Chapter 5: The Party
"So your friend stayed over."
"So I've heard."
"It was so awkward, I didn't really know what to do with her. And the kids were there too."
"Oh god, actually? She didn't mention the kids."
"Seriously. It was a mess. Anyways, how's work?"
"We're surviving, for now." Fae let out a dry laugh knowing how literal her words were.
"Well that's good, how about you come over this weekend?"
"Well, that'd be lovely."
*Click*
/
"So, Fae, how are things with Quinn?" Marley popped into the office with a cheeky smirk on her face.
"Well," Fae blushed. "We decided to make it official?"
"Why the question? You did?"
"Yeah! Okay, we did, yes."
"That's more like it." Marley laughed. "I've never seen you shy like this."
"I'm not shy, what the fuck?" Fae's mouth gaped open in a sarcastic state of shock.
"Sure."
Fae huffed out a sigh. "So, where do we stand with the Beast?"
"Well," Marley sighed as well. "Not good, we know The Court is planning an attack thanks to Marie's inside knowledge."
"Any leads on where?"
"We know somewhere in New York City. They're planning an attack on the public. There will be casualties, just who and when is unknown. Marie and her team have already knocked out a group of lowlife vamps working for The Court. She tried to get information, it's just nothing's pointing us towards a place for an attack."
"God, this is frustrating."
"You're telling me. You might want to check in with other departments and see how they're handling things." Marley held her hands at her hips.
"Already on my list. See you at lunch?"
"Of course. Would love to hear more about your new girlfriend." Marley winked slyly at Fae.
"Yeah, yeah" Fae smiled, waving her hand in dismissal to Marley.
/
Two weeks had gone by and so much had happened. Aja was heartbroken, Ethan was seeing their new date, Fae was going through the motions trying to piece together the Beast's motive, trying to track The Court's next move. Everything was stressful, but Quinn was helpful. Quinn and Fae went out a few times a week, trying to fit in dates with their equally busy schedules.
Their most recent outing had been to Spotlight Diner with Ethan and Robert, and the four of them were getting along great. Aja sang a beautiful song, but there was an agonizing feeling of grief that hit while watching the performance. Her words echoed her loneliness, her voice carried its weight of emotions, and Fae couldn't bear to feel the sorrow of her best friend's heartache.
That however changed when Aja came home to the apartment that night.
"Fae!" Aja's tone was chipper, a feeling not expressed for an entire two weeks.
"Aja? What's going on?" Fae was too surprised to hear this, it was as if it was the first time hearing her voice.
"Mercedes, she's given me the time off, she's letting me go to Lima!"
"Did you tell Santana?"
"No, I don't want to alert her like that, she'd tell me not to come."
"Wanky"
"Fae."
"Sorry."
"I'm gonna need a favour though. You think Quinn could help me out with something?"
"Well, if I asked, she'd definitely pull through. What is it?"
"I need Santana's address."
"I got you."
/
And just like that, Aja was off. Gone. It was just Fae and the unit that was Ethan and Robert, who was always at the apartment despite Fae's no boys policy.
"I need to get the fuck out of here," Fae said out loud, rubbing her temples.
Bzzt Bzzt
"Quinn! Thank god." Fae answered the phone. "Hey babe, what's up?"
"Hey sweetheart, so Hazel's birthday is coming up" Quinn paused to address the screaming children in the background of the call.
"Hazel and Piper?"
"Yep." Quinn laughed. "They're getting pretty excited. Hazel's birthday is just next week so they're all hyper."
"Completely understandable," Fae laughed.
"So, will I see you there?"
"Of course."
"You can bring Ethan and Robert too, trust me I need some more adults around here."
"Well, they sure have been acting like children these days."
"You know what I mean."
"Of course, love." Fae laughed. "So next week?"
"Yeah, it's a Tuesday. Is that okay?"
"Should be, I'll check with Ethan, but I'll be there for sure."
"Sounds amazing. I'll see you in a few days. We could even make it a sleepover party?" Fae could hear Quinn's voice get quieter.
"Then I will definitely be there." Fae chuckled. "God, now I really can't wait!"
"Don't forget a present!"
/
"What the fuck would a six-year-old want for her damn birthday?"
"Um, I'm not sure," Addison handed Fae a stack of reports. "When I was six, I liked Disney Princesses and American Girl dolls."
"Oh god," Fae laughed. "I was more of a Pokemon and Lego kinda gal myself."
"Do you know much about her kid?"
"Kinda, well, I dunno. We've been out together a couple of times, but she's really absorbed in her friend like she really keeps to herself and her one friend she hangs out with all the time. They're practically sisters, joined at the damn hip."
"I see,"
"Yeah,"
"Maybe you could get some time with her and not her friend? Like just you, Quinn, and the kid?"
"Right, like that's possible. They're together all the damn time." Fae rolled her eyes and swiveled her chair to face the window. "And this won't be much better, Quinn says there'll be a couple of other kids going too."
