BANG! BANG! BANG!
Lorne blinked the sleep out of his eyes and yawned, sitting up in bed. He could hear someone downstairs trying to get in. Luckily, the club being a sanctuary meant that no one could get into it when he deemed it closed.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"We're closed!" He called down from his bed. The sound of someone frantically pacing, the click of converse on pavement and more loud knocking of fists on wood, gaining volume by the moment.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Good grief, I'm coming!" He snapped, severely irritated at the person stubborn attitude. He casted a glance at his clock, which read in angry, red numbers, 2:57 in the morning.
He pulled on a robe over his flannel pajamas and walked downstairs to open the door. To his surprise, Judy was standing in the doorway with a knapsack on her back, her clothes soaked clear through and her hair slicked down by the rain that had contributed to the deafening noise that had awaken him.
"Judes, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be off with Angel-cakes by now." Her dark brown eyes gazed up at him like an innocent doe. He yanked off his robe and wrapped it around her shoulders, his arm around her. "Come inside, let's get you out of the rain."
He led her into the bar and sat her up to the counter on a stool while he went around the counter to get two drinks: one of chocolate milk, the other a glass of bourbon and ice. He set the drinks down and pulled up a stool beside her.
"Lorney, you know I'm 174 years old. I can drink alcohol." She said her voice raspy from the cold. He reached over and rubbed her shoulders in an effort to get her warm.
"I know. But you look like you're a kid, doll, and I can't ethically give you any of it without feeling like an awful person. Now, can you tell me where you've been and why you're here?"
She looked up at him and sang softly.
"For you, There'll be no more crying.
For you, the sun will be shining.
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you.
It's alright…I know it's right.
To you, I'd give the world.
To you, I'll never be cold.
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you.
It's alright….I know it's right.
And the songbirds keep singing.
Like they know the score.
But I love you, I love you, I love you.
Like never before.
And I wish you all the love in the world.
But most of all, I wish it from myself.
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score.
But I love you, I love you, I love you
Like never before.
Like never before."
Lorne wiped away tears that had fallen from his eyes. "You're voice has always made me want to cry. But that was something else." He pulled her to him into a tight hug, her cheek resting on his collarbone. She breathed in, finally feeling safe for once.
"You really can't catch a break, can you Judes?"
"Doesn't look like it, Does it?"
He gave a short huh! Of laughter before pulling away. "Well, your room's the same way you left it. I almost didn't want to think you had up and left me but I would have understood if you did. He is kind of like your father, isn't her?"
She shrugged. "Kind of." Judy rested her head on the heel of her palm with her elbow rested on the counter. "I can't understand why he's so gung ho on the two of us getting along. I mean, it's not like we're family. He killed mine last time I checked."
"Well, Judes, maybe that's why. He feels some sort of responsibility towards you since he did in fact, orphan you after all. Maybe you should stop running off every time he tries to reach out to you in a both physical and emotional aspect. It doesn't bother you when I do it, now does it?"
Lorne didn't receive an answer. He looked over to Judy and laughed. The girl had fallen asleep at the counter, her forehead on the cool hardwood surface. Her ivory cheeks were even more luminescent in the dark of the bar.
With a slightly annoyed sigh, Lorne lifted her up, robe and all into a bridal carry. This wasn't the first time she had fallen asleep in an inconvenient spot, making him carry her up to bed. He doubted it would be the last. The kid slept like a rock when she knew she was safe.
He pulled off the robe and tugged the covers up to her shoulders.
After living with him for six months, Lorne had added some of Judy's flair to the guest room. The walls were a navy blue with silver dusted across the walls. Plastic, glow-in-the-dark stars were pasted on the ceiling and her comforter was a silvery with blue threads woven in.
He knew it would go back to being empty soon. Shame, really, because he had come to like his house guest.
XOX
"No! He's just a boy!"
Judy screamed as Darla bit down on the three year old boy's throat. He cried pitifully, attempting to stretch his hands out to Judy to save him. Angelus's hands were clamped on her shoulders.
"Stop! I just wanted someone to play with! Please!"
Darla casted the child's body aside as Angelus shoved Judy into her. She planted a bloody kiss on the eleven year Old's cheek. "We're your playmates, you silly child." She slapped her so hard, she fell on her back on the cobble stones.
"We're your family. We're all you need, Judith."
XOX
Judy sat straight up in bed, screaming. Lorne was already at her bedside, bourbon and a glass of water in hand. She struggled to breath as Lorne held her to his chest tightly, resting his chin on top of her head.
Her wheezing slowly turned to sobs as she grasped to Lorne tightly, as if he were going to fade away at any moment if she let up her grip even at little bit.
"It's okay, Judes. Lorney's here, I've got you, sweet pea."
She gulped down the water, trying to separate the nightmare from reality as Lorne rocked her gently side to side. He cooed words that were non-coherent to her ears, both in English and Pylean. Judy felt her breath return to normal. She closed her eyes, sleepiness starting to return.
"Lorney, I've got to go back. No more running away, we have to talk."