"So we're going to act as exterminators, are we?" I ask, looking up at him with a grin. "I have just the thing." With a tilt of my head, I indicate the industrial-sized flame thrower sitting on the table over in the corner. "Most bugs I've seen hate fire. Dad sometimes used a blow torch to burn them out of their nests on the farm."
Raising up on the balls of my feet, I give him a quick kiss then cross the lab to get the flame thrower.
"Hey, could you give me a hand with the pack. It's kind of hard to put on."
Just as Wesley moves to help me, I notice Knox messing with something in the set-up out of the corner of my eye. That's the power generator for the experiment!
"Knox, don't mess-!" I start to yell just as the generator whirs to life.
Knox jumps back, his hands going up in a classic surprise "don't blame me!" gesture, and light suddenly fills part of the lab, refracted by the mirrors and catching Wesley, who had just been walking in between them. He stops in mid-stride, a look of surprise in his eyes. I feel my heart squeeze in fear at the sight.
"Wes!"
Dropping the flame thrower, I fly across the lab. The light gets brighter until suddenly the generator sparks and splutters, and the entire lab plunges into darkness. I can't see anything now as I try to find him.
Fred gives me a quick kiss before asking for my assistance with the flame thrower pack. I must say this woman always comes up with the most brilliant ideas. Case in point, the current project she's working on. I look at the mirrors she has set up, idly wondering what she's planning on doing with them. She certainly has come a long way since we rescued her from Pylea.
My brave little survivor.
Knox does something to start the generator, knocking me out of my reverie, and I have to hold back a groan at the stupidity of the man. I barely hear Fred yell out to him, before I notice the light that's beginning to emerge from the device. I stop, locking eyes with Fred, trying in vain to hide the fear that suddenly takes hold as the light slowly intensifies, until it's completely engulfed the lab. Frozen in place, I see Fred running in my direction, calling out my name. But I can't look at her long, because soon I'm blinded, shielded in white light all around me, and then, just as quickly as it came, the light source is gone, leaving us in darkness.
"Wesley, are you all right?"
I blink a few times to get my bearings, then I stand, searching the blackness for Fred. "I'm all right, sweetheart. A little shaken up and confused, but other than that, I appear to be fine. Of course...I can't see anything, so I could be wrong," I answer, attempting to move, but since I keep bumping into things, I decide to stay put instead. The last thing Fred needs is another bubbling fool in her lab, breaking equipment and the like.
"I'm all right, sweetheart. A little shaken up and confused, but other than that, I appear to be fine. Of course...I can't see anything, so I could be wrong."
Oh, thank all of Lorne's gods and the Powers and few of the minor deities I read about in that book I found in Wesley's office after I first returned to L.A.
I let out a sigh of relief - I hadn't even realized I had been holding my breath! - and take a few tentative steps forward, not wanting to run him over or heaven forbid cause something else to happen. I feel rather silly waving my arms blindly in front me, but hey, not like anyone can see me. Though I have a sneaking suspicion Lorne could. I never had the chance to prove it, but I think Pyleans have some kind of night vision. Would explain a lot.
Finally, my hands come in contact with something in front of me. Wesley's chest. I can tell. As I move closer to embrace him in the dark, I hear a cabinet door slam somewhere behind us.
"Found a flashlight!" Knox announces as a beam of light bounces of the wall just beyond us. He then pans it across the lab until it comes to rest on us. "Sorry about that, Boss."
Sorry? He just totally ruined three weeks worth of requisition and set-up work, and he's sorry? I want to clobber him over the head with the flashlight for that, but instead, I thunk my head against Wesley's chest and sigh softly.
I'm greatly relieved when Fred touches my chest. At least, I hope it's Fred. I hear a cabinet slam shut, followed by Knox announcing he's found a flashlight. Okay, good. That means this is my sweet, darling girl standing before me.
He apologizes for the impromptu light show and black-out, flashing the light on us. Good, bloody hell. He obviously wasn't paying attention, or he'd realize flashing a light in someone's face is hardly a nice thing to do. Especially, when one of those people was just blinded by one!
Fred sighs, resting her head against my chest, and I run a comforting hand down her back, saying, "It's going to be okay, darling. I'm here." Then, I lean into her hair and whisper. "Want me to get rid of him for a bit, so you can assess the damages? I'm sure he and I would get along swimmingly, if we chatted in private." I'm joking, of course, but I will remove him from the lab if he continues to upset her.
