[RP] But I'm no hero...

[im_a_catch]

Denny pulled the car up in front of the house, double checking the address he'd Mapquested before setting out. He'd traded email addresses with Baileigh before driving up to Corpus Christi, and found directions before taking off. He still wasn't quite sure why the hell he was here...

...only that this was something he'd never encountered before, and he was dead set on making sure he didn't miss another thing that the world had to offer for the rest of his life. And thanks to the new heart beating in his chest, that life was going to last a good long time.

Moving one house down, he was satisfied he had the right address and parked, getting out of the car and shivering a little against the cold. Seattle had been just as bad, and he had the same cold nights in Tuscon, but he couldn't help but be a little bit homesick for the dry, or oppositely tropical heat of Memphis, weather depending. It had been a long time since he'd been home...but now that he was on his feet again, he found himself missing home more and more each day.

Taking a deep breath, he walked around the car and got his kit out of the backseat, feeling the old familiar zing of excitement that came with a new job, a new study to take part in...a new terrain to explore. He was hoping with a few tests, or maybe some visual identification, he could nail this demon's origin...after all, every biological specimen had a bloodline. Even supernaturally spawned ones.

...right?

With his sample kit, a beaten up old tackle box, in hand, he climbed the front steps of Baileigh Solis's porch and knocked on the door. From inside, he heard a muffled male voice call out, then a moment later found himself faced with a bleach blonde goth sporting a sour expression...and what looked like a fruit-punch mustache.

"Oi...you the science bloke, then?" he asked, licking away the substance before sipping from the mug in his hand...Jesus Christ, was that blood?

"Uh...yeah." he managed, offering his hand slowly. "Denny Duquette...this where Baileigh Solis lives?"

"Yeah...she's in the kitchen, mate. C'mon in."

Comments

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

'In the kitchen' was the pleasant way of saying 'cleaning up the latest God-awful mess compliments of the THING in the pipes.' Baileigh wrung another sodden towel out into the sink, only to have everything she'd just wiped up shit back out of the drain. "Oh, would you please, please, just go away!" she half-wailed, throwing the rag aside and banging her head lightly against the cabinets. "I can't take much more of this! You have to have a home somewhere!! A perfectly good river, a lake, a DITCH, would you just leave me alone, SPIKE!! Spike, bring me the mop bucket, if you're not gonna help me wipe this up at least do SOMETHING!"

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Leading Denny into the kitchen, Spike smirked and jerked a thumb at Denny. "Do ya one better, love...how 'bout I produce the genuine article, live and in bloody person?" he quipped.

Moving past Spike with a raised eyebrow, Denny waved lightly at Baileigh with a small smile. "Billy Idol here speaks the truth." he quipped.

"Wanker stole my bloody look."

Shooting Spike another look, Denny moved further into the room, observing the water soaking everything. "Denny Duquette, as promised...sorry to say, I'm not much of a serial killer, just a scientist. Is...this what yer demon's done?"

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh looked up sharply as Denny entered the room and blinked a few times before she walked over and unexpectedly hugged him. "If you can get rid of this thing? I will love you forever, I swear to God. I might even carry your children. Carry, not conceive, let's not get ahead of ourselves." She let him go and turned to glare at Spike. "You. Mop bucket. Now. And yes," she smiled sweetly as she turned back to Denny. "This is what it does, though really, this isn't the worst of it. The worst was when it flooded the upstairs bathroom, you don't even wanna know what I had to pay to get that mess cleaned up."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Denny grunted softly as the dark-haired woman launched herself at him, laughing as he hugged her back briefly. "Well, we'll discuss the terms of the child-bearing later." he quipped, patting her shoulder as she drew back while Spike rolled his eyes and wandered off, muttering something about not being a "soddin' maid."

Turning to the mess, Denny frowned thoughtfully and stooped down, touching the wet floor and bringing his fingers to his nose, sniffing. Glancing up, he nodded.

"That stink is brine." he informed her. "This thing's a salt-water dweller...and if it's supernatural? Could be makin' its environment more hospitable-like."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh stared at him for a moment, a patient, tolerant smile on her lips. "...That's great? That's...how do I make it go back to the ocean?! You hear that!" she yelled into the sink. "Go home! Go back to your home! There are dolphins and all other manner of cute, frolicking marine life there, that has to be so much nicer than my pipes!"

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Any other man might have been more than a little overwhelmed by Baileigh's outburst, but fortunately Denny had extensive experience in dealing with Izzie Stevens...and Baileigh was only a little more out there than Izzie.

Raising a hand to stop her tirade, Denny continued. "We can put it back where it belongs, sure...find out what it is and what it likes, we got it made. But...well, am I right or wrong if I assume these here demon things...are they evil? I mean...demon, right?"

