24: Interrupting the good times

"Dinner was really nice," Buffy said, as she walked by Angel's side in the park, holding his hand. "I wish I could get away to see you more often."

"You've got important work to do." Angel replied. "You've got the new slayers to watch out for and demons to slay."

"Yeah," Buffy said, "but you'd think after shutting down a Hellmouth and with you guys cutting through thousands of soldiers from that law firm that we wouldn't be seeing as many demons any more. I mean, we have dozens of slayers fighting for us, so we should have thinned out the demon ranks by now."

"New demons are made every day," Angel said. "And some have just been dormant up until now. Every apocalypse we face seems to wake more of them up."

"Ugh," Buffy groaned. "We should be rewarded for saving the world, not punished."

"I was rewarded," Angel reminded her. "And we're still alive, still able to fight our battles. It's got something to do with keeping the world in balance. If we didn't have the darkness, we wouldn't appreciate the light, and would never realise just how bright and beautiful it can be. I've lived lifetimes in the darkness, so trust me, I know. We can push it back, but I don't think we're ever going to get rid of it completely."

"So we're always going to have to deal with creepies like those guys?" Buffy asked, gesturing in the direction of a couple of vampires who were stalking through the trees ahead.

"It's what we do." Angel said.

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"By the way, Spike," Erica asked. "What are the rules in here?"

"Uh," Spike glanced back at the barman who was kind of purplish and literally had eyes in the back of his head. "No live feeding on the premises, and uh, take the fights outside. That's about it I think."

"Oh, damn," Erica said in a bored tone, "I was hoping to start a fight." The others looked at her. "I'm serious! Cordy, do you recognise that guy over there by the pool table with those vampires, the one in the green shirt?" She tilted her head in his direction.

Cordelia looked, and the others did too. "That guy was looking over at you before," Lawson said.

"He does look familiar," Cordelia said, "Where have we seen him?"

"He drove away before the torture started," Erica explained, and Cordelia stiffened as she recognised him.

The two vampires got a hard look in their eyes. Erica put a hand on Spike's arm. "Leave it," she said, feeling him twitch, wanting to get up. "Why don't we see what he's here for?" she suggested. "Eve said that she had vampire allies, maybe those are them," she said.

"When did she say that?" Cordelia asked.

"She whispered it to me when you got crucified, right before they started beating me up." Erica said, and Oz's eyes got wider. "She said they were going to turn me before I drowned so that I'd burn beneath that iron cross and you guys would have to chop my head off." She seemed vaguely annoyed.

"I really don't like the sound of this Eve," Oz said.

"She used to work for me and Angel," Spike explained, "but she was really on a guy named Lindsey's side. She came after the girls because we got Lindsey killed. She wanted to punish us for it by hurting Erica and Cordelia."

"Unbelievable." Erica said. "So he was the guy that she gave up her immortality for." She sighed. "And she's still out there."

"Don't you worry about that," Spike said, glancing from the driver back to her face. "If she shows herself again we're going to take care of it for good."

"Well don't leave me out of it." Erica said. "She's not the only one who'd like to get revenge."

"Rika," Cordelia said, "you're getting scary."

"Good." Erica said shortly, running her fingers over her scar, underneath her hair. She wasn't looking at anyone in particular, just a blank spot on the table. "I'm going to go for a walk." She said, looking up. "Why don't you see if driver guy and his vamp buddies take any notice."

"If they follow you out of the bar we can fight them." Spike said.

"Exactly," Erica said, getting to her feet and grabbing her coat.

"I'll go with you," Oz said, getting up as well.

"Fine," Erica said, pulling on her coat and flicking her hair out of the collar. "We'll head around the corner, toward the car. If they don't take any notice then we'll come back." She and Oz walked away.

Cordelia looked troubled. "Don't worry," Lawson said, and squeezed her hand.

"I just hope Rika's not going all hard-core." Cordelia said.

"She almost died," Spike said, glancing back to see that the vampires and the driver were packing up their game. "They made her feel all helpless, and she's got a mark to look at every day to remind her that she couldn't do a thing to stop them. She's had all this time to stay pretty-much helpless while her leg healed up. Tonight is the first chance she's had to do something since she got hurt. I'm sure she'll brighten up a bit once she gets to hit someone; once she proves to herself that she's not powerless, and that she's not just a victim." He took a drink.

"Since when are you all insightful?" Cordelia asked, as the party they were watching went out the front door. The three of them got up and got their coats.

