Two days have passed since the Scent of the Rose destroyed the Heklarites. Aidan and Kaiden have been convalescing from their serious injuries in their rooms. Darcy has been taking care of Aidan. And Kassandra has been keeping to herself, avoiding running into anyone else in the chantry.
She'd spent the first night sleeping on the couch where she could hear if anyone tried to break in through the front door. With two cabal-mates down, she was paranoid that someone would strike at them. She'd debated about whether she should go into work, and finally decided that it would be better to be there because she could hide in the kitchen and spend hours with her own thoughts, she'd be being productive, and she wouldn't be screwing Richard or his new pie-loving customers!
Kassandra had never killed anyone before, and in the space of an hour she'd killed two men-- one 500 years old! Her first reaction was to call John and tell him everything that happened...probably cry a little from the shock. But then she started second-guessing this idea. Would she look like a child for going right to him for a pat on the back and shoulder to cry on? Would she be pestering him? But isn't that exactly what a mentor is for? Let alone an "uncle?" What should she do?? She didn't want to tell her father-- even though he would be so proud of her for how calm and efficient she'd been in battle-- because he'd probably drive right over and move her back home! She was back to feeling all alone again. She'd probably end up telling her mother if her mother promised not to tell her father. Hmmm...

So Kassandra had laid awake the previous night, trying not to feel bitter towards the men in her life and in her chantry, when an idea had finally come to her. She's become a very pessimistic person in the last few months, but that never stops her from at least trying her ideas. Every new let-down had taught her to expect the answer "no," so at least now she's not caught off-guard by rejection.
When morning finally comes she flips open her cell phone and scrolls down to Chaz's number. Sighing and preparing herself for yet another "no," she dials his number.

"Sunshine Cab, where we get you there safely, this is Chaz how many I help you?" Chaz says picking up the phone from the seat of the taxi. He sets his coffee down.

"Hey Chaz, it's Kassandra. I, uh, have a question for you!" she says, trying to sound bright and cheerful.

"Oh right, hey Kassandra." Chaz says looking at his watch. "I've got a few minutes left on my break. What can I do for you?" he asks.

"Well it's like this. Our cabal just went through something really dangerous and a lot of people got hurt and are recovering, and I've been stuck in the house for days with nothing to do and I'm dying to get out, but John said I could only leave if I was accompanied by someone he trusts or Mom and Dad trusts..." Kassandra says, stretching the truth juuuust a bit. "...and I've been sitting here thinking and it suddenly dawned on me! Chaz! You've got to be the person John trusts the most in San Francisco, right? And I realized I've never really gotten to hang out with you, so I was wondering...I'd really like to just catch a movie or something...anything to get out of the house for the evening. Would you...like to accompany me?" she asks, trying not to talk too fast as she gets to the end!

"Shite," Chaz says nearly spilling his coffee on his lap. "Kassy I'd be happy too...but I don't think Marie would be so keen right? Why don't you call your dad? Or your mom eh? They'd take you to the movies..."

Kassandra's shoulders droop. "John says I'm not allowed to be seen in public with them anymore...I'm sure you can guess why. He doesn't want anyone in my cabal to SEE them, if you know what I mean." she says. She gives a loud sigh. "OK...well...what about Beamer? Does he have a significant other-- aside from his bugs?" she asks.

Chaz laughs for a moment and then clears his throat. "Wait...you're serious aren't you? No no he doesn't have anyone. If you want to go with him just ask...tell him Chaz told you to call and that John wants him to protect you."

Kassandra exhales in relief. "Thanks Chaz. I didn't mean to scare you or anything. I'll call him right now!" She says her good-byes to Chaz, and then ends the call and flips through her directory to Beamer's line in the bowling alley, and then dials.

Beamer carefully closes the lid on the mason jar. He lifts it up and takes a good look with a large smile. "Ah finally," he says when the phone rings. He blinks and picks up the phone. "Brunswick Lanes."

"Hey Beamer...it's Kassandra." And Kassandra goes through the same explanation she gave Chaz about how her cabal's out of commission right now and she's dying to get out and do something fun, but that John doesn't want her going out unless it's with someone he trusts, and she can't be seen with her parents in public anymore, and Chaz suggested she call Beamer.
"So what do you think? Will you accompany me to a movie or something fun like that?" she asks, trying to sound calm and natural. "Please?" she adds, realizing that if Beamer says no she REALLY doesn't have anyone else to ask!