"Oh, don't tempt me with that," I whisper back, loud enough that only Wesley could hear. With another sigh, I step back a bit and hold my hand up to shield my eyes. "Knox, point the flashlight elsewhere, would ya?"
"Oops."
As he swings the light away, I look up at Wes in the dimness. "I'll do damage assessment later. It's not like it's going to do anything now, and we need to go take care of that bug's nest."
Reaching out, I squeeze his hand and then go over to pick the flame thrower up, the flashlight giving me enough light to see where I'm going. This time, I'm waiting until we're out of the lab to put the pack on.
"Knox, don't touch anything with the experiment. Just get the power back on and check that none of the other equipment was affected by the blackout, and I'll check the mirrors later, okay?" I instruct as I rejoin Wesley.
"Righty." The flashlight begins sweeping back and forth again as he moving through the lab.
Shaking my head, I put my hand out to find Wesley again. "On to the nest?" I ask.
She shields her eyes and asks Knox to shine the beam elsewhere. And what does he say?
"Oops."
'Oops', indeed. However, I'm thinking it's more along the lines of 'Ah-oh' followed by 'Sorry, I can' follow orders'. But, that could just be me, seeing as how he's completely oblivious to the whole thing.
Fred looks up at me, and I momentarily repress the urge to throttle her "assistant".
"I'll do damage assessment later. It's not like it's going to do anything now, and we need to go take care of that bug's nest."
I nod my head in acquiescence, reveling in the comforting warmth of her hand in mine. She squeezes my hand and retrieves the flame thrower, before instructing Knox not to wreck any more of her equipment touch anything, and he replies nonchalantly, waving the flashlight about.
She reaches out to me again, and asks, "On to the nest?" And, with a nod, I take hold of her hand and point towards the entrance to the lab, saying, "Lead the way."
Smiling, I head for the corridor with Wesley close behind me, actually kind of glad to get out of there. I love my lab, but working with Knox lately has been really awkward. I should never have gone out with him those couple of times - after all, he works for Wolfram & Hart.
We head down to the reception area where we run into Angel and Spike coming out of his office, arguing as usual. I swear those two aren't happy unless they have something to fight over.
"I'm just sayin'," Spike remarks, "industrial strength bug bomb. There's gotta be somethin' in that lab of Freddie's that'll do the job."
"How about a really big flame thrower?" I ask, hefting it up so they can see.
"Hey, neat. Got any more?" Spike grins and reaches out for it.
"No." I knock his hand away. "And this is mine, thank you very much."
"So what'll I use?"
"Your body odor," Angel grumbles, heading for the elevator. The three of us fall in behind him.
"Maybe I'll just feed you to them and poison them instead."
They're still going at it when the elevator arrives. As we step inside, I share a look with Wesley. This is definitely going to be an interesting mission.
Raising up on the balls of my feet, I give him a quick kiss then cross the lab to get the flame thrower.
"Hey, could you give me a hand with the pack. It's kind of hard to put on."
Just as Wesley moves to help me, I notice Knox messing with something in the set-up out of the corner of my eye. That's the power generator for the experiment!
"Knox, don't mess-!" I start to yell just as the generator whirs to life.
Knox jumps back, his hands going up in a classic surprise "don't blame me!" gesture, and light suddenly fills part of the lab, refracted by the mirrors and catching Wesley, who had just been walking in between them. He stops in mid-stride, a look of surprise in his eyes. I feel my heart squeeze in fear at the sight.
"Wes!"
Dropping the flame thrower, I fly across the lab. The light gets brighter until suddenly the generator sparks and splutters, and the entire lab plunges into darkness. I can't see anything now as I try to find him.
"Wesley, are you all right?"
Reply
My brave little survivor.
Knox does something to start the generator, knocking me out of my reverie, and I have to hold back a groan at the stupidity of the man. I barely hear Fred yell out to him, before I notice the light that's beginning to emerge from the device. I stop, locking eyes with Fred, trying in vain to hide the fear that suddenly takes hold as the light slowly intensifies, until it's completely engulfed the lab. Frozen in place, I see Fred running in my direction, calling out my name. But I can't look at her long, because soon I'm blinded, shielded in white light all around me, and then, just as quickly as it came, the light source is gone, leaving us in darkness.
"Wesley, are you all right?"
I blink a few times to get my bearings, then I stand, searching the blackness for Fred. "I'm all right, sweetheart. A little shaken up and confused, but other than that, I appear to be fine. Of course...I can't see anything, so I could be wrong," I answer, attempting to move, but since I keep bumping into things, I decide to stay put instead. The last thing Fred needs is another bubbling fool in her lab, breaking equipment and the like.
