walkswithheroes | (no subject)

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When the last time you were stuck somewhere against your will maxed out at five years, a measly four months stuck in an alternate dimension is nothing. Especially not when there's a regular supply of money and a place to stay and someone Fred knows from home around. It's more than a few steps up from living in a cave.

Though, all of that doesn't mean that Darrow's stopped feeling like some weird place that Fred can't wait to figure out how to leave. Even without much success, she's kept up trying to figure Darrow out. Which is why she's holed up in a booth in a diner near Chelsea Cloisters, a small stack of books on the seat next to her while she flips through a book on magic that she's found in the back of one of Darrow's libraries.

There's a cup of coffee next to her that's gone cold, but every time she remembers to ask for a refill, Fred's distracted by something else in her book.

Just three more pages and she'll flag down a waitress.

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She doesn't notice Spike until he's already sitting, and looks up fondly from her book once he speaks. Just about anyone else and she probably would've jumped clean out of her seat.

"I never really get past the breakfast menu," she admits, and it probably doesn't help that they'll serve it all day, "The pancakes are really good, though. They're like heaven in starch form."

"Can't say I know too much about heaven, love," he smirked, nailed painted with chipping black varnish tapping against the tabletop as he leaned over to get a look her book.

"So, what's got you occupied today?"

"Magic. Again," Fred replies, and if she sounds exasperated, it's because she feels like all the research she's doing doesn't amount to much more than beating her head against a brick wall. She's not getting anywhere and nothing makes any more sense to her now than it did when she sat down.

"It's starting to seem like all of this is pointless."

"If anyone can find a way out of here, love, I 'spect it's you," he said, and though he wanted her to be happy, there was a growing part of him that knew his decision to stay or go wouldn't be an easy one. Knowing what was waiting for her back in her world, he couldn't chance it unless he could take Andrea back with him.

"But you're right. I wouldn't bet you're gonna find your answer in one of them books. Seems a bit too easy, yeah?"

"You're probably right," Fred says, "Unfortunately."

Even though she's had to cross-reference magic books with physics texts and the magic texts aren't the easiest to find in Darrow. More and more, she wishes Wesley was around; he's the one who's good at all this. Maybe she should ask Tara for her input.

"That doesn't mean I'm giving up."

"'Course you're not," Spike said, pausing to order a plate of cheese fries when the waitress wandered over.

"You wouldn't be you, if you did." He'd met few people in all his years with as much determination as this one little girl.

Fred tries for a smile at that, but comes up just short.

"So what happens if I do figure it out?" she asks, "Something tells me you're probably not as keen to get back there as I am."

She can't imagine he'd want to deal with the possibility of being non-corporeal again. Even if they can't be completely sure it'd happen.

"Hm. And where'd you get an idea like that?" he asked, arching a brow. The both knew very well what she was talking about, but it suited him to play a bit dim.

"You're tellin' me you'd just go back to being all ghosty?" she says, completely unconvinced that he might not know what she's talking about, "Who knows what could happen if you go back."

He's told her that she's from a time after all that had been solved, but with the unpredictability that seems to come along with Darrow, there's no guarantee things would be the same back in their home dimension.

Surprised to hear her reasoning, he frowned, admitting, "Gotta good number of reasons why I wouldn't wanna go back. But that, love, wasn't one of 'em. Hadn't even crossed my mind, really."

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