Xander's Apartment - Middle of the Night [Tuesday]
After her encounter with Angelus, Veronica ran back to Xander's apartment. Her hands were shaking, but she managed to unlock and open the door without making too much noise. The apartment was still quiet, which mean no one had missed her.
She made a beeline for the bathroom of the guest room that she and Logan were sharing. Turning the water as hot as she could stand it, she stripped off her clothes and stood under the spray, her tears mingling with the water as she tried to scrub away the memories.
Logan
Logan was on his way back to the guest bed to try and get some sleep when Veronica rushed into the bathroom. When did she leave?
He knocked on the door. "Veronica? Are you all right?"
Veronica
"Fine," Veronica called back.
Even with the water running, Logan would probably hear the distressed tone in her voice.
Logan
Logan leaned against the doorframe. He ground his teeth, fighting the impulse to barge into the bathroom and find out what the hell had happened. "All right," he said. "Let me know if you need anything."
He sat down on his bed and waited for her to come out.
Veronica
It was a good twenty minutes before Veronica emerged. In her haste, she had forgotten to grab her pajamas, so she had a towel wrapped around her. The skin that was exposed was bright pink from the heat of the water and how hard she had scrubbed it.
"You didn't have to wait up for me," she said, very carefully not meeting his eyes.
Logan
"Couldn't sleep," Logan said truthfully. "You went out?"
Veronica
"Couldn't sleep," Veronica said with a shrug. "I decided to get some fresh air."
She turned her back and rummaged in her bag for pajamas.
Logan
"Alone? Without telling anyone? Are you fucking insane?" Logan asked.
Veronica
"I didn't go far and I'm fine," Veronica said, her tone was flat though, not argumentative. She found her pajamas and started walking back to the bathroom to put them on.
Logan
"The kind of fine that requires a thorough and vigorous cleansing afterward?" Logan asked
Veronica
Veronica shrugged again and closed the bathroom door.
"I figured a shower might help," she called through the door, blinking back more tears.
Logan
Logan was quiet for a long moment, then said, "Did you see him?"
Veronica
"See who?" Veronica asked, hoping Logan wouldn't notice how badly her voice was shaking.
Logan
"The Easter Bunny. Who do you think?"
Veronica
Veronica exited the bathroom in her pajamas. Her hands were shaking and she was looking down at her feet. "What makes you think that?" she asked, walking past Logan to go to her own bed.
Logan
Logan grabbed her hand as she walked by. "What did he do to you?"
Veronica
"Nothing," Veronica tried to lie. The fact that she flinched when Logan grabbed her and that her eyes immediately filled with tears were good indicators that she was, in fact, not being honest.
Logan
Logan stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. You're safe now," he whispered. He hoped. Oh god, he hoped she was safe.
Veronica
Veronica couldn't hold back her tears as she clung to him. "I shouldn't have gone," she admitted through her sobs.
Logan
Logan bit back the impulse to say No shit!. Instead, he just held her and stroked her hair. "What happened?" he asked.
Veronica
"He... said a lot of shit," Veronica said. "Trying to mess with my head."
Logan
"That's what he does," Logan said. "Just remember he's full of it."
Veronica
"I know. I didn't let him get to me," Veronica said.
Logan
"Mm-hm," Logan said neutrally.
Veronica
Veronica sniffled a few more times and pulled back from him. "Sorry," she said.
Logan
Logan cupped her cheek in one hand. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked. "How did you - where is he now?"
Veronica
"I, um... it was the alley where he killed Kitty," Veronica said quietly. "He... well, I managed to taser him. In the balls."
Logan
"Christ, Veronica," Logan whispered. "Did he hurt you?"
Veronica
"He tried."
Veronica swallowed hard and averted her eyes. She couldn't bear to look Logan in the face.
Logan
Based on her reaction and his knowledge of Angelus, Logan had a pretty good idea of what Angelus had tried to do. Logan swore and pulled away from Veronica. He slammed his fist into the wall, breaking through the drywall. "Fuck!" He punched the wall again.
