Go TeamC/A
Part 4 Cordelia glanced at Angel out of the corner of her eye. The sullen vampire was staring out the passenger window. "How ya doing?"
"Oh just great. It's not every day a pariah can actually sink lower."
"Yeah. Everyone did seem pretty freaked. I mean Buffy ran out of there like the building was on fire."
"Thanks for reminding me."
"Sorry"
"Why aren't you...freaking?"
"Like I told Xander, I say what I think. The fact that you can hear my thoughts, not really freak-worthy. The way Willow, Xander and Buffy dress, now that's upsetting." She smiled at him. "I should warn you though. You might want to stay out of my head when I'm deciding what to wear the next day. I have a lot of clothes to mentally go through. There's a good chance your head might explode."
"I appreciate the warning."
"No problem." The car pulled up to the mansion. "This is your stop."
"Thanks for the ride." Angel's hand rested on the handle but he didn't open the door. "Well..good night Cordelia."
"Would you like some company for a while?"
"You don't have to stay. I'm sure you have better things to do."
"Oh yeah. I could go back to the library and read musty old books that may or may not be in English. I could go to the Bronze and hang out with Harmony and the rest of the sheep. I could go home to an empty house since my parents are away. Hmmm...which should I choose?"
"Come on in"
"Wow! An invite into a vampire's lair. I hope I'm dressed appropriately. I never know what to where in a situation like this. Should I go with the helpless victim look or the leather biker chick look?" She glanced down at her designer outfit. "I kinda failed on both counts. Hmmph. At least I'm wearing clean underwear. My grandmother would be so proud."
"You do know you're insane, right?"
She grinned at him. *Sanity is out this season.*
"Lucky for me."***
"I thought you had to patrol?"
"I decided to be mature Buffy and come back." She nervously scanned the room. "Where's Angel?"
"Cordy drove him home."
"Thank god! I mean..he's probably tired. He needs his rest. He's still in recovery, you know?"
"Real convincin' Buff. Personally I would prefer my girlfriend not be left alone with a vampire."
"Xander! Angel won't hurt her. Besides Cordy was the one who offered to drive him."
"That doesn't mean I have to like it, Will."
"You could have gone with them."
Xander went back to reading at Oz's comment.
The redhead smiled at her boyfriend while she pulled Buffy off to the side. The two sat on the stairs. "Are you okay?"
"Not really. Things were starting to look up for us. My plan was working. After one night of researching, of being useful again, he went to the Bronze with us. Why did this have to happen now?"
"Maybe it will help. Once he hears your fears, you'll be able to confront them together. It could end up bringing you closer."
"Or it could tear us apart. If it had to happen, why couldn't it have been me? I never know what Angel's thinking. I'm the one who needs reassuring."
"Exactly. Once Angel is aware of what's upsetting you, he'll want to fix it. The two of you need to open up to each other. Maybe he needs someone to talk to too."
"C'mon Will. This is Angel."
"I know but maybe it's time for a change. He has all of Angelus's memories. He remembers what he put you through, what he put all of us through. He wasn't in control back then but that doesn't mean the memories don't haunt him anyway." Willow squeezed Buffy's hand. "He went to hell. I'm sure that wasn't much fun. I know you need reassuring but Angel probably does too. He could use a friend."
"I am his friend but it was hard enough before. I can't control how I feel or the thoughts that pop into my head. How are we going to work this out when I'm afraid to be alone with him, now that he has an all-access pass into my head? Who could feel comfortable around him now? What if we can't reverse it?"***
Cordelia looked around. "It's pretty nice." She noticed the chains. "Maybe you could give me some pointers. It's so hard to decide where to hang the chains in a house."
"I know I spent hours agonizing over it."
"Time well spent, if you ask me." She sat down of the sofa.
Angel sat on the opposite end, facing her. Their arms were extended on the back of the couch almost touching. "Do you think they'll find a cure for this?"