Reply
Oh, thank all of Lorne's gods and the Powers and few of the minor deities I read about in that book I found in Wesley's office after I first returned to L.A.
I let out a sigh of relief - I hadn't even realized I had been holding my breath! - and take a few tentative steps forward, not wanting to run him over or heaven forbid cause something else to happen. I feel rather silly waving my arms blindly in front me, but hey, not like anyone can see me. Though I have a sneaking suspicion Lorne could. I never had the chance to prove it, but I think Pyleans have some kind of night vision. Would explain a lot.
Finally, my hands come in contact with something in front of me. Wesley's chest. I can tell. As I move closer to embrace him in the dark, I hear a cabinet door slam somewhere behind us.
"Found a flashlight!" Knox announces as a beam of light bounces of the wall just beyond us. He then pans it across the lab until it comes to rest on us. "Sorry about that, Boss."
Sorry? He just totally ruined three weeks worth of requisition and set-up work, and he's sorry? I want to clobber him over the head with the flashlight for that, but instead, I thunk my head against Wesley's chest and sigh softly.
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He apologizes for the impromptu light show and black-out, flashing the light on us. Good, bloody hell. He obviously wasn't paying attention, or he'd realize flashing a light in someone's face is hardly a nice thing to do. Especially, when one of those people was just blinded by one!
Fred sighs, resting her head against my chest, and I run a comforting hand down her back, saying, "It's going to be okay, darling. I'm here." Then, I lean into her hair and whisper. "Want me to get rid of him for a bit, so you can assess the damages? I'm sure he and I would get along swimmingly, if we chatted in private." I'm joking, of course, but I will remove him from the lab if he continues to upset her.
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"Oops."
As he swings the light away, I look up at Wes in the dimness. "I'll do damage assessment later. It's not like it's going to do anything now, and we need to go take care of that bug's nest."
Reaching out, I squeeze his hand and then go over to pick the flame thrower up, the flashlight giving me enough light to see where I'm going. This time, I'm waiting until we're out of the lab to put the pack on.
"Knox, don't touch anything with the experiment. Just get the power back on and check that none of the other equipment was affected by the blackout, and I'll check the mirrors later, okay?" I instruct as I rejoin Wesley.
"Righty." The flashlight begins sweeping back and forth again as he moving through the lab.
Shaking my head, I put my hand out to find Wesley again. "On to the nest?" I ask.
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"Oh, don't tempt me with that..."
She shields her eyes and asks Knox to shine the beam elsewhere. And what does he say?
"Oops."
'Oops', indeed. However, I'm thinking it's more along the lines of 'Ah-oh' followed by 'Sorry, I can' follow orders'. But, that could just be me, seeing as how he's completely oblivious to the whole thing.
Fred looks up at me, and I momentarily repress the urge to throttle her "assistant".
"I'll do damage assessment later. It's not like it's going to do anything now, and we need to go take care of that bug's nest."
I nod my head in acquiescence, reveling in the comforting warmth of her hand in mine. She squeezes my hand and retrieves the flame thrower, before instructing Knox not to wreck any more of her equipment touch anything, and he replies nonchalantly, waving the flashlight about.
She reaches out to me again, and asks, "On to the nest?" And, with a nod, I take hold of her hand and point towards the entrance to the lab, saying, "Lead the way."
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Smiling, I head for the corridor with Wesley close behind me, actually kind of glad to get out of there. I love my lab, but working with Knox lately has been really awkward. I should never have gone out with him those couple of times - after all, he works for Wolfram & Hart.
We head down to the reception area where we run into Angel and Spike coming out of his office, arguing as usual. I swear those two aren't happy unless they have something to fight over.
"I'm just sayin'," Spike remarks, "industrial strength bug bomb. There's gotta be somethin' in that lab of Freddie's that'll do the job."
"How about a really big flame thrower?" I ask, hefting it up so they can see.
"Hey, neat. Got any more?" Spike grins and reaches out for it.
"No." I knock his hand away. "And this is mine, thank you very much."
"So what'll I use?"
"Your body odor," Angel grumbles, heading for the elevator. The three of us fall in behind him.
"Maybe I'll just feed you to them and poison them instead."
They're still going at it when the elevator arrives. As we step inside, I share a look with Wesley. This is definitely going to be an interesting mission.
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