It'll all be over soon....

[witch_amy]

Tucker was off the phone like lighting which upset me a bit, but considering the circumstances, was probably for the best. If he was meeting with this Morgan woman already, and he was getting the same feedback I was from Jezebel, well then he’d probably want to be- yeah. Not exactly on the phone right now. Once everything was over and I managed

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[bitter_brother]

I drank the rest of the brandy in one gulp when I heard Amy's knock at the door. Keep my head. Right. Keep focused, try to just think about what's next. Not what just happened. Definitely don't think about going from behind horizontal with Lilah's legs wrapped around me to discussing paid R&D internships and keeping my schoolwork in check. And then, definitely don't think about it being the same hand that was doing something really vulgar in the bathroom as being the same hand that is shaking my girlfriend's hand. It was trippy to look at Lilah Morgan's modus operandi. She was totally comfortable with it just being sex and then it just being business. That was some confidence. The woman had drive. I hated and feared it instantly, but at the same time, I really wanting the same security for myself.

But, again, don't crush out on the bitch who signs your paycheck.

And look your girlfriend in they eye when she walks in.

So, I slugged the brandy and stood up when Amy came in. I didn't want to look too comfortable slouching all post-coital in a chair, but as soon as I stood up, I realized that it looked like some kind of archaic, gentlemanly gesture. Feeling a little embarrassed, I smiled at Amy and looked her straight in the eye.

"Hey, girl," I gestures at the chair I'd just gotten out of, offering it to her. I ran my hand down her upper arm as she passed by me and said softly, "We're almost through this. Everything's going to be just fine."

Glancing at Lilah quickly, I saw her lips curl into a smile.

[witch_amy]

I did my best to give at least a convinced smile as Lilah rattled off things to me, the smile widening to a grin when I saw Tucker. And he offered me his chair…sometimes I simply want to choke that boy to death, but sometimes, he’s just great. Given our current situation, I resisted outright throwing my arms around him and hugging him. Randomly, I rememberd Lilah’s offer for a drink, and gave a slight nod and shrug. “Um, sure, why not?”

"Hey, girl," I gestures at the chair I'd just gotten out of, offering it to her. I ran my hand down her upper arm as she passed by me and said softly, "We're almost through this. Everything's going to be just fine."

“I know,” I said, giving him a slight smile. And he was right. It would be over soon, or at least we’d be out of the woods. How things were going to work with Wolfram and Hart in the picture, I still wasn’t sure. But then, I guess I was going to find out soon enough, now wasn’t I?

With a slight joking look, I glanced from Lilah to Tucker. “I guess we should read the fine print first next time we conjure something, huh?”

[da_lilah]

It really was quite amusing to watch Tucker around his girlfriend. As soon as she came into the room he actually got to his feet and offered her his chair. Not a gesture that I would've pegged him to do considering the way he'd acted at the feminist lecture, and less than an hour ago, on the carpet at our feet. It was sweet, actually. He must've really had it bad for this girl.

Amy was a little skittish when she entered, but she seemed to visibily relax and even smiled when she saw Tucker.

“I guess we should read the fine print first next time we conjure something, huh?”

I poured her a glass of brandy, and handed it to her with a smile.

"Yep, always read the fine print. Always check for concealed weapons. And always...bring a spare toothbrush. These are axioms to live by." I quipped, trying to keep the mood light. I sat in one of the empty chairs near Amy, leaving Tucker the sofa.

"Now, what you did together, it was ambitious, it was a touch on the reckless side, but overall you both handled it well. I think you need to remember that when push came to shove, you knew when you were in over your heads, and you recognized that you needed help in dealing with the problem. This is good, this is using your brain. Once we take care of Jezebel, I'm looking forward to talking to you both in more depth about just what kind of opportunities Wolfram and Hart can offer you."

I leaned back and sipped my brandy, then checked my watch.

"Shouldn't be too long now. So... do you have any questions?"

[bitter_brother]

There was a lot of nodding going on. We were kind of silent.

"I have one," I finally said from my seat the overstuffed couch. There was a pillow under my ass that was annoying, so I pulled it out and threw at the opposite end. "I'm all for the shaman stuff. And breaking the bond, but... wouldn't it just be easier to destroy her?"

Amy shot me a glance. She didn't like that idea at all, I guess. I amended my statement, "It. Destroy it. The succubus. Like, wouldn't it be better just to dispatch it elsewhere?"

