Fiction DotL- Chapter Seventeen

Title: Darkening Of The Light

Author: Restive Nature

Disclaimer: The characters and fictional placings of either of these shows do not belong to me. They belong to Cameron/ Eglee (Dark Angel), Joss Whedon (BtVS) and Whedon/ Greenwalt (AtS). Only the story belongs to me.

Rating: PG-13 (for now)

Genre: Crossover of DA/ BtVS

Type: WiP

Timeline/ Spoilers: Post Season 5 for Buffy. Up to LAtR for DA. Story set in DA time.

Summary: BtVS/ DA crossover. Life brings about so many changes. Especially when one has just risen from the dead.

Chapter Seventeen

May 31st, 2021

9:20 a.m.

Seattle, WA

Jam Pony

"And this one's going to 26th and Cyprus," Normal directed. Alec gave a short nod and stuffed the last package in his messenger bag. Three runs, would take up his morning and then he could break for lunch. That wasn't too bad. He could live with it. "And remember, signatures," Normal warned, though he was smiling and it was more of a gentle nudge than his usual screaming tones.

"Got it boss," Alec chuckled. "Haven't been gone that long."

"Well," Normal drawled, "sometimes it takes a while to get back into the swing of things, you know?"

"I know," Alec nodded. He flipped the cover flap over the top of the bag and pulled it from the counter, tucking it over his head and settling it on his right shoulder with one easy, fluid movement.

"Hey!" Normal called over his head and Alec glanced to his left to see who Normal was catching next. Sketchy pushed away from where he'd been leaning against the lockers and moved in their direction.

"Yeah man?" Sketch replied in his usual desultory tone he reserved for dealing with the boss.

"Get up here and get your butt in gear," Normal growled, shaking a package in his direction.

"Way to go Alec," Sketch snorted. "Now you and Max are back, we're like, gonna actually have to work hard again."

"What do you mean again?" Normal demanded. "You've barely worked since the day you started here."

"Hey, I work," Sketch snorted.

"Not like Rock Star here," Normal whined, gesturing to Alec, who was trying to hide his grin. "He's set the bar and I fully expect you to at least try, try and get halfway there today. And speaking of expectations, can I expect Missy Miss in today?"

"You got me there Normal," Alec shook his head. Max was late as usual. "Don't keep tabs on the girl."

"Well somebody should," Normal groused, writing more addresses on his clipboard and then shoving packages towards Sketchy who took them reluctantly. "Huh," he muttered, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. "That'd be a good idea."

"What would?" Alec grinned. He could just see where Normal's mind was going. "'Cause if you're talking ankle monitor's, you'll have mutiny." The tiniest of smiles graced his employer's face.

"Hey man," Sketch whispered, nudging his friend's shoulder and when Alec turned to him, gestured towards the main bay door of the building. "Wonder who the shy hottie is? Think maybe she's looking for a job?"

Alec turned, always happy to oblige the male tendency to at least check out the scenery, stretching his neck just a little to see over the heads of his co-workers as they milled about. His face cleared and he was sure a momentary surprise showed when he recognized the face peeking into the door, looking as Sketchy said, extremely shy and just a little terrified. "Buffy?" he breathed out.

"Dude?" Sketchy chuckled. "You know her?"

"Yeah," Alec murmured, wondering why on earth Buffy would be at Jam Pony. "Hang on a sec," he added and hurried away. The poor kid looked like she was going to bolt, or vomit and he wasn't quite sure which would come first.

"How does he do it man?" Sketch muttered in his wake as both he and Normal watched his progress. "He always knows all the hotties first."

"Talent, charm and good looks," Normal answered readily. "And that boy has got them in spades."

Sketch glanced sideways at his boss, shuddering over the fawning look that graced Normal's face.

At the same time, Alec was moving through the small crowd, his eyes fixed on Buffy, muttering apologies when he happened to accidentally bump into someone because he was concentrating on her. At the foot of the ramp that led up to the doorway, she seemed to have caught sight of him and the look of relief on her face was immense. Alec grinned. It was always good to be appreciated.

"Hey Buffy," he spoke quietly as he reached the top of the ramp. She had pulled back out of the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

She glanced around and quickly wet her lips. "Shopping," she told him succinctly. Alec grinned and furrowed his brow. He glanced back over his shoulder and shook his head.

"For a messenger service?" he asked glibly and turning back, caught a ghost of a smile. It was there and gone so swiftly, he questioned if he actually had seen it, but there was an accompanying spark of light in her eyes before she shook her head morosely.

"Um no," she shrugged one shoulder. "Logan let me out. He's parking."

"He let you out here?" Alec queried. Was the man an idiot? There was no way he should be leaving Buffy alone, especially in an unfamiliar city that had changed so drastically since the last time she'd been there. He could see immediately that the noise and light was already taking it's toll on her as she flinched back from his co-workers entering and exiting the building. "Well, why don't you come in and sit down and wait," he offered. "We've got an employee lounge. Kind of crappy, but there's a couch."

