Fic: RR&R Book IV (6c/?) NC17 see header for pairings

Chapter 6 Concluded

“Holy...” Sara Sitle’s voice died off as she stood there, open-mouthed in shock.

“It’s not real...can’t be real...” Catherine Willow's whispered voice was conveying not shock, but abject terror.

“Fascinating!” Gill Grissom’s voice held neither shock nor fear, but almost childlike excitement.

“Fascinating?” Sara asked, her voice nearly a squeak. “Fascinating? Grissom, they’re on fire! I can’t believe you!” she shouted, frustrated with his response.

“But it is fascinating,” Grissom argued, gesturing toward the couple that presently stood wrapped in an embrace, passionately kissing, while engulfed in a torrent of green flame. “They clearly aren’t in any pain, and nothing else is burning...it’s the most amazing optical illusion I’ve ever seen!”

“You think this is just some kind of illusion?” Sara asked, incredulous.

“Well, it has to be,” Grissom said, walking toward the couple.

“Don’t!” Sara nearly shouted when he held out his hand as if to touch the flames.

“Why?” he asked with a confused moue on his face. “There’s no heat.”

“Just don’t ok?” she said, quickly opening and rummaging through her scene kit. ‘Something burned that guy up from the inside...’ she thought, even as she felt silly just pondering the notion. “Here, use this,” she said, pulling a telescoping rod with an alligator clip on the end. She clipped a piece of note paper to the end and pulled it out to full extension before handing it to him.

“Better safe than sorry,” she mumbled when he gave her a disbelieving look. “You of all people should know better than to touch something unknown,” she said more firmly, annoyed with her own thoughts as well as his response.

‘Arrogant...man!’ she thought as he gave her a smile that said he was just humoring her.

The moment he stuck the end of the probe into the green flame his smile dropped with a loud gasp. The paper instantly immolated into nothing and the end of the rod melted, dripping like a wax candle hit with an acetylene torch. ‘Not possible,’ ran through Sara’s stunned mind as she watched in horror.

“Yeouch!” Grissom shouted a heartbeat later, dropping the now red hot probe and staring at his blistered fingers in shock.

“It didn’t even hit the floor...” Sara’s mind was playing over the sight of the metal as it melted into liquid and then evaporated into gas before it fell all the way to the floor.

If it weren’t for her own shock, she would have burst into laughter at the look on Grissom’s face as he looked up from his burned fingers to meet her gaze.

“But...but that’s not possible,” he stated, astonished.

“Apparently it is,” Sara said flatly.

“No, it isn’t,” Grissom continued. “There isn’t any fuel to feed a fire like that, and anything that hot in the open air would be radiating heat at an enormous rate...it simply isn’t possible.”

‘Wow, she pegged us dead on,’ Sara thought, shaking her head. ‘Catherine’s terrified, I would have definitely voted crazy before the fire thing...and Grissom’s trying to argue that it’s scientifically impossible despite the second degree burns on his fingers.’

“Well, as impossible as it may be,” Sara began, still shaking her head at both the situation and Grissom’s absurd statement. “That’s our shooting vic—wearing Doc Robbins’ lab coat—and that’s really some kind of fire wrapping around them, which really evaporated my probe and burned your fingers.”

“I...I,” Grissom stammered, blinking his eyes rapidly.

Catherine suddenly whimpered loudly and Sara felt a deep vibration running through her body at the same time. She turned to the redhead and started to ask, “Do you feel something?”

She was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a ball of what looked like deep blue lightning—accompanied by a loud crack.

‘Almost sounds like a bullwhip,’ Sara was struck by the thought.

As quickly as the ball had formed—right between where Sara and Grissom were, and where Catherine was cowering back against the wall—it disappeared, leaving a young redheaded woman in its place.

“Whoa, what a rush!” the newcomer said with a broad smile and a shake of her head.

‘Holy Crap!’ Sara thought, both at the appearance and at the glimpse of her eyes, which seemed to be a solid blue in color. ‘glowing blue,’ her mind added.

“Dawnie!” the new arrival shouted happily before taking in the rest of the scene. She started toward the flaming, kissing couple, and then abruptly stopped when she looked down at the body on the floor. “Eww!” she muttered, sounding disgusted.

“Impossible!” Grissom’s shocked exclamation caught the young woman’s attention and she suddenly looked up and around the room as if just now noticing the other people around her.

“Ok, who are you people and what the heck is going on here?” the newcomer demanded, startling a laugh out of Sara.

“We’re with the Las Vegas Crime Lab,” Grissom stated, finally sounding a little more like himself. “And who might you be?”

