By Emily
E-mail: DoylesPrincess@aol.com
Disclaimer: All characters belong to crack-junkie Joss Whedon. I wish he'd
let me adopt them - I wouldn't be all abusive like he is!
Rating: Nothing worse than the show.
Spoilers: The Bachelor Party, but it sorta stems off into an alternate
universe thing. You'll see what I mean.
Feedback: It gives me happies.
Notes: I came up with this idea last night when I personally was really sick
and I'm sure you don't want all the delightful details - but I thought it might
make for a cute story -basically, Cordy got drunk while she was out with
Pierce.
More notes: Well, I'm working on it once again...It's been months, and
obviously I'm better than I was when I began to write this, but I had to
finish it some time...
Distribution: If you want it, ask.
Dedication: To my bunny Xander, because she's my best friend... I know it
sounds strange, but last night was clearly a defining moment for that... It's
a long story I'm not gonna get into, but she was all I had last night and if
I hadn't had her there for me I don't know what I would have done... so thank
you, Xand...
Doyle took her by the arm and helped her up off the ground, noticing that
she stumbled a little. He steadied her, but then worry crossed his face.
"Are you all right?" He asked for the second time, Cordelia shook her
head.
"Yeah...no...I don't know... my head's killing me..." She placed her hand
on her forehead as she says this, Doyle looks at her strangely.
"Come on, I got some stuff in the office..." He led her inside and up to
the office.
Once inside, she sat down heavily into a chair, as Doyle went to a desk drawer
and pulled out a bottle of aspirin.
"Princess - is that all that's bothering ya?" He asked, noticing that her
skin was slightly paler than usual.
"Ugh...I can't believe I have to talk to you of all people about this..."
He raised his eyebrows at her remark. "I was at dinner, but that guy,
Pierce - how boring was he? I must have drunk an entire bottle of champagne by myself just trying to do something more than just listen to him babble about stocks all night..." Doyle attempted to hide his smile.
"You're drunk." He stated, she glared at him.
"And you're loving it." She said, he handed her two aspirin and poured
her a glass of water.
"Well, for all the times that you've ever made fun of me drinking, it's
just kinda ironic that you would go out and do it yourself..."
"Please. It's not like I did it on purpose." Her face paled, and she
leaned over, vomiting on the floor. Her eyes widened in horror upon realizing
what she had just done. "Oh God - " She muttered, Doyle scrunched up his face
in disgust.
"I just saw you in a whole new light..." He said, she leaned her head back
on the couch.
"Well I sure don't know how you do it everyday."
"You get used to it." She popped the aspirin into her mouth and followed
them with the water, then looked at Doyle.
"Do you think I'll get sick again?" She asked, worry evident in her
voice.
"Probably. At least until it's out of your system." Cordelia rolled her
eyes.
"Great." She muttered, crossing her arms. "Doyle..." He glanced back at her.
"Yeah?"
"I need the bathroom - "
Cordelia's head was in the toilet a few minutes later, Doyle was with
her, holding her hair out of her face. She sat back, leaning against the wall
and looked at him.
"If I ever get drunk again please kill me..." She said, he smiled at her.
"Nah, I could never do that -" She leaned back against the wall, looking
up at the ceiling.
"Why can't I just find a guy who's good looking, rich, and interesting?"
She said more to herself than to Doyle, then looked back at him. He was
looking down at the floor, as her comment had obviously stung him. She
reached over and put her hand on his shoulder. "Doyle?"
"Hmmm?" He lifted his head to look at her, trying not to show the hurt
that was in his eyes.
"I...thank you -" Doyle stared at her, trying to see if this was really
her speaking or just the alcohol. It was hard to tell - he'd never seen her drunk before and he didn't particularly like it.
"For what?"
"For saving me. You could've gotten killed, but you did it anyway. Thank
you."
"Look, princess, you don't gotta say anything you don't mean - wait til
morning, when your head clears up a little bit, and you'll see things in a
different light..." He glanced quickly down at the floor again, Cordelia went
to say something more but once again ended up with her head in the toilet.
"Doyle - " She moaned, and he quickly pulled her hair away from her face
again.
"It'll be all right, Cordy..." She sat back again, and he stood up off the
floor.
"Where are you going?" She asked, afraid of being left alone in her
condition. He pointed at the towel rack.
"Just getting you a washcloth -" He wet it and sat back on the floor
beside her. "Pull your hair up - " She obeyed, and he patted the washcloth on
the back of her neck. "It'll make you feel a little better." Cordelia turned
her back to him, still holding her hair up.
"Hey Doyle - "
"Yeah?"
"I may be a little drunk, but I meant what I said before..." She paused,
carefully choosing her next words. "I might say some pretty harsh things to
you, but I don't necessarily mean all of them - " He smiled, although she
couldn't see him.
"You're welcome." He took the washcloth away from her neck and she
lowered her hair, and she turned to face him.
"I'm kinda sleepy...maybe I should go home..." He shook his head.
