1.12 Pretty Piece of Flesh

Raveena [re: Strella]: "That girl's so full of crap her eyes are brown."

Chase gets out of the hospital the night before she's supposed to. As she walks through the hospital, Strella runs up to her and greets her with an eager embrace. Strella complains about sorority sycophants (most of her pledge class has adopted her hair color) and then sends a hospital orderly for coffee for the two of them.

Much to Chase's chagrin, Strella doesn't leave. Strella talks about seeing Kevin at his place a few days earlier to tell him off, and mentions that Geoff's all mopey and has hung out in her room all week. Chase didn't know that, as he's only showed up when she's asleep.

Strella also mentions that Kevin's been mad at Geoff for a year, possibly due to pointing out one of Kevin's mistakes in public, causing Kevin to almost be kicked out of college. Strella tries to get more Geoff info out of Chase, but is unsuccessful, and then offers to drive her home while they figure out who their new friends are going to be since the old ones got staked.

[Extended dance cut. Director nearly snarfed beer at the cast's commentary over dreaming and couldn't continue.]

A knock on Geoff's door. It's Chase. Well, not really. It's a nice dream with kissing, which ends just before it gets really good as there's a real knock on the door.

Geoff, in his groggy state, almost invites them in without answering the door, then stops himself and hops up to answer. Good thing, too, as it's Kevin.

"Aren't you going to invite me in, maybe for a drink?"

"Kevin. One of us is known for being an idiot. It isn't me. But I was in the middle of a phone call. If you'll excuse me." Geoff heads over to the phone, turns his back to Kevin, and dials.

Kevin grins. "I suppose you want to hear about what happened the other night."

Geoff mutters into the phone, telling Raveena that Kevin has made an appearance. Raveena announces that she'll be right over, and Geoff hangs up. Geoff turns to Kevin. "Yeah, why don't you tell me about it. It'll make it so much nicer to stake your ass later."

Kevin grins wider. "I'm a little harder to kill than the morons I've sent your way. I think it's telling that she kept coming to me after all the times I tried to kill you. Shows dedication on her part."

Geoff turns his back on Kevin and heads to the pantry. Grabs chips. Starts casually eating them a few feet from the door. Kevin glares and leans on the invisible barrier blocking his entry. "You know, you can act as calm as you want, but I know what she feels like. I know what it's like to sink into her and really taste her."

Geoff's smile gets forced as Kevin continues. "I know what it's like to have her asking for more, saying my name over and over again..." Geoff shakes the potato chip bag a little bit and tries to laugh. "What moron wanted you around for eternity?"

Kevin smiles. "And last week, when she came home and found me there, I could smell her fear. It was delicious. And so much more fear when we threw her down on the couch. Pushed her back into the cushions while she yelled to be released."

Geoff is up wandering the room now. Ruffling through magazines, fidgeting with pillows.

Kevin smiles wider. "Love the smell of anger, too. Almost as nice as fear. Don't you just want to come out and stake me? I'm right here. All it takes is a little reach." Geoff glares at him. "No? Chicken. Anyway. Where was I? Oh, yes, Chase was screaming. And the boys were holding her down, and," he slows down "I was on top of her. She smells so good, you know? I'm sure you do. Like the woods before a rain. I can't wait to smell that again. Bury my face into that sweet soft skin. Bury my fangs into her and feel her writhing beneath me."

Geoff leaves the room and walks back in. Pacing. He's got a stake.

"What are you waiting for? I'm asking you to come kill me." Kevin pauses and listens to something behind him. "Damn. You called that bitch with a stake, didn't you. Always getting saved by a woman. What a brave little boy you are. But I'll be back. Maybe I'll bring Chase with me next time." And Kevin shoots down the hall out of sight.

Geoff flings the stake into a chair and falls down onto the couch.

Deaver: "I've got a degree in physics, and I'm burning goo."

Raveena arrives, Geoff is pissed, Kevin is gone, and Raveena leaves. As she's heading out, she passes the dumpster and notices a foot. The foot is attached to a body. The body has a stomach that appears to have been blasted away from the inside. Blood mingles with a thick green goo.

Several feet away a foot-long green catepillar-like creature slowly crawls away, oozing brown goo behind it. Raveena vomits, disgusted at the sight (Ginger nearly vomits as well, as we've just eaten. Sorry 'bout that). She swings a nail on a stick at it, and it leaks a brown liquid as it moves away from her even faster. She finds a pole and skewers it into the ground, splashing a lot of the brown blood, including on Raveena. The green thing wriggles a bit and dies.

She calls Deaver, and he agrees to come out and look at it with a shovel and a wheelbarrow. Deaver picks up a wheelbarrow, and ties it to his roof to go look at it. She's called Geoff out by the time he arrives. Geoff is amused at their squeamishness to the smell as he analyzes and discovers that in addition to the flesh and blood of the goo-thing, there's other colors of goo on the dead body.

