Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy & Fox. Numb3rs belongs to CBS. The song World So Cold belongs to 12 Stones. (NOT ME!!!)

Summary: While struggling to ignore her destiny and forget the tragedies that resulted from it, Buffy is drawn to save an innocent and makes a new friend in the process. And Charlie learns that there's more to the world than he'd ever imagined.

Warnings: None that I can think of…

AN: Thanks to my new beta-reader for First Meeting, katgurl, for proof-reading this chapter and helping me get it out so quickly.

First Meeting

Part I in Mathematics & Magic

By Jess S

Chapter 4: What Goes Bump In The Night?

Part II

City Streets, Los Angeles, California – Saturday, June 28, 1996

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Charlie glanced around the dark streets nervously, not at all sure of what he was supposedly to be looking for and as a result stuck following Annie's lead quite blindly. It was unsettling, but a part of him was excited too. He loved learning new things, and as frightening as the world of the supernatural inherently was, there was nothing that could be perceived as any more unknown to him.

That hadn't ended up going on this so-called 'patrol' for more than a week after he'd finally cornered Annie and learned the truth.

For one thing, Charlie was still supposedly recovering from his injuries.

In all actuality, Annie's blood had made short work of his injuries. While Charlie hadn't healed as quickly as Annie would have from such injuries, he had still been better much more quickly than his parents could have imagined or comprehended.

According to Annie, when her body was in peak physical condition it would have made up for the blood loss in very little time: two hours tops, the most severe of her bruises would have faded overnight, and even the concussion would have quickly disappeared.

Charlie hadn't healed that fast. But he had healed much more quickly then he'd been expecting, and had needed to struggle to keep this fact from his concerned parents, who hadn't wanted to let him out of their sight.

Nonetheless, a week after their discussion in the garage, he had finally talked his parents into letting him go into downtown LA with Annie. Charlie strongly suspected that the fact that he wanted to go on what sounded to them like date with a pretty girl was a large part of why they'd relented last night and happily waived the two off as they'd left on foot this evening.

They'd eaten a quick dinner at one of the small restaurants in Pasadena before taking a taxi to one of the clubs in LA. Annie somehow knew after only a few moments surrounded by the flashing light and loud music that there were no vampires in that particular club, so they'd left and gone to another club. They'd done this again, and again, before Annie decided they might be better off just walking around like they were now. Charlie wasn't sure how he felt about that. On one hand, the music in the crowed clubs had been awful, on the other, dancing with Annie had been a lot of fun.

"Hey," Annie's soft, teasing voice brought his mind back to the present as she laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and drew his eyes to her again. Her smile was teasing too, but her eyes were serious. "Relax, Charlie. You don't have anything to worry about."

Charlie blinked, glancing around again before meeting her eyes again. "My common sense disagrees. We're wandering around dark alleys late at night in the middle of a dangerous city, you know. And we're looking for monsters that would like to eat us."

"Yeah," Annie nodded in agreement, still smiling as she linked arms with him and drew him further down the sidewalk from where he hadn't realized he'd stopped during his internal monologue. "But you're doing this with the Slayer. And I really do know what I'm doing, you know. I may be a little rusty, but I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know that," Charlie cut in quickly, before shaking his head. "I guess I'm still just trying to process everything..."

"That's normal," Annie told him gently, her own eyes taking a slightly introspective look as she continued. "The first few weeks after Merrick told me I was the Slayer I spent a part of almost every patrol questioning my sanity." Suddenly she tensed, her mind coming back to the present. "Keep your cross and water gun handy," she ordered, her voice firm as she suddenly released his arm and started... stalking – there was really no other word for it – down the sidewalk towards the next alley. "And stay behind me."

Charlie froze for a second as his ears picked up sounds from the nearby alley, sending his mind back to his own initial encounter with vampires.

Struggles.

Struggling, unable to move while a figure much smaller than himself but with muscles of steel was holding him firmly in place in a bruising grip.

Gasping.