"Giles and Wesley will figure it out." She noticed his sad expression. "You know it could be worse."
"I know. I could still be in hell."
"Actually I was gonna say you could be poor." She glanced around the room again. "How did you afford this place anyway or did you just eat the previous owner?"
Angel blinked.
"What? You were evil when you moved in here. It's a perfectly reasonable question."
"I didn't kill anyone for it. It's never a good idea to kill for a place you plan to stay at for an extended period of time. It draws attention to your location."
"I'll keep that in mind if I ever become evil. So does this mean you do have money? Don't tell me, you made wise investments over the centuries."
"Spike bought it."
"Spike? I thought this was your place?"
"It is. I'm the head of our line, since Darla and the Master are both dust. As the new Master, what's his is mine."
"That explains why he teamed up with Buffy. You were a big bully."
"I was evil."
"I know but you took his house and his girl. No wonder he hated you. I have to say I don't really like evil you too much and not just because you tried to kill me. You were a big...meanie."
"I don't exactly like evil me either."
"So evil you is a girlfriend-stealing bully and you are the dark, brooding hero-type. What was human you like? Were you all sweet and innocent?"
"Sweet and innocent, I wasn't."
"What were you like?"
"I..umm..I.."
Cordelia inched closer until the arm that rested on the back of the couch touched his. She laced her fingers with his. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Before I was turned I enjoyed drinking, I enjoyed fighting and I enjoyed...women."
"I thought those were the days you weren't even supposed to kiss until after you were engaged?"
"A proper young lady of good fortune and birth shouldn't allow herself to be compromised but there were other types of women. I had money to..."
"Whores? You actually paid women to have sex with you?"
"Sometimes. I could be charming when I wanted to be. I didn't have to resort to paying for it very often."
"Eww! I thought Xander was a loser. At least he would never pay a woman to...eww! Why were you like that?" She scrunched her face up in disgust but didn't release his hand.
Angel stared at the floor. "I guess I was trying to live down to my father's expectations."
"What do you mean?"
"My father spent most of my life telling me what a disappointment I was, so I became what he accused me of being."
Cordelia stroked his palm with her thumb. "Why did he do that?"
"It was his way of trying to make a man out of me."
"What was so wrong with you? I mean before the hookers and drinking."
"I wanted to be an artist. I wanted to see the world. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps." His eyes closed as the painful memories washed over him. "Darla took great pleasure in telling me that by killing my father, I made getting his approval impossible. She said his disapproval would haunt me forever. She was right."
"So as a human, you were kinda sleazy. Well it may have taken you a long time but you've become a good man."
Angel felt her squeeze his hand.
"And for the record, self-worth can't be given to you. I spent most of my life letting my friends and parents dictate what was important. If I let what others think about me rule how I feel about myself, I would never get out of bed."
He stared at their entangled fingers. "Why are you so nice to me?"
"We're friends, remember?"
"I remember. It's been a long time since I had a friend. I'm not sure I remember how."
"We'll figure it out. I'm pretty new at it. I'm used to back-stabbing sheep. The only thing I ask for is honesty, even if it might hurt my feelings."
"Isn't this sweet? Does B know you're holdin' hands with the cheerleader?" Faith's gaze turned to Cordelia. "What happened with Xander? His slayer fetish finally push you away?"
"Xander and I are none of your business."
"Don't be like that. I turned down his advances. You should show some gratitude."
"Oh please! Like Xander would ever touch you."
"Did he ever tell you about the time he gave me a ride home? No? He came up to my room. He was practically begging for it but I sent him on his way."
"You're lying."
"You know if you unlocked those knees of yours, you might be able to keep him. 'Course he'll probably be thinkin' about B the whole time."
Cordelia caught Angel's gaze. *I'll get the bitch to focus her attention on me. You hit her from behind.*
She looked away before he could protest.
"You know Faith. This whole competition thing you have with Buffy is stupid." She rose from the couch.