Veronica
"Logan, stop!" Veronica said, starting to cry again. "I'm fine. He didn't get to do much before I managed to get the upper hand."
Bel
Bel really hadn't been sleeping in the living room, too wound up to get any rest. So he heard the noise when Logan punched the wall. He ran across the apartment to the guest bedroom. "What's going on?" he demanded.
Logan
Logan ignored Bel. "Much? Christ, Veronica! I'm going to fucking kill-" He stopped abruptly, made a noise that was half-obscenity, half-sob and slammed his fist into the wall again.
Veronica
"Logan, please," Veronica sobbed. She didn't seem aware of Bel's presence either at the moment.
Bel
Bel saw Logan raging and Veronica crying and made the obvious conclusion that something had happened between them. "Back off, Echolls," he growled, trying to move in front of Veronica.
Veronica
The last thing Veronica needed tonight was Bel and Logan getting into it. "Bel, Logan didn't do anything," she said, grabbing his sleeve and holding him back.
Logan
Logan turned around, leaned back against the ruined wall and sank into a sitting position. He half-heartedly gave Bel the finger and wrapped his arms around his knees.
Bel
"What the hell happened?" Bel said, suspecting and dreading that it was related to Angelus.
Veronica
Veronica went and crouched next to Logan, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I did something stupid," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Bel
"What did you do?" Bel asked, looking Veronica over with concern. She didn't seem to have any obvious injuries.
Veronica
"I... went out. By myself."
She took a deep breath. "I ran into him."
Logan
Logan covered her hand with his and squeezed it lightly.
Bel
"You got away," Bel said. "You're okay. Right?" He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Veronica
"I'm fine," Veronica said, squeezing Logan's hand back. She really, really didn't want to get into the details with Bel.
Logan
"She should've stayed in Neptune," Logan said, glaring at Bel.
Bel
"You should've kept a closer eye on her," Bel growled. "Not my fault your boyfriend went after her." He probably shouldn't have gone there, but. . . .
Veronica
"Both of you shut the fuck up!" Veronica yelled, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
"I decided to go out by myself tonight looking for him. It's my own damn fault that he attacked me. Not Bel's for bringing me out here and not Logan's because he's not my damn babysitter. Now if you two are done swinging your dicks around, I think I need to go vomit."
Logan
Logan pulled himself to his feet. "Thought this was what you wanted," he said to Bel. "Your buddy Angelus back?"
Bel
"Haven't wanted that in awhile," Bel snapped, even if some small part of him totally did.
Veronica
"Can we please not do this tonight?" Veronica begged them both, on the verge of tears again. "I nearly got raped tonight and I'd like to curl up in my bed and try to sleep, not deal with you two brawling."
Bel
"He tried to . . . oh," Bel said, not knowing how to react to that.
Xander
Xander, at the far end of the apartment and not sleeping on a couch, took longer to recognize the sounds coming from the guest room as trouble, but it was hard to mistake once the wall-punching started. He made it to the guest-room doorway just in time to pick up Bel's comment.
"Tried to what? What's going on?"
Bridge
Bridge woke up around the same time as Xander had, it just takes him considerably longer to make his way out here, due to fumbling with crutches. "Guys?"
Logan
"Angelus attacked Veronica," Logan said.
Veronica
"I went out looking for him," Veronica clarified, sliding down the wall so she was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
Xander
"Why the hell would--" Xander got a good look at her posture, and stopped. "Are you okay?"
Veronica
"I'm fine," Veronica said, her tone weary.
Bridge
"No, you're not," Bridge says gently. "I mean, you're *safe* now, he's not getting in here, but you're *hurt*," he doesn't mean physically, exactly
Veronica
Right. Veronica forgot Bridge was psychic. She sighed.
"I don't want to talk about it. You shouldn't be up out of bed, you've had a rough day."
Bridge
"I'm fine," Bridge says dismissively. Somewhere, there's a pot and a kettle and one is calling the other black
Bel
"I should go after him," Bel said, frustrated by just waiting. "Before he hurts anyone else."