Gasping as a sharp pain shoots through his neck followed by a heightened sensation of pain and weakness rushing through his body as all his blood seemed to rush towards his neck.

Sobbing.

Sobbing, as his strength waned, his vision began to fade and his breath grew short.

He was suddenly drawn out of his flashback by Annie's voice, though now her tone was hard and mocking as she stood at the entrance to the alley, gazing inward. "Don't you boys have anything better to do on a Saturday night?"

As Annie started moving further into the alley with the slow, stalking steps of a predator on the hunt once again, Charlie hurriedly shook himself out of his thoughts and moved to follow her. He heard a male voice snap something back at Annie, but couldn't make out what they said and a moment later sounds of fighting broke out.

By the time he reached the mouth of the alley the air was filled with stale dust and a figure was running towards him. Without his mind taking any part in the decision, the hand that was holding a large cross suddenly flew up and the vampire that was running towards him stopped abruptly, seeming to fling himself backwards with a snarl just before he exploded into dust.

As the dust settled he blinked and saw Annie turn from obviously having thrown something at the vampire's back to crouch near a younger teenage girl further down the alley.

After a brief, poignant pause he hurried over to them. "Is she okay?"

Annie looked up and nodded before turning her eyes back to the girl as she responded, her voice surprisingly gentle. "She'll be fine. Won't you, sweet heart?"

Charlie watched over the course of the next several moments as Buffy gently coaxed the slightly younger teen to her feet and led her out of the alley. Then he watched in surprise as the girl mumbled a tearful 'thank you' before wandering off in a daze. "Shouldn't we—"

"We'll follow her," Annie cut in, before shaking her head. "But she's already started to suppress it. Our presence isn't something she wants right now."

"But she'll be okay?"

"Yeah, we'll make sure she gets home all right. And when the sun comes up tomorrow she will have forgotten all about this. Probably assume she got drunk the night before, or something similar."

"Isn't... Isn't she a little young to make that assumption?"

Annie raised an eyebrow at him. "She's probably fifteen. High school age... You really think a girl like her doesn't go to the high school and college parties with booze?"

Charlie's frown deepened as he glanced back at the blonde they were following from a few blocks away before looking back at the blonde next to him. "Should you really be making judgments on blondes?"

Annie laughed, a smiling lighting up her features. "She looks just like me a few years ago and trust me, I knew where the parties were then... Don't have much time now, of course. But I did then."

They walked in silence for several moments before Charlie broke it. "How... How long do you usually patrol?"

"When I was doing it regularly on the Hellmouth?" Annie shrugged. "From about eleven o'clock at night or midnight to four or four thirty in the morning... Don't worry, I'm not gonna keep you out that long."

"Is that why we haven't seen many vampires?" Charlie asked, glancing at his watch to confirm that it was just past ten o'clock.

"Yeah. It's still a bit early for them to be out and about... But this isn't the Hellmouth, either."

"What's the Hellmouth?"

Annie's eyes didn't move from watching the blonde they were trailing as she responded in a soft, even tone. "It's a point on Earth that's connected to a Hell dimension, where some of that evil can leak through into our world, drawing all the baddies to it."

"There's more than one?"

Annie frowned but nodded, "I think so. I remember my first Watcher, Merrick, mentioning them at one point. He said 'Hellmouths', plural. Never mentioned one was so close, or I probably wouldn't have moved there after his death. All Giles has ever referred to is the one in Sunnydale, though. So that must be one of the bigger ones."

"Sunnydale?" Charlie frowned in thought for several moments before nodding, "That's just a few hours south of here on the freeway, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"There's a Hellmouth there?"

"Yeah. Under the high school."

Charlie stopped for a moment as his mind hurried to contemplate that strange thought before he noticed his friend drawing away and hurried to catch up with her. "That's..." he shook his head. "That's just wrong."

"On many, many levels, I know." Annie nodded in agreement, before chuckling softly.

"What?"

"Adds a whole new dimension to the high school is hell idea, though, doesn't it?"