Faith looked over at Angel. "You and B played me. You had to know there'd be payback. No one plays me." *The things I'm going to do to you would make Angelus blush.*
"Then you might want to rethink the wardrobe. The leather-clad whore look screams you like to be played with and thrown away after each use." Cordelia walked around the couch. "Maybe if you eased up on the makeup and dressed in something other than animal skins, people might take you seriously."
Faith stepped closer. "Some of us don't have daddy's charge card."
"But I thought you had a sugar daddy now?"
"Don't talk about the Mayor like that! He's the only one who cares about me."
"And who's fault is that?"
"What do you know?"
"I know that I have no intention of letting you hurt Angel."
"Is that a fact?"
"Yeah"
"What's it to you? Don't tell me Angel's managed to melt that ice princess exterior. I guess it takes the undead to get you Sunnydale girls to spread your legs."
"This from the girl who tried to use magic to get Angel to fuck her. Tried and failed I might add. So let me ask you a question Faith, does your Angel fixation have anything to do with Angel or is it all about Buffy? Is she the one you want to fuck or just fuck over?"
"The cheerleader's got a mouth on her and it's about to get her in trouble." Faith was an arms length from Cordelia. She turned her back to Angel.
"Come on Faith. We're just two girls talking. There's no need to resort to violence."
"You know, I kinda like you. You have guts. I might just let you ride the vampire once I'm done with him. 'Course he won't be anywhere near as pretty."
"That's sweet but I don't share my men."
"So Angel's yours now? What does B say about that?"
"Like I've ever cared about what Buffy thinks!"
"I think I'm gonna let you live. In fact, I think we could have some fun." She pulled out her knife. "You won't be as pretty either by the time I'm done with you."
"Sorry but I don't swing that way."
Angel swung a fireplace poker at Faith's head.
She spun around and caught it. "Don't be like that, baby. I was going to let you watch while I taught Cordy how to please a man."
Cordelia picked up the candlestick on the end table and clobbered Faith. The weapon hit the floor a second after Faith did. She grabbed her purse in one hand and Angel's hand in the other. "Let's get out of here."
Angel ran, pulling Cordelia with him. They jumped into her car and sped away.
"How could you be so reckless? She's a slayer! She could have killed you."
"What was I supposed to do?"
"You should have run. She came to the mansion for me."
"I thought I already told you about my scaredy cat run. I don't do that anymore unless everyone runs."
"Cordelia, I don't want anything to happen to you. Especially because of me."
"That's sweet but it was my decision to antagonize her. If anything had happened to me, it wouldn't have been your fault."
"She was there because of me."
"So? She went after you because of her Buffy-complex. Does that mean if something happened to you, it would be Buffy's fault?"
"You should have run."
"Next time we will."***
"Have you found anything Giles?"
"Not as of yet" *Not since you asked me five minutes ago.*
"Wesley?" She was desperate.
"Nothing so far I'm sorry to say. Perhaps you should finish your patrol. Maybe we will have found something by the time you return."
"I'm too distracted."
Giles cleared his throat. "You could take Xander, Willow and Oz with you. None of these tomes are in English anyway."
"Pummeling a few vamps might take my mind off everything."
"That's the spirit, Buff. Load me up with weapons and point me at the vampires. None will be safe from me." Angel and Cordelia came bursting through the library doors. "There's one now. Where's a crossbow when you need one?"
"Hush Xander"
"I thought Cordelia was taking you home. What are you doing back here? Not that you're not welcome because you are. I'm just surprised is all."
"If you're done rambling Buffy, we have a problem."
"What's wrong? Has the effects of the demon blood worsened?"
"Nothing like that Giles. Guess who stopped by the mansion for a visit?"
"Who?"
"Faith"
*I'm sure Angel hated that. They could have done some more 'nothing' if Cordelia hadn't been there. Why was Cordelia still there?* Buffy flushed when her eyes locked with Angel's. "What happened? Are you okay Angel?"
