KAY

(A week earlier)

So, my letter got written, along with more personal, keep-it-light versions to Gee and Timmy.(I didn’t just want to disappear...we’ve had too much of that as a squad. But I didn’t say everything, either,huh? I figured there was a reason this demon fighter gig was such a deep dark secret. So I just sent Beau a postcard. I mean, I love him like a partner, huh. But it’s still telephone, telegraph, tell Felton.

I told everyone Munchkin had been through some changes, and though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Balmer, I didn’t expect him to be on The Job again. If he wants to tell them more, he can do it. The v-word is still too hard to say. I both hope I do, and I don’t, see Angel before I leave. Although part of me thought that’d be one way to fill the nightshift without bellyaching. So, now I’m free in the land of sun, fun, and slime-spewing demons. Do I know how to recuperate or what?

I was sorting through the files, which were a screaming nightmare guaranteed to give Giardello an embolism, when he walked in. He had something on his mind, anyone could tell that, but I was in the middle of something.(In some ways, Cordy’s like a puppy. You catch her that minute or not at all, huh?)

” Hey, Chase, what’s a mucus demon doing under “y”? The client’s name was Smithers.”
“I have a name, you know,” Cordy said, giving me an annoying eye-rolling teenage look. “It’s Cordelia. I might just use just it when I’m famous. Like Cher or Madonna.”

”Or Divine,” I can’t resist wisecracking, which cracks our mystery guest up.”Seriously, hon, what’s up with the Smithers file.”

“It’s filed under ‘y’ for “Yuck.” Mucus demons are totally disgusting. You remember."

Heheheheheh. Y for "yuck".

Heheheh.

That's so damned Cordy. Especially since I doubt original flavour Cordy would have spent one minute considering whether anyone else would touch her files.

Thanks, I thought so. And picturing Kay hearing that is funny too...it's gonna be a long day all around.

“It’s filed under ‘y’ for “Yuck.” Mucus demons are totally disgusting. You remember.”

“Yeah, “ I say, thinking “I survived gunshots for this?!” But what if I didn’t? How would I find it, huh?”

”You mean like amnesia? Cause that happens with spells sometimes.”

“No!”(Temper, Howard.) “Yeah, ok, like amnesia. And, maybe I’ve got partial amnesia and can remember either the demon or the client, not both, hmm. You need to make two files.”

“Amnesia doesn’t work like that. Wesley, tell Kay amnesia doesn’t work like that.”

“That would be highly atypical of magic-based amnesia. Perhaps in a more organic variant...like that caused by blunt-force trauma.” I had hoped those two would work together, but of course the one time they do without being nagged, it’s to make me look like a hump. Great.

KAY

"Humor me. Wes can talk to our client,huh?”

“Oh, that’s no client. That’s just Gunn.”Cordy was taking her time getting back to the filing cabinet. I swear, you could stun that girl with a piece of tinfoil. Jesus.

“Damn, Cordy, that’s cold. Hey, English, you gonna just sit here and let her say that? I saved your life ...in some countries we wouldn’t be even till you saved mine. Which you’ll be doing on payday.” The young black stranger said.

“You work here?” I ask, trying not to give him the suspect stare.

“Yes, Agent Scully, I do. I just took some time to do some freelance demon fighting. Freelance as in free. I would complain, but hey...it’s a family thing. You know?” He carried a stuffed duffle bag, which he plopped down the desk.

“Yeah,” I said. “I do, sort of.” I’m not the kind for chat so much, but I was thrilled to get away from the paperwork disaster. But the invoices were perfect.What's the deal with that?

”I don’t recall getting your name. Or is it classified? Should I just call you Dana?”

“Kay. Kay Howard. I’m just here paying off my bill....You really think I look like Scully?”

“I think Scully wishes she looked as good as you. Without makeup anyway.”

“Charles? Is that you? I didn’t hear you come in.” Wesley said, in the library with his books.”

”That’s why this business is taking off so great. Keen detective instincts.”

A lifetime ago, I’d said the same thing about Bayliss. Now, he was damn good. Not as good as me, but good.
“You are way too young to be such a snarky pain in the ass, you know? Even if you do need glasses.”

“What’s the right age? I'm old enough to vote. And drink, although at times in my past I treated rules like polite suggestions, if you feel me." Pembleton would be in full quotation mode just looking at this guy, but I was happy to find another streetfighter in this crowd.

“Thirty. I’m thirty-four...I’ve paid my dues, huh?”

“I grew up fast. Being disadvantaged and all.”

"You're with me, huh? At least for today, till I work out the rotation."

"Rotation? Sounds like the Army or the cops...I sure didn't sign on for that. Nuh and uh. Are you asking me or telling me? Because one will definitely work, and the other might just get me filling out job applications."

This guy made the Munchkin look like an Amway salesman. Deep breaths, Kay. Think about the beach over the weekend, huh?

"I am the cops. OK, let's try this again. Gunn, would you please be my partner?"
" There, was that so hard? Pretty hair for a 5-0, though."

"Detective." Someday, I've really gotta stop correcting people about that. And I need to apologize to Gee about giving him so much static(Well, ok, for the half I wasn't justified about.) Being a leader sucks sometimes.

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I could be on a plane to Charm City already."

"Maybe Wesley knows a spell." Cordy said, as if her prayers would be answered.

"Love you, too, Cordy. I can't leave just now either. Got my own family thing,huh?" ETA: stuff.

