Chapter Twenty-four
Wednesday, November 13, 2002 – the main lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles; a few hours before midnight:
Angel returned home, looking and feeling worn out. Because he had just spent the last few hours paying his 'debt' to the Transuding Furies, regarding that locator spell Kate and the others had used to find him. It had occurred to him to say no to their summons, that right now he was busy – but then he'd remembered just who he was dealing with, and so he had quickly shut up and screwed the three sisters senseless in order to settle the bill.
"Man. No offense, Angel, but you look like crap," Gunn said way too bluntly, as soon as he spotted the vampire. "So, y'all managed to pony up?"
"Yeah," Angel grunted, not wanting to discuss the topic. "So, what's been happening around here?"
"Uh, basically, a whole lot of nothing," Fred shrugged.
"'Fraid she's right, Corn Muffin," Lorne nodded. "I mean, we spent the last three days looking for you and Cordy-kins. Bottom line, we're out of ideas; anything and everything we could come up with before now, we've already done it. I'm thinking we need your input, try to get a fresh perspective on where the heck she might have gone."
"All right." Angel started to pace slightly. He turned to look at his crew and asked, "Who was the last person to see her?"
"Me, I guess," Connor shrugged, as he turned to look at his boy. "It was the night of the spell, after Cordelia was attacked by a street gang. I saved her from them – and then she attacked me – "
Fred coughed. "Leaving out a bit of detail, aren't you?" she then asked, before staring at the young man meaningfully.
Connor glared at her, briefly. "Fine, at the time I didn't understand what was going on with her – so I grabbed Cordelia by the wrist, in order to take her home to our loft. She started screaming and yelling at me, and hitting me, and then those two cops showed up. Afterwards, I had to run for it in order to escape."
Angel frowned. "So, then, if the LAPD was involved – "
"We already talked to them, both on the phone and in person at the local stationhouse," Gunn cut him off at once. "Ain't nobody there who knows where she is, man. Only thing they got related to Barbie is the Miracle Kid here now being wanted for stalking, attempted kidnapping and stealing her stuff." The black man gestured towards Connor, who scowled viciously. "Not to mention breaking and entering at that museum."
"It's OK, son. We'll, we'll get that fixed – somehow," Angel promised his offspring. "Don't know how yet, exactly; but I promise you, Connor, we will."
"Whatever," the male teen shrugged, looking indifferent to the whole thing. "We need to focus on Cordelia. Finding her."
"Finally, something we can all agree on," Lorne nodded, before turning to Angel. "And before you ask, ya big hunk of hero sandwich, I got nothing; the entire clan has already sung for me – apart from you. So, wanna give it a shot?"
"Aw, man, does he have to?" Gunn complained, earning himself a sharp jab to the side thanks to Fred's elbow. "Ow!"
Angel ignored him and said to Lorne, "Just a moment." He looked down at the floor and idly started humming Beethoven's Ode To Joy, before opening his mouth –
"Whoa!" Lorne held up his hands in a universal 'stop' gesture. "No need to go any further, seriously. Wowzers! I just saw it, clear as day. You need to walk out the front door, and take a hike down Hyperion Avenue in the direction of Fremont. Few minutes from now, you'll run into the very same police officers that our Pylean Princess and the Destroyer of Quor-toth here encountered on Sunday night. So go, go!"
Connor immediately got up to follow him, but Angel quickly moved into his path and said, "Connor, wait – "
"What for?" his son growled angrily.
"You can't go out there with him," Fred pointed out the obvious. "You're on the lam now, remember?"
"On the lam? What does that mean?" Connor demanded, still scowling.
"Means the cops see you, odds are they'll shoot first and ask questions later," Gunn told him pragmatically. "And you may be a lot of things, but you sure as hell ain't bullet-proof."
"They're right, son. I'm sorry, but you can't help me on this one," Angel said apologetically.
"I can take of myself. And I can deal with those two police officers, if I have to," Connor insisted stubbornly.
"How?" Fred demanded. "By kidnapping them, and torturing them for information?"
"Fred," Angel started to say dismissively.
"If all else fails, why not?" Connor demanded angrily, and then he frowned at all the looks he was getting. "Why are you people looking at me like that?"
"Uh, because demon here, and even I know that was the stupidest possible thing you could have said?" Lorne replied, seemingly unaffected by the boy's glare.