The young woman frowned thoughtfully for a moment, then glanced down at the body on the floor and said, “Oh!” with a look of dawning realization. “Excuse me I need to make a phone call,” she said, ignoring Grissom’s question and walking over to the phone.

Once again Sara had to restrain her laughter despite the seriousness of the situation. ‘Poor Grissom, he looks even more surprised than he did when she popped out of nowhere,’ she thought. ‘Of course I may be on the edge of a complete mental breakdown myself,’ she admitted silently.

“Yes Mistress,” the newcomer’s voice was soft, but Sara could still hear her as she spoke to whomever she’d called.

‘Mistress?’ Sara thought. ‘This just keeps getting stranger and stranger.’

“No Mistress, she’s fine,” the young woman continued. “No, I can’t—she and Xander are, uh, well...making out,” she trailed off, sounding chagrinned. “Well, there’s definite weirdness going on, cause they’re kinda surrounded by green fire at the moment...I don’t think so...no, I’m pretty sure he already tried...um, well because, there’s a dead guy with a gun lying over here next to the three crime scene investigators...no, they’re not dead, but they’re way wigged.”

‘Somebody’s pissed off!’ Sara thought, hearing a loud, upset sounding voice on the other end of the phone call.

“Yes Miss...no...Yes Mistress, I will,” the young woman spoke deferentially. “It might take a while, but I’ll figure something out...yes, I’ll call you right away. Thank you Mistress, I love you too...okay.”

Her body posture relaxed slightly as she continued speaking, “Hey Baby, yeah she’s okay, but there’s some wiggy magic going on...her and Xan are completely enveloped in flames, but they’re not burning or anything. I don’t know, it might be some kind of shield thing, what with the police-type people here.”

‘Well, at least she acknowledges our existence,’ Sara thought, feeling a little put out at being ignored, in addition to all the other weirdness going on.

“No, I think Dawn must have done it,” she continued her phone-conversation. “There’s definitely some kind of burning-up involved there too...yeah, our little fire-witch. No, I think they’re locked in some kind of mental thingy, cause they’re still kissing...I don’t know if they even realize anyone is here besides themselves. Well, it had to be self defense—you heard what Cordy saw. No, I feel ok, but it was strangely harder than getting rid of the scabby minions...I may stay the night and fly back tomorrow instead...you’ll keep Buff from freaking out? No, I think I could if I had to, but it would pretty much wipe me out. Ok, I will...love you too Tara!”

Sara’s eyebrows rose even higher at that. ‘She has a Mistress and someone named Tara?’ she thought.

She hung up the phone and turned towards the flaming couple when Grissom interjected, “Excuse me, but could you please explain,”

“I’ll be with you guys in a minute,” she cut him off, moving towards Xander and Dawn.

“Really, I must insist,” Grissom tried again, only to be cut off once more.

“I said I’d be with you in a minute,” the redhead turned her attention fully on the male CSI.

“But,” he started.

‘Shut up already!’ Sara thought, cringing.

“Sit down and be quiet,” the young woman said.

With a wave of her hand, Grissom was moved across the room and onto the couch. Sara found herself suddenly next to him with no sensation of having moved the distance in between, and Catherine’s fearful yelp indicated that she too had joined them on the couch.

Sara looked at her two co-workers. ‘Catherine looks like she’s about to break down...and Grissom,’ she broke off her musing to speak to her boss. “Gris?” she said while putting her hand on his knee to attract his attention. “How about we just sit here quietly for a minute?”

When he looked like he still wanted to say something, she whispered intently, “I really don’t want to see what she does if you piss her off.”

She breathed a sigh of relief when he closed his mouth. ‘He looks angry, but at least he shut up,’ she sighed.

Sara looked back at the flaming couple and almost shouted when the redhead reached out to touch them, but instead of being burned, the fire stopped just short of her hands, which were themselves surrounded by a bluish glow that crackled softly and seemed to be crawling with miniature lightning-bolts.

“Fascinating!” Grissom exhaled.

‘At least he isn’t still saying it’s impossible,’ she thought, rolling her eyes.

========== BtVS ==========

<Dawnie, oh kitten, I’m so glad you’re ok!> Xander thought as he plundered his lover’s mouth and reveled in the feel of her body held tightly to him.

<I thought I’d lost you forever! I was so empty without you!> her plaintive voice filled him with sorrow.

<I’m so sorry, Kitten!> he thought, anguished at her pain. <I never wanted to leave you!>

<I’m so glad you’re back!> her ardent response lifted his pain a bit.

<Love you so much!> he thought with joy as he took pleasure twining his tongue with hers. <Hey, wait a minute,> his thoughts trailed off.

