Part 3
Cordelia walked down the hall toward the library. Thoughts of the previous night floated around in her mind. Angel had been surprisingly good company. She never imagined she would enjoy talking to a vampire.
After they returned with Buffy’s water, Xander hadn’t let her out of his sight for the rest of the night. She laughed at the memory. Xander was the one who left her alone with Angel at the Bronze, then he had the nerve to get mad because she didn’t stay at the table and wait for him to return.
The expression on his face, when she and Angel walked back to the table, had been priceless. It hadn’t been her intention but she enjoyed Xander’s jealousy. It was normally directed at Buffy or Willow.
Her enjoyment did have its drawbacks. Between Buffy and Xander, she didn’t get to speak to Angel anymore. She’d offered him a ride home but Buffy refused on his behalf.
Angel joked and talked with her, but he barely said two words once the others were there. A smiling Buffy had sat next to the silent vampire for the rest of the evening. She didn’t leave his side to dance. She laughed and talked with Willow, Xander and Oz. Buffy never even tried to draw Angel into the conversation. She seemed content just to have him by her side.
Cordelia walked through the library doors.
“I saw the demon’s blood vanish from Angel’s skin. That’s never a good sign, Giles.”
“What did the demons look like?”
“They were way creepy. They didn’t have a mouth.”
“I suppose I could do a little research. I’m sure it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
“Angel can help you.”
Giles glanced at the vampire who snapped Jenny’s neck. “I don’t think that will be necessary. With Angel’s…artistic talents, he can simply draw a picture of the demon in question.”
“He can do that too but Angel knows a lot about demons. If you two work together, you’ll have it figured out in no time. We don’t have any time to waste. You’re the one who’s been reminding me we have an ascension to stop.”
“Yes but…”
“Why don’t you have Wesley work on it.”
“Do you mind? We’re having a private conversation.”
Cordelia ignored Buffy and continued. “Wesley can work on this demon problem so Giles can focus his attention on the Mayor.”
“That’s an excellent suggestion, Cordelia. He is more than capable of handling such a task. He seems to have memorized a great number of texts. I believe Wesley is…”
“I am what?”
Cordelia linked her arm with Wesley’s and pulled him further into the library. “Buffy needs you to do some research for her.”
“About?”
“She’s worried about Angel. Something about demon blood vanishing from his skin. I’m sure Angel can fill in the rest.”
“I am not in the habit of aiding vampires. The Mayor and Faith are our priorities right now.”
“Wesley, your slayer is asking you for your help. As her watcher, it’s your duty to help her. A distracted slayer won’t be much help to anyone.”
“That’s very true, Cordelia. I suppose I can spare the time. May I borrow your office, Mr. Giles?”
“Of course”
“After you Mr…Angel.”
Angel stood and silently walked into the office. Wesley followed him in.
“Don’t worry, Giles. I’ll make sure Wesley doesn’t get any fingerprints on your books.” Cordelia winked as she passed him.
Buffy watched the office door close. “I can’t believe her! She just waltzes in here and takes over. She is such a total bitch! I swear she thinks she’s the center of the universe!” *I wanted the two of you to work together.*
“That’s uncalled for Buffy. If Wesley has any trouble, which I doubt, I will help him. Now take this list and retrieve the books from the stacks.”
“But…”
“No buts. Ascension, remember?”
“Fine!” She stomped up the steps.
Giles couldn’t help but smile. The brunette had walked in, noticed his discomfort and took over. She’d done that to him on several occasions. When she first showed up on his doorstep after Acathla, he was rather hostile. He’d been drinking, heavily.
Jenny’s death, his torture and Buffy’s disappearance had taken a heavy toll. She snatched his glass away from him and poured it down the drain. She then proceeded to dispose of the remainder of the bottle and every other drop of liquor in his flat.
Once the shock had worn off, he started yelling at her. He shouted his outrage at her actions but it soon escalated. Everything he wanted to scream at Angelus, Buffy and himself was directed at Cordelia. She hadn’t even flinched when he grabbed her.
He finally came to his senses when he raised his hand to strike her. He collapsed in tears. Instead of condemning him, she held him and rocked him until he calmed. Her entire persona seemed to change before him that day.
***
“You say this demon had no mouth?”
“Yes”
“Interesting.” Wesley scanned the bookshelf. “What happened exactly?”
“Buffy and I were walking to the mansion. A pair of demons attacked. They were strong..but I’m not really a good judge of that right now. I was fighting one while Buffy fought the other. It…pinned me to the ground. Buffy rushed over to help me. She stabbed it and it collapsed on me. I got its blood on me when I rolled it off. The other one ran away. Buffy was checking me for injuries when she noticed the blood disappear.” Angel sat at the desk and finished his sketch. He handed the drawing to Wesley.
