Fred swallowed hard as they watched Dana. Part of her wanted so badly to reach out to the girl - she remembered pacing her cave and talking to herself, scratching into the walls with rocks or chalk, all in an attempt to keep herself sane. But at the same time, she could see something very dangerous in her, in the way she was talking to herself about death and blood and darkness. It sent a chill down Fred's spine, especially when she threw the box against the wall, causing it to splinter into several pieces.
She looked over at Rupert when he asked if she thought they should go back to the hotel and nodded. Part of her was worried about the idea of leaving Dana to go hunting again, but if Spike was right and she was going solely after vampires, then it was better to leave her then to take a chance following her.
"We should go," she whispered.
They headed back down the docks, looking back over their shoulders as they went, not wanting to be caught unaware, especially if she realized that Spike was there and went after him. At one point, they heard a scream followed by a thump. Looking at each other, in concern, they almost went back but decided that it probably wasn't a good idea, especially if she had gotten herself worked into a frenzy about something.
"Let's get the sodding hell out of here," Spike said. Hurrying back to the Jaguar, they headed back to the hotel.
Giles' Watcher instinct almost made him turn back around to see what happened but he decided to just get out of there before Dana saw Spike and attacked them. When they got back to the car, Giles got into the front with Spike and pulled his mobile out. He figured he could send an e-mail to Andrew and have the younger man set up a place for Dana when they brought her to England. By the time the e-mail was finished, Spike was dropping them off at the hotel.
"Tomorrow night then?" Spike asked, glancing over at Giles.
"Tomorrow night," Giles confirmed before getting out of the car. He helped Fred out and then walked her back inside of the hotel, and then to their room. "I didn't think she'd be this bad," he commented once they were inside their room. Giles rubbed his hand over his face before looking around the room. Nothing seemed out of place but he had to make sure in case someone from the firm had found out where they were staying.
Taking his wife's hand, he walked them over to his bed and sat on edge of it. "Hopefully Robin will come like he said because I don't think we can handle this on our own and I don't want to ask Angel for help," he said squeezing her hand. "How are you feeling, love? I know this hasn't been the easiest of days for you."
Fred sighed a bit as they sat down on the bed together, running a hand through her hair with her free hand. "I'm--I don't know. Watching Dana...in some ways she reminded me of myself not that long ago, uncertain, feeling like I was going crazy, talking to myself, but her...Oh God, Rupert."
She shook her head and looked down at their intwined hands, her mind going back over everything they had seen and everything they had been through that day. Seeing Dana had strengthened her belief that Wolfram and Hart could not be allowed to get their hands on her.
"I...I know it seems strange, but after seeing her, seeing what she's like, I can't help but think that if the firm were to get their hands on her, they'd mold her into some kind of killing machine. Angel swears that they're doing good there, but we can both see that's not true. I've seen how that firm's manipulated things - that's the reason that Wesley's dead, because they helped a demon to manipulated time and bring forward Holtz." She sighed and shook her head. "I should have done more to convince them not to go that day."
Giles sat on the bed and listened to his wife talk. He wanted to say something to soothe her but he didn't think she needed to hear his opinion about Angel. He'd already given it to her earlier, and had almost started a fight. Instead, Giles opted to just be there for her. He wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close to him.
"We won't let them touch Dana. They won't get their hands on her," he whispered before kissing the top of her head. And he meant every word he was saying. "And I'm so sorry, love but you can't blame yourself for their choices. It was their decision to go to the firm, not yours. All you can do now is hope for the best… for all of them."
He pulled away from their hug and cupped her face with his hands. "Perhaps this sounds a bit selfish, but I'm very glad you didn't go to the firm. You're too good to be sucked into their world, Fred. Even now." Giles reached up and pushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He leaned forward and softly kissed her lips.
"I love you, Fred, with all of my heart and soul and I know you're a good person. I wish you wouldn't blame yourself for all of this because it isn't you fault."
"I'm glad I didn't go either," she told him, resting her hand over his as he held her face. "Because then I wouldn't have met you.
She knew he was right about blaming herself. No one had held a gun to their heads to force them to get into the limo that morning. They had made the choice themselves, and they had decided to take the agreement. It was just hard since they had been her friends and - for all intents and purposes - her family in Los Angeles.
