***
“Would you file this, please, Dennis?” Cordelia held up a folder which was promptly floated toward the filing cabinet.
As she looked up, Cordelia saw that Angel was pacing around his office. Usually not a good sign, she decided to find out what was going on. “Wearing a hole in the floor?”
Angel paused and glanced down at his feet. “I’ve been thinking about Wes.”
“Yeah,” agreed Cordelia walking over to stand beside him, “me too. Do you think I should give Aura a call? She comes into town all of the time to see her brother, Reg.”
“You’d do that to Wes?” asked Angel distractedly. The former Cordette had lost none of her bite since her High School days according to Cordelia’s detailed descriptions of their phone conversations.
Cordelia frowned at the question, “What’s so bad about Aura?”
“Nothing,” Angel answered hastily. “Except for the fact that she’d eat him alive and would never fit in with our lifestyle.”
“Aura’s from Sunnydale.” Cordelia reminded him that any girl who grew up on the Hellmouth and witnessed their high school principal getting chomped by their guest speaker/mayor turned gigantic snake demon probably wouldn’t bat an eyelash over Wesley’s job. “She can deal.”
Looking doubtful, Angel’s reaction prompted Cordelia to ask him who he’d consider matching Wesley with. Having not really given it a thought after yesterday’s discussion and knowing that Cordelia was completely serious about this self-appointed task of fixing Wes up with a girlfriend so they could double-date, Angel searched his brain for a name, any name and floundering finally came up with…,
“How about Kate?”
“Detective Lockley?” gasped Cordelia as if she’d never once thought about the blond police officer.
“She knows what we do,” Angel tagged on.
Cordelia rolled her eyes at the idea. “Pfft! Kate wouldn’t be caught in the same room as you much less go out with us. She hates vampires.”
“She’d be dating Wesley, not me,” Angel shrugged. At least it was an idea. “He’s human.”
Now Cordelia was pacing, “It could work. Maybe I’d better be the one to contact Kate instead of you.”
“Good idea,” nodded Angel knowing that Kate wasn’t likely to speak to him much less listen long enough to hear what he had to say.
“Then you can relax. We both can,” grinned Cordelia, happy now that she had a plan.
Angel gave her a sheepish smile, “Actually, Wes’ love-life wasn’t what I was thinking about?”
“It wasn’t?” Cordelia looked perturbed. Hadn’t they discussed this priority already?
“No, I was wondering what Wes is up to,” he confessed, rubbing the nape of his neck and then shoving both hands in his pockets. “All this research he’s been doing. What is he looking for?”
Cordelia shrugged, “Who knows. Could be anything, a new prophesy maybe.”
“He’s being evasive, Cordy.” The fact had been bugging him for a few days now, but having been so distracted by Cordelia, he’d let his curiosity slide.
Thinking about it, Cordelia supposed Wes had been closed-mouthed on the subject. “I did catch him using my computer a couple of times. He turned it off right away as if he didn’t want me to see what he was doing.”
“Could he be doing something dangerous?”
“I thought he must be checking out computer porn,” Cordelia laughed at the idea, “but then this is Wesley we’re talking about.”
“I think it’s time to start asking serious questions,” Angel put a hand on the small of her back and led Cordelia out of his office. They were about to head down the hall when Dennis pulled a piece of crumpled paper out of the garbage can.
Hurling it at the vampire, the balled paper bounced off of Angel’s forehead.
“Dennis! What the hell was that for?”
Cordelia bent down and picked up the paper from the floor. “I think he’s trying to tell us something.
Flattening out the paper so that it was readable, Cordelia glanced over the contents. “Something about a rare demon extract…blah, blah, blah…arranging for Wes to get it this week. More boring stuff…extract is rather volatile in its undiluted form. Nothing, nothing, nothing…obtained from…eew! I did so not need to read that.”
Shoving the paper into Angel’s hands, Cordelia shuddered, “Whatever it is, that stuff is gross.”
Thoroughly reading over the entire letter, Angel had to admit that he was no more informed about Wesley’s research than he had been before Dennis shared this bit of news with them. “It looks like Wes has been in contact with another field expert and needs this extract for his research.”
“Question time?” Cordelia asked Angel already heading in the direction of Wesley’s new office.
