Today
by Hjmugillecuty
SUMMARY: What I wish would happen after “Tomorrow”.
RATING: FRT [MV] [AU]
SPOILERS: Through Season 3 of Angel and Season 6 of Buffy.
DISCLAIMER: None of these characters belong to me and I make no money off of this piece of fiction. They all belong to their original creators.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I am relatively new to the BTVS and Angel fandoms so if my characterizations are not very accurate, blame my inexperience. This story would not leave my head until I wrote it down. Feedback would be nice. This may end up having a sequel.
KNOCK KNOCK
Wesley lifted his head to look at the clock next to his bed. ‘1:00 A.M.’ “Who could possibly be here at this time?”
“Wesley? Wesley?"
“Fred?” he whispered, getting slowly out of bed, grabbing his pants on his way to the front door where the knocking continued furiously.
“Wesley, please be home. Please be home.”
He finished pulling on his pants and yanked open the door. She had been leaning on it slightly so when the door opened abruptly, Fred fell forward. Wesley caught her quickly and asked, while roughly standing her up, “Fred, what are you doing here? I told Gunn last time that I was not going to help you lot anymore. Besides, you are the one who told me to stay away.” He looked down to where he was still holding her arms, and she his, and then his gaze moved to her face where her eyes had filled with tears. “Fred, what’s wrong? What has happened?”
“Wesley, Charles doesn’t know I’m here. We can’t find anyone.”
“So I’m your last resort?” he asked bitterly.
“No, you’re my first choice, Wesley. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve wanted to contact you? Charles wouldn’t let me, and I was afraid of Angel. Wait, what do you mean you told Charles ‘last time’? When did you see Charles? Oh my gosh, you gave him the vodka, didn’t you? I wondered. You saved my life again even after I was so cruel to you . . .”
“Fred!” Wesley interrupted.
“Sorry. We need your help.”
“Why? What has happened?”
“Everyone’s gone! Well, Lorne moved to Vegas, and Groo just up and left. I think he’s going back to Pylea, so I guess they’re not really missing. But Angel was supposed to meet Cordelia at Point Dume; he took his phone, but we can’t reach him. Gunn went to look for him. The police found Cordelia’s jeep abandoned on the highway; they called looking for her. Most importantly, Connor ran off without telling us. Wesley, you have to help us find him, please.”
“So it is just you and Gunn?”
“Yes, Wesley. We need to find Connor; he doesn’t know L.A. He doesn’t know who to trust.”
“Sometimes, neither do I.”
Fred finally pulled away from him. “I’m sorry, Wesley. I was angry; we were all angry. You didn’t tell us what was going on in your head. I know it is our fault too because we were so distracted by our personal lives, but you could have come to us.”
“Would you have listened? Would you have believed?”
“I don’t know, but I would have helped. Will you help us now?” Fred softly laid her hand on his arm.
Wesley looked into her eyes, afraid to disappoint her, when her phone ringing interrupted the moment.
“Fred, answer your phone.”
“Not until you promise to help.”
“Fred,” he said quietly, “I’ll help because it’s you.”
“Thank you.” She fished her phone out of her pocket. “Hello”
“Fred? What took you so long? Where are you?”
“I’m at Wesley’s, Charles.”
“Why?”
“Because he can help us. Did you find anything?”
“Yeah, I found Angel’s car at Point Dume. Maybe you guys should get down here.”
“We’ll be there soon.” Fred hung up the phone.
“C’mon, Wesley, let’s go. Charles found Angel’s car at Point Dume.”
“Wait, Fred; it is one in the morning.”
“So?” she replied angrily.
“So, we are going to need light, right?” he asked as he reached into a drawer. “Catch,” he said throwing a flashlight to her, saving another for himself.
“We’ll probably need weapons too. We should stop by the Hyperion,” she responded.
“Okay.”
“Wait, how are we going to get there? Did you get your car back? I mean we can’t walk all the way to Point Dume. I mean we could but it would take a very long time although I’m sure you walk faster than me cause your legs are longer so your strides would be greater and . . .”
“Fred!” Wesley shouted. “Calm down. I still have my motorbike around back. It should hold both of us.”
“Let’s go”
*****
Wesley’s motorcycle drove up to the Hyperion hotel. Fred jumped off the back, taking off her helmet on the way. “C’mon,” she urged Wesley.
“No, you go. I’ll wait out here.”
“No. I don’t know what we need. Wesley, please, you have to come in some time. Besides, no one else is here; don’t be worried.”
Wesley got off the bike and joined Fred in walking up the steps to the Hyperion. They entered the building, and Fred headed straight for the weapons cabinet. “What do you think we can carry on the bike?” she asked. There was no answer from Wesley. She turned around and saw him staring through the window of his office. Fred walked over and placed her hand lightly on his shoulder. “Wesley?” she queried softly.
“My books. I’ve missed my books. They’re like old friends, you know.”
“I know.” Fred gently lay her head on Wesley’s shoulder, and he unconsciously reached his arm around her shoulders.
“Fred? Was that you I heard?”
They both jumped at the voice from the balcony. Fred turned to see Lorne standing above her.
“Lorne! Angel said you were movin’ to Vegas.”
“I was, sweetie but something seemed wrong, so I came back to check up on you all. Who is that down there with you, honey?”
Wesley turned around and looked straight into Lorne’s eyes. Lorne hurried down the stairs. “Fred, what is he doing here? Angel is not going to be happy about this.”
“We can’t find Angel. Or Cordy, or Connor. Wesley’s here to help.”
“Lorne,” Wesley entreated, “I am sorry. I thought I was doing what was best. I couldn’t have you stop me. I am very sorry.”
“Okay then, sing something for me.”
“What?”
“Something simple. Broadway maybe. Weren’t you in any plays ever?”
“Why?”
“So I can be sure we can trust you.”
“I trust him, Lorne.”
“I know you do, sweetie, but I’m the one who got knocked out with a statue. Go ahead, Wesley.”
“Broadway? Well I really only know Once Upon a Mattress." He began singing quietly so only Lorne could hear. “I’m in love with a girl named Fred, my reasons must be clear. And when you see how strong she is you’ll stand right up and cheer.”
“All right, Wesley, I’ll trust you now but,“ Lorne said, stepping closer so Fred really couldn’t hear, “Angel may smell Lilah on you, and does Fred know about that?”
Wesley looked up to make sure Fred had headed towards the weapons cabinet. “It was a mistake,” he whispered. “I hope I’ll be able to explain it to her.”
“Not about Lilah. Does Fred know you’re in love with her?”
Wesley looked up in shock. “No, of course she doesn’t. How could I tell her when she is in love with Gunn?”
Lorne chuckled softly. “I can see how you might think that, but fella, you are confused.”
Wesley grabbed Lorne’s arm, his eyes filling with hope. “You mean . . .”
“Hey, guys?” Fred walked back over. “We should get going. Lorne, are you coming? Oh wait, I guess there’s only room for two on the bike.”
“Bike? I got a rental car we could take that. It does have insurance. You can fill me in on the way.”
*****
As the car pulled up to Point Dume, its occupants saw Gunn sitting on the hood of his truck waiting for them. Angel’s car was parked next to it. Gunn jumped down to face them as Fred and Lorne got out.
“Lorne, man, what are you doing here? Short trip?”
“I had a feeling I should come back.”
“Did you find Angel?” Fred interrupted.
“Not yet, but it looks like there might have been a struggle over there.” Gunn pointed to the edge of the cliff then turned his gaze back to where Wesley still sat in the car. “Fred, Lorne, why don’t you look for clues. I want to talk to Wes.”
“Charles, don’t hurt him,” Fred pleaded.
“I won’t. Just go over there, okay?”
As Fred and Lorne stepped over to the edge of the cliff, Wesley finally exited the car.
“Gunn . . .”
“Let me talk first, Wes.”
“All right.”
“I was sittin’ here thinking after Fred said she was at your place, and I realized that none of us ever asked you why. Why you took Connor, why you went to Holtz, why you didn’t trust us. So I thought maybe this time I’d ask.”
Wesley leaned against Gunn’s truck and took a deep breath. “Do you remember I once spoke to you about the pull of divided loyalties? How no matter which you choose you feel you betrayed someone?”
“Yeah, I remember. That was that night at Caritas.”
“Right. Well, here I was stuck between two sides. On the one hand, I had Angel and the group, who I know and trust and who would do anything to protect Connor. On the other, I had a prophecy that I had no reason to disbelieve. I had even checked it with other oracles. In addition, Angel was acting strangely toward Connor.”
“Wolfram and Hart were spiking his blood with Connor’s.”
“Is there nothing they won’t try? Anyway,” Wesley continued, “I had this overwhelming evidence that Angel would kill Connor as much as I didn’t want to believe it. My duty has been to help the helpless. Who is more helpless than a child? I knew I had to choose Connor. I messed up, but know that I never intended Holtz to get him. I was going to find someplace safe and raise him there. They found me and left me for dead.”