But Rupert was her family now. So were Xander, Willow, Charlotte, Andrew, Buffy and Dawn. They had come to mean so much to her in such a short time, and she loved them dearly, especially Rupert - she couldn't imagine her life without him now.
***** Andrew had called Rupert around midnight to get more information on Dana, and they had spent a good bit of time on the phone, working out what needed to be done for her when they brought her back to England. When they had finally finished, Fred and he had gotten some sleep.
Sometime late morning, Fred heard a phone rining, but it wasn't Rupert's cell. It took her a few moments to realize that it was her own, the one she had gotten in England shortly after moving there. Wrinkling her brow, she glanced over at her husband then got up to retrieve the phone from her bag. Andrew was supposed to have told Martin that she wouldn't be back for a few days at least because of them having to come here.
No number was on the display, so she opened it, "Hello?"
"Fred?"
Her eyes opened in amazement. "Charles? How...? How did you get this number?"
"I have my contacts," he responded, his tone clipped and far harsher than it had been even yesterday. "Where's Lorne?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"Lorne. Green guy, red eyes, horn. He left a message last night saying that he was going to find you guys to talk to you." There was a pause. "He hasn't been seen since."
"We...we never saw him last night," she whispered, feeling her heart thumping. Swallowing, she looked at her husband. "Lorne's disappeared. He apparently was trying to find us last night to talk to us."
Giles stirred when he heard someone's mobile ring. He knew it wasn't his tone and figured it was the lab calling for Fred. He started to turn over so he could sleep some more but when he heard Fred say Gunn's name, Giles' eyes flew open and he looked at his wife. What in the bleeding hell did he want with Fred?
"Pardon?" he asked after Fred told him Lorne was missing. Giles sat up and put his glasses on. "The scream we heard… I knew I should've gone back!" He got out of the bed, still a bit groggy and rubbed his face. Looking around, he decided to stand there until Fred was finished with her call.
When she rang off, Giles sat down beside her, his mind racing. He wanted to just go back to the warehouse and see if Lorne was there but he knew it was a bad idea since they couldn't take Spike and Robin wasn't there. "I'm sorry, love," he said, taking her hand into his. "I can't believe this happened."
He needed to do something and felt like a prat by just sitting there, doing nothing. "I'm going to call Robin and see when his flight gets in," Giles said as he picked up his mobile. Robin answered on the second ring and said he was getting ready to board and would be there in a few hours. Giles promised to pick him up before ringing off.
"I don't know what else we can do right now, Fred. We need Spike and Robin before we go back to the docks. But I promise we'll get him back," he said before wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"Charles...we--I think we may know where he is. We'll let you know," she told him before ending the call. A few moments later, the phone began ringing again but she ignored it. Instead, she turned her attention to Rupert, biting her lip in worry.
"I thought...that scream last night, I thought it was just Dana screaming at something," she told him. "I didn't think it was--it didn't sound like Lorne, but then again, I don't think I've ever heard Lorne scream before and...oh, God, Lorne."
She wrung her hands together while Rupert picked up the phone to call Robin. Of all three of them, Lorne was the only one that she hadn't really spoken to the day before. What if he had wanted to tell them something important?
Suddenly, her cell started ringing again, the same "Unknown number" popping up on the screen. Picking up the phone, she stabbed the off button and threw it on the bed.
She looked over at her husband when he said that Robin wasn't going to be arriving for a few more hours and raked a hand through her hair. She knew he was right - they couldn't go in there without the others. Dana was a Slayer. Fred knew she was stronger than several men put together.
She knew that all they could do was wait. She just prayed that Lorne was all right, and they wouldn't get there too late.
All Giles could do was hold his wife. He had no easy answers or solutions at the moment. They had to wait until nightfall to go and find Lorne, hopefully he was still alive. He had a feeling that out of all of them, Lorne was Fred’s favorite and he couldn’t imagine then finding him dead.