He collects several samples of goo, and Raveena agrees to meet him after his class the next morning for the results. They put the thing in the wheelbarrow on top of the car, take it to a field outside the city, and burn it (along with Raveena's slimed pants).

A coffee-chugging Geoff finishes lecturing with a tired smile, and reminds the students of his 100 person freshman chem class that he has office hours at 3:00. Strella stays behind. Nikki, seeing this from across the room, stays behind to interfere if necessary.

Strella approaches Geoff as he cleans up and flirtatiously asks questions. Geoff, after a short attempt at politely getting away, tells her that she's his student and 18, and she needs to quit doing this. Strella leans in and assures him that her daddy wouldn't fire him.

Geoff laughs. "And your dad's president of the college; yes, I almost forgot. No. We are never going to happen. Not now, not after class is over. Go find some frat boy to hang on. I'm not interested."

Strella icily tells him that that's all he had to say and stalks off. Raveena makes her way from the back of the class. She heard it. She and Nikki exchange nervous glances and then head for Geoff. Geoff tells them that one of the goos appears to be amniotic fluid, so what they probably saw was the result of a Alien-inspired birth.

So the big question is... where is Momma?

The three of them get outside. Deaver and Ethan are heading down the hall discussing physics. Ethan hopes Raveena is feeling better, then asks her out to a play tonight to make up for his late showing last weekend. Raveena stutters for a minute, so Geoff answers for her, "She'd love to. When are you picking her up?"

Raveena looks daggers at him, but Geoff just grins. Raveena agrees, and they set a time. Ethan thanks Geoff and tells Raveena he'll see her later. Geoff exits quickly before Raveena hits him (that could hurt). Nikki and Deaver convince Raveena that they can take care of researching the demon tonight so she should just have fun, and Nikki calls Chase to plan a pre-date dressing party.

A girl in a Kappa T-shirt approaches the Scoobies, and introduces herself nervously as Jacquelyn, saying she needs to talk to Raveena. She has two missing friends (in the pledge class with her), but she doesn't want to go to the police after only a few days. She last saw the girls at the house, and has a sorority notebook with their pictures. Neither of them was the not-so-happy mother of the goo. Raveena promises to keep her eyes open, and to come by to look at their rooms.

Raveena: "I kill things - I don't find them!"

2PM at the Sorority House: Everyone but the deeply-sleeping Geoff gathers, surprising Jacquelyn with their number. They walk into the all-pink house to Alicia's room, and Gabe greets everyone by name, surprising and distressing most of them. She says they all stayed pretty much in the house, occasionally heading to the Lone Star or a frat party. The last time she saw them was one morning, not at a party.

Deaver takes their class schedules to check their attendance. The missing girls were interested in one guy in the Delts and another in Sigma Chi. Nothing leaps out at them as out of place - even her textbooks and her purse are in the room.

They tromp down to Ryan's room. Looking for Ryan's diary, Jacquelyn notices that Ryan's lucky necklace is gone. She pulls out three decorated tomes, but the diary is gone. Jacquelyn mentions they'd been hanging out with Strella, eliciting a common "Oooohhhh!" from the Scoobies.

As if on cue, Strella pokes her head in. They ask Strella uncomfortable questions about used-to-be-people, and she suggests they take that conversation elsewhere. They follow Strella to the pool, where she invites them to third-degree her. She saw the missing girls the same morning Jacquelyn did. Raveena reacts to Strella as maturely as always. Strella mentions that Ryan was excited about meeting a bunch of new guys, and agrees to let them know if she sees Alicia or Ryan, although she thinks they're not really missing.

After Strella leaves, Nikki says that she got a weird vibe off of Strella, like there was something not right about her. Well, more not right than normal. Then Raveena sees the girl who told her to go to the meeting at the quad, and approaches her with her usual screaming subtlety, grabbing her arm.

Raveena to girl - "I just want you to know that I think you suck."

The girl tries to twist free but admits she was paid to set Raveena up - she needed the money for her sorority dues. The payers were two guys who set it up just before the party. Raveena tells her to stay away from her, and releases her. Gabe calls her by name, and she actually remembers him. They leave.

Ethan: "Are there any interesting people in Missouri?"
Raveena: "Oh yeah, and I'm related to most of them."

The gang, finding no leads, decides to do some more research on the demon while they ponder what to do about the Kappa. Deaver and Gabe retreat to the fifth floor while Raveena, Chase, and Nikki get Raveena ready for her date.

After much fawning and flapping, Raveena is transformed into a visage of slayer beauty. Nikki lends Raveena her special perfume from Spain as the crowning glory. Ethan arrives with roses, apologizing for being late at their last date. The other girls are impressed. Raveena and Ethan depart on their way to a play. Nikki & Chase decide to help Raveena with the copious amounts of laundry she has littered about the room.

