 |
 ** A/N: PLEASE forgive me for the long time away and for the
extra long (be prepared!) thanks for all of the reviews… I know it’s been a
while and you are all free to hate me all you want (just don’t hate my story
because of it, I beg you) for keeping you on edge with a cliffhanger and then
leaving it like that. My mind was about to go crazy (it actually IS
but I’m still in denial) with all of the different stories I’ve got going
on. Pat me on the back, I finished one, which is why I am back here and
dedicating all my pain and frustration to this. You’ll definitely have to
be patient with me… the plot for this one comes and goes and changes every
minute. So there will be times, I’m absolutely sure, that I’ll need a
break to straighten my thoughts out. I apologize in advance for
that. Anyways, here’s the next part. I hope you all like it! **A/T: Blaire … I was on a kick this last time… that’s why
the updates were so quick. I thought the chapters were rather intriguing
as well. We’ll see what the shock value of Fred’s “something”
later. I really haven’t decided on what I want where that’s
concerned. I have two ways I can go and I’m weighing the possible
pitfalls of each. It’s quite daunting, really. As for Cordy – I
really like her hiding out with Wes, too… The hiding will have to come to an
end, but that bond will still be evident, have no fear. Anyways – I’d
better go… my A/Ns are getting to be quite long. Thank you AGAIN for your
wonderful review… they always make me smile! :) Grav … To answer your question… yes – I think
Spike can close doors. I’m going off the ending of the Reaper episode
where he picks up the mug or whatever. I’m also going off the Patrick
Swayze “Ghost” mindset. Color me Hollywood influenced… Put your
mind to anything, you can accomplish it and all that crap. Those are the
thoughts running through my head. Thanks for your comment about the
characterizations. I strive to make them as close to character as I can
possibly get them. I appreciate you coming back & sticking with the
story. Thanks! Genevieve … I live to spoil! I know
I’ve got such great reviewers, that’s why! When I read what everyone has
to say, my mind takes off and I want to write more for you all. It’s an
addiction. Yes, Conner will be important… but I’ve said it before and
I’ll say it again – expect the unexpected where that plotline is
concerned. At least, that’s how I’ve got it planned. And wow, now
that I’ve read through your favorite lines… I’m giggling. I think they’re
my favorites too! Thanks for pointing them out! I’m glad you
liked them & thanks for the review… Elisa … Thank you! I hope you enjoy the next
part! :) Imzadi … It’s always great to see your name in the
reviews. Thank you… I’m glad that you think that. As for Lindsey,
worry not. “Rogue lawyer”, I think, is a description that fits him well…
if you catch my drift. And I have a feeling a little bit of revenge is
justified, don’t you? Yama-Neko … Thank you very much. I appreciate
your confidence in the story. And I thought the ‘Beat It’ reference was
funny too… I was humming the song while I was writing so I had to put it
in! :) Enjoy the next part! Michella … Thank you! Here it is! Sarah … A new reviewer! Welcome and
enjoy! I’m ecstatic that you like it! Athlantis … Thank you for coming back &
reviewing! As for the punishment… it is all a mater of opinion… you’ll
see later on! And I miss the trust & underlying tenderness between
Wes/Cordy so I had to write a part in that really hit it home again… Diana Troy … Thank you for the repeat reviews!
I always appreciate a reader that goes through and writes their thoughts down
every once in awhile while they are reading through the piece whether or not
it’s the last updated chapter or not. I really miss Cordelia and her
comedic elements as well… And thank you for your positive words, it keeps me
writing! I hope you enjoy the next part! Giggleboxsam … Good to see ya back! And I’m
really glad that you’re still reading it! I hope this next part meets
your expectations!! :P Lexie … Sorry it’s taken me so long! I hope
you like this! Please let me know! Elf3748 … Yeeeeees… I did end it there… As for your
questions… will Cordy get her visions back? Will there be a
Spike/Buffy reunion? I really don’t know! (Now much help, am I?!)
