2.13 The Demon in Me

PeanutGalleryChase: "So he's like The Incredible Hulk? Oh, I'm not there ... damn."
Gabe: "So he's like some Incredible Hulk?"

Raveena: "This is Stefan we're talking about. 'Hello, I'm Mr. Vol-a-tile.'"

Geoff: "I don't understand the whole 'Message from God' thing. I just go with hallucinations. I can deal with hallucinations."

Raveena: "Well, all it needs is a plug, right? Can't we just take it out?"
Geoff and Chase: "WHAT?!?"
Raveena: "No! I meant the ultrasound machine!"

Raveena: "Everyone's okay, but, well, this is one of those times when things are best explained by a visual."

Gabe: "Let's get some beer and pizza. And then we'll break some stuff."

Chase: "I've already accepted my role as Sigourney Weaver in all of this."

Raveena: "Who's your daddy?"
Chase: "Not funny, Raveena."

Raveena: "They could be tadpoles with ESP."

Stefan: "He does not have enough game to get with Chase. No wonder he went through Geoff."

Raveena: "No wonder they stick you in the basement."

Stefan is at his neighborhood convenience store, staring at the aisle of local McKennit herbal remedies. Rap music pumps out over the stereo. He grits his teeth and keeps shopping, grabbing a giant bottle of St. John's Wort and another of Valerian Root. Unable to stand the throbbing beat any longer, he violently punches a fist through the speaker behind him. The music is now quieter (since it's only coming from the other side of the store), but still plagues him. Stefan stalks up to the register and slams his purchases down on the counter, making the salesgirl more than a little nervous.

* * *

At the library, Gabe, Deaver, Raveena, and Rachel are doing what research they can on the experiment performed on Stefan as a child that has left him part demon. However, they've set books aside in favor of discussion of Stefan's strange and moody behavior instead. Deaver explains that Stefan can't handle anger in a normal way ? best not to really tick him off. Someone notes that Chase is running really late to the research session, even for her ?

* * *

Cut to an unfamiliar doctor's office. Chase is sitting on the examination table, staring at her toes and looking very stressed out. The cheerfully sock-clad stirrups attached to the end of the table make it fairly obvious where she is. A smiling woman in a white lab coat enters, clipboard in hand. "Congratulations, Ms. McCallum ?"

[The Director was quite gleeful at the collective OH SHIT from the table. Evil woman.]

* * *

Back at the library, Geoff comes strolling in with an upbeat greeting. He and Raveena chat briefly about his job, which prompts another subject - Harrison's anti-visionary chemical cocktail. Geoff takes Veena aside to tell her about his concerns. He has made some improvements to the "recipe" that Eric was using, improving its performance. In the short term. He explains that Harrison is building up an incredible tolerance to the serum, and probably not in a good way. Since this is what Harrison wants Geoff is doing his job, but he strongly advises against Harrison continuing to take the drug - Geoff providing it against his better judgment. After enough time, this could seriously alter him physically, and even his personality. Geoff wants to talk to Harrison about the dangers, but knows he's more likely to listen to Veena. She agrees to discuss it with him.

* * *

Back at his dorm room, Stefan has popped his new purchases open and is chomping down the contents by the handful.

* * *

Chase swings by the darkened house, wandering inside. She collects the evidence of the home pregnancy kit she used that morning (which prompted the trip to Augusta), drops it in the trash, and takes the bag out to the curb. Unsure what to do next other than find Geoff [no, calling him didn't occur to her, apparently], she gets back in the car and drives to the library, where she was supposed to meet up with everyone some time ago. She walks in a little hesitantly, on top of a conversation about the specific demon that Stefan is related to. It's a Bih'li, apparently. Deaver takes his leave - he's driving the book from Stefan's family to the Watcher's Council representatives in Portland to see if they can provide him with any more information. Geoff smiles as Chase comes in and tugs her down into the chair next to him. She tries for the usual small talk with everyone but doesn't seem quite there, and Geoff can tell something is wrong. Giving up pretense, she whispers to Geoff that they need to talk ? now. And not here. Genuinely worried at this point, Geoff makes excuses to the group and he steers Chase out the door, offering to drive her home. The car ride is dead silent. As soon as they hit the living room, Chase stammers out the news: she drove to Augusta that morning. To see a doctor. Who confirmed what she'd already discovered earlier, after he'd left for work. She's pregnant. To his credit, Geoff takes it pretty calmly. Chase breaks down and curls up beside him on the sofa. He strokes her hair while they talk about what to do. They decide to take a little time to think. Geoff gently kisses the top of her head and things get pretty quiet.

