The Unexpected.
Spoilers- general spoilers for S5, specific spoilers for S4 episode 'Players'.
Disclaimer- None of the characters or settings used in this piece of fiction belong to me, I have simply borrowed them off the Joss-god for a short time and will be returning them in a good condition at a later date.
Notes- Yes, I'm still alive! But just barely, I nearly didn't make it out of the Uni semester alive. But I am now rested, recovered, newly employed, and sick of Christmas cheer.
Note2- This was going to be a one shot, unfortunately my muse either didn't know this or decided to once again ignore it. So I have ideas to continue it, even altered this to fit. Let me know if you would like to see more.
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Charles Gunn, Attorney-At-Law.
Oh yeah, life was good.
Gunn strutted down the corridor towards his office. A wide smirk on his face. That's right, his office, his big-ass window, corner office.
It was good to see a brother getting ahead. Even if it was in the lair of their former adversary. Wolfram and Hart used to the thorn in their side, but now that was all changed. There was no more demonic sacrifices, no more baby eating, no more grave digging or protecting the evil and scaly. All their resources were used to fight the good fight.
And now he had a vital position in the team. He wasn't just the 'muscle' anymore. He was the legal eagle, all thanks to that nifty little implant.
It was strange in some ways. The thrill of winning a difficult case gave him this strange sense of achievement, not as much as slicing and dicing a bunch of bloodsuckers or demons did but it still warmed him in the same way.
From the leader of his own crew to the Head of the actual law component in a prodigious law firm in five years. It had been quite a ride. With both rocky and smooth patches, and although the rocky seemed to out weigh the smooth, it was the smooth that gave him the ability to continue living, so it was the smooth that he was concentrated on now.
Gunn started to sing under his breath. "Three little maids from school are we. Filled to the brim with girlish glee. Three little maids. From school."
There was muffled sniggering.
Gunn looked up, thanking god once again for his dark complexion.
Fred stood outside his office, a large grin lighting up her face.
Gunn smiled sheepishly. "I don't suppose we can pretend I wasn't singing that?"
"If anyone asks it was a rap," Fred's Texan twang sounded thicker as she struggled to keep a straight face.
Gunn smiled thankfully and opened the door to his office, gesturing for Fred to enter first. He followed her in and rested his briefcase on top of his glistening desk. He took off his jacket, throwing it over the back of his chair, and started rolling up his sleeves.
"So, what's up, girl?"
"Huh?" Fred looked up from her perusal of his extensive bookcases filled with heavy tomes concerned with both human and demon law. "What makes you think something is up?"
Gunn shook his head good-naturedly at her. "You've barely been able to tear your self away from that lab since we started here. It's like watching a kid in a candy store."
Fred blushed. "Well, Wesley just moved into his new apartment and I was thinking that we could throw him a house warming party. You know, bring plants and vases, unless you're my Aunt Edna than you bring that tuna casserole that sits at the back of the table and one even digs a serving spoon into."
Gunn smiled affectionately at his ex-girlfriend. "Sure, just tell me when and where."
"Really?" Fred clapped her hands together excitedly. "Charles, that's great! I'll go tell Angel and Spike."
Fred rushed out of the room, nearly knocking over Gunn's secretary in the process. His secretary sniffed disdainfully than continued into the office. She was a part of the old Wolfram and Hart. After the massacre she had been transferred to L.A. from New York. She was still a bit stuck in her ways. She thrust a large stack of folders at him.
"Thank you, Mr. Masterston. That'll be all."
Mrs. Masterston huffed and stomped out. Soon the sound of keys on a keyboard being viciously stabbed rapidly filled the air.
Gunn scowled, she was such a cranky old witch. He shook his head and flopped into his plush leather chair. Making sure he jotted down a note to buy a house-warming gift for Wes, Gunn started in on the paperwork.
It was funny how it didn't seem to bother him any more.
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Gunn yawned and stretched. There was just one thing about paperwork; sometimes it seemed to take forever. And sometimes the 'In' pile seemed to grow magically bigger while the 'Out' pile stubbornly refused to grow.
The lights overhead flickered. Gunn growled in the back of his throat. They had been doing that for that last five minutes. There had to be something wrong with the circuit breakers. You'd think that with a building like this they wouldn't skimp on the electrics.
He hit a button on the intercom. "Mrs. Masterston, could you call down to Maintenance, please? Ask them to have a look at the circuit breakers."
Silence answered him.
"Mrs. Masterston?"
Gunn sighed and reluctantly got to his feet. He looked out the door. Mrs. Masterston's desk was empty. He scrubbed a hand over his scalp. Fine, he'd get Harmony to do it instead.
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His steps slowed as he reached the lobby. There was a large crowd of security guards surrounding someone. Gunn spotted Wesley and hurried over to the English man.
"Hey, Wes, what's with the security?"
Wesley didn't take his eyes off the guards. "I'm not sure. I heard one of them say that the person was responsible for the electrical problems we've been having."
One of the guards could be heard. "Now, Miss, if you would just-" He moved forward.
"Don't touch me."
The voice was familiar. Something nagged at Gunn's cluttered brain.
There was a pain filled scream. The entire lobby stopped. Someone being detained by security guards, that was an old hat and a boring one too, but screams meant fighting or torture and that meant the good old days for many employees.
"I told you not to touch me."
Gunn tensed as the connections in his mind finally clicked together. "Gwen."
"Charles Gunn?"
The security guards stopped trying to inch closer to her. One turned to Gunn and Wesley. "You know her, sir?"
"Yes, we do," Wesley answered for the both of them. "She's been of assistance on a few previous occasions."
The guard looked uncertain. "She's a known thief, sir."
Gwen snorted. "Don't worry, Sparky. If I was going to steal anything do you think I'd walk into the middle of the lobby and announce my presence?"
She pushed her way carefully through the guards. One leapt back, cursing as a small electrical current ran through his body.
Gwen placed her hands on her hips and looked around at the opulent decorations. "Nice digs you got here. Much better than that old dump you used to work in."
The door to Angel's office opened, Angel had been in a meeting with Fred about Spike's condition. Angel and Fred froze in the doorway, staring at Gwen.
Gwen was dressed in her usual manner, leather pants slung low on her hips, big chunky boots, opera gloves (one off), and a low cut top that showed off her stomach.
Her rather pregnant stomach.
Gunn stared at it, seemly memorized by it. His jaw hung open involuntarily. He looked up at her face, one hand pointed at her stomach. "Is that…? Is it…?"
An amused smirk twisted Gwen's bright red lips. "Yes, Charlie boy, it is."
Gwen rubbed a hand over her swollen stomach. "Congratulations, Charles Gunn, you're going to be a daddy."