~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 11~
The drive to Westheimer and Richmond was done in tense silence. Once they reached a secluded spot near the intersection, they parked and headed towards the alley.
As luck would have it, they were too late. Faith noticed the last demon entering the alley. They were easily 6'5" tall with yellowish skin that looked incredibly thick. The razor sharp teeth didn't make her feel any better about entering that alley, either.
They ran as a group to the alley and stopped in their tracks as they entered.
"Are you sure SHE'S the one that needs help, Lindsey?" Gunn asked as he watched the beautiful young woman deliver a spinning side kick that sent one demon 15 feet down the alley to land in front of Faith where she quickly decapitated it.
"Okay, now I feel cheap." The slayer mumbled. "I'm getting in on this action." She stated soundly and ran towards the remaining demons and the woman, with Lindsey following closely. "Holy shit!" She screamed when she got close enough to get a good look.
The young woman, no more than a couple of years older than Willow looked up at the new voice. "Faith!" she yelled happily. "I'd hug you, but I kinda got my hands full." She continued as she delivered a backward punch with her elbow to the demon behind her, and using the momentum to punch the demon approaching her.
By the time Willow and Gunn got there, Faith, Lindsey, and the young woman had already killed 3 more Gredanius demons. Willow saw the unknown warrior, and said, "Oh my God!"
"Not now, Will!" The female calmly told the witch.
The group soon dispatched every one of the demons. Everyone took a moment to catch their breaths before Faith and Willow ran to hug the woman that fought with them. Lindsey just stood there staring in awe at this beautiful creature that dispatched at least 3 of the demons on her own.
"I don't believe it!!" The redhead said happily. "What are you doing here?"
"Did you honestly think I'd stay with the queen of selfish whiny brats and let you two get to have all of the fun?" The woman replied. The blue-eyed Texan chuckled. He knew he was going to like her sense of humor. Her almost amber colored eyes met his when she heard him laugh.
"We should've known you'd want in on us leaving." Faith answered this time. The obvious friend of the slayer and the witch quickly looked at the brunette slayer that was now speaking. "Sorry." Faith finished.
"You're forgiven." She replied. "So, how'd you guys know I was here? Not that I'm not grateful for the help, but I could've taken on these things myself."
"Quick question." Gunn said before walking into the middle of the three women. "Who are you?"
"Oh my gosh!" Willow said, suddenly remembering that the men had no clue who their friend was. "I'm so sorry, guys." She gestured to the woman. "This is Eliana. She's a slayer." Gunn waved and Lindsey just continued to stare. "Eli, meet Charles Gunn and Lindsey McDonald." Eliana waved and smiled.
"That would explain the kicking ass part." Gunn noted. "But, if she could take on those demons without us, why did Lindsey have a vision?"
"Maybe because we were supposed to find her." Willow suggested after a second of thought.
"That could be true." Eliana agreed. "I was actually looking for you guys. I thought maybe you had room for one more." She said hopefully.
"Of course we do, Eli!" Willow said and hugged the new slayer once again.
"Let's get back so we can clean up and show you the place." Faith suggested as she took Eliana's arm and headed towards the car.
"Um, I brought my own car, Faith." She told the younger woman.
"I'll ride with you." Lindsey said a little too quickly. He realized this and added. "In case you lose us in traffic."
"Riiight." Faith said. "I'll go with you guys so we can catch up!"
"Uh, why don't you let me go with them?" Willow asked as she saw the look of fright on Lindsey's face. He knew the brunette slayer would tease him to no end about his attraction to Eliana. "That way, I can explain to Eli what she's getting into with us."
"Sounds like a plan." Eli replied. "I'll go and get the rest of my stuff from the hotel later." The group walked towards the respective cars.
"Thanks Will." Lindsey mouthed to the redhead. She smiled knowingly and put her arm around his waist briefly.
On the drive home, Lindsey sat in the back seat, while the two women sat up front in the modest, silver 2003 Dodge.
"So, does everyone in this little group have something supernatural about them?" Eliana asked after Willow gave general directions.
"No, not all of us." Willow replied. "Lindsey didn't until just recently. And Gunn never has."
"Wow, that's pretty impressive." Eli replied. "Fighting the good fight just because. I like it. I want the full story on everyone. You guys seem so interesting." She said as she looked in her rearview mirror at the handsome man in the back seat and let her eyes linger on his cerulean blue orbs.
The lawyer smiled without even realizing it.
Meanwhile, in the other vehicle.
"Oh, man, he is so hooked!" Faith said laughing.
"I thought he was going to propose marriage before we even knew her name!" Gunn replied laughing.
"Well, I guess you've got to envy that." Faith said. "He knows what he wants and she may actually take him seriously and start something."
"You don't think I take you seriously?" Gunn asked, slightly hurt.
"How did this become about us?" Faith asked.