"We both are. Thanks for your concern."
"Not to seem insensitive but were you able to learn anything else about the Mayor's ascension through your new ability?"
"No. Her thoughts were about hurting me at first but then her focus changed. They centered on what she wanted to do to Cordelia."
Xander put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "She didn't hurt you, did she?"
She shook off his arm. "I'm fine."
He felt hurt at her slight. "What's wrong?"
"Were you ever in Faith's room?"
He backed away. "What?"
"Were you ever in Faith's room?"
"I...I..gave her a ride home once. I only went in for a minute. I was just trying to be friendly."
"Uh huh" She looked over at Angel. "You can't go back to your place."
"I'm still unclear why Faith was focused on Cordelia. The two of you don't share any history of animosity."
"It was a perfectly good plan. I keep Faith's attention on me so Angel can sneak up behind her."
"Are you insane, Cordelia? She's a slayer. A mentally unhinged one at that."
"What? It worked. Sort of."
"I beg your pardon."
"Well she caught Angel mid-swing."
"How did you get away?"
"She never saw me and my candlestick coming." Her smile faded. "Don't look at me like that, Giles. It was a good plan."
"It was reckless and dangerous. What do you think would have happened if your plan failed?"
"The same thing that would've happened if we did nothing."
"Cordelia, Mr. Giles is right. You should not have endangered yourself like that."
She waved away their concerns. "Well it's in the past now. We need to focus on the present. Angel can't go home now."
Everyone fidgeted and looked around the room, except Angel. He refused to look at anyone.
Cordelia huffed. "C'mon Angel. You can stay with me. My parents are out of town."
"Cordy, you can't be serious."
"Do I sound like I'm joking Xander?"
"Angel can't stay with you."
"Then where do you expect him to stay?"
"He could...ummm...maybe Giles could.."
"I don't think so Buffy."
"Is your name Giles, Cordelia?"
"People say I'm insensitive but I bow before you. You can't seriously expect Giles to invite Angel into his home."
"Well...I...he needs to stay somewhere."
"Which is why I offered. It's been a long day and I'm tired. It's up to you, Angel. You are more than welcome to stay with me." She glanced at Buffy. "You could always take him home with you. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind."
"I...I.."
"That's what I thought."
"Yeah well anything would be better than being forced to be near you."
"He could go home and cuddle with Faith. Again. He might be able to find out some helpful information."
Buffy advanced on Cordelia, but Willow and Xander grabbed her arms.
"This animosity solves nothing. Perhaps we could just hide Angel somewhere."
"That's not necessary, Giles. I have three empty guest rooms and my parents are out of town. I'll give Anita some time off so Angel will have the place to himself during the day." She grinned at Angel. "You can be my pet vampire."
He managed a half smile. "OK but I don't do windows."
"I can deal with dirty windows for the time being but no wearing my clothes."
"How ever will I resist?"
She hooked her arm with his. "Well we didn't exactly have enough time to pack you a bag. I'm sure Buffy can go over tomorrow and get some of your stuff." She winked at Buffy and Xander as she pulled Angel out of the library. "Later guys."
The gang watched in stunned silence as the May Queen and the vampire walked out arm in arm.
Xander pinched himself. "What just happened?"
Part 5Angel remained silent until they reached her car. "You don't have to do this. I know a few places I could stay at where no one would find me."
"Do you really want to be alone?"
"I..I've been...I'll be fine."
"That's not what I asked."
"I..I.."
"It wasn't meant to be a hard question. Look Angel. I have a large house with three guestrooms."
"You don't..."
"Stop. You're making way too big a deal out of this. You need a place to stay and I have plenty of room. We're friends, remember?"
"I don't want to intrude."
"What intrude? I hate being alone in that big house. So in a way, you'll be doing me a favor."
Angel smiled. "In that case, how can I say no?"
"You can't. Now let's go." She glanced around the deserted parking lot. "Wow! Deja vu."
"How so?"
