Chapter One


  It wasn't your ordinary summer vacation, but then again nothing Gwen
Raiden did was ever ordinary.
  With no one to turn to for help, she called the only person she
could think of, Fred Burkle.
  She knew Fred wasn't exactly a friend, but she felt she could trust
her and knew that when the chips were down she'd do the right thing.
Or so she hoped.


  It was a typically hot day in LA and Gwen was wearing a thin white
half top and matching white shorts, which were a sharp contrast to the
usual leather outfits she loved so much.
  In this heat, leather just wasn't an option.
  As she walked up to Fred's apartment she felt herself getting the
slightest bit nervous, which was very new for her.
  Fred opened the door wearing nothing but a very tiny pink bikini and
was more than a little surprised to see Gwen standing in front of her,
"Gwen?  What are you doing here?"


  Gwen found herself staring at Fred's tall slender body and couldn't
help but smile as she looked back into her eyes, "Well, this is a
different look for you.  I have to say I like it."
  "Very funny, you can save the sarcasm and tell me what you want."
Fred said, sure that Gwen had just made fun of her.
  "No, I meant it.  I hardly recognized you.  Honestly, you're a
beautiful woman and I just said what I felt." Gwen felt a strong need
for Fred to know she wasn't making fun of her, "Anyway, I've got a
little problem and I couldn't find Angel, Gunn or Wesley so I was
hoping you could help me with it."


  Fred felt better after hearing Gwen's explanation, but quickly was
back on the defensive, "Oh, I'm your last resort am I?"
  "That's not what I said.  Can I come in please?  It's like an oven
out here." Gwen was wiping the sweat from her forehead when Fred
motioned for her to come inside.
  "Okay, now that you're here what can I possibly do to help you?  I
am not really the muscle in Angel Investigations." Fred walked through
the long hallway into her air-conditioned living room, picked up a
cold glass of iced tea and turned back to Gwen, "If you hadn't noticed
I was more the research girl."


  "I think you do way more than that, but what I need is something
none of those guys could help with anyway." Gwen walked up beside
Fred, poured herself a glass of iced tea, drank it down in one gulp
and let out a very happy sigh, "Oh that was soooo good.  I feel much
better now."
  "That's really nice Gwen, but I wish you would just tell me what you
want." Fred asked, her eyes unable to avoid staring at Gwen's tight
top or the fact her nipples were pushing through the thin material.


  "Your right, I'll tell ya the whole story, but can we do it on the
way?  I need to get to this small town near Las Vegas.  It's an out of
the way little hick town called Hoodwink, population 250, but almost
all of those are demons.  I made a deal to recover this ancient statue
for some demon called Kystanic, a mind control demon and he's got it
in his head I am to be his wife and I told him that wasn't possible of
course, but he wouldn't take no for an answer."
  Fred was half listening and half day dreaming as she continued to
enjoy Gwen's sexy body, "Oh um, that's not good.  What did you do next?"


  "Well I was running out of options.  I was in a room full of demons
and I wasn't sure I could take them all out so I improvised." Gwen
said with a big smile as she looked over at Fred and saw that her eyes
were looking much lower than they should be, "You like what ya see?"
  Fred's head snapped up from staring at Gwen's breasts, causing Fred
to quickly turn away, her face a bright shade of red. "I'm sorry.  I
was just…I thought I saw…I mean…  God, I feel so embarrassed.  I
really wasn't trying to…Oh never mind."


  "Hey, I was just kidding.  It's only natural for eyes to wander.  I
know mine have many times since I saw you in that bikini." Gwen said
honestly, as her eyes were focused on Fred's sexy round ass as she
continued, "Which is a great segue into what I'm here for."
  Fred's curiosity was peaked and she turned around, noticed Gwen's
eyes staring at her ass and smiled shyly, "What is that reason anyway?"
  "I needed a sure fire way to get out of this marriage idea of
Kystanic's, so I told him I had a girlfriend.  Well, that stopped him
in his tracks.  For a moment that is.  Then he wanted proof.  He said
he wanted to meet her, so here I am, wanna take a trip?" Gwen was
smiling from ear to ear as she finished and she was pleased to see
Fred was to.


  "I see, I'm supposed to be your girlfriend am I?  Talk about a
stretch.  Not sure I'm that good an actor." Fred said with a grin.
  "Very funny, I'm not that bad." Gwen said with a fake little pout,
"Come on Fred, it will be fun.  I promise.  We can dress up and put on
a show for this guy."
  "I don't know." Fred walked past Gwen and over to her balcony, "I
guess it might be fun.  I'm sure getting bored in this place.  So just
how far will we have to go to prove we're a couple?"


  "Oh, as far as you want to sweetums." Gwen grinned and put her arm
around Fred's small waist, "I have a feeling this is going to be more
fun than either of us can imagine."
  Fred smiled back at Gwen and put her arm around her waist, "Okay,
I'm in.  But you will owe me big time for this."
  "That's fair enough, you think up the proper payback and it's yours.
I'll do anything you want." Gwen said with a sexy grin.
  "Anything?  I wouldn't use that word unless you mean it.  You have
no idea what I might be thinking." Fred was smiling as she playfully
bantered with Gwen, finding herself enjoying the sexual innuendo that
was going on.


  "Don't you worry about me; I'm more than ready to live up to my end
of this bargain." Gwen moved in front of the taller Fred, looked up at
her and smiled, "Anything you want, I'll deliver."
  "That's good to know." Fred resisted a strong urge to lean down and
kiss Gwen's soft lips and instead walked past her into the kitchen,
"I'll give this a whole lot of thought and the harder this is to pull
off, the more I'm going to want in return."
  "I'll make this as much fun as you can handle." Gwen followed it up
with what was going to be a mock kiss, but as her lips touched Fred's
she didn't pull away like she had planned and instead just waited to
see what Fred would do.


  Fred surprised herself by kissing Gwen back so deeply, her heartbeat
through the roof. As Gwen slid her hands over her small, yet firm
round ass the phone rang and both girls jumped apart.
  Gwen was still smiling as Fred looked lost trying to find her own phone.
  "Hello?" she said, her voice still a bit unsettled from the kiss she
couldn't stop thinking about.


  "Fred, it's Angel, I just wanted to see how you were doing.  I
haven't seen you for a couple weeks now so I hope everything is okay?"
  "Hi Angel, I'm doing good." Fred said with a big smile, "I'm just
about to take a trip.  Is something wrong?"
  "No, everything's fine here.  Wesley and Gunn are on a fishing trip
together if you can believe it.  I've been spending a lot of time
looking over the files here at Wolfram and Hart and I think they are
going to help us more than we thought."


  "That's great.  Glad everyone is okay.  Is there any word on Cordy?"
Fred asked, still worried about Cordy.
  Angel paused briefly to gather his thoughts before responding,
"Nothing so far.  I know we'll find her.  I'll keep at this until I
do." Angel paused for a moment then tried to get upbeat again,
"Anyway, where are you going?  You mentioned a trip?"
  "Yes, I had a surprise visitor today." Fred walked over towards Gwen
as she continued, "Gwen's back.  She needs my help and I was getting
bored so I agreed."


