"I've been okay for the most part," Fred told Rupert when he asked whether she had suffered any more morning sickness. "Stomach's a bit fluttery now, but I'm not sure whether that's because of the meeting or the baby."
She smiled when he said he had gotten her the mints they had read about, taking them from him. "You're the best," she whispered and pulled one out to pop in her mouth while he explained the situation with the other board members. Sighing softly, she shook her head as he took her head.
"I'm as ready as I think I can be for something like this," she told him as they headed out of the office and down to the meeting room where the board was waiting. Peter walked over to meet them when they walked in, and it was easy to see the divide in the room - a group stood with Lawrence Lewellyn on the other side of the table, another group stood several feet away, and then there was them.
"I want to apologize for Evelyn's behavior at dinner the other night," Peter told them. "How are you feeling, Fred?"
"I'll be fine," she told them, her eyes flicking over to Lawrence. She saw him look at her and then look away. That caused her to raise her eyebrows. Was that guilt she had seen?
"Then perhaps we should get started?" he said, motioning to the table.
Keeping hold of her husband's hand, Fred walked over to sit down.
Giles glared over at Lawrence when Fred and he walked in. He was so intent in making the other man squirm, he hadn't heard a word Peter had said to Fred and him. Thankfully Fred had and had answered for the both of them. And when Peter that they should get the meeting started, Giles walked over to the table with his wife.
"Since this meeting was called by Rupert, he'll lead it," David Travers said.
Giles squeezed his wife's hand before he nodded at Peter. The other man stood and handed out a piece of paper to every member of the board. "Peter is handing out the security report of the days leading up to my wife's kidnapping, and the day of her kidnapping. As you can see, Lawrence was the one who allowed the known criminal Ethan Rayne into the building," he said as he looked around the table. "Not only did Ethan kidnap Fred, he also set off a dangerous chaos spell, which caused the Council to shut down for the day."
Some of the board members turned and looked at Lawrence, their mouths slightly opened. "This doesn't prove a thing," Lawrence said as he threw the paper down. "It's just words."
"I also pictures of you letting him in," Giles said.
"I vote we remove Lawrence from the board," Peter said.
"Before we take a vote, I think Fred should have the chance to say something," Giles said, glancing over at his wife.
Fred sat next to Rupert and simply watched and listened while he passed out the reports showing that Lawrence was the one that allowed Ethan into the building. She could see that some of the members seemed surprised by the evidence, making her wonder what exactly Lawrence had told them on Thursday. A few people, though, seemed to not care about the evidence.
Then her husband said that she should have a chance to say something to all of them, and she nodded, taking a deep breath. "How many of you know my history? How I came to be a part of all this?" she asked, working hard to keep her voice even.
"We know that you disappeared for five years. Something about a demon dimension," one of the board members - a woman - said.
"That American college professor in California who was arrested for the mass murders of his students was my professor, and he didn't murder anyone directly, he sent them to alternate dimensions, including me. I was the only one lucky enough to come back. But not before I was captured, enslaved, threatened and beaten by demons. Not before I spent years fearing for my life, even when I managed to escape. Not before I had to learn to steal and hide from monsters that I'm sure most of you have only read about in books."
She looked at all of them, gripping her husband's hand under the table. "I may not have gone through the formal training all of you did, but I did learn. I learned about demons and vampires and the everything ugly and evil there is in this world because I was literally sucked into that world, and even once I was rescued and brought home, I've stayed because I believe in our fight - in Rupert's fight."
She stood up and glared at Lawrence, pointing at him. "And that lying, cowardly sack of shit decided that Rupert and I weren't somehow worthy of fighting that fight. Now, I don't know if any of you others were involved, but we know he was. He let Ethan in, and he let Ethan take me, and he let Ethan try to break me by making me think I was back in the hell I survived for five years. But you know what? If I didn't break in those five years, I wasn't going to break because of some little jerk with delusions of power. You guys are damn lucky to have Rupert as your Chairman. In fact, you're damn lucky to have all of us on your side because we know it's like to fight those demons that the Slayers are expected to go after. You want to stay safe? Then you want us out there, and you won't let snivelling peons like Lawrence wreck that."
She stopped, realizing that she had said far more than she had intended, and sat down as silence filled the room.
While Fred spoke, Giles felt his heart fill with pride. His wife was the strongest person he'd ever met. She had been dragged into another dimension, fought for her life, and survived. She rarely mentioned it, and never whined. Giles knew he was the luckiest man alive. His wife was beautiful, intelligent and strong. And he was extremely lucky to have her.
When she was finished, Giles gave her a loving smile and helped her sit down again. He looked over at Travers and nodded. "I do believe it's time for the vote. It won't be a silent vote due to the fact I want to know whose on my side and who isn't," he said as he looked at all of them. "I'm tired of playing games. And if any of you cause my wife any sort of distress again, I'll forego the meeting and deal with you myself."