Crumpling the paper into a ball again, Angel tossed it toward the trashcan hitting it dead center. He didn’t even have time to respond to Cordelia before the wadded paper flew back out of its receptacle now hitting the vampire on the back of the head.
“Dennis! What is it now?” Angel growled at him.
Turning around, Cordelia walked back to join him. There was always the possibility that Phantom Dennis was just having a little fun with Angel, but she wasn’t going to suggest that idea. Angel was still griping about his sock drawer.
They watched as the paper containing the email unfolded before their eyes. A red marker floated from its place on Cordelia’s desk, uncapped itself and then circled a name on the paper. Neither Angel nor Cordelia had noticed it before as the name was part of the sender’s email address.
“He’s a genius,” Cordelia marveled at Dennis’ ability to notice little details. “My ghost is a genius.”
“Busybody,” corrected Angel realizing that their resident phantom was so involved with every aspect of their lives that he knew more about them than they did. He had to concede, “Good job, Dennis. This gives us a lead.”
“A lead?” Cordelia scrunched up her nose. “It’s more than that. Don’t you see what this means, Angel?”
The vampire stared down at her planning to answer, but knowing that it wouldn’t be what she wanted him to say, “That Wes is collecting demon extract for a dangerous experiment and he knows precisely who to contact to get it?”
Rolling her eyes, Cordelia smacked him in the chest. “No, dorkula. It means we can forget about Kiss Me Kate Lockley.”
***
Wesley looked at his watch for the fifth time in as many minutes. Their usual mail delivery occurred at just after 2pm barring unusual weather or major sporting events.
He was sitting at the front desk eagerly anticipating the delivery of the package and wondering why he hadn’t asked if Dr. Potter was planning to send it by UPS or Fed-Ex. That way, he could have tracked the package minute-by-minute to its arrival.
He was still staring at the door when it opened ten minutes later to admit a pretty blond woman wearing a sundress with a bright red flowery print and carrying a large straw tote bag.
She paused just inside the doors, pulled off her sunglasses and took a moment to look around the lobby, an expression of surprise on her tanned face.
Straightening his tie, Wes sat up and cleared his throat. They hadn’t had a client in the past couple of days and he wondered what problem this woman might have to bring her to Angel Investigations.
“May I help you?” Wes asked formally hoping that the spot of mustard on his tie wasn’t showing. He’d tried to wipe it off, but the tumeric dye in the mustard was nearly impossible to rub out.
A smile instantly appeared on her face as she turned toward him and Wesley felt a little nervous under the warm gaze this stranger was sending his way. “I’m looking for Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.”
Sputtering in surprise, “W-why, that would be me.”
Reaching into her tote bag, the woman pulled out a sturdy oblong box about six inches long. As she started across the foyer, Wes came to realize that this woman was hand-delivering the extract he’d been expecting as she commented, “This was just too unstable to send through the mail.”
“D-Do you work with Dr. Potter?”
Laughing, she answered, “I am Dr. Potter, but there’s no need to be so formal. You can call me Harry.”
Wesley stared at her, blinking twice as he realized Dr Harry Potter was not a man at all.
“No relation to the fictional character,” Harry added when he appeared to be tongue-tied.
“You’re the renowned demonologist.”
Harry didn’t blush, but looked rather pleased at the reference. She’d worked hard over the past few years to gain respect in the community for her research. “I’ve only recently taken a job at UCLA. You know the drill. Teach a few basic classes, but gain access to scholars and students interested in my field.”
“That’s really fascinating,” Wes commented suddenly thinking that he had a hundred questions for this interesting young woman.
Taking the box from her hand, Wes set it down on the counter. He had no idea that Dennis had gone upstairs to notify Angel and Cordelia of their guest’s arrival until the two of them appeared on the stairs a couple of minutes later.
“Harry!” Cordelia called out from atop the stairs drawing a frown from Wes who was confused by the fact that the brunette seemed to know the PhD.
Then again, he had taken Dr. Potter’s email address from Cordelia’s computer: hpotterphd@ucla.edu was listed as a demonologist. While Wes had never heard details on Dr. Potter’s gender, he had certainly heard of her reputation in the field.
