FM March topic: In victory, you deserve champagne; in defeat, you need it. -Napoleon Bonaparte

[mister_hart]

The Powers That Be thought that they were somehow able to throw a twist to the mix in the prophecy by adding a little surprise. We have always known about Alexia, but Tyler was not predicted. It was a brillant move and really I suppose we must give the Powers credit where it's due. The bond between the two children is greater than any either

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[neverbeenfree]

A flare for large projects? What? Like me? My kids? My husband (former)? I hated James so fucking much and Dom scared the shit out of me. Aidan was kind of a smug bastard and that pissed me off but he was my best shot right now. I had to find some way to help my son and I didn't know where else to go. Cordelia pointed me in this direction and she would know better than anyone else.

I sniffed a little at the drink he poured me. Smelled like whiskey but it wasn't like I was gonna eat any evil yams so I most definitely wasn't gonna drink any evil whiskey. So I just set it down on his desk when he asked me what he could help me out with today.

"There's something going on with Tyler." I said, cutting straight to the point instead of playing around a little bit like I had a habit of doing with my dad. Never say more than what you actually have to. Fuck all of these games. I just wanted to save Tyler.

"He has these visions, some deal with the powers that be. He can't really control them but they're so few and far between usually we don't have to worry too much about it. Well, now they won't stop. He can't even move, he just keeps getting vision after vision. I had to bring him to the hospital so they would sedate him." I turned a cold gaze down on my uncle. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

[mister_hart]

I glanced down at the whiskey she placed back on my desk then curiously moved my eyes back up to look at her. I had a feeling she wouldn't want to accept the drink, but who was I to be a rude uncle. Sipping again at my own drink, I sat it back on the desk and listened closely at what she was saying.

Something going on with Tyler? My, that was terrible.

She explained more of what was going on and I was genuinely curious. I'd put the spell in motion, but hadn't been able to see any of the effects myself. She'd taken him to the hospital? I hadn't been expecting that, but it wasn't a very big surprise.

Did I know anything? My face stayed serious as I leaned forward on my desk with my elbows. Her tone was cold and really, was she trying to intimidate me? Wasn't that cute. "Faith," I said calmly. "As I've said before, I have no intentions of harming any member of my family. Yes, I did have the program with your father-in-law and his enhancers, but we have come up with an antidote thanks to Harry. Those who were a part of that particular project will be able to make a full recovery now."

I paused a moment, still keeping my eyes fixed on her. She was a concerned mother and I couldn't fault her for that. "I know nothing about my nephew's current condition, but I do remember a certain incident involving Cordelia Chase that sounds similar to what you just described." Yes, I was lying but did I much care? Not really.

[neverbeenfree]

Oooh. Someone was awful touchy, if I weren't so desperate right now I might smirk a little bit at that but I didn't really have time to be sassy at the moment. I'd have to save that for later. And was I supposed to somehow be comforted that he was now helping the people he'd almost killed recover? From what I get what B and Lily, he was testing that shit out on slayers.

"A certain incident?" I asked him caustically. "Way I hear tell, you guys are the ones who did that to her. So I thought here would be the best place to start." I pressed my mouth into a firm line. I hate this, I hated having to come here and ask these assholes for help. That somehow I was gonna have to sacrifice something to gain something.

I let out a breath and shifted uncomfortably before I looked down at him. Keep my cold, head low, eye on the prize. I wasn't ready to fall down on my knees just yet.

"I don't know what to do for him." I admitted as I finally sat down so I was eye level with Aidan. "If I'm barking up the wrong tree just please fucking tell me now so I can figure something else out. But if you can do anything to help him....just tell me what I need to do to make that happen."

I stared hard at him, trying to keep my cool at least long enough to get this done.

[mister_hart]

"I, myself and neither of my siblings were ever directly involved in the incident with Ms. Chase. Of course, I suppose we must sometimes take responsibility of our employees making business decisions, but Lilah Morgan was responsible for what happened to your friend."

It was clever really. Using the powers' gift against them. It had worked in getting the vampire under our control at the time and now it was working with my niece. This was just another downfall of most every human being (and some vampires) I'd come in contact with here. It made them interesting to watch, though. Making deals with those they considered to be the 'devil' in order to save someone else yet when it came to their own loves? Many times they do nothing to save themselves.

"I can contact our sources in the magic department to see if there is a way to reverse what is happening to your son. Everything that happened with Cordelia is on file, so coming up with a reversal spell shouldn't be very difficult."

Pausing for a moment or so, I leaned back in my chair again. "But you know as well as anyone else, Faith, that nothing comes without a price. My brother has offered his help to you in the past, but you've refused yet now you're here asking me for help with Tyler. I will make the call immediately if you'd accept what we're trying to offer you here. But if not? Well, there must be something you can offer of yourself, yes?"

[neverbeenfree]

I wanted to reach right across the desk and punch his fucking lights out. He was starting to remind me of James. All that cold detachment. Dom was a little like that too I guess if you looked past that crazed look in her eyes. How could he just sit there calmly? How could I sit here calmly when I feel like I'm split open from end to end right now. There's a fire burning somewhere in here but you wouldn't be able to tell if you just took a picture.

He offered me a lifeline and I forgot about the anger for a minute. A lifeline with a price attached to it, and I had to think real fast to talk my way out of this one. "What exactly are you trying to offer me, Aidan? Nobody's actually straight up tried to make a deal with me so forgive me if my negotiation skills are a little off." I said snidely in his direction.

What did he want? That was the thing. He was working James' angle at the moment and maybe just out of spite I wanted to force him to work his own angle. Because I'd be damned if I saved Tyler only to damn him by moving my whole family into Wolfram and Hart.

