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Trouble in Paradise
by Hope A

Trouble in Paradise
Summary: Fred and Gunn plan a romantic dinner, but it does not go as planned.
Wesley and Fred together eventually.

Gunn had every thing arranged perfectly. All he had to do now was pick up some wine for dinner. He went into a little liquor store he’d seen before, and bought a very tasteful bottle. Strangely the man at the counter shook hands with Gunn. He saw a light, yellow glow after he released his hand. Gunn didn’t think any thing of it and left. The man at the counter was a relative of Billy’s. His touch didn’t start to work for a few hours, just in time for their dinner. Except he didn’t force men to just hurt the women, they’d rape them too.

Fred was in her room getting ready. She had on a beautiful black top with a nice short black skirt. The skirt came to her mid-thigh and almost floated around her hips. She had a silver necklace, with a simple diamond heart in the middle. Every one went home early from work. Connor was with Cordelia, Angel was out patrolling and Lorne was at a club.

Everything was set up in the Lobby, a table in the middle, with two candles in the center and two chairs at either end of the table. Fred finished getting ready and went down stairs to serve the meal. A few minutes after she finished preparing everything, Gunn arrived.

“Charles” Fred said running to him and hugging him. He hugged her back and kissed her. He showed her the wine and she placed it on the table.
“Everything, should be ready” Fred said taking his hand and leading him to the table.

“It looks good” Gunn said as they sat down to dinner. They laughed and talked throughout dinner. When they were finished Fred cleared the table. Gun helped a little.

When they were done cleaning everything up, they went out into the lobby and sat on the couch. They started kissing and Gunn got a little grabby. Fred protested.

“No, Charles, stop” Fred said pushing him away.

“Excuse me, you do what I say” Gunn said grabbing her by the arm. Fred looked at him in horror.

“Charles, please, you’re hurting me,” Fred said trying to get away.

“Don’t tell me what to do” Gunn said standing and throwing her to the ground. Fred got up and tried to run to a phone. Gunn came behind her and grabbed her by the neck and slapped her, forcing her to fall. She got up and went behind the table, she knocked it over trying to make it an obstacle in his way, so she could run away. The bottle of wine crashed to the floor and broke into large pieces. He picked up one of the pieces and ran towards Fred. He turned her around and pushed her to the floor. He straddled on top of her and started to cut at her stomach and arms with the piece of glass. He also hit her and she could feel the bruises start to shape. She screamed as the glass seared into her skin and could feel the blood drain from her body. He tried to force his hands between her legs and rip her skirt off, but with all her force, she pushed him off and started for the door. He caught up with her and turned her around punching her. She almost fell to ground, but noticed a vase near by. She turned to get and it and he cut her back also. She screamed at the pain, punched him at hard as she could and hit Gunn over the head with the vase. He fell to the ground and she ran out of the hotel crying, holding her cut arms. She had nowhere to go. Angel was patrolling, so she wouldn’t be able to find him and she didn’t want to go to Codry’s, it was to far. The only other person she knew was Wesley and she knew how to get to his place. Fred ran to his apartment as fast as she could, crying hysterically.

She reached his apartment building and battled up the stairs. She reached his door in relief. Inside, Wesley was at his desk reading, almost asleep. He knew Fred and Gunn were having dinner and they were probably having a great time. He heard a knock at the door. He looked to his clock, which read 8:37 pm., Wes’s POV: ‘who could that be? Angel’s out and Fred and Gunn are eating dinner.’ He got up and headed to the door, when he heard a familiar voice.

“Wesley?” Fred said almost pleading. “Wesley, it’s me Fred, please open the door, I need help,” she said. Wesley could hear the terror in her voice and rushed to the door. He opened it to find her crying and bleeding, badly. She saw him and her knees gave out. Wesley caught her and carried her into his apartment.

“Fred, what happened?” Wesley asked worried. “Where’s Gunn?” he asked.

“I…we w-were just eating and…he…” Fred said sobbing. “It wasn’t him…it was like…something possessed him,” Fred explained.

“Oh, Fred, Gunn did this?” he asked angrily. Fred just nodded her head and put her head down. “Well, let’s get you cleaned up” Wesley said sitting her up a bit. “I’m just going to get bandages okay?” Wes said as he left and got everything he needed.
He came back with ointment and bandages. She cooperated and sat up even though it hurt. Wesley cleaned the wounds and put ointment on them. He only bandaged up the wounds on her arms, not knowing of the cuts on her stomach and back.

“Why would he do this?” Wesley asked confused.

“I think, I may have something to do with Billy” Fred explained.

“But he’s dead” Wes replied.

“He may have relatives with similar demon lineage. But I think his purpose was different” Fred said putting her down.

“What do you mean?” Wesley asked staring at her worried.

“Well, Billy’s touch made men want to kill the women. Who ever Charles came in contact with, his touch didn’t just make men want to kill the woman,” Fred said still looking down.

“Well, if he didn’t want to kill you then what did he…” Wesley started to ask. “Oh, God, Fred. He was going to…” Wesley said not wanting to think about it. “Well, you just rest here” Wesley said as Fred laid down.

“Ow!” Fred said as she laid back.

“What? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I almost forgot about the cuts on my back” Fred said sitting up.

“He…well I’ll take care of them too” Wesley said grabbing the ointment and the bandages.

She turned, so her back was facing him. He lifted up her shirt and saw the gashes on her back. He cleaned them up and noticed blood coming from the front of her.
“Fred, is your stomach bleeding too?” he asked.

“Yeah” she replied meekly closing her eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

Wesley fixed the cuts on her back and then slowly laid her back down. He lifted up her shirt to her ribs and cleaned those cuts as well.

“Well, let me get you another shirt to put on” he said as she sat up again.

