NM--Chapter 9
Chapter 9
As Cuddy walked into the hotel lobby, she had no idea what she would say. But she ran her own hospital, right? She must be able to think of something. She walked up to the clerk, glad he was a man and even more glad that she was wearing one of her patented cleavage-bearing shirts. “Hi,” she said with a warm smile.
“Good evening, ma’am,” he replied. He had yet to look up from his computer. “What can I do for you?”
She chuckled softly, hoping to make him look up. She looked at his nametag before saying, “I hope you can do a lot, Billy.”
It worked. He glanced up and did a double take. He was a man that liked good curves and she certainly had them. “Anything.”
She sighed with relief. She still had it. “You see, I think my husband may be cheating on me and I’m pretty sure he was at this hotel tonight.”
His face dropped some to hear that she married. “That’s mighty awful, ma’am.”
She ran a weary hand through her hair. “Please, call me Lisa.”
He smiled again. “Lisa. I’m not sure what you need me to do.”
She leaned over the counter just enough to show him more of her chest. It was degrading, but she knew it worked. “I need to know for sure if he was here. I just need to see the hallway recordings from the fourth floor.”
He winced. “I’m not really supposed to do that, Lisa.”
Leaning just a little farther, she had one tear roll down her cheek. She had always wanted to be an actress but her parents had insisted she go into medicine. “Please. This way, once and for all, I can leave him.” She paused and looked straight into his eyes. “I’d be single again.” Acting flustered, she continued, “I know my husband will be upset. He’s a big-time doctor and we never had a pre-nup.”
She saw his eyes widen. “Okay,” he said. “In ten minutes, slip behind the desk and go into that back room. The tape will be ready for you. You’ll just have to hit play.”
Grabbing his hand and squeezing it softly, she said quietly, “Thank you, Billy.”
………………………………..
The rest of the group followed Angel into the restaurant and watched as he stood facing the loudly dressed green demon. “Lorne,” Angel repeated. He made quick strides toward the stage. Lorne excused himself to the audience, got off the stage and headed towards Angel.
They stood a foot apart, just staring at each other. Angel smiled and hugged him. Lorne reminded him of better times. Of some of the only good times he ever had in his very long life. Of family.
Lorne squeezed him back for only a second, then said, “Let’s mosey to my back office, kiddies. I’m assuming these battered bunnies are with you Angel.”
Angel looked over his shoulder at Faith, Keen, Kate, Wilson, Cameron, and House. He patted Lorne on the back. “Yeah, that’s why we’re here.”
He led them to his office, which looked more like a suite. The walls were plush with red fabric and the three couches in the large room were a dark brown leather. There were several vases of lilies scattered about the room.
Lorne’s smile faded and it was twisted with apprehension. “Angel, I told you not to look for me.”
Angel’s jaw dropped. He shifted on his feet like he always did when nervous. “No, Lorne. I wasn’t looking for you. I mean, I’m looking for an answer but I didn’t know it was you. Kate just said it was a contact.”
House looked over at Faith. “Does he always ramble like this?”
Kate was the one to answer with a smile. “Always has.”
Faith echoed with a smile of her own. “Always will.”
Lorne began pacing. Secretly, he was happy to see Angel again. They had become close during the four years he had known him. But Angel had asked him to kill. He had known it was necessary. Lindsey was not to be trusted and needed to be eliminated. But a part of him would never forgive himself for doing it and would never forgive Angel for asking him to.
“Look, Lorne. I had a vision that led me out here. I thought Kate was in trouble. But it’s Cameron,” he said, pointing to her. “Drusilla wants her for something and the prophecy that says what’s going on is missing. So please let her sing to you.”
“Sing?” Cameron stepped forward. “I have to sing?”
Lorne gave her one look. He knew immediately that Angel would go above and beyond with this one. “Come here, sweetie,” he told her, waving her to him.
Cameron looked over at Angel who nodded at her. She took a deep breath and sat down in the chair Lorne gave to her.
“I feel like I’m the only sober one here,” House said. “And that really sucks.”
