Chapter Four : Blackmail and Some Needed Comfort

Meg Masters glanced at the brunette beside her not helping but to feel suspicious. Elizabeth was happy...too happy. She had been acting way too perky for weeks. Not that Meg minded usually Elizabeth was a bit of killjoy to be honest.

Meg stared down at her tv dinner noticing that the pesto chicken pasta below her looked nothing like the picture on the box. She shoved her plastic container away as she glanced back at Elizabeth. The brunette was picking at her fruit salad looking like she didn't have a care in the world.

"What's up with you?" Meg finally blurted out no longer able to stand her friend's out of character behavior.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders as she took a quick sip of her soda. "What ?, nothing. I'm just in a really good mood, that's all. I am allowed to be in a good mood aren't I ?"

"Yeah, but you've been freaking mary sunshine for like two weeks now. What the hells going on ?...holy crap." Meg exclaimed widening her eyes an amused look on her face.

"Holy crap, what ?" Elizabeth asked not sure if she liked the look on Meg's face. She stared down at her fruit salad taking another bite as she tried to avoid Meg's knowing eyes.

Meg spoke up her voice excited and a little too loud. "You got laid."

Elizabeth began to choke on a bite of cantaloupe before she began to cough thankfully making the stubborn half chewed bit of fruit slide down her throat.

She let her eyes scan the break-room, happy that Meg and she were the only ones using it for their lunch break.

She shook her head trying to look as innocent as possible. "No...I don't know what you're talking about. You're crazy."

She was being honest. Crowley and she had been taking things pretty slowly so far, no sex yet. Just kissing lots and lots of kissing, and the occasional lingering touch, though Elizabeth had been reluctant to let him touch anything on her body that was too intimate quite yet. It had been two weeks of them being a couple two amazing , sweet, wonderful, perfect weeks.

Elizabeth had been openly giddy since their first date. She felt like her life was finally making sense and working out for the first time in a long time.

She felt like she had finally found her match. Someone she could really grow with, somebody who actually wanted her without expecting anything but her love in return. A guy who wasn't like anyone she'd been with before. Crowley didn't need her to fix him, or mother him, or be his friend with benefits, or be the girl that he had just settled on, or be the girl that he wanted to change.

Meg rolled her eyes ignoring Elizabeth's protests. "Please you've been way too happy for weeks now. I know that just had awesome sex look. You have to have slept with someone. It's the only thing that makes any sense. So was it a one night stand ? There's no shame in it. I've been there a few times. It's not a big deal. Come on who was it ? Anyone we know?"

Elizabeth felt her cheeks flush as she looked away from Meg hoping that the woman would just drop it and take a hint that nothing was going on. That was when she spotted him. Crowley strolled by the break-room carrying his usual bag of take out to his office, where he always ate his meals. He spotted Elizabeth giving her an adoring smile as he passed by.

Elizabeth returned the smile almost forgetting about Meg for a moment, until Meg let out a shocked gasp before she spoke her voice a little shrill. "I can't believe it."

Elizabeth tore her eyes away from the now empty hallway. She responded to her best friend trying to sound clueless."What ?"

"Mr. McLeod...you and him?...you slept with Crowley McLeod ?" blurted out Meg once again a bit too loud for comfort.

Elizabeth let out an anxious sigh half expecting someone to burst into the break-room and join in on the embarrassing conversation about her love life.

Elizabeth felt that she didn't have much of a choice as she stood up and took a hold of Meg's wrist. She gripped on to her brunette friend's wrist dragging her into the nearest ladies room.

As soon as the bathroom door shut Elizabeth eyed the empty room before she knocked on each of the stalls thankful to see that they were all empty.

Meg eyed her friend before giving her a knowing smile. "It's true then...I can't say that I blame you. I mean he is kind of hot, for an older man. Sort of distinguished and classy. I mean if that's what you're into. I heard he's a real jackass to work with though. Did you hear him yelling the other day ?You could hear him through his office door. He was screaming at someone down at the manufacturers. "

Elizabeth shook her head frowning. Crowley wasn't a jackass, or at least she didn't think he was. Yes he did have a little bit of a temper when someone really really screwed something up at work. He had never been anything but sweet and wonderful to her though.

She spoke up resisting the urge to defend him. "It's not like that."

Meg gave her friend a disbelieving look. She was honestly pretty surprised. Elizabeth and she had been friends since Elizabeth had started working here back in January.

Meg had always made the assumption that Elizabeth was such a goody-two-shoes, kind of a prude about sex, and a perfect little daddy's girl.

Meg was actually sort of proud of her. Stepping out from under her dad and actually letting loose and having a good time for once in her freaking life.