"Noted," Travers said before he cleared his throat. "All in favor of keeping Lawrence on the board, raise your hand." A few of the board members raised their hands. Travers nodded. "Everyone in favor of removing him from the board, please raise your hands." Several people rose their hands and Travers nodded again. "I'm sorry Lawrence but you will no longer be part of this board."
"This isn't fair!" Lawrence said as he stood. "I was only doing what was expected of me."
"If you don't remove yourself from this room, Lawrence, security will be called," Peter said.
Lawrence scoffed and walked out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. Peter sighed and looked over at Fred. "On behalf of the board, I would like to apologize for Lawrence's behavior, Fred," he said.
Fred looked over at Rupert as he called for the Board to have an open vote. She understood wanting to know who supported them and who didn't - by seeing who voted to keep Lawrence, they'd know who to keep their eyes on although she was sure there were several who'd vote for them now that they'd have to keep their eyes on as well.
She watched silently as the vote was taken, studying the faces of the people that voted in favor of Lawrence. They were older members, obviously the traditionalists of the Board. In the end, they were outnumbered by the others, and Lawrence left the room only after being threatened.
When the door slammed, Fred jumped a little but kept hold of the chair to keep from showing it. She looked over at Peter's apology and nodded, knowing that he didn't speak for everyone there, but deciding to accept it anyway. "Thank you."
"Now, unless anyone has any other new business?" Travers asked as he glanced around the table. "Then if the Chairman has no objections, we'll adjourn until our regular meeting time next week."
"No objections," Giles said as he looked over at Travers. The other man nodded amd the members of the board stood and quietly filtered out of the room, leaving Giles and Fred alone. Turning to his wife, he softly touched her cheek. "I'm quite proud of you, love. Not many people would take on the board like that. I do believe you scared quite a few of them."
He leaned forward and softly kissed her, his hand running down to her still-flat stomach. Softly rubbing it, he pulled back and looked at her. "How about you go to the lab and do what you need to do and I'll order us some take away and meet you for lunch in about thirty minutes?" he suggested as his hand continued to rub small and soft circles.
Giles kissed her forehead and stood before gathering his papers. "Any requests for lunch? Tacos? Ice cream with pickles? Me?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
Fred blushed a bit when her husband touched her cheek and told her he was proud of her. "I--I didn't think I'd be able to say all that, but after seeing the way Lawrence was just sitting there, so sure of himself, I couldn't help it and before I knew it, off I went."
She smiled when he kissed her and wrapped her arms around him, glad that the most difficult part of the day was over. "Thirty minutes sounds good," she murmured, thinking that she'd much rather just sit there the rest of the day and have him rub her stomach but knowing that she needed to get make and help Martin with a few things.
She laughed, however, when he asked if she had any requests. "I don't think my stomach could take ice cream and pickles." She wrinkled her nose at the thought and prayed that she didn't have any strange cravings like that later in the pregnancy. "Now pickles and peanut butter..."
His expression at that sent her into a fit of giggles. "I'm kidding, sweetie. Maybe some chow mein from the Chinese place down the street?" she asked as they got up from their seats and headed toward the door. She gave him a kiss before they went out into the hall.
She smiled when he said he had gotten her the mints they had read about, taking them from him. "You're the best," she whispered and pulled one out to pop in her mouth while he explained the situation with the other board members. Sighing softly, she shook her head as he took her head.
"I'm as ready as I think I can be for something like this," she told him as they headed out of the office and down to the meeting room where the board was waiting. Peter walked over to meet them when they walked in, and it was easy to see the divide in the room - a group stood with Lawrence Lewellyn on the other side of the table, another group stood several feet away, and then there was them.
"I want to apologize for Evelyn's behavior at dinner the other night," Peter told them. "How are you feeling, Fred?"
"I'll be fine," she told them, her eyes flicking over to Lawrence. She saw him look at her and then look away. That caused her to raise her eyebrows. Was that guilt she had seen?
"Then perhaps we should get started?" he said, motioning to the table.
Keeping hold of her husband's hand, Fred walked over to sit down.
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"Since this meeting was called by Rupert, he'll lead it," David Travers said.
Giles squeezed his wife's hand before he nodded at Peter. The other man stood and handed out a piece of paper to every member of the board. "Peter is handing out the security report of the days leading up to my wife's kidnapping, and the day of her kidnapping. As you can see, Lawrence was the one who allowed the known criminal Ethan Rayne into the building," he said as he looked around the table. "Not only did Ethan kidnap Fred, he also set off a dangerous chaos spell, which caused the Council to shut down for the day."
Some of the board members turned and looked at Lawrence, their mouths slightly opened. "This doesn't prove a thing," Lawrence said as he threw the paper down. "It's just words."
