Shaking Meredith allowed Giles to guide her to her couch, what had just
happened? One moment she was completely at ease basking in the reflected
glory of her success then next she had been reduced to an emotional wreak
by a few choice words and the sheer physical proximity of one man! Running
her hands over her arms in an effort to remove the Goosebumps that appeared
all over her skin, she shrugged off Giles's offer of his jacket, in truth
she wasn't cold it was merely a side effect of being so close to Gavin; the
skin of her back still tingled where he had touched.
"I'll go alert security shall I?" Giles asked breaking her from her stupor long enough to nod. "Will you be alright here?" He added softly.
"Yes I'll be just fine, please go back to the party, I couldn't stand people asking questions..." Meredith trailed off her eyes locked on the London skyline.
"I won't be long." Giles murmured as he dashed out the door and back to the gallery.
For a few moments Meredith simply gazed out at the lights loosing herself in the abstract, this couldn't, shouldn't be happening to her, she had made up her mind her plans were the best for everyone involved. After all just look at the scene he caused downstairs, how could she put up with that on a regular basis, she expounded to herself, doing her best to ignore the little voice that whispered insistently that he was only reacting so badly because he had been hurt so deeply and therefore if they were together properly he would hardly be the same man. What she couldn't deny was the way it felt to be held so gently in his arms, to have him expose his weaknesses to her so openly had shook her to the very core. Slowly she drew herself out of her thoughts and back to the present, and hearing the click of her door she called out over her shoulder.
"I thought I told you to take care of the guests?....Personally I don't know how Marcus puts up with you...." She added as she turned round a small smile gracing her perfect lips, a smile that trailed off just as quickly as her sentence when she caught sight of who was standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?"
- - - -
Meanwhile downstairs Gavin was doing his best to avoid the security and Giles who appeared to be dogging his footsteps in an effort to peacefully evict him from the premises all whilst looking for an opportunity to slip through the crowd and into Meredith's office, so for the time being he was content to hide out on the balcony. A plan difficult at the best of times but certainly not helped by the myriad of thoughts that were flying through his brain, there was of course the obvious reason why she would be drinking cranberry juice, and such a thought made his heart leap with joy, but there could be other reasons, far too many of them to allow him to be certain. What he needed was to get her alone and confront her without that yank lapdog of hers interfering once again, surely if he asked her directly he would know if she was lying?
"I thought you agreed to leave?" Giles's demanded, his American twang sounded even more prominent in the cold night air.
"Things have changed!" Gavin retorted sharply. "But then I suppose you must know all about that, unless of course she hasn't told you about her expectant arrival?" Gavin baited turning round and locking his eyes on Giles's watching as the other man winced. "So you do know, and know thanks to you so do I!" He added smugly. "Thank you."
"I didn't say..." Giles began, but seeing the superior knowing look on Gavin's face he stopped.
"You didn't need to." Gavin replied softly, a true smile of delight flickering over his face. She hadn't had the abortion, true she had lied to him about it, obviously wanting to keep him out and that was something he would have to confront her over but for the time being he allowed the joy of impending fatherhood to infuse his entire being.
"How do you know it's yours?" Giles suddenly snapped causing Gavin to start, his handsome facing clouding over.
"What do you mean?" He demanded.
"Well how do you know how pregnant she is, perhaps after aborting your child she conceived again, it is possible after all?" Giles stalled.
"Possible but hardly likely! Unless of course you had something to do with it? Or intend to claim my child as your own?" Gavin added angrily. "How dare you come here and steal the woman I love, the only woman I will ever love, could ever love and my chance for a child of my own!"
"Oh please, from what I hear you have a wife an three children, so lets cut all the bullshit!" Giles retorted.
"None of them are mine!" Gavin whispered. "I thought the youngest was but....And as for my wife I never loved her, I married her out of pity and guilt..." He trailed off unwilling to expose old wounds in front of a rival. "Meredith and our child are my whole world, I can't and I won't loose them to anyone, and if I have to I will use whatever means at my disposal."
