Go TeamC/A
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Part 4 "Has to be."
"No doubt about it."
"After effects of that demon we encountered earlier?"
"An alternate universe?"
"Twisted dimension?"
"It can't be real."
"Course not."
"That would be silly."
"Uh... Yeah..." His last sentence faltered. The banter that had been exchanged between Buffy and Xander had attempted at being lightweight, but was now bordering on pants-wettingly scary. Cordelia... Cordelia was getting in there and fighting.
"Won't she break a nail?"
"What if a hair gets out of place?"
"Are we in the right place?"
"HEY!" Cordelia's attention was diverted from her 'demon' to where Xander stood, tossing insults back and forth with Buffy who was kicking a demon... About HER! "I am still in the room, y'know..." The sentence was cut off as the demon shunted into her side, effectively knocking her to the floor like a rag doll.
"That's more like it," Said Xander, "For a minute there, I thought she could actually fight."
Angel had listened to this with passing annoyance and with a growl, he spun on Xander and Buffy, still clutching his demon by the throat, "You don't know her any more, don't pretend like you do."
Xander was effectively pissed. For one, they'd walked in on what was possibly the most disgusting thing ever, Angel proceeding to go down on Cordelia. For two, this didn't seem to be the effect of some spell, oh no, in fact, this actually looked to be quite normal. And for three, Angel thought he knew her after three years? Uh, hello! He'd known her for almost 15 and she'd never changed in that full time. Frowning, Xander looked over at Buffy who was taking out her current frustrations on the demon, "Uh, Buffy, I think you can kill it..."
"Want... To... But... Can't... Stop... Kicking..." Growled the Slayer.
"They're Mat'nak Demons." Called Anya, "The only way you kill it is by snapping its tail..."
"They have tails?" Said Buffy, "Where?"
Anya pointed... To where Buffy promptly blushed. "Ohhh, I thought it was uhm... I thought they... Uhm... I thought they were just all guy demons," She said, frowning slightly.
"Easy mistake to make." Said Anya, brightly, "But oh, if those were what you thought they were?" A dreamy look passed across her face from where she held the baby to which Xander yelled, "Hey, are you saying you want to have all the sex with a demon?" He spat.
"Newsflash, Xander! I *was* a demon and... Hey! What's wrong with sleeping with demons? You do it every night!"
"Ex-demon, An, ex... And besides, it's not every night!"
"Okay, so it's some mornings... But what's wrong with sleeping with a demon?"
"Well for a start, eww. An, you're human now..."
A flying book hit Xander across the back of the head. In actual fact, it wasn't flying as much as simply flung from the position held by the Seer and currently very-demonized Cordelia, "There's nothing wrong with demons..." She said, her eyes flaring angrily. She turned back to the one she'd been fighting and frowned, "Maybe there's something wrong with these kind but some demons are... I'm not touching that!"
Angel, having snapped his demons "tail", knocking it to the floor to where it dissolved went over to aid Cordelia in the killing of her own demon, smiling at her shriek. Demon or not there were some things his Seer just wouldn't do, this being one of them. Two other snaps were heard and the demons that had been fighting the habitants of the hotel fell to the floor, Buffy and Angel both effectively killing the demon they'd fought. "Is that it?" Asked Cordelia, a little breathlessly. Her gaze drifted to Angel, a gash on his arm from one of the demons claws, "You're hurt." She said softly.
"So are you." He'd smelled the blood before he'd seen it, a cut to the forehead where she'd been thrown across the room was allowing dark red liquid to slip down her cheek. Angel watched as she went for the first aid box, his gaze drifting to Buffy who stood there, her gaze dark. Her reason? Those demons were probably the easiest things in the world to kill - either Angel was slipping, or he liked the 'fixer-upper' part of the end of fighting a little too much. Her gaze remained on the pair as Angel took a little gauze from the first aid box, gently dabbing it at Cordelia's cheek, mopping up the blood with tender fingers and pressing the material gently to her temple, where the blood was coming from. "You'll be okay." He whispered softly.
"I know."
To everyone else but Xander and Buffy, the scene was sweet... Tender... Loving. As Cordelia bandaged Angel's arm, the foursome of women (and of course Connor) would have to admit that this was sweet. To Buffy and Xander, however, it was ridiculous. "Oh, God! Can we stop? I mean, really!" Said Buffy, "This is more disturbing than even I care to admit!"
