RATING:PG
CONTENT:My plans for the future..and asking for beta readers
SUMMARY:Archive fic...yadda, yadda, yadda. It's actually connected to one of my other archive fics..Stupid Is As Stupid Does...All you need to know about that one is that Angel was mad at me for writing Pieces.
DISCLAIMER:I don't own any of the characters or their quirks. Joss Whedon, the WB and Fox do.

Caffeinated

Rebecca swigged down the last sip of her fourth cup of coffee, then bouncing out of her seat, began to shimmy and gyrate around the room to Jonny Lang's *Lie To Me*. A low chuckle broke through her caffeine induced dance frenzy. She whirled to meet the sound, and her searching eyes found the figure of Angel slouching in the doorway.

"I thought I locked that thing," Rebecca muttered.

"You did," Angel answered, nonchalantly studying his fingernails. "I picked it."

"Well, come in I guess," Rebecca said disdainfully.

"Ahh..that's the kind of enthusiastic welcome I love to get," Angel sneered as he came in.

"Excuse me?" Rebecca answered, her voice rising in pitch. "You have ignored me since January, and now you expect me to welcome you with open arms. Why are you here anyway?"

"Well I heard that you finished THAT story..so I thought I would give you a chance to apologize for the whole mess, and then I would forgive you," Angel explained.

"You want me to apologize?" Rebecca asked, her eyebrows shooting up in disbelief.

"Well yeah, seeing as how you started it," Angel answered. Rebecca crossed her arms in front of her chest, her mouth set in a stubborn frown.

"I'm not apologizing. What I did was NOTHING compared with what Joss did to you."

"Hmmm," Angel said thoughtfully. "That's true I suppose. But you shouldn't have added to my pain. This has been a traumatic season for me."

"Sure, fine, whatever. Can we move on to something else now...if not, you can show yourself to the door." Angel held his hands up soothingly.

"Don't get your panties in a knot," he said. She gave him a glare that said, *I'm not wearing any panties,* and he swallowed nervously. "I did like *Hell*," he said cautiously, extending the compliment as a peace offering. Rebecca beamed at him, her finger happily drumming a rhythm on the side of her leg.

"Thanks..." she said excitedly. "I thought you would. Cause I know how you like to be introspective and brood and..."

"I don't brood ALL the time," Angel protested.

"The important thing is..YOU believe that, " Rebecca said sweetly, now bouncing on the tips of her toes.

"Hey I may brood..but at least I'm not the sappy one," Angel accused. Rebeccca pouted a little, tapping her foot anxiously against the floor.

"Well I don't think you should judge me," she whined. "I mean, just because I felt like being sappy, and I needed to do it because of all the horrible things that Joss has done and..."

"What the hell was in that coffee?" Angel asked, cutting her off mid-sentence. Her constant boucing and fidgeting was driving him crazy.

"Um...sugar?" Rebecca answered. "Want some?"

"Why not?" Angel answered, taking the cup she poured. She began to pour another for herself, but he stopped her. "I don't think you should." Her mouth formed a pout, but then she shrugged.

"Ok." she watched as Angel took a sip of the coffee.

"Seems normal enough," he said.

"So did you come here for coffee?" Rebecca asked. "Or friendly banter? Or was there an ulterior motive?"

"I just thought I'd spend a little time with my good friend..." he began. He paused when he noticed the skeptical glare Rebecca skewered him with. "Ok, so I wanted to know what you're doing next...what ARE you doing next?"

Rebecca's mood immediately lightened, and she rushed over to the computer. Angel watched in amazement as she clicked and dragged and copied and pasted frantically.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked.

"I'm..." she hesitated suddenly. "Well, I was doing something I just can't remember.."

"What're you planning to do next?" Angel asked again gently, as if speaking to a retarded 5 year old.

"Oh..I'm going to write a sequel to The Morning After," Rebecca answered cheerfully.

"You mean you're continuing the Sighing Game Series?" he asked, drumming his fingers on the desk.

"Yeah.." Rebecca answered. "It's set in an alternate Buffy-verse you know...so I won't have to deal with all the mess Joss created. And besides some people did ask for one." She picked up a pencil, and twirled it around her fingers as she spoke, until her hand slipped and it went flying across the room.

"You're just going to pick up where you left off?" he asked, after the pencil had landed.

"That would be the part where you and Buffy are in bed," Rebecca confirmed. Angel blushed.

"So when are you going to do this?" he asked, starting to bounce anxiously up and down.

"Oh..soon. I'm going to start writing it right away. Write, right," Rebecca giggled suddenly. "Write, right, get it?" Angel nodded, not cracking a smile. "But I need a few good Beta-readers," Rebecca continued, pulling herself back on topic. "You wouldn't happen to want to?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"You know I can't spell worth a crap," Angel answered.

"Oh yeah, " Rebecca said, hopping up as *Good Morning Little School Girl* started to play. "Want to dance?"

Angel shook his head, no, but found his foot was still tapping. He shrugged.

"Ok." He grabbed Rebecca's hand and they began to do a little dance. "How much sugar did you say was in the coffee?" he asked.

end