You’ll just have to continue reading to find out, huh?! :P Anne … Thank you so much for the kick in the butt…
it’s been a while and I apologize profusely! I’ve been waiting forever
too, it seems. The inspiration finally kicked in since one piece of the
proverbial writing pie has finally been finished off. Lately, I haven’t
been multi-tasking well, so I told myself I needed to finish one story
completely before I can try to concentrate. So I did, and now I’m
back. Let’s see how this part is to your liking… let me know! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Wes sat back and stretched with a yawn. The minutes had turned into
longer. Looking at his watch he noticed that it was almost three in the
morning. The three of them had been working for almost an
hour. His stacks of papers in front of him didn’t bring up
anything conclusive, but he was starting to get the hang of some of the
translations. Or at least he thought he was. There really
was no way to be sure until he got more done. But they had a little to go
on, and Wes figured it was probably time to tell Angel about what was going
on. To tell him about the text… and the vision. Wesley still had no
clue as to what exactly the vision was trying to tell them. The only
thing he could do at this point was hope that it didn’t involve another baby
sacrificing… those situations usually turned out stickier than any of them
wanted to deal with. With a sigh, he sat back on the couch. He
looked over to see Gunn dozing away in one of the chairs. Fred, bless her
heart, was still mesmerized by the glow of the computer. But rather than
working studiously at it, it looked like the machine had finally worked its
magic and she was staring at it as if in a trance. Wes stood up with a
chuckle. He crossed the room to where Gunn sprawled. With a gentle
shake, Wes attempted to wake the sleeping man. Gunn shot up out of the
chair and promptly brought his hands up to defend himself. “Whaasssit? Whoooosit?” he cried out incoherently. The sudden
sound broke Fred out of her trance-like state and she practically fell out of
her chair. Gunn looked around for a second before his eyes landed back on
Wesley, the axe that had been previously next to the chair dangling in his
hands. “Yo, dog, don’t you know to let sleeping black men with weapons lie? I
coulda taken your head off, man,” he said with another yawn. Fred
approached them, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “What time is it, Wesley?” she asked “It’s about a few hours past time for bed,” he said wearily. “Do you think Angel is still awake?” she queried. Wes shrugged his
shoulders. “I wouldn’t have any idea, he seems to keep some unruly hours as of late,”
he said as he looked around the apartment. Where was Cordelia?
The thought came unbidden to his mind when he realized that she had never
returned. The concern that something had happened to her again etched
itself on his face. “Wesley? Are you alright?” Fred’s soft voice broke into the recesses
of his mind. Wes shook his head. “Yes. Thank you. I’m fine,” he said. “Just a little
tired.” Gunn smothered a loud yawn. “Yeah… I feel ya. Anyways, let’s go see if Angel’s up still. If
he ain’t, we call all go crash. If he is, we can knock him out, and then
go crash,” he said. Fred smiled. “I like your options, Charles,” she said. Gunn smiled as he shrugged. “Either way, I see this ending with feather pillows and conversations with
the sandman… at least for me,” he said. “Gunn, the sandman is a mythical creature from fairy tales that was fabled
to make children sleepy by throwing sand in their eyes,” Wes chided. Gunn
let out a snort. “You’re telling me that after battles with slime demons, vampires, things
with eyes in the back of their heads, mystical shrouds of whatever, zombie
policemen, and evil hands that you don’t believe in the sandman?” the black man
asked, incredulous. “Well, no,” Wesley admitted, causing Fred and Gunn to exchange amused
glances. “It’s good to know that everything fantastical has been stuffed into you
yet,” Gunn said. Wes just shook his head as he picked up his scattered
notes and stuffed them carefully into the pages of the book before closing it. “Well, chances are, he’ll be in bed. But let’s go make sure. I’d
rather not hold this off from him any longer. He could be of some
assistance,” he said as he made his way to his apartment door. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Angel had yet to let the shock wear off. His eyes watched ever single
movement the pacing girl in front of him. She was here, she was breathing
and he could hear her racing heartbeat. She’d been pacing in front of him
for about ten minutes now, her hands alternating from waving wildly in the air
to resting on her hips. She seemed to be yelling about something, but he
couldn’t say what. All of his attention was given to the fact that she
was in front of him looking more Cordy-like than ever – despite the weight
loss. His ears perked up and caught the end of what had to have been a
demeaning diatribe. “… stupid, idiotic, brainless vampire! I don’t understand you, and I don’t
want to! This is absolutely ridiculous!” she said, stopping her tirade
and just pacing. Angel looked over at Spike. The blond seemed to be
enjoying Cordelia’s show quite a bit. Finally, Cordelia stopped pacing
and looked to the vampire. With a frustrated growl, she threw up her
hands when she noticed the puppy dog look still present on his face and the
brow still creased in lack of comprehension. “You didn’t hear a damn thing I said, did you?!” she asked, turning away
from him. “Cordelia?” he asked again. When she turned around to give him a
scathing retort, she let out a little shriek when she found him directly in
front of her, the bodies parted only by inches. His cool hand came up to
touch her face and she found that anything she had wanted to say had vacated
her mind. “How?” Her eyes fell to the ground, away from his at his
question. “Is that all you can say right now? My name?” she asked, avoiding
answering. Cordelia heard Spike shift behind her before she heard his
voice. “You’ll have to forgive the wanker, love. I believe that he’s just had
the shock of his non-lifetime,” he said. Cordelia turned her head to give
him a glare. “When I want your play by play, Spike, I’ll ask for it,” she said.
