It was the perfect place to hide out, until she made a run for it. Some kind of really snobby bush-hybrid stood in a clumpy circle, with the sign concealing it from the sidewalk.
She took another breath, clocked the sleeping guard, and ran, for the building. One sneaker stepped onto the thick grey carpet on the inside of the building, and she let out her breath in a long sigh, and-
A siren shrieked loudly, Izzy's eyes widened, and she ran for the bushes again. The guard sat up, snorting, and looked around, as another guard rushed forward. She sat back, breathing heavily, and looked back at the door.
"Oh crap."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Mooooommmy!"
Dawn kicked off the covers, and hastily ran to her daughter's room. Lexi sat up in bed, clutching her ratty bear, tears streaming down her cheeks. Dawn sighed.
"Did you have a nightmare, sweetie?"
Lexi nodded, her big blue eyes full of tears.
"It was big, and black, and it wanted something. It was mean, Mommy," she whispered, as Dawn sat down on the bed beside her, and hugged the little girl tightly.
"Honey, it was just a dream. It's okay," she said soothingly, rubbing Lexi's back. She caught sight of the pillow over Lexi's shoulder, and sighed.
"Honey, was there a demon in the dream?" she asked. Lexi looked behind her. The pillow was slit from end to end, feathers flying out.
"Uh huh," Lexi nodded, pitifully.
Dawn kissed the top of her head.
"Honey, it was just a dream. Try to get back to sleep, okay?" Lexi nodded.
Dawn picked the pillow up, and tossed it into the corridor. She opened Lexi's closet, and pulled another pillow down. She fluffed it up, and put it behind the little girl's head.
"Night night, sweetie," she whispered, tucking the covers up around Lexi's shoulders. She dropped a kiss on the girl's cheek.
"Kiss bear goodnight too," the drowsy child, ordered. She lifted it up in her arms. Dawn grinned, kissed the smelly toy, and then left.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Buffy shifted, waking from her dream. She tried to sit up slightly, but Spike's arm, cold and heavy, lay across her waist. He grunted in protest as she moved. A tiny smile appeared on her lips, and the sleepy Slayer settled back down letting Spike pull her against him tighter.
He raised himself from sleep long enough to kiss her forehead, and then fell back against the pillows, contenting himself with wrapping his arms around her. Buffy fell back to sleep with a happy smile that hadn't been on her face since Spike's last visit to Cleveland.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Izzy tucked her chin on her knees, watching suit-clad lawyer-types walk past. Obviously, an evil law firm came alive at night. Or, undead, at night. It was all pretty boring, black suits, skirts that fell to the knee, leather briefcases, and standard-issue tazer.
She yawned, and waited for the stream of lawyers to slow down, before she made her next move.
'Which is what, exactly?' her snide inner voice spoke up. 'You're outside a law firm, already set off the alarms once, and there's a damn sight more people in there than there was before. How do you think you're gonna get in there now?'
"Shut up," she muttered, glancing over at the stream of lawyers again. And stopped dead.
A guy was walking up the path. No suit for him, hell no. Tight jeans that hugged his butt,
'Really cute butt,' her inner voice added, with admiration
A black shirt that showed his broad shoulders, and dark hair, curling a little bit around his shirt collar. He didn't walk like the lawyers, Izzy decided. This guy knew just how darn hot he looked. He swaggered.
She still stared though, a weird little feeling rising in her stomach. The guy whipped around suddenly, and looked straight at the bushes she was hiding behind. Izzy ducked down, her heart pounding. His gaze narrowed, and he shook his head, carrying on up to the building, and walking in.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ` * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
There was a knock at the door. Lin sighed, and dropped the Play station control. Angel's brief obsession with video games, following an article in the paper that said kids playing video games learnt the rudiments of martial arts, had gone as quick as it had come. However, it did mean the broody vampire had a whole host of games with the goriest blood, greatest amount of severed body parts, and big time villains to pound on. Which, Lin reasoned, was the perfect way to pass the time, while you worked up the courage to talk to your best friend, who you'd suddenly started liking.
"Hey Izz," he called. "Are you talking, or are we doing the silent movie Greta Garbo type thing?"
"It's me. Angel," the vampire stated. He walked in.
"Hi," Lin said awkwardly.
"I was looking for Izzy, but she's not here," Angel added, unnecessarily.
"She does that," Lin nodded. "You look for her, and then, no findage. It's an Izzy-thing."
"Any idea where she'd be?" Angel asked hopefully.
"There're a lot of answers to that. Depends which year you're talking about," Lin said, with a grin.
Angel looked confused.