Charlie chuckled also. "It does at that." He shook his head after that. "I hated high school, you know. And I was only there for three years."

"Most people I've met weren't too fond of those years, or still aren't if they're going through them."

"Do you think the school was deliberately built on the Hellmouth, or was the school being where it was—"

"No, the school didn't create the Hellmouth." Annie smiled at him. "There'd be a lot more of them if that were the case. And I asked Giles a while back about that. There used to be a Church on top of the Hellmouth. Then it was buried in an earthquake and the school was built on top of it. But the Hellmouth was there first. It was there when the Spanish first came here. Probably before that."

"Oh. Okay."

"Finally." Annie muttered, and Charlie looked up to see the blonde they were following hailing a cab. After she'd gotten in and the cab had driven off, Annie turned back to Charlie with a smile. "Okay. Now we just have one more place to go to."

"We do?"

"Yeah. You've only seen vampires, so far, right?"

"Umm…yeah?"

"You still have to see demons, right?"

"Uh... I-I guess?"

"So we have to go to a demon bar."

Charlie stared at her for a moment before blurting out, "A what?!"

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Buffy smiled slightly at Charlie's stunned expression as they entered Caritas. Of all the demonic hang-outs in the city, this was certainly the safest to take him to, so long as Charlie remembered to listen to the instructions she'd given him earlier. And it definitely had more then enough demons on display... and vampires, she noticed with a little wince before shrugging it aside. "You want something to drink?"

Charlie seemed to shake himself out of his little daze to turn a frown at her. "I'm nineteen. And you're younger than me. You can't get alcohol."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think I'm younger than you?"

"Annie, there's no way your even eighteen. I don't know how you got the doctors to believe otherwise, but I'm not stupid, and my parents aren't either."

The Slayer shifted, a bit uncomfortably. "They haven't said anything... but I never lied to them, or you. I just wrote that I was twenty-something on the hospital records so that they'd let me donate blood."

"Twenty-something?" Charlie shook his head. "Obviously they weren't paying much attention."

"Thanks, I think... so do you want something?" When the older boy shot her a half glare she rolled her eyes. "If I go up to that bar and order two beers, I'll get two beers," Buffy told him with a chuckle, nodding towards the bartender that was watching her with a clearly frightened expression fixed on his just as clearly non-human visage. "But I was thinking of getting a diet coke. Want one?"

"Uh, yeah," Charlie shrugged sheepishly, before reaching for his wallet. "Let me get it."

"They won't charge me for it." Buffy stopped him. "Demon bars never do. They don't dare."

"Well in the case of Caritas, baby-doll, I just like you too much to charge you a cent. Not that you ever drink enough for it to matter."

Buffy turned to the club's approaching owner with a smile, "Lorne!" she stepped forward to meet him in a hug half-way, still smiling brightly. "How are you?"

"Business was going well this evening," he raised a green eyebrow at her. "I hope it can continue to do so?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "I'm not hunting, Lorne, Slayers-honor. Just introducing Charlie to all that goes bump in the night."

"So I see," the Anagogic demon remarked, smiling as he turned towards Charlie. "And who is this cutie-pie?"

"I'm Charlie Eppes," Charlie responded quickly, hesitating a moment before offering his hand to shake with the demon.

"Had a recent run-in with a vampire, did you, Charlie?" Lorne questioned as he caught the teenager's hand and shook it firmly, not releasing it as he tiled his head to the side to scrutinize the young human more closely.

"Uh, y-yeah. Actually," Charlie stuttered with a frowned, "Just a few weeks ago."

"So I see," the green-skinned demon remarked again, glancing between Buffy and Charlie for a moment before smiling brightly once again. "Well, I am Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, also known as Lorne and The Host and Owner of Caritas. You are welcome to call me Lorne, of course, provided you swear to make no Lorne Greene jokes in my presence."

"Uh, um, okay?" Charlie murmured, blinking for a moment before seeming to come to his senses once more. "It's nice to meet you, Lorne."