* * *

Flashback: Homecoming weekend. There's a sweet slow song on the stereo system and the floor is packed with dancing couples. Gabe and Rachel are slow dancing with a notable lack of grace, but Rachel looks blissfully happy. Glancing down, Gabe realizes they are dancing about a foot above the floor, floating effortlessly. No one around them seems to notice, but Gabe tries to tone it down anyway. Suddenly, the air around him changes subtly. The music seems odd and a little wrong. The wrongness quickly escalates to something loud and discordant and creepy. Rachel is looking up at him and still smiling. He watches as her pupils seem to grow and grow, spreading outward until her eyes are entirely black. Her hair blackens from the roots and changes to a wiry texture. Her smile now a little sinister, she starts babbling in a guttural language that Gabe can't understand. She suddenly looks at him and whispers over the pulse of the music, "It's good to see you again, my love."

Gabe wakes up in a sweat.

* * *

Late the next morning, Chase and Geoff are still in bed asleep. Geoff's arms are wrapped around her protectively. Chase surfaces and turns towards him, but something is very wrong - she doesn't fit against him the way she usually does. Looking down, she shrieks at an appalling discovery - she's suddenly about 8 months pregnant, it seems. Awakened by her yelp Geoff gets a good look at her and gets about as panicky as she is. Okay, definitely not natural. Um. Call Deaver? Deaver's in Portland - they get sent straight to voice mail. Hell. Raveena? Chase calls her. Rather than try to explain, she just tells her to come over. NOW. Raveena arrives and is (understandably) completely floored. The three of them try to figure out what to do. Geoff recommends that they get Chase to a hospital room with an ultrasound so that they can at least figure out what they're dealing with. Chase is hesitant to go into McKennit General like this, but they cover her in enough coats and blankets that she'll be pretty hard to recognize. They call Rachel - maybe something magical will help - and she agrees to meet them there.

* * *

Finally tired of his own morose company, Stefan picks up the phone and calls Gabe. The agitation in Stefan's voice makes Gabe a little worried that he'll crack, and the two of them decide to do some male bonding over pizza and beer. Gabe tells Stefan he'll be right over. Stefan hangs up the phone, and there is a knock at the door. It's Gabe, a little sweaty and tired. But Stefan gets the feeling it isn't from running or some other form of physical exertion. He says nothing, and the two head out into the unfamiliar sunshine.

* * *

Geoff fumbles with the ultrasound machine, but manages to get it working. The picture it reveals isn't pleasant. The things look like overgrown tadpoles, and there's a LOT of them in there. Hard to tell how many. EW. Given the accelerated rate of Chase's "pregnancy", it is likely that the "birth" will happen in the next 24 hours. Highly motivated to research, they all head for the library. Rachel calls Gabe on the way, since he's the best at this researchy kind of stuff. He and Stefan are out in the woods where Stefan is pitching beer bottles into the air and Gabe is magically exploding them. But when they hear Chase is in trouble, they agree to come help.

At the library, the boys are quickly filled in on what has been going on. The scenario sets off a bell in Gabe's head, and he heads straight to a specific wall of books. Looking up at the top of the bookcase, he magically floats a book down from the top shelf. It drops into his hand. Wrong one - he floats down the one next to it. Aha. Some demons use human hosts to reproduce. A human male acts as the agent for the transfer. Oh, and, uh, the mom? It usually doesn't go so well for her. Like, ending up in little pieces. Geoff gets a very strange look on his face, mutters "I'll be right back," and tears out of the room. Stefan takes the opportunity to sympathize with Chase in a way that no one else can at the moment, and there's a bonding thing. [awwww.]