“Yes, Agent Scully, I do. I just took some time to do some freelance demon fighting. Freelance as in free. I would complain, but hey...it’s a family thing. You know?”

I just literally heard JAR say this, in my head. Damn.

I think you need something more at the end of this one line of Kay's dialogue:

“Thirty. I’m thirty-four...I’ve paid my dues, huh?”

Something to make Charles' response to her a response. Either that, or he needs to to tell her his own age. Because at the moment, his comeback:

“I grew up fast. Being disadvantaged and all.”

is a bit out of left field. So something like "Yeah, well, not as young as I look, Scully. I'm (insert whatever age). Grew up fast, being disadvantaged etc."

Are they going demon-hunting together? Because hoo mama, that would make me really intensely happy.

I'm thinking she would think he's the best partner, yeah. How old is our friend, anyway? A little older than Cordy? I'm glad you thought Gunn's voice was ok. I worried about it. One thing I knew though is that, for Gunn, "It's a family thing." is a complete sentence.

V!Giles and Spike, re: obsessions

"Darkness? In Xander?" He considered the painfully earnest young man he'd watched grow up. "I know there are things in his past he doesn't talk about, but once he got out of his parents' house he seemed much happier."

Spike sighed. "The whelp's very, very good at facades. If you're not looking close, all you see is the happy-go-lucky overgrown puppy. That's what he wants you to see."

"Since when did you start looking closely at Xander?"

"I was stuck in his basement for a long time, I saw a few things he wishes I hadn't. But it was that night with Glory. Ripper, you should have seen him. Him against an army, and he faced down the whole bloody lot of 'em."

"Guns make men brave."

"Guns make cowards brave. Guns make brave men make hard choices. Harris made the choices." Spike picked up the whiskey bottle and stared at it. "He went somewhere dark that night. Someone had to. I don't think he's come back yet."

Giles studied Spike for several moments. "And are you hoping he does make it back? Or that he gets lost there?"

A predatory smile curled across Spike's face. "There? 'There' is where we are, Ripper. I like having Harris here in the dark. He's not quite comfortable here yet. There's just a few more steps left before he realizes that he's wasted over on the other side."

"You're being uncharacteristically patient about it all, I must say. It's been months since we finished Glory." He reached over and grabbed the whiskey from Spike, took another swig, and handed it back.

Spike tapped his forehead. "You can teach an old dog new tricks, if you kick him in the head often enough. And Harris knows me too well to fall for anything direct. There are enough obstacles in his life for him to trip over."

Giles became aware of an odd sense of outrage. "And you're throwing Buffy over for Xander? The Vampire Slayer for a--well, he's a very nice young man and all, but he's no Slayer."

"And he's not going to be more than a very nice lad while he's still trying to fit in with goody two shoes brigade. There's potential there, mate. Be honest now. In all the years you've known him, have you never once looked at him and thought about the possibilities? I know what you used to call fun. Never once did you have a picture in your head of him on his knees in front of you--"

"No," Giles said firmly. "I haven't." He ignored the disbelieving grin. "So you're exchanging your Buffy-obsession for a Xander-obsession."

Spike's pensive look came back. "Not exchanging, no."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. Collecting the whole Scooby set, are you?"

"No, I'm leaving Red for you." The leer faded. "With Buffy--you said it right, La Belle Dame Sans Merci. I can't help myself. I still want her. I'm just not sure if I want to drag her down to me or . . ."

"Or pull yourself up to her," Giles said softly. He was treading on very thin ice here. Sometimes Spike was willing to admit to the instincts of a shy young poet, but sometimes the merest mention of the name William made bodies scream.

Spike only nodded slowly. "Nothing cuts deeper than that look of suspicion she gives me. Angelus couldn't inflict pain the way she can. And I disgust myself for letting it get to me."

"The man versus the demon." Giles braced himself for a reaction, but Spike let it go. "Whereas this thing with Xander . . ."

The tension fled Spike's shoulders. "That's pure. In a very impure way, of course. Uncomplicated. You get the feeling that playing with him for a few centures would be a festival of claws and snarls and good times."

Giles blinked. "Centuries? My god, you're not saying— What are you saying? I'm not spending the next several decades listening to Xander Harris natter."

"Oi, who said I'd let you? Don't have to hang around, you know. You could spend your time on Red. Or why else are you spending so much time on our Willow's . . . education?"

He drew himself up with dignity. "She's starving for knowledge, she's going to find it somewhere. Better through me than willy nilly, when she could wreak untold havoc."

Spike still smirked. "Plus you get to give her those little hugs and let her gaze at you adoringly. Not that that has any bearing on anything."

"Of course not."

"Perish the thought."

"Indeed."

"No, I'm leaving Red for you."

Mom! (Or perhaps, Amy!) Connie broke me! Again.

Erika, I can't wait to see how effortlessly Gunn gets Kay's back in a demon-fighting crunch. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. Intersting possibilities for Wesley-jealousy, as well. If there was tension over Fred, just think how much more they'd compete to get the attention of a female leader-type -- the best bits of Angel and Fred combined.

Yeah, that was my thinking,Karl...along with Kay thinking they were strictly Amateur Hour and she needed to stick around, help the kids out.(And if she happened to spare her Visa and settle things up with a certain vampire, no skin off her back, huh?) Vamp!Giles and Willow...wibble. And with all that, and my apparently compulsive drive to mimic Howardspeak, I forgot to greet my "knight in white satin armor" properly. Karl, you're good for my ego as always, babe. A bond between two people is wonderful thing...add three or four and it's fantastic.