For a moment Giles's didn't answer, beneath his aggression and his bravado you might almost believe there was a man in desperate need but then he remembered the heavies and the violence, why Gavin have to be such a split personality? If only he could be sure, then he would know what to do for the best. He wasn't a fool and anyone could see the way the pair of them felt about each other, if only all these misunderstandings had never occurred! Perhaps it wasn't his place to interfere but one thing was certain there was one issue that did involve him, and one misunderstanding he could solve.
"There isn't anything going on between Meredith and myself, I love her deeply I always have we have been friends forever..."
"Oh and you expect me to believe..." Gavin began.
"Yes I do, for one very simple reason...I already have a partner..."
"Oh like that would stop..."
"And his name is Marcus!" Giles added emphatically causing Gavin's head to whirl round.
"You're...You're Gay?" Gavin blurted out, unable to keep the pleasant surprise from his voice.
"Yes I am!" Giles relied, unable to keep a smug grin off his face as for the first time in their acquaintance Gavin appeared speechless.
"But...So your not...So she can't..." He managed to mumble, before turning and striding back into the gallery.
"Wait where are you going?" Giles called out chasing after him.
"To see my fiancée!" Gavin retorted smartly before disappearing into the crowd.
- - - -
"I asked you a question!" Meredith snapped turning to face the intruder properly for the first time, but instead of speaking he simply stood there a smug victorious look on his face.
"Dammit answer me!" She screeched.
"Why should I? I would have thought it would have been obvious!" He replied softly. "I have a debt to pay and I'm here to pay it...In full!" He added closing the distance between them slowly and with a pronounced limp, Meredith trying to back away behind her desk reaching forward for the phone, picking it up only the find it dead in her hand.
"How did you?" She asked aghast, flinging the useless phone down against the desktop.
"Nothing to do with me.... Perhaps one of your lackeys forgot to pay the bill?"
"Don't be ridiculous but then I suppose that is your forte!" Meredith snarled her eyes flickering to the door.
"Oh I wouldn't even bother if I were you!" He retorted reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small pistol before stepping properly into the light his once relatively handsome face now hideously scarred down one side and Meredith gasped in horror. "After all we wouldn't want you doing something stupid now would we?"
"John what the hell are you doing?" Meredith whispered for the first time noticing the almost fanatical glint in her former escorts' eyes as he began to screw a silencer on to the gun barrel, but he didn't answer instead lining up the sights with her head.
"Why?" Meredith whispered.
"WHY?" He roared. "How dare YOU ask ME that? You know very well what hell I have been through and it is all your fault!"
"I don't I swear I don't, tell me!" Meredith pleaded.
Shaking his head in disbelief John continued to wave the gun about dramatically. "Oh you know, just arranging for some particularly delightful gentlemen to pay me a little visit to persuade me to give up certain evidence, and then beating me half to death so I realised just how fking serious they were about not going to the police....Oh and then if that wasn't enough, no if that wasn't enough, what you did to my godson was unforgivable! I don't suppose you realise who I'm taking about?"
"Will..." Meredith trailed off, her beautiful eyes wide and fearful in the moonlight. "I swear I did nothing, he kidnapped me and drugged me I couldn't have done anything..."
"Liar!" John crowed. "It was bad enough with you ruining his career, but that was his stupid mistake for trusting such a manipulative bitch."
"But why now?" Meredith whimpered. "You've known for weeks what happened."
"Simple, they fished my godson's body out the river this morning; do you know what a corpse that's been rotting in water for a month looks like? No I don't suppose you do!"
"I didn't kill him!" Meredith insisted.
"No you didn't pull the trigger but you're protecting the people who did aren't you?...That's one very bad crowd you've been hanging around with my dear nearly departed Meredith! So I think its time I put us both out of our misery!" He added raising the gun and pointing it directly at her head once more.
Frozen to the spot with fear Meredith physically shook, but somehow she forced herself to speak, she had to delay him for as long as possible and with any luck one of her guests might wonder where she was and come look for her or Giles might check in on her to see how she was doing, hell she'd even be pleased to see Gavin at this very moment; how could she let him find out from a post-mortem that she was pregnant all along.
