Night Beats: Ghost in the Vending Machine

Chapter 13: Fool Me Once

"And I think that should do it, guys." Steven, in ritualistic fashion, threw his shot list in the garbage. After six seasons, just about everyone on the crew had their end of week routine. Fynn would spend an hour reorganizing their studio, Emma would remove all traces of Jane from her face and slither back into her own skin, Julia would wish every single person in a five mile radius a good weekend, and Cass would do his end of shoot twitter tour.

It was seven o'clock by the time things were wrapped up enough to call it a day, and Cassius was busy editing some candid shots from the episode.

"Hope you got my good side." Ash plopped down on the sofa hard enough that Cassius fumbled his phone.

"How are you so indelicate?" He fished his phone out from a cushion along with an old, coffee stained script from a year ago.

"It's a gift." The pillows shifted as she leaned over to see what he was working on. "Aw, the two of you are so cute together." Ash pouted at a picture of Cassius and Derrick rehearsing their fight. "You better be careful, otherwise you're going to find yourself the victim of a whole new type of fanfic."

"I'm sure it's already out there."

"Got any of me?" Ash fiddled with a prop she'd picked up from Jordan's coffee table, a bottle opener made from a .50 caliber BMG.

"All ready for your approval." Cassius flipped right a few times until he landed on a picture of her next to Emma.

"Oy vey," she groaned at the state of her 'Jane' wig. "But I look killer in that jacket. I wonder if I can convince wardrobe to let me borrow it for tonight."

"Didn't you rip the last pair of jeans you 'borrowed' from wardrobe?"

Ash nudged him in the arm while kicking her feet up on the table. "It was work related."

"I don't think dates are work related."

Her foot bobbed in a small circle as she tried, without success, to defend her argument. "It was Halloween and I was going to a costume party as Jane. That might as well be free advertising for the show."

Cass couldn't help but remain amused, though it faded as Ash flipped to the next picture of him inspecting her corpse. She zoomed in on the image, and he could see Lilith's monitor was set to a black and white rabbit.

"Such commitment," Ash taunted.

"I hope it doesn't find its way into the next episode."

"Ah, I wouldn't worry. Em knows when a rabbit is dead."

Cassius could feel the skepticism on his brow. "Does she, though?"

"I guess you'll soon find out." Ash patted his leg before pausing as she received a text. Cassius could see her debating whether to check it, her fresh coat of lipstick the victim of her anxiety.

"Alright, seriously, what's up with you? All week, you've been acting weird—er than usual," he tacked on, hoping to break the tension that had built in her shoulders.

Ash put both feet back on the floor and leaned forward until her freshly curled brown hair fell forward enough to cover her face. She inhaled as if to speak, then stopped. "My dad's sick."

Cassius wasn't certain what he was expecting her to say, but he wasn't prepared for it to be so serious. Somehow, Jordan's living room didn't seem to be the best place for a heavy topic. "I'm sorry, Ash. Is—I mean, is he going to be okay?"

She glanced over, catching half his face in what was surely a grimace. He wasn't the most delicate of people, so conversations of this type were usually better left to a third party like Julia or even Em. "He needs surgery and chemo. The prognosis isn't terrible, but he's almost seventy, so."

He was beginning to feel like a fish someone had caught then thrown on the shoreline, floundering and confused, unable to get his lungs to work. "I'm sorry." It was all his brain could muster, and he instead rested a hand on her back. When words failed, he tended to favor physical communication. Cass' thumb traveled the seam along Ash's shoulder until he was sure it would annoy her.

"What are you going to do?"

There was a delay that went on too long, and the lights began shutting off in the studio. "I'm moving back home," she said once the lighting was dim enough to hide her expression.

"The States?"

"Yeah. Virginia."

Jordan sighed and pulled her into a hug against his side. "If there's anything you need, let me know."

"Help moving?" She smiled up at him, but there was a thin gloss over her warm brown eyes.

"If you provide the fuel."

"Beer and Chinese?"

"Throw in dumplings, and you got a deal." He tousled her hair, and they separated as footsteps could be heard rounding the set.

"You guys ready to go?" Derrick poked his head through the door, his face and hair now normal, though his tongue was still dyed black.

"Sure. You guys pick a spot?" Ash pushed off the couch, and once again, Cass' phone topped out of his hands.

"Bandit."

"Ooo, I wonder if they have any new seasonal stouts. Last year they had a gingerbread that was to die for. Coming?" Ash turned back to him, every bit of bad news hidden beneath dusky eyeshadow and loose curls.

"Yeah." He stood. Trix's quarter remained on Jordan's coffee table, and Cass wondered if it was going to be a prop or a memento.