"I need to know that you're sure you want this, that's all." Gunn replied. "I don't want to be something to do because you're bored, Faith."
"You think I'd do that to you?" The slayer answered. "With OUR living conditions?"
"I know your rep. I know you don't like to stick around for the long haul." Gunn answered. They stopped at a red light. He turned and looked at her. "And the long haul is what I'd want from you."
"So, are you saying that.? What are you saying?" She asked with both hope and fear.
"Are you in it for the long haul?"
"I am." She replied sincerely.
"So, we're a couple now?" He asked just to be sure.
"I'm going with yes." The beautiful brunette replied as she quickly leaned over to kiss him. The light turned green, but neither occupant of the car noticed.
~Part: 12~
"Nice digs." Eli said as they approached the electric gate to their home. "I definitely wasn't expecting this."
"Yeah, these guys really did a great job." Willow said. "When we got here, I had to use magic to get us past the security system and to the house. Then, the motion sensors caught our movement anyway."
"Pretty high tech for a century old and two-century old vampire." Eliana responded.
"Well, Gwen helped." Willow explained. "Gwen is a thief and a very good one. She also has electricity flowing through her body. If she touches you without gloves, look out."
"I'll be sure to steer clear." Eli said with a chuckle. "Does she live here, too?"
"Not permanently." Lindsey replied as Willow punched in the code for the gate to open. "She does have a room here for when she stops by to stay with us or help us. That'll be your room until we can get a room of your own set up for you."
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
They pulled into a parking spot and met up with the happy couple.
"You ever think maybe you could wait until we get home so you two could to play tonsil hockey privately?" Willow asked Gunn and Faith.
"Oh.shut up Red." Faith said after not thinking of a good comeback.
"Oh. My." Eli said as she walked closer to her fellow slayer. "Hell just froze over. Faith is actually blushing!" She finished with a laugh.
Just then, the door opened. "I'm guessing everything went okay and you saved the girl." A voice behind the door said. The group walked inside so the vampire could shut the door.
"Actually, the girl didn't need saving." Gunn told his friend. Spike looked a bit confused.
"Spike, this is Eliana." Willow told her boyfriend as he put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. He felt a tingle at the back of his neck.
"A slayer?" Spike asked.
"Yep," Faith confirmed. "She used to live with our group."
"Well, any non blonde slayer that's a friend of Red's is a friend of mine." Spike said as he shook Eli's hand.
There were a few chuckles as Angel walked into the front room. "Everything go okay?" He asked.
"Great." Willow answered with a smile. "We have a new addition to the team." She moved aside so Angel could see their new roommate.
Chocolate eyes widened in appreciation as he looked over the woman standing before him. She was at least 5'8, with beautiful soft-looking mocha skin, expressive, almost amber colored eyes, dark brown hair just past her shoulders and she looked like she worked out. Her form-fitting pants and t-shirt allowed the vampire to appreciate her long legs and shapely figure.
"A-hem." Gunn loudly cleared his throat so the vampire could stop ogling their new friend. He saw the look on Lindsey's face and knew the Native Texan wouldn't allow the vampire to go after the woman he'd already felt a connection with. Not again. The throat clearing did not help in time because soon the brooding vampire had flown across the room and into the den area.
Everyone stared at Angel in shock as he sat up wondering what had happened. Soon, realization dawned on everyone, except Eliana, what had just happened.
"Oops?" Lindsey said, slightly embarrassed, but still amused.
"Okay, that's it." Willow said, obviously irritated. "Everyone who was in the fight on Westheimer, go get cleaned up. Faith, show Eli to her temporary room and we'll all meet in the kitchen in half an hour. Eli, I'll bring you something to wear."
"O-kay." The new slayer replied and followed everyone upstairs.
"You." She pointed to Angel who had stood up and was heading back towards her and Spike. "No more ogling my friends." She then pointed to Spike. "And you: no more laughing. Now, I'm going to go and get cleaned up. You two behave. And see if you can find Illyria so she won't be shocked to see someone new here and think Eli's an enemy."
With that, the redhead turned and went upstairs leaving the two vampires speechless.
~Part: 13~
Less than half an hour after Willow ordered everyone to get changed, she knocked on the door to Eliana's temporary room. The woman quickly answered, knowing who it was.
"Well, if it isn't Miss Take Charge." Eli joked. She had on one of Faith's bathrobes.
The redhead blushed. "Oh cut it out." The witch answered smiling as she entered the room.
"Honestly, it suits you." Eliana stated. "No offense meant towards Buffy, but you're smarter and more powerful. It just makes sense that you should lead."
"You didn't know me when I had no self confidence whatsoever." Willow told her friend.
"I would've seen the inner strength." Eli replied confidently. "You're a good person, Willow, even after coming back from all of that darkness." She sat on the bed. "No one else could've come back from that. Trust me when I say that I'll have no problem following your lead."
