Even Evil Laywers Have to Eat

[vicious_bmantle]

Who: Lilah and Wesley
Where: The Grocery Store
When: Afternoonish?
What: Paying people to do this means it not getting done right, you know?
Status: Complete

Comments

[watcher_pryce]

Max clapped his small hands as though he understood what Lilah was saying word for word. Wesley, being the proud father was, beamed at that actually thinking that his son was. Or at least 90% of it. Alright, maybe just 80% or 75? Either way his son looked up at Lilah with a delight only a small yet unspoiled child could manage.

"Well everyone seems to be rather excited about that," Wesley pointed out, "I get the feeling it's going to be quite the celebration." He was mostly nervous about it since he'd been kept out of the loop of the whole preparation bit. But if you had Cordelia and Buffy working together on one side, while Angel, Gunn, Spike and Lorne were working on the other? No one could or should in fact blame him for being nervous. Not even in the slightest.

Lord only knew what this group of people could come up with. Wesley kept reminding himself that they all loved Max - or maybe not love in Spike case but he did like the boy - and that they were all mature adults who knew what they were doing. But no matter how many times he told himself that, it wasn't working.

Neither were the looks or the hinted veiled remarks Gunn or Cordelia would give, or the sometimes giddy look on Angel's face as though he was hiding a big secret, or the mutterings of beer coming from Spike. One had to wonder what was going on if the only reassurance one would get were from the only two full demons in their group. Lorne and Illyria at least behaved like themselves.

Wesley gave Lilah a bemused look when she mentioned how smart father and son were and recalled a time were she'd have said something completely different. Then again they had been completely different. Time changed and so did people, Wesley liked to think it had been for the better mostly. Not that he had time to think about that past for long - nor wanted to, too much - when he heard Lilah's next words.

Coming from anyone else and maybe a few years ago from her as well, he would have taken such a remark as a thread. Against him, his family, his *son*. It was a thread in a way, but not coming from her. Wesley heard what he heard right away. A warning.

"That would be a given," he said carefully and without realising he had picked his son up from his seat in the car and held him protectively close. "What or whom might possibly come along and spoil such a day I wonder?" he asked next, eyes narrowing just a little bit as he looked at his ex-lover.

[vicious_bmantle]

She knew that her words would not be taken lightly. She didn't want them to be taken lightly. She actually considered Wes to be a friend. Well, maybe not a friend, per say, but the closest to one that someone in her line of work could ever truly have. And that spoke for the occasionally sad life that Lilah truly led. The fact that she had no friends. If it weren't for the huge salt quantities in the frozen dinners, Lilah could just stock up on Hungry Man Dinners for one and be done with it, as far as shopping went. She had no spouse or kids to speak of. She didn't even keep a pet, because she was gone so much.

It was the life that she had chosen, though. She personally felt that she was doing good to be truly alive again, and not in that fake dead state that the Partners usually kept people in when their perpetuity contracts kicked in. She supposed that she was just lucky, although she was sure that luck had nothing to do with it. No, the Senior Partners always had a plan up their sleeves when they did something.

"The same thing that always spoils your day, Wes," she said, keeping her tone light even though what she was thinking about was anything but. She watched as he hugged his son closer to his chest. A small part of her wondered that, if they had ever ran away and gotten married in some fairy land that obviously wasn't her reality, would he have been so protective over any child that she had? Most certainly, but some nasty part of her nearly snarled that he was all the more protective because it was the child of his precious Fred, too. Damn, now she's jealous of a dead girl. How depressing is that?

"Prophecies never really did agree with you, did they?" She had actually found this one on her own. She wasn't intentionally looking for stuff on them, but, during her usual research for work, she had found it just the same. A prophecy pertaining to Wes's son. Not a good one, either. They usually weren't.

[watcher_pryce]

"Dirty diapers? Spilled milk? Cramps?" he named the few things that most assuredly didn't make his day but were still part of the whole package. The joke - if it was even that - fell flat though. When Lilah said things like that Wesley never took them lightly. Especially not after having worked for Wolfram and Hart himself.

It was a good thing they had all but destroyed that damn firm. What was left now were a few branches here and there who had lost their over sight. Wesley thought the one here was probably doing so well only because Lilah was mostly in charge of it. Lilah knew how to fly under the radar and with Wolfram and Hart being to busy rebuilding themselves to their full strength in this dimension she could do so for a long time.

Especially when the Angel and Buffy troops kept knocking the former Senior Partners down. Years before it had cost them dearly to do so, but they were still plucking the fruits of it today.

That, however, wasn't going to help his son in any way. Wesley winced when he heard there was yet *another* prophecy. "No. No they usually don't," he said softly, rubbing a hand over his son's back soothingly. The boy, of course, didn't notice much of his father's distress. Repressing emotions and feelings were like second nature to Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and he did it without thinking these days. So Max cuddled up against Wesley's shoulder and dozed a bit.