  "I see." The apprehension apparent in his voice as he recalled
Gwen's track record for getting in over her head, "What kind of
trouble is she in this time?  I don't want you getting hurt Fred, so I
hope this isn't dangerous.  If it is I can help."
  "No, it's okay.  It might be fun.  It's just something I need to do.
I think we can take care of ourselves.  Gwen's got the electrogirl
thing going so we'll be fine." Fred took a sip of her iced tea and
licked her lips as she smiled over at Gwen, "Listen, you keep
searching for Cordy and let me know the minute you find something.
I've gotta go now so take care and thanks for calling Angel.  Bye."


  Fred hung up the phone before Angel could reply, walked slowly over
to Gwen, took another sip of her drink then looked into her dark eyes,
"So was that kiss part of this game?  Were you just practicing?  It
was pretty convincing."
  Gwen looked directly into Fred's equally dark eyes, "Glad you liked
it.  I have this strange feeling we might need to practice a bit
more."  Gwen slid her hand down over Fred's ass then looked up at her
with an innocent yet oh so naughty look, "You know, so we can convince
Kystanic of course."
  "That sounds promising.  I do want to be believable as your
girlfriend." Fred was so into the sexual banter she didn't think twice
before sliding her hand up and under Gwen's flimsy top.


  It was only after she'd begun rubbing Gwen's nipples did she realize
what she was doing and was about to pull her hand away, but Gwen
grabbed her hand and held it over her breasts.
  "You don't have to stop.  I don't want you to stop." Gwen all but
whispered the words as she stared into Fred's eyes, "You're so
beautiful."
  Fred blushed then smiled back at Gwen, "So are you.  You have this
energy about you and I don't mean the electrical kind either, I mean
this sexual energy that I can't seem to shake."


  "Do you want to shake it?" Gwen asked, still enjoying Fred's soft
hands caressing her breasts.
  "No, I want to embrace it.  I don't know what's going on right now
but I don't want to stop.  Kiss me." Fred wasn't sure if she was
asking or telling Gwen to kiss her, but she could tell she got her
message across as Gwen leaned up and kissed her hard and deep again.
  This time the kiss wasn't interrupted and it continued as the two
girls were kissing passionately, stumbling across the living room,
falling onto the couch, never once did their lips separate.


  Gwen was on top of Fred, her hands quick to unhook Fred's bikini top
and toss it to the floor so she could caress her small breasts.
  Fred let out a soft moan as Gwen covered her breasts with her hand,
then let out another as she began rubbing her already hard nipples
with her thumb.
  Only then, did Gwen break the kiss, but only so she could kiss her
way down Fred's soft neck and over her shoulders before moving down to
take Fred's nipple into her mouth.


  Moving from one nipple to the next, Gwen soon had Fred moaning and
squirming under her and she'd only just begun.
  With her soft lips kissing her way down Fred's tight little tummy,
she slowly parted hers long legs and kissed her way back up her
slender thighs stopping just inches from her moist pussy lips.
  Gwen was breathing heavy as she slid her tongue over Fred's clit,
flicking her tongue back and forth over it as she quickly pushed two
fingers up her pussy and was slamming them in and out at a furious
pace right from the start.


  Fred was unable to do anything but hold on and enjoy every moment.
  With nothing holding her back, Gwen was relentless as she licked
Fred's clit, her tongue moving swift and hard as she licked her from
every possible angle, never once slowing down or easing the pace of
her fingers as they continued to move in and out of her at a frantic
speed.
  There was no hesitation in Gwen's movements, each touch, caress and
flick of her tongue was designed for one reason only and that was to
give Fred as much pleasure as she could.


  As Fred squeezed the covers and let out a loud moan, Gwen crawled
back up over her, leaned down and kissed Fred hard and passionately.
Fred was quick to respond and soon had Gwen turned over onto her back
and was kissing her deep as she slid her hand down her stomach and
began rubbing her pussy as fast as she could.
  Gwen couldn't stop kissing Fred, her lips drawn to Fred's like she
was drawn to electricity only this was a whole lot more fun.  The
kissing changed from soft and sweet to hard, passionate and out of
control.
  Each kiss creating more tension and desire as Gwen pulled up from
the kiss, stared up at Fred's beautiful face, before moving back to
her lips and kissing her even harder than before.


  Fred pulled away from the kiss, but kept her lips busy as she kissed
her way down Gwen's soft neck and over her shoulder then down over her
round shapely breasts, cupping them in her hands as she slid her
tongue over her cute little nipples.
  There was heavy breathing all around as Fred moved frantically from
one nipple to the next, furiously licking each one before taking it
deep into her mouth and sucking it hard, never wanting to let go.
  With her body heating up like never before, Fred slid down between
Gwen's legs, kissing and licking her inner thigh as she smiled up at
Gwen, then licked her lips as she lowered her face to within inches of
Gwen's pussy.


  Fred's tongue hovered over Gwen as she reached out and locked hands
with Gwen just as her tongue moved slowly up and down Gwen's moist
pussy lips, her thumb rubbing her clit in a circular motion at a speed
that sent Gwen's head flying backwards, her hips arching upwards as a
numerous soft moans escaped her lips.
  Sensing Gwen's obvious enjoyment Fred continued to lick her as fast
as was humanly possible, moving her tongue to Gwen's clit as she slid
one of her slender fingers inside Gwen and pushed it all the way up,
then back out before shoving it back in again.
  Gwen was bucking her hips forward as Fred slammed her finger in and
out of her.   Harder and harder, she pushed them as her tongue was
moving faster and faster as she held onto Gwen's soft hand as her body
rose up then fell to the ground with a thud.


  Fred moved up beside Gwen, kissed her softly, rested her head on
Gwen's shoulder and fell asleep with Gwen's arms wrapped around her
naked body.
  When Fred woke up the next morning she rolled over to find the bed
empty and Gwen nowhere to be found.
  A million thoughts raced through her mind as pulled on her robe and
walked out into the kitchen.  As her eyes found Gwen standing over the
stove in one of her t-shirts she couldn't help but smile and be
relieved at the same time.


  She walked up behind Gwen, put her hands around her waist and gave
her a big hug, "Whatcha doing?"
  "It's a surprise." Gwen turned to face Fred and gave her a very soft
kiss then ushered her to her chair, "I don't cook much, but I do make
a mean cheese omelet so I hope you like."


  "Of course I will if you made it." Fred watched Gwen walk back over
to the stove and then she got up and walked over to the door, opened
it and picked up the paper from the hallway and brought it back inside.
  As soon as she saw the front page, she almost fainted.  She managed
to make it back to the kitchen, sat down and began reading the story
that made the front page.


