fandomtownies | Post fear-toxin, locked to shane

In order to get to Spike's pub from Deb's place, Shane has to run, and so she runs. After a minute, her lungs start aching and after another minute, they start to burn, but she can't stop. One of her friends needs her.

As she rounds the corner, she finds Chloe sitting on the sidewalk and slows to a jog and then a purposeful walk, long legs carrying her over the short distance quickly. "Chloe," she says as she approaches, kneeling down just in front of her.

Chloe looks up at the sound of Shane's voice, and just the sight of someone familiar and safe is enough to start up her tears again. She wraps her arms around Shane, almost clinging to her. "Oh god, Shane," she says quietly.

"Chloe, honey, it's okay," Shane murmurs, wrapping her arms around her in turn, reaching up to smooth a hand gently over her hair. "It's all right. I'm here."

"I'm sorry," Chloe says, muffled as she buries her face against Shane's neck. "I didn't know who else to call."

"Hey, shhh, it's okay, don't worry about that," Shane says again softly, hand still stroking over her hair. "You said there was all this smoke in Spike's place? What happened? Was there a fire?"

Chloe shakes her head. "No, not a fire." She takes a few deep breaths, trying to embarass herself as little as possible while she tries to speak again. "There was a guy...he was trying to sell me something, some kind of drugs he had, but he dropped it, and the glass broke, and there was a...gas maybe? And I felt like...I feel like I can't breathe, like everything's closing in. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Hearing the panic in Chloe's voice, Shane knows she needs to act quickly. "Okay, Chloe? Put your arms around my neck, okay? I'm gonna get you away from here," she murmurs, slipping her right arm beneath Chloe's knees and bracing the left one across her back.

"...so tired of having to be rescued," Chloe murmurs, putting her arms around Shane's neck like she asked, resting her head against her shoulder.

"Sorry," Shane says quietly, her tone sympathetic as she gathers Chloe up into her arms. Drawing her right leg from beneath her, she rests the sole of her sneaker flat on the pavement and stands, settling Chloe's weight in her arms.

"I know where I can take you. Just hang on to me, okay? We'll be there in just a couple of minutes," she murmurs as she starts walking towards the park. If the walls are all pressing in on Chloe, what she needs is space and the park has (well, in addition to ducks) plenty of that.

Chloe shuts her eyes and holds onto Shane, letting herself breathe as deeply as possible. All she needs is someplace with no walls, and she'll be fine. She has to be.

"I didn't realize you were a hero. Or, a heroine I guess," she says, managing a soft smile.

"I'm not anything special like that, Chloe," Shane says quietly as she steps up onto another sidewalk, the park still several blocks away. "I'm just taking care of my friend."

The increasing distance between herself, Shane, and the pub is making her feel less shaky, to the point where she's stopped crying. "Well, you're still my heroine tonight. So there," she says.

"Okay," Shane says reasonably, letting out a low chuckle as she presses a kiss to Chloe's hair. "Is it getting any better?" She makes a right onto Della street. "We're almost there, okay?"

"It's getting a little better, yeah. I don't feel as sick now." She opens her eyes a little, trying to get her bearings. "Where are we going?" Please somewhere outside, please...

"Park," Shane says, her sure-footed steps taking her onto Apocalypse Avenue, where she takes a detour, sneakers shuffling in the cool grass. "Okay, honey, we're here. Let me just find somewhere in this nice, big park to put you down."

She finds a spot towards the center of the park by the footpath, in clear view of the duck pond, and kneels down again, gently lower Chloe onto the grass, figuring it might not be a good idea for her to try walking on her own again just yet.

Digging into the pocket of her hoodie, she pulls out a bottle of water as well as a foil wrapped package. "Okay," she says, unscrewing the lid and holding the bottle out to Chloe. "Try to drink some of this. It might help get some of that shit out of your system, whatever it was."

Chloe lets go of Shane a little reluctantly as she sets her down. The grass feels cool underneath her, and the open air of the park is definitely helping. She's not trapped, not at all. She could escape in any direction, if something were to happen.

She takes the water from Shane, thanking her softly, and takes a few small sips, followed by larger sips when the first ones don't make her feel sick. "I don't know what it was either. I don't know what could make me feel like this."

"And since it's a gas, they probably won't be able to tell, I guess," Shane murmurs with a sigh as she settles down on her haunches.

She pulls out another bottle of water for herself and sets it down in the grass as she busies herself opening the foil-wrapped bundle Deb had handed off to her. She sets it on the grass beside Chloe and then settles back, trying to give her as much room as possible so she doesn't feel as though she's being crowded.

"If you're still feeling jumpy, Deb said you should try one of those," she says, taking the cap off of her water and taking a small sip. She looks at Chloe, a slight grin quirking her lips. "Deb's special brownies."

"Oh, I'm going to find out what the fuck it was," Chloe replies sharply. Her voice cracks a little, but she covers it with another sip of water. When Shane moves away, she's torn between welcoming the extra space for her personal bubble, and wishing she'd come sit back closer.

She looks back and forth between Shane and the brownies, managing another light smile. "I'm sure they're wonderful brownies, but I think I've gotten enough mind altering crap into my system for one night."

Shane hears the break in her voice and can't help but feel for her. Having something like that done to her, without any warning or cause, and being forced to suffer that much. Still, the determination and pique in her voice makes Shane grin in spite of herself. "I know you will," Shane says. "You're the ace reporter chick."

"Yeah, I hear ya," Shane says wryly as she takes a sip of her water. Digging into her pocket, she pulls out her cigarettes and lights one for herself. Looking at Chloe, she frowns a little. "Do you need me to give you more room? 'Cause it's cool, I can do that... whatever will make you feel better."

Chloe laughs a little at the "ace reporter" remark, curling up and wrapping her arms around herself. "Well, it's good to know that I've managed to maintain my shining reputation."

She glances over at Shane, feeling some more of her fear dissipate at Shane's attitude. "No, you don't need to...I mean, you're good right where you are. Or you can come closer. It's not...contact with people that's scary. I've felt like this before. Not this bad, but almost. I was buried alive once. And then there was the time I was trapped in my car while someone tried to push me over a bridge. And the time I got trapped in the newspaper office while someone tried to set the place on fire. It's not so much being closed in...I mean it is, sort of. But it's more about not being able to escape if someone tries to hurt me." And damn it, there go the tears again. "But it's okay out here because it's open, and you're here so it's safe. And I just need to keep telling myself that, and it'll be okay." She covers her face with her hand, embarassed that she's started crying again.

Placing the cap back on her water, Shane crawls over closer to Chloe and takes a seat beside her in the grass, slipping her arms around her. "You are safe," she murmurs reassuringly. "You're out in the open and you're safe in the park and nothing can hurt you, Chloe, I promise. I won't let it."

As much as Chloe needs open space, having Shane's arms around her, hugging her and promising to protect her feels really good. "Thank you," she says quietly. "I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't come to get me."

"You probably would have managed," Shane murmurs, slowly rocking her back and forth. "I mean, my rescue and your complaining aside, you seem like you can handle yourself pretty well, Chloe."

That gets an almost full smile out of Chloe. "Well, I learned at an early age that the only person you can really trust to take care of you is yourself. So, I try."

"Yeah," Shane says quietly, resting her head against Chloe's. "I know exactly what you mean."

Post fear-toxin, locked to shane_mcc for now

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