Before it was time to pick up Robin, Giles made arrangements for them to rent a vehicle since he didn’t want to rely on the firm for a car. He then spoke to Spike, telling him the latest. By then it was time to pick Robin up from the airport, and once they had him, they went to Spike’s to chat about what they were going to do. They all agreed Spike would lead them since he would be able to track her scent.
When the sun set, all of them left Spike’s flat and went to the docks again. They followed the vampire closely until they came to an abandoned warehouse. “She’s here. Can smell ‘er,” Spike said. He motioned for the rest of them to stay outside while he checked it out.
“Everyone have their weapons ready?” Giles asked, looking at Fred and Robin.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Robin said.
Spike emerged from the warehouse with a grim look on his face. “She has him down in the basement and it doesn’t look at,” he said.
The rest of the day, Fred felt like she was going to go out of her mind with worry, not knowing for sure what had happened to Lorne. Besides Wesley, he had always been the one most worried about her, and after Wesley had died, he had been the one she had turned to the most for comfort. She was actually glad when it came time to go and pick up Robin from the airport because it gave her something to focus on besides pacing the hotel room and coming up with all kinds of ugly scenarios in her mind.
When they finally left for the warehouse on the docks, Fred found herself praying that their suspicions were wrong and that it hadn't been Lorne that had caused that scream the night before. She made sure her crossbow was ready, however, and nodded at her husband when he asked if they were ready.
Then Spike came back with the news. "Oh, God," she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment. She knew Vampire Slayers went after demons as well, and given her state of mind and the fact that she didn't know Lorne, she would never really understand that the demon she had wasn't a threat and probably one of the gentlest beings she knew.
Together, they entered the warehouse and followed Spike down to the basement area. A scream echoed, chilling Fred's blood - that was definitely the same scream they had heard last night only more painful.
"What's she doing to him?" she whispered, feeling sick to her stomach.
"You don't wanna know," Spike told her tersely as they crept forward.
She could see Dana now, standing over someone on the ground that had to be Lorne. She didn't seem to notice them, she was too engrossed in the demon.
"Please, darling, let me go. I'm not the bad guy," Lorne was begging, his voice thick and slurred with pain.
Dana just shook her head, muttering, "Hurt me, hurt me...can't let you touch me anymore."
"I never touched you. I'm not like that. I'm--Oh, Gods, please...no...stop--ahhhhh!" His voice pitched up into another scream as something hit the floor with a dull thud.
Giles watched the scene in front of him, his hand on his weapon. They needed to act soon before Dana did any irreversible damage to Lorne. He turned and looked at Robin, who had his tranq gun posed and ready. Giles then glanced at Spike and the vampire nodded before stepping forward. "Fred, stay back until we get Dana contained and then you go and check on Lorne," he whispered.
Spike jumped off the bottom step and Dana turned to look at him. "You aren't welcomed here!" she yelled at him before attacking him. Spike was ready this time and got a few punches in as Robin stood on the steps and waited for his shot.
When it was finally clear for him to shoot, Robin shot Dana in the shoulder with one of the darts. She howled in pain before falling to the ground. Giles and Robin moved forward and restrained the Slayer. Giles glanced over at Lorne and felt his stomach twist at the sight of the hurt demon.
"I think we have to take him back to the firm," Giles said as he looked at his wife. "He needs medical attention."
"What about her?" Spike asked, looking at Dana's limp body.
"Robin is taking her back to England tonight. We can't trust anyone else with her at this moment," Giles said as he picked the Slayer up and started for the stairs. "Spike, could you help Fred with Lorne?" The vampire nodded and went over to help.
She looked over at Rupert when he asked if she thought they should go back to the hotel and nodded. Part of her was worried about the idea of leaving Dana to go hunting again, but if Spike was right and she was going solely after vampires, then it was better to leave her then to take a chance following her.
"We should go," she whispered.
They headed back down the docks, looking back over their shoulders as they went, not wanting to be caught unaware, especially if she realized that Spike was there and went after him. At one point, they heard a scream followed by a thump. Looking at each other, in concern, they almost went back but decided that it probably wasn't a good idea, especially if she had gotten herself worked into a frenzy about something.
"Let's get the sodding hell out of here," Spike said. Hurrying back to the Jaguar, they headed back to the hotel.