Wesley looked anxiously at Gunn, who sighed and looked down before answering. “I can understand that, I guess, but I still don’t get why you didn’t talk to me and Fred. Or Cordy.”
“Time seemed of the essence. Besides, when was the last time you and I had a real conversation?”
Gunn tried anxiously to recall his last serious personal conversation with Wesley and found that he couldn’t. As the guilt he felt at ignoring his friend began to show on Gunn’s face, Wesley stated, “It was mostly my fault, not yours. I couldn’t handle things. I was immensely jealous.”
“Of what?”
“Of the fact that Fred chose you instead of me.”
“Does Fred know you had feelings for her?”
“No. How could I tell her? I was going to once but then I tried to kill her. I couldn’t tell her after that. The next time I had the nerve, well, we went to the ballet.”
“If she knew, she would never have chosen me.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because she loves you! It’s obvious. I really only figured it out after you left. It’s in the way she says your name and looks to you to save her. She used to think Angel was her protector, then me, but the whole time, I think she knew you were the one who kept saving her life, emotionally and physically. And you love her more than anything. You were willing to lose her just so she’d be protected. I’ve never done that for her. You two connect on every level. She and I just eat together.” Gunn pushed away from the truck. “When this is over, I’ll step aside.”
“Gunn, are you sure?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Well, in the interest of full honesty, I do have one more thing I must tell you. I have not told Fred this, but Lorne figured it out. I was offered a position at Wolfram and Hart.”
“What?!”
“I turned it down, of course. But during negotiations, I did have sex with Lilah.”
Gunn turned to Wesley in shock. “You did what?”
“It meant nothing. It was a power struggle. I kicked her out immediately.” Wesley’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I was thinking of Fred the whole time.”
“Well, if I were you, I wouldn’t tell Fred about this just now, and there’s no way to tell how Angel will take it. Although at some point, you’ll have to come clean.”
“I know. So are we better now?”
“We’re better, not perfect but we’ll get there. Just trust me in the future, English. I am your friend.”
Gunn and Wesley shared a tense hug, which was quickly interrupted by Fred’s voice.
“Hey, you guys? I’m really glad you’re talkin’ and seem to have made up but we do have a little matter of three missing persons. Lorne and I may have found something.”
Wesley and Gunn grinned at Fred and hurried to follow her down the cliff.
*****
Lorne watched the others climb down the cliff to where he waited on the beach, smiling when he saw Gunn step back and allow Wesley to help Fred through some of the rougher areas. Gunn approached him, humming a faint tune, and Lorne caught a glimpse of what he and Wesley had discussed.
Wesley helped Fred over the last rock outcropping, then turned to Lorne and Fred with expectation in his eyes. “Well, what did the two of you find?”
Fred took Lorne’s flashlight and pointed it to the beach. “Well,” she said, “it looks like something heavy was sitting here, just above the tide level. It looks rectangular so maybe a box of some sort. Then over here,” she walked towards a small cove, “is Angel’s phone. It looks like he might have dropped it from the cliff. And there’s a lot of scuffling too, like a fight.”
“Okay, but there’s no dust, right?” asked Gunn.
“No,” answered Lorne.
“Now, let’s think logically,” Wesley began. “Who knew Angel would be here?”
“Cordy,” replied Gunn.
“But she never got here. Her car was on the freeway,” Fred insisted.
“The two of you.”
“But we were at the hotel.”
“Anyone else?”
Fred realized what Wesley was getting at. “Connor. Connor knew. Do you think he did something?”
“I don’t know.” Wesley sighed. “I don’t know Connor. Tell me about him.”
“Well,” Gunn started, “Connor is . . .well he’s hard to explain.”
“Lorne?” Wesley queried.
“No. I never got anything from him. Closed book, I tell you. Didn’t help that he couldn’t stand me.” Wesley looked at him, surprised. “Kid hates demons. What do you expect from being raised by a guy like Holtz?”
“Now there’s a question. What happened to Holtz?”
Fred and Gunn looked at each other, then back at Wesley. “We don’t know,” Fred admitted. “We know he followed Connor back from Quar-Toth. Angel went to see him last night. He said Holtz wanted Connor to live with us and had a letter for Connor saying so. But we don’t know where Holtz went.”
“What about Justine?” Wesley wondered. “If we find her, maybe we will find Holtz and he may know where Connor is.”
“What about Cordelia?” Lorne asked.
“Well, we’ve got three cars. Let’s split up. Lorne, why don’t you check with your contacts, see if anyone knows where Justine is. Wes, you and Fred should take Angel’s car and go back to the hotel. There might be something in your books that could help. I’ll head over to Cordy’s and see if I can find anything or if Phantom Dennis knows anything. Okay with you guys?”
“Yes Gunn, that sounds good. Shall we go? Fred, you can tell me about Connor on the way,” Wesley replied.
*****
Wesley and Fred entered the Hyperion lobby and headed toward the office. Suddenly, the front door opened behind them. They turned quickly and were surprised to see a young woman there.
“Wesley? Good, you’re here.”
Wesley stared at her in shock. “Anne? What are you doing here?”
“Wesley, who is this?” Fred muttered.
“Right, sorry. Anne, this is Fred. Fred, this is Anne, a friend of Gunn’s. She operates a teen shelter in the city. We helped her out a year or so ago.”
“How’d that bullet wound heal?” Anne asked. Fred looked at Wesley, stunned that she had never heard about this.
“Uh, just fine, thank you. What can we do for you?”
“I got a new kid tonight. The cops brought him in. He seems really confused, not even sure of his name. I thought one of you could come talk to him.”
“That sounds like a job for a psychiatrist, not one of us Anne,” Wesley stated. “What makes it our interest?”
“How about the fact that he was picked up carrying a crossbow and one of the last names he is giving himself is Angel?”
“Is the other Holtz?” Fred asked hopefully.
“Yes. So far he’s been Steven Holtz and Connor Angel.”
“Wes, it’s him. It’s Connor. We have to go get him.”
Wesley looked at the two women. “All right, let’s go.”
*****
Wesley, Fred and Anne pulled up to the East Hills Teen Center in Angel’s car. The building had been renovated and no longer bore signs of the zombie attack nearly two years prior. They walked inside, greeted by the sight of several dozen teens gathered in groups chatting and one youth seated alone on a cot, given a wide berth by his peers. Fred gasped in recognition of the young man, dressed in dark shades like his father. Wesley turned to her with a questioning glance and received an enthusiastic nod in response. He then looked at Anne, who also nodded to confirm that this was the teenager she had meant. Wesley steeled himself.
“Fred, you stay here and help Anne with something. I’ll go speak with Connor.”
“But, Wesley . . .”
“No, he doesn’t know me, so maybe he won’t run away. Maybe he’ll talk to me.”
Fred nodded in understanding and stepped away with Anne. She watched as Wesley made his way through the maze of cots towards Connor. She sighed, frustrated that she couldn’t do more right then, and turned to Anne. “How can I help?”
“We’ll do some folding,” Anne replied.
They worked silently for several minutes until Fred decided to ask one of the many questions racing through her mind. “How do you know Wesley?”
Surprised, Anne took a minute to gather her memories. “Well,” she began, “he, Gunn, and Cordelia helped us out a while ago.”
“You said something about Wesley being shot; was that then?”
“Yes. You see we were having a problem here. The kids were coming in afraid. The police had been stopping them on the streets, scaring and terrorizing them. I asked Gunn for help. He and his friends, George and Rondell, decided to get harassed by a cop and get it on videotape. Wesley and Cordelia found out their plan and came to stop him from getting killed. Wesley located Gunn and the others just as a policeman stopped them. When he tried to stop the policeman, the cop turned and shot him in the stomach. It turned out that the cops were zombies brought back by the police chief.”
“I see,” Fred murmured. “Why are people always trying to kill Wesley?”
“What?”
“Well, he got shot. Two weeks ago he had his throat slit and then he was almost suffocated with a pillow.”
“Tell me.”
Fred and Anne continued to talk but Fred found her attention kept wandering over to the cot where Wesley and Connor sat, engaged in conversation.
*****
Meanwhile, Wesley had approached Connor cautiously, nervous about how Connor might react, having never met Wesley since Connor’s return from Quar-Toth.
“Excuse me?” Wesley asked carefully. “Are you Connor?”
The boy looked up, stunned for he had not talked to any of the other youths at the center after having been brought there by the police. He had only spoken with Anne. All she had asked was his name. He had given her both and then she had left.
“Excuse me? Um, hello?” Wesley said again.
“Hello.” Connor finally replied.
“I was wondering if I could talk to you. Anne came to get me. She said you might need some help. Can I sit down?”
“Sure,” said Connor, not knowing how to respond to this.