“Yeah, this one is kind of drenched in blo.” She started, but then stopped before she got to upset. Wesley ran to his room and just grabbed a shirt from his closet. It was one of smaller shirts. He went back out and handed it to her. He turned his back as she changed.

At the hotel, Angel came back and saw the mess on the floor. He saw Gunn on the floor with the smashed vase next to him and a piece of glass in his hands. He knew something went terribly wrong. He entered the hotel more and started looking around.

“Fred!” he yelled looking around. “Fred, are you here?” he yelled heading towards her room. He entered her room and saw it looked normal. He searched the hotel calling her name. When he didn’t find her he decided to call Wesley.

At Wesley’s apartment, the phone rang.

“Hello?” Wesley asked softly as he picked up.

“Wes?” Angel asked.

“Angel?” he replied.

“Yeah, is Fred with you?” he asked.

“Yeah, she’s pretty badly hurt” he explained.

“Gunn is here on the floor, unconscious” Angel explained. “Did she say what happened?” Angel asked concerned.

“No, but I know Gunn did it. All she said was, it wasn’t him and it was like he was possessed,” Wes explained.

“Oh, I’m going to dump Gunn at his place and then I’m coming over to check her out okay?” Angel said.

“Yeah, you should see her” Wes suggested.

Angel hung up and headed to Wes’s place.

“Fred?” Wesley asked approaching her.

“Yeah, Wesley” she replied sitting up.

“No, sit back, rest. Angel is coming over to check on you” Wesley explained.

“Oh, did he go back to the hotel?” Fred asked almost scared.

“Yeah, he found Gunn and he wants to see you” he explained.

“Yeah, yeah, okay” Fred said.

A few minutes later, Angel arrived. He knocked at the door. Wesley answered the door.

“Where is she?” Angel asked almost pushing passed Wes.

“On the couch” he explained.

“Fred? Fred, are you okay?” Angel asked kneeling next to her.

“Yeah, I’m fine, now” Fred replied.

“I think, she should stay here tonight, I don’t want to move her to much and besides, the hotel isn’t cleaned up yet” Angel suggested.

“No, I don’t want to impose, I don’t mind going back to the hotel” Fred said sitting up and trying not to show all the pain she was in.

“Wesley, can she stay here tonight?” he asked. Wesley nodded and went over to Fred. He knew she was weak, from the blood loss and could barely stand. He picked Fred up and carried her into his room. Wesley helped her get into bed and waited until she fell asleep. He watched her sleep, the entire night. He was going to deal with Gunn in the morning.

To be continued.

Trouble in Paradise

Chapter 2: Disappointment

Wesley, very upset and disappointed, headed over to Gunn’s apartment, to talk to him. Wesley sped down the streets of L.A. to Gunn’s apartment. He knew he couldn’t be to upset, considering it wasn’t entirely his fault. He reached Gunn’s apartment and raced to his door. He could see all the lights out and knew how he felt. Wesley felt the same way after he attacked Fred and it was a few days after his power wore off. He was visiting Gunn a day after the attack. Maybe it was to soon. Even so he proceeded to knock. Gunn was at his table. He turned his head when he heard the knock and got up to answer the door. He opened the door to see Wesley. When Wesley was the look on his face, his expression fell.

“Wes, man, I …” Gunn started, but Wesley put his hand up to quiet him.

“Gunn, I understand how you feel. And I know it’s to soon to come back to work, but I needed to talk to you” Wesley said.

“You, you mean you’re not firing me?” Gunn asked almost amazed.

“No, because I know it wasn’t all your fault, but I don’t want you to see Fred for a few days. She’s pretty badly beaten” Wesley explained a little upset.

“Does she look really bad?” Gunn asked almost ready to cry.

“Yeah, and I know you would never intend on doing something like that, but you did” Wes stated.

“Some of the things I did, I don’t even remember and some I do and I…I just know I hurt her bad, I’m so sorry,” Gunn said putting his head down.

“I know, I know, but I advise you to stay away from Fred. I don’t think she is ready to see you yet either” Wesley ordered.

“Yeah, I will” Gunn said looking back up and shaking his head.

“Okay then, good day” Wesley said turning and leaving as Gunn closed the door.

Wesley headed out, and wasn’t going to think about Gunn for a while.

************************

At Wesley’s apartment. Fred woke up alone, in Wesley’s bed. Her vision was a little blurry and sat up and rubbed her eyes. She looked at her surrounding and saw where she was. She got up and decided to clean herself up, but she wanted to see Wesley first. She walked out of the bedroom and began to search the house.

“Wesley?” Fred called as she walked round the empty apartment. Her steps were a little shaky and she had trouble walking. She entered the kitchen, but could not find Wesley anywhere.

“Wesley?” she called again, now a little scared. “Wesley!” Fred said now almost yelling. She started to panic and couldn’t find him. She just didn’t want to be alone, after what happened last night. She began to cry as she ran through the apartment looking for him. When she didn’t find him she sat down on the couch and began sobbing.

“Why would he leave me alone?” Fred said. “I hate being alone, where could he be? I know I’ll call Angel. No, then he’ll get worried and I don’t know Wesley’s cell phone number” Fred said as she started to panic again. She got up and paced the floor. Just then she heard footsteps coming to the apartment. She stood in the middle of the room scared and started at the door. Wesley turned the key and opened the door to see a frightened Fred. She stared at him and then ran up to him.

“Fred what’s wrong?” Wesley said as Fred hugged him.

“I…thought you left me alone. I hate being alone” Fred said holding him as tight as possible.

“Fred, I’m, sorry. I thought I’d be back by now” Wesley replied as he held her tight as well. They pulled apart and he looked into her tearing eyes and wiped a few tears away. He walked her over to the couch and sat her down.

“I’ll make some tea. Would you like some tea?” Wesley asked sitting her down.

“Yes, that would be nice” Fred replied.

“I’m sorry I left. I had some business to take care of, “Wesley said getting out two mugs, tea bags and putting water in the tea pot on the stove.

