Room 406, late morning til evening.

[izzyalienqueen]

After the Perk, Isabel returned to her room, made a few handwavey phone calls and then tried to pack. If you can call randomly taking things in and out of drawers packing. Annie sat on the bed watching her, seeming to sense something was going on.

The door was cracked open.

[ooc: If you think you would have gotten a phone call, you did. I'm

Comments

[cantgetnorelief]

Anders was depressed, cranky, and unfortunately still feeling . . . shall we say stimulated when he woke up very late in the morning. The voicemail icon on his phone was blinking, and he stared at it for a moment before picking up the phone to check.

The message, combined with what Parker had told him, made him shove all his own worries to the back of his mind long enough to grab a quick shower and charge upstairs to knock on Isabel's door.

[izzyalienqueen]

"Oh...hi," Isabel said quietly. "Looks like movie day got cancelled. I'm sorry."

[cantgetnorelief]

Anders couldn't help a brief, almost hysterical laugh. "I'm not even worried about that right now, big sis. It's just . . . do you really have to go?"

[izzyalienqueen]

She put down the shirt she'd been debating packing and shrugged helplessly. "I don't really have a choice. They made us to come back and save them. How can I turn my back on that?" Granted, Max had offered her a choice but she'd never make it and leave them on their own.

[cantgetnorelief]

Anders drew a shaky breath. "If you have to, I guess you have to," he said reluctantly. "I understand that. It's just . . . frak, I don't wanna lose you too, now."

But that did make him realize -- if she was leaving, she should at least know. "Seriously, I couldn't take this at all if . . . big sis, we got Bel back."

[izzyalienqueen]

"I'm sorry," Isabel said sadly. "I don't like leaving but it's what I have to do." It took a moment or two more for what he'd said to actually process, then she stared, eyes wide. "What? How?"

[cantgetnorelief]

"It's hard to explain. Something about his soul being trapped in the demon wastelands," Anders said. "We went in last night, some kind of astral projection thing, and got him back. I came by trying to find you, to let you know what was going on . . ."

[izzyalienqueen]

"That was probably after Max called. I took off for a while and didn't get back till the evening," she explained. And if Anders asked Isabel wouldn't have a clue about where she'd actually gone before turning up on Peter's doorstep. It was all a blur. "Is he okay?"

[cantgetnorelief]

Anders smiled tightly. What he'd picked up on last night was still pretty fresh in his mind. "Yeah, I'd say he's definitely fine. He seems pretty freaked, though. Never seen him that unsure of himself."

[izzyalienqueen]

"It's pretty understandable though," Isabel said, finding it easier to worry about someone else and not think about how quickly evening was approaching. "He was possessed for how long? Did horrible things to his friends. His friends vanquished him, essentially killing him. And now you say he was actually trapped. I'd say he has ever right to be unsure."

[cantgetnorelief]

"Yeah, can't blame him." Anders sighed softly. "I'm pretty sure he flinched when he saw me there, too. Lords, if Phoebe tells him about . . . what we did, I don't know how he's going to take it."

[izzyalienqueen]

"At first? He'll probably be stubborn and macho and basically an ass," she said, recognizing a case of potential macho posturing when she saw one. "But in the end? I think he'll understand. And if he doesn't, tell him I'll sick my little green cousins on him. Does he really want to be an alien abductee?"

[cantgetnorelief]

Anders frowned, but decided not to bring up that particular subject right now. "He's not gonna find it as easy to push me around any more as the Source did," he said firmly. "If not, I'll be glad for your backup, big sis."

[izzyalienqueen]

"Good," Isabel nodded. "You don't deserve that. At all. And if he gives you a hard time? Tell Parker. She'll show him a really hard time."

[cantgetnorelief]

Anders laughed. "I'd feel sorry for him, in that case. Damn, Evans, I'm gonna miss you."

[izzyalienqueen]

"Oh trust me," she said, walking over and opening her arms to invite a hug. "I'm going to miss you to. Lots."