Part 6
“We are very disturbed by this report Ms. Morgan.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We went to great lengths to ensure that Ms. Chase would remain in her coma indefinitely, and now we find that she has miraculously recovered, no side effects what so ever. She will ruin our plans, you do know that Ms. Morgan. She has already planted the seed in his mind to leave us and we all are aware of the consequences if that happens. If he finds a way, everything we have worked for over the past few years will be lost.”
“I understand that, sir.”
“We must find a way to separate them, without her presence and influence he was malleable, easy to control and manipulate. Our profilers are hard at work, considering our options. We were able to force him to abandon her once, surely the Darla incident is not the only thing that would push him to turn away from her, embrace his darker side.”
“Sir, maybe the answer doesn’t lie with Angel.”
Lilah’s faceless boss was silent for a moment, he leaned forward in the skin covered chair and placed his cloaked elbows on the stone table. “You’re suggesting another coma or some mystical interference. I suppose we could just kill the girl and be done with it.”
“No, sir. We tried the coma. She obviously has someone watching out for her on the other side, most likely the Powers, and any mystical harm would just make his attention even more focused on her. Not to mention the fact that he would probably suspect us immediately. As for killing her, that could bring him to a point of darkness that we’re not ready for yet.”
“You’re suggesting?”
“That we introduce an element that will make her turn away from him. If it’s her decision to leave, he’ll have no choice in the matter, no one to blame but himself. We’ll have him right back where we had him when all of this began, broken and alone, full of moral indifference.”
“Ah, very interesting strategy. And the element? The thing that will turn her affections from him?”
Lilah looked at her boss, an evil grin spreading across her face. She knew it was a simple plan, but it sure as hell was a brilliant one.
***
Angel slid his arms in his shirt sleeves as quietly as he could. He stared down at Cordelia’s sleeping frame as he began to work on the buttons. The last few hours, watching her sleep peacefully in his arms, had been almost too much, filling him with so much love and hope that he knew he had to leave the warmth of the bed before he forgot about Wolfram and Hart, about the problems that they faced, and let his happiness consume him.
Fastening the last button, he leaned down and sat on the side of the bed, brushing a few strands of hair from Cordy’s forehead and cheek, causing her to stir, her eyes opening sleepily.
“Hey,” he whispered and dropped a kiss to the top of her head.
She blinked once, twice, and pushed herself up on her elbows. “Hey,” she whispered back.
“I’ve got to go,” he continued to whisper, stoking her cheek with the back of his hand, not wanting to leave but knowing it was the only hope they had of him coming home for good.
“Already? Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“If I stay any longer I’ll never go back.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
He smiled at her and pulled her to him in a gentle embrace. “Thank you,” he closed his eyes.
“For what,” she squeezed him tight and smiled against his shoulder.
“For coming out of your coma, for loving me, for pissing me off bad enough that I saw the truth, for saving me.”
“Well, you’re welcome…I think, except I haven’t saved you, at least not yet. We still haven’t found a way to get you away from Wolfram and Hart.”
Angel pulled back just enough to look in her eyes. “I didn’t mean from them, I meant from myself. I’m the asshole that took the deal in the first place. If you haven’t noticed by now, I tend to make very bad choices when you’re not around,” he shot her a small, boyish smile.
Cordelia reached up and brushed her fingers across his strong jaw making him close his eyes and lean against her caress, “You’ve got to quit doing that Angel, losing hope every time life plays a dirty trick on you. You’ve got to remember who you are and what you stand for in the good times and in the bad. You‘ll never become human if you don‘t. You‘ve got to learn to fight for what you want even if I‘m not by your side.”
He took in a deep breath and let it out, a calming effect that had never left him. Reaching up, he took her hand from his face and held it between both of his and stared intently at her. “Cordy, are you okay about last night? Are we okay? I feel like…I don’t know….I didn’t mean to push, to come on too strong. It’s just that all of this time I’ve dreamt about touching you, loving you. I just hope I didn’t force you into something you weren’t ready for, make you uncomfortable or mad.”
“Oh, I’m furious,” she said in a teasing tone.
“Cordelia..”
“It was simply awful, the mind blowing orgasms, the way you knew just where and how to touch me, it was just horrible I tell you, horrible,” she shot him one of the first brilliant smiles he’d seen since she came out of her coma.