“Thank you” Fred said standing up and walking into the kitchen.

“For the tea?” Wesley asked pouring the hot liquid into the mugs.

“No, well yeah, but for taking care of me last night. I’m sorry I burst in on you, but I had nowhere else to go. Angel was out, as well as Lorne, and I didn’t know how to get to Cordy’s place” Fred explained sitting down at the table. Wesley placed a mug in front of her and sat down as well. She cupped her hands around the mug and took a few sips. He smiled at her and drank some of his too.

“Fred, I didn’t mind. I was glad you came to me. I’m just sorry the whole thing happened” Wesley said putting his head down.

“I know. Me too.” Fred said leaning into him. He looked up and leaned in as well. Fred placed her mug down and so did Wesley. He lifted his hand to her face and pulled her in and they kissed. He ran his hands through her hair as she put her hand to his face too. After a few moments they pulled apart.

“Sorry, I’m sorry” Wesley said pulling away, putting his head down and standing up.

“For what?” Fred asked looking up at him.

“We shouldn’t, you and …” Wesley started, but then stopped and looked at her. She had tears that were ready to cascade down her face.

“No, we’re over, I…”Fred started.

“I’m sorry, why don’t we get you cleaned up and back to the hotel” Wesley suggested walking around to her.

“Yeah, yeah. Good idea” Fred said looking up and trying to smile.

Wesley walked her through his bedroom and into the bathroom. He set the water for her and gave her a towel and face cloth. She waited in the bedroom for him to help her undress. She knew he wouldn’t and tried to do it herself. He saw that she was having trouble just taking her top off. He went over and helped her.

“Put your arms up, please” Wesley said softly, trying not to be disgraceful. She did as she was told and he lifted the shirt off her. He unzipped her skirt and slid it off her slender hips. “Can you handle the rest?” Wesley asked, trying not to look at her.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine” Fred said as he left and she entered the bathroom. She took off her remaining pieces of clothing and stepped in the tub. She could smell the sweet sent of the soap that reminded her of him. She left the door open a crack, so the steam could leave the room. Wesley quietly entered him room and watched her through the crack in the door. She bathed herself and quickly washed her hair. He saw that ever time she went over a cut, she would whimper and wince. He felt so bad. He left a shirt and pants on the bed that Angel had brought over in the night. He saw her getting out and left the room. A few minutes later, she appeared in the red top and kaki pants. He hair was pulled back. He smiled at her. She felt chill and rubbed her arms.

“Oh, you cold? I’ll get you a sweater” Wesley said heading into his room.

“Thank you” Fred said as he passed her. He came out with a black sweatshirt. Fred pulled it on.

“Well, would you like to leave now?” Wesley asked walking to her.

“Yeah, that would be okay” Fred said smiling slightly and following Wesley out the door.

To be continued.

Trouble in Paradise Chapter 3: Break Off

Wesley drove Fred back to the hotel. When they entered, Angel, Cordy and Lorne were waiting for her. She was little surprised, but really just wanted to go to her room. Angel saw them enter and raced up to them. Wesley had one hand holding Fred’s elbow and the other by her hip

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Angel asked approaching Fred. A little startled Fred backed up a step into Wesley. He tightened his grip on her and helped her walk forward.

“Fine, I think I need to lie down though” Fred said walking into the lobby.

“We heard what happened. You need help?” Cordy said standing up. Lorne stood also, holding Connor in his arms.

“No, I should be fine” Fred said. She was glad she had a sweater on to cover her cuts and bruises. Fred headed for the stairs and Wesley saw her to her room. When they entered, Wesley helped her to her bed and let her lie down. He pulled a blanket that was on the edge of her bed, over her.

“Thanks, Wesley” Fred said as she closed her eyes.

“Yes, sweet dreams” Wesley said leaving her room. He headed down stairs and found everyone still in the lobby, as if waiting for him.

“Is she really okay?” Angel asked. “I saw those cuts last night and they weren’t pretty” he stated.

“She should be fine, just let her rest for now” Wesley said heading into his office.

“Why didn’t she talk much?” Cordy asked a little uniformed.

“Well, I don’t think she was expecting all of you to be here” Wesley stated sitting down.

“Well, she looked good today, right?” Cordy said looking at Wes, then Angel, then Lorne.

“Cordy, she’s not good, yet” Wesley said.

“Well, she seemed okay” Cordy said.

“Well, yes, with the sweater covering her cuts and bruises, but she’s not okay, I can tell” Wesley said.

“Well, how bad is it?” she asked a little scared.

“Not, to good” Angel butted in.

“ I’m sorry, I had no idea,” Cordy said.

“It’s fine, she’ll be better soon,” Angel said.

“I hope so,” Wesley said.

Fred stayed in her room for a while. She didn’t feel like eating or even sitting up. Her entire body was in pain, but she didn’t want the others to know how bad it was. Suddenly, Wesley knocked at her door, making her jump a little.

“Fred?” he asked softly.

Fred used all her strength to get up, keeping the blanket around her, and went to the door. She opened it slightly.

“I just wanted to check on you” Wesley said looking into her eyes. He could tell she was tired and in pain. She was pale, more pale than usual and looked somewhat sick. “Fred are you okay?” Wesley asked. Fred couldn’t answer and put her head down. The blood loss was getting to her.

“I…I don’t feel so well” Fred said as she collapsed.

“Fred!” Wesley yelled. He knelt down next her and checked her pulse. She was still breathing. He yelled for Angel.

“Angel!!” Wesley yelled as he took the blanket off her. She had taken off his sweater and he could see her cuts. Angel came running up the stairs with Cordy.

“What happened?” he asked kneeling down also.

“She got up to answer the door and then collapsed” Wesley explained.

“Alright, move her to the bed” Angel ordered. Wesley and Angel lifted her up and placed her gently on the bed.