Backing that up with a nod, Xander watched as a pair of dark eyes swivelled onto his and suddenly, he felt all kinds of guilty. Those eyes, he'd seen before - a couple of days before a certain betrayal he'd be reluctant to mention. Those eyes, were something he'd found himself wishing he could see again, after he and Willow had kissed and Cordelia had found out about it. Those eyes, were in love. If the eyes then, were the window to the soul, hers were certainly singing. She was happy. With him. But then...
"Why did you get so worked up about me saying demons were disgusting?"
"I am one."
The words were simple - their meaning having an effect on both Xander, Buffy and the rest of the gang that would last a lifetime.
"Did I... Hear you right?" Asked Willow, softly, "You're a demon?"
"Yep, on weekends mostly..." She teased with a grin, "I sprout these antlers that drip with... Guys, I'm joking. Well, about the antlers and weekend parts."
"How did this happen?" Asked Xander, "If I remember, you were still normal when you left Sunnydale..."
Cordelia frowned, he just couldn't help putting his foot in it, could he? "I was normal... I got sucky-vision brain from the Powers That Be - or Doyle to be precise and the visions were killing me. The short version is that I chose to become half-demon to stay with Angel."
"Visions?" Said Willow, softly, "You're a Seer?"
"You know what one is?"
"Well, yeah." Said the red-headed witch, "Giles' books had some stuff in about them... I can't believe I know one though! By name! And to talk to!"
Laughing, good-naturedly, Cordelia smiled at Willow, "Yeah, well, if I can't be famous for the acting..."
"And how's that going?" Put in Buffy, bitchily, "Can't say I've seen you in much..."
Cordelia bristled, "Could you stop being a bitch for like five minutes?"
"And again, I say let's consider the source of that comment. What's wrong? Can't hack the competition?"
"No," Said Cordelia, "I'm not putting up a fight. You want the Bitch of the Year title? Take it, go back to Sunnydale and mount it on your wall if that's what makes you happy. Just don't come down here and think you can stand, pulling the people who are supposed to mean something to you apart."
"I thought you weren't putting up a fight," Said Buffy, coldly.
"Oh, you listened?" Bit Cordelia, "I said I wasn't putting up a fight, didn't mean I wasn't going to play..."
The two glared at each other for a second until a whistle came down the stairs, followed by a green anagogic demon. "I see we have visitors," He said, coming further into the lobby before stopping at Buffy, "Woah, honey - you're dealing with some serious rage there, aren't ya?" Sidling over to Angel, he whispered in his ear, "I'm getting the Ex vibe... And also the slayer thing. That's your ex honey, right?"
Nodding, Angel's gaze fell on Buffy's, "We need to talk."
She'd known it was coming, known what and exactly who it would be about, but Buffy realised with a great degree of sadness that she didn't *want* to talk. She didn't want to listen to what he had to say. Sad though it was, Buffy - knowing they couldn't be together, didn't want the knowledge that never again would there be another... Maybe. Sighing, she shrugged, "Whatever." Walking through into the courtyard with Angel to a - "Hey, didn't anyone notice there's a green demon standing here?"***
"Don't you get that this is weird?" Asked Buffy, "Look at this from my point of view. I come here to help you with this demon and I find you... I find you with your... Your..."
"I know."
"No! You don't know, Angel! You don't know how damned embarassing that was! God, you couldn't have been doing that somewhere else? In fact, not even doing it at all? Way better!"
Watching her pace the length of the courtyard, Angel sighed. "Buffy, there's something I have to..."
"Are you in love with her?"
"Yes."
"How long?"
"A while now, I think." He said softly, "I didn't realise it until..."
"Until what?"
"I have enemies," Said Angel, "A LOT of enemies. I didn't realise I was in love with her until I almost lost her. She's... She's everything to me, Buffy, if she died..."
Buffy winced, "Sooo not needing to hear this."
"That's just it," Said Angel, "You do need to hear this."
"I don't!" Said Buffy, "I don't need to deal with this, Angel. It wasn't just the jealousy thing, it wasn't the hurting thing either. It was the whole Angelus thing! You know what happens if you... Wait a minute," She paused, "Either she's not perfect happiness, which, judging by what you just said I'm thinking she is or... Is something else going on? You're not Angelus. You're not, I'd know. You're not Angelus... Right?"
