Thanks to my first reviewers! I would have had this chapter in earlier except I had to do this silly thing yesterday called college graduation so last week was certifiably crazy!
I'm not sure if Alice's boots in the miniseries were brown or purple. A friend of mine commented while we were watching my DVD that they were purple and so I made it so in the story.
Chapter I: The Important Date
"Yame!" Alice clapped her hands, signaling the end of today's karate class.
Some of her students were lying on the mats after well executed throws had landed them there by their sparring partners. This was the more advanced class, which meant Alice did not have to spend much time physically interacting with her students. Mostly, all she had to do was observe, advise, and rescue, if need be. Today that was very much a blessing, as she was still feeling highly strung with nerves. She was not very confident in her ability to withhold her vastly superior physical strength should she try to spar with a normal person.
"Thank you, everyone, that'll be all for today. See you on Tuesday!" she announced.
She focused her gaze on one particular student of hers, a tall man with sandy brown hair who was currently doubled over trying to regain his breath. He was dressed much the same as herself with a white robe over wide-legged white slacks. The only difference was in the color of the belts that kept the robe shut. The man's belt was as white as the rest of his outfit. Alice's belt was black.
Keeping her tone strictly business-like, she called to him, "Mr. Chase! I believe we have a private lesson."
The man looked up at her, his light brown eyes locking onto her own. He nodded and rose to his full height. She ambled over to him with her hands on her hips, surreptitiously making certain none of the other students had any intent on staying and watching. Though it was not exactly against the rules for her to date one of her students, she did not want to stir up any rivalries amongst her class. The less the rest of her students knew about her personal relationship with Jack Chase, the better.
"How many classes have you taken so far, Mr. Chase?" she inquired.
Rising to his full height, Jack replied in his crisp English inflection, "Ten in six weeks, but I could always do with more." She could see him trying to dispel the smirk which started to form after he said the last part.
She grabbed a fistful of the white fabric of his robe and pulled him forward, emitting a grunt of feigned effort. If she had wanted to, she could have thrown him clear across the room without breaking a sweat.
"But I'm only part-time. You'll probably have to see another instructor," she advised him. Then it was him pulling her, trying to hook one his legs around her own to try and trip her. She let herself be dragged forward the few inches, but artfully evaded his attempts to ground her.
"Who do you suggest?" he asked, clearly enjoying the banter.
"Tim Roberts is a very good instructor," she said casually.
"But I hear he has a mean streak," Jack countered, cocking an eyebrow.
Oh, he looks cute when he does that. Maybe I should let him have the upper hand.
"What about Jenny Moyers?" His question was couched in a tone of complete innocence, but his twinkling, mirthful eyes belied that wholeheartedly.
Well, say goodbye to the chance to throw me down, Jackie-boy.
"Hmmm, she's no good for you. She's too..." Alice floundered for a word that had nothing to do with the fact that Jenny Moyers was an exceptionally beautiful (and well-sought after) redhead. Professionally speaking, Alice had no qualms with the woman.
"Pretty?" Jack offered mildly.
Before he even had a chance to smile at the heat which brought a red bloom to Alice's pale cheeks, he was slammed to the ground with unexpected force. He gasped as the air was rudely expelled from his lungs.
"Ow," he choked out.
Alice straddled him, smiling with a peculiar mixture of sweet concern and devious self-satisfaction. She knew he was not really hurt. The mats absorbed quite a lot of the impact for all that they were only a few inches thick. She may have used more strength than she should have in throwing him down. It was not likely he would really notice. She was actually more surprised at herself for letting her paranoid, jealous side get the better of her. She was aware of the fact that he had simply been baiting her and had no intention of receiving instruction in the martial arts from Jenny Moyers. She had walked right into that trap, so to speak.
"Alice, that really hurt," he complained.
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" she cooed mock-sweetly.