“Cordy, I’m trying to be serious here. I’m trying to apologize for being so aggressive, for practically throwing myself on you.”
“Angel,” she tried to turn her tone into a more serious one. “If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not a child. I could have turned you away, could have said no. If I remember correctly, I not only didn’t say no, I screamed yes several times throughout the evening,” she gave him her best seductress smile.
God, he wanted to climb back in bed with her and never leave. “You’re gonna have to quit doing that.”
“What?” she faked innocence.
“Putting images in my mind. I’ll never leave if you keep that up,” he reluctantly stood, breaking the very short moment they allowed themselves to forget just what a mess they were in still.
Cordelia sat up, covering herself with the sheet, and looked up at him with worry and fear in her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” he leaned down and gave her a slow, tender kiss and then raised back up, his hand lingering on the side of her face. “I’ll be back tonight, if not earlier. I’m going to get Wes to pull our contract. Maybe he can find a loophole,” he tried to sound positive despite remembering Wesley’s attempts at breaking Lilah free. “Spike’s here. I sensed him come in a couple of hours ago.”
“Oh my god. Is he okay? Did he get hurt?”
Angel couldn’t help his jealousy that seemed to flare at her words. Spike could stay here with her while he couldn’t, and the way she seemed to accept him so easily, caring about his comfort and well being, it made his dead heart ache and his demon stir. “He’s fine,” he tried not to sound too snappy.
“But..” she started to get out of bed.
“I’ll check on him on my way out. I’ve got a couple of things to talk to him about anyway. Like how I’m going to rip his head off if he puts you in danger again.”
“Angel, that wasn’t his fault. I make my own decisions. Remember?”
He really wish she wouldn’t defend him. It wasn’t helping his irrational jealousy. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to be nice,” ‘nice and scary’.
She seemed to except his words as true and sat back down on the bed.
Angel leaned down and gave her one last kiss, “Get some rest. I’ll see you no later than sunset. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“And Cordy,” he said as he backed up a few steps to the door, “All of those rules I gave you,” his voice was soft, almost regretful.
She nodded her head, waiting for his sweet apology.
“They haven’t changed. Don’t go anywhere without calling me first.”
She opened her mouth in protest but he cut her off.
“I mean it. Not even a trip to the newsstand across the street without contacting me first.”
She huffed loudly.
“Are we clear?”
“Yes,” she spat out.
“And Cordy.”
“What?” she folded her arms.
“I love you,” he smiled and reached for the doorknob.
Dread suddenly filled her at the realization that he was actually leaving, going back to the place that held his soul like some collateral on a loan he’d never be able to pay. She raced from the bed, flinging her arms around his neck, burying her head in his shoulder. “Don’t go,” her words were muffled.
“I’ve got to,” he hugged her back tightly.
She squeezed him as hard as she could, as if she could physically make him stay.
“Hey,” he pushed her back slightly. “I’m coming back. I promise.”
“But what if something happens…what if…?”
“Cordy, trust me. There is nothing that will keep me from coming back here tonight. Nothing.” He stroked her face.
“I love you,” she closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest.
“I love you too,” he stroked her back and then reluctantly untangled himself from their embrace and slowly turned the knob. His eyes locked with hers until the door shut between them.
Cordelia leaned her head against the door, trying to push away some fearful warning that sounded in the distant recessed of her heart and mind.
***
“Well, well, well,” Spike sat on the hotel counter and shot Angel a sly grin before taking another gulp of the blood he had gotten at the butcher shop Cordy suggested.
Angel just glared at the other vamp as he descended the stairs.
Spike placed the container on the counter and continued, ready to have a little fun, “A night of fun with the gorgeous Cordelia and you’re still you. By the sounds of things last night, I would have thought that I’d be facing the great Angelus today. She’s a screamer that one. Must have….umf,” Spike’s next sentenced was cut off by Angel’s hand pressing against his throat, knocking him and his meal to the marble floor.
Angel’s face shifted, his eyes emitting an amber glow. “If you ever put her in that kind of danger again I’ll kill you Spike.”
Laughter tried to escape from Spike’s crushed windpipe.
“I mean it! If I didn’t need you here right now, I would have killed you already.” He lifted up slowly and stood, watching Spike sit up and rub his neck, a smile on his face.
