"Then sleep, love," Giles whispered to his wife. He held her until he heard her breath become even with sleep. Giles then carefully picked her up and laid her at the head of the bed before talking off her shoes and covering her with a light blanket. "They won't ever hurt you, Fred. I promise." He leaned forward and softly kissed her forehead before stepped away and going to the small desk in the room.
When Angel had left the boardroom, Giles made sure to pick up the folder on Dana. Reading through it made his stomach churn, especially when he read about her childhood. Who would do such a thing to a child? No wonder Dana had a breakdown when she became a Slayer. And Giles knew that Wolfram and Hart would only make her worse.
Taking out his mobile, Giles dialed Robin Wood's number. He trusted the other man and knew would help if he could. There was no way he was going to trust anyone from the firm, except for maybe Spike, to help them get Dana back to England. When Robin didn't answer, Giles left a message and rung off.
He was starting to get tired himself so Giles went over to the bed and crawled in beside his wife. Pulling the blanket over him also, he snuggled close and quickly fell asleep.
At first, Fred's dreams were rather quiet, containing the general things her dreams had seemed to be about lately - working in the lab, spending time with Rupert - nothing out of the ordinary. But as she slept, the dreams slowly began to change and she found herself walking the halls of Wolfram and Hart, people smiling at her creepily as she did. But even though she wanted to scream and run out of the building, she continued walking, heading into the lab and over to one of the pieces of equipment there, putting a sample in it and working as if she knew exactly what she was doing and the lab was hers to do what she wanted to.
Fred, a voice said. It sounded like Wesley, but when she turned around, no one was there.
And the lab was now empty of all equipment except for a big box sitting in the middle of the floor. It looked made of stone, and when she walked toward it, she could hear her heart beating louder and louder. Something told her not to go near it, but she felt as though she had to, her feet moving her closer even though she screamed at herself to stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop...wake up, wake up, wake up...
Suddenly, Fred came awake with a soft gasp, a bit disoriented until she realized she was lying on the bed in the hotel room with her husband's arms around her. Blinking, she reached up to rub her eyes before looking over at the lock on the side table. It was late afternoon, but she wasn't quite sure how long she had been asleep.
Turning over, she placed a gentle kiss on Rupert's lips, glad that he was there with her. She wasn't sure she could have faced the others without him, especially given the way she had reacted. He had so quickly become her rock and her world, and she couldn't imagine her life without him anymore.
Giles woke up when he felt Fred stir in his arms. He kept his eyes closed though, not knowing if she was just moving or if she was awake. It sometimes amazed him at our in-tune with his wife he was at times. When she kissed him and then whispered her words of love, Giles opened his eyes and smiled. "I love you too, Fred," he whispered back before capturing her lips with his.
With his hand tangled in her hair, and he kissed her deeper. When they needed to breathe, Giles pulled back and softly nibbled on her bottom lip. "Did you sleep well?" he asked against her lips before he kissed her again. His mind seemed to poke him and reminded him that just a few hours earlier Fred had been an emotional mess. Giles ended the kiss and looked his wife in the eyes. "I'm sorry. Are you feeling better? I tried to make sure you were comfortable since you fell asleep in my arms."
He moved away a little and took a deep breath. "Would you like something to eat?" he asked, motioning toward the room service menu. "They have tacos."
Fred smiled into the kiss, feeling that no matter what happened, no matter how bad things got, as long as Rupert was there with her, it wouldn't be a bad as it seemed. When they finally parted for longer than a few seconds, she looked into his eyes, reaching over to press her palm to his cheek.
"Better. I think--between not having slept in almost two days and seeing what that place has done to the people who were once the most important people in my life, I just...I couldn't help but feel I'd lost something, as stupid and as silly as it sounds." She leaned her forehead against his. "But in all actuality, the most important person in my life is right here on this bed with me, and because of him, I know that no matter how everything else has changed, it's going to be all right."
