Rating: PG-13
Distribution: whoever wants it, just let me know where it ends up.
Pairings: Angel/Willow, Cordelia/Nick
Spoilers: Don’t have a clue. There’s a cross-over, but I can’t tell you with what yet, it would spoil the surprise.
Feedback: Please. Please read and review. PLEASE!!
Notes: Willow left Sunnydale after Buffy died stopping Glory. (Willow never brought Buffy back.) Willow and Tara were only friends. Willow came to Los Angeles to work for Angel Investigations. Angel had a suite renovated for her, on the opposite side of the floor from him so that she could have her privacy. Cordelia and Willow are becoming fast friends. No Connor and no Fred, and Lorne is living in the hotel too.
Notes 2: <thoughts>
Notes 3: I just want to thank my awesome Betas! You are the greatest!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Part: 1~
~~The Hyperion~~
"Cordelia, will you call a body shop to fix the car?" Angel asked as the AI crew staggered back into the hotel after a particularly nasty fight with a Morgoth demon.
"Are you gonna say please?" his Seer teased.
"Please" Angel drawled.
"Okay, okay. I’ll call." Cordy mumbled as she headed off to her desk for a phone book and the phone.
"I still can’t believe that the stupid demon landed on my car and smashed it up that badly." Angel grumbled.
"It’s okay Angel. It’ll be fixed up as good as new before you know it." Willow tried to reassure the brooding vampire.
"Yeah Dawg, don’t sweat it. We can just take my truck if Cordy gets another vision before your car’s fixed." Gunn offered.
"Thanks Gunn."
Cordelia hung up the phone and announced that she had called the new body shop a few blocks over - "Nick’s Auto Shop" and that Nick would be by later that evening to take a look at the car.
~~Later that night, just after sunset~~
Cordelia stands up from her desk and walks in to Angel’s office where he was sitting very near, and talking to Willow - both smiling and laughing.
<Hmm, so, Broodboy and Red? I doubt they’ve even noticed it themselves. This could be fun.> Cordy thought mischievously to herself.
"I thought you might like to know that I just had another vision." Cordy announced from the doorway.
"Who, what, when, where, and how?" Willow piped up.
Angel couldn’t help but smile at Willow’s enthusiasm. It took everything Cordelia had not to bust up laughing at the smitten look on Angel’s face.
"An old couple, an ugly purple clawed thing, in the parking garage of 4th and Maple, and there’s an organ in each extremity that keeps it working independently of all the others. You have to remove them all, then burn them. Have fun. I’ll wait here for the mechanic." Without waiting for a response, Cordelia turned and left two in surprise.
"Well," Angel sighed, "Let’s go."
He stood and offered his hand to the red-headed beauty in from of him. Willow placed her hand in his, almost jumping at the electricity that ran through her at the contact with his cool skin. She allowed him to help her to her feet and lead her out of the office. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he hadn’t let go of her hand yet. He led them over to the weapons’ cabinet, unwillingly released her delicate hand, and started handing out weapons as Gunn and Wesley wandered into the foyer.
The four took off to fight the demon, Lorne was already at Caritas, so Cordelia waited patiently for what she just knew was going to be a greasy, oily, smelly, disgusting man to come walking through the front doors.
About ten minutes later, in walked the most gorgeous man Cordelia had ever laid eyes on. He was tall, but not too tall; tan, but not unhealthily dark; he was bald, which somehow added to his mystery, Cordelia mused. His outfit was tailored to fit his perfectly sculpted physique.
"Hi," Cordelia offered shakily, "may I help you?"
"Yeah, I’m Nick. I’m supposed to look at a car that needs to be worked on." He stated cooly, giving the brunette in front of him a quick once over. <Nice.>
His deep, gravely voice left Cordy weak in the knees.
"YOU’RE the mechanic?" Cordelia squeaked, her eyes wide.
"Yup. Where’s the car?" Nick chuckled at the stunned woman.
"Oh, sorry. Where are my manners? I’m Cordelia Chase." Cordy offered her hand to the man as she made her way across the lobby to him.
"Nick Torelli" he replied as he took her hand.
"Nice to meet you Mr. Torelli. The car’s this way, follow me." Cordelia started to lead Nick to the small garage that housed the abused car.
"Please, call me Nick." He offered with a cocky smile.
"Okay, Nick it is." Cordelia smiled as Nick continued to follow her.
