Chapter 2

He just had to find her. He scoffed at that now. Apparently finding her was as hard as the overweight man from Brazil had hinted it to be. Having only a face and a name which was probably only a nickname the man in the suit was going out empty handed. He just wandered the Los Angeles streets, trying to scrutinize every woman that passed and got several dirties from the scrutinizees. He even got a complaint from one of them.

He took all this calmly. All this, all the things he had to deal with, was worth it to find this woman. This amazing, gorgeous, humble yet strong woman who he knew was the one thing that his heart yearned for. It didn't give a damn about the Lear jet or the penthouse apartment or the limo or any of it. All that mattered was her. And for a recently turned spoiled brat it was a new experience. Even back in his days living it up in the Bronx had he never wanted something so much. Something that was so pure and good and everything he wasn't.

And ever since he was born he knew there was someone and as he grew older so did she, keeping at the same age constantly. He felt as if they were linked in some way and then two months ago he had a dream that she was in. And he knew it was her. They were in an alleyway and he felt as if he was leaving her, why he didn't know. He still remembered it pretty well. He always tried to get it again but he never could.

"Please Fred, don't make this any harder." He said, not controlling anything he was saying.

"But I love you." That once sentence made his heart skip a beat and that was always the moment he played in his mind.

"And I love you too. More than you know. You're the one and only thing I've loved since the beginning of time, when I was made." He felt he had some say in that but the little bit about him being made at the beginning of time was probably some weird dream stuff. Probably a hidden meaning in there somewhere.

"Why did you go through the trials for me if you aren't even going to stay?" Now that one confused him and he just put it down to weird dream information that his brain had jammed together in a hurry for him to process.

"Because you deserve life. You had yours stolen from you." Once again it was a huh but in this time he saw the woman's face go through the phases and this made him want to kiss her so much... But he couldn't.

"But how am I meant to go on without you? Knowing what we had, what we could've had." She said and this always hit the man right where he lived. Her face was just so... Her eyes were begging him to stay, something he would gladly do.

"You won't. You won't remember me after I leave, its part of my powers." Another weird dream thing but he saw it break her heart and he wished that he could break out of the mould and just kiss her.

"No! I don't want to. I won't. I'll never forget you Russ. I'll never forget anything." She said, shaking her head adamantly and he just wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss her.

"You've already started." Weird dream stuff but he was ignoring it now. He just wanted to...

"I love you."

And then the dream was over and the man woke up in the hotel room with a start. Then he went to Brazil to find the man who knew everything. And that was how he got a location. He didn't thank him verbally but he felt the million American dollars did that job for him. And judging by his referral to the case as 'amigo' it did.

The man in the suit just kept walking the streets of LA with his hands in his pockets and his head bowed. He bumped into someone and mumbled an apology to them that sounded slightly sarcastic, understandable in his current situation but it seemed to piss off the other person and he felt a hand on his shoulder that made him pissed in return and the two faced up to each other, both pissed at the fact that the other had been brave enough to violate them and that they were being annoyed in their current state of emptiness.

So the man in the suit confronted a beautiful brunette. Then they both paused and swallowed their insults and arguments.

"Fred?" He asked, wondering what result might come from this. Either a weird look and the woman walking off or her starting to gush. It was the gush.

"Oh my god. Russ! Is it really you? I can't believe... You came back to me. You promised you would and you did! Wait, are you really Russ cos I've had a few embarrassing encounters..." Fred trailed off reddening slightly.

"Yes it's... how did you...?"

"I remembered Russ!" Fred said and then looked at his clueless face and continued on, "But obviously you haven't."

"No. Sorry." He said, really sorry. He wanted to remember. He would've done anything to remember but he just couldn't. Fred looked heartbroken at the fact that the love of her life was suffering from amnesia but she was still in disbelief that he was actually standing in front of her. Russ was standing in front of her. Russ. Her Russ.

"How did you know my name?" Fred asked, almost given up hope that Russ would remember her at all but knowing that there was one thing that was a possible lead to his memory of her. Russ seemed to redden slightly at this, incredibly out of character for him.

"I, uh, had a dream which you were in two months ago."

"A dream?" Fred asked, slightly incredulously. It seemed that their sub conscious seemed to be the one to tell them what was going on and it could only reach through the dream world. How true did that make Freud's theory about dreams and how wrong did it make others? (Sorry, I got psychologist in my blood and I couldn't help but add that Freud thing in.)

"Yeah. I was saying how I had to leave and you were crying and then I started crying and then..." Russ paused and looked at Fred and said, in a tone that said how he didn't believe it himself, "I love you." He laughed at himself lightly, "I love you and I don't even know you. But even since I was a little kid I always felt as if there was someone out there. But I never thought it was true. When I saw you I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought you were just a figment of my imagination, something my brain had made up to occupy me. But you're here and you're real..."

Russ touched a lock of hair, "I dreamt about this hair," He moved onto her neck, "This neck," Shifted up to her eyes, "These eyes," And lastly to her lips, "These lips. And now... Now you're right here, standing right in front of me and I can actually reach out and... I feel like I'm going crazy because I want to hold you and never let you go. I love you and this is the first time I've met you. How does that work?"

"I'm not sure it does." Fred said quietly and Russ swallowed hard. They looked into each other's eyes and Fred was the first to turn away, remembering that Russ couldn't even remember her so it was stupid to make herself think that he did. To keep hoping that recognition would sweep over his face and he would gather her into his arms and tell her what she wanted to hear, how much he missed and how he loved her and how he would never ever leave again. Fred snorted quietly and said to herself, "Knowing my luck you probably still remember that you're a Power." Russ caught this and his eyes widened slightly before, for the first time, his gaze diverted away from Fred.

