Summary: Everyone has demons. Some are a little more scary than others.

Night of the Demons
By TJ

Van was whistling as he pulled up outside the Candy Store. He was in a great mood. He saw Deaq's car already parked out front and slid in beside it. This, he could feel, was going to be a great day.

"Hey," Van called out as he sauntered inside. He saw Billie and Deaq bent over her desk working on something and headed over to join them. Billie had told them only yesterday that she had a new case for them and he was anxious to see what it was.

"'Bout time you got here," Deaq said, his grin taking the sting out of his words.

"Yeah, yeah," Van replied. "So sue me for sleeping in for a change."

"If you two are finished," Billie said, bringing their attention back to the matter at hand. "I've got a new case for you."

"Oh yeah? Let's hear it," Van said.

"I trust you've both heard about the rash of disappearances in the warehouse district lately," Billie said. "Well, we've been called in to investigate."

"Um, excuse me but isn't that a bit out of our area of expertise?" Van asked, wondering why they were being called in on a rash of missing persons cases.

"Do you have a problem with the assignment?" Billie asked coldly. She and Deaq were both looking at him funny and Van frowned.

"You're the boss," he replied, confused.

"Good," Billie shot back. "Now I want you two to head down there and look around. Try to get a feel for the place. Most of the disappearances happened at night so I want you two ready to stake the place out this evening."

Van was getting a bad feeling about this but he didn't say anything. He could see that Billie was still unhappy with him for his earlier comment so he held his tongue until he and Deaq were alone in his car. "What the hell's going on?" he asked as he drove toward downtown.

"What's the matter with you, Van?" Deaq asked. "You sound like you don't want to help out."

"Help out?" Van asked. "Help out how? This isn't our game. We're just going to end up getting in the way. I don't know why Billie even agreed to this."

"The mayor called and asked for us personally," Deaq said. "Damn, baby, I thought you'd be proud of the recognition."

"Proud? Deaq, the last thing two undercover cops need is recognition," Van said. "And did you just call me baby?"

"I know, I know. Not at work," Deaq smiled and slid a little closer to his partner. "But it's just us in the car."

"Um, Deaq... what are you doing?" Van squeaked as a hand ghosted over his thigh.

"Just letting you know I missed you, baby," Deaq said. "I hate taking separate cars to work."

"We always take separate cars to work." Van was confused. He didn't know what had gotten into Deaq. The man was acting like they were lovers or something and it was weirding him out.

"Are you feeling all right?" Deaq asked, concern coloring his voice. "I knew that sushi was a bad idea last night."

"I feel fine," Van said. "I feel great. I mean really great."

"Okay, baby," Deaq replied. "Just tell me if you start feeling sick again."

"All right, what is up with calling me baby?" Van snapped. If it wasn't for the sincere look on Deaq's face, Van would have thought his partner was playing him. He'd been so damn careful not to let his feelings show. It wasn't easy but as far as he knew Deaq didn't know anything about how Van really felt for him. Van planned to keep it that way.

"You're really starting to freak me out here," Deaq said. "I always call you baby. At least I do when we're alone. You never seemed to mind it before."

"Deaq, you have never called me baby. Trust me, man, I would have remembered if you did."

Deaq started to say something then stopped. He sagged back against the seat, defeat written all over his face. It was long, tense moments later before he spoke. "If you're trying to dump me just say so," he said quietly. "I told you when we started this I wouldn't make a scene if you wanted out."

Van's grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white. He jerked the car into the first parking lot he could find and shut off the engine. His breath was coming in short, jerky gasps as he tried to take in what Deaq was telling him.

"Are we lovers?" Van asked outright. He caught Deaq's flinch out of the corner of his eye and felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach.

"Yeah," Deaq replied. "At least we were this morning. I don't know what the hell we are now. Van... what's going on?"

"I don't know," Van said, forcing himself to take several deep breaths. "I don't know what's going on. All I know is I woke up this morning feeling great. I come in to work to find that we've been assigned a case that has nothing to do with us and that my ever so straight partner is also my lover. Maybe you should tell me what's going on."

"Are you saying you don't remember last night?" Deaq demanded. "Or how about this morning? You don't remember me sucking you off this morning then leaving you to catch a few extra z's?"

"No," Van said. He forced himself to release the steering wheel and turn toward his partner. Deaq was hurting. Van could see it in the man's eyes. He longed to reach out and touch him but he wasn't sure if he should or not. This whole thing was crazy. Deaq was straight. They weren't lovers. Yet here Deaq sat telling him that they were and looking very upset that Van couldn't seem to remember any of it.