Spike grinned. "It's just who I am, princess. Besides, when you've been around as long as I have you learn to pay attention."

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Erica and Oz waited around the corner. Erica had her cross out over her top, a stake in one hand and a bottle of Holy water in her other hand –they had been hidden away in her coat pocket. She gave the bottle to Oz, who took the lid off and took a few steps back. When they came around the corner, he let the contents of the bottle fly at them, scalding the vampire's faces. There were four of the Undead, as well as the human driver. Erica staked one of them as he clutched at his face.

The other one at the front of the group swung blindly out at her. She ducked him as Lawson and Spike caught up and she was able to kick him and stake him as they dealt with the other two vampires. She threw the stake to Spike and she and Oz ran after the driver who was trying to get away.

She jumped forward and kicked him in the back of the knee, making him stumble to the pavement. Oz pulled him to his feet. The driver yanked his arm free and had his foot raised to run for it when Erica gave him a left jab and a right hook to the face. She kicked him in the stomach and kneed him in the face when he stooped over. She pushed him back into the wall behind him.

She shook her hand out and stepped back to let Lawson and Spike take over. She'd hit him full force and her knuckles were a little sore from it. She'd done well, though, because his nose had started bleeding. Lawson grabbed the back of the guy's shirt and Spike stood in front of him. Cordelia caught up to them and stood with Oz.

"Where's Eve?" Spike asked.

The driver didn't answer. Spike gave Lawson a meaningful look and gripped the man's shirt. He tugged him forward out of Lawson's hold and pushed him back toward Erica to give her something to hit. The driver tried to push past her to run away and she grabbed his arms. The move she used lasted only seconds. One of her arms pushed his up as she half-turned, pushing her hip up and just below his waist, with her legs bent. She pulled his other arm down and used her top arm and their momentum to throw him over her hip.

He landed on his back and groaned. He rolled over and Erica circled him as he got up. "Where is she?" she asked. He tried to punch her and she parried it by hitting his arm down with her left wrist. She snaked her arm over the top of his and back under his elbow, then when she bent her arm he was forced to do the same. His arm was caught in hers as she gripped his shoulder to hold the arm-lock in place. He had ended up being half-turned away from her with the right side of her body free to attack his front.

She used her left leg to kick the back of his knee and force him down lower – he was taller than her. Then she hooked her right arm around his neck, turning him so that his front faced away from her, and moved forward so she could grip her own shoulder, holding his head in place against her arm, and his arm was trapped between them. He was so off balance that if she let go too suddenly he would fall over. His other arm was free, but he couldn't reach her with it. She was in complete control.

She could squeeze her right arm against his throat if she wanted to make him pass out, or she could lift her left elbow, which was below his wrist, to put pressure on his shoulder and cause him pain. Whatever she decided to do he was caught against her. She lifted her elbow and asked again: "Where is Eve?"

She almost dislocated his arm, but he gave them an address. She made him pass out and dropped him to the pavement. She looked up at the two vampires and said: "You're not going without me. The crossbow's in the trunk of the car and so is one of the hand-axes."

"Cordelia?" Lawson asked.

Cordelia shook her head. "I'd rather let you guys handle it. I'll either wait in the car or you can drop me and Oz off at the apartment first." She glanced at Erica and gave Lawson a look that said, 'don't let her get out of hand'.

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Eve was hardly staying in a fortress, nor was she that well connected. Practically all of the mercenaries had been locked up, and since she'd been cut off from Wolfram and Hart she no longer had any demon contacts. Aside from the vampires. Her allies had already been dealt with. Her apartment was easy to break into, and the vampires didn't even need to be invited inside.

She tried to run away from Spike and Erica at the front door and stumbled straight into Lawson, who had come in from a side window.

"You can't kill me!" Eve said in a panic as he grabbed her arms.

"Why not?" Spike asked, as Erica followed him in, pointing the crossbow at Eve's chest.

"I'm human!" Eve cried out as Lawson pushed her into a chair. "What are you going to do with me?"

"I've got an idea," Erica said, putting the crossbow down – there were no demons to shoot - on the couch and rummaging through her purse. She put a little hand mirror down on the table in front of Eve. She went into the kitchen and filled up a plastic bowl with water. Some of the fear left Eve's face and she became confused. The vampires weren't exactly sure what she was doing either.

