Into Paradise

by Skye

"Good night, Sarah. See ya tomorrow?"  Sarah Kingsley smiled and shook her head no."Sorry, Trevor. I switched with one of the others. I'm in Tuesday instead." "Not me..." The secuity guard said as he leaned forward on the counter. "Guess I won't see you until Thursday then." "Ah yes..thursday... you're my torturer for that particular class, aren't you?"she asked playfully as she gave herself a last pat down to make sure she had everything, her keys jingling in her coat pocket. Trevor grinned and gave an evil laugh, then chuckled softly. "Take care, Sarah." "Night, Trevor." She called back and laughed lightly, as she opened the door and headed out into the night. Her heels clicking along the stone walk that lead  from the Chaos Incorportaed building to the street. She pulled her jacket a bit tighter, doing up the top button and almost wishing she'd brought her scarf as the chill air seemed to find its way right down her neck. The past couple weeks had brought a warm spell that had encouraged lighter jackets and skirts over the warmer clothes that still lingered in most closets from the winter, and Sarah had been taking full advantage of the weather. Something she was regretting at the moment. "Brr... oh I am NOT going back to slacks and boots. The winter coat stays in the closest!" she grumbled lightly as she rounded the corner, heading for the nearest bus stop. If she was lucky she could catch the last bus for the night and save herself a long cold walk. It wasn't until the street light behind behind her suddenly blew out that she realized just how empty the street was. Her hand over her racing heart as she caught her breath, rather glad no one had been near enough to hear her startled shriek, Sarah heard the soft shuffle of feet behind her and her heart renewed its racing. Glancing over her shoulder towards the sound showed her nothing but the darkness. She was about to chide herself for being jumpy when the sound came again, closer and she made out the outline of a figure walking towards her. Her hand clenched the keys in her pocket, a vague memory of someone telling her once that self defense courses told you to use them as a weapon if you were attacked. Summoning up her courage, she quietly eased her fist from her pocket, the keys sticking out from between her fingers. "Is there something I can help you with? Directions, perhaps?" she asked as the figure stopped, staying just inside the shadows. There was a flash of white teeth and a soft laugh from the figure, and Sarah thought she saw another shadow move behind him. "You work for them, don't you? Chaos Incorporated..." he asked, drawing the name out like a curse. "Yes, I..." Sarah's words were cut off in a startled shriek as the figure suddenly flew at her from the dark. She brought her clenched fist up, her arm moving to block her face; the keys  still clenched in her hand and forgotten in her sudden fear. She hit the sidewalk with the figure on top of her; the ability to breath gone from the blow and the weight above her, taking any further screams or calls for help along with it. Blinking back the stars that threatened her vision, she brought her hands up to push her assailant away, earning a startled curse as she stabbed him with the forgotten keys. "HEY!!" She felt a sharp pain in her shoulder as her attacker jerked up at the voice. The movement let her gather enough breath for a weak shout. "Help! Plea.." Her breath left her as a fist caught her, then there was a cry above her and the weight was suddenly gone. She lay there unable to move for a moment listening to rapidly retreating footsteps.... and rapiding approaching footsteps. "Sarah?! Oh my God! Are you alright?!" Sarah blinked her eyes and looked up to see one of the security guards from work kneeling over her. A gasp of relief escaped her and she sobbed, her eyes closing.   Sylvie sighed and rubbed her forehead as she reviewed the file again.  Drawing a deep breath, she closed it and set it aside  and started to rise before stopping and making herself sit back down and pressed the intercom with a slight smirk. She’d been waiting for the chance to do this and now she could without feeling guilty. “Yes Ms. Leeman?” “Can you have Mr. Dominic join me in my office, please? I believe he’s in his own office this afternoon.” “Right away, Ms. Leeman.” She sat back in her chair, allowing herself a grin and soft sigh at the feeling of being able to make someone else come to see her for a change. She’d have to be careful.. she could really get used to this partnership thing. Her gaze caught on the new painting that hung above the love seat. It was one of Xander’s earlier works that she’d taken a particular liking to. She’d tried to buy it from him but of course, he’d refused. The smile on her face grew as she thought about him. The weeks since their first date had been some what hectic and they hadn’t been able to spend much time together. After a wonderful weekend spent mostly with the just the two of them, the work week had begun with two separate requests by the police for aid dealing with paranatural cases, three new cases of their own to handel, plus the training of more new employees to see to, and things had