She looked over at the menu when he mentioned getting something to eat, suddenly realizing that she was actually hungry now. She wasn't sure how much she'd be able to eat, but she did want something. And the thought of tacos made her smile. "I'd...I'd like that, actually."
Getting up, she picked up the menu and sure enough, there were tacos on there. "What do you want? I'll call down the order."
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Giles said before kissing her again. When she picked up the menu, he glanced at it and shrugged. "I haven't had tacos since that night I babysat Dawn and they do sound good. I'll have that too." His phone started to vibrate and he picked it up. It was Robin and he looked at Fred. "I need to take this. I'll be right back."
He quickly kissed his wife before going to the bathroom to answer the phone, since he didn't want to be talking on it while she was trying to order the food. The conversation with Robin was fairly short and the other man agreed to come and help. Giles was a bit disappointed to hear that Robin wouldn't be able to make it until the following day. He didn’t want to spend too much time in Los Angeles.
After ringing off, Giles came out of the bathroom and smiled at Fred. "That was friend of mine. He helped us with the Hellmouth," he explained as he sat down on the bed again. "He's agreed to help us but won't be here until tomorrow. Perhaps tonight we can just follow Dana and get a feel for what she does. I don't want to risk any of us getting hurt without proper help. Especially you, love."
As Rupert disappeared into the bathroom to take the phone call on his cell, Fred went over to the desk and sat down in the chair, placing the call down to room service and ordering two plates of tacos, some coffee for her and a pot of tea for Rupert. Once she hung up, she noticed the file that Angel had given them about Dana, so she picked it up and walked back over to the bed.
Sitting down on the bed, she flipped the folder open and read through it, her throat tightening at the story that was in there. Family murdered when she was ten. Taken and tortured for months. Probably raped. Catatonic ever since until her condition changed a few months before, right around the time that Rupert had said they had been fighting the First and had activated all the potentials in the world as Slayers. God, no wonder the poor girl had gone mad.
With a sigh, she shut the folder and set it down beside her on the bed as her husband came out of the bathroom, telling her that they were going to have some extra help tomorrow. She nodded at his idea that they just try to follow Dana for the moment and see what they could find out about her tonight.
"That's probably a good idea," she said, glancing over at the folder and picking it up to hand back to him. "I...I read over this. She--we definitely need to be the ones to help her. After everything she's been through, she can't go into Wolfram and Hart. It'll destroy her."
Just then a knock came at the door, followed by a voice, calling out, "Room Service!"
"I know," Giles said as he nodded. Wolfram and Hart wasn't fit to take care of Dana, and he was still a bit concerned as to why Angel would want to keep her. Did he have something plan? Or was he just being a wanker? He would have to look into it more before they headed back to England. If Giles remembered right, the firm was ran by a group called the Senior Partners and if Angel had taken over the firm for them, there was no telling what else they've talked the vampire into.
"Don't worry about it, love, we won't allow them to have her," he said as the food arrived. "I'll get that." He walked over to the door and opened it. "I'll bring the cart in myself, thank you." Giles signed the bill and pull the cart in. He gave him wife a quick glance before he checked the cart over for any sort of bug. Giles didn't like having to do it, especially in front of Fred, but it was necessary.
When he saw it was clean, he picked the plates up and sat them on the table. "I'm sorry about that but I can't bring myself to trust Angel. I know he was your friend at one time but he's changed so much," Giles said as he pulled Fred's chair out for her. Once she was seating, he went to the other side of the table and sat down.
"Remember our first meal together?" he asked with a fond smile before he put a few dabs of hot sauce on one of his tacos. "It was at that moment that I knew I wanted you… now this. It's absolutely amazing."
When Rupert checked the tray, Fred let out a soft sigh, knowing that as much as she wished he didn't have to, it was necessary, especially given that he had found something in her own bag.
"I know," she told him when he apologized once he finished. She shook her head sadly as she sat down. "I saw that you found the bug in my suitcase while we at Wolfram and Hart. If the people that were supposed to be my friends can't act like they can trust me anymore, then I--there's no reason for us to trust them either."