Spike held up his hands with a grin. “Sorry love. You’ll never hear me defending the bastard again, forgive
my sentimental moment,” he said. With a wink in Angel’s direction, he
added for the vampire’s benefit, “Feisty little minx, in’t she?” Angel
growled low in his throat, but stopped when Cordelia laid a hand on his chest. “Stop it Angel,” she said, a heavy look in her eyes. He caught his
animosity towards his childe and calmed himself. He reached up and
grasped Cordelia’s shoulders. “How did you get back, Cordy?” he asked softly, still incredulous that she
was in front of him and he was touching her. “Angel, that doesn’t matter,” she said. “There are other things that
you need to concern yourself with.” “Like what?” he asked. Her eyes held fire for a second. “At the sake of repeating myself,” she ground out. “I’d say
where your’e working is a primary concern. Among other troublesome
things…” Angel let go of her shoulders and turned from her. “I don’t want you to start, Cordelia. Wolfram & Hart is under
control,” he said stiffly. Cordelia let out a little laugh – bitter
enough to make Spike wince. “What did you expect me to do, Angel? Run into your arms out of
gratefulness? Without a few tongue lashings? You should know me
better than that,” she said. He turned back to look at her. “You have no say in what I do now, Cordelia! You were gone, I made
decisions. It’s done and it’s for the best,” he said. Cordelia’s
eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her chest. “For the best? This certainly isn’t for the best. So that leads
me to another question… Are you talking about Conner?” she asked. A
wave of smugness washed over her as Angel’s eyes went abnormally wide. “What are you talking about?” he rasped out, eyes darting between the woman
and the ghost, who now seemed to have taken a supreme interest in the
conversation. Cordelia waved a hand. “I know everything, Angel… and so does Spike. He had a vision,” she
said. Angel turned to the ghost, his eyes almost turning yellow in his
anger. “You know and you didn’t say a damn thing!?” he said. Spike shrugged. “I had no clue what was going on or who the kid was, so I went to a person
who might be able to shed some light on it,” the ghost explained. “You went to Cordelia?” the vampire asked stupidly. Spike just
grinned. “No… the watcher,” he took a great amount of pleasure in seeing Angel’s game
face flicker. “Wesley knows!” he almost wailed. Cordelia stepped in front of Spike,
more to get the angry vampire’s attention than to ward off any acts of
violence. “No…” she said softly, her quietness penetrating Angel’s angry fog more than
anything else could have. “Wesley does not know in the knowing
sense. Spike told him about the vision, but it didn’t explain anything.
Wes was completely clueless, and he will be until you tell him, Angel.”
Angel shook his head. “No. It’s better that no one remembers. Conner needs a normal
life and everyone needs to be spared the memory of him,” he said. Anger
flashed over Cordelia’s face again. “At what cost, Angel?” she asked. Throwing her arms up, she
turned. “He’s part of a vision! It’s obvious that your little plan
has backfired. He’s going to be involved in something… and from what I
feel, it’s going to be big! It’s not going to help that no one can
remember him! One way or the other, everyone’s going to have to encounter
him and everyone’s going to have to remember their connection to him!”
Suddenly a clearing of a throat caused everyone to turn. In the doorway
stood Wesley with Lorne, Gunn and Fred behind him, peeking around to get a look
at the obvious scene. “May I ask, connection to whom?” he asked. Cordelia floundered for an
answer. “No one, Wes. Angel and I were just arguing…” she said as she crossed
the room to him. His blue eyes noted the anger, confusion and frustration
flowing beneath the surface of her greeting on her face. He laid a gentle
hand on her shoulder. “Is this where you’ve been?” he asked. “Cordelia?” Fred squeaked, her eyes wide in disbelief as they took in the
other girl’s appearance in the flesh. Cordelia flashed a reassuring smile
in the astonished scientist’s direction, and gave one to an equally stupefied
Gunn and Lorne as well. “I’ve been here and there, Wes. I was on my way back to your place
before I got sidetracked here,” she told him. “You were with Wes all this time??” Angel asked. Cordelia spun around. “Where I was and who I was with is none of our concern! But yes, I was
with Wes. When I woke up, I was confused, angry, scared… and I needed his
help. So I went to him first,” she explained to everyone. “Oh, so you can run into Wesley’s arms, Cordelia?” Angel said with
mocking force, startling everyone in the room except the woman at which his ire
was pointed. “Don’t you dare preach to me about anything like that, Angel!