[da_lilah]

"I have one. I'm all for the shaman stuff. And breaking the bond, but... wouldn't it just be easier to destroy her. It. Destroy it. The succubus. Like, wouldn't it be better just to dispatch it elsewhere?"

"Well, obviously it would be more expedient thing to do. Just get rid of her, make her go away. But Tucker, you're not thinking about the big picture. Why throw away the chance to gain more knowledge and power, just because it's more convenient, and less hassle. Why destroy a priceless tome of magic because it's dangerous and no one's figured out how to use it effectively yet? Jezebel may be a liability at present, but she could also be turned into a resource that yields untold potential for us. Why waste that potential if we can learn to harness it, and wield it for ourselves?"

I put my glass down neatly on the side table and uncrossed my legs, leaning forward a little to address them both.

"Sometimes there is no other option but to take the quickest route. Choosing expediency over future potential. But ultimately Wolfram and Hart values the acquisition of power and knowledge over the wanton destruction of it simply because we don't understand or are afraid of it."

I suppose in a way I was dressing Tucker down a tad. Amy had shot him a disapproving glance and I'd wanted to give her a little boost of self confidence. What I'd told them was true, but it wasn't the complete truth. Wolfram and Hart was not above the wanton and irrevocable destruction of valuable knowledge if it suited the current agenda and longer term goals.

There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it. It was the shaman. I'd worked with him before. Lodan was very talented at what he did and was also extremely discreet. I made the introductions and then Lodan set to work creating the ritual space, laying out talismans and chanting as he went.

I stood back and observed, sipping more of the brandy and getting a nice little buzz from it.

Finally Lodan was ready.

"I was told there would be only one of you. But I certain I can manage both without any problem. My asking price will be higher of course."

"Of course." I agreed with an unconcerned shrug. "I'll have the paperwork changed and the extra fee deposited in your account by the morning."

He nodded and beckoned for Tucker and Amy to step inside the seal with him.

[witch_amy]

Jezebel may be a liability at present, but she could also be turned into a resource that yields untold potential for us. Why waste that potential if we can learn to harness it, and wield it for ourselves?"

So they wanted to study her, try to tap into what she could do. Which from first hand experience, I could tell them is pretty awesome. The action does make a lot of sense when you think about it. Why throw away a potential resource or opportunity for knowledge if it wasn’t necessary? Though the saying ‘curiosity killed the cat’ does come to mind a bit when considering that. And I still couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. Tucker and I brought Jezebel to this plane and now we were making arrangements to have her cutoff and captured. It just all seemed very….I don’t know. Unbalanced, maybe. Maybe that having to deal with Jezebel was a consequence of us taking this whole thing too lightly or something. Not that I’m minding the intervention by Wolfram and Hart, mind you, cause yeah, connection to a life sucking succubus: not exactly high on my list of things to accomplish for the semester. But in magic, there is the underlying concept of balance and not tipping the scales too much. You tip too much, and things’ll tip back on you eventually, that’s just the way it was. But it’s not like in the grand scheme of things anything we had done had been all that big of a deal… So in the end, I guess this is what had to be done.

I tilted my head slightly as I listened to the exchange between Lilah and the shaman. So they had only been expecting one person? That really made me wonder which one of us that one was. And when you take into account that Tucker had apparently been talking to Lilah before I had…

Pushing the thought to the back of my head at the moment, I stepped into the circle with Tucker and the shaman. The shaman started chanting, and though I tried to pick up the dialect, didn’t recognize it. It was certainly nothing I knew, and it didn’t seem to be the dialect we had originally used to summon Jezebel, either. He took something that looked like a shimmery red powder out of a pouch on his belt, and sprinkled it in the middle of us. The seal glowed, emitting an almost translucent column of light that went to the ceiling, enclosing me, tucker and the shaman inside it, and I got a very brief flash of Jezebel. She was by herself and- confused. Hmm. Perhaps this wasn’t fair, this wasn’t balanced, but it was the way things had to be, wasn’t it? Vaugely I wondered if there would be any ramifications for this…

For a split second, it felt like something was being sucked out of me, energy pulling away. And then it was gone, as was the light, and somehow the seal as well, leaving me only slightly unsteady on my feet. For a moment, we all stood there in silence, until I randomly spoke up.

“It’s gone,” I said simply, looking at Tucker for a moment.

[bitter_brother]

It was gone. Quicker than it took to summon her or bind her, the spell was over and Jezebel was cut out of us. And we were cut out of each other.

