FIC: In Another Life (1/21) - BtVS/Numb3rs
Title: In Another Life (1/21+Epilogue)
Author: lyl_devil
Rating: PG-15
Fandom: BtVS, Numb3rs
Beta: strangevisitor7 & kallie_kat
Words: ~35,000 (as of Nov 22, 2008)
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show. I just like to play in their sandboxes.
Summary: Every action has a consequence and every deal comes with a price. Willow’s life is wiped clean, so she makes a new one for herself in LA.
Master Post
Note: I don’t claim to know anything about magic, medicine or the FBI - what I didn’t pick up from tv and books, I made up.
~!~
Part One
Three Years Later - FBI Head Office, LA
Special Agent Don Eppes walked into the Information Retrieval Unit, heading straight to the Agent in Charge.
"Hey, Vic," greeted Don, weaving between the desks of glassy-eyed agents hard at work.
"Don, you didn't have to come all the way down here," said Victor Renkins, looking up from his cluttered desk. "I was going to send one of the kids up with the file."
"I needed the walk," Don admitted. The past few days had been stressful in a way that was different from normal. The new Assistant Director wanted to clear some of the backlog of cold cases in an effort to show that under his leadership the LA branch of the FBI was solving more cases, bringing in more bad guys, and providing more results all around. Or something like that. Don really didn't care; all he knew was that over half the active field teams - no matter the department - had been reassigned to investigate cold cases, his included. None of them were happy about it, but it did give them the time to go over some of the older cases that were benefiting from today's technology. As much as it pained him to admit it, they'd closed several cold cases in the last week that probably never would have seen the light of day again if not for the housecleaning.
"Well, you'll have to wait. It should be ready in a little while," Vic told him, motioning to the only other chair in his small office. Don sat down and traded small talk for a while, understanding that Vic had needed a break as much as he had. The IRU had unfortunately suffered the brunt of the investigation headaches, as agents had sent down requests for various data they couldn't get themselves. Getting the financial records from a bank that hadn't existed in over eight years could be difficult, if not impossible. But they had some of the best computer guys around who could find the dirty secrets of a salamander in the middle of the Mojave - if it had been recorded electronically.
A few minutes later, Vic looked over Don's shoulder and waved someone into his office. Turning, Don saw a slim, young red headed woman holding a standard brown file folder.
"Is that the Atkins data?" asked Vic, pointing to the file she held clutched in her hands.
"Uh-huh," she said, handing the file over. Vic quickly scanned through the report before signing off on it.
"You're in luck, Agent Eppes," he said, handing the file over to him, "Here's the financial data you requested."
"Oh. Hey, thanks," he said as he rose, resisting the temptation to open the file immediately.
"Willow, this is Special Agent Don Eppes. Don, this is Willow Rosenberg," introduced Vic. His lips quirked in a way that Don wasn't sure he liked. "Willow's one of my best computer techs."
"Oh, yeah?" said Don, smiling as she blushed.
"I'm not one of your techs, Vic," she said, studiously avoiding looking at Don.
"Not for lack of trying, Willow," he said with a sigh, and Don knew there was a story there.
"On that subject, I've maxed out my hours for this week," Willow announced.
"Damnit."
"Sorry, Vic," she apologized, sounding genuine.
"I know," said the other agent. "See you Monday morning."
"Unless you call me in the middle of the night again."
"I've only done that twice," argued Vic good naturedly, "and it was well past the midnight mark, so it was technically a new week."
"Uh-huh. Bye, Vic. It-it was nice meeting you, Agent Eppes," she said, all wide eyed and nervous before bolting out the door.
"Nice work there, Eppes," drawled Vic once Willow was safely out of earshot.
"What?" asked Don smiling, watching as she headed for the elevator. He didn't think he had a reputation as being intimidating. Maybe he'd work on that, if he had a little help.
"I know that look, Eppes," Vic said, a warning clear in his tone.
Don turned to face the other agent, nodding his head in the direction of the elevators, asking, "So what's the story there?"
Vic regarded him silently for a moment, as if considering Don's worthiness. Don tried not to take it personally.
"She was recommended to me by a friend and does some consulting and freelance work for us," he finally said, leaning back in his chair. "I've been trying to get her hired on full-time, but her application keeps getting rejected."
"Doesn't have the qualifications?" asked Don curiously.
"That's not the problem. Half my guys don't have the official piece of paper."
This Don knew, because he'd heard Vic bitch enough times about HR being sticky about the lack of college degrees in his new hires.
"So if it's not HR..." Don inquired, frowning.
"Her background check. Security doesn't want to risk her on the payroll full-time, so I can only give her part-time hours."
"What? How does that work?" asked Don, not quite sure why she was cleared for part-time work but not full-time. If a background check doesn't clear, it doesn't clear. There's no middle ground - at least, that's what he thought.
"The requirements for part-time employees are less stringent than for full-time ones, despite the fact that she'd be doing the exact same thing she's doing now, only she'd be doing it for forty hours a week instead of twenty."