"Connor... I know you're upset, and worried about Cordy. But something like that – not an option," Angel told his son carefully. "I mean, think about it. Actions have consequences, and in this case, the LAPD will never stop looking for you. You'll be a hunted man for the rest of your days; and what kind of life could you offer Cordelia, under those circumstances? Plus, you really think she would approve of your actions? I think we both know the answer to that one... "
"Fine," Connor replied grouchily, shoulders slumping. But then his son straightened up and frowned at him. "All right, go. But first, you have to promise me something."
"Anything, son. What is it?"
"Swear to me – by everything you hold sacred – that if you learn anything from those cops, you'll come back here and tell us before you do anything else. Like, if they tell you where she is or where she went that night, promise me that you won't go rushing off to find Cordelia all by yourself," Connor demanded.
Angel stared at his son and said hesitantly, "Connor, I – "
"This is not negotiable!" the teenager growled at him, easily able to tell that he didn't want to promise any such thing.
"Look, son, truth is – I don't like making promises that I don't know if I can keep. So please, don't ask me to do that," Angel said honestly, feeling torn between his desire to strengthen the connection with his boy and his need to find Cordelia as soon as possible.
"Fine. In that case, I'm gonna follow you as soon as you walk out that door. 'Cause in case it isn't obvious, I don't trust you where Cordelia's concerned," Connor said stubbornly.
{ Was I ever like this when I was Connor's age? } Angel thought to himself wearily, before recent memories returned with a vengeance. { Yeah, stupid question. I was even worse... }
"Hate to bug you about this, Tall Pale and Handsome, but you really need to get going; as in, right now-ish," Lorne interjected, gesturing towards the door. "You miss this little appointment with Destiny, and it won't end well for you. For any of us, I'm afraid."
"What's that mean?" Gunn wanted to know.
"I don't know, exactly," Lorne shrugged, "I didn't see that far ahead. But I'm pretty sure it's somehow connected to all the bad stuff I saw coming before Wolfram & Hart drilled my head open, and took what I learned after Cordy-kins sang for me back then."
This rather alarming news quickly decided it for Angel. Taking a deep (unneeded) breath, he turned to Connor and said, "All right. I promise you that whatever I learn, no matter what it is, I'll come back here and tell everyone before I do anything else. Will that do?"
"I suppose," Connor nodded, reluctantly. Then his expression hardened. "And if you just lied to me? Our little truce is officially over. And make of that what you will, Dad."
Angel winced, mentally cursing Holtz yet again, before hurrying out the front doors. He paid no attention to Fred loudly berating his son for his behavior; he was already focused on finding the two cops in question.
He walked quickly, looking around here and there, following Cordelia's route away from the hotel that night. He eventually arrived where he'd heard that she'd encountered that gang of street punks, and slowed down. Something... something close by...
Then he saw it. The LAPD cruiser, roughly three quarters of a block away. Angel wasn't sure how he knew it, but he was nonetheless certain that the vehicle contained exactly who he was looking for. So he put on a burst of speed, and chased after the squad car.
A few seconds later, he was running at human speeds again, shouting and waving frantically. "Hey! STOP! I need to talk to you! Please, pull over!"
Immediately, the cruiser did exactly that, quickly finding a convenient parking spot. The two police officers then exited the vehicle, staring at him. Angel felt exuberant; both cops matched the description Connor had given him, namely a slightly overweight Hispanic and a sandy-haired white guy. "Uh, could I please have a few moments of your time?"
"Is this some sort of emergency, sir?" the Hispanic – Angel could see the nameplate read 'Castillo' – asked politely.
"Uh, no. Well, sort of. I mean, yeah, it is an emergency as far as I'm concerned," Angel babbled for a moment, before cursing himself for his loss of emotional control.
"What seems to be the problem, sir?" the other police officer – this one was named 'Hodges' – asked, in that same polite cop tone of voice.
"Um, my name is Angel. I'm looking for Cordelia Chase – she works for me at my detective agency, Angel Investigations. According to my information, you two might have seen her on Sunday night?"
The two cops exchanged a look, before moving away from the vehicle and a lot closer to Angel. "Let's see some I.D., pal," Officer Hodges said in a no-nonsense tone.
Dutifully, Angel got out his wallet and showed them both his driver's license and his business card with the emblem of his detective agency on it. "Will this do?"
