An International Incident

[st_clare]

One thing Julianna liked about having her own apartment was that now she could do her drinking in private. Bars and cocktail lounges were fine, but like hotels they weren't supposed to be permanent haunts. She could fix her drinks at home, which meant she could pour them to a strength she was comfortable with.

The liquor store nearest to her complex didn't carry her brand of vodka, so she made the drive across town to another establishment. Fall was definitely in the air. The new semester of teaching had just begun. Her current crop of students looked promising.

The Englishwoman inspected the labels of the bottle on the shelf, made her way down the narrow aisle. One bottle, not two. She didn't want to give the man at the counter the wrong impression.

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[holiday_pirner]

Standing in the wine aisle, Holly was looking for a brand she usually drank in London. She had tried at home to disguise the cut lip with bright gloss, the bruises with foundation, but the brunette felt ridiculous and decided to just go out and get it over with.

Holly wondered if Rhys followed her during the day, and if so, when he slept or had a social life. Then she tried to imagine a person like Rhys having a social life, and that didn't compute.

She gave up and grabbed a random chardonnay.

[st_clare]

Oh, hell.

Julianna saw Holiday before the girl saw her, and she hovered uncertainly with the bottle of vodka in her left hand. To engage or not? It never went well when she tried. What did etiquette demand?

The Watcher squared her shoulders. Surely the girl wouldn't snarl at her openly in here. She tucked the liquor bottle into the green plastic basket she was carrying, made her approach.

"Hello, Holi--" Pause. "Good God, what happened?"

[holiday_pirner]

Holly kept staring at the bottle in her hands, even though she would recognize that voice anywhere. Why did she have to run into someone she knew?

After a tense moment, the brunette looked up. "Nothing," she answered quietly. "I fell." She knew that was only one step up above 'walked into a doorknob', but telling Julianna she had been attacked would have been worse.

'I told you so' was the worst sentence in the English language.

[st_clare]

Daniel.

The vampire's name was the first thing that occurred to Julianna, and her mouth tightened into a narrow line as she looked at the wine bottles without reading the labels. The sun was still up, so obviously he wasn't with her. If that blighter had done this to Holiday...

"You fell," she echoed, and her voice was surprisingly bland considering that she was thinking of incineration. It wouldn't be that difficult. One splash of gas, one spark, no more Daniel. She might not be as young as she once was, and maybe Holiday didn't want her protection, but she couldn't know that she'd been hurt and do nothing.

"When did you...fall?"

[holiday_pirner]

She grabbed a corkscrew from a display hanging off one of the shelves. "Last night. I was moving some things around in my apartment."

Holly huffed out a sigh, pausing with the tool in her hand. No one else was in the store with them besides a cashier at the front. "Fuck it. I didn't fall."

The brunette looked at the older woman, and her expression was stony. "A vampire attacked me. He's dust now, so don't worry about it."

[st_clare]

It took an enormous amount of will not to say 'I told you so', but Julianna mastered the urge by mentally counting to ten. And then counting to ten again. Her mouth was still a narrow line. She stared at the corkscrew to give herself something to focus on.

"I see," she said, and her expression mirrored Holiday's. "Not Daniel?" It was a question without rancor, but she would voice her previous suspicion whether the girl liked it or not. Then again, if she and the vampire had what passed for a friendship, she'd probably be more upset about him attacking her. Wouldn't she?

"You're very fortunate. Who assisted you to dispatch your attacker?"

[holiday_pirner]

"No, it wasn't Daniel!" She looked scandalized, then realized she had shouted. Holly lowered her voice, clutching the corkscrew.

"Daniel is not...he wouldn't hurt me. You know, for a Watcher, you should realize that not all vampires are the same." The brunette watched the cashier straightening an endcap. He was out of earshot.

She didn't care that she had just admitted he was a vampire. Julianna suspected it, anyway.

"And why are you so certain that I needed assistance, huh?"

[st_clare]

Something subtle happened to the Watcher's expression, and she said, "I have no doubt that you think you can take care of yourself, and in a normal situation you might be correct. But a vampire intent on feeding is a different matter. They're not like a common mugger."

Julianna examined what she could see of Holiday's neck. No bite marks. Not even a scratch. Good, the thing hadn't managed to batten on. That went a short way to calming her nerves.

"Who was she? The Slayer." The cashier was still out of range. They should move. It would start to look suspicious if they kept standing here. "Who helped you?"

[holiday_pirner]

She pretended like she was browsing the sparkling wines, blue eyes fixed on the rows of bottles. "Actually, I kicked him in the bollocks. And set him on fire."

