Shattered

Author: Misha

Email: DavidLover2006@aol.com

Content: A/C angst, friendship (for future romance. AI family, friendship.

Summary: The AI crew need Cordelia's help to get Angel back.

Spoilers: Post S4.

Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.

Notes: Set about a year in the furture. Faith stayed in LA and is with Wes. Cordelia is not evil. Conner found out that the baby Cordy was going to have was not his, but the Beast's (Not true, but this is my story, so what the hell?) The baby (which was evil) was some how destroyed when Cordelia became good again. Everything was straightened out. But things were beyond bad between Cordelia and Angel, so she left and is with someone. But that's all I can say without ruining the story. Oh! And we have a Buffy character who I wanted in LA.

Feedback: Please?! I live for the stuff!

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Part 1

"Fred! Oh Fred!" Fred stared at the monster who's face resembled her hero. A face she once loved more than anything. But this wasn't Angel. "Come on Fred! Come closer. I won't bit...yet." A devious laugh escaped his lips. "Come on baby. It won't hurt that bad. I'll just take a sip." The smile never left his face. "Then I'll show you what the real meaning of torture is, make you scream so loud you shake the room with pleasure and pain, well, mostly pain, before I suck every drop of blood out of that boney body of yours." She flinched at his words. He let out a chuckle, getting a sick pleasure out of her fear. "Don't worry. I'm sure Chuck won't mind.
"Yeah. And I'm sure he wouldn't mind shoving a stake up your ass."
"Mmmmmm. I love it when you talk dirty Fred." Fred watched him lick his lips.
"You're going to be loving it a lot less when it happens." Gunn said, coming down to get her.
"Sorry Chuck. I don't swing that way." Gunn ignored him, turning his attention to Fred.
"Come on baby. The monitor's fixed, let's go back up."
"Just like you to ruin the fun Chuck." Gunn and Fred walked up the stairs, shutting the door to the basement.
"English and Faith better get back soon."

***

Nick Cowell answered the door. A woman dressed in black and leather stood next to a man dressed in jeans, a tucked in gray shirt and a pair of glasses. Before Nick could speak, the man interrupted.
"Is Cordelia here?" His accent was strong and he spoke with confidence. Cordelia heard him and came out.
"Wesley!" She screamed, ran to him, and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh my God! It's so good to see you!" She pulled away. "Faith! It's great to see you too! She hugged Faith, who slowly returned it.
"I'm not a hugger Cordy." She said with a smile.
"I don't care." Cordelia said pulling away. "Come on in guys. Sit down. Make yourselves at home. You thrirsty?" nick cleared his throat loudly and Cordy rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Guys. This is Nick. Nick. That's Wes and that's Faith."
"Hey Faith. Hey Wes."
"Wesley." Wes corrected. Faith looked at the guy with a raised eyebrow, cocked her head, and looked at Cordelia.
"This is the guy you left Angel for?" She snorted in amusement and astonishment. Cordelia sent her an annoyed look. "Sorry. I'm just saying. I mean, he's alright. but you know as well as i do that Angel's a hottie." Cordelia couldn't help but smile as she got a wonderful mental image of her previous boss/best friend. Form the look of it, Wesley wasn't happy with the comment.
"Well Faith, as appreciative as we all are of your opinion, we're not here to discuss your never ending attraction towards Angel."
"You jealous baby?" Faith asked, eyebrow going up again. He smirked then returned his attention back to Cordelia.
"As great as it is to see you Cordy, this is not a social call..errr...visit."
"I figured as much. What's wrong? Your brooding brow is almost as bad as Angel's."
"I seem to remember you thinking that was sexy." Faith put it. Cordelia's cheeks tinted pink. Nick was not loving this conversation
"Well, he is the main topic of discussion." Wesley said softly, worry obvious in his eyes.
"What's wrong Wes? Is Angel okay? Is he dead? Oh my God! tell me he isn't dead Wes!"
"No. No more than usual." The three of them let out a small chuckle. /Nope,/ Nick thought. /Not loving this conversation at all./
"So what's wrong?" Cordy asked. Wesley finally sat down and Faith joined him, her hand on his shoulder.
"Do you remember Angel's episode when Darla came around?"
"His brood fest? Yeah."
"Multiply that by about 10."
"Damn. What happened?"
"Well, as soon as you left, he started going into his brood mode. Thank God Conner was there. He pretty much stopped it."
"They're close?"
"Very." Cordelia's smile reached her eyes. Wesley missed that smile. "They're almost inseperable when Conner's there."
"What do you mean?"
"Cordelia." Wesley smiled. "Conner's in college." Her jaw hit the floor.
"How the hell?" The three of them laughed.
"Well. Conner was attracted to this girl Carmen. She attends UCLA. She's very intelligent. And, incredibely attractive at that."
"Wesley. Baby. You're drooling." Faith said.
"Anyway. Conner decided he wanted to attend college. Fred and Carmen hacked into a few of the school's and pretty much made it seem like Conner has been attending school since he was about five. According to the records they created, he attended a community college for the past two years. We gave him mostly B's and two C's. He's also been a football player all through his high school years."
"Conner doesn't know how to play football."
"Angel taught him." Faith said.
"Angel doesn't know how to play football."
"He does too. A man with a football player build like that? Please? Besides, he's dated high school girls. He knows."
"Anyways..." Wesley said. "Conner's in college and him and Carmen are actually quite serious. They've been together for quite a while. In fact, I think he might love her."
"That's great." Cordelia said happy for Conner.
"It was. So, Conner and Carmen took a trip over the past summer. Which, as you know, only about two days ago. So, he's been gone and Angel was alone. He stayed in his room the entire time. The only time he would come out was to fight or go get his blood. That's it. Well, about a month ago, he started to come out. He wouldn't talk to us though. He would go out to clubs." She raised an eyebrow. "I know."
"Angel hates clubs."
"I know."
"So why was he going out to them?" Wesley sighed.
"Angel's been trying to commit soul suicide."
"No. Not again, he wouldn't. Why?"
"We don't know. We need your help though-"
"Wes, I can't. I wish there was something I could do but-" A phone rang and Wesley answered it, moving away from them. Faith followed him
"What...no...you're kidding...how...how is this poss...yes...of course...bye." Wesley hung up. "Dammit!"
"What's wrong?" Faith and Wesley were whispering to each other. Faith had a look of panic.
"No. No. He can't, how?"
"I don't know. Cordelia."
"Listen Wes, I'm sorry. but what can I do? Angel hates me."
"Cordelia. I'm cutting the story short, okay? Angel's gone. I guess he slept with the right person and lost his soul. Angelus has been around for a few days. We've tried to find the spell to restore his soul, but we can't. Unfortunately, Angel had grown accustomed to your filing system. Which is no good for us. We just got a call from Gunn. Angelus has gotten out. He's loose. And I guarantee the first person he goes after will be you."
"Why?"
"My God woman! How dense can you be? Angel misses you and he still loves you. You were his best friend and you know as well as I do you're still his Seer. That connection never dies and Angelus hates you for it." Cordelia looked at them.
"I still have a lot of my stuff at the hotel? You guys didn't get rid of it?"
"No."
"Let's go. We have a vampire who needs to be re-ensouled." Nick went upstairs, then came back with a suitcase. They stared at him.
"I'm going with you."
"Great." Wesley and Faith both said. "Shall we?" He asked the two women at his sides. Cordelia tok a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable.
 

