And what scares me is, it didn't feel like weakness. It felt like pleasure. I touch the pulse at the base of my neck. My jugular vein, I make myself think, to bring myself back to the ME's office or anything but the thought of teeth ripping flesh as pleasant. But for a moment, it hits me. My life is hard.It felt good to be swept along by something I didn't try to control.Even in the hospital, all I wanted was to beat the odds, show how quickly I could be back and better than ever, and wipe the concerned looks off everybody's faces. It gave me strength, but it wasn't exactly restful.

I put my clothes back on and head back over to Caritas. It's almost deserted, but Lorne is there cleaning up."Didn't expect to see you so soon. Even if you are an undiscovered talent."
He puts chairs on tables and doesn't look at me. Usually, when I show up somewhere unexpected, I've got hardware, to make people look at me, make 'em talk. Here I got nothing, especially if my suspicions about Lorne's preferences are correct...he's not interested in my hair, except to find out if it's natural, or who my colorist is. He's not interested in my chest, except to see if Oxford shirts are back in again, like I care anyway.
I blush, duck my head a little. "It was the liquor, huh? You're here late." I say, giving the last part the standard detective inflection. I look him over, but I may have found the one creature impervious to eyefucking...his appearance is just too distracting, and the usual cues, like blushing or turning pale, are for shit. He is still as green as I felt a few hours ago, and still seems happy and cheerful to a degree I'dve thought not found outside a bottle. "What's your secret, Creature Man?" I'd like to ask. But I'm like interrupting, and I don't have the City of Balmer backing me up. I start to back away discreetly, but to my surprise, the big green guy takes one of the chairs he flipped over and puts it on the floor again. "Lucky for you, my dogs started barking, huh?"
-more-

"Talent? No, I was feeling sloppy and slutty cause I'd had too much to drink. And a little sentimental, maybe. I wouldn't call it talent. Embarrassing, it's more like."
"Nuh uh. Liquor may amplify sensuality, before ruining it in those it captures(fine talk for a bar owner, but I'm nothing if not honest, right, peaches) But it can't give you what you don't have, sweetie. Except, in your portions, a real mother of a headache. But you didn't come here for mothering did you?" His eyes are still friendly, but sharp. Whatever he is, he's not a dumb one. Actually, if he wasn't so green, and, well, flaming, he would remind me of Stanley. He takes up space like the Big Man, anyway. Changes his shirts a lot more often, I'd guess, but you can look at Stan's without wearing sunglasses, huh?

Ooh, Erika, I knew you'd do a dream sequence justice, and I was right. That's wonderful.

I look him over, but I may have found the one creature impervious to eyefucking...his appearance is just too distracting, and the usual cues, like blushing or turning pale, are for shit.

Damn, Erika... I love the way that Kay and Lorne play off each other.

But for a moment, it hits me. My life is hard.It felt good to be swept along by something I didn't try to control.

Well-captured. We've seen this happen to both Buffy and Angel, and we've seen where it can lead. Plus, happens to all of us. ::sigh:: I think renting H:LOTS is going to be a New Year's resolution.

(beaming madly in the corner but not commenting, because I beta'd it and already read it and erika knows how much I adore it, and her)

But wait...there's more.

"You didn't come here for mothering, did you?"

"Maybe," I say, "I don't want to be alone. The headache was the easy part, huh?"

"Come, have a seabreeze. We'll talk."

"Why not just make Kool-Aid and put an umbrella in it, huh? Same damn thing."

"Coffee ok? We've put all of our manly beverages away for the night."

"Coffee's fine, just put a little cream in it...I don't want to femme it out too much...you know, you're the last person should be giving out static on gender, huh? If you are a person."

"Demon. But one of the good guys...a real cross-dimensional success story, if I say so myself."

"The Munchkin's a..."

"Vampire. Yeah, I know, peaches. And if I had a dollar for every confused woman who came in here every Saturday night with that particular upsetting story, I could special-order a new wardrobe, at least. And it is always women...men have this thing about beating up what they don't understand."-more-

"Demon. But one of the good guys...a real cross-dimensional success story, if I say so myself."

Spot-on Lorne voice!

(itsy bitsy quibble - you've got him referring to Kay as "Peaches" every time. IIRC Lorne tends to vary his monikers - pumpkin, muffin, sugar, etc)

And it is always women...men have this thing about beating up what they don't understand

(Isty bitsy part 2 - wouldn't even a newly vamped chica be able to kick any random guy's ass? Or am I misunderstanding something here?)

Hope I'm not out of line...

"Don't think I didn't think about it. But, he's my friend. I owe him."

"Some people would say that he's a Memorex of your friend. But to my view, that's a little species-centric, 'n'cest-ce pas? Unfortunate timing, too, gorgeous, with you trying to get a piece on the road, and everything." He took a sip of his girly drink, and it looked like he was laughing at me.But I still felt like he cared, which was kinda like Stanley, too, especially at first, when I was Know-It-All Rookie Girl, and couldn't find my ass with both hands. And a map.

"That is none of your business!" I was not gonna have sex talk with frickin' Yoda, huh? No way, no chance. But I bet my body was gonna turn traitor on me, like I told Munchkin once, you can always spot when a woman's been really...excited by the flush on her neck. Mine probably looked like it said "Vampires! This end up." Damn it. Edited because these characters insist on knowing languages I don't.

n'cest pas?

One more itsy bitsy. I was a french major. It's 'n'est-ce pas.'

t zips lips and waits for more goodies