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When she came to some time later, the last place Ivory had expected to find herself was lying facedown on a comfy sofa. At first, she blinked her eyes in disorientation, trying to get a fix on her bearings, then became aware that she was topless; her ruined shirt lay draped on a chair next to the couch. Lightly biting her lip, Ivory shifted slightly so she could reach around to feel her back. Much to her surprise, her wounds had already been cleaned and bandaged, and it made her wonder how long she'd been out.
Raising her head, hugging the pillow underneath her to her chest, Ivory called out for Chase, who appeared seconds later through a nearby doorway. "Thank God," he said, coming to her side and kneeling so he face to face with her. "Ivory, are you okay? Can you move?"
Ivory instinctively worked at flexing her muscles, wincing as it caused a modicum of pain from her injuries. "It still hurts, but I imagine it will be fine. I heal pretty fast, so... Where are we?"
"At someone's winter home. Since it's nearing summer now, it should be vacant... It's also the place I hid out at, when I ran from the caverns initially..." Chase shifted into a sitting position, reaching across to stroke her hair. "Ivory, I'm so sorry," he said softly. "If I'd known Leeloo was going to show, I'd never have left you there alone... I had no idea as to what lengths she'd go, or how much she hated you..."
Ivory's brow furrowed in confusion. "Hated me?" she asked. "But why? I've never met her before today..." Ivory stopped, suddenly catching on that Chase's expression was off. He looked almost... overwhelmed with guilt. Sitting up, keeping the pillow in place to hide her breasts, Ivory said, "You bastard! You know who she is, don't you?!"
Chase felt a lump forming in his throat, and it took everything he had to meet the Slayer's eyes at that moment. At last, he nodded, quietly saying, "Yes, I know. I was told... but also sworn to secrecy. It wasn't supposed to be up to me to reveal the truth to you or your father, Ivory... But I don't see that I have a choice in the matter now."
"You're damn right you don't!" Ivory snapped. "It just doesn't stop with you, Chase! From day one, it's been nothing but secrets and lies!" She paused, eyes full of fury. "How do you expect me to trust you if you can never be honest?!"
Chase was silent for a long while, and Ivory could sense an internal struggle going on in him. Finally, he sighed, looking up at her with tired eyes. Settling back, he said softly, "Fifteen years ago, your Mom and Dad were married. What should have followed was a lifetime of bliss, but instead, they only got one night together as a wedded couple... No one, not me, not Ethan, not even Buffy herself, could explain how or why it happened, but..." Chase sighed again. "Ivory, your mother conceived a second child on that night... She was pregnant when Ethan took her away..."
Ivory was all set to raise some protests, but Chase went on, not allowing her to get a word in edgewise. "When Buffy first discovered it, she did everything in her power to hide it from Ethan and Riley. It didn't last long though; they eventually found out. And on the day she went into labor, they were well prepared... Riley sent his lover, Lori Lee, to aid in the delivery, under the orders that she hand the baby over to them afterwards. But your mother managed to gain the upper hand at the last moment and was allowed to keep her newborn daughter, for a time at least. And Lori Lee had her neck broken by Riley for her failure." Chase paused, taking a deep breath. "To ensure that Lori Lee's memory would live on, regardless of how cruel her midwife may have been after the lies Riley fed her, Buffy named the infant after her."
Ivory grew numb, wanting very much to discount his words, refusing to believe what he was telling her. But there was too much added to it, too much that proved it had to be true. "My God," she murmured, her voice barely audible. "Leeloo..."
Chase nodded woodenly. "Is your sister," he confirmed...
Ivory remained in a daze for a few moments after this revelation, her mind reeling at the concept. Finally, staring at her hands with downcast eyes, she said, "It all makes sense now. Leeloo's resentment of me, all the vague references you made about her, why... why Cordelia thought she looked familiar..." Ivory paused, trying to conjure up a picture of Leeloo's face in her mind, but failing. She hadn't studied her sister's features long or hard enough for the image to hold. Looking up at Chase, the Slayer asked, "Who does she resemble more?"
Chase sighed, moving up onto the couch so he was sitting opposite her. "She takes after your father. Buffy told me once that Leeloo was as much a splitting image of him as you were of her. Your mother, I mean..." Chase hesitated, watching Ivory to see how she was taking this; for the most part, she still looked numb. "From the outset, Buffy could tell that Leeloo was anything but normal. She was the first creature ever born as a vampire, so nobody knew what to expect from it... But what Buffy didn't know at the time Leeloo was born was how much Riley would grow obsessed with her. It was nothing but a thrill for him, trying to get the daughter of the great Angelus under his complete control..."
Ivory looked skyward, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. Much as she wanted it to stop here, she knew it may be better to hear the whole story now. "What did he do?" she asked softly. "Chase, I have to know!" she insisted when he faltered. "What did that bastard do to my sister to get her to switch sides?!"
Chase cast his tired black eyes on her once more. "Riley manipulated both your mother and Leeloo to get Buffy to hand her daughter over to him. It started simply enough; he would drop hints as Leeloo was growing up about the outside world, about how great it was. That, coupled with Leeloo's frustration over living in the same enclosed space for years on end, was what forced Buffy into wanting to give her something better."