"Do you know what's causing the problem?"
"Yeah," said Vic, half mocking and half rueful. "Three years ago she was discovered unconscious on the side of the highway with no memory."
Don took a moment to absorb that. "Wow. Really?" He’d only ever heard of stuff like that in movies and TV. "So she has no idea who she is? What about her family? Is Willow even her real name?"
"Oh, she really is Willow Rosenberg - they found that out pretty quick - but no family or friends came forward so all she has to go on are the official records, most of which have been destroyed," Vic explained. Don was starting to see what had Security bothered by her - trusting someone who has essentially only existed for three years was a hell of a risk.
"How are they so sure they have the right person? Did they identify her through missing persons?" asked Don, his investigator's mind already running through the various angles and problems.
"She was found not far from the Sunnydale Crater, a few days after the town fell in on itself."
"So they started their search there, and found a match," concluded Don, nodding his head. "Was she in the town when it collapsed, then?"
"No one knows, least of all her. She's the only potential witness to what happened there, yet she has no memory of anything before being found on that highway."
“I don’t remember hearing any reports of survivors.”
“Once they realized she had no memory, they kept her existence quiet,” explained Vic. “Can you imagine the feeding frenzy if the press had ever gotten hold of her story? Media freak show.”
"Man, that's got to suck," added Don, his mind whirling with details and ideas. He never could shut his mind down, stopping himself from analyzing every detail. "So, how-"
"Ah! That's enough locker room gossip, Eppes," interrupted Vic, giving Don the same look he had earlier. "I'm done being your snitch. You want to know more, ask her yourself."
Don was taken aback for a moment, but more from the look Vic was giving him that was part amused and part smug.
"Wha-"
"Hey, go solve cases like a good little feeb, Eppes," Vic said. This time, there was no denying the amused smirk on his face. "Some of us have real work to do."
"Yeah, yeah," said Don, waving a hand as he walked out the door.
~!~
For the next week, Don found his thoughts returning to Willow more and more. He tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up one day and not remember a thing about himself or his life, and found his imagination didn't quite extend that far. He supposed it was one of those things you had to experience to fully understand, and really hoped he never would.
But she was always in his thoughts, which confused him at times because they hadn't really spoken to each other in those few minutes. Willow had made an impression, apparently, which was why when he bumped into her in the elevator the following week, he asked her to go for a coffee with him.
He wasn't sure what surprised him more - that he'd asked, or that she'd said yes.
End Part 1
Part 2
Author: lyl_devil
Rating: PG-15
Fandom: BtVS, Numb3rs
Beta: strangevisitor7 & kallie_kat
Words: ~35,000 (as of Nov 22, 2008)
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show. I just like to play in their sandboxes.
Summary: Every action has a consequence and every deal comes with a price. Willow’s life is wiped clean, so she makes a new one for herself in LA.
Master Post
Note: I don’t claim to know anything about magic, medicine or the FBI - what I didn’t pick up from tv and books, I made up.
~!~
Part One
Three Years Later - FBI Head Office, LA
Special Agent Don Eppes walked into the Information Retrieval Unit, heading straight to the Agent in Charge.
"Hey, Vic," greeted Don, weaving between the desks of glassy-eyed agents hard at work.
"Don, you didn't have to come all the way down here," said Victor Renkins, looking up from his cluttered desk. "I was going to send one of the kids up with the file."
"I needed the walk," Don admitted. The past few days had been stressful in a way that was different from normal. The new Assistant Director wanted to clear some of the backlog of cold cases in an effort to show that under his leadership the LA branch of the FBI was solving more cases, bringing in more bad guys, and providing more results all around. Or something like that. Don really didn't care; all he knew was that over half the active field teams - no matter the department - had been reassigned to investigate cold cases, his included. None of them were happy about it, but it did give them the time to go over some of the older cases that were benefiting from today's technology. As much as it pained him to admit it, they'd closed several cold cases in the last week that probably never would have seen the light of day again if not for the housecleaning.
"Well, you'll have to wait. It should be ready in a little while," Vic told him, motioning to the only other chair in his small office. Don sat down and traded small talk for a while, understanding that Vic had needed a break as much as he had. The IRU had unfortunately suffered the brunt of the investigation headaches, as agents had sent down requests for various data they couldn't get themselves. Getting the financial records from a bank that hadn't existed in over eight years could be difficult, if not impossible. But they had some of the best computer guys around who could find the dirty secrets of a salamander in the middle of the Mojave - if it had been recorded electronically.
A few minutes later, Vic looked over Don's shoulder and waved someone into his office. Turning, Don saw a slim, young red headed woman holding a standard brown file folder.
"Is that the Atkins data?" asked Vic, pointing to the file she held clutched in her hands.
"Uh-huh," she said, handing the file over. Vic quickly scanned through the report before signing off on it.
"You're in luck, Agent Eppes," he said, handing the file over to him, "Here's the financial data you requested."