"You have better luck than you think." He said, grimacing and then he jaw clenched visibly and as Fred looked at him she noticed this.

"Russ?" She asked and when he didn't reply. He glanced up at her and visibly relaxed.

"Sorry." He winced slightly, "I just... Don't really 'like' the Powers. I used to be a poor undernourished kid in the Bronx living with my mom. Then she died when I was eighteen and a little after that so did my dad in some helicopter crash. Anyway, my dad was this multi millionaire and all his money came to me. Then the Powers decide to come to me and make me work for them. After I inherit millions. Nice timing."

"Maybe it was just coincidence." Fred said and shrugged. Russ snorted and looked at her slightly disbelievingly, doing his best to look at her disbelievingly and not derogatorily and, for once, it worked. But he could work on his speech.

"No such thing as coincidence." He said, eyes showing a depth of pain behind them. Fred was familiar with that pain. And she really felt for him. No human being, or half demon, or Power, should have to go through that pain. Russ bowed his head, feeling and dealing with the pain.

"And now what? I find out that I am one of them? I mean..." Russ trailed off when he lost the ability to put his feelings into words. Fred's eyes widened with concern for Russ and maybe if he'd been looking at her he would've noticed and smiled reassuringly but he was too wrapped in his own problems too notice.

"I'm sorry." She said and put a hand on his. He looked up at her, eyes big and innocent. She let a small smile creep onto her face and the end of his lips twitched upwards. He put his other hand on hers and took her hand into both of his and cradled it gently between his two larger ones, observing it as if it was the first time he was seeing someone else's hand. He then lifted it up to his lips and kissed it, gaze shifting up into Fred's eyes. She stared back into his, transfixed. He gave back her hand gently and continued.

"I'm Russet Brown, pleased to meet you." He said, slight smile playing on his lips and with a charm that Fred was the first to witness. The formal tone in his voice was immediately picked up by Fred who decided to follow suit.

"Winifred Burkle, I am inclined to say likewise to you Mr Brown." She said, a similar smile playing on her own lips.

"Please Ms Burkle," Russ leaned forward slightly at this, "Call me Russ."

"Then you should do the same, Russ, to call me Fred." Fred replied with a trace of one of those posh, high and mighty tones. Russ let the smile show through slightly more as she said this.

"As you wish, Fred."

"As always." Fred said cheekily and gave up her formal tone to giggle and Russ soon joined her, chuckling in his throat. They soon burst into full laughter and needed to support each other to stop from falling over. Then the laughter died down. First Russ stopped laughing, realising their position with Fred leaning on his chest and his head buried in her hair, and then Fred realised that the chest she was leaning on was no longer shaking with laughter and she made the mistake off looking up at him.

Talk about sexual tension! I mean, they were standing there looking into each other's eyes with that look. Y'know the whole tortured lovers look. The one where you can tell they love each other but something is in the way. Think back to the days of Angel and Buffy after he returned from hell. The tension and long uncomfortable silences. Except Fred and Russ are more talkative, so they're more short uncomfortable silences. Anyway, this is one of those moments.

Then Russ was the first to move and he lowered his lips slowly to hers and their eyes started to close. Fred could feel his ghostly breath on her lips and he felt his heart pound in his chest... Then there was something else.

Suddenly Russ yanked his head backwards and looked to his left with a look that not many people saw. Fear.

Fred felt him pull away and looked up at him with a look that not many people saw on her face. Hurt.

"Russ..." She trailed off and he seemed to remember what was about to happen and turned back to her, an apology on his lips.

"Fred I-" He started and she cut him off.

"If you didn't want to you could've just said." She said, hurt all over her face. Russ glanced to his side once more before taking her hands in his and saying with honesty written all over his face.

"Fred... Duck." He said and she looked at him in confusion.

"What?" She asked and he looked to the side of him and his face turned urgent.

"Duck! Duck!" He quickly ducked and pulled her down with him just as millions of little tiny demons with shrivelled up wings, claws and huge teeth flew above them. If they'd continued to stand their bodies would've probably been taken off. After fifteen seconds the crowd of demons had passed and they both stood to see the crowd regrouping off in the sky.

Russ ran and dragged Fred who was still staring after them. He explained as he ran into an alleyway and they ducked behind a dumpster.

"Those 'things' are from the Brazilian jungle. Demons. There was one in every village, feeding off the town population slowly. I was sent to a couple of the rowdier ones in the Brazilian villages where the local demon hunters couldn't kill them. Looks like they're targeting me. Strength in numbers I guess." Russ said and shrugged, surprisingly nonchalant for the current situation.

"They grouped together in a team of at least a hundred to attack you?" Fred asked incredulously.

"I guess they don't like me that much... At all." He said and grimaced. "Which, considering that I have killed quite a few of their kind, is understandable." Russ glanced around the side of the dumpster.

"How does it look?" Fred asked and Russ looked at her.

"Well, if I still had a death wish then it would be looking very good. But, hey, not with the death wish anymore. So... Not so good." Russ said and he glanced around the dumpster again. Fred looked around him and her eyes widened as she saw the scene in front of them. The cloud of demons were all gathered in the sky and they seemed to prepare for the dive, waiting for the two to leave themselves open or until their patience wore out. Hopefully the patience would be stayed.

"Need any help?" They both heard from behind them and they turned to see...

Cordelia. Standing there in all her Cordy glory with a huge broadsword at her side and a big grin on her face.

"Hey Russ!" She said and Russ just offered her a small, and clueless, smile.

After Note: Hey, I just realised that in both of the Job Well Done stories Cordy is introduced in the end of the second chapter... Of course, this was completely not intended. Seriously! I mean, I was going to get Angel at the end of this one but he's coming just a little bit later. Yeah... Well, cya guys!

JB