“So now you’re in love with the Queen of Sunnydale, you are a very fickle bloke,” he stood, picking up the spilled container from the floor.
“Drop it Spike,” he warned.
“I mean, wasn’t it just a few months that you crawled back to Buffy? It didn’t take long after your little cheerleader up there was out of the picture for you to go rushing back to Sunnydale, did it?”
“Spike, you and I both know that what happened between me and Buffy in Sunnydale meant nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing to me,” Spike’s smile finally dropped from his face and he stared down his old cohort. “Felt like the bloody world was ending.”
“Well, technically it was.”
“I won’t let you near her again.”
“Spike, get the fuck over it. You know damn well that I don’t want Buffy any more than she wants me.”
“Then why the disgusting display back at the Hellmouth?” his voice raised almost to a yell.
“The kiss? Just to piss you off. I could smell you all over her the minute I showed up. I knew you were there too, I could sense your sorry ass a mile away. Then when she told me you had a soul, I decided to milk the moment for all that it was worth. I knew she didn’t want me back or I wouldn’t have done that to her. I may not be in love with her anymore, but I still care about her. I wouldn’t play with her feelings like that.”
“If you ever touch her like that again….”
“I won’t. It was a dumbass move in the first place. Thanks for telling Cordy by the way,” his voiced dripped with sarcasm.
“Your welcome,” Spike smiled.
They stared at each other for a moment as if striking some kind of silent bargain.
“So you’ll watch out for her, keep her safe for me?”
“No.”
Angel’s face tensed in hard lines of anger and he opened his mouth, his words catching in his throat as Spike spoke again.
“I’ll keep her safe because that’s what she needs, what she deserves. She took me in, no questions asked. She’s different than the others. They treated me like some leper even after the soul, after they knew I was willing to do anything to help them. Cordelia didn’t know what I was here for really. I told her I had a soul and she believed me, asked me to stay. Sure, she burned me with a cross and threatened to kill me several times, but who doesn’t like a woman that’s willing to slap a guy in the ass every now and then. Figuratively speaking,” he added at Angel’s look. “No, I’ll help Cordelia because I want to, because she needs me, not because you’ve threatened me into it. She’s special and I think she’s the closest thing to a friend that I’ll ever get. So I’ll be here, as long as she’ll have me.”
“Don’t get too comfortable Spike. I’ll be back tonight and with any luck I’ll be staying. Then you can leave, immediately.” Angel turned and headed for the basement, he’d waited too long to take the Plymouth, the sun would be rising in minutes.
Black boots squished in the grime as he entered the sewer, his long strides increasing with every step until he was racing through the tunnels at full speed. He had to get back and find a way out of this, for Cordy, for himself, and because the way Spike had called Cordelia special and a friend made his insides twist. He didn’t like the look in the other vampire’s eyes when he spoke about her, it reminded him too much of himself, the way he felt about her when they first met in L.A…
***
“Well, don’t you look….different,” Lilah greeted Angel as he entered the basement of Wolfram and Hart.
He looked down at his dirty boots, remembering that the last time he had worn them, or any of the clothes he wore now, was when he had originally taken the deal. After that moment it had been all suits and ties, until now. “What do you want Lilah, I’ve got a busy day ahead of me,” he brushed past her and headed for the elevator.
She stepped in with a smile and clasped her hands behind her back as the elevator doors closed. “Yes, you do have a busy day. In fact, your next assignment is waiting in your office as we speak. Would you like to change first or are you going for the dirty, sleep deprived private eye look today? I mean, it works for me,” her eyes roved over him. “but I’m not sure it screams professionalism.”
“No new assignments today. I’ve got work to catch up on,” he dismissed her words.
“A little reminder Angel. If you refuse any assignments given to you by the Senior Partners, you could face termination, of the soulless kind.”
Angel raked a hand through his messy hair. He didn’t have time for this but he had to play along, just until he found a way out. He only hoped that the assignment would be something he could pass on to someone else. “Alright, what is it?” he asked as the elevator doors opened across from the double doors of his office.
Lilah grinned and walked to the doors, opening them wide and ushering him in. Angel stopped just inside the door, his body frozen in shock.
“Angel?” came Buffy’s soft question as she rose from the leather couch.
Lilah took a step closer to Angel from behind and leaned in, whispering close to his ear, “Meet your next assignment.”