Part 2

Wesley and Faith walked into the hotel to see Gunn with a bloody nose and a large scrape on his face, Fred with a bruise on her cheek, and a limping Conner with an eye that was already swelling and turning a deep purple.
"Bout time you showed up English."
"Good Lord. What happened."
"Like I told you on the phone. Darth vampire got loose." A chuckle was heard.
"Darth vampire. That's good." The AI's stared at the rather short man. His hair was a dirty blond color, with blue-gray eyes. He was reasonabley good looking, but they didn't appreciate the comment.
"And you are?" Conner asked.
"He's with me." The group stared at Cordelia, wide eyed. Fred was up in a second.
"Cordy!" She wrapped her arms around her. "Oh my God! It's so good to see you! It's been years! Well, actually, only one year. But that's still a long time. Wow. Speaking of long time. People usually age in a year. You haven't Cordy. You still look great. You've always been beautiful. I guess that's one of the reasons Angel loves you. Well, loved you. I don't really know if he still does. It's hard to tell. Jeez, why didn't you guys stop me this time?" Fred said, taking her first breath since she started speaking.
"You have no idea how much I've missed your rambling Fred."
"They can be missed?" Gunn asked. He smirked at Cordelia, and she went to him, embracing him tightly.
"Yes. Everything can. I missed this hotel, you all...everything."
"If you missed it so much, why did you leave?" Cordelia turned her head and came face to face with a pair of scorching blue eyes.
"Conner." She took in a slash on his cheek. She went to touch him and he flinched away. "You don't understand. I had to leave."
"Had to? You had to leave? You know, that's funny. Did someone force you to Cordelia? Did they hold a gun to your head and tell you that you had to leave or they were going to shot you?" Cordelia flinched herself as his tone became louder.
"Conner..." She tried.
"No! Did they say that they were going to kill you?! Huh?! Did they?! Because it sure didn't look that way!" He moved closer to her, his face inches from hers. His voice lowered to a husky, deadly tone. " You out of all people should know. You know he hates to be alone. It scares him. And you know how much he loved you. You were supposed to love him back. You told me you did. Then you leave him. Alone."
"He wasn't alone. he had you. All of you."
"That's not what I mean and you know it! You know, I thought it was my fault. I thought, if I would've stayed with him. Not gone off to college. Stayed home. He didn't want that. he wanted me to have a life." There was a long pause. "He wanted you."
"I, I didn't..."
"You can't understand. I can't kill him. He's out there, terrorizing and maiming people and I can't do a damn thing about him. Because he's my dad. He's my father and I can not kill my father. Not anymore." Faith looked around,
"Conner. Where's Carmen?" Gunn, Fred, and Conner looked so guilty. Conner finally looked at them again, on the brink of tears.
"He took her."
"What?" Wesley asked.
"Angelus took her. I tried to track them and I picked up the scent so many different times. I couldn't find anything. And what would I do if I found him, anyway?"
"Probably get your ass kicked." They all turned to see Angelus with a devilish smile on his face. "It's okay. Every kid needs a spankin' from their dad at least once in their lives." His eyes focused on Cordelia. "Well look who's come back to play. Come to get your Angel back?" Angelus laughed. "Not gonna happen cupcake."
"I seem to think otherwise." As Conner and Faith made their way up the stairs, Angelus turned to them.
"Nice try." He said, jumping off and moving to Cordelia. He grabbed her, letting his true face come over him, holding her tightly. "Try it and you'll be holding her corpse. Cordelia struggled, trying to get away. "Someone hasn't been practicing her moves." He said, his hands moving to her hips. "Well, not fighting ones anyway."
"What do you want?" She asked.
"You're not scared. That's no fun. Actually, if you could just wiggle a little bit to your left."
"Let go of her!" Nick yelled, suddenly holding an axe he got from the weapons cabinet. Angelus laughed, greatly amused. "Oh yeah. That's going to work." He moved his lips to Cordelia's ear. "This is the loser you left me for? This pathetic excuse for a man? Cordy, Cordy, Cordy! You really have no idea what you were missing." He lowered his voice so only she could hear him. "He used to think about it at night. About you. What he would do to you. What he wanted to do. How sexy you would sound moaning, whimpering, screaing his name." Cordelia shivered. And not from disgust, but because she thought about it all the time. Angelus was loving every minute of this. "Mmmm. Too bad you'll never find out. I'm better anyway." He licked her neck and her whole body tensed up. "I'll be back later." He looked at Conner. "I got another woman to play with right now. And I'm so looking forward to that. Keep these thighs wram for me Cordy." He said, pushing her into Conner and Faith, then running out. They went after him and he was gone. Conner held a shaking Cordelia.
"She won't calm down. She's mummbling. I can't understand her." Cordelia pushed herself away from him. Nick went to hold her, but she wouldn't let any of them near her. She sat down on the couch, gaining her composure. Her eyes drifted to the AI's.
"I am so sorry. Conner's right. It is my fault." She said. She wanted to cry, scream. But most of all, she wanted Angel. She wanted him to be here, wrapping his strong arms around her, comforting her. Saying that it was okay, that he still loved her. But before that could happen, they had to get Angel back. "You said you couldn't find the spell?"
"No." Fred said. "I looked under everything. S for spells and soul. R for restoration. W for Willow since she gave us the spell. E for extraction in case it got misplaced. S again for Sunnydale, since that's where we got it from. H for hell, since he got sent there. A for Angel. Everything I could think of. And there is a whole lot of files. Nothing."
"Try under the I."
"Why owuld it be in the I's?"
"Because Angel's from Ireland. And inside there are different folders. Look inside the mini folders in the L, for Liam. Angel's human self."
"Why can't you put it under S for soul restoration?" Gunn asked.
"Please. Too obvious. I'd never remember that." Fred came out.
"It was in the L folder inside the I folder. Cordelia. You make things way too difficult." Fred said.
"Angel understood it." Wesley snorted.
"No he didn't. He just pretended to so he wouldn't have to listen to your nagging."
"Well, it was better than hearing you suck up to him. Mr. I-Rarely-Get-Captured-Please-Don't-Fire-Me!"
"Well at least I didn't put cinnamon in the man's blood!"
"Whatever Lone Wolf." She said with a smug smile. He glared.
"Can we just work on the matter at hand?"
"Fine with me."
"Brat." Wesley threw in.
"Well, we have the spell. We just need the Angel, um, Angelus." Fred said, before they could continue.
"Easier said than done." Conner said.
"I got the scent!" Cordelia looked towards the door. She stared at the peroxide blond.
"Which one?" Conner asked.
"What the hell is he doing here?!"
"Nice to see you too, Cheerleader." Spike said.
"Cordy. Spike lives in LA with us now. He has for a few months."
"Yeah. After being rejected by B." Faith taunted.
"Not even. I chose to come here. Leave all that Scooby soap opera behind. I always have a home with Dad."
"Can you not call him that?" Conner asked in annoyance.
"Poof Junior just can't accept that him and I are blood. We're brothers. Get used to it."
"You said you have the scent?" Cordelia asked. Spike smiled.
"If it's not, I will admit to being a bigger git than Harris." Cordelia and Wesley snickered.
"Spike! Lead the way!" She said, and they began the search.