“Ah yes. I recognize it.” He flipped through the tome until he reached the page he wanted. He read silently. “Oh dear.”
Cordelia, who’d been sitting on the couch, rose and stood beside Angel. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Apparently this demon is known to infect its attackers.”
“Infect?” She placed a comforting hand on Angel’s shoulder.
“Fascinating”
“Wes! Infect?”
“What? Oh..um..according to this, it infects a being with ‘an aspect of the demon’. I’m not entirely sure what that means.”
“I’ve heard of that. By reputation at least. It may just be demon hype.”
Cordelia’s fingers stroked the back of Angel’s neck. “What? Since when do demons have hype? Are there PR firms that handle the evil and slimy of the world? They probably get ghost writers. I have yet to see a vampire turn into a bat.” She pinched his neck. “Can you do that?”
“Oww and no”
“So Wes, is Angel going to get a case of the bumpies?” Her finger brushed his forehead. “‘Cause he’s already got a set of those. Hey! Maybe it’ll be something cool like the ability to go out in sunlight without becoming a crispy critter. You really could use some color. You can take Wesley with you.” She looked at the watcher. “He’s a vampire. What’s your excuse?”
Wesley adjusted his glasses. “Please be serious, Miss Chase.”
She perched on the corner of the desk. “He called me Miss Chase. I’m in trouble now.” She kicked Angel’s leg. “It’s all your fault.”
“How is it my fault?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because you’re slayer whipped.”
“What?”
“I offered to drive you home last night. Buffy insisted she walk you home and god forbid you disagree with her. Now you’re going to sprout horns.” She crossed her legs. She was too lost in thought to notice two sets of eyes on her.
“You said the demons didn’t have mouths. That would really suck for you. I mean we’d be safe from ever being your chew toy but how would you drink blood? Can a vampire starve to death?”
“This is hardly productive.”
“Well what should we do? If the book is right, he’s already infected.”
“I suppose we could search for a cure.”
“Don’t we have to know what he’s been infected with first? Besides it might just be something we can cut off, like a wart.”
Angel stood. “We should just wait and see. Even if it is true, it may not affect me since I’m already a demon.”
“Perhaps you are right. We do have bigger concerns right now. Although I do want you to come to me immediately should you experience any symptoms.”
“Or if you grow a tail.”
Wesley shook his head at the grinning brunette as he walked out.
As soon as he was gone, she sobered. “Are you okay?”
Angel felt his backside. “No tail, so I’m good.”
“You might look cute with a tail, Spacey. It’ll improve your balance.”
“Way to look at the bright side. Ever the cheerleader, huh?”
She looked down at her feet. “It helps me deal with things. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Nothing bad has happened yet.”
“We could talk about how your girlfriend had to rescue you last night.”
Angel slumped onto the couch. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“Sorry” She went and sat beside him. “How did you get here anyway? The sun’s still out.”
“Sewers”
“Eww!”
He shrugged. “A vampire’s got to do what a vampire’s got to do.”
“So other than your new demon part, are you okay? No injuries from the fight?”
“It wasn’t much of a fight. I got my ass kicked pretty quickly. No serious injuries though.”
“That’s good but tonight I’m driving you home. Little Miss-Slay-Happy will just have to deal.”
“Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Put Buffy down. You’re protective of Giles and Wesley. I’ve seen you be nice to Willow. Why not Buffy?”
She sighed. “I can’t help it. I’m grateful for all the times she’s saved my life, but it drives me nuts the way everyone treats her like she’s the center of the universe.”
“Being the slayer is a heavy burden.”
“Yeah but she isn’t the only one who suffers. Buffy’s so focused on her own pain, she can’t see someone else’s. I mean she brought you into Giles’s library without even really discussing it with him first. Then today she tries to force him to work with you. The man is trying so hard for her but does she see that? No! It’s never enough.”
She noticed Angel’s stricken expression. She grabbed his hand. “Giles knows you have your soul now. He knows how sorry you are. He knows that you didn’t know about the clause. He knows that as Angel, you would never harm him. But..” She cupped his cheek. “You wear the same face as Angelus. He needs to take things slow.”
“I understand.”
“Then explain it to your girlfriend.” Cordelia stood and began pacing. “I used to be the center of my own universe and I admit, I’m occasionally jealous of the way Xander looks at her. It’s rare. I am Cordelia Chase.” She crossed her arms.
