FOX TALE
Based on the TV Show "Lost Girl"

"Kenzi, slow down," Trick ordered, holding up a finger to a customer across the bar. The Kitsune in question scowled angrily at him before jumping up from the bar stool and storming off into the crowd. Trick held back a groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose. One had to admire the human's terrible sense of timing; the busiest hour in the bar and Kenzi decides it's a good time to call, talking about a mile a minute.

"No time!" she called back at him, her pitch raising slightly like it did when she was excited...or afraid, "Now can you help me or not?"

"I don't even know what I'm suppose to be helping you with," the older Fae replied holding back his annoyance as he turned to reach for one of the bottles on the shelf behind the bar.

"Dyson!" Kenzi all but shrieked, forcing him to pull the phone away, "He came over here acting all weird and not Dyson-y and now he's passed out on our floor."

"What?"

That caught the bartender's attention. Immediately signaling to one of his employees, Trick turned and headed towards the back room. If something had gotten the drop on the shifter, then they were all in danger. Kenzi and Bo most of all.

"Kenzi," he said, closing the door behind him, "I need you to tell me what happened. Everything, now."

"What didn't happen?"the young human replied back snarkily, "Dyson came over looking for Bo then..."

"Wait, Bo's not with you?" Trick interrupted her. He found himself mildly suprised by fact the human alone with a potentially comprimised shifter was now more frightening to him then it being the succubus. He supposed he could grudgingly admit to a small fondness for the girl.

"Out of town, and apparently out of cell phone range," came the sharp reply, "Can I finish the story?"

Trick sighed, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He was used to the sass by now. Kenzi's nervous pacing however, which he could hear over the phone, was enought to tell him how worried and afraid she really was.

"Yes," he replied, glancing over his books.

"So he comes barging into the apartment, tells me there's trouble, grabs my arm, and the next thing I know we're cowering behind the couch," she exclaimed in a rush, the sound of her footsteps thumping with each word.

"Cowering?" Trick replied, stunned and not liking what he's hearing. He's half tempted to tell Kenzi to just run to the bar and tell him everything here; but her next words stop him.

"And then he let out this god awful scream and starts seizing on the floor."

"Seizing?" the bad feeling he had the moment he picked up the phone doubled in strength.

"Yeah," Kenzi replied emphatically, "Like full blown. Tremors, shakes, foaming, the works. Then he passed out. I've got a blanket and a pillow on him, but he's too heavy to move onto the couch. Trick, I need some help, man."

"Why didn't you call Lauren?" Trick demanded, holding back a sudden flash of anger. He knew the girl was scared and because of that not thinking clearly. But she was leaving one of his kind without the attention they clearly needed.

"I don't trust her," Kenzi replied frankly, either ignoring or not noticing his tone, and added petulantly, "And the wolf-man doesn't like her either. Why should I let her go poking and prodding him?"

Trick sighed audibly this time. It wasn't that he disagreed with the girl's assessment (he had his own misgiving of the Ash's kept pet and her interactions with Bo) but the woman was a doctor which Dyson clearly needed. Reigning in his quickly deterioating objectivity, he cleared his throat and gave the young human instruction.

"Alright," he said, "I'm going to call Lauren and we will be there as soon as we can. Just keep Dyson as comfortable as possible and if he wakes up don't let him move."

On the other side of the line Kenzi let out a small laugh.

"Right," she replied without a trace of irony, "I'll tie the wolf-man till you guys get here. No problem," there was a hesitant pause and then, "Trick, tell me he's gonna be okay."

Once again, the older Fae found himself surprised by the emotions the small human evoked. As much as he hated himself for it, he refused to lie to her though. She deserved more then that.

"I don't know, Kenzi," he replied quietly, "But we'll try our best. And for god's sake be careful."

On the other side of the line, he heard her let out a soft sight. Without needing to be there, he could easily imagine her face drawn in slightly pained expression, having already known the answer wouldn't be the one she wanted but everything she feared. He could hear it the moment her pacing stopped and she accepted the situation as it was. Not for the first and certainly not for the last time, the grouchy old bartender marveled at the young human's strength.

"Will do," Kenzi said finally, her usual irritating confidence back in place, "See you on the flip side."

With that, she disconnected the call. Immediately, the old Blood King begin to dial Lauren's number. Unbeknownst to everyone, even the Ash, the human doctor owed him a favor. This was as good a moment as any to cash it in.


Kenzi let the phone drop from her hands to the couch. Casting a glance at Dyson, she saw the shifter was still sleeping, or passed out, or whatever unconciousness was called after a seizure. Her phone call to Trick had done little to alleviate her fears. If anything, the little bartender's changing moods worried her even more. She hadn't even had the courage to ask him if he knew what had caused this, too afraid of the answer.

Standing up, she crossed over to kneel beside her friend. The blanket she had grabbed from her room barely made it passed his knees, but at least the pillow was sort of fluffy. She resisted the urge to run her fingers through his hair. Now wasn't the time to let her own, mostly unacknowledged, private fantasy interfere in real life.