"No, I'm not Angelus," Said Angel quietly, "And I... Perfect happiness would come into it..."
"You have But-Face..."
"Huh?"
"You look like you're about to say... But..." She explained quietly.
"Oh... There is... A but, I mean." Angel faltered, looking her in the eye, "There's a spell. I found out about it a couple of days ago, it's not easy, it means joining my soul with hers and..."
"And what?" Asked Buffy, coldly, "It means you get to have sex with the woman you love, great."
Angel frowned and shook his head, "You know, of all the people I thought might be happy about this, I thought it would be you."
"Sure! You're in love with a person I can't stand to be in the same room with!" Yelled Buffy, "Just tell me how peachy that ISN'T."
"Now you're being ridiculous," Said Angel, glaring at her, "You never hated Cordy, granted you didn't get on but you didn't hate her."
"And now you're telling me how I feel about people, God, could you contemplate getting over yourself for at least one minute?"
"Do you think YOU could?" The force of his words were like a stinging slap to Buffy, who promptly reeled back from him, her eyes wide, incredulous. "You've been acting like a spoilt brat since you got here, huffing about me being with Cordelia and generally getting digs in on her whenever you feel like it, well this stops, Buffy, it stops right now. GROW UP!"
Her eyes darkened, her face drawn and pinched with anger, "Grow up?" She said quietly, "GROW UP?"
Not giving her time to get the rest of whatever she was going to say out, Angel nodded, "You heard me. Grow up. I love Cordelia, Buffy. I'm sorry that you can't handle that but it's true. I love her. I'm not doing this thing so that I can have sex with Cordelia, I'm doing it because it gets rid of the threat of Angelus once and for all. My soul is anchored by hers, it means she gets to handle her demon transition phase a little easier by... Handing some of it to me, sort of."
Breathing out a sigh, Buffy looked down at the floor, "If things had've been different..."
"They aren't." He said quietly. His voice wasn't harsh, but Angel didn't want to say anything that would hurt her more.
Buffy ran a hand through her hair and shook her head, "You get that... This is a lot for me to deal with, right?"
"I know," Said Angel, nodding. "That doesn't give you the right to pull her apart at every opportunity though..."
"But I..."
"No buts, Buffy. Some of the things you and Xander have been tossing back and forth were downright nasty. I know Cordelia can hold her own but she's a different person to the one you knew..."
"I'm starting to get that." Said Buffy, quietly.
For a while, they just stood there, until Buffy found her voice again, "Are you... Happy?"
"Yes."
"Oh..."
"What about you?" He asked softly, meeting her eyes.
Buffy sighed, "I don't know... I just... This is too weird to even consider, I mean..."
"I didn't expect you to be automatically okay with this... I just wanted you to know."
"And now I do."
"Yeah, now you do."
Again, the silence grew until Buffy looked up again, "Uhm, if we get time can you... Explain Connor? I'm having monumentous weirdness with that concept too."
Nodding, Angel stood, gesturing to the hotel, "I just wanna check on him..."
This, even though she didn't actually *want* to, made Buffy smile. "Over-protective Daddy, huh?" She asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe." As they entered the hotel, Angel glanced towards the other door, hearing something on the other side. "Buffy?" She'd heard it too, put on instant alert, the Slayer stepped forward, "What is it?"
As it turned out, it was a mountain of books. Well, attached to that would be Wesley - but they didn't know that! "New demon?" Asked Xander, dryly - until the mountain of books toppled to the floor, "No, that would be me." Said Wesley, frowning as his books scattered, "Oh, bloody hell..."
"What's this?" Asked Angel, puzzled.
"More books on demons... Connor... Among other things." Said Wesley, beginning to pick up some of the books, "We know he's here, we just need to know why..."
"Because he's my son, it was prophecised." Said Angel, firmly, "Y'don't get a bigger reason than that."
"Angel, Connor was born to two vampires, that never happens..."
"Uh, hello? I'm thinking a child born to one vampire never happens..." Said Buffy, "We just bumped the Connor conversation up to first priority and then I say... HUH?"
Angel sighed, "It's a long story..."