Ivory nodded absently. "So, Leeloo got a breath of fresh air, and my mother got to stay in that hellhole?" she asked quietly, bitterly.
Chase nodded, then went on. "It didn't stop there though... As you know, Riley seduced Leeloo shortly after she turned fourteen, then went to Buffy in order to rub it in. She was furious that Riley would have the audacity to do what he had done, and she threatened him with death and worse if she ever got out... When Riley delivered me to her days later, it was Leeloo they were fighting over, not you, Ivory. I know I shouldn't have lied about that part, but..." Chase looked away briefly, then back at her. "Riley's never been to Sunnydale."
Ivory only half listened to that last exchange; she was primarily lost in her thoughts. It hit her all of a sudden how difficult and complex things had quickly become. Rubbing gently at the bandages on her back, Ivory had trouble now fathoming that Leeloo (her own sister!) had done this to her. The thoughts of it all caused her to burst into tears, and before the Slayer knew it, Chase had come to embrace her, holding her comfortingly and whispering soft assurances that it would be okay.
When she was all cried out, Ivory pulled back, wiping at her eyes. After a moment, she asked softly, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Chase bit his lip, reaching over to lightly brush tears from her face. "Because Buffy asked me not to... She knew your father well enough to realize how enraged he'd be if he learned of Leeloo's existence beforehand. Imagine yourself in his shoes. Imagine how angry you'd be if you learned that they'd stolen not only your spouse, but also a child you never knew about... Buffy knew, I know, that Angel wouldn't have taken it very well, that he'd likely be too livid to think straight if he learned this. Ivory, you have to promise you won't tell him."
Ivory nodded numbly, letting her eyes drift around the room. "I promise," she murmured. A pause, then, "This doesn't seem real. It's not fair that my Mom... She shouldn't have had to suffer that much. I swear I'll kill Riley and Ethan for this!" The Slayer shut her eyes, as a hidden reserve of tears welled in them.
Chase placed his hands on her arms, offering some comfort. "It'll be okay, Ivory," he murmured. "We'll make it right, I promise."
Ivory looked up at him with watery green eyes, sniffling slightly. After a long while of just staring at him, she leaned forward slightly, her whole expression clouded with vulnerability and uncertainty. Chase must have responded in turn, must have invited it, for the next thing he knew, Ivory was kissing him, tenderly and so incessantly, it seemed she didn't intend to stop. The moment it grew more impassioned and Ivory's hands snaked down to slide underneath his shirt, Chase broke away, thinking it was all he could do not to take advantage of her then and there. "Ivory," he said softly. "We shouldn't..."
She shushed him, saying, "Don't! Just kiss me..." Lost as she she was in her tumultuous emotions, Ivory didn't want to think of her life beyond this room, this very house. All she could focus on now was how much she wanted Chase, wanted to feel him in her arms, to just curl up with him for the evening.
And Chase, going through an internal struggle between his head and his heart, eventually let his heart went out. The second kiss seemed to go on forever, passionate and sweet, and was only interrupted once when Ivory helped him pull his shirt over his head...
Outside, the darkness that had covered the waves of desert was perfectly still, tranquil to be exact. Even the cabin that Chase and Ivory had sought refuge in had a serenity about it. However, the same couldn't be said about the vampiress watching the young couple through one of the windows, her initial shock turning to betrayal and then intense anger.
The only reason Cinnamon was out this evening had been to search for Leeloo and Ivory once she learned from Leeloo's companion that he had left them to fight each other. Her panic at knowing how much both were needed for the ritual and it wouldn't do well for one of them to die was what prompted Cinnamon in getting Riley and Ethan's help in locating them. Little did she know just what scene she'd find when she located the Slayer.
The only thing that kept Cinnamon from running in and tearing the place apart in her rage was that a lizard had unwittingly skittered up next to her. Quick as lightning, she snatched up the creature, crushing it in her fist and staring at the blood that trickled down her arm a moment. After one more glance at the cabin's interior, she was off, ideas for revenge already forming in her mind...
Afterwards, Ivory fell asleep in Chase's arms, her head resting on his naked chest and her body half twined with his. He, in turn, had one arm crossing her back, gently holding her to him as he watched her sleep and marveling over how beautiful and moving the last two hours had been.
Chase sighed, turning his eyes towards the ceiling and musing over how lucky he was. Sure, a part of him still nagged that it had been wrong, that he shouldn't have taken advantage of Ivory's vulnerability this way. But a larger part argued back that, although he may not have been sure before, he knew wholeheartedly just how much he loved this girl.
Chase bit his lip, pulling Ivory a little closer and wincing when she moaned slightly in her sleep. When she failed to stir, he lightly kissed her shoulder, breathing in the sweet scent of her. "I know we can never go back after what happened this evening," Chase murmured, despite the fact she couldn't hear him. "But I wouldn't want to... I wouldn't wish this away, Ivory, not for anything." He paused, studying her placid face with joyful tears clouding his vision. "You've made my life as complete as it could possibly be right now... I love you."
After a while, Chase surrendered himself to sleep, his last thought of Ivory and of how the coming morning would bring about a whole new world of possibilities. As he drifted away at last, he prayed that tomorrow be as joyous as tonight...