Mad Bad & Dangerous To KnowBy DM Evans
We'll sing a victory tune We'll all meet back at the local saloon
We'll raise up our glasses against evil forces
Singing, "Whiskey for my men, beer for my horses."
Beer For My Horses - Toby Keith & Willie Nelson
Somewhere during my research, I had fallen asleep, thanks the exceptionally dry material. It was sunset when I woke up. I could hear deep, even breathing but only from one person. Connor and I must be alone. I got out of my berth then froze. Connor wasn't in his bed. Faith was the one asleep. I looked outside for my son but he wasn't there.
I banged the door open. "Faith, wake up, Connor's gone again."
She sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Damn. Maybe you should put a bell on that boy."
Thankfully, she didn't seem to realize I had nearly panicked."I'm getting ready to chain him to his bed."
Faith rolled out of bed. "Give me a chance to pee and I'll help you find him."
I nodded. Who knew how long Connor had been gone. I should have been more attentive than I was given Connor's mental state. While Faith took care of her business, I paced the RV. It was then I saw a piece of folded paper with my name on it. I read Lindsey's rather flowery handwriting.
Angel
I fell asleep here last night and when I woke up everyone was gone but you and Faith. Connor was awake and restless. There's nothing here for him to do and I didn't want to wake everyone up so he came along with me. Don't worry; he's too young for me to take to the casinos. He'll be in my suite watching cable tv.
Lindsey
What was Lindsey thinking? If Connor lost it, Lindsey could be in danger. Then again Lindsey could be in danger if Wolfram and Hart caught up to them. We were in agreement that the monsters had been sent by them.
"Ready," Faith said, coming out of the bathroom.
I held up the letter. "He's with Lindsey. He woke up with cabin fever."
"Why would Lindsey want anything to do with your kid?"
"Because he's Darla's son, too. Lindsey loved her," I replied. "Let's go see if Connor's actually still there."
"I'll be happy if Deadwood Dick's still standing." Faith smirked. "That sounded really dirty."
"I just consider the source." I smirked back and she slapped my chest hard.
Dick's seemed intact when we got there. Lindsey answered the door quickly. "He's still here?" I asked immediately. Lindsey jerked a thumb over his shoulder. Connor looked drowsy, stretched out on the couch in Lindsey's little suite. A pizza box was open on the floor but not many slices were gone. "How are you doing, Connor?" I asked.
He held a finger to his lips then pointed to the TV.
"He's watching 'The X-Men' movie," Lindsey said. "He's supposed to be eating but he's not making much head way."
"Eat something, Connor," I said then headed into the bedroom portion of the suite for slightly more privacy. Faith and Lindsey followed. "Thanks for looking out for him, Lindsey."
"He surprised me," Lindsey said. "I didn't think he'd follow a stranger but he was getting squirrelly in the RV. He's a little...uh, disturbed."
"I told you as much. Seeing the slaughtered family last night made it that much worse. He didn't do anything strange, did he?" I could only imagine the things Connor could have done. I knew the oddness Drusilla could cook up.
"No, he was mostly quiet. He'd get this far away look in his eyes, though like he wasn't seeing me any more when we were talking."
"This is the best he's been since we rescued him," I said.
"I'd worry about how thin he is...with the way he's eating. I know you don't do much of that but that's not good in the living," Lindsey said, casting a glance back at the living room.
Lindsey's concern was touching and surprising. I guessed the feelings he had for Darla were spilling over onto Connor in a major way. "He's had no appetite lately but he's always looked like that," I replied.
Lindsey's eyebrows rose. "Really? He's a rail."
"Growing up in hell, I think it affected his growth," I said. "Or he just doesn't take after me much."
"No, he doesn't," Lindsey said. "There's a little of Darla in his face, though."
"Well, as short as he is with those baby blues, he looks more like yours," Faith blurted out then glanced over at me.
"Sorry, Angel."
"It's all right. I thought the same thing myself when I first saw Connor since Darla was living with Lindsey at the time."
He shook his head. "Don't drive yourself nuts about it. Darla and I never..."
"I know," I said. "Well, I didn't know that but I know Connor's mine. I can feel it. Connor knew me the moment he breached the dimension. Either Holtz described me amazingly well or Connor knew me instinctively." I paused, trying to hold off a shudder at the thought of having gone through all this for another man's son. "Can we borrow your phone and see if we can contact the rest of the team? The mountains are raising hell with the cellular."