Leaning forward, she pressed her lips against his own, which gave willingly. They stayed linked like that for about thirty seconds before Jack broke the kiss with a sly interjection. "Um the pain is further down below." He grinned impishly, his golden-brown eyes gleaming with silent laughter.
Alice cocked an eyebrow at him. She pulled herself to her feet and held her hands out to help her boyfriend up.
"No, Alice, I need medical attention!" he pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah, come on, get up. Lesson's over," she told him dryly.
He chuckled as he she helped him to stand and followed her to the window where a few towels sat folded on the sill.
"So," Jack began, "tonight?"
"Seven-o-clock," Alice reminded him, throwing him a towel to wipe the sweat off his neck. She grabbed her silver and black water thermos, unscrewing the cap to take a long drink. "My mother is so looking forward to it," she added once she had finished her drink.
Jack smiled at that. "Good for your mum. So am I."
Jack had immediately expressed interest in meeting the woman who had raised his girlfriend. Alice had told him she and her mother were extremely close, especially since the disappearance of Alice's father over ten years ago. She had waited until she was certain Jack would be around long enough to warrant the infamous meet-the-mother dinner. After three months, she felt it was safe for proper introductions to ensue.
"So, ah, what have you told her about me?" Jack queried.
Alice took another swig from her thermos and shrugged. "Nothing much. Just that your leg kicks need work."
The response she received was a towel thrown at her face accompanied by sardonic laughter.
Alice stepped out into the sunlight armed with a full bag of groceries. The thunderstorm which had pounded the city the previous night had given way to warmth and light, enticing people out of doors for more than just a quick dash to the convenience store. This was the face of Cleveland most of its inhabitants saw. This was the face which blinded them to the much more sinister face it hid beneath its midnight mask. It was quite astounding to her that no one paid any mind to the staggering death toll and disappearances. Just about all the residents of Cleveland wore a thick pair of rose-tinted glasses.
Guess every hellmouth town has Sunnydale Syndrome. Residents of Sunnydale, California, where the USA's other hellmouth once resided had behaved in a very similar manner. She shook her head, banishing such dark thoughts from her mind. There was nothing she could do about the collective denial of a whole city of people. She had her own issues to worry about.
The primary issue at the moment was deciding upon what to wear for the dinner tonight. Since her mother would be there, a slinky black dress or slinky any-color dress was quite out of the question. She preferred to avoid the other extreme, however, which would entail covering up every bit of skin save for her face and neck. Alice skimmed her mental inventory of the formal wear she owned, which proved to be more disappointing than she had hoped. Nothing she had seemed appropriate. She knew it was somewhat ludicrous to be stressing over an outfit to wear at a dinner within her own home, but this was not just any dinner. This was, quite possibly, the dinner which could determine the course of her entire relationship.
So lost in her inane thoughts of clothing was she, that she almost did not hear the man propped up against the corner of two buildings address her. "Spare any change, ma'am?"
Even if he had not requested some change, she would have known him for a homeless person. He was dressed in a long brown coat, though whether that was the coat's natural color or just a result of not being washed in eons was up for debate. Large glasses that looked as if they were being held together by tape obscured most of his dirt-coated face. Grungy brown locks of hair peaked out from beneath his knit cap. The holes in his pants exposed scraped, knobby knees. On his hands were gloves cut so as to allow his fingers to poke through. In one hand he held a small cup, no doubt to collect the change he so ardently wished for. It was probably safe to assume the poor man had seen better days. Alice felt a stab of pity.
"Um, sorry, no," she stammered.
The man stared at her, his pitiful watery eyes perched behind those scuffed lenses latching onto the strings of pity. She sighed and rummaged around in her grocery bag, figuring the least she could do was give the man some food. "I do have these, though," she told him, pulling out a clear plastic bag with three red apples in it.
He seemed perplexed (and more than a little disappointed) by the offer, but reached out for it anyway. Alice bit her lip to keep from saying aloud the phrase that had just entered her mind as she handed the bag to him. Beggars can't be choosers. That would have just been rude.