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"Tomorrow night then?" Spike asked, glancing over at Giles.
"Tomorrow night," Giles confirmed before getting out of the car. He helped Fred out and then walked her back inside of the hotel, and then to their room. "I didn't think she'd be this bad," he commented once they were inside their room. Giles rubbed his hand over his face before looking around the room. Nothing seemed out of place but he had to make sure in case someone from the firm had found out where they were staying.
Taking his wife's hand, he walked them over to his bed and sat on edge of it. "Hopefully Robin will come like he said because I don't think we can handle this on our own and I don't want to ask Angel for help," he said squeezing her hand. "How are you feeling, love? I know this hasn't been the easiest of days for you."
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She shook her head and looked down at their intwined hands, her mind going back over everything they had seen and everything they had been through that day. Seeing Dana had strengthened her belief that Wolfram and Hart could not be allowed to get their hands on her.
"I...I know it seems strange, but after seeing her, seeing what she's like, I can't help but think that if the firm were to get their hands on her, they'd mold her into some kind of killing machine. Angel swears that they're doing good there, but we can both see that's not true. I've seen how that firm's manipulated things - that's the reason that Wesley's dead, because they helped a demon to manipulated time and bring forward Holtz." She sighed and shook her head. "I should have done more to convince them not to go that day."
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"We won't let them touch Dana. They won't get their hands on her," he whispered before kissing the top of her head. And he meant every word he was saying. "And I'm so sorry, love but you can't blame yourself for their choices. It was their decision to go to the firm, not yours. All you can do now is hope for the best… for all of them."
He pulled away from their hug and cupped her face with his hands. "Perhaps this sounds a bit selfish, but I'm very glad you didn't go to the firm. You're too good to be sucked into their world, Fred. Even now." Giles reached up and pushed a strand of hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. He leaned forward and softly kissed her lips.
"I love you, Fred, with all of my heart and soul and I know you're a good person. I wish you wouldn't blame yourself for all of this because it isn't you fault."
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She knew he was right about blaming herself. No one had held a gun to their heads to force them to get into the limo that morning. They had made the choice themselves, and they had decided to take the agreement. It was just hard since they had been her friends and - for all intents and purposes - her family in Los Angeles.
But Rupert was her family now. So were Xander, Willow, Charlotte, Andrew, Buffy and Dawn. They had come to mean so much to her in such a short time, and she loved them dearly, especially Rupert - she couldn't imagine her life without him now.
*****
Andrew had called Rupert around midnight to get more information on Dana, and they had spent a good bit of time on the phone, working out what needed to be done for her when they brought her back to England. When they had finally finished, Fred and he had gotten some sleep.
Sometime late morning, Fred heard a phone rining, but it wasn't Rupert's cell. It took her a few moments to realize that it was her own, the one she had gotten in England shortly after moving there. Wrinkling her brow, she glanced over at her husband then got up to retrieve the phone from her bag. Andrew was supposed to have told Martin that she wouldn't be back for a few days at least because of them having to come here.
No number was on the display, so she opened it, "Hello?"
"Fred?"
Her eyes opened in amazement. "Charles? How...? How did you get this number?"
"I have my contacts," he responded, his tone clipped and far harsher than it had been even yesterday. "Where's Lorne?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"Lorne. Green guy, red eyes, horn. He left a message last night saying that he was going to find you guys to talk to you." There was a pause. "He hasn't been seen since."
"We...we never saw him last night," she whispered, feeling her heart thumping. Swallowing, she looked at her husband. "Lorne's disappeared. He apparently was trying to find us last night to talk to us."
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"Pardon?" he asked after Fred told him Lorne was missing. Giles sat up and put his glasses on. "The scream we heard… I knew I should've gone back!" He got out of the bed, still a bit groggy and rubbed his face. Looking around, he decided to stand there until Fred was finished with her call.
When she rang off, Giles sat down beside her, his mind racing. He wanted to just go back to the warehouse and see if Lorne was there but he knew it was a bad idea since they couldn't take Spike and Robin wasn't there. "I'm sorry, love," he said, taking her hand into his. "I can't believe this happened."
