Sorry About That

Dr.Kyle Demint would have much rather been at home eating his dinner. Not that his wife, Meing Tsun, who he had somehow managed to bring home with him from Bangkok, could cook to save her life. Her domestic abilities definitely were in other areas of the home. He would have gladly sat at the dining room table though and eaten that horrendous pot roast compared to being here at the office, after hours, working on a bunch of train crash survivors.

Of course he knew that story was a load of bull, but he owed Dr.Kellerman for covering on that little mistake last week. Kellerman apparently owed some guy down at the waterfront and that guy in turn owed Tony The Garbage Collector Garboli who owed one of his current patients, one Sam Axe. At least Kellerman was here also helping with their seven patients. Although for hours it seemed Kellerman only focused on the really messed up girl leaving the other six to him.

"I'm going over there tonight," Xander rumbled again for the umpteenth time as the bandages were changed over his fresh new stitches.

"Will is there monitoring Dawn's biorhythms or something like that," Buffy replied in near ecstasy from whatever was in that shot the doc gave her to loosen the pressure in her chest. "She said we were to, absolutely not, under no circumstances, even for a moment, consider going in there at nighttime, unless of course she felt a lot of stress from Dawn, then we could Rambo to our heart's content."

"I'm still catching up with what I've seen and what you've told me, but what would it matter what time of day it was," Sam asked, sitting on the desk, waving his bandaged feet back and forth like a child. "Couldn't you just use night vision goggles?"

"I'm still not sure that were all friends now, Sam," Buffy replied, looking over at Fiona, Faith, and Michael as they were comparing scars and weapons and really just acting friendly. "Well, some of us are obviously but to answer your question; Your pal Odin Grassway has a very unique power about him, like a personal energy that he can use. I know it's hard to understand but assume he's like that Balrog thing that Santa fights in that movie, he's all big and bad and he gets bigger at nighttime. So much so that Willow is really worried about him." She finished up, satisfied at her own cleverness.

"How's Will doing?" Xander asked while Sam tried to decipher her wisdom.

"She's in constant Spock mode with Kenn, so their okay," Buffy replied staring in a hand-mirror, cataloging each and every singed hair. "Her crew is setting up some major mojo stuff so she has that to distract her anyway."

"That's insane," Michael said. "A teenage female would have been very important for the survival of the tribe. Why would they pick her to be a warrior?"

"They were only taking one in a generation and the three wise dudes figured that a girl would be easier to control once she could beat all their asses," Faith replied as she checked out Michael's Colt Commander and Fiona's Sig Sauer, comparing their weight and feel.

Xander put away his cell phone and sighed, Willow again confirmed what Buffy had said. "Buff, Willow is going to send a jump-start to Kenn when they get the circle foundation set up, whatever that is. We'll be able to get out of here then." He got up and was about to go over and check on Kennedy when he saw Sam's hand offered out.

"I wish we could have met under different circumstances, Xander. But what's done is done and if you'll allow it I'd like to help out." Sam continued to hold his hand out. "Give Fiona a shot for redemption ya know? She want's to make this right if she can."

Xander reluctantly shook his hand. "I'll take any help to get her back, after that we'll see."

"Fair enough friend. I don't know why Odell lied to me or if her condition just improved but I think our first move should be for me to go and see what's going on with him."

"I just need her back, Sam. I can't go back to my son like that, I can't fail him." Buffy having heard what he said got up and hugged him.

Faith grabbed Buffy's ringing cell phone, checked the caller I.D. and scowled answering it, "Hey, Convict, what's up besides your cellmates?"

"You're a riot, Faith, you really are something special," the powerful gruff voice rumbled. "Let me speak to Buffy."

"Blow me..." Holding the phone out she continued, "Buffy your loser, punk, dirt bag, thug, pindick fiancee is on the phone...must be a slow day for robbing old ladies."

"Faith!" Buffy snatched the phone away from her, "Why do you have to be such a bitch to him?" Turning from her, she sat down with a slow smile lighting her face. "We've almost got her back, Honey, Willow's all over it....No we can handle it, you just hold everything together there, I'm not going to save Dawn and then lose you too."

Faith bristled as the call then devolved into kissy face noises and little whimpering mewls. "Hurry the hell up, Kennedy, I need to kill something."

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Willow knew that just walking in there with magical guns blazing would be too dangerous for Dawn, so they had to do this the smart way. Overwhelming force was usually a pretty smart way.

They had picked out a spot about two miles from the center of the metaphysical hurricane of power. All four of them could feel that power surrounding them like they were swimming in a giant bowl of cotton candy. Sitting atop a small hill, the quartet had to fend off fire ants, sand spurs and mosquitoes, but it was the only dry ground in the area and so it had to do. After some adjusting with a pocket compass to make sure they were all aligned together correctly Willow handed out candles to her associates, pushing troubled thoughts of Kennedy and Dawn out of her mind.

Lighting her candle, the red headed witch started, "I call on the King of the West, grant me your protection." Her candle flared a bright red burst of flame for a moment.

"I call on the Eastern Queen, grant me your power." Mathilda's extremely long straight brunette hair came alive with static electricity bathing her long skinny body in a nimbus of dancing hair as she lit her candle.

"I CALL ON.."

"Blake!" Willow admonished, the young witch always got too excited when she did this.

"sorry...I call on the King of the North, grant me your fire, your passion, your..." Only stopping when Willow threw her spare candle at her. The short voluptuous blond's eyes went from dark blue to red and a soft golden flame sprouted from her and danced along her shoulders as she lit her candle.

The wind picked up dramatically and howls sounded as it passed through the trees, at least Sienna hoped that those sounds were made by the wind. She knew that there were very few things that could stand against them once they set up their foundation circle and invoked one or more of the higher orders, but the dark skinned Jamaican woman hated confrontation. If Willow hadn't come and saved her from her father's craziness, she would have never agreed to be on this team. "I call on the Southern Queen, grant me your knowledge." Sienna leaned her head forward, her braids sliding in front of her eyes. After lighting the candle she raised her head to look at the stars. A third eye, large and blue with green flakes in it, opened in the hollow of her neck.

"You guys are all showoffs," Willow complained as she took a bottle of water out of her backpack. "You could swallow the signs of power you know." She waited until the other three were ready and then poured her water on a small scrying mirror next to her candle at the same time that Blake bathed hers in flame, Mathilda sprinkled a handful of brown dirt on hers and Sienna simply blew a soft breath across the surface of her mirror. Rolling her eyes at the others, she continued. "By the Elements, we call upon Faith and Belief to be true to our wills and Life and Death to be ready to answer the call of their humble servants." A huge rush of feeling enveloped them giving them the sensation that reality itself had taken breath and was now watching intently at the four of them.

"It is ready," Mathilda said softly.

"So it is," Sienna replied taking a deep breath.

"I'm SO JACKED!" Blake screamed.

"Shhhh...." The angry redhead glared at her.