"Give it time."
"Hey, speaking of inseparable, how are you and Stevie getting along? I see you guys together in the lounge eating lunch all the time." Fae swiveled back to meet Addison's face, which was redder than a tomato.
"Umm," Addison scrambled to find words. "I-"
"Mmhm," Fae clasped her hands together. "You've said everything you need to say, now, get these documents to Fred, will you?" Fae winked at a very silent and motionless Addison, leaning over to place a file folder in a trembling extended hand.
Fae sat back down in her seat as she watched Addison rush out of the office, hastily closing the door behind her.
/
Tuesday
"It's really nice of Quinn to invite us to Hazel's birthday party." Ethan was holding a couple of presents as Robert and Fae trailed behind them.
"Yeah, it's no worries, we needed some more company."
"Too bad Aja couldn't make it," Ethan sighed.
"Well, she's off in Lima, but I got a text from her saying she's coming back soon. She has some news but refuses to tell me." Fae held her hands tight in her pocket.
"Ooh, that's some tea, bestie!" Ethan clapped excitedly. "Can't wait for that."
"It better be what I hope it is." Fae laughed, leaning forward to buzz Quinn's apartment.
The door clicked open and the group made their way up to the apartment, to find the apartment door cracked open with loud noises willed with music, chatter, and screaming kids.
"This must be it," Ethan laughed.
Fae gave a nod as she opened the door to find half the kids watching a movie while the other half were running around the apartment frantically.
"Hey sweetheart," Quinn ran over to give Fae a quick kiss.
"Hey,"
"Do you mind grabbing the cloth? One of the kids just spilled their drink on the floor"
"On it!" Fae ran over to help Quinn who clearly had her hands full.
The apartment had turned into a rampant zoo. The dining table was lined with snacks, cupcakes, an untouched veggie platter, and just mess, everywhere. The floor looked perpetually sticky and Quinn looked stressed.
Fae went over to see what the kids were doing, trying to find Hazel within the group of kids.
"Hey Hazel, how's it going?" Fae knelt down to meet the girl's eyes.
"Hi Fae…" Hazel's eyes were glued to the TV, but at least she was responsive.
"Happy birthday, I got you a present!"
"Thank you," Hazel's thanks were long and drawn out, monotone and stale.
"Hey Piper," Fae turned to the only other kid she could recognize, "Whatcha guys watching?"
"The Descendants" Piper replied and giggled. "My auntie is in this movie"
"What?" Fae turned to look at the TV where Piper was pointing. 'The one in the middle?"
"Yeah!" Piper was in a much more cheerful mood than Hazel was. It was almost as if Piper was more excited about Hazel's birthday than Hazel was.
"Who are your other friends, Hazel?" Fae asked.
"That's Lina and Aeth, and over there is Wes" Piper responded for Hazel, excitedly pointing to each guest.
"Hey, guys! Are you guys excited?" Fae stood up.
Absolutely close to no response from any of the kids. Some of them looked away, and one of them, Wes, smiled and waved. Okay, that's a start.
Fae was not the greatest around children, she didn't know what to say and didn't know how to act around them. She doesn't really know how Quinn does it, and she was trying really hard to get along with Hazel as much as she could.
The party got along fairly typical to how any child's birthday party would go, the adults in almost a corner watching all the kids hang around, throwing food and screaming.
"I got a caterer," Quinn told the group. "Someone from Spotlight diner is coming by, the sous chef."
"Are you guys obsessed with that place or what?" Ethan asked rudely.
"Okay Ethan, what? We like the place, yeah," Fae pressed her lips together in frustration.
The 4 of them looked around awkwardly at the remark, and Quinn looked around nervously before checking her phone. "Oh! They're here."
"Hey guys," Samira, the sous chef from Spotlight, walked in holding a large platter. "Who wants some Meatloaf mini sliders?"
Kids got up and cheered, swarming the poor chef. "Whoa there!" Samira placed the platter on the table. "Here okay?"
"Yes, perfect, thank you," Quinn reached her hand out. "Why don't you stick around for a bit and have a drink?"
"Why not, after all, I'm getting paid for this!" Samira laughed as Quinn walked over to the kitchen to get her something.
Fae's phone was buzzing like mad, frustrating Fae. "God, they can't just leave me alone for a couple of minutes?"
"Who is that?" Ethan asked.
"I don't even want to check." Fae rolled her eyes. She reached in her pocket to click her phone on silent mode and continued on talking with Ethan and Robert.
Within only a few more minutes a loud crash boomed outside the apartment. "What the fuck was that?" Robert cried.
"Probably some crazy New York drivers."
"I don't know, that was a little too loud." Ethan scoffed.
"Okay, what's up with you today?" Robert turned to Ethan angrily.
Another crash resounded throughout the building, this time sounding closer.
"Shit," Fae's eyes widened, pulling out her phone to see emergency calls from Wolfram and Hart's response team. Fae whipped out her phone.
