![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Play It Again, Sam Part 6
First I want to thank all the lovely people who made my birthday so very special! THANK YOU!!!!
And since my parents are coming today (and staying for a week) I'm just going to post part 6 of my fic, and then get on with tidying the house!
If you need to catch up, the earlier parts are here.
Enjoy:
Play It Again, Sam
Part 6
Riley and Sam were woken by a polite knock on the door. Slightly disoriented, Riley called out, “Enter” and the door was opened by an attractive young woman, conservatively dressed, carrying a large tray with an assortment of pastries and cereals.
“I hope you slept well?” she asked, as she put down the tray on a conveniently placed table next to the bed.
“Um, yes, thank you.” Riley replied, wondering whether he was still dreaming.
“Mr. Angel asked if you would be kind enough to see him in an hours time?”
“Sure thing” Sam said, her brain slowly catching up with the events of the last 12 hours.
“Very good.” The woman smiled professionally, and turned to leave.
“Oh, I nearly forgot. We have provided you with some civilian clothes - if you don’t like any of them, just call down to reception and ask for Denise, and I’ll see what I can do. OK?”
Taking their silence as agreement, she quietly left the room.
Sam turned to Riley and grinned. “This is turning out to be quite a holiday, eh?”
Riley looked at her in wonder. “You don’t mind that we’re the guests of a demon-law firm?”
She shrugged. “We’re on leave, right? And they seem a lot more civilised than the demons we normally run into. It’s like an adventure.”
She got out of bed and started to look through the clothes. “An adventure with a nice wardrobe! Look at this.”
And she held up a dark red wraparound dress with a pretty floral pattern.
Riley smiled. “An adventure it is!”
A little later, as they were enjoying breakfast, the phone rang. Looking slightly worried, although Sam could not understand why, Riley answered. It turned out to be Jack, now poison free and ready to leave with the other three. The army had sent a Jeep to pick them up, and they were all planning on going home to visit their respective families, since they had been given a three-week leave. Riley wished them all the best and put the phone down.
Turning to look at Sam, he said, “The guys are all going home. Are you sure you want to stay here?”
Sam looked at him brightly. “Adventure, remember?”
He nodded, not wishing to infect her good mood with his own gloomy thoughts. Her sunny temperament was what had first attracted her to him. He had been impressed with her positive outlook and how she had coped with the killing of all her co-workers. Even though it had shocked her, it was not in her nature to brood, and when he had been trying to patch his life back together, she had been as welcome as water in the desert.
An hour later, after finishing breakfast and showering, Riley and Sam stepped out of the lift and onto the main floor of Wolfram and Hart. And for a moment were unable to move, due to the oddness of the tableaux unfolding in front of them.
Coming out of the other lift were 2 demons and a human, all dressed in suits and carrying briefcases, and chatting amiably. On their left were some red skinned demons with large yellow eyes, strange, long robes and several horns randomly sprouting out of their heads. They appeared transfixed by a small portable tv one of them held in his claws.
And on their right was what looked like a slim young woman dressed in leather. Her hair had strange blue steaks, and her face looked unnatural somehow, like it was only some sort of facade, and there was no way of telling what was behind it... as she walked by, her eery blue eyes passed over them as though they didn’t even exist.
“This place is creeping me out,” thought Riley, and held Sam’s arm tighter under his own, as they walked over to the desk outside Angel’s office.
Putting a hand on the counter, Sam smiled politely and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Finn - I believe Mr. Angel wants to see us now...”
The pretty girl looked up, and her face froze in fear. Slowly putting down her pink mug (which said ‘Superstar’ in glittery letters) and backing away, she started babbling.
“R-Riley?...You can’t hurt me, you know... I’m Angel’s assistant, and he’ll get really mad if you stake me... and.... I’ve not killed anyone in like forever, so...”
Sam turned to Riley.
“You know her?”
“Another old ‘friend’ from Sunnydale, Sam.” Riley said grimly.
“So, you’re Angel’s assistant, Harmony? Did Spike put in a good word for you?”
Harmony pouted. “I totally dumped him, like, years ago. And the whole thing with Buffy - I mean, eeeew! And then he was a ghost, and I mean, would you date a ghost?”
Looking over their shoulders, she smiled brightly. “Oh, hi Blondiebear!”