"See, Izzy has this thing of having a place where she goes if she's pissed, or upset, or well, Izzy," Lin explained. "When she was five, it was our tree-house. Technically, it was my tree house, but when a five-year-old mini-witch claims possession of your hideout, you don't argue. "
Angel nodded. "Sounds like a sane plan," he offered. "Willow was always a big mojo-type. Sounds like Izzy's like her. From what I've heard.'
"Nope," Lin shook his head. "Willow has a load of power. Izzy's lower down the scale. When she and her mom do stuff together, Willow gets mega powerful, and Izzy kinda- it's like, she lends her power. Mom says the year Willow went all evil and stuff, she pulled power from other people and used it in spells. But it's not like that when Izzy does it. It's like, gentler."
He looked at Angel for confirmation. The vampire looked thoughtful.
"Makes sense," he shrugged. "But where would she be?"
"Last year, it was the roof," Lin answered. "If she's not there, I don't know. There hasn't been an Izzy freak-out for a while, and the only thing like it has been coming here. "
"She wouldn't-" Angel broke off, scratching his head. "She wouldn't, go try and find those prophecies, would she?"
"No, of course not. It's an insane thing to do. Demons, security systems, binding contracts minus loop-holes," Lin shook his head. "She's not stupid."
They exchanged a look.
"I'd say she's gone," Angel stated, at the same time as Lin agreed, "Yup, she's at Wolfram and Hart."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~
"Mother of all that is holy!" Izzy yelled, not caring if someone heard her. "Why can't I get inside the sodding building?"
A few drops of rain splashed onto her head. She held up a palm, and stared in disbelief at the water on it.
"No. No," she repeated, in her normal voice. "NO!" she yelled. "I don't believe it. It's raining, I can't get into the darn building, and I'm sick, and bloody tired off not knowing who the hell I am!" she finished, calming down, as the rain carried on splashing off the sign.
"Are you finished?" he asked, an amused note in his voice. She looked up startled, raindrops caught on her eyelashes as she stared at The Guy, the Hot Guy, as he watched her, leant against a tree, his hair soaked by the rain that was still falling, his dark eyes filled with a knowing expression.
"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
* ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Izzy paused, and looked around. The doorway was right there.
"Walking beginning," she muttered. "Any minute now, gonna go in there."
The guard she could see through the glass grunted, and scratched his belly, hiking his shirt higher as he settled back down, and carried on snoring.
"Yup. Any minute. Walking. Yup. Gonna happen."
She leaned against the polished wood of the Wolfram and Hart sign, and took a breath. Behind the glass doors, and guards, and state of the art technology that her mom would be able to overcome, but not her, lay information about herself. Something that would explain who she was. What she was. What would kill her? She swallowed.
It was the perfect place to hide out, until she made a run for it. Some kind of really snobby bush-hybrid stood in a clumpy circle, with the sign concealing it from the sidewalk.
She took another breath, clocked the sleeping guard, and ran, for the building. One sneaker stepped onto the thick grey carpet on the inside of the building, and she let out her breath in a long sigh, and-
A siren shrieked loudly, Izzy's eyes widened, and she ran for the bushes again. The guard sat up, snorting, and looked around, as another guard rushed forward. She sat back, breathing heavily, and looked back at the door.
"Oh crap."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Mooooommmy!"
Dawn kicked off the covers, and hastily ran to her daughter's room. Lexi sat up in bed, clutching her ratty bear, tears streaming down her cheeks. Dawn sighed.
"Did you have a nightmare, sweetie?"
Lexi nodded, her big blue eyes full of tears.
"It was big, and black, and it wanted something. It was mean, Mommy," she whispered, as Dawn sat down on the bed beside her, and hugged the little girl tightly.
"Honey, it was just a dream. It's okay," she said soothingly, rubbing Lexi's back. She caught sight of the pillow over Lexi's shoulder, and sighed.
"Honey, was there a demon in the dream?" she asked. Lexi looked behind her. The pillow was slit from end to end, feathers flying out.
"Uh huh," Lexi nodded, pitifully.
Dawn kissed the top of her head.
"Honey, it was just a dream. Try to get back to sleep, okay?" Lexi nodded.
Dawn picked the pillow up, and tossed it into the corridor. She opened Lexi's closet, and pulled another pillow down. She fluffed it up, and put it behind the little girl's head.
"Night night, sweetie," she whispered, tucking the covers up around Lexi's shoulders. She dropped a kiss on the girl's cheek.
"Kiss bear goodnight too," the drowsy child, ordered. She lifted it up in her arms. Dawn grinned, kissed the smelly toy, and then left.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Buffy shifted, waking from her dream. She tried to sit up slightly, but Spike's arm, cold and heavy, lay across her waist. He grunted in protest as she moved. A tiny smile appeared on her lips, and the sleepy Slayer settled back down letting Spike pull her against him tighter.