Wesley sat down, turned to Connor and repeated his hello, this time adding, “My name is Wesley.”
Connor recognized this name and turned again in surprise and responded “Wesley? Wesley Wyndam-Pryce?”
“Why yes,” Wesley replied. “How did you know that?”
“My father told me about you.”
“Angel? Angel told you about me?”
“No. My other father. Holtz.”
“Why did he tell you about me?” Wesley asked incredulously.
“Because you are a hero. Because you saved my life.”
“What?”
“He told me all about it. He told me that you were afraid that Angel would harm me so you took me away and gave me to my father and he took me away to where I’d be safe. Don’t you remember?”
Wesley shook his head, not having realized that his betrayal of Angel would have had this kind of affect on Connor. “I . . . Connor, I didn’t expect you to know who I was. I expected you to know Angel and maybe Cordelia, but I didn’t expect you to know me.”
“Well, you were my hero. My father taught me about you and I wanted to be just like you. Someone who was brave and a good fighter, but who would be willing to save someone he thought was in danger.”
“Connor, you don’t want to be like me.”
“Why not?”
“Because I may have saved you, but I shouldn’t have. Sorry, that came out wrong. I shouldn’t have betrayed Angel to save you. Apparently you were never in any real danger.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Well, first of all I did take you away. I found a prophecy. You know what prophecies are right?”
“Yes. They tell the future,” said Connor.
“Right,” Wesley replied. “That is what they are supposed to do. But apparently this one wasn’t real. Anyway I found this prophecy that said Angel was going to hurt you and I could not let you be hurt. So I did take you away, but I never intended to give you to Holtz. I . . .” Wesley stopped and sighed. “I was going to take you somewhere myself. I was going to take you to an island called New Zealand. We were going to stay in this world and I was going to raise and train you. I never meant for you to go to Quar-Toth."
“I don’t understand,” said Connor, clearly confused. “If you didn’t intend to give me to Holtz, to my father, but you did intend to take me away from Angel, how did Holtz get me?”
“Well, I really don’t want to tell you this about the man you consider to be your father . . .”
“You must tell me.”
“Well Connor, I was taking you away and we were outside my apartment and . . . have you met Justine? The woman that you and Angel saved at the bar.”
“Yes, we’ve met.”
“She came up behind me and slit my throat. See, I have a scar here.” Wesley lifted his head to show Connor the line across his neck, carefully for the scar tissue had not entirely healed. “And she left me. She cut my throat and she left me. She drove away and took you to Holtz. And I am not sure what happened after that. Angel knows. Holtz knows, Justine knows I am sure. So, he may have taught you that I was a hero, but I was not. The prophecy was false. You were safe in Angel’s care. And I did not bother to speak with any of my friends. To talk with them about it. I did not show it to Fred or Gunn or Cordelia so that I could get their help or reassurance."
Connor looked up at Wesley, confusion still in his eyes but maybe a little more understanding than previously. “So if I understand correctly,” Connor started, “Holtz stole me.”
“And I can understand if you don’t want to accept that because he is your father. He raised you and trained you. But you do need to know the truth.”
“I believe you Wesley,” Connor said.
“Why? I’m telling you the truth, but why do you believe me so easily?”
“Because of what I know about you. Even if he lied about how I came to him, he still told me that you cared about me and I believe that. I can see it. It mattered to you if I lived or died. That’s very important. It’s nice to be cared about. Besides . . . I already heard a little about what happened.”
“From Angel?” Wesley asked.
“No, I didn’t ask him.”
“From Holtz.”
“No, he’s dead.”
“What?”
“He’s dead.”
“How?”
“At first, I believed Angelus killed, him but I think I was wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was at the ocean with Gunn and Fred and I head them talking. They said Angel was going to see Holtz. I was scared for him, but I wasn’t sure which father I was scared for. So I ran to find him. I knew where he was staying in a . . . hotel?”
“Yes.”
“And I went and he had two holes in his throat as if he’d been bitten. And Justine was there. I figured it was Angelus it made sense. So Justine and I took my father’s body and I beheaded him and I burned him, to make sure he wouldn’t rise. Then I went back to Angel and then I left and I met with Justine again and . . .” Connor stopped, as if there was something he wanted to say but wouldn’t, or couldn’t, or couldn’t decide.
So Wesley prompted him, “You saw Justine and . . .?”
“And she started telling me all these things I didn’t know. I didn’t know who she was before. My father had never told me about her. But she seemed to think that she was going to be my mother, if she had gone with us to Quar-Toth. She seemed to think that she was important to him and to me. But she wasn’t. He never told me about her. He told me about you. He told me a lot about Angel. He told me about his wife and his children whom Angelus had killed. But he never told me about Justine. So I wanted to get rid of her. I wanted her to go away. But she wouldn’t. She seemed to think we were working together, that that’s how my father would have wanted it. It didn’t seem right, because he taught me to work alone. And so I questioned her about you. She told me that she had slit your throat. I was mad because you are my hero and she was telling me that my father had lied. Then we were someplace, in a car, and she asked me to reach into her bag for something and I pulled out, “ Connor stopped, almost choking back sobs. “I pulled out this.” He reached into his pocked and showed an ice pick to Wesley.
“Connor, there’s blood on that.”
“Yes. It was my father’s blood. She killed him. She killed him and let me think it was Angelus. And then she tried to lie again. She told me that it was his idea, that it was my father’s idea to kill himself and let me find him. So that I would be enraged and want to kill Angelus. Punish him for my father’s death. Even though he didn’t do it. She lied! She said my father wanted to pit me against Angel. My father wanted me to fight my . . .other father. So I killed her. Killed her for lying and for killing my father.”
“What did you do with her?”
“I stabbed her with this.” Connor lifted the ice pick. “She tried to fight, but I’ve been in training for sixteen years. It’s difficult to beat me. Especially for someone like her who had never been properly trained.”
“Connor . . . um, what did you do with her body?”
“I threw it in the ocean. And then I took my crossbow. I was trying to find my way back to the Hyperion to get help.”
“Help for what?” Wesley asked, sensing that they had reached another key point in the conversation.
“Help to get Angel.”
“Connor, where is Angel? What has happened to him?”
“I thought he killed my father. I was sure of it. He was supposed to meet Cordelia at Point Dume. So I snuck out while Gunn and Fred weren’t watching and hid in the back of his car. While he was waiting for Cordelia he dropped that . . .thing you use to talk to other people?”
“A phone?”
“Yes. He dropped it off the cliff, so I came out and attacked him. I knocked him off the cliff and we fought. Then Justine came, with a boat, with a casket with glass on the top. We put Angel inside and sealed it shut. Then we threw him in the ocean.”
“Is he still alive?”
“He should be, we didn’t stake him or cut off his head. He should still be alive. But he’s at the bottom of the ocean, where it’s dark but there’s no blood. I was going to leave him there for eternity to punish him. I thought he deserved no less. But he didn’t do it. I’m not supposed to punish those who didn’t do anything. I’m only supposed to punish those who hurt, those who are . . .”
“Guilty?” Wesley added.
“Yes. I’m only supposed to punish those who are guilty. So I have to get him out. I thought Gunn and Fred could help. I thought maybe they knew where you were, so we could get your help too. I figured you had to still be alive. Getting your throat slit couldn’t kill you. You’re Wesley. You’re the hero of my father’s stories. I think I first heard your name when I was five.”
“Connor, I’m not a hero. I’m not. I’m intelligent, I hope, and I can fight. In this case though, I did mess things up pretty badly for you.”
“I understand that,” Connor said. “But you’re still my hero. I know it may not have been what you intended me. But I have had a good life. Not in this world, some of these things you have I cannot identify. But I did have a father who loved me and who I loved back. And you did give me that.”
“But I also took that away from you.”
“That’s okay. I can get it back. He’s my father, right?”
“Who?”
“Angel. So he has to love me. And you and Fred and Gunn and Cordelia all still love me, don’t you? Even though I’m not a baby.”
“Yes, Connor, we all still love you.” Wesley appeared as if he was about to cry. “Fred especially still loves you. She risked a lot to come and get me to help find you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Angel hates me right now, Connor, because of what I did to you. He tried to kill me. Tried to smother me with a pillow while I was in the hospital. He wouldn’t let any of the others contact me although Gunn did once when Fred’s life was in danger. Also, I did distance myself from all of them when I was getting ready to take you away, because I didn’t want them to stop me. So, Fred risked a lot.”
“Of course she did,” Connor replied. “She misses you.”
Wesley looked wistfully at where Fred and Anne were working. “What?”
“She does. When I was at the Hyperion, I could tell. She seems happy with Gunn, but it was like something was missing inside her. I can’t read minds or anything, but she seemed distant like there was someone she’d rather be with or something she’d rather be doing. And I think it was you she was missing because every time they needed to look something up, she’d always say, 'Well, shouldn’t we go get . . .?' and then someone would cut her off. And they are your books; I know they are.”