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

"Not all demons are evil," she explained matter-of-factly, heaving a sigh and leaning against the counter. "Just most. And I don't think this is a demon. It's a spirit, a sprite, more like a poltergeist. It's not trying to kill us, it's just trying to piss us off, and it's working."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

As she spoke, Denny took a vial from his kit and swabbed up some of the grimy salt water on the floor, capping it with a brisk efficiency and the strong, steady hand of a man well experienced with gathering data in a precise, orderly fashion. He was doing his best to be just as efficient and precise with the things he was being told...but his gut wouldn't let him. Too often, he had a problem with being a man before he was a scientist, and right now was no exception.

As a biologist, he wanted to rationalize the existence of monsters...but as a man, the notion of something evil walking in the world made him burn with a strange sort of anger...a need to do something about it.

Rising from the floor, Denny nodded to assure her he was listening as he moved over to the sink and peered into the drain. "Well...this is just me, and I don't know my head from my ass end in this situation," he observed, "but if some demons are evil and some ain't, don't it stand to reason that some are in between? Troublemakers, I mean...could be the kind y'all got in yer pipes here--"

He was cut off when a spray of water from the drain shot out and nailed him square in the face, cutting him off with a fit of coughing and sputtering as he stumbled back a step or two, arms flinging up to stop the spray from dousing him any further.

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh yelped and immediately grabbed him and yanked him back with surprising strength, steadying him easily as he threatened to slip on the wet floor. "Yeah, I probably should've warned you--it's good at nailing you in the face when you least expect it," she explained apologetically.

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Denny blanched, gaping at Baileigh as she hauled him back...with more strength than Karev, Burke, or any other man he'd ever met could hope to have.

For a moment, his attention moved from the demon to her as he stepped back and stared...then realized he was staring and shook himself, glancing between both her and Spike, who was mid-mop when the thing had squirted him.

"You...both of you...yer like that damn sink monster, ain't ya?" he realized aloud, no rancor or horror in his voice. "You ain't normal...not like me, I mean."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh blinked at him in shock, her features hardening with indignation. Him telling her she was like the 'damn sink monster' did nothing to improve her mood. She tried, however, to be a bit more understanding...yes, this was freaky shit, and she supposed she shouldn't be surprised that he was freaking a little.

"I'm a vampire slayer," she explained with a light sigh. "It's a mystical calling. But I'm still human. Spike is a vampire--ensouled vampire. One of the good guys now."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

As her expression shifted, Denny lifted a hand to stop a sharp response that, for all he knew, was on the tip of her tongue. "I didn't mean it like that, I only meant in the supernatural sense, not...y'know...aw, hell."

Sighing, he scrubbed a hand over his face to swipe away some of the water as she explained about herself and her friend. It sounded like something from a horror movie...but hell, if demons and sprites and ghosts were real, why not vampires and slayers, right?

"Okay..." he replied slowly, sighing heavily as he glanced at Spike. "For the record, y'all don't look much like a vampire."

"Funny, girl's Watcher thinks I'm fairly typical." Spike snorted with a smirk. "Long black jacket, broody SOB, she calls me."

"Watcher?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah...bookish bird, trains and guides the little bit. A Slayer's Obi Wan, as it were."

"So...wait, you got someone that knows this stuff?" Denny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, but Wood's got no soddin' clue. She sent us to a plumber, stupid git...useless, all those damned books of hers..."

That got Denny's attention. "Books? You got any of 'em around here?"

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

"She's trying to make us move, of course she's no damned help," Baileigh huffed irritably. "Yeah, there's books, but I tried everything in them. Tried being the operative word. I'm not good with the magic crap, I just hit things."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Denny nodded, thinking for a moment before glancing between the two of them with a shrug. "Well...can I see 'em?"

Spike shared a look with Baileigh, then shrugged as he went back to mopping. "Sure, mate...living room, coffee table. Have at it, s'long as it's okay with her."

Nodding in thanks, Denny moved over to the counter to grab a paper towel, wiping his face with it as he moved back to Bailiegh's side. "You don't mind, do you? I mean...maybe someone missed something."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh shrugged and jerked her head towards the living room, lead him out of the kitchen. "Doesn't bother me...I warn you, though, there's some weird stuff in those things...here." She sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to her, grabbed the top book on the stack of three and held it out to him. "Knock yourself out."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Denny accepted the invitation to sit down and took the book with a smile. "Thanks, Baileigh...I appreciate it." he replied, opening it and resting the volume on his lap. It was old as hell...pages were worn, but not brittle under his hands, and several had been marked with neatly placed Post-Its, scribbled with notes in a sure but delicate feminine hand...already, he liked the gal the book belonged to.