“She’s breathing, but I think the blood loss, got to her” Wesley explained.

“Okay, well what do we do?” Angel asked.

“Umm, I think she’ll be fine, but we should watch over her” Wesley said grabbing a chair and placing it next to her bed.

“Yeah, okay” Angel said covering her with the blanket.

“Wait, shouldn’t we bring her to the hospital” Cordy suggested.

“No, we can’t, then we’ll have to explain her cuts and bruises” Angel said.

“I don’t think she would want to go anyway,” Wesley said starring at her.

“He’s right” Angel said. “We’ll be down stairs. Yell if you need us” Angel said.

Wesley sat next to Fred and held her hand and watched her for hours. Then Angel came up to check on them.

“Hey” Angel said entering her room.

“Oh, Angel” Wesley said turning to him.

“Do you want a break?” Angel asked walking over.

“I want to be with her if she wakes up” Wesley said.

“I’ll call you if she does” Angel said putting his hand on Wes’s shoulder.

“Yeah, okay” Wesley said leaving.

Angel sat with Fred and fell asleep. Fred started to wake up. She sat up and saw she was still in her bed and Angel was in the chair sleeping. She smiled at him. Then a headache started to come to the surface. She grabbed her head and whimpered, just when Wesley was entering.

“Fred!” Wesley said running to her, which woke Angel up.

“Wesley?” Fred asked as he came over to her. He sat on the edge of her bed.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I just have a slight headache” she explained sitting up more.

“Do you want aspirin?” he asked getting up.

“Yeah, thanks” she said as he ran into the bathroom.

“Oh, you’re up” Angel said standing.

“Yeah, just got up,” Fred stated.

“You feeling better?” Angel asked.

“Yeah” she said as Wesley gave her the pills and a glass of water. “Thanks” she replied.

“Yup” Wesley said taking the glass and putting on her dresser.

“So do you want to come down?” Angel asked.

“Yeah, I should walk around a bit” Fred said getting up with Wesley by her side. They went down stairs and made some tea. The rest of the day Fred just read and talked with Cordy.

The next few days, Fred, stayed inside and rested. About a week or so after the incident, when every one was out, she left and went to talk to Gunn. She knew where his apartment was and took a cab. She headed up the stairs to his door. She knocked.

“Charles?” she asked knocking lightly.

Gunn was sitting on his couch watching TV. He turned it of and headed to his door. He opened the door and saw Fred. She wore long sleeves, even though her bruises did fade a bit.

“Hi” he greeted plainly. Fred looked a little upset.

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you” she said.

“Okay” Gunn said opening the door for her to come in.

“No, this will only take a minute” Fred said standing outside the doorway. “Umm, okay, I don’t think I can be with you anymore. After what happened, I can’t be with you like that” she stated.

“Fred, it wasn’t me,” Gunn pleaded.

“I know, but I thought it was you, and the things you did, I just can’t like you that way” Fred said looking down closing her eyes, trying to keep back the tears.

“Fred, I’m so so sorry. I don’t even know how it happened,” he said.

“I know, but you were so angry and powerful. After seeing what you could do, what you could have done, it’s scary and I can’t be around you anymore, unless it’s work. I’m sorry it has to be this way,” Fred said.

“Me too” he said plainly.

“Well, good bye” she said as he closed the door. She turned the corner almost ready to cry. She ran out side and began sobbing. She knelt down to her knees and put her head in her hands. She calmed down and collected herself. She decided to walk back to the hotel, even though it was cold. When she was walking down the street, she noticed Cordy, Angel and Wesley in the black convertible. She thought they saw her and ran into an alley.

In the car. Wesley was in the front seat. They drove passed Fred then stopped at a red light. Wesley looked back, but didn’t see anyone. He turned himself more.

“What are you looking at?” Cordy asked.

“I thought I saw, no couldn’t be” Wesley said puzzled.

“What?” Angel asked looking at him, then back to the road.

“I thought I saw Fred,” he said turning to Angel.

“Couldn’t be” Cordy said. “She’s at the hotel. She wouldn’t leave by herself,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re right. My mistake” he said looking towards the road.

Fred saw them stop and Wesley turn his head. Then the light changed and they left. She came out and ran the other way. She knew a short cut. She ran as fast as she could and tried to make it back to the hotel before they did. When she reached the hotel, they were pulling into the driveway. She ran as fast as she could to the back entrance. She saw Wesley and Cordy already inside. They arrived and when they didn’t find her, Angel left to search the city. She went in the back way and tried to sneak by. Wesley turned just as she was passing him.

“Fred!” he yelled walking over to her.

“Hi” she said trying to cover the fact she just came in.

“Where have you been?” he asked accusingly.

“Well, I went to Charles’ apartment to talk to him” she admitted.

“Oh, well why didn’t you tell us?” he asked.

“Cause I knew you’d be upset or wouldn’t let me go” she said looking down.

“Oh, well we were very worried” he stated.

“I know, I’m sorry,” she said.

“Well Angel went looking for you,” he explained

“I know, he just came in,” she stated.

“Oh, Angel” he said turning to find him coming in.

“Hi, Fred” he said.

“Hi, sorry I left” she said.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said walking to the front desk.

“Well, I’ll go up to my room, now” she said as she nearly sprinted up the stairs.

Wesley watched as she ran up the stairs. Then he turned and walked over to Angel.

“Why were you so calm?” he asked.

“Give her a break, if she asked you to go see Gunn, would you let her go?” he asked.

“Well, I ...um… probably not” he said.

“Point proven,” he said.

“What do you think she said to him?” Cordy asked

“I don’t know, that’s their business” Angel said walking to the stairs. “I’m going to check on Connor.

“Okay” Cordy said. Then she looked at a frustrated Wesley. “Hey, Wes, just leave it alone” she said patting him on the back.