"Go ahead. I'm going to grab a slice of pizza," Lindsey said, heading back for the living room. "Want some, Faith?"
"Thanks."
I could hear them talking as I called Wes' room at the B&B.
"Umm, Hugh Jackman. Don't you want to take a big bite out of him," Faith said. I heard her flop down on the couch and the dull thud of flesh on flesh. Connor must not have moved to make way for her.
"Not really," Connor replied.
"Not your thing?" Faith asked while I was thinking 'Thank God.' It might be politically incorrect but I wasn't ready to handle a bisexual son. "What is?"
"You," Connor shot back and I nearly dropped the phone. I heard the voice mail come on so I hung up and called Fred's room. Since when was Faith to my son's tastes?
"You and I didn't do something I've totally forgotten, did we?" Faith asked, sounding a bit worried.
"Cordy thought so, said something about me sharing Dad's love of Slayers."
"Don't look at me, kid. Angel and I are friends. It's Buffy he wants."
She was right about that. So what had Connor done that upset Cordy? It must have been when I was Angelus and not around to see it. I dreaded to think on it. "Oh, uh, Fred," I said into the phone. "We're at Deadwood Dick's. Are Lorne and Wes around?...okay, I'll call Wes' cell. I'll meet you in the lobby." I hung up and dialed the cellular, thinking I'd have to have the big sex talk with Connor. I had no clue that he was interested in Faith. I guess he's not blind but the last thing we needed was another baby; worse a pregnant Slayer but given Faith's life style, I'm sure she was on the pill at the very least. Still, I had weaseled out of the talk last time. When there was time, I'd have to do it. "Wes? We're at Lindsey's...really? Good. Come on up when you get that fax." I hung up and went out into the living room.
Lindsey was in the chair and Faith had Connor's feet in her lap, leaving him still stretched out on the couch.
"Fred and Lorne are on the way over. Wes thinks he has our monster identified. He'll be here soon. He's waiting on a fax from Giles. I'll go down and meet them; you guys eat," I said. "Connor, did you eat more?"
"No."
"Eat," I said and he gave me the evil eye.
Faith squeezed his calf. "It's delicious."
Connor scooped up a slice and bit into it exaggeratedly as if to say 'See? Happy now?' That I chalked up to teen aged pique.
Faith petted his leg. "Good boy."
I left hoping she quit touching him. Connor didn't need sexual encouragement. I remembered being that age. The little solider liked to lead you into battle far too often. A boy could embarrass himself hourly at Connor's age. It was like having a circus in your pants.
It didn't take long for Fred and Lorne to show up. Wes was still delayed but we didn't wait for him. He knew where Lindsey's suite was. When we got back, Connor was still working on a slice of pizza. I hoped it wasn't the same one he'd started when I went downstairs. Connor did look like he strained nutrients from the air alone.
He seemed content to have his feet resting in Faith's lap, looking a little more at ease than when I first arrived. I reached down and tapped his shoulder. "How do you feel?"
"Foggy."
"All right. You just relax and watch TV. We're going to handle this. Did you like your movie?" I smiled.
"It's over," he said, his head lolling on the arm of the couch. "I liked it."
"Good. You probably got to see a lot of movies all day," I said.
"I slept through most of them." He took a bite of pizza. "Lindsey told me about Mom."
"Did he now?" I glanced over at the lawyer who looked instantly nervous. "Well, Lindsey is probably one of the few people who knew her when she was briefly human and she had done some good things, like protect him."
"Did you make her a vampire?" There was no emotion in my son's voice, in his face, in his eyes. He was utterly dead and it scared me deep to the bone.
"No. It's a very long, strange story. Later, when we have time and you're feeling stronger, I'll tell it to you, if you want."
His head bobbed. "I would. When she talks to me, she doesn't tell me anything about herself."
I ignored the questioning stares of the others and said, "I promise I'll tell you anything you want to know about me and your mother when there's time."
"Okay." Connor smiled faintly but before I could address that spark of emotion, someone knocked on the door. Lindsey let Wesley in.
"The papers say a gang took the tourists," Fred said apropos of nothing as Wes settled on the floor. I guess she assumed since we were all here it was business time. I should have made Connor sit up but I think we were all inclined to let my son alone. She made a face. "Do they even have gangs out here?"