"Swell!" the demon smiled again, giving Charlie's hand another quick shake before finally releasing it. "And now you must sing for us."

"Wh-What?"

Buffy suppressed a smirk, forcing a small smile into its place when Charlie looked at her in confusion. "Don't look at me."

"Perhaps I should explain, buttercup. See, I'm an Anagogic demon. Means I can read auras, emotions, sometimes minds and futures, too. But only when the being of interest is either in extreme emotional distress or singing. I founded Caritas after arriving just a few months ago, to serve as a safe haven for all and the karaoke helps me get to know my clientele. And a friend of the Slayer is – while also hopefully a friend of mine – a client I want to know well. Therefore you must get up on stage, pick a song, and sing your heart out. Go on." He gave the befuddled teenager a shove towards the stage.

Buffy nodded when Charlie looked back at her, "Go ahead, Charlie. I'll be waiting right here," she reassured him with a smile, honestly curious what Caritas' Host would see when her new friend sang.

"But-But I don't sing!" Charlie protested even as several of the other surrounding clientele seemed to catch onto the Host and the Slayer's directions and started to shove Charlie gently along toward the stage, being particularly gentle after a not-quite-gentle-enough shove early on earned a sharp glare from the Slayer.

"What, and you think he does?" Lorne called after him with a smile, nodding with a wince towards the vampire that was just finishing up a Backstreet Boys song.

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Charlie wasn't sure what he would have said if anyone had asked him what he was expecting when Annie told him they were going to a bar for demons. But whatever it was, this truly could not be it. The fact that it only took them fifteen minutes to walk to the bar clued him into the fact that it had probably been their destination all evening, which he would later agree made sense after learning that this particular bar was a sanctuary for all demons and supernatural beings.

Of course, the sanctity of the place might be considered debatable if he put too much thought into the orders Annie had given him before they'd entered. Essentially don't leave the bar without her. Listen to Lorne – someone he'd apparently meet there. Do not make deals of any kind with anyone. Do not wish for anything. For some reason that had required additional emphasis. Don't go to the bathroom without telling Annie first. And make sure he's always in her line of sight. Shouldn't be too hard, he didn't plan on leaving without her, after all.

When they walked through the metal detector at the door, it went off on Annie. Probably because she was carrying a large number of weapons, but after sparing the Slayer's face a second glance, and obviously realizing who she was, the two very large bouncers stepped back and let them through. One of them even bowed to Annie as she passed, but she did not acknowledge it.

Other than being very, very large the bouncers looked mostly human to him. It was only on second glance that he realized that the proportions of their massive forms were a bit off. Their enormous hands were too large. And they were probably seven feet tall. And their eyes were red. Other than that, though, they looked human. Most of the beings inside the bar itself, did not.

Some looked more human than others, with deformities similar to those of the vampire's he'd seen earlier. Some other disfigurements were significantly more pronounced. Others had green skin. Some actually had scales. A few had fur. Some had horns. There were a few tails wagging on the dance floor. Many had large claws and teeth. And there were a lot of bright, glowing eyes.

The demon that was up on stage, in fact, seemed to be a strange concoction of most of these differences. It had purple, scaly skin and red eyes. Claws and teeth. Red eyes. A lot of fur along its arms. And it did have a tail, and horns... And it was singing about sunshine and roses.

"You want something to drink?"

Charlie started at Annie's question, and blinked at the stage again before turning his full attention back to her. He shook his head with a frown as her question registered. "I'm nineteen. And you're younger than me. You can't get alcohol."

Annie responded with a raised eyebrow, "Why do you think I'm younger than you?"

Charlie looked at her for a moment and then shook his head, frowning. "Annie, there's no way your even eighteen. I don't know how you got the doctors to believe otherwise, but I'm not stupid, and my parents aren't either."

At that the blonde shifted, finally seeming uncomfortable with the subject. "They haven't said anything... but I never lied to them, or you. I just wrote that I was twenty-something on the hospital records so that they'd let me donate blood."