Once in the garage, Nick was nearly speechless as he saw the car. "What happened?"
"You wouldn’t believe me if I told you." Was her reply. "So, can you fix it?"
"I’ll come over and get it in the morning."
"Works for me. My boss will be happy to know that his little baby is going to be just fine."
Nick laughed. "It’ll be good as new, but it may take awhile. This car is in pretty bad shape."
"As long as it gets fixed, that’s all I care about." She stated.
"Then I’ll be by in the morning to tow it over to my shop." Nick started to walk out of the garage, only to stop and turn back to Cordy. "I was just heading over to one a my favorite clubs, you wouldn’t like to join me, would you?" He asked almost tentatively.
"Ah, sure, I’d love to. Just let me run upstairs and change. Give me ten minutes." Cordy grabbed the bags that she and Willow had brought home from shopping earlier that day, then nearly sprinted up the stairs to change into out of the outfits. Exactly ten minutes later Cordelia made her way down the grand staircase to Nick waiting in the lobby below.
<Wow!> Nick thought. He knew his mouth was gaping open, but he couldn’t help it. She was breathtaking.
"Ready?" Cordelia asked.
"Ah . . . uh-huh" Nick nodded his head. <Oh, that was good Nick. Really impressive.> He chided himself.
<He’s speechless. I haven’t lost my touch.> She smiled to herself. "Then let’s go" she suggested.
Shaking his head just so that he could think clearly again Nick agreed, "Shall we?" He offered his arm to the stunning brunette, she accepted it, and the two walked out into the darkening night.
~~The Hyperion, about an hour later~~
"Cordy!" Angel hollered as he, Willow, Gunn, and Wesley entered the lobby. "Where is she?" he asked more to himself than to the others.
Willow had wandered over to the counter to pick up her shopping bags before wandering upstairs to go to sleep. "Her bags are gone. She either went home, or she’s out partying. I’m voting for the latter." The all smiled and relaxed knowing that Cordelia could take care of herself if she needed to. "Well, I’m going upstairs to take a shower and then go to bed. I’ll see you guys in the morning." Willow waved and then trudged up the stairs to her suite, with Angel watching her until she was out of sight.
Gunn and Wesley looked at Angel, then looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
"Ugh, Man, will you just tell her how you feel already. This is getting ridiculous." Gunn groaned.
"What are you talking about Gunn?" Angel was still watching the stairs and hadn’t even turned around to look at his young friend.
"Actually, Angel, I quite agree with Gunn on this. You are obviously quite taken with Ms. Rosenburg, and neither Gunn nor I understand what is holding you back." Wesley added.
That got Angel’s attention. He turned to look at his two comrades. "What are you two talking about? I don’t have feelings for Willow, other than friendship."
"Come on Dawg, the way you two look at each other. There is definitely more than just friendship there."
"You two are out of your minds. Willow and I are just friends, that’s all." Angel announced then turned and bounded up the stairs to his room. Wesley and Gunn exchanged a knowing glance and then walked out into the night laughing.
~Part: 2~
~~The Following Morning~~
Nick showed up at The Hyperion bright and early to pick up Angel’s car.
"Good Morning Cordy," Nick offered as he sauntered into the hotel.
"If you say so." She smiled at his confused look and softened. "Sorry. I’m just not much of a morning person."
"No worries. I understand. It’s not like you got much sleep last night."
"True. But I did have a blast at that club."
"What club?" Willow asked as she meandered down the stairs.
"Just this club that Nick took me to last night. Willow, this is Nick. Nick, this is Willow."
"Hi," Willow offered her hand to the mechanic.
"Hello." Nick shook her hand.
"Well," Cordelia broke the silence. "Let’s go get the car, shall we."
Nick nodded his head then followed Cordelia out to the garage. About thirty minutes later, Nick finally towed the car to his shop down the street.
Willow had seen the looks between her friend and the gorgeous mechanic, and liked that Cordelia may have found a new romantic interest. Willow couldn’t help but wonder if Cordy was the only female at Angel Investigations that would ever find happiness.
"So, you were out with him last night," Willow teased Cordy as she walked back in from the garage.
"Yeah, we went to a club last night. So what?"
"Defensive much?" Willow was enjoying herself way too much.
"Me? What about you and a broody vampire that we know?" Cordelia shot back at the red head.