"Then what is it like ?" Meg asked her voice unable to hide the excitement of knowing such a juicy bit of information.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders keeping an eye on the door, just in case someone came into the bathroom. "We haven't gotten that far yet. We want to take things slow."

"So I'm guessing your dad doesn't know ?" Meg asked wondering how Bobby Singer would react to this news.

To be honest Meg tried to avoid her friend's dad ; her boss, most of the time. Meg knew that Mr. Singer did not like her.

He assumed that Meg was lazy about her work, too busy flirting with the male staff, too busy checking her facebook when she was supposed to be going through the employes expense reports and filing them in the system.

Meg wasn't saying that all these assumptions weren't true. It wasn't that she was a bad employee or well she didn't like to think of it that way at least.

Elizabeth let out an nervous sigh. She shouldn't be telling Meg any of this. She shouldn't be telling anybody this, not without Crowley being aware of it at least. "No he has no idea. He thinks Crowley and I are just friends, which he isn't happy about. He would freak if he knew the truth. I know we have to tell him eventually. I mean Crowley is so sweet and wonderful, but my dad won't see it that way. It's just I don't want my dad to...you know...shoot my boyfriend."

Meg gave her friend as sympathetic look. "If you want my advice, I would say avoid telling your dad as long as you can stand it. Trust me I've seen your dad pissed, and it's not pretty. So McLeod and you...that's interesting. I mean he's like what forty ? I never pictured you as the type to be into older men."

"He's forty-two...you can not tell anybody about this...I mean it. No one can know, not anyone in this office, not anybody outside of this office either. No one." Elizabeth demanded her voice serious. She was starting to feel a bit desperate.

She glanced at Meg knowing that she would have to take a few precautions to make sure that her friend didn't accidentally blurt out her secret to anyone.

Elizabeth spoke up trying to sound as serious and tough as she could. "If you tell anybody, I swear to god that I will tell everyone what happened at that Valentines Day company party we had."

Meg dropped her jaw not believing what she was hearing. She spoke her voice raising a bit "You wouldn't !?"

"Yes I would. If you spill the beans I'll tell everybody that you got drunk and slept with Ed from tech support." Elizabeth threatened knowing that Meg would never want to have that secret spilled to anybody.

Ed was sleazy it was actually a miracle that he hadn't told anybody about what had happened with Meg. Of course Ed was probably terrified that Meg would kill him which she would, so that may explain his silence.

Meg dropped the look of her face before she gave Elizabeth an amused smile. "Blackmail, I'm impressed. You don't have to worry about anything. Do I look like a gossip to you ? You're my best friend. I'm happy for you."

Elizabeth sighed knowing that she could believe her. Meg hated gossips and people who enjoyed talking behind each others backs. It was probably because of Meg's reputation, Meg had been on the receiving end of some pretty nasty rumors and secrets around the office.

Meg pulled her friend into a hug. She would never betray her like that. Elizabeth was actually the only real friend Meg had and she knew it.

Most women were catty towards Meg, wrote her off as being too comfortable with the idea of sex and tried to say that she was too irresponsible. People called her a slut, Elizabeth wasn't like that though. Meg knew that Elizabeth had stuck by her when most people wouldn't, defended her, and put up with her bullshit.

Elizabeth had nothing to worry about.

Elizabeth trying to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she stared down at the spread sheet copies in front of her. She could feel Zachariah practically breathing down her neck.

The guy was supposed to be in charge of accounting. He was a jerk, a sexist pig, and he was unqualified for his job. It was amazing he hadn't been fired yet. She was pretty sure the only reason he'd gotten the job was because he brown-nosed to anyone who would allow it.

Zachariah spoke up not hiding the anger from his voice as he pointed down that the spread sheet. "See that right there. That's wrong. You did that and now I have to fix your mistake. It's going to take me all night to fix this."

Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment trying not to snap at him. She didn't make any of those mistakes and she knew it. He had been the one who had fucked up this report, not her. She was the one who usually cleaned up his mistakes, but he wasn't going to own up to it.

Elizabeth knew that Zachariah wouldn't be talking to her this way if her father was around. Bobby had taken off a little early this afternoon though, for a dentists appointment. She had been after her father for months to take care of a cavity that he'd developed, and he was finally giving in to his daughter. So she had been left alone to deal with Zachariah and his melodramatic bullshit.

She usually didn't cry easily, but she was really angry. He was trying to place all the blame on her for something he did. It wasn't fair.

"Now I have to go through last months expense reports and correct all of your mistakes. You need to stay out of my work. You shouldn't even be touching anything to do with the accounting. Your father needs to tell you to stick to your own job." Zachariah began to rant his voice harsh.

Elizabeth's eyes shot up from the spread sheet as she heard a familiar voice. "Hey, why don't you back off and leave her alone."