"This is where I parked the night you chased me into the alley and I ended up in that dumpster full of body parts."
"I did not chase you."
"Followed, chased..." She slipped in behind the wheel.
Angel shut his door. "I wasn't sure it was you. How was I supposed to know you'd climb into a dumpster to avoid me?"
"When you live on a hellmouth, if you think someone or something is chasing you, you either run or you hide."
"So where exactly does antagonizing a slayer fit into that strategy?"
"She deserved that. How could Buffy expect Giles to invite you to stay with him? I mean he finally came out of his office tonight. That's progress. He's trying. OK. So your new demony thing has him a little wigged; he's hardly alone in that."
"Could you not refer to my new ability as my demony thing?"
"Huh? Oh...OH! I guess you already have one of those."
Angel decided to it was time to seize control of the conversation. "I was referring to Faith."
"Huh?"
"Faith was the slayer I was talking about."
"Don't start that again. We got away, didn't we?"
"Yes, but.."
"I thought I was pretty cool under pressure. I totally didn't react to the things she was saying and I swing a pretty mean candlestick." She smiled as a memory struck. "When those wackos thought I was Faith and they started hunting Buffy and I, I ended up saving us. OK. Buffy did most of the work, while I stood there with a spatula. But when we finally made it to the library, Buffy was knocked unconscious and I totally bluffed the redneck vampire into running away. OK. Buffy did wake up and take out the gun-wielding maniacs, but I was..am Cordelia Chase, cool under pressure girl."
"I bet you're a good runner too. You're probably pretty fast. I would imagine being a cheerleader keeps you in good shape."
"Nice try mister."
"Fine. If you won't run, you should learn to defend yourself."
"Hello! Did you not see me and my candlestick?"
"You might want to learn how to use a crossbow at the very least."
"Will you teach me?"
"I guess I could do that."
"OK. It's not a spatula or a candlestick, but it might work in a fight." She gave him a saucy grin. "We're here."
Angel studied the large, elegant building. The high security fence complete with an electric gate screamed money but not in an overly ostentatious way.
"So are you just going to sit there and stare, or are you going to come in? Invite given. It's get off your butt time."
"I'm coming." Angel followed her into the house. "It's not bad." He looked around the foyer. To his left was a living room, to his right was a study, in front of him was an open staircase with a hallway on either side.
"Thanks. It doesn't have any chains hanging from the walls but somehow we make due. The living room is over there. That's my dad's study. You can check out the library he's got but don't touch anything else." She shrugged. "Nothing personal, Daddy can sense if anything's been moved. Anita is only supposed to dust and vacuum in there. The hallway on the left leads to the dining room. The one on the right leads to the kitchen. There's door in there that leads down to the rec room. There's a large screen TV, a pool table and the bar down there. The set of french doors in the kitchen open up to the patio. You're welcome to use the pool and the hot tub..you know...whenever the sun's not shining. There are extra swimsuits in the pool house."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Come on." She started up the stairs. She pointed to the left. "The master bedroom and one of the guestrooms are that way. That room gets too much sun for you. This way."
Angel followed her to the right.
"This is my room." She pointed to the door across from hers. "This will be your room. It gets less sun then the one next to it. There's only one window." She opened the door.
The room was dominated by a queen size bed. There were two nightstands, a matching dresser and an armoire. It was the type of luxury Angelus would have appreciated.
"Your bathroom is through that door. Your closet is in here. There's a TV in the armoire. I'm just going to get a blanket for the window. I'll be right back."
Angel grabbed the extra blanket off the bed. "This'll work."
"OK." Her eyes darted around the room. "Well..good night then. I'm across the hall if you need anything."
His eyes focused on his hands. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Good night Angel"
"Good night Cordelia"***
Cordelia had one strange dream after another. She knew she wasn't afraid of Angel but inviting a vampire into one's home was usually a bad, your final bad decision. In this instance, she took comfort in having an undead houseguest.