Wilson sat down on a couch and looked up at his friend. “Lorne’s a seer. They call him the Host.”
“Because of his lavish dinner parties?” House said with big eyes.
Wilson stared at him. House’s ability to never be without a snide comment, even in the scariest of situations was a wonder to him.
Kate finished explaining. “He can read auras. He can guide you in the right direction.”
“But he has to hear you sing.” Faith said with a chuckle. She was glad her future never needed a reading. She would rather get her own stake in her heart then sing in front of anyone.
Angel knelt in front of Cameron. His eyes were deep and caring. “Just pick anything to sing and he can help.”
She began singing “Pretty Woman.” Once she got to the chorus, Lorne stopped her. “That’s enough, cherry pie.”
Angel pulled him aside. “What is it, Lorne?”
“Well, my head didn’t almost explode this time, so we’re doing better than before,” Lorne said, recalling his last reading of Cordelia before she died.
Angel just stared at him until he kept talking. “I don’t know a lot, Angel. I do know that Drusilla wants her dead but in the fangy sense.”
“She wants to turn her into a vampire?” Angel said. He had figured she was a sacrifice for something bigger. He was finally starting to realize that Cameron might actually be the something bigger.
Lorne put his hands out. “I’m sorry, Angel. Something’s coming, but I’m out of my league here.”
“This is how you people solve problems? If you were doctors, all your patients would be dead by now.” House looked at them smugly.
Lorne glanced at him for the first time. “He knows more than he’s telling.”
The hairs on Angel’s neck stood up. He fists clamped tight. “What?” he asked Lorne, never taking his eyes of House.
Lorne shook his head. “He’s nervous. I can feel it. But he’d have to sing.”
“Forget it, Kermit.” House gripped his cane.
Cameron saw that Angel was about to go at him and she stayed him with a hand. “House if you know something that could help me-that could help them, you have to do it.”
House rolled his eyes. He began singing a Rolling Stones song.
Lorne’s eyes went wide. “He’s a seer, Angel.”
Wilson nearly fell over. “What!”
Lorne kept talking. “He doesn’t have visions like you, strudel. He sees. Like Drusilla.”
Angry heat rushed up Cameron’s back. “You saw something and didn’t say anything? How could you do that to me?”
House sat down on the couch. “I don’t see things. I had a dream that you died in front of me, but that was it.”
Lorne walked over to him, his hand in his finely tailored pocket. “Sorry, pancake. You see all right. And it scares you.”
Cameron’s brow furrowed. “House, is that how you solve so many cases? Do you see it?”
He shifted his weight. He didn’t want to believe it to be true. He believed in reason and making his own destiny. But he couldn’t help recalling his dream about that soldier and his dream of Cameron. “That’s ridiculous. Besides, even if it was true, all I saw was fire and a full moon.”
“And Cameron dying,” Faith said.
“A full moon?” Angel repeated. He really had the urge to punch this guy. He assumed he wasn’t the first. “Dru keeps mentioning the full moon. And you didn’t think it was important!”
“There’s no need to be snippy,” House said, wrinkling his nose.
Angel growled. “I’m going to do a hell of a lot more than snip.”
“Whoa, Tex,” Lorne said, putting his hand on Angel’s shoulder. “You’ve got more important things to do.”
“Like what?”
Lorne looked at Angel with his kind yet worried red eyes. “Like look up old friends. It’s your last chance for some sort of an answer.”
Angel looked confused. “I have old friends?”
…………………………………………..
Cuddy sat in the security room, anxious for an answer. She had always hated to feel unproductive or useless. She needed to help.
Taking a deep breath, she pressed play on the VCR. She had no idea what she was about to see and she couldn’t even imagine.
She watched as Wilson left that morning, briefcase in one hand, the other hand smoothing down his hair. She laughed softly at his vanity. She fast forwarded for what felt like hours of inactivity at his door.
And then she saw it.
“Oh my-"
She wasn’t sure if she would laugh, cry, or faint.
In puzzled terror, she watched Foreman slip a key into the door, go inside, and come out with a folder in his hand.
TBC