Both cops examined the license, and then the professional advertising card, before giving them back to him. "OK, I have a question. Where have you been since Sunday night?" Officer Castillo asked suspiciously. "I mean, you'd think if you employed the woman, you woulda tracked us down before now?"
"Uh, well, I've been working on a case. That is, out of town," Angel lied as best he could. "Look, I just wanna know – did you two see her that night? And if you did, do you know where she went?"
"Yeah, we saw her. Woman said she wanted to go home," the sandy-haired cop replied.
"But – Cordy's not there. I mean, my people have been to her Silverlake apartment, there's been no sign of her," Angel said, the burst of hope at the policeman's words quickly fading. "And I don't know where else – "
"What do you know about someone named 'Connor'?" Officer Castillo asked suspiciously, interrupting him unexpectedly.
"Uh, who?" Angel immediately tried to play dumb.
"Punk kid who tried to kidnap Miss Chase that night, and ran away after resisting arrest," Officer Hodges said with a grimace. "Not to mention a thief who stole a lot of stuff from the woman's apartment. What do you know about him?"
Angel tried to maintain a poker face after hearing the slurs against his son, but something must have given him away, as both cops slowly started to reach for their pistols. "Sir, please answer the question," Castillo said, his tone of voice making it sound more like an order than a request.
"I don't know anything," Angel lied yet again. "The only person I care about is Cordelia, now please – what else can you tell me?"
"You know what? I think we ought to continue the rest of this conversation over at the station. Pretty sure Detective Baker will have some questions for you about that no-good little asshole – who ran away like a cowardly rat that night," Castillo's partner said, deliberately goading him.
Angel growled deep in his throat, his vampiric nature such that he was simply unable to help himself. And that was enough for both cops to yank out their pistols – but the next moment, there was no one there for them to aim at. Using undead super-speed, Angel had already vanished.
"What did I tell you? All kinds of weird freakiness in this city," Angel overheard Castillo say from not too far away, the cop shaking his head and holstering his department-issue SIG.
"So, we gonna call it in?" Hodges asked, cocking his head slightly.
"Yeah. Well, not all of it, not what happened just now – just that the guy flagged us down, asked us a few questions and then left," Castillo told his partner, as they both climbed back into the cruiser. "Trust me: you definitely want to avoid mentioning stuff in the official reports that'll eventually have someone in Internal Affairs stamping 'pure crazy' all over your record!"
A few hours earlier – side street near the Sunnydale Promenade, Sunnydale: evening:
{ Spike's dead, } Xander thought vaguely to himself, as he carried the unconscious Cordelia to his car. { Cordy actually – she basically vaporized him just now. I – wow. That's gotta be major demon stuff! Seriously scary shit... }
Such thoughts quickly flew out of his brain, however, as he lay the brunette down on the back seat of the car – good thing he hadn't used his truck tonight, despite how the Taurus still had a cracked front grille and a broken windshield thanks to Vamp Devon – secured her with the seat belts, and quickly headed for the driver's seat. Xander figured that as the crow flies, Sunnydale General was the closest hospital –
"Ohhh, my head," Cordelia's voice groaned from the back seat, and instantly, it felt like the weight of the world had dropped off of his shoulders. Xander's spirit soared as he then heard her say, "Did anyone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?"
"CORDY! Are you OK?" he yelled, rushing back to the rear of the car. He jumped in, released her and helped her sit up, looking worried. "Honey, you scared the crap out of me!"
"What?" the Seer asked blearily, looking around. "Xander – what are we doing here? Weren't we in the alley with Spike and that woman, just now?"
"You don't remember what just happened?" Xander demanded, trying to calm down. "No, wait, never mind. Are you hurt? Do I need to take you to the hospital?"
"Uh... I don't think so. I mean, headache, sure; but I've had worse after a long day at cheerleader training camp, not to mention studying for finals," Cordelia replied, pushing herself further upright. "Now answer my question. What happened?"
"Uh, well, to be honest with ya – I'm not really sure what went down in that alley just now. It was – seriously freaky," Xander gulped, still trying to calm himself.
"Wait, wait – I remember now," Cordy said, a frown appearing on her face. "Spike was attempting to play innocent, then he started humming something, and then he finally dropped the act – he vamped out, and started to attack – "
"And then you did something, I'm not sure what," Xander interrupted her. "But whatever it was, I think you saved both our lives. And that co-ed's life, too."
