Me and Emily

Part two

Author's Notes: Thanks to Queen Boadicea, Crystalix, Emily, and Vanillagigglez for reviewing. I want to say right now that this didn't end up where it was supposed to, so if you have any problems with it, let me know.

She turned at her name in the predawn light, and saw the one thing above all else she had failed to forget, no matter how she had tried.

"Uh, how are you?" he looked at her, and saw the child, "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I'm good, how are you?" the bruises had already faded, and she had wiped all remains of her tears away.

"Getting by. H-have you been in LA all this time, or…."

"No, lived out east for awhile, but I missed the Californian atmosphere. Moving back, if we can find a place to stay."

"I, uh, have some room. I don't want to but into your life, but…" The 'we' stung, implying that she still had someone, someone she had chosen over him.

"That'd be great." The toddler on her hip whined, "Shh," she soothed, rubbing her back. He caught the flash of a gold ring on her hand, "Oh, this is Emily."

He nodded, before setting off for the hotel.

"Oh, uh, why don't we go in the car?" she asked after a moment. He nodded, and she handed him the child, against her better judgment, and ran the two blocks back to where she had parked.

He held the child, who had stopped fussing, now looking back the way her mother had gone, like there was something wrong with the picture.

They reached the building just as the sun broke over the city, sending light flooding into most corners.

"It's not much, but we get by," he said as he led her inside.

"We?" she asked, marveling at the courtyard. Not much was an understatement.

"The gang and I. One after another they slip away, but Gwen moved into the 'freak house,' which keeps Gunn nearby. Nina uses the basement when she needs it, but her sister finally let her back into the house. People come, people go. Nothing stays the same," he pushed open the doors, into the lobby.

"Boss, got another case. Fungal demon or something like that. It's on Southside drive, stinking up the neighborhood. Should I gather the troops?" a black man asked.

He nodded, "Let me show you around," he told her quietly. Emily was wide awake now, sucking on her binky and staring around with wide eyes.

He led her up the stairs, and she saw door after door lining the hall. He opened the sixth door on the left.

"This hasn't been lived in since…I think it'll do."

"Since what?"

"Cordelia. She died…a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged, "People come, people go, the only thing that stays the same around here is me. Will this do?"

She looked around the room, "Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem. If you'd like some breakfast, we'll be serving in about a half hour." He left.

She found her way to the kitchen, after unpacking the small amount of things they had. She found that the table, a large, industrial strength table, already had people sitting around it.

She stood in the doorway until he motioned her in, "Just sit anywhere." She nodded, and sat at the end farthest from anyone. She really didn't want to be social, she thought as she settled Emily on her lap. The girl wriggled a bit, but she held her firm, and she stopped.

He placed a huge thing of scrambled eggs, followed by sausage and bacon, in the center of the table, "Dig in, guys." He sat at the head of the table, filling a plate for himself. She stood, grabbing a plate, balancing both it and Emily, and started piling some egg and sausage onto it.

"Here, let me do that," he offered, jumping up.

"No, I'm fine." She finished filling her plate and sat back, balancing Em on her lap, trying to cut up some of the egg and toast to bite sized bits.

"Uh, Gunn, do we still have that highchair in the basement?" he asked after a moment.

"I think so, let me go check." The black man left, and she filed his name away. A wildish looking woman she guessed was Gwen, or it could be Nina, started to say something, but he stopped her. There were others, but none really caught her attention, like they were good at being invisible.

The black man came back a few minutes later, dragging a high chair that had seen better days. He was right there with a washcloth to wipe most of the dirt and grime off the tray as she settled Emily.

"Thank you. I don't know how I can repay you…" she said, after he brought a plastic plate for Em.

"No need," he smiled at her softly, and she wondered how she'd allowed herself to get into this mess.