You, calling the goddamn kettle black,” she hissed. The vampire calmed
himself in varying degrees and his eyes were full of confusion. “What are you talking about?” he asked. Cordelia let an evil smirk
play itself over her features. “I know about Sunnydale, Angel. I know about the amulet, The First,
the final battle… and everything that happened in between,” she said.
Spike’s head shot up at Cordelia’s words, his stare focused on the dark
vampire. Angel’s mind rushed back to the memory. The amulet, Buffy,
the kiss… the conversation. “How…” he started. Cordelia shook her head. “My body may have been stuck here,” she said, emphasizing the word
‘stuck’ for his benefit, “but I was elsewhere.” It took Angel a few
moments, but what she was saying - and what she wasn’t saying - finally
broke through. It seemed to make sense to everyone else as well. “It wasn’t you…” Lorne said, saying his first words since the shock of
seeing Cordelia. Cordelia resisted the urge to say No shit Sherlock
since she knew it would have been her hurt prompting it. “We thought it was an evil you, but instead, it just wasn’t you at
all,” the green demon said, pain and regret lacing his voice. Cordelia’s
silence confirmed his words. Fred rushed forward and immediately latched
herself to the taller woman. “Oh Cordy! We’re so sorry! We should have known,” she wept into
her friend’s arms. Cordelia’s arms came up automatically to soothe her. “It’s okay, Fred, really,” she assuaged. Noticing the overwhelmed look
on Cordelia’s face, Gunn stepped forward and gently unfastened the willowy
brunette from Cordelia. Wes cleared his throat again, bringing everyone’s
attention back to him. “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt this reunion, but there are more pressing
matters,” he said importantly, ignoring Angel’s growl. The ex-Watcher
held the book up so that everyone could see it. Gunn found a chair with a
huff. “Not looking forward to the hours upon hours of research, Gunn?” she
asked. “We all know it’s your favorite part…” Gunn gave her a rude
hand gesture and muttered something about staying in the higher planes.
The woman the comment was aimed at just shook her head. “Well! Who twisted the thumb up your butt the wrong way?”
Cordelia retorted as she watched the bald man balance a dagger unproductively
on his forefinger. Gunn glared at her. “Don’t start with me, Queenie,” he said. Cordelia let out an
undignified ‘Pffft’ as she turned away from him. “Have I really been gone so long that you can’t remember it’s Princess,
lamebrain?” she asked sarcastically. When she turned back to look at him,
he was grinning at her. Wes had his familiar
happy-yet-looking-somewhat-constipated look on his face. Both Fred and
Lorne had tears shimmering in their eyes. It warmed her heart to back in
the thick of things again. When she turned to look at Angel again, he was
looking at her with no expression. The warmth that had spread through her
cooled considerably. Cordelia inwardly rolled her eyes. What did she expect from Angel? “And this one…” she addressed everyone as she pointed at Angel “… seems to
have his whole hand stuck up his butt. It may be in everyone’s best
interest if we do give that situation a little twist.” She
emphasized her point with a flick of her wrist, causing a snort of a suppressed
chuckle to come from Gunn. Even Wes had to choke down a laugh.
Angel, his mood blackening every second she stood there acting like her old
self – yet different - stood up straight. All eyes went to him,
anticipating what was sure to be a comeback. Instead, he surprised them
all by walking across the room and out the door. Five pairs of looked
between each other, not knowing what to say. Cordelia, hiding the hurt,
shrugged her shoulders. “Screw him,” she said as she stalked behind his large desk and took her seat
in his chair. She swiveled the chair around to see her five companions
gaping at her. “What?” she asked with faux innocence. Wes cleared
his throat uncomfortably. “Well, for starters, Cordelia…” he started but she waved a hand, cutting him
off. “No, Wes. No ‘for starters’ cuz this girl knows where it’s going to
lead. No. I want to know what you’ve found,” she said. Wes
looked between Fred and Gunn before looking back at her. “Well, we should probably tell Angel about this…” he said. Cordelia
let out her patented ‘Pffft’ again as she waved another hand. “Wesley, stop being Angel’s bitch!” she said. Wes stepped back
slightly, the harshness of her words hitting somewhere near his heart.