"Oh...o-o-k. Haven't been to a movie in years really...I mean what do you want to see eh? Oh hey," he says pulling out a newspaper. "Let's see...there's a documentary on monarch butterflies at the tower..." he says. "Sound like fun?"

Kassandra covers her mouth to hide a silent laugh. 'Phew!! He said yes!!' she thinks in triumph. "There is? Hmmm. Well...that's the kind of thing that you can see on PBS anytime. I was kind of thinking of a new release. Maybe an action-movie?" she suggests hopefully. She gives him a list of the new releases that are out right now to see if any appeal to him.

'Action...hmmm' Beamer thinks and shrugs his shoulders. "Whatever you like then." he says. "I mean...eh action is good. You like action?" he says. 'Real smooth,' he thinks to himself. "I...action will be fine. When are we going to the movies then?"

Kassandra covers her mouth again to hide another silent giggle. Finally! Someone to go out with who's as shy and awkward as SHE is!
"Well...I was hoping tonight! The sooner the better!" she says happily. "Do you have a car? I have a car if you don't." she quickly adds.

"I have a car. A Honda, red." Beamer says and winces. "Yes I have a car. So...let's see...eight eight o' clock is that well? I mean is that good for you? Eight o' clock?" He puts down the paper and looks over his shoulder. "Eight is good for me."

Kassandra smiles happily. This is going well! And she doesn't feel anxious or nervous at all! "Eight is perfect! Thanks Beamer! This is going to be fun! I'll park in my usual spot, and then we can go in your car-- if that's OK with you?" she asks, already feeling more cheerful than she has all week.

"That's fine...eight o clock it is," he says hanging up. He looks back over his shoulder and then back at the mason jar. Maybe she'd like to take a look at his insect collection? he thinks he starts to whistle and smile as he pulls out a few more mason jars.

Kassandra goes to work, comes home, and gets ready for her date! She dresses in a stylish, not-too-revealing dress with knee-high black boots and a black sweater. She drives over to the bowling alley, parks her car in the usual spot, and walks into the bowling alley and knocks on Beamer's office door.

Beamer spends the day cleaning up his apartment in the back of the bowling alley. He also shaves and showers and when Kassandra shows up he's been waiting an hour for her. He's nervous, of course, but he's glad to see her. He grabs his trenchcoat with its various pockets.

Kassandra peeks around at his bugs while he's getting his trenchcoat. She tries to hide a few grimaces at the especially large and dangerous-looking ones, and then suddenly thinks of something. She starts telling him all about her snakes, and how many she has, and what kinds they are, and where they come from. They may not be into the same creatures, but they are BOTH into creepy-crawlies nonetheless!

Beamer likes to hear about her snakes whenever she comes over. Snakes to him are just as fascinating and they talk about it all the way to the car and to the movies. Beamer buys the tickets and in they go. The movie isn't bad and both of them enjoy it.

They decide to stop and get some food at an all-night diner-- Kassandra had forgotten to eat dinner before she left-- and then they finally return to the bowling alley and get out of Beamer's car.
"So Beamer...is 'Beamer' your magickal name, or just a nickname?" she asks curiously.

"It's me magickal name. It's a lot better than me real name I can tell you that." Beamer says. "I got it for the little sunlight gun I made for John eh?" he says. "I can make lots of things you see. Son of Ether eh? You ever need me services eh? I can get it for you...for a price."

Kassandra frowns a little. "I can guess what that gun was for." she says a little warily. "But...there are some dangerous Kindred in the city. It might be a good idea to have one. Hmmm. I get paid in a couple of days. How much?" she asks. She does NOT want that gun charged on her dad's credit card! Her parents would definitely understand her wanting to be safe from vampires like Nero, but she doesn't want to alarm them needlesly. She's not sure if what happened in her Seeking is likely to happen in real life, but Beamer mentioning the light-gun might not just be coincidence in the great scheme of things.

"Oh about a thousand..." beamer says. "It's expensive to make, eh? And of course I need to make a little too..." he says rubbing his hands together. "Is that alright? Is that too much?"