continued from there. The new security chief was working with Nathaniel mostly, handling his own people’s training and keeping the rest of the hunters free to handle cases, and Kay was looking after the new hunters-in-training… but all the rest of it fell to her. Plus she had to deal with getting the archives planned out and arranging for the transfer of books and everything. She’d have to speak to Faal again about finding an Archivist to handle it all… she hoped he was considering asking Lex; he was the obvious choice after all. And now… after all that, she had one of her new secretaries up and quit before she’d even finished her security training. Not that she could blame the girl, considering what had happened. “Mr. Dominic is on his way in, Ms. Leeman.” Sylvie smirked softly at the ironic timing and thanked her secretary just as the soft knock sounded and the door opened. She watched Faal try to hide his smirk as he approached her desk and took a seat across from her, his eyes sparkling. She couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like with out his glamour and why he always hid behind it. “Enjoying yourself at last, my dear?” he asked. “I was wondering if any of you aside from Clarice would have the nerve to summon me to your office.” Sylvie smirked softly herself but shook her head. “Admittedly yes… it was rather nice. But I asked you here on business, Faal.” He sat a bit straighter, the causal ease gone in light of her tone. “Please… go on then. What can I help you with?” Sylvie sighed again, her eyes going to the folder beside her as she summoned her nerve. Setting her shoulders a bit straighter, she handed him the folder. Eyebrow quirked curiously, Faal leafed through the folders contents, noting the  extensive work  that had gone into it. He glanced up curiously  as he examined it. “And what am I looking at, exactly?” “The property I’d like us to invest in.” she said simply and Faal flipped back to the beginning of the folder to start again. “With the purchase of the new building and the expanding staff, I know we’ve already spent an excessive amount of money, and mostly likely shouldn’t make another large purchase of this nature. However, I think this is not only important.. but necessary.” She  pushed herself away from her desk and started to pace lightly as she talked. “The building is located  just a couple blocks from here and is currently empty, aside from a caretaker living there. With our small staff all living here, it wasn’t an issue before, but with more staff than we can house on premisis now, we need to consider their safety. I don't know if word has spread already, but one of my people was followed when she left work the other day and was attacked. Luckily one of the security guards was on his way into work, saw and managed to step in and save her from serious harm. We’ve always known that our work makes us targets, but that has usually fallen on the hunters and investigators who are out on the street. With the new publicity and everything, that negative attention is starting to fall on the rest of us as well. Even with the required training in weapons and defense, I’m concerned.” She glanced at Faal to see him watching her, the file held in his lap. She took another breath and made her way back to her desk. “I’d like us to purchase the building to provide secure housing for all of our employees. We can provide security same as we do here, and I understand that one of the research companies we invest in is working on a stable permanent portal… If they can get it working, we can have it installed, not only between branches, but between housing as well. Perhaps Charli would be interested in checking out their research so far…?” Faal reopened the file again and flipped through it in silence for a moment more before setting the folder back on her desk. "Before I say anything futher, there is one question that comes to mind." he said looking at her with one eyebrow raised."Is there a reason why such a building is empty and waiting...?" Sylvie licked her lip, her eyes sparkling as she supressed a smile. "Yes there is. Apparently.. it's haunted." she said lightly."We investigated the building a few months ago and managed to deal with the worst of the manifestations, however by that point most of the residents had moved out and the buildings reputation was set. Even with us calling in two different 'speciallists' to help, we weren't able to completely clear the building, although the remaining spirits and such are harmless." She gave a light shrug. "The fact that we worked in the building and weren't 'completely' successful somehow got out and the owner is having a difficult time finding new tenants. As you can see, repairs and renovations have been mostly completed... but the owner is giving up; no one wants to live there." Faal smiled softly, chuckling as he stood. “I can see you’ve put a great deal of thought and work into this proposal, Sylvia. I agree that central housing for our people sounds like an excellent idea and you have my vote. Plus it sounds like we'd be doing the poor man a favor by taking the property off his hands and putting it to use. Go ahead and call a conference with the others to discuss it with