"Please...Please, I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but I can help you put the real killers away I promise; you can't do this, you're better than I am..." She began pleadingly.
"Am I?" John snorted. "Don't be mistaken and think that appeals to my vanity will placate me!"
"Fine, perhaps I do deserve to die but you'd be killing more than me, you'd be killing my baby as well could you live with yourself knowing that?"
"What you pregnant?" John scoffed. "Hell would freeze over before you would put your career on hold for child!"
"Then tomorrow the devil will be ice skating to work!" Another voice cut in, and Meredith instantly recognised that strong masculine timbre.
"Gavin!"
"You, I know you!" John hissed his eyes narrowing as he tried to cover both Meredith and the new arrival, the gun wavering dangerously between them both. "You're that fellow from the Tate, the guest star in Meredith's amateur porn flik!" He added sniggering.
"That would be me!" Gavin growled his eyes locked steadfastly on John resisting the urge to turn to Meredith and make sure she was alright, there would be time for that later but first he had this little problem to deal with.
"So are you the father, or merely one of the contenders for the title?" John sneered.
"I'm the father, so perhaps you'd care to explain why you are holding a gun on my fiancée and the future mother of my child?" Gavin retorted sharply, his gaze never wavering as he fought the impulse to blink, ignoring the snort of indignation from Meredith and muffled 'bloody cheek'.
"Really appears to be news to her!" John scoffed.
"Doesn't seem to be objecting though does she?" Gavin retorted. "Unlike with you, when she couldn't get far enough away from those groping sweaty hands of yours, is that what this pathetic show is all about, she turns you down so..."
"No! She knows what happened to my godson, she was involved, she's the reason he's dead!" John ranted.
"No!" Gavin countered cutting him off in mid flow causing the critic to grip his gun even tighter. "She's not..." He trailed off smiling slowly and to John's astonishment he began to advance and the critic backed away towards the window. "She's not the reason he's dead..... I am!"
The next few seconds passed so quickly Meredith couldn't remember who started it; perhaps John had gone to shoot the gun before Gavin grabbed his arm, but then it had descended to a mealy of fists and elbows, two men rolling around on the floor wrestling for the gun between them when suddenly two shots were fired.
"I'll go alert security shall I?" Giles asked breaking her from her stupor long enough to nod. "Will you be alright here?" He added softly.
"Yes I'll be just fine, please go back to the party, I couldn't stand people asking questions..." Meredith trailed off her eyes locked on the London skyline.
"I won't be long." Giles murmured as he dashed out the door and back to the gallery.
For a few moments Meredith simply gazed out at the lights loosing herself in the abstract, this couldn't, shouldn't be happening to her, she had made up her mind her plans were the best for everyone involved. After all just look at the scene he caused downstairs, how could she put up with that on a regular basis, she expounded to herself, doing her best to ignore the little voice that whispered insistently that he was only reacting so badly because he had been hurt so deeply and therefore if they were together properly he would hardly be the same man. What she couldn't deny was the way it felt to be held so gently in his arms, to have him expose his weaknesses to her so openly had shook her to the very core. Slowly she drew herself out of her thoughts and back to the present, and hearing the click of her door she called out over her shoulder.
"I thought I told you to take care of the guests?....Personally I don't know how Marcus puts up with you...." She added as she turned round a small smile gracing her perfect lips, a smile that trailed off just as quickly as her sentence when she caught sight of who was standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?"
- - - -
Meanwhile downstairs Gavin was doing his best to avoid the security and Giles who appeared to be dogging his footsteps in an effort to peacefully evict him from the premises all whilst looking for an opportunity to slip through the crowd and into Meredith's office, so for the time being he was content to hide out on the balcony. A plan difficult at the best of times but certainly not helped by the myriad of thoughts that were flying through his brain, there was of course the obvious reason why she would be drinking cranberry juice, and such a thought made his heart leap with joy, but there could be other reasons, far too many of them to allow him to be certain. What he needed was to get her alone and confront her without that yank lapdog of hers interfering once again, surely if he asked her directly he would know if she was lying?