Kassandra's eyes get big when he states his price, and she bites her lip and thinks. 'Well...I did get that big raise...I could give him my whole paycheck. If I need any necessities I can use Dad's credit card for those.' she thinks to herself.
She finally nods to Beamer. "OK, but I'm trusting you that you're not charging me TOO much over just because John's not here!" she says with a little smile. "Does it have unlimited charges on it?" Kassandra is actually quite comfortable with handguns. Her father practically raised her on a shooting range!

Beamer chuckles nervously. "I charged him more," he says. "No no I wouldn't do that...no it needs to be charged but...that's free...lifetime," he says "So...should I get started on that?" he says as they enter his little apartment behind the bowling alley. "I have the stuff." he says motioning towards the benches.

Kassandra walks over to the benches and looks around. "Wow...you really DO!" she says in amazement. "It must be so liberating to be able to make anything you need." She bends down to inspect a couple of things, and then looks back over her shoulder.
"Have you heard from John at all since he left? Does he contact you very often?" she asks.

"Not really." Beamer says looking around the apartment. "I mean yes it is nice to build what you need, but no he doesn't contact me unless he's in town..." he says. "Listen uh..I've got two other orders so...do you want me to start on yours?"

Kassandra stands back up and fights a little frown. He's trying to get rid of her. Well...he's not trying to be mean, she's sure. He's probably just as nervous with her as she is with every other guy.
"Sure. Thanks Beamer. I don't know why I never thought to arm myself with something like that. It was a good suggestion." she says. She starts back towards his door. "Thanks for going out with me. This was...the first date I've been on since high school." she says a little sadly, digging into her purse for her car keys.

"You first date?" Beamer says. he blinks. "Are you quite sure? Your first date? Since high school? I uhh I had a great time...I mean. If I didn't have so much work...I'd have coffee...or tea?" he says. "You ehhh caught me off guard..."

Kassandra smiles, glancing down at her hands. "Yeah...after high school I was over here upstairs pretty much every day for about 3 years or so. Then John had to go back to England...like always...and I got put in a chantry...and then..." Kassandra's eyes grow a little haunted. "Well...I lost a few years..." she says in a quiet voice. "I'm trying to be more social now, but it's really hard, you know? Oh don't worry!" she says, trying to put him back at ease. "I don't need coffee or tea. I had a great time, and I'm still really full from dinner! I'm glad you had a good time, too." she says, and then hesitatingly gives him a hug, trying not to make it too awkward.

Beamer stiffens at the hug and then the two break and he adjusts his glasses. "Uh...anytime, really. Ahh I'll call you!" he says after her when she closes the door. He exhales and snaps his fingers. "She had fun." he says quietly to himself. "Fun."

Kassandra heads home, feeling happy that she has completely such a big step in her recovery. She went out on a date with a man and was not nervous once! And she had a really good time! Of course 99% of that has to do with the fact that she knew and trusted the man in question, but she did it! She still can't believe Beamer said yes! She was fully prepared to have him turn her down, too!
She gets back home, takes a long bath, and then figures her dad's probably asleep by now and gets out. Kassandra's inherited many characteristics from each parent, but it hasn't been until now that her mother's manipulative side finally manifests!
She sits down on her bed in her bathrobe and calls her mom.

Later that night...

Vanessa paces around the parlor, glancing at the clock. The U.K. is 8 hours ahead of San Francisco-- oh how well she knows THAT little lesson by now, after having pissed off John enough with her unintentional early-morning mind-calls! So it should be about 10:30 AM his time. Plenty early enough to try to contact him. Oh why does Kassandra put her in these positions where she feels compelled to try to contact John?? He BETTER be in a good mood! She hates when he snaps at her!
She sits down on the sofa, closes her eyes, and rubs her temples slowly. Then she sends out her mind and pushes at John's mind gently.
'John-John...good morning...' she thinks softly in a sing-song tone.

'John Constantine, your friendly neighborhood camp counselor.' John says sitting on the bus as he looks out at the wild African jungle. 'What is it, Vanessa. I'm in unfamiliar territory here." he says in his mind. 'Everything alright?'

Vanessa's eyebrows shoot up. 'Shit, John! Where ARE you?? Is that jungle? Now I may not be the best ta geography, but I know there's not a jungle in England! What are you doing??' she asks incredulously.

