Fred laughed a little when Regan practically mauled Rupert when he came out of customs. She smiled when he introduced Martin to them and shook his extended hand. "It's nice to meet you, Martin," she said before she looked at Rupert. "The Council has a lab? How big is it?"
Chuckling, Rupert looked over at Martin. "I do believe she's trying to take your job," he said before winking at Fred.
Fred just shook her head and the five of them left the airport. After putting Rupert's and Martin's luggage in the back, all of them got in and headed toward the firm. Regan spoke the most, telling Rupert about their new house, her mom's new lab, her dad's new office and the puppy she wanted to get. Fred knew Regan had thrown in that last bit to see if Rupert would cave and get her one.
When they got to the firm, Lorne was waiting to take Regan to breakfast, like he'd promised the day before. Once the demon and little girl was off, the rest of them quickly ducked into Wesley's office to avoid Spike and Angel. "So how did Rupert and you meet, Martin?" Fred asked as Wesley and Rupert looked the amulet over.
"Oh, my father actually worked for the Council. He worked with Wesley's father and Travers," Martin explained. "I was actually supposed to become a Watcher but decided to pursue science instead. My father didn't like that, of course, and they spent a great deal of time punishing me. I ended up going underground for a while and Rupert found me around the time the Bringers were killing Watchers and Potentials. We sort of helped each other and I agreed to work temporarily at the Council. Their lab isn't all that big and a lot of the things can be done by Willow or one of the other witches."
"They punished you?"
Martin rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "My father, Wesley's father and Travers had found a way to inject humans with demon DNA. They wanted to make the Slayer stronger but they needed a guinea pig and I was it. Only problem was the DNA stuck and mutated, which made me part demon," he said.
Fred's mouth dropped open. She couldn't believe they would do something like that just because someone decided they didn't want to be something. She knew Wesley didn't get along with his father and she glanced over at him, wondering if all Watchers treated their children like that. She was suddenly glad her husband had gotten away from there, even though she knew he would never do anything to harm Regan.