them, although I doubt you’ll receive a different answer. Whenever your ready, you can begin the paperwork for purchase.” He offered her a smirk. “And if that portal project works out as you say… the building can be used for housing employees from other branches aswell.. and serve to centralize things more.” Sylvie felt a rush of relief and excitement flood through her at his words, then a slight frown creased her brow. “You don’t think this might be creating a new problem in addition to the safety? I mean… having it all centralized .. kind of offers a rather tempting target…” Faal snorted softly and reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. “Sylvia… I think you’re right in this being a much safer alternative. Yes, it’ll be a tempting target to some, but it will also be much easier to protect this way. We couldn’t possibly arrange sufficient protection for all of the staff here otherwise. In the end I think the benefits will far out way the dangers… as I believe you’ve already considered.” Sylvie smirked softly and patted the back of Faal’s hand. “In others words.. stop second guessing yourself..?” she asked lightly watching his eyes sparkle. “Alright.. I’ll call the conference. “ she said then stopped him as he started to leave. “Shall I ask Lexine to join us as well? I believe you’ve had ample opportunity to consider the need for an Archivist.. you and Kay both…” She was rewarded with the sight of Faal Dominic blushing. “Yes… Clarice and myself have discussed the matter briefly. We were merely considering the best way to approach Lex with the position…Clarice feels it would suit him best to keep him off the streets but knows she has too keep him busy, and I feel it suits him best for other reasons.. but ..” Sylvie sighed heavily, her eyes sparkling with her amusement. “Oh for crying out loud. I’ll do it.” She said, suppressing her laugh. “Kay doesn’t want to seem like she’s offering it as a way to keep him out from underfoot, and you don’t want to seem like it’s a gift from a boyfriend… Really.. did either of you even stop to consider the fact that Lex might actually not care why it was being offered? He happens to be perfectly suited to this job and the challenge of it. He’s already being an immense help as it is…actually, he's pretty much running the set up as it is.” She said, turning her back on him so he wouldn’t see her trying very hard not to laugh. “Go on. I’ll take care of it. As always… “ she said, trying to sound irritated at the inconvenience and failing miserably as her voice broke on the urge to laugh. Faal chuckled softly as he headed for the door. “Thank you, Sylvia. As always.” He said and the door clicked shut behind him. She gave in and let herself laugh; releasing the stress that she’d needlessly built up over the entire meeting, and sank back into her chair. As soon as she was able to speak without giggling, she’d set the time for the meeting and then send for Lex. And maybe.. maybe… she might find a moment or two to call Xander.   Sylvie stood in the courtyard, looking up at the 'U' shape of buildings around her. Three long 'houses' with the courtyard between them at the front, parking at the sides and a spacious back yard complete with playground and picnic area. She couldn't think of the buildings as 'apartment buildings' because they looked like houses; sand coloured stucco with chocolate brown slate roofing that sloped down towards the courtyard over the third story. Most of the windows were framed by shutters or had window boxes for flowers, done in the same chocolate brown as the roof and doors, and each building had one small porch and double door in the center. “Wow.” Xander said simply, his tone slightly bored and she turned to look, catching the smirk on his face. “Yes… wow.” She agreed lightly and heard a soft snort from Lex as the redhead joined them, Faal close behind. “Lead the way, Sylvia… this is your project after all.” The fae said with a soft smile and Sylvie grinned. “My project…” she echoed, her hand seeking Xander’s as they headed up the rest of the way up the walk to the front enterance of the center, and largest building where the caretaker held the door open for them.  “Ms. Leeman.” The man said politely, nodding to the others as he shut and locked the door behind them. “Mr. Benton…” She said. “This is Faal Dominic, Lexine Mordant and Xander Caine.” Benton nodded again. “’Llo. My pleasure, Ms. Leeman… I was rather worried when I heard the place was being sold. Was really good of you to offer me a place here. Can’t imagine livin’ any where else…” “Well I’m so glad you agreed to stay on here. It’ll be good to have someone familiar with the place.” Sylvie said. “We hope to start moving people in by the beginning of June, at the latest, which means our security people and technicians will need to get things done quickly. Things will move along much quicker with you here to show them around.” Benton just smiled shyly and nodded. “Do ya need me ta show ya ‘round, now or did ya just want to wander the place a bit?” “I believe we’ll just wander, thank you.” Sylvie said, accepting the heavy ring of keys from him. Benton nodded to them all again and headed off through the lobby towards his apartment, leaving them to themselves. Lex  followed, heading slowly across the lobby looking around. “Kinda dark, ain’t it?” Xander asked lightly as they followed into the dim room; the only light coming from two floor lamps. “Saving power, no doubt.” Sylvie said, heading to the bank of switched and flicking on the over head lights. “Oh.” came Lex’s soft cry of surprise as the lights came on. He was staring at the floor beneath his feet. Faal glanced down as well, only then noticing the mural that had been painstakingly worked into the floor. The simple black tiled floor gave way in the center to an oval scene, done predominantly of golds and greys. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sylvie asked as she watched them. “Paradise Lost…” Xander said softly as he walked around the edge of the mural. “Odd choice…” Lex said simply as he knelt, his fingers caressing the image as he spoke. “But it is beautiful.” “Mr. Benton’s son painted it.” Sylvie said softly. “The former owner decided to take advantage of the fact that he had a talented young artist on the premises and commissioned him. I understand the choice of the image was Mr. Benton’s.” Faal was standing in almost the center of the mural, looking at the wall between the stairs and the elevator ruefully. Sylvie eyed him with a soft smirk. “Something wrong, Faal?” she asked, catching the others attention. “Yes… that.” He said simply, pointing to the plaque that adorned the wall. “Hardly fitting…” The four of them looked at the brown and cream plaque that hung behind the counter. “hmmm.” Lex said simply, one eye narrowed. “I see what you mean.” Xander said with a smirk. “Can we change it?” Sylvie smiled softly as she slipped her arm through his and leaned against him. “I don’t see why not. It is our building after all… I think we have the right rename it… The question is .. what shall we change it to?” “Oh.. almost anything will be better than ‘Pine Terrace Apartments’…" Faal said simply. “Did any of you happen to notice any pine trees? Or terraces, for that matter?” “Nope.” Xander supplied helpfully, still smirking. “Least they got the ‘Apartments’ part right…” Faal snorted softly. "That remains to be seen... " he said, his eyes going to where Lex still studied the mural on the floor. “Shall we ask for suggests for a new name from the others? Perhaps use it as some sort of contest…?” “Paradise Lost..” Lex said softly, obviously distracted. “Nice and appropriate, considering… but a tad…” Sylvie sighed, shaking her head slightly. “I don’t know… Maybe it’s the term ‘Lost’ considering what this building's been through…” Lex finally looked up at them and stood, moving closer to Faal automatically. “Yus… I see what you mean..” he said, and raised his gaze to follow the curve of the stairs as it vanished above them. A slow smirk spread over his face and his eyes sparkled as he looked back at Sylvie. “Paradise Regained…?” Faal chuckled softly, his arm slipping around Lex’s waist, and Sylvie gave a soft laugh of her own. “Yes it is…” she said simply and sighed happily. “So.. shall we go for a walk?” she asked. “The basement of this building has a modest swimming pool, so we don’t have to worry about everyone dropping by to use our pool on hot summer days…” she said lightly. “We should have it inspected before it’s filled though…” “As if Faal wouldn’t have had one installed any ways…” Xander said softly as they walked and Faal snorted. “This is Sylvia’s project, Mr. Caine… I’d do nothing without her explicit approval…” “Oh the power!” she grinned as they wandered the halls, laughing softly as they stopped at random to look through apartments. Building A and C were completed and ready for residents, she knew; only building B still showed signs of damage from the manifestions and the resulting investigation, and it was all interrior and nothing a good cleaning and painting wouldn't take care of. The most extensive repairs might require laying a new carpet or replacing a door or , in at least one case, reparing a hole in a wall. Nothing that would take very long. The security upgrading would take the longest and once it was done they could begin moving people into the other two buildings first. As the small group toured the main building, Sylvie found herself wondering if they’d come across any sign of the remaining resident ghosts during their tour… Sylvie drew a deep breath as she held out the simple key ring. "Here you go. Congratulations.." she said, smiling. "You are the first offical resident of Paradise Regained." she said and Craig Dwinnell smirked as he accepted the keys. "I'm deeply honored." he said then grinned, glancing at the simple tag that read 'A' 6, then tossed the keys into the air, catching them again. "Seriously.. this is really great, Sylvie. You have no idea." Sylvie smiled softly and crossed her arms lightly. "Oh that's where your wrong... I do have an idea. Just not the same one, or.. not the only one you mean.." she said with a smirk. Craig chuckled. "Ah.. the security aspect.. yeah... that's a big one. But there's so much more too. It's hard to find a decent apartment that's big enough, in a good enough neighborhood, and is affordable. This.. this is a godsend!" he said