It was Willow’s turn to get defensive. "What? Angel and I are just friends. That’s all."
"Yeah, whatever." Cordy retorted.
"Okay, let’s make a deal. I’ll tell you about Angel, and you tell me about Nick." Willow held out her hand. Cordelia took it and the shook on it.
"Deal."
~~Later that afternoon~~
"Angel!!" Cordy yelled into the empty lobby. Angel ran upstairs from where he had been working out, Willow right on his heels. Gunn and Wesley came out from Wes’s office.
"What is it Cordy?" Angel asked as he and Willow reached the panicked Seer.
"Vision. Nick, attacked by a horde of vampires." Cordelia was almost frantic. "We’ve got to help him!" She cried. Willow took her friend in her arms and let her cry.
"What are we waiting for? Let’s go." Willow said sternly to the others around that were standing around her, once Cordelia’s tears had subsided.
The crew piled into Gunn’s truck the few blocks to Nick’s shop. When the five arrived fully armed at Nick’s, Nick was already surrounded by the vamps, and doing a relatively good job at holding his own - considering his lack of training and/or experience. The employees of Angel Investigations, fighting, made their way to the center of the circle to protect Nick. When the five broke through into the center, Nick looked up shocked at his rescuer - Cordelia.
After what seemed like hours, Angel, Cordy, Willow, Gunn, Wesley, and Nick succeeded in destroying the vampires. Once the danger to Nick’s life was gone, he turned to stare at his would-be heroes.
"Start talking. Now!" He nearly growled.
"Well, ah . . . you see . . . er, what I mean is . . ." Cordy didn’t know how to explain what had happened to the man in front of her. Gunn decided to step up and help out his friend.
"Let me see if I can explain." All eyes turned to Gunn. "Do you know what you just fought?"
Nick nodded, "Vampires. Right?"
"Right. So, you now know that they really are real. So are lots of other bad . . .things. And our job happens to be to fight all the nasty, evil, vile creatures roaming the streets. So, that’s how we ended up here." Gunn stated.
Nick stood motionless, trying to absorb all that he had just been told.
"I know it’s hard to take in, Nick, but we’ve all been there. We understand what you’re going through." Cordelia tried to reassure him.
"It’s just . . . I . . . are all of these creatures evil?" Nick asked sheepishly.
"No, not all demons are evil. Some are just trying to live their lives, and some actual want to fight for the side of good. Take me for example. I’m a good guy, but I’m also a vampire." Angel contributed.
"You’re a vampire?" Nick started to back up slowly, looking around at the other people in the room.
"Yes. A vampire with a soul. I told you, I’m one of the good guys."
"He is." Cordelia said. "He won’t hurt you. He was cursed with his soul by gypsies about 85 years ago. He’s been fighting for the side of good ever since." Cordy shot Angel a look that told him not to bring up that time he lost his soul back in Sunnydale - it could be added in later. Angel complied and didn’t say anything.
"So, you all help keep all the evil demons at bay then?" Nick thought he was just starting to understand.
"Yup, that’s about it." Cordy nodded and smiled.
"Well, knowing what I now know, I couldn’t live with myself if I did nothing. So, is there is anything that I can do to help in your fight against the evil that roams the Los Angeles nights?"
Cordelia practically lit up at the thought of the chance to spend more time with the gorgeous man. "Of course. The more the merrier." She beamed.
Willow grinned at her friend, Angel scowled having been told by Willow that Cordy had the hots for the mechanic, and Wes and Gunn just looked slightly curious as to what had just transpired.
~Part: 3~
~~A few weeks later~~
Nick was beginning to thoroughly enjoy his time away from the shop at Angel Investigation. Fighting gave him an outlet for his pent-up aggression, and it gave him a chance to get to know Cordelia better. He had to admit that finding out she was part demon was a little off-putting at first. But after finding out that she had chosen to become such so that she could continue to get the visions that helped save people, he was okay with it. He even thought that her little glowing trick was cool, almost sexy even.
The original crew of Angel Investigations was coming to accept Nick as one of their own, and Angel had started to not growl every time Nick and Cordelia would flirt with each other. Not that Angel was jealous, he wasn’t, it was just that he wanted to protect Cordy. She was his Seer, and he didn’t want anything to happen to her.
"I thought I had broken you of that brooding habit of yours." Angel was startled out of his thoughts by the red haired witch that normally captured his thoughts.