“I can’t. I’m more worried about what he said, than what she said,” he explained looking up at the stairs.

To be continued.

Trouble in Paradise
Chapter 4: First Day Back, almost

It has been about a week and a half, since Fred and Gunn’s accident. Gunn hasn’t come to work since. Wesley called him the day before and told him to come back to work. He was hesitant but agreed. Fred’s cuts and bruises had faded, but the ones on her back and stomach took longer to heal. That day, Gunn was coming back, and Fred didn’t know.

Cordy arrived a little early, because she knew Gunn was coming back and she didn’t want to come in, in the middle of a fight or something. Wesley was already there as well as Angel. Fred was still in her room. Around 9:00, Gunn arrived. He greeted Angel and Cordelia first and then Wesley. They started talking a little and didn’t even mention Fred. Suddenly Fred was coming down, holding a bandage, she used on her back and stomach. She looked at the bandage, trying to unknot it, the entire time and did not see Gunn.

“Hey, Angel can you help me with this bandage again, it’s all knotted and I need you to wrap my …stomach” she said as she came to the end of the stairs and saw Gunn. They all turned to her and she stopped dead. She even held her breath for a minute or two.

“Hey Fred” Gunn said softly as he approached her. She took a step back, onto the bottom step.

“What is he…I thought…” Fred said looking around at everyone.

“Fred, we asked him to come back,” Angel said walking to her. She took another step back. She almost felt betrayed.

“You didn’t tell me. How could you not tell me?” she said with tears in her eyes. She wasn’t ready to face him and yet let alone work with him.

“Fred, we thought” Wesley started as he passed Gunn and Angel.

“Well, obviously you didn’t think very much. I’ll be in my room,” she said going back up to her room.

“Great, she doesn’t even want to look at me” Gunn said turning to leave.

“What did you expect?” Wesley said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gunn said turning back around.

“Well, I mean you did try to kill and rape her, do you think she’d bounce back so quickly” Wesley said angrily.

“Look, I didn’t mean to do it, it wasn’t me. I tried to warn her, but it was to late” he said walking to Wesley.

“I don’t care, she is unstable now and I’d advise you to wait a little longer,” Wesley ordered.

“How long Wes? I can’t keep leaving, either I stay or go” he said.

“Well, we need you and her, but just wait a little longer. We’ll talk to her okay?” Wesley offered.

“Fine, call me later” Gunn said leaving the hotel. Fred watched from the balcony as he left. She ran back to her room.

“Well, who’s going to talk to her?” Wes asked.

“I will” Angel said as he picked up her bandage. “She left this, I’ll help her,” he said heading to her room. He knocked on Fred’s door.

“Come in” she said as Angel walked in.

“Hey, you left this down stairs” he said holding out the bandage.

“Oh, yeah thanks. I was wondering if you could help me,” she said.

“Yeah” he said. He untied the knot. She sat back a little and lifted up her shirt a little. Angel gently wrapped her wounds. When he was done, he helped her lie down.

“Thank you, for everything” she said.

“Yeah. Fred, if you need to you can talk to me, okay?” he said.

“Yeah, I know. Sorry I flipped out back there. I just wasn’t expecting to see him, not yet. I’m not really mad at him anymore. I was just surprised. He can come back to work.”

“Fred, he doesn’t have to come back yet, if you’re still not ready,” Angel said.

“I’m ready, we’ll just go back to being friends. It’ll be okay, really” she said trying to smile.

“I know it will take time though, just rest” Angel said standing.

“Oh, I’m fine, now. I came down to hang with you guys,” Fred said sitting up. Angel went over to help her get out of bed.

“Oh, only if you want to” he said.

“I do,” she said as they went down stairs.

“Hey Fred” Wesley greeted as she came down.

“Hi, I thought I’d apologize” she said walking to him.

“No need” he said.

“No really, it’s okay for Charles to come back, I want him to” she said.

“Are you sure?” he asked as he watched Angel behind her shaking his head ‘no’.

“Yeah”

“Well, he’s coming back in a few days, okay?” he said.

“Yeah, okay” Fred said. She was glad she’d have a few days to get ready to talk to him.

To be continued.

Trouble in Paradise Chapter 5: Back to Normal

Gunn was coming back a few days later, and Fred was going to be ready for him.
Wesley was in his office and Fred was up in her room. Angel was watching Connor and Lorne was out. Wesley decided he was going to talk with Fred, before Gunn came back to work. Fred was coming down the stairs as Wesley was coming out of his office.

“Fred” he called walking over to her. A little startled she stopped in her tracks. “Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you, I just wanted to talk to you” he said a little more softly.

“Oh, okay” she said proceeding down the stairs. They walked to the lobby couch and sat down.

“It’s about Gunn” Wesley started and Fred shifted a bit. “I know it will take time to adjust to him working with you again, but at least give him a chance. Fred looked at him and just nodded. “I know what he did has affected you a lot” he said.

“Yeah, well he still works here and it wasn’t really him anyway” she said sighing.

“Yeah, so when he comes back tomorrow, will you talk to him a little bit?” Wesley asked cautiously.

“I’ll try,” she said plainly standing and going to get coffee. Wesley noticed this was the first, time since the accident, that Fred wore a short sleeve top. The bruises and cuts on her arms were still visible and if you watched her closely, she walked with a slight limp. Wesley felt so bad and knew seeing her with marks on her arms would kill Gunn.

The next day, Fred woke up early and came down earlier too. Nobody was around. Wesley wasn’t there yet and Angel was still asleep with Connor. She walked through the lobby and got a cup of coffee. A little while later, the door suddenly opened. Fred jumped up and turned around, hoping to see Wes, but Gunn was standing there. A little disappointed she backed up a few steps. Gunn looked around and then saw Fred. He approached her cautiously. Fred looked around as if she were going to run away.

“Hi” Gunn greeted plainly.

