Chapter 15

Wesley picked up the coffee pot with misgivings. The contents had the consistency of sludge and the smell of something toxic. He carefully placed the pot in the sink to soak.

Perhaps for three days, he thought as he returned to his office then blinked in surprise to find someone already there. "Mr. Giles, I didn't hear you come in."

"Cordelia sent me in," Giles explained. "She was on her way to train with Angel."

"Yes, she's becoming quite good as you saw last night. What can I do for you?"

"I just came by to say thank you. I don't know what we would've done without you and the others. I was also asked to drop this off courtesy of World Wrestling Entertainment," Giles said taking something out of his jacket pocket and handed it over to the other man.

Wesley accepted the envelope, and his eyes widened at the amount written on the cheque inside.

Giles observed, "You've changed since leaving Sunnydale."

"I'm no longer a blueberry scone?" Wesley asked with a half smile.

"More like a multigrain loaf. More substantive. You've done very well for yourself here. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you."

Wesley saw the sincerity in the other man's eyes then said, "It means a lot. Thank you."

After shaking hands, Wesley asked, "When do you return to England?"

"I leave in two days. Since it's their last night in Los Angeles, I thought I'd take my sister and her friends to Caritas."

Wesley grinned. "A word of warning. Try not to antagonize the other customers. Caritas' non-violence spell only works inside the club."

ooOoo

"This is it?" Edge asked. "Cara-, Cari-"

"Caritas," Trish said. "It means 'mercy' in Latin."

"Your girlfriend's smart," Jeff teased Bubba in his best Beavus impersonation.

"And she's got a cute accent, too," Bubba added.

"Yeah, about that," Spike commented. "It's been getting more and more British."

"That's what happens when I'm around any of my British relatives," she explained. "A couple more days and I'll be saying knickers, shagging, blimey, bollocks and sod off."

"Now please remember, this club is a sanctuary for humans and demons alike. There's a spell preventing any sort of violence within the club," Giles said. "However, that only applies inside not outside so try not to make any enemies, okay?"

"Yes, Dad," the four male wrestlers said causing Giles to roll his eyes.

They went down a small staircase and through a security gate. At first glance, the club looked perfectly normal, but a closer look at the clientele told a different story.

"Well, Hardy," Bubba said, "I've finally found people stranger than you."

"Hey," Jeff said clearly offended.

"You're still one of the strangest people I know," Trish said with a smile.

"Thank you," Jeff said somewhat mollified.

"Then again..." she said spotting a bald demon with four rows of horns coming of out his head.

They found a table and watched as a woman with an oddly wrinkled face belt out 'I Will Survive' slightly off-key. When she finished, a slender demon joined her on the stage. He had green skin, red eyes, spiky dark blond hair, two small red horns coming out of his forehead and dressed like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

"Let's give it up for Halfrek," he said as the female demon curtsied giggling. "Now you're in for a treat with the musical stylings of Bob and Norman."

A large demon with a second smaller head coming out of his chest like something out of Alien lumbered onto the stage and began to sing 'Breaking Up is Hard to Do.'

"Okay, now I've seen everything," Spike said.

The green demon came to the table. "Welcome to Caritas. I'm the Host. Congratulations on saving the city. The first round of drinks is on the house. I'll also have someone bring over a list of songs in case any of you would like to indulge in a bit of singing." He smiled, motioned to a waiter and left to greet some more newcomers.

"I want a song," Trish said looking at her brother who simply raised an eyebrow.

"What song?" Edge asked.

"I want 'Freebird'," she said still staring at her brother.

"Why?" Jeff asked puzzled.

"When I was small and upset because of my parents' fights, Rupert would sing me to sleep. 'Freebird' is my favourite, but I might settle for 'Rocket Man'," Trish said then shot one more pleading look at her brother. "Please?"

Giles smiled. "Maybe."

"Wonder what other songs they have," Jeff said flipping through a list of titles a waiter had left on the table. "Hey, they got 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'!"

"It's a gas, gas, gas," Trish giggled.

"Barry White," Spike nodded with approval as he glanced at the list then noticed the looks from his friends. "Everybody likes a little Barry White."

"They got Tom Jones," Edge said with a touch of happy surprise.

This time the other wrestlers' jaws dropped.

"What? My mum's a big fan," Edge said somewhat defensively. "It's not unusual."

ooOoo

Giles was at the bar getting another drink as he watched his sister and her boyfriend sing 'I Got You Babe.' Bubba looked like he'd rather be put through a table than sing, but Trish was having the time of her life.

"They're going to be okay."

Giles turned to find the Host smiling at him. "Excuse me?"

"Your sister and her friends. There may be some bumps along the way, but they'll be okay," the Host said. "I'm assuming Wesley told you about me."

"You can read a person's aura if you hear him or her sing," Giles said.

"I can even get a reading from a hum. That was a great job of 'Freebird' by the way. Really good tone," the Host commented. "I know you're worried about your friends in Sunnydale, but you're doing the right thing."

Giles stared at the demon for a moment then asked quietly, "are you sure?"

"Things may get ugly. That's inevitable on the Hellmouth, but yes. What you're doing is necessary for them to grow up, and no one ever said that was easy."

"Nor is letting go," Giles sighed then clinked his glass against the Host's raised one. "Nor is letting go."

The End.