"We have all night..." Said Xander, folding his arms across his chest in a many display of... Manliness.
"Which is just what I was worried about." Said Angel, sighing as he began...
Part 5"You had sex with Darla?" Buffy made the mother of all 'ewww' faces, to which Cordelia nodded, in total agreement, "Exactly my reaction, but we got that little guy out of it so..."
It seemed that Buffy was dealing a hell of a lot better than she had before. Of course she wigged - who wouldn't. Seeing your ex-honey in the process of going down on someone you thought you hated wasn't exactly fun. Unfortunately, Connor had taken quite a shine to the slayer - or her finger at least - his little fist wrapped round it like it did Cordelia's and he jammed it in his mouth, babbling happily.
"You can so tell he's your kid..." Said Willow with a smile, glancing at Angel.
The grin that spread across his face made Buffy laugh and for the first time since they'd got to LA instead of jealousy burning through her, an ache started inside. Had he ever smiled like that for her? She remembered smiles, sure... But never this. She could leave herself locked firmly in Denial Land and tell herself that it was all Connor, that just like her Mom and Dad had gotten sappy over Dawn, this was what had happened here. But it wasn't - and right now, Buffy wasn't sure she wanted to be seeing this - someone else making Angel happier than she ever could.
Angel, however, wasn't stupid - noticed the shift in her demeanour, how guarded she looked again - she always did that. In some ways, Cordelia was a lot like her. If there was something she either couldn't, or didn't want to deal with, she'd guard herself - tell the world that she was fine and go off, deal alone. Of course, the fact that he did it too - and had done particularly with Darla wasn't a factor here. "When Darla got turned again, it felt like everything I had worked for had been for nothing. I gave up."
It wasn't exactly easy for Angel to admit this, especially in front of Buffy and her friends - even Cordelia was shocked at how open he was being about it, "I'm not proud of what I did, of what happened to my friends while I was... Gone. I hurt the people I loved the most but out of it I got a son, a family and it makes me happy."
"Ohh, come on..." Xander, still having major trouble with the 'Angel as a Father' concept, shook his head, "Is anyone forgetting that this man, back in his day, was the definitive bloodsucking fiend?"
"Ohh, not you too!" Said the youngest Summers' girl, frowning, "It's bad enough that you're on Spike's case ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time... Can't you leave at least one of them alone?"
"But..."
"Not but! God," Said Dawn, snarkily, "Be nice!"
Xander pouted, "So the guy has a kid, what - are we supposed to fall all over him now?"
"Ah, the baby thing..." Said Anya, "Xander hasn't even took a second look at Connor. He knows that his eyes will fill with... That thing we call, fear."
"I've looked at Connor! He's... He's cute and... Baby like!" Xander was desperate to try and cover the fact that Anya was right, not so much so that he'd look again at the child of the evil undead of course, but he could try.
"Xander," Said Dawn, the picture of innocence, "What colour jumpsuit is Connor wearing?"
"Uh... Uh... Red?"
"Purple." Dawn grinned, having proved Anya's point. "Why can't you look at him? He's so cute and... Cute!" She cooed over the baby in Buffy's arms before looking back at Xander, who hadn't yet answered the question.
"I'll tell you why!" Said Anya, "Because the minute you mention the word 'baby' or 'diaper' Xander gets this look on his face. This look which clearly states, 'I shirk responsibility of all kinds'..."
"I do not shirk responsibility! I have a home, a regular income..."
"And you run at the first sign of the diaper stall in the Mini-Mart... Face it Xander, you... are... a... wimp." Said Anya, punctuating every word.
The Scoobies sniggered, the Fang Gang tittered until finally, Cordelia stood and held her arms out to Connor, "As much as I'd love to stay and witness this particular bickerfest, I'm starting to smell something that's increasingly not pleasant..."
Waiting until Cordelia had gone to the office with Connor, Willow slid along the seat she'd previously shared with Buffy, Cordelia and Tara, so she was sitting next to her friend, "Should I start the vilifying and grousing now?" She asked softly, "Or should I wait until we leave?"
The slayer turned, "It's not that I'm not happy for them, I really am but..."
"It's hard, seeing him be happy with someone." Finished Willow, nodding, "I get that."