“How do you know that the books are mine?”
“Because I looked at one or two of them the other day, and there is handwriting in them. You wrote notes or something. I know your handwriting.”
“How?” Wesley asked, shocked again.
“Because I have a book . . . I had a book growing up. And your handwriting was in it.” Connor reached in a bag on the cot and pulled out a tattered copy of the Holy Bible. He opened it to the flyleaf, where it said: ‘To Connor— One day I’ll teach you about this and about many, many other things. I teach you how to read it and what it means. — Your Uncle Wesley’
“Your Bible,” Wesley commented, surprised. “I didn’t realize you had it. I gave it to you when you were born. And . . .that’s right, when I took you I brought it with us so that I could teach you about it. It must have been in the diaper bag when Justine took it, and Holtz took it to Quar-Toth.”
“Yes. He gave it to me when he first told me about you. So, I knew that you cared about me. He taught me to read out of it, and I did hope that one day you’d make good on your promise. Because I read it, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Maybe once everything is over?”
“Yes.” Wesley grinned reassuringly at Connor, for he knew the boy was a little anxious about what they had to do next. “Okay, Connor. You ready?”
“Ready?”
“Yes, let us get you out of here and we’ll go find Angel.”
“Ready.”
“Fred! Anne!” Wesley called over to the two women. “Come here a minute.”
They headed over. Connor looked up at Fred nervously. “Fred, I am sorry I disappeared.”
“That’s okay, I understand. I mean the hotel can be a little cramped and boring sometimes, and there’s not much to do there, and you don’t want to stay in your room the whole time. I did at first because I’d been living in a cave for five years, but . . .”
“Fred,” Wesley interrupted. “It’s okay.”
“Yeah. But, Connor?” Fred continued. “If you ever want to take off again? Let us know beforehand, just so we won’t be worried?”
“Sure,” Connor replied.
“Good. Great. So are we going back now?”
“Kind of,” Said Wesley. “We’re going to go get Angel.”
“You know where he is?”
“Connor does.”
“You saw him, Connor?”
“Kind of.”
“Should we call Gunn?”
“Yes, we are definitely going to need Gunn,” Wesley said. “Anne, can we take Connor? He’s not confined here or anything?”
“No, you guys go ahead. He belongs with you. We like to have our children with their families.”
“Thank you, Anne,” said Wesley. Then he added, with a grin, “Anne, why don’t you stop by the hotel again soon. I am sure Gunn would love to see you.”
Fred looked at Wesley in surprise. But, Wesley remembered how well Anne and Gunn had gotten along previously and realized that maybe, since Gunn was willing to step aside from Fred’s affections, Anne might take her place.
“That would be great, Wesley,” Anne replied. “I’d love to see Gunn; I haven’t seen him in forever. He doesn’t come around here much anymore.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Wesley agreed. “We’ll see you around then?”
“Sure, I’ll come by.”
“Let’s go.” Wesley reached over and took Fred’s hand.
She looked at him in surprise and then grinned. “Coming Connor?” she asked.
“Yes. Anne, thank you for finding Wesley.”
“You’re welcome. He’s a good man.”
“Yes he is,” Connor replied.
“Fred, call Gunn on the way. Have him meet us at the boatyard,” Wesley said.
“The boatyard?”
“I’ll explain.”
*****
When Fred, Wesley and Connor pulled up to the boatyard, they found Gunn already there waiting.
“Hey, Connor, they found you!”
“Sorry, I didn’t tell you I was running off, Gunn.”
“It’s okay. I used to run off all the time. Sometimes home just gets . . .”
“Gunn!” Wesley interrupted. “We’re kind of in a hurry.”
“Right. So where was he?” Gunn asked Fred.
“At the East Hills Teen Center. Apparently, the cops picked him up because he was carrying a crossbow and didn’t know where he was going and couldn’t properly identify himself. So they took him to the Center, and Anne came and got us.”
“Anne? You saw Anne? Man, I haven’t seen Anne in forever.”
“Well, she may stop by again, Gunn,” said Wesley with a conspiratorial grin on his face. Gunn looked over and saw Wesley’s grin and laughed. “English, don’t you even.”
Fred looked at the two of them, confused. Connor stared out over the ocean. “It’s so beautiful and peaceful,” he said.
“The ocean?” Wesley clarified. “It can be. It can also be very angry at times.”
“I suppose. But right now it is very peaceful.”
“Right,” Wesley replied, getting down to business. “Gunn, did you learn anything about Cordelia?”
“Cordelia?” Connor asked. “What is wrong with Cordelia?”
“She’s disappeared,” Wesley answered.
“How? I mean, she was supposed to meet Angel. She never showed up? I figured she had told you he was missing.”
“No. We kind of figured it out on our own.”
“Gunn?”
“Didn’t learn a thing. Phantom Dennis knew nothing. He wrote for me that she was talking to herself earlier today, something about being in love with Angel.”
“Not that again.”
“Anyway, he thought maybe she was having a vision. But I don’t know why she’d have a vision of herself being in love with Angel. Doesn’t she usually have visions when people are in trouble?”
“That’s true. But we don’t know if it was a vision. She may have just been talking out loud, trying to convince herself of something.”
“That’s possible.”
“Well, we’ll just have to figure things out with Cordelia later. Right now, we’ve got to get Angel.”
“You said that. Where is he?” Gunn asked.
“Apparently,” Wesley started. “He’s at the bottom of the ocean.”
“WHAT!?” Gunn asked incredulously. “The bottom of the ocean? Wesley, where did you get this idea? How could you think he’s at the bottom of the ocean?”
“I told him,” Connor said. “I put him there.”
“What?” Fred and Gunn asked together.
“It’s a long story,” Wesley said. “But he feels bad, he was trying to find the hotel to have you two come and save Angel and that’s what we are going to do now. We’re going to save Angel.”
“Whatever you say, English; you’re the boss.”
“Now, that’s clearly why we are here. We need a boat, probably a grappling hook of some sort, and I don’t know what else. You said he’s in a box, right, Connor?”
“Sealed shut.”
“We’ll have to worry about that part after we get him out. Let’s see what we can do. Anyone have a contact at the boatyard?”
“I do,” said Gunn. “I’ll go talk to him.”
*****
The group of four anxiously worked to make sure the boat they had borrowed was seaworthy. As Connor and Gunn tried to figure out how to attach the hook to the boat for maximum leverage, Wesley remembered something.
“I have to run to the hotel. Connor, why don’t you come with me? Fred, you and Gunn can take care of this, right?”
“Sure. But, Wesley, what did you forget?”
“Angel’s been down there for several hours, right, Connor?”
“Yes.”
“He’s going to be thirsty so we need to bring some blood. I don’t want him taking it from any of us. I am sure none of you want that either. So Connor and I will run back to the hotel; we’ll pick up some blood and come back. Fred, see if you can help Gunn figure out the leverage with the hook. It’s about eighty pounds. See what you can do. Gunn, you might want to talk to Fred,” Wesley mentioned innocently. “Let’s go, Connor.”
Wesley and Connor jumped into Angel’s convertible and headed back to L.A. Gunn grinned sheepishly at Fred. “Let’s figure out how to do this.”
“Okay,” answered Fred.
The two worked in silence for a few minutes. When they believed they had solved the leverage problem, Gunn turned to Fred. “I need to talk to you,” they said simultaneously.
“Do you want to talk first?” Fred asked Gunn.
“No, you go ahead.” Gunn looked at Fred, noticing that she was starting to look a little anxious.
“Okay. Well, I, um . . . I . . . I’m sorry that I went to see Wesley without asking you. I knew you’d be angry, and I didn’t want you to stop me because I thought we needed him to find Connor and Angel.”
“Fred, I’m not angry. I knew we’d need Wes; I just couldn’t do it myself. I’m glad you went to get him.”
“Good. Also . . . I held his hand.”
“Whose hand?”
“Wesley’s!”
“Oh. Well that’s okay.”
“That’s okay? Gunn, I’m your girlfriend. You’re okay with Wesley holding my hand and me allowing it and . . . liking it?”
“Yeah. That’s what I needed to talk to you about. I don’t think we should date anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are in love with Wes and I can see how much the two of you belong together. You will be happier with him and I can’t stand in the way of that.”
“Don’t you love me anymore?”
“I do, but not as much as Wes does. And you don’t love me as much as you love him. And I just realized how much I want to see how Anne has been.”
“She’s really nice.”
“She always has been. So, are you okay with this? I haven’t read you wrong, have I?”
“No. You’re right. I am in love with Wesley. I just couldn’t admit it before. But he’s back now, so I can.” Fred leaned over and hugged Gunn, whispering, “Thank you, ” into his chest.