"Xander – what the hell just happened?" Cordy asked, now starting to look freaked. "What did I do?"
"Um, I think you blasted Spike into kingdom come using your, uh, mystical demon powers?" he shrugged, helplessly.
"I... what?"
"Well, it's the only explanation I can think of, at least right now," Xander told her, trying to be comforting. "Of course, I could be wrong. And knowing me? I almost certainly am!"
"No... I don't think you are," Cordelia replied, refusing to indulge in any sort of denial. "Willow and Jonathan already told me I wasn't completely human anymore, remember? This – is just proof of it. What they said about that, that demonic essence... "
"OK, but, uh, the important thing to remember is that you used your powers for good, instead of evil," Xander said reassuringly.
Cordelia shook her head. "But how can you be sure that I'm not evil now? Don't forget, I'm also infected with – something! What if that infection isn't inactive anymore? What if – "
Instinctively, Xander shut her up by pressing his lips onto hers. They kissed feverishly, passionately and wantonly before she eventually shoved him back a little. "Wait, what was I saying?"
"I don't remember. Were we talking?"
Smiling, she immediately yanked him closer and plastered herself against him, her tongue working frantically against his. Xander picked her up with his hands cupped around her ass, and Cordelia's legs straddled him on either side as she eagerly climbed into his lap. They made out for many minutes in the back seat of the Taurus before she said dreamily, "Oh, jeez, it's about freaking time... "
"Seriously? Isn't that supposed to be the guy's line?"
Smack! Her free hand hit his chest, hard.
"Ow!" he complained, looking up at her with the hurt brown puppy eyes act.
"Well, you deserved it! Dickhead."
"That's a bit further down south, sweetheart."
Cordelia snickered. "I'm well aware, Doofus." She ground against his groin suggestively. "So now what?"
"Well, as tempting as it is to relive our glory days a little? Cordelia, we're not gonna have sex in the back seat of my car. 'Cause this isn't high school anymore, those days are gone; and the next time we make love, it's gonna be in my bed. In our bed," Xander told her earnestly. "Because seriously, I want it to be as romantic as possible for you. After everything you've been through lately, it's the very least you deserve!"
Cordelia's blinding smile had to be at least megawatt intensity, this time. "So, you're finally done being an ass about 'us', and we're officially back together again?"
"Yeah, I guess – but there's one thing I have to do before we make it official. OK, two things," Xander shrugged, quickly amending himself.
"Which are?"
"I wanna talk to Willow; make sure there's no chance of you getting your memories back anytime soon." He sighed after seeing her expression and added, "I know, I know, it shouldn't make any difference; but I can't help it, Cor. Just feels like something I gotta do, y'know what I mean?"
"Not really, but never mind. And the second thing?" Cordelia asked, eyes narrowing.
He sighed. "I've got to tell Anya about this. I sorta owe it to her, after the way I walked out on our wedding last year."
Cordelia immediately climbed off his lap, and glared at him. "And if she's not OK with it? What are you gonna do, dump me straightaway and beg her to take you back?"
{ She's frightened of losing me to the competition. You gotta keep that in mind, } Xander told himself patiently. He couldn't help marveling at the concept of Cordelia ever being insecure over anything, least of all him, before quickly rejecting the very idea. Then he said, "No, Cor. Like I told you the other night, I'm as sure as I can be that Anya and me, we're done. Finished. Kaput – "
"With no hope of ever getting back together. Yeah, I remember," Cordelia cut him off. She thought about it for a few seconds, and then abruptly nodded. "All right, fine. Go ahead and tell her that you're mine again. But after that, that's it – understood? No more excuses. Especially not if Buffy and Willow hit the roof about it!"
"Damn, you just reminded me – we're gonna have to tell Buffy about what just happened to Spike. And boy, is she not gonna be happy with you," Xander exhaled loudly, mentally anticipating what the Slayer's reaction would be once she heard the bad news – and almost cringing at that visual.
"So? Since when have I ever cared about what Buffy Summers thinks of me? Besides, I can always use you as a human shield if she gets into the same sort of hysterical rage she did the other night," Cordelia said flippantly, blowing some stray hairs out of her face. "You remember, when she started banging on the front door after learning that Spike had been officially evicted from your apartment?"
"How could I possibly forget?" Xander shrugged, as they both got out of the back seat and moved into the front of the car. "I mean, that night was pretty memorable, for lots of reasons."