A cold chill hit her right then, as she watched the man study the apples suspiciously. It was a chill unlike anything she had ever felt before. It started at the base of her spine, and then proceeded up the column to raise the hairs on the back of her neck. She consulted with her special senses, wondering if she may have missed something about the man. Normally, she only allowed her sixth sense to operate at the forefront of her senses when she was on duty. It was far too distracting to keep it essentially turned on all the time. It was always there, though, operating silently in the background.
The man checked out as a normal, but rather unfortunate, human being. Why she would be assaulted with such strange, foreboding sensations by him was beyond her. Such things were not within her area of expertise.
Unnerved by it, she quickly exited the scene to make her way to the small house she and her mother shared. She decided to put the moment out of her mind.
Carol Hamilton walked into the bedroom, finding her daughter peering at her computer screen with a frown upon her face while clicking the mouse repeatedly. Glancing at the screen, she saw that Alice had been reviewing photos of middle-aged men. She was rejecting every single one of them with a disheartened "no".
"Where are these from?" she asked.
Carol knew better than to object to her daughter's search for her father. Where she herself had managed to let go of her lost husband and move on with her life, Alice had held firmly onto the belief that her father was alive and well. She was so determined to find him and confront him. She desperately wanted to know why he had left them alone. Carol's husband's disappearance had cast a shadow over Alice's life. A shadow the girl had, unfortunately, never been able to rid herself of.
"New Zealand," Alice said monotonously.
In spite of the serious manner with which her daughter regarded the business in finding her father, Carol found no crime in trying to inject some humor into the situation. "Very nice. If Daddy's in New Zealand I might just fly out there and look for him myself."
Alice sighed and sat back in her chair. "Don't bother. He's not in New Zealand." The dark-haired girl stood and selected a tack from the cup on her desk. She shoved it into the tiny area denoted as New Zealand on the world map hanging on the wall above her desk. The map was covered in hundreds of tacks.
Oh, sweetheart, I wish you'd just let it go. Live your life. She had tried to tell Alice these things before. Her daughter was far too stubborn and willful to adhere to such advice. She would hold onto the past even if it was slowly draining the light from her life. The woman regarded her child solemnly, marveling at the curious way in which Alice seemed both so grown up and so like a child at the same time. There was something missing in her daughter's life. It was something Carol could not provide and something the absence of her husband could not completely account for. While she wanted to believe this Jack Chase, her daughter's current boyfriend, could be the key, the missing piece of the puzzle which was Alice's life, history had taught her otherwise.
"Should I get out the fine china?" Carol queried, failing to quell the sarcasm in her voice.
Evidently, Alice had noticed the tone. "Hey, wait, I thought you were excited to meet him!"
"I am!" Carol assured her. "I only hope it's not the kiss of death," she added sheepishly.
Alice frowned in confusion. "Kiss of death? What is that supposed to mean, Mother?"
Carol was surprised her daughter even had to ask such a question. Surely the girl had drawn the lines between bringing a man home to meet her and the relationship ending within a few days (a week at most by Carol's reckoning)? Or was the poor child in denial?
"Oh, come on, you know it's true. You no sooner bring a guy home with you then you come up with your own reasons about why he should never come back," the older woman pointed out wearily.
"Oh, yeah, well," Alice appeared to struggle for a counter argument. She ended up settling for, "Well, this one's different."
Intrigued, Carol arched an eyebrow. "Oh? How so?"
"Well, he has an English accent for starters."
Carol laughed. "I hear wedding bells already."
