{"id":11887,"date":"2018-07-15T12:51:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T11:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/?p=11887"},"modified":"2018-07-15T13:01:06","modified_gmt":"2018-07-15T12:01:06","slug":"in-the-light-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/2018\/07\/15\/in-the-light-1\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Light 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title:\u00a0<\/b>In the Light\u00a0<\/strong>
\nAuthor:\u00a0<\/b>Chelle
\nPosted:\u00a0<\/b>04-24-2003
\nEmail:\u00a0<\/b>
\nRating:\u00a0<\/b>PG
\nCategory:\u00a0<\/b>Angst
\nContent:\u00a0<\/b>C\/A
\nSummary:\u00a0<\/b>Cordelia finds out about Angel and Darla sleeping together by way of Wolfram and Hart tapes instead of a visit from Darla herself. So in this fic, no pregnant Darla so no Connor.
\nSpoilers:\u00a0<\/b>Some season one and two.
\nDisclaimer:\u00a0<\/b>The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
\nDistribution:\u00a0<\/b>
\nNotes:\u00a0<\/b>The first two small parts are conversations in the episodes \u201cIn the Dark\u201d and \u201cHero\u201d with small parts I added so that the story of those events changes just slightly.
\nFeedback:\u00a0<\/b>Sure. Just don\u2019t go too hard on me.<\/p>\n

\n

Part 1<\/b><\/p>\n

Angel and Doyle looking at the sunset from the rooftop in \u201cIn the Dark\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how long\u2019s it been between sunsets?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c200 years, give or take.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen ya gotta be feelin\u2019 pretty damn good then. I mean this ring changes everything doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah its spectacular I know. But I do promise there\u2019ll be another one just like it again tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat. Are you sayin\u2019 that the city\u2019s gonna get hit by a meteor before tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Its too horrible to say. I\u2019m not goin\u2019 to say the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to wear the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the other. You got a real addiction to the brooding part of life. Anyone ever tell ya that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, once or twice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCare to explain. This ring is your redemption, its what ya been waiting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it just looks like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel man, think what your sayin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have. I\u2019ve thought of it from every angle and what I figure is .. I did a lot of damage in my day. More than you could imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what ya don\u2019t get the ring because your period of self flagellation isn\u2019t over yet? Think of all the daytime people you could help between nine and five.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have help. The whole world is designed for them. So much that they have no idea what goes on around them after dark. They don\u2019t see the weak ones lost in the night or the things that prey on them. And if I join them \u2026 maybe I\u2019d stop seeing too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel, the ring doesn\u2019t only let ya walk around enjoyin\u2019 the bright sunny rays. If the night is where your needed, then that is where you\u2019ll be. But man it renders you invincible. Think of the chance evil stands against that. So what if ya get a little pleasure from it in the process. Your strong enough to know how to use it for the good it can bring others and deserving enough of the little bit of happiness it can bring you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just it Doyle. Me and happiness \u2026 we don\u2019t work well together. I was brought back for a reason and as much as I\u2019d like to kid myself, I don\u2019t think it was for eighteen holes at Rancho.\u201d Angel watched the last rays of sun disappear over the horizon and took off the ring. Raising a brick above the symbol of all that he could have, he paused.<\/p>\n

He knew what he was doing was right and just. He deserved the misery, the pain. They were the tools he used to remind himself daily of what he was and what he was capable of becoming. Doyle could never understand. Yes the ring might help. But Angel knew that it could only be worn by someone worthy. That would never be him.<\/p>\n

Dragging Angel out of his thoughts, Doyle took the brick from his hand. \u201cI\u2019ll do it for ya man.\u201d Angel nodded a quick thanks and headed for the rooftop door.<\/p>\n

\u201cYa really don\u2019t believe that your worthy enough for a gift like this do ya?\u201d Doyle shot over his shoulder.<\/p>\n

Angel\u2019s answer came in the form of a brief pause before continuing through the doorway.<\/p>\n

Doyle raised the brick above his head, striking it as hard as he could on the ledge of the building. Looking back at the door, he placed the undamaged ring into the pocket of his jacket, giving it a small pat for good measure. \u201cFor when ya do.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle at the end of the episode \u201cHero\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia looked fearfully toward Angel. \u201cAngel, its suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s gotta be another way,\u201d was all that Doyle could offer.<\/p>\n