“Hi” she replied back.

“I need to talk to you” he said with a serious look on his face. This scared Fred a little.

“Okay” she said meekly.

“I am truly sorry. I don’t know what happened. It felt like I was trapped in my own body trying to get out. I didn’t want to hurt you at all, but I know I did and I am very sorry” he explained looking into her tear filled eyes.

“I know Charles, and I will keep working with you, but I’ll have to stay away from you for a little while, just until I can control my self” she said turning and walking into the office.

Suddenly Wesley came in and saw Gunn.

“Oh, Gunn, are you the only one here?” he asked

“Um, yeah” he said. “But I have to go, be back in a little bit” he said running out the door.

“Okay” Wesley replied to himself walking to his office.

Fred was inside crying, again. She wanted to be with Gunn, but she couldn’t. She was huddled underneath the desk, with her legs drawn in and her arms wrapped around them.
Wesley opened the door and Fred stopped. She listened to him come in, mutter something to him self and grab some books. She pushed herself to the other end of the desk and curled into and even smaller ball. He came around the back of the desk and pulled the chair out. He saw Fred on the floor, with her legs drawn in and her head down. He knelt down and patted her shoulder. Her head whipped up and she saw Wesley. Wesley knew Gunn had spoken to her and helped her up.

“Fred, you can’t keep running away from him. You need to work or at least talk with him at some point” he said.

“I know, but I’m just so scared of him now” she said sitting down in a chair across from his desk. “But I will try, I promise” she replied, putting on a slight smile.

“Alright, now do you want to help me with some of my books. I need to organize volumes and I don’t know how to organize them yet,” he explained.

“Sure” she said standing and walking over to his bookshelf.

Gunn came back that day and Fred talked with him a little, but tried to avoid him as much as possible. Fred knew she could be strong and she would.

To be continued.

Trouble in Paradise Chapter 6: Erased Memories

Fred knew she could talk to Gunn and get passed what he did, but she didn’t know if he could.
Gunn came in, again, a few days later. Fred was already down in the lobby when he arrived. She was sitting at her PC and playing a game. Wesley was in his office working, as usual, and Cordy hadn’t arrived yet. Gunn walked into the lobby.

“Hey Cord-” Fred started but then looked up to see Gunn. “Oh, Charles, good morning” she said as if nothing had ever happened. He walked to her a little confused.

“So your not mad?” he asked.

“No, why would I be mad?” she replied as she stood up and hugged him. He was a little startled but hugged her back. They pulled apart.

“I’m going to talk to Wesley,” he said heading to his office.

He knocked on the door and Wesley looked up.

“Oh, Gunn, hello” he said standing. “How are you?” he asked walking around his desk.

“Good, but is Fred okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?” he replied.

“She seemed happy to see me,” he said.

“Oh yeah, that” Wesley said turning back to his desk.

“What?” Gunn asked a little worried.

“Well, Angel and I kind of put a spell on her to forget what you did” he explained.

“What!” Gunn shouted. “Why did you do that? She has to know,” he declared.

“Why? I thought you would want it this way,” he said.

“No, well yes, she should no, it’s like you rewrote her memories” he said.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can reverse the spell” Wesley said.

“Well you better figure it out,” he said. “And Angel agreed to this?” he asked.

“Yeah” he replied.

“Look, I’m glad she doesn’t know, but it’s not right and she needs to” Gunn said.

“But then she’ll become unstable again and retreat to her room, like she did before” Wesley explained.

“Well, let’s not do anything yet and see how it goes” Gunn said looking out the window to her. “Does she know we broke up?” he asked.

“I think so” Wesley said. “But she doesn’t know why” he explained.

“Okay, I’ll just hang with her for a while then. Did you erase anything else from her memory?” he asked turning back to Wesley.

“No, we were very careful” he said.

“Okay” Gunn said walking out to the lobby. Wesley watched as she hugged him and they sat and laughed.

Wesley didn’t know what to do. If he reversed the spell, Fred would be very upset, but if he didn’t Gunn would be upset. He was stuck in the middle again. He decided to look over the spell again and see if he actually could reverse it.

Wesley went to his desk and grabbed the book he used to cast the spell and flipped to the spell. He reread the spell and how to perform it. He flipped to the next page and saw small writing at the bottom of the page. He sat down and it read:

The magic to cast this spell and erase ones memories,
Can work on people who have gone through pain
But is only temporary.
To Be continued

Trouble in Paradise Chapter 7: Replay

Wesley knew that soon the spell would wear off and Fred would remember everything and he wouldn’t be able to explain or stop it. He had no choice but to tell Gunn. He knew Gunn would either kill him. But he had no choice.

The next day Gunn came in a little early to talk to Wesley. Wesley was in his office looking through his books. Gunn walked into his office and closed the door.

“Do you know how to reverse it?” he asked.

“Well, we may not have to” he said.

“What do you mean?” Gunn asked confused.

“Well, the spell is only temporary” he explained.

“What! How long does it last?” he asked walking to his desk.
“Umm, actually I don’t really know” Wesley said.

“Great” Gunn said

“I’ve been researching it and the memories will come back in flashes and will seem like the visions Cordy gets, and when they piece together, she’ll remember everything” he said handing Gunn the book. Gunn looked over a few pages and then plopped it back on the desk.

“So there’s no way to prevent it?” he asked.

“No, I’m sorry” Wesley said.

“Yeah, well, she’ll kill me first” he said walking out and slamming the door. Then he entered suddenly. “Wait, you said they’d be like Cordy’s visions. Are they going to hurt her too?” he asked concerned.

“Maybe, this spell is connected to the Powers, so they may. But I don’t think they will at first” he explained.

“Oh, I don’t want her to get hurt” he said.

“Just act normal and when they hit, just say it must be a fluke thing with the Powers” Wesley ordered as Gunn left and went into the lobby.