"Well," she said aloud, trying to break the uncomfortable silence, "Looks like it's just you and me for now, buddy."

No answer came from the shifter. Kenzi sighed, watching him for a while. Time seemed to be moving incredibly slow. Standing up again, she paced the length of the couch, once more glancing at the door. Her grip on the sword had yet to slacken.

"Geez, how long is this gonna take?" she demanded to no one on her fifth pass of the couch. The silence and lack of sleep was getting to her. Plus (though she hated to admit it) she really didn't like the idea of going up alone against something that could apparently knock Dyson on his ass. Especially without any form of Fae backing her up. Her impatient musings were interrupted, however, by a sudden groan sounding behind her.

"Jesus!" the young woman shrieked, turning around with the sword poised for attack. Instead, she was met with the sight of Dyson begining to stir, "Crap."

Lowering the weapon, she hurried over to her friend's side. Slowly, the shifter's eyes began to open blearly. Though awake, the Fae still seemed out of it. Placing her hand comfortingly on his shoulder, Kenzi felt him stiffen the moment he became fully awake and aware of his surroundings.

"Easy, big guy," she offered reassuringly as his eyes started to dart around the room, "You're okay."

The sound of her voice caught Dyson's attention and he turned to look at her.

"Kenzi?" he muttered in surprise, squinting up at her, "What are you..."

"Woah," she interrupted him, moving her hand to his chest as he began to sit up, "Dude, lay still. Cause if you get up, I'll have Bo, Trick, Lauren, hell probably the whole light side on my ass. Stay still."

"What? Kenzi...what's going on?" he seemed befuddled, but thankfully relaxed back onto the floor, "Where am I?"

Kenzi did a double take at him.

"You don't remember?" she asked, concerned. Dyson shook his head in response, once again looking around the room. Inhaling deeply, Kenzi nodded to herself, "Okay, mark that down on the symptom's list."

"Symptoms?" once again his attention was drawn to the human, "Kenzi, will you tell me what's going on?"

I must be at Bo's, he thought to himself, the familiar scents and sights surrounding him confirming it. The thought gave him a faint sense of peace, but not enough to hide the sudden realization that he had no idea how he'd gotten here. What had happened to him?

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice Kenzi almost let out a sigh of relief at his question. His last comment had sounded annoyed and more like himself, music to the young human's ears. Maybe he's shaken off whatever was wrong with him? Kenzi hoped privately to herself.

"Uh," Kenzi still wasn't sure, however, what she could tell him. After all, there was no way of telling what might trigger a relapse, "That's not important right now, so..."

"Kenzi," okay, now his tone was worried. Kenzi let out a relenting sigh and nodded.

"You were knocking, well, more like pounding, on our door like an hour ago," she explained for the second time that night, "When I let you in, you told me there was trouble and then totally freaked out on me."

"Freaked out?" the hint of bemusement in his tone did little to hide the worry beneath it..

"Yeah," Kenzi replied, immediately wishing she had kept her mouth shut, "You opened the door and then dragged us both behind the couch. Then you kind of passed out."

"What was at the door?" Dyson demanded, troubled that he remembered none of this. Kenzi looked down at him somewhat guiltily.

"Nothing," she replied softly. Silence fell between the pair as Dyson considered her response. Then, suddenly, he shot up from his spot, catching her by surprise.

"I need to get out of here," he said, ignoring Kenzi's startled cry, "I'm putting you at risk."

"Woah, Dyson!" Kenzi called out, leaning forward to stop the shifter. She over-shot a bit, finding herself sprawled on top of him, "You can't go. Trick and Lauren are on their way."

"You called Lauren?" he replied incredulously, instinctively trying to push the girl off him.

"Well, technically, I called Trick and he called Lauren," Kenzi argued in her defense, struggling to keep him down, "Dyson, stop! You need to rest."

"No, I need you to get off me," the Fae growled, finally managing to get leverage on her. Kenzi, though, was not giving up without a fight.

"D-man, please, you had a seizure," she exclaimed in a last ditch effort. The comment froze the shifter mid-shove.

"What?" he demanded. Kenzi craned her neck to look over at him.

"Please," she begged, "Trick and Lauren are on the way. Let them look you over. Cause if something happens to you, I'd really hate to be next on Bo's feeding list."

The mention of his lover's name seemed to get through to the man. With an annoyed growl, he stopped struggling, leaning back against the hardwood floor.

"Then, can you at least get off me," he grunted, somewhat surprised at how heavy such a small girl could be. Kenzi grinned.

"No problem, wolf-man," she said, pushing herself up. Dusting herself off, she fell back to sit on the floor by his head.

"So when are they getting here?" Dyson asked, still wanting to leave. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't like the idea of potentially being out of control with Kenzi so close to him. For all the little human said about Bo killing her if something happened to him, he was certain he'd get almost equal treatment if something happened to the girl. It was clear to anyone who saw them that she meant a great deal to the succubus.

"No idea," Kenzi responded, tugging at a piece of fluff on her pajama bottoms, "Soon I hope."

At that moment there came a knocking at the door.

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