Waving at the pair descending the staircase, she greeted them with enthusiasm, “Hi, you two. Boy, have you guys moved up in the world. Those old offices were tiny compared to this place.”
“You saw the old A.I. office?” asked Wes realizing that the acquaintance must have occurred before his arrival in Los Angeles.
Nodding, Harry explained, “My ex-husband used to work with Angel and Cordelia. Did you ever meet Francis?”
His jaw dropped as Wes realized just who this woman was and the reason that Cordy kept her email address in her computer address book. “F-Francis Doyle?”
A sad look flashed across her face for a moment as she met Cordelia’s sympathetic gaze, but Harry nodded. “Maybe I should have kept the name. Harry Doyle draws a lot less attention than Harry Potter, if you know what I mean.”
“No doubt,” Wes stared over at Cordelia wondering why she was wearing a Cheshire cat grin on her face. His friend obviously recognized the fact that he had been rather attracted to the blonde…until he found out her identity.
Cordelia had radar, as far as he was concerned, in detecting such vibes.
A deep sense of disappointment settled over him at the discovery that Harry was in actuality Doyle’s ex-wife. How could he even hope to pursue an interest in her? As much as the Irish seer meant to Cordelia and Angel, having Harry around would be a sore reminder of the loss of their close friend and colleague.
“Thank you for bringing the extract,” Wesley tried to appear calm and disinterested. “How coincidental it is that you know Angel and Cordelia.”
“Yes,” Harry agreed adding another delightful little laugh that brought a glow to her face. “Cordy has sent me an email or two whenever she has a question your books don’t seem to provide answers to. Until recently, I’ve been out of the country, so visiting was never really an option.”
Wesley took a deep breath, “If you don’t mind, Dr Potter, I have some things that I need to discuss with my colleagues. Now that you’ve provided the extract, I can finally complete the task I’ve been working on for the past few months.”
Catching the look in Harry’s eyes, Cordelia quickly realized that she appeared almost hesitant to leave. “Oh, Harry can hear whatever you have to say. She’s practically family anyway.”
Considering that their prior acquaintance had involved an uncomfortable introduction and some female bonding during her bachelorette party, Harry was a little surprised by the reference.
Though there had been one other time when they met face to face and that was just after Doyle’s death when Harry had come to collect the keys to his apartment.
It was clear to Harry that the vampire was extremely protective of Cordy at the time while Cordelia was hurting deeply because of losing Doyle. It hadn’t surprised Harry in the least when Cordelia informed her that they were now a couple.
When Cordelia contacted her to suggest that she bring the extract in person rather than send it by mail or messenger, she hoped she would get a chance to meet Wesley in person.
Their emails were full of fascinating questions and experiences that Harry decided were worth pursuing in more detail face to face. She hadn’t expected the stubble-jawed young Englishman with the mustard stain on his tie.
After those first few minutes when she was certain that he found her attractive, Harry now realized that he was trying to get rid of her.
Well maybe it was time that she introduced him to the fact that Henrietta Potter was no pushover. “I’m staying. I think I have an interest in this situation considering what I had to go through to get that Raskvorna demon to cooperate with me.”
“No details,” Cordelia shuddered at the thought.
Wesley blushed at the realization that he’d arranged for a woman to collect this rare demon secretion. “No need for that. The extract’s origins do not matter as much as the potion I will create with it.”
“What potion is that?” Angel inquired as he leaned across the desk to look at the vial of glowing fluid inside the box.
“The one that I hope will secure your soul.”
Cordelia and Angel stared silently for a moment, both in shock that their friend had been working on something so important to them without a hint of the nature of his research.
With a squeal of delight, Cordelia practically flew across the space between them nearly knocking Wes off of his feet as she hugged him. She planted a loud kiss on his cheek and proceeded to jump up and down enthusiastically.
Glancing over at Angel, Wesley looked a little taken aback by Cordelia’s reaction. He straightened his glasses which were now sitting haphazardly across the bridge of his nose.
“You aren’t going to kiss me too, are you?”
***
Phantom Dennis’ efforts to assist with the potion mixing went unappreciated by all involved. Even Harry appeared a little taken aback by the fact that a ghost wanted to help.
Angel shooed him away guarding the table that Wesley had set up like he was expecting Dennis to exchange the demon extract for ectoplasm.