“You’re welcome.” Gunn saw lights approaching. “Here they come. Are we ready?”
*****
The water lapped at the sides of the boat. The group of four had sailed to Point Dume and headed to an area of water that had seemed familiar to Connor. There they had anchored the boat and began their search. Wesley and Fred were in charge of the large spotlight they had obtained while Gunn and Connor dragged the ocean with the grappling hook. The deck was littered with tires, bicycles, and other debris they had already pulled up, including one telephone booth that had required all their strength. They had been searching for nearly two hours and Wesley was beginning to worry that they wouldn’t find Angel before sunrise. Fred noticed how Wesley kept looking at his watch. She reached over and laid her hand on his arm, causing him to jump. “What time is it, Wes?” she asked in a whisper so Gunn and Connor wouldn’t hear.
“Five o’clock,” he replied in the same tone.
“How long until sunrise?”
“Half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes. I don’t think we are going to find him tonight Fred. There are too many places to look.”
“Then we’ll come back tomorrow and try again.”
“I may be able to find an incantation that will help. I’ll have to check my books.”
“You know, Wesley, it’s good to have you back with us. I missed you.” Fred lifted her hand to stroke his cheek. He reached up and took her hand in his own then extended his other hand to her chin allowing his thumb to gently touch her lips.
“What have I done to deserve you?” he asked breathlessly.
“Enough,” she answered and leaned towards him. Their lips were drawn closer together until they were moments from their first real kiss.
“Hey, English!” Gunn yelled from the front of the boat.
Wesley jerked away from Fred, frustrated because he had not been able to kiss her. “Yes, Gunn?”
“We found something; we need your help reeling it in.”
Fred sighed. “Let’s go help him. We’ll finish this later.”
*****
Wesley, Gunn and Connor strained to pull the chain of the grappling hook back to the surface with its heavy load. They had installed a simple pulley system on the deck as well, and Fred was turning its crank as quickly as she could. It was a long process, though, and their strength was beginning to ebb when Wesley noticed the sun creeping over the horizon. “Hurry!” he shouted, pulling with renewed vigor. “It is almost day.”
The others looked up in surprise. Gunn reacted fastest. “Connor, go take over the crank. Fred, see if you can find a tarp, just in case it is Angel.”
Fred started digging around the deck as Connor grabbed the crank. Gunn and Wesley readjusted their work gloves and resumed pulling the hook up.
“Found one!” Fred yelled, holding up a large black tarp.
“Good, come take over for Connor!” Wesley shouted.
With Connor’s added strength, the box they were pulling began to break the water’s surface just as the sun’s rays began to kiss the liquid. Connor looked down at the ocean. “It is him!” he cheered. Heartened, the men pulled the box onto the deck where Fred immediately covered it with the tarp. Wesley and Gunn collapsed on the deck as Fred and Connor examined the sides of the box. Fred turned to Wesley. “We don’t have the tools to free Angel here. They soldered the box closed. We’ll have to take him home in the box.”
“All right,” he replied, straining to stand. He winced, and Fred rushed to his side.
“Are you okay?” she whispered, putting her arm around his waist.
“Just a little sore.” He rubbed his throat, trying to quell the fire that had appeared there. “Connor, let’s get out of here.”
They loaded Angel’s box into the bed of Gunn’s truck, straining with the weight. “Wes, you and Fred take Angel’s car. Connor will ride with me. We’ll meet at the hotel,” Gunn declared.
“Fine. We’ll stay close behind,” Wesley agreed. “I’m going to stop and rent a hand truck though.”
*****
The two cars pulled up to the Hyperion in the bright light of day. Once they lowered Angel carefully onto the hand truck and Connor, Gunn and Wesley wheeled him into the hotel, making sure the tarp still covered the glass front. Fred carried in the blowtorch that they had rented with the hand truck. Wesley and Connor began working on freeing Angel as Gunn took the hand truck back out to the car.
After thirty minutes, Wesley pulled out the rods that had sealed the box. Fred stood nearby with two glasses of blood. “Everyone ready?” Wesley asked, looking at Connor who stood prepared to pull off the tarp and Gunn who was holding a crossbow, just in case.
“Let’s do it,” Gunn said. Nodding to Wesley, Connor yanked away the tarp, and Wesley pushed off the lid. An emaciated Angel sat up in the box.
“Fred, give him the blood,” Wesley encouraged. Fred inched forward and handed Angel both glasses, which he drained quickly.
“Angel, man you okay?” Gunn asked.
“Gunn? Fred? Connor?” Angel responded weakly, looking at each of them as he said their name. “What . . .” Suddenly he snarled. “Wesley!” Angel leapt out of the box and pushed Wesley up against the counter, his hands around Wesley’s neck. “What are you doing here? Come to betray us again? To take my son again?”
Fred rushed up and tried to pull Angel away. “Angel, let him go. You’ll kill him.”
Angel backhanded Fred, throwing her to the ground. “That’s the idea!”
Connor raced over. “Let Wesley go!”
Angel did not even look at his son, just shoved him to the ground beside Fred. “I’m going to finish what I tried to do in the hospital,” Angel growled. He tightened his grip on Wesley’s throat and vamped out, preparing to feed from his enemy.
“Stop. Or you’re dust.” Angel lifted his head to look into Gunn’s eyes as he held the crossbow pointed straight at Angel’s heart. “Fred, Connor, take the blowtorch and get out of here. You’re staying at Wesley’s tonight.” Fred and Connor hurried out, Fred sobbing worried tears, Connor’s expression inscrutable as he watched his father stand off with his hero and the warrior.
“Let him go, Angel. I will not hesitate to shoot.” Angel relaxed his hold on Wesley, who was able to wrench himself away and stand next to Gunn.
“Do not follow us, Angel,” Wesley whispered in the utter silence of the hotel. “The invitation you had to my home is rescinded. When we can talk without attacking . . .”
“TALK! You took my son!” Angel yelled.
“Yes. And you tried to kill me, twice. But this time it was in front of your son. And you hurt him too this time. You also hurt Fred. I will not allow you to do that again.” Gunn and Wesley backed out of the hotel.
*****
Wesley and Gunn walked up to Gunn’s truck to see Fred seated in the bed of the truck, crying in Connor’s arms. “Fred?” Wesley asked softly.
She looked up and reached over to hug him hard. “Wes. Oh, Wes, I was afraid you were dead.” She kept repeating his name through her tears, looked him straight in the eye and placed her lips firmly against his, kissing him with all the passion and fear that she had built up ever since he had left them. He kissed her firmly back, lifting her out of the truck, until the need to breathe became too great.
He pulled away and whispered, “I’m alive, Fred. Don’t worry.”
Gunn and Connor had watched the display in amusement. “And Angel?” Connor asked, glancing at Gunn.
“Still alive,” Gunn replied. “But you two are not staying here tonight.”
“Right,” Wesley said. “Gunn, do you have any paper?”
“In the glove compartment.”
“Leave a note for Lorne, tell him to come straight to my apartment.” Wesley reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Handing it to Fred, he ordered, “Speed dial 8, ask for Rupert Giles. It’s after seven he should be there. Connor, let’s load the equipment and get out of here."
The phone was ringing as Fred got into the cab of the truck between Connor and Wesley. Finally, a young man picked up. “Magic Box,” the voice said.
“Is Rupert Giles there?” she asked.
“Yes, who’s calling?”
“I’m Winifred Burkle. I’m calling for Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.”
“Just a second.” Fred heard the voice yelling to someone else. “Giles, it’s Wes in L.A. for you!”
A different voice came on the line, this one distinctly British. “Hello?”
“Mr. Giles?”
“Yes, who is this?”
“Just a second.” She passed the phone to Wesley.
“Rupert?” Wesley asked anxiously.
“Wesley? Who was that?”
“Winifred, she . . .um, well that doesn’t matter this second.” He grinned sheepishly at Fred, squeezing her hand. “Rupert, I need you to look up an incantation for me. I can’t get to my books right now.”
“Which incantation?”
“Rescinding an invitation to a vampire. And could you hurry?”
“Certainly.” Wesley heard Giles passing the request to the voices in the background, one of which he recognized as Xander.
“Is this for any vampire in particular?”
“Yes.”
“Has he changed?”
“No. He’s not Angelus. But he’s not really Angel right now either. We’re playing it safe.”
“Well, darn it. I had hoped things were going well there.”
“From the way you are talking I assume all is as usual in Sunnydale?”
“I was hoping we could send Dawn to stay with Angel. Things have actually been worse here. Tara was murdered, Buffy was shot, and Willow tried to end the world.”
“Well things haven’t been quite that bad here. If she needs time away, send her. But to my apartment, not to the Hyperion.”
“I believe I catch your meaning.”
“By the way, Cordelia hasn’t shown up in Sunnydale, has she?”
“Not that I know of.”
“It was a long shot, but I thought I’d check.”
