Play It Again, Sam Part 8
I'm rather tired and have had no time to write, but when I decided to take a break I thought I might as well use it for something sensible, so I sat down and edited part 8 of my 'Riley'-fic. We're up to the double date now! :)
To catch up, go here.
Part 8
The restaurant was cosy and friendly. It was Nina and her sister’s favourite, and they had introduced Angel to it, after he and Nina started dating. It was as far removed from anything demony as was possible in LA, which was why he had thought it appropriate for Sam and Riley. They probably needed a break after finding out just how many movie stars had tentacles.
As the headwaiter showed Angel and Nina to the table, Angel hoped that the other two hadn’t been waiting long. The meeting with Izzy had taken longer than expected, and he was not in a position to be less than accommodating. Also the last minute call to Spike to find out their guests’ view on werewolves had delayed them further. At least that had been satisfactory. If helping Oz escape from the Initiative was what had made Riley leave the organisation, it was probably safe to tell him the truth about Nina.
Their guests appeared to be having a breadstick-fight when Angel and Nina walked up. Sam blushed slightly, and mumbled something about a sword-move she’d seen and wanted to copy. Angel, recognising what she was trying to do, nearly offered to demonstrate.
Then he thought better of it and proceeded to do the introductions instead. “Nina, this is Samantha and Riley Finn. Sam, Riley, this is my girlfriend Nina.”
Nina shook their hands.
“Very pleased to meet you. How come you’re in LA? Angel said something about you being in the army and tracking demons?”
Riley, pleasantly surprised at how normal the girl seemed, not to mention pretty, explained.
“We were following these HS... demons, trying to find out what they were up to. Only when we came here, suddenly hundreds turned up.”
Turning to Angel he asked: “Do you know what it was all about?”
Angel shrugged. “Demons gather for all sorts of reasons. Rituals, sacrifices, mating... you just happened to be in the middle when they met up. Wolfram & Hart had their own reasons for taking them out. And since the leader of my special ops team is ill, Spike and Wesley stepped in. Personally... I had some business to attend to.”
Riley nodded, and felt he ought to say something.
“It’s a good team you’ve got. Welltrained. And - em - Spike did rather well leading.”
Angel felt himself bristle at the slightly condescending tone.
“Of course he did well. He was well taught. Leading the team is a doddle for anyone who’s spent a hundred-plus years ordering minions about!”
Nina, deciding that a subject change would be good, cut in and asked. “So, did you meet any stars today?”
Having finished the starters, and chatted about all the Hollywood secrets they’d learned, Sam looked at Nina.
“How did you meet Angel, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m just a sucker for romance.”
Nina smiled. “Well, he kinda saved my life - and my family’s. I got bitten by a werewolf, and he managed to track me down before I hurt anyone. Oh, and later I was kidnapped by some weirdo gourmet-club who wanted to eat me. Which he also saved me from. And all that hero-rescuing stuff - a real good icebreaker!”
Riley stared at her, as if she had sprouted another head. “You’re a werewolf?”
Angel looked at him with thinly veiled steel in his eyes.
“That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
Riley shook his head. “No, not at all, it’s just... You know, I used to think that it was Sunnydale that made everything surreal, but maybe it’s just you people.”
Angel smiled. “Well, what with the Hellmouth gone, I guess the weird had to go somewhere.”
Sam leaned forward. “How come the Hellmouth’s closed? We heard it on the news of course, something about a fault line and an earthquake, but knowing what the place is like, I’m sure something mystical went down.”
Angel looked uncomfortable. “I wasn’t there. Ask Spike, he was.”
Sam went quiet, and Riley was about to speak, when the main course arrived. The thread of the conversation was lost, and Sam picked up on the previous topic.
“So, it doesn’t bother you that he’s vampire?”
Nina smiled. “No, not really. And well - where else would I find a boyfriend with a metal cage in the basement?”
This provoked some raised eyebrows, but Nina laughed. “You know it’s so nice to be able to talk to someone about it. I mean another girl. Of course many of the girls at Wolfram and Hart are lovely, but we just don’t have a lot in common. There was Fred of course...”
Her voice trailed off. Angel took her hand. “We all miss Fred.”
Looking up at Sam and Riley, he explained. “She was a... particularly close friend, who died recently.”
They nodded. Losing friends was part of their job description.
