Written by David Powell

Appreciation AN FX: THE SERIES FANFIC

Prologue

" Where have you been Rollie, I'm going to be late" Angela Ramirez said worriedly, climbing into the old Holden ute that Rollie drove.

" You're going to be fine Angela, stop worrying" Rollie replied looking over at the daughter of his boss. The amount of things he'd cancelled, dates, parties, all because he liked his boss, and had to admit that he liked Angela as well, she was normally a good kid… usually.

" Rollie it's ok for you to say that, you don't matter" Angie said, checking how she looked for the hundredth time.

Rollie muttered under his breath, taking another corner at speed.

" Rollie, it doesn't count if I get there and I'm dead you know" Angela fired at the young FX assistant, this night was special, she'd been invited to a dance by the son of one of the stars that Manny and Rollie were working with.

" I was driving when I was seven Angela, trust me" Rollie replied, speeding up.

Rollie drove towards the large house, heading for the u-shaped driveway that ran in front of the house.

" Rollie you can't drive this crate up there, what are you thinking!" Angie replied, wishing desperately that her father had been available to bring her.

Rollie sighed, he'd known this was coming. For a week all he'd heard about was the dance, how big their house was, how expensive their car was. Looking around he found a small area where he could park and pulled over.

It started to rain.

' Perfect' Rollie muttered sourly.

Pulling the umbrella out of the back, Rollie popped it open and walked around to Angie's side, opening the door so she wouldn't get wet.

" Time to go Ange" Rollie said, as he waited until she was out before closing the door.

" We've got to hurry" Angie said, grabbing the umbrella and running towards the house.

Rollie caught up with the young girl and ducked under the umbrella. Finally reaching the house, Rollie walked up the stairs and stopped. Angela knocked on the door, which was opened almost immediately.

" Yes" the butler asked.

" My name is Angela. I've been invited to the dance." Angie said excitedly.

" Right this way" he said, stepping aside to allow her entrance and pointing down a long marble hallway.

Rollie stepped forwards and was stopped by the butler. " Where do you think you're going rapscallion"

" I'm with Angela" he said.

" Looking like that…I think not" the butler replied, closing the door.

" Great" Rollie said to himself. Looking back towards where he'd left the car he couldn't see more than ten metres because of the rain, and Angela had the umbrella. Turning up the collar of his jacket he ran down the driveway, slipping and sliding until he finally found his car, totally drenched he climbed in.

" I don't know what time it finishes, if I'm meant to wait for her, whether to wait here for her or move closer to the house or what" Rollie grumbled, it wasn't the first time he'd been stuck in this position. Searching through the back he found a thick greatcoat and pulled it around him and switched on the ignition, hoping to use the heater.

Nothing.

" Perfect" Rollie muttered again. Climbing out he looked under the bonnet, finding that one of the leads to the coil had come loose. Pushing it back on, he quickly made it around to the back and jumped into the tray, under the plastic cover. Switching on his torch he looked at what was visible, a pile of junk from the set, an old battery, a small toolbox and a tux he'd meant to return after ' borrowing' it from the wardrobe on set for the date he'd meant to go on tonight.

A smile came slowly to Rollie's face. " Maybe I can join the party" he whispered.

Rollie scouted around to the back of the house, the lock proving little hamper to one of his 'skills'. Removing the greatcoat and hanging it on a peg, Rollie pushed back his long hair.  Dressed now in the formal tuxedo, Rollie moved quietly through the house, listening and heading towards the sounds of music he assumed were floating from the dance.

" Excuse me where are you going?" a maid asked as Rollie almost bumped into her.

" I'm sorry. Can you help me? I'm looking for the ballroom' Rollie answered.

" Straight down this hall, first left, second right, first door on your left" the maid answered.

" Thankyou" Rollie replied, giving the maid a smile and starting down the hallway.

Angie danced, she'd been nervous at the start but this was something her father had taught her, everyone in the business seemed to dance and he'd started her learning early.

She looked at her partner, Simon Fairchild. He was three years older, sixteen but seemed serious. He had short brown hair and dark brown eyes, he danced gracefully.