Logan
"You're just thinking of this now?" Logan asked.
Xander
"Because what, you've got a shot at taking him down?" Xander said. "At night when you're tired and pissed and he doesn't have to hide from the sun?"
Veronica
"Xander's right," Veronica said. "We can't go after him tonight. We don't want Bel to get hurt either." She shot a warning glare at Logan when she said that. "I think maybe we all just need to get some rest and figure out a game plan in the morning."
Not that she expected to get much sleep, but the idea of curling up in her bed was appealing.
Xander
"I'll talk to Mel tomorrow," Xander added, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.
Veronica
"Who's Mel?" Veronica asked.
Xander
That earned one of the few smiles Xander had managed since last night. "My Slayer," he answered with more than a trace of proud dorkitude. "Well, ours. Dawn's and mine."
Bel
"Slayer?" Bel said. "So you're just going to kill him?"
Xander
Xander glanced at Logan. "That's not the plan. But I want somebody on it who can kill him, if they have to. Hell, Angel would want that."
Veronica
Veronica nodded. "Angel wouldn't want us to let Angelus hurt anyone else."
Bel
"Yeah," Bel reluctantly agreed. "Guess I don't like the idea of some random chick doing it. You sure she won't do it unless she absolutely has to? Or is she vamp-slaying happy?"
Logan
Logan stuffed his hands in his pocket. He stared down at the floor and didn't say anything.
Xander
"She's not some random chick," Xander said, squashing the urge to bristle. More calmly, he added, "She's been through this too, just not with Angel; she knows about the souling spell." How badly that worked out, he wasn't going to mention; that was as much detail as it was his business to give, as far as Xander was concerned.
Veronica
"So, there's nothing any of us can do tonight then," Veronica said. "We should all just go to bed and try to get rest."
Bel
"Sure," Bel said, but he knew he wouldn't sleep. There was far too much on his mind now.
Xander
Xander glanced around the room as he stepped back out of the doorframe. "Anybody feels the need to punch the wall again, stick to that general area; there's a stud about a foot to the left."
Logan
Logan glanced at the wall. "I'll pay for the damages," he said.
Veronica
"I'll go get you some ice for your hand," Veronica offered, heading out to the kitchen.
Xander
"Don't worry about it. Bridge has a thing going with this carpenter who works cheap." Xander waved a hand before heading out into the hallway. "Get some rest."
Bel
"I'll go . . . back to the couch," Bel said, then left the room and did just that.
Logan
Logan sat down on the bed and waited for Veronica to return.
Veronica
Veronica walked back in carrying a towel that was wrapped around an ice pack. She sat down next to Logan and handed it to him.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
She knew full well that he wasn't, but she didn't really know what else to say.
Logan
Logan accepted the ice pack and held it against the knuckles of his right hand. "Oh, yeah," he said. "It's not even going to bruise." Which was not at all what she meant and Logan knew it.
Veronica
"That's something at least," Veronica said. She knew that Logan knew that wasn't what she meant, but she was willing to let him slide for now.
After being quiet for a couple minutes, she said, "I'm sorry."
Logan
Logan stared down at the ice pack. "Me too," he said.
Veronica
Veronica frowned. "You have nothing to be sorry about. This is all my fault."
Logan
I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I can't want him dead.
Logan put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "No, it's his fault," he said softly.
Veronica
"Yes it is," Veronica said, leaning against him. "I should have never convinced Angel to do this class assignment. He was uncomfortable with it and I told him it was a good idea."
Logan
"So did I," Logan said. "We didn't know."
Veronica
"Yeah," Veronica agreed. "I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight."
Logan
"Me either," Logan said. He hesitated, then asked, "Keep me company?"
Veronica
Veronica nodded. "Of course," she said, knowing that they could both use the comfort.
Logan
Logan would've liked to cling to her and bawl his eyes out but he couldn't let his guard down that much. He settled for curling up in the bed with Veronica and eventually drifting off to something resembling sleep.
