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Entry tags:
FIC: In Another Life (8/22) - BtVS/Numb3rs
Title: In Another Life (8/22+Epilogue)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lyl_devil
Rating: PG-15
Fandom: BtVS, Numb3rs
Pairing: Willow/Don
Beta:strangevisitor7 & kallie_kat
Words: ~36,000 (as of Dec 4, 2008)
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show. I just like to play in their sandboxes.
Summary: Every action has a consequence and every deal comes with a price. Willow’s life is wiped clean, so she makes a new one for herself in LA.
Master Post
Note: I don’t claim to know anything about magic, medicine or the FBI – what I didn’t pick up from tv and books, I made up.
~!~
Part 8
Megan watched Don out of the corner of her eye, fingers pausing on her keyboard. She subtly pulled on the headphone cord, cutting off the sounds of Bono to better hear the conversation Don was having on his cell. It was just the latest in a long line of calls Don had been having in recent weeks, and it didn't take Megan more than a minute to put it all together.
His smile gave him away every time.
"-suit's on the bed...Just get a cab here - I should be done by then....We won't be late. I promise....See you soon."
Megan stared unseeing at her monitor as she realized that Don's new girlfriend - well, not so 'new', really - she was coming here. Megan would finally be able to see - and meet and talk to - the mysterious red head who had managed to snag Don's interest. She was practically dying to meet this woman, and was very proud of herself that she'd managed to restrain the urge to prod him for information.
Her profiler side had come out, and she'd been carefully watching Don these past weeks. He'd been calmer, more focused and above all, happier. He was smiling and laughing more, and the dark looks that would overcome him occasionally were coming less and less. It was too soon to make any judgements, but so far Megan was liking this woman.
Now, if she could only get a name.
Seeing Don head back to his desk, Megan turned her attention back to her own report and the many pages she had yet to write. It had been a long day, and wouldn't be over until the paperwork was done. They'd just closed a simple, but long case, and once again Megan was cursing the FBI for requiring a separate report on the psychological aspects of everyone involved. It meant that Colby and David were done long before her and Don, because the only thing that matched her paperwork, was that of the lead agent.
Seeing Colby and David packing up for the night, Megan grabbed her coffee cup and headed to the break room, stopping by the boys' desks on her way.
"Heading out so soon?" she asked with a smile.
"We've been here for over fifteen hours. I'm going home," said David, sounding supremely happy with that fact. They'd been called out at four in the morning, and were all looking forward to going home for the night.
"Me, too. I am done," added Colby.
"I think you two might want to stick around for a little while longer," she said, unable to keep the teasing lilt from her voice.
Colby looked at her strangely before asking, "And why would we want to do that?"
"So you can meet Don's new girlfriend," she said with a wide smile.
"Don has a new girlfriend?" Now she had their attention.
Holding back a giggle, she said, "Guess you'll have to stay and find out."
Megan headed off to the break room for more coffee, knowing that they would be at their desks 'working' when she came back.
Sometimes it was just too easy.
~!~
It seemed like hours went by before the person of interest stepped off the elevator. Megan had been keeping an eye in that direction, trying to not jump up every time someone came to their floor.
Who knew this many people spent their Friday nights at the FBI?
Finally her patience was rewarded, and Megan spied Don's mysterious redhead arriving, dressed to the nines in a beautiful green dress and carrying a suit bag. The woman paused for a moment searching the room for someone - Megan didn't need to guess who. When she finally found Don working intently at his desk, the delighted smile that lit the redhead's face caused Megan to smile herself.
Her intent perusal of the newcomer had garnered Colby and David's attention, and Megan could practically feel them searching out what had caught her eye. But before they could say - or do - anything, the redhead made her way over to Don's desk, calling out his name. The smile he gave her in return made Megan realize that even though they'd only been a couple for a few weeks, Don was falling faster than she'd ever seen.