Later that morning Fred came down. She looked a little tired.

“Good morning, Fred” Wesley greeted.

“Oh, good morning” she said walking over to him.

“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, as she sat down.

“Yeah, fine” she said “Can I have a cup of coffee please?” she asked rubbing her head.

“You sure” he asked again pouring her coffee.

“Well, last night I was asleep and I saw flashes of something. It was me and Gunn having dinner,” she explained. It seemed like a dream, but it hurt my head a little,” she said.

“Oh, probably déjà vu” Wesley said handing her the cup.

“Yeah, I don’t know. So anyway, how are you?” she asked taking a sip.

“Oh, I’m fine” he said even though he was worried about Fred and what the next visions would be like.

“That’s good” she replied standing and heading to the couch. Suddenly she stopped half way there and her mug dropped and she grabbed her head as she started to fall. Wesley rushed to her and caught her as she was screaming. “Ahhh, oh my god” she yelled panting. “What the hell was that?” she asked as she caught her breath.

“I don’t know, was it like the one you had last night?” he asked pretending to be clueless.

“Yeah, but this time we were cleaning up and washing dishes. Then we went to the couch and he started to yell at me,” she said looking up with fear in her eyes. Suddenly Angel came running in and saw her on the floor by Wesley. He knelt next to her.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked. Wesley had explained the whole spell and the vision part and asked him to play along as well.

“She had, like a vision,” Wesley explained.

“About me and Gunn” she added standing up. “Sorry about the mug and coffee” she said kneeling down to pick it up.

“No Fred, lay down, we’ll clean this up” Wesley said as he helped her to the couch. She lied down and rubbed her temples and closed her eyes. “Do you want some aspirin?” he asked.

“No, that won’t help” she said keeping her eyes shut.

“Okay” he said. He let her rest a little. Later that afternoon, she decided to go to her room and lie down. Wesley helped her up the stairs and settled her into her bed.

Wesley stayed late that day to make sure no other “vision” happened. He left around midnight and told Angel to listen for Fred. Angel, unfortunately, fell asleep shortly after Wesley left.

At 1:00 am, Fred woke up screaming and panting after having another “vision”. She didn’t know why it was happening and was getting worried. She knew happened to Cordy and didn’t want brain damage and die.

Angel heard her scream and ran to her room and found her crying holding her head. He rushed to her.

“Fred, Fred, are you okay?” he asked even though he knew she wasn’t.

“Yeah, yeah, I just don’t know why this is happening” she said looking up.

“What did you see?” he asked.

“Umm, Gunn was attacking me and he tried to-” she paused and sat wide-eyed.

“Fred, what happened?” he asked again.

“He tried to…I think kill me” she said looking up at Angel with tears in her eyes.

“Oh, Fred I’m so sorry” he said as he pulled her to him and she cried uncontrollably.

“I don’t why I keep seeing these things, but the pain is worse,” she said.

“I know,” he said “Lie down and rest” he said placing her back down a she closed her eyes. “I’m going to call Wesley,” he said standing.

“No” she said sitting up. “I don’t want to worry him,” she said.

“I have to tell him what happened” he won’t get upset,” he said leaving. He ran down the stairs and called Wesley.

****

Wesley was falling asleep in his bed, but tried to stay up in case Angel called.

Suddenly the phone rang and Wesley shot up and ran to the phone.

“Hello” he answered. “Yes, okay. I’ll be right there,” he said hanging up and grabbing his coat and keys.

To be continued.

Trouble in Paradise Chapter 8: Visions of what was

Wesley sped down the streets of L.A. to get to the hotel quicker. He parked and ran into the building. He sprinted up the stairs, to Fred’s room and entered, breathless. He saw Fred sitting up next to Angel and walked to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked out of breath.

“Yeah, I should be” she said.

Angel tapped him on the shoulder and they stepped to the side.

“She had a vision and this time she seemed really scared,” he said.

“Why? How do you mean?” Wesley asked.

“Well, she was screaming and after I came in to check on her, she cried” Angel explained.

“Oh God, well the book said that after she has visions of all the events that have happened, they will piece together and she will remember everything” he explained.

“Great how long will that be” he said.

“Umm, I think a few days” he said.

“This is worse than Cordy’s visions,” he said.

“Yes, well Cordelia is stronger” he said. The then they tended back to Fred.

Fred rested that day and didn’t have a vision until after she woke up. Fred woke up from her long sleep and headed downstairs. She saw Wesley and Cordy at the front desk and she went to approach them. As she was walking down the steps, she grabbed her head and started to scream.

“Ahh” she said as she lost her balance and began to fall. Wesley ran over to her and caught her before she fell. He scooped her up and she tossed and turned in his arms and placed her on the couch. A little stunned, Cordy stood by and watched. Fred collected herself and started to explain what she saw.

“Umm, Gunn was attacking me and slashed me with glass. I ran out of the hotel and ran to your apartment,” she said as she cried. Wesley leaned into her and hugged her. She held him close and sobbed on his shoulder. After a few minutes she stopped and sat up. She wiped her eyes and looked at Wesley.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I think so, but why would I see things like this? Will they end up happening?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said as he held her again.

Fred slept the rest of the day. Her head throbbed all the time though and Wesley and Angel were getting very worried. She would have visions every couple of hours and some she would see some visions twice. Fred had no idea why this was happening and was scared for her life. She knew what happened to Cordy when she had her visions and was afraid to even close her eyes in case she didn’t wake up or a vision would kill her.

Fred wanted to talk to Wesley and see if he knew anything about what was happening to her and so she went to his office. She walked into his office and plopped down in a chair. Wesley startled, looked up and walked to her.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

“Well, I’m just..” Fred started but she couldn’t spit out the words.

“What?” he asked worried.

She put her head down as tears rolled down her face.

“I’m just so scared” she said. Wesley walked closer to her.

