Chapter 12
Dawn woke up suddenly when she fell off of the bed. *Wow! I haven't done that since I was little. I mean, I know I move in my sleep, but usually there is enough room on the bed for me to stay on it.* Opening her eyes, she realized why there hadn't been enough space on the bed. *Oh right. Faith was upset and Buffy and I were comforting her, and we all fell asleep. Well, they'll be hungry when they wake up. A good cry can definitely do that for you. I better go make breakfast.* Thinking these thoughts, the younger Summers went downstairs to the kitchen. She got eggs, toast, juice, cereal, and milk out and prepared to have a good breakfast ready. She went to the back door to get the paper and discovered that it was unlocked. *That's strange. I thought we locked the door last night. Oh well. We were tired and maybe we didn't.* She went back to fixing the morning meal.
*Mmmm, something smells really yummy.* Buffy thought as she woke up. She opened her eyes and was slightly confused about why she was in the guest room of the house she had shared with Riley. Then she remembered her upset friend. She looked over to discover Faith still sleeping, her eyes still slightly puffy, but a look of peace on her face. Buffy got up and went to her room. Looking down as she walked, she saw mud on the carpet. She was confused about how it had gotten there, but just assumed she hadn't noticed it earlier because of all the commotion from the past few days. Getting dressed, she went downstairs to see her sister cooking breakfast.
"Morning," she said to Dawn. "Glad you got up first. I don't think I would have been able to make anything edible for us to eat." Dawn chuckled along with her sister as she recalled all of Buffy's attempts at cooking. Though she had gotten better over the years since she had married Riley, she still sucked at making the first meal of the day. That usually had been Riley's job before he left for work.
"As soon as Faith wakes up, if she's feeling better, you are going to tell us all about how you feel towards this private investigator guy. And since we own the gallery and Mom is working today, we don't have to be there until you are finished, no matter how long it takes."
"Fine, fine, fine." Buffy consented to her sister's nagging, knowing that she had to tell someone. "I'd rather tell you guys anyway. I mean, Xander wouldn't understand, Cordy would probably tell everyone, and Willow isn't a close enough friend yet." Dawn nodded her agreement to all of those statements. She liked the red-head though, and she hoped that her sister became closer to the police woman.
Willow sighed as she woke up after a long night of talking with her boyfriend, Oz. She smiled as she looked over at him, asleep next to her. They had talked about her new friend, the party coming up that weekend, and the case she was working on. It always helped her think better if she talked everything over with a sympathetic listener. And Oz was most certainly a sympathetic listener. He also sometimes came up with wild ideas that made sense. He would say something and she would check it out half- jokingly, only to discover that he was right. Last night, they had talked about Buffy, both as a friend and because that was the particular case that Willow was working on. Oz had said something about how Buffy didn't seem to know a lot about Riley's past. Then he had joked that Riley was involved in a secret government operation. Strangely enough, that sounded reasonable to Willow's ears.
*So today I will get online and look up some stuff about Riley Finn. He was born in Iowa, that much Buffy knew. But she didn't know anything about why he moved to Sunnydale, or his parents or anything else about him. It will be really interesting to see the details about his life.* Willow got dressed, went down the hall to her small kitchen. She had some cereal, left a note for Oz saying she had left for work and she would see him later that evening, and then she went out to her car to drive to the police station.
Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle had had a long talk to day before. Cordy had promised not to tell her friend that the detective was in love with her, or to tell anyone else, for that matter. And Doyle had also promised not to reveal his friend's feeling for the new client. Then they had continued their work for the day, and even though Angel had not learned anything new about the case, he went home on time. The next morning he woke up refreshed and strangely excited, though at first he didn't know why. Then he remembered that he was meeting Buffy again that day, and having dinner with her that night. Suddenly he couldn't' wait for the evening to come.
Doyle woke up with a sense of dread for his private investigator friend. Though technically Angel had never gotten involved with a client before, there was that whole deal with Darla. He could remember the whole thing almost as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.
Flashback:
A pretty blonde came through the door of Angel Investigations. She asked to see Angel, and Doyle responded by asking what her case was. She said that it was private, and he shrugged and pointed to the door and Angel's office. She walked up the stairs, smiling sultrily, before knocking quietly on the door. When an invitation came from within, Darla opened the door and walked in.
"Are you Liam Connor?"
"Yes," came the reply. "How can I help you?"
"Well, you see, my ummm, my brother has been kidnapped. The police won't help, and I am so worried." Smiling to herself, Darla was happy that she had not called the hired man her boyfriend as she had originally planned.
"Sit down please. Tell me everything that you know and I will try to help you get your brother back."