<What?> she asked.

<Uh...how is it I’m hearing you talk when—I’m pretty sure anyway—that’s your tongue in my mouth?> he wondered.

<Huh...I don’t know,> she replied. <Must be magic, I guess?> she added—apparently not any more inclined then he was to cease making out in order to examine the phenomenon.

<So, I shouldn’t be worried?> he asked, only slightly hesitant about the situation.

<You were dead, and now you’re not, and you’re worried about this being weird?> she thought with a touch of humor. <Besides, after spending the last six hours trying to cope with you being dead, I’m not gonna worry about *any* weirdness, as long as it includes you being alive!> she added fervently.

<I’m sorry you had to go through that, Dawn, but I’m not sorry I did it—I’d lay my life down for you in a heartbeat,> he thought with absolute certainty.

<Yeah, well you proved that once already, how about we make sure it doesn’t ever have to happen again,> she thought back.

He could feel both annoyance and pride in her response. <We’ll do our best, Dawn, but nothing in this life is for sure.>

<Well, our best better be pretty good, 'cause next time it’s my turn!> she answered with steel in her ‘voice’.

<We’re definitely going armed every time we leave the house from now on!> he resolved, shuddering at the idea of Dawn dying in his place.

<Good idea,> she agreed.

<So, what’s with the three stooges?> he said, changing the subject. <It sounded like you were arguing about magic or something when I came in?>

<Oh God, those three,> she thought with a groan. <The redhead gave me a ride back here after they ‘questioned’ me at the police station for a while...Xan, the guy that shot you was here, waiting for me.>

<Holy crap!> Xander exclaimed, feeling icy tendrils of fear, despite the fact that she was clearly alive and okay.

<He was gonna kill me, and the CSI lady,> she said with some trepidation in her ‘voice’.

<Then what happened?> he asked, freaking out at the mental scene she was painting for him.

<I’m not sure exactly...I remember screaming at him, and it felt like all the rage and fear in me just poured out right into him,> she explained hesitantly. <Then we were both screaming and then I passed out, and when I woke up he was dead.>

<Wow!> he thought, astonished.

<The CSI lady was all freaking out and she was all, “What did you do? What did you do?” and then I caught a whiff—I guess I burned him up from the inside out—and I thought I was gonna hurl for sure, so I ran into the bathroom, but I didn’t even heave,> she thought to him in a Willow-esque babble.

<Are you okay? I mean, with the...you know,> Xander trailed off, treading very lightly around the subject.

<I kept thinking, ‘I killed him, I killed him!’ and I kept expecting all that guilt and stuff like the last time...but it never came. I...I’m glad I killed him, Xan. I mean, he killed you and he was gonna kill me and,> her thoughts were filled with apprehension as she trailed off. <Does that make me a monster?>

<No! Dawnie, of course not,> he immediately reassured her. <If he was still alive I would take him out in a heartbeat for putting you through what he did!>

<I sat there and cried for a while, and then when I came out of the bathroom, the other two had showed up,> she explained. <They’re from the Crime Lab too.>

<Great,> Xander thought sardonically. <No wonder they’re freaking out...we’re gonna have to come up with some way to get rid of them without anyone trying to arrest anybody...namely you or me!>

<But...it was self defense!> Dawn protested. <Okay, maybe there were some revenge-type feelings there...but still, he was about to shoot me!>

<God, that must have been horrible!> Dawn thought with dismay.

<At first, I thought it was a coffin, so I was actually pretty stoked when I figured out it was a drawer in the morgue,> he said, lightening the mood slightly.

<Still,>

<Yeah, I was way wigged,> he agreed. <And may I just say again how incredibly, amazingly happy I am to be here kissing you instead of pushing up daisies!>

<Yeah, we can worry about the ‘how’ later. Much later,> she said with a sultry tone.

<Oh yeah!> he agreed as thoughts of CSIs and dead bodies gave way to his mind catching up with his body—focusing on the amazing girl in his arms.

“Dawn? Xander?” a voice sounded out both in his head and in his ears.

<Willow?> he and Dawn thought at the same time, both of them surprised.

The redhead’s unmistakable laughter rang out. “You two make quite a picture!”

<You’re here? Why are you here?> Dawn questioned.

<Whaddya mean we make quite a picture?> Xander asked, Willow's presence less of an issue to him than her comment.

“You’re standing there making out for goddess knows how long in a room full of people and you didn’t even notice when I got here, and do you realize that you’re completely surrounded by some kind of green fire?” Willow babbled.

<Huh?> Xander thought, bemused.

<What?> Dawn cried mentally.