Spike came up and leaned on the counter. “Harm. Is Angel free? He said - Sam! But my goodness, you look even prettier out of that uniform.”
Sam chuckled. “Thank you - Blondiebear?”
Spike looked down in defeat and sighed. “Well, what can I say? At least I didn’t sire her - if I ever find the idiot who did...”
Just then the doors to Angel’s office opened, and a demon - looking like the ones grouped around the tv, but larger and with more horns - came out, followed by Angel.
“Now if there’s anything I can do...” the demon said.
Angel politely cut in. “Please, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure that everything is taken care of.”
A bow from the demon, which revealed a third eye at the back of his neck.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Angel. May your enemies be swallowed by hell and the darkness reign.”
Angel glanced at a young black man standing beside him, and, although appearing unwilling, the young man returned what was obviously a formal farewell.
“May you spawn overrun the earth and the seas turn to blood.”
The demon made a grimace which might be construed as a smile, and strode away, sweeping up his minions in his wake.
The young man looked at the vampire and said coldly. “Can I go now? I have actual work to do.”
And without waiting for an answer walked off.
Angel turned towards the three standing at the counter and tried to smile.
“Sam, Riley. Do come in. Spike... I have the maps ready if you want to have a look.”
Having seated Sam and Riley on the sofa, Angel excused himself for a moment and joined Spike at the desk, where several maps were laid out, most of them of the sewer tunnels under the city. It was a beautiful morning and the sunlight fell through the windows in golden waves, making the weapons on the wall sparkle and outlining the shadows of the two vampires in stark relief on the blinds behind them. Sam was idly admiring how the sunlight brought out Spike’s cheekbones, when she suddenly realised what she was actually witnessing. She inhaled sharply, and both vampires turned to look at her.
“Em... you - you’re in the sunlight... and somehow not on fire? ... Is it a soul-thing?” she asked, rather flummoxed.
Riley sat up abruptly, cursing himself for not noticing.
Angel smiled. “Necro-tempered glass. Whole building is fitted with it. Wouldn’t do for the boss to burn up accidentally.”
“Now that’s smart,” said Sam, “do you have any other surprises?”
At that moment, the door opened and Lorne came in. “Angel, Harmony said it was ok to come straight in. Did you want a word with me?”
Sam and Riley stared in shock. Not only was the demon green, with horns and red eyes. He was also wearing a fuchsia-pink suit that managed to clash with everything in sight.
As his eyes fell on them, his face lit up. “My, but aren’t you the cutest couple I’ve seen since Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. You know, true love is SO hard to find, as I was just saying to... but where are my manners? Angelcakes, please introduce me to these charming people.”
Angel, knowing that Spike was probably chewing a stake to stop him from laughing out loud, with great difficulty managed to keep a straight face, and politely introduced Lorne to his guests. Riley, who looked like he had been run over by a freight train, stammered something and shook Lorne’s hand automatically.
Sam seemed to recover more quickly, and, after the pleasantries, asked. “You were saying something about ‘true love’?”
Lorne smiled at her warmly. “Empath-demon here, sugarcanes, and you and your hubby here are just a walking advertisement for wedded bliss. If I could bottle you two, I could sell it coast to coast, honey.”
Angel cleared his throat. “Now, the reason I asked you to stop by, Lorne, was that I was wondering if you’d like to take these two sightseeing today. I’m sure Danny could fill in for you for a few hours.”
Realising that he had yet to suggest the plan to the people in question, he smiled awkwardly. “I... was going to ask you if you’d like to go sightseeing. Lorne runs our entertainment division, so he knows everyone - well, we own about half of the stars in Hollywood, so that’s not surprising really. So, um, yeah, if you’d like a tour that’s a bit out of the ordinary...? Any stars you particularly want to meet?”
Sam suddenly blushed. “Well, I used to have this almighty crush on Tom Cruise, when I was a teenager...”
“Say no more, pumpkin.” Lorne cut in. “His contract is up for renewal soon, so he’ll jump through any hoops we want. I’d be honoured to show you around. Really, you’ve brightened up my day more than all of Liz Taylor's diamonds.”
He stopped, and with a suddenly serious look on his face, asked. “And excuse me for asking, but how do you all know each other - because I can practically see the tension, darlings!”
Riley still seemed to be frozen in time, and Angel appeared unwilling to speak again, so Spike, his eyes dancing, and for all the world looking casual, decided to explain.