"I also pictures of you letting him in," Giles said.
"I vote we remove Lawrence from the board," Peter said.
"Before we take a vote, I think Fred should have the chance to say something," Giles said, glancing over at his wife.
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Then her husband said that she should have a chance to say something to all of them, and she nodded, taking a deep breath. "How many of you know my history? How I came to be a part of all this?" she asked, working hard to keep her voice even.
"We know that you disappeared for five years. Something about a demon dimension," one of the board members - a woman - said.
"That American college professor in California who was arrested for the mass murders of his students was my professor, and he didn't murder anyone directly, he sent them to alternate dimensions, including me. I was the only one lucky enough to come back. But not before I was captured, enslaved, threatened and beaten by demons. Not before I spent years fearing for my life, even when I managed to escape. Not before I had to learn to steal and hide from monsters that I'm sure most of you have only read about in books."
She looked at all of them, gripping her husband's hand under the table. "I may not have gone through the formal training all of you did, but I did learn. I learned about demons and vampires and the everything ugly and evil there is in this world because I was literally sucked into that world, and even once I was rescued and brought home, I've stayed because I believe in our fight - in Rupert's fight."
She stood up and glared at Lawrence, pointing at him. "And that lying, cowardly sack of shit decided that Rupert and I weren't somehow worthy of fighting that fight. Now, I don't know if any of you others were involved, but we know he was. He let Ethan in, and he let Ethan take me, and he let Ethan try to break me by making me think I was back in the hell I survived for five years. But you know what? If I didn't break in those five years, I wasn't going to break because of some little jerk with delusions of power. You guys are damn lucky to have Rupert as your Chairman. In fact, you're damn lucky to have all of us on your side because we know it's like to fight those demons that the Slayers are expected to go after. You want to stay safe? Then you want us out there, and you won't let snivelling peons like Lawrence wreck that."
She stopped, realizing that she had said far more than she had intended, and sat down as silence filled the room.
"I'm done now."
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When she was finished, Giles gave her a loving smile and helped her sit down again. He looked over at Travers and nodded. "I do believe it's time for the vote. It won't be a silent vote due to the fact I want to know whose on my side and who isn't," he said as he looked at all of them. "I'm tired of playing games. And if any of you cause my wife any sort of distress again, I'll forego the meeting and deal with you myself."
"Noted," Travers said before he cleared his throat. "All in favor of keeping Lawrence on the board, raise your hand." A few of the board members raised their hands. Travers nodded. "Everyone in favor of removing him from the board, please raise your hands." Several people rose their hands and Travers nodded again. "I'm sorry Lawrence but you will no longer be part of this board."
"This isn't fair!" Lawrence said as he stood. "I was only doing what was expected of me."
"If you don't remove yourself from this room, Lawrence, security will be called," Peter said.
Lawrence scoffed and walked out of the room, making sure to slam the door behind him. Peter sighed and looked over at Fred. "On behalf of the board, I would like to apologize for Lawrence's behavior, Fred," he said.
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She watched silently as the vote was taken, studying the faces of the people that voted in favor of Lawrence. They were older members, obviously the traditionalists of the Board. In the end, they were outnumbered by the others, and Lawrence left the room only after being threatened.
When the door slammed, Fred jumped a little but kept hold of the chair to keep from showing it. She looked over at Peter's apology and nodded, knowing that he didn't speak for everyone there, but deciding to accept it anyway. "Thank you."
"Now, unless anyone has any other new business?" Travers asked as he glanced around the table. "Then if the Chairman has no objections, we'll adjourn until our regular meeting time next week."
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He leaned forward and softly kissed her, his hand running down to her still-flat stomach. Softly rubbing it, he pulled back and looked at her. "How about you go to the lab and do what you need to do and I'll order us some take away and meet you for lunch in about thirty minutes?" he suggested as his hand continued to rub small and soft circles.
Giles kissed her forehead and stood before gathering his papers. "Any requests for lunch? Tacos? Ice cream with pickles? Me?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
Reply
She smiled when he kissed her and wrapped her arms around him, glad that the most difficult part of the day was over. "Thirty minutes sounds good," she murmured, thinking that she'd much rather just sit there the rest of the day and have him rub her stomach but knowing that she needed to get make and help Martin with a few things.
She laughed, however, when he asked if she had any requests. "I don't think my stomach could take ice cream and pickles." She wrinkled her nose at the thought and prayed that she didn't have any strange cravings like that later in the pregnancy. "Now pickles and peanut butter..."
His expression at that sent her into a fit of giggles. "I'm kidding, sweetie. Maybe some chow mein from the Chinese place down the street?" she asked as they got up from their seats and headed toward the door. She gave him a kiss before they went out into the hall.
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