(A/N): We're back with Evie and Pip. Vi, and Hettie are mentioned as being close by and having recently left, but are not actually present. So I have, in fact, continued writing chapters, and I just finished writing chapter 591, which should be uploaded on 21/7/25.

January 16th, 1966

Evie

Vi and Hettie must have decided they'd had enough of me for the time being, because after this conversation, they left me to my own devices for the most part. Pip, however, had no such inclination, though I wasn't sure whether it was due to a desire to be near to me, or if he was still worried about me. The kitchen was quiet, other than the clinking of dishes and the sloshing of water as we worked in tandem to wash and dry the dishes they had eaten from last night- or, early this morning, I guess. It was only when we were close to finishing up that Pip finally spoke.

"So... am I next?" I glanced sideways at him, and the corner of his lips quirked up. "If Vi's right and you're trying to push us all away, I'm the only one you haven't laid some brutal truth on, yet." He gave me a look that was oddly curious. "I can't think of a single thing you could say to me that would make me want to keep my distance, though- I mean, other than asking me outright, of course." Of course.

Rather than rush to try to reassure him, I chose to flick some water at him, instead. "As I told Vi," I said slowly, deliberately. "I'm not trying to hurt you all- I just don't know if I see the point in pretending, anymore." On this front, at least. "I've spent my whole life taking the backseat because I didn't feel comfortable being noticed- seen... I'm ready to focus on me, now- even if it does mean having to be a bit selfish, in the process." Pip frowned slightly, before he clearly made an effort to pull on a comforting smile.

"Look, Evie, I'm all for you being a bit more focused on what you want, instead of only ever taking care of everyone else, but... well, I just think you might regret it, in future, if you swing so wildly from one extreme to another. Don't get me wrong, I fully support you standing up for yourself, I just... I want you to be happy in the long term, not just right now. Does that make sense?" It did, even if maybe I didn't like it.

"I'll admit that what I said was out of line, but in every case, the other person started it. I may have hit back a bit harder than I should have, but it's not like I have much previous experience to work off of- if any."

Pip nodded easily, passing me the dish towel so I could dry my hands. "I know, Evie, and I don't even think you were all that mean to Lou in the end- we were all just on edge, and we all took some things far more personally than usual." His brow furrowed. "I didn't know Lou was sensitive about her... cautious nature, so I suppose no one could blame you for that one." Except... Pip may not have known, but I did- so I guess I could be blamed, after all.

"With Hettie..." I trailed off, which was a good thing, considering that I could tell Pip wanted to say something but would almost certainly refuse to cut me off in order to do so.

"She was way out of pocket- I think she knew that then, and she definitely knows that now- but..." He hesitated, halfway to a wince. "You were also out of pocket. Even if it was just a knee jerk reaction born out of panic-" He gave me a worryingly knowing look here. "-it was still unnecessarily... well, mean. You can be honest without being cruel- and that was cruel."

I swallowed thickly, dropping my head to watch the soapy water drain out of the sink. "I know it was cruel," I said quietly, after the last gurgle rang out like some sort of watery death knell. "I just wanted- needed- her to stop talking, and I couldn't think of any other way to make her." He started to open his mouth, but I cut him off before he could say anything. "If I had asked her to stop, do you really think she would have? With the mood she was in?" He closed his mouth, and his lips pursed slightly.

"No," He admitted quietly. "I don't suppose she would have. I... I assume you wouldn't take kindly to me asking what it was that made you panic, would you?" I shook my head, trying to minimise my frown if only because I knew it would worry him, and the more worried Pip was, the less likely he'd be to let me get away with not talking about it.

"You'd be correct," I said somewhat stiffly, and he frowned my frown for me.

"Evie-"

The shrill keen of the telephone interrupted him, and the automatic call of, "I'll get it!", left my throat before I even had the chance to think about it. I scooped up the handset and raised it to my ear, doing my best to avoid Pip's eyes as I did so. "Hello, Wright residence, Evie speaking." There was a very male snort of amusement on the other end that I couldn't place right away, but immediately felt familiar.

"You're going to get another call in a minute or two, and you're going to want to be alone for it." I was so caught off guard by this, and finally recognising the voice, that I nearly incredulously exclaimed, 'Khal?!' "You sound very cute over the phone, Evie-peevy; be glad it was me hearing that and not anyone more inclined to your type of charm." He paused for a second. "Speaking of charms I'm inclined to, remember what I said about your friend Pip." I opened my mouth, but he spoke before I could. "No time to chat, I'm afraid- your friend Joyce is getting ready to dial as we speak." As he spoke, anyway. "You'll be seeing me in three days." The line went dead, and I was left blinking in response to Khal's odd emphasis on 'seeing me'.