***

"You know what my favorite thing about torturing a woman is Carmen? I love the way they scream. There's just something so inticing about it."
"I won't give you that satisfaction. I haven't yet, and I'm not going to."
"Tsk tsk tsk. I always thought you were a smart girl. Give me that, and maybe I'll just kill you quick." She glared at him. "No?" He walked to where she was. He had her chained up, hands and feet in shackles. she was trying to be strong, but the fear overcame her as she stared at the large knife Angelus held up. He looked at her exposed skin. "You know, I'm glad you wore shorts and you're little tank top. Makes this easier on me." She had a few deep slashes and many bruises. Not deep enough for her to pass out though. "Let the fun begin." He said. All thoughts of not screaming quickly dissolved as her cry of pain echoed through the building. Angelus releshed in it. "You know. It's been so long since i've tortured someone. And since you're not just anyone, I think I should make this one special." Tears fell down her eyes and she just prayed that the group could get Angel back soon.
 

Part 3

"Spike?" Spike looked at Cordelia.
"Yeah?"
"You're a git." He stopped and glared at her. "You're a total git. The biggest git ever. Bigger than Xander."
"Okay. I screwed up. I must've made a wrong turn." He looked around the alley they were standing in. "But I followed the scent."
"I told you before. There is more than one. He's tricking us. Buying time."
"Conner's right." Cordelia said. "He's destracting us. We should go-" She froze, eyes starting to glow. She began to tremble as the vision ended. She noticed Nick backing away from her in fear.
"Are you alright Cordy?" Wesley asked, seeing her state.
"Yeah. I just haven't had a vision since I left. It's been a long time."
"What did you see?"
"Angelus. With Carmen. She's still alive. They were at this abandoned building. I think it was a church. Down town LA. But I'm not sure. Maybe we should head back to the hotel. Fred, can you check the place out on the net?"
"No problem Cordy."
"Okay. Let's head back." When they reached the hotel, they started. The door swung open and Lorne walked in, eyes on the objects in his hand.
"I got everything I needed to do the sanctuary spell. I doubt Angelus will be able to find that little metal thing, so I'm sure this'll help. And there's no way this one can mess up. Not like last time. He can't do...Cordy?"
"I think that's been established Lorne." She said.
"Oh my goodness! Well color me orange and call me a Lazarc demon! Sweetie! It is so good to see you!" Cordelia gave him a huge and he returned it fiercely. "So, what brings you back to ol' Angel Inc.?"
"Well, when Angelus is released in LA and you get a visit from the Rogue Demon Hunter and Psycho Slayer asking you for help, you tend to listen."
"And the fact that it's Angel had nothing to do with it?" A twinge of guilt flashed in her eyes. "He doesn't hate you sweetie. He never did and he never will." A tear fell down her face and she wiped it away, nodding.
"Why is it none of you find it even remotely odd that there's a green, horned, demon in the hotel?!"
"Who's that guy?" Lorne asked. Cordelia got a slight frown on her face.
"He's my...um, my, he's my boyfriend." Lorne raised an eyebrow.
"Sweetie. He doesn't compare to our Angelcakes. The bleached tip look, so the nineties." She smiled. Nick didn't. He didn't understand why these people were okay with this.
"Cordy?" Cordelia looked at Fred. "I think I found your place. It is a church. It caught on fire about ten years ago. The damage wasn't that bad, but they didn't use it anymore. It's on the corner or Argyle." Cordelia took a look at the picture of the wrecked building.
"That's it."
"Great. We have our place." Gunn said. "Let's go tranquilize the Prince of Darkness, bring him back, and shove a soul up his ass so we can all get on with our pathetic lives." Gunn said with a smile.
"Sounds good to me." Fred added. They picked up their weapons, giving Lorne one as well, setting off once again.