“Well, I guess we’re all of Buffy’s significant exes.”
He thought for a moment. “Oh, and the tension underlying the other tension, is probably the fact that I helped to break up Buffy and mr. Finn here, and then he returned the favour a year or so later. So yeah, we should probably all be in therapy - personally, I just think I’m going to get drunk tonight! That good enough for you Green Jeans?”
Lorne nodded quietly, Riley glared and Sam was looking thoughtfully from him to Spike.
Angel looked up. “There was some guy named Scott - about the time you came back after Dru dumped you, Spike. I think they dated for a while.”
Spike chuckled. “Scott Hope? Turned out to be gay - she bitched about that for a while, since apparently he spread a rumour about her after they split.”
Angel looked at him in surprise. “How do you...?”
A dismissive hand wave. “Long nights patrolling, mate. Anyway, she never really cared for Scott. Bit broken over the whole Parker thing.”
He frowned. “Although I didn’t really make that one easier for her. Should have eaten the wanker, like I threatened to!”
Riley looked at him in surprise. “You met Parker?”
A flash of blue eyes. “Yeah, Harmony and I ran into the two of them at a party. Also witnessed the dumping a few days later. If you hadn’t shoved that chip in my head, I probably would have killed him like he deserved!”
Riley thought back. “It wouldn’t have been a great loss. I punched him though, if that makes you feel better?”
Spike smiled. “You know, it does. Thank you.”
Angel felt a headache coming on. Sometimes brooding and living off rats actually felt like the better option. Running a hand across his face, he sighed.
“Spike, I have work to do. If you’re done with the maps, please just leave.”
Turning to the humans, smile back in place, he said. “Sam, Riley. I was going to ask you if you’d like to go out tonight with my girlfriend and myself. A nice dinner - italian maybe?”
Sam nodded happily. “Of course we would. Right Riley?”
Riley did his best approximation of a friendly smile and replied. “Sure, just say when.”
Angel, wondering why he was doing this and abstractedly thinking that maybe it was some sort of self-punishment, answered.
“Great. I’ll give you a call. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave now, since I have a meeting with some politicians, and I really don’t want to make them wait!”
On to part 7
And since my parents are coming today (and staying for a week) I'm just going to post part 6 of my fic, and then get on with tidying the house!
If you need to catch up, the earlier parts are here.
Enjoy:
Play It Again, Sam
Part 6
Riley and Sam were woken by a polite knock on the door. Slightly disoriented, Riley called out, “Enter” and the door was opened by an attractive young woman, conservatively dressed, carrying a large tray with an assortment of pastries and cereals.
“I hope you slept well?” she asked, as she put down the tray on a conveniently placed table next to the bed.
“Um, yes, thank you.” Riley replied, wondering whether he was still dreaming.
“Mr. Angel asked if you would be kind enough to see him in an hours time?”
“Sure thing” Sam said, her brain slowly catching up with the events of the last 12 hours.
“Very good.” The woman smiled professionally, and turned to leave.
“Oh, I nearly forgot. We have provided you with some civilian clothes - if you don’t like any of them, just call down to reception and ask for Denise, and I’ll see what I can do. OK?”
Taking their silence as agreement, she quietly left the room.
Sam turned to Riley and grinned. “This is turning out to be quite a holiday, eh?”
Riley looked at her in wonder. “You don’t mind that we’re the guests of a demon-law firm?”
She shrugged. “We’re on leave, right? And they seem a lot more civilised than the demons we normally run into. It’s like an adventure.”
She got out of bed and started to look through the clothes. “An adventure with a nice wardrobe! Look at this.”
And she held up a dark red wraparound dress with a pretty floral pattern.
Riley smiled. “An adventure it is!”
A little later, as they were enjoying breakfast, the phone rang. Looking slightly worried, although Sam could not understand why, Riley answered. It turned out to be Jack, now poison free and ready to leave with the other three. The army had sent a Jeep to pick them up, and they were all planning on going home to visit their respective families, since they had been given a three-week leave. Riley wished them all the best and put the phone down.
Turning to look at Sam, he said, “The guys are all going home. Are you sure you want to stay here?”
Sam looked at him brightly. “Adventure, remember?”