simply. "Not only is the security great, the rent affordable, and the building clean... but the apartments are a decent size! For the first time... the kids each have their own rooms! Without me having to sleep on the couch to pull it off!!" he said with a grin. Then his expression shifted to a more serious one. "But the security is the topper... A place that I can leave my kids and KNOW they're safe... that's been the hardest, you know. Arranging my shifts so I can pick them up at school or trying to find someone trustworthy to do it for me..." Sylvie reached out and placed her hand over his. "Craig..." she said softly, a slight smirk on her face. "Welcome home." Craig's grin split his face, his eyes sparkling. "Damn ... that sounds good." he said. "You weren't kidding when you said Chaos Inc. was more than just a company... that it was a family... You guys really do look out for each other..." "No Craig... 'WE' really look out for each other. All of us." she said simply. "Now go on... collect your kids and head over to check out the new place. Give a shout when you're ready and we'll send you some volunteers to help move you in. You're all packed?" Craig just grinned, shaking his head softly, jingling the keys. " Yeah.. yeah.. just the stuff we were still using left out...Damn. This is just ... damn." Sylvie laughed softly as she watched him head off, then turned and slipped back around her desk to call her secretary and have the next person sent in. She had three more sets of keys to hand out today, then once they were moved in, she'd have another four, since it had been decided to get the moving done in 'shifts'. If things went smoothly as well as quickly, they could have everyone moved in by the end of next week. Mark Rossie hefted the duffle bag that hung over his shoulder a bit higher as he juggled the box in his arms one handed for the moment. He slipped the paper free of his pocket and looked again, despite the fact that he knew it by heart. "Building C..." he muttered softly as he looked at the door in front of him with a simple gold 'C' attached to the lintel. He'd be tempted to think he had the wrong place except that he'd already been admitted and cleared by the gate guard. Gate guard.... he now lived in a place that had a gate guard... Mark snorted softly and carefully reached out to open the door and enter the building. A long wide hall ran straight ahead to another door on the far side of the building, and two hallways branched off  half way there; one down each side. A simple open wooden stair case took up half the width of the hall and vanished through the ceiling. Other than that, the only features to be seen were an open stairwell leading down to a basement directly beneath the stair leading up, and a bulletin style board that was mounted on the wall directly across from the stairs, just to the left of the hall branching off. He set the box and bag down for a moment and went to the board. One side held a few notes neatly pinned in place; the largest one a copy of the welcome note all the tenants had from Sylvie, as well as a note about the laundry facilities, garbage room and recycling center, all located in the basement, as well as a note about the use of the swimming pool in building 'A' and the communal BBQ's located out back in the picnic area.  The other side held a layout of the complex and grounds, as well as one of the building he was in and he took a moment to look it over. The building was divided in half and the other door lead out to the courtyard in between the buildings. Apartments 1-4 lay down the left hand hall way with 5-8 on the floor above them, while 9-12 lay down the right hand hall  with 13- 16 on the floor above them. From the looks of the maps, the ground floor apartments were all one bedrooms, while the second floor apartments were two or three bedrooms, with the third floor being part of them rather then seperate apartments... Mark snorted softly at seeing that. That mean that the larger apartments had second floors... He didn't think he'd ever heard of an apartment that had two floors before. Well.. aside from on tv shows or in movies. He'd never been in one at any rate. Shaking his head slightly, he retrieved his stuff and headed down the right hand hall to apartment 12. Lucy Patterson sighed as she unpacked the last ornament; a knight in black armor ontop a dark red horse in full battle dress, and set it on the shelf. She smiled happily as she crumpled the newspaper she'd packed it in and stuff it back in the box with the rest of the discarded paper, then went to wash her hands. She really liked the new apartment. Her old one had been a two bedroom as well, but not as nice as this one. She wasn't sure, but she thought this one was bigger as well... She dried her hands off on the towel she had already hanging from the oven door and stood in the enterance way to the kitchen and looked out over the main floor. The kitchen was a fair size for an apartment, with enough room for a table and four chairs at one end, although she only had two chairs with hers. Two open, arched door ways lead off of it, one to the enterance hall and the front door, and one into the living room. It was the living room one she stood