***

"How you holdng up, honey?" Angelus asked. He observed his work and shook his head. "Let's see. What else can I do to you, my dear? We can work with the lighter. That's fun. Or we can move on to the gun. Or a needle. Your choice baby." He looked in her eyes. The fire and determination she had in them was fading fast. He lit a cigarette and stared at her until she started to tremble under his gaze. He stood up and walked to her, blowing smoke into her face. She coughed. "Not a smoker?" She glared at him and he smiled, before putting the cigarette out on her shoulder. She let out a muffled scream, biting her lip. He picked up a small knife and walked back to her. She started to twist, trying to escape. "Yeah. Cause that worked so wall all those other times." He moved to his knees. "If you keep moving it'll hurt worse and I might mess up. I don't need you unconscious yet. I have plans for you." One hand and arm stilled her. He made a light incision below her navel. She hissed in pain. Looking down, she saw his face change.
"No. No. Please no. Don't. Angel-"
"Not Angel sweetie. Now shhhh. Now's not the time to beg." He lapped at the fallen blood and the open wound, until it stopped bleeding. She squirmed and whimpered in pain, trying to move away from him. He stood up, licking his lips. An evil grin spread across his lips as his eyes fell on her neck.
"No! No! Oh my God! Please don't! Please! No!"
"Ah. I love it when women beg." He growled and bit into her neck, drinking slowly. She screadmed in pain, closing her eyes. Then it was gone. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Angelus pull a dart from the gun out of his chest. He glared at Cordelia, growling: "Bitch," before passing out. Conner ran to Carmen, breaking the manacles and carrying her as she lost consciousness. he watched Faith and Spike pick Angelus up.
"I'm going to take her to the hospital. I'll meet you back at the hotel as soon as I can." With that, Conner left. The rest of them headed back to the hotel to chain Angelus up. Wesley and Fred immediately began the preperations to restore Angel's soul. The orb, the spell, they were almost ready. Conner walked in.
"How's she doing, kid?" Spike asked.
"She's going to be fine. the cuts weren't that deep, so the scars won't be that bad. She didn't lose too much blood, either. She'll probably be able to come home tomorrow.
"Think she'll have the strength to perform the spell?" Wesley questioned.
"I don't know. I hope so. The original one, most likely. But this one, I don't want it to drain her."
"Why do I feel like I just walked in to the theatre at the very end of a good movie?" Cordelia asked. "Wesley? Help me out here please?"
"We called Willow when Angel lost his soul and asked her if there was any possible for us to grant Angel his soul permanently. She looked into it. After some additons of the necessary materials and some alterations to the spell, she found a way."
"So, if this is done, Angel can't become Angelus again? Ever? No matter what happens?"
"Correct. But Willow is needed in Sunnydale. She sent the changes to us via e-mail. But we couldn't find the old spell. We have that now, thanks to you. Carmen meddles in the craft and she could perform the spell. But it requires a great deal of energy. Which she is lacking at the moment. This could cause a great deal of problems." Cordelia took all this in.
"So, Willow made a spell that will give Angel his soul forever, but she can't do it. Conner's girlfriend knows witchcraft and could have done it before, but know she might not be able to because of what Angelus did?"
"Pretty much."
"Well, I guess we have to wait and see, won't we?"
"What are we going to do until then?" Conner asked.
"We should probably take shifts again. Screw the monitor. We need someone down there, maybe two people to watch Angelus."
"Oh Corrddyyyyy! Cordeeeliaaaa!" Cordelia shivered as she heard his voice echo through the house. "Come on down kitten. You still owe me that ride you, well your evil self promised me."
"I'll take the first shift." Conner said.
"No. You need to go check on Carmen tomorrow. I think Spike should. You're a vampire, you can hold your own against Angelus."
"Unitl he rips my head off." She raised her eyebrow at him. "Fine."
"I think Faith should probably join you. Between the two of you, Angelus wouldn't stand a chance. But be careful. You guys know as well as I do that he plays mind games. He can get into your head. I know." They nodded and headed down to the basement.
"Oh come on! Faith is hot and all, but I want to see Cordy!" Gunn slammed the door, making Angelus' voice so faint it wasn't even audible. Everyone went up to their rooms. Nick came to Cordelia.
"Are you alright?"
"Do I look alright?"
"No. I'm sorry, I just, I don't see what is really the big deal."
"You don't get it!"
"You're right! I don't! And you're not helping me understand this situation either." He looked at her. "Talk to me."
"Now you want to talk?" He nodded. "Fine." They walked up to the old room that used to be hers. Nick layed down on the bed, but she refused to join him. She sat on a chair, explaining as much of the sotry to him as possible. Before he fell asleep. She sighed. *How did I get paired up with this guy?*
 

