"Everything will be fine," Kess pipes up softly, turning in her seat to
face everyone else, resting her side against the bar. "It'll be over
soon." That's her own sanity-retaining belief, underlaid with
determination. It better bloody well be soon. One hand curls around her
teacup, lifting it to her lips to blow on it, the better to hide behind.

"Everything /will/ be fine." Voices in chorus. "It already is fine,
actually," Kitty adds a moment later. "We know how to handle the rest.
It's just a matter of waiting till people are ready." A quick little shrug
- and then she tips her head to look at Lorne. "Why a movie?"

"Ev -- " He's not going to make it a chorus of three, and Liam cuts off,
looking wry. Picking up his tea in both hands, he wraps his fingers around
the cup. He glances at Lorne, but doesn't keep his gaze there, knowing how
the demon dislikes having everyone stare; he looks to Kitty instead.

"Yes, yes, relentless optimism. I know." Lorne smiles at the three of
them, charmed and genuinely grateful. That's so sweet. Kitty's question
earns her a lingering glance. "Well - because then, we'd have had the huge
battle scene, and everything would have been solved in a burst of special
effects. We'd all have gone home, there'd have been a little epilogue, and
right about now the music would be coming up." Lorne makes a little
'rising' gesture with both hands. "Cue credits."

Kess tilts her head as Lorne explains the movie theory, and smiles gently,
though her eyes are saddened. It's such a nice idea. "What music would you
pick for the end?" Because he seems to be the guru of that stuff and hey,
it's a more comfortable topic.

Somehow, Kitty can't do anything but grin at the image Lorne presents.
"Yeah," she admits, "but we'd also have to put up with Hollywood plots.
Are you absolutely /sure/ that's is an improvement?" Not to mention the
risk of Celine Dion, but there's no reason to be /obscene/ about it.

The subject of Hollywood is not really Liam's forte, but he's happy with
anything that helps with the unhappy look at Lorne's eyes, so lets the
conversation wash on. Sipping his tea, he shifts a hand to slide his
fingers toward the back of Kitty's; it's a small, subtle movement. Quirked
eyebrow. May I?

"Are you kidding?" Lorne says to Kitty, genuinely amused. Hollywood plots,
of the kind they're talking about, might be ridiculous and corny - but at
least they *end*, and things are usually *good* at the end. He needs to
watch The Sound Of Music again. Kess's question is more important and gets
consideration. "Knockin' On Heaven's Door, maybe, sugar?" Kidding!

Kess wrinkles her nose at that idea, snorting over the surface of her tea
lightly. "Just so long as no-one answers." More light-hearted than before;
she seems to be relaxing now. Sipping the tea helps. She gives Kitty a
sideways look. "Worth it for the happy ending, I think." Let's all go for
the happy ending, yes! And not think about the rest of... everything.

There's a faint, tentative tapping at the outer door. "Mrs. Wisdom - Miss
Kess?" So both of them have told them to use their first names - it never
seems to stick.

"I were thinkin' 'Livin' On A Prayer'," suggests Liam, dryly. His fingers
are gone from Kitty's almost immediately, just a gentle brush once
permission is given. He looks thoughtful, then returns his hand to join
the first, wrapped around his teacup. "An' -- " Speaking of knocking. The
angel starts, then shoots a look toward the door, making sure it's still
locked. "That Celliers?"

...Celliers? Lorne gives the door a long, long stare. Then he gets up, and
crosses the club, and unbolts the door, and opens it *just* far enough so
he can give Jack a narrow, scarlet stare. Hi, you scare the hell out of
me, what do you want? "Afternoon." Stare.

There's only one person that's called her that at any time lately. "I'll
go," Kess offers quickly, noting the start and the demon's stare, but as
Lorne gets up, her half-slip off the stool is halted, and she simply
watches. Without looking, she reaches behind her to put her cup down,
wary, just in case. Everyone's so tense, and it's making her feathers
itch.