Willow looked at Eli with eyes shining. "That's so sweet." She said as they shared a quick hug. "Thank you." The hacker wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Oh! The reason I'm here." She reached over and picked up a pair of jeans and a tank top.
"Thanks Will." Eli said smiling.
"Not a problem." Willow replied. "I'll let you get dressed and then we can deal with the idiot cavemen."
"Yeah, what the hell happened?"
"Lindsey hasn't learned to control his powers yet." The redhead replied with a smirk.
"Lindsey did that?" Eli asked in shock. "Holy shit! I had no idea he was that powerful." She picked up the shirt and jeans, and stepped just inside the bathroom, leaving the door ajar. "It doesn't hurt that he's a complete hottie, too." She added with a mischievous smile. "So, he and Angel hate one another so much that he can't control throwing him a good ten feet just because they're in the same room? I thought your new boyfriend was the one that couldn't stand Angel."
"Honey, I know you're a slayer with preternatural powers and everything, but, are you blind?" Willow asked as Eli walked back into the bedroom fully clothed. She looked thoroughly confused at Willow's question. "Lindsey is completely infatuated with you. He didn't like the way Angel was staring at you like a piece of meat."
"When did this happen?" Eliana asked. "Where was I?"
"In your own little world, apparently." Faith said as she entered the room. "Why do you think Willow got so pissed off?"
"First of all, I didn't want my friend being ogled." The hacker stated. "Second, I didn't want them to start going all caveman just to see who'd get the girl."
"Yeah, and from what I hear, Lindsey had fallen for Darla, hard, and Angel ended up sleeping with her while he still had his soul." Faith said.
"Add to that, the fact that Angel had sex with Eve, the most recent ex, and Lindsey just recently found out about that." Willow added. "Of course, in his defense, it was a hypnotic suggestion from Lorne, and Angel had no clue Lindsey was involved with Eve."
"But, still," Faith reminded. "To have Mr. Broody-pants all but scream that he was going to try and go after you couldn't have made Lindsey a happy little Texan."
"Okay, fine." Eli conceded. "Whatever you say. I want to know who this Lorne guy is, and what's everyone's story? How did you and Spike hook up? You guys look so cute together. And Gunn is a serious hottie, Faith! If you dump him after you get what you want, I'll beat the crap out of you. Remember, I knew martial arts before I became a slayer."
"Not to worry, E." Faith replied. "I know what I've got. And I'm in it for the long haul." She said smiling as she remembered her conversation with the handsome insta-lawyer.
"And Spike and I are taking things slow." Willow said. "We just admitted our feelings, so we're going to actually date first and see if the feelings continue." She paused and got a mischievous grin on her face. "He IS a chunk of salty goodness, isn't he?" the other two women laughed just as knocking began on the door.
"You ladies ready to head down?" Gunn asked through the door. Faith opened it.
"You bet." She replied and stole a quick kiss from his lips. "Why are you in such a hurry to get down there?" She asked suspiciously.
"Well, for Angel's own good, for starters." Gunn answered.
"Excuse me?" Willow asked.
"Are we forgetting that Lindsey still has a downstairs bedroom and I'm sure it doesn't take him as long to get showered and changed as you all." The demon hunter pointed out.
"That could be bad, right?" Eli asked cautiously as she remembered the Irish vampire being thrown across the room.
"Shit." Willow said quietly, angry at herself for not remembering that bit of information.
"Hey! Language!" Eliana said mockingly.
"Oh, like you and Faith aren't running neck and neck for the dirtiest mouth!" The witch retorted. The group laughed as they headed towards the stairs
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Angel and Spike were talking to Illyria.
"So, you see, she's one of us now." Angel was saying. "Not an enemy."
"I understand, Angel. I am not an imbecile." Illyria stated in her annoyed monotone voice.
"Don't worry, Blue." Spike continued as his grand-sire glared at the former god-king. "She seems pretty nice and easy to get along with."
"I will be the judge of that." Illyria replied.
"Please, by all means, judge me." Eli said as she walked cautiously to Illyria. "My name is Eliana."
"Eliana." Illyria considered. "It means answered prayer."
"Yes." Eli said, surprised that someone knew the meaning of her name.
"That's beautiful." Lindsey said from the opposite entrance of the room. Eli smiled at him before returning her gaze to Illyria.
"I wish you no harm. I want to help here." The newest slayer finished.
"I can sense that you do not wish me harm. I will be honored to fight by your side, Eliana." Illyria said, once again surprising everyone.
"Everyone calls me Eli. You're more than welcome to do the same." She said with a smile.
"Thank you." Illyria replied, touched by the friendliness of this creature that did not know her, but trusted her just the same. "You are also a warrior, like Faith." The statement was made as she sensed the power in the newest addition to the team.
