Comfort
by TnBella

SUMMARY: How "Lineage" should have ended.

PAIRING: Wes/Fred

RATING: FRT [V] [A] [AU]

SPOILERS: Through “Lineage” in Season 5.

DISCLAIMER: Angel and its characters belong to Joss Whedon and ME.

Wesley tried in vain to get a word in edgewise, but as per usual, his father kept pouring more and more salt into already stingy wounds. Finally, the younger Englishman bid his elder a good day and ended the call. With a shaky sigh, he gently returned the receiver to its cradle and rubbed his hand across his tired, anguished face. Letting the day's events crash into him full force, Wesley began to quietly sob in his dark, silent office.

********

Fred was attempting to listen as Knox yammered on and on about this, that, and the other; but her mind was really on Wesley. She couldn't get his sad eyes out of her head. He looked so weary and hurt. It angered her a little that Knox had interrupted at that moment. Fred knew Wesley wasn't all right-not at all. Something told her that he shouldn't be alone, so thinking up a quick excuse, she turned to address Knox. “Oh, shoot. Knox, I'm sorry. I think I forgot something in the lab. You better go on without me.”

“I could go with you...”

“No, it might take me a while to find this particular…thing. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”

“Uh…okay. If you're sure?”

“Yeah. Thanks for offering me a ride, but…maybe another time.”

She flashed him the sweetest smile she could muster and as soon as a dejected Knox rounded the corner, Fred took off in a dead run.

********

Wesley was thinking about his father and how he could never gain the man's approval…for anything. It didn't matter what he did; he would always be a failure in his father's eyes.

Opening one of the drawers in his desk, Wesley rummaged through the various papers and whatnot until he found an old photograph he'd stuck in the back. It was of he and his father, during his time at the Academy of Watchers. He remembered the pain he'd felt when his father had quickly dismissed his achievements. He remembered the rage, too. Back then, Wesley may have contemplated killing the spiteful old man. But tonight, he'd actually gone through with it.

Every time he shut his eyes, he saw the smoke as it rose from the gun.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Round after round, he'd fired without even batting an eyelash.

He had killed his own father. And, it didn't matter if it was a cyborg with a fancy glamour. Wesley wanted to kill his father.

Realizing he was alone, Wesley laid his head down on top of the desk and continued to cry tears of pain and heartache.

There was no sense in keeping up pretenses. No one cared about him, anyway.

********

Stopping just outside Wesley's office door, Fred knew she'd made the right choice. Poor Wesley. So much pain for such a wonderful, warm man. For as long as Fred had known him, she could count on one hand the number of times Wesley had cried…right after the incident with Billy. She'd gone to see him, talk him into coming back to work. It broke her heart to listen to his sobs as she walked away.

Well, she wasn't walking away this time.

Fred approached the distraught figure hunched over the desk with caution.

“Wesley?”

********

Hearing Fred's voice floating toward him, Wesley sat up and abruptly wiped the tears from his cheeks.

“Fred? I thought I told you to leave. What are you doing here?”

********

Walking closer to him, Fred noticed the fresh moisture glistening across his cheekbones.

“I changed my mind.”

At his adorably clueless expression, she smiled.

“You look like you could use a friendly hug.”

She leaned over to embrace him and giggled because of the height difference.

“This might work better, if you stood up.”

********

Fred never ceased to amaze me. She was the only one who could make him laugh and smile despite whatever happened.

Obeying to her request, Wesley stood.

********

She still had to stand on her tiptoes to reach his shoulders, but once that was out of the way, they were locked in a comforting embrace.

She held him for a few minutes before the feeling in her toes started going numb. Releasing him, she stepped back.

“Did that make it better?”

********

Smiling his first genuine smile of the night, Wesley looked down at the precious woman in front of him.

“More than you'll ever know. Thank you, Fred.”

********

Returning the smile, Fred made her way out of the room. At the door, she turned and gave him a stern look.

“Now go home and get some sleep, mister.”

********

Nodding his acquiesce, Wesley believed he would finally get some rest.

Shaking the unpleasant images from his mind, he grabbed his coat and locked the door.

A little comfort made all the difference in the world.

© October 2004

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