Holly laughed, the sound slightly hollow. "Not a she. A he. I suppose your slayers can't be anywhere." Her eyes swept over Julianna's face as she turned into the next aisle. Mixers.

"What are you planning to do with that vodka? Tonic and lime?"

[st_clare]

"I like a good gimlet. Some people use gin, but it's too sharp for me."

A he. Hmm. Vampire hunters among the general population were rare, but it had been known to happen. Julianna wondered if this mystery individual was attached to the Council. She stepped towards the end of the aisle she and Holiday occupied, mulling it over.

She picked up a bottle of lime juice from the display near the cash register, added it to her basket. "He spoke to you?" she asked in a murmur.

[holiday_pirner]

Holly stopped, watching the bottle clink against the alcohol in the basket. She was cold, the store was over-conditioned. Mostly she just wanted to go back home and forget the outside world existed.

"Your slayer. Was she killed by a vampire?" There was no malice, no sarcasm, in her voice. In fact, it held very little inflection at all.

[st_clare]

Julianna breathed in, held it, let it out. She should never have told her. It still hurt too much, if only because of the guilt.

"It was supposed to be controlled circumstances," she said flatly. "She'd just completed her training. I'd given her an excellent review."

The Watcher stepped over to the register, put her bottles on the counter. The cashier gave her a nod, one that said he'd be done soon, and she reluctantly looked at Holiday's bruised face again.

"I'm glad you weren't hurt more severely."

[holiday_pirner]

"Controlled," she said evenly. "By whom?"

Holly trailed Julianna to the register, shelving that subject for the moment. The vodka the older woman had picked was top shelf, no surprise there. She observed as the watcher paid.

When it was her turn, she answered quietly, "I've been through worse." The brunette smiled and handed the cashier a tenner.

[st_clare]

"I expect you think you have."

It's just a few bruises. She doesn't want your concern. She's still alive, that's what matters.

Julianna watched the cashier give Holiday her change, debated on whether or not to attempt to continue the conversation. If she could snap the girl out of this emotional lethargy she seemed to be in, she might be able to make some progress.

Is it a decent enough neighborhood other than the recent incident?" she asked as they two of them made their way out of the store. "I know you don't want me to care, or at least that's the way you behave, but I don't want anything permanent to happen to you. I just thank God you seem to have a guardian angel."

[holiday_pirner]

Holly exited the store breezily. The automatic doors parted to let her through, and she stepped out onto the sidewalk. "No, Julianna, it's a total crack den." She slid her sunglasses down over her eyes and produced her car keys.

The older woman's last comment made her laugh derisively. "Not a guardian angel. Someone paid to care."

That was really the best part. Someone had to be paid to look after her, she was such a fuck-up.

"What exactly is it you want to see from me? It's like you're expecting me to burst into tears, asking for a tissue and a hug. It's not going to happen."

[st_clare]

"I don't know what I expect," Julianna replied with a shrug. "I don't know if I expect anything. I think somehow I've become a stand-in for the person you're really angry at. I could even accept that if it wasn't so unfair."

There was a man sitting on a bench at the nearby bus stop. He was wearing a long coat and black cargo pants. There was a newspaper in his lap, but he wasn't reading it. Military haircut. Attractive in a brutish fashion. Julianna made the mistake of making eye contact. He looked back at her with the flat stare of a lizard.

Council?

He got up and walked off, leaving his paper behind. She watched him disappear around the nearest corner, but something told her he wouldn't wander far afield.

"Holiday, who was that man?"

[holiday_pirner]

"What, you think this is transference?" Holly shook her head, examining her nails. "I'm not angry. But I think you're feeling guilty. It practically radiates off of you. You should see someone about that."

The brunette followed Julianna's gaze, spotting Rhys. Really? Like I'm going to die at the liquor store?

Instead, she answered placidly, "Dunno. Why don't you follow him and find out? I have some very inexpensive white wine to drink." The plastic bag crinkled in her hand as she began walking away.

[st_clare]

I want you to stay alive. Is that so terrible?

The girl had it right, she was guilty. Her pragmatic side said that Allison was dead and buried, but because Holiday was still breathing that meant she could be saved. Saved from what might be a question, though. Saved from herself, perhaps?

"Enjoy your wine," the Watcher said faintly. Perhaps she would follow that bloke. He'd looked like he was up to no good, Council or not. Even if he was out in the daytime. Vampires weren't the only danger in this city.

At least she'd been reassured that Daniel hadn't hurt the girl, even if she'd had his identity as one of the undead confirmed. It was bloody small comfort, though.