"It's just - did it have to be her?" Asked Buffy quietly, "I mean, he could have picked anyone and he picked her..."
"Be honest Buffy," Said Willow gently, "If you had been able to look into the future and see that Angel was with someone else down the line, who would it have been? Would anyone have been good enough?"
Raising an eyebrow, Buffy stared, "You?"
An easy grin slid onto Willow's face and she laughed, "Hello, kinda gay, remember? Besides, even if you had chosen me, I still wouldn't have been good enough... It's the whole, 'I'm the ex and you're new' thing."
Buffy knew she was right - of course she did. Sighing, she watched as Angel got up to join Cordelia and felt Willow's hand slide over hers, "She makes them happier than I ever did..." She said gently.
Willow shook her head, "No, she doesn't. For a start, the hair's all the wrong colour. Angel loves BLONDES... And... She has no special fighty powers, or at least she had considerably less than you and she can't do that thing with your mouth that you can do..."
"Will?" Buffy interrupted, looking at her friend, "What're you doing?"
"Being supportive friend. Telling you how wrong for him she is."
"That's just it." Said Buffy softly, "She's not wrong for him."***
"Are you sure you don't mind us crashing here?" Buffy looked at Cordelia who was helping her change the sheets on one of the beds in the hotel, "I mean we could go somewhere else..."
"Are you kidding me?" Asked Cordelia, "68 rooms, 66 vacancies. You could have a room for each one of your outfits... Y'know, if you wanted to." She laughed, placing the finishing touches in the room that was strategically placed as far away from Angel's as possible. Buffy's request, not her own. "Wait 'til Connor grows up, he'll have one room for every girlfriend he brings back here."
"He will not..." Said Angel, instantly, a growl slipping from his lips.
"See, can you say overprotective much?" Cordelia yelped as Angel pulled her into his arms and kissed her, tenderly, leaving Buffy to cough, trying to grab their attention. "Angel, uhm... Are Tara and Will talking to Wesley?"
The en-souled vampire pulled back, embarrassed - having almost forgotten Buffy was in the room. He loosened his grip on Cordelia but didn't let her go, stood with his arm locked firmly around her waist, "Yeah, they're discussing the spell."
"Spell?"
"Soul-spell..." Said Angel, shuffling nervously on his feet.
"Oh- that spell, huh?" Buffy nodded, "Guess I should go, see what I can do..." She slipped out of the room, her cheeks pink and flushed. It wasn't that she was embarrassed, not really - it was that right back in there, she was watching as Angel kissed someone else, hugged Cordelia the way he never had her. She made her way back downstairs to where Xander and Anya were arguing not-so-good-naturedly about babies, to where Dawn, Tara and Willow sat in the office discussing soul spells...
"Can I help? I want to help," Said Dawn, glancing up as her sister came in the room, knowing full well that that had shot *any* chances Dawn had of helping. Dawn was fragile... Pfft, yeah...
"No." Said Buffy, Tara, Willow and Wesley in unison, making Dawn frown. "Guys, I'm almost 16 years old! Come on!"
"No." Came the automated reply. Wesley looked at the girls, "So, you think you can help, yes?"
Nodding, Tara spoke softly, "It won't be easy. But we'll try... We can give you that much."
Wesley smiled, "Thank you. For this, I mean."
The girls nodded, until Dawn's gaze drifted up to Buffy's and she moved, crossing the room to stand with her sister, "Buffy?"
"I'm fine." Smiled the slayer, turning slightly, "It's just..."
"Mondo-weirdness?"
"Yeah." Said Buffy, "Mondo-weirdness. But I'll deal, I always do."***
"I think she's dealing well, under the circumstances..."
"Excuse me?" Cordelia arched a perfectly shaped eyebrow and stared at Angel, "You think she's dealing well? Are we in the same hotel?"
"What? She is!" Said Angel, "She's..."
"Pretending." Said Cordelia, "Think how you'd felt if you walked in on... I dunno, me and Groo and he was going down on me - would you be pleased?"
Angel growled. He could still hear Cordelia's "I love you" back in Pylea to which Angel thought his heart, though unbeating, might burst from - and then her, "Not you, dumbass, HIM! I love him!" Groo. All teeth and... Stupid hair and...
"Hello?" Cordelia looked at him, "Earth to Angel, anyone home?"
