Part 3<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you gonna do Wes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to talk with him Gunn but I\u2019ve already told you that three time times; so what are you really asking me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could but it seems unlikely. Angel has been different since his return and since Connor\u2019s birth he\u2019s been more mellow than he ever was, even before his misguided venture into destroying Wolfram and Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like I said all along Wes, we can\u2019t afford to get too relaxed. We have to be ready for anything at anytime.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGunn don\u2019t you think you\u2019re being a little melodramatic?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo things Wes; one, would you have believed before it happened that he would have treated us the way he did and two, it wasn\u2019t your spine he threatened to wrap around your neck. And since you brought up the kid, isn\u2019t his mother the vamp Angel let us believe he staked when he asked to come back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo and true\u2026and yes, Angel does seem to pick and choose his truths for his own convenience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all I\u2019m saying Wes, we have to be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI agree Charles but for now we need to concentrate on preventing the heinous assault Cordelia saw in her vision so let\u2019s try to avoid fighting amongst ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m down for that as long as he understands that Cordy doesn\u2019t belong to him and for that matter ain\u2019t none of us part of some clan. We work together, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s leave the car here. We\u2019ll make our way across the park to the sewer access and search for any suspicious looking persons or activity. Luckily it\u2019s almost sunset but we need to be prepared in case anything happens before Angel can leave the sewer tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou watch the left, I\u2019ll watch the right. We\u2019re a good team Wes; we\u2019ve taken care of plenty of visions on our own.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know there was a time Charles when we referred to one another as family, Angel was included in that reference.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a time Wes when a lot of things were different.\u201d<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Assault averted and assailant in custody, the vision had been handled none too quietly and the three men journeyed to the hotel in uncomfortable silence.<\/p>\n
If Angel was indeed headed toward another dark before the dawn of an epiphany episode Wesley couldn\u2019t help but wonder whether there would be any survivors this time. They were not the same people Angel had chased away before. They were more independent of Angel now and stronger, physically and emotionally.<\/p>\n
For that matter Angel was not the same vampire Wesley had ran into almost two years ago. At times he seemed a shell of his former self but at times, like tonight, Wesley was reminded that Angel was, at his core, a killer.<\/p>\n
He and Cordelia had forgotten that somewhere along the way and it was the soul, not the demon that had presented the harsh reminder of their mistake. They had all changed during Angel\u2019s descent into the dark side but some of those changes, although necessary, did not offer a comforting reassurance for their survival as a family.<\/p>\n
Their more critical impasse this time would be Angel\u2019s reaction to them taking Connor away from him. Wesley knew without doubt Cordelia would never leave the child with Angel if his mental stability was in question, even if it meant their own bloody demise.<\/p>\n
*Wesley* Thank goodness one of the officers was a good friend of Kate Lockley and knew it had been Angel that saved her when she overdosed. Otherwise, they would have taken Angel to jail as well as the rapist. Yes, Charles is right, something is definitely going on; but what? Everything seemed fine until Cordelia had the vision. I can understand Charles\u2019 reaction. He was simply protecting his friend, someone he considers a sister. I must admit I was quite proud of the way he stood up to Angel. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n No doubt Angel could have snapped his neck. Not that I will ever share that opinion with Charles Gunn. I will definitely have to talk with Angel; he can\u2019t go around threatening the others just because he\u2019s upset. We were all worried about Cordelia\u2026but Angel seemed to be going off in a blind panic. It\u2019s no secret that vampires are very protective of what they view as theirs but why would Angel make such an ordeal over Gunn preventing him from seeing Cordelia? Hmmm, it was when Gunn referred to Cordelia as his<\/b> girl that Angel seemed to lose all control. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n I certainly need to speak to Angel concerning his actions with the assailant tonight. Angel nearly beat the man to death. Regardless of the horrendous acts he\u2019s likely guilty of, Angel cannot go around dispensing his own brand of justice on humans. Why would he accuse the man of hurting Cordelia? <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Is Angel so emotionally unstable right now that he actually thinks the man intended to rape Cordelia? Perhaps he misunderstood my explanation about her new ability in viewing the visions. I really don\u2019t think that\u2019s the problem. Yes, Angel and I will definitely talk\u2026as soon as I figure out what the hell is going on.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n *Gunn* We all know Angel has his own share of victims and he let that bitch Darla go knowing she would leave a bloody trail of bodies. Hell he fired us because he wanted to go off on some lone wolf crusade. Who does he think took care of Cordy and the visions then? And if that ain\u2019t enough, his bitch shows up wanting to drop her load on our doorstep. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Well it\u2019s his doorstep but we work there. Angel did ask us to come back to the hotel. Poor Cordy, because of the visions she thinks she\u2019s saddled with that undead bastard and now the visions are in 3D. Cordy don\u2019t need Angel or The Powers. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Twice he\u2019s left us on our own with the visions and we did just fine both times. I don\u2019t know what that vamp is talkin\u2019 about, his<\/b> woman, but I know one thing; Wes is gonna find out and he better do it quick. That vamp better back off from Cordy or I\u2019m gonna be all over his business. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n I don\u2019t give a rat\u2019s ass if Angel does have some creepy notion that Cordy belongs with him that vamp better leave our girl the hell alone.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n *Angel* If Gunn had not been so insistent that I not see Cordy I wouldn\u2019t have threatened him like that. <\/i><\/p>\n His girl\u2026why the hell would he think Cordy is his<\/b> girl? Cordy is my\u2026 Cordy, God if she didn\u2019t already hate me she\u2019ll hate me after they tell her what I did and I know Gunn will tell her first chance he gets. Well I\u2019ll just have to get to her first and explain my side. My side, what the hell is my side? I was jealous. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Cordy let Wes touch her but not me. Gunn called her his girl and the truth is she probably considers herself more Gunn\u2019s girl than mine. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Hell he\u2019s never threatened her, he didn\u2019t abandon her. Hell him and Wes took care of her while I was chasing and\u2026fucking Darla. \u201cCordelia Chase don\u2019t belong to nobody, especially some evil-ass, two-timin\u2019 vampire.\u201d I can\u2019t think about that right now. I\u2019ll just go crazy again and we all know things don\u2019t go well when I go crazy. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n What the hell is going on with the visions? Why would The Powers think this was a good trade for the killer visions? She won\u2019t die but she\u2019ll be insane? Why the hell would those arrogant bastards think that was an acceptable trade? I\u2019ve got to get in to see The Powers. They talked to Cordy so they can talk to me. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Hell I\u2019m their champion. Well maybe; for all I know they haven\u2019t actually accepted me back since my trip to the dark side and they did refuse to see me when Cordy was in a coma on her birthday. What if they send Cordy another champion? Maybe they\u2019re just waiting to see if she can handle this demon thing with the visions. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve got to convince them to talk to me. I know I should regret the things I\u2019ve done tonight. I was consumed with need for Cordy, I threatened Gunn in no uncertain terms and I would have killed that bastard rapist if the police hadn\u2019t arrived when they did. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n I know I should regret it all and I probably will tomorrow but right now, it feels good. Fuck this, I\u2019m so fuckin\u2019 tired of being afraid all the time; afraid I\u2019ll fail Connor, afraid that Cordy will leave me. Screw The Powers and screw the mission, if Cordy doesn\u2019t have the visions for me then Cordy doesn\u2019t have the visions at all. I just need to make sure The Powers have a clear understanding that I will not be replaced. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s been so long since I\u2019ve allowed my feelings, my wants, my needs to be revealed but tonight I did and it feels good. If feels damn good. The only thing needed to make this night perfect is to return to the hotel, tell everyone to get out and take my woman to my bed and show her who she belongs to. Cordy would see it as force. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing wrong with a little force, just to get things started. Once she submits it\u2019s no longer force; it\u2019s just me taking what\u2019s mine. That\u2019s what I want to do, that\u2019s what I need to do but I won\u2019t\u2026not yet.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Fred heard the car and then the muffled sound of three voices just outside the main entrance. She glanced nervously up the stairs hoping to see Lorne on his way back down.