“She’s missing?”
“We’re not sure . . .” Wesley was interrupted by Xander’s voice.
“Found it!”
“Wonderful. Wesley, are you ready?”
“One second.”
Wesley opened the glove compartment and rummaged around for some paper. “Sorry, Wes, I used the last on the note for Lorne,” Gunn commented.
“Blast. Anyone?” Fred and Connor shook their heads. “All right, Fred, give me your arm.”
“Wes . . .”
“I have to write on something.”
“Here.” Fred stretched her arm across Wesley’s lap. He pulled out a pen, switched the phone to his left hand, and tested to make sure the pen would work. “Wes, that tickles.”
“Sorry, love.”
Connor leaned over to Gunn. “Why is he marking her?”
“It’s just temporary. It will wash off. You see, sometimes when people don’t have paper they write on whatever they can.”
“I see, so it is not a way of claiming her.”
“Not really,” Gunn said with a grin.
“Go ahead, Rupert.”
“Well, you’ll need to burn some moss herbs, sprinkle holy water and nail crosses at all entrances.”
“Okay, herbs, water, crosses. What next?”
“Then repeat this phrase: ‘Hicce verbis consensus rescissos est.’ Make sure you are thinking of him as you do the ritual.”
“Wonderful. Thank you, Rupert. And if you’d like to send Dawn here, go ahead.”
“Glad we could help. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” Wesley hung up the phone and leaned over to give Fred an apologetic kiss. “Careful not to smudge that, sweet.”
“Well, I’ll just have to leave my arm where it is, won’t I?” Fred giggled, squeezing Wesley’s kneecap.
“Yes, I suppose so.” Wesley smiled, leaning over to kiss her again.
“Will you two stop that? I’m trying to drive over here.”
“Sorry, Gunn.”
*****
Wesley opened the door to his apartment and ushered the others inside. “Gunn, Connor, look around and make sure we weren’t beaten here. Fred and I will prepare the ritual.”
“Right, English.”
As Gunn and Connor searched, Wesley reached into a drawer and pulled out several crosses. “Hang these by the windows and doors,” he said, handing them to Fred. He opened another drawer to reveal bottles of holy water and snatches of herbs. He found what he needed and joined Fred by the front door where she was hanging the last cross. Gunn and Connor returned.
“All clear, Wes,” Gunn stated.
“Good. Here, Connor, burn these herbs. Gunn, sprinkle the holy water. Fred, I need your arm.”
“I thought you needed all of me.”
“I do, but right now, I’ll settle for your arm.”
“Here.” Fred put her arm where Wesley could read it.
“Everyone ready? Hicce verbis consensus rescissos est. Hicce verbis consensus rescissos est.”
“How do we know if it worked?” Gunn asked.
“We don’t, until Angel tries to come in.”
“All right, well none of us have had any sleep today, so I’m going to take off. I’ll meet you all here at about six thirty, okay? We’ll figure out what to do about Cordy then.” Gunn said.
“Sounds good,” Wesley replied. “Do you need to do the ritual at your place?”
“No. Angel’s never been there. I’m good. See you later.”
“Bye, Gunn,” Fred said.
As Gunn let himself out, Wesley turned to Fred and Connor. “Let’s get some sleep. Fred, you take the bed. Connor and I will have the couches.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. But let me change the sheets first.”
“You don’t have to.”
“Yes, I do,” Wesley said firmly.
*****
A pounding on his front door woke Wesley for the second time that day. Fred rushed out of the bedroom with a blanket around her, covering the t-shirt she had borrowed from Wesley. Connor jumped to his feet, in an old pair of Wesley’s pajamas, reaching for the crossbow he had placed next to the couch before going to sleep. Wesley rolled off the couch in his t-shirt and boxers and glanced at the clock. “1:30,” he stated. “Too early for Gunn.” The knocking continued. Wesley reached for his own crossbow and tossed Fred a stake, causing her to drop the blanket. Wesley whistled appreciatively. “You look good in my clothes.”
Fred walked over and kissed him hard. “Answer the door.”
Wesley walked to the door, Fred and Connor behind him with their weapons at the ready. Wesley pulled the door open, pointing his crossbow at the man standing there.
“Wes, don’t point that thing at me,” Xander Harris said with a grin. “I come in peace.”
“Xander!” Wesley said, relieved. “What are you doing here?”
“Giles told me to bring Dawn here.” Xander stepped to the side, revealing Dawn Summers standing behind him. “And he said you might need some extra help. Looks to me like he was right.”
Wesley stepped back from the door, allowing Xander and Dawn to enter. He shut the door swiftly behind them. “Are you sure you can stay awhile, Xander? Won’t Anya be missing you?”
“You didn’t hear, did you? Anya and I didn’t get married. She’s a vengeance demon again.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. What . . . ?”
Wesley was interrupted by Fred’s voice. “Um, Wes, introductions?”
“Oh right. Sorry, love.”
“Love?” Xander asked with a raised eyebrow.
Wesley glared at him. “Fred, Connor, this is Xander Harris, a friend of Buffy Summers the Slayer, and Dawn Summers, Buffy’s sister. They are from Sunnydale.”
“Nice to meet you,” Fred replied, shaking Xander’s hand.
“Xander, Dawn this, is Winifred Burkle, a member of Angel Investigations, and Connor Angel, Angel’s son.”
“Angel’s son?” Xander asked incredulously. “How does dead boy have a fifteen year old son?”
“Sixteen, actually,” Connor spoke for the first time.
“But still. How does he have a son?”
“It’s a long story. But one you’ll have to hear if you’re going to help. How about I make some tea and cocoa while Fred and Connor get dressed?”
Fred and Connor left the room while Dawn threw herself on the couch. Xander joined Wesley in the kitchen, locating five mugs. “So, Fred,” Xander stated.
“No, Xander, I’m Wesley.” Wesley smirked.
“Funny. So are you dating her?”
“Yes.”
“Good. She’s cute.”
“She’s amazing.”
“I can imagine. You never fall in love with the mediocre.”
Just then, Fred stuck her head through the kitchen door. “Hey Wes, Connor and I realized we don’t have any clothes here, so we went through your closet. How come I didn’t know you have leather pants?”
“Oh dear. Fred, you’re not wearing them, are you?”
“Yeah. They’re a little big but not too bad. You wanna see?” Fred stepped into the kitchen, and Wesley’s breath caught in his throat. She was also wearing one of his dress shirts; three buttons closed then tied showing her midriff. The leather pants, which had been tight on Wesley, fit her almost perfectly.
“Wow.” Wesley stepped towards her and put his arms around her waist, holding her lightly. “You look amazing.” He leaned his head down to kiss her and was interrupted by the whistling of the tea kettle.
“Wes,” Fred started. “Why don’t you at least put some pants on? Not that I mind your boxers, but Dawn is only sixteen. Xander and I will get drinks for everyone.”
“Right. I’ll have tea.” Wesley gave Fred a quick kiss on the lips. “Did Connor find something to wear?”
“Yeah, he’s in jeans and a ‘Sunnydale High’ shirt. He’s in the living room with Dawn.”
Wesley left the kitchen. Fred started measuring the cocoa into two mugs. “I figure Connor and Dawn will want cocoa. How about you?”
“I’ll take cocoa too.”
“All right, three cocoas, two teas.” Fred grabbed the teapot and filled the mugs. “Can you carry three, Xander?”
“Not a problem.”
“Here, you take the cocoas.”
They walked into the living room to see Dawn and Connor just staring at each other on opposite ends of the couch. “Here, Dawn, take the one on top,” Xander instructed. She obeyed, and Xander sat down between them, handing the other mug to Connor. Fred set Wesley’s mug on the table and settled her self on the loveseat. Wesley came in, now properly dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, and joined Fred on the loveseat.
“So . . .” Wesley and Xander began simultaneously.
Wesley chuckled. “Why don’t you go first? I suspect your story may be shorter than ours.”
“Well, it was pretty much a typical Sunnydale spring. World almost ended; we stopped it as usual.”
“Obviously. What was the big bad this time?”
“Well, not really a big bad. It was Willow who tried to end the world.”
“Willow? You must explain.” Wesley leaned forward in anticipation.
“All right. You remember Tara, right?”
“Yes. I met her at the funeral.”
“Right. She broke up with Willow because she thought Willow was doing too much magic. I guess after raising Buffy from the dead she thought she could do anything. She even erased our memories.”
“Ah. Tabula Rasa,” Wesley said in recognition.
“I guess. After Willow and Dawn got into a car accident because of the magic use, she quit cold turkey. She was doing really well and was starting to win Tara back. Meanwhile, we were having some problems with these three guys . . . Do you remember Jonathan? From Sunnydale High?”
“Jonathan?” Wesley mused. “Short fellow, tried to kill himself, gave Buffy an award at the prom?”