At the McKennitt theater foyer, Raveena sees Strella and a gaggle of would-be suitors around her. She steers Ethan to avoid. Strella seems not at all interested in engaging.

Back at Geoff's place, Geoff arrives home and heads straight to the fridge for a beer. he loosens his tie and drops to the couch with a remote. There's a knock on the door. He sets his beer down and opens the door. It's Chase. In a little black dress. With beer. Geoff's speechless for awhile.

"Hey." She glides into the room and sets the two six packs down. "They're still cold." She pulls four of them out, sees that Geoff already has one, and puts one back. "You've already started. Mind if I put these in the fridge?" She puts them in the fridge as Geoff sits back on the couch. Chase returns and sits by him. Cracks open a beer.

Geoff finally speaks. "Are you OK?"

She grins, "Need something to take the edge off. And no, I'm not 'okay.' You've been avoiding me."

Geoff looks down, embarrassed, "I'm...uh..."

"Right now I need support. Protection. Maybe a little distraction. And I never got to thank you for saving my life." She kisses him.

Geoff pulls away, "You don't have to-" Chase leans in closer, "Come on, Geoff, don't you want me to?" She pulls off his tie, leans closer, and whispers, "I'm all yours." Geoff kisses her.

Ethan and Raveena are leaving the theater. (She's wearing his jacket, awwww!) Strella and her gang flap by making a lot of noise. Ethan invites Raveena to Canada (where he's from), where "everyone is normal." They head for coffee.

At Common Grounds, Deaver has assembled Nikki, Gabe, and Chase (yes, Chase) for a discussion on the monster. Ethan and Raveena saunter in, post date, and Raveena tries to hide from them. Chase won't let her, and invites the pair over to the table.

Ethan leaves to get the two of them coffee, and Deaver gives the skinny on the big tough evil goo-monster. He says that there should be two more babies somewhere around being born yesterday, now, or tomorrow.

PeanutGalleryKat (to hubby Steve) (i.e. Chase to Gabe): "You go away - I'm trying to seduce someone else."

Shirtless Geoff and Chase lean against the bedroom doorway, Chase kissing down his neck. He tips her chin to look at her. Something is wrong. She kisses him. She kisses down his neck, his chest, drops out of view. Geoff backs up. "Chase..."

"What?"

"Wait."

"I've waited long enough. In the shifting light and shadows, he sees a tattoo on her back. Geoff forcefully pulls her up. She protests, but he silences her with a kiss.

She smiles, "That's more like it," as he kisses her face and neck, then spins her around and wraps his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. He playfully kisses down her shoulder and moves the strap away to get a better view of the tattoo.

"When did you get the tattoo?"

Chase smiles, "You like it? I designed it myself. We could get you one." She leads him into the bedroom and holds him close again, sliding fingers down his shoulder. "You'd look sexy with a tattoo here. she pushes him back onto the bed and sits on his lap, kissing him again. Geoff strokes her hair.

"Does it mean anything?"

"Aren't you talkative. I like angels." She pushes him back onto the bed, but he sits back up and lightly but firmly holds her face.

"Chase doesn't have a tattoo."

"I just got it. You haven't been around lately to know."

Geoff gently removes her from him. "I saw that tattoo this summer. And you're not Chase."

Chase pulls him back. "Fine, I'm not Chase. Whatever you want." She pushes him back down as she speaks. Geoff tries to extricate himself nicely, but she's stronger than she looks. She continues to speak huskily as she flattens herself against him.

"I look like Chase. I feel like Chase. You can yell her name all night long, I don't care. That's what you want, and I'll give it to you."

Geoff tries more forcefully to get up. "Not interested."

"It'll be the best night of your life."

Geoff finally manages to extricate himself and stands up. "No."

"I'm a vixen in the sack."

He stops and turns a few feet away from her. "Vixen?"

She stands, attempting to wrap her arms around him. "Anything you want."

But Geoff dodges her and laughs. "God, Strella, you've outdone yourself this time. You'd better be careful. The last person I saw with that tattoo was in the mor-"

And with a shove, she sends him flying through the glass onto the balcony.

"I'm not particularly worried about that."

Geoff slowly sits up, bleeding from numerous cuts. Chase approaches. "You are such an idiot. I would've done anything for you."

Geoff backs up against the banister. She reaches down and lifts him up by the neck, choking him. Geoff looks around like "What the hell" and "ow" as she continues ranting.

"And for your information, I'm not the last person to get this tattoo; I'm the first."

Geoff struggles for breath and mutters, "I'm sorry."

"You'd better be."