[ooc: preplayed with marsheadtilt, psycho_jackass, demonbelthazor, needsaparrot and bridge_carson. No IC interaction, but OOC comments are love.]
She made a beeline for the bathroom of the guest room that she and Logan were sharing. Turning the water as hot as she could stand it, she stripped off her clothes and stood under the spray, her tears mingling with the water as she tried to scrub away the memories.
Logan
Logan was on his way back to the guest bed to try and get some sleep when Veronica rushed into the bathroom. When did she leave?
He knocked on the door. "Veronica? Are you all right?"
Veronica
"Fine," Veronica called back.
Even with the water running, Logan would probably hear the distressed tone in her voice.
Logan
Logan leaned against the doorframe. He ground his teeth, fighting the impulse to barge into the bathroom and find out what the hell had happened. "All right," he said. "Let me know if you need anything."
He sat down on his bed and waited for her to come out.
Veronica
It was a good twenty minutes before Veronica emerged. In her haste, she had forgotten to grab her pajamas, so she had a towel wrapped around her. The skin that was exposed was bright pink from the heat of the water and how hard she had scrubbed it.
"You didn't have to wait up for me," she said, very carefully not meeting his eyes.
Logan
"Couldn't sleep," Logan said truthfully. "You went out?"
Veronica
"Couldn't sleep," Veronica said with a shrug. "I decided to get some fresh air."
She turned her back and rummaged in her bag for pajamas.
Logan
"Alone? Without telling anyone? Are you fucking insane?" Logan asked.
Veronica
"I didn't go far and I'm fine," Veronica said, her tone was flat though, not argumentative. She found her pajamas and started walking back to the bathroom to put them on.
Logan
"The kind of fine that requires a thorough and vigorous cleansing afterward?" Logan asked
Veronica
Veronica shrugged again and closed the bathroom door.
"I figured a shower might help," she called through the door, blinking back more tears.
Logan
Logan was quiet for a long moment, then said, "Did you see him?"
Veronica
"See who?" Veronica asked, hoping Logan wouldn't notice how badly her voice was shaking.
Logan
"The Easter Bunny. Who do you think?"
Veronica
Veronica exited the bathroom in her pajamas. Her hands were shaking and she was looking down at her feet. "What makes you think that?" she asked, walking past Logan to go to her own bed.
Logan
Logan grabbed her hand as she walked by. "What did he do to you?"
Veronica
"Nothing," Veronica tried to lie. The fact that she flinched when Logan grabbed her and that her eyes immediately filled with tears were good indicators that she was, in fact, not being honest.
Logan
Logan stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "It's okay. You're safe now," he whispered. He hoped. Oh god, he hoped she was safe.
Veronica
Veronica couldn't hold back her tears as she clung to him. "I shouldn't have gone," she admitted through her sobs.
Logan
Logan bit back the impulse to say No shit!. Instead, he just held her and stroked her hair. "What happened?" he asked.
Veronica
"He... said a lot of shit," Veronica said. "Trying to mess with my head."
Logan
"That's what he does," Logan said. "Just remember he's full of it."
Veronica
"I know. I didn't let him get to me," Veronica said.
Logan
"Mm-hm," Logan said neutrally.
Veronica
Veronica sniffled a few more times and pulled back from him. "Sorry," she said.
Logan
Logan cupped her cheek in one hand. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked. "How did you - where is he now?"
Veronica
"I, um... it was the alley where he killed Kitty," Veronica said quietly. "He... well, I managed to taser him. In the balls."
Logan
"Christ, Veronica," Logan whispered. "Did he hurt you?"
Veronica
"He tried."
Veronica swallowed hard and averted her eyes. She couldn't bear to look Logan in the face.
Logan
Based on her reaction and his knowledge of Angelus, Logan had a pretty good idea of what Angelus had tried to do. Logan swore and pulled away from Veronica. He slammed his fist into the wall, breaking through the drywall. "Fuck!" He punched the wall again.
Veronica
"Logan, stop!" Veronica said, starting to cry again. "I'm fine. He didn't get to do much before I managed to get the upper hand."