Simon Fairchild looked at his partner, those blue eyes were absolutely adorable and the blonde hair was silky and glowing in the light from the overhead chandelier. He'd seen her hanging around her father on the set when he'd visited his parents. She'd played tricks on her father's assistant who kept his cool no matter what and never said a word.

The song ended and Simon looked around, his parents were dancing together along with a number of other important guests, as well as their children, some his age others closer to hers or younger.

Rollie kept to the instructions and soon found the doors to the ballroom. Sliding unnoticed through the doors, he carefully made his way to the bar and was soon hidden in a shadowy spot drink in hand untouched. He picked out Angie immediately, recognising the boy she was with as Simon Fairchild, the son of the owners. Rollie had heard rumours, nothing more but he knew how protective Manny was of his daughter and promised himself that nothing would happen to her.

Carefully scanning the room, Rollie didn't see the amount of people join in on the floor. Looking back, Rollie moved from side to side trying to see through the press of bodies, searching for Angela.

" Would you like to see more of the house? It's getting a bit crowded for me' Simon asked Angela.

" I'd like that" Angela replied, used to being just with her father or Rollie and not many other people she was starting to feel a bit hemmed in.

Simon showed her to a small exit door, and they walked hand in hand through the large mansion, Angie exclaiming over the beauty of the delicate figurines that sat in the alcoves, the vaulted ceilings with their frescos and the stunning tapestries.

Slowly moving upstairs, Simon showed her through the library, another dining room and slowly made his way, as planned to where he wanted to be.

Rollie moved from his spot, circling the floor before walking straight on, looking for Angela. She was gone, and so was Simon. " Damn" Rollie whispered, heading for the door.

The maid who Rollie had bumped into before was in the hallway when he stepped out.

" Excuse me, I'm looking for a girl, her name's Angela. She has blue eyes and blonde hair and she was invited by Simon Fairchild. I've got an important message for her, do you know where she is?' he said quickly.

" I saw the two of them walking upstairs, other than that I can't help you Sorry" she replied, watching as Rollie ran to the stairs taking them three at a time.

" And this is my room" Simon announced, stepping aside so that Angela could step through.

" Wow, it's so big" Angie replied as she looked around the finely furnished room.

Simon walked over to the window and stood looking out, it was fairly quiet out here and the stars shone brilliantly.

" It's so beautiful" Angie whispered coming to stand beside him.

" You know what's beautiful?" Simon asked, turning to look at her.

" What?" Angela asked shyly.

" You are. You're the most beautiful girl I've seen" he answered, placing a hand on her cheek and looking straight at her.

Angela blushed and looked away, unused to such compliments and the feelings his touch aroused. She felt his hand on her arm as he led her across the floor and sat on the bed.

Rollie ran down the corridors of the mansion, searching, stopping and listening for any noise that told of a human presence. He knew that something was wrong, he had to stop it.

Simon leaned over and kissed Angela on the cheek. " I'd like to kiss you Angela" he said.

Angie smiled, looking at him invitingly. Finally my first kiss, not counting my father, or the one I stole off Rollie.

They kissed.

Rollie hurried on, still no sign of the missing couple.

Angela felt Simon's hand pushing against her and pulled back, not ready to move this quickly.

" Simon, I don't think we should…" she stopped as Simon placed a finger against her lips, his other hand still moving against her.

Rollie was almost exploding with worry as he searched, through one door, out another.

" Simon NO" Angie said, trying to move away.

Rollie spun, he'd heard something, from THERE. Sprinting down the hall he hoped he wasn't too late.

" No one says NO to me. I get whatever I want" Simon said angrily, grabbing Angie by the arm and pulling her back to the bed.

" I SAID NO" Angela repeated loudly, this was really getting out of hand.

Rollie heard Angie's voice and knocked on the door, trying to distract them.

" GO AWAY" Simon yelled.

Rollie knocked again, louder.

" I SAID GO AWAY" Simon shouted again, pinning Angela to the bed and pulling at the button on her clothes.

Rollie stepped back and levelled a kick at the door, right alongside the lock, ripping it from its place. Running into the room he didn't bother to stop just took a flying leap, tackling Simon to the floor. Both stood up.