“You don’t have to be-” he started.

“Yes I do, Cordy almost died from the visions,” she said looking back up with tears cascading down her cheeks.

“I know, but we’ll help you and we won’t let you get hurt,” he said.

“I know, but why is this happening, to me?” she asked putting her head down again.

Wesley couldn’t keep it from her any longer.

“Fred, I have something to tell you,” he said.

“Okay” she said plainly.

“Well, umm, we do know why this is happening and it’s my fault” he said.

“No, Wesley it’s not your fault” she said.

“Yes it is, let me explain,” he said.

“Okay” she said.

“Okay, umm the visions you’re having, happened already, the whole thing. Gunn attacked you and you came to me. I cleaned you up and brought back to the hotel. We talked to Gunn and told him not to come back for a while, but you were still upset. I felt so bad so I preformed a spell to erase it from your memory and it had repercussions and back fired no me.” He explained. She looked at him in shock and anger.

“You, you lied to me and put a spell on me” she said.

“Well, I thought-” he started.

“NO! You didn’t think” she yelled. “I trusted you and you went inside my head and changed my memories and what it think happened” she said standing. “How could you!” she yelled.

“Fred, I’m sorry, I was doing what I thought was best for you” he said.

“Wesley I know that what happened was bad, but I didn’t want it erased from my memory. I don’t even remember everything. Charles wouldn’t hurt me anyway” she said pacing.

“He was infected by a relative of Billy’s, but didn’t know” he said.

“Well, he didn’t kill me,” she said and then suddenly stopped pacing. She thought back to her visions as she closed her eyes. “No, he didn’t even want to kill me, he just wanted to….” She stopped and looked up wide-eyed. “Oh God, I did want them erased form my memory” she said. She put her head in her hands and began to cry as she sank down.

Wesley went to her and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around him as they both sank to the floor. She sobbed into his shoulder.

They did not exchange words and she just sat with him, crying.

To Be Continued.

Trouble in Paradise
Chapter 9: Hello, Goodbye

Wesley told Gunn, that he explained everything to Fred. Gunn knew she would not want to even look at him anymore. He still came to work the next day and hoped for the best.

He walked into an empty Hyperion lobby and sat at the front desk. Gunn started to read through his magazine and decided to wait for Wesley. He thought he heard Wesley, but when he looked up he saw Fred descending the stairs. He stood immediately. She just kept walking and went up to him.

“Hi” Gunn greeted, very nervous.

“Hi” she said back.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Better. Look, Charles I remember what happened and I understand that it wasn’t you and you did not intentionally want to hurt me. I am still distraught and it will take time. I know you did not cast the spell and you wanted me to it over it on my own. So, I am happy to be your friend, but getting close, even as friends, will take time” she said

“Okay, I understand” he said.

“Good, now, is Wesley here yet?” she asked looking around the lobby.

“Umm I didn’t see him yet,” he explained.

“Oh, okay, well I wanted to look up a few things in his books and the office is closed and…” she started as Wesley walked in.

“Oh, hello” he said walking into the lobby.

“Hello” they said simultaneously.

“How are you this morning?” Wesley asked Fred as he approached her.

“Oh, um, fine and you?” she replied.

“Oh, good” he said.

“Umm, can I use a few of your books?” she asked. “I wanted to look something up,” she explained.

“Certainly” he said as they walked to his office.

They entered and Fred walked up to his bookcase and started to look.

“So, is everything okay?” Wesley asked.

“Oh, between Gunn and me?” she asked turning around and pointing to Gunn. Wesley nodded. Fred turned back around to the books. “Fine, I explained a few things and we are going to be okay, I hope” she said turning back to him with a few books.

“So, what are you looking up?” he asked.

“Oh, just some demonology” she said.

“Oh?” he asked a little surprised.

“Yeah. I’m just a little bored and I need something to take my mind off the last few weeks,” she said as she took a few books, turned, and walked out of his office.

Wesley watched Fred tentatively and was wondering if she was really going to be all right. Wesley had a talk with Gunn, about what Fred had explained to him and what things were going to be like at the office from now on.

Wesley was glad the whole thing was over and finally realized how much he cared fro Fred and how much he loved her. He was completely jealous of Gunn and now they are not together. He was actually happy, and would be able to express his true feelings towards Fred.

He had no idea if she felt the same way, but he would probably find out. He watched Fred the entire day and caught himself staring at him on many occasions. He didn’t know if she saw him too, but he almost felt embarrassed. So after every one left, he went out to the lobby and approached her.

“Fred?” he asked walking to her and standing next to her as she sat at the front desk.

“Oh, hi Wesley” she said as she looked up from her computer screen.

“Um, I’ve been meaning to talk to you, well actually tell you something” he said.

“Oh, okay” she said closing her laptop and giving him her undivided attention.

“Okay, I have something to confess. I have held it in for a long time and now, I think I can actually tell you” he explained.

“Okay, what is it?” she asked almost scared.

“I…Fred I know I am your friend and I always will be, but I would like to be more. I have cared for you and I had adapted feelings for you. Fred I think I am falling in love with you” he said.

“Oh, oh my god, really?” she asked stunned. Wesley nodded his head. “Well, Wesley after you took care of me and were there for me through everything, I started to like you too and I guess I am falling in love with you too” she said. Wesley stood in awe. He did not expect her to say that and was completely shocked. He stood speechless. “Wesley?” she asked.

“Yeah, oh I am so happy and I really didn’t expect that” he said. Fred stood up.

“Well, I was going to tell you before, but with everything that was going on, it didn’t feel right” she said walking closer to him. They were centimeters apart. Fred took Wesley’s hands and placed them on her waist. Then she leaned into him and they kissed.

They pulled apart and Fred smiled up at Wesley.

“Well, I definitely wasn’t expecting that” he said as he hugged her close and kissed her again.

The end