Part 4

Cordelia woke up in bed, Nick's arms around her. She frowned when she noticed her lack of clothes. *That's just not right. Boyfriend or not.* She got up, got in the shower, got dressed and headed down stairs.
"Where's Mr. Annoyance?" Lorne asked. She gave him a look with a smile.
"He's asleep." She looked around. Everyone was down stairs. Fred, Gunn, Wesley, and Faith were eating something, breakfast burritos. Wonderful memories flashed through her mine. Followed by ones that made her want to run as far away as possible from them all. Spike was in the living room on the couch, drinking a glass of blood. Lorne was behind the desk, looking over the missed calls on the answering machine. Someone was missing though. "Where's Conner?"
"He went to go get his little play mate." Spike informed. She walked over to Wesley.
"You think she'll be able to do it?"
"I hope so."
"I don't know. If it was so simple to find this, why couldn't we find it? Why didn't they find it before? It's too weird."
"Well, we have no other option. And if it doesn't work, we'll do the normal spell." He looked at her worried expression. "We'll get him back Cordelia. We always do."
"I know Wesley. I just can't help but think that one of these days. Our luck is going to wear out." He studied her closely.
"What else?"
"Huh?"
"You have something else on your mind."
"I'm scared Wesley. Lorne said Angel doesn't hate me. That he never did. But you guys didn't see. There were averted looks, he wouldn't talk to me, he would glare at me, or growl, he would mutter things under his breath, he was like afraid to leave Conner and I alone. It was insanity Wes. I lost his trust. I don't know if I can get it back. You know how closed off Angel is."
"He forgave me."
"You didn't sleep with his son."
"No. But I kidnapped him."
"I know..."
"There's nothing you can do about it now. You're just going to have to wait." There was a long period of silence, not an uncomfortable one though. Conner walked in, arm around Conner, not willing to let her go. She sat down.
"You want something? Water? Something to eat? You must be starving. It's a bit cold...are you cold? I can get you a blanket. What about a-"
"Conner. I'm fine. Really." She told him. He sat down next to her, nodding. "Just calm down okay?" Cordelia walked up to her.
"You're Carmen? Wes wasn't lying. She's pretty Conner." Carmen smiled.
"Thank you. Who are you?"
"Cordelia." Carmen's face straightened.
"Oh. It's nice to finally meet you." Carmen lied. Wesley and Fred came up to her.
"Nice to see you're feeling better. Here's the spell and the the alterations." Fred said.
"Yes. Glad to see you're doing well. We got everything you would need." Wesley handed her everything. She looked at Conner.
"Think I can do this?"
"Definately. Besides. Fred's gonna help you out. It takes two people."
"Willow said it's all pretty self explanitory. Just add that. Say that. Mix those. She said she was positive it would work." Wesley explained. They got to work setting everything up, opening the books, and heading down to the basement where Angelus was awake and leering at them with a horrible smile.
"Guess it really has been a while since I've tortured someone. Getting back into the habit takes a while." They all ignored him for as long as they could. They needed him awake for the beginnig of the spell. "It won't work. You guys just can't do anything right. You screw everything up. You guys just suck. That's why, once again, Angel chose to lose his soul. He can only put up with you losers for so long."
"Fist halves done." Wesley whispered to Gunn, not disturbing Carmen and Fred's chanting. Gunn shot Angelus a couple times, who hit the floor almost immediately. As soon as they finished, Angelus shot up, a look of agony and anger on his face, before he fell back into his previous sleep.

***

Angel's eyes fluttered. He felt like he had just been beaten by a sledge hammer again. Except worse. He felt like his whole body weighed about five-hundred pounds more. With a groan, closing his eyes, face distorting in a soreful pain, he stood up. He opened them again and stared into the wondering eyes of his son.
"Conner?" Conner raised an eyebrow.
"Dad?" Angel's eyes shifted back and forth.
"Where am I?" He looked around the cage. His eyes kept opening and closing. "Oh shit." He muttered, leaning his head against the bars. Conner smirked, went to him, and unlocked the cage.
"Welcome back, Dad." He said, huging Angel briefly. Conner walked up the stairs with Angel. They stared at him suspiciously. "It's him. Trust me." They figured Conner was right, there was no reason to doubt. Fred wrapped her arms around Angel tight. After she finally let go, Angel was surprised when Faith occupied the vacancy. When she pulled away, he raised a brow. She shrugged.
"I missed you. I don't like Angelus. Talks too much." Exchanging their hand shake with Gunn and Wes, Angel turned to the voice of Spike.
"Isn't this all gross and sickening?" Angel smiled.
"What's wrong? Not happy to see me, Spike my boy?" Spike rolled his eyes.
"Sure I am dad. Angelus is gone, which means the fantastic poof has returned." Angel turned to his friends.
"Wow. I think we're getting closer, don't you?" Angel looked at Conner. "How's Carmen?" He asked. Not many of the other memories had returned yet, but this one had quickly.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Conner cocked his head in the diretion of the living room, where the t.v. was. Angel turned his head and saw her brown eyes staring at him. His face took on a great expression of guilt.
"I can't began to express how horrible I-"
"If you're gonna brood, go up stairs." She said with a smile. Conner returned it.
"Okay, okay. I won't bore you guys with my guilt trip. But if you all will excuse me, I think I need to change." He said, looking at his leather pants. He turned towards the stairs and froze. Cordelia's eyes bore into his. Questioning him.
"Hey Angel."
"Oh my God. Cordelia."
 