"I have no idea but Giles agrees with my assessment and identification of our cannibalistic giants." Wes cast an uneasy glance at Connor.
"Connor, do you want to hear this or would you like to go into the other room?" I asked.
He drew his knees up, tucking into a ball. "I want to hear."
Wes nodded. "Lindsey's observation that Wolfram and Hart like to utilize locals when possible was helpful. We think we're dealing with Witicos, which are indigenous. There're two kinds of them, interestingly enough. They can be humans who had to resort to cannibalism in the hard winters of the northern Midwest and Canada and afterward transformed into esurient cannibals. It's much like that movie, "Ravenous." Of course, they aren't our Witicos as they're human-sized."
"Wes," I said sharply. I wasn't in the mood for a Watcheresque ramble on the extraneous information they tend to find so fascinating.
He scrubbed a hand over his dark chin, his short nails scratching over the stubble. That's the sort of beard a man had, not the downy fluff that covered my son's face. I'm not sure why it bothered me but it did.
"Yes, sorry. The other type of Witico are cannibalistic giants, easily identifiable by their severe malodor."
"Way stinky," Faith agreed.
"They're filthy creatures and the paperwork Giles faxed me suggested avoidance as the best course of action."
"Why am I thinking that's not an option?" Lindsey asked.
"Hey, we have a Slayer, a vampire, and the kid who claims he can take me which I'm gonna demand a rematch on as soon as he feels up to it." Faith clamped a hand on Connor's foot, shaking it. "What more do we need?"
"According to Giles, a ritual which Fred, Lorne, Lindsey and myself can handle as it needs someone at all four cardinal points to make it work," Wes replied, handing out the photocopies of the ritual.
"I'm fighting stench giants now? Lovely." Lindsey rolled his eyes.
"So while they're spell casting, what are your super powered people doing? Standing around picking our butts?" Faith leaned over Connor's legs to snare more pizza out of the box.
"Keeping us safe and as the Slayer there's something special you can do," Wes said with a strange smile on his lips.
Faith's eyes glowed. "Hot damn."
"The Witicos must be blinded first," Wes said.
"I can hit a target that small," Faith said.
"I have no doubt. However, it has to be done with excrement," Wes said.
We all stared, stunned. Faith's mouth fell open. "What? I have to wipe shit in their eyes?"
"Human feces, yes." Wes looked slightly amused by this.
It wasn't funny but all of our nerves were stretched. Lindsey and Connor both snickered. Lorne was hiding a grin. Faith slapped my son and winged a pillow at Lindsey.
"Screw that. There's gotta be another way?" Faith asked plaintively.
"I'm sorry, Faith," Wes said, not sounding it.
She scowled. "Where am I going to get a pile of poop?"
"There's five humans here," Fred said.
"Um, four," I corrected, going over to the couch to put a comforting hand on my boy's shoulder. "Connor's..."
"I got tossed across the hotel by the sanctuary spell. I'm not sure I'm human." Connor's blue eyes went haunted, like slatey maelstroms of pain.
"I gotta better idea. Connor's tougher than human and he said he kicked my ass so he can do the shit wiping," Faith said, poking him with a finger.
"I lied about beating you," Connor said very quickly.
Faith curled her lips at him. "Yeah, I knew you had to be lying. No way your skinny ass beat me. Angel, you don't have to breathe or smell if you don't want to so you get to do it."
"There're more than one of these Witicos, Faith. I think we'll both be doing this," I said.
"This blows," Faith grumped. "No one had better tell B about this. I bet she's never had to fling poo like a monkey."
This time I was the one to crack and snicker. She elbowed me.
"Do you think Gunn will be with these monsters like he was last time?" Fred asked, her voice tight with tension.
"We hurt him badly in Montana," Wes put in and Fred looked terribly sad.
"Not so badly that he didn't escape," I said, bitterly.
"We have no idea how his healing abilities have been affected," Wes said. "If they have at all. It might be some time before we see Gunn again."
"He's stronger than human now," I said. "I wouldn't count him out yet."
"Poor Charles," Fred mumbled. I had to agree.
It took a little while to get the needed ingredients and the less said about that the better. At least we had latex gloves for the handling. I'm not sure why Fred had them and decided I didn't want to know. We headed quickly for the RV to stock up on weapons. I was surprised to see Connor picking up a sword.