"I'm not moving in here. Not my kids, Aidan. You can't have them. I can't just offer Tyler up a cure to have it be more destructive in the end for him. Not to mention Lexi. I don't think so." I thought it over for a second. "You were really into that whole performance enhancement shit, huh? That like your little kink?" I arched an eyebrow at him. "Must have really burned to have B and Connor march in here to wreck all your plans. Taking all your pet slayers away. So here's the deal, you make this "vision whammy" go away and you'll have a slayer to test your shit out on. And Buffy won't get in the way."

[mister_hart]

Someone needed to help her work on that tone of hers. I'd volunteer myself, but I doubt James would appreciate that very much. After all, he is already upset with Dominique for setting off our CEO and fucking up one of the slayers. Ahh, well.

I shook my head at her at first. "I'm not going to waste your time and not to mention mine and offer to save your son while then asking you to move your family here. I never expected you to accept any deal that involved your children's lives. That's Norman's and James' specialty, not yours or mine." And well, we were benefiting from that deal, but even still. I wasn't looking to have her bargain with someone else's life other than her own.

My kink? I tilted my head at her as I listened. Not exactly what I'd call the program, but I suppose it fit in a sense. And yes, I would have easily mounted both Connor and the slayer's heads if not for their connection to Faith.

"I make these visions go away for your son and you enter the enhancement program?" Well, that was interesting. It would give my niece a certain power stronger than what she already did possess and in a way, make her more dangerous to us than what she might have been already. Then again, if on the enhancers, she'd need regular doses of the formula. Not to mention the antidote since the drugs weren't entirely safe yet. She'd be dependent on us.

"You agree to have me test the drugs on you and, yes, I will make the phone call right now to see about stopping the visions and what is happening to Tyler."

[neverbeenfree]

Wasn't that cute. Making himself out to be the good guy in all of this, and painting James and Norman out to be the bad guys. Tsk tsk. I bet someone would be in big trouble with Daddy if he were to find out about this. Not like I give a shit anyways and if Aidan wanted to piss James off, well that might have just given him a margin of respect somewhere in my mind.

A very small margin.

The enhancement program. God, I hadn't even really thought about it. I was essentially offering myself up to get tested with drugs. In case anybody here hasn't noticed? I have mad drug issues. Not to mention, the idea of dosing up on the shit that made Angel batshit insane in that room wasn't high on my list of priorities. Well, it would make me stronger. That couldn't be a bad thing, right? That was a good thing. And I wasn't a vampire, so maybe it wouldn't make me crazy. Lily didn't seem crazy, not that I knew her that well or anything.

So it was really that easy. Huh. That was the thing about Wolfram and Hart. You can't play their game, you have to make them play yours. I guess it's long past time for me to come up with a game plan. I'd never been pushed this far before. You don't fuck with my son.

"Make the call, or do I have to sign in blood somewhere first?" I asked him sarcastically as I sat back in the chair and folded my arms over my chest. I wasn't leaving here until I heard him make that fucking call.

[mister_hart]

She seemed to be going over her options in her mind and really this was the only option. There wasn't another way to cure her son and really, she'd taken part of the power in this deal anyway. She'd been the one to step into my office and put a deal she was offering on the table, not the other way around.

I'm sure it made her think she had more power here than she really did, but I wasn't going to take that away from her. Especially when it was all so easy. She was a mother willing to do anything for her son.

"I'm not going to have you sign anything, Faith. I trust that you realize if you break our deal, there will be consequences?" I leaned forward again on the desk, watching her closely. "You hold up your end of the bargain and I will gladly do the same for you in return. All I need from you is a verbal confirmation that you will hold up your end."

I waited until I got the confirmation, nodded, then reached over for my phone and made the necessary call to the magic department. Of course, making sure not to raise any suspicions that I'd already had the removal spell in place before Faith ever entered my office.

Once the call was made, I smiled at my niece and nodded. "By the time you get back to the hospital, Tyler should be back to normal and will be able to go home." I was eager to get started with her and the enhancers, but starting that could wait at least until morning. I knew she'd want to get back to her son and who was I to keep her longer than necessary?

"We can set up meetings early in the morning or late if you'd rather. Whichever is easiest for you, of course. We can start tomorrow." Standing up from my desk, I moved around in front and gave her a genuine smile. "I look forward to working with you, Faith."

[neverbeenfree]

I knew all too well what the consequences of fucking with Wolfram and Hart were. My sister knew best of all, she'd lost her father. The one person she considered family who wasn't totally fucked, and he was dead because James got it in his head somewhere that she needed to learn a lesson. There weren't going to be any consequences for this one though, because I was gonna follow through on my end of the bargain. Angel had made a deal with Dom and I'd condemned him for it. Maybe we all came attached with a price tag somewhere along the line.

I gave him the confirmation he wanted and waited for him to get on the damn phone. It didn't take him long to get that shit worked out which made me vaguely suspicious. How the fuck would I know? They probably set this whole thing up. They had me boxed in though, I didn't have a choice anymore. They took the choice away from me.

I let out a breath I'd been holding in when he told me that Tyler would be better once I got back to the hospital. I didn't have long to savor it though cause he was talking about getting started first thing in the morning. Well, what did I think? I was gonna put this off? I doubt it.

He stood up, so I did too and just leveled an even stare at him as he told me he looked forward to working with me. Right. I looked forward to it too. Just like someone might look forward to a heart attack or an aneurysm.

"The twins leave for school at seven thirty in the morning. I'll be here at eight." Was all I said to him before I turned around and walked out of his office. I was anxious to see Tyler.