in, leaning against the creamy colored wall. The entire apartment was painted in varying cream shades, all warm and clean... The baseboards and door frames a deep chocolate. The kitchen floor was tiled a blend of chocolates, and golds, while the bathroom was a more muted cream and gold with bits of beige. The rest of the dowstairs rooms were carpeted in the same rich chocolate plush sprinkled with a bit of cream and tan, while the upstairs was a beige with flecks of chocolate and gold. Over all, the color scheme suited her furnishings nicely. She'd repainted her last apartment in rich reds and browns because the white walls were too bland... but this... this looked really nice. Not her usual flambouant style and yet... somehow.... she still liked it. The deep burgundy couch with its gold tassled satin throw pillows mixed in with the fake leopard fur blanket and the one lone zebra patterned pillow looked really nice against the creamy wall. The large painting that hung above the couch was even more eye catching than the sofa itself and looked just as nice in the new place. She'd taken one of the smaller two bedroom apartments, with the master bedroom on the top floor with it's own bathroom and a second bedroom off the living room, although she hadn't decided what to do with the spare room yet. She'd never gotten around to doing much of anything with the one at the other apartment, aside from setting up the day bed. She really didn't need a second bedroom and she didn't have any real use for the extra room, but she liked having it anyhow. She'd always had that extra room. She did miss her balcony though. This place didn't have one. Not that her old balcony was much.. just big enough for a couple chairs and a small table... but she loved having her coffee out there. She sighed softly as she turned and gathered up the rest of the discarded paper wrappings to take them down to the recycling. This place may not have its own balcony, but it had a beautiful courtyard as well as a backyard... and apparently a swimming pool in the main building. She smirked to herself as she left her apartment and headed down stairs, deciding she'd have to see if anyone minded if she set her little cast iron patio table and chairs in the courtyard by the lilac tree not far from the door. It might even fit on the front patio by the doors, but she really rather liked that spot by the tree.... "Marianne Trelford" she said spoke into the speaker; a moment later a tall, blonde guard emerged from the booth and approached. She smirked as handed him her I.D., not missing the way he eyed her beat up old jeep.  No doubt he was wondering why she , as a Hunter, didn't have something, if not newer, at least in better shape. While the actual paycheck amounts weren't common knowledge, it was generally accepted that the Hunters made a shit load. Which she supposed they did.. depending on the kind of cases, the number of cases, ecetera ecetera... Of course, she was still the newbie on the team and as far as the others were concerned, still in training. So the paychecks weren't that impressive yet. Plus she liked her jeep.... and her money was needed elsewhere at the moment. The guard handed her I.D. back, and she noticed the name on his badge said 'Dave'. "Welcome to 'Paradise Regained', Ms. Trelford. You're in building 'C'... stay to the left here. Parking spaces are marked so look for your number. The rest of your stuff was delivered this afternoon." "Thanks, Dave... I'm C 10, right?" she asked. She knew it was on her key , but the key was in her pocket and she didn't feel like getting it out right then. "Yes, Ma'am." Dave answered with a smirk and she groaned. "Alright.. Dave... since you work here and we're going to be seeing alot of each other... Listen up. I'm only teling you this once... after that.. I hurt you. got it?" Dave raised an eyebrow at that, the smirk not faltering in the least. "Drop the 'ma'am' shit. Do I look like a 'ma'am', to you really?" she asked and watched him duck his head to surpress a laugh. "Call me, Mare.. everyone else does." Dave chuckled , his grey eyes sparkling as straightened up and waved her through. "Yes Mare!" he said with another chuckle and she found herself grinning as she drove through the gate. "Damn ... surrounded by cute guys..." she muttered softly to herself, casting a glance into her rearview mirror to watch Dave vanish back inside the newly constructed guard house. She found her parking spot then, apartment key in hand, hefted the two duffle bags from the back seat, slinging them over one shoulder as she juggled a cardboard box in her other arm. She found her apartment easily enough and let herself in to discover that not only had her furniture arrived, but that someone had seen to it that it was put in the right rooms and set up properly. She still found it a bit hard to believe that she had furniture of her own... Her last place had been furnished already. When this place became available she almost didn't take it, despite the break on rent and the location and everything else... simply because it was unfurnished and she had nothing to put in it. Of course, a trip to a few second hand shops and furniture stores took care of it, and the