"Oh. Hey, thanks," he said as he rose, resisting the temptation to open the file immediately.
"Willow, this is Special Agent Don Eppes. Don, this is Willow Rosenberg," introduced Vic. His lips quirked in a way that Don wasn't sure he liked. "Willow's one of my best computer techs."
"Oh, yeah?" said Don, smiling as she blushed.
"I'm not one of your techs, Vic," she said, studiously avoiding looking at Don.
"Not for lack of trying, Willow," he said with a sigh, and Don knew there was a story there.
"On that subject, I've maxed out my hours for this week," Willow announced.
"Damnit."
"Sorry, Vic," she apologized, sounding genuine.
"I know," said the other agent. "See you Monday morning."
"Unless you call me in the middle of the night again."
"I've only done that twice," argued Vic good naturedly, "and it was well past the midnight mark, so it was technically a new week."
"Uh-huh. Bye, Vic. It-it was nice meeting you, Agent Eppes," she said, all wide eyed and nervous before bolting out the door.
"Nice work there, Eppes," drawled Vic once Willow was safely out of earshot.
"What?" asked Don smiling, watching as she headed for the elevator. He didn't think he had a reputation as being intimidating. Maybe he'd work on that, if he had a little help.
"I know that look, Eppes," Vic said, a warning clear in his tone.
Don turned to face the other agent, nodding his head in the direction of the elevators, asking, "So what's the story there?"
Vic regarded him silently for a moment, as if considering Don's worthiness. Don tried not to take it personally.
"She was recommended to me by a friend and does some consulting and freelance work for us," he finally said, leaning back in his chair. "I've been trying to get her hired on full-time, but her application keeps getting rejected."
"Doesn't have the qualifications?" asked Don curiously.
"That's not the problem. Half my guys don't have the official piece of paper."
This Don knew, because he'd heard Vic bitch enough times about HR being sticky about the lack of college degrees in his new hires.
"So if it's not HR..." Don inquired, frowning.
"Her background check. Security doesn't want to risk her on the payroll full-time, so I can only give her part-time hours."
"What? How does that work?" asked Don, not quite sure why she was cleared for part-time work but not full-time. If a background check doesn't clear, it doesn't clear. There's no middle ground - at least, that's what he thought.
"The requirements for part-time employees are less stringent than for full-time ones, despite the fact that she'd be doing the exact same thing she's doing now, only she'd be doing it for forty hours a week instead of twenty."
"Do you know what's causing the problem?"
"Yeah," said Vic, half mocking and half rueful. "Three years ago she was discovered unconscious on the side of the highway with no memory."
Don took a moment to absorb that. "Wow. Really?" He’d only ever heard of stuff like that in movies and TV. "So she has no idea who she is? What about her family? Is Willow even her real name?"
"Oh, she really is Willow Rosenberg - they found that out pretty quick - but no family or friends came forward so all she has to go on are the official records, most of which have been destroyed," Vic explained. Don was starting to see what had Security bothered by her - trusting someone who has essentially only existed for three years was a hell of a risk.
"How are they so sure they have the right person? Did they identify her through missing persons?" asked Don, his investigator's mind already running through the various angles and problems.
"She was found not far from the Sunnydale Crater, a few days after the town fell in on itself."
"So they started their search there, and found a match," concluded Don, nodding his head. "Was she in the town when it collapsed, then?"
"No one knows, least of all her. She's the only potential witness to what happened there, yet she has no memory of anything before being found on that highway."
“I don’t remember hearing any reports of survivors.”
“Once they realized she had no memory, they kept her existence quiet,” explained Vic. “Can you imagine the feeding frenzy if the press had ever gotten hold of her story? Media freak show.”
"Man, that's got to suck," added Don, his mind whirling with details and ideas. He never could shut his mind down, stopping himself from analyzing every detail. "So, how-"
"Ah! That's enough locker room gossip, Eppes," interrupted Vic, giving Don the same look he had earlier. "I'm done being your snitch. You want to know more, ask her yourself."
Don was taken aback for a moment, but more from the look Vic was giving him that was part amused and part smug.
"Wha-"
"Hey, go solve cases like a good little feeb, Eppes," Vic said. This time, there was no denying the amused smirk on his face. "Some of us have real work to do."
"Yeah, yeah," said Don, waving a hand as he walked out the door.
~!~
For the next week, Don found his thoughts returning to Willow more and more. He tried to imagine what it would be like to wake up one day and not remember a thing about himself or his life, and found his imagination didn't quite extend that far. He supposed it was one of those things you had to experience to fully understand, and really hoped he never would.
But she was always in his thoughts, which confused him at times because they hadn't really spoken to each other in those few minutes. Willow had made an impression, apparently, which was why when he bumped into her in the elevator the following week, he asked her to go for a coffee with him.
He wasn't sure what surprised him more - that he'd asked, or that she'd said yes.
End Part 1
Part 2