"Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

Chapter Two"

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

Several days had passed and Angel hadn't heard from Meghan. This wasn't an unusual thing as Meghan had her own life, not to mention job, and sometimes went for weeks without visiting. But Angel could still see the look on his friend's face when she was telling him about the nightmare. So he thought he might drop by her work and see how she was.

Angel walked into 'Sarah's Legacy' and nodded to the secretary who was answering the phone. She waved back, indicating she would help him in a minute, and kept on talking. Angel flipped his way through a magazine as he waited and smiled to a young woman who was sitting nearby.

"Angel, how are you today?" the secretary hung up the phone and smiled winningly at him.

"I'm well, Cheryl, and how are you?" Angel walked over to her desk.

"Just perfect for having seen your gorgeous face," Cheryl said flirtatiously. "What can we do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if Meghan was in."

Cheryl thought about that for a moment before replying. "No, I haven't seen her for a few days. But that happens when she's on an interesting case." She lifted the phone. "Would you like me to check with Mrs. Anderson and see if Meghan's been in contact with her?"

"That would be great."

Cheryl spoke quietly on the phone for a few minutes before hanging up and turning to Angel.

"Mrs. Anderson said that Meghan asked for a few days off." She looked a bit put out that she hadn't been informed. "So I guess that's why she hasn't been in. Does that help?"

"Actually it does Cheryl, thanks."

Cheryl smiled again. "You're welcome," she said, as Angel walked out.

The young woman who was waiting walked over to Cheryl. "Who was that?"

Cheryl sighed deeply and gazed out the door. "That was Angel. Isn't he gorgeous?"

Cheryl's friend nodded in appreciation. "Sure is. Who's Meghan?"

"Meghan is a business associate of the Agency. She works here, when she shows up," Cheryl grumbled as an afterthought.

"Well," said the friend, "If he's going to be a regular feature I'm going to love working here."

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

Meghan was sprawled on the couch idly flicking through television channels, trying to find something to watch. She was dressed down in a grubby tee shirt and old sweat pants.

"Soap, soap, infomercials, soap." She gave up and threw the remote away. "Who'd have thought there would be so much crap on during the day?"

She'd just gotten up to make herself some coffee when she heard a knock.

"Hang on," she yelled as she pulled on some slippers and shuffled her way to her front door. She peered through the spy hole and, after seeing who it was, opened the door.

"Angel, I wasn't expecting you."

Angel took in Meghan's less than immaculate appearance and the fluffy duck slippers. "Looks like you weren't expecting anyone." He stepped into the apartment and wandered past her. "I went to your work today and found out you had a few days off."

Meghan hurriedly shuffled past Angel and closed the curtains in her living room before he could accidentally walk into a patch of sunlight. "So?"

"So I was worried about you," Angel removed a plate from a chair and sat down.

Meghan frowned. "Why?"

"Dreams," Angel prompted.

"Oh." Meghan slumped back onto the couch. "Well, good news is you're not staking me in my dreams anymore."

Angel looked closely at Meghan's face. "And the bad news?"

Meghan fidgeted and stood back up. "Why does there always have to be bad news?" She walked over to her mantelpiece and adjusted a picture frame.

"Because you look like you haven't had a decent nights sleep in I don't know how long," Angel got up and walked over to Meghan. "And because you're avoiding me and because - " Angel ran out of reasons. "Well, just because."

Meghan smiled as she turned around. "You can always make me laugh."

"Especially when I'm not trying," Angel leant down and peered into her eyes. "Now tell me."

"Okay, maybe I had another dream, but so what?"

"So what? Meghan, look at yourself. If Cordelia could see you now."

Meghan grinned. "She'd have a pink fit."

Angel smiled. "So tell me," he insisted.

Meghan walked over to the window and peeked behind the curtains. "Don't you have more important things to do?"

"Not at the moment. I'm sure Doyle will call me if he has another head splitting vision," Angel opened his arms out wide. "I'm all yours."

"I wish," Meghan stepped away from the curtains and sat back down on the couch. "I don't see why you're so worried about some dreams."

"Believe me, I have a nose for the supernatural and those dreams aren't normal, Meghan."

"What are you saying? That the damn Sandman exists and has a grudge against me?"