"No - not a good idea. Angel'll understand if you stay here tonight. Then
in the morning, you can go to your place and get changed." Cordelia thought
about this for a minute, then agreed.
"Okay." She yawned, and went to stand up. "Help me to the office?" She
staggered a little, losing her balance.
"Do you still feel sick?"
"A little..."
"Then stay in here for a few more minutes, and I'll go set up the couch
for you." She was too tired to argue, and let him go.
About five minutes later, he came back into the bathroom, to find
Cordelia curled up on the floor, asleep. He noticed her shudder as though she
was cold, and quickly retrieved a blanket for her. He sat back down next to
her, shutting the door and he covered her up with the blanket. He reached
over and brushed her hair out of her face, and she moved slightly at his
touch.
"Doyle - " He looked at her strangely as she said his name in her sleep,
and she seemed to reach out for him.
"I'm here - it's all right..." She smiled slightly, and moved herself so
her head was in his lap.
"Night, Doyle..." She muttered, and he leaned back against the wall,
realizing he was going to be stuck there like that all night - not that he
minded too much. He watched her sleep for a while, then finally closed his
eyes and fell asleep himself.
**********
The next morning, Cordelia woke up before Doyle did, and it took her a
minute to take in her surroundings. She looked up at Doyle, who was still
asleep, and he snored lightly. She rubbed her head due to her pounding
headache, but she couldn't help but smile at his sleeping form. She didn't
know what had happened in the past 24 hours, but she was beginning to see
Doyle in a different light - one that she had never really thought of before.
She took her blanket and pulled it up over him, and then she left the
bathroom to find Angel.
**********
Angel looked at her strangely as she stepped into his office, still
wearing her clothes from the night before. Her hair was a disaster, and Angel
said nothing as she made herself comfortable in the chair opposite his desk.
"So - rough night?" Angel asked, a touch of sarcasm to his voice.
"It wasn't so bad, actually..."
"I'm taking that Pierce is the man of your dreams, and that you're here
to resign cuz you're moving up in the world?" Cordelia scrunched up her face
in disgust.
"Ugh - no way. Pierce was totally boring." Angel gave her a look that told
her to explain herself, and she took a deep breath before she continued. "I
need some advice."
"I'm not sure if I'm the best person for that..."
"About Doyle." Angel leaned back in his chair, wanting to hear what she
had to say. "Pierce had dropped me off back here last night, and this vampire
attacked us. Did he try to save me? Nooooo - he jumped back into his car and
sped off down the street, leaving me to fend for myself."
"Okay..."
"Doyle saved me. This vampire was WAY stronger than him, but he saved me
anyway - and then I guess I was a tiny bit drunk last night from dinner, and
Doyle stayed up with me while I puked up everything I've eaten in the past
week - " She paused again, not meeting Angel's eyes. "What I'm trying to say
is... I think maybe I've got a thing for Doyle..." Angel could tell it killed
her to admit this, because she had always been so against him before. Angel
tried to hide his smile as she looked back at up him. "So now I need to know
what to do."
"Cordelia...I don't know if you've noticed this... But Doyle...well...you... he
likes you. More than like a friend."
"I'm not blind, Angel. But I don't know if I'd want to get involved with
him - he's always getting into trouble with his drinking and gambling - someone's always got something out on his life. I don't know if I want to get involved with that."Angel nodded his head in understanding.
"If you truly like him, you'll try to help him change that part of his
life... and if you truly likes you, he'll try to change for you - he knows it's
a dangerous lifestyle, he just has to learn to give it up."
"How do I help him do that?" Angel sat for a minute, then answered.
"Just talk to him about it. Take him to lunch - tell him how you feel,
tell him you'll only take a chance with him if he promises to change. That's
really all you can do." Cordy smiled at him, noticing that Angel really did
care about the two of them, whether he showed it all the time or not. He was
different than he was in Sunnydale - with Doyle around, he had somewhat of a
lighter attitude. Not much, because Angel wasn't going to change his brooding
style so drastically in such a short amount of time, but enough so that she
could notice a difference.
"So I should probably go wake him up then, huh?"
"That would be a good place to start."
**********
Cordelia stepped back into the bathroom and kneeled down beside Doyle. He
had shifted slightly, and had pulled the blanket around him. Part of her
didn't want to wake him - she had never seen him look so peaceful. But she
woke him up anyway.
"Doyle - wake up!" She said, harsher than she had intended it to be. He
awoke with a jolt, blinking a couple of times.
"Morning?"
"It's morning." She replied, then stood up. "Come on - you're gonna take
me back to my place so I can change, then we're going out for breakfast or
lunch or whatever." He looked up at her strangely, not understanding where
all this was coming from. She held out her hands to help him up off the floor.
"How's the headache?"
"Better, thanks..." They walked out of the bathroom and into the office,
where Angel still sat. "We can have the day off, right?" Cordelia didn't wait
for an answer. "Thanks, Angel." With that, Cordelia headed out of the office,
with Doyle shooting Angel a look that read 'What got into her?', then
obediently followed her out onto the street.