“You can tell Angel when he’s being less of a jackass.” Wesley only
nodded once at her authoritarian voice. It was her ‘don’t mess with me’
voice. Wes looked closer at the girl. Where was the
girl that had sobbed in his arms? He stepped closer to the desk and
held out the book that he had cradled in his arms. She took it from him
and placed it in front of her. After inspecting it for a few seconds, she
looked up. And for a second, Wes saw the uneasiness and the slight fear
behind her dark eyes before she masked it over again. It was then that he
realized that her shields had gone up. She was preparing for a battle…
but against what… or who… he had no clue. “What have you found, Wes?” she asked cautiously, but Wes knew better.
He knew that she was looking to him for reassurance. He cleared his
throat as the hurt from before melted away. “Well, I’ve translated some of first few pages… it’s still a little shaky,
but I think I’ve got the grasp of it. It’ll take some time to get some
meat from it, but if I keep at it for the next couple of days, I should have
it,” he explained. Everyone in the room listened avidly to what he
thought was the origins of the book. He was about to break into a
discussion of the two sets of derivations he’d gotten from the text and what he
thought they were heading towards when he was interrupted. “Oh bloody hell…” Spike’s voice suddenly broke into the tension that
filled the room. Cordelia’s eyes went immediately to him. He
was holding a hand over his eyes. Cordelia stood up and crossed the room
to him. “Is it a vision?” she asked. Spike glared at her from under his hand. “No, it’s a bloody hangover… of course it’s a vision,” he said
harshly. Cordelia glared right back. “No need to get testy, Billy Idol… geez,” she said as she stepped
back. Spike shook his head as soon as the images stopped scrolling
through his head. “Could we possibly patch this telly into the nudie channels? I can
tell you now that it would be so much more fun,” he said with a growl.
Cordelia smirked. “Isn’t slash and gore T.V. about the same thing to you?” she asked.
Spike just rolled his eyes. “It would have been, if I were still a bloody vampire, love,” he said.
Cordelia just chuckled. “What did you see?” she asked. Spike looked up. “The whelp again. But he wasn’t the main player… there was something
in a robe, the bloody book again, and green fire…” he said. “Anything occurring now or going to be occurring anytime in the very near
future?” Cordelia asked, her panic hidden by her purpose. Spike looked to
concentrate for a second. “No,” he said. “We have some time. How much, I don’t bloody
know…” Cordelia nodded. “That’s good,” she said. “With this book seemingly in the middle of
things, the more time we have to uncover everything in it, the better.”
With a feeling of unease Wesley looked down at the book as if it had sprouted
wings. “I have a feeling things are about to get a little more lively,” he
muttered, causing everyone to look over at him. “Um, excuse me…” Fred’s voice cut through the dead silence. Cordelia
tore her eyes away from a very worried looking Wesley and looked over to the
brunette girl. “Who’s ‘the whelp’?” Fred asked. Lorne, Gunn and Wes all looked to
Cordelia as well, awaiting her answer. This time, it was her that felt
the gut-wrenching unease. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Angel slammed the door to his apartment. The house of cards was about
to fall, and he knew it. Right now, he wasn’t sure if it was fear he was
feeling, or just anger. When Cordelia had said the name Conner, any joy
he had felt at her homecoming had been stripped away from him. She
remembered. She remembered everything that had happened, and stuff
that she shouldn’t have known about. When he’d heard her voice, when he’d
seen her… he was awaiting the new beginning. He was hoping
for a new beginning with her. But it was impossible now. Not with
her remembering Conner… He sat down on his couch and stared out the
impossibly large windows. All he’d wanted was a good life for Conner and
for Cordelia to come back. He had both of those now. Why did it
still feel like he was standing on the precipice that leads down to Hell? ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ** A/N2: Okay, so this isn’t as long as I would have wanted it, but I
needed to get something written before the angry villagers decided to come
knock down my door and carry me off to oblivion! Being that it is the
holidays, and I live somewhere that I don’t consider home, I will be taking a
short long drive to celebrate the holidays with the rest of my family and close
friends. I may or may not have computer access until after the New Year…
so, you’ll have to be patient again. But hopefully some time with the pen
and paper can get me started on the next part. So, until the New Year, I
hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and I’ll see you in 2004!
Keep on reading and reviewing! There won’t be a greater gift for me when
I return than to see a mountain of reviews of people enjoying this story.
Tell me what you like, what you don’t like and what you want to see! I’m
open to anything at this point!! |