  "Gwen, I think you're going to want to have a look at this.  Your
friend Kystanic has made the front page and he mentions you as the one
who caused him to use his power on the people of LA, taking control of
an estimated 100,000 people's minds last night alone and he's making
threats to take over the whole city if you don't come out of hiding."
Fred looked over at Gwen with a look of disbelief on her face, "You
lied to me.  You didn't come here so I could help you.  You came to
hide.  All this was a lie."
  With a guilty look on her face, Gwen put Fred's omelet on her plate,
put some on her plate then put the frying pan in the sink before
turning back and having a seat across from Fred.


  Fred was stunned as she watched Gwen casually start eating, "What
the hell are you doing?  How can you eat at a time like this?"
  Gwen looked over at Fred, shrugged her shoulders and went back to
eating.
  "Put your fork down now." Yelled Fred, showing Gwen she was serious,
"You better start explaining this or you can just get out now."
  "Look, you've already made up your mind.  You think I'm guilty.  You
think I lied so what's the point." Gwen then had another bite of her
omelet, "Ummm, this is really good, you should have some Fred, you can
always get mad after you've eaten."


  "You are unbelievable.  Don't you care that I'm upset?  Can't you at
least explain your side of this?  I am asking you know." Fred's tone
was back to normal and she was having a hard time watching Gwen eat
and not want to have some herself, but she wanted this taken care of
first.
  "Oh Fred, please eat.  Okay?" Gwen asked softly, not wanting Fred to
pass up the first meal she'd cooked in years, "I promise to explain it
all and even though you won't like it all, I'm sure you will see I'm
really not the bad guy this time.  Well, not completely anyway."


  There was something about the way Gwen said things that made her
impossible to say no to.
  "Since I'm hungry I will eat something, but don't think this is over
by a long shot." Fred then took a bite of her omelet and was in heaven
at how amazing it tasted, "OMG, this is sooooo good.  Where did you
learn to cook like this?"
  "I'm glad you like it." Gwen said with a proud smile, "Well, I've
been living alone pretty much my whole life and I learned at a young
age I couldn't order take out all the time, so I found a couple things
I could do myself then added my own little touches to them and I'm
pretty happy with how they've turned out."


  Fred couldn't stop eating and had finished the omelet before Gwen
and sat back in the chair and watched her finish up then tried to
remember why she was mad.
  "Okay, would you please tell me what this Kystanic is doing?  How
you're involved and the real reason you showed up at my door last night?"


  Gwen got up and poured herself some coffee then sat back down beside
Fred, "Most of what I told you last night was true.  I found the
statue for him and when I did, he wanted me to stick around and work
for him full time.  Among other things, he wanted me to do for him.  I
panicked and did tell him I had a girlfriend and that he wasn't my
type, but he wouldn't take no for an answer and was going to make me
his girlfriend whether I wanted to or not.  Well I had no choice but
to send a few thousand volts into his thick head.  That much voltage
should've killed him but it didn't.  It only stunned him and pissed
him off even more.  I took out a couple of his guards then took off.
The last thing I heard him saying was that he'd turn LA upside down to
find me and teach me some manners if it was the last thing he ever did."


  Fred was trying to process all that Gwen had just told her and felt
horrible that she was almost a victim of this crazy demon, but she
couldn't shake the fact that Gwen had lied to her, Angel, Gunn and
everyone else so many times that it was hard to know what to think.
  "I'm really sorry if this demon tried to hurt you, but I have to ask
why exactly did he go from doing business with you to wanting you to
be his new babe?  Are you leaving anything out?  Whatever it is I want
the whole story and I want it now.  No lies, not even little ones.
You have to trust me and I have to trust you or we have nothing more
to say." Fred said firmly, hoping so much that Gwen wouldn't choose to
leave rather than tell the truth.


  "Normally I would walk about now.  Just get up and leave.  I don't
answer to anyone.  But, I don't want to lose what we have.  I like you
Fred.  I actually feel guilty that I lied to you just now.  Honestly,
it's not on purpose.  It's how I've always done things.  I just keep
telling stories until someone believes them and then I move on." Gwen
then got up and knelt in front of Fred, "You're right, I did leave out
a little something.  Oh god, you aren't going to like this.  I didn't
actually give him the real statue.  I liked it so much I kept it and
had a duplicate made.  Well, suffice it to say he picked up on that
instantly and was not the least bit happy about it."
  "I can't say I blame him.  So what happened next?" Fred asked, her
hand sliding down her leg, placing it over Gwen's small hand.


  Gwen smiled at Fred's touch, "That's when he wanted to kill him.  He
wanted to have his way with me first as a punishment.  I was screaming
out that I had a girlfriend but he didn't care."
  Fred wasn't "Okay, as I see it you just have to give him back the
real statue and all this could be over."
  "But I don't want to." Gwen said with a sexy pout covering her face.
  "Gwen." Was all Fred said as she looked into her eyes with a
disapproving look on her face.


  "I know.  I know.   I just really like it.  I have to show it to you
before I give it back because it's a beautiful piece of art." Gwen was
smiling as she got up and sat on Fred's lap, "I'm sorry for not
telling you the whole truth right away.  I'm just not used to thinking
of anyone else.  Are you still mad?"
  "No, I never stay mad for long." Fred was looking into Gwen's sexy
dark eyes and found herself walking slowly towards her with only one
thing on her mind.


  They kissed liked there was no tomorrow and when they saw the front
door being smashed down in front of them they both thought tomorrow
was already here.
  Kystanic walked into the room with a horde of his minions circling
the two women, "Well, well, well.  What have we here?  You've found
yourself a playmate I see." He walked up close to Fred and looked her
up and down, "Aren't you a pretty little thing.  Not sure who you are,
but I doubt you're a friend of Gwen's, because she doesn't have any.
So just who are you?"


  "I am her friend and she has lots of friends you big giant demon
thingy." Fred answered defiantly.
  "You amuse me.  You have a funny way of talking and it's almost
enough to make me forget why I'm here." He then turned to Gwen,
grabbed her around the neck and lifted her up against the wall, "I
believe you have something of mine."
  Gwen struggled to break free of Kystanic's grip, but she looked over
at the two men holding Fred and knew she had to bide her time before
she made any move, "If you get your disgusting paws off me I'll get
you what you want."


  "You always had a fresh mouth on you Gwen.  I like it." Kystanic
released his grip and Gwen fell to the ground in a heap.
  "I'll take you to the statue, but you can leave her alone.  She has
nothing to do with this." Gwen looked right into Fred's eyes as she
finished and got a warm smile back from Fred.
  "Isn't that sweet, you're protecting your girlfriend is it?  Well,
since you aren't making the rules I think I'll hold onto this pretty
young thing until I have the statue." Kystanic walked over and put his
large arms around Fred's tiny waist and pulled her close then glared
menacingly at Gwen, "Now, enough stalling, let's get a move on."