Bel
Bel really hadn't been sleeping in the living room, too wound up to get any rest. So he heard the noise when Logan punched the wall. He ran across the apartment to the guest bedroom. "What's going on?" he demanded.
Logan
Logan ignored Bel. "Much? Christ, Veronica! I'm going to fucking kill-" He stopped abruptly, made a noise that was half-obscenity, half-sob and slammed his fist into the wall again.
Veronica
"Logan, please," Veronica sobbed. She didn't seem aware of Bel's presence either at the moment.
Bel
Bel saw Logan raging and Veronica crying and made the obvious conclusion that something had happened between them. "Back off, Echolls," he growled, trying to move in front of Veronica.
Veronica
The last thing Veronica needed tonight was Bel and Logan getting into it. "Bel, Logan didn't do anything," she said, grabbing his sleeve and holding him back.
Logan
Logan turned around, leaned back against the ruined wall and sank into a sitting position. He half-heartedly gave Bel the finger and wrapped his arms around his knees.
Bel
"What the hell happened?" Bel said, suspecting and dreading that it was related to Angelus.
Veronica
Veronica went and crouched next to Logan, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I did something stupid," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Bel
"What did you do?" Bel asked, looking Veronica over with concern. She didn't seem to have any obvious injuries.
Veronica
"I... went out. By myself."
She took a deep breath. "I ran into him."
Logan
Logan covered her hand with his and squeezed it lightly.
Bel
"You got away," Bel said. "You're okay. Right?" He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to keep calm. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Veronica
"I'm fine," Veronica said, squeezing Logan's hand back. She really, really didn't want to get into the details with Bel.
Logan
"She should've stayed in Neptune," Logan said, glaring at Bel.
Bel
"You should've kept a closer eye on her," Bel growled. "Not my fault your boyfriend went after her." He probably shouldn't have gone there, but. . . .
Veronica
"Both of you shut the fuck up!" Veronica yelled, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
"I decided to go out by myself tonight looking for him. It's my own damn fault that he attacked me. Not Bel's for bringing me out here and not Logan's because he's not my damn babysitter. Now if you two are done swinging your dicks around, I think I need to go vomit."
Logan
Logan pulled himself to his feet. "Thought this was what you wanted," he said to Bel. "Your buddy Angelus back?"
Bel
"Haven't wanted that in awhile," Bel snapped, even if some small part of him totally did.
Veronica
"Can we please not do this tonight?" Veronica begged them both, on the verge of tears again. "I nearly got raped tonight and I'd like to curl up in my bed and try to sleep, not deal with you two brawling."
Bel
"He tried to . . . oh," Bel said, not knowing how to react to that.
Xander
Xander, at the far end of the apartment and not sleeping on a couch, took longer to recognize the sounds coming from the guest room as trouble, but it was hard to mistake once the wall-punching started. He made it to the guest-room doorway just in time to pick up Bel's comment.
"Tried to what? What's going on?"
Bridge
Bridge woke up around the same time as Xander had, it just takes him considerably longer to make his way out here, due to fumbling with crutches. "Guys?"
Logan
"Angelus attacked Veronica," Logan said.
Veronica
"I went out looking for him," Veronica clarified, sliding down the wall so she was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. She drew her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
Xander
"Why the hell would--" Xander got a good look at her posture, and stopped. "Are you okay?"
Veronica
"I'm fine," Veronica said, her tone weary.
Bridge
"No, you're not," Bridge says gently. "I mean, you're *safe* now, he's not getting in here, but you're *hurt*," he doesn't mean physically, exactly
Veronica
Right. Veronica forgot Bridge was psychic. She sighed.
"I don't want to talk about it. You shouldn't be up out of bed, you've had a rough day."
Bridge
"I'm fine," Bridge says dismissively. Somewhere, there's a pot and a kettle and one is calling the other black
Bel
"I should go after him," Bel said, frustrated by just waiting. "Before he hurts anyone else."
Logan
"You're just thinking of this now?" Logan asked.