Alice had no idea why she chose the blue dress. She supposed she had panicked when the clock read 6:55 and she was still standing there in her bra and panties. It was not that the dress was unattractive; it simply had not been what she had envisioned herself wearing for tonight. Furthermore, it was by some bizarre misstep in fate that the only clean pair of pantyhose she had on hand was dyed a deep magenta color, which, to Alice's mind, clashed horribly with the blue, sleeveless dress. When she heard the door buzzer signal Jack's arrival, she grabbed the nearest pair of footwear she could find: purple leather boots. The dinner had not even started yet and already things appeared to be deviating from the plan. This was not good.
It never occurred to her that she could have made Jack wait a few more minutes so she could find a more suitable pair of shoes. Or she could have let her mother answer the door. She merely pulled the boots on and laced them up before sprinting down the hall to let him in. He stood in front of the door, smiling brightly at her and looking as dashing as ever in a black jacket and black dress slacks with a dark blue dress shirt.
"You look lovely," he told her. He sounded like he actually meant it, too, which provoked a shy smile from Alice.
"You're not so bad, either. Come on in," she returned, stepping back to give him room to enter. Though it was somewhat of a cardinal rule among Slayers to never openly invite a person into their homes, Alice was quite confident implementing the rule with Jack was not necessary. She had seen the man walk around in daylight, after all.
As Jack entered the domain, he produced a bouquet of white roses from behind his back.
"Oooh," Alice remarked with pleasure. "For me?"
Jack glanced at Alice's approaching mother before looking back to Alice. "For both of you, actually."
Carol's mother seemed equally pleased with the flowers. She bestowed a glowing grin upon her daughter's boyfriend while accepting the bouquet. "Oh, how lovely. Thank you," she said.
Alice commenced with the gratuitous introductions before her mother wandered back into the kitchen with a promise of dinner on the table within twenty minutes.
"This," Jack said quietly as he snaked a hand inside his jacket, "is for you."
It was a single red rose. Alice smiled and brought it up to her nose to sniff. Not every guy she had dated had given her a beautiful rose. She was not even certain some of the past guys had even known what roses were. She had not always selected her paramours from the most eligible of bachelors.
In spite of Alice's initial misgivings about the night, the event was going surprisingly well. Her mother and her boyfriend seemed to get along amiably as they chatted about the home she and her mother had resided in since Alice had been a child. Her mother was always in the midst of some kind of renovation with the place. This time it was the floors, which were to be redone in the fall.
"It seems like we've been here forever. Just the two of us. God, about eleven years since..." Alice's mother trailed off, her expression darkening with worry.
"March 23rd," Alice finished softly. This was a turn in the conversation she had neither foreseen nor welcomed. She swallowed the lump which had suddenly materialized in her throat.
"Yes, Jack, Alice is meticulous with dates," Carol informed him carefully.
Alice shook her head. "Just that one, really." She shot her mother a pleading look.
"Oh, of course, that's when," Jack said, wrapping one of Alice's hands in his own and squeezing it for comfort.
"Yeah," Alice confirmed. The word rang with a finality which brooked no argument.
Alice's mother found a keen interest in the wine remaining in her glass. After a few moments, with her composure regained, she announced that she was ready to retire to watch one of her favorite television shows. She bid the couple good-night and left the two to their own devices.
Jack peered at his girlfriend anxiously. "I'm sorry, Alice."
Alice sighed and plastered on a brave smile. This was not the time for the emotions involved with her father's disappearance to get stirred up. She squeezed them back behind the mental bars she had constructed for them long ago. "No, I am. I didn't mean to do the family baggage thing. I guess that got a little awkward there," she said.
"No, no," Jack said. "I want to know all about you. The good parts and the bad."
Alice emitted a small, nervous chuckle. "Be careful what you wish for." I don't think you could handle the really bad parts just yet.
Before Jack could reply, Alice heard his phone make some inquisitive beeping sounds as if to ask: why is no one paying attention to me? Annoyance flickered across her boyfriend's face as he stood and reached into the pocket of his slacks to fish his cell phone out. He shot an apologetic look at Alice as he flipped it open to read his message. If he had not had his back turned towards her, she would have seen and marked the panic which flitted across his features as he read his message. As it was, she only felt some mild concern over it.