Elizabeth began to wipe a few stray tears from her eyes. She had to hold back a relieved smile as Crowley stepped closer to her desk. She definitely did not want to be on the receiving end of the look Crowley had on his face right now.

He looked beyond pissed off and Zachariah noticed it. Zachariah backed away from her a little his tone of voice changing now that he had been caught yelling at the woman by someone who had the power to fire him.

Zachariah spoke up his voice much calmer as he tried to ignore what Crowley had just walked in on. "Sir. I didn't see you standing there. Miss. Singer...I was just having a discussion with Miss. Singer about last months expense report. She miscalculated a couple of things and I was making her aware of it."

"No you were being disrespectful to her instead of handling the situation like a professional and mature adult. I know for a fact that if Mr. Singer was here right now you wouldn't be yelling at his daughter like she's a disobedient child."

Zachariah was a little taken back by Crowley's response, but he recovered quickly as he spoke trying to sound apologetic. "But sir. I was just..."

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before Crowley spoke up his voice raising a little. "No you were being a rude little prat. If it wasn't for Miss. Singer, being the one who usually corrects most of your reports for you then you would've been fired by now. You should thank her for covering for your incompetence. If I ever catch you talking to her or anyone else like that then I will fire you and have security drag you out before you even have a chance to blink."

Zachariah swallowed a lump in his throat obviously realizing that he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this. "I...I understand."

He mumbled something that sounded like an excuse me, before he made his way out of the room leaving Crowley and Elizabeth alone.

Crowley made his way over to Elizabeth desk as she stood up. She resisted the urge to hug him or kiss him just in case anyone walked in the room.

He took her by surprise when he took her hands in his as he spoke his voice soft and quiet. "You shouldn't let anyone talk to you like that darling."

She felt her cheeks flush a little bit loving his pet name for her. She didn't understand how one little pet name could effect her in such a way. It was sweet though, so much classier than any of the pet names men that she had dated before had called her. With other guys it was always something that she hated like babe or doll. Something that made her feel childish.

"I know. It's not a big deal though. I mean the guys an ass, but I can take what he throws at me." She stated trying to brush the situation off.

Crowley shook his head sighing "You shouldn't have to take what he throws at you. Don't be afraid to defend yourself and get mean if you have to."

He finally dropped the subject before he spoke up again not letting go of her hands. "So what do you think about pizza and a movie marathon at my house after work tonight ?"

She smiled a little excited about the prospect of seeing his house. She had never been to his place before. Usually they wound up at her place. She knew that he didn't like her apartment though and she didn't blame him. Her landlord had a habit of letting things go unfixed for too long. She had an ant infestation that the landlord refused to do anything about, her air-conditioner wasn't the best which sucked since it was now late June and the weather was hot, and you could occasionally hear her neighbors fighting thorough the walls.

"Okay, sounds fun." She answered him as he pulled one of her hands up to his face pressing a kiss to it.

He reluctantly let her hands go and moved away from her just in time as someone walked in. Chuck raised an eyebrow as he entered the room. Did he just see what he thought he saw ? No he couldn't have he was just tired and hungover. His mind was just playing tricks on him.

Chuck spoke up looking at Elizabeth. "Hey Liz, Is your computer still giving you trouble ?"

Elizabeth took her gaze away from her boyfriend before she looked at Chuck. She nodded her head pointing down at her computer. "Yeah it keeps freezing. I can barely get anything done."

She backed away from the computer letting Chuck take a seat and begin to work on the stubborn machine.

She and Crowley shared a quick adoring look before he left the room going to his office and shutting the door.

Elizabeth couldn't help but to smile excited about tonight.

Elizabeth let out a soft moan into the kiss that she and Crowley were currently locked in. She let her hips begin to rock a tiny bit causing Crowley to let out a deep groan into her open mouth. She couldn't help but to feel proud as she felt him begin to harden straining against his pants, beneath her.

They had been making out on his couch for quite a while now, the zombie film on the television was still playing in the background but the couple wasn't paying any attention.

They had eaten their meal at the couch laying the pizza box on the coffee table as they watched a few movies.

Elizabeth could admit she was blown away by Crowley's house. It was a small brick home in a quiet nice neighborhood. It was a two story two bedroom one bathroom home, though he used the smaller bedroom as an office. The house had big open rooms and high ceilings. Every little piece of his furniture looked as though a single item could cost far more than the price of all of her furniture combined. He had ornate oriental rugs over the dark wood floors and a couple of nice paintings on his walls. She hadn't seen anything upstairs yet but she had the feeling it would all be just as impressive as the rest of the house.