"Son, this isn't your fight."
"They destroyed that family." His voice was cold, dead.
I winced. He was still holding onto that word, that notion of perfection and I feared that would only widen the fissures in his sanity. "You're not up to it," I argued.
"Am so." And that was that. I knew him well enough that if I ordered him to stay he wouldn't. He'd follow us or go his own way and was that much more likely to be killed.
"Any clue where we'll find them if they come back?" Faith asked.
"They'll be back. Nothing like this was in the records for Deadwood," Wes said. "A lot of past mayhem of entirely human contrivances but this is the first Witico sighting."
"Too much of a coincidence for it not to be Wolfram and Hart's involvement. They want us back and we're going to take Lindsey's advice and take the fight to them," I said.
"Put that last bit on my tombstone," Faith said, shoving Lindsey lightly.
"Where do we start looking for them?" Connor asked.
"Why not back where they hung the bodies? They came from that way last time," Fred said. "Predators tend to stick to their territory."
We tried to figure the best way down the hill besides Main Street so there'd be less chance of someone seeing the weapons. We didn't take more than a few steps when both Connor and I lifted our heads, sniffing the wind.
"I smell them that way." Connor pointed towards Mount Moriah away from town.
"So much for territory," I grumbled.
We all loped towards the mountains. We knew that if the Witicos got to town more innocents would die. Connor moved well through the pines. Surprisingly Lindsey did too but from what I knew of his background, growing up in Oklahoma, I wouldn't doubt that he and his dad went out hunting as soon as he was old enough to hold a gun. The others moved less well. No surprises there, city people and whatever Lorne was. The stench grew rapidly worse. Lorne was gagging. I just didn't breathe, keeping the reek out of my nostrils then we saw them. They weren't as horrific looking as I'd imagined, judging by the stink. They were taller than I thought, closer to nine or ten feet. I assumed the three of them were all male, judging by the mop of facial hair hanging from their chins. Filth coated them. Their black hair fell past their shoulders in thick mats. Connor broke away, racing ahead of us into the miasma surrounding the Witicos.
"Connor," I hissed.
"Someone has to distract them," he shot back.
"You heard the boy," I said.
Our spell casters ranged out, hitting the cardinal points. Faith didn't wait for a clear opening to blind them. She took a leap at one and was swatted away like a fly. Connor grabbed a tree branch one-handed and swung up, launching himself at one, sword out like a lance. It didn't penetrate far but Connor was able to catch the Witico's beard. As he dangled there, he sliced across the thing's chest. A chill bubbled out into the summer night.
"They're made of ice underneath," he said just before the giant tossed him away. Connor plummeted, hit ground, rolled and was back on his feet so fast it was hard to see him. Either he was feeling better or the family-related mania had returned. My fear that he wasn't up to this drained out of me.
Connor flipped up and emasculated the one that had sent Faith flying. It howled and I winced in reflexive sympathy as Faith and I tried to cut the Achilles tendons of the third one. All that was underneath was ice and the monster didn't go down. The emasculated one, however, hit his knees.
"Have at it, Faith," I said.
"A gentleman would do it for me."
"He's no gentleman," Connor piped up as he tried for another emasculation but got caught in the monster's huge hand.
"You heard my son." I jumped up, scoring a belly hit. It was enough to make the thing drop Connor.
"You both suck," Faith said, reaching into her baggy. She wiped at the thing's eyes quickly. It went all the way down, kicking and screaming, uprooting two pines in the process. Lorne made a meeping noise as he was nearly flatted by a falling pine.
Connor managed to get on the back of the one we had tried to cut the tendons of. He stabbed repeatedly into the Witico's neck and ribs. It kept trying to get at him but couldn't.
"You know, he might have actually beaten me," Faith said, holding her excrement-smeared, gloved hands out to her sides.
"He's beaten me," I said as Connor took the second one down, ramming his sword up into the base of the thing's skull.
I did the honors with the crap this time while Connor bounced off. He managed to chip away more of the chest of the one he slashed first. Faith and I watched, not willing to pick up our weapons with filthy hands. Connor could handle himself. And just as I thought that, the Witico caught him, crushing his face against the exposed ice of its body. The giant bared huge fangs, ready to make a meal of my boy.