<\/p>\n He had gone upstairs to check on Connor a good ten minutes earlier and Fred couldn\u2019t understand why it would take a person so long to decided if a baby was asleep or not. She didn\u2019t want to be the only one in the lobby when the troops returned because that would mean she\u2019d be the only one available when Angel asked where Cordy was.<\/p>\n Fred had witnessed the violence Angel was capable of when the evils they fight had threatened Cordelia but until today, she had not seen that violence directed at a member of his own team. She had blamed the vampire\u2019s barbaric behavior in Pylea on the influences of the alternate dimension. His erratic behavior after Darla showed up had been passed off as shock from finding out he was to be a father.<\/p>\n When he had ordered anyone having a problem with the pregnant Darla to leave his hotel she had accepted it as overstated concern for his unborn child and the well-being of the child\u2019s mother. After his run-in with Gunn, Fred Burkle wasn\u2019t so sure that Angel\u2019s violent temper was dependent on anything other than being told no.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s Cordy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s good-I\u2019m good-you good Angel-how about you guys-you good?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYea girl we\u2019re good, just dandy.\u201d Gunn backed away from Fred and Angel motioning for Wesley to join him. He whispered to his partner wanting to avoid detection from the edgy vampire or the chattering girl. \u201cDamn Wes, the psycho vamp\u2019s rampage just set back Fred about six months. She\u2019s all loony again.\u201d<\/p>\n Wesley glanced at the small framed, young woman noticing the quiver of her upper lip. \u201cGunn please, she\u2019s just a little\u2026nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNervous? Lets hope she don\u2019t go talkin\u2019 to the bushes again. You know how the bush thing freaked Cordy out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes I remember and we\u2019ll discuss it later. Right now we need to determine where Cordelia is before Angel gets upset again. I for one am too tired to take down a charging vampire for a second time tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel couldn\u2019t detect Cordelia\u2019s presence in the hotel and Fred\u2019s avoidance in giving him a straight answer only made his tense muscles tighten even more. \u201cDid Cordy go upstairs? Is she with Connor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cConnor\u2019s asleep, Lorne\u2019s with him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFred\u2026where\u2026is\u2026Cordy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe went home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou let her leave\u2026alone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s not alone\u2026uh\u2026Jack took her home\u2026they have a\u2026a\u2026he\u2019s staying with her.\u201d Lorne coming down the stairs was too little comfort too late for Fred. She had been the one left on her own to give the angry vampire the unpleasant news while Lorne had been upstairs in the relative safety of Connor\u2019s presence and Wes and Gunn had been loitering in the corner whispering about some bush that was bothering Cordy. \u201cWesley, Cordy wants you to call and let her know everything\u2019s alright. Everything is alright isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, everything is fine Fred. The young woman is safe and the culprit is in custody. The police seem to think we may have caught a serial rapist they\u2019ve been after for months.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell that\u2019s good isn\u2019t it Angel? Angel?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe went upstairs sweetums. The big guy just needs some alone time.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Well Angel, just another one of those damn consequences coming back to bite you on the ass. You threw them out and the magnificent Jack Stone and his big investigation firm came swooping in to help them take care of the visions. The visions that were meant for you, only you thought destroying Wolfram and Hart, destroying Darla and Dru was more important than the visions and you told her just that; didn\u2019t you? \u201cYou go help him. I\u2019ve got more important things to do.\u201d Stupid, Stupid\u2026Idiot. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve got to stop dwelling on the past. I can\u2019t change what\u2019s already happened. I\u2019ve got to focus on the here and now. So Cordy is spending time with this guy. OK, I can accept that for now. Well I have to; I can\u2019t kill him\u2026not yet. He hasn\u2019t made love to her; I would have smelled him on her. There has been some touching but not much. They\u2019ve known each other for over a year and if there\u2019s still no intimacy that means Cordy isn\u2019t in love with him. She might care for him, she might even love him but she\u2019s not in love with him. Cordy\u2019s not going to settle for just sex, relationships are too important to her. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n She was a virgin when that slime bag Wilson Christopher took advantage of her and she hasn\u2019t been with a man since, not even that pig boy in Pylea. She probably hasn\u2019t been able to trust a man enough yet. Well I certainly contributed my part to her trust issues. Between Xander Harris, Wilson Christopher and me she could be scarred for life. Maybe I could kill them, I doubt Cordy would really care even if she did find out. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Maybe a little about the Harris boy but not a lot. I\u2019ve got to take my mind off Cordy and sex and killing. I need a cold show\u2026<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI see you didn\u2019t waste any time stepping onto the brood stage. Angel we\u2019ve been over this, brooding and keeping your feelings to yourself is what got you in this mess. Instead of the pity party how about we concentrate on what you can do to fix this latest set back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSet back? I know you don\u2019t see this as merely a set back Lorne. If you did you would\u2019ve called me some pastry name instead of Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s face the easy revelations first big guy. The name Angel oozes about as much macho as cream puff. OK peach strudel let\u2019s move on to lifting your droopy spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLorne don\u2019t make me squeeze the life out of you. You\u2019re the only friend I have left. Even Fred is afraid of me since I threatened Gunn. I don\u2019t want to destroy the last friendship I have in LA.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell then you just hang on to that thought whenever the primal urge to maim and mutilate rears its ugly head. OK big guy so you didn\u2019t know about a particular demon aspect your girl was experiencing with the visions, neither did anyone else besides our head honcho. Why does that have you so down?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just that Lorne. When I tried to comfort her, you would have thought I was the bastard trying to hurt her. She couldn\u2019t stand the thought of me touching her. She\u2019s still afraid of me\u2026 \u201cDon\u2019t make me move you.\u201d <\/i>\u2026I threatened her during my dark time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was beige not dark and Cordelia\u2019s reaction to you today was completely understandable. The experience was very traumatic for her. It was perfectly normal for her to be repulsed by any male figure.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe wasn\u2019t repulsed by Wesley. She let Wesley touch her. She let Wesley take her into the office, where they were alone with the door closed. Why is that Lorne?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s different, it was Wesley and\u2026\u201d Lorne stopped talking seeing the confusion firmly settle in Angel\u2019s eyes. With an inward sigh, he wondered if whoever thought it was easier working with a clean slate had ever met the clueless, big lug he had to work with. \u201cIt\u2019s good fate saw fit to bless you with all the muscle and brawn big guy but it might have been nice if they had dispensed a little more even mix with other attributes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh? Does that have something to do with Wesley? What are you trying to say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, just thinking out loud big guy. Now about Wesley and how he relates to your girl. Cordelia\u2019s relationship with Wesley has developed over time. And yes, there\u2019s no need denying that your little side trip of the evil blonde kind didn\u2019t take their relationship to a whole new level thereby strengthening the trust they already shared, but that aside, they already had a unique friendship that works for them. They trust and depend on each other and they\u2019ve never failed one another. It\u2019s perfectly natural for Cordelia to turn to Wesley at a time any other man gives her the heebie geebies. In Wesley, Cordelia sees a friend first then a man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re saying Cordelia turned to Wesley out of friendship and trust.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cExactly. By George I think he\u2019s got it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut she can\u2019t trust me. She doesn\u2019t see a friend when she looks at me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI always did hate cramming the night before a big test. Angel listen to me, Wesley is Cordelia\u2019s girlfriend.\u201d Loren emphasized the word using his fingers to put quotation marks in the air. \u201cThere will always be things she will tell him that she won\u2019t tell you. And that has nothing to do with all the crap you\u2019ve unloaded on her. You\u2019ll never be the one she\u2019s having late night, secret sharing sleepovers with. You\u2019re the sexy; I want him bad secret she\u2019ll be telling her girlfriend about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh.\u201d A grin began to form as Lorne\u2019s words seeped into Angel\u2019s underused brain cells. \u201cOOH.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes ma, our boy will graduate!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLorne.\u201d The name spurted from Angel\u2019s tight pressed lips like a hiss of steam. \u201cI may not be Wesley smart, hell I may not even be Fred smart but\u2026but\u2026I can hold my own with Gunn.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course you can big guy. No argument there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about that weasel Jack Stone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWeasel, ay. Well Angel I\u2019ve got to be honest with you, weasel doesn\u2019t come to mind when I think of Jack Stone. The truth is he\u2019s a good guy and he helped your friends when you weren\u2019t treating them like friends.\u201d Lorne heard the low growl Angel attempted to stifle in his throat. \u201cOK big guy lets not forget that little didley, I\u2019m all you got. Sometimes the truth hurts and the truth is your girl and her loyal posse would have been way over their heads in a really bad way if Jack Stone had not stepped in. I know it\u2019s hard to accept but riddle me this sweet cheeks; wouldn\u2019t it be harder to be grieving her loss instead?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat the hell are you talking about Lorne?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEasy Angel, all I\u2019m saying is that Jack and his team were there when your friends were definitely out numbered in the muscles category and like it or not, the truth is they likely wouldn\u2019t have survived the odds without his help.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is he, superman swooping down to help the helpless? So I\u2019m a selfish bastard and this Jack Stone is a saint who helps others while asking for nothing in return?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAngel would it kill you to work the brain muscles occasionally and give the abs a rest?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Lorne mimicked in a whiny tone ignoring Angel\u2019s irritation. \u201cYes, he\u2019s a good guy, but he is a man. A man that has an appreciative eye for a beautiful woman. Jack\u2019s no fool Angel, he saw Cordelia, he wanted Cordelia and he knew the way to Cordelia\u2019s heart. And you my high-o-silver, lone ranger want-a-be that thought your friends would be safer fighting the big bad evil in the visions alone instead of working with you were nowhere around while Jack was finding his way into that big, beautiful heart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLorne, I was on a mission. It was my job to destroy Wolfram and Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve done this dialogue already big guy and got to tell you it\u2019s way past snoozeville. I remember you coming into my club demanding information about the Senior Partners because it was your destiny to destroy them. I believe that was right around the time you manhandled the little woman demanding a book. I told you then and I\u2019m telling you now, that wasn\u2019t your destiny; never was. In fact you had moved so far from your destiny I wasn\u2019t even reading any destinies that featured you as a player, well not as one of the good guys anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not fair Lorne. How was I supposed to fight the evil for The Powers unless I destroyed Darla and Drusilla? How could it be wrong to focus my efforts on taking down Wolfram and Hart?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNews flash dark avenger, no key player for evil died during your lone ranger stint but you have stumbled onto some really good questions champ. Another news flash for you, the answers are more important than the questions. So the million dollar question Angel; have you found the answers?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I was wrong, you do need to brood. You need to sit in the dark and brood long and hard Angel because until you find those answers nothing else you do really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLorne?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll help you get started big guy. Your seer made you a promise and whether you deserve it or not she\u2019s still keeping that promise. While you\u2019re brooding and pondering, ponder this; what did you promise her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMy God, what happened tonight? Angel was like a crazed animal when he attacked that man. Without the help of the three officers, Gunn and I would have never been able to pull Angel off the attacker before he killed him. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
\nWho does that vamp think he is? Our lives have been a living hell since he went off the deep end and it just keeps getting worse, not better. He threatens to kill me because I refuse to let him force his way in to see Cordy, then he almost kills the guy in the vision. The dude is slime, I\u2019m not arguing that but it\u2019s not for Angel to decide who lives and who dies because of their crimes. <\/i><\/p>\n
\nThey\u2019re probably thinking it\u2019s just like last time; the vamp\u2019s going off the deep end again. Hell they\u2019ll probably start packing up the office as soon as we get back, thinking I\u2019m gonna fire them again. I\u2019ve been so careful about keeping my temper in check and not to overreact. Now in one night I\u2019ve wiped out a year\u2019s worth of proving they can trust me. <\/i><\/p>\n