Part 3
Greenwood Psychiatric Facility
Los Angeles, California
The receptionist jumped in her seat as six people stormed the entrance. A good-looking man in black jeans and a tight blue sweater took the lead and made a beeline for her desk.
“Can I help you, sir?” the receptionist asked.
“You had a Jane Doe brought it, correct?” The receptionist gulped in acknowledgement. “Let me see her.”
“Excuse me,” Doctor Fox said as he stepped from his office. “What is this all about?”
Angel turned to face the doctor. “I want to see this Jane Doe that was brought in. I may know her.”
“And what would your relationship to her be?” The doctor was wary of this man that seemed ready to snap.
“I’m her husband,” he said without hesitation. “My name is Angel Chase and she would be Cordelia.”
The doctor could feel the concern radiating from the man, and deciding not to question the statement. “Follow me then.” Fox turned and led the group through the sterile halls of the facility. But no amount of antiseptic could mask the smell that was Cordelia. Like everything else about her, it stood out above all else.
At the end of the hallway the doctor used a keycard to swipe a door open. Pushing it open, the gang was shocked to find a disheveled Cordelia huddled in a padded corner, a vacant look in her eyes as she stared off into a far away place.
“Cor?” Angel whispered. He bolted over to his Seer, Gunn and Fred right on his heels. Buffy, Xander, and Dawn stepped inside, but kept their distance from the reunion. In just the hour that they had been in Los Angeles, they learned quite quickly that they had no place here.
“Cor? Sweetie? Talk to me, please,” Angel begged. His head snapped around to glare at the doctor. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Honestly?” Fox asked. “I have no idea. Police found her walking a busy Santa Monica street. She was incoherent and reacted violently to physical contact. She ripped a cop’s shoulder out of socket and gave several of my orderlies’ concussions. Once we left her alone, she seemed to go into a catatonic state.”
Angel chanced stroking Cordelia’s cheek, and was pleasantly surprised when she actually seemed to lean into it. The vampire leaned in close so that he could whisper in her ear. “Hold tight, Cor. I’m going to make this all better. I promise.” In a gesture that surprised not only him, but the other five who knew him, Angel kissed her softly on the lips before standing
“I want to take her home,” Angel stated firmly.
“I’m sorry,” Fox apologized sincerely. “But I’m afraid that I can’t release her. I hope you understand that, but I want more time to examine her. I can’t release her just yet, not until I’m sure she won’t react violently to someone else.”
Fox would have been headless and his body spurting blood if Angel had his way, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him from doing anything stupid. Angel silently thanked Fred for being a rational mind.
“Okay, Doctor,” Angel relented. “But may I visit her again?”
“Of course. Just speak with our receptionist. She’ll give you a pass that will allow you access whenever you wish.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Angel had actually calmed enough to shake his hand. “Do you have a phone that I could borrow for a moment? I want to call her family.”
“Just ask the receptionist. I’m sure she’ll let you use the phone.”
Angel nodded slightly and cast a long, lingering look to Cordelia. His Seer stared off vacantly, and it hurt him more than he could have imagined. He then led the group out of the room. “They’re not going to find anything wrong with her,” Angel stated confidently.
“How do you know?” Buffy asked. She was as confused as her cohorts as to what was going on. Things had changed, the man before her certainly wasn’t the person she remembered. “What’s wrong with her?”
“I don’t know, but it isn’t natural. Whatever caused her to be like that is supernatural. Buffy? Do you know a way I can reach Giles?”
“Yeah, he should be at the Magic Box. The number is 555-1983”
Angel turned on the charms and got the receptionist to relinquish the phone. He quickly punched in the number, and three rings later, reached the man he wanted to talk to.
“Giles? It’s Angel.”
The Watcher was pulled away from his talk with Willow, and was more than slightly surprised to speak with the vampire. “What can I do for you? Have you located Cordelia?”
“I have,” Angel affirmed. “Listen, I need your knowledge. She was taken to a psychiatric hospital and they’re trying to treat her for catatonia. I just saw her, and she smells strongly of the Powers. She’s unresponsive and the doctor said she reacted violently to intrusion.”
“The Powers you say?” Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, why?”
“What you described sounds remarkably like Semele Syndrome.”
“Semele Syndrome? Like the Greek myth?”
“Yes it’s…”
“Oh, I know what it is,” Angel said. “I’ve just never seen it before.”
“That’s because it’s an extremely rare occurrence. A being has a close encounter with a divine entity and sees the true face of a higher power. The being is sent into a catatonic or comatose state from the shock and awe of the encounter. The few recorded instances in the Watcher Diaries of a human encountering a true divinity has left them dead. Only demons have been reported to survive the incident. If it really is Semele Syndrome, it’s surprising that Cordelia is even alive.”