"Hey, good timing. I just finished," Don greeted, his voice carrying easily in the mostly empty office. He turned in his chair to meet her, "Wow. Look at you! You look beautiful."
She seemed startled for a second before smiling and looking anywhere but at Don. "Thank you."
Don was apparently use to this reaction, as Megan watched him swallow a small laugh and look at her fondly.
"Ok, here's your suit," she said, holding out the suit bag. "If we hurry, we can make it before the dancing starts and everyone notices we're late."
"Don't worry, we won't be late."
Don took the bag, and turning, finally noticed that Megan, David and Colby were watching the exchange with avid interest.
"Guys," he drawled out, and Megan heard the reprimand in the tone. "What are you still doing here?"
It was a valid question, because Colby and David were usually long gone by the time Don was finished writing his reports.
"Oh, you know. Paperwork," said Megan, daring him to call them on it. Raising her eyebrows in expectation, Megan motioned to his companion, hoping he'd get the hint.
Narrowing his eyes at her, Don introduced them so Megan would finally have a name to go with the face. "This is Willow. Willow, this is David, Colby and Megan."
"Hi. It's good to finally meet you." said Willow, giving them all a little wave. "Don talks about you all so much."
"Really? Cause he never mentioned you at all," Megan said with a toothy grin, poking her tongue out a bit. She just smiled wider when Willow blushed and avoided eye contact, before turning to Don and prodded him into moving.
"Go. Change."
Don was smart enough to give in gracefully, saying "I'm going, I'm going," with a laugh in his voice.
"So. Willow," drawled Megan once Don was out of sight. Pushing a chair towards Willow in invitation, Megan leaned closer to her, resting her chin on her hand. "Big party tonight?"
"Um, yeah. My company's hosting a release party for our latest software package. All the upper management and investors will be there, as well as the entire development team," she said, sitting down. Colby and David had rolled their chairs in closer - one of the advantages to sharing neighbouring cubicles - but seemed content to allow her to lead the 'interrogation'.
"And where do you fit into the grand scale of tonight?" asked Megan, trying not to let her confusion show. She'd had the impression that Willow worked in a coffee shop, as that's where Don had gone that night he'd hijacked her in the Suburban.
"I did some work on the network firewall we're releasing," said Willow. Megan watched her playing with the strap of her purse, and wondered if the nervous habit was surfacing because of the oncoming party or from meeting Don's friends and co-workers. It was a toss up, really.
"Is that an FBI ID badge?" asked David suddenly, motioning to the ID card clipped to her purse. Megan cursed at herself for not realizing sooner that it wasn't a visitor's pass, but a staff ID card.
"I work part-time down in the basement," explained Willow.
Megan's brows rose in surprise at that, because, "Three jobs?"
Willow looked at her sharply, and Megan mentally slapped herself for giving that much away. At no time had she mentioned the coffee shop or a third job.
"That night Don went to the coffee shop," Megan added, hoping that it would be enough of an explanation. Assuming Don didn't make a habit of dropping by the coffee house in the evenings, though an excess of caffeine would explain some things.
By the red hue colouring her face, Megan figured Willow knew exactly what night she was referring to.
"You were there?"
Megan hadn't meant to embarrass her, and felt bad about bringing it up, but the smile on Willow's face told her the memory wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"I was in the car when Don decided he needed some coffee," Megan confided. "Though he usually only drives at those speeds when we're chasing a suspect."
It was apparently the right thing to say, as Willow developed a big smile.
Putting off Colby's questioning with the wave of a hand, Megan turned the conversation back to work. "So, three jobs?"
"Only part-time. I needed to meet a wider range of people and learn to interact with them, so a job at Java Bean was a good choice," she said, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal. Megan also took notice of the phrasing she'd used. 'Need' instead of 'want', and 'learn to interact with people', which implied she was trying to deal with a deficit in her personal and social education. The more she learned, the more Megan began to understand that Willow was more complicated than most of Don's previous girlfriends.