"No. About this." And he punches her across the face. She drops him and he scrambles up over the balcony onto the roof of the complex. She steps forward, looking for him and lands barefoot on glass. "Ow. Bloody hell." Turns back inside.

Up on the roof, Geoff picks glass out of his leg and watches her go back inside. "What the hell was that?"

Ethan: "So maybe I can call you in a couple of days?"
Raveena: "Well, you don't have to wait that long."

Meanwhile, the gang (including Chase – she's been there all along) is hanging out with Ethan at the coffee shop. Ethan eventually heads out, with Raveena. He walks her home. At Raveena's door, they exchange plesantries, and kiss (woo!).

Back at Common Grounds, Chase's phone rings. It's Geoff, and he's glad to hear from her. He tells her he's on his way to join the gang. Geoff arrives (in a horrific Hawaiian shirt) and tells the group that Strella has gone crazy and is impersonating Chase. Deaver realizes that this shapeshifting story reminds him of that baseball player who died this last summer with that same tattoo on his shoulder. Geoff nods.

Raveena notes that she saw Strella at the theater, so it would be hard for her to be at Geoff's place. Geoff explains what happened (leaving out a few unimportant details). Deaver reminds the group that the globby demons pose the more immediate threat. Nikki notes that despite this, they have no plan for how to find them. Geoff's apartment, however, is a hot (and quickly cooling) crime scene. So they head over.

Raveena: "So it's the globby demons first, and then the impersonating demons. That's the order, right?"

Outside Geoff's door they find Strella face down on the ground. Chase moves to check her pulse, but when she turns the body over they find that it's shrivelled up as if it's been emptied and is very very dead. They check, and there's no tattoo and no cuts on the feet. They drag the body inside. The door has been left open, and the living area looks like a tantrum recently spun through. Bloody footprints lead from the balcony and fade out towards the door. Geoff gets a different shirt, and says that he'll get the body to the morgue and take care of it. Everyone else decides to head to Strella's place.

Strella answers the door. After some small talk, Chase informs her that an emaciated version of Strella has just been found and is in the morgue. Strella shrugs and fetches drinks for everyone. When she turns her back, they all notice the tattoo through her very sheer shirt. They ask her about Matt Cogen. She smilingly evades.

Someone accuses her of not being Strella. Finally she laughs at their stupidity and tells them that she is the ORIGINAL Strella and has been for over 200 years. With a wicked grin she tells them that they might not like her now, but they'd better get used to her or they'll be in pain when her boss gets into town. She taunts that the only reason they're not dead is that they have a guardian angel. And if they play their cards right, they may not have to die.

When they ask who her boss is, she tells them that she is a priestess of Zolor. Somebody asks how she changes form, and, happy for the opportunity to show off, she touches Raveena. A bluish glow resonates around the two of them, and Strella hair turns the color of Raveenas. Strella shakes it a little. "I was getting tired of all those copy-cats anyway." She grins and tells everyone to get out of her apartment. Raveena's a bit ornery, but Strella narrows her eyes and announces, "Don't mess with me slayer, or I Will squash you like a bug." They leave.

Raveena and Gabe set out to find the gloppy demon. Nikki and Deaver head to the fifth floor to research Zolor and Strella. Chase heads home to sleep, still being on the mend.

Chase: "I should've stayed at Berkley."

The next morning. Geoff has crashed on his couch. There's a knock at the door. Geoff, getting awfully tired of people knocking at his door, grumblingly gets up and answers it. It looks like Chase. They look in each other's eyes a moment, and he smiles weakly and lets her in, feeling pretty sure that this time it's actually her.

After they both sit, Chase tells him that she heard what he said at the hospital. She's never been in a situation before where her own screw-ups might hurt someone else, and she apologizes. She then tells him that she wishes he'd talk to her sometime when he's not high or under the influence of magic plants or whatever and tell her what happened that has him so freaked.

Finally she assures him that she and Kevin never got together got together, and she gets up to leave. Geoff takes a deep breath, and tells her that he makes the best crystal she's ever had. Chase turns back and Geoff motions for her to take a seat. Once she's settled, he tells her his story.

[There was originally some backstory attached to this link.]

Meanwhile in a dark alley, Gabe & Raveena come across one of the globby demons. Just as they move to kill it, a trio of girls with medieval weapons rush in and make quick work of the demon. The tired Gabe and Raveena sit back and watch. When the girls finish, they try to cover up with a lame "escaped pet" story, but Raveena stops them with a "the momma's still out there, isn't she?"

The girls introduce themselves as Paige, CeCe and Kennedy. They're slayers from out of town who've been following "momma" for a while now. Raveena is surprised but excited to meet another slayer. The girls ask where people go around here for a drink, and Gabe and Raveena offer to show them around town.

PeanutGalleryRaveena (re Geoff): "Why is he announcing that?"
(The director is not explaining this one. You just had to be there.)