"I wasn’t brooding" Angel pouted.
"Yeah, sure you weren’t" Willow teased, wanting nothing more than to kiss that pout right off his handsome face.
"I wasn’t. I was just analyzing current situations. Brooding involves past events that can’t be changed. And since my thought were on changeable present events that means that I wasn’t brooding." Angel rambled.
"Are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Willow asked unable to hide her smile. <He is so sexy when he rambles on like that.>
"Both?" He answered honestly. "But I don’t think that it worked, on either." He said more lightly.
"Nope, it didn’t" She laughed, which in turn made Angel smile.
He just couldn’t be in a bad mood when Willow was around, especially not when she was smiling and laughing. She lit up his whole world. <Who am I kidding? She IS my whole world.> He finally admitted to himself.
"Willow, can I ask you a question?" Angel asked hesitantly as he stood and walked over to stand in front of her.
"Angel, you know you can ask me anything." She tried to reassure him, but breathing was becoming difficult as he approached.
"Can I kiss you?" Angel held an unneeded breath waiting for her to answer. The longer it took for her to answer, the more nervous he got. Willow looked up in to Angel’s dark eyes and quickly got lost in them. Angel was standing directly in front of Willow, looking down, drowning in her emerald eyes.
"I thought you’d never ask," she answered her voice so husky she almost didn’t recognize it.
Almost as if in slow motion, Angel lowered his lips to meet Willow’s. He couldn’t ever recall time standing still as it did the moment his lips touched hers.
~Part: 4~
~~ Six Months Later~~
Angel bounded down the stairs to the lobby, over to the front desk, and kissed his girlfriend. He still couldn’t believe that he and Willow had been dating for six months. <It’s a damn good thing my soul is permanent, because Willow kisses are pure heaven.>
Angel was about to walk into his office when the front door opened.
"Hi, can we help you?" Willow asked the blonde man that had just walked in.
"I hope so." The man answered somewhat nervously.
"What seems to be the problem?" Angel asked.
"I’m looking for a friend of mine. He disappeared almost a year ago, but he vanished without a trace. I was told that your firm handles cases that no one else can solve. I was hoping that you could help me find my friend."
"We can certainly try," Angel reassured the blonde. "Come on in to my office. Willow, why don’t you join us." The three entered Angel’s office and sat down. "So, tell us about this friend of yours. But first, let’s start with you’re name."
"My name is Brian O’Connor. I’m a cop. I went undercover to infiltrate the street racing world here in LA, to help the FBI. I met this guy, my friend, Dominic Toretto. He was the best racer there was. But some things went bad, I fell in love with his sister, his friend Vince got shot, his friend Jesse got killed, he found out I was an undercover cop, he was in a car wreck, I gave him my car, and he took off. I haven’t been able to track him down since."
"Wow," Willow was in shock. "That’s quite the story. I’ll see what I can find on the web. Everybody leaves a paper trail, it’s just a matter of finding it." Willow smiled at Brian.
"Do you have any idea where he might have taken off to?" Angel asked.
"No. Two of his team took off, I thought maybe he went to be with them. But I tracked them down, and they hadn’t even heard from him. So, that’s why I’m here. I just wanted to make sure that he was okay."
"We’ll do everything we can to find your friend. If you have any information on him that could help, please let us know." Willow stood, shook Brian’s hand then left to start working on her computer to find Dominic Toretto.
"Sorry about her," Angel apologized to the officer. "She tends to get a one track mind when working on a case. If it makes you feel any better, she’s already started working on finding your friend."
"How, she hasn’t even gotten to the computer yet."
"That doesn’t mean that her brain isn’t working. Willow is one of the most intelligent people I know. Right now, she’s mentally compiling a list of places to search, deciding the most efficient way to go about tracking him down based on what you told her of his personality, and then figuring out which data bases to hack into to get all her information," Angel announced proudly.
"Wow. She’s a hacker. I’m sure that comes in handy, but as you can imagine, I never heard you say that."
Willow walked back into the office minutes later with a handful of printouts. "Dominic Toretto. Owned a grocery store and a body shop. Spent time in prison for aggravated assault. Parents are deceased and he has one sister, Mia. That about sum up your friend?"
Angel just smiled at Brian’s dumbfounded look. "How did you get all that info so fast?" Brian shook his head. "Nevermind, don’t tell me. I’m sure that I don’t want to know."
