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Trials

By Rach

Wesley paid the cab driver and rushed up the stairs to his and Fred's apartment. As he fumbled in his pocket for his keys, the door swung open. Fred held a finger up to her lips.

"Anna's in bed. She fell asleep in the car, I thought she should get as much sleep as she needs." She walked back into the apartment and flopped down onto the couch.

"How did you know I was back?"

"Cordelia called and said you were on your way, and I saw you out of the window." She looked up at him. "So, how's your girlfriend?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Fred ..." he sighed. She saw the hurt in his face and immediately felt awful.

"I'm sorry, Wesley. I know you would never do anything like that, it's just ... we've been married for four years, and there hasn't been a single second when I've wondered if maybe you could - would - be happy with someone else. Until today." Wesley opened his mouth to speak, but Fred held up her hand to quieten him. "No, Wes, let me finish, I need to get this out. It was only for a split second, I know you thought she was attractive, and I know that's not enough reason to be jealous, but it threw me. And that frightens me." She moved up the couch, making room for him to sit down.

He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "What frightens you, Fred?"

"It frightens me that there might be a day when you don't want me any more. When you look at other women and realise they're prettier than me. I've never thought about that before, but today ... it was like something came over me, making me think all these things."

"Well, you mustn't." He reached a hand up and gently stroked her cheek. "No matter what happens, Fred, I will *always* want you. Because you will always be the same sweet, kind, loving girl that I fell in love with five years ago. You have to remember that. You, me, and Anna - we're a family. And it'll stay that way."

She smiled. "I know. I know that. But you have no idea how good it feels to hear you say it." She glanced at her watch. "I don't know about you, but this time difference is starting to catch up with me. How about we have an early night?"

"That sounds like a plan. You go ahead and get ready - I just want to pop in and see Anna."

Wesley slowly opened the door to his daughter's bedroom, and peeked inside. He smiled as she snored gently, and tip-toed over to the window, drawing the curtains. He turned back to her, and stepped carefully over to the bed, kissing her softly on the forehead. "'Night, sweetheart," he whispered, and watched as she wriggled slightly and turned over, moving her hands outside of the covers as she did so. Wesley frowned as he spotted a ring on Anna's thumb, and cautiously removed it from her hand. It was very tacky, with a large red gem in the centre, the ring itself seemingly made of gold. He could see why Anna liked it, but he didn't remember either himself or Fred buying it for her.

"Yeesh," Cordelia sighed, sitting down on the steps beside Fred. "You come out for a simple meal, and you get attacked by demons. It's so unfair! I bet that doesn't happen to people with normal jobs."

"Well, sure it does, Cordy. I mean, just look at everyone else who was in the restaurant with us tonight. They don't all do what we do, and they got attacked just the same."

"It's a point, I guess. Oh, hey." She leant down and picked up the item that had caught her eye. "Shiny." Examining the ring she now held, she grimaced. "Tacky much? Who would wear something like this?"

"Probably one of the people who were in here tonight. And giving what just happened, I should think getting it back will be right at the bottom of their list of things to do."

"You're right." Cordy passed the ring to Fred. "Give it to Anna. She'll like it."

"Are you saying my daughter has bad taste?!"

"No, I'm saying she's a four year old. It'll go with the pretend wedding dress she has in her dressing up box." She laughed as Fred raised an eyebrow. "I was bridesmaid last time. So, are we agreed? Ring goes to Anna?"

Fred nodded -

Wesley's vision snapped back to Anna's room. He looked around quickly, checking the girl was still sleeping, and went back into the front room to try and figure out what that had been. It was strange - like a hallucination. He remembered Fred and Cordelia sitting there - himself, Gunn, and Angel had been across the other end of the restaurant clearing away demon parts at the time. Only - he hadn't heard their conversation.

He headed towards the sink and ran the tap, pouring himself a glass of water and popping an aspirin out of the packet in the medicine cupboard.

"Are you okay?" Fred stood barefoot in their bedroom doorway, wearing her bathrobe.

"I'm fine, I just have a bit of a headache. I'll be through in a second."

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm positive." Fred nodded and turned to go back into the bedroom. "Oh, Fred?"

She turned back. "Yeah?"

"Where did Anna get this?" He held up the ring, and Fred came towards him and took it from him.

"I'm not sure ... oh, Cordelia found it when you guys were clearing up after that attack in the Mandarin Palace a couple months ago."

"That's what I thought."

"Why? Is there something the matter with it?"

"No, it's just ... well, I suppose there might be, in a way. I didn't recognise it, and when I picked it up, it was as if ... well, as if I were having a vision I suppose. At least, I'm guessing that's a little like what it might be like for Cordelia - the new, painless kind, that is."

"What did you see?" Fred asked, intrigued and suddenly awake.

"You and Cordelia. Finding the ring. Talking about what to do with it. The weird thing was, I'm almost positive I didn't hear what you two said."

