Willow keyed her security code into the Wolfram and Hart Science lab keypad. Once the doors were open, she went through into her office, leaving her bag hanging on the bag of a chair.
She walked through into the labs, nodding at the weekend crew.
"What's new?" she asked one of the workers.
"Daniel found this downtown," he replied, indicating a cage with a blanket over it. "Some kind of rodent... and it seems to be allergic to bright lights."
Willow reached over the light switch, dimming them slightly, before moving closer to the cage. She lifted the blanket off the cage to reveal Gizmo, cowering at the far end, whimpering in fright.
"Oh hey little guy," she cooed.
"He's friendly," the guy said to her. "As far as we can tell. We're running more tests."
"Good, good," Willow mused, still watching Gizmo.
"Hey, Will?" Faith asked, from the entrance to the labs.
"In here!" Willow called back.
A few moments later, Faith appeared, holding two paper cups.
"Thought you'd like some coffee," the Slayer said, handing her one of the cups.
"Thanks," Willow replied, gratefully taking the cup. She sipped at it, returning her attention to the cage.
"What are you working on?" Faith asked, looking down at the cage. Her eyes widened and she bent down a little.
"Faith! Faith!" Gizmo exclaimed, bouncing a little.
"Hey Giz," Faith greeted.
"Uh, you know what this is?" Willow asked.
Faith nodded, sliding the cage lock open. She opened the door and Gizmo came running out, heading for Faith's arms. "Gizmo. He's a Mogwai. Some alien species. I had him as a pet before."
Gizmo snugged into Faith's arms, purring happily.
"Did you miss me?" she asked, petting his head gently.
Gizmo purred and nodded in response.
"Yeah, I missed you too, buddy."
"We were going to run some tests..." Willow told her.
"Don't," Faith replied firmly. "Go onto the alien pet site, you'll find information about Mogwai's there."
"Uh... sure?" Willow said, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.
"Thanks."
Faith set Gizmo on the table for a second and took her jacket off. She lay it flat beside Gizmo, and he nodded, climbing into the middle, allowing her to wrap him up to shield him from the lights outside.
"Thanks for the coffee?" Willow called after her.