"They're coming Fae, The Court, they're coming to your location, it's the attack, we have Marie coming right now, and I mean seriously, NOW!"
The roof of the apartment crashed, with a grotesque, dark entity ripping through the roof. Kids screamed, running towards Hazel's bedroom to hide.
"They need to get out of here, now!" Fae screamed at Quinn.
"What's going on, Fae!?" Quinn shouted back.
The massive creature opened its maw to release a swarm of bugs, chasing a child down.
"Help! Help!" Lina cried out as the swarm of bugs surrounded her, causing her to fall over, hyperventilating.
"Shit," Fae looked up to find Marie jumping down through the roof, releasing gas from a wristband to the bugs, causing them to fall. Lina laid there with her flesh dismantled, bugs completely consuming her face.
The kids screamed further, as they watched their friend decompose in front of them.
"You need to get the kids out of here, now!" Fae cried to Quinn. Quinn nodded as she rushed the rest of the kids down the stairs.
Fae turned to the rest of the adults and watched as Samira turned, revealing her true face. A vampire! This was a huge asset.
Fae pulled a small weapon from her pocket and started shooting at the creature. Marie was armed with swords, guns, an entire weapon arsenal was strapped to her.
The creature screeched, sending a wave of dark spikes throughout the ground. Robert stood in front of Ethan in an attempt to block the spear but it was no use, the spike pierced through Robert's body like a knife through butter, stabbing Ethan in the process.
"Ethan!" Fae cried out, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Fae look out!" Marie cried as she sliced her sword through one of the creature's appendages.
Fae turned around and leaped through the air, dodging an attack. "Here!"
Marie threw a spare sword from her back to Fae and ripped a mace from her waist to Samira.
"You in?" Fae turned to Samira.
"I've been dying for some action like this." Samira hissed, showing her fangs. "It's time to die!"
The creature picked up the limp bodies of Ethan and Robert and flung them into the air, propelling them onto the street below.
"Where the fuck is our backup?" Fae shouted at Marie.
"They're coming, we need to hold it off just a little longer!" Marie jumped up on a table to further launch herself towards the creature, stabbing the creature with a jeweled knife. The creature yelped and slammed one of its arms down to the floor, causing a massive divide through the room.
Samira ran to the arm, slicing right through it. "Damn, this thing is sharp!" Samira smiled and looked back at the creature smiling.
Fae looked up to see a helicopter in the sky with more people jumping off into the apartment. "Buffy? Willow?"
Buffy, Willow, and a group of other slayers emerged from the apartment.
"I heard we have some butt to kick!" Buffy was dressed in a signature leather jacket, holding a large weapon in her arms.
"Absolutely!" Fae was so excited to see Buffy here. Angel must have called in a special favour for this to happen.
As Marie, Fae, and Samira continued to attack the creature, Buffy turned to her troupe. "Slayers, you help those guys fend off the creature." The slayers without hesitation rushed in to help bring down the monster. "Will, you got the spell?"
"Everything is ready to go!" Willow shouted as she prepared her items for her spell. "Goddess Hecate to you I pray, let my enemy shrivel and decay!" Willow was chanting the spell while holding up her pentagram, pointing it towards the creature.
The creature was getting weakened by the second, slowly disintegrating and becoming smaller.
"I can't even stab it anymore! It's just going through like air!" Fae cried.
"The spell, it's working!" Marie confirmed.
Buffy nodded her head and held the large weapon over her head before firing it completely at the creature, a capsule launching and encompassing the creature into a large, almost egg-like shell.
"Fuck yes, dude!" Fae exclaimed.
"We're not done yet," Buffy huffed while picking up the egg. "Who do we take this to?"
"That'd be Fred." Fae breathed out. Willow's face was close to matching her hair.
Fae smirked, unknowing of the context, and shook hands with both Buffy and Willow before the troupe called for the helicopter.
"I'll see you guys later?"
"Hopefully not," Buffy said plainly. "Sorry, don't mean it to come off rude like that, it's just, this is such a pain in the ass."
"Completely agree." Fae nodded her head.
"I'm off, Fae, I have another lead to look into before we call it," Marie said before she jumped out of the desolate building that was the apartment.
Fae gave a salute to Marie as she made her exit, and when she turned around Buffy and her gang were gone. They sure work fast.
Fae turned to Samira whose face shifted back into a human form.
"Hey, thanks for helping." Fae smiled at Samira bleakly.
"Course. Don't tell anyone."
Fae held out a badge from her pocket displaying her Wolfram and Hart ID.
"Ah," Samira nodded. "Well, I guess the restaurant's gonna wonder where I am. See you around." Draping a dark hood over their head, Samira jumped out of the gaping hole in the apartment wall.
Fae walked over to see a dismantled Ethan and Robert sprawled out on the street.
"Shit. How the fuck am I gonna get rent now?"
/