Darla sat, closer to his muscled body than she actually needed to, and began to recite the story she had practiced over and over. It was a bunch of bologna, but he didn't know that. She had been obsessed with this man ever since she had seen him enter a bar with some of his friends. He was a gorgeous man, and she wanted to get him in bed with her. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to come up with a way to get him to date her. So she had come up with a plan, a very good plan, to get to know him, and then to seduce him. She had hired an actor to play her boyfriend. He would pretend to be kidnapped and she would hire her obsession to get him back. *Except now he's only my brother. I need to tell him that before he gets 'found' or else I'm in trouble. It would be rather disturbing for siblings to make out.*
Darla came back to earth as she heard the sexy voice of her companion ask a few more questions. She answered them as best she could, then stood up to leave. She spontaneously gave him an innocent kiss on the cheek to show her thanks. Actually, the kiss was neither spontaneous nor innocent. She had spent the last few years developing a plant potion. This particular potion was worn in lipstick and anyone she kissed while wearing it would find themselves plagued with naughty thoughts about her. She smiled as she left the building.
Later that night, Angel had called. He had gotten a lead, he said, and so she rushed over to his office and they had chased the man who looked like her 'brother'. Suddenly, it started to rain. The man slowed and turned around. Darla had cried out and pretended to rush to her brother. He had apologized for leaving, saying that he hadn't been kidnapped. He had just needed to get away from his life for awhile, so he had left without telling anyone. Darla had scolded him in a sisterly fashion, then turned back to Angel. She told him that she would walk him back to his office, and pay him for his time. He told her it wasn't necessary, and that he was actually going home. She smiled to herself and accompanied him anyway. Right outside the door to his apartment building, she had shivered seductively. He had invited her in.
They walked into the apartment and Angel built a fire to get warm and dry. Darla took off her clothes until she stood there in her bra and panties, both black. She had planned for this moment the entire time. He stared hungrily at her and she stared back. He walked over, but before he could do anything, she had thrown her arms around him and kissed. The lipstick kicked in and he kissed back. The next few moments flew by until both stood naked. He nodded towards his bedroom, but she just grabbed a cozy quilt and threw it down in front of the fire. She had been waiting for this ever since she had seen him. About two hours later, they lay next to each other, happily tired out. A little while after that, Doyle had called.
"Angel, man, I need to talk to you. It's about this chick that you're working for."
"Oh," he had replied with a slight question in his voice. "You mean the one that's lying right next to me, naked."
"Angel, she is bad news. Please come into the office so I can talk to you." Angel sighed and looked at the sleeping woman beside him. He kissed her gently on her forehead so as not to wake her, got up, got dressed, left a note saying he had to go into the office for awhile, and then left. When he got there, he was shocked to find Darla's 'brother' standing there, held in place by Doyle.
"Doyle? What's going on?"
Doyle shoved the man. "Go ahead. Tell him what you told me." The man was silent. "Fine, I'll start. I went into a bar this evening, and I saw this man with a crowd around him. I walked over and listened to him bragging about how he had made easy money by pretending to be kidnapped. I listened some more, and then I dragged him here. Now, tell Angel all about this Darla chick and her plan."
"I am a professional actor, but people hire me to do things. A couple of days ago, this blonde woman walked in and asked me to play her boyfriend. I was to pretend to be kidnapped, by staging a struggle so the neighbors could hear. Then I was to disappear for a few days. After that, I was supposed to let myself be seen and then say I needed a break from us, so I had left. The other day, Darla called and told me that I was now her brother, and that I should only wait a day before being seen. And I think you know the rest." Doyle shoved the man toward the door, and he took off.
Angel sat there with his head in his hands, wondering how she could have done this to him. He was deeply hurt, and he vowed to himself and to Doyle that he would never date again. Eventually, he found out that Darla was obsessed, so he had threatened to press charges if she ever came near him again. She followed him everywhere, and he made good on his threat. She pleaded guilty but only because she was mentally ill. So she was committed to an insane asylum and never heard from again. That had shattered Angel even more than the obsession. The fact that someone would rather claim to be insane than actually love him really hurt. Doyle had understood his friend's pain.