“At least I’m willing to admit when I’m being selfish and petty.” She sat down again. “Maybe we should just avoid the whole Buffy subject. I don’t want to fight. We just became friends. Besides I get enough lectures from Giles.”
“I’d rather not fight either.”
“That’s because you got your ass kicked last night. I don’t think your ego could take another beating.”
“How’s that tact thing coming along?”
“I think I’m getting better, don’t you?”
***
Angel sat on the steps leading to the stacks, a book resting in his lap. He looked around the room. Cordelia and Xander were sitting beside each other at the table. Sitting across from them was Willow and Oz. Wesley was in the office.
Giles stood behind the counter. Buffy was in the cage, sharpening weapons. A comfortable silence filled the room.
He stared at Cordelia’s back. He noticed Xander had his hand on her thigh. He couldn’t understand what she saw in that idiot. She couldn’t possibly enjoy the boy’s touch.
*I’m so bored. Is this book even in English?*
*I love the way Cordy looks in this skirt. God her skin is so soft. I wonder what she’d do if I moved my hand a little higher. Ow!*
Angel smiled when Cordelia kicked Xander in the shin. It was strange. For a moment, he imagined he heard their thoughts. He glanced at Willow and Oz.
*I wonder if there’s a spell that would make this reading go faster. I should check the spell books. Only that would just mean more reading. I wonder if I could find something on the internet. The computer could do my searching. I should do that when I get home. Mmmm. Oz is here so he’ll drive me home. That means smoochies for Willow.*
*The full moon is a week away. Another three nights in a cage. No Willow kissage because I’ll be a monster. If I’m a monster when the moon is full, what am I the rest of the month?*
Angel felt his gut clench. He looked over at Buffy.
*I wonder if Angel ever thinks about Faith. He says all they did was kiss, like that’s nothing. Since he came back from hell, all we do is kiss. Is that nothing too? Maybe we should just have sex again, just get it out of the way. Maybe that will get us back on track.
It’s like swimming in cold water. It’s better if you just jump right in, instead of slowly inching in. He looked so sad last night when I had to save him. It’s not his fault he’s all weak and pathetic. Having sex might boost his ego. God! How am I going to tell my mom he’s back?*
“Stop!”
Everyone jumped.
“What’s wrong?”
Angel refused to look at anyone. He didn’t want to hear anymore thoughts. “I think I got my aspect of the demon.”
“Wesley!”
Wesley rushed out of the office. “You bellowed for me, Cordelia.” She silently pointed. His eyes followed her direction.
Angel looked at the young watcher.
*Please don’t let me fail.*
“I..uhh..I can hear people’s thoughts.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Angel stared at his feet. “When I look at someone, I hear their thoughts.”
“It’s better than a tail.” She waited for Angel to look at her. *Read my mind. Why did you yell stop? Whose mind were you reading?*
“Buffy’s” Angel kept his eyes focused on Cordelia.
“What about me?”
“I was answering Cordelia’s question.”
“But she didn’t say anything.”
“I thought a question and Angel answered it.” *So how long did you wait until you said something?*
“Not long”
*Did you read my mind?*
“Yes. You’re bored and you’re not sure your book is in English.” Angel’s eyes were still locked with Cordelia’s. He didn’t notice how everyone else started to back away. He looked over at Buffy. Her eyes were darting around the room.
*Oh god! He can hear my thoughts. This isn’t fair. I never know what he’s thinking. It’s not like we talk anymore. Actually we never really did talk. We were always better at fighting evil and kissing. Now he can’t even do the fighting part. What the hell am I…*
Buffy caught his eyes. “I’m sure Giles can fix this. I need to patrol.” She grabbed some weapons and ran from the room.
Wesley stepped back when Angel looked at him. “I’ll begin searching for a cure.” He rushed into the office.
“I’ll help him.”
Angel refused to look at Giles. He didn’t want to hear his thoughts. “I think I should go back to the mansion.” He briefly glanced at the remaining people.
“C’mon Spacey. I’ll give you a lift. I’m sick of reading anyway.”
“Cordy, you can’t be serious. He can hear your thoughts. Plus, he’s still a vampire.”
“What would I do without you here to state the obvious, Xander? He got attacked on his way home. The other mouthless demon is still out there. I’m going to drive him. You’re welcome to come too.”
“I don’t want deadboy rummaging through my mind. Doesn’t it creep you out?”
“Why should it? I usually say whatever pops into my head.”
“She’s got a point, Xander.”
Cordelia gave Xander a peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She waved at Angel. “Let’s go.” She could feel his eyes on her.
*Maybe we should hit Vegas. You’d clean up at poker.*
He couldn’t help but smile.