“Yes. He and two of his friends decided to become super-villians. Their leader was a guy named Warren. He shot Buffy and one of the shots went wild and killed Tara where she and Willow were talking in Willow’s room. Willow freaked and totally went off the wagon.” Xander paused, feeling Dawn’s body beginning to shake with tears beside him. He wrapped his arm around her comfortingly and continued, “Buffy healed fast. Willow found Warren and skinned him.” Wesley and Fred’s eyes showed their shock. “She decided to end the world, but I managed to stop her.”
“How?” Fred asked in wonder.
“By appealing to the Willow I knew was still in her.”
“And only you could have done it,” Wesley stated approvingly. “You are her oldest friend and know her best.”
“Giles is sticking around for a while to help her. Jonathan and his other friend have disappeared, but if they are found, they’re going to jail. But clearly things have been intense, which is why we came here.”
“Good. We can use you,” Wesley said, standing. “Now before we get into our story, how about we order some pizza?”
“Great idea, Wes. And I can get to know Dawn,” Fred concurred.
*****
Wesley smiled at the gathering in his living room. Fred and Dawn were discussing school while Xander and Connor were critiquing the weapons Wesley kept in a trunk. The pizza had been quickly devoured. Wesley leaned forward on the loveseat for a final slice and to put an arm around Fred’s waist. She gave him a quick smile then returned to her comments on high school physics. Suddenly, Xander returned to the couch. “All right,” he said. “Now someone gets to tell me how Angel has a sixteen year old son.”
Wesley looked up at Xander, seeing the curiosity in the younger man’s eyes. “Well,” he began, “I can tell most of the tale, Fred and Connor will have to fill in the end. Do you remember hearing of Angel’s sire, Darla?”
“Yes, Angel staked her about five years ago in Sunnydale,” Xander replied.
“Correct. About two years ago a local evil law firm, Wolfram and Hart, performed a ritual raising her from the dead. She was restored to her mortal body and sent to torment Angel. She wanted to be a vampire again because the illness that had been killing her in her last life was still killing her now. Eventually, she had Drusilla turn her. During this time, Angel was going through a dark period. He had fired Cordelia and I and, while not becoming Angelus, did behave rather immorally. And at some point, he and Darla had sex. When he recovered and rejoined Angel Investigations, he didn’t tell us that part, and we were too busy rescuing Fred to ask.”
“Rescuing Fred?” Xander interrupted.
“I was trapped in a demon dimension called Pylea for five years. Wesley and the others opened a portal and saved me.” Fred smiled at Wesley, and he shook his head at her shortened version of events.
“Anyway, then everything happened with Buffy dying and being reanimated, so the first time we heard about Angel and Darla was when she showed up at the hotel nine months pregnant.”
“But how? I’ve heard about vampires getting humans pregnant but not about two vampires conceiving a child,” Xander questioned.
“We can’t explain it either,” Fred answered. “It was like a miracle. At first we weren’t sure the baby would even be human, but Wes did a sonogram, and we found out he was. And that he had a heartbeat and a soul. And, well, he’s sitting right next to you.”
“In the meantime,” Wesley continued, “a time traveling demon named Sahjahn had brought a vampire hunter named Holtz from the 18th century to kill Darla and Angel. They had killed his family, and he had sworn revenge. He, as well as a number of other groups, was after Darla and the baby. But we determined she couldn’t give natural birth, so Darla staked herself so Connor could live.”
“Okay, so I think I understand the whole birth thing. But how did he get to be sixteen already?”
“Well. That part is a bit harder to explain,” Wesley said. “I was doing some translations . . .”
“There’s the Wes I remember,” Xander interrupted.
“Yes. I found a prophecy that I had reason to believe pertained to Angel and Connor. In short, it said: 'The father will kill the son.'”
“So you sent Connor away somewhere, right?” Xander interrupted again.
“Excuse me?”
“I know prophecies, Wes. I’ve been dealing with this kind of thing for almost seven years now. When you have a bad prophecy you send the possible victim somewhere safe and then you research the whys and wherefores. You know, who, what, where, when and so on. But you don’t keep the victim around to get killed. It’s what Giles would do.”
“That’s what I tried. It didn’t really succeed very well. I hadn’t told the others because I knew Angel would not be pleased. I took the baby and was going to head to New Zealand when Justine, one of Holtz’s associates, slit my throat and took him."
“Slit your throat?” Dawn asked.
“Yes, see the scar on his neck?” Connor replied.
“Another for your collection,” Xander commented.
“Collection?” Fred asked softly.
“Yeah, you’re still got scars from the explosion, don’t you, Wes?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Explosion?” Fred turned to Wesley with a tender expression.
“Yeah,” Xander replied, “Wes was in the Sunnydale High gym when it blew up the day I graduated High School.”
“And is there a scar from your gunshot wound?”
“Gunshot wound?” Now it was Xander’s turn to be surprised.
“Zombie police,” Wesley stated, earning a nod from Xander. “Yes, Fred, there is a scar. Anyway, I woke up in hospital the next day. Angel visited and tried to smother me, and I stayed away from him until tonight. Fred and Connor will have to tell the rest.”
“Fred?” Xander prompted.
“The night Connor went missing,” she began, “Angel caught up with Justine and Holtz. But Sahjahn wanted Connor dead, so he ripped a hole between dimensions. Holtz jumped into it with Connor. Angel did a spell to make Sahjahn corporeal, and he explained that the prophecy was false. The original had said Connor would kill Sahjahn.”
“And I will,” Connor muttered.
“Angel got really broody. But then we found these prophecies about a destroyer coming and the hotel was infested by these crawdad thingies, and it turned out Connor had used them to find a way back to our dimension. But time moves faster where he was, so for us it was only a couple of weeks, but for him it was sixteen years. Holtz had raised and trained him. He was trying to kill Angel at first, but then he wasn’t. And that brings us to last night. Angel and Connor had gone missing, so I came to get Wes’s help. And we found them.”
“I had sentenced my father to life on the bottom of the ocean,” Connor said. ”Until I realized he was not guilty of any crime against me. So I found Wesley, and we saved him.”
“But what happened so you needed the spell, Wes? I would have thought you’d want it after the hospital,” Xander commented.
“He thought he deserved to die,” Fred answered instead. “He felt like he had betrayed his friend and failed at keeping Connor safe. If it was still just him in danger, he wouldn’t have asked for it.”
“You shouldn’t feel that way, Wes,” Xander insisted. “You did the right thing. I would have been worried from the moment Connor was born. I’m the only one here who has dealt with Angelus, and he wouldn’t have thought twice about killing his own child.” Xander turned to Fred. “From what you said, it sounds like others besides Wes are in danger from Angel now.”
“At the hotel, after we freed Angel from the box he was sealed in, he attacked Wes. When Connor and I tried to stop him, he turned on us. We were lucky to get away.”
“As I told Giles,” Wesley added, “he is not Angelus, but he is not the Angel we know either. I thought it was safer to bring them here and perform the ritual.”
“Smart move. So it seems our job here is to keep you three safe until Angel returns to himself.”
“And to find Cordelia,” Connor added.
“Why? What happened to Cordy?”
Wesley smiled at the anxiety in Xander’s voice, and when Fred turned to him with a questioning look, he whispered, “They dated in high school.”
“Oh.” Fred nodded then turned to answer Xander, “We’re not sure. She was supposed to meet Angel tonight but never showed, as far as we know. The police found her car abandoned on the freeway. It might be something with her demon side.”
“Demon? Since when does Queen C have a demon side?” Xander asked incredulously.
“Her birthday,” Wesley replied.
“Some present.”
“Actually, it was her choice. She was dying from the visions and had gone into a coma-like state. She told us that she was given a choice because the Powers never had intended for her to receive the visions. She was shown the world as it should have been, if she had never run into Angel here in L.A. Apparently she was supposed to be a television star, with her own show. Angel was supposed to have the visions, which had made him insane, and Gunn and I worked with Angel. Oh, and I only had one arm.”
“Tough luck.”
“I thought so. Anyway she could choose to stay in that reality, return to ours and die, or become part demon.”
“Does she have any special powers?” Dawn asked.
“She floats,” Fred replied. “And she does this glowy thing that can destroy things from other dimensions. It’s kind of cool.”
“Well,” Wesley began, “it is nearly four. Gunn will be here at six thirty and Lorne will hopefully be here soon. We can save the strategic planning for then. Right now, I’m a bit concerned about sleeping arrangements. Xander, perhaps you and I should go to the store to pick up some sleeping bags, or possibly a cot.”
“Get some food too,” Fred added.
“Certainly. The rest of you can spend some time getting to know each other. Fred, lock the door and be careful who you invite in.”
*****
Wesley and Xander had been gone for nearly an hour and a half. In that time, Fred had learned about Dawn’s life in Sunnydale and a little about Connor’s in Quar-Toth and had told several of her own stories from Texas and Pylea. Now, they were searching for something else to do.