She looked up at him as he circled around the table to sit down opposite her, grabbing his hand briefly and squeezing it before let him go to sit down. She then picked up one of the tacos from her plate and took a bite, smiling since it had been a while since she had had one and also at Rupert when he asked if she remembered their first meal together in the hotel room in London.
"I'll never forget," she told him, looking down at the table for a moment before raising her eyes up to lock with his. "I couldn't believe I actually asked you to stay and eat with me, and I really thought that you had to have someone waiting at home with you, and then when I found out you didn't and you stayed and while we had dinner...I realized that didn't really want you to leave that night. If you had kissed me then, I would have kissed you back."
Giles grimaced a bit when Fred told him she had seen what that he'd found the tracking device. "I didn't want you to see that love," he quietly said. "I don't like seeing you hurt, especially by those we you once considered your friends."
He took a bite of his taco and looked at her when she started to talk about the night they first met. "I wanted to kiss you," he said, with a small smile, "but I didn't want to do it before giving you the job. And yes, I knew before I interview you that I wanted you to have to job because I couldn't imagine not having you here," Giles said. "Bloody hell! I just made it sound like I only hired you so I could shag you. I hired you because you're brilliant."
Picking up his fork, Giles started to eat his tacos again. He ate one and sighed. "I'm a bit full. Guess I wasn't that hungry," he said. He sat back and waited for her to finish with her meal.
Putting down her half-eaten second taco, Fred got up and circled around the table, taking his hand in his. "Rupert, I know that you didn't hire me just so you could shag me, and I didn't take the job just because I wanted to be with you, and now that was have that cleared up..."
Cupping his face in her hands, she leaned over to kiss him deeply. Part of her wished that this was still their honeymoon and they hadn't needed to get out of bed.
Just then the phone rang. Parting, they looked in each other's eyes for a moment, knowing that was Spike.
*****
Spike arrived at the room about forty-five minutes later, once the sun had completely gone down. He grinned as he walked into the room, holding up a set of car keys.
"I borrowed the Jaguar from Angel's personal car collection," he told then, obviously proud that he had done so. "And I happen to know that none of his own cars are bugged, so we'll be fine. You two ready to go?"
Fred glanced over at Rupert and nodded, taking his hand once they had gathered up everything they needed to take with them and headed out of the room. When they reached the car, Fred felt her eyes bugging out at the sight of the very expensive car sitting parked on the street.
"This is Angel's?"
"Yep. And he has about a dozen more."
Now Fred knew Angel really had changed - he had traded in his beloved Plymouth for a bunch of fast cars. Sighing, she shook her head and climbed into the back.
As they pulled away, none of them noticed the car that pulled out after them a few moments later and followed them down to the docks.
Giles sat in the front seat of the car with Spike and looked around. "This is how you help the helpless? In expensive cars?" he asked, glancing at the vampire.
"Only Angel's friends get the good stuff," Spike said as he turned a corner. Giles nodded and looked out the window as they made their way to the docks. Once they were there, Spike parked the car and all of them got out. "Been seeing her mostly in this area. Think she might be sleeping in one of the abandoned buildings."
Spike then pulled out a few weapons and Giles handed one to Fred. "We aren't going to approach her tonight," he said, glancing at Spike. "Just follow her to see where she's going, and what she's doing. I have someone coming to help tomorrow night. I want to use as little force as possible when we find her and get her ready to take back to England."
"You're the boss," Spike said. He stopped and looked behind him. "Huh. Thought I heard someone behind me. Must've been a rat." He stated before leading Giles and Fred further down the docks.
When Angel had left the boardroom, Giles made sure to pick up the folder on Dana. Reading through it made his stomach churn, especially when he read about her childhood. Who would do such a thing to a child? No wonder Dana had a breakdown when she became a Slayer. And Giles knew that Wolfram and Hart would only make her worse.
Taking out his mobile, Giles dialed Robin Wood's number. He trusted the other man and knew would help if he could. There was no way he was going to trust anyone from the firm, except for maybe Spike, to help them get Dana back to England. When Robin didn't answer, Giles left a message and rung off.