His gaze slid up to meet hers and he sighed, "Will she be okay?"
Cordelia, as brutally honest as always, shrugged her shoulders, "Not your problem any more, Angel. Buffy's a big girl... Did she care about you with Riley? Or Spike?"
"SPIKE?!"
"Angel, breathe. You're turning colours."
"She had sex with Spike?" Angel's eyes were wide as he tried to process THAT bit of information, "Buffy... Had... Sex... With... Spike?"
"Did I say that? ALMOST - she *almost* had sex with Spike. That demon thing they came here for? A lust demon... Buffy managed to stop herself..."
"Oh," Said Angel, "Right."
"Were you jealous?"
"What? No." Said Angel, firmly. "Just..."
Cordelia smiled, "It's 'the whole ex-thing' huh?"
Angel grinned, "At least you know what I'm talking about, I saw Xander checking you out while we were downstairs..."
"Angel!" Cordelia raised a hand to punch him, which he promptly grabbed, pinning her against the wall with a grin and a growl, "You're fast, Chase, but not that fast..."
Grinning, Cordelia raised a hand to unbutton his shirt, peppering kisses on his neck, "Really? I thought I was pretty quick..."
Angel groaned as her tongue flicked across his skin, grinning to himself...***
"Didn't you hear me right? I want this soddin' chip out NOW..." Growled the vampire, hurling the Doctor against the wall. Thankfully, the Doctor was a demon so Spike *could* get his point across, quite effectively, point of fact.
Dr. Gregson frowned, "It's not as simple as..."
"I'm making it as simple," Growled Spike, "Now - can't stay long. Got to go find a girl... She reckons I'm beneath her, Doc... I'm gonna show her just how beneath her I really am."
His smirk widened and the terrified Doctor nodded, "O-okay, take a seat..."
Part 6"Feel like a new man... Pire." He smirked, smoothing down his long, black duster. He stared into the mirror, of course, it didn't catch any reflection, but tonight, he humoured only himself as he stared. The last time he'd seen a reflection staring back would have been a long time ago, back in the 'powdered wig' days as he'd heard one of the Scoobies refer to those times. Back when Drusilla had been enough to keep him happy... Back when Cecily had reminded him just how beneath him he really was.
Just thinking of how he was in those days, all poncey bloody poetry and heartfelt sentiments was enough to drive him mad. He'd be crazy to think any girl would fall for that crap now.
And oh, how the mighty had fallen. Girls nowadays, liked a bit of monster in their man. Treat 'em mean, keep 'em keen. Spike had just forgotten all that in a bid to get closer to Buffy... His pathetic attempts of making her love him had turned sour but now... Now she'd see...
Spike turned, "Let's see, does this cover it? Or not?"
The Doctor, safely muted and strapped to the seat looked wildly at Spike, his eyes staring but not taking in the inevitable - through his hands, Dr. Gregson had had many patients. The vampire only months ago that had requested his heart removed when his love died... The demon who requested his hands be removed for sacrificial purposes (what else?) and now, this. The vampire with a chip that wanted only to show the woman who'd turned him down -- the woman who he loved -- that he was no longer beneath her.
"See, Doc... Bloody slayer thinks she's above me. That just 'cause Spike doesn't play with the puppies any more, he can't bite. Well, I got news for her - " His sentence stalled and Spike stalked towards the Doctor, watching as his eyes spun wildly around the room, anywhere but Spike. Fear was a wonderful thing indeed...***
"Angel, how many times do I have to **grunt** tell you... It doesn't FIT..."
"Push harder!"
"You push! It's yours, isn't it?"
"Cordelia... **growl** ..."
"Don't get all grrr-face with me. It's not my fault it's so big..."
"It's not THAT big, Cordelia... Stop exaggerating..."
"Well you try to put it in a hole that's considerably smaller - see how well it works for you!"
"I've tried it," He offered, shaking his head, "It *did* work for me..."
"Okay, now? You're gloating. Just shut up and PUSH..."
A creak of the bed springs later and Cordelia yelped, "OWWW, damnit, Angel! That HURT!"
"You told me to push!"
"I didn't mean for you to push THAT hard!!! I'm never going to get out of here..."
"If you just move your leg like..."
"Angel, I do NOT bend that way, ex-cheerleader or not..."