Trying to think of another subject, Riley went with the first thing that came into his head. “So, how come you have a law firm? I mean, did you win the lottery or something?”
Angel shook his head. “If I had, I sure as hell wouldn’t have bought Wolfram & Hart - not that I would have been able to. It’s actually a multidimensional evil law firm with branches everywhere. Oh, and it’s been around for millennia. Well, the Senior Partners have anyway.”
Cue stunned looks.
“They... they gave me the LA branch to run as I want because, em, well I ended world peace, and they were very happy about that, what with being evil and all.”
Sam’s face was a picture of incomprehension. “You ended world peace? When was there world peace?”
Angel sighed. “About this time last year - it’s quite a complicated story, but I’ll try to make it as short as possible. Let’s see - you know that people talk about ‘The Powers That Be’?”
Nods.
“Well, they’re real - and before you say what you are about to say, I met one of them!”
Riley and Sam looked equally stunned.
“You... met one?” Riley managed to say, brain slowly catching up with what Angel was saying.
Angel nodded. “She - with the help of a lot of prophecies and magic - arrived here last year. She was like a cult leader, brainwashing people just by looking at them, making them happy...”
In spite of himself he stopped.
He could still remember the bliss. It was strange, but in some way it was the closest he’d been to Angelus - no conflicts, no doubt. The peace of conviction.
Looking up he continued. “Only it was too good to be true, of course. To sustain herself she ate people - a couple of dozen a day... to make a long story short I travelled to a helldimension and found the undoing of her power, just as she was about to go global.”
Riley tried to think of something intelligent to say, but all he came up with was, “...weird, seriously weird.”
Sam looked at Angel. “Did she have a name?”
A look filled with a strange longing.
“We called her Jasmine”.
Sensing that it was a delicate subject, Sam suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask. “Angel, can I ask you something? How did you meet Buffy?”
Casting a glance at Nina, Angel tried to think of a way not to answer, but Nina seemed to understand where Sam was coming from.
“Of course, Riley used to date her too - you know I was just thinking the other day, that it was a shame that there was no-one I could compare notes with. Nobody even knows that there is a Slayer, let alone has dated one!”
Sam smiled brightly. “Cool! We seem to be on the same wavelength here!”
Grinning, she added, “Let’s get them to talk!”
Angel and Riley looked at each other with desperation.
Chapter 9.
To catch up, go here.
Part 8
The restaurant was cosy and friendly. It was Nina and her sister’s favourite, and they had introduced Angel to it, after he and Nina started dating. It was as far removed from anything demony as was possible in LA, which was why he had thought it appropriate for Sam and Riley. They probably needed a break after finding out just how many movie stars had tentacles.
As the headwaiter showed Angel and Nina to the table, Angel hoped that the other two hadn’t been waiting long. The meeting with Izzy had taken longer than expected, and he was not in a position to be less than accommodating. Also the last minute call to Spike to find out their guests’ view on werewolves had delayed them further. At least that had been satisfactory. If helping Oz escape from the Initiative was what had made Riley leave the organisation, it was probably safe to tell him the truth about Nina.
Their guests appeared to be having a breadstick-fight when Angel and Nina walked up. Sam blushed slightly, and mumbled something about a sword-move she’d seen and wanted to copy. Angel, recognising what she was trying to do, nearly offered to demonstrate.
Then he thought better of it and proceeded to do the introductions instead. “Nina, this is Samantha and Riley Finn. Sam, Riley, this is my girlfriend Nina.”
Nina shook their hands.
“Very pleased to meet you. How come you’re in LA? Angel said something about you being in the army and tracking demons?”
Riley, pleasantly surprised at how normal the girl seemed, not to mention pretty, explained.
“We were following these HS... demons, trying to find out what they were up to. Only when we came here, suddenly hundreds turned up.”
Turning to Angel he asked: “Do you know what it was all about?”
Angel shrugged. “Demons gather for all sorts of reasons. Rituals, sacrifices, mating... you just happened to be in the middle when they met up. Wolfram & Hart had their own reasons for taking them out. And since the leader of my special ops team is ill, Spike and Wesley stepped in. Personally... I had some business to attend to.”
Riley nodded, and felt he ought to say something.
“It’s a good team you’ve got. Welltrained. And - em - Spike did rather well leading.”
Angel felt himself bristle at the slightly condescending tone.
“Of course he did well. He was well taught. Leading the team is a doddle for anyone who’s spent a hundred-plus years ordering minions about!”