"And what might be in this-- prophecy? Or better yet, where can I find this prophecy?"

[vicious_bmantle]

She could tell that he was trying to joke. Sometimes it was easier to joke around that face the truth. She had done so for years while working at Wolfram & Hart. She barely knew how to interact with other people that she worked over these days without making sarcastic jokes at their expense. Luckily, she was over all of them, so it didn't matter what she said to anyone that she worked with, anymore.

It was also probably a good thing that she didn't have too much to worry about with bosses over her these days, what with helping Wes at nearly every turn. They'd have her head if things were like they used to be. Of course, it would only be a matter of time before they were back up to their old strength again. Then she'd have to answer for all of this help. Still, she could only hope that was a long time away.

"We have the prophecy." He knew exactly who 'we' meant, too. He had to, by this point. "The translators that work for the firm are mostly useless, though." While they were, she still knew what it said. She was just wary of saying such a thing out loud. Even if the firm wasn't at it's normal strength, you never knew who was listening in on any conversation.

"Actually, I have an idea," she said to him, smiling. "It's in both of our interests to know what that prophecy says. Why don't I send it to you? This wouldn't be the first time that the firm outsourced for a translation. I can have it overnighted to your home and you can translate it." He'd have the prophecy, figure out what it said, and be able to do what he needed to do to help Max. No harm, no foul. Plus, it was always good to have favors, right?

[watcher_pryce]

Of course 'they' had the prophecy. Why was Wesley not even remotely surprised by this. Even as knocked down and out for the count as the Senior Partners and their bloody firm were after Angel got through with them? They were always going to cling onto a big portion of the cake. Problem right now was that they had big trouble eating said cake once they had it. Well, a problem for them, not for the rest of the world.

At least it freed Lilah up to do things like these. Though, Wesley would like to think she'd have done it at any rate. For him at least. Yes, he sometimes was that delusional. When it came to that, he had to be in order to believe the world was going to be a better place for his son. Perhaps this was something only parents did. Wesley didn't know, nor did he care at the moment.

In any case... The Senior Partners being out for the count meant Lilah was somewhat safe for now, which reassured Wesley immensely. One he'd find a way for her to get out from under the contract as well - as if he didn't have enough research on his plate to give him a permanent migraine - if he and his friends could do it, then so could Lilah. Though he wasn't delusional enough to think that she'd use her talents for good, but he could hope.

"Ah yes, I had noticed that the last few times," he murmured. It was hard not think about the very important prophecies and how he had misinterpreted them. Of course he'd been duped and led astray with the one about-- Connor. But still, he had been the translator, he should've seen it, he should've told someone. But he hadn't anyone around back then. Hadn't known Lorne well enough, hadn't any contact with Giles or other watcher.

This time it would be different. He was not going to loose another child. And selfishly he realised it was even more important because it was his own bloody son.

Wesley's eyebrows rose slightly at the mention of an idea and even more so when said idea was laid out. Clever one, Miss Lilah Morgan. If only she wasn't wasted on this damn firm. Wesley found himself nodding and at the same time making a mental not to step up the escape plan for one Lilah Morgan. No matter what the rest said, they didn't know her the way Wesley had. Of course this damn prophecy and his son were the number one priority *now*.

"That sounds like an acceptable agreement," Wesley said, rubbing his large hand over the small back of his son's head. He gave Lilah an intense stare, eyes narrowing. He took in his surrounding before lowering his voice and saying "Thank you. Lilah."

[vicious_bmantle]

She personally wondered if he still wanted to get her away from the firm. She could still remember him going all 'Batman' with the gadgets to go through the firm and find her contract, only to realize that burning it would do no good. 'Flames wouldn't be eternal if they actually consumed anything.' It had meant so much to her that he tried. Someone tried to do a good thing for her, even if it was pointless.

Of course, then she had been dead. Now she was truly alive again. Probably because she was the one person on the planet right now with the most experience still intact. It was probably a mixture of pure luck and wits (mostly luck) that she hadn't been caught giving Wes little hints here and there yet. She personally hoped that the Senior Partners stayed off course for a while yet. While she may never be a 'good' person, she had her own reasons for doing what she did. Sometimes that just put her in a different path than the firm would have liked.

She nodded when he said that it was acceptable. "I'll have it at your home in the morning," she said to him. "I'm sure you can do more with it than any of our translators have been able to do." Another double sided phrase. Of course he could. He'd help his son with it, and her own translators would only sit on it, trying to find a way to use it to the firm's own purposes. Something that could be irritating at times, if she was honest.

"You're welcome," she said softly, reaching up to ruffle Max's hair gently again. "I should probably get going. He looks like me might be ready for a nap."