At that moment, Buffy decided she'd had enough - walking in on Angel going down on Cordy was bad enough, but this? Nuh-uh. "Okay guys, that's ENOUGH - I walked in on you earlier but I refuse to listen as... Oh..."
Cordelia was trapped at one end of the bed, Angel at the opposite side - both trying to push the heavy iron headboard that they'd been trying to move into a corner for the past hour. "You refuse to listen as what?" Asked Cordelia, puzzled, blushing when she realised how that must have sounded. "Ohhh... Uhm, we were talking about this. The furniture in the hotel is all heavy metal and cast iron fifties crap, we were trying to move it and, uhm... Angel kinda pushed it on my leg and now... I'm stuck..."
"You... Thought we were having... Sex?" Angel asked, looking incredulously at Buffy.
"Do you BLAME me? Hello, that conversation was up to Anya standard and it wasn't even on purpose!" Said the slayer, blushing furiously. "Besides, with your recent track record..."
Cordelia frowned, "Uhm, excuse me? As much as I'm loving this conversation, do we think we could move me? I think I'm losing all feeling in my leg..."
"Sure." Buffy stepped forward, moving the bed without so much as breaking a sweat - to which Angel and Cordelia both frowned, "You knew you could do that?" Asked Angel, shaking his head, "And you let us struggle in here?"
"Where was the struggle?" Asked Buffy with a grin, "From the sounds of it, you two were enjoying yourselves."
"Yeah," Replied Cordelia, "Because I just *love* getting my leg stuck between cast iron headboards... Pffft..." Stooping, she rubbed her leg and looked at Angel, pouting, "You didn't have to push that hard..."
"Do you know how cute you are when you look at me like that?"
Rolling her eyes, Buffy shook her head, "And it's time for me to leave again..." She said, dryly, sauntering out of the room and back downstairs into the lobby. "I see you guys made up." Said Buffy, smiling at the sight of Anya and Xander, sitting in each others arms.
"We're having a baby!" Announced Anya.
"Woah-what?" Buffy's mouth fell open, "You're having a... A..."
"You look like Xander," Observed the ex-vengeance demon, "Yes, we're having a baby."
"An-"
"And we're going to get lots of nice baby things when she's born, because that's what people do..."
"ANYA!"
"What?" She asked, severely huffed, "You said we were going to have a baby..."
"When we're ready! Do you see my face? Still looking terrified? I'm... NOT... Ready!" Said Xander, hurriedly.
"Operative word being you," Snapped Anya, "What about me?"
Xander turned and took her hands in his, "Anya, listen to me. I want babies, I do. Just not yet. I like it just being us. I like waking up next to you and seeing you asleep. I like that we can go where we want, when we want and not have to worry about parents or being back in time for babysitters going home. I would like nothing better than to be having your child, but not now, not yet. I like it being us..." He said gently.
Anya huffed... Fumed... And then almost melted into a puddle on the floor, "I'm going to have to stop listening to you," She warned after kissing him, "I keep listening to things I don't want to listen to, then I get talked out of having something I wanted."
Xander chuckled -- thankful the conversation was over with -- and kissed her again, his lips locked with hers when the door opened. His gaze slid upward, locked on the couple that stood there.
"I think I ate too much..." Groaned Fred, softly, eyes widening as she saw all the people gathered in the lobby, "Uh, did we open the hotel for business?"
An eyebrow raised, Gunn backed that up with a, "Who are you guys?"
"Scoobies." Said Xander simply, "Firmly known as the 'We Walk in On Vampires And Half-Demon Seers When They're Having-umph!" His sentence was cut off by an elbow to the ribs and he turned, glaring at Anya, "What was that for?"
"They weren't doing anything! Besides, I've lost count of the amount of times Giles almost walked in on us. That time up against Buffy's pommell horse, when..."
"I BEG you not to finish that sentence," Said Buffy, shuddering slightly.
"Is the B-Word here?" Asked Fred, "I always wondered what she looked like, I mean she had to have been pretty 'cause Angel only goes for the pretty ones. And besides-"
"The B-word?" Asked Buffy, frowning. "If you mean Buffy - then that's me. If you mean anything else? It's not." 'Bitca? Bitch? Bint?' Buffy frowned - thinking of Spike just wasn't big on her list of things to do today.