Willow and Angel just laughed. "You’re probably right, Mr. O’Connor." Willow offered.
"Please, call me Brian."
"Angel!!" Cordelia bellowed from the lobby.
"Excuse us." Angel and Willow exited the office to find Cordelia being held up by Nick.
"Vision. Big, ugly, mean. Need to go, now!"
"Meet us in the car. We’ll be right there." Angel and Willow turned to head back into the office. "Brian, you’ll have to excuse us. We’ve had an emergency come up. Is there a number where we can reach you?"
"Yes. Here’s my card. My cell and home phones are on the back. Thank you for your time." The three stood and left the office. After showing Brian to the door, the witch and the vampire made for the garage to meet up with Cordy and Nick.
~Part: 5~
"So, we’re looking for this guy Brian’s friend?" Cordelia questioned. "Nothing supernatural? That’s a first for us."
"He said that he was told that we could solve cases that no one else could. I guess that’s a vague enough description of us." The two girls laughed, until they heard someone clearing their throat.
"Hi, can we help you?" Cordy asked the young girl.
"I’m looking for a Wesley Wyndam-Price. He here?" The girl seemed both insecure and overly-assured of herself.
"He’s not in right now," Willow told her. "He’s out following a few leads on a case. Is there something we can help you with?"
"He’s the Watcher, right?"
Both of the older girls froze at the unexpected question. "He used to be," Cordelia stated. "Who wants to know?"
"My name is Rána. I’m the new Slayer. I was sent to ask Wesley to be my watcher, since he was here in LA and so was I." The girl seemed to deflate before them.
"Rána?" Willow thought out loud. "As in the Noldorian name for the moon, the Wanderer?"
"That’s the one. My mother loved Tolkien. And now it just seems appropriate that I’m named after the moon, it being the wanderer of the night and all, just like me."
"I like it. You’ll fit in around here. Wesley is the only one with a normal name. I’m Willow and this is Cordelia." The two women offered their hands to the young Slayer.
"Nice to meet you two. This is an office building?" Rána asked looking around the lobby.
"It’s a business and a home," Cordelia supplied. "Speaking of which, do you have a place to stay?"
"Nope, I was hoping Wesley could help with that." She admitted.
"You’re welcome to stay here." The three girls turned as Angel made his was down the stairs. "But only on the condition that you don’t try to stake me." Angel, Willow and Cordelia laughed at the vampire’s joke.
"Why would I stake you?"
"That’s generally what Slayers do to vampires, isn’t it?" He asked.
"Yeah, but . . . You’re a vampire?" She asked shocked. "But my Watcher works here. Does he know that you’re a vampire?"
"Yup, has for quite awhile. But, I’m not a normal vampire, so don’t think that they’re all like me. I have a soul." Seeing her confused look he continued. "I was cursed by the gypsies about 85 years ago. I’ve been living the life of good ever since."
"Well, there was that one period . . ." Cordelia began.
"Cordy, hush." Willow instructed the brunette. "The point is, that Angel here is a good guy. He won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt him."
"That’s true." The occupants turned to the doorway as Wesley made his way into the lobby.
"Wes, there’s someone here to see you." Angel took Rána by the shoulders and squared her off against Wesley. "Wes, this is Rána, your new Slayer."
Wesley took in the sight of the young girl. She looked to be about 16, with long blonde hair that fell nearly to her waist. Her bright green eyes stood out in contrast to her sun-kissed skin.
"Welcome. I was told that you might be stopping by." Wesley offered his hand to the girl who shook it.
"Thanks. This is quite the place you’ve got here. So, what do I do first?"
"First we move you in," Willow announced.
"Only have one bag, it’s outside the door." Rána retrieved her bag.
"Then we’ll show you to your room, then us girls will go shopping." Cordy and Willow each grabbed one of Rána’s hands and pulled her up the stairs. They led her to a room by Willow’s.
After the girls were upstairs, Angel turned to Wesley. "You know that you’re going to have your hands full, right."
"I have no doubt about that. Not with the two female influences that she’s gong to have around here." The two men were laughing as the three women came back down the stairs. Willow leaned up to kiss Angel as he slid his credit card into her back pocket. She smiled slightly, letting him know that she felt him put it there.
"Try not to overwhelm her too much." Angel called as the three women walked out of the hotel into the sunlight.