She didn't say yes or no, but after a moment, shifted her weight and Alec stepped back. She followed him, and glancing back at her, he saw her arms crossed over her stomach as she tried to make herself as tiny as she possibly could. Of course, he should have known that his polite offer would be broken by curiosity. It was one trait humans definitely had in common with his kind.

"And who is this lovely young lady?" Normal called out. Alec wondered if Normal was just being nice because of the deference Alec was showing her. He slowed to a stop, which Buffy easily complied with, not even bumping into him. He half-turned, knowing that the polite and proper thing to do was introduce her.

"This is Buffy," he smiled tightly, wondering how she'd react to more new people. "The young lady that Max and Cindy were helping out." He turned to Buffy and, gesturing with one hand, indicated his lanky friend first. "And this is Sketchy, and our boss-!"

"Ray?" she interrupted, obviously recalling their conversation from the evening before. And just with that one thing, Alec could see that Buffy had probably won over his boss for the rest of her life. Well, her second one at least.

"That's right," Normal beamed at her, obviously pleased that she called him by his preferred name and by the fact that someone had thought him worth mentioning to her, most likely Alec, since that was who she was with at the moment. "Reagan Ronald at your service. How can we help you at Jam Pony today miss?"

"Oh, I, uh," Buffy stumbled over the words, her cheeks flushing just a little by being put on the spot like that and luckily, Alec was more than ready to come to her rescue.

"She and her cousin are shopping today," Alec announced quietly. "And instead of waiting out on the street for him, she decided to come see us in all our glory."

"Ah, so you're the chick that lost everything in a fire, huh?" Sketchy grunted. Alec winced inwardly and started shaking his head at his friend over Buffy's shoulder. He and Max had never gotten around to explaining the cover story that Max had used as to why she'd been late the previous morning, to Buffy and Logan. Sketch seemed to catch the hint, as he abruptly fell silent.

"Yeah," Buffy nodded slowly. "Everything."

"Ahh," Normal nodded, "I thought I recognized that shirt," he gestured to the stretchy black shirt Buffy wore with a Disgruntled logo on the front. As far as Alec could recall, it was an Indy's chick band that Cindy had been into when she was younger. And admittedly, Buffy didn't quite fill it out the same way, but she still looked okay. "Glad to see that not all of my employees have miserly attitudes when it comes to those in need."

"It was nice," Buffy smiled tightly.

"But I suppose if you're shopping today, you're in need of some more clothing?" Normal asked leadingly.

"A few things," Buffy shrugged. "I just..."

"Don't know where to go?" Alec filled in for her and she nodded again. He was amazed, that she was actually interacting with the people around her, though she did flinch slightly whenever someone got too close to her vicinity. "Well, if you want to wait for Cindy, she'd probably have some good ideas."

"What about Max?" Buffy asked, puzzled. And Alec could see that she was nervous, tense about meeting yet another new person.

"Where do you think she got what passes for her sense of style from," Alec smiled benignly down at her.

"Ah," Buffy murmured, more out of politeness than anything else.

"Anyways," Alec continued on hurriedly, understanding instinctively Buffy's need to get out of the spotlight, "boss-man, do you mind if Buffy waits in the lounge? It'll just be a minute."

"Not a problem," Normal grinned and shook his head. Both he and Sketchy watched the pair walking away from them. Finally, once they disappeared from immediate sight, Sketchy let out a gusty sigh and shook his head.

"So very, very jealous right now," he mourned.

"What for?" Normal scoffed, bemused as he turned his attention back to his packages and clipboard. "Losing your best drinking buddy?"

"Huh?" Sketchy was as usual, not at all quick on the uptake and Normal scoffed again, quickly readjusting his eyeglasses on his face.

"Believe me young man, that's the kind of girl you take home to meet your mother, not some random, fly-by-night floozy" Normal announced with a trace of a smile as they watched Alec's reappearance, heading for the cooler which stored the company's meager store of soft drinks for sale. Alec picked out two, dropped a few dollars in the honor jar and hurried back up to where he'd left Buffy sitting.

"An' what girl would that be?" Cindy asked as she made her way to the counter, having overheard at least the last part of the conversation. She frowned when Normal automatically began shoving packages in her direction. "Y'all can wait 'til OC drops her belongin's at her locker."

"Well then," Normal grunted and then whistled between his teeth and made a shooing motion. Cindy pushed away from the counter and locked eyes on her friend, Sketchy grasped the packages that Normal had waiting for him and carelessly shoved them in his bag as he trailed after the African American.

"Your guys' friend," Sketch finally answered for her as he leaned against the wall of lockers. "Buff-ay," he drawled.