“I swear,” Fred said, frustrated, “doesn’t Wes have any games?”
“He has a TV.” Dawn said, “Does he have cable?”
“No, just network. See if he has any movies though.”
Dawn opened the cabinet the TV stood on to reveal a DVD player, VCR and a number of movies.
“Anything good?” Fred asked.
“It’s all John Wayne.”
“Good grief. Connor, hand me the phone. I’ll call his cell and tell them to get some games and movies.”
Fred dialed Wesley’s cell phone and heard ringing in the kitchen. Connor went in to the kitchen and walked out with the phone. “It was on the counter.”
“Dawn, does Xander have a phone?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll call him.” Fred dialed again and Xander answered the phone this time.
“Hello?”
“Xander, it’s Fred. Will you tell Wes that he is not allowed to forget his phone?”
Xander’s voice became slightly muffled as he turned to talk to Wesley. Then he came back on. “He’s sorry, Fred. Is something wrong? Did you need something?”
“Nothing’s wrong, but we were wondering if you guys could pick up some games, at least a deck of cards, and maybe rent some movies?”
“Any requests?”
“Anything but John Wayne and preferably not action. Romantic comedy would be nice.”
“Of course, it would be.”
“Any idea how much longer y’all might be?”
“Give us half an hour.”
“All right. See ya.” Fred hung up.
“How long?” Dawn asked.
“Half an hour. I’m gonna take a nap.” Fred laid down on the couch while Dawn and Connor sat on the other and began telling stories again.
*****
Wesley and Xander walked down the hall to Wesley’s apartment carrying several sleeping and full grocery bags. Xander was in the lead and stopped suddenly. Wesley ran into his back. “Xander,” he hissed. “Why have you stopped?”
“There is a man in a bright red suit about to knock on your door.”
Wesley looked down the hall and saw the man raising his hand to knock. “That’s Lorne. He is a friend.”
“Lorne!” Wesley called.
The demon turned to see Wesley. “Wes, crumb cake. I got your note. I was just about to knock.”
“Lorne, this is Xander . . .”
“Harris? Friend of the Slayer?”
“Yes.”
“Pleasure to meet you. Can I help you guys with some of this?”
“Sure.”
Wesley quickly knocked on the front door and opened it with his key. He walked in to see Dawn and Connor watching Rio Bravo as Fred slept on the couch. He quietly put down the bags and motioned for Xander and Lorne to be quiet. Wesley snuck over to the couch, leaned over, and kissed Fred. She woke up and smiled into his eyes. “Welcome back, sweetie.”
“I’ve waited forever to hear you say that. We ran into Lorne on our way in.”
“I see a lot has changed today,” Lorne commented. “I like it. I see you found Connor, and this young lady is . . .?”
“Dawn Summers,” Xander answered.
“Xander?” Dawn asked, looking at the green demon curiously.
“He’s a friend, Dawn.” Fred lifted herself off the couch. “I’ll put the food away while you guys fill Lorne in.” She put her arms around Wesley’s neck. “Did you get a movie?”
He placed his arms around her waist. “Of course. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan; and Minnie Driver and that guy from the X-Files.”
“I’ll be in the kitchen. Update Lorne.”
*****
As the group of six sat watching Rio Bravo, there was another pounding on the door. Wesley, armed with his crossbow, went to answer it and returned to the living room with Gunn. He made quick introductions and turned the movie off.
“Okay,” Wesley started, “we have two issues. Getting Angel back to normal and figuring out what happened to Cordelia.”
“Well, if we solve the second one, Cordy can probably solve the first,” Gunn said. “Cordy can explain things to Angel. She’s probably the only one he’ll listen to right now.”
“That’s true,” Lorne agreed. “She’s the only one who he wouldn’t feel has betrayed him.”
“So we have to find Cordelia,” Fred stated.
“Right.” Wesley nodded. “Any ideas?”
“I might have one clue,” Lorne said. “I was talking to one of my sources and he thought he saw an ascension last night.”
Ascension?” Connor asked.
Xander interrupted, “Do you mean like ‘Giant Snake’ ascension?”
“No, not like you saw in Sunnydale.” Xander sighed in relief.
Lorne continued, “The Powers stop time and take someone up to join them in fighting evil instead of fighting on earth. My source though is a demon who isn’t affected by time, so if he’s around he sees ascensions. He did say this one was different. Usually a rainbow of colors surrounds the individual. This one was just white.”
“So maybe it wasn’t a true ascension,” Xander commented. “Could Cordy have been tricked?”
“By who?” Gunn asked.
“What was the name of that demon that guided her on her birthday. She’d trust him,” Fred realized.
“Skip,” Wesley replied. “She said his name was Skip. We need to research. If it wasn’t a true ascension we need to figure out how to bring her back.”
Wesley stood and went to his bookshelves, pulling down a stack, which he passed out to the group.
“What are we looking for?” Dawn asked.
“Any reference to Skip, ascensions, seers, or becoming part demon,” Wesley responded.
They sat leafing through the books for several hours. Gunn was the first to find something. “How ‘bout this? ‘The moniker Skip is given to a particular type of mischief demon. While generally trustworthy and employed by the Powers That Be, the demon is known to perform false rituals for its own amusement.’”
“Okay. So that tells us it could be fake, but it could be real. We still have to find how to tell if it is a true ascension,” Xander said. They kept looking.
It was Connor and Dawn who found the next piece of the puzzle. “Here!” Dawn started reading aloud. “’A true ascension can only involve a being who is at least ¼ demon.’”
“Well, Cordelia should fit that criteria,” Wesley remarked.
“There’s more,” Connor continued. “’In order to deal with the power of an ascension the being must have dwelt with it’s demon side for a year minimum.’”
“Cordelia doesn’t fit that criteria,” Fred stated. “Can we put the two together? Connor and Dawn, what does your book say about false ascensions, and Charles, how do we countermand Skip?”
Gunn scanned the page. “Full moon and a ritual. Can you do it, English?” He handed the book to Wesley.
“Yes. This doesn’t look hard.”
“Same here!” Connor called.
“Full moon,” Xander repeated. “That’s two weeks away. I guess we’ll stay till then, help with the ritual, and make sure everything turns out okay.”
“Thanks, Xander,” Wesley said.
“Two weeks? I’ll continue to patrol at night in the meantime. The rest of you should stay here after dark,” Gunn suggested. “Fred, you and Dawn shouldn’t go anywhere alone, even during the day. Come to think of it, neither should Connor and Wes.”
“We’ll have to rent more movies,” Dawn whispered to Fred.
“We’ll discuss all this another time.” Wesley took charge again. “It’s rather late. Gunn, you should get going. Lorne, are you staying here?”
Lorne looked around. “I don’t think you have room for me. I have some associates I can bunk with.”
Lorne and Gunn said goodnight and left.
“Right.” Wesley started. “Fred, you’re in my room. Connor and Dawn, take the couches with sleeping bags. Xander, there’s a chair or the floor. And I’ll . . .”
“You’ll be in your bed,” Fred interrupted. “You’ve only been out of the hospital a little while. It can’t be good for you to sleep on the floor.” She cut off the protest she knew was coming. “No arguments.”
*****
Wesley, in boxers and a t-shirt, climbed under his blankets and turned to see Fred unrolling a sleeping bag on his floor. “Fred, come sleep on the bed.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
She crawled under the covers with him. He pulled her closer and spooned her from behind. “Is this okay?” he whispered.
“Yes,” She replied in the same tone. They lay there for about five minutes, silently.
“Wes? Are you always so fidgety?” She turned to face him.
He looked at her sheepishly. “I don’t usually wear a t-shirt to bed. It rubs against my scar.”
Fred sat up and started taking off Wesley’s shirt, revealing his other scars. He tried to stop her but she shook her head and continued. She tossed the shirt to the floor. Wesley noticed her eyes tracing his bullet wound and those left from the explosion at the high school. He lifted her chin to look her in the eyes and leaned forward to kiss her. Their lips met softly at first and then more passionately. His fingers played with her hair as she began kissing his throat.
Suddenly, he held her shoulders and pushed her away. “We shouldn’t,” he whispered huskily, leaning his forehead against hers.
“You don’t want to?” she asked, ducking her head.
“I do, but there are two impressionable teenagers and Xander in the living room.” He lifted her head back up.
“Okay, we can wait.”
She started kissing his neck again and trailed her kisses up to his ear. “Love, what are you doing?” Wesley breathed.
“Saving my place.” She smiled and curled back up next to him.
Wesley leaned over and kissed Fred’s forehead. “I love you. Goodnight.”
“I love you too,” she whispered.
As he fell asleep holding Fred, Wesley prayed that this time no one would shake him out of this sleep.
The End?
© September 2002
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