"Yes." Eli replied with a smile.
"I cannot wait to see you in battle." Illyria stated, as she turned and went on another exploration of the outside world.
"I'm guessing that went good, right?" Eli asked.
"I think she likes you." Willow said.
"Yeah, she didn't try to kill you. It's a start." Spike added as he put an arm around Willow.
"Okay everybody," Willow announced. "Let's hit the den and get comfortable. We've got some stories to tell."
The group followed their leader into the den to begin the story of everyone's lives and how they ended up in Houston, Texas.
~Part: 14~
Willow allowed neither Angel nor Lindsey to sit near Eli when they reached the den. Spike sat on one sofa facing the television and pulled Willow to sit beside him. Willow, in turn, pulled Eli to sit next to her while she pointed to chairs on opposite sides of the room for Lindsey and Angel to sit. Faith and Gunn sat on the other sofa and snuggled up. Eli sat with her knees folded to the side as she faced Willow.
Once the story of the group was retold by Willow, with both Lindsey and Angel staring at Eli the entire time, except for when the redhead mentioned one of them, then the two men would glare at one another. Spike sat with his arm around Willow smirking at the entire exchange. Faith and Gunn were in their own little world, while Eliana sat riveted by all of the events that had taken place with this group in the past few years, only stopping Willow to ask relevant questions.
"I can't even begin to understand what you all went through." Eli said in awe after Willow finished speaking.
"You want a beer?" Spike asked.
"God, yes." She answered gratefully. Spike stood and headed towards the kitchen.
"Red?" He asked.
"Beer sounds good." She replied.
Gunn stood. "I could use one myself." He said as he looked at Faith. "How about you?"
"I think I'll pass." Faith replied. "I may not want just one and I want to patrol with Eli tonight. But, a soda would be great." Gunn nodded and looked at Lindsey and Angel.
"Hey guys: beer? Water? Soda? O neg?" Gunn asked.
"I'll take a beer." Lindsey said. "Are you sure you don't need help?"
"Nope, I got it." Gunn replied. "Angel?"
"Nah, I'm good." Angel replied, deep in thought. Gunn shrugged and headed to the kitchen. Some of the things Willow said when telling the tale of the group really struck a nerve. She pulled bits and pieces from everyone's memories to make the story as accurate and non-biased as possible. One of the memories she pulled from him was something he told Wesley after Wolfram and Hart hired Faith to try and kill him, and in the process, she tortured the ex-watcher.
*******Flashback******
"It wasn't long ago that you were the one making the case for her rehabilitation." Angel argued with Wesley.
"It wasn't too long ago I had full feeling in my right arm." Wesley replied. "There's evil in that girl, Angel." He stated. "You set her free, she'll kill again."
The watcher walked out leaving Angel and Cordelia in the office.
"He'll come around." The vampire said.
"Sure," Cordy replied. "People always get a little funny right after they've been sadistically tortured. Well, you'd know." She hands Angel the ledger. "Sign here."
"We can't just arbitrarily decide whose soul is worth saving and whose isn't." He told the former May Queen.
********End Flashback********
Angel shifted in his seat. Isn't that what he'd done when he'd ordered Lorne to kill Lindsey? Now, he felt like a complete hypocrite. Not to mention the fact that he never gave Lindsey a real chance to prove himself when they stopped Vanessa Brewer from killing the blind children just a few weeks later. Oh, this didn't change how he felt about the lawyer. He still hated him. But, just knowing that he completely went against what he believed in because he began to blur the lines of good and evil at W&H. He realized he let his dislike of Lindsey cloud his judgment. He definitely had a lot of thinking to do. And, damn it, he was going to have to apologize to the little twirp.
"You okay, man?" Gunn asked as he returned with Spike and their drinks.
"Yeah. I'm good." Angel answered almost automatically before going back to his thoughts.
Spike returned to his seat next to Willow and handed Eli her beer, which she gratefully accepted. Fortunately for the brooding vampire, Lindsey was focused on Eli during his internal berating of himself, or the lawyer with his newly acquire powers probably would've known what he was thinking.
"So, are you beginning to see why everyone hates me?" Lindsey asked the beautiful mocha skinned woman.
"Not everyone hates you, Lindsey." She replied. "Well, maybe him." She gestured to Angel who was still lost in thought. "And no, I don't hate you. Why would I? You didn't do anything to hurt me and you're sorry for everything you did to my friends when you were pseudo evil, right?" He nodded eagerly. "So, why should I hate you?"
He shrugged. "It's really not that hard to do." He answered.
"No more negativity when I'm around, got it?" She ordered good-naturedly as she stood and walked over to his chair to sit on the arm.
"Got it." He replied in mock salute.
"Besides," she whispered. "It's kind of difficult to hate someone you're really interested in." She stood and went back to her original seat. Lindsey looked at her, his cerulean blue eyes bright and hopeful.