“How much longer?” asked Cordelia as she sat on the stool at the desk overlooking the activity in the lobby.
Wesley reached out for the next ingredient, which Harry held out for him, and gave his friend an exasperated sigh, “Cordy, it’ll be finished whenever you give me the time to do so. All of these interruptions are distracting.”
Just cos she kept asking every minute or two didn’t mean she was distracting, Cordy figured as she tapped her fingernails against the countertop. “Why didn’t you tell us what you were planning? We would’ve helped.”
Mumbling under his breath caused Harry to chuckle. She answered, “Perhaps Wesley was concerned you two might be too close to the matter to objectively examine the research.”
“Precisely,” nodded Wes while tossing in some rather stinky herbs into the mixture.
Angel sniffed at the unpleasant odor and decided to take a few steps back. Was it too much to hope that this potion wouldn’t taste as bad as it smelled? Not that it mattered considering the fact that he’d do just about anything to secure his soul and find some peace and some freedom for himself and Cordelia.
As long as the threat existed over his soul, he would be a prisoner to his emotions and his inner demon.
Two hours later everything was in place. Cordelia stood anxiously next to Angel as he held the cup filled with the potion. He gulped it down, setting the cup on the table next to them and waited for the potion to take effect. Even Wes had no idea what to expect. Harry hovered at his elbow, eyes wide and taking in every little detail.
Cordelia reached up to palm Angel’s face as he met her bright gaze. “You know I’ll still love you no matter what happens.”
Angel felt the warmth of her love deep in his chest and pulled Cordelia into his tight embrace. As his mouth came down upon hers in a kiss that conveyed the love and passion they shared, a bright flash of blue light enveloped them both and just as quickly disappeared.
Having shielded his eyes, Wesley peeked out at the oblivious couple who were still locked in their passionate embrace. Harry glanced at him with a measure of surprise. “Was that supposed to happen?”
“I-I don’t think so,” Wes admitted. Understanding that Dennis might be the first to see a difference considering his spectral viewpoint, he asked, “Notice anything new, Dennis?”
Reeling from the mystical event, Dennis felt a little dizzy, something the ghost had not experienced since his human days. Attuned to the energy normally surrounding his people here at the Hyperion, Dennis could tell that something was different. Not only with Angel, but Cordelia too. The shifting light that was Angel’s soul seemed steady, but it now existed with finely-layered connections to the woman in his arms.
Dennis flicked the lights off and on, calling their attention to the situation. Apparently Wesley’s potion had worked and included fringe benefits that only time might hint at their meaning.
“Our ghost seems to think the potion was a success,” Wesley informed Harry as she glanced up at the light fixtures.
That took a little getting used to, but Harry was familiar with any number of demon behaviors so having a ghost around wasn’t exactly frightening to her. “That’s terrific! We should celebrate.”
Pulling apart slightly, Angel and Cordelia were staring longingly into each other’s eyes. His thumb moved across her cheek to the plump mound of her lower lip as if he was already missing its texture. “Celebrating sounds like a good idea.”
Wesley had a feeling that the vampire’s idea of a celebration was something rather different than what Harry had in mind and that it certainly did not include them in the process.
Having interacted with Harry the past few hours, he was more certain than ever that he was attracted to her, but finishing the potion meant that she would be walking out of his life with no good reason to remain in contact with him.
Suddenly, Wes decided that Angel and Cordelia owed him a favor. Since they’d been so set on fixing him up and dragging him along on a double-date that was precisely what was going to happen tonight.
Their version of celebrating would just have to wait.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Wes faced his friends determinedly tilting his chin and daring them to defy his suggestion, “The four of us should go out to dinner to thank Harry for bringing the demon extract and to celebrate your permanent soul.”
“Great idea, Wes,” commented Cordelia with a too-wide smile. Her expression told him that she thought otherwise, but for once was going to let him get away with it. Only because she also had an interest in getting Wes and Harry together.
Angel glowered in his direction, not bothering to hide the fact that he didn’t like the idea.
Considering everything that Cordelia had done to set up Harry’s arrival at the hotel, he decided that he ought to make an effort on Wes’ behalf considering all of the time his friend had spent doing the research that made this possible.