Stepping Out

Rose took a late lunch to see Oz and the children back home. Technically, she'd already had lunch, but she'd munched a sandwich while working, and hadn't actually taken a full break.

Oz was starting to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd just started settling in and feeling like he belonged. But, he supposed, he couldn't blame her. "Do you want me to leave now?" he asked, hoping it would hurt less if he said it first. It didn't.

Rose's brow furrowed in consternation. "Whatever are you talking about, Oz?" she inquired, completely perplexed. "Why should I want you to leave?"

"I kind of thought that turning into a werewolf in front of your children might do it," Oz remarked. But a feeble ray of hope lit the darkness. After this she'd want him to stay?

"I thought you showed remarkable control, only changing half-way and so near the blue moon," Rose replied. "Besides, Oz, you didn't just change in front of my children, but for them. To protect them. How could I have a problem with that?"

Oz just shook his head, astounded. At least it was Friday, and the other two big danger days he wouldn't be near the kids.

&&&&&&&&

The twins had been silent, but that didn't mean they weren't carrying on a conversation. And, in the manner of children, what was happening with Oz was a peripheral issue. They were far more concerned with themselves at the moment.

'Why didn't they tell us?' Alaric, displaying his hair-trigger temper.

'Maybe they just didn't think to.' Ariel was considerably more charitable than her brother.

'This is important,' Alaric fumed. 'We should have known.'

'They might have thought it wouldn't happen until we're all grown up,' Ariel ventured.

Alaric's mood and thoughts shifted. 'It was pretty neat the way we scared him, wasn't it?'

Ariel considered. She was, for the most part, too much her mother's daughter to like the idea of people being scared of her. On the other hand, Ethan Rayne was a very bad man. 'I guess so,' she conceded reluctantly. 'Besides, we couldn't let him hurt Oz, could we?'

'Of course not,' Alaric agreed. 'But I think we need to talk to daddy when he gets home tonight.'

&&&&&&&&

Ethan slipped in the door of his flat, heart pounding faster than it ever had after a night of sexual gymnastics with Melody. Baby vampires? And then, it suddenly struck him why the little boy had looked familiar. He seemed to recall a vampire that looked like an adult version of the child drifting around Sunnydale. He had never gotten too close. He always took a great deal of care to avoid things that could damage his precious skin. And vampires were definitely on the list. By the time you got close enough to one to find out if it was stupid enough to be manipulated, you were usually being drained of your blood. Ethan liked his blood right where it was. In his own personal veins.

&&&&&&

Angela was going over her wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear on her date with Lorne when her phone rang. She frowned in annoyance, but picked it up anyway. "Hello?"

It was Jason, but his voice sounded scratchy, as if he had a bad connection, or, more likely, was in a place where the signal from his cell didn't travel too well. "I just got some information you need to know, Ange," he said. "It's about the demon..," suddenly there was nothing but static.

"Jason?" Angela listened intently, but still wasn't getting anything. "Jason? Are you still there?" But there was little more than static, and the only word she could make out clearly was the word 'sing'. How odd. Did Jason know they were going to a karaoke bar tonight? And what would be important about singing? She shrugged. Oh well, it didn't really matter anyway. She picked out a handbag to match the outfit she'd chosen and started putting the essentials in it. Including a very small vial of a colorless liquid that somehow still managed to look ominous.

&&&&&&&&

Jason had just gotten word from one of his contacts that the demon that Angela was trying to lure to the spell site was some kind of psychic that could read your thoughts when you sang. He immediately pulled out his cell phone to call her and inform her of the development, but the connection was bad. That tended to happen when you were traveling through a canyon. He did reach her though, but she sounded as if she were on the moon. "I just got some information you need to know, Ange," he said. "It's about the demon, he knows what you're thinking if you sing." The line started breaking up even worse, and he barely heard her saying his name, but he tried one more time. "Whatever you do with the demon, don't sing for him."

&&&&&&&

Rose wasn't gone all that long, but Wesley was already waiting in her office for her. Impatiently.

"We do have important work to do you know," he snapped.

"Are you suggesting that my babies aren't important?" she shot back. "It's not like I'm robbing the company of my valuable time. I worked through lunch."

Wesley immediately felt like a horse's ass. "Sorry, Rose," he muttered, red-faced. "It's just that now we know we're headed in the right direction, I'm getting a bit impatient. And tonight is the first night of the blue moon."

For all the urgency of the task at hand, Rose was still mulling over something else. "Have you ever heard of a werewolf with the self-control to only make the change half-way?" she asked. "And I get the feeling that he wouldn't have gone that far if that man hadn't been a threat to the children."

"Oz is unique," Wesley remarked. "And I certainly would like to look into the subject of his self-control. But at another time, Rose. We have to get all the facts on the Faznair demon."

"Why on earth would anyone want to summon up a demon the size of a two-story house?" Rose queried. "What could you possibly do with it?"

"Wreak all kinds of chaos and mayhem," Wes replied. "Which seems to be a trademark of Ethan Rayne's. But he needs the spell to go off without a hitch, or he won't have control of the demon. I don't know which possibility appeals less. A Faznair demon running amok on its own, or one running amok under Ethan Rayne's control."

"Well to complete the spell, he's going to need Angel's blood," Rose pointed out. "And we're not going to let him have that, are we?"

"We most certainly are not," he agreed. "Now, aside from a vampire with a pure heart, what else does he need for the spell?"