"Well, I don't know about the Sandman, but maybe someone's trying to scare you away from a case." Angel shrugged at Meghan's sceptical look. "Well, it's just a thought."

"I want a coffee." She stood up again. "Do you want anything?"

"Avoiding the subject won't make it go away."

Meghan growled in frustration and threw herself back onto the couch. "I hate it when you're right," she sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes in frustration. "Fine, shall I tell you a bedtime story?"

"Tell me the dream, Meghan."

"Well, I wake up in a hospital ward. The curtain about the bed is closed and I can hear all the normal noises. I call out and a doctor slips past the curtains and walks over to my bed. He's in green surgeon scrubs and has a surgical mask over his face," Meghan looked across to see if Angel was listening. He indicated for her to continue.

"Well, he asks me if I know where I am and I tell him hopefully not the morgue. He laughs at the joke and tells me I've had a small accident, that my car had hit a pole. But not to worry everything is all right and I should be able to leave soon. I'm all for leaving right now, I don't like hospitals at the best of times, and I begin to get up. That's when I realise that I'm tied down!"

Meghan pulled a cushion out from underneath her and hugged it fiercely. "When I ask what the hell is going on, the doctor pulls down his mask and reveals that he's a vampire."

Angel shifted in his seat when she mentioned that fact. "Another vampire dream?"

Meghan ignored the question; her eyes were unfocused as she relived her nightmare. "He starts to laugh at me, and then he pulls open the curtains and shows me a ward full of helpless humans being tortured and sucked dry by demons and vampires." Meghan's voice cracked as she told the story and she was hugging the cushion so tightly that Angel was worried that it might burst.

Angel moved over to his friend and gently put his arms around her. "It was only a dream, Meghan. I wouldn't let anyone hurt you."

Meghan sniffled. "Don't you think I haven't been telling myself that and what do you mean 'you won't let anyone hurt me'?" She glared at Angel. "Do you think I can't take care of myself?"

Angel smiled at the angry glare, which only made her more furious. "That's better, a mad Meghan is preferable to a scared one."

"Cheap shot, Angel."

Angel moved off the couch. "I'm going to stay the night see if I can't find something out." He looked back at the troubled woman. "I'll call Doyle and get him to check out the building's history, see if there are any haunting or poltergeist activity reported."

"Do you think it might be Casper?"

"Right now I don't have a clue, but anything is possible. For all we know it might be Freddy Krueger."

Meghan shuddered at that thought. "Oh good one Angel, make sure I never get to sleep now. There are days when I regret ever watching horror movies."

"Me too." Angel noted Meghan's surprised look. "Well, it always pays to keep informed of the latest flicks. A lot of them are based on actual events."

"Oh, really?"

Angel looked at Meghan sincerely. "Really."

She stared at her friend almost believing him.

A small smile crossed Angel's face. "Okay not really, but I had you going there for a minute."

The cushion Meghan had been holding flew across the room, narrowly missing the vampire.

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

Back at Angel Investigations, Cordelia was just finishing printing out the information her boss had asked for. "There," she said. "Every last thing about Meghan's crummy little apartment building." She turned off the computer and grabbed her jacket off the back of the chair.

"Where you going?" Doyle asked, walking in from Angel's office.

"For your information, I have a date at seven."

"So?" He picked up the file Cordy had printed and flicked through it. "It's only four."

"So I need to change and do my hair and everything," she said, rolling her eyes at the Irishman. "If you went out on a date now and again, like that would happen, you'd know it takes a while to find just the right look."

"No it doesn't, all I do is change my shirt and splash on some deodorant."

"And that's why you never have dates," she retorted. The phone began to ring. "Will you get that?" she asked sweetly. "I have to go."

Doyle grumbled as he picked up the phone. "Angel Investigations, here's hoping you're helpless."

"We help the hopeless," Cordelia corrected from the now open door of the office. "Who is it, is it Mark?"

Doyle ignored Cordy. "What?" he spoke into the phone. "You can't make it, oh, that's a shame. No, I'm sure I could take Cordelia out for you."

Cordy made a lunge for the phone and snatched it to her ear. "Mark?"

"Who?" Angel's voice spoke back at her. "Guys, what's going on?"