Xander
"Because what, you've got a shot at taking him down?" Xander said. "At night when you're tired and pissed and he doesn't have to hide from the sun?"
Veronica
"Xander's right," Veronica said. "We can't go after him tonight. We don't want Bel to get hurt either." She shot a warning glare at Logan when she said that. "I think maybe we all just need to get some rest and figure out a game plan in the morning."
Not that she expected to get much sleep, but the idea of curling up in her bed was appealing.
Xander
"I'll talk to Mel tomorrow," Xander added, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.
Veronica
"Who's Mel?" Veronica asked.
Xander
That earned one of the few smiles Xander had managed since last night. "My Slayer," he answered with more than a trace of proud dorkitude. "Well, ours. Dawn's and mine."
Bel
"Slayer?" Bel said. "So you're just going to kill him?"
Xander
Xander glanced at Logan. "That's not the plan. But I want somebody on it who can kill him, if they have to. Hell, Angel would want that."
Veronica
Veronica nodded. "Angel wouldn't want us to let Angelus hurt anyone else."
Bel
"Yeah," Bel reluctantly agreed. "Guess I don't like the idea of some random chick doing it. You sure she won't do it unless she absolutely has to? Or is she vamp-slaying happy?"
Logan
Logan stuffed his hands in his pocket. He stared down at the floor and didn't say anything.
Xander
"She's not some random chick," Xander said, squashing the urge to bristle. More calmly, he added, "She's been through this too, just not with Angel; she knows about the souling spell." How badly that worked out, he wasn't going to mention; that was as much detail as it was his business to give, as far as Xander was concerned.
Veronica
"So, there's nothing any of us can do tonight then," Veronica said. "We should all just go to bed and try to get rest."
Bel
"Sure," Bel said, but he knew he wouldn't sleep. There was far too much on his mind now.
Xander
Xander glanced around the room as he stepped back out of the doorframe. "Anybody feels the need to punch the wall again, stick to that general area; there's a stud about a foot to the left."
Logan
Logan glanced at the wall. "I'll pay for the damages," he said.
Veronica
"I'll go get you some ice for your hand," Veronica offered, heading out to the kitchen.
Xander
"Don't worry about it. Bridge has a thing going with this carpenter who works cheap." Xander waved a hand before heading out into the hallway. "Get some rest."
Bel
"I'll go . . . back to the couch," Bel said, then left the room and did just that.
Logan
Logan sat down on the bed and waited for Veronica to return.
Veronica
Veronica walked back in carrying a towel that was wrapped around an ice pack. She sat down next to Logan and handed it to him.
"You okay?" she asked quietly.
She knew full well that he wasn't, but she didn't really know what else to say.
Logan
Logan accepted the ice pack and held it against the knuckles of his right hand. "Oh, yeah," he said. "It's not even going to bruise." Which was not at all what she meant and Logan knew it.
Veronica
"That's something at least," Veronica said. She knew that Logan knew that wasn't what she meant, but she was willing to let him slide for now.
After being quiet for a couple minutes, she said, "I'm sorry."
Logan
Logan stared down at the ice pack. "Me too," he said.
Veronica
Veronica frowned. "You have nothing to be sorry about. This is all my fault."
Logan
I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry I can't want him dead.
Logan put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "No, it's his fault," he said softly.
Veronica
"Yes it is," Veronica said, leaning against him. "I should have never convinced Angel to do this class assignment. He was uncomfortable with it and I told him it was a good idea."
Logan
"So did I," Logan said. "We didn't know."
Veronica
"Yeah," Veronica agreed. "I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight."
Logan
"Me either," Logan said. He hesitated, then asked, "Keep me company?"
Veronica
Veronica nodded. "Of course," she said, knowing that they could both use the comfort.
Logan
Logan would've liked to cling to her and bawl his eyes out but he couldn't let his guard down that much. He settled for curling up in the bed with Veronica and eventually drifting off to something resembling sleep.
[ooc: preplayed with marsheadtilt, psycho_jackass, demonbelthazor, needsaparrot and bridge_carson. No IC interaction, but OOC comments are love.]