"In me?" He asked. She just continued to smile before giving a nod of her head as everyone got settled.
Meanwhile, here are Willow and Spike.
"So, what do you think of dinner tomorrow night?" Spike asked her quietly before she looked up at him. "Or a movie?" He sounded unsure of himself when the witch looked at him.
"I think either one would be wonderful." She stated and gave the most beautiful smile the vampire had ever seen. "Why not dinner and long walk? That way we can talk and you can tell me everything there is to know about you. The real you."
"You sure you want that information, luv?" He asked, remembering William the Bloody Awful poet.
"Absolutely." The redhead said before placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Now let's get this little meeting over with so we can go discuss this further. In private." She emphasized the last two words. Spike's eyes lit up, and he quickly began trying to get everyone's attention.
"Hey Charlie, slayer, come up for air. We're going to hear the new slayer's story now." Faith and Gunn stopped kissing, and once again, the brunette slayer blushed.
"Oh! She's doing it again!" Eli pointed at her fellow slayer.
"Faith, are you blushing?" Lindsey asked playfully.
"Never thought I'd see the day." Spike added to the fun.
Faith smiled and happily flipped off everyone who mentioned her less than warrior-like behavior.
"Angel?" Willow tried to get his attention. "Angel." She said a little louder. Spike stood and walked over to his grand sire's chair.
"OY!" the native Londoner screamed. Angel jumped and looked towards the source of the scream as Spike smiled politely at him.
"Damn it, Spike!" he yelled. "What the hell was THAT for?"
"Well, Red here has been trying to get your attention for the last ten minutes, mate." Spike replied as innocently as possible. "I was just trying to help her."
Angel looked at Willow.
"Well, not ten minutes." The hacker admitted. Spike sat down next to her once again. "Are you okay, Angel?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking." He answered. Everyone just looked at him with confused looks on their faces. "What?"
"Nothing." Gunn said quickly. "We were just getting to Eli's story of why she showed up here."
"Oh," Angel replied. He looked at Eliana. "Sorry."
"No worries." She said sincerely. "Okay, where to begin?"
"What kind of life did you have before you became a slayer?" Lindsey asked.
"The usual. Sort of." She answered. "I had a job I loved, and enjoyed being at work because my boss rocked. He was so much fun. Anyway, I didn't go out much, maybe a couple of nights a month, when my friends told me I was being a hermit again. I actually like sitting at home and watching TV or movies. I was taking Martial Arts lessons from a very nice group of people, because Bruce Lee was amazing to me. And then I was called. I never saw any vampires in Austin, Texas. Before I had the chance to, Willow and Faith were among the ones that found me and told me what I was. They took me patrolling one night after making sure I could handle it, and I dusted 4 vamps that first night. It was so strange knowing that they were right there in my city and I never knew they existed."
"Join the club." Willow stated. "Try having that experience when you're 15."
"Point taken." She replied. "I'm glad I was 27 instead. Trust me. Anyway, I knew I needed to go where the training was and I gave my two weeks notice at work."
"What kind of work did you do?" Gunn asked.
"Production. I voiced and put together commercials for a group of radio stations. My boss and I would recite old school rap lyrics one day, and classic rock lyrics the next. I loved what I did, and maybe I can get a job here doing something similar to help pay the bills. Although I'm pretty sure my boss won't be as cool." Eli said with a hint of nostalgia. "Oh well, anyway, I'm happy being a slayer. I get to help people. That's all that matters now."
"So, why did you REALLY decide to leave Europe?" Angel asked.
"Your ex is a self-centered bitch who thinks the universe should revolve around her." Eliana answered truthfully. "She didn't care what happened to anyone anymore, as long as everyone was focused on her. She didn't care that your friend Fred was dying. She didn't care that your other friend Wesley died in battle. It was a sad thing to see. So, I decided that I wanted to go where the people that still cared about stopping evil were going. And I asked a buddy of mine, who happens to be a little psychic, to help me out. The best he could do was tell me Will and Faith were in Houston. And the rest, you know."
"Okay," Spike announced as he rubbed his hands together. "Great story! Are we all done?"
"Got somewhere to be, Spike?" Eli asked playfully, knowing that he wanted to be alone with the redhead. Before the newly brunette vampire could answer, the slayer continued. "Go ahead. We're done here. I need to head to the hotel and pick up my things."
"You want some company?" Lindsey asked.
"You bet." She replied with a sexy smirk. Lindsey thought he'd lose the use of his legs if she smiled at him like that again.
Angel looked at Eliana, and then at Lindsey. {Damn it. He gets the girl, too?} The vampire thought. Lindsey just smiled at him and followed Eli to the front door.
"See you guys in a few!" She called out.
