A/N: This used to be part of chapter 10, but I’ve rewritten it and decided that the chapter was too long all lumped together, so I’ve split it up. So I’ve now officially updated after nearly a year of inactivity. However, I will not let such an atrocious amount of time pass before updating again, I swear.

So in order for me to update within the next week, I need your reviews!! (That’s not necessarily a stipulation though, lol)

Enjoy!

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When Geneva opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the water spot on the ceiling. That was the first of many things that shouldn’t have happened. Sitting up she realized that one, she was back to wearing nothing but the bath towel, and two, the sun was out. A quick look at the clock confirmed that it was nearly eleven a.m. Had it all been just a dream?

“There’s no way that was a dream,” she said aloud. The memory of the young girl’s death was far too vivid; that penetrating gold stare still burned. And her body still hummed from the intense power boost she’d gotten from touching that guy.

Leaning over the sink, Geneva inspected herself in the bathroom mirror. Her hair definitely looked like she’d fallen asleep with it wet and she was still wearing the towel. There was not a drop of blood to be found, nor any other sign indicating that the scene in the alley had been anything other than a figment of her subconscious. She bent in closer to the mirror and squinted, sort of hoping that the truth would be revealed in her eyes.

Nothing.

Heaving a sigh of pure frustration, she grabbed her brush and yanked it through her tangled locks. “It was not a dream!” She said it fiercely, determined to prove herself right. She dragged her hair into a ponytail and dressed quickly, anxious to get started. The only problem was she had no idea where to begin. She did, however, know the perfect person to ask.

“Adrian!”

Geneva stood over her brother’s bed and hissed his name, not wanting to alert the people in the next room of her presence. Knowing that simply talking at him wouldn’t rouse him, Geneva nudged him, executing a little more force than necessary, and he ended up half on the floor tangled up in his blanket. “What the bloody hell...” came the muffled, groggy curse as Adrian untangled himself and pushed his way back onto the bed. “Geneva? I thought you were in L.A. What the hell are you doing here?” He was not pleased at being woken so damn early just because his sister felt like chatting, and said as much.

“First of all, little brother, it’s not early. It’s past seven. P.M.,” she clarified at her brother’s glare and shoved a pile of clothes off his desk chair so she could sit. “What are you doing in bed, anyway?”

“Composing a symphony.” Came the terse reply. “What do you think?” Shrugging, she replied, “For all I know, Jez could be hiding under your bed looking for her underwear.” Adrian was so used to her ribbing on the subject of his friendship -- nothing more! -- with Jez Hunter that he no longer blushed at the implications Gen insisted on making that they were having sex, and so completely ignored the comment. “Look, I had a late night and I was just getting a few hours in before I go out tonight.” Geneva knew that he didn’t mean he was going out to party, he was going out to work. Their father took all the girls out in group slaying sessions several times a week, and Adrian joined them as often as he could. He was the only one who attended regular school, solely because Giles felt that his son needed to make friends with boys his age as opposed to being in the company of nothing but teenaged girls, a mishmash of supernatural beings and the people crazy enough to want to carve out a life with them.

“So what are you doing here?” Adrian asked as he toed the pile of clothes on the floor and bent to grab what was presumably the cleanest shirt in the lot. Geneva shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you. And I need your help, actually.”

He cocked a brow. “There’s this great new invention they’ve got now. It’s called a telephone.” Geneva rolled her eyes. “Your wit astounds me. Don’t you want to know what’s happened?” Before he could answer she launched into a play-by-play account of everything that had happened from the point she’d arrived in Los Angeles to the minute she’d woken in her hotel room that morning. “So?” she said, almost half an hour later, interested in hearing her brother’s take on the whole thing.

Adrian remained silent for a moment as he mulled Geneva’s situation over. Of course he’d heard of Wesley Wyndham-Price. The man’s father, Roger, had been a harsh reminder of the Council of the past, trying to impose his small-minded beliefs on the new organization until he’d retired two years before. The fact that Roger’s progeny turned out to be Gen’s biological father had to be more than a coincidence. Adrian tried to imagine the Wesley his sister had described, but found it hard to match the image of the dark, imposing man to the simpering twit both Roger and the core Scooby gang had been fond of making fun of on the rare occasion Wesley was brought up in a conversation.

And the infamous Angel, souled vampire extraordinaire, apparently had a crush on his sister. Or at least an infatuation, according to Geneva, who’d looked like there was a bad taste in her mouth as she’d said it.

Not for the first time he found himself envying his sister for her dramatic life. Then he reminded himself of the life that he himself lived, and all the possibilities included. Plus, Gen had a lot of crap to deal with that he didn’t want the burden of, the story she’d just told him being a prime example. Finally he responded with the first thing to come to mind. “That’s fucked up.”