Crowley was far too focused on the beautiful woman that was sitting in his lap straddling herself over his hips. God the feelings she gave him were incredible. He couldn't remember the last time anyone worked him up this much. He was almost certain that no one had ever caused every inch of his body to react as strongly as Elizabeth was managing to do. She was perfect, so soft, and sexy and so gorgeous. He wanted to be inside of her so badly he couldn't stand it.

He let his hands slide up her legs causing her dark red skirt to ride up a tiny bit, before he slid his hands over her hips he tried to guide her hips into a different rhythm causing her to press against him a little bit harder.

She rewarded his efforts with a soft pleased noise. He worked up his nerve to slide his hands underneath her white blouse caressing her soft warm skin. He frowned a little thrown off as he felt something against the small of her back, a thin long somewhat jagged scar.

She pulled away from him as she felt his hand run across the scar. She looked away wanting to focus on anything but his questioning stare.

He spoke up noticing the worried look on her face. "What happened to you darling ? How did you get that ?"

"You remember how I said that I had some problems a year ago." She responded to him removing herself from his lap and sitting on the couch beside him.

He reached out taking her hand in his as she continued still not looking at him. "I broke up with my ex, and he...he destroyed my confidence. He told me that he would take care of me, treat me like a queen, that we would have a beautiful life together. But he lied. He cheated me every chance he got and he stole from me. He emptied out my bank account every last penny. I was broke, I didn't have anything to my name. No money, no apartment, no decent job, nothing. I had to have my dad wire me money so I could come home. I went to live with my Aunt Ellen, because I was too ashamed to live with my father. To let him know that I had messed up my life so badly."

He squeezed her hand a tiny bit encouraging her to continue. She swallowed the lump in her throat knowing that he was the first person whom she had ever told this story to. "I started to drink when I got back. A day didn't go by where I wasn't wasted, I started to sleep around too. With any guy that would take me. I...I tried to drive home drunk one night and I had an accident. It was a bad accident."

She began to feel a few tears work their ways out of the corner of her eyes. Crowley reached out wiping her eyes for her as she spoke up again. "I went off the road into a ditch. The car it rolled and flipped over off into a field, some glass from the windows broke and I got cut up pretty badly...there's more scars than the one on my back. I broke a few bones in my left arm and I cracked a rib. I was knocked out cold when the ambulance got there...I was in acoma for a few weeks. The doctors said it was a miracle that I woke up, that I managed to recover so well, so quickly. That it didn't kill me. I went to rehab after that out in Florida. My dad paid for it, and I sobered up. That's not the horrible part though."

Crowley reached out pressing a gentle hand to her cheek making her turn her head and look at him. She frowned feeling so ashamed as she continued. "I was pregnant. I didn't know, I had no idea. I wasn't very far along. I didn't even know who the dad was. I miscarried when I had the wreck. I was only a couple of weeks along...I don't even know if I can get pregnant again. The doctors said that there may be a chance for it to happen but I...I lost so much blood and...there was so much internal damage to everything. I don't deserve a second chance...I don't deserve another baby...I'm a horrible person."

"My darling...you didn't know...You aren't to blame, not really. You aren't a bad person." Crowley said struggling to work out the right words as he tried to soothe her. He pulled her close to him embracing her in a tight hug.

She shook her head her tears falling harder now. "But I am. I deserve to be punished. I should have died."

He shook his head as he pressed a kiss to her temple. He did his best to soothe her and stop her tears as he prepared for what he was about to tell her.

He pulled her even closer to him refusing to let her out of his embrace. "You are a amazing and sweet person. I'm pretty agnostic but if there is a god then I thank him every single day that I have you in my life. You're my angel you know that ? I never thought I could find someone after my divorce. I thought I would end up dying alone with nothing but my work to leave behind. You changed that though when you came into my life. I have you in my life and I don't intend on ever letting you go. I haven't even known you that long and I am crazy about you. You make me so happy and I only hope that I make you just as happy."

She looked up at him surprised by the amount of sincerity in his voice and the amount of love she could see in his eyes. He began to run his hand up and down her back as he spoke again. "You made a mistake darling and you learned from it. You're an intelligent hardworking young woman. You are a good person don't ever doubt that."

He held her for a long time he lost count of the minutes. The movie had ended darkening the room as the credits began to roll across the screen.

She finally stopped crying before he spoke up again. "Stay. Spend the night here."

He felt her tense up a little before he cleared up his statement. "Just sleep we can call in sick to work tomorrow. We can say we both have some sort of stomach bug, caught it around the same time. No one will suspect anything... Let me take care of you."

She nodded her head silently. She needed to be taken care of.

Review ? Thanks for all the ones I've gotten so far...I was using the Season six and on version of Meg btw in case anyone wondered.