'Hiding for the moment. I did a right fuck up this time. I need to lie low for a bit. So what's the emergency? Someone break a nail?' John says lighting a cigarette. 'Tell me quick, Sunshine I don't need to be sending out vibes right now.'

Vanessa mutters to herself in Spanish about the 'broken nail' jab. 'Well keep yourself safe!' she thinks back. 'Listen...I don't know what in the hell is going on in the Mage community, but I'm getting a little concerned. I just got a call from Kassandra. She says the Stranger has been visiting she and her little Mage-friends, and told them that they needed to kill this group of--' Vanessa looks down at the notes she jotted down, '--Nephandi Euthanatos called the Heklarites immediately or else the Heklarites would kill them and Kassie's quest would be lost. So my little baby and all these little Mages went to the Heklarite hide-out in this mausoleum where they were almost killed, John! What...the...fuck does Stranger think he's doing?? Kassandra had to kill two men! She said she killed a regular Nephandi, and then also killed the master-Nephandi called--' Vanessa looks down at her notes again, '--Grand Master Voormas. She said he was 500 years old or something! Is this what Mages do for fun, because if I wasn't eternal I'd have white hair by now!' she thinks back accusingly.

'Jesus!!!! She killed him? He's dead? Crikeys! I go away for a little bit and everyone starts a bloody fuckin war!' John thinks shaking his head. 'Well...I guess it could be worse right. You know the score, Vanessa. We have to kill every once in awhile. Need I remind you of that? Sounds like old Voormas got careless...hehe bastard. He got what he deserved and trust me. He's not well-liked by the Council. This won't hurt her, and it just might keep her safe for awhile.' John says considering. 'It's alright then. Don't go all mothery on her now, Sunshine. She needs to know she did right, right?'

Vanessa gets up off the sofa with a pout-look on her face that Kassandra's usually seen sporting. Vanessa paces around quietly for a moment.
'Yeah, yeah...I know what you and your friends have had to do in the past. I guess I was naive in assuming that she was going to a chantry in order to stay AWAY from trouble!'
Vanessa's quiet again for a moment, and then John can sense a little zing of pride escape from Vanessa's thoughts.
'Killed two men, herself...' she thinks with a small smile. 'And an old, powerful mage at that. MY baby...' Her grin is getting bigger. 'Well I'd still feel better if you were here, but it looks like that's not happening for a while. I hope Papa Ghede's watching out for Kass. I was surprised she didn't try to call you! REALLY surprised! Especially about something like that! She sounded almost...calm about what happened! Don't worry...I'll call her back and tell her how proud I am of her. You can't blame me for freaking-out as my first reaction, though! She's my child!' Vanessa gets that little proud grin on her face again. 'MY child...' she murmurs through he mind-link.

'Yes a chip off the old block an all that.' John says taking a drag off his cigarette. 'Right Vanessa, well as long as everything's right as rain in San Fran then I'm off. I've already got enough people lookin for me I don't need to send them a big sign saying right here lads!' he says through the link. 'Right then Sunshine, so anythin else Sunshine and make it quick right?'

'Enough of all the "Sunshines" already!' she thinks back with a grin. 'Yeah, there's something else you should probably know.' Vanessa sits down in a chair and crosses her legs, swinging one leg in the air. 'She and Beamer went on a DATE tonight!' she thinks back with a toothy grin. 'Just wanted to make sure your little mate isn't going to man-handle her or anything!' Vanessa tries not to laugh but fails. THIS news shocked her even more than the Heklarite-fight-news!

John blinks and then chuckles, 'Well that brightens me day. And Beamer would only man-handle her if she were a bug. Right then, talk to her about Voormas and her budding romance with Beamer. Will do next time I'm round. Now I've got to go, Vanessa. Too many vibes are being sent out. I'll see you in a few.' he says and cuts off the link. He chuckles about her and Beamer for a moment. 'My student.' he thinks. 'Beamer, you and I are going to have a long talk right.' he thinks.

Vanessa laughs and shakes her head, standing back up and walking over to her warded phone. Without even realizing it Vanessa has played right into her daughter's hands! She accomplished the thing Kassandra was agonizing over doing by telling John about both the Heklarite-fight AND the Beamer-date without Kassandra having to do it, herself! So now John knows everything, and Kassandra didn't have to risk bothering him OR making him think she's a child!
Vanessa dials her daughter's phone number and settles back into her favorite comfy chair.

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