"What's up?" she asked.
Instead of answering her, he turned around, his face mostly cleared of the alarm it had clearly been displaying only seconds before. He shoved his cell phone back into his pocket and regarded her intently. His intense gaze seemed to produce that same weird chill Alice had felt earlier in the day. Unease gripped her like a vice.
"How would you like to meet my family?" he asked.
Well, that definitely came from out of the blue. "What, are they coming to town?"
"No, no we'd have to go there," Jack told her. His voice sounded strained.
Something's not right, Alice thought to herself. She would not have survived so long in her line of work if she did not listen to what her instincts transmitted. Though she could tell he was trying his best to conceal it, Jack Chase was fidgeting anxiously. Her keen eyes spotted miniscule beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Geez, what did that message say?
"Um," she started slowly. "Okay, when?"
"Tonight," he stated seriously.
Alice gawked at him for a few seconds before clearing her throat for a response. She had no idea what had possessed her boyfriend to think she would agree to something like this with so little preparation involved. Moreover, she had no idea just why he would suddenly pose the question. "Um, tonight? Yeah, that's not gonna work for me. I mean, I haven't planned for it at all. I just can't get up and go, just like that," she stammered.
Jack squeezed his hands into tight fists. Alice could practically see the anxiety gnawing at his reserve. "Oh, but that's part of the adventure," he countered, attempting to sound cheerful. "Some things are more exciting when they're spur of the moment, don't you think?" He grinned, but it was a grin which was tight and forced.
Alice preferred things to be planned out. She liked to know what was coming, when it was coming, and where it was coming from. She was a huge proponent of strategizing and technique, and did not take kindly to being caught off guard or by surprise. Of course, it did not mean she was not capable of thinking on her feet or improvising. A Slayer would not last long if she was unable to do such things. Given the choice, however, she would take a well-mapped out battle strategy over charging in blindly any day.
"Besides, you look perfect as you are," he continued. He was sounding almost desperate. She was baffled by that. Just how badly did he want her to meet his parents? "If we leave now, we can be back by Monday morning."
Alice shook her head. Aside from the fact that she was not only pulling Slayer duty all weekend as the squad leader, it was all still too spur-of-the-moment for her tastes. She searched for a way out of this.
"What if...what if they don't approve of me?" she pointed out, crossing her arms.
Jack dismissed that possibility entirely. "Oh, they'll approve of you. Especially when they see you wearing this." He grabbed his jacket, which had been hanging on the back of the chair, and pulled what looked suspiciously like a ring box out of the front pocket.
Alice's eyes widened in shock; panic surged through her system. Her cobalt eyes centered on the box as if it were the only thing in the room. It was oddly shaped, as far as ring boxes go. She had never been presented with one before, but she had seen enough of those jewelry store commercials blathering on about the perfect diamond for the perfect question to know what one looked like. Instead of the typical square shape, this box was round. The dark wooden top was intricately carved into a tight spiral design with a small, silver metal circle in the middle of the very top. The bottom of the box was likewise silver and metal with designs etched into it. Whatever unusual design it was, a ring box was a ring box. The disturbing chill was winding its way through Alice's entire body, coaxing goose-bumps to pop out on the exposed skin of her arms. She numbly took the box in her hands when Jack offered it to her, mentally cursing herself for accepting something she clearly did not want.
Jack walked behind her and laid his hands over top of his own as she studied the box. "Its got a hidden catch," she heard him say. Though his mouth was literally next to her ear, he sounded like he was at the other end of a long tunnel to Alice.
Don't open it, a voice in Alice's head warned her. Make him stop, Alice!
Jack twisted the bottom and pressed the silver circle on the top, which evidently was a button of some sorts. A little spring pop was heard and he pulled off half of the wooden top.