She may have appeared cool on the outside during and after she faced Faith but the confrontation had left her shaken. There was now the possibility that Faith might come after her. Of course Angel was an even bigger target than her, so having him there could increase the chances of a reprisal.
After getting dressed, Cordelia had listened outside Angel's door. She had to laugh at herself. Angel didn't breathe. She wasn't sure what she was listening for exactly.
She left his door and headed downstairs. A moving shadow in the living room caught her eye. She stepped into the archway. Her hand moved to stifle her gasp. A shirtless Angel was performing some sort of routine. His movements were slow, graceful and fluid. She once referred to Angel as salty goodness. In Giles's books, he was referred to as the vampire with an angelic face. Watching him move around in the shade of her living room, she was struck with the truth. Angel was beautiful.
Angel tried not to break his concentration but her scent was too distracting. He could hear her heartbeat accelerate. He was relieved when an intake of air revealed no trace of fear. "Were you planning on staring at me all day?"
"No. In a few seconds, I fully intend to blink."
He dropped his arms and turned to her. He couldn't stop the smile from forming. His lips weren't used to making such an expression. He knew they would be forced to if he continued spending time with the beautiful, willful brunette.
"Buffy will be stopping by after school with some of your things. There's a monitor in the kitchen. It'll show you who's at the front gate. Tell whoever else that stops by we're not accepting any deliveries. I'm not expecting anything and my parents won't be home for a while. No opening the door for strangers and don't invite anyone in. If they can't cross the threshold on their own then they shouldn't be allowed to enter." Her eyes were twinkling when she winked at him.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll be careful."
"Good. I'll see you later."
"Wait! How do you know Buffy will be stopping by? I know you suggested..."
"When Giles made the same suggestion, Buffy volunteered to go."
"What? How could you know that?"
"I spoke to Giles on the phone last night. I knew he'd be worried about me. Not to mention still angry about what happened with Faith and what I said to Buffy. He hates it when I hurt little miss..." She cleared her throat. "Buffy's feelings whenever I get protective of him."
"So do you and Giles..have many late night chats?"
"Normally we just talk in the library but we do occasionally talk on the phone. He doesn't have many people he can talk to that don't treat him like their honorary father."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well you know. Father's are supposed to have all the answers. They aren't supposed to have feelings or problems they need to share with someone. They aren't supposed to be men with...you know..urges."
Angel's jaw dropped. "Giles discusses his urges with you?"
"Not exactly but I don't pretend like he doesn't have them or that they're gross when he does. He's a guy but father's are supposed to be...sexless."
"Then they wouldn't have children."
"Duh but that doesn't mean it should ever be discussed or imagined. I have my own father to not think about."
"So your father is...sexless."
"Eww! Can we not use the word sex and my Daddy in the same sentence. God! Gross much!"
As confusing as her ideas about father-types were, he wished she thought of Giles as a second father. He didn't want to question why their late night chats bothered him. He almost felt possessive.
"I gotta go." She started to leave but turned back. "You're up awfully early. Did you sleep well?"
"I...ahh..I'm a night person. Vampire, remember?"
"I remember but the sun is shining now. Get some sleep. We have research to do tonight."
"Maybe I shouldn't go in until they find a cure."
"Don't be silly. I'll be back after cheerleading practice. I expect you to be ready."***
Buffy stood and stared at the gate surrounding Cordelia's house. Never in a million years had she ever thought she'd willingly be there. Now here she was to give Angel a change of clothes and some blood. *My life isn't weird.*
She hated what was happening. She should be the one taking care of Angel. He was in danger. She should be there protecting him but she wasn't. Why? Because of some demon infection. Thanks to that stupid mouthless demon, the idea of being near him made her nervous. He could get inside her head.
She couldn't hope to control her thoughts or her feelings. Watching him pretend to be Angelus so convincingly left her confused. His act made the line between Angel and Angelus blurry, something she needed to be clear. Was a big, blindingly white line drawn for her to see too much to ask for?