Cordelia gave a shriek of annoyance and threw the receiver at Doyle. She picked up her jacket, which she had dropped on the floor, and flounced towards the door.

Doyle chuckled. "Hey man," he spoke to Angel.

"What was that all about?" Angel replied.

"Men!" Cordelia snapped as she slammed the front door closed behind her.

"Cordy says hi," Doyle stooped to pick up the file that had fallen on the desk. "Listen, I have Meghan's information here for you."

"Great, what does it say?"

Doyle turned a couple of pages. "Did you know she was going on a date?" he asked carelessly.

"Who? Meghan?"

"No man, Cordy, try and keep up."

"Well, I knew she was seeing someone tonight."

"And it never crossed your mind to tell me?" Doyle tried to put the pages in order and only succeeded in dropping them again. "You're supposed to be my friend here. How can I sabotage Cordy's dates if you don't tell me in advance?"

Angel growled his frustration into the phone. He was sure other employers didn't have the kind of trouble with their staff as he did. "You're a grown man Doyle, well, half a one. Why don't you just ask her out and save me a whole lot of grief? Now the information about the building."

"Cheap shot bringing up the fact I'm half demon. For all you know Cordelia has the phones bugged." Doyle finally arranged the papers to his satisfaction and scanned them, hurriedly. "Can't see any problem here, man. Seems to be squeaky clean. Say, do you think there might be a vacancy coming up over there?"

"I thought you liked your own place?"

"Yeah well, a second pad wouldn't hurt. Something nice to take a girl back to."

"Cordelia thinks Meghan's apartment is a hole, too, Doyle."

"Oh." Doyle seemed disappointed. "Sorry I can't help you. Maybe your Detective Kate might have something."

"No, I already tried her, and what do you mean my Detective Kate?"

"Nuthin'. Listen, if you're finished with me for the day I thought I might go get drunk. Got some celebratin' to do."

"What do you have to celebrate Doyle?" Angel asked suspiciously. "Cordy's on a date."

"Well, for your information the Yankees pulled through for me last night and besides it's been two days since I've had any kind of migraine-inducing vision. That alone is reason to celebrate."

"Wait a minute," Angel's voice said over the telephone. "You're going to celebrate the fact you haven't suffered any major headaches lately by getting drunk?"

"Yeah so?"

"So the fact that you'll wake up tomorrow with a mind splitting headache doesn't, in your opinion, defeat the whole purpose of celebrating in the first place?"

"Hey, at least this way the headache will be of my own making. And besides, you have to sober up first before you suffer the effects of the celebratin'."

Angel shook his head. "Sure, fine, have a goodnight, Doyle."

"Hey, you too man, don't let the bedbugs bite."

Angel could hear the smile in his friend's voice as he hung up. Doyle's last sentence seemed to hang in the air.

" '.. Don't let the bedbugs bite'," Angel muttered thoughtfully to himself. "I wonder."

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

Meghan had taken the opportunity while Angel was on the phone to belatedly freshen up. After hurriedly changing her grubby tee shirt for a clean one she had marched quickly into the bathroom. Meghan now stood up from splashing water on her face and reached for the toothpaste. Her hair was brushed and tied back in a ponytail and she was now attempting to fix the dreaded bad breath problem. She was just starting to squirt the paste onto her toothbrush when Angel walked up behind her.

"Listen, I've just had an idea," he started.

Meghan screamed in surprise and clenched her fist, causing toothpaste to spurt out across the wall. She had been staring into the mirror and, of course, hadn't seen anything when the vampire entered the room. The first she knew he was there was when he spoke up.

"Jesus Christ, as if I'm not spooked enough as it is." Meghan patted her chest, absently spreading toothpaste on her clean shirt. "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart-attack?"

"Sorry," Angel said. "Doyle just gave me an idea. Do you think you can handle things if I go back to the office for some research?"

Meghan waved a hand in Angel's general direction. "Sure, go on. Its not like I've never spent a night alone in my own apartment before. Take all the time you need."

"Right." Angel smiled at Meghan's reflection. "Call me if you need anything."

"Rest assured I will," Meghan turned around to finish the conversation, but Angel was already gone.

 

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CHAPTER THREE