A/N1: Thanks to my wonderful beta Kristen! There are minor spoilers for my previous Lily stories, but there shouldn't be anything else.

A/N2: I've always wanted to try writing something completely from Lily's perspective, and I finally worked out a way. I hope you enjoy it!

For SJ, to cheer her up. The exam will be fine... take more deep breaths!

The Oncoming Storm

Chapter 1: Prologue

Cold. Wet. Darkness. Sand.

Sand?

Somewhere in the back of her mind, wet and sand made a connection.

Beach.

What was she doing on a beach?

It took Lily another moment to realize she was lying on her back, in a puddle of water.

Not just a beach then. She was lying on the shore. A sandy shore – anywhere in the world.

The heavy rain was pelting down on her face, and she forced herself to open her eyes and sit up.

She felt awful. Her whole body was screaming with various reactions. Her stomach was churning, her arms felt like lead pipes, her head was throbbing, her left ankle hurt…

She could barely see anything. The storm – it couldn't be anything but a storm – was raging full force around her. The waves were crashing against her side, even though she was lying in the shallows. The wind howled around her ears. She was soaked to the skin.

Her clothes! They could give her some idea of what was going on. She glanced down to find herself dressed in a shirt and black pants. Not so helpful then; she wore outfits like this every day.

She reached for her cell phone and was not surprised to find it soaking wet. She could see water behind the screen. Wincing, she put it back on her belt. The insurance company would go mad again.

She automatically reached for her gun next, but it wasn't there. Panic rose in her throat. What had she done with it? She patted herself down quickly, looking to see if she had stashed it somewhere else, and was even more disconcerted to find she had misplaced her knives as well.

Lily summed the situation up in her head as fast as possible.

No idea where she was. Bad weather. Unarmed. No cell phone. No idea how she got here in the first place.

Her teeth began to chatter and she decided to try moving. It wasn't as bad as she feared it would be. None of her bones seemed to be broken, although her left ankle appeared to be twisted. She hauled herself to her feet and forced herself to walk. For now, she chose to walk along the edge of the water. The waves were huge, but they would offer her some protection if anyone came after her.

She counted her footsteps so she could approximate how far she had traveled. One hundred meters. Two. Three. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to keep warm. Her heels were getting stuck in the wet sand, causing her to reach down and take them off. She decided against throwing them away for the moment; they were her only weapons.

At five hundred meters, she stopped and reassessed her situation. She still had no idea where she was, but she was feeling a little warmer. Her memories were still fogged over, as though someone had exorcised her demons. She felt light and relaxed, even while she was lost. She vaguely recalled arguing with LJ, but she always argued with LJ. She couldn't even work out what the argument was about; for all she knew, it could have been something that took place a year ago.

She closed her eyes against the relentless rain. Was it worth going on? Should she give up? If she sank to the sand, she doubted she would ever rise again. Could she do that? Could she really give up everything she had?

She heard her name on the wind, and gave a little smile. Maybe giving up wouldn't be so bad.

The wind roared again, and she was almost blown over. Her name came again. Not the one she chose to use, but her given name. The one so few people called her any more.

Lilith.

It came again. Visibility was getting worse. She knew if she left the shoreline, she would go around in circles. She could not wait the storm out; it was too fierce and she was too weak. Exhaustion began to creep up on her.

Lilith.

She made up her mind. She was going to lie down and go to sleep. Nothing mattered any more.

Lilith.

The wind sounded closer. She tried to sift through the mud in her mind. Who called her that anymore? Jenny did, sometimes. Her boss, Arbourne, when she did something particularly spectacular. Alex…

Lilith.

With a jolt, she recognized the voice. It was not the wind, but Alex.

"Lexi," she yelled, as loud as she could. It didn't sound very loud to her; the wind whipped her cry away. "Lexi, help me!"

"Lilith!" came the corresponding cry.

"Moio sudno na vozdušnoy poduške polno ugrey!" she replied. He would get the joke, if he could hear her.

"Plamennaya malyishka," he replied. She could barely hear the words, but knew what he was trying to say anyway.

She stayed where she was and eventually he almost fell over her. She collapsed against him, happy to feel his familiar warmth.

Her fiancé led her carefully back to his SUV. She guessed it was about 200 meters from where he'd found her. Evidently, she had been walking in the right direction. He put her in the back seat, and passed her a towel and some dry clothes before settling in the front.

A few minutes later, she clambered into the front passenger seat and gratefully took the coffee he offered her.

"Well?" he asked.

"What the hell am I doing here?" she shot back.

He stared at her briefly. "What is the last thing you remember?" the Russian questioned.

Lily thought hard. "Monday," she finally told him. "Monday morning."

"Okay."

"What day is it?"

Silence.

"Monday morning. I was finally off stupid Archives duty after the whole Gilman affair. What day is it now?!"

"Thursday evening."

"Damn." She couldn't think of anything more appropriate to say.

He let her recover from the shock. "Monday morning. We will work through your memories. It should help you remember what happened. What is the first thing you remember about Monday morning?"

Moio sudno na vozdušnoy poduške polno ugrey – My hovercraft is full of eels

Plamennaya malyishka – Little red