Author: Emily
E-mail: DoylesPrincess@aol.com
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. I'm not planning on making any money from this - I'm just doing what I want with the characters. Please don't sue!
Rating: Probably like a PG...
Notes: I came up with this idea while watching "City Of…" and have changed what I originally wanted to do many times. But now I think I finally got it… :-)
Xander Harris sat in his parent's basement, changed the stations on his old TV. None of the stations were working except for channel two, so he eventually stopped on that.
"Ugh - the news in Sunnydale - where there's always a mysterious death or tragedy to report…" He said, leaning back in his chair.
"This just in from a Los Angeles police department - Russell Winters, known to the stars, has come up missing. Last seen with him was Sunnydale native Cordelia Chase." A picture of Cordy flashes across the screen, Xander sat forward in awe.
"No comment…" She said, pushing her way through the crowd on the stairs of the police department. He watched her intently, her hair cascading over her shoulders, her eyes downcast yet still sparkling. His thoughts were interupted by the phone ringing - he reached over and answered it.
"Yeah?" He asked, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
"Xander?" He reached over and muted the TV.
"Yeah - hi…" He replied, recognizing the voice immediately.
"I realize I shouldn't be calling you - I really have no right…"
"No, you really don't…"
"But it's about Cordelia." Xander froze at his mentioning her.
"I saw the news - "
"No…it's not about that. She needs help - and I can't give it to her." Xander stood up and turned off the TV, and started pacing around the room.
"Angel - what's wrong with her?" The worry was evident in his voice, almost afraid of the response.
"It's kind of complicated…" He replied, Xander could tell someone else was in the room.
"Is she there?" He asked, Angel nodded his head as he spoke.
"Yeah - now's not a good time…hold on…" He covered the receiver with his hand, yet Xander could still hear him. "Cordelia - did you get the mail yet?"
"No - I could, though…"
"Yeah - " She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the room, Angel went back to the phone. "Do you think you could get out here?"
"Tell me where."
**********
Around 9 o'clock that night, Xander stepped through the doors of the bar that Angel had given him directions to. He glanced around quickly and immediately saw the vampire sitting in the back. He walked over to the table and sat down across from him.
"What's going on?" Xander asked, looking at him sternly.
"Nice to see you too - " Angel replied, Xander sat forward.
"What's wrong with her?" Angel repeated Xander's action, speaking low.
"Okay - a couple nights ago I took this girl Tina to a party - to protect her…"
"You sure don't waste any time, do ya?" Angel decided to ignore Xander's remark.
"I was walking around and heard someone's voice - someone I recognized."
"Cordelia."
"Exactly. I walked over and started talking to her - she seemed fine. Expensive clothing, make up, everything. She said she had a house on a beach in Malibu due to her newfound fame." Xander looked surprised at this, Angel nodded.
"That's exactly how I took it. So she got back to the party and I left. However, the next day brought me to Russell Winters' house, who was a vampire. She was with him - and he was planning to kill her." Xander cut in at this.
"However Angel came in and saved the day once again, right?"
"Well, kinda… I got her out of there and took her to where I live. Yesterday she asked if she could work with me and Doyle -"
"Who's Doyle?"
"You'll meet him. Anyway, last night we went to her apartment to break her lease. Turns out she isn't living in a beach house in Malibu." Xander doesn't look surprised at this. "I should show it to you."
**********
Half an hour later they arrived at Cordy's apartment, Angel holding the key. Xander stopped in the doorway, shocked. Cordelia would never live in a place like this. Not when her entire life she had lived in a huge house, people waiting on her hand and foot.
"Xander - she doesn't even have enough money for food." Xander's thoughts once again were interupted by Angel speaking, he walked over to the fridge where Angel was standing. "These are sandwiches from the party we went to. And that's all she's got." Xander swallowed hard, not believing that he could have let this happen to her. Sure, it wasn't his fault at all, but he could have at least been there for her instead of going on his road trip… or whatever you'd like to call it. He buried his hands in his pockets.
"So what do you want me to do?" Xander asked, still staring into the near-empty fridge.
"I want you to talk to her. Get some sense into her - help her find a job, anything. I can't exactly pay her too much for what I've got her doing…and I also can't take her out in the daylight to help her find a job. She could do it herself, sure, but it might be easier if someone was there with her… she might not feel so humiliated. She trusts you… at least she did…" Xander's burned by his words, and looks at him.
"Don't start with me and the whole trust issue thing, okay? Because last I checked, you weren't exactly perfect yourself." Angel looked away from him and closed the fridge, then walked over to her closet and pulled it open.