Part 5

Seconds ticked by with Cordelia and Angel just staring at each other. Angel didn't know what to do. He really wasn't expecting her to be here. He had wanted her to come back to them, to him, for so long. Now she was and he was just standing there, like an idiot. Cordelia was dying. She needed a response. Not just that blank stare he was sending her way. A small smile curled his lips up. As soon as it did she made her way to him, embracing him tightly. He returned it, surprised by the contact. He closed his eyes just enjoying the feel of her.
"I've missed you so much Angel." He held her closer to him. She felt his body go tense after a few seconds. Angel could feel a pair of eyes burning into him. He pulled away from Cordy, looking towards the stairs. A low growl escaped his chest as he looked at the man in his home. Cordelia had plastered on a fake smile and Angel's senses were coming back to him. He could smell this guy all over her and it was not making him happy.
"Angel. This is Nick. Nick. This is Angel." Nick looked over him. /I don't see what's so great about him./ Nick thought.
"So, you're Angel." Angel didn't like his tone at all and he stared at the man with distaste. He didn't think Cordelia would appreciate it if he ripped the guys head off so...
"I'll be upstairs if you guys need me." Angel said.
"Dad..." Conner said in a worried tone. None of them wanted Angel brooding any more.
"I need to change." He said. He looked at Nick again and shook his head. He shut his door and sat down on the bed. Opening his drawer, he pulled out his sketch pad. He flipped through it to one of his favorite drawings of her. When her hair was shoulder length. He couldn't capture the sparkle of her eyes though. Or the was her whole face would glow with every smile.
"I like it." He jumped and swung around. She smiled at him. "Shouldn't you have sensed me or something?" She locked the door and sat down next to him. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. A little tired." She nodded.
"How are you doing...soul wise?"
"Huh?" He asked, his eyebrows kneeding together in confusion. *Adorable* Was the only word that would come to her mind.
"You know. The broodiness."
"Oh. The memories haven't realy come back yet." He pulled out a pair of his normal black slacks, a white t-shirt and went into the bathroom. Cordelia stood up and stood by the half closed door.
"Well. If you need to talk, you know I'm here."
"I know." He stepped out, opened his door and walked back down stairs. He didn't really want to think about what Angelus did right now. "So..." he said, rubbing his hands together. "We got any cases?"
"Plenty." Lorne said.
"Then let's get started. We have some souls to save." Angel went with Spike, Lorne, Wes and Gunn, talking about the cases. Conner walked to Cordy.
"I'm worried about him." Conner said.
"I know. Me too."
"Conner! Come here." Conner walked over to Angel, who asked him if he wanted to do a sweep. Cordelia grabbed hold of the counter she was standing by as another vision came to her. When she opened her eyes, she couldn't help the feeling of comfort she got when she saw Angel staring at her with that look concern. "You alright."
"Second vision in a year. It's weird. I'm getting used to it though."
"What did you see?"
"Um. These big, nasty, spikey demons. They were gross looking, like a brownish green. Yuck. They're at the beach, under the pier, terrorizing these two teens. Don't underestimate them. They're strong and really big." She missed this. Not the slight pain, not having to see the poor people that were in desperate need of their help, but being Angel's Seer. Helping him help people. It made her feel good.
"You think me, Spike and Conner can take them?"
"Yeah."
"Alright. Spike, Conner, let's go."
"Sure thing, Dad." Spike said, a smile on his face. Angel rolled his eyes and left with his child and childe.
"Are you okay?" Nick asked her, not getting too close.
"Yeah. Thanks for asking."
"Can I come near you, or are you going to like, shock me, or something? Because that is just really weird." She sighed loudly with frustration. "How long are we going to stay here anyway? They got him back, we can go now."
"You can't leave." Fred said. "Cordy. You so can't leave. You saw how happy Angel was to see you. If you leave, he's going to go all broody again. We can't have that again."
"Can we not talk about this right now? Let's just wait until they get back. I'll think about it later."
***
Angel, Conner, and Spike walked in. They were all a little beat up, but seemed alright. In fact, the three of them were laughing about something.
"What's so funny?" Cordelia asked.
"The kid just told the stupidest joke I ever heard. Funny as hell though." Spike said.
"Oh. Okay." She looked at Angel, who was walking up stairs, and appeared to be doing it in slow motion. "Angel. I need to talk to you."
"We'll talk tomorrow, alright? I'm beat." He shut his door, walked into his bathroom, undressed, and stepped into the hot shower. Allowing the heat to devour him. Everyone decided to go to bed.
"You coming up?" Nick asked Cordy.
"Maybe in a while." Nick rolled his eyes.
"Right. Going to stay down here and worry about your little boyfriend Angel."
"I'm not-"
"Whatever." He said and walked up to the room. Cordelia didn't understand why Nick just couldn't let her try and help Angel. Why it was bad for her to care about the guy who was her best friend for years. Who meant everything to her at one point. And still did. She walked up and past Angel's room. She heard water turn off and a loud sigh. *Since when does Angel sigh?* She peered inside, seeing him clad in a pair of sweatpants. He layed down in his bed, pulled the blankets to his waist and rested his hands behind his head, shutting his eyes. He fell into a tortured sleep, images of Angelus' actions haunting him. At least Cordelia thought that was it. *What else could it be?* She walked past to another empty room that was set up and went inside. She layed down in the bed, the room was cold and musty. She allowed her mind to drift as sleep took her away.
 