"I thought you agreed to leave?" Giles's demanded, his American twang sounded even more prominent in the cold night air.
"Things have changed!" Gavin retorted sharply. "But then I suppose you must know all about that, unless of course she hasn't told you about her expectant arrival?" Gavin baited turning round and locking his eyes on Giles's watching as the other man winced. "So you do know, and know thanks to you so do I!" He added smugly. "Thank you."
"I didn't say..." Giles began, but seeing the superior knowing look on Gavin's face he stopped.
"You didn't need to." Gavin replied softly, a true smile of delight flickering over his face. She hadn't had the abortion, true she had lied to him about it, obviously wanting to keep him out and that was something he would have to confront her over but for the time being he allowed the joy of impending fatherhood to infuse his entire being.
"How do you know it's yours?" Giles suddenly snapped causing Gavin to start, his handsome facing clouding over.
"What do you mean?" He demanded.
"Well how do you know how pregnant she is, perhaps after aborting your child she conceived again, it is possible after all?" Giles stalled.
"Possible but hardly likely! Unless of course you had something to do with it? Or intend to claim my child as your own?" Gavin added angrily. "How dare you come here and steal the woman I love, the only woman I will ever love, could ever love and my chance for a child of my own!"
"Oh please, from what I hear you have a wife an three children, so lets cut all the bullshit!" Giles retorted.
"None of them are mine!" Gavin whispered. "I thought the youngest was but....And as for my wife I never loved her, I married her out of pity and guilt..." He trailed off unwilling to expose old wounds in front of a rival. "Meredith and our child are my whole world, I can't and I won't loose them to anyone, and if I have to I will use whatever means at my disposal."
For a moment Giles's didn't answer, beneath his aggression and his bravado you might almost believe there was a man in desperate need but then he remembered the heavies and the violence, why Gavin have to be such a split personality? If only he could be sure, then he would know what to do for the best. He wasn't a fool and anyone could see the way the pair of them felt about each other, if only all these misunderstandings had never occurred! Perhaps it wasn't his place to interfere but one thing was certain there was one issue that did involve him, and one misunderstanding he could solve.
"There isn't anything going on between Meredith and myself, I love her deeply I always have we have been friends forever..."
"Oh and you expect me to believe..." Gavin began.
"Yes I do, for one very simple reason...I already have a partner..."
"Oh like that would stop..."
"And his name is Marcus!" Giles added emphatically causing Gavin's head to whirl round.
"You're...You're Gay?" Gavin blurted out, unable to keep the pleasant surprise from his voice.
"Yes I am!" Giles relied, unable to keep a smug grin off his face as for the first time in their acquaintance Gavin appeared speechless.
"But...So your not...So she can't..." He managed to mumble, before turning and striding back into the gallery.
"Wait where are you going?" Giles called out chasing after him.
"To see my fiancée!" Gavin retorted smartly before disappearing into the crowd.
- - - -
"I asked you a question!" Meredith snapped turning to face the intruder properly for the first time, but instead of speaking he simply stood there a smug victorious look on his face.
"Dammit answer me!" She screeched.
"Why should I? I would have thought it would have been obvious!" He replied softly. "I have a debt to pay and I'm here to pay it...In full!" He added closing the distance between them slowly and with a pronounced limp, Meredith trying to back away behind her desk reaching forward for the phone, picking it up only the find it dead in her hand.
"How did you?" She asked aghast, flinging the useless phone down against the desktop.
"Nothing to do with me.... Perhaps one of your lackeys forgot to pay the bill?"
"Don't be ridiculous but then I suppose that is your forte!" Meredith snarled her eyes flickering to the door.
"Oh I wouldn't even bother if I were you!" He retorted reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out a small pistol before stepping properly into the light his once relatively handsome face now hideously scarred down one side and Meredith gasped in horror. "After all we wouldn't want you doing something stupid now would we?"
"John what the hell are you doing?" Meredith whispered for the first time noticing the almost fanatical glint in her former escorts' eyes as he began to screw a silencer on to the gun barrel, but he didn't answer instead lining up the sights with her head.