Rollie was mad, really mad.

Simon looked startled, scared as well as angry.

Rollie smashed his fist into the boy's face, knocking him to the floor. " Don't ever come near her again" he said quietly, his voice as cold as ice as he stood over Simon, looking down at him, his dark eyes boring into Simon's.

Spinning around he moved to where Angela sat and hustled her out of the door, heading for the nearest stairs. Finally finding where he'd hung his greatcoat he pushed it around her, she hadn't said a word. It wasn't raining very heavily now and Rollie was thankful.

They reached his ute just before the rain hit again, once inside, Rollie turned to Angie, for the first time really looking at her. " Are you all right? He didn't hurt you did he?" he said, worry evident in his voice. Angie nodded and then shook her head, looking away from his deep brown eyed stare.

" Lets go home, right?" Rollie asked, remembering that Manny had said he probably wouldn't be able to make it back until the next day.

Rollie drove, much slower now on the slippery roads. He made his way to his small apartment, it was much closer than the loft.

Leading Angela up the stairs he opened the door, it was reasonably tidy except for a few little gadgets he'd been working on sitting on the table.

Rollie stepped in and turned the fire on. It was cold but the small space warmed up fairly quickly. Angie sat down on the couch while Rollie disappeared into the small bedroom and returned with some blankets and a pillow. Moving into the kitchen, he made two cups of hot chocolate, it helped him sleep… sort of.

" You can sleep in my room Ange, I'll take the couch" Rollie said, pointing to his room as they sat drinking.

" Rollie I just want to say…" Angie stopped, trying to decide exactly what it was she wanted to say.

" You don't have to Ange" Rollie said gently.

" It all started so nicely" Angie explained, tears forming in her blue eyes

" He was great as a dance partner, he showed me the mansion, the view from upstairs. He told me he thought I was beautiful, we kissed… and then everything went wrong"

" He was right about something " Rollie said, nodding as if seeing it for the first time " You are beautiful"

Angela looked down into her cup, not knowing if he was kidding or telling the truth. If she'd looked at him at that moment she would have known.

" You better get some sleep. If I don't return his angel to him in good condition Manny will kill me" Rollie said with a grin, then turning serious added " Have you decided if you're going to tell him what happened?" Angie shook her head, unsure of what to do.

" Your father has a temper, you know that. He loves you more than anything else, there isn't anything he wouldn't do to keep you safe, you know that. He's going to explode if he finds out what happened and I don't know what he might do" Rollie explained " Think about it. Tell me what you've decided in the morning"

" I don't think he should know. He'll do something in anger, he might get hurt or sent to jail. I won't tell him" Angie answered, turning to Rollie.

" I won't say anything either" Rollie promised.

Angie moved into Rollie's room, finding a spare t-shirt laid out on the bed for her to sleep in.

Rollie prepared himself for another night on the couch, making sure that there were plenty of blankets before turning the fire off. He was just about to climb in when he heard Angie say his name. Pausing at his door he asked " What is it?"

" Come in… please" Angie replied.

Rollie stepped in and saw that Angie was already in his long bed. Walking over he squatted down by the bedside and asked " What do you need?"

" I just want to say I appreciate everything you do for me. I know I can be a handful and that you miss out on things because of me but I want you to know that I am grateful for having you around" Angie admitted.

" Thankyou" Rollie said " I'm glad I was there, and if you ever need me I hope you won't hesitate to ask because… I like having you around, pranks and all you keep life interesting" Rollie finished with a smile.

Angie smiled as well, knowing that what he'd said was the truth and that they had formed a friendship, something both of them had had little of. Rollie leant over, Angie was already almost asleep. Kissing Angie on the forehead like Manny did every night, resting his head against hers.

" Night sweetie" Rollie echoed a variation on Manny's goodnight.

Heading for the door, Rollie heard a mumbled " Night dad" and smiled to himself, walking out and shutting the door. Climbing into the blankets on the couch he finally fell asleep, dreams of the events hounding him, saving her over and over. At the end of each though, Angie told him how much she appreciated what he did for her and it made what he missed out on seem trivial.