I Just Want To Be Normal

It was Saturday night. Which meant Isabel was curled up with popcorn watching a bad Skiffy movie.

"This has to be a new record," she told the TV. "Thirty minutes in and still no sign of a plot."

The door was open.

Other then talking to Xander, Isabel's day had been fairly quiet. After closing the store and getting some dinner, she went back to her room and tried to get things organized so she could start packing. There wasn't all that much time left.

The door was open.

Isabel was used to bad dreams; nightmares really, of Antar, of Kivar and that dark room. And more recently nightmares of what had happened when she'd been taken. Sometimes she never managed to take control and just remained, trapped in Meris' mind. Other times that confrontation on the beach went much differently and ended with someone she loved dead.

But this was different. Amorphous and fleeting, Isabel couldn't make sense of it. She just knew it disturbed her enough that she wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon. Slipping carefully from the bed so she didn't disturb a sleeping Wyatt, Isabel perched on the windowsill to watch the sunrise over the island and think about the last few days.

To say the past few days had been busy was a bit of an understatement. But Isabel was glad that Max and her parents had made it for her graduation. Even if things did get a bit insane.

But her family was gone now, on their slightly longer trip home, and Isabel was taking the opportunity to sit and relax.

And wish like hell a new season of The Amazing Race was going to start anytime soon.

The door was open.

Wyatt had handwavily found Victoria at Caritas and called Isabel to tell her to meet them back at her room. After getting their daughter cleaned up and settled into the spare bed, Isabel sat down on her bed and sighed.

"This is just preview of what life is going to be like isn't it?"

The trip to England had been just what Isabel needed. It was nice to spend time with friends. There'd been ogling and sight seeing. And phone calls. One of which still made her giggle even though she probably did owe Phoebe flowers.

But it was nice to be home.

Isabel picked up her phone and left Wyatt a message. She'd missed him she realized. And not just because she'd been away, but because of the awkwardness caused by his going evil and the whole being a guy for a day thing. She wanted to get past that. To get back to the way things were supposed to be. It would be the best birthday present she could give herself Isabel realized. Which would be why she was going around her room lighting candles. A little romance couldn't hurt.

It was still dark out when Isabel woke up from a very vivid dream involving castles, dragons and, for a change of pace, the princess saving the prince. She turned to snuggle back up with Wyatt then frowned when she realized he wasn't there and was instead asleep in the other bed.

Then she remembered why he was over there.

Isabel sighed as she remembered the make-up, the tabasco soaked pancakes, and god help her, the puppy love. She only hoped there weren't many pictures.

With a grin, she climbed out of her bed, climbed into the other bed and snuggled up close to Wyatt. Within minutes she was back asleep.

Isabel had woken up hungry. Wyatt was still sleeping and she knew it wasn't nice to wake big people up on a Saturday morning, so she quietly slipped on her bunny slippers and went in search of food.

A while later she returned with a plate full of pancakes (although to be technical it was more syrup and Tabasco then pancakes) and set them on the desk. After looking at the clock, and she could tell time because she was a big girl, she decided it was time to wake up. So she poked him hard in the side. "Wyatt! Wake up! I've got breakfast."

They'd done what they'd set out to do. The angels were trapped.

Now it was just a matter of waiting.

Isabel hated waiting.

The door was closed.