He raised himself from sleep long enough to kiss her forehead, and then fell back against the pillows, contenting himself with wrapping his arms around her. Buffy fell back to sleep with a happy smile that hadn't been on her face since Spike's last visit to Cleveland.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Izzy tucked her chin on her knees, watching suit-clad lawyer-types walk past. Obviously, an evil law firm came alive at night. Or, undead, at night. It was all pretty boring, black suits, skirts that fell to the knee, leather briefcases, and standard-issue tazer.
She yawned, and waited for the stream of lawyers to slow down, before she made her next move.
'Which is what, exactly?' her snide inner voice spoke up. 'You're outside a law firm, already set off the alarms once, and there's a damn sight more people in there than there was before. How do you think you're gonna get in there now?'
"Shut up," she muttered, glancing over at the stream of lawyers again. And stopped dead.
A guy was walking up the path. No suit for him, hell no. Tight jeans that hugged his butt,
'Really cute butt,' her inner voice added, with admiration
A black shirt that showed his broad shoulders, and dark hair, curling a little bit around his shirt collar. He didn't walk like the lawyers, Izzy decided. This guy knew just how darn hot he looked. He swaggered.
She still stared though, a weird little feeling rising in her stomach. The guy whipped around suddenly, and looked straight at the bushes she was hiding behind. Izzy ducked down, her heart pounding. His gaze narrowed, and he shook his head, carrying on up to the building, and walking in.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ` * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
There was a knock at the door. Lin sighed, and dropped the Play station control. Angel's brief obsession with video games, following an article in the paper that said kids playing video games learnt the rudiments of martial arts, had gone as quick as it had come. However, it did mean the broody vampire had a whole host of games with the goriest blood, greatest amount of severed body parts, and big time villains to pound on. Which, Lin reasoned, was the perfect way to pass the time, while you worked up the courage to talk to your best friend, who you'd suddenly started liking.
"Hey Izz," he called. "Are you talking, or are we doing the silent movie Greta Garbo type thing?"
"It's me. Angel," the vampire stated. He walked in.
"Hi," Lin said awkwardly.
"I was looking for Izzy, but she's not here," Angel added, unnecessarily.
"She does that," Lin nodded. "You look for her, and then, no findage. It's an Izzy-thing."
"Any idea where she'd be?" Angel asked hopefully.
"There're a lot of answers to that. Depends which year you're talking about," Lin said, with a grin.
Angel looked confused.
"See, Izzy has this thing of having a place where she goes if she's pissed, or upset, or well, Izzy," Lin explained. "When she was five, it was our tree-house. Technically, it was my tree house, but when a five-year-old mini-witch claims possession of your hideout, you don't argue. "
Angel nodded. "Sounds like a sane plan," he offered. "Willow was always a big mojo-type. Sounds like Izzy's like her. From what I've heard.'
"Nope," Lin shook his head. "Willow has a load of power. Izzy's lower down the scale. When she and her mom do stuff together, Willow gets mega powerful, and Izzy kinda- it's like, she lends her power. Mom says the year Willow went all evil and stuff, she pulled power from other people and used it in spells. But it's not like that when Izzy does it. It's like, gentler."
He looked at Angel for confirmation. The vampire looked thoughtful.
"Makes sense," he shrugged. "But where would she be?"
"Last year, it was the roof," Lin answered. "If she's not there, I don't know. There hasn't been an Izzy freak-out for a while, and the only thing like it has been coming here. "
"She wouldn't-" Angel broke off, scratching his head. "She wouldn't, go try and find those prophecies, would she?"
"No, of course not. It's an insane thing to do. Demons, security systems, binding contracts minus loop-holes," Lin shook his head. "She's not stupid."
They exchanged a look.
"I'd say she's gone," Angel stated, at the same time as Lin agreed, "Yup, she's at Wolfram and Hart."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~
"Mother of all that is holy!" Izzy yelled, not caring if someone heard her. "Why can't I get inside the sodding building?"
A few drops of rain splashed onto her head. She held up a palm, and stared in disbelief at the water on it.
"No. No," she repeated, in her normal voice. "NO!" she yelled. "I don't believe it. It's raining, I can't get into the darn building, and I'm sick, and bloody tired off not knowing who the hell I am!" she finished, calming down, as the rain carried on splashing off the sign.
"Are you finished?" he asked, an amused note in his voice. She looked up startled, raindrops caught on her eyelashes as she stared at The Guy, the Hot Guy, as he watched her, leant against a tree, his hair soaked by the rain that was still falling, his dark eyes filled with a knowing expression.
"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
* ~ * ~ * ~
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~