"I'll walk back."

The door was open and Deaq was getting out before Van even registered the words. Reaching out, he grabbed his partner's arm and jerked him back against the seat.

"Don't you fucking dare," Van growled. "No, I don't remember this morning. Or last night. At least I don't remember them the way you do. But let me tell you something. I sure as hell wish I did."

"Van..."

"I don't remember being your lover, Deaq, but I wish I did. Hell, I'd give just about anything to remember it."

"So you're not just doing this because you want to break it off?" Deaq asked, something like relief edging into his voice. "You really don't remember?"

"No, babe," Van smiled. "I just don't remember."

"Maybe we should get you to a hospital or something," Deaq suggested. "We've been lovers for over a month now and you say you can't remember any of it. I don't like this."

"Neither do I, but I don't think a hospital's going to do any good. Besides, if we go to a hospital then Billie will find out. I know this is California, but they still don't take too well to gays on the force. And they'd never let us stay partners."

"I'd like to see 'em try to separate us," Deaq growled.

"Come on, let's go check this warehouse place out for Billie," Van said. "We can worry about figuring this out when we're off the clock."

************************

They scoured the warehouse, committing the layout to memory. If they ended up stumbling around the place in the dark, they needed to know what they might run into. Van still didn't like the whole idea of them messing around in this but there was nothing he could do. Billie called the shots, and if she wanted them to do this then they would.

What bothered Van the most was that Deaq didn't seem to have a problem with it. He acted like it was nothing out of the ordinary for them to be crawling through an abandoned building looking for signs of what might have gone on here. From the way the dust was disturbed it was clear that Forensics had already been and gone.

"Hey, Deaq, do me a favor tonight," Van said as they climbed back into the car.

"Name it," Deaq said. He had been incredibly laid-back with everything, deferring to Van on where and what to search in the building. Van was starting to wonder where the damn pod was.

"Wear your vest tonight," he said. Something wasn't right. It wasn't just the fact that he had no memory of a month-long love affair with his partner. It was just… everything. None of it added up and it was making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

"Sure thing, man," Deaq replied.

"Deaq, I'm not crazy," Van said, glancing out of the corner of his eye at his partner.

"Nobody said you were," Deaq came back. Van started to argue and Deaq cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Things are really screwed up right now. I don't know why you can't remember the hottest sex I've ever had in my life, but we *will* figure it out. I'm not going to lose you, Van. I love you too damn much to let that happen."

************************

They were staked out across the street from the warehouse watching it through binoculars. Van had made sure that Deaq wore his vest. Billie had looked at them funny when he'd handed it to his partner but she hadn't said anything. Van had been glad for that. He wasn't sure what he would have told her. The truth was certainly out of the question.

At least the warehouse seemed to be a bust. They hadn't seen any activity all night and it was getting close to two a.m. Van knew he shouldn't be glad for the wasted effort but he was. He still had a bad feeling about all this and he wanted Deaq out of the line of fire.

They'd just finished calling in their latest update when movement caught their attention. "It's just a dog or a cat or something," Van said as they watched the small shape enter the building. He knew that wasn't true even as he said it. The outline had been all wrong for a dog or cat. The thing, whatever it was, had been up on two legs. But what the hell walked on two legs and only stood a foot high?

A few short minutes later a scream rent the air. Van and Deaq were out of the car and running for the building without a second thought. Another scream cut through the air as they burst through the warehouse doors.

What they saw stopped them dead in their tracks. There, bound to the cold concrete floor, was a young woman. Dancing around her naked body were a dozen creatures straight out of a Friday night fright show.

They were small, only about a foot or so tall. They walked on two short, stubby legs. Their skin was a deep blue color. Their large, bulbous heads held glowing red eyes, and rows of razor sharp teeth. In their pudgy hands they clutched what looked to be sharpened spears.

"What the fuck?" Deaq said, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. They looked like small blue demons and they were all staring at the two interlopers.

"Please... help me..." the girl on the floor cried out weakly as she struggled in her bonds. Blood ran from the numerous cuts already marring her flesh.

"Get the fuck away from her," Deaq shouted, raising his gun.

Almost as a single unit the demons grinned. Before they could even blink the things turned and lunged at the helpless woman. Screams and blood filled the air as they tore into their victim. Deaq opened fire, trying to get the things off the girl, but the bullets simply passed right through them. Only when his gun was empty did the demons pull back from their feast.