"What she doin' here?" Cindy demanded gently as she went about her morning business.

"Don't know. Visiting?" Sketch shrugged. "She's up in the lounge with Alec."

"Poor girl," Cindy chuckled. "I s'ppose we betta go rescue the sweet thing."

"I don't know," Sketchy shook his head, easily amused b the whole situation. "Get this though, I think Normal thinks that Alec is seriously into this chick."

"That is strange," Cindy noted. "When has Alec ever really..." she trailed off, both of them knowing what she meant. Alec, aside from being friends with Max and Cindy, had never shown interest in a girl beyond a day or night's pleasure. Excepting maybe Asha of course. But nothing had ever come of that. Sketchy followed after Cindy as they made their way up the stairs that led to the disappointing employee lounge.

"And here's Cindy now," Alec announced quietly to the newcomer in their midst as she and Sketchy finished climbing the short flight of stairs.

"Wow," Sketch chuckled as he flopped down onto the dilapidated couch right next to Buffy. He never noticed how the girl flinched away from him just slightly or how Alec's eyes narrowed and a thin line appeared in his forehead. But Cindy managed to take it all in. "We meet again," Sketchy joked. "Really, we've got to stop or people will start to talk."

"Talk about what an idiot y'all are," Cindy scoffed quietly. She turned her attention to the girl, Buffy and smiled as she recognized her own former shirt. The girl was a little pale, especially with the blond hair and all, and the black  overtones of the shirt just seemed to bring it out even more. She really could see why the girl had Alec acting his best. Maybe he was the type to go for the whole damsel in distress thing. "Hey, Buffy," she greeted, not offering her hand, recognizing that the girl needed a bubble of personal space, even if others didn't notice that. "It's nice to meet ya."

Buffy gave a small, barely recognizable smile as her eyes flickered over the woman. "Likewise," she murmured and Cindy had to lean forward slightly to catch the words. "Um, I told Max, uh..." Buffy picked at the hem of the shirt she wore and Cindy automatically understood.

"She passed on your words honey," Cindy smiled. "And you're welcome. Always happy to help a girl out." She wasn't specific and more so meant that she'd been helping Buffy by extension, through Max. "Although, seein' your colorin', I might have sent something else."

"Oh," Buffy looked startled. "If you need this back..."

"No worries shugah," Cindy waved her hand. "Jus' meant that if I'd known better what ya looked like, I'da sent over somethin' different. Hate to say it, but black's really not doin' much for ya."

"And it's been about all she's had," Alec broke in to add. He smiled warily. "You know what Max's wardrobe is like." There were nods and grins from the three that knew her well. "Anyway Cindy, Buffy's shopping today. Any hints where she could find some good deals?"

Cindy's face took on a thoughtful look as she mulled over that request.

*****           

Logan hurried as fast as his mechanically assisted legs could carry him. He'd dropped his cousin off, directing her to Jam Pony, hoping that she'd find a friendly face inside. Contrary to what Alec had thought, Logan hadn't simply been foisting her off on them to find a decent parking space. No, he'd needed to make a transaction and he really didn't think that it was a good idea to submit his shell-shocked cousin to the seedier side of Seattle. Not that he was all too enamored of it himself. But for a quick infusion of cash, he'd needed to go to where the money was. So the bar not far from where Jam Pony was located, not nearly as empty as Logan had thought it would be, given the time of day, had been his destination. Of late, he'd discovered that the owner of Willy's Place was able to deal with the types of goods that Logan had to sell, namely paintings and statues that had marked his personal collection. As Willy himself had put it, he had a rather eclectic clientèle, despite the shabbiness of the surroundings. Logan, not entirely comfortable in that bar as he was in others, took the words at face value. All that mattered to him was that he got good money, not retail or close to market value, but better than elsewhere and that the new owner would appreciate what he had to sell.

And now, with the money burning a hole in his pocket, he made his way through the small throng of people milling about the entrance of the messenger service building. He moved down the ramp at a fast clip, his eyes scanning for his cousin, or either of the other two people that would recognize her. He didn't see her, Max or Alec, nor did he hear any telltale clue about their location. Deciding to simply ask, rather than wander about until he found them, Logan approached the main desk. "Excuse me?" he called out softly to get Normal's attention. The man finished writing something on a clipboard and glanced up, his face slightly surprised.

"You again, huh?"

"Yeah," Logan grinned slightly. It had been quite a while since he'd last been here, but apparently Normal had a good memory. "Me again. I was wondering if you'd seen my cousin Buffy come in here. She's-!"

"The sweet little blond?" Normal finished for him and Logan was surprised to see a wide smile on the man's face where usually a grimace resided. "She's your cousin?"

"Yes," Logan nodded. "Is she here?"

Normal leaned out slightly and pointed to his right, Logan's left. "Up the stairs, employee lounge. Rock Star's keeping her company. She's a nice young lady," the other man commented. Logan had leaned back so that he didn't get bumped by Normal's physical gesturing.