  Gwen walked over to Fred, pulled her from Kystanic's clutches and
took her aside, "Listen, we don't have much time here and I'm not sure
what to do.  I think I can take these guys out but I don't want you
getting caught in the crossfire.  I can't risk you getting hurt so I
will just get him the statue and hope that's the end of it.  I just
don't trust him."
  Fred leaned in close and whispered back to Gwen, "You don't have to
worry about me. I can take care of myself.  I might look all sweet and
delicate but I've learned a lot working with Angel so you give me a
signal and I'll give you enough time to do your thing."


  "I'm gonna trust you on this Fred, but this could get ugly." Gwen
looked around the room to get a good feel for who she had to deal with
then turned back to Fred, "Okay, when I tell Kystanic `I'm ready',
that's your cue to distract the two guys on you and then get out of
the way because I'm going to let loose and go for the kill here."
  Before Fred could respond Kystanic had walked over and split the two
women up, "That's enough talk." He grabbed Gwen by the arm and pulled
her towards the door, "If you cause me any more trouble not only will
I kill your pretty friend there, but I will do things to you that you
can't even imagine.  You think about that the next time you try
something stupid."


  Gwen had a million thoughts racing through her mind in the split
second she had to make a decision that could cost her and Faith their
lives, but without hesitation she calmly turned to Fred, gave her a
quick look then spoke the words, "I'm ready."
   Fred instantly turned to the man on her left, stomped on his foot
and as he bent over, she kicked him right between the legs and sent
him flying backwards in pain.  Then as the man on the right went to
grab her, she ducked under him and kicked him in his back sending him
flying to the ground, then just as quickly she ran down the hall into
the bedroom and climbed out the fire escape.


  Kystanic turned to see his two henchmen taken down by Fred and was
furious, "You incompetent fools.  Get up!  Get her now."
  When Kystanic turned to face Gwen, she was waiting for him.  With
her powers fully charged, she put her hands on the two men standing
beside her, sending them through the air and then turned to Kystanic
who was suddenly not so scary, "Well, well, well.  You really do have
a death wish.  I gave you a chance to save yourself and your pretty
friend but you wasted it and now you will die."
  Gwen wanted so much to sit and trade insults with him but she
couldn't afford to risk it, so she turned to Kystanic, grabbed his
large arm and sent thousands of volts of electricity through his
demonic body and yet he was still standing as if unaffected by it.


  "Awe, you look disappointed." He said with a boisterous laugh, "Do
you take me for a fool?  Your silly parlor trick have no effect on me
any longer.  You are nothing but a little girl without your powers.
How do you propose to kill me now?"
  "Funny you should mention parlor tricks." Gwen said with an equally
big smile. "Watch and learn you big lug." With that she put her hands
above her head then to her side and finally she directed them towards
Kystanic and when she did a large cloud of smoke filled the room and
when it cleared Kystanic was standing alone in Fred's apartment.
  Downstairs Gwen met up with Fred and the two of them got into Fred's
car and took off.

Chapter Two.


  Fred drove non-stop for a good 15 minutes before she was able to
relax and she turned over towards Gwen, "I'm so glad you got out of
there in one piece."
  "Yeah, I'm pretty happy about that myself." Gwen said with a smile,
"You did great in there.  I'm impressed.  And you say your not the
muscle."
  "Well, I don't think I want to do this for a living.  I get way too
hyper when I have to hit anyone." Fred pulled the car over to the side
of the road and turned off the ignition. "What's next?  I'm pretty
sure Kystanic isn't going to give up until he finds you and the statue."


  "I know.  I know." Gwen added her agreement then thought about her
options and realized she had very few to choose from, "We need to get
the statue first and then I'll make a trade with Kystanic and make
sure that part of the deal is he leaves us alone."
  "I hope it works but, I have my doubts.  He seemed very focused on
revenge and now I think he'll be even worse." Fred put her hand over
Gwen's and held it softly, "I don't want you getting hurt over some
statue.  You have to promise me you'll give it back."
  Gwen wasn't used to having someone care about her but as she looked
back into Fred's warm friendly eyes and felt the touch of her soft
hand she knew what she had to do, "I promise.  Okay?  "l'll find a way
to get him to back off and once he has the statue I think it'll go a
long way in appeasing him."


  "Thank you." Fred smiled, then paused and looked at Gwen with a more
serious look on her face, "Wait, maybe I'm being selfish here.  I
shouldn't be telling you what to do.  You should handle Kystanic the
way you would if I wasn't in the picture."
  "That's really sweet Fred and I do appreciate you saying that, but I
think I've burned all my bridges with Kystanic and this is the only
way out." Gwen slid over beside Fred, "You constantly amaze me.  I've
never met anyone who wasn't out to get something from me.  You
actually think of me first and it makes me feel happy and sad at the
same time.  It's so nice to have someone care about me, but at the
same time I have this huge fear of letting you down.  I want to make
you proud of me not have you look at me like I'm some monster with no
feelings."


  "Stop right there.  You're not a monster.  I would never think that
of you.  Even from the first time we met, I knew you were special.  I
was so envious of you.  Not because of your powers, but because of the
way you carried yourself.  You were always so sure of yourself, so
confident, so full of life.  I don't want you to ever change for me."
Fred leaned over and gave Gwen a soft kiss then pulled back, "We're in
this together and I don't want to put pressure on you to be perfect
around me.  I'm not perfect and I don't expect anyone else to be either."
  "I know, but it's not your pressure, it's the pressure I put on
myself.  I want to do the right thing, well most of the time anyway,
but in the end, I usually take the easy way out.  I will give the
statue back and I will make sure he doesn't come after us again.  I
won't let that happen.  You will not be a victim of my mess.  That I
couldn't take." Gwen turned away as she felt the tears forming in her
eyes, not wanting to let Fred see her cry.


  "Hey, what's that for" Fred said softly as she turned Gwen's head
back to face her, "Nothing is going to happen to me.  I'm here because
I want to be.  You aren't holding me hostage.  You aren't responsible
for my safety just because I choose to be with you.  Okay?  I want you
to know that I'll be fine so you can do what you have to do.  There's
no way you can be at 100% if you're worrying about me all the time.
I'm not a porcelain doll, even if I might look like one at times."
Fred smiled as she said it and was happy to see a little grin come
over Gwen's face to.
  "You are so much stronger than I ever gave you credit for." Gwen
said with a look of amazement covering her face, "I look at you and I
see this beautiful woman who is so caring and giving and I wonder how
you do it.  I talk about others wanting things from me, but I'm not
much different. I want things from them to.  I don't feel that way
around you.  I just want to be with you.  For the first time ever I am
not thinking of the statue or my next job.  I have more money than I
know what do with and yet I go out and do the most dangerous things
imaginable so I can make more money and buy more pretty things.  I
don't want that now."