At that Charlie raised an eyebrow, shaking his head again. "Twenty-something? Obviously they weren't paying much attention."

"Thanks, I think... so do you want something?" She actually rolled her eyes when he glared at her and continued before he could think of a suitable response, actually chuckling as she finished. "If I go up to that bar and order two beers, I'll get two beers," she told him, nodding toward the bartender.

Turning his head slightly to look himself he saw that the bartender was also a demon, and was watching Annie with an expression of clear fright fixed on his blue-ish, green face. Remembering the deferential treatment the bouncers had shown her, he supposed it shouldn't be surprising that she could expect the same from all the other employees. But then again, it sounded like Slayers were basically the police, judges, juries and executioners of the supernatural world. So he guessed that really did make sense too.

"But I was thinking of getting a diet coke. Want one?"

Charlie started again, shrugging a bit sheepishly at the clear amusement on the blonde's face, he reached for his wallet. "Uh, yeah. Let me get it."

Annie stopped him with a gentle hand on his and a shake of her head. "They won't charge me for it. Demon bars never do. They don't dare."

Before he could protest this further evidence of what in the human world would certainly be considered police brutality a cheery voice distracted him.

"Well in the case of Caritas, baby-doll, I just like you too much to charge you a cent. Not that you ever drink enough for it to matter."

Charlie turned as Annie also did, watching as she approached a demon with green skin, red eyes, horns and a rather flashy suit with a bright smile fixed on her face and easily stepped up to hug him. Well, he guessed it also made sense that she would be on friendly terms with some demons... Probably meant that he didn't eat humans, from what she'd mentioned earlier.

"Lorne! How are you?"

"Business was going well this evening, I hope it can continue to do so?"

This earned an eye-roll from Annie, "I'm not hunting, Lorne, Slayers-honor. Just introducing Charlie to all that goes bump in the night."

"So I see," 'Lorne' replied in a strangely confident way as he turned to offer Charlie a smile that the mathematician hesitantly returned. "And who is this cutie-pie?"

Charlie blinked again in surprise at Lorne's form of addressed but stepped forward quickly, offering his hand and hoping that it was a proper way to greet a demon. "I'm Charlie Eppes."

"Had a recent run-in with a vampire, did you, Charlie?" Lorne asked

Again Charlie felt like the demon's red eyes could see right through him. His neck was covered after all, and the demon sounded supremely confident in his statement. But then again, perhaps some demons had x-ray vision. Or maybe he could read minds. Charlie wasn't sure what to think of that. Remembering he'd been asked a question, Charlie offered a belated, hurried nod and stuttered in reply, "Uh, y-yeah. Actually... Just a few weeks ago."

"So I see," the green-skinned demon remarked again, and Charlie saw him glance at Annie before his red eyes returned to him and a smile stretched across the demon's face. "Well, I am Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, also known as Lorne and The Host and owner of Caritas. You are welcome to call me Lorne, of course, provided you swear to make no Lorne Greene jokes in my presence."

"Uh, um, okay?" Charlie wasn't entirely sure on who 'Lorne Greene' was, but he could see where the joke would come from. "It's nice to meet you, Lorne."

"Swell!" the demon smiled again, giving Charlie's hand another quick shake before finally releasing it. "And now you must sing for us."

"Wh-What?" Charlie stuttered again, turning confused eyes to Annie only to receive a clearly suppressed smirk in return.

"Don't look at me."

"Perhaps I should explain, buttercup." Lorne cut in, before Charlie could respond in frustration to Annie's reply. "See I'm an Anagogic demon. Means I can read auras, emotions, sometimes minds and futures, too. But only when the being of interest is either in extreme emotional distress or singing. I founded Caritas after arriving just a few months ago, to serve as a safe haven for all and the karaoke helps me get to know my clientele. And a friend of the Slayer is – while also hopefully a friend of mine – a client I want to know well. Therefore you must get up on stage, pick a song, and sing your heart out. Go on."