She put the bowl on the table next to Eve and dropped the hand mirror into the bowl so that the reflective surface faced down, and she sat down at the next edge of the table.

"What are you doing?" Eve said.

"Shut up, and you'll get what you want," Erica said, staring into the water for a few moments. She was concentrating, so Spike put his hand over Eve's mouth to keep her from interrupting.

Silently, Erica reached into the water and turned the mirror over so that they could see its surface. They saw a bed, and in it, Lindsey McDonald was lying sprawled beneath the covers in the half-darkness. From the waist down he was covered by a blue sheet, and light was coming in from another room out of sight.

"Mff, Mmm, Muh," Eve said through Spike's hand.

"Let her go," Erica said, watching her closely.

"Oh, my God," Eve said, reaching out to touch the water. "How did you do that?"

Erica gave her a hard, dangerous look. "You don't even know who I am, do you?" she asked in an icy tone. Eve glanced back at her. "I was just a victim to you, wasn't I? All you cared about was getting back at Angel."

Eve opened her mouth but didn't say anything. Erica stood up and looked sternly down at Eve. "I am the Guardian of all realms, of all dimensions, and all the bridges between them." Her voice and expression were commanding, empowered, as though her future self was standing in her place. "Lindsey happens to be in one of those dimensions. Unless it is my will, you'll never see him again."

They saw the image in the mirror move, as Lindsey stirred and sat up, looking around the room in confusion. Erica pushed her hand through the water and the image disappeared. She pulled out the mirror, gave it a little shake and wiped it dry on a dishcloth. She put the mirror back in her handbag and gave Eve a hard glare. "Now you give me one good reason why I should let you see him after what you did?" Erica asked.

Eve looked up with her mouth gaping, "Because I have nothing else." She said finally.

Erica nodded and took the bowl. She put it down on the ground and knelt in front of it. Before their eyes she created a portal. Unlike the last few that she'd made, this one didn't re-open within the same room. She stood up and gestured inside the whirling mass of bright colour.

"This is a bridge to the dimension I showed you. How badly do you want to see him?" she asked.

"Badly," Eve replied, looking at the portal.

"Then step through and find him," Erica said.

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"I can't believe you let her go to him," Lawson said, as he, Spike and Erica sat alone in the apartment.

"Actually I'm not that nice, even though I kept my word and let her see him." Erica said. "The Lindsey she knows is dead. This one might be just as likely to throw her out on her ass as take her in. The worst non-violent punishment I could give her is to put her within arm's reach of the man she wants but who doesn't love her. She's stuck there now, until I bring her back, and she can't cause us any more trouble."

"Then it was a good idea," Lawson said. He stood up and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you for not trying to kill her, even when you had every reason to do it." He walked out to go back down to the car, where Cordelia and Oz were waiting.

Erica sat quietly for a moment, turning the mirror in her hands. "Are you going to check up on her?" Spike asked.

"Maybe," Erica answered. "I don't know. The whole point of putting her there was to get her out of the way so I don't have to think about her. Thinking about her and what she did… I don't want to become as cold as she was. She was all vengeful and… empty. I don't want to be like that."

"You'll be all right, pet." Spike said, standing up. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask, are those two serious?" he gestured in the direction Lawson had taken.

"Yeah," Erica said with a smile, accepting the distraction. "I think they are. He's a great guy, and he makes her happy."

"What about you?" Spike asked, "What will it take to cheer you up?"

Erica raised her eyebrows. "You already cheer me up, Spike. Thank you, by the way, for taking us out tonight; I appreciate it." She stepped up to him and gave him a 'thank you' kiss on the cheek.

Spike caught her face in his hand and kissed her on the mouth. Other than the hand on her face he didn't hold her, but she didn't move away. She stepped in to him and put one hand on his shoulder, and used the other hand to place his arm around her waist. The kiss was nearly gentle, and when it ended she leaned her head in against his throat. "How long have you been waiting to do that?" she asked.

"Since I…." He couldn't say that he'd wanted to since he saw her fight off a horde of demons and had shared Life with him to make him more human. "Since you threw a vase at Angel's head."

Erica chuckled softly at the memory and gave him another kiss.

"Come on," Spike said, releasing her slowly. "We'd better go before they wonder what we're up to."

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AN: Erica is not being disrespectful to Lindsey by being with Spike; she just knows that she can't have him and wants to get over him. She hasn't admitted it to herself yet, but she has forgiven him – that's what she dreamt about.