* * *

At City Hall, Geoff slams open the door to Simone Boyd-Townsend's office. [Jen: Steve really didn't take any notes on all this. Can you fill in?]

* * *

Back at the library, Gabe is furiously researching. Chase is looking more and more antsy, and is pacing the room. Gabe finally finds the solution: killing the demon daddy will save Chase. It's probably the only way. Strangely, Chase doesn't look thrilled by this. She continues to pace with an almost protective hand on her swollen belly.

* * *

[more Geoff/Simone stuff]

* * *

Geoff comes striding back into the library and gives Gabe one word: La'nachin. Apparently, that's the breed of the demon that works in the basement at City Hall. Gabe looks it up, and sure enough, he fits the bill - La'nachin demons reproduce by putting a serum in the drink of a male human, who then takes it home to their lucky partner. Gabe prompts Geoff for the guy's name. He pulls it up from almost nowhere, since he tends to avoid the demons in the office, but he's pretty sure that the demon's name is Yakub. Gabe busts out his trusty locator spell, and the Scoobies prepare to follow the bouncing ball off in search of the demon. Chase is really hesitant, and keeps telling them that she doesn't think this is the best idea [Read: Chase wants them to leave the demon alone. Uh-oh.]. When they prepare to march off to war, she says she'd prefer to stay here and wait. Rachel offers to stay with her, and insists when Chase tries to politely decline. The others leave. Chase tells Rachel she needs some fresh air and makes for the door. Rachel follows her. She tries just telling Rachel she wants to be alone, but no dice. Rachel cheerfully goes with her. They start down the stairs towards the great out of doors. Desperate now to get away and save her baby, Chase offers a soft apology before pushing Rachel hard, sending her tumbling down the stairs. Chase makes a run for the door.

* * *

The gang follows the glowing orb to one of the many caves nestled in the woods outside McKennit. They see another light flickering off the walls in the back of the cave. A voice in the darkness advises them to leave. The Scoobies move further back into the cave, spouting snappy dialogue. At the sight of Geoff, Yakub figures out why they're here, but he's still miffed that they would interfere with such an important occasion. When they show no signs of leaving, purple electricity arcs from the demon's hands and slams into Stefan. A big fight ensues. The scuffle ends with Raveena cleanly beheading the demon. As she does so, there is a tortured wail from outside the cave. Chase had caught up with them. As the gang comes running out of the cave, they see her writhing on the ground in excruciating pain. Geoff tries to get her more comfortably situated, and the ordeal eventually ends.

* * *

Gabe tells Stefan a little about the research he and Deaver had been doing. When Deaver gets back from Portland, they should have even more information about what happened to him.

* * *

Gabe has discovered a new magical trick that he names "witch bungee jumping" - he can run out a window or off a balcony and float harmlessly to the ground. He is having a blast, and tries to convince Rachel to join him. She looks at him and shakes her head, laughing a little, as she tries to tell him that isn't normal and there's no way she's going to jump off a balcony. He tells her she's missing out as he jumps off again ?

* * *

Chase and Geoff opt for a quiet evening in front of the TV. Chase is exhausted, but ok, and she's physically back to normal. She drops a sleepy kiss on his jaw before passing out on his shoulder mid-movie. [Jen, you can do whatever you want to here. I have no real ideas. It can be whatever you'd prefer - I opted for sweet or dramatic throughout the ep instead of funny or angsty, so it might be a good thing to switch it up, but I dunno. Your call. Whatever it is, I can promise you the movie isn't Alien. ;)]

* * *

Raveena drops by Harrison's apartment to talk to him. He's delighted to see her, but a little bummed when he realizes she's come to talk business - she delivers Geoff's warnings about the serum and encourages Harrison to talk to him about it. Harrison keeps telling her that there's no way he can stop taking it - she's seen how the visions can interfere with his work. But if it will make her feel better, he'll discuss it with Geoff [Public Service Announcement: Always discuss your medication with your doctor or pharmacist. ;)]. Message delivered, Raveena invites Harrison to patrol with her. However, Harrison smiles that Irish smile and says he'll "patrol" if it doesn't involve leaving the apartment ? wink, wink nudge, nudge