His mind hurrying to process all of the supernatural information, Charlie wasn't able to object as his host began to push him towards the stage. He looked back at Annie again, hoping for a rescue but only received an amused nod again, though this time her smile seemed more honest, if clearly curious.

"Go ahead, Charlie. I'll be waiting right here."

As several members of the surrounding clientele began to drag and push him up towards the stage, Charlie struggled to turn slightly and protest, "But-But I don't sing!"

The Host was smiling as he called back, "What, and you think he does?" with a nod toward the vampire that was just finishing up a Backstreet Boys song.

Charlie winced. Well, he did have a point... but he seriously never sang. He liked music well-enough, he'd just never been drawn to actually attempting it himself. He made instruments to get out of piano lessons as a kid, yeah. And making noise had held the same appeal to him that it had to any other kid his age, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

As he finally reached the stage he licked his lips for a moment at all the eyes that were focused on him before telling himself to act like they were just like the students he helped as a Teacher's Aid at Princeton last year and might soon be teaching as a professor himself. Then he made himself walk over to the DJ who –looked mostly human... except his skin was orange and his eyes were purple and – was watching him expectantly. "Do... Do you have a list of songs to choose from?"

"Sure, kid," the demonic-DJ grinned, and Charlie saw his teeth were a bit pointy to before his attention was directed to the monitor of the DJ's laptop as he began to rapidly scroll through songs. "Tell me when ya see somethin'."

After several moments of scrolling one song finally caught his eye. "That one's fine," he said, pointing it out and received a nod in reply before he was handed a microphone and pushed back up onto the stage.

"'Words'll be on the monitor," the DJ-demon told him and Charlie glanced down to see the song title popping up on said monitor.

"Okay," Charlie murmured, shrugging his shoulders a bit and trying to shake out the tension that was building there. "I can do this, I can do this..." he shot a glare at Annie but received only an over-bright smile in return before the music started. He tapped his foot for a moment, finding the familiar beat before he finally took a deep breath, brought the mike up to his lips, and started to sing:

It starts with pain, followed by hate

Fueled by the endless questions, No one can answer.

A stain covers your heart, tears you apart, just like a sleeping cancer…

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Buffy smiled at Charlie's choice as he started to sing. She didn't know it all that well, but it certainly seemed to fit the past few weeks of the young genius's life. She glanced at her host and raised an eyebrow at his contemplative look as he watched the genius sing. She could wait for him to finish his inspection before badgering him for details. It helped that Charlie actually had a really good voice... though he needed lessons in breath control, but for a beginner he was still pretty good. Certainly better than all the others that had performed here earlier this evening.

And I don't believe men are born to be killers.

And I don't believe the world can't be saved.

How did you did you get here and when did start?

An innocent child with a thorn in his heart.

"Well," Lorne murmured quietly, turning to her with a smile as Charlie continued to sing. "I can tell you that you made a pretty good catch this time, if that's what you want to know."

Buffy raised an eyebrow, "You're not just saying that cause he doesn't sound too bad, unlike some of your earlier performers?"

What kind of world are we living?
Where love is divided by hate.
Losing control of our feelings
We all must be dreaming this life away.
In a world so cold.

"My inner eye doesn't lie, baby doll," Lorne shook his head. "And that one right there is gonna do some great things. Seems you found the modern-day Einstein, hmm?"

Buffy laughed before smiling as she replied. "I actually already knew that. It's hard to miss... So he's gonna be okay, then?"

Are you sane? Where's the shame?
A moment of time passes by, you cannot rewind.
Who's to blame? Where did it start?
Is there a cure for your sickness?
Have you no heart?

"Oh is that what this is about?" the Anagogic demon raised an eyebrow before nodding in reply. "Yeah, this one has a real bright future ahead of him. It's kinda nice to see down here."

Buffy let out a relieved sigh she hadn't been fully aware she was holding in. "Good. He deserves it..."