"Yeah, she is," Logan agreed, wondering what she'd done to win Max's boss over. But perhaps her quiet shyness, so atypical from the teen he remembered to be was misconstrued as something else. That was probably it. "Well, thanks."

"Not a problem," Normal muttered as he returned to his clipboard and package dispersal. Logan turned and headed in the direction that Normal had indicated. As he turned the corner, he could see, at eye level Buffy, surrounded by Alec, Cindy and their other friend, Sketchy. Now that he could see them, their words began to filter over.

"No," Buffy groaned. "Me and beer don't mix well."

"Ah come on," Sketchy moaned as Logan began to climb the steps. "No one said you had ta drink. Just come out with us."

Buffy, wary of being pressed further, bowed her head and shrank back a little. Alec, having noticed when Logan finally made it into the building, took the opportunity to change the subject off of one of Sketch's favorite subjects and rescue the poor girl. "Maybe another time Sketch-man," he chuckled easily. "Right now, Buffy's gotta get busy spending her cousin's money. Now that he's finally here," he added lightly, though the rebuke was clearly identified.

"Sorry," Logan apologized with a tight smile. "Had to see a man about a Muellner." Alec frowned for a moment and then his face cleared as he realized what Logan was inferring. Okay, that made more sense to him than Logan just dumping his cousin in the street.

"Hope you got a good price for it," Alec nodded.

"Decent enough," Logan grinned. "Maybe not as good as what some people could... achieve," he baited, his own chastisement hidden in the easy seeming camaraderie between the two men. When Alec didn't rise to the bait, he turned to his cousin. "So, are you ready Buffy?"

The blond nodded and smiled quickly at Cindy. "Yes, Cindy told me where I should go."

"That's right shugah," Cindy smiled back at Buffy and then tilted her head to the side. "And if they still got that green sweater, go for it. It'll look good with them black jeans." Buffy nodded and gingerly stood up, careful not to bump anyone in what had become close quarters.

"All right then," Logan nodded. "I guess we'll see everyone later. Uh, say hi to Max for me. Us."

"Will do Logan," Alec nodded shortly, one arm raised in farewell. "Have fun." Buffy turned her head and gave him a strange, contemplative look before she turned away and followed her cousin back down the steps and out of the building. Alec smiled as he heard through the soft rumble of daily noise, her farewell to 'Ray' and his boss' enthusiastic invitation to come back at any time. Now that was the sort of thing that Buffy needed. People to talk to, who wanted her around and didn't remind her of all the tragedy she'd recently endured. He just hoped that Logan would see that too.

*****            

"So, do you think we've got enough to tide you over for a while?" Logan asked, many hours later as they entered his penthouse apartment.

"I think so," Buffy nodded quietly. They each carried a few bags. Most important on their list had been to find her some footwear that fit. And with Cindy's suggestion they'd been able to find a store that provided fun and functional all wrapped up into one with decent pricing. So Buffy now had a pair of runners, some boots and one pair of high heels. She'd also found a sweater somewhatly matching the description of the one that Cindy had waxed poetic over and had agreed totally with the woman's opinion on it and had bought it. Along with the other few things that she needed.

"Here," Logan smiled. His cousin hadn't suddenly becoming the bubbling personality of decades gone by, but she'd seemed to loosen up just the tiniest bit. Perhaps she'd been able to get into the flow of the familiar action of shopping and let everything else roll off of her, the crowds, the pollution, the noise. Whatever it was, Logan hoped that the trend continued. "I'll let you put these away. I'm going to go check my answering machine." Buffy nodded and began to gather up the bags.

Logan walked over to the table where his phone and answering machine sat, between the kitchen and the dining room. The light was blinking, indicating that someone had called. Dropping his keys onto the table, he pressed the play button and then started pulling his jacket off.

"H-hi," came a soft, hesitant voice. Logan was startled when the bags that Buffy had been gathering up, were suddenly dropped, obscuring a little of the message with it's sudden noise. "... McClay. I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. But I'm in Seattle right now and I was w-wondering if it would be possible for me to c-come over?" The message continued, the woman giving the telephone and room numbers of the motel she was staying at. She apologized again for not calling sooner and ended the message with a very hopeful note.

Logan turned to regard his cousin. Buffy's face was ashen with surprise and Logan realized that she had recognized her old friend's voice instantly. "Buffy?" he asked gently. His cousin was staring at the answering machine as if it were a bomb waiting to explode. "Buffy?" he called again, slightly louder. Her attention snapped up to his face. "What do we do Buffy? Do you want me to call her back? It's up to you." He could see the indecision marring her face as her lips twisted. She swallowed heavily a few times and then, glancing down at her clasped hands, nodded.

"Make the call."

Chapter Eighteen