Doyle came back to the present. He had never really like Darla from the moment he had met her. This Buffy chick however, he really did like. She seemed nice, and not psycho, and not obsessed in a bad way. The only real problem was the way that she and Angel had met. If only Riley Finn had not been killed. *No,* Doyle thought, *because then even if they ever met, Angel would have absolutely no chance to be with Buffy. If only they had never gotten married, if only Angel had met Buffy before she had become seriously involved with Riley. But there's no use wondering about it now. We just need to make sure that Buffy and Angel become friends and stay that way until after the case is solved. Then, they can live happily ever after.*
Dawn woke up suddenly when she fell off of the bed. *Wow! I haven't done that since I was little. I mean, I know I move in my sleep, but usually there is enough room on the bed for me to stay on it.* Opening her eyes, she realized why there hadn't been enough space on the bed. *Oh right. Faith was upset and Buffy and I were comforting her, and we all fell asleep. Well, they'll be hungry when they wake up. A good cry can definitely do that for you. I better go make breakfast.* Thinking these thoughts, the younger Summers went downstairs to the kitchen. She got eggs, toast, juice, cereal, and milk out and prepared to have a good breakfast ready. She went to the back door to get the paper and discovered that it was unlocked. *That's strange. I thought we locked the door last night. Oh well. We were tired and maybe we didn't.* She went back to fixing the morning meal.
*Mmmm, something smells really yummy.* Buffy thought as she woke up. She opened her eyes and was slightly confused about why she was in the guest room of the house she had shared with Riley. Then she remembered her upset friend. She looked over to discover Faith still sleeping, her eyes still slightly puffy, but a look of peace on her face. Buffy got up and went to her room. Looking down as she walked, she saw mud on the carpet. She was confused about how it had gotten there, but just assumed she hadn't noticed it earlier because of all the commotion from the past few days. Getting dressed, she went downstairs to see her sister cooking breakfast.
"Morning," she said to Dawn. "Glad you got up first. I don't think I would have been able to make anything edible for us to eat." Dawn chuckled along with her sister as she recalled all of Buffy's attempts at cooking. Though she had gotten better over the years since she had married Riley, she still sucked at making the first meal of the day. That usually had been Riley's job before he left for work.
"As soon as Faith wakes up, if she's feeling better, you are going to tell us all about how you feel towards this private investigator guy. And since we own the gallery and Mom is working today, we don't have to be there until you are finished, no matter how long it takes."
"Fine, fine, fine." Buffy consented to her sister's nagging, knowing that she had to tell someone. "I'd rather tell you guys anyway. I mean, Xander wouldn't understand, Cordy would probably tell everyone, and Willow isn't a close enough friend yet." Dawn nodded her agreement to all of those statements. She liked the red-head though, and she hoped that her sister became closer to the police woman.
Willow sighed as she woke up after a long night of talking with her boyfriend, Oz. She smiled as she looked over at him, asleep next to her. They had talked about her new friend, the party coming up that weekend, and the case she was working on. It always helped her think better if she talked everything over with a sympathetic listener. And Oz was most certainly a sympathetic listener. He also sometimes came up with wild ideas that made sense. He would say something and she would check it out half- jokingly, only to discover that he was right. Last night, they had talked about Buffy, both as a friend and because that was the particular case that Willow was working on. Oz had said something about how Buffy didn't seem to know a lot about Riley's past. Then he had joked that Riley was involved in a secret government operation. Strangely enough, that sounded reasonable to Willow's ears.
*So today I will get online and look up some stuff about Riley Finn. He was born in Iowa, that much Buffy knew. But she didn't know anything about why he moved to Sunnydale, or his parents or anything else about him. It will be really interesting to see the details about his life.* Willow got dressed, went down the hall to her small kitchen. She had some cereal, left a note for Oz saying she had left for work and she would see him later that evening, and then she went out to her car to drive to the police station.
Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle had had a long talk to day before. Cordy had promised not to tell her friend that the detective was in love with her, or to tell anyone else, for that matter. And Doyle had also promised not to reveal his friend's feeling for the new client. Then they had continued their work for the day, and even though Angel had not learned anything new about the case, he went home on time. The next morning he woke up refreshed and strangely excited, though at first he didn't know why. Then he remembered that he was meeting Buffy again that day, and having dinner with her that night. Suddenly he couldn't' wait for the evening to come.
Doyle woke up with a sense of dread for his private investigator friend. Though technically Angel had never gotten involved with a client before, there was that whole deal with Darla. He could remember the whole thing almost as clearly as if it had happened yesterday.
Flashback:
A pretty blonde came through the door of Angel Investigations. She asked to see Angel, and Doyle responded by asking what her case was. She said that it was private, and he shrugged and pointed to the door and Angel's office. She walked up the stairs, smiling sultrily, before knocking quietly on the door. When an invitation came from within, Darla opened the door and walked in.
"Are you Liam Connor?"
"Yes," came the reply. "How can I help you?"
"Well, you see, my ummm, my brother has been kidnapped. The police won't help, and I am so worried." Smiling to herself, Darla was happy that she had not called the hired man her boyfriend as she had originally planned.
"Sit down please. Tell me everything that you know and I will try to help you get your brother back."