Watching him kiss Faith had made a bad situation worse. She had let Willow believe she was afraid Angel would hear her fears and that was true. Partly. Hearing her fears could be dangerous to their relationship but Angel hearing her doubts could be devastating.
She took a deep breath and pressed the intercom button. She waited a few minutes and pressed it again.
"Hi Buffy. Come on in."
The gate opened. If she hadn't been dreading this visit, she would have vaulted over the closed gate. The front door was ajar when she reached it. She reluctantly entered. He was sitting on the stairs. He rose when he saw her. "Hey!"
"How are you?"
*I so don't want to be here.* "I'm fine. I brought you some clothes." She dropped the bag at her feet. "There was no sign of Faith except for your trashed living room. I don't think she appreciated being knocked out."
"I can imagine. Do you think she'll come here?" Angel cautiously observed Buffy. He didn't want to hear any more thoughts. Buffy had barely crossed the threshold.
"I doubt she would ever guess you're staying here. I can barely believe it and I was there when it was decided. I'm sorry you got stuck with Cordelia. If Giles doesn't find a cure soon, I'll talk to him about letting you stay with him. Staying here must be torture."
He refused to react to her words. He didn't want to fight. "Don't worry about it. This place is fine." He looked around the luxurious setting. *I know all about torture and this definitely isn't it.* "And I meant, do you think Faith might go after Cordelia?"
"I'm sure she's not too happy with Cordy right now but I doubt she'd go after her. You and I still top her grudge list."
"I hope."
*Thanks for your concern.* "I brought you some blood."
"Thanks." He walked over and accepted the paper bag, careful to stay out of the sunlight. "It's been a while." He smiled at her, touched by her thoughtfulness.
She looked away. *Oh god! He wouldn't actually drink in front of me, would he?* "It's no big deal."
He stepped back. "I'm sure you have plenty of things you need to be doing. I'll see you at the library later."
"You're still planning on going in?"
"Yes. Cordelia is picking me up after practice."
"I know I'm the one who asked you to help but maybe it would be better if you stayed here and rested. With Faith after you and the Mayor's ascension coming up, I need you at a 100%." *Besides you make everyone nervous.*
Angel stood there clutching his bag of blood. He felt like all the air had been sucked from the room and breathing was something he suddenly needed to do.
"Hey Buffy." Cordelia noticed Angel's sorrowful expression. "Spreading sunshine I see. Your job is done here, so don't feel the need to stay."
Buffy was about to retort but walked out instead.
"Are you all right?"
Angel stared at the closed door.
"Spacey? Are you in there?"
"Yeah. You're home early."
For once, she decided not to push. "Practice got cut short. There was a minor medical emergency. So I went and got some dinner." She held up her takeout bag.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. There was small pyramid mishap resulting in a sprained wrist. She'll be fine after a few days of rest. Now there's no practice until next week. I'll be coming home after school so you're stuck with me. We can go to the school as soon as the sun sets."
"Buffy...I don't think....I'm not going to the library."
"I heard what she said and she can..." Cordelia took a calming breath. "Giles is expecting you to help. He and Wesley are working around the clock to find a cure for you and for a way to stop the Mayor's ascension. They need help and you're the only one other than them who can read...whatever languages Giles said you could read."
"I do know a few human and demon languages."
"Exactly! Which is why you're going to help."
"You could bring the books here."
"So you can hide like you're some kind of freak? Buffy was right about you needing to rest but we both know that's not the whole truth. If they are bothered by the whole mind-reading thing, then they need to just suck it up. If Giles says he can handle your presence in HIS library then the rest of them sure as hell can too!"
"I.."
"Angel, it's not your fault you can hear their thoughts. They were okay with you being there before you were infected. Well except for Xander."
"It is an invasion of privacy."
"Fine. Your demony thing..umm I mean your ability only seems to kick in when you look directly at someone. Try to avoid doing that."