A while later – outside 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale; evening:
"Well, here we are," Xander said, pulling over close to Buffy's house and looking at the woman sitting next to him. "You ready?"
Cordelia let out a big breath. "Ready as I'll ever be," she replied.
They got out of the car and walked hand in hand to the front door of the house. Xander knocked on the door, and to his surprise, Anya answered the summons. "Ahn? What are you doing here?"
"If you must know, I'm here dropping off some books about the First which Giles sent over from England, on my way home from work." She looked down at their joined hands, and scowled. "And I suppose I don't need to ask what you've been up to, do I? I mean, it's pretty obvious this woman has managed to sink her claws into you again, right?"
Cordelia growled at her, a deep, animalistic sound; but Xander squeezed her hand, and she subsided almost immediately. "I'll be waiting inside. Just don't take too long about this, Dummy." His girlfriend subsequently let go of his hand and walked into the house, shutting the door behind her.
"Well?" Anya demanded, scowling at him.
"Well, what? What do you want me to say, Ahn? I mean, you've already guessed what's happened between Cordy and me. And I just wanted to tell you in person, rather than you hearing it as gossip from the rest of the gang – "
"Oh, sure, now you're concerned about my feelings. So where was this concern on our wedding day, you douche bag?" she snapped at him.
{ Great, we're back to that again. } Xander told her, "Anya... how many times do you want me to say I'm sorry about that? Great googley-moogley, I told you... I thought I was doing the right thing that day, I didn't want to hurt you – "
"Yeah, well, you did! And – I want to know why. Hey, wait a minute – did you abandon me that day, because I wasn't that Cordelia girl?!" she demanded suspiciously.
"What? NO!" Xander yelped, feeling shocked. "I mean, Cordy totally wasn't part of the picture then!"
"But she is now," Anya growled, staring at him angrily.
"Yeah, guess so. She's not the type who takes 'no' for an answer on anything, and earlier tonight I thought Cordy mighta been hurt or even worse, and all of a sudden it all sorta clicked into place – I mean, I just knew – "
"Stop. I don't need to hear details. All I need to know is that you've moved on," Anya cut him off roughly, trying to hide her pain but not succeeding very well. The next moment she blanked her expression, though – straightening up, she told him emotionlessly, "Fine. So be it. I know that eventually, I'll find someone else. So, we can officially consider the subject of 'us' closed, like forever."
"Ahn... "
But she had already turned away and opened the front door to the Summers residence, heading back inside. With another heartfelt sigh, Xander followed her into the house; only for Anya to collect her coat and handbag from the stand, and say a brief farewell to everyone before walking out the front door.
"What's gotten her so upset?" Dawn asked curiously.
"I – think I can guess," Willow said hesitantly, seeing Cordelia and Xander holding hands again.
Buffy noticed it too. "What the hell-? Xander! What's wrong with you? I mean, despite appearances, Cordelia's only seventeen right now! Of all the boneheaded – "
"Gee, Buffy. That's kinda hypocritical, coming from you! I mean, the way I remember it? It was just a few months ago that you were seventeen, and you gave it up to a vampire!" Cordelia interrupted, a vicious look appearing in her eyes. "At least my man isn't centuries older than I am, and a psycho serial killer just waiting to be unleashed!"
"Uh-oh," Jonathan muttered, retreating to minimum safe distance besides Andrew, who was once again tied up in his chair.
"What's going on?" Wells asked, seeing the Slayer starting to glare at Cordelia.
"I dunno for sure, but I'm pretty sure Mount Saint Buffy is about to explode," Levinson muttered, before scowling at the prisoner.
"How dare you say that to me?!" Buffy screamed at Cordelia, right on cue. "You have no idea what I've been through over the years, you, you vapid whore-!"
"Don't call her that. Never again. Or our friendship is officially over, Buffy," Xander cut in warningly. "And trust me; you won't like the consequences if that happens."
"What are you talking about?!" Buffy exploded angrily, glaring at him.
"I'll explain later, Buff," Willow told her, before sending an unfriendly look in Xander's direction. He could tell she was still upset about the whole 'sugar daddy' thing from earlier tonight, and simply shrugged. The redhead ignored that and added, "Besides, we've got other things to worry about right now. Like Spike?"
