Southern Comfort (14/?)

Author- Midnight Faith

Spoilers-

Distribution- FF.net, AOH anyone else just ask :)

Pairing- Lilah/Lindsey

Rating- PG-13

Summary- Dawn's geometry problem raises some issues…

Disclaimer- not mine… yadda, yadda

"Hey," Dawn said from the doorway of Wesley's office, "Mind if I hang with you for a while?"

"Hey Dawn," Lilah said looking up from her case file, "Sure, come on in."

Dawn sat down a little uncomfortably on the office chair.

"You're up seriously early for a Saturday. Did you sleep OK?" Lilah asked her.

"I slept… some," Dawn told Lilah, "Strange place 'n' all… plus I wanted to get a head start on all my summer assignments… get them out of the way so I can just chill and enjoy LA…"

"When I moved in I just couldn't sleep at all…" Lilah told her.

"I think I was still a little hyped from last night," Dawn told Lilah, "It was fun."

To welcome Dawn to LA, Lilah had roped Gunn into driving her and Dawn to Via Negitiva, LA's contemporary juice bar and disco.

"Yeah, so did I," Lilah said smiling.

"Gunn's nice," Dawn said neutrally, searching Lilah's face for a reaction.

"Nice as a friend or nice as in nice?" Lilah asked her.

"Nice as in nice, but before you give me the whole parental lecture thing… I know… he's too old for me…

I think he's perfect for you though…"

"What? No way… he's not my type…"

"So if tall, dark and gorgeous isn't your type then what is?"

"I don't know… I don't think I have a type… by definition… no Gunn's a little too undisciplined… I just want someone a little more…"

"Lindsey?" Dawn asked.

Lilah felt herself redden.

"Did Gunn tell you about me and Lindsey?" Lilah asked.

"When you were in the bathroom… sounded kinda like a rough break up…"

"Yeah… but we're still friends… it's OK. I'm just not looking to get heavy with anyone right now…"

"Gunn's not heavy… and I know he likes as in likes you…"

Lilah's eyes widened a little.

"Did he tell you that?"

"Not in so many words… but I can tell… you should see the look in his eyes when he talks about you…"

"OK, subject closed. Don't you wanna get to the beach sometime this weekend? And no-one will take you until you've finished your homework…"

"Yeah, I just looked at the first question on my geometry paper and that was enough to freak me out about failing sophomore year."

"I'll help you…" Lilah offered.

Dawn nodded.

"OK… it's the first paper on the shelf behind you,"

Lilah stood up and took the top paper from the pile of documents behind her, her eyes skimming the first question.

" Lines PT and PS are tangents to a circle with a centre O. Angle W equals 110 degrees. Find angle Z."

"Need a hand Ms. Pythagoras' theorem?" Lindsey teased from the doorway.

"I came top of my class in geometry," Lindsey told Dawn.

He lent over Lilah's shoulder to look at the question.

"This is simple," he said more to Lilah than to Dawn. He took a pen gently from Lilah's right hand and began to write on the paper.

"Angle X is ninety degrees because the radius is perpendicular to the tangent. Angles W, X, Y and Z must all add up to 360 degrees because the tangent forms a kite. So Z equals three sixty minus two ninety which equals seventy degrees."

"That simple huh?" Lilah asked Lindsey, strangely comforted by his nearness.

"Everything's that simple if you're willing to give it a shot…"

*****

"I still think we should be going with racoon…" Lilah told Lindsey, late that night.

"Racoon is crazy… I don't think racoons even exist in downtown LA…"

"Unless it was an imported racoon…"

"Yeah… OK we'll write that in the report… a Japanese racoon bit Ms. Sharp in broad daylight on a crowded LA street…" Lindsey said sceptically, but with not a hint of malice in his voice.

Lilah turned her head slightly to look at him so her face was only inches from his, a look of nostalgia in her eyes.

"What?" he asked her.

"Nothing… it's just…"

"Lilah… what happened to no more secrets?"

"It's just… I miss you… that's all…"

"It goes without saying… I miss you too… I miss talking to you at three a.m."

"You're the only person I could reasonably talk to about a Japanese racoon,"

Lindsey smiled.

"So… so what does this mean?" He asked her nervously.

"Lindsey… I can't get into this really heavy thing right now…"

"I know… I understand… it's just…"

"What?"

"No… it's nothing…"

"Tell me…"

"What?"

"What were you going to say?"

"I was just going to say… that I still love you… I just wanted you to know…"

"I know…"

She turned her face to his, catching his lips in a gentle kiss more of friendship than of passion.

"Tell me…" he said; "Tell me we still have a shot…"

She kissed him again, undeniably this time, her fierce kiss telling him more than her words ever could.

The spell was broken by a noise outside the door, and she was springing away from him guiltily, putting her head round the door to see who was there.

"Gunn?" she said.

"Uh yeah…" he said uncomfortably, "I was just gonna let you know I was splitting for the night…"

"Are you going on patrol? Alone?"

"Yeah?"

"How safe is that?"

"Not very… but you do what you have to do…"

"Yeah you do… can I come with you?"

"OK… But only if you know how to use a stake and you promise not to get yourself killed…"