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Chapter 26: Long Way Home
"Connor?" I asked.
"Connor?" Colby asked.
"Austin?" Connor asked.
"Colby." I said, turning to him.
"COLBY?" Connor asked, looking from me to Colby.
"Oh, boy." Kelly said quickly.
"So, where's mega-mage?" Charity asked, looking out the window.
Lindsey sneered, " I don't know. He is supposedly laying down." he said, studying her.
"So, what was his deal? Did he or didn't he kill Austin's family." Charity asked.
"Redemption is a scary thing." Lindsey said, " It can turn the coldest, toughest warriors into little babies." Lindsey said, rising from his chair.
"So, he's on the path to suckytown?" Charity asked.
"Yes." Lindsey said.
"So, is that a yes or a no on the part where he killed them?" Charity asked.
"That's a...Since when did you start asking questions?" Lindsey asked.
I assume your plan didn't work. So, little Mr. Do-right did his job, but the place is still standing." Charity said, turning to Lindsey, " And you and our resident slayer got it on, where is he? Is he like, your sex slave? Do you make him dress up?" she asked, lookinga round.
"No, he regained his memory." Lindsey said.
"Really? Where's the rest of his gang." Charity asked.
"Probably somewhere, fightingn some poor demon." Lindsey said.
"What about his 'lover'?" Charity asked, " Did you send him to...Uranus?" she guessed.
"Uratha and yes, I did, but he is back now, around the time you came back. He thought he was in the future, helping Angel help the innocent." Lindsey smirked.
"So he saw the future?" Charity asked, looking worried, " And, who did that?" she asked.
"I did." Lindsey chuckled.
There was an awkward silence. A very long pause.
"God, can you guys not think with your dicks?" she smirked.
"This wasn't about that." Lindsey smiled, " Slayer's got a new friend. I just figured..." Lindsey explained.
"You just figured, new friend meets old friend, some fights within the ranks and disbandment? Smart, but what happens when this blows up in your face?" Charity asked.
"It won't."
"I think I'll pay them a visit." Charity smiled.
Lindsey walked to the door, " Before you do, we should get you some new clothes." he said, following her out.
I sat alone in the office with Connor. I had just explained the weird journey I had been through since I disappeared. I explained everything, from being in Sunnydale again to spending the night with Colby. Connor was visibly confused. I mean, who wouldn't be?
"So, Lindsey?" he asked.
"I was mind wiped." I said.
"And this new guy...Colby." he asked.
I nodded, " I waited. And we had a hunch of where you were...I waited. And I waited. And I turned him down until something told me not to. And oh my gosh am I sorry, but this is really confusing." I said.
"Do you love him?" Connor asked.
"It's been months and months and more..." I stalled.
"Do you love him." Connor asked sternly.
"I don't know how I feel about him, okay! I..." I stammered.
Connor sighed, " I'm sorry," he said, hugging me, " I didn't mean to be...to sound that way, I just...You're the only thing that brought me back here." he said.
"Connor, I love you." I said as he stood.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"What?" I asked.
"While you were gone, where'd you go? I was in some hell dimension, Uratha, were you in Sunnydale all that time?" he asked.
I looked down. I had never thought about it. Where had I been? I couldn't have been down there for long or Amy and her skinless boyfri...skinless...that so rings a bell. But, anyways, Amy and her skinless boyfriend would have found me by then, right? I mean Sunnydale was big, but she had found me right away.
"Austin." Connor said.
I looked up at him and said, " I don't know."
' so, where do we go from here?" COnnor asked.
"I don't know." I answered, " Everything is so messed up. It's a long way home and I really don't have a map."
Connor chuckled lightly, " Yeah, not sure how to fix everything." he said.
"I'll never be able to go back home, to Sunnydale, to my parents and old friends. All that time gone and we're never going back there." I said in retrospect, " That is the question, where do we go from here? I love you, but..."
"You love him." Connor finished.
Just as Connor finished, Kelly burst through the door, " You will never believe who's here!" she said.
Connor and I looked at each other, then walked out into the lobby to find Lewis Blake standing in his suit. Apparently there was something big going on, because I hadn't seen him since the night we stormed Wolfram and Hart.
"You are alive!" Lewis said, hugging me.
"WHo's he?" Colby asked.
"Super hot cop that we met." Kelly smirked.
"Did he date my boyfriend too?" Colby asked.
"No, he was still dating Connor." Kelly answered.
"Oh." Coldy said, turning his attention back to the situation at hand.