I looked at Amy, tripping out. She wasn't in me either. Not anymore. We weren't in each others' heads, in each others' flesh. I mean, I still -- I don't know. It's not like I hated her or didn't want anything to do with her, but it was like all that succubus stuff was some kind of Vulcan mind-meld in our past. She knew me better, I knew her better, but now were weren't symbiotic. I could feel the break in the connection, both with her and with Jezebel. Physical sensations mixed with some kind of psychic sensations, and before everything split apart, everything blurred.

The bind was gone. And I could feel the absence. Like waking up sober after going to bed wasted. Like waking up depressed after a lifetime of being happy. Something that I'd already started taking for granted as always being there was just gone.

I felt diminished. I'd had an incredible couple of days with a dozen different kinds of highs and power around every corner, and now... nothing. Now I just felt like everyone else. Even if I knew, deep down, that I really, really wasn't.

Looking at Lilah, I stepped away from Amy and the shaman, sitting on the chair nearest the door. Again. Lilah raised an eyebrow at me, probably waiting to see if I was going to thank her or lose my shit. I wasn't about to take either option. I'd wanted out and now I was out. I got what I wanted, right? And now I owed a law firm, one that I'd never heard of until today, something big.

"It's over?" I asked no one. There was a big, black gaping hole inside me now. Not to get all emo, but it was both there and not-there. A chunk of what I'd come to see as me was now gone. Looking up, I saw the shaman had begun to gather his things. That was just it? Ten minutes and everything was okay now?

"But... what about the shit that happened yesterday?" I asked Lilah. "Are me and Amy just on our own now, or is there something you can do so we don't get ... well, arrested?"

[da_lilah]

I'd watched the spell being performed, it wasn't all that exciting as spells went, some chanting, red powder and then a few shimmering lights, but thankfully it was relatively short.

Amy seemed relieved if a little sad when it was all over, but Tucker? He looked like he'd just been sucker-punched in the gut. He slumped down into the chair he'd first sat in when he'd got here. I quirked a questioning eyebrow at him but he ignored my prompting, and just sat there for a few moments looking bereft.

"But... what about the shit that happened yesterday. Are me and Amy just on our own now, or is there something you can do so we don't get ... well, arrested?"

I snickered at that, and waved my hand dismissively.

"This is the Sunnydale police department we're talking about right? Since when did they ever catch the real culprits of a supernatural crime? About all they are good for are consuming double their weight in donuts, kow-towing to the new mayor, and spreading the myth that 'P' is an epidemic drug problem in the area. Don't worry about them, if they happen to stumble upon some evidence pointing to either of you, I'll make sure it disappears fast."

I made my good-byes to Lodan, who took his leave as quickly and efficently as he'd performed his duty. I resolved to make sure he got a little bonus next time we called him up.

Then I turned to my two new charges and smiled.

"Okay, now that that's done...I need my beauty sleep. It's been an exhausting day." My gaze flickered over to Tucker's for a brief moment and I restrained from winking at him. Just. "So, if you don't mind..." I indicated the door. "Don't forget to take the papers I had drawn up for you, I want you to look them over carefully before you sign anything. I'll call you both tomorrow and we can discuss things further."

[bitter_brother]

Paperwork in hand, Amy and I found ourselves outside Lilah's door. Without even so much as a covert pat on the ass from the diabolical Ms. Morgan -- which I guess I should be thankful for. Discretion was the better part of... something. Plus, she was going to call tomorrow. Maybe we could meet up again before she had to go back to the office. Or. Not.

As soon as the door shut behind us, I took Amy's hand and started walking down the hallway. She got about five doors down before she stopped and pulled back against my hand.

"Tucker," she said, trying to make eye contact with me. I forced myself to look blankly into her eyes. "Why were you there? Why didn't you tell me?"

I let go of her hand and grumbled, "I was checking it out! What? I was going to call you as soon as I'd worked out a deal. For both of us. But... I guess I didn't even have to, because you called someone first. And, what about you? You didn't tell me you had any connections to that Wolf place."

"I didn't know I did," she explained. "I found out about two minutes after you took off without telling me where you were going."

"Right. Okay, whatever. So, it's done. Great. Let's move on," I said, starting back down the hallway, without holding her hand this time. "And we can't get our money back for the hotel tonight, so we might as well enjoy it. Unless... you don't think that Jezebel will try and find us there. Would she?"

I hadn't thought about that. Without her bound to us, what would keep her from just twisting our heads 360 degrees?