I looked at Faith and she nodded. Before the Witico could pop Connor into its mouth, she and swarmed up onto its shoulders and smeared its eyes. It dropped Connor, shrieking. Faith and I jumped clear.
"Wes, now'd be a good time to start " I called out.
I heard the chanting as Faith, Connor and I ran for cover. I had no idea what would happen next. The blinded Witicos exploded into huge hunks of ice, fetid flesh and thousands of pieces of hail that pelted us.
"If I never have to fight one of those again ever, I'll die a happy woman," Faith said, stripping off her shitty latex gloves. "And I'm going to use Lilah's head for a kick ball for this before giving it a swirly."
"A swirly?" Connor's eyes widened curiously, as he swept gobs of flesh off his head.
"I forgot, no high school for you." Faith grinned. "If you were a normal boy, given your size, you'd be well acquainted with a swirly. That's when the bigger boys hold you upside down, head in the toilet and flush."
"Ewwww." Connor made a face.
Faith took his chin in hand, rotating his head back and forth, examining him. "Did it give you frostbite?"
"I'm okay."
"You did good out there, Connor," I said.
"You sure did. And sometime kid, you and I have to spar because you do have some moves." She patted his cheek.
"This tickles. It's so soft and fuzzy. It has possibilities."
"What?" Connor's eyes lit up.
"Faith " I snapped, imagining what she might be thinking. Connor needed no encouragement along those lines. "Is everyone else okay?" I called and got back four positive answers.
"Great, let's get out of here. I desperately need a shower. Lindsey, I'm commandeering yours. I'm sick of that little spit shower in the RV," Faith said, jabbing a finger at Lindsey
His eyes opened wide. "Uh, okay."
"We all need showers," Fred said and I saw none of them had been outside of explosion range.
"And we have to share that ancient thing in the B&B," Lorne moaned.
"I like Faith's idea," Connor said, eagerly.
"You join them in the B&B," Lindsey said. "Or there'll be no hot water for me and I'm the one paying for the place. Hot water seems to be in short supply in all hotels, I swear."
"Not a problem if we share," Faith said.
"I like that idea even better." Connor grinned widely. That was not a good look for my son, his smile lending a maniacal air.
"No," I said, sternly and that smile collapsed into a frown.
"Not a chance, kid," Lindsey said at the same time.
"Connor, you and I will use the RV. Faith can share Lindsey's shower and the others have the B&B. We'll all meet back at Deadwood Dick's when we're done," I said.
"Agreed," Wes said.
Connor stomped off toward the RV. I didn't know which I preferred, the near catatonic fugue or the typical teen-aged snit. I caught up with him. Finally he looked at me, a sulky pout on his lips.
"What did Faith mean about possibilities?" he asked.
"Nothing you need to know about until you're older," I replied.
He shot me a suspicious look "It's fun, isn't it?"
"Yes," I said without hesitation, thinking about how women tasted; bad move.
"What if I want to know?"
"Someday you will but not today." I pointed at his face. "You might want to think about shaving that off."
"It hurts when I do."
"All part of being a man," I replied and he rolled his eyes.
Once we got back, he showered first, taking much longer than normal. He was doubtlessly draining the hot water out of spite for not getting to shower with Faith. Fine, let him. It didn't really matter much to me. Let him get it out of his system. I was content with the fact that he had been well enough to fight as good as he did. I was still afraid seeing that slain family would severely set back his recovery but he seemed like he was doing okay.
Unlike my son, I showered quickly and we headed to Dick's. Faith was actually down in the casino portion, her dark hair damp and clean. Connor floated over to her, watching her plug in quarters. She looked up at us."This thing hates me."
"Unwinding I see," I said. "Not that I blame you. Lindsey down here?"
"Nah, he's still showering. No sharing...safer that way." She grinned and looked around. I did as well, trying to see what she was looking for. When she handed Connor some tokens I realized she was making sure no one was around to see it since he wasn't old enough to be pumping money into a machine. "Put them in the slot," she demanded.
"Why?"
"Because if you don't, you don't get the goodies," she said. "That goes for more than slot machines."
I glowered at her but she ignored me as Connor put the money in the machine and followed her instructions on making the wheels spin. He leaped away as three diamonds lined up and the machine's sirens and lights went off. "Did I break it?" Connor asked.
"No and don't say you put the money in," I said.