"Maybe your subconscious picked it up?"

"Possibly ... it's just ... the angle. I was standing behind you and Cordy - and I could see myself."

"Well, that's a new one. You want to look into it? See if we can find anything about the ring?"

"In the morning. Right now, I think we both deserve some sleep." Wesley led Fred into the bedroom, quickly changing his clothes and carefully setting the ring down on his nightstand. He slipped into the bed beside Fred, and kissed her gently onto the forehead. She smiled as he tucked a strand of hair behind her air, and she reached out a hand, which he took in his own.

"I love you, Winifred. And that's never going to change."

****
Fred woke up to feel something repeatedly prodding her right arm. She opened one eye just enough to confirm her suspicion that it was Anna, and closed them again, not understanding why she was suddenly so cold.

"Anna, honey, go back to bed," she wailed, not appreciating being woken up from what had been a much-needed sleep. "And don't poke me."

"Mommy, I've lost my ring."

"Which ring, sweetie?" Fred replied, still not opening her eyes.

"The one Aunt Cordy gave me. With the big red stone."

The events of the day before slowly trickled back into Fred's mind. "Oh, yeah. Daddy took it." She shivered again.

"Why?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

"Where is he?"

Fred's eyes snapped open and she suddenly realised that the space next to her was no longer occupied by Wesley, which explained why she was so cold. She was used to having her husband's warm body beside her, and it *was* a big bed. Moving her hand over the sheet, she discovered it was cold, so he must have been gone a while. Feeling wide awake, she slipped out of bed and took Anna by the hand.

"I'm not sure. Why don't we go see if we can find him?"

The four-year-old nodded, and followed Fred into the main room. They were greeted by a floor strewn with many of the large collection of books the two of them had accumulated over the last few years. Leaving Anna to go and settle down in front of the television, Fred wandered over into the kitchen, terrified in case something had happened to Wesley.

She smiled as she reached the counter, spotting a single red rose lying on top of a piece of paper. She unfolded it with one hand as she ran some water into the sink and placed the rose in it.

Dear Fred,
I couldn't sleep, so I decided to research the ring. Nothing seemed to be of any use so I nipped out for a breath of fresh air and a pint of milk. I spotted a florist and thought you deserved a treat - I can imagine you're finding a vase for it as you read this. When I got back I thought one of the books at the hotel might be able to help.
I shouldn't be too long, but why don't you bring Anna over to the hotel later and we can think of something we can do together - the five of us? Bring the car - it's a nice morning, so I'm walking.
I love you always,

Wesley
xxx

Fred grinned to herself as she pulled a tall crystal vase out of a cupboard and filled it with water. She placed it on the windowsill, and then returned her attention to her daughter.

"Come on then, sweetie-pie, let's get dressed and go see Daddy."

****
Cordelia walked downstairs in her bathrobe, her hair messy as if she'd just woken up. Wesley glanced at his watch and realised that she probably had.

"Wesley?" She yawned. "What are you doing here so early? You and Fred didn't have a fight did you?" Immediately concerned, Cordelia walked faster down the remaining few stairs.

"No, no, nothing like that. In fact, we had a good talk last night."

"So everything's good?"

"Everything's fine."

"Which brings me back to my original point. Why are you here so early?"

"I couldn't sleep, and the books we had weren't any use for my research."

"What research?"

"I'm looking into a ring like this," Wesley pulled a rough sketch out of his pocket - something had told him it would be safer to leave the original at home with Fred.

"Oh, hey, that looks like the ring Fred and I found ..." she caught Wesley's triumphant look. "It *is* the same ring, isn't it?"

Wesley nodded. "My drawing skills obviously aren't as bad as you thought," he smirked.

"Yeah, but your detective skills leave a lot to be desired - Wes, it's just a ring. A plain, old - very tacky - ring."

"Come on, Cordy - surely you've worked here long enough now to know never to take anything at face value?"

She sighed. "I guess. Where do you want me to start, then?" Wesley piled Cordelia down with an armful of books, and they both became engrossed in their research until Wesley heard the hotel's main door open. Expecting Fred, he looked up with a grin.

"Oh." The grin slowly faded as he realised that his wife wasn't standing in the doorway, instead, it was Catherine. Clearing his throat, he forced a smile. "Catherine. You're back."

"I am. So, are you less busy today? Do you have time to talk to me now?"

Wesley gestured around him, shrugging apologetically, looking for a way out. "Well ... we are very busy ..."

Cordelia elbowed him in the ribs and he bent down for her to whisper in his ear.

"Do it. Go on. Because if you don't, she's just going to keep coming back."

He nodded helplessly. "Okay. Catherine, would you like to step into my office? Can I get you a drink at all?"