  "Are you sure?  This was a huge part of your life." Fred asked, not
sure Gwen really meant this, "On second thought, I can't let you give
it up for me.  That's how resentment comes into play.  I want you to
enjoy your life.  Do what you want.  I'll support you in anything you
want to do. Okay?"
  "God, would you stop being so nice." Gwen said, half laughing and
half crying, "I really want to do this.  I did love the danger and
excitement of the whole cat burglar scene, but that's because I didn't
care if I lived or died.  Now I do.  I don't want to die now.  Not
because I'm afraid of dying, but because I wouldn't be able to see you
anymore.  That's the only reason.  I want to be with you.  Just do all
the things I never took the time to do.  Go to Paris and visit the
most romantic city in the world.  Take a trip to Hawaii and lounge
around in the sun all day with you by my side.  I'd love to go to
Disneyland.  I've lived in LA for most of my life and I've never been.
I would so like to go with you one day.  Be a kid again.  Have fun on
the rides and just let go.  I'd love to take you to a Broadway play.
I'm a big fan of musicals you know.  I've never went because none of
these things seem like fun alone."


   Fred was running her hand through Gwen's long dark hair as she
watched and listened intently to every word she spoke, "All of that
sounds so good.  I would love to do all those things with you.  I
can't describe how happy you made me just hearing about all your hopes
and dreams.  I want to spend long nights talking to you and learning
every detail of your life.  Oh I feel like…like I want to know
everything about you right now, right this second."
  Gwen leaned in and kissed Fred once more and this time they
continued to kiss passionately as there hands began exploring each
other's bodies and just then there was a loud crashing sound and then
the car began twisting and turning end over end tossing the two women
all over the front of the now mangled car.


  Finally, the car came to a sudden stand still, upside down with
pieces of metal dangling from trunk, the hood and everywhere you looked. 
  There was silence for the longest time before Gwen opened her eyes
and tried to figure out where she was and what had just happened. 
  Her first instinct was to check on Fred, but she was nowhere to
found.  The air bag discharged and the passenger door was wide open,
but there was no sign of Fred.
  "Fred.  Fred.  Fred!" Gwen's voice grew louder each time she said
Fred's name but still there was no answer. 


  She knew she had to find her so she tried to get up from her seat
but felt a searing pain in her foot as she did.
Gwen looked down at her feet and saw there was a piece of metal
lodged in her foot. 
  Luckily for her it wasn't in very deep and her favorite leather
shoes had done a lot to lessen the blow.
  When she leaned down and tried to remove the piece of metal, she
felt another sharp pain in her left shoulder.  She turned her head
around but couldn't see anything so she let her hand feel down her
shoulder and when she felt some moisture she knew it wasn't good.


  She then pulled away from the seat and noticed another piece of
sharp jagged metal had pushed through the seat and was jutting out
almost an inch and she knew it was bad, but could've been much worse.
  With dogged determination, Gwen finally managed to get out of the
mangled car and began looking for Fred.
  Hobbling around to the passenger side of the car Gwen could find no
trace of Fred at all.  There was no blood around, which was one
positive she held onto, but she was still scared for what might've
happened to her.


  Even with blood still dripping from her shoulder and her foot in
serious pain Gwen didn't stop for a second as she continued to scour
the wooded area for some sign of Fred.
  "Are you looking for something?" A voice asked from the distance.
  Gwen turned to find Kystanic sitting on top of the car with a
menacing look on his face.
  "What did you do to Fred?" Gwen asked as she moved slowly towards
the large demon.
  "Oh, always talking before you have the facts.  That really is a
nasty habit you have." Kystanic hopped down from the car and began
walking towards Gwen, "Fact is I saved your pretty little friend from
an impending death.  So it looks like you owe me more than just the
statue."
  "Where is she?  I want to see her now. "


  "Such passion.  I dare say it's actually quite touching to see you
show concern for anyone besides yourself.  I didn't think you had it
in you." Kystanic grabbed Gwen by the throat, but soon released his
grip, picked Gwen up, threw her over his shoulder and simply began
walking away. 
  "What the hell do you think you're doing?  Put me down this
instant." Gwen screamed as she tried to fight her way free.
  Kystanic was not pleased at Gwen constantly struggling to get free
so he stopped at his large black limo and turned towards her. "There
are two ways you are going to get back to my little town.  Either in
one piece with you keeping your big mouth shut or in the trunk of the
car with my two pet snakes, so what's it gonna be?"
  "Fine, but if you've hurt her I swear…"


  "You swear what.  That you'll what, annoy me to death with your
constant whining?" Kystanic had two of his henchmen put Gwen in the
back seat, tied her hands behind her back and sat with guns pointed at
her head just in case.
  Kystanic got in and sat across from Gwen, motioned for his driver to
get moving then pulled out some highly grotesque meat and began eating
it in front of her.
  "Ahh, there's nothing like the taste of fresh bear.  Would you like
some?" Kystanic asked as he held out a piece of meat in front of Gwen,
"It's really quite tasty."
  "Get that away from me.  It's disgusting.  Can't you eat at
McDonald's like the rest of the demons?" Gwen shot back as she pulled
back from the blood soaked piece of meat he was dangling in front of her.


  "Such a witty girl you are.  I like that.  Too bad you weren't a
smart girl." He said with a warped laugh, the abruptly stopped, "Have
you checked your ankle lately?  How's your shoulder feeling?  Looks
fine to me, but I know how much it hurt for a while there.  Poor thing."
  Gwen looked down at her foot and noticed there was no blood or any
sign of injury at all then she felt noticed that her shoulder wasn't
hurting either, then looked over at him with a pissed off look in her
eyes, "You bastard, stop messing with my head.  Where is Fred?
What've you done with her?"
  "Oh you'll find out in good time.  She's alive and well though, for
now." Kystanic added as he continued to munch on the meat in his hand.
"You should be proud of her, she resisted my attempts to control her
mind for the longest time.  She's quite the feisty girl, too bad you
couldn't.  You might've been able to save her."


  "Oh shut up you giant rodent." Gwen shot back, knowing all she had
right now were words.  "I'm glad Fred was able to resist your sick
games.  I am proud of her.  Next time, if there is a next time, I'll
fight harder and one time you'll make a mistake and when you do I'll
be there to put you down."
  Kystanic let out a loud laugh, "Such big words for such a little
girl.  Oh I'm sure you're just upset because I can control you anytime
I want.  And do you know why?" 
  "I don't care why.  You won't win."  Gwen said calmly, her eyes
darting everywhere as she continued, always surveying the situation
and waiting for the right time to strike back, "You are a pathetic
excuse for a demon.  You have like one power and it's quite a sissy
power I might add.  No super strength, can't leap tall buildings in a
single bound.  I doubt you can make a spidey web and fly from building
to building.   Nope, all's you can do is play mind games.  Wow.  Oh,
so menacing.  I bet you got teased when you were an itsy bitsy demon
didn't ya?"