Angel, resigned to his fate, looked at both of his friends. \u201cIt\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d Cordelia panicked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good fight, yeah?\u201d Doyle began to look reflectively at Angel. \u201cYa never know \u2018til you\u2019ve been tested. I get that now.\u201d Angel, caught off guard by Doyle\u2019s right hook, fell to the belly of the ship. Doyle turned to face Cordelia. \u201cTake care of the guy Cor. He\u2019s gonna need ya, more than he knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she could respond, Cordelia\u2019s lips were captured in a sweet farewell kiss. \u201cToo bad we\u2019ll never know,\u201d morphing into his demonic face, Doyle continued, \u201cif this is a face ya could learn to love.\u201d With that, Doyle leapt to his fiery death, leaving his two friends wrapped in a mournful embrace.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

The sewer was a good place for someone like him. He had no particular reason to be here, it was night after all. He could be driving down the freeway, enjoying the cool night air, but that was too good for someone – no, strike that – something like him. Cordelia\u2019s face, full of hurt and anger flashed through his mind, making him slow his steady pace.<\/p>\n

Closing his eyes and rubbing his face roughly in the palm of his hands, Angel willed the image of her away to no avail. Her words echoed in his ears. ‘You slept with Darla?’ Yes, he had. Hadn\u2019t he? He had tried to block out the incident. He had convinced himself he could forget it and he had for so long now pretended that it hadn\u2019t happened until finally it felt like it never did.<\/p>\n

The memory gone forever. Until the tapes had shown up and now his dirty little secret was out. Everyone knew to what depth he had sunk. Everyone saw. He had once again hurt his family. Worst of all, he had hurt Cordy the most.<\/p>\n

The phrase that kept bouncing through his mind now haunted him again, this time as a whispered statement of fact accompanied by a pair of hurt hazel eyes, full of unshed tears and resignation. ‘You slept with Darla.’ That was all she could say to him this morning before storming out of the hotel.<\/p>\n

All she would say. He finally stopped his ever slowing pace, slumped against the grimy wall and stared at nothing in particular. Why the hell did this have to happen right now? Just when he was so close to telling her how he felt. Angel slid down the wall to sit on the dirty ground, unfazed by the filth beneath him. He had been walking now for hours. Passing by the sewer entrance to Cordelia\u2019s apartment more times than he could count. He looked up at the all too familiar sight.<\/p>\n

Maybe it had been a good thing that Wes had interrupted him this morning before he told Cordelia \u2026 what had he been about to tell her? That he was in love with her? No, not at first anyway. He had to work up to that. He had to make sure before he said those words to her that she understood her friendship meant more to him than anything else in the world. He couldn\u2019t destroy that. She meant too much to him.<\/p>\n

She deserved to know just how much. He had tried to show her so many times the depth of his feelings. He had jumped dimensions for her, battled demon prison guards, and released Billy on the world to save her life. Hell, he had even bought her clothes but she still seemed clueless. Why couldn\u2019t she see what was right in front of her. He loved her. This morning he had wanted her to finally know that. Now she never would.<\/p>\n

Trying to clear his mind of the thoughts and voices that battled for dominance in his head, Angel tried to summon a picture of Cordy before this morning. He thought about staring at her from the basement stairs while she arranged cheesy plastic flowers to brighten up his existence.<\/p>\n

Didn\u2019t she know that she did that just by walking in the room? Angel covered his face again. He had ruined everything. Standing slowly, Angel headed away from Cordy\u2019s building. He was a fool to think he could just go and talk to her, explain it all away, beg her forgiveness. He was an even bigger fool to think he could have love, could have Cordy. She deserved so much more in her life than the pain that loving a monster like him would cause. He was worthless, unworthy of a gift like Cordy.<\/p>\n

Angel looked down at the disgusting filth that now covered his clothes. It seemed fitting. The inside turned out. Yeah, the sewer was a good place for someone like him.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Cordelia\u2019s hands trembled slightly as she removed the dusty box from her top closet shelf. Planting herself in the middle of her bedroom floor, she simply stared at the unopened object. Her fingers traced the packing tape holding the lid closed as she reminisced about the past. A past that seemed so simple now.<\/p>\n

Three friends fighting crime in a little office downtown. Doyle. She closed her eyes as Doyle\u2019s voice floated around her head. ‘Take care of the guy Cor. He\u2019s gonna need ya more than he knows.’ \u201cYou got it wrong Doyle.\u201d Cordelia answered her own memories. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t need me at all.\u201d The tears that she had forced away earlier began to flow freely again as she opened the box.<\/p>\n