most expensive thing she'd paid for was three hundred bucks for the new mattress. Mare set the box down in the living room by the empty bookshelf, and checked out the rest of the apartment until she found the bedroom. The shopping bags that contained the new sheets and pillows sat by the closet and she tossed the two duffel bags down nearby. The bed frame and dresser had seen better days, neither coming close to being the same color and both baring numerous scratches and dents, but they were sturdy enough. Maybe she'd strip them down and repaint them or something... it was something to think about anyhow. In the mean time... she thought the mix and match look that ruled her little apartment was sort of 'her'... although... In any other apartment it would've looked alright but in this place... this was a nice place and it sort of just emphasised the shabbiness of it all. She scowled as she headed back out to the living room to take a look at things there. She snorted finally deciding it didn't matter. It was her place and her stuff and she was the one that had to live with it.., and she liked it. It wasn't like she was planning on having company over anyhow. Mare drew a deep breath as she looked around the room one more time then headed for the stereo to set it up so she could have some music while she worked on getting the rest of the place in order...   Nate MacDonnell was sitting leaned back in his chair, his hands folded on his stomach as he sat with his cowboy boots propped up on the corner of his desk and hat tipped down to cover his face. The other two desks and their accompanying chairs sat empty. The one was neat and tidy with nothing to mark it as occupied except for a small antique silver photo frame that had appeared on it one morning, and the over sized black coffee mug with the flaming skull emblazoned on one side of it and the name 'Lex' written in fancy scroll work in gold on the other. The second desk was the exact opposite. Two different mugs sat amidst a scattering of papers and magazines; a black one with images of men passed out in varyingly uncomfortable and awkward positions in green with the words 'Irish Yoga' , and a second black mug with a silvery grey wolf's head ... one letter was stamped on the far side of the cup, also in silver 'E' ... both mugs held remnants of coffee, no doubt. On top of the papers lay an open gun cleaning kit but no sign of the gun. Nate's own desk was normally worse but he must have just finished cleaning it.  Gone now was his own magazine - paper -notepad - memo collection; his gun cleaning kit would be safely tucked away in a locked drawer, along with two of his smaller guns and a few boxes of ammo. As always. The desk blotter was covered in idle doodles but other wise tidy, and the pencil holder held only new freshly sharpened pencils and pens  ; all writing instruments that showed signs of being chewed, cut, doodled on or filed  had finally been tossed. You could actually see the small bendable Wiley Coyote and Yosimite Sam figurines that stood next to his pencil holder. A full five minutes had passed by during this breif inspection, and the cowboy behind the desk hadn't so much as twitched. Sylvie bit back her smirk and debated on how best to annouce her prescence since he obviously hadn't heard her enter the room. She let her gaze drift past him to rest on one of the photos on the wall behind him; one of three young men and two young women - a picture taken at what was to be the only time all five of them had been together; Nate, Mike, Eire, Kay and herself... it had been the first time she'd met Kay and Eire actually. She gave a soft sigh at the memories the photo stirred and Nate suddenly half leapt out of his chair at the sound, his hat knocked to the floor. He blushed furiously as he bent to retrieve it before sitting back down. "Sorry, sis... didnae hear ye come in..." She smirked softly. "Obviously. Working too hard?" she asked playfully. He snorted softly, getting his blush under control. "No doubt... between m' regular cases, trainin' th' newbies an' helpin' with th' movin'... Lards woman... ye havenae come t' collect me fer another batch already, have ye?" Sylvie laughed softly as she perched on the edge of his desk and picked up the Wiley Coyote figure, images of Mike's tattoo bringing a slight blush to her face. "No.., you can relax. I've rounded up a new batch of movers for the next batch. Thank you for your help though. I know you were really too busy and I shouldn't have even asked..." Nate leaned forward and rested a hand over hers. "Don' be daft, Sylv. I didnae mind... Hell, th' lot of us love ye t' death an' were right glad t' finally have somethin' t' do fer ye. Somethin' tha' didnae require fillin' out paperwork." he added with a smirk. Unable to resist, she shot one eyebrow skyward and gave him 'the look'. "You mean you didn't get the file I had sent? Everyone who volunteered was supposed to fill out a report !" She managed to keep a serious face long enough for Nate to believe her and give a groaning complaint before she lost it and laughed softly. "I'm teasing, Nathaniel... relax..." she said, then reached out to snatch the black cowboy hat off his head. She sat there and