Buffy visibly calmed down, exhaling a long, deep breath of pain. "All right. Where are we on that?"
"I had a vision about him murdering some woman in an alley, earlier tonight," Cordelia said, as everyone turned to stare at her. "So, any doubts you had about Spike killing people again? Forget 'em!"
"She's right, I mean – I was there. I saw Cordelia glow with this weird kind of white light, and her eyes turned totally white while she was tuned in to the Psychic News Network," Xander explained.
"Oh, jeez. Well, we gotta stop him," Buffy said quickly, and Xander could tell that Slay-gal was willing to accept the truth of Cordy's assertion despite still being pissed at her. He doubted the blond had forgotten how Cordelia prided herself on being painfully honest at all times, after all.
"So which alley was it, exactly?" Buffy then asked.
"It, um, doesn't really matter, not anymore. Cordy and I already, ah, dealt with the situation," Xander said uncomfortably.
"What do you mean?" Dawn asked at once.
"What are you talking about?" Buffy demanded at the same time. She glanced at her little sister before adding, "Damn it, Xander, why didn't you call and let me handle it? I'm the Slayer around here!"
"How about the fact that by the time you'd have gotten there, Spike's intended victim would have been dead?" Cordelia said scornfully. "The Doofus and I got there only just in time, as it is – and our apartment is a lot closer to the damn Promenade than this place!"
"I was actually at the high school, with Jonathan... " Buffy trailed off, before shaking her head. "All right, fine. My mistake. So – did you see which direction Spike ran off in, after you two stopped him from killing that woman?"
Xander and Cordelia exchanged a glance, and he said in a very soft voice, "Ah, about that, Buff... "
"What?" the Chosen One asked in confusion.
"Oh, Goddess, you didn't," Willow breathed out in horror, and Xander could tell how his red-haired best friend was quicker on the uptake than anyone else in the room. "Xander? You wouldn't have. You couldn't have!"
"He didn't. I did," Cordelia said, in that same scornful voice as before. "I mean, after Spike went into his 'grr' face and started to attack us? Not sure how I did it, but I killed him before he could hurt me and my boyfriend. What? Willow, were we supposed to just stand there and let him kill us?"
Buffy's eyes went wide, and Xander could almost literally see the red veil of murderous rage clouding her vision. She then rushed over towards his girlfriend; and he could tell Buffy was fully intending to make Cordy's teeth go flying out the back of her neck –
But anticipating her actions, Xander stepped in front of the Seer, and so the Slayer's blow sent him soaring through the air into the wall instead.
"XANDER!" Willow and Dawn screamed, as Cordelia blinked – and then, with a primal howl of pain, she rushed over to him.
"I'll, I'll call an ambulance," Xander vaguely heard Jonathan announce, before the nerd rushed towards the telephone.
No one paid any attention to Levinson as he dialed 911, and after he hung up, Jonathan grabbed a knife – the same one Andrew would have stabbed him with – before the guy ordered his ex-partner to proceed upstairs, after cutting him loose.
Still dazed and in pain, Xander could only see Buffy looking shocked by the sight of his head bleeding all over the living room carpet...
TBC…
A/N: First off, we must reiterate our position that we are not bashing any of the characters in this story! Or trying to bash anyone, whatever. See, it was pointed out to us that Angel was acting more than a little dumb by not immediately figuring out Cordelia had left for Sunnydale; but our position is that not only has the Vision Girl been living in Los Angeles for the past three and a half years, thus automatically making that city 'home' for her in Angel's mind, but he wasn't thinking all that clearly at that point anyway - not after having sex with the Transuding Furies (concurrently or consecutively, that was never made clear on the show) and those two OCs goading him about his son.
It was also pointed out that Buffy acted a bit OOC at the end, resorting to violence so quickly after hearing that Spike had been terminated with extreme prejudice that way. Again, she wasn't thinking all that clearly - plus, given the situation... well, Spike was someone Buffy definitely had feelings for, however much denial existed at this point during Sleeper, otherwise he'd have been staked as soon as that battle at 634 Hoffman Terrace was over. And hearing someone that you practically hate casually state that your former lover had been dusted that way? Complicated situation. Very complicated.
Anyway, thanks to WesGeorge for the latest review, and we hope you enjoyed the latest chapter (there's not too many of them left to go!) and that you give us your feedback - oh, and we hope you have/had a fabulous Halloween/Samhain/whatever!