**********
They reached her apartment about 15 minutes later, neither one really
saying anything to each other during the walk over there. Cordelia turned to
Doyle once they were inside.
"I'm gonna jump in the shower really quick - make yourself comfortable."
She disappeared into her room, and Doyle sat down on the couch. The remote
floated over to him.
"Thanks, Dennis." He said, smiling at the air. He turned on the TV, a
rerun of "Friends" appearing. Cordelia appeared about half an hour later,
ready to go. Doyle turned off the TV and stood up at her presence.
"Wow..." Was all he could manage, and Cordelia blushed at his expression.
"Ready?"
"Yeah - where to?" He asked, and she walked over to him, linking her arm
through his.
"Your place. You so need to change."
**********
They finally got to a small diner 45 minutes after that, only two hours
after they had left the office. They were sitting by the window, and the
waitress had already taken their orders.
"So - why the lunch?" Doyle asked, taking a sip of his coke.
"We need to talk."
"Uh-oh...good talk or bad talk?" He put the glass down and looked directly
at her, suddenly worried.
"Kind of both, I guess." She fought with where to begin. "It's way hard
for me to admit this... so don't laugh, okay?" He nodded, and she continued.
"Last night... I realized I kind of have a thing for you." She spit out, and
the shock on his face couldn't have been more evident. "I've been evaluating
my feelings, and I talked to Angel -"
"You talked to Angel about this?"
"Well I needed advice! And I told him that I was worried about trying to
get involved with you - because of your lifestyle."
"My lifestyle..."
"Your drinking, gambling, the debts you owe - ring a bell?"
"All right -"
"And so what I'm trying to say is... I'd like to go out with you... dinner
or a movie or both... if you'd be willing to give that stuff up."
"That's a lot to ask of a person, Cordy... I've been living like this for
years - "
"But you have a chance to change that. You can live out your life without
fearing for it, without worrying that someone's going to be waiting to kill
you around the corner."
"Well, with the line of work we're in, that's kind of expected - "
"But you just up your chances, Doyle! Can you just think about it?" They
sat in silence for a minute, and the waitress brought them their food.
Neither one moved to touch it.
"I have a confession to make - " She raised her eyebrows at him, and he
gathered all of his courage to tell her. "I haven't really been completely
honest with you. And if you want to get involved with me, I want you to know
these things first - "
"Well, I just told you stuff - now you tell me." Doyle decided he better
just come out and say it, before he lost his nerve.
"I'm not really who I seem to be. I was once a third grade teacher... I
had... still have, somewhere, a wife. We're separated, and she disappeared and
I haven't heard from her since."
"You're married?!?!" Cordelia cried, and Doyle looked down at his plate.
"I've wanted to tell you... "
"Tell me there's more..."
"There's a whole lot more..."
"Well, that can wait... This wife of yours - why don't you try to track her
down for the divorce?"
"There's a part of me that's still in love with her."
"Oh." Cordelia's voice was low, and doubts began to fill her mind.
"But I'm beginning to get over her... because of you." Her eyes met his
again.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm telling you this stuff..."
"So what else is there?"
"This'll be a little harder to take, I'm afraid..." Cordelia laughed at
this.
"Look, Doyle? The only thing that would be harder to take than you being
married would be you being some sort of demon. And, well, that's just not
possible, right?" She laughed again, but stopped at the expression on his
face. "Oh my God, you're a demon?!?!" She shrieked, loud enough to turn some
heads in the diner.
"Could ya keep it down? I don't really want the entire place to know..." He
couldn't really read her expression at this point, and he was afraid that he
had told her too much. That maybe he just should have told her in the
beginning, when he met her, instead of when she finally decided to attempt to
ask him out. "I'm not a bad demon, Cordy - Half-Brachen, on my father's
side..."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" She asked, hurt written all over her
face. "You could have told me. I know you're not bad... I'm not as superficial
as you might think - " She cast her eyes downward, ripping her napkin into
shreds in her hands.
"I was just afraid of how you'd act... Every time I wanted to tell you,
you'd make some sort of comment about how disgusting they were and I lost the
courage to tell you..."
"Is that all you're hiding from me?"
"Yeah, that's about it..." Cordelia nodded, still numb from what he had
just told her.
"Do you still want to go out with me?" He smiled, relieved that he hadn't
completely scared her away.
"Of course, princess, of course..." She smiled back up at him nervously.
"Good. We just gotta start on fixing you up, then... we start by the
drinking, okay?" Doyle groaned. "I'm sure you lived without it before, you
can live without it again." Doyle reached into his pocket and dropped some
money on the table, then stood up to leave.
"Shall we go?"
"We shall." She said, standing up from the table. They began to walk down
the street, and Cordelia turned to him.
"We also have to find you a new place to live - the place you got now?
Nuh-uh. It's gotta go."
"Give me time, Cordy." She reached over and grabbed him by the hand, and
smiled at him. "So, when do I start looking for that new apartment again?"
The End
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