I returned the handset to the hook in preparation for Joyce's call- I had no doubt Khal was right about that- and turned to Pip. "Who was that?" He asked, sounding slightly befuddled- probably because a one-sided phone call like that was quite strange, thanks for that, Khal.

"Joyce," I replied automatically, and Pip's eyebrows immediately drew together. "She said she'd call me right back, and-" The phone rang, so I picked it up. "Hi, Joyce." There was silence on the other end for a second, which was rare for her.

"Hullo, Evie!" She chirped, seemingly recovering quickly from her surprise. "How'd y'know it was me?"

Well, you see Joyce, I met this vampire seer, and he- "Oh, just had a feeling. What did you want to speak to me about?" Thankfully, Joyce didn't question this- I figured she wouldn't, given how distracted she usually was any given minute of the day. I heard clattering in the background, almost as if she'd knocked over a few of the many knick-knacks arrayed on her desk as she tried to reach for a document- likely already stained with herbal tea or garishly pink lipstick.

"Harvey asked me to give you a jingle about the shift schedule for this week. I was supposed to do it yesterday, but then, well... Mitsy ruined a pair of my shoes- y'know, the sparkly orange ones with the little bells-" Good riddance, thank you for your service, Mitsy. "-and I was so focused on that, that by the time I got into bed, I didn't even realise I'd forgotten to ring you!" This was, unfortunately, a bit of a regular occurrence for Joyce.

I turned my head as she was gushing apologies, and saw Pip staring at me- and the phone- rather strangely; I waved him off, and he shook his head. I pointed sternly in the direction of the hallway- to the living room, where Hettie and Vi were- and he gave me a look of reluctant disapproval. I covered the mouthpiece of the receiver, and whispered, "Go! I'll be here a while- you know how Joyce can be. I'm not in any danger in here, go check on Hettie and Vi." I'm sure they want to discuss what happened earlier, I didn't say, but felt he knew what I meant nonetheless.

He shot an oddly suspicious look at the back door before sighing, and begrudgingly starting to move toward the hallway. "Alright, but- be on your best behavior, got it?" He arched an eyebrow at me purposefully, and I rolled my eyes at him- albeit incredibly fondly.

"Go." He gave me a cheeky wave and disappeared through the doorway, graciously allowing the door to thud shut behind him. When I turned my attention back to the phone call, I heard silence on the other end. "Joyce?" I questioned, and she giggled quietly.

"Oh, I'm here," She said pointedly. "I think you were somewhere else, though." I was surprised she'd noticed, actually. "That's not like you, Evie." She sounded almost pensive, which I don't think was something I'd ever witnessed from her. "You're usually the focused one, the attentive one- what could possibly have distracted you?"

She didn't sound angry, only curious, so I answered her honestly. "Just Pip. He was being a bit difficult, so I had to send him away." She giggled again, and I had the feeling I knew what was coming next.

"Oh, right, him... he's a bit of alright, isn't he?" And there it was. Joyce and Hettie weren't similar in many ways, but they were similar in this. When a cute boy- man- was nearby, they almost couldn't help but comment. But where Hettie engaged in more casual encounters without so much as the illusion of a chance at a relationship, Joyce was all relationships, all the time. She didn't choose to be single the same way Hettie did, she just tended to pick the wrong guys. Or... wrong for her, anyway. The other main similarity was that they were both rather fun-loving and carefree- though Hettie didn't hold a candle to Joyce, in that regard.

I sighed quietly, but made sure I sounded blatantly indulgent rather than wistful or lovestruck. "If you say so," I told her, and she laughed.

"I know, I know, he isn't your type- and you don't date- but you'll forgive me for voicing my appreciation when a cute slice of man is thrust in front of me." Another difference between Hettie and Joyce- Hettie wouldn't have been able to resist turning that into an innuendo.

"Okay, I guess I'll just have to trust your judgement, where Pip's looks are concerned." Not that her judgement was always the most reliable, but she typically knew who was considered conventionally attractive, at least. "You were talking about the schedule?"

When she spoke again, I could hear the smile in her voice. "Right, well, Gigi's back from having the baby, so Harvey's cutting your hours back down to allow her to come in one day a week, to begin with. You'll be at thirty-two a week again, officially, but we all know you'll be in an hour early and leave an hour late, without pay, since you're such an eager beaver-" I cut her off, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I did so.

"Joyce..." She paused immediately, likely hearing the sudden tremulous determination in my tone. "Can you help me put in my two weeks' notice?"

(A/N): And here begins the Pip's career as the unexpected lady-killer, as well as the introduction of Joyce, who I like much more than I should, given the brevity of her involvement thus far.

This chapter has had a very minor edit made to it on 1/11/24: I corrected my mistake where I originally labelled this as 1967 instead of 1966.