And I don't believe men are born to be killers.
And I don't believe the world can't be saved.
How did you did you get here and when did start?
An innocent child with a thorn in his heart.

"So do you, baby doll." Lorne offered after a moment of listening. He continued before Buffy could comment. "So are you taking up your mantle again?"

Buffy sighed again, this one more depressed then relieved. "I don't know..." she glanced at the stage again and shook her head. "If I'd ignored my instincts the night he was attacked he would have died... He almost did."

"But you saved him," Lorne pointed out a bit unnecessarily, and Buffy saw that his eyes were focused on the stage again.

What kind of world are we living?
Where love is divided by hate.
Losing control of our feelings

"Yeah." Buffy nodded in agreement, also turning to watch Charlie. "And I really have to wonder how many great people have died because... I ran away? How many miracles will they not be able to accomplish?"

Lorne shrugged. "There are many threats to the innocents around the world, baby doll. And there's only one of you."

We're Dreaming this life away
What kind of world do we live in?
Where love is divided by hate.

"Yeah." Buffy nodded again, before sighing again. "But that doesn't mean I was right to give up."

Lorne shrugged, "Not really my place to say, Slayer. If you wanta sing for me after your little star here, I might be able to give you a few real pointers."

Buffy laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe another time."

"Can't blame me for trying, baby doll," Lorne offered a grin, before his expression turned unexpectedly grim. "Though, if you're thinking of taking up your role again, you might want a heads up."

Selling our souls for no reason,
We all must be dreaming this life away.
In a world so cold.

Buffy blinked, giving her green-skinned friend her full attention at his serious tone. "On what?"

"Now, I don't know any of the particulars, really. But I do know that another portal to a different dimension from mine has been opening a lot lately somewhere not too far from here. And that a lot of runaways have been disappearing. And a lot of old homeless people have been appearing out of nowhere."

There's a sickness inside you that wants to escape.

It's a feeling you get when you can't find your way.

So how many times must you fall to your knees?

Never, Never, Never, Never, Never do this again.

Buffy frowned, taking a sip of the soda the bartender had brought her a few moments before as she considered what the Pylean demon was telling her. It was much easier to Giles and Willow do the thinking for her a lot of the time, but she wasn't stupid and could do it herself, if she had too. "...Time moves differently in some dimensions, right?"

"It does indeed, baby doll. Not in Pylea, but other dimensions do."

"So the old homeless people could be the runaways?"

"Could be. Almost certainly are, actually. I know one of 'em used to sing here occasionally, and she wandered in a few days ago decades older than she'd been the week before. Didn't know who she was, either."

It starts with pain, followed by hate.

And I don't believe men are born to be killers,

And I don't believe our world can't be saved.

Buffy sighed again after several moments of contemplation. "So I should start looking into the homeless shelters around here for younger humans." She raised an eyebrow at her green-skinned friend. "Anything else you can give me?"

"Not this evenin', sweet cheeks."

"Well, thanks for the heads up, then... Little out of character for you though, isn't it?" she asked, having heard his 'neutrality policy' a few times before.

The green-skinned demon shrugged, eyes turned back towards the stage. "It's interfering with business. I don't like loosing regulars."

Buffy smiled, knowing that while he'd protest her slaying some of the more vicious demons that frequented his bar he didn't really mind it. Throw the nice people that sing for him into the mix and suddenly he spoke up. Shaking her head slightly even as she too turned to watch Charlie finish, her smile widened at the stunned look on his face when he received a standing ovation from the full bar at the end of his song.

What kind of world are we living?

Where love is divided by hate.

Losing control of our feelings

We're Dreaming this life away

What kind of world do we live in?

Where love is divided by hate.

Selling our souls for no reason,

We all must be dreaming this life away.

In a world so cold.

In a world so cold!

"A real bright little star right there," Lorne murmured, offering her a small smile as Charlie looked around with that stunned expression on his face before taking a quick bow, handing his microphone back to the DJ and climbing quickly off the stage, clearly intent on making his way back to them. "Uh oh. You might wanta meet him half-way, baby doll."