He nodded, not wishing to infect her good mood with his own gloomy thoughts. Her sunny temperament was what had first attracted her to him. He had been impressed with her positive outlook and how she had coped with the killing of all her co-workers. Even though it had shocked her, it was not in her nature to brood, and when he had been trying to patch his life back together, she had been as welcome as water in the desert.
An hour later, after finishing breakfast and showering, Riley and Sam stepped out of the lift and onto the main floor of Wolfram and Hart. And for a moment were unable to move, due to the oddness of the tableaux unfolding in front of them.
Coming out of the other lift were 2 demons and a human, all dressed in suits and carrying briefcases, and chatting amiably. On their left were some red skinned demons with large yellow eyes, strange, long robes and several horns randomly sprouting out of their heads. They appeared transfixed by a small portable tv one of them held in his claws.
And on their right was what looked like a slim young woman dressed in leather. Her hair had strange blue steaks, and her face looked unnatural somehow, like it was only some sort of facade, and there was no way of telling what was behind it... as she walked by, her eery blue eyes passed over them as though they didn’t even exist.
“This place is creeping me out,” thought Riley, and held Sam’s arm tighter under his own, as they walked over to the desk outside Angel’s office.
Putting a hand on the counter, Sam smiled politely and said, “Mr. and Mrs. Finn - I believe Mr. Angel wants to see us now...”
The pretty girl looked up, and her face froze in fear. Slowly putting down her pink mug (which said ‘Superstar’ in glittery letters) and backing away, she started babbling.
“R-Riley?...You can’t hurt me, you know... I’m Angel’s assistant, and he’ll get really mad if you stake me... and.... I’ve not killed anyone in like forever, so...”
Sam turned to Riley.
“You know her?”
“Another old ‘friend’ from Sunnydale, Sam.” Riley said grimly.
“So, you’re Angel’s assistant, Harmony? Did Spike put in a good word for you?”
Harmony pouted. “I totally dumped him, like, years ago. And the whole thing with Buffy - I mean, eeeew! And then he was a ghost, and I mean, would you date a ghost?”
Looking over their shoulders, she smiled brightly. “Oh, hi Blondiebear!”
Spike came up and leaned on the counter. “Harm. Is Angel free? He said - Sam! But my goodness, you look even prettier out of that uniform.”
Sam chuckled. “Thank you - Blondiebear?”
Spike looked down in defeat and sighed. “Well, what can I say? At least I didn’t sire her - if I ever find the idiot who did...”
Just then the doors to Angel’s office opened, and a demon - looking like the ones grouped around the tv, but larger and with more horns - came out, followed by Angel.
“Now if there’s anything I can do...” the demon said.
Angel politely cut in. “Please, don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure that everything is taken care of.”
A bow from the demon, which revealed a third eye at the back of his neck.
“Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Angel. May your enemies be swallowed by hell and the darkness reign.”
Angel glanced at a young black man standing beside him, and, although appearing unwilling, the young man returned what was obviously a formal farewell.
“May you spawn overrun the earth and the seas turn to blood.”
The demon made a grimace which might be construed as a smile, and strode away, sweeping up his minions in his wake.
The young man looked at the vampire and said coldly. “Can I go now? I have actual work to do.”
And without waiting for an answer walked off.
Angel turned towards the three standing at the counter and tried to smile.
“Sam, Riley. Do come in. Spike... I have the maps ready if you want to have a look.”
Having seated Sam and Riley on the sofa, Angel excused himself for a moment and joined Spike at the desk, where several maps were laid out, most of them of the sewer tunnels under the city. It was a beautiful morning and the sunlight fell through the windows in golden waves, making the weapons on the wall sparkle and outlining the shadows of the two vampires in stark relief on the blinds behind them. Sam was idly admiring how the sunlight brought out Spike’s cheekbones, when she suddenly realised what she was actually witnessing. She inhaled sharply, and both vampires turned to look at her.
“Em... you - you’re in the sunlight... and somehow not on fire? ... Is it a soul-thing?” she asked, rather flummoxed.
Riley sat up abruptly, cursing himself for not noticing.
Angel smiled. “Necro-tempered glass. Whole building is fitted with it. Wouldn’t do for the boss to burn up accidentally.”
“Now that’s smart,” said Sam, “do you have any other surprises?”
At that moment, the door opened and Lorne came in. “Angel, Harmony said it was ok to come straight in. Did you want a word with me?”
