"I'm fi--," Fred started to tell Rupert when he hurried up to her in the hall, but was cut off by Charles coming out of the lab. She moved closer to her husband when her former friend offered for them to stay at the firm's hotel, glad to feel his hand slip into hers.
"You really don't need to," Charles pressed. "Our hotel is the best in the entire city. Probably the entire country."
And no doubt crawling with demons and vampires and every other sort of evil that they represented here, she thought, looking up at Rupert for a moment. The fact that Charles was referring to it as ours and not the firm's sent a shiver down her spine. So much was wrong here. And it hurt to see that her friends had been caught up in all this - that they actually believed that what they were doing was right, that this place was right.
"As Rupert said, we'll find our own accommodations. The Council has enough contacts in the city, so we'll be fine," she said as they headed down the hallway toward the reception area.
"At least let me arrange a car to take you to wherever you want to go," he said, following them with Spike behind him.
"No...we'll catch a cab," Fred said after sharing another look with Rupert. "We just need our bags."
"They'll be waiting down in reception for you. The driver brought them up while we were in the boardroom earlier."
When they got to reception, they found the bags sitting with Angel's secretary, a blond who seemed to recognize Rupert and called him "Mister Giles!" in a squeaky, valley girl voice. It seemed that they couldn't get their bags fast enough and head downstairs, Spike going with them in the elevator while Charles said goodbye and went into Angel's office.
"If you've got mobiles on you, give me your numbers, and I'll ring you tonight about where to meet," Spike told them. "Oh...and you might want to check those bags of yours. Make sure they have planted tracking devices or anything like that."
When Fred heard him say that, she looked down at her bag in concern. The idea of her friends tracking her... They really had changed.
Giles wanted to turn around and punch Gunn as he continued to follow them through the firm. Didn’t he understand the word no? When they got to the front desk, he groaned when he saw Harmony. Giles did his best to ignore the vampire as he picked up his bags and went to the elevator with Spike.
“Bloody figures,” Giles said when Spike mentioned tracking devices. He crouched down in the elevator and started to go through their bags. When he opened Fred’s bag, he found on hidden in her side pocket. Giles didn’t want her to know they’d put one in her things and did his best to conceal it.
“There’s a hotel near my flat,” Spike said. “Pretty nice too. You lot could stay there.” The vampire rattled off the address and Giles nodded.
“That’s where we’ll be,” he said. “Just ring us when it’s time to go out.” Giles then wrote his number down on the piece of paper and handed it to Spike.
When the lift stopped and opened to the bottom lobby, Spike walked them to the doors. “Thanks for the help, Spike,” Giles said before the vampire walked off. Looking at his wife, he opened the glass doors and led her outside. And when he thought she wasn’t looking, he dropped the tracking device in a plant. “Lets go get a room and rest a bit before we start looking for Dana.”
When Rupert bent down to look through their bags, she saw him pause for just a moment when he checked the side pocket of hers. Even without him saying anything - and she knew that he wasn't because he was hoping that she hadn't noticed - she knew that he had found a bug, just like Spike had warned about. Closing her eyes for a minute, she swallowed against the painful knot that suddenly formed in her throat.
Damn them. They had been her friends, and they were treating her like...like she was the enemy.
She fought hard to keep the hurt off her face while Spike told Rupert about the hotel and they exchanged numbers. She didn't want anyone to see that this was bothering her. Not here in the middle of firm's offices. Not where anyone could see. Instead, she walked quietly next to her husband, pretending to look the other way when he tried to get rid of the bug before they stepped outside of the building.
Once they were out in the sunshine, out of that place, she took a deep breath, feeling a shroud of sorts lift. That place was death. She didn't know why, but she could feel it. It was death and evil, and it had changed her friends.
It didn't take them long to flag down a taxi, and as soon as they climbed in and told the driver where to take them, Fred felt herself sag against Rupert, burying her face against his chest. She was trying not to cry, but she couldn't help it.
"They've changed," she sobbed, knowing she was going to get his jacket wet and unable to stop it. "They're different, and they've changed, and I don't think I know who they are anymore."
Giles felt his heart break when his wife started to sob against him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as he stroked her hair. “Fred, love…” He didn’t know what to say, or if he should say anything at all. Giles didn’t like any of them and felt if he did say something, it would only come out as sounding nasty.
Taking a deep breath, he decided he had to say something. “Fred, shhh, sweetie, it’ll be all right. I promise. I know how awful it is when the people you love change. I’m so sorry this happened to you, Fred.” He softly rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. When he looked up, he noticed the cab was stopping in front of a hotel. Giles checked the address and saw it was the one Spike had suggested to them.
“Love, we’re here. How about we get a room and go up to it so we can talk more. And if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll just hold you. Anything you want,” he said before releasing her. He looked at her and dried her cheeks off. “I love you, Fred and I’ll do anything to make sure you’re happy.”
Fred felt so stupid, crying like this. Rupert needed her to help in this, so she should be strong and better able to handle this. She thought that she could handle it, no matter what had happened when she had agreed to come to Los Angeles with him. She just couldn't help it. The people who had been responsible for bringing her back to this world, who were the reason she was still even alive, had allowed themselves to be sucked in by the evil they fought against, and she felt...betrayed somehow.
When Rupert told her that they had reached the hotel, she nodded and sat up, smiling wanly when he reached over to dry her tears. She felt so lucky that she had him in her life, that he had given her the opportunity to start new away from all this.
"I love you too, Rupert," she whispered. "More than I can ever say."