"I just can't believe you're here. I mean the last time I saw you, you were running off to fight in the battle..." Lewis said.
"...to win American Idol?" oz said, oticing that Colby was intensely confused.
"You were on American Idol?" Colby asked in shock, " What's American Idol?"
"Ummm, Col, maybe you should go home right now, there is some stuff going on and I don't want you to feel like the odd one out." I said.
Colby nodded, " Erm, maybe you're right. See you tomorrow, baby." he said, kissing me on the lips, then leaving.
"Wow, I already want to kick his ass." Connor sneered.
I looked at him with a raised eyebrow as he, Doug and Oz whispered among each other.
"Lewis, what's up?" I asked.
"Well, there is the weather, and politics, but the most pressing issue is that our resident psychotic slayer is back in action." Lewis said.
"Charity?" I asked.
"Oh, I just love her, she's the latest in psycho-chic and trashy...trash." Kelly joked...or I think she joked.
"So, slutty and cut-up is coming to dinner?" I asked.
"I need something to hit." Connor said.
"You can't hit her." Oz said, " I've got some weapons in the back."
"Where is she?" Groo asked.
"Location unknown. We do have some serious reservations about this chick, she's protected by Wolfram and Hart and she has a 65% chance of getting off." Lewis said calmly.
"That sucks." Doug said.
"Where's Dawn?" Connor asked.
Everyone looked shocked by the question, then they all looked to me.
"She's in Scotland." I said.
"With Buffy? Why?" he asked.
"Because she had a thricewise boyfriend and they...and....she's..." I started.
"Giant now, that's one of the drawbacks of that, right?" Connor asked.
"Yes. So now she's in Scotland." I said.
"How are you doing with that?" Connor asked.
I looked around, " Charity. We need to find Charity." I said, turning back to Lewis, " She's at Wolfram and Hart."
"How do you know?" Oz asked.
"Where else would a skanky-slayer with no friends and no other help go?" I asked.
"How do we lure her?" Doug asked.
"I'm thinking we won't have to." Oz said, " she's out for some serious revenge."
"A lot of people are in danger. Slayers mostly." I said.
"We should get going, Slayer, Interrupted could be anywhere by now." Doug joked.
"So, Mary, you say this man attacked you and your unborn child?" Lindsey asked, watching the expecting mother shift in her seat.
Her husband tried to make her comfy and for a minute, Lindsey felt a twinge of pain and regret, then he shook it off, opting not to lose his job again.
"Yes. I was in the yard with my daughter and my husband and he came up from nowhere. At first, he engaged in conversation with me, then he attacked us." she explained.
"How far along were you?" Lindsey asked.
"Three months." Mary said quickly.
"And now?" Lindsey asked.
"Four and a half." her husband answered.
"This is so stupid, I don't know why I'm here...I'm fine. My baby is fine and I think he had a problem. When I told him I was pregnant, he backed off." Mary said uneasily.
"But what if you hadn't been?" her husband asked.
"I don't know, but I'm not sure he would have killed me." Mary said.
"Anything else." Lindsey asked.
"He was strong. He didn't look it, but he was strong." her husband said, showing Lindsey the scars on his back from being thrown into his own car.
"I'll get crackin on this right away." Lindsey smiled, " I assure you, you're doing the right thing. This man...he could come back."
Mary nodded and her and her husband left the room. As they left, Charity stepped out from the curtain she had been hinding behind.
"So, what's her deal? I mean some super strong...Oh now, you are good!" Charity smiled.
"You have no idea." Lindsey smirked.
"So, does this mean I get to kick his ass?" Charity asked.
"There's time for that." Lindsey answered, " But first things first."
Connor and I had opted to study in the lobby, we figured we could find osmehting on the spells used to transport us and maybe we could figure out where I had been. I was really nervous because we were so close. I caught him staring when I wasn't looking and I ignored it and smiled to myself. I couldn't ignore it anymore when we both tried to grab the same book at the same time and our hands met.
"Sorry." I said, jerking my hand away.
"No. You were going for the book first." Connor smiled.
I smiled sheepishly, " I...umm, think that...there's not much..." I said, looking into his eyes.
"I know." Connor said, leaning over and kissing me.
Connor smiled at me and was about to say something, but stopped and looked behind me. I turned to see Lewis standing at the door, gun pointed.
"Austin Young, I have a warrant for your arrest." Lewis said sadly, quickly flashing the arrest warrant.
If you liked it, let me know and I'll start on the next one.