Nina, deciding that a subject change would be good, cut in and asked. “So, did you meet any stars today?”
Having finished the starters, and chatted about all the Hollywood secrets they’d learned, Sam looked at Nina.
“How did you meet Angel, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m just a sucker for romance.”
Nina smiled. “Well, he kinda saved my life - and my family’s. I got bitten by a werewolf, and he managed to track me down before I hurt anyone. Oh, and later I was kidnapped by some weirdo gourmet-club who wanted to eat me. Which he also saved me from. And all that hero-rescuing stuff - a real good icebreaker!”
Riley stared at her, as if she had sprouted another head. “You’re a werewolf?”
Angel looked at him with thinly veiled steel in his eyes.
“That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
Riley shook his head. “No, not at all, it’s just... You know, I used to think that it was Sunnydale that made everything surreal, but maybe it’s just you people.”
Angel smiled. “Well, what with the Hellmouth gone, I guess the weird had to go somewhere.”
Sam leaned forward. “How come the Hellmouth’s closed? We heard it on the news of course, something about a fault line and an earthquake, but knowing what the place is like, I’m sure something mystical went down.”
Angel looked uncomfortable. “I wasn’t there. Ask Spike, he was.”
Sam went quiet, and Riley was about to speak, when the main course arrived. The thread of the conversation was lost, and Sam picked up on the previous topic.
“So, it doesn’t bother you that he’s vampire?”
Nina smiled. “No, not really. And well - where else would I find a boyfriend with a metal cage in the basement?”
This provoked some raised eyebrows, but Nina laughed. “You know it’s so nice to be able to talk to someone about it. I mean another girl. Of course many of the girls at Wolfram and Hart are lovely, but we just don’t have a lot in common. There was Fred of course...”
Her voice trailed off. Angel took her hand. “We all miss Fred.”
Looking up at Sam and Riley, he explained. “She was a... particularly close friend, who died recently.”
They nodded. Losing friends was part of their job description.
Trying to think of another subject, Riley went with the first thing that came into his head. “So, how come you have a law firm? I mean, did you win the lottery or something?”
Angel shook his head. “If I had, I sure as hell wouldn’t have bought Wolfram & Hart - not that I would have been able to. It’s actually a multidimensional evil law firm with branches everywhere. Oh, and it’s been around for millennia. Well, the Senior Partners have anyway.”
Cue stunned looks.
“They... they gave me the LA branch to run as I want because, em, well I ended world peace, and they were very happy about that, what with being evil and all.”
Sam’s face was a picture of incomprehension. “You ended world peace? When was there world peace?”
Angel sighed. “About this time last year - it’s quite a complicated story, but I’ll try to make it as short as possible. Let’s see - you know that people talk about ‘The Powers That Be’?”
Nods.
“Well, they’re real - and before you say what you are about to say, I met one of them!”
Riley and Sam looked equally stunned.
“You... met one?” Riley managed to say, brain slowly catching up with what Angel was saying.
Angel nodded. “She - with the help of a lot of prophecies and magic - arrived here last year. She was like a cult leader, brainwashing people just by looking at them, making them happy...”
In spite of himself he stopped.
He could still remember the bliss. It was strange, but in some way it was the closest he’d been to Angelus - no conflicts, no doubt. The peace of conviction.
Looking up he continued. “Only it was too good to be true, of course. To sustain herself she ate people - a couple of dozen a day... to make a long story short I travelled to a helldimension and found the undoing of her power, just as she was about to go global.”
Riley tried to think of something intelligent to say, but all he came up with was, “...weird, seriously weird.”
Sam looked at Angel. “Did she have a name?”
A look filled with a strange longing.
“We called her Jasmine”.
Sensing that it was a delicate subject, Sam suddenly remembered something she wanted to ask. “Angel, can I ask you something? How did you meet Buffy?”
Casting a glance at Nina, Angel tried to think of a way not to answer, but Nina seemed to understand where Sam was coming from.
“Of course, Riley used to date her too - you know I was just thinking the other day, that it was a shame that there was no-one I could compare notes with. Nobody even knows that there is a Slayer, let alone has dated one!”
Sam smiled brightly. “Cool! We seem to be on the same wavelength here!”
Grinning, she added, “Let’s get them to talk!”
Angel and Riley looked at each other with desperation.
Chapter 9.