Getting out of the cab after Rupert paid the driver, they went inside and rented a room. The hotel was nothing like the one in London and she was certain nothing like the one Charles had tried to get them to stay at, but in a way, Fred preferred it that way. It meant it hadn't been touched, and it was enough for what they needed.
Once they reached the room, they locked the door behind them and put their luggage down. Fred then sat down on the bed, curling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. She looked at her husband for a moment before she finally said quietly, "I think Charles has changed the most. He used to be...he was from the streets because that was where he ended up with his sister after his parents died, but he was still smart and strong, you know. Not like Wesley, but he knew how to survive, and he knew how to fight. Now he's...now he's some kind of lawyer, and he's defending...defending the things we were fighting against. The kind of people that killed Wesley."
"You really don't need to," Charles pressed. "Our hotel is the best in the entire city. Probably the entire country."
And no doubt crawling with demons and vampires and every other sort of evil that they represented here, she thought, looking up at Rupert for a moment. The fact that Charles was referring to it as ours and not the firm's sent a shiver down her spine. So much was wrong here. And it hurt to see that her friends had been caught up in all this - that they actually believed that what they were doing was right, that this place was right.
"As Rupert said, we'll find our own accommodations. The Council has enough contacts in the city, so we'll be fine," she said as they headed down the hallway toward the reception area.
"At least let me arrange a car to take you to wherever you want to go," he said, following them with Spike behind him.
"No...we'll catch a cab," Fred said after sharing another look with Rupert. "We just need our bags."
"They'll be waiting down in reception for you. The driver brought them up while we were in the boardroom earlier."
When they got to reception, they found the bags sitting with Angel's secretary, a blond who seemed to recognize Rupert and called him "Mister Giles!" in a squeaky, valley girl voice. It seemed that they couldn't get their bags fast enough and head downstairs, Spike going with them in the elevator while Charles said goodbye and went into Angel's office.
"If you've got mobiles on you, give me your numbers, and I'll ring you tonight about where to meet," Spike told them. "Oh...and you might want to check those bags of yours. Make sure they have planted tracking devices or anything like that."
When Fred heard him say that, she looked down at her bag in concern. The idea of her friends tracking her... They really had changed.
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“Bloody figures,” Giles said when Spike mentioned tracking devices. He crouched down in the elevator and started to go through their bags. When he opened Fred’s bag, he found on hidden in her side pocket. Giles didn’t want her to know they’d put one in her things and did his best to conceal it.
“There’s a hotel near my flat,” Spike said. “Pretty nice too. You lot could stay there.” The vampire rattled off the address and Giles nodded.
“That’s where we’ll be,” he said. “Just ring us when it’s time to go out.” Giles then wrote his number down on the piece of paper and handed it to Spike.
When the lift stopped and opened to the bottom lobby, Spike walked them to the doors. “Thanks for the help, Spike,” Giles said before the vampire walked off. Looking at his wife, he opened the glass doors and led her outside. And when he thought she wasn’t looking, he dropped the tracking device in a plant. “Lets go get a room and rest a bit before we start looking for Dana.”
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Damn them. They had been her friends, and they were treating her like...like she was the enemy.
She fought hard to keep the hurt off her face while Spike told Rupert about the hotel and they exchanged numbers. She didn't want anyone to see that this was bothering her. Not here in the middle of firm's offices. Not where anyone could see. Instead, she walked quietly next to her husband, pretending to look the other way when he tried to get rid of the bug before they stepped outside of the building.
Once they were out in the sunshine, out of that place, she took a deep breath, feeling a shroud of sorts lift. That place was death. She didn't know why, but she could feel it. It was death and evil, and it had changed her friends.
It didn't take them long to flag down a taxi, and as soon as they climbed in and told the driver where to take them, Fred felt herself sag against Rupert, burying her face against his chest. She was trying not to cry, but she couldn't help it.
"They've changed," she sobbed, knowing she was going to get his jacket wet and unable to stop it. "They're different, and they've changed, and I don't think I know who they are anymore."
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Taking a deep breath, he decided he had to say something. “Fred, shhh, sweetie, it’ll be all right. I promise. I know how awful it is when the people you love change. I’m so sorry this happened to you, Fred.” He softly rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. When he looked up, he noticed the cab was stopping in front of a hotel. Giles checked the address and saw it was the one Spike had suggested to them.
“Love, we’re here. How about we get a room and go up to it so we can talk more. And if you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll just hold you. Anything you want,” he said before releasing her. He looked at her and dried her cheeks off. “I love you, Fred and I’ll do anything to make sure you’re happy.”
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When Rupert told her that they had reached the hotel, she nodded and sat up, smiling wanly when he reached over to dry her tears. She felt so lucky that she had him in her life, that he had given her the opportunity to start new away from all this.
"I love you too, Rupert," she whispered. "More than I can ever say."
Getting out of the cab after Rupert paid the driver, they went inside and rented a room. The hotel was nothing like the one in London and she was certain nothing like the one Charles had tried to get them to stay at, but in a way, Fred preferred it that way. It meant it hadn't been touched, and it was enough for what they needed.
Once they reached the room, they locked the door behind them and put their luggage down. Fred then sat down on the bed, curling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. She looked at her husband for a moment before she finally said quietly, "I think Charles has changed the most. He used to be...he was from the streets because that was where he ended up with his sister after his parents died, but he was still smart and strong, you know. Not like Wesley, but he knew how to survive, and he knew how to fight. Now he's...now he's some kind of lawyer, and he's defending...defending the things we were fighting against. The kind of people that killed Wesley."
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