Note: this episode loosely ties in with a upcoming episode of Descent, child of shadows. No major spoilers, but some information about that story will appear here. -------------------------------------------------- Jess Drake looked at the clock, the numbers counting up towards midnight, and wished that she could get some sleep. She got up out of bed and padded over to the kitchen, opening up her fridge thoughtfully as a bit of black hair fell into her eyes. The leftovers looked decidedly unappetizing, while the bottle of whisky looked remarkably tempting. Refusing to give in she shut the door, walking over to the living room and collapsing into a chair. 'Besides, a drink won't solve my problems,' the panty and bra clad woman thought grimly, only a bit of moonlight coloring the room. The day had barely begun when trouble dropped right on her doorstep, a human, mad priest and a demoness, all needing her help. Sam, the knight templair, should have known better, even if Alex and their inhuman friend didn't. If word got back to the Lady Diana that she had treated the demoness Jess would probably come under attack, if not be pulled into their private little war. Jess wanted to turn them aside, but someone had really done a number on the demoness, riddling her with metal fragments, holy water and sacred oils. It was clear to Jess that she'd die in hours unless something was done, and she couldn't ignore that. "And I do owe Sam," Jess conceded softly to herself. Hustling all of them into her back room Jess was about to get to work when the bell out in the shop rang, signaling that someone else had come inside. Fighting back a flash of irritation Jess hurried out to see who it was only to see her friend Alice Sinclare smiling with a wry amusement as she watched her emerge from the back room. "You forgot about lunch?" Alice said, the black haired business woman looking oddly ill as she took in the blood splattered on Jess clothes. Jess winced, realizing it was today. "An emergency job has come up," she said curtly, "I guess we'll have to do this another time." "Of course," Alice said gracefully when a harsh voice interrupted them. "Get back here, Drake! We don't have much time," Sam called out irritably. Alice frowned, "Impatient, isn't she?" "I sometimes get people who need help urgently," Jess found herself saying coldly, "though I guess someone from the sort of world you come from wouldn't understand that." Almost as soon as she said it Jess wanted to choke it back, but it was too late. Alice stiffened, her brown eyes narrowing in anger. "Maybe I should just let you get to work," she said, leaving with a quiet sort of dignity. "Crap," Jess sighed, knowing there was no time to go after her. 'No, I don't know if I could have handled that much worse,' Jess thought, sitting in the darkness as she thought about what happened that day. Patching up the demoness had taken nearly two hours, with all the magic that had been needed to cleanse the poisons that had seeped into her form. Once Jess was done she nearly collapsed, the three women leaving quietly after offering thanks that she didn't even want. Once she recovered from her efforts and changed out of her blood splattered clothes Jess hurried over to Sisterhood books, hoping that Alice was still working today but her luck was running true to form. She was long gone. Her assistant Hunter, on the other hand, was there and looked remarkably annoyed, in fact. "What the hell did you do to Alice?" Hunter demanded, the lanky blonde woman advancing on Jess in anger. "She left here all happy and came back nearly in tears," she continued. Jess closed her eyes, sighing painfully. "I shot off my stupid mouth," she said quietly, "and had to cancel our lunch date." "Something occult came up?" Hunter asked perceptively. "A friend needed a favor," Jess said as she sat down in one of the corners, a comfy chair set there for reading. "It was a real emergency, and I was already pissed at their dumping it on me when Alice arrived," she explained. "And you said something really cranky to the first person who came by," Hunter nodded wisely. She shook her head as she said, "Normally I'd suggest calling Alice up, but I think you'll need to give Alice some time to calm down first." "That bad?" Jess asked. "Alice got over the crying and had worked herself up into a nice rage by the time she left," Hunter confirmed. Jess put her face in her hands and groaned. Hunter leaned up against the wall, looking down at Jess thoughtfully. "So what's this I hear about you and Elizabeth?" she asked. "Huh?" Jess looked confused at the change of subject, "She's coming in to get some additional work done, and occasionally we play together." "And what does Alice think of this?" Hunter raised her eyebrows. "Alice and I don't have that kind of relationship," Jess answered. "That's not what Alice thinks," Hunter said firmly. She paused, "Or maybe it's better to say that she believes you two are going in that direction." "I...." Jess paused, trying to shape her unruly thoughts into words. "Maybe we are," she finally said, "I don't know. Alice is so different from anybody I've dated, I just don't understand where she's coming from at times." Hunter looked amused, "She says much the same things about you, too." At Jess' surprised look she continued, "What, you don't think Alice has talked to me about you two?" "And you aren't going to tell me any of it," Jess didn't even make it a question. "Course not," Hunter nodded, "you're both my friends, remember?" Jess heaved herself to her feet, swaying tiredly. "I'd better go close up the shop for the day," she sighed, "I hate to do it, but I'm in no shape to work right now." "I hate to dump something else on you...." Hunter started. "But you're going to anyway," Jess sighed. "Circe wanted me to ask you to stop by the Daughters of Artemis," Hunter said gently, "she wants you to help her circle of mystics to upgrade the place's defenses." "Again?" Jess looked at Hunter disbelievingly. Shaking her head she muttered, "What is she expecting to hit the bar, the wrath of god?" "Dunno," Hunter shrugged gracefully, the firm mounds of her breasts moving under she shirt. Jess felt a flash of interest and forced it down. "Your mojo is going again," she reminded Hunter. Jess strode to the door to get away from the succubus as she continued, "All right, I'll go visit the Daughters after I go home and rest up." "Good luck," Hunter called cheerfully as Jess left, her voice already taking on a sexy lilt. Sitting in the dark Jess leaned forward, putting her head in her hands. 'I guess that was my second big mistake,' she mused, 'agreeing to go to the bar.' Helping Circe and the others perform the rituals hadn't taken so long, and afterward the witch had offered a round of drinks to everyone there. Having nothing better to do that night Jess agreed, eventually working her way through three rounds. "Hello, lover," Elizabeth purred, the slim blonde snuggling up to Jess' back. Jess shrugged her off, "Watch the hands." She turned slightly to look at her, again struck by how lovely and yet how shallow the woman seemed. "Don't you have someone else to bother tonight?" she asked her wryly. "No one as exiting as you," Elizabeth smirked. With a laugh she perched on Jess lap, wrapping her arms around the taller woman to snuggle close. "I don't want to do this today," Jess reflexedly steadied the girl with her hand as she continued, "I've had a real shitty day today and I'm not in the mood." "But Jess....." Elizabeth started to say then trailed off as she looked over Jess' shoulder and murmured, "uh oh." Jess turned slightly only to freeze. Alice stood there, looking at the two of them with a face made pale by shock and other emotions. Hunter stood behind her with an apologetic look and Jess instantly realized that she had brought Alice here, probably to give them a chance to make up. "You... you..." Alice shook a moment then stepped forward as Elizabeth scampered away and slapped Jess across the face, then turned and fled. "Shit," Jess cursed softly as she tried to get up, the beer that she had drank making her too wobbly to pursue Alice. Hunter reached out to steady her and Jess was surprised to see a tear in the other woman's eyes. "I never meant...." Hunter said weakly. Back in her apartment Jess Drake let the tears flow at last, sitting there in the darkness and crying softly. Hunter had helped her get home, apologizing all the way even as Jess tried to tell her it wasn't her fault. If anyone was to blame it was Jess, for being stupid enough to think the rules didn't apply to her. "So," Jess sobbed to herself, "what do I do now?"
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