~Part: 15~
~Part: 15~
Angel stood and headed to the workout room. He needed to let off some steam. He couldn't believe how horrible he'd become in the clutches of Wolfram and Hart. And, of course, Willow being right about him thinking he had the power to dictate that Lindsey needed to die was dead on. He had no right to make that decision and he knew it. He betrayed someone who was willing to fight the forces of evil. Even the Powers That Be had a say in how wrong he was, by bringing Lindsey back to life. The vampire sighed. Doing the right thing won out over his ego. He decided he would apologize to both Willow and Lindsey, along with everyone else. With that idea in mind, he started his workout.
~~~*~~~
"Finally!" Spike said with blatant relief in his voice once everyone had gone their separate ways.
"Why, William," Willow said in a mock shyly playful voice. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to get me alone."
"And what's so wrong with that, my pet?" He asked in his deep, sexy voice as he stalked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Oh, absolutely nothing." She replied matter-of-factly. "I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page." She finished with a smile.
"Why, you little minx!" He replied and threw her over his shoulder as he headed towards the stairs.
Lindsey and Eli decided to take Eli's car to the hotel. The two got in and began the drive.
"So, were you just messing with me back there?" Lindsey asked his love interest.
"Messing with you about what?" She replied, clueless.
"Are you really interested in me?" The lawyer asked. He was suddenly unsure of himself.
"You can read minds, right?" He nodded. "Concentrate." She softly commanded as she continued to drive. Lindsey did as instructed. "Now, what do you see?"
"Wow." He replied, at a loss for any other words. She smiled and kept her eyes on the road. "So, this really isn't a one-sided obsession thing?"
"I'm afraid not, Mr. McDonald." She replied. "You're stuck with me." She turned to look at him. It was Eliana's turn to be insecure. "Unless you don't want to be. Then, things just got really awkward, didn't they?"
"I can't believe you could even think that." Lindsey told the slayer. "I've been stupid behind you since I saw you in my vision. So, don't ever think that way again." The car slowed to a stop. "Is that clear?"
"We're here." Eli stated, instead of answering the question. She reached for the door.
"Eliana." He said in a voice that caused shivers to go down her spine. She turned to look at him. "Is. That. Clear?"
"Crystal." She replied. They stared into one another's eyes for what seemed like days: amber brown meeting stormy blue. "We'd better get my things."
And with that the spell was broken. She opened the driver side door and got out of the car. Lindsey was taken aback at first, but then just smiled his 'good ole boy' smile. She knocked on the window. He looked up at her.
"Are you going to help me or not?" she asked innocently. At that moment he knew he was in for it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike was in heaven. Or, as close to heaven as he could've ever imagined. He and Willow were in her bedroom making out like a couple of hormonally challenged teenagers.
And he loved it.
He knew he'd already fallen for this redheaded goddess. But, they had decided to take things slowly. With that in mind, he knew that he couldn't tell her that he was helplessly and hopelessly in love with her. That wasn't exactly a slow speed since their first date wasn't until tomorrow.
He contented himself with thoughts of how they would spend the evening, alternating between snogging shamelessly in public and having actual conversations.
Willow ran her fingers through his dark, curly hair. It was soft, and she loved the way his bright blue eyes contrasted with the dark color. She still couldn't believe she was actually kissing Spike. SPIKE!
The witch giggled and the vampire of her thoughts pulled away.
"What's funny?" He asked with an amused look.
"Honestly?" she asked. He nodded anxiously. "I'm kissing and doing some seriously heavy petting with the same guy who threatened to shove a bottle in my face." He looked at her in awe.
"I would love to know how your mind works." Then, he thought about it. "Or better yet, why it was working at all. Shouldn't you be enthralled in my kisses by now?"
"Nice ego, William." Willow replied. He arched an eyebrow, as if waiting for her to explain. "I WAS enthralled. Really big with the whole being.enthralled.thing." She sat up. "And then I started thinking how wonderful everything is whenever I'm in your arms, which led to the fact that those are the same arms that were going to shove a bottle through my face and into my brain, if I remember correctly."
"So, you're not comfortable with.us?" He asked, waiting for her to drop the bombshell that she couldn't be with him because of what he'd done in the past.
"Actually," she leaned into his embrace once again, which took him by surprise, to say the least. "I'm extremely comfortable with us. It's even more than that. It's more of a feeling of belonging. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, I suppose it does." He replied with a smile once again firmly planted on his striking features.
"And, don't think I don't know what you were thinking, mister!" She added. He looked at her innocently. "And that fake innocent look doesn't work on me. You thought I was going to say that I couldn't handle your past as a soulless vampire killing for over a century." She sat up once again and looked him in the eyes. "Did you forget that I tried to end the world? Do stories of black hair and a veiny face mean anything to you?"