And Jack literally takes a step back from that look. "Oh. I thought I saw
Mrs. Wisdom and Miss Kess there, and I'd been meaning to ask Mrs. Wisdom
about something..." He trails off, lamely. He's acquired a couple of new
scars since last he was here - one at the corner of his lip, the other on
the angle of one cheekbone, and there are fading bruises at temple and
jaw. "I'm sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt," he finishes, jerkily.

Liam's teacup is also replaced on the bar, as the angel moves away, taking
a step toward the door. Only one, because, well, this is Lorne's place,
and Lorne looks like that.

Go away. Go away and don't come near me ever again. But...this is Caritas,
and Jack isn't exactly a personification of evil, or anything. Lorne
stares for a few moments longer, then steps back, pulling the door open.
"If you even think about so much as humming I'll be very unhappy." Come
in.

Kess glances to Liam, a question lingering in her gaze, as she completes
the slip off her stool to take her feet, taking a step away from the bar
to give herself room. Just in case. Not that she believes that Jack is any
danger, and if that should put her in front of Kitty at the same time, all
to the good. The new arrival himself will get a quiet smile and nod of
recognition, should he look her way.

The Englishman's eyes narrow at that comment, but his voice is kept very
carefully mild as he replies, "I assure you, I have precisely zero
interest in baring my soul in any fashion to anyone. Let alone forcing it
on you. Evidently I was mistaken about Mrs. Wisdom. I beg your pardon.
Good day." I can find other people to act like I have the spiritual
equivalent of leprosy, thanks much. Kess and Liam each get a tight nod.

That's when the rumpled chestnut-haired figure in a man's white shirt and
overlarge black coat moves, proving herself /not/ to just be copying half
of Claire's current dress habits, but also to be Kitty. "No," she says
reasonably, "no, you weren't particularly mistaken." Her question's turned
toward Lorne. "Jack and I can take whatever it is outside?" And you can
turn up the music and drown out anything that penetrates the walls? Just
offering.

Come to think of it, Kitty's taken a page from Liam's book of fashion,
too. Though the angel currently isn't wearing his coat, black wings
exposed and folded at his back, feathers cascading to his ankles.
Hopefully the bare feet won't also start a trend. Celliers gets an amiable
nod, but whatever he was going to say is held back in deference to Kitty.

Part of being empathic is that certain things are hard to miss, and Lorne
is, just for a moment, so angry with Celliers that he can hardly speak.
Which is really saying something. Kitty speaks up, and the demon answers
shortly, "No. It's fine. I'll go." He turns on his heel and stalks towards
the bedroom. Must not be cruel. It's not Jack's fault.

Kess is looking much like Kess, just with claw-marks visible across her
armour, hidden for the most part under the ubiquitous mottled coat. The
high-running tension here makes her shift her weight from foot to foot,
wings itching to flip and rustle, but she keeps them folded tight to her
back. She, too, defers to Kitty, and watches Lorne go worriedly. Again, so
tempted to follow, but things possibly important keep her here, for now.

Cruel enough, good intentions aside. Jack doesn't permit himself any
further reaction, beyond a tightening of the lips. "You needn't," he
replies, voice clipped. "I've no desire to intrude further, and it's not
so urgent that it can't wait. Again, I beg your pardon." The demon's hit a
nerve, evidently, by the brittleness in his expression.

Kitty glances heavenward, just for a moment. Give her strength. (For that
matter, she could just as well glance Liamward, really.) But - as per
previous discussion with Lorne - there is no shouting. "C'mon, Jack," she
says gently, "out with it. Or outside with it. Your choice." A glance is
stolen after Lorne, and another one to Kess and Liam. Eep? Poor demon?
"We're all having a rough time." True, if nonspecific.

She /could/ have glanced Liamward, yes, for this particular supposed
representative of heaven looks decidedly torn for a moment, before he
takes a step to intercept Lorne, putting out a tentative hand. Glancing
between the demon and the Englishman. "The two of you," he notes, with a
friendly calm that only slightly betrays his inner edginess, "are goin' to
rip a hole in me. Might be we should just take a minute, calm down?" It's
a low card to play, where Lorne's concerned, but he'll play it if he has
to. "From what I understand that weren't either of you, what met before."