He started with the first note referencing fish demons, skimming the page he flipped to even as he became more aware of the young woman at his side.

"So...Slayer, huh?" he asked with a small smile, eyes never leaving the page. "Guess that makes you a bona-fide superhero. And here I thought they were all workin' in Seattle." he quipped.

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

"Oh, I'm a regular Wonder Woman, all right," she quipped with a roll of her eyes, tipping her head at him curiously. "I didn't realize there was much in Seattle besides crappy weather and grunge music."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Chuckling, he nodded in agreement, still studying the book carefully. Dividing his attention was something he was very good at...after all, what fun was research if you couldn't enjoy a little time with your comrades, too?

"I'll give ya that...but you also forgot the coffee." he quipped, turning the page and blanching at a woodcut image of a demon that had three heads, each of which was eviscerating a man. "They, uh...they also got one of the best cardio-thoracic surgeons in the country set up at Seattle Grace. He was treatin' me 'till about a year or so ago."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

She made a face as he paled a little at the sight of the very graphic pictures in the book. "Yeah, I warned you about those," she murmured, reaching over to turn the page. "Just move on, nothing to see. So you were sick?"

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, still..." he replied, then hesitated before turning right back to the horrifying image. It was morbidly fascinating...and it gave him pause at the same time. There were things like this out there...roaming around...

Shaking it off, he continued leafing through the volume as he answered her question. "Yeah...viral cardiomyopathy. Layman's terms: infection destroyed my heart. Took me too damn long, but I did finally manage to get a replacement...and a real nifty scar." he added with a smirk.

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

"Nifty scars are always good," she quipped with a slight smile. "Good talking point if the conversation ever starts to drag. You really don't have to do this, you know. I mean, it's freaking you out, I can see that. You can walk away right now if you want to."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Denny shook his head, features twisting curiously as he encountered another image, this time of a vampire displaying its demon visage. "It ain't freakin' me out...not really." he replied honestly. "Just...this all stuff's real. You look at a picture like that and realize...it took lives. Men died at the hands of that..." He paused, leafing back to read the name beneath the etching. "...Velhargan demon."

He glanced up then, peering at her curiously. "And yer a vampire slayer, you say...you go out and you take this kinda stuff on? In a fight, I mean."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh nodded a little, a slight smile touching her lips. "You want to hear the whole Slayer origin story? It's interesting."

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

"To be honest? I would." Denny replied with a smirk, turning to the next Post-It marked page. "Sounds like...ho."

He stilled, seeing another Post-It near the spine marking a passage at the top of the page. Taking a moment to read it over once or twice, Denny shifted the book and pointed to the section, showing it to Baileigh.

"Look at this." he instructed. "Looks like yer Watcher found a...what's this, a spell?...but the note says it busted. Did she try somethin' that didn't work?"

Another moment passed, then he frowned and nodded. "Because if she did...I think I know why."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

"She tried a lotta stuff," Baileigh replied with a shrug. "Did I mention the 'I suck with magic' thing? Cause, yeah, so not my job. Why? What ya think she didn't do right?"

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

"Well...okay, this is coming for a metaphysical moron," Denny reminded her, pointing to the passage, "but look at all this. Lots of Latin, a holy relic's needed...it's like some kinda exorcism or something. But look at this line...'immersion in the native waters.' Y'all gotta immerse the relic in the creature's native waters."

He paused, glancing up at Baileigh with a raised eyebrow and a small, satisfied smirk. "Whatever this thing is? It's marine in nature...I will bet you my life savings, here and now, that your friend used fresh water in this little bit of hoodoo. And if she did...you try it with salt water, and I'm thinking you might get a much more satisfying result."

[deep-red-bells.livejournal.com]

Baileigh blinked at him slowly, then immediately slapped her palm against her forehead. "Son of a bitch! This thing came from the Gulf, I bet my life savings! SPIKE!" She got up from the couch and rushed over to the front door to grab her car keys, then into the kitchen to find a drink bottle. "Get all that crap Terry used and set it back up again! I gotta make a quick run to the beach!"

[imacatch.livejournal.com]

Spike glanced up sharply from the puddle he was mopping up, brow furrowed in confusion. "Motherf...what the bugger?..."

Denny followed Baileigh into the kitchen, book still in hand. "That's perfect...I'll read over this spell thing and see if I can't do it." He frowned at the page in concentration, heaving a sigh. "My grandma was from the Bayou, and she always claimed she was a hoodoo woman when she was a girl. Might be I have the means to do this..."

"Do what?" Spike protested. "That stupid charm that Terry tried?"

Denny nodded as Baileigh prepared to go out, moving to Spike's side to show him the ritual. "It's all right here...now look at this part..."