Darla sat, closer to his muscled body than she actually needed to, and began to recite the story she had practiced over and over. It was a bunch of bologna, but he didn't know that. She had been obsessed with this man ever since she had seen him enter a bar with some of his friends. He was a gorgeous man, and she wanted to get him in bed with her. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to come up with a way to get him to date her. So she had come up with a plan, a very good plan, to get to know him, and then to seduce him. She had hired an actor to play her boyfriend. He would pretend to be kidnapped and she would hire her obsession to get him back. *Except now he's only my brother. I need to tell him that before he gets 'found' or else I'm in trouble. It would be rather disturbing for siblings to make out.*
Darla came back to earth as she heard the sexy voice of her companion ask a few more questions. She answered them as best she could, then stood up to leave. She spontaneously gave him an innocent kiss on the cheek to show her thanks. Actually, the kiss was neither spontaneous nor innocent. She had spent the last few years developing a plant potion. This particular potion was worn in lipstick and anyone she kissed while wearing it would find themselves plagued with naughty thoughts about her. She smiled as she left the building.
Later that night, Angel had called. He had gotten a lead, he said, and so she rushed over to his office and they had chased the man who looked like her 'brother'. Suddenly, it started to rain. The man slowed and turned around. Darla had cried out and pretended to rush to her brother. He had apologized for leaving, saying that he hadn't been kidnapped. He had just needed to get away from his life for awhile, so he had left without telling anyone. Darla had scolded him in a sisterly fashion, then turned back to Angel. She told him that she would walk him back to his office, and pay him for his time. He told her it wasn't necessary, and that he was actually going home. She smiled to herself and accompanied him anyway. Right outside the door to his apartment building, she had shivered seductively. He had invited her in.
They walked into the apartment and Angel built a fire to get warm and dry. Darla took off her clothes until she stood there in her bra and panties, both black. She had planned for this moment the entire time. He stared hungrily at her and she stared back. He walked over, but before he could do anything, she had thrown her arms around him and kissed. The lipstick kicked in and he kissed back. The next few moments flew by until both stood naked. He nodded towards his bedroom, but she just grabbed a cozy quilt and threw it down in front of the fire. She had been waiting for this ever since she had seen him. About two hours later, they lay next to each other, happily tired out. A little while after that, Doyle had called.
"Angel, man, I need to talk to you. It's about this chick that you're working for."
"Oh," he had replied with a slight question in his voice. "You mean the one that's lying right next to me, naked."
"Angel, she is bad news. Please come into the office so I can talk to you." Angel sighed and looked at the sleeping woman beside him. He kissed her gently on her forehead so as not to wake her, got up, got dressed, left a note saying he had to go into the office for awhile, and then left. When he got there, he was shocked to find Darla's 'brother' standing there, held in place by Doyle.
"Doyle? What's going on?"
Doyle shoved the man. "Go ahead. Tell him what you told me." The man was silent. "Fine, I'll start. I went into a bar this evening, and I saw this man with a crowd around him. I walked over and listened to him bragging about how he had made easy money by pretending to be kidnapped. I listened some more, and then I dragged him here. Now, tell Angel all about this Darla chick and her plan."
"I am a professional actor, but people hire me to do things. A couple of days ago, this blonde woman walked in and asked me to play her boyfriend. I was to pretend to be kidnapped, by staging a struggle so the neighbors could hear. Then I was to disappear for a few days. After that, I was supposed to let myself be seen and then say I needed a break from us, so I had left. The other day, Darla called and told me that I was now her brother, and that I should only wait a day before being seen. And I think you know the rest." Doyle shoved the man toward the door, and he took off.
Angel sat there with his head in his hands, wondering how she could have done this to him. He was deeply hurt, and he vowed to himself and to Doyle that he would never date again. Eventually, he found out that Darla was obsessed, so he had threatened to press charges if she ever came near him again. She followed him everywhere, and he made good on his threat. She pleaded guilty but only because she was mentally ill. So she was committed to an insane asylum and never heard from again. That had shattered Angel even more than the obsession. The fact that someone would rather claim to be insane than actually love him really hurt. Doyle had understood his friend's pain.
Doyle came back to the present. He had never really like Darla from the moment he had met her. This Buffy chick however, he really did like. She seemed nice, and not psycho, and not obsessed in a bad way. The only real problem was the way that she and Angel had met. If only Riley Finn had not been killed. *No,* Doyle thought, *because then even if they ever met, Angel would have absolutely no chance to be with Buffy. If only they had never gotten married, if only Angel had met Buffy before she had become seriously involved with Riley. But there's no use wondering about it now. We just need to make sure that Buffy and Angel become friends and stay that way until after the case is solved. Then, they can live happily ever after.*