Stopped very neatly by Liam's outstretched hand, Lorne gives the little
angel a look of stunned hurt. It's one that's very quickly overridden,
emotion suppressed and shoved back, and he backs off a step or two,
leaving him more-or-less in the middle of the club. He's *afraid*. That's
all. "I apologise," he says to Jack, after a moment. "I'm really not - not
usually quite such a bad host. So to speak." It'll come back if he stays
here. He doesn't want to hear any of this. "Mr Celliers, you truly are
welcome here. Please stay."

Kess' head tilts, watching the exchanges with concern, feeling rather
useless here. There's clearly a lot going on here she knows nothing about.
She moves a few steps forward, quietly putting herself between demon and
Jack, though at an angle, leaving the line between them clear. "What is
it, Jack?" Tell us so we can take the edge off the atmosphere, please, and
at least know what we're all so nervous about.

A little of that tautness leaves the blonde man's stance, though he flicks
a wary look at Lorne. "And I as well, sir. I'll confess to not being quite
myself, of late." Which is an epic understatement, by the look of things.
HE glances quickly between the winged ones and Kitty, stepping in enough
to finally shut the door entirely. "Well, firstly - is it truly all over?"
The question's only barely not desperate.

"... /everyone/ is asking that." There's something almost like laughter in
Kitty's tone; she's grinning faintly even as her shoulders slump under the
coat. "About the Tower? You'd know better than we would. About the rest of
it? Should be. Whatever that was, when it gave in, that should've ended
it." That's as in 'and probably did,' not as in 'and now the monster
creeps out from off-camera and devours you, ahahahaha.' Her tone makes it
clear of that. "I'm definitely starting to see the attraction of ending
credits, though."

Liam looks equally hurt, for a moment, though for different reasons. A
reflection. Need. Pulling. Jack, at least, seems somewhat mollified --
though there's always the /wanting/ he can sense from the Englishman,
things he can't provide, or help, or fix. The angel drops his hand, not
about to prevent the demon from leaving if Lorne truly wants to, and he
sighs slightly, rubbing at the back of his neck. He does look a bit wry at
Kitty's response.

Standing a little apart, hands curled into loose fists, Lorne fixes his
gaze on a nearby tabletop. The sweep of the polished, varnished woodgrain
- he concentrates on that, following the line of it with his eyes. It's
the closest to meditation he can get without music playing, but the
purpose isn't to open his mind so much as to close it. He's silent.

Again with that question. Kess looks down at her toes, sighing softly as
her weight shifts. Kitty's quip about the credits does make the corners of
her lips quirk up, but a glance between Lorne and Liam soon wipes that
away. "Aren't you supposed to go there?" she asks Jack, returning her gaze
to him. He's supposed to be the one with the knowledge!

Celliers is mollified, though that ever-present pulling need hasn't
abated; to the empaths, it's currently overlaid by a corrosive sense of
shame. "Yes," he answers, quietly. "That isn't gone, though I'd hoped it
would be dealt with. It is still a separate issue, it seems. But I am glad
you think so. Really, I knew little and understood less, so I've no
reliance on my judgements, there."

"Well," Kitty comments, "the only thing I've got to offer is the general
feeling that after the last couple of weeks, what's /left/ of this is
going to be comparatively easy and straightforward. So." Hands shoved in
the pockets of Pete's coat, she offers an expression equal parts rueful
and amused.

"There's nothin' left of dark angels," offers Liam, with a reasonable
amount of assurance. Pulling. Both of them, crawling under his skin. Kess'
concern a minor echo. Kitty gets a grateful look just for being calm, just
for being amused. He shifts to reach a tentative hand for Lorne's forearm.

You're the one who made me stay, and I can't do this stupid woodgrain
thing, I never damn well could even when I was little. Lorne is
frustrated, and frightened, and he turns his head to look down at Liam,
more miserable than angry. "I should go," he tells the angel, as quietly
as he can. "I'm doing neither of us any good."