"I just keep thinking I'm going to wake up and realize that you being here, with me, was all a dream." Spike said softly as his fingers lightly brushed across her cheek.
"Never." The hacker stated. "I love being here with you, William."
"Same here, Willow." Spike replied. "Same here."
~Part: 16~
After his workout, Angel went upstairs to shower. He'd decided he'd get cleaned up and maybe take everyone to dinner later to make up for his behavior. He was just hoping they'd be as forgiving as he was forthcoming with the apology.
The Irish vampire turned off the shower and put a towel around his waist. He took another towel and started to dry his hair. While his head was buried in the towel, his other towel was ripped from his body. The vampire screamed in surprise.
"For a vampire, you really do scream like a girl."
"Gwen!" Angel reprimanded as the beautiful brunette continued to snicker. He grabbed the towel and once again fastened it around his waist. "What are you doing here?" He asked.
"Is that the thanks I get for making sure this place is secure?" The woman with electricity running through her body asked playfully.
"No," Angel elaborated. "What are you doing HERE? In my bedroom?"
"Oh, no one was downstairs." She replied, knowing she hadn't even searched downstairs. She crossed to the bed and sat down. "So where is everyone?"
"Um, could we discussed this downstairs after I'm dressed?" Angel asked.
"You're no fun." She mischievously pouted and stood. "I'll be in the kitchen." She said before walking out of the vampire's bedroom.
Angel just shook his head at her antics.
~~~*~~~
Willow could not get enough of kissing Spike. She was on cloud nine and couldn't imagine ever wanting to be anywhere else. Life was definitely good for her right now. She and the British vampire were in the lounge room with the television on. Of course they weren't watching it, but it's the principle of the thing.
"Well," a female voice said over the sound of the television. "If it isn't William the Bloody locking lips with someone."
"You are so dead, Gwen." Spike said as he pulled away from an embarrassed Willow.
"Riiight." She replied. She then looked at Willow, who had just finished straightening her clothes. "You must be Willow. I've heard a lot about you." The woman said with a smile. "I'm Gwen."
"Hi Gwen." The hacker replied. "It's great meeting you, too. You did such a wonderful job with the security of this place. I'm impressed." She finished, trying to take the other woman's mind off of the scene she walked in on.
"I'll definitely take that as a compliment since I hear you're pretty much a genius." Gwen replied.
"I wouldn't say 'genius'." Willow stated humbly.
"I would." Spike declared. "Now, what do you want, Gwen? Can't you see we're concentrating on a record of the longest snog?"
~~~*~~~
"You travel light." Lindsey told his slayer.
"I'm not materialistic." She replied with a smile as they loaded the car.
"Good to know." He said with a smirk before shutting the lid of the trunk. Eli knew she would continually get lost in this man's amazingly beautiful blue eyes, and his power of telepathic suggestion had nothing to do with it.
"Eliana," he said calmly.
"Hmm?" She asked, still mesmerized by this stunning man.
"Duck." He once again stated calmly. That's when Eli noticed he was no longer looking into her eyes.
She immediately went into slayer mode and went down into a split while Lindsey punched the creature sneaking up behind her. Eli rolled out of the way as the seer delivered a side kick sending the demon into one of its friends.
Eli flipped up and threw a left shuto chop to the demon in front of her and a right back kick to the one behind her, simultaneously. She and Lindsey immediately regrouped.
"Could they have ruined a better moment?" She asked.
"Let's not jinx ourselves." He replied with a sly smile. "We don't want them ruining a better moment."
"True." She agreed before lifting her arm in a bending position and ramming her elbow into a quickly approaching demon behind her.
Lindsey became quickly annoyed with the new demons. "Oh, screw this." He said before closing his eyes and concentrating. Eli watched as the surrounding demons were thrown 20 feet away by a seemingly invisible force.
"Nice going." She said, rather impressed.
"Thanks." He replied.
"Let's go tell the others." The slayer suggested. "It looks like a bit of research is in order."
"And you don't even get to unpack." He added.
"This is probably a little more important." She teased. "So, I guess we'd better head back." She got the keys and opened both doors. "Let's get out of here before they wake up."
"I see we're in for another fun night." Lindsey sarcastically stated as they drove off. Eli laughed. "You know, we've fought evil so much in the past few days that we haven't had time to train."
"Your mind is extremely interesting, Mr. McDonald." Eli said, fascinated by his train of thought. Lindsey just smiled and got comfortable for the drive home.
The two headed back to house not knowing that the demons were now reporting to their master about the new slayer in town.
~Part: 17~
The hand that held the telephone slowly put it back in its cradle. The being sitting in the large desk chair turned in it so it faced the window of the office building. He wondered if this was the slayer that had been responsible for all of the recent demon and vampire killings in Houston.
He'd have to create a situation where the slayer would show herself once again. He had just the plan. He picked up the telephone receiver once again and began to dial.