"You don't meet a lot of people working for the FBI?" asked Colby, nudging his chair closer.
"I'm stuck in the basement the whole time," said Willow, referring to the IRU that encompassed the majority of the sub-levels. "I'm around computer geeks here, computer geeks at Arctic Morgan - I wanted to meet a different class of caffeine addicts."
Megan smiled at the small joke, mentally crossing out 'smart' and replacing it with 'very smart and very competent', because Arctic Morgan only hired the best. The computer company was pumping out some of the best software on the market for both the public and the government. They were very specialized, and very good.
"How'd you manage to talk Don into going to this thing tonight?" asked David, deliberately changing the subject. It was a valid question, though. It was an open secret that Don hated dressing up, managing to avoid the annual FBI Christmas Ball five years running, among other things. Megan secretly thought one of the reasons Don wasn't trying to climb the Assistant Director career ladder was because of the dress code. Give him a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a badge and a gun, and Don was happy to run around LA putting criminals behind bars, but try to dress him up and parade him around, well that was just asking for trouble.
Though apparently Willow thought differently or at least thought David was an idiot for asking. "I asked him," she said while giving David a look that said 'Are you sure you're an FBI agent?'. It was a sentiment Megan was sharing at the moment.
"The last time I went to a company party alone, every guy under the age of thirty decided that I 'looked lonely'," Willow explained, wrinkling her nose in remembrance.
"Hitting on you all night?" Megan sympathized, having been in similar situations. Once they knew you could leave them bleeding and crippled on the ground in under ten seconds, they tended to leave you alone for the most part. Usually. Some got more excited, which made Megan want to hit them harder.
"Yeah, and it wasn't even the computer guys; they were in their little group discussing the finer points of Doctor Who and World of Warcraft," she said. "It was the weenies from finance and marketing, who figured I would just swoon at their feet when they mentioned their penis-mobiles."
At that Megan had to laugh, even as Colby and David started to look uncomfortable.
"So Don's around to scare off all the would-be suitors."
"Uh-huh. My big, bad FBI boyfriend will be there to protect me." Willow said smiling. They were apparently still in the 'everything is wonderful' stage of their relationship, and Megan was happy for her and Don. And she really hoped this relationship would last. Don needed someone in his life that wasn't family or a co-worker. Already his relationship with Willow was different, starting from the very beginning when they became friends. She didn't think that Don had gone the friends-then-lovers route with any of his previous relationships (co-workers-then-lovers was altogether different), and that might make all the difference in the end.
"You only love me for my badge," came Don's teasing voice from a few feet away. Willow turned to look at him, and Megan could clearly see the embarrassment on her face.
"And you look hot in a tux," said Willow, standing up. It was then that Megan realized Don wasn't just wearing a suit; he was fully decked out in a nicely tailored tuxedo.
It was apparently a black tie soiree, and Don was pulling out all the stops.
"You don't look so bad yourself," said Don as he held out a hand. "In fact, you look amazing, Willow."
Don pulled her towards him, smiling down at her the entire time.
"You said that already."
"No, I said you looked beautiful," he reminded her. "Upon closer evaluation I feel the need to change my original statement."
"Hmph. Smooth talker," she accused, but Megan could tell she was pleased. Don certainly knew how to turn on the charm, she'd give him that.
"You ready?" he asked her. At her nod, Don said their farewells and left, pulling Willow in close to him.
"Megan, what do you know?" accused Colby the instant the elevator doors had closed.
"I know many things, Granger. You'll have to be more specific."
"Don't play dumb, Megan. You're too smart for that," said Colby.
"And neither of us is buying it," added David.
"Sweet talk won't get you anywhere, boys," she said, though in reality she was dying to gossip.
After some silent, pointed looks from her team mates, Megan finally caved. "This stays between us."
Don's new girlfriend was too tasty a piece of gossip to keep to herself for long.