"I’m afraid it’s too late for that," Wesley stated. The two men walked into their offices laughing.
~Part: 6~
~~Just After Sunset~~
Laughter filled the hotel lobby as Willow, Cordelia, and Rána enter the Hyperion. The four men wandered out to meet them. Willow and Cordelia kissed their boyfriends.
"Did you ladies have an enjoyable time?" Wesley asked.
"A blast," Rána told the Watcher. "So, there are two new guys here. Who are they?"
"This," Cordelia informed the Slayer, "is my boyfriend Nick. And the other one is Gunn."
"Gunn?"
"Charles Gunn, actually. But everyone calls me Gunn."
"Cool." <Damn he’s fine.>
"Nice to meet you. Welcome to Angel Investigations." <Damn she’s fine.>
"So," Rána turned to Wesley. "Now that I’m properly attired to Slay, what do I do first?"
"Patrol. We’ll all join you until you feel more comfortable with the city and your abilities."
"Cool. Let me go put this stuff up in my room, change, and then we’ll be off." The Slayer turned and made her way up the stairs.
"How old is that girl?" Nick asked concerned.
"She’s 17, almost 18," Willow told him.
"She’s so young."
"Actually, she’s pretty old to just be starting out as a Slayer." Cordelia informed her boyfriend. "They’re usually called at about 15. At least the last two were."
"Wow, remind me again what a Slayer is for."
"She’s the chosen one. Every generation, there is one girl in all the world chosen to keep the forces of evil at bay. She is the Slayer. And this time, Rána is that Slayer." Wesley told the mechanic.
"That’s a lot of responsibility for one girl to take on. Do you think she’ll be able to handle it?"
"Other than Gunn, we all helped the last Slayer. She was the longest lived, most successful Slayer on record. I think that if she’ll accept our help, Rána can be just as good if not better than Buffy." Willow told him.
"You would all be willing to help me?" Rána asked as she crossed the lobby.
"If you’d like for us too. We all have our special little gifts that make us useful." Angel told the girl.
"Like what?" She asked curiously.
"Gunn’s got the heart, the experience, and the street smarts to improvise. Nick’s new so we’re still finding out about him. Sorry man." Angel apologized to the man. Nick shook his head to tell Angel not to worry about it. Angel continued. "Wesley’s a rebel Watcher, enough said. Cordelia gets visions from the Powers That Be, she’s also part demon. Willow is a hacker and a Wicca. And I’m a souled vampire. What better team could any Slayer ask for?"
"That’s quite that resume that you all put out. I think I could like it here. So, let’s go figure out what my special talents are, other than the obvious."
The seven quickly weaponed up and headed out into the dark Los Angeles night. Patrol was pretty quiet. They showed Rána some of the local cemeteries, and some of the vampire hangouts. Then they took her to Caritas to introduce her to Lorne.
"So this place is off limits to fight?"
"Yup." Willow smiled at how quickly and easily the new Slayer was picking up things.
"Angelcakes," Lorne approached the group. "I was hoping to see you all in tonight. I see you brought a new friend. Hi sugarplum. I’m Lorne. I own this joint."
"Hi, I’m Rána."
"So, Rána. What brings you to our little neck of the woods?"
The group sat down at their usual table.
"I’m the new Slayer. Wes here is my Watcher."
"I’m not sure if I should give you a congratulations or my condolences on your calling. It’ll be a long, hard road. But these people will help you through it."
"She’s staying with us at the hotel," Angel told the Host.
"Well, sweetie, it looks like we’re going to be seeing a lot of each other. Welcome to the family."
"Thanks. I think I’m going to like it here."
The group sat and talked, drank and danced. Gunn even asked Rána to dance. The crew stayed until Lorne closed Caritas down and then escorted him back to the hotel.
~~A Month Later~~
"Rána!?! Let’s go. Quit stalling!!" Willow yelled up to the Slayer. Hearing the thundering of running footsteps, Willow smiled. The young Slayer had come so far in such a short amount of time. Willow couldn’t help but smile as she thought of how perfectly Rána and Gunn fit together. They’d been inseparable since they met.
"Quit your yelling. I’m here." Rána trotted down the stairs. The two girls turned to head out into the night, but were stopped by a man in the doorway.
"Brian, right?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. I was just stopping in to see if you’d found out anything yet?"