"Okay, now that I really think about it: that was just weird." Eli said.
"What, you don't have demons coming out of nowhere to attack you all the time?" He asked with a playful hint of sarcasm. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, wait. You do, don't you?" he asked.
"Yep." She said with a chuckle. "But, why *just now*, at the hotel?"
"You think they were up to something?" Lindsey's mind started putting scenarios together.
"Only one way to find out." She replied. "Let's see what the rest of the gang has to say."
"Spike is NOT going to like this." The ex-lawyer stated as he remembered how eager Spike was to be alone with Willow.
"Spike doesn't have a choice." Eliana retorted, and then laughed as she remembered why Spike wouldn't like this. "He is SO not going to like this." The two laughed and made small talk until they got back to the house.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Gwen?" Gunn said from the entrance to the lounge room.
"Hey there." The blue-eyed woman replied. She then noticed Faith. "Hi," she said when she saw the woman holding hands with her former lover. "We haven't met." She walked over to the couple. "I'm Gwen."
Faith wanted to be rude to this beautiful woman. After all, she knew that Gwen and Gunn had spent a night together. However, she could see that the woman that literally radiated electricity did not come to steal Gunn away from her. The brunette slayer put on a smile as she extended her hand in friendship. "Hey, it's good to meet you." The rest of the room let out an audible sigh of relief all at once. Faith looked around in surprise. "What? I'm a grown up. I can do the mature thing!" She said, embarrassed that her friends thought she'd be impolite to the other woman. She then turned her attention back to Gwen. "Sorry about that."
Gwen smiled. "So, we're good?"
"You bet." Faith replied.
"What are you good about?" Angel asked as he entered the lounge room.
"Oh," Faith said with a mischievous grin. "Gwen here slept with Gunn a long time ago after some party and everyone-including Gwen-thought I'd be a bitch when I met her."
"You slept with Gwen?" Angel asked Gunn.
"It was a long time ago, Angel." Gunn said, as if talking to a 2-year-old.
"Why didn't I know about it?" Angel asked.
"Frankly, it was none of your business." Gwen stated.
"I'm sure this is not a comfortable situation for half the room, so why don't we all move on and talk about something else." Willow suggested as Lindsey and Eli entered the house.
"Right," Lindsey agreed. "We could talk about the demons that just attacked us outside of Eli's hotel."
"Looks like I got here just in time." Gwen proclaimed.
"Hey Gwen." Lindsey said as he gave his friend a hug.
"Look at you!" Gwen said rather excitedly. "Last time I saw you, you looked like death!"
"No pun intended." Faith added smiling.
"I can't believe you're up around." Gwen continued. "And you look GOOD!"
"Did you just put that in her head?" Spike asked the ex-lawyer, with a playfully suspicious tone.
"Oh, ha, Spike." Lindsey retorted.
"Wait a minute: He can DO that?" Gwen inquired.
"Yep." Willow said proudly.
"But I really didn't." Lindsey said worriedly, as he looked at Eli. The new slayer just stood there smiling at how Spike had made him nervous so quickly.
"Don't get your skivvies in a bunch, Mac." Spike stated. "I was just giving you a hard time is all."
Gwen looked at Eli. "You are really pretty." She said sincerely.
"You're one to talk." Eli replied. "How do you NOT have every guy on the planet chasing you?"
"I do." Gwen replied matter-of-factly. Everyone looked at the woman, shocked at her ego. "I'm a thief." She finished. Everyone in the group laughed.
"I'm Eliana." The slayer shook hands with the exceptional burglar. "Call me Eli."
"Gwen, in case you didn't catch it when your boy here said it." Gwen replied with a smile.
"How did you.?"
"I'm not blind, Angel." Gwen told the Irish vampire. "Anyone could see the tension between those two."
"Yeah, well, maybe it's a spell, or mind control or something." Angel argued, knowing he was digging a deeper hole for himself, but not wanting Gwen to be attracted to Lindsey. Everyone in the room just acknowledged Angel's behavior with the now expected eye roll.
"Give it a rest, Grandpa." Spike chimed in. "You're making yourself look even more stupid." He paused in thought. "You know, I didn't think it was possible."
"Cut it out, Brit boy." Faith said.
"So, what's up with the party at your hotel?" Willow asked.
"I honestly don't think they were there for us." Eliana stated.
"They surrounded us before we even sensed they were there." Lindsey added.
"So, you guys think they had something else going on and you just happened to be there?" Gunn asked.
"Makes sense." Faith said. "'We're here wreaking a little havoc, and look, there's a slayer! Let's get her!'"
"Definitely plausible." Willow stated.
"So, let's head over there and see what the wankers were up to." Spike suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Gwen agreed.
"Alright, let's go kick some ass." Faith announced.
The group left the building, ready for a spot of violence.
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