"I guess that could work."
"It's settled then." She noticed a small suitcase on the floor and the paper bag in his hand. "I see Buffy managed to do something positive today. What's in the bag?"
"Oh..umm...it's blood."
"Oh my god!"
"Don't worry. I won't..."
"Don't worry? I'm a horrible hostess. I totally didn't even think about it. I left you alone all day with nothing to eat. When was the last time you had any? You should have said something last night. I know you couldn't have had anything since you showed up at the library yesterday afternoon. Here I am thinking how self-absorbed Buffy is and I'm just as bad. I'm sorry."
Angel's head was spinning. She didn't seem disgusted about the blood. She was angry she hadn't thought about it sooner. "I'm okay. I've gone longer than 24 hours without blood."
"But you're recuperating. I should have..."
"I didn't say anything. It's not like you've had other vampires stay with you before. Don't worry. I have some now."
"I'll try to be a better hostess." She snatched the bag from his hands. "Now we can eat dinner together."
"But.."
Cordelia headed to the kitchen. She put her takeout bag down on the counter. "So how was your day? Was your bed comfortable?"
"It was fine."
"That bed used to be mine but then I saw this amazing sleigh bed in a magazine. I had to have it."
"I thought it smelled like you but it was so faint. I figured it was my imagination."
"You imagine me a lot, do you?" She removed the container of blood from the bag. "Yuck"
"Just leave it. I'll have some after you're done eating."
"Geez! Don't be so sensitive. I say the same thing about meatloaf. Anita says it's like eating a hamburger but it's so not. It's mushy. It's like..somebody already chewed it for you." Her face scrunched up in disgust. "Yuck!" She grabbed her dinner and opened up the container. "I'm eating pig too." She held up a piece of ham from her chef salad to illustrate her point. "It's no big deal. You know some people think it's gross that I eat sushi. Raw fish, like blood, isn't for everyone." She began rummaging through the cabinets.
Angel watched her in total confusion. The beautiful brunette had a habit of rendering him speechless.
She held up a pot in one hand and coffee mug in the other. "So do I heat it on the stove or in the microwave?" She stared at the pot. "It might burn in this. Ooooh I've seen Anita use that double pot thing, where you put the water in the bottom part. Would that be better?"
"The microwave is fine."
"Doesn't that...like radiate the goodness out of it? You're still recuperting, remember?"
"It's fine. Really." He reached for the mug.
"Don't be silly." Cordelia set the mug on counter. She opened the container of blood and carefully poured it into the mug then placed it in the microwave. "How long?"
"About a minute."
After she set the timer, she put the rest of the blood in the refrigerator then started digging around the cabinets again.
Angel watched her work. He could safely say he'd never met anyone like her before.
"Ah ha!"
"What?"
"I found the meat thermometer."
"For what?"
"How else will I know if it's 98.6°?" The microwave dinged. She stuck the thermometer in. "96.9° It needs a few more seconds." She pushed the buttons and waited. She tested the temperature again. "99.1° Damn! Well give it a second to cool and then it will be perfect." She noticed his wide-eyed stare. "You can drink it now if you want. Just think of it as a slightly feverish piggy. Wait! Was I supposed to heat it to a human temperature or was it supposed to be a pig's. What is a pig's normal temperature." She realized she was rambling and stopped. He was still staring. "What?"
He accepted the mug. "I..I...you are one of a kind Cordelia."
"Duh!" She started munching of her salad. "Eat up. I can't have you wasting away."
Angel silently drank. His eyes kept drifting back to the amazing girl in front of him.
She caught him staring again. "What? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?"
"No. I..I.."
"OK Spacey. You're starting to freak me out."
"I've never...No one has ever heated blood for me." He looked down at his mug before returning his gaze to Cordelia. "I have never drank blood in front of a human before. This is a little...surreal."
She shrugged. "Well I've never heated blood for anyone before." *It's no big.*
Angel smiled. *It really is.*