End Part 8
Part 9
Author:
lyl_devilRating: PG-15
Fandom: BtVS, Numb3rs
Pairing: Willow/Don
Beta:
strangevisitor7 & kallie_katWords: ~36,000 (as of Dec 4, 2008)
Disclaimer: I don’t own either show. I just like to play in their sandboxes.
Summary: Every action has a consequence and every deal comes with a price. Willow’s life is wiped clean, so she makes a new one for herself in LA.
Master Post
Note: I don’t claim to know anything about magic, medicine or the FBI – what I didn’t pick up from tv and books, I made up.
~!~
Part 8
Megan watched Don out of the corner of her eye, fingers pausing on her keyboard. She subtly pulled on the headphone cord, cutting off the sounds of Bono to better hear the conversation Don was having on his cell. It was just the latest in a long line of calls Don had been having in recent weeks, and it didn't take Megan more than a minute to put it all together.
His smile gave him away every time.
"-suit's on the bed...Just get a cab here - I should be done by then....We won't be late. I promise....See you soon."
Megan stared unseeing at her monitor as she realized that Don's new girlfriend - well, not so 'new', really - she was coming here. Megan would finally be able to see - and meet and talk to - the mysterious red head who had managed to snag Don's interest. She was practically dying to meet this woman, and was very proud of herself that she'd managed to restrain the urge to prod him for information.
Her profiler side had come out, and she'd been carefully watching Don these past weeks. He'd been calmer, more focused and above all, happier. He was smiling and laughing more, and the dark looks that would overcome him occasionally were coming less and less. It was too soon to make any judgements, but so far Megan was liking this woman.
Now, if she could only get a name.
Seeing Don head back to his desk, Megan turned her attention back to her own report and the many pages she had yet to write. It had been a long day, and wouldn't be over until the paperwork was done. They'd just closed a simple, but long case, and once again Megan was cursing the FBI for requiring a separate report on the psychological aspects of everyone involved. It meant that Colby and David were done long before her and Don, because the only thing that matched her paperwork, was that of the lead agent.
Seeing Colby and David packing up for the night, Megan grabbed her coffee cup and headed to the break room, stopping by the boys' desks on her way.
"Heading out so soon?" she asked with a smile.
"We've been here for over fifteen hours. I'm going home," said David, sounding supremely happy with that fact. They'd been called out at four in the morning, and were all looking forward to going home for the night.
"Me, too. I am done," added Colby.
"I think you two might want to stick around for a little while longer," she said, unable to keep the teasing lilt from her voice.
Colby looked at her strangely before asking, "And why would we want to do that?"
"So you can meet Don's new girlfriend," she said with a wide smile.
"Don has a new girlfriend?" Now she had their attention.
Holding back a giggle, she said, "Guess you'll have to stay and find out."
Megan headed off to the break room for more coffee, knowing that they would be at their desks 'working' when she came back.
Sometimes it was just too easy.
~!~
It seemed like hours went by before the person of interest stepped off the elevator. Megan had been keeping an eye in that direction, trying to not jump up every time someone came to their floor.
Who knew this many people spent their Friday nights at the FBI?
Finally her patience was rewarded, and Megan spied Don's mysterious redhead arriving, dressed to the nines in a beautiful green dress and carrying a suit bag. The woman paused for a moment searching the room for someone - Megan didn't need to guess who. When she finally found Don working intently at his desk, the delighted smile that lit the redhead's face caused Megan to smile herself.
Her intent perusal of the newcomer had garnered Colby and David's attention, and Megan could practically feel them searching out what had caught her eye. But before they could say - or do - anything, the redhead made her way over to Don's desk, calling out his name. The smile he gave her in return made Megan realize that even though they'd only been a couple for a few weeks, Don was falling faster than she'd ever seen.
"Hey, good timing. I just finished," Don greeted, his voice carrying easily in the mostly empty office. He turned in his chair to meet her, "Wow. Look at you! You look beautiful."
She seemed startled for a second before smiling and looking anywhere but at Don. "Thank you."