  Kystanic finished chewing then stared at Gwen with a strange look on
his face then leaned over so he was right in her face, "You know, the
same thing I like you about you is the same thing that could get you
killed." 
  "You are just the scariest demon ever." Gwen said in her most
sarcastic tone, "I'm just terrified that I might die now as opposed to
later.  Where did you learn to be a demon anyway?  Demon's for
dummies?  Demon's 101?  What?  Only reason I haven't taken you out
already is because I have one more thing I need to do before I take
care of you for good.  So just take me to your lame ass little town
and save the threats, K.  Thanks, wake me when we get there."  Gwen
closed her eyes and tried to rest up and think of a plan once they got
to his compound like town.


  They arrived about 30 minutes later. 
  The two thugs took Gwen out of the car and followed Kystanic into
the luxurious mansion overlooking the sleepy town of Hoodwink.
  Gwen looked around for some sign of Fred, but saw nothing but what
appeared to be a deserted town in the distance.
  Once inside the thugs took Gwen to a small room and tossed her
unceremoniously to the ground.
  "Nice, thanks for the lift guys." Gwen said as she watched the door
close as they left the room.
 

  Kystanic then motioned for another pair of men to get something and
moments the two men escorted Fred to the room.
  "Welcome to my little corner of the world Fred." Kystanic stepped
down off the small pedestal and walked right up to Fred. "As you
probably know Gwen has something of mine and she's caused me a great
deal of time and energy in her attempts to deceive me.  If you know
where the statue is you can save her life by telling me."
  "I don't know where it is.  She told me she was going to return it
though.  I believe her.  Just give her another chance." Fred said firmly.
  "She's had too many chances already.  I've run out of patience."
Kystanic said loudly as he was visibly unhappy.


  "I can get her to tell me where it is.  You have no reason not to
trust me.  I only want to make sure Gwen doesn't get hurt so I won't
play any tricks on you.  Just let me talk to her." Fred said, trying
to be as honest and convincing as she could manage.
Kystanic circled Fred a couple times before stopping behind her, "You
have such a pretty little neck.  So delicate and I would hate to see
anything happen to it.  Now, if you want to keep that neck attached to
the rest of your body you will get me my statue back.  I'm running out
of time.  I am a businessman and that statue is promised to a client
of mine and he will be here tomorrow night to collect.  Unlike your
lying friend, I don't break my word.  I don't care what you have to do
but get me the statue."
  "Okay, okay.  I get the message." Fred said as she backed away from
the large demon, "First I have to talk to her, so just show me the way."
  "No tricks this time or you will watch Gwen die in a most unpleasant
manner.  Is that clear?" Kystanic asked as he bent down and stared
deep into Fred's eyes.


  "Yes I get it." Fred said with a nod then all four guards led her away.
  They stopped outside Gwen's cell, opened the little window and
looked inside, "Okay Gwen, you have a visitor.  Any stupid tricks and
she gets filled with these very large and very deadly bullets.  Now
move back against the wall."
  Gwen backed off, stood against the far wall, and waited as they
unlocked the door and pushed Fred into the room with her. 
  Fred quickly put her arms around Gwen and gave her a big kiss.  Gwen
kissed her back hard and deep then pulled back, "I'm so sorry I got
you involved in this whole mess.  I had no idea it would get so out of
hand."


  "It's okay." Fred said as she kissed Gwen and held her close.
"Don't forget that I chose to be here.  I want to help and I think I
can.  So let's focus on how to get us out this
mess."
  "Okay, I know I have to give him the statue so I will.  First he has
to get me out of here or I can't do a thing." Gwen said as she moved
over to the door and began pounding on it as hard as she could.
  Fred walked over and grabbed Gwen's hands and turned her around,
"Hey, you're gonna hurt yourself doing that.  Kystanic wants me to get
the statue for him.  He said he doesn't trust you."


  "That's great.  Now look what I've done.  I don't want you anywhere
near him.  God, this is not how it was supposed to go." Gwen said as
she shook her head and paced around the small room.
  "We don't have much choice now.  Just let me do this and hopefully
that will be the end of this." Fred lifted Gwen's chin up and gave her
a soft kiss, "We will get through this and then I'd like to take you
on a trip far away from here.  I want you to think of where we should
go and all the fun things we will do once were there.  That should
keep you smiling until I get back."
  "Thanks." Gwen said as the smile returned to her pretty face.
  Fred looked surprised. "For what?"


  "For making me smile again." Gwen gave Fred another soft kiss that
soon turned into a much longer more passionate kiss, and then stepped
back again. "I hate all this and I really hate that you are in the
middle of this, but I know you can take care of yourself and I trust
you completely so I'll be fine here until you return."
  "Good, I'll feel so much better knowing you will be okay here."
  "I'm going to whisper the location of the statue in your ear, just
in case they are listening." Gwen then leaned in close and put her
mouth up against Fred's ear, "In town there is a small gas station
near the exit and behind it are a couple storage sheds.  Directly
north of those sheds is a small stream that flows down the hill to the
east, follow the stream until you see a strange looking tree with
three different colored leaves on it.   I buried the statue in a box
about 10 feet north of the tree.  Here's the key."


  Fred took the key and gave Gwen one last hug then turned and knocked
on the door.
  Someone outside looked inside then ordered Gwen back against the
wall before he unlocked the door and let Fred out.
  Kystanic was standing by the front door as the two men brought Fred
towards him, "Very good.  You have the location of the statue now?"
  "Yes, I'll take you there." Fred said with a somber look on her face.
  Kystanic led Fred outside and helped her in the back seat of his
limo, "Oh cheer up, once I get the statue you will be free to leave.
I have no quarrel with you."


  "Wait, what about Gwen?" Fred asked, as she once again feared for
Gwen's life, "She's the one giving you the statue, I'm just taking you
there.  She wants to make this right."  
  "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it.  Gwen's a big
girl, she knows the risks of her profession and she certainly knows
the risks when she betrays someone." Kystanic stated as he looked at
Fred with his cold deadly eyes.
  "Look, you are getting your statue back.  It's not worth hurting
her." Fred's voice was pleading as she tried to get through to the
large demon.


  "Where to?" he asked as he opened the cooler to his left and grabbed
another chunk of meat from inside and began chomping down on it.
  "I can't tell you.  I just can't." Fred said as she leaned back
against the seat, "Not if I know you are going to hurt Gwen after you
get the statue.  I need a promise from you that you will let her go
once you get this silly statue."
   Kystanic got up and sat down beside Fred, "I don't think you
understand the situation here.  Gwen had her chance to get out of this
mess but she blew it.  Now she must pay.  Nobody betrays me and gets a
way with it.  I have a reputation to think of.  Can't have some little
girl taking advantage of my kindness now can I?"