“Yep,” Willow said, sounding like she must be smiling at their confusion. “Between that and me popping in here, I think those poor crime-scene people are pretty wigged out.”

As if by unspoken plan, both Xander and Dawn pulled back at the same moment, ending their kiss.

“Wow!” he exhaled in amazement at the sight of his lover surrounded by a nimbus of green flame.

“Ditto!” she replied, her eyes tracing around him as thought checking out his aura.

“What is it?” he asked. “Is this the same as...uh...the first times it happened?” he stumbled over his words when he remembered that they weren’t alone in the room.

<You mean when we made love the first time?> Dawn asked silently, utilizing their apparently still present mental connection and sporting a brilliant smile.

“Yeah,” he said with a sigh, remembering the event with relish.

“Whoa!” Willow gasped.

Xander felt his face go hot, and it wasn’t from the flames surrounding him.

“Oops!” Dawn said with a giggle.

‘Yeah, right!’ Xander thought, not seeing or feeling any true repentance in Dawn’s demeanor.

“Okay you two,” Willow said, giggling again. “I appreciate the mental image, but we should probably focus on the situation, don’t’cha think?”

‘Focus, focus, focus...’ Xander chanted mentally, not wanting to let his mind give in to the possible implication.

“I think we can reign in the fire,” Dawn said, ignoring Willow's subtle innuendo except for a knowing smile.

“We?” he asked, thankful for something else to think about. “You mean you, right?”

“Un uh, it’s coming from us both,” she answered.

“I...we, you mean...huh?” Xander stammered, confused and a bit worried.

“Just close your eyes, sugar,” Dawn said, stroking his cheek softly.

<Remember that feeling, the fire sinking into you?> she thought to him.

“Mmm, warm sunshine,” he moaned happily, remembering the original events once again.

As if the memory triggered the response, he again felt the sensation. ‘So good!’

<We are definitely gonna experiment with this!> Dawn thought at him happily.

“Oh yeah!” he sighed happily.

“Guys?” Willow interrupted again.

“Right, focus on the situation,” Xander said, glancing over to his best friend and trying to ignore the way she was licking her lips.

“Not that I’m not happy to see you,” Dawn interjected, turning so that she and he were side by side, facing the redhead. “But, why *are* you here? And, while we’re at it *how* are you here?”

“Well, why is 'cause Cordelia had a vision—how is I teleported,” Willow explained casually.

“That’s so cool!” Dawn gushed. “I’m almost sorry I missed seeing it.”

‘Love you!’ Xander thought with a grin, feeling warmth flow through him at Dawn’s statement.

“You two are really weird sometimes,” Willow said with a frown, no doubt confused with the dichotomy of Dawn’s statement and his thought response. “Anyway,” she continued with a shake of her head. “Cordelia saw you getting attacked,” she said pointing at Dawn. “From the description, I would guess it was that guy,” she added, tilting her head toward the body on the floor. “Also from the description, the redhead on the couch was with you when it went down?”

“Yeah,” Dawn said, sounding less than thrilled.

“Except, obviously it didn’t happen like she saw it, 'cause you’re not shot,” Willow said; her voice and body language implying that she’d like an explanation.

‘It’s gonna be ok Dawn,’ Xander thought, hugging her to his side as she somewhat wilted against him.

“I don’t know what happened, exactly,” she began. “I’m all, ‘You killed Xander!’ and he’s aiming the gun at me, telling me I’m about to join him, and then I’m screaming, and he’s screaming, and everything went black. When I woke up, he’s laying there dead, and she’s all ‘What did you do?’ over and over,’ she pointed toward the redheaded CSI.

Xander couldn’t help but grin at the evident shock radiating from his best friend.

Dawn continued as though she didn’t even notice Willow's stunned look. ‘And then I ran into the bathroom, and when I came out those other two are here, and then we argued when I told them it was magic, and then Xander was here,” she paused her very willowesque babble to look up at him with adoration in her gaze.

He smiled down at her, whispering, “Love you too!”

She continued to stare into his eyes as she continued, “And then we were kissing...and then you were here.” She turned back to her fellow witch and finished, “And that’s what happened.”

Willow stood silently, mouth agape, for several moments.

“Willow?” Dawn asked tentatively. “You ok?”

“Speechless!” Xander lost control of his laughter at last, guffawing at his childhood friend. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you speechless in my life!”

“I...but,” Willow stammered, apparently still too shocked even to take offense at Xander’s laughter.

“I think you broke her,” he teased his lover.

“Why?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure it was the me-being-killed part,” he answered.

“Oh,” she said, pausing a moment to think about it. “Oh! Oops,” she went on, chagrinned at the realization.

========== BtVS ==========

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