There it was. Nestled in a cusp of white fabric was an unusual ring. A large amber colored stone sat atop the gold ring with a strange, twirling pattern of green encircling it. Alice stared at it blankly, mesmerized by the strange aura emanating from it. It took a few moments for her mental faculties to completely restore themselves. When they did, Alice came to a startling realization. This ring, whatever Jack may have thought of it, was some kind of enchanted artifact. She could feel the magicks roiling off of it, intertwining with her acute, preternatural senses.
"It, ah, looks really old," she remarked.
Did he know this was an enchanted ring? What it was precisely meant for, Alice had no idea. Though it was quite ridiculous, the girl could not help but picture the character Frodo from the Tolkien novels The Lord of the Rings, holding up the One Ring triumphantly. She shooed the image away. That was just a product of fiction and had no bearing on this current situation, which was very much a reality.
"It's been in my family for a very long time," her boyfriend informed her. He bestowed a tender kiss on her temple.
Has it now? Alice was beginning to think she should have probably checked out Jack's credentials a bit more thoroughly before dating him. The questions she wanted to peg him with, however, turned to ashes in her mouth the moment she tried to ask. She desperately wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. She really wanted to believe he was ignorant of this thing's true nature.
"Are you...are you giving this to me?" Alice pulled away from his embrace to turn and face him. She regarded him with a look of pure confusion mixed with trepidation.
"Would you like to try it on?" He asked, sounding as if he was excited at the prospect.
No, not really. She glanced down at the ring, suppressing the involuntary shudder that trickled through her hands. Looking back up at Jack, she said, "Jack, a ring means something. It..this is too fast for me. This is way, way too fast. I'm sorry, but I can't accept this ring."
She handed the box back to him, feeling a stab of guilt at the look of bitter disappointment on his face as he cupped it in his hands.
He took a deep breath. "Well, perhaps you'll feel differently once you've met my friends and family."
He's persistent, I'll give him that. "No, I can't go with you, Jack," she refused. "Not tonight. Not like this."
The chill had subsided, just slightly, in the face of the dread churning her gut. She looked down at her feet so he would not see the tears of regret in her eyes as she made an undesirable decision. She hated having to do this to him, but the man obviously had gotten the wrong impression of her. Perhaps he did not mean the ring as a marriage proposal. Either way it was still far too early in the relationship to be gifting her with a ring. Marriage or not, it symbolized a commitment the girl was not yet willing to make. She had to make him see that if there was any hope of salvaging what was between them.
"Maybe we should take it easy for a few days, Jack. Spend some time apart, you know," she mumbled reluctantly. Looking back at him, she steeled herself against the look of rejection, hurt, and confusion on her boyfriend's face. Guilt flushed her cheeks red. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat. "We'll see how we feel in a few days."
"Alice, I," Jack started, but Alice stopped whatever it was he was going to say. She wanted to hear no pleas or justifications, for it would only make this more difficult.
"Just give me some time," she said quietly.
Alice turned away from him and walked towards the door, unable to bear the hurt on his face. She heard his heavy footsteps, as if he were dragging himself after her.
Opening the door, she forced herself to look him in the eye. The golden brown irises were glistening with emotions. Disappointment was there, most definitely. There was sorrow. But there was something else, too. It was something that almost looked like fear, which fed her suspicions of something else going on underneath the radar. She was too emotionally weary to delve into that, however. Whatever was going on, she hoped Jack would enlighten her in the next few days. Of course, that was if he still felt like speaking to her. She honestly would not be surprised if he did not want to see her at all.
He hugged her before walking out the door. She breathed in his unique scent as she allowed her head to rest on one of his broad shoulders, beating back the urge to cry. When he let go, he put his jacket on and nodded at her. She bid him goodbye and shut the door, leaning against it and forcing her head upwards for gravity to do its work upon her tears.
She was completely unaware that her boyfriend had covertly slipped the ring box into one of the pockets of her dress while he had been hugging her.