What remained of the woman was nothing more than a hollowed out shell. Her blood covered the things, giving them a purple tint and making their red eyes stand out even more. Deaq took a step back, bile rising in his throat at the carnage they had wrought. Suddenly, a strong hand clamped on to his arm and began pulling him back toward the door.

"We have got to get out of here," Van hissed, dragging Deaq along behind him. He hated leaving the woman behind as much as Deaq did but there was nothing they could do for her now.

The contact with Van seemed to break Deaq out of his momentary paralysis. Holding on to his partner's arm, he ran for the door. He could hear the things coming after them, their clawed feet skittering along the concrete floor. They reached the entrance and Deaq holstered his gun to help Van pull the heavy door open. The door, however, had other ideas.

"Damn it!" Van swore as they tried to force the door open. He could hear the creatures getting closer by the second. Grabbing Deaq, he ran for the stairs at the far side of the room. If they could make it up to the control room they might be able to barricade themselves inside till morning. Van had a feeling if they could just make it to daybreak they might have a chance.

They made it up the stairs and into the room, slamming the metal door shut behind them. They heard the things slam into the door a moment later, letting them know how close they had come to being overrun. Both men panted as they leaned against the door, adding their weight to the hard steel as if it might somehow help to keep them safe for a little while longer.

"What the fuck were those things?" Deaq gasped, shuddering at the memory of what they had done to their latest victim.

"I don't know," Van said, shaking his head. "But whatever they are, they want us dead and bullets don't seem to affect them."

"Any ideas how we get out of this place?" Deaq asked.

"I think if we can just hang on until morning they'll be gone," Van said.

"How do you know that?"

"I don't. I'm just hoping," Van replied. "Come on, let's see what we've got to work with just in case they find a way to get through that door." They looked around the small room noting the lack of anything useful. The only thing that could vaguely be considered a weapon was the chemical fire extinguisher bolted to the wall.

"It probably won't hurt 'em but we may be able to blind them with it or something," Deaq said as he handed it to Van.

************************

Van glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. It was a little past four in the morning. They still had over two hours to go before sunrise. The door seemed to be holding so they weren't really worried about the creatures getting inside. What worried them the most right now was Billie. They were over two hours late checking in. Knowing their boss, she was on her way there right now.

They had spent the last two hours talking. Deaq had filled him in on everything he couldn't seem to remember. He'd described in painstaking detail their first time together, relating how scared both of them had been. Van believed him. It was exactly the way he'd imagined a first time between them would be. He felt cheated that the memory of it had been stolen from him somehow.

They'd progressed from words to gentle, hesitant kisses. He knew Deaq was being careful with him, trying not to spook him. His partner shouldn't have worried. This was everything Van had ever wanted and yet so much more.

The sound of metal scraping against concrete brought them both to their feet. It was the warehouse door being opened. The creatures hadn't needed the door to get in. That left only one possibility... Billie.

"Damn," Deaq swore. "What do you we do now? We can't just let her walk in there. They'll tear her to pieces."

"I know," Van said. "That's why we've got a plan."

"We do?"

"We do," Van grinned. "You are going to throw open the door. Be careful to stay behind it. I'm gonna make a run for it down the stairs with Mr. Fire Extinguisher here. Hopefully I'll be able to blind the little fuckers enough so Billie can get out."

"Not only no, but *hell* no," Deaq told him. "You ain't running down there into the middle of those things with nothing but a fire extinguisher you don't even know works. That's suicide."

"Look, Deaq, Billie's down there," Van huffed. "If we don't do something she's gonna die."

"Then I'll do it," Deaq said, holding his hand out for the fire extinguisher.

"No way," Van shook his head. "I don't want you out there. Please, Deaq. For once, just trust me."

Something in Van's eyes told Deaq to trust him. Hating it, but knowing they were out of time, he nodded his agreement. "Don't you go dying on me, baby," Deaq whispered as he grabbed the doorknob. On three, he jerked the door open so Van could run out then slammed it shut again. Once it was closed, he sagged against it and prayed he hadn't just let Van run to his death.

Van practically catapulted through the door and down the stairs. He stopped when he saw Billie standing in the middle of the room, her gun drawn. The creatures were nowhere to be seen.

"What's going on?" she asked, glancing at the mutilated body a few feet away.