Listening

Disclaimer: Don't own anyone but Jake and Susan, yay Me!

Summary: No one seems to hear what they're listening for.

Reviews: Y'all put me to shame. Thank you so much for the outpouring of support and all the terrific reviews! You can spoil me rotten that way with every chapter. ;-) It just moves the story along that much faster. Muse loves you all. Everyone: Thank you very much. I feel totally loved. Readers Rock but REVIEWERS RULE!!!

A/N: Sibling Creature: I am so sorry I made you think I doubted you. I know you reviewed both chapters at once. Thank you for your constant support. You are truly a treasure.

WayWard Childe: Dude! What can I say? You inspire me. Thank you.

Raiining: Your unique commentary is always a joy.

Every one else who has been a constant reviewer: Hugs and kisses to you all. xoxo

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Jake finished the fourth painting faster than he'd predicted to Susan, setting it aside to dry in just under forty five minutes. He got out the snapshot he'd decided to base his fifth and final portrait on and clipped it to a small stand on a nearby table. It had been taken the previous afternoon with Jake's digital camera. He'd printed it on his computer that evening. It had been the first time Will had left the house. Granted, he didn't even leave the yard, but he'd been outside. Jake hadn't been able to resist taking the picture. He got out a fresh canvas, the same size as the first portrait of the series. He smiled to himself.

'This will be the most astounding of the bunch.' He thought. 'It's such a great shot.'

With quick motions, he began preparing the canvas for painting. Soon he'd made impressive progress. This one would be finished in just a couple of days, he knew.

As he worked, he took frequent breaks to check on Will. He was still on the sofa. Jake hadn't been inclined to move him for fear of waking him up and aggravating the migraine. The vampire had fed well and lapsed into a healing sleep. Jake had breathed a sigh of relief when he'd realized that Will was indeed asleep instead of unconscious. The Tylenol Migraine that Jake had slipped into the blood seemed to have done the trick.

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Wesley gazed at the lovely lady in front of him in bemusement. She had demanded he tell her what he knew. He had been determined to find out what she knew. He turned to the waiter who set menus in front of them and ordered coffee. He glanced at the woman and raised an eyebrow.

She smiled. "I'll have hot tea, I can't drink coffee." Susan handed the menus back to the young man.

"Now." Wesley began. "I'd like to ask some questions about those portraits."

"Don't you at least want to know who I am?" She asked in amusement.

Wes smiled, abashed. "Yes, quite right. Who are you?"

"Susan Wilson. The artist is my cousin and I'm not telling you anything until you tell me who you are and what your vampire friend wants." She coolly held his eyes with hers, not flinching in the least.

"My name is Wesley Wyndham Price and I work for Angel Investigations. We have been hired to find either the artist or, better yet, the subject of those fascinating portraits." The former Watcher introduced himself.

"Angel Investigations? A vampire that runs a detective agency?" Susan was amused at the concept.

"Yes, well. It is rather unusual. We specialize in unusual cases." Wes explained.

Susan considered that for a moment. "These people who hired you, what do they want with the guy in the paintings?"

Wes wondered briefly how much to tell her. She seemed to be truly concerned about their motives. He thought he detected an undercurrent of caring in her tone.

"They think that the young man in the paintings is someone they lost six months ago. He died. If he is who they think he is, they desperately want him back. They would like to know how he came to be alive again and why he hasn't made an effort to return to them." Wes thought that just about covered it without revealing too many details.

"You do know that my cousin didn't want to sell those paintings, right?" Susan changed the subject abruptly.

Wesley smiled. Her distracting tactic couldn't work on him. He'd used it too many times himself. "Yes." He answered briefly.

Susan flicked her straight chestnut hair back over her shoulder. Her fine dark brows drew together in a frown. Their drinks had arrived and she took a sip of her tea. "I'll have to call my cousin…"

"Jake." Wesley supplied, to let her know he had that much information.

She inclined her head. "I need to find out what Jake wants to do about all this. It hasn't been easy."

Wesley had one more question that had been bothering him for more than twenty-four hours. "The check I gave Mr. Howard was quite generous. I'm sure that the money could be useful. Why didn't Jake want to sell the pieces?"

Her smile was bright. "We, he and I, have trust funds. Painting is just a hobby for him. He gets attached to his work. We don't need to work. We do it to stay busy. It's fun."

Wes shook his head in bemusement. Only the rich could think working is fun. Or the lucky few who fell into the perfect jobs that made going to work each day a joy. Most days he wasn't sure if he fell into that category.

"Would you like to come back with me and meet the others?" Wesley asked.

Susan considered that for a moment. "Yes, I think I would. Then I can tell Jake what's going on and if it's safe…" She broke off leaving Wes to wonder what she meant by 'safe'.

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Jake was checking on Will again when he noticed the vampire's agitated movements. His sleep had become restless, an aspect that Jake had come to recognize as a precursor to nightmares. Jake rushed to his room and retrieved the notebook he used to record the disjointed phrases that Will sometimes mumbled during the nightmares. He was attempting to find something to use as a starting point in his search for Will's identity. Unfortunately, in the four months of listening only a few things were actually clear enough to understand. That was how he'd gotten the name for the first portrait. Will had said it in his sleep and had sounded so sad that Jake had stopped listening that night. Other nights of listening hadn't yielded very many useful bits, certainly nothing that would lead them to how and why Will had been in Heaven. The only thing Jake knew for certain was that somehow; someway Will and the amulet were connected to the crater that had once been Sunnydale.