Black as Night (Sirius Black)

Sweet Child O' Mine

They had been working with the "success" rune on Colleen's current candle, as Colleen was growing tired of her work on the Lawson case and was hoping for a quick and successful resolution. To be honest, she was tired of work in general. Something had awakened inside of her with her practice, and she felt connected to something so much bigger than the daily drudgery of work and housework. She filled every second of her free time, when Ben was asleep or playing, with the magical books Rhiannon would smuggle away from Hogwarts. Although as a Muggle she couldn't hope to achieve much of what she read about, she still craved the knowledge, the understanding, and the connection to Sirius's world. The study of magic ignited her passion for him, and she loved him now more than she ever thought possible. And everything at work now felt like a gigantic annoyance — including the current ringing of her desk phone.

"Hi there, Paula," Colleen sighed. "Yes, it will be another late night. Thank you for making sure Ben has dinner. I should be there by eight. Thank you again."

It was a late night not with Gordon Lawson, but busy typing copious amounts of notes from his sessions with Alan Sinclair yesterday. Normally that was Monica's job, but Monica happened to be with Gordon himself on the beaches of Tenerife for the Carnaval de Santa Cruz. The man's playboy behavior was a bit vexing when Colleen was spending hours upon hours trying to defend his reputation and put a positive spin on his often questionable life decisions. The firm had supposedly brought in a temp that had trained with Monica yesterday to take over her duties, but he was nowhere to be found this evening, leaving Colleen stuck with the task.

She treated herself to some pad Thai delivered to the office to enjoy as she worked. Everyone else had long since gone home, and the large expanse of cubicles was silent except for the humming of hibernating computers. She'd finally gotten to the point of seeing light at the end of the tunnel when she heard a tap on the glass of the front entry doors. Colleen's stomach jumped a bit. No one should be here at this hour. She considered calling Security, but whoever it was wouldn't have made it this far without the guard giving them clearance anyway.

"Gordon?" Colleen asked with surprise. She opened the door and could smell liquor on him immediately. His gait was awkward and he steadied himself on her shoulder.

"Colleen Gilmore," he rasped with a grin. "Just the sight my eyes were longing to see."

"It's— it's Colleen Black," she stammered, trying to step away. But Gordon locked an arm around her waist. She nearly wretched at the unmistakable smell of vodka assaulting her senses on a hot breath.

"Why aren't you in Tenerife?" she continued, still struggling. She managed to wriggle free and put a desk between them, but he leaned over it with an almost hysterical laugh. It was unnerving to hear him this way; he was normally so polished and elegant.

"Hmm?" he asked with a wrinkled nose. "Oh yeah. Kinda boring. I'd much rather be here with you."

Colleen knew she should tell him to leave, or better yet, somehow get hold of a guard to do so. But her heart always seemed to get the better of her. She couldn't stand to see him fall off the wagon like this and not offer to help.

"Gordon," she began gently. "What made you decide to drink tonight? Can I help you find a meeting?"

Gordon raised his dark blue eyes to her, seeming confused. "What's that, hun? Oh yeah. I wasn't supposed to drink, was I? Forgot about that part."

"Huh? Gordon, you're not making sense. Is there someone I could call to help get you to a meeting, or at least get you home? You shouldn't be here this late at night."

"Darling, we're always here this late at night," he slurred in response, sliding his hand up her arm. "Usually in the presence of those dunderhead attorneys of yours though. Let's enjoy having the place to ourselves."