"Why?" Meredith whispered.
"WHY?" He roared. "How dare YOU ask ME that? You know very well what hell I have been through and it is all your fault!"
"I don't I swear I don't, tell me!" Meredith pleaded.
Shaking his head in disbelief John continued to wave the gun about dramatically. "Oh you know, just arranging for some particularly delightful gentlemen to pay me a little visit to persuade me to give up certain evidence, and then beating me half to death so I realised just how fking serious they were about not going to the police....Oh and then if that wasn't enough, no if that wasn't enough, what you did to my godson was unforgivable! I don't suppose you realise who I'm taking about?"
"Will..." Meredith trailed off, her beautiful eyes wide and fearful in the moonlight. "I swear I did nothing, he kidnapped me and drugged me I couldn't have done anything..."
"Liar!" John crowed. "It was bad enough with you ruining his career, but that was his stupid mistake for trusting such a manipulative bitch."
"But why now?" Meredith whimpered. "You've known for weeks what happened."
"Simple, they fished my godson's body out the river this morning; do you know what a corpse that's been rotting in water for a month looks like? No I don't suppose you do!"
"I didn't kill him!" Meredith insisted.
"No you didn't pull the trigger but you're protecting the people who did aren't you?...That's one very bad crowd you've been hanging around with my dear nearly departed Meredith! So I think its time I put us both out of our misery!" He added raising the gun and pointing it directly at her head once more.
Frozen to the spot with fear Meredith physically shook, but somehow she forced herself to speak, she had to delay him for as long as possible and with any luck one of her guests might wonder where she was and come look for her or Giles might check in on her to see how she was doing, hell she'd even be pleased to see Gavin at this very moment; how could she let him find out from a post-mortem that she was pregnant all along.
"Please...Please, I know you're angry and you have every right to be, but I can help you put the real killers away I promise; you can't do this, you're better than I am..." She began pleadingly.
"Am I?" John snorted. "Don't be mistaken and think that appeals to my vanity will placate me!"
"Fine, perhaps I do deserve to die but you'd be killing more than me, you'd be killing my baby as well could you live with yourself knowing that?"
"What you pregnant?" John scoffed. "Hell would freeze over before you would put your career on hold for child!"
"Then tomorrow the devil will be ice skating to work!" Another voice cut in, and Meredith instantly recognised that strong masculine timbre.
"Gavin!"
"You, I know you!" John hissed his eyes narrowing as he tried to cover both Meredith and the new arrival, the gun wavering dangerously between them both. "You're that fellow from the Tate, the guest star in Meredith's amateur porn flik!" He added sniggering.
"That would be me!" Gavin growled his eyes locked steadfastly on John resisting the urge to turn to Meredith and make sure she was alright, there would be time for that later but first he had this little problem to deal with.
"So are you the father, or merely one of the contenders for the title?" John sneered.
"I'm the father, so perhaps you'd care to explain why you are holding a gun on my fiancée and the future mother of my child?" Gavin retorted sharply, his gaze never wavering as he fought the impulse to blink, ignoring the snort of indignation from Meredith and muffled 'bloody cheek'.
"Really appears to be news to her!" John scoffed.
"Doesn't seem to be objecting though does she?" Gavin retorted. "Unlike with you, when she couldn't get far enough away from those groping sweaty hands of yours, is that what this pathetic show is all about, she turns you down so..."
"No! She knows what happened to my godson, she was involved, she's the reason he's dead!" John ranted.
"No!" Gavin countered cutting him off in mid flow causing the critic to grip his gun even tighter. "She's not..." He trailed off smiling slowly and to John's astonishment he began to advance and the critic backed away towards the window. "She's not the reason he's dead..... I am!"
The next few seconds passed so quickly Meredith couldn't remember who started it; perhaps John had gone to shoot the gun before Gavin grabbed his arm, but then it had descended to a mealy of fists and elbows, two men rolling around on the floor wrestling for the gun between them when suddenly two shots were fired.