plucked at the small pewter crossed gun charm that graced the front of the band. "I just wanted to thank you for your help and for your work on Sarah's behalf. All of the ladies feel safer knowing that you guys are willing to go that extra mile to help them... to keep them safe." Nate was quiet for a moment and she looked over at him to find him watching her intently, a faint blush still staining his cheeks. "Yer welcome, Sylv... yer all welcome, but ye know ye really don' have t' say it. Is ther somethin' botherin' ye, lass?" Sylvie smiled softly as she tossed the hat on the middle of the desk and stood up, smoothing her skirt down as she did. "Aside from the need for the added protection... no. I just wanted to say thank you. And to let you know you were off the hook for volunteering. And to tell you that the desk looks very nice, thank you." She gave a slight smirk, then added, "Although I think you guys either need a wider waste basket or better aim..." she  added  as she kicked aside one of the mass of crumpled paper balls that surrounded the waste basket. "Now that I have a few Hunters moved in to the complex, I'm sending over some of the other staff. See if you and Craig can't work out the transportation problem a bit better, please." she said as she reached the door. "Maybe we can set up a schedule that will work with a shuttle between the two... One of the cars should do for now, but we could buy a van...." Nate sighed heavily. "Aye... back t' work.. I get it..." he said as he plucked his hat off the desk and plopped it back on his head. Sylvie cast a smirk over her shoulder at him. "Oh.. and I spoke to your mother this morning. She asked me to pass along a message..." She saw Nate's eyebrow quirk slightly as he adjusted his hat and pushed his chair back in. "She says to remind you that it is rude to wear hats indoors." She left to hand out her next batch of apartment keys and volunteer assignments with the sound of Nate's good humored cursing following her into her office. Almost one week to the day after the first resident moved in, the last of the needed apartments was taken. There were still plenty of apartments and 'B' was still completely empty while awaiting repairs, but all of the staff that wished to move in and could do so, had. There would be more moving in later on, no doubt, as both current employees changed their minds or new employees were hired on. And of course when the invitation was extended to the other offices, things would fill up quickly; even if those residents would be limited to those who could handle portals or rifts reliably on their own over the distance. They'd already had a few sparks of interest over the rumors alone from New York. Sylvie expected to need the third buidling to be ready within the next month or two. At the moment though, she was checking over the finished listing and checking to make sure the information was right. She frowned as she read one a second time. "Hmm.. Lex, hun... I believe this one is wrong... It says  'A 11' is Jenna Horton and her daughter Michelle... That should be Jessica. Jenna's name is Norwell and she doesn't have children. She is in... 'C 3', I believe." Lex made a quick note on his laptop, correcting the problem. "Gotcha... sorry.. not sure how that one slipped past." the slim red head said softly and Sylvie smirked as she sipped her coffee, continuing to check over the list.  "Easily... too many new names and not enough photographic memories..." she said lightly. "The rest looks right though. A nice blend in each of the buildings... Alright. Make sure their records are all up to date with the address changes and that security has a copy of this list, both here and there." she finally said, leaning back to look at Lex. "I really wish you'd reconsider, Lexine. You really should be living in a more secure place. Your stalker collection would have that much harder a time getting to you." Lex blushed as he closed his laptop and tucked it under his arm as he stood. "I like my apartment." he answered simply and Sylvie offered a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry. No doubt between Faal and your father you've been hearing this enough." Lex snorted softly as he headed for the door. "And Nate. And Eire. And Xander. And Aiyla. And Kay...."  The list of names pattered out as he vanished and Sylvie sighed heavily. Her gaze fell on one of the sketches Xander had done of the complex and she smiled softly. Part of her was tempted to move there herself, but she loved the rooftop garden here too much to give it up. She wondered if Charli was considering a move... a real back yard and other kids running around would be good for Sienna... Her thoughts were interupted by a buzz for her attention. "Yes?" "I'm sorry to disturb you, Ms Leeman, but Detective Jackson is here to speak to someone about the Hinkston case...?" Sylvie sighed softly. "Show him back, Jenna. I'll see what I can do for him." she said then moved the sketches, putting them away in a drawer out of sight for now. Not even the return to the darker side of the work could completely subdue her sense of achievement and pride in Paradise Regained. Maybe she'd consider trying to convince Xander to move there...