fandom_clinic | FTEC - Saturday Evening Shift [2/10]

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FTEC - Saturday Evening Shift [2/10]

Wilson and Aziraphale were debating the finer points of smoked salmon vs gravlax as they made their way down to the clinic for the evening.

The satchel hooked over Wilson's shoulder carried both his own tests and Aziraphale, each professor needing to finish up their grading and set up their plans for next week. Once in the clinic, Phale took the satchel and set about unloading it while Wilson checked in with the nurse on duty.

After that, coffee was made and man and angel settled down to quietly work and enjoy each other's company.

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...

After a great deal of internal debate, Lana finally made her way to the clinic on Saturday night, knowing that she'd find at least Wilson, and probably Mr. Phale, there.

She came in quietly and managed a faint smile when she saw them there. "Hi," she said, hesitating for a moment, then deciding to jump right in. "I... I'm worried about Phoebe and I didn't know who else to turn to."

Wilson looked up from where he was nibbling on a salad that Phale had brought in for dinner and he frowned worriedly, both at Lana's apperance -which they would be discussing later!- and her words.

"What's wrong, Lana?" He asked in a gentle tone, setting the salad aside and waving her towards a chair.

"Phoebe came to see me yesterday and I think she could be in a lot of trouble - in a lot of danger," Lana said nervously.

Exchanging a quick glance with Aziraphale, Wilson leaned forward.

"Tell me, Lana." He said in an intense manner but careful not to pressure her too badly.

"She's in the Underworld with Bel - who is also somehow the Source of all Evil," Lana said, twisting at her hands. "And Piper tried to kill her because she thinks she's evil, but she's not which is going to get her hurt down there and I don't know what to do to help her."

"Bloody hell," hissed the angel, getting up from his chair and pacing across the room. He should have known that when it became clear the demon had been using Bel to carry out its activities, that it would go after Phoebe. And he felt that he should have known something was wrong.

"Oh boy." Wilson said softly, rubbing his hand over his face. He looked over at the agitated angel and then turned his attention back to Lana.

"Piper believes her sister has turned evil?"

Lana nodded. "Piper says that Phoebe's already evil because of, well... she can throw flames and orb like Bel, except with fire. And..." Lana swallowed hard. "Because she's now the Queen of the Underworld. But she's not evil, Dr. Wilson. I'd stake my life on it."

"A person can't simply turn evil," Aziraphale muttered in agreement. "Evil is in your actions, not...not because something's happened to you. She isn't evil, and neither is Belthazor."

He came back to stand near the desk. "We have to do something, James."

Wilson nodded pensively.

"She might be putting up a front, the way Bel tried to do after his father found him." He said, looking over at the angel and then back to Lana.

"But she's down in the Underworld with Be...with the Source?" He asked to confirm before looking at Aziraphale a little helplessly. "You can't go down there, love."

"She said she can protect innocents and try to keep the Source from doing anything too bad if she's down there." Lana bit her lip. "But if they find out what she's doing..." She shook her head.

"I tried to go back with her, but she wouldn't let me. And I was too far away to grab hold before she disappeared."

Aziraphale nodded grimly, dropping a hand to rest on Wilson's shoulder. He couldn't go to the Underworld himself, not without some powerful assistance. And he wasn't ready to involve that sort of assistance in this. Not yet, anyway.

"It was good that you didn't, Lana," he said, dropping a hand to rest on Wilson's shoulder. "You'd have been in terrible danger, down there on your own. It's more help to Phoebe and Belthazor that you're here to tell us what happened. But there must be something we can, James. Some way we help."

If there was...at the moment, Wilson couldn't see it and he hated being unable to find a cure to the ailment.

"Aziraphale's right." He said softly, focusing on what he could do something about at the moment. "If Phoebe is trapped and trying to remain low key, you could have been a danger to her down there as she would have wanted to protect you."

He reached out and squeezed Lana's hand.

"We'll figure something out, Lana. We won't leave either of them alone to fight this, all right?"

"I didn't know where else to go," Lana whispered. "Normally I'd call Piper, but if Piper thinks she's evil..." She shook her head again. "I couldn't call her."

"I'm glad that you feel comfortable coming to us, my dear," Aziraphale replied, his expression softening a little as he tried to reassure Lana. "As James says, we'll figure something out."

He wasn't sure yet what, but they weren't about to abandon their friends.

"It's all right, Lana." Wilson soothed. "You can call either of us if something else happens, all right? Anything at all. I promise, we won't jump to conclusions. We only want to help Phoebe and Bel himself. Okay?"

"Okay," Lana said, swallowing hard, but managing to hold back any tears. "Okay. I should probably get back to Jim anyway. He's still pretty sick."

Wilson gave Lana a gentle little smile.

"Lots of fluids and rest." He advised softly for Jim and gave her hand another squeeze.

"We're only a phone call away."

Once again nodding his agreement, Aziraphale smiled gently at Lana. "And the door is always open to you as well. Rest a bit yourself, and remember that you aren't alone in trying to help, that there are a lot of us who love Phoebe and Belthazor, and who are ready to help them."

Lana nodded. "Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much. I'll call if I hear anything else." She managed a smile for both of them then headed back out into the night.

...

Considering that gravlax did tend to be something of an acquired taste, the debate was probably never going to be resolved, but then that wasn't really the point of having it anyway. The pair enjoyed simply discussing things, especially topics where their opinions differed. Aziraphale felt that he learned a great deal from those discussions, and enjoyed the intellectual jousting.

Settling into his usual chair, he accepted the papers Wilson handed him from the satchel and set about working on his class for the upcoming week.

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FTEC - Saturday Evening Shift [2/10]

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