CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Abigail saw Wesley, Fred, Spike and Gun staring at Lorne so she went to see what the problem was. She was worn out from all the dancing, but she was having fun. With Harmony.
" What's going on guys?" she asked them.
" Isn't this party great? Aren't you glad you came after all?" Spike asked her brightly.
Abigail just raised her eyebrows at him.
" Gunn, stop that!" Fred exclaimed jumping out of the way.
" Ok, what's going on?" Abigail demanded the group.
" Um…"
They grabbed Lorne and took him to Angel's office.
" Come on, guys. I'm telling you I did not do anything," Lorne protested.
" Angel? You in here?" Fred called out as they entered Angel's office.
Angel popped up from behind the couch where he's naked with Eve. " Ohh! What?"
" Hey! Angel's getting some! Good on you, mate." Spike said.
" What's wrong with you?"
" What's wrong with you? What are you doing with that?" Gunn asked him.
" Hey, watch it pal." Eve warned him.
" He must be under the effect of Lorne…Eve too persum…" Wesley struggled to talk properly, "presumally."
Fred snorted and pointed, "Prezoomally."
" Lorne's doing something. To all of us."
" I am not," Lorne said.
" Everything he's told us to do, we're doing. Spike's thinking positive, Gunn is peeing all over the office…"
" And we're a little bit drunk." Fred added.
" Yes. But not because we drank, because Lorne told us to be drunk."
" Lorne told you to pee all over the office?" Angel asked Gunn.
" Lord I hope so."
Abigail frowned, " He told me to dance, mingle and have fun. And I don't even like Harmony."
" This is crazy. I am not doing this. I would know if I was doing this. I don't even know what this is."
" You know, I really love your desk." Spike said admiring Angel's desk.
" I don't get it. I thought Lorne was just an empath demon." Eve said.
" Territory! Wait. This morning, Lorne told me to stake out my territory." Gunn said.
" Right. Territorial marking, taken a little too literally." Wesley said.
" Hey, guys, keep it in your pants," Fred said to Angel and Eve.
" Ohh. Hey, I did not tell Gunn to go water the ferns. I did not do anything."
" You had your sleep removed," Gunn reminded him.
" What?" Wesley turned to him and would have fallen over if Lorne hadn't caught him.
" Yeah. He hasn't slept in a month."
" Did you know about this?" Angel asked Abigail who looked just as surprised as everybody else. She shook her head wordlessly.
" Oh, dear. An empath demon deprived of sleep for that long." Wesley said.
" What does that have to do with it?" Lorne demanded.
" Something apparently." Fred said.
" Lorne, why would you let them do that to you?" Angel asked.
" I had to do something, didn't I? I mean, you don't know what I've had to deal with. I'm the centre of gravity in a town that's full of borderline disorder celebrities and powerbrokers. All the hand-holding and the ego-stroking and the 4 A.M. Jacuzzi strategy sessions?"
Wesley caught Gunn peeing in the corner and told him to quit it.
" I just couldn't keep up with it, even without sleeping."
" You could have told me…I would have-." Angel said.
" What? Fired me?"
" I would've helped you, which is what I'm gonna do now, OK?" Angel realised he was naked and grabbed a cushion to cover himself.
" Well, ok." Lorne agreed and looked over at Abigail who refused to look at him. She was mad.
" Wes, Fred, go find Lorne's sleep and figure out a way to put it back in his head."
" Yes sir," Wesley said.
" Done and doner," Fred smiled and Wesley pulled her out of the office.
" Lorne, you just stay tight and try not to, you know, talk."
" Angel, we still got a party going on. Someone has to make sure there's ice in the drinks." Lorne pointed out.
" Oh, right."
" Ooh, me, me! I'm a people person." Spike said.
" Abigail and Gunn, go on the floor, see if anyone else is under the Lorne effect."
" Check," Gunn agreed leaving with Abigail.
" And stop with the-"
" I'll do my best." Gunn sighed and they left.
They went out to the floor, " You're quiet. Are you mad at Lorne?" Gunn asked her.
" Well, he didn't tell me he was having trouble. And he basically controlled me tonight. I was dancing with Harmony for pete's sake."
The party got out of control when a giant Lorne tried to kill Angel and everyone. But things got back to normal when Fred used an injector gun on Lorne.
They carried the demon back to the office and Wesley covered him with a blanket. Abigail was nowhere to be seen.
" Abigail…" Lorne muttered as he tried to sleep.
" She must have gone home. She's all right." Wesley assured him.
~~**~~
The next morning, Lorne arrived home to find Abigail finishing breakfast. She was dressed for work and she didn't greet him as he put his coat on the coat rack in the living room. She put her coffee mug in the dishwasher before disappearing upstairs.
" Abikins?" he went after her, " We need to talk."
Abigail sighed, " Lorne, I'm not-"
" I'm really sorry I didn't tell you. I thought I could handle it on my own…"
" But you didn't. Instead of coming to me, you saw an easy way out and got your sleep removed. And it didn't occur to you what the consequences of it were. Someone could have been killed."
" I know. I was stupid and I'm sorry." Lorne said. He didn't want them fighting. " It's our jobs. They have been taking over our lives. Us."
" You've noticed then." Abigail said dryly sitting down on the bed.
" Yes I've noticed. There hasn't been an us for awhile. And its all gonna change." He took her hand and she stood up again, " I've missed you." He kissed her then and decided to let Angel know, he and Abigail won't be coming in that day.