He was starting to get tired himself so Giles went over to the bed and crawled in beside his wife. Pulling the blanket over him also, he snuggled close and quickly fell asleep.
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Fred, a voice said. It sounded like Wesley, but when she turned around, no one was there.
And the lab was now empty of all equipment except for a big box sitting in the middle of the floor. It looked made of stone, and when she walked toward it, she could hear her heart beating louder and louder. Something told her not to go near it, but she felt as though she had to, her feet moving her closer even though she screamed at herself to stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop...wake up, wake up, wake up...
Suddenly, Fred came awake with a soft gasp, a bit disoriented until she realized she was lying on the bed in the hotel room with her husband's arms around her. Blinking, she reached up to rub her eyes before looking over at the lock on the side table. It was late afternoon, but she wasn't quite sure how long she had been asleep.
Turning over, she placed a gentle kiss on Rupert's lips, glad that he was there with her. She wasn't sure she could have faced the others without him, especially given the way she had reacted. He had so quickly become her rock and her world, and she couldn't imagine her life without him anymore.
"I love you," she whispered.
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With his hand tangled in her hair, and he kissed her deeper. When they needed to breathe, Giles pulled back and softly nibbled on her bottom lip. "Did you sleep well?" he asked against her lips before he kissed her again. His mind seemed to poke him and reminded him that just a few hours earlier Fred had been an emotional mess. Giles ended the kiss and looked his wife in the eyes. "I'm sorry. Are you feeling better? I tried to make sure you were comfortable since you fell asleep in my arms."
He moved away a little and took a deep breath. "Would you like something to eat?" he asked, motioning toward the room service menu. "They have tacos."
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"Better. I think--between not having slept in almost two days and seeing what that place has done to the people who were once the most important people in my life, I just...I couldn't help but feel I'd lost something, as stupid and as silly as it sounds." She leaned her forehead against his. "But in all actuality, the most important person in my life is right here on this bed with me, and because of him, I know that no matter how everything else has changed, it's going to be all right."
She looked over at the menu when he mentioned getting something to eat, suddenly realizing that she was actually hungry now. She wasn't sure how much she'd be able to eat, but she did want something. And the thought of tacos made her smile. "I'd...I'd like that, actually."
Getting up, she picked up the menu and sure enough, there were tacos on there. "What do you want? I'll call down the order."
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He quickly kissed his wife before going to the bathroom to answer the phone, since he didn't want to be talking on it while she was trying to order the food. The conversation with Robin was fairly short and the other man agreed to come and help. Giles was a bit disappointed to hear that Robin wouldn't be able to make it until the following day. He didn’t want to spend too much time in Los Angeles.
After ringing off, Giles came out of the bathroom and smiled at Fred. "That was friend of mine. He helped us with the Hellmouth," he explained as he sat down on the bed again. "He's agreed to help us but won't be here until tomorrow. Perhaps tonight we can just follow Dana and get a feel for what she does. I don't want to risk any of us getting hurt without proper help. Especially you, love."
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Sitting down on the bed, she flipped the folder open and read through it, her throat tightening at the story that was in there. Family murdered when she was ten. Taken and tortured for months. Probably raped. Catatonic ever since until her condition changed a few months before, right around the time that Rupert had said they had been fighting the First and had activated all the potentials in the world as Slayers. God, no wonder the poor girl had gone mad.
With a sigh, she shut the folder and set it down beside her on the bed as her husband came out of the bathroom, telling her that they were going to have some extra help tomorrow. She nodded at his idea that they just try to follow Dana for the moment and see what they could find out about her tonight.
"That's probably a good idea," she said, glancing over at the folder and picking it up to hand back to him. "I...I read over this. She--we definitely need to be the ones to help her. After everything she's been through, she can't go into Wolfram and Hart. It'll destroy her."
Just then a knock came at the door, followed by a voice, calling out, "Room Service!"