  "Then I think you just made another mistake.  You don't have the
statue yet and you won't get it until I know Gwen is safe.  So, I
guess you have to do as I say." Fred said, feeling confident she had
all the cards on her side.
  "Very interesting.  It does appear as though I miscalculated when
dealing with both of you.  Let me ask you this, if you die, how do you
propose to help Gwen?" Kystanic stared Fred down as he took a large
bite out of the meat in his hand and chewed it up inches from Fred.
  "I don't care if you kill me.  Gwen will escape.  She's so much
smarter than you give her credit for.  If you kill me she will do
things to you that you can't even imagine.  You felt her electricity
in your first meeting, well, when she's mad she can do so much more
damage and even if I'm gone, she'll make sure you pay.  So go ahead,
kill me."


  "I'll never understand you humans, so willing to die for so little."
  "Oh it's not little when you care about someone.  It's so amazing to
feel this way and that's why you'll never understand us." Fred's smile
was slowly coming back as she started thinking of her time with Gwen,
"You know what, I have to thank you for bringing Gwen into my life.
You are right, we weren't together before, but we are now and I
wouldn't change it for the world.  I wish you could see how much
happiness she's brought to my life in the short time I've known her.
That's what gives us strength and helps get us through the bad times.
Anyway, this is pointless you don't care about any of this."


  "I do though.  It's fascinating to me how the human mind works.
It's so unpredictable and foolish.  You don't even know this girl." He
said, his disdain for humans never more clear, "She's a thief, a liar,
a cheat a manipulator and I find it odd that you don't see this."
  "I have no delusions about what Gwen does for a living." Fred added
firmly before her face lit up even more, "That isn't how she is with
me.  She's sweet, caring, funny and I love how she makes me feel,
that's what I see."
  "Spare me; those are all just stupid human emotions.  All's I know
is what she did to me, and for that, she will pay.  Enough talking!"
Kystanic yelled then sat back on his side of the car. "If you want to
die I'm sure I can arrange it, but I will find out what you know
before you die.  Let me tell you this little girl, mind control is one
thing, but physical torture is another.  I'm sure you could hold out
for a good long time, you seem to be a very strong willed young woman,
but in the end and after excruciating pain you would eventually tell
me what I need to know, but why go through all that, save us both the
time and energy and take me to the statue."


  "Since you are a businessman demon type thing I have a proposition
for you." Fred said with her best serious face.
  "I see.  Well, I'm willing to listen.  But, do not play games.  I
will not put up with that." He growled as he ripped off another strip
of meat and gobbled it up for Fred to see.
  "You must be hungry a lot.  You've got quite an appetite." Fred said
with a slight smirk as she sat in awe watching him demolish the cooler
full of meat. "Anyway, all's I want is to get you the statue and take
Gwen and leave you alone.  There has to be something you want more
than hurting Gwen.  Tell me and I can try and get it for you.  I know
some fairly important people and you'd be surprised at what I can get
my hands on."


   Kystanic pondered Fred's offer for a couple minutes then leaned
forward, "I do have a bit of an ongoing problem, but I'm not sure you
can take care of it.  Let me ask you this Fred, are you willing to
kill someone to keep Gwen alive?"
  Fred didn't show half the emotion she was feeling as she tried her
best not to react, "Depends on who you want killed I guess and why."
  "The why is none of your concern." He said bluntly, "As for the who,
that is easy, she's a slayer.  Considering your knowledge and lack of
fear of demons, I'd say you know all about slayers.  I need this one
named Faith dead."


  "You do realize you are asking a lot.  Slayers have super strength
among other things.  What makes you think I can kill one?"
  "I have no idea whether you can or not, but that's the deal.  Kill
the annoying slayer and I'll let you and Gwen walk out of here
together. What's it gonna be?" Kystanic said as he grabbed a glass of
liquid from the cooler.
  "It's not that easy.  It would take a lot of planning to attempt
something so dangerous." Fred said, making sure she let Kystanic know
she was thinking about his offer "Maybe if I knew why she is after you
I could reason with her and get her to back off.  I have been known to
be a very persuasive person when I need to be."


  "I believe that.  You have a peculiar charm about you." Kystanic
added as he took a sip of some strange liquid and continued, "I don't
care how you get this slayer off my back, but if you do it I'll call
things even and you're free to go.  But first, I need the statue as a
sign of good faith.  If you bring it to me we have a deal."
  "I will.  It's in town.  I'll take there now." Fred sat back and
took a deep breath, hoping her instincts about this large demon in
front of her aren't all wrong.
  Fred gave Kystanic the directions to the statue and after a lot of
twists and turns, his men finally dug up the statue and handed it to him.


  Kystanic looked the statue over from top to bottom even getting out
a magnifying glass to look at some of the ancient Egyptian engravings
on it, before finally accepting it was the original. "I'm glad you
held up your end of the bargain Fred.  I admire that.  I can now make
the transaction I had planned for tomorrow night.  This puts me in a
much more agreeable mood."
  "Good, can we go back now?  I'd like to talk to Gwen.  I know you
don't trust her, but she can help me when it comes to Faith." Fred
said softly, yet firmly, "I would like to know more about why she's
out to get you so I know what I'm dealing with.  Still, Gwen is a
formidable ally and since I can't possibly take Faith on myself.  I
give you my word we will take care of this."


  "I'm not big on trust, but I am willing to give you a chance to
prove yourself." Kystanic said as the car came to a stop. 
  Everyone got out of the car and Kystanic led Fred through the large
house to where Gwen was being held, "You talk to Gwen and tell her
about the deal we made and if you can convince me she isn't going to
double cross me again, then we I'll see about letting her join you on
this adventure."
  "Thank you." Fred said with a sweet smile, "I have to know more
about why Faith is after you.  I need to know what I'm up against,
what I have to talk her out of.  It's best you give up all the
information now.  It will save us both a lot of time."


  Kystanic pulled Fred back away from the room, "You are a very
persuasive person.  I can see you are the right person for this job.
About three months ago I was in Sunnydale on business and while I was
there I stopped at this demon bar and made a transaction and as I was
leaving we bumped into this pretty young girl.  She was rather tall
for a girl, slender and certainly had all my guards taking notice.
Well, one of my guards, the dumb human kind, made some advances
towards the girl and she told him no and he got mad and he hit her.
She promptly got up and kicked him in the balls, which pissed him off
and he grabbed her, held her down and well, he didn't get a chance to
do anything as another woman came flying out of nowhere and beat the
guy to a pulp.  For whatever reason she decided I was in charge so I
should pay.  If not for the fact, she stopped to look after the young
girl we might all be dead.  She was that mad."


  "Did you hear the name of the girl who was hurt?  Was it Dawn?"
Fred's attention was peaked even more.
  "Yes, I do believe that was the name the slayer was calling out.  Do
you know these people?"
  "I know the slayer and I do know of Dawn.  She is the sister of
another slayer so that's not good.  You could have two slayers on your
tail right now." Fred then took a step back and looked into Kystanic's
eyes, "Did you every touch Dawn?"