Hope sparks at Kitty's words, along with a grim thought that it had
/better/ be easier; Kess doesn't think she can deal with anything more
difficult than facing those angels. But she'll go regardless, to see it
done. Her smile seeks to make itself known, especially at the hope sparked
by Liam's assurance, even if he /did/ say that they might come back. Let's
not think about that. She moves out of the tableau then, to collect her
tea again, sipping at it thoughtfully. "Be soon, we think," she offers to
Jack, having nothing better to say. All over soon.

"No, I'll go," Jack offers, hastily. There's none of the earlier offence,
though, only nervousness and contrition. "But yes, soon," he agrees with
Kess. He doesn't look terribly convinced by Kitty's assurance - with what
he knows of the Tower, he's afraid it'll only be worse from here. "Thank
you for your time."

Oh, but it's easier by far if you've got an idea of what you're doing,
isn't it? "I ought to, too," Kitty admits. "Pete's going to be really edgy
about my being out for a while. If I can do anything for any of you, just
call, okay? You've all got my number, or should have."

Liam is done saying things. He doesn't protest to Lorne, or Jack -- he
steps back from the demon, moving his hand away, and brushes his fingers
through his hair. To get his bangs out of his eyes for the next five
seconds. Then, he'll speak, but it's to Kitty. "Pete's not the only one
gettin' edgy, lass. You be careful."

Likewise done saying things, miserable and scared and convinced he's
messed up in some way he doesn't even understand, Lorne sits down heavily
at the closest table and stares at his own hands. "Everyone be careful.
Just because it's over, doesn't mean it's finished. Aftershocks."

That'll be her cue. Kess hastily finishes off the rest of her tea and puts
her cup down, prelude to stepping over to Lorne's side. Fingers twitch,
but don't quite touch his sleeve. "Be all right," she murmurs with a
quiet, sad smile. "I'll come by and see you soon, okay?" Worried about
him. But she has obligations, so with a transference of smile and glance
to Liam, she's heading to Kitty's side. "I'll see you home." By the quick,
quiet roads, reducing possible Pete-complaints. Jack gets a glance too,
not forgotten. "I'd offer you a ride, but my arms won't reach."

Jack blinks blankly at Kess, before understanding dawns. "Oh. No. I'll be
fine, thank you." Lorne gets a grim nod, in return. "That's precisely what
I fear," he notes, voice low. "And thank you for letting me in." Since you
see far more than I wish you would.

Aftershocks. What a lovely way of putting it - and from someone who /does/
see. Kitty's expression stays level nonetheless, even as she nods.
"Careful, yeah. But you can only be /so/ careful before you start losing
the point, right?" And Liam gets a wink with that, thank you. Added, "Take
care of each other," before she reaches to take Kess's hand.

There's something vaguely wistful infiltrating the way Liam looks at
Kitty. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm /sorry/. But he doesn't say it
this time, only smiles amiably, then glances at Celliers. "You let me know
if there's anythin' I can help with, will you?" Doesn't make a move toward
the demon. He seems to be screwing that up today.

"You're welcome," Lorne says to Celliers, and he means it, even going so
far as to lift his gaze. "Caritas is a sanctuary." Though a pretty damn
poor one, it seems. He nods to Kess, to Kitty, and then glances at Liam.
Almost hopeful. I'm sorry?

Kess takes Kitty's hand and starts towards the door, free hand pulling her
coat closed and fastening a button to hold it there. "You have my number
if you ever change your mind," she tells Jack, trying to inject a bit of
lightness into this parting. "Airtaxi, or for anything else." Wings unfurl
from her back with neat little flips, shaking the feathers into order, as
she moves to stand behind Kitty once they're outside. Lorne and Liam get a
last, hopeful look over her shoulder. Be better, you two.

Celliers gives Kess a wistful look. So terribly tempting, that offer.
"Thank you," he returns, a bit more cheerfully, before turning to follow
the pair out the door. Before shutting it behind him, he wishes to those
two remaining, "Have a good evening."

Kitty nods back to Lorne, then to Liam (it's okay, it's okay, you're
/allowed/ to be right now and then, aren't you?), and gives a brief smile
to to the pair of them before she and Kess are out the door. Wings. Wings
are, in and of themselves, cool.