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"Don't worry about it, love, we won't allow them to have her," he said as the food arrived. "I'll get that." He walked over to the door and opened it. "I'll bring the cart in myself, thank you." Giles signed the bill and pull the cart in. He gave him wife a quick glance before he checked the cart over for any sort of bug. Giles didn't like having to do it, especially in front of Fred, but it was necessary.
When he saw it was clean, he picked the plates up and sat them on the table. "I'm sorry about that but I can't bring myself to trust Angel. I know he was your friend at one time but he's changed so much," Giles said as he pulled Fred's chair out for her. Once she was seating, he went to the other side of the table and sat down.
"Remember our first meal together?" he asked with a fond smile before he put a few dabs of hot sauce on one of his tacos. "It was at that moment that I knew I wanted you… now this. It's absolutely amazing."
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"I know," she told him when he apologized once he finished. She shook her head sadly as she sat down. "I saw that you found the bug in my suitcase while we at Wolfram and Hart. If the people that were supposed to be my friends can't act like they can trust me anymore, then I--there's no reason for us to trust them either."
She looked up at him as he circled around the table to sit down opposite her, grabbing his hand briefly and squeezing it before let him go to sit down. She then picked up one of the tacos from her plate and took a bite, smiling since it had been a while since she had had one and also at Rupert when he asked if she remembered their first meal together in the hotel room in London.
"I'll never forget," she told him, looking down at the table for a moment before raising her eyes up to lock with his. "I couldn't believe I actually asked you to stay and eat with me, and I really thought that you had to have someone waiting at home with you, and then when I found out you didn't and you stayed and while we had dinner...I realized that didn't really want you to leave that night. If you had kissed me then, I would have kissed you back."
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He took a bite of his taco and looked at her when she started to talk about the night they first met. "I wanted to kiss you," he said, with a small smile, "but I didn't want to do it before giving you the job. And yes, I knew before I interview you that I wanted you to have to job because I couldn't imagine not having you here," Giles said. "Bloody hell! I just made it sound like I only hired you so I could shag you. I hired you because you're brilliant."
Picking up his fork, Giles started to eat his tacos again. He ate one and sighed. "I'm a bit full. Guess I wasn't that hungry," he said. He sat back and waited for her to finish with her meal.
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Cupping his face in her hands, she leaned over to kiss him deeply. Part of her wished that this was still their honeymoon and they hadn't needed to get out of bed.
Just then the phone rang. Parting, they looked in each other's eyes for a moment, knowing that was Spike.
*****
Spike arrived at the room about forty-five minutes later, once the sun had completely gone down. He grinned as he walked into the room, holding up a set of car keys.
"I borrowed the Jaguar from Angel's personal car collection," he told then, obviously proud that he had done so. "And I happen to know that none of his own cars are bugged, so we'll be fine. You two ready to go?"
Fred glanced over at Rupert and nodded, taking his hand once they had gathered up everything they needed to take with them and headed out of the room. When they reached the car, Fred felt her eyes bugging out at the sight of the very expensive car sitting parked on the street.
"This is Angel's?"
"Yep. And he has about a dozen more."
Now Fred knew Angel really had changed - he had traded in his beloved Plymouth for a bunch of fast cars. Sighing, she shook her head and climbed into the back.
As they pulled away, none of them noticed the car that pulled out after them a few moments later and followed them down to the docks.
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"Only Angel's friends get the good stuff," Spike said as he turned a corner. Giles nodded and looked out the window as they made their way to the docks. Once they were there, Spike parked the car and all of them got out. "Been seeing her mostly in this area. Think she might be sleeping in one of the abandoned buildings."
Spike then pulled out a few weapons and Giles handed one to Fred. "We aren't going to approach her tonight," he said, glancing at Spike. "Just follow her to see where she's going, and what she's doing. I have someone coming to help tomorrow night. I want to use as little force as possible when we find her and get her ready to take back to England."
"You're the boss," Spike said. He stopped and looked behind him. "Huh. Thought I heard someone behind me. Must've been a rat." He stated before leading Giles and Fred further down the docks.
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