"This is all she's got as far as clothes go. Must be her only dress - and this one." He pulled one out from the back of the closet - it was her prom dress. Xander smiled at this.
"Yeah, I remember that one…"
"My point is, she went from having everything to having nothing. But what she doesn't realize is that she's killing herself - she has no food and thinks that overnight she's gonna become some huge star, and that's just not the way it happens 99.9 percent of the time."
"I know. But I don't think…I don't know if it would be such a great idea for me to go and see her. She'd be angry…and she would certainly never trust you again. Then again, I don't know why she is now in the first place…" His tone was bitter, even though Angel was trying to help him. He pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Give her this - " Angel took the money from him and looked at it.
"What if she doesn't take it?"
"Tell her it's her pay for the month - whatever. I just need to know that she's being taken care of. You don't necessarily have to give it all to her right now…"
"And where did you get all this?" Angel asked, his eyebrows arched in suspicion.
"Well, if you think I robbed a bank, I didn't. It's from my…uhh…adventure I went on this summer. I don't need to say more than that. Just please give that to her…" Xander turned and walked out of the apartment, Angel left to watch after him.
**********
"So where'd you go?" Cordelia asked, glancing up from the desk. Angel walked over to the desk and layed down a hundred dollar bill. Her eyes bugged out at this.
"Wow…nice paycheck!" She said, smiling at him. "What's it for?"
"For the week…" He replied, his face solemn. She looks at him, concerned.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" He replied, then turned to leave again. "I gotta go back out…see if anyone needs help… I should be back in a couple hours…"
"All right…" Cordelia said, looking at him strangely as he left. She shrugged her shoulders and put the money in her pocket.
**********
Cordelia woke up the next morning to hear someone knocking at the door, and realized that no one had answered it because of the sunlight streaming through the blinds. She rubbed her eyes wearily, and glanced at the clock - 6:59. She groaned and got out of bed, checking herself in the mirror.
"Yeah, I look good…" She grumbled, then walked to the door. "I'm coming!" She yelled, then pulled the door open. "Oh God…" Her face went from a look of frustration to shock, as Xander stood on the doorstep.
"I thought I'd find you here…" He said, then glanced inside. "Can I come in?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I gotta talk to you…" She shook her head, finally figuring out where Angel was the night before.
"You two planned this, didn't you? No, you can't come in…just go home…" She said, trying to shut the door on him. However, he blocked her from doing so and pushed his way through the door. "Hey!" She said, shutting the door behind him.
"Angel told me about you…your situation…" He sat down in a chair, she crossed her arms and looked at him sternly.
"And what situation is that?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Cordy…" She froze at him calling her that… no one had called her that in months… it was weird, hearing it again. "You need help. Finding a job, something."
"I have a job…I'm helping Angel and Doyle…"
"Oh yes, your little detective agency… that's not gonna be enough… "
"Angel paid me last night." Xander nodded his head at this, and ran his hands through his hair.
"Look, Cordy, I can't let you live like this… on eating finger sandwiches you stole from a party you just happened to be invited to. What were you doing before that? Digging through garbages? No… you'd rather starve than stoop that low, right?"
"What gives you the right to come in here and tell me how to live my life?" She asked, the anger rising in her voice. He rolled his eyes and stood up, face to face with her.
"I'm not gonna let you live like that… okay? I just can't let myself do it…so whether this is for you or for me, I have to satisfy something…" Cordelia shrank back a little from him.
"And what are you planning on doing to make me all better?"
"Well, first, you're gonna go and get dressed and I'm gonna take you out to breakfast. After that, we'll go down to some of those fancy little boutiques that you love so dearly and you'll fill out some applications. After that, we'll go out to lunch and figure out some more places for you to apply. Then, for all your hard work and effort, I'll take you to one of those stores and buy you something pretty, cuz I'm guessing you haven't had a new outfit since prom…am I right?" She raised her eyebrows at him, he continued. "Then I'm gonna take you out to dinner and bring you back here. Tomorrow, hopefully, you'll have some interviews which I will take you to myself. Once you have a job, I will take you apartment hunting. And not the one you were living in…I wouldn't live in that place."
"Are you done?" She asked, finally uncrossing her arms.
"I think so, yeah…" He smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back.
"Then I should probably go get ready then."
"Probably." She turned and left the room, Xander smiled to himself, proud of his accomplishment. He had been able to crack the uncrackable Cordelia Chase. And once he was done with the next couple days, he should probably take some of his own advice and go find himself a job. But right now, he was only worried about her and making sure that she had what she needed. And that was just fine with him.
The End.
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