Cordelia fondled the objects they had collected from Doyle\u2019s apartment just after his death. A lotto ticket, her Sunnydale High School picture, an empty piggy bank which had the word bills written in capital letters with a permanent marker, an old key to a long forgotten lock, and an address book full of old contacts.<\/p>\n

Trash to anyone else really. For her, memories of not only Doyle\u2019s life, but of hers. Before the visions, before \u2018beige Angel\u2019, and before Darla. \u201cI thought you meant me Doyle. That he would need me. You just meant the visions,\u201d Cordy sniffled as she closed the lid of the box and returned it to its perch in her closet.<\/p>\n

Cordelia sat down on her bed, grabbing the floating tissue to wipe away her tears. She started to feel anger towards Doyle for planting such a ridiculous seed in her heart. Anger for making her think that somehow Angel needed her in his life, by his side. That somehow she was important and special. She felt so foolish. The way she had run from the hotel this morning after watching the X-rated video courtesy of Wolfram and Hart.<\/p>\n

Well, at least it had kept her from even more embarrassment. She cringed at the thought of the conversation she and Angel had begun before Wesley had interrupted them. She closed her eyes. How could she use Angel\u2019s nonsensical ramblings about their friendship over the years as her opening to proclaim her feelings for him. Well, the day had been terrible but it could have been worse. She could have proclaimed her love to Angel and then ran out of the hotel like a jilted lover, sobbing into her hands.<\/p>\n

At least Wesley had spared her of the first part. How could she even have thought that Angel could feel the same way about her. He had never said anything. Then the tape. Cordelia buried her head in her pillow and sobbed even harder at the thought of Angel sleeping with Darla.<\/p>\n

Why did he do it? Why didn\u2019t he trust her enough to tell her before now? Didn\u2019t he know how much she loved him? No he didn\u2019t. This morning she was going to tell him that and now she knew she never would.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Andre wiped his bloody hands on the crisp white towel. Proud of his progress and eager to report the good news to his sire, he strutted from the back room of the dilapidated old house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell?\u201d Aslan asked his childe and prot\u00e9g\u00e9 with an arched brow.<\/p>\n

Andre\u2019s chest puffed as he smiled at the vampire that stood head and shoulders above his own massive form. \u201cL.A..\u201d was his confident answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cLos Angeles?\u201d Aslan looked skeptically at the brute before him. \u201cAre you sure Andre? The jewel was buried near the hell mouth years ago. What makes you believe that it is in L.A.?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, according to my guest back there, a vampire named Spike found the gem and somehow ended up losing it to the Slayer. She sent it out to L.A. to some old boyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aslan knew that Andre\u2019s skills were the best to be found. Even as a human, he could have given vampires lessons on the enjoyment of brutal torture. That is why he had chosen him. He was very selective when siring a new vamp. After all, one had to have standards. But at the moment, his patience was running thin. \u201cWho did she send the ring to?\u201d He warned, letting Andre know that he expected an answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe guy was not all there in the end. He really wasn\u2019t making much sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aslan\u2019s eyes flashed yellow as he morphed into his demonic visage. \u201cWhat old boyfriend?\u201d he yelled, as he clutched Andre\u2019s throat and lifted him from the ground.<\/p>\n

Andre struggled to form the answer. Chokingly he replied, \u201cThe last part didn\u2019t make any sense. The old guy had to be delirious. He said something about a vampire with a soul. I\u2019ve never heard of such an abomination. I didn\u2019t want to bore you with his ramblings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aslan threw the young vamp across the room and turned, lifting the large table that stood behind him. With one powerful thrust the table crashed to the floor. He knew all too well who the vampire with a soul was, or at least who he used to be.<\/p>\n

Aslan\u2019s bulky muscles twitched. His tattoo clad body shuddered as the nauseating thought of a vampire being poisoned with a soul crossed his mind. He straightened his shoulders and tried to calm himself as he turned to the vampire crouching in the far corner. \u201cGather what you need. We\u2019ll leave at sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Part 2<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Title:\u00a0In the Light\u00a0 Author:\u00a0Chelle Posted:\u00a004-24-2003 Email:\u00a0 Rating:\u00a0PG Category:\u00a0Angst Content:\u00a0C\/A Summary:\u00a0Cordelia finds out about Angel and Darla sleeping together by way of Wolfram and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-to-be-continued-fic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11887\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}