  "No I did not.  I do not believe in that." Kystanic responded
directly and without blinking or turning away, "You may think because
I went after Gwen I am some evil beast, but she is the one who
betrayed me and in my world well, she knows the rules. I had nothing
but respect for Gwen before this statue problem.  She will tell you we
actually got along quite well.  Had the slayer not beat the man down,
I would've and he does not work for me any longer."
  "Okay, if this is true then I think I can make Faith and Buffy see
this.  They are not unreasonable people."  Fred then turned to the
door where Gwen was, "Can I see her now?"
  "Yes of course." Kystanic unlocked the door and watched as the two
girls embraced in a very warm hug, then turned and closed the door
behind them, but leaving it unlocked this time.


  "Oh god I'm so happy to see you." Gwen said, her face brimming with
energy and excitement, "I thought that…well I don't want to think
about that now.  You're here and I just want to hold you like this
forever."
  "I would love that so much.  I feel like nothing could ever hurt me
when I'm holding you like this.  It's such an amazing feeling." Fred
pulled back and stared back at Gwen's pretty face, "I have to talk to
you about something and I hope it gets us both out of here for good."
  "What is it?  Is he making you do something to keep me alive?  Cause
I don't want that.  I won't have you turn into some criminal just to
save me from myself." Gwen said, thinking the worst.


  "No, it's not like that.  I offered for one thing." Fred said with a
proud look on her face.
  "What?" Gwen asked with a puzzled and slightly ticked off look
coming over her face. "Fred, what did you do?  Please tell me you
didn't sell your soul for my release."
  "You know what, I would've in a heartbeat, but I didn't have to.
All's I or actually we have to do is talk a slayer out of killing
Kystanic.  Simple don't ya think?" Fred said with a big smile."
  "Have you lost your mind?" Gwen's eye's popped out of head as Fred
stood smiling back at her, "What makes you think we can stop this
slayer and second, what makes you think you can trust Kystanic?"
  "Let's call it a hunch." Fred tried to get close to Gwen but she
wasn't quite ready for that yet, "Oh come on now, I do get them you
know and they've never let me down.  I guess what I need from you is
your trust.  Do you trust that I know what I'm doing?" 


  "Oh, I want to.  I do.  I really do.  I just wonder if you've dealt
with demons like this before." Gwen moved closer to Fred, grabbed her
hands and held them tight, "Okay, I do trust you.  I will play this
your way.  We are both alive and I didn't think that was going to
happen, so okay, what is the plan?"
  "Well, the first plan is for me to do this." Fred pulled Gwen in
close and kissed her softly.  "Umm, now that's how to start a plan."
  Gwen smiled and kissed Fred again, "You do know that you could talk
me into anything about now."
  "That sounds so tempting and I'll hold you to that when this is all
behind us.  I can think of so many things I'd like to talk you into
doing with me." Fred slid her hands down Gwen's back and over her firm
round ass. "I don't want leave now.  I love how you feel.  I want you
so much right now."


  "Kiss me once more before we go." Gwen didn't wait for an answer and
leaned in for a long sweet kiss as she held Fred tight, hoping this
moment would last forever.
  Just then, the door opened and a tall man with a goatee stepped
inside, "It's time to go.  Follow me."
  Fred took Gwen's hand and the two girls walked out of the room and
back into the living room where Kystanic was waiting.
  "I gather we have a deal?" he asked as he sat in his extra large throne.


  "Yes it's a deal.  Gwen is going to help and we will take care of
this." Fred held Gwen's hand tightly as she looked Kystanic right in
the eyes.
  "Very well then." Kystanic added as he got up and walked right up to
Gwen, "I don't think I need to remind you of what will happen if you
double cross me again.  Let's hope we can get this cleared up never
have to see each other again."
  "Don't you worry; I won't do a thing to mess this up.  I'm here to
help Fred and that's something I won't screw up." Gwen held Fred's
hand tighter as she fought the urge to say something very sarcastic to
Kystanic.


  "I guess that's it.  We'll be off then." Fred said as she pulled
Gwen towards the doors.
  When they got outside, they breathed a sigh of relief.  They spotted
Fred's car and quickly got inside and drove off.
  "I can't believe we're free.  I don't know how you did it but I'm
impressed." Gwen said as she slid beside Fred and put her arm around
her waist.
  "All's I know is I'm glad to be here with you now.  I have a good
idea that we can talk Faith and Buffy out of any revenge they have
planned against Kystanic, because I don't think they even care about
him one bit."
  "Shouldn't you at least call them and find out?"
  "I guess you're right." Fred said then flipped through her purse
until she found Willow's number.  She got out her cell phone and
placed the call.


  "Hello?" A woman's voice asked.
  "Willow, is that you?" Fred asked, not positive who she was talking to.
  "Hi Fred, how are you?" Willow replied as she put her magazine down.
  "I'm good thanks.  Actually I was hoping to talk to Buffy or Faith,
are they around?"
  "Yep, just a sec." Willow sat down the phone and called out for Faith. 
  Moments later Faith picked up the phone, "Hello?"


  "Faith, it's Fred here.  I need to ask you a question about an
incident that happened about 6 months ago.  Some demon was in town,
one of his men hit Dawn and you stopped him and beat the crap out of
him.  My question is, are you going after the boss demon Kystanic, or
is it over?"
  "Wow, that's a long time ago." Faith said as she thought back to the
incident, "As far as I'm concerned the guy who hit Dawn was the only
one I had a problem with.  So yeah, it's over for me.  Why do you ask?
  "Well, it's a long story but I'm glad it's over for you.  Does Buffy
feel the same way?"
  "As far as I know she does." Faith picked up the same magazine
Willow was reading and began flipping through it, "Once I told her I
took care of the guy she was pretty content about the whole thing."


  "Good, just needed to clear that up for case I'm working on.  Thanks
a lot.  Nice talking to you again, bye for now." Fred said then shut
off her cell and turned to Gwen, "It's over for sure."
"If that's true, then we really are free.  Do you know what this
means?" Gwen said, her eyes growing wider by the second.
  "What?" Fred's eyes widened as she listened intently to Gwen.


  "We can finally be together without having to look over our shoulder
all the time." Gwen leaned in and kissed Fred on the check, "Listen,
when we get back to LA I want to take you to my place.  There's so
much I want to show you and do with you.  I know we have all the time
in world, but I don't want to wait.  I've waited all my life for this
moment.  I refuse to let anything get in our way."
  "I'm with you okay.  I feel like I've finally found what I've been
looking for and I want to live each day like it's our last." Fred was
getting so excited she had to pull the car over to the side of the
road and took the keys out of the ignition. "I can't stop shaking.  I
feel like this is a dream and I'm going to wake up and it'll all be gone."
  "No way beautiful, this is real.  I'm real." Gwen leaned in, kissed
Fred again, this time hard and deep as she pulled her close and
wrapped her arms around.
  They kissed so hard, for so long neither wanting to stop, the kiss
changing a hundred times from soft, hard, deep, slow and not once did
they break it for anything.

End