"What? Why?" Buffy demanded, looking around for a threat and only seeing a lot of cheering demons and one human man making his way towards Charlie. She stared at him a little more closely, focusing her slay-senses on him for a moment, before frowning as he registered as fully human. She didn't even sense too much magic coming off of him...

"That would be Lindsey McDonald, a rising big-shot at Wolfram and Hart."

Buffy frowned, "He's a lawyer?"

"Yeah. For Hell Incorporated." Lorne explained, shaking his head at her obvious ignorance. "They represent just about anyone who's evil. Evil humans. Vampires. Demons. They'll get anyone off for a price. He's one of their best. And anyone from Wolfram & Hart showing an interest in your little star isn't, I'm thinking, in his best interests. Specially since that particular one sings all the time, and has a great set of pipes but a soul that's a black hole to your source of sunshine."

"You're probably right. Thanks, Lorne," Buffy murmured, handing him her half-finished drink before hurrying to intercept Charlie before the lawyer got anywhere near him.

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Charlie shook his head as he held the door open for 'Annie' before following her into the Craftsman, unsurprised to see the lights in the living room still on.

"Have a good time, you two?" his mother asked, slipping a bookmark into her book and setting it on the coffee table beside her chair as she rose to greet them.

"I had a great time, Mrs. Eppes." Annie replied with a brilliant smile, before raising an eyebrow at him. "How 'bout you, Charlie, what'd you think?"

Charlie laughed, shaking his head again. "Surprisingly, I did too. Thanks, Annie." At his mother's inquisitive look he elaborated. "She dragged me to a karaoke bar. And then she made me sing!"

His Mom laughed, smiling at the pair. "Well, I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. Though I was getting a bit worried at the time."

"Mom, I'm not a kid anymore, remember? Besides, Don's job is way more dangerous then mine... well, when I get the professorship, anyway."

"You will, dear. You really don't have anything to worry about, the Dean at CalSci was really very impressed with you. And Professor Fleinhardt probably put in a lot of good words as well, since he transferred there from Princeton."

"I know, but..." Charlie shrugged, shaking his head. "I really want this job."

"I'm sure you'll get it, Charlie," Annie spoke up, her soft voice warm as she continued to smile. "When do you find out?"

Charlie shrugged, shaking his head a bit. "Some time soon, I think. If I'm going to teach classes in September, after all, I have to be a professor by July at least, don't I?" Both ladies nodded in agreement even as Charlie looked around, a bit surprised. "Where's Dad?"

"In bed. He tried to wait up for you, but he has an early day tomorrow, so after midnight was pushing it for him."

Noticing that the clock on the wall said it was close to one o'clock in the morning, Charlie nodded with a frown. "You really didn't have to wait up for us, Mom."

She shrugged, "I know, dear. But I wanted to." She drew him into a hug and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before heading over to Annie to do the same. "I'm glad you both had a good time. And now I'll head to bed. You can tell me all about your karaoke bar in the morning, all right?"

"Sure, Mom. Sleep well."

"Good night, Mrs. Eppes."

"I told you, Annie. Call me Maggie or Margaret." His Mom shook his head at the younger blonde woman, still smiling as she bid them both goodnight and headed for the stairs. "Good night."

End Chapter 4: What Goes Bump In The Night? - Part II

AN: Well, what'd you think?

I searched for a song that would really fit Charlie's personality but couldn't find one that had lyrics. There was one video on YouTube that did a great AMV for him, but the song had no lyrics. :-( So I ended up picking a song that seemed to fit the situation and Charlie's reaction to it.

I know I'm pushing it having Buffy know Lorne already, but I figured she has to have wandered around as the Slayer a few times and... I wanted Charlie to meet Lorne. Creative Writers license.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews are always welcome and appreciated!

Bye! ^_^

Jess S

NEXT: Chapter 5: Demon Hunting.