She walked down the steps. "No, thank you." As she came nearer, he found himself wondering why he'd been so desperate to get rid of her. She was a perfectly nice woman, and just because she'd asked him out, it didn't make her any better or worse than any of the other perfectly nice women they'd had in there. The fact that she'd given them a strange feeling was obviously just Fred's jealousy getting to them all. He led her into his office and sat down.

"So, demons in your apartment, was it? If you'd like to take a seat, and fill in this form, we can get someone over there as soon as possible."

She took the pen he offered and smiled. "You're English, right?" He nodded. "I'm good with accents. There's just something so sexy about someone ... foreign. Continental." She placed the pen on the desk and leaned across to him, her face centimetres from his.

"Uhm ..." he began, trying to protest, but feeling as if something were stopping him.

"You, you see, are very sexy." He could feel her breath on his cheek as she spoke. Something inside was telling him to pull away now, but it was as if he was glued to the spot. Smiling, she moved her face so that her lips brushed his. This slight touch was all he needed and he jumped up, away from her.

"No. Do you hear me? This is not going to happen. I'm *very* happy with my wife, and I'm very sorry if you have demons in your apartment, but as far as I'm concerned, they can stay there."

Wesley heard a cough from the doorway and looked up to see Fred smiling at him. She was carrying a book, with her finger marking a particular page. She walked into the room, kissed Wesley on the cheek, and then turned to Catherine and fixed her with a frosty stare.

"Okay, you. Stay the hell away from my husband." She slapped the book down onto the table and flipped it open to the page she held. She turned it so Wes could see and pointed at a diagram of a ring. "This is Anna's ring, right?" Wesley compared it to the picture he carried and nodded. "Okay." Fred picked the book up, and began to read. "'The Margiad Gems have been associated with a breed of demons commonly known as malice imps for the last three and a quarter centuries.'" She looked at Wesley and continued in her own words. "Each imp carries one of the gems on his or her person, and uses them to create mischief and mayhem when society seems to be getting too clean cut and happy. I'm guessing you were the one who summoned the demon who attacked at the restaurant a few weeks back, and you lost this." Fred pulled the ring out of her pocket and Catherine lunged for it. Fred jumped back and Wesley pulled her close to him and stepped in front of her.

"Bitch!" roared Catherine. "Give me back my ring."

Fred shook her head. "Nuh-uh. Because I've read what happens if you don't get it back. And personally, I'm intrigued."

"Fred ..." Wesley eyed Catherine worriedly. "Perhaps you should just give her the ring and be done with it."

"Yes, bitch - why don't you listen to your husband over there? Looks like you've got him trained pretty well, girlie."

"Okay, that is enough!" Wesley yelled, his face burning. "Nobody speaks to Fred like that."

"Aaw, protecting little wifey, are we? Isn't that cute?"

Fred stepped out from behind Wesley. "I can hold my own." Catherine stared disbelievingly as Fred uncurled her hand to reveal she'd attached the ring to her middle finger with a piece of string, leaving it to dangle in mid air. Reaching over to a paperweight that lay on the desk, she placed her hand on the table, and pulled the ring away from her fingers. Just as Catherine realised with horror what she was about to do, Fred brought the object down on the ring with all the force she could muster. As she'd expected, it skidded away from her hand, but she pulled it back using the string. Bringing the weight down on the ring again, the gem cracked and the room was filled with a bright red light emanating from the centre seconds before Catherine grabbed it.

"No!" She yelled, sinking to the floor. Fred clung to Wesley's hand as they watched Catherine's skin peel away to reveal a tiny shrivelled looking creature not unlike a gremlin. Fred snorted.

"That's it? The amazing woman who tried to steal my husband thinks he's going to leave me for *that*?"

Wesley laughed and pulled Fred into a hug. "So, what do we do with her now then?"

"We could keep her - she could be a pet for Anna!" Fred smiled sweetly up at Wesley, studied his horrified expression for a few moments before giggling. "Come on, Wesley - you think I want that thing in my house?! I guess we just kill her like we would kill anything else."

Wesley bent down towards the imp and gathered her up in the pool of clothes Catherine had shed, carrying her back into the lobby. Anna ran towards him and peered up at the bundle he carried.

"Daddy, what's that?"

Wesley locked eyes with Cordelia and smiled, before looking back at Anna. "It was a problem, sweetie, but not any more."

Cordelia smiled back. "I'm glad. Do you want me to ..." she nodded her head in Anna's direction, and Wesley smiled.

"Please."

"Okay, Annie-kins, how about you come upstairs with Aunt Cordy and we can play with my make-up?"

"Yes please!"

Fred laughed, and watched her daughter skip up the stairs before turning back to Wesley.

"Do you want to do it, or shall I?" Wesley asked.

"Can I? I really hated her - it would be so satisfying to kill her."

Wesley laughed, and pulled a sword out of the weapons cabinet. Placing the bundle of clothes back on the floor he stepped back, and Fred beheaded the bewildered imp before she had a chance to run.

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