&&&&&&&

Lorne couldn't believe his luck. He'd been browsing through the florists, and saw just the thing. A small arrangement of decorative plants in a planter shaped like a quarter note. A good omen, he thought, finding a gift for her that would most definitely remind her of him. He paid for it and rushed out the door of the shop to go home and get spruced up. Then, on to Angela's. For a night to remember.

&&&&&&&&

For the rest of the day, the twins were subdued as Oz had ever seen them in his short acquaintance with them. Today's little outing had certainly made an impression on the precocious twosome. Most of the afternoon, it seemed as if he had to repeat everything he said to them. They were engrossed in a long telepathic conversation, by the look of things. But when he cautiously questioned them about it, they just said that they were fine, and that what they were talking about was little people's business, and he wouldn't want to know about it anyway. Oz had his doubts on that score, but let it rest. The only thing harder than shutting the two of them up was to get them to talk when they didn't want to, he was finding. But he was also finding it awkward, to say the least, and it was with no little relief that he greeted Spike and Rose upon their arrival. Then, he went straight to Angel's.

&&&&&&&

Tonight, Angela was in a royal blue number that left very little to the imagination. She'd chosen it because it was one of her best colors, setting off her creamy complexion and calling attention the fact that her hair was so dark a black, a true black, that it seemed to have blue highlights in it. Handbag, shoes and jewelry were all gold, setting a nice contrast. Make-up she kept to a bare minimum. She really didn't need much. She was beautiful, and she knew it. What surprised her was that Lorne thought so too. She'd have thought he'd be more attracted to a female of his own kind. She didn't know what to make of it that he appreciated human type beauty. But she was prepared to make it pay off. And tonight would be the last date she'd have to go on with him. Tonight her job would be finished, and she'd never have to look at Lorne again and pretend that she thought he was wonderful. She felt a slight, unexpected pang at the thought. If Lorne had been human, no matter how homely, she'd have thought he was wonderful anyway. For the first time, she wondered if she was doing the right thing, stringing the demon along like this. But she wasn't philosopher enough to work that one out on her own. She'd leave the thinking to Jason. She was still wondering what he had been trying to tell her about singing when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the time. That would be Lorne. Pasting a plastic smile on her face, she went to the door to greet her date.

&&&&&&&&

"Hi, Oz." Angel opened the door and motioned him in. "What brings you here? Nothing to do tonight?"

"Except maybe turn into a wolf," Oz reminded him. "Tonight's the first night of the blue moon."

"Like I could forget that," Angel muttered. "I'm a big, full-grown vampire. So why is everyone insisting on playing nursemaid to me?"

"Because they care about you?" Oz suggested. "I was just wondering if in all this place you might have some kind of holding cell with heavy bars where I could stay. I'm not sure I have enough control to deal with fighting off the wolf during a blue moon."

"After what happened today," Angel commented softly. "I think the smart money would be on you, Oz. That was absolutely phenomenal." He grinned. "I bet you impressed the hell out of Rose, wolfing out to protect the kids."

"That was pretty much what she said," Oz agreed. "But I'd still feel better if I was locked up somewhere secure."

"How about a compromise?" Angel offered. "Hang out with me tonight. If things start looking iffy, I'll get you right down the holding cells. You'll even have company. Nina always spends the night there on full moons."

"So I'm not the token werewolf around here?" No surprise in his voice, even though he was surprised, although he supposed that he shouldn't have been. "I'm surprised that no one, certainly not the twins didn't think to introduce me. I would have thought..,"

"The twins haven't met Nina," Angel interrupted. "She doesn't work here. I tried to rescue her from a werewolf attack. I killed the werewolf that attacked her, but I was too late to prevent him from biting her. I've been trying to help her deal with it ever since."

Oz caught a few inflections that Angel would have been surprised that he let slip. "Are the two of you an item?" he asked.

Angel looked uncomfortable. "We're taking it slow," he mumbled. Mostly because of him, and his ever-present fear of that 'moment of perfect happiness'.

"Listen," Oz said. "After all this is over, maybe you'd like me to talk with her. Offer her a few pointers about controlling it. If she wants to."

"I think she'd like that," Angel replied. He suddenly remembered his manners as a host. "Do you want a cold one, Oz?"

Oz shook his head. "I think tonight would be a good time to stay stone-cold sober," he answered.

&&&&&&&

"Well." Angela swallowed. What could she say about Lorne and his current get-up? "You certainly look special tonight, Lorne."

"My best glad rags for a night on the town with my best girl," Lorne replied. He pulled his hand out from behind his back and held out the planter. "A little something I picked up for you, sweet thing. Something to remind you of me when I'm not around."

"It's lovely, Lorne." And Angela did think it was lovely. But whether or not she wanted a reminder of what she was doing to him, what she had to do to him was another matter entirely. "Why don't I just put this up someplace and then we can leave?" she suggested.

"My time is yours," Lorne said grandly. He felt like a kid on his first date must feel. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off his sweating palms. He tucked the hanky out of sight quickly upon her return. Play it cool, don't act like you came down with the last shower of rain. But he was feeling so giddy that he felt like dancing down the hallway from her apartment rather than a sedate walk. An idiot grin kept tugging at the corners of his mouth. This was it, he thought. This was the big L and capitol O-V-E as well.

Angela smiled at him. The more time she spent with him the guiltier she felt. But it wasn't as if he was actually going to be hurt. He was just the bait to bring the vampire to them. Lorne would be set free once they had the vampire. And she would never again have to look into his trusting eyes and lie to him.