Don was apparently use to this reaction, as Megan watched him swallow a small laugh and look at her fondly.
"Ok, here's your suit," she said, holding out the suit bag. "If we hurry, we can make it before the dancing starts and everyone notices we're late."
"Don't worry, we won't be late."
Don took the bag, and turning, finally noticed that Megan, David and Colby were watching the exchange with avid interest.
"Guys," he drawled out, and Megan heard the reprimand in the tone. "What are you still doing here?"
It was a valid question, because Colby and David were usually long gone by the time Don was finished writing his reports.
"Oh, you know. Paperwork," said Megan, daring him to call them on it. Raising her eyebrows in expectation, Megan motioned to his companion, hoping he'd get the hint.
Narrowing his eyes at her, Don introduced them so Megan would finally have a name to go with the face. "This is Willow. Willow, this is David, Colby and Megan."
"Hi. It's good to finally meet you." said Willow, giving them all a little wave. "Don talks about you all so much."
"Really? Cause he never mentioned you at all," Megan said with a toothy grin, poking her tongue out a bit. She just smiled wider when Willow blushed and avoided eye contact, before turning to Don and prodded him into moving.
"Go. Change."
Don was smart enough to give in gracefully, saying "I'm going, I'm going," with a laugh in his voice.
"So. Willow," drawled Megan once Don was out of sight. Pushing a chair towards Willow in invitation, Megan leaned closer to her, resting her chin on her hand. "Big party tonight?"
"Um, yeah. My company's hosting a release party for our latest software package. All the upper management and investors will be there, as well as the entire development team," she said, sitting down. Colby and David had rolled their chairs in closer - one of the advantages to sharing neighbouring cubicles - but seemed content to allow her to lead the 'interrogation'.
"And where do you fit into the grand scale of tonight?" asked Megan, trying not to let her confusion show. She'd had the impression that Willow worked in a coffee shop, as that's where Don had gone that night he'd hijacked her in the Suburban.
"I did some work on the network firewall we're releasing," said Willow. Megan watched her playing with the strap of her purse, and wondered if the nervous habit was surfacing because of the oncoming party or from meeting Don's friends and co-workers. It was a toss up, really.
"Is that an FBI ID badge?" asked David suddenly, motioning to the ID card clipped to her purse. Megan cursed at herself for not realizing sooner that it wasn't a visitor's pass, but a staff ID card.
"I work part-time down in the basement," explained Willow.
Megan's brows rose in surprise at that, because, "Three jobs?"
Willow looked at her sharply, and Megan mentally slapped herself for giving that much away. At no time had she mentioned the coffee shop or a third job.
"That night Don went to the coffee shop," Megan added, hoping that it would be enough of an explanation. Assuming Don didn't make a habit of dropping by the coffee house in the evenings, though an excess of caffeine would explain some things.
By the red hue colouring her face, Megan figured Willow knew exactly what night she was referring to.
"You were there?"
Megan hadn't meant to embarrass her, and felt bad about bringing it up, but the smile on Willow's face told her the memory wasn't entirely unpleasant.
"I was in the car when Don decided he needed some coffee," Megan confided. "Though he usually only drives at those speeds when we're chasing a suspect."
It was apparently the right thing to say, as Willow developed a big smile.
Putting off Colby's questioning with the wave of a hand, Megan turned the conversation back to work. "So, three jobs?"
"Only part-time. I needed to meet a wider range of people and learn to interact with them, so a job at Java Bean was a good choice," she said, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal. Megan also took notice of the phrasing she'd used. 'Need' instead of 'want', and 'learn to interact with people', which implied she was trying to deal with a deficit in her personal and social education. The more she learned, the more Megan began to understand that Willow was more complicated than most of Don's previous girlfriends.
"You don't meet a lot of people working for the FBI?" asked Colby, nudging his chair closer.