"No..." Said Fred, awestruck, "I meant you. We've never had a real live slayer in the hotel before... I mean, not to my knowledge." She turned to Gunn for confirmation, "Was that girl that tried to kill Wesley in the hotel? Anyway, it doesn't matter... It's nice to meet you after only hearing about you from Cordelia and... And Wesley. Well, that was when we were allowed to talk about you. We weren't. Not when you died, anyway and... I'm babbling, aren't I?"
Gunn smiled and put his arm around Fred's shoulders, "Where's everyone? Wes? Angel and Barbie?"
"Wesley's talking with Tara, Willow and Dawn. Angel and Cordy are upstairs..."
Gunn tossed a conspiratorial wink in his girlfriend's direction and chuckled, "They're usually in the basement getting-"
"That would be another sentence I don't want finished." Said Buffy, "Isn't it enough that-" Buffy's sentence was cut off by a scream -- a female scream. A Cordelia scream.
They moved up the stairs quickly, Buffy heading the small group of friends and family, until she got to the door... Angel was struggling to his feet, obviously dazed - blood running from a cut in his forehead. His eyes were wild, panicked, giving weight to the notion that something was very wrong with Cordelia.
Suspended a couple of feet from the bed, Cordelia's body bucked and twisted reflexively - a blue light encompassing the room. She screamed again, so very obviously in pain and Angel ran forward, only to be propelled backwards, back into the self-same wall he'd hit earlier. He growled, prepared to launch himself forward until Buffy stopped him - a hand placed on his chest, "Angel, don't... You'll only get hurt."
The calm he'd felt earlier, being with Cordelia, was replaced with a sudden fear, an anger that Angel couldn't shift - his game face slid on and he glared at the slayer, "Back off, Buffy. This is none of your business."
The light dimmed and as Angel moved forward, Cordelia was dropped to the bed, left mewling and whimpering in pain.
"B-Buffy?" Whispered Dawn, from her position at the door, "What happened to Cordelia?"
"I don't know..."
In silence, the friends backed away - watching as Angel gently smoothed the hair away from her face. "Cordy? W-was it a vision?" He asked, his eyes searching hers. "What was it? Talk to me..."
Her gaze slid to his, tears rolling down her cheeks, "Just stay with me? Please?"
"Cord-"
"Don't leave me?" She whispered.
"Never."***
"You wanna tell me what's going on around here?" Asked Buffy, now back down in the lobby with the others, pacing the floor. "What's wrong with Cordelia?"
Wesley's face was drawn, pinched, "The demon that offered Cordelia a way out of her visions informed her that the 'demon transition' phase would be particularly difficult. That her visions would be like a stroll in the park compared to-"
"What park?" Asked Anya.
"Excuse me?" Wesley glanced at the former vengeance demon, puzzled.
"What park?" She asked softly, "Because there are some parks I've seen and nobody would want to take a stroll in them..."
"Yes," Said Wesley through gritted teeth, "But we're not talking REAL parks, we're talking metaphorical..."
"No need to get testy with her, Wesley." Said Xander, frowning, "She's only trying to help."
"Well, she's not, is she?" Asked Wesley, simply worried about Cordelia. When he looked up though, Anya's gaze slid away and he sighed, "I'm sorry, it's just... I'm worried, I didn't mean to get 'testy' with her. It's just... This is what Angel feared, the demon transition phase beginning before he had the chance to help stop it hurting so much..."
Anya smiled, "It's alright... I'm used to Giles doing it."
Xander smiled, pulling Anya towards him and placing a kiss on her forehead.
The friends sat quietly for a while, waiting for Angel to come down with news of how Cordelia was... Waiting for a breakthrough in the spell that Wesley, Willow and Tara were researching - Dawn twiddling her thumbs... And Buffy nervously pacing the floor. No one saw the figure slip through the doors of the Hyperion, in complete silence.
The slayer in her felt it... Felt the figure hurtling towards her, foot outstretched. Even Buffy wasn't quick enough to counter it - she went down, startled by the attack. A flip later however and she was standing, eyes wide as she faced Spike.
"That's right, luv..." He grinned, vampire face having slipped on, "I'm back... And this time? No bloody chip's going to stop me getting what I want..."
TBC...
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