Angel laughed nervously at that. “Well, since when has Cordelia ever felt the need to follow the tradition of things? You know her, always doing it her own way.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Giles chuckled slightly.
“Is there anything I can do to make her snap out of it?”
“Do you have a copy of Hoffstrom’s book? I believe it’s called ‘Psychosis of the Paranormal’.”
“I think so,” Angel answered.
“Good. There’s a section in there. It gives thorough instructions on how to concoct a serum that can be used to give the neurons a kick start. If you can administer a dosage to her, it should revive her from the catatonia within minutes.”
Angel breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Giles said. “If there is anything further, please call. Oh, by the way, has Buffy arrived?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Well then. I sent her to offer her services in helping locate Cordelia, but apparently they are no longer needed.”
Angel grunted in response, a sound that Giles vaguely thought could have been an agreement. “Well, again, thank you. I’ll be sure to call if we need help.” Angel hung up the phone before Giles could utter another word.
“So, what did he say?” Gunn asked.
“He said we could fix her. Fred, do you remember seeing a copy of ‘Psychosis of the Paranormal’ around the office?”
“Yeah, Wesley had a copy in a box down in the basement.”
“Is there anything that we can do?” Buffy asked.
“You’re not really married to Cordelia right?” Xander asked. “Because that makes me wanna say ‘eww’.”
“She was prettier as a brunette,” Dawn said vaguely.
“I dunno,” Angel said in response to Dawn. “Cor could look good with electric blue hair. And no, I’m not married to Cordelia, and there would be nothing ‘eww’ about that idea. And finally, you could all help by going home to Sunnydale.”
That was it, Buffy decided. “What the hell is wrong with you?” she snapped. “Ever since we got here, you and your crew having been trying to get rid of us. All we wanted was to come out and help you find Cordelia.”
“Actually, Dawn and I hoped a visit to Disneyland was in the cards,” Xander interjected.
“Xander!” Angel and Buffy snapped. “Shut up!”
“Listen,” Angel said. “This is a family matter. You don’t see us sticking our noses in your business. We found Cor, we’ll give her the serum that can fix her, and it’s done. Then we can all try to rebuild our lives.”
Buffy crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly. Angel groaned inwardly, knowing he just did something stupid. He pushed too hard, and now she would be stubborn.
“We’ll stay long enough to see that Cordelia recovers. Who knows, maybe there will be a demon or something you could need help with.”
The tone was clear. There would be no arguing with her. And frankly, Angel was far too tired to argue. He wanted to get some rest, work on the serum, and then get his Cordelia back.
“Fine. We have some spare rooms. You can stay a day or two.” Angel said nothing more for the rest of the evening. When they arrived at the hotel, he immediately headed to the room Cordelia sometimes used, leaving Fred and Gunn to gather the ingredients to make the serum.
The Scoobies steered clear, or else suffer the wrath of Fred Burkle for getting in the way of saving Cordelia.
***
Wolfram and Hart
Office of Gregory Harrison
The doors to Harrison’s office were thrown open, revealing a tall dark haired man. Harrison glanced up at the intrusion calmly. “Hello Ramius,” he greeted. “How are you?” Harrison reached underneath the desk and tapped the security button.
“Don’t bother calling for the guards,” Ramius said harshly. He disappeared out the door for a moment. Returning, he tossed the body of a Wolfram and Hart security officer to the floor. A hole in the center of his head oozed blood.
“As for how I’m doing,” Ramius continued. “Frankly, I’m fairly pissed off. You betrayed me, Gregory. And I don’t respond well to betrayal.”
“I’m sorry,” Harrison mocked. “But you were becoming a liability. We had to get rid of you.”
Ramius swatted a vase resting on a small table, shattering the pottery against the wall. “Did you really think you could rid yourself of me? You should have known I would come for vengeance. You cost me my job, and you cost me a shitload of money.”
“Wrong,” Harrison snapped. “You cost yourself that job, but yes, we did screw you out of a pretty penny. But don’t worry, that money was put towards a very good escort with exceptional oral skills.”
“Well, I’m glad you thought it worth it.” Ramius jerked his silenced pistol from its holster. Two quick shots to the head ended Harrison’s life. “Personally, I would have thought the price too steep.”
Ramius holstered his weapon and shifted into the form of a security guard. He glanced around the room calmly, running a hand through his hair.
Ramius was able to leave the building without a confrontation.