Part 6

Angel woke up, not feeling a bit rested, but strangely nervous. His senses told him it was almost night. He had fallen asleep many times, just to wake up again flooded with guilt. He walked downstairs and looked around. He could hear Gunn, Fred, Wesley, and Faith talking about something in his office. He saw Carmen sitting on the couch and sat across from her.
"Hey Angel."
"Hey Carmen." He studied her. "What's wrong?" She looked at him, then went back to reading her book.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Conner huh?"
"Yes!" He raised an eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes, closed her book, and set it down. "You ever notice that the only time he notices me, is when I'm in trouble. I mean, we've been together for a year. No I love you's, nothing." Angel nodded.
"Conner's gone through a lot though."
"I know." Angel got up and started to walk toward the office that used to be Cordelia's.
"You know, my family has a cure for this kind of heart ache." Angel started.
"Mine too. It's called tequila." She got up getting her jacket and keys.
"I was going to say whiskey." He opened the door and saw an image that crushed him. Cordelia's lips were only latched to Nick's. He shut the door and looked at her, face ful of pain. She frowned.
"Care to join me?" He nodded, grabbed his coat, and left. They walked outside into the fresh night and ran right into Spike.
"Where you two off to?"
"Caritas. Wanna come with?" Angel asked. Spike considered and went with them.
"You're buying Peaches."
***
Cordelia pulled away from Nick.
"Stop." She said.
"What's wrong now?"
"I just. I, I-"
"You can't. Don't want to hurt Angel. Can't hurt poor little Angel. He's not defenseless Cordelia. He's a vampire!"
"It's not like that-"
"You know what? You don't want me to kiss you. You haven't let me touch you. You didn't even sleep in our bed last night. We haven't fooled around in days." She leered at him.
"Sorry. Didn't know you missed the sex so much." Sarcasm was definately intended
"Well, I do okay?" She rolled her eyes, threw her arms up, and stormed out. "So, when are we going to leave anyway?" He yelled. She turned back to stare at him.
"I don't care when you leave. I'm staying here."
"Fine! I'm leaving! Don't even think about calling me later! Ever again!"
"Don't worry! I won't! Now get your stuff and get the hell out of our hotel!"
***
Spike watched, astonished as both Carmen and Angel finished their own bottle of tequila and whiskey.
"You're both a bunch of bloody booze hounds." He muttered. Angel looked at Carmen.
"You're not old enough to drink."
"Fake ID." They both started to laugh histarically. "Conner's being a total ass though. I mean, he don't even ever notice me!"
"Yeah! Cordy too! I think her lips Spike watched, astonished as both Carmen and Angel finished their own bottle of tequila and whiskey.
"You're both a bunch of bloody booze hounds." to that other guys lips! They should be on mine!"
"Yeah! Me too! But with Conner!"
"Yeah!" They raised their last drinks, said cheers, and drank the last from their bottles. Spike smiled, got up and walked to the bar.
"Hey. Lorne. Let me use the phone." Spike called the hotel. "Yeah. Poof Junior? You and the rest of the group get down here. And hurry. You got to see this." He hung up and went and sat back down with Angel and Carmen.
***
The AI's came in the club and Spike walked over to them.
"They're drunker than shit and are about to go up there and sing." Spike had a huge grin of amusement on his face. Lorne walked up on the stage.
"Well, don't we have a treat for you tonight! Two very good friends of mine are going to be performing a heart wrenching duet for you all tonight." The crowd cheered and Angel brought up to chairs, stumbling up to put them on the stage. He sat down, before he fell.
"Um. Me and my friend Angel are gonna sing a song that is sad and goes with what we're feeling wight now. Cordee, Conner, this one goes to you. Here Angel." She handed him the other microphone. Conner and Cordelia watched intently. But they were all afraid to hear their voices. Angel's voice wasn't all that great.
"I hope his voice is better when he's drunk." They laughed at Wesley's remark, hoping teh alcohol would have a positive effect on Angel's voice. Carmen's part came first.

"Shadows are falling
all over town
Another night
and the blues got me down
Oh misery...
I sure could use some company"

Angel took a deep breath, gripped the microphone, and sang.

"Since yo've been gone
I ain't been the same
I carry the weight
like an ol' ball and chain
Guess it's all meant to be
For love to call such misery"

They turned to each other, both belting out the notes in their state, not caring how bad they might have sounded.

"Oh misery
Oh misery
Tell me why
does my heart
make a fool of me
Seems it's why destiny...
for love to cause me misery.
And ohh
I've been down this road before
Where the passion
it turns
into pain
And each time
I saw love walk out the door
I swore I'd never get caught up
again

The Fang Gang just stared at them as Carmen's part came up again.

"But ain't it true...
it takes what it takes
And sometimes
we get too smart
too late

Angel was into it now and took over.

"One more heartahce for me
another night of misery"

"Ohh misery...
Ohhh misery
Tell me why
does my heart
make a fool of me
Seems it's my destiny...
for love to cause me misery"

Angel and Carmen got up from their seat, singing to the crowd, letting all their pain and aggrivation out.

"Misery
Misery
Tell me why, why,
why, why,
why, why
does this heart
make a fool of me
Oohh Misery
Guess it's all meant to be
for love
to cause me
Misseerryyy
Misery"

They took a bow, pleased with their performance and stepped off the stage. Conner went to Carmen, holding her to him so she wouldn't fall. Cordelia goes to Angel, helping him balance. The crowd cheered for them as they left, Lorne leaving the bar with his assistant manager and going with the crowd.
"I think they liked us." Angel muttered to Cordelia, who nodded, still thinking about Angel's singing to her. Conner got in Carmen's car, driving her, Spiek and Lorne back to the hotel. The rest of them hoped into Wesley's SUV, heading home. When they arrived, Cordy helped a drunken Angel up to his room. He removed his shoes, shirt and pants. Cordelia decided she liked Angel drunk. Soon sweat pants hid his body from her. *Doesn't he usually sleep naked?* She pouted, then blushed at the thought. A smile crossed her face as she felt strong arms wrap around her. "Never leave me again Cordelia. Please. I couldn't stand it." One of her hands moved to the back of his neck, fingers twirling in and playing with the short hair.
"I won't Angel. I promise." He stared at her with loving eyes who's veiw descended to her lips. He clsoed the gap between them, kissing her softly. Her hand brought him closer to her, her other hand threading through his hair. His lips moved against hers. A whimper escaping her lips, barely loud enough for him to hear. His hands held her face gently, his lips sucking on lip lightly. He waited for her moan, slipping his tounge inside her mouth, seeking out her's. Both softly tangling together, elicting another moan from each of them. Angel pulled away slowly, eyes opening, eager to see her expression. Her lips had that swollen, bruised look and he thought it only made her look that much sexier. Her eyes finally fluttered open and she noticed the little smile on Angel's face. She was surprised she hadn't melted into a puddle at his feet. He took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers, his thumbs moving in circles on her hand. He layed her down on his bed, covering her body with his own. Cordelia was trembling with anxiety. What was he thinking? What did he want to do? Because the way he had made her feel with just a kiss had her trembling and at that moment she would do anything he wanted her to. Instead, Angel layed nest to her, looking quite sleepy all of a sudden. He flashed her a little grin before drifting off to sleep. She curled up to him, his arm wrapping around her as she joined him in his slumber.
 