"Why?"
"Because then they won't give Faith the five hundred dollars you just won," I replied.
"He's lucky," Faith said. "Gotta keep him around."
The casino workers were still paying off Faith when Fred, Wes and Lorne showed up. "You won, sweetie," Lorne said.
"Big bucks." Faith grinned even though relatively speaking it wasn't a big win. Still, she headed back to Lindsey's five hundred dollars richer, the disgusting battle forgotten, at least for a moment. Lindsey let us back in. Faith divided up her winnings and gave some to Connor. He looked at the money in surprise.
"Why?" he asked.
"You put the winning quarters in," she said "And if you're nice, you might get a bigger reward."
"I'm nice," he said.
"Faith." I wagged a finger at her. She did not need to be encouraging Connor. "Thanks for giving him that. Connor, you know what that is, right?"
"It's the stuff Fred and Cordy were always saying we don't have enough of."
"Exactly. So we'll put this away some place safe for you," I said.
"You don't know what money is?" Faith asked shocked. "Where were you getting your clothes and food?"
"He gave me these." Connor pulled at his shirt, nodding at me. "The others I just took."
"We don't need to know from where," I broke in, "Especially not in front of the lawyer."
"Hey, that hurts," Lindsey said.
"I got food out of the big metal boxes where people threw it and ate the animals that were there for the food," Connor said. "Until Cordelia freaked out about it."
"Is he talking dumpsters and rats, Angel-cakes?" Lorne asked, shuddering.
"I don't....these boxes were in alleys behind restaurants?" I asked and Connor nodded. God, what had I done to him? I never even thought about the fact my child wouldn't know what money was or stores or restaurants. I guess I had assumed Fred and Gunn had taught him.
"You fed Queen C rats?" Faith snickered, clamping a hand over her mouth. "Sorry."
"Okay, enough about that," I said. "Wolfram and Hart knows we're here and they'll soon find out we beat them again. We need to leave but I'm not ready to act on Lindsey's advice of going back and taking the fight to them. We never questioned how Wolfram and Hart rebuilt so fast. We need to know more about their resources. Wes, do you think Giles and what's left of the Council can help us with that?"
"It won't hurt to ask."
"And Lindsey," I started to say.
"I'll tell you what I can but stuff only I'd know...I'm sorry Angel. I got away. I'm not ready to let them know it's worth their time to kill me before I tell anyone else," he said quickly and unapologetically.
"Fair enough. I'm not asking you to sign your own death certificate." I sat on the couch. "I'm tired of running into battle blind. We never have enough time to do the research right and we win, if we even do, by the skin of our teeth. Not this time. We're going to do this right. We're going to keep moving and we're going to plan. Is everyone on board with that?"
I looked up at my friends and we were all in agreement. "Good, then once Lindsey gives us what he can we need to move on."
Lindsey did just that as Wes and Fred took meticulous notes. As we were leaving, he took me aside and said, "I won't be going with you."
"No, I didn't expect you would. Keep safe," I said.
"I will. Angel." Lindsey paused, his blue eyes going thoughtful. "Do you think, once it's over, you..." He looked away, struggling with whatever it was.
"Yes?"
"Can you bring Connor by Oklahoma? I'd like to see him again. I think Darla might...I don't know."
I was shocked and at the same time not. He was looking for that connection to Darla. I wasn't sure it was healthy but I know how it was. I did the same with Buffy. I anticipated news from her every time we contacted them in Cleveland. I waited impatiently to hear about Cordelia's progress. "I think we might be able to do that."
Lindsey smiled faintly. "Thanks." He walked me to the door and looked out in the hall and said, "Connor, the next time you talk to your mom, tell her hello for me."
"I will," Connor said.
"Thanks for your help, Lindsey, and you have our cellular numbers," I said. "If you get into trouble, call us."
"Yeah, I'll do that." Lindsey snorted. "You and your kid define the phrase mad, bad and dangerous to know." The smirk he shot me showed that not all of the devil had been excised from Lindsey.
"Look who's talking," I retorted and he laughed.
"Sorry I couldn't help more. The best I can tell you is at least you're not legally bound to Wolfram and Hart," he said.
"You did more than that, more than you had to so thanks," I said again and we headed back for RV. I would have liked to pull up stakes immediately but we were all tired. It could wait until morning.