Sam and Riley stared in shock. Not only was the demon green, with horns and red eyes. He was also wearing a fuchsia-pink suit that managed to clash with everything in sight.
As his eyes fell on them, his face lit up. “My, but aren’t you the cutest couple I’ve seen since Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. You know, true love is SO hard to find, as I was just saying to... but where are my manners? Angelcakes, please introduce me to these charming people.”
Angel, knowing that Spike was probably chewing a stake to stop him from laughing out loud, with great difficulty managed to keep a straight face, and politely introduced Lorne to his guests. Riley, who looked like he had been run over by a freight train, stammered something and shook Lorne’s hand automatically.
Sam seemed to recover more quickly, and, after the pleasantries, asked. “You were saying something about ‘true love’?”
Lorne smiled at her warmly. “Empath-demon here, sugarcanes, and you and your hubby here are just a walking advertisement for wedded bliss. If I could bottle you two, I could sell it coast to coast, honey.”
Angel cleared his throat. “Now, the reason I asked you to stop by, Lorne, was that I was wondering if you’d like to take these two sightseeing today. I’m sure Danny could fill in for you for a few hours.”
Realising that he had yet to suggest the plan to the people in question, he smiled awkwardly. “I... was going to ask you if you’d like to go sightseeing. Lorne runs our entertainment division, so he knows everyone - well, we own about half of the stars in Hollywood, so that’s not surprising really. So, um, yeah, if you’d like a tour that’s a bit out of the ordinary...? Any stars you particularly want to meet?”
Sam suddenly blushed. “Well, I used to have this almighty crush on Tom Cruise, when I was a teenager...”
“Say no more, pumpkin.” Lorne cut in. “His contract is up for renewal soon, so he’ll jump through any hoops we want. I’d be honoured to show you around. Really, you’ve brightened up my day more than all of Liz Taylor's diamonds.”
He stopped, and with a suddenly serious look on his face, asked. “And excuse me for asking, but how do you all know each other - because I can practically see the tension, darlings!”
Riley still seemed to be frozen in time, and Angel appeared unwilling to speak again, so Spike, his eyes dancing, and for all the world looking casual, decided to explain.
“Well, I guess we’re all of Buffy’s significant exes.”
He thought for a moment. “Oh, and the tension underlying the other tension, is probably the fact that I helped to break up Buffy and mr. Finn here, and then he returned the favour a year or so later. So yeah, we should probably all be in therapy - personally, I just think I’m going to get drunk tonight! That good enough for you Green Jeans?”
Lorne nodded quietly, Riley glared and Sam was looking thoughtfully from him to Spike.
Angel looked up. “There was some guy named Scott - about the time you came back after Dru dumped you, Spike. I think they dated for a while.”
Spike chuckled. “Scott Hope? Turned out to be gay - she bitched about that for a while, since apparently he spread a rumour about her after they split.”
Angel looked at him in surprise. “How do you...?”
A dismissive hand wave. “Long nights patrolling, mate. Anyway, she never really cared for Scott. Bit broken over the whole Parker thing.”
He frowned. “Although I didn’t really make that one easier for her. Should have eaten the wanker, like I threatened to!”
Riley looked at him in surprise. “You met Parker?”
A flash of blue eyes. “Yeah, Harmony and I ran into the two of them at a party. Also witnessed the dumping a few days later. If you hadn’t shoved that chip in my head, I probably would have killed him like he deserved!”
Riley thought back. “It wouldn’t have been a great loss. I punched him though, if that makes you feel better?”
Spike smiled. “You know, it does. Thank you.”
Angel felt a headache coming on. Sometimes brooding and living off rats actually felt like the better option. Running a hand across his face, he sighed.
“Spike, I have work to do. If you’re done with the maps, please just leave.”
Turning to the humans, smile back in place, he said. “Sam, Riley. I was going to ask you if you’d like to go out tonight with my girlfriend and myself. A nice dinner - italian maybe?”
Sam nodded happily. “Of course we would. Right Riley?”
Riley did his best approximation of a friendly smile and replied. “Sure, just say when.”
Angel, wondering why he was doing this and abstractedly thinking that maybe it was some sort of self-punishment, answered.
“Great. I’ll give you a call. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave now, since I have a meeting with some politicians, and I really don’t want to make them wait!”
On to part 7