He needed to do something and felt like a prat by just sitting there, doing nothing. "I'm going to call Robin and see when his flight gets in," Giles said as he picked up his mobile. Robin answered on the second ring and said he was getting ready to board and would be there in a few hours. Giles promised to pick him up before ringing off.
"I don't know what else we can do right now, Fred. We need Spike and Robin before we go back to the docks. But I promise we'll get him back," he said before wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
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"I thought...that scream last night, I thought it was just Dana screaming at something," she told him. "I didn't think it was--it didn't sound like Lorne, but then again, I don't think I've ever heard Lorne scream before and...oh, God, Lorne."
She wrung her hands together while Rupert picked up the phone to call Robin. Of all three of them, Lorne was the only one that she hadn't really spoken to the day before. What if he had wanted to tell them something important?
Suddenly, her cell started ringing again, the same "Unknown number" popping up on the screen. Picking up the phone, she stabbed the off button and threw it on the bed.
She looked over at her husband when he said that Robin wasn't going to be arriving for a few more hours and raked a hand through her hair. She knew he was right - they couldn't go in there without the others. Dana was a Slayer. Fred knew she was stronger than several men put together.
She knew that all they could do was wait. She just prayed that Lorne was all right, and they wouldn't get there too late.
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Before it was time to pick up Robin, Giles made arrangements for them to rent a vehicle since he didn’t want to rely on the firm for a car. He then spoke to Spike, telling him the latest. By then it was time to pick Robin up from the airport, and once they had him, they went to Spike’s to chat about what they were going to do. They all agreed Spike would lead them since he would be able to track her scent.
When the sun set, all of them left Spike’s flat and went to the docks again. They followed the vampire closely until they came to an abandoned warehouse. “She’s here. Can smell ‘er,” Spike said. He motioned for the rest of them to stay outside while he checked it out.
“Everyone have their weapons ready?” Giles asked, looking at Fred and Robin.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Robin said.
Spike emerged from the warehouse with a grim look on his face. “She has him down in the basement and it doesn’t look at,” he said.
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When they finally left for the warehouse on the docks, Fred found herself praying that their suspicions were wrong and that it hadn't been Lorne that had caused that scream the night before. She made sure her crossbow was ready, however, and nodded at her husband when he asked if they were ready.
Then Spike came back with the news. "Oh, God," she breathed, closing her eyes for a moment. She knew Vampire Slayers went after demons as well, and given her state of mind and the fact that she didn't know Lorne, she would never really understand that the demon she had wasn't a threat and probably one of the gentlest beings she knew.
Together, they entered the warehouse and followed Spike down to the basement area. A scream echoed, chilling Fred's blood - that was definitely the same scream they had heard last night only more painful.
"What's she doing to him?" she whispered, feeling sick to her stomach.
"You don't wanna know," Spike told her tersely as they crept forward.
She could see Dana now, standing over someone on the ground that had to be Lorne. She didn't seem to notice them, she was too engrossed in the demon.
"Please, darling, let me go. I'm not the bad guy," Lorne was begging, his voice thick and slurred with pain.
Dana just shook her head, muttering, "Hurt me, hurt me...can't let you touch me anymore."
"I never touched you. I'm not like that. I'm--Oh, Gods, please...no...stop--ahhhhh!" His voice pitched up into another scream as something hit the floor with a dull thud.
"Never touching me again!" Dana sobbed.
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Spike jumped off the bottom step and Dana turned to look at him. "You aren't welcomed here!" she yelled at him before attacking him. Spike was ready this time and got a few punches in as Robin stood on the steps and waited for his shot.
When it was finally clear for him to shoot, Robin shot Dana in the shoulder with one of the darts. She howled in pain before falling to the ground. Giles and Robin moved forward and restrained the Slayer. Giles glanced over at Lorne and felt his stomach twist at the sight of the hurt demon.
"I think we have to take him back to the firm," Giles said as he looked at his wife. "He needs medical attention."
"What about her?" Spike asked, looking at Dana's limp body.
"Robin is taking her back to England tonight. We can't trust anyone else with her at this moment," Giles said as he picked the Slayer up and started for the stairs. "Spike, could you help Fred with Lorne?" The vampire nodded and went over to help.
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