"Come on in." Willow led Brian over to her desk. She reached across and picked up a decent sized file. "This is everything I’ve come up with. He’s cleaned out his bank account the afternoon that you last saw him. That left him with almost a million in cash. I found out that he changed his name, but I just haven’t been able to find out to what."
"That’s impressive. Even the FBI hasn’t found out this much about him."
"As far as I can tell, he’s still in the LA area. If I had a physical description, or a picture I could probably find out exactly where he is."
"Oh yeah, I guess that would help." Brian admitted sheepishly. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. Before she had a chance to unfold it, Cordelia came in.
"Wills, good, you’re still here." Cordelia sauntered across the lobby. "I thought you were taking Rána out tonight."
"I was. I am. Cordelia. This is Brian O’Connor. He’s the client who’s friend we’re looking for. Brian, this is Cordelia Chase, one of our associates."
"Hi. Sorry to run, but I just wanted to let you know that Nick and I will be gone for the weekend. We’ll be back Monday morning."
"Okay, have fun." Willow hugged her friend.
"Cordy, let’s go." Nick walked in the door looking for his girlfriend. He stopped dead in his tracks.
At the sound of the familiar voice Brian froze. <No way, it couldn’t be.> He slowly turned until he was facing the direction the sound come from. Willow, Cordelia, and Rána had seen the reaction between the two men and waited silently for someone to say something. Brian was in shock. Nick was stunned.
"Dom?" Brian whispered.
"Spilner." Nick stated flatly.
"Do you two know each other?" Rána asked.
"We used to." Nick told her, never taking his eyes off of the cop. "But that was a lifetime ago."
"YOU’RE Dominic Toretto?" Willow asked Nick.
"I used to be. Like I said, that was a lifetime ago. I’m not him anymore. I’m exactly who I seem to be."
"Dom, is it really you? I’ve been trying to find you for a year."
"I told you. Dom is dead."
"Hold on, just a minute!" Cordelia shrieked. "You’re real name is Dominic Toretto?" Nock nodded. "You used to be into all sorts of bad stuff, but lost a few friends and have now started ‘helping the hopeless’ with the rest of us?" He nodded again. She smacked him on the arm. "Why didn’t you tell me you’re real name? I always wanted to meet you, you big lug."
Nick was astounded. His girlfriend was fine with everything, she actually seemed happy that he was Dominic. "You aren’t mad that I lied to you?"
"Oh, don’t think you’re getting off that easy, buster. I’m so ticked that you lied to me that you’re going to have some serious making up to do." She smiled trying to let him know that it would be alright in the end.
"Nick," Willow spoke up. "I hate to be the one to teach a lesson, but I can’t pass up this opportunity. I know you felt betrayed by Brian, but now you know how he felt having to lie to everyone he cared about every day."
"Red, I really hate it when you’re right." Nick smirked at the witch. He then turned to Brian. "And she is right. I need to apologize for how I treated you. Everything just fell apart all at once. Can you forgive me?"
"There’s nothing to forgive." Brian offered his hand to his old friend. Nick took it, then pulled Brian in for a manly hug.
"Well, now that you’ve found me, what are you going to do with me?" Nick asked.
"Found you? The only thing I found out was that Dominic Toretto died during the last year. But I met this cool guy, Nick Torelli. I was hoping that I could get to know him." Brian looked up at his old friend hopefully.
"I’d like that. But there are some things around here that I think you should be told before you spend too much time here. But I’ll have to tell you about them later. Right now, I have to spend the weekend begging my girlfriend’s forgiveness." Nick glanced up at Cordelia and smiled his most charming smile.
"Don’t even think about trying that with me. You’re going to have to do some serious groveling. But, we really do have to get on the road." Cordelia held out her hand to Nick. He took it and led the brunette out the front door.
Brian turned to Willow. "I don’t suppose you could come up with a death certificate for one Dominic Toretto, could you?"
"You’ll have it first thing in the morning." Willow smiled at the man. "But if you’ll excuse Rána and me, we really have to be going. You can swing by about 10 in the morning and I should have everything wrapped up for you."
"Thank you, for everything."
"Thank you for not taking away our friend."
Brian walked out into the night, finally feeling at peace with himself.
Rána took Willow by the arm and drug her out to patrol. Just because things were peaceful in their lives, doesn’t mean that everything was peaceful with the world, and it was their job to make sure that the side of good prevailed.
THE END