"I'm stuck in the basement the whole time," said Willow, referring to the IRU that encompassed the majority of the sub-levels. "I'm around computer geeks here, computer geeks at Arctic Morgan - I wanted to meet a different class of caffeine addicts."
Megan smiled at the small joke, mentally crossing out 'smart' and replacing it with 'very smart and very competent', because Arctic Morgan only hired the best. The computer company was pumping out some of the best software on the market for both the public and the government. They were very specialized, and very good.
"How'd you manage to talk Don into going to this thing tonight?" asked David, deliberately changing the subject. It was a valid question, though. It was an open secret that Don hated dressing up, managing to avoid the annual FBI Christmas Ball five years running, among other things. Megan secretly thought one of the reasons Don wasn't trying to climb the Assistant Director career ladder was because of the dress code. Give him a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a badge and a gun, and Don was happy to run around LA putting criminals behind bars, but try to dress him up and parade him around, well that was just asking for trouble.
Though apparently Willow thought differently or at least thought David was an idiot for asking. "I asked him," she said while giving David a look that said 'Are you sure you're an FBI agent?'. It was a sentiment Megan was sharing at the moment.
"The last time I went to a company party alone, every guy under the age of thirty decided that I 'looked lonely'," Willow explained, wrinkling her nose in remembrance.
"Hitting on you all night?" Megan sympathized, having been in similar situations. Once they knew you could leave them bleeding and crippled on the ground in under ten seconds, they tended to leave you alone for the most part. Usually. Some got more excited, which made Megan want to hit them harder.
"Yeah, and it wasn't even the computer guys; they were in their little group discussing the finer points of Doctor Who and World of Warcraft," she said. "It was the weenies from finance and marketing, who figured I would just swoon at their feet when they mentioned their penis-mobiles."
At that Megan had to laugh, even as Colby and David started to look uncomfortable.
"So Don's around to scare off all the would-be suitors."
"Uh-huh. My big, bad FBI boyfriend will be there to protect me." Willow said smiling. They were apparently still in the 'everything is wonderful' stage of their relationship, and Megan was happy for her and Don. And she really hoped this relationship would last. Don needed someone in his life that wasn't family or a co-worker. Already his relationship with Willow was different, starting from the very beginning when they became friends. She didn't think that Don had gone the friends-then-lovers route with any of his previous relationships (co-workers-then-lovers was altogether different), and that might make all the difference in the end.
"You only love me for my badge," came Don's teasing voice from a few feet away. Willow turned to look at him, and Megan could clearly see the embarrassment on her face.
"And you look hot in a tux," said Willow, standing up. It was then that Megan realized Don wasn't just wearing a suit; he was fully decked out in a nicely tailored tuxedo.
It was apparently a black tie soiree, and Don was pulling out all the stops.
"You don't look so bad yourself," said Don as he held out a hand. "In fact, you look amazing, Willow."
Don pulled her towards him, smiling down at her the entire time.
"You said that already."
"No, I said you looked beautiful," he reminded her. "Upon closer evaluation I feel the need to change my original statement."
"Hmph. Smooth talker," she accused, but Megan could tell she was pleased. Don certainly knew how to turn on the charm, she'd give him that.
"You ready?" he asked her. At her nod, Don said their farewells and left, pulling Willow in close to him.
"Megan, what do you know?" accused Colby the instant the elevator doors had closed.
"I know many things, Granger. You'll have to be more specific."
"Don't play dumb, Megan. You're too smart for that," said Colby.
"And neither of us is buying it," added David.
"Sweet talk won't get you anywhere, boys," she said, though in reality she was dying to gossip.
After some silent, pointed looks from her team mates, Megan finally caved. "This stays between us."
Don's new girlfriend was too tasty a piece of gossip to keep to herself for long.
End Part 8
Part 9
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This was probably the best possible way to introduce Willow to the rest of the team, and it was funny!
Thank you for posting this, it came just in time for a little "break from writing christmas fic* that I desperately needed now
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Has she met the family yet?
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