She let out a snort of derisive laughter. “That’s probably the understatement of the decade. Now, about the part where I ask for your help,” she continued after a pause, and Adrian waited patiently for her to continue. He had limitless patience, a trait that he’d most likely received from their father, though Adrian seemed to have it in spades whereas Rupert Giles could only be pushed so far before Ripper surfaced.

“I’m one hundred percent sure that last night was not a dream,” she began and got to her feet to pace. “But I don’t know how to explain what happened. That’s where you come in.”

“Uh huh. And what, exactly, do you expect me to do?”

“I dunno, research? Ask dad? You’re smart enough to figure it out.”

Adrian narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “And why do you think I’ll take time out of my schedule to be your errand boy?” Geneva smirked. “Because that’s what you were born for. Besides, what are you doing these days that’s so important? It’s the middle of summer.” He ignored the remarks. “You want my help so you can track this Nikolai guy down, I assume.”

“Yeah, I want to know what it meant,” she said, referring to the power boost they’d both gotten when they’d touched. “It was amazing, and I get the feeling that it’s important. How could it not be? I mean, this guy has just as much power as me, and we’re connected emotionally with two other people.” She paused mid-step and fell silent for a moment. “Man, things have really come a long way since this all started.”

“What do you mean?” Adrian asked; a question to which Geneva shrugged. “I’ve felt the others for as long as I can remember, but it took me forever to learn how to tell them apart. Now this happens. Makes me wonder what’s next.”

“Not to mention why all this is happening in the first place.” At his sister’s affirmative, he continued on. “You know...if you told mum and dad, they could help you figure things out better than I could. Or Wesley for that matter.”

Geneva shook her head. “No way. I don’t even know Wesley. Besides, I’m playing things very close to the vest over there. And as for mum and dad, you know I can’t. Not now.” Adrian was the only one she’d ever told about being invaded by foreign emotions, and if she told her parents about them for the first time after over a decade it would cause more trouble than it was worth -- and she was in enough trouble with them already. “Speaking of...” She trailed off, shooting a glance in the general direction of her parents’ room. Adrian followed her gaze and shook his head. “They’re gonna be royally pissed when they find out that you fucked with their memories, you know that right?”

“If, little brother. The key word is if. They won’t find out from me, and I trust you not to say anything.” Adrian didn’t miss the subtle threat in the statement, but disregarded it with a roll of the eyes. “Don’t get worked up over it or anything. You know I’m on your side.” Geneva smiled slightly, pleased as ever with her brother’s loyalty (a sentiment she returned wholeheartedly), though having never doubted it. But she honestly wasn’t worried about the fallout should her mum and dad find out the truth. Adrian returned her smile, knowing his sister well enough to know what she was thinking. He was used to Geneva’s careless attitude towards authority and consequences, and sometimes admired her for it. Deep down, though, he was concerned for her. “Gen, you were dabbling in the dark stuff, and they caught you. You know how much dad hates dark magic.”

“Well they don’t remember any of it, now do they?” She shot back sharply, sick of the topic. “What’s done is done. If the truth comes out then I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” Adrian narrowed his eyes. “Fine. I’m just worried about you. You’re gonna be in a world of trouble when this all comes to light, and you’re going to need someone in your corner. So be nice.”

The tension broken, Geneva laughed slightly. “So will you help me or not?” Adrian sighed in defeat. “Fine, but you owe me.” Geneva grinned. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! Just don’t let anyone know what you’re up to.” This time it was Adrian’s turn to grin. “Please, you know me better than that.”

Geneva did know him. He was incredibly smart and had enough charm to choke a horse, and because of that Adrian had the uncanny ability to get whatever he wanted from just about anyone without that person quite realizing what they’d agreed to. “Give me a call when you find something out, okay?” He nodded. “Keep me posted on your soap opera. Sounds like you’re having fun.”

“I am, little brother. You don’t know what you’re missing.”

He had a pretty good idea, and he had a feeling that Geneva was playing with fire. His concern for his sister swelled up again and he uttered a quiet plea...warning...as she began to shimmer out of sight. “Be careful, Gen. Don’t do anything stupid.” And by stupid, he meant dangerous. Or going and getting herself killed.

He stared at the spot she’d been standing in for a full minute after she’d disappeared, wondering. If Geneva had heard him, and he wasn’t sure she had, would she heed his advice? He didn’t even have to think about the answer, and let out a snort.

“The idiot’ll probably go and get her head chopped off just to spite me.”

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