Part 7

Angel woke up, once again wondering where the hell that damn sledge hammer that kept hitting him was and where it kept coming from. He had a strange sense of comfort, warmth, and kept hearing the sound of a heart beat echoing in his head. He recognized that it was Cordelia's, making him realize all too well where his head was and he moved his head deeper between her breasts, inhaling her rich scent. Seconds later, rational thought invaded his mind and he lifted his head from his comfortable position. Soft hands pulled him back down. (Oh my God! She's awake?!) He thought in a panic, terrified of what he might have said or done in his not so sober state. But all thoughts left his mind as Cordelia's fingers once again were teasing through his hair, the other on his back, caressing and strocking softly. Reality kept knocking on Angel's door and he knew he was going to have to answer it eventually, even though it would ruin the moment he was having with her. He moved off of her, even as she protested and tried to pull him back down.
"Cordelia-"
"Don't try to rationalize this one Angel. Please?" He decided to obey, not really wanting to any way. The moment was too perfect. But someone kept tugging at his conscious. He didn't want to bring the person up.
"What about Nick?" He said the name with disgust and a hint of jealousy, making Cordy smile and move even closer to him.
"He's gone."
"What?"
"I told him to get lost. He wasn't who I wanted. He and I both knew that." A smile came over Angel.
"And who is?" She returned the smile.
"You know who."
"I want to hear you say it."
"Say what exactly?"
"Cordy..." She moved on top of him.
"How much I missed you?" Her tone was seductive and her hands were softly touching his chest, igniting fires he hadn't felt in years. "How much I wanted to come back to you?" How much I want you?" Her lips touched his cheek, moving up to his ear where she whispered to him. "How much I love you?" She felt him go tense and placed a soft kiss on his lips, his hands held her to him tighter.
"I-" Before he could finish Conner barged into the room.
"Dad, Wesley needs you downstairs...oh, my God." He gawked at them, wide eyed. "Okay. Like I was, um, saying. Wes needs to ask you a question." Angel moved Cordelia off of him.
"Hold that thought."
"Come back. Soon."
"You couldn't keep me away now." He whispered to her.
"Gross." Conner said, making gagging noises while Angel pulled a t-shirt on, stepped out of the room and walked down with Conner.
"Sorry to ruin your good time. I'm not used to you actually having a sex life."
"Next time, just knock."
"There's a next time now?"
"Conner." His tone was warning him.
"Fine. Fine. I'll shut up...for now." Angel rolled his eyes and walked into the office.
"Hey Wes. What's up?"
"Ah, Angel. I have a few questions. Obviously the spell has been working in terms of keeping your soul intact. But we were all wondering about your happy clause."
"What about it?"
"Well Angel, you of all people should now if the spell worked or not." Angel thought about the night he had spent with Cordelia in his bed. Holding her in his arms all night, her body serving as his soft, satin-like pillow. His legs tangled with hers, her hands oh his back and in his hair. The spectacular, long, tantalizing kiss they had shared last night before laying down together and the short, teasing one they had shared this morning. Their hands eager to explore each other. How far they would have gone if Conner hadn't interrupted them.
"I need to put a lock on that door."
"Pardon?" Angel shook out of his thoughts.
"Don't worry about the happy clause Wesley. It's holding up just fine. Listen, I'm going to be tied up for a while, alright? Don't bother me or call me or anything unless it's an emergency. A serious one. No cat needing rescuing from a tree thing, okay?" Wesley watched Angel as he adressed this question to everyone.
"Al-alright." Then he looked at Conner.
"Here's some money. Take Carmen out to the movies and don't go into my room-"
"I know, I know. Don't go in without knocking."
"Exactly." Angel all but ran up the stairs. The group practically expected him to break the door down. Spike snickered and they looked at him curious.
"You all don't really need me to explain it, do you?" A few seconds went by then the group cringed at the thought. Spike laughed. "Took you long enough." In his room, Angel looked around and was disappointed to find that Cordelia was no longer laying down in his bed. He heard the splash of water in the bathroom and crept up to the door, walking in. She was laying in the bubble filled tub, the whole room smelling of raspberry and Cordelia's own unique scent. She reached a hand out to him.
"Join me?" Angel started to strip, Cordelia's eyes never leaving him. She scooted up and allowed Angel to sit behind her. His arms came up to wrap around her. She moved her head to the side and his lips met hers. Her hand cupped his face and she smiled at him when they finally parted. "What were you saying before Conner came in?" She asked, leaning back into him.
"Hmmm, I don't remember."
"Maybe you should try."
"Maybe you should convince me." She snuggled her body closer to him, just enjoying his arms around her and how safe it made her feel. *How can one man..err, vampire, no, manpire have so much power over her.
"I love you Cordelia." She smield to herself. *That's how.*
"I love you too Angel." What her friends from Sunnydale would say if they saw her now.

End.

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