Part 7<\/b><\/p>\n
There was sweating like a pig, there was flop-sweat, and there was Mr. Blevins. He raised perspiring to a whole new level.<\/p>\n
Cordelia sat still in her chair and looked across the old, metal desk at him before sneaking a glance at Wesley, who sat beside her. Wesley looked back and shrugged, just as Mr. Blevins finished looking over the paperwork spread out in front of him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHooookay.\u201d His voice was brusque, and a little strained. He looked over the forms and raised flat blue eyes to rest on Cordy and Wes. \u201cI think we\u2019re set. Just need..\u201d He wheezed a bit. \u201cJust need to sign a little John Hancock here and there\u2026.and get this baby filed\u2026and\u201d he paused, leaning back to emit a deep, gurgly hacking cough. Cordy leaned forward in her seat a bit.<\/p>\n
\u201cUm. Mr. Blevins\u2026are you alright?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Oh, yeah. Just\u2026gotta lay off the cigarettes.\u201d He wheezed a bit more and grabbed up a bottle of water, taking a deep swig before slapping the bottle back on his desk. He rubbed his head and looked back down at the papers.<\/p>\n
They had first met with Mr. Blevins a week ago. Dry and cranky, he had assessed the situation and had said that it wouldn\u2019t be a problem to get this taken care of quickly. He had prepared all the paperwork and laid the way for them to get to this point. Today was the day. By this afternoon, Cordelia would be a single woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkiedokie now\u2026.\u201d Mr. Blevins seemed to be working to concentrate. Beads of perspiration shone on his forehead, and he had begun to pant a little. He slid the packet of papers over to Cordelia. \u201cYou\u2019ve signed everything except this. It\u2019s the final motion to annul. Right here\u2026\u201d he wheezed a bit and pointed at the blank line.<\/p>\n
Cordy signed it, sighing, and handed the papers to Wes, who signed his name on the corresponding line. He handed the packet back to Mr. Blevins, who took it and looked down at it, raising his hand to sign his own name.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust\u2026\u201d he paused, wheezing a bit more. \u201cJust need my own signature, and I\u2019ll run these down to the county clerk and it\u2019s done.\u201d His face began to turn grey, slowly, and his hand shook a bit. \u201cHang on a minute\u2026.\u201d He coughed harshly, and couldn\u2019t seem to stop. Cordelia snuck another look at Wesley, who looked back, concerned.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Blevins?\u201d Cordelia\u2019s voice was a whisper. \u201cYou seem\u2026.I think\u2026.\u201d Suddenly, the lawyer groaned and slumped down on his desk, silent and still.<\/p>\n
Cordelia and Wes seemed frozen, their eyes wide, before Wes jumped up and grabbed at the phone on the desk, dialing 911 while Cordy rose and ran around the desk, leaning Mr. Blevins back in his chair and loosening his tie. \u201cMr. Blevins? Mr. Blevins? Oh god, Wesley\u2026.I think he\u2019s having a heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two hours later, they sat in the waiting room of the emergency room, forlorn looks on their faces. A nurse had come out to tell them that yes, it appeared that Mr. Blevins had had a heart attack, was stabilized, and resting. They took in a relieved breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think we could see him, just for a bit?\u201d the nurse looked down at Cordy and smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t see why not. Let me check with Mr. Blevins. You know, it\u2019s so nice of you both to be concerned\u2026I know it makes Mr. Blevins feel a lot better.\u201d Cordy nodded, a frozen smile on her face, as the nurse walked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Wesley hissed in her ear.<\/p>\n
She ignored him, looking casually around, as she reached into her bag and pulled out the blue-backed packet of annulment papers. Wesley looked down and his eyes grew wide.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot believe\u2026.\u201d He looked around, lowering his voice. \u201cI cannot believe that you brought those here to\u2026..Cordelia. The man has had a heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell yeah, was right there when it happened, Wes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you want him to sign them NOW?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, when would be a better time? He\u2019s\u2026ya know\u2026in bed\u2026.probably bored\u2026nothing to do. A little work will pick him right up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley stared at her in disbelief. \u201cHe\u2019s in the emergency room, not at a spa.\u201d His voice dropped. \u201cI\u2019m not even sure this would be legal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, a lawyer. He\u2019s used to things not legal. Not that this isn\u2019t legal, it\u2019s\u2026.creative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCreative.\u201d Wesley\u2019s voice echoed hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. C\u2019mon, Wes. I\u2019m a woman who\u2019ll chase a heart attack victim into the ER to get him to sign papers. Do you really want to stay married to ME?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood point.\u201d They both stood up as the nurse approached them, crooking her finger at them. They followed her to a small curtained off cubicle, peering around the curtains at Mr. Blevins, lying peacefully on the hospital bed. A monitor hummed quietly beside his bed, and an oxygen tube entered his nose.<\/p>\n
They approached the bed quietly, and the nurse left, pulling the curtains shut behind her. Cordy leaned over his bed, a small smile on her face. \u201cMr. Blevins? It\u2019s me. Cordelia Chase.\u201d Mr. Blevins opened his eyes and squinted up at them.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. Hi. Yeah. Chase and Price.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWyndam-Price.\u201d Wesley muttered under his breath. Cordelia kept smiling and didn\u2019t even spare him a glance as she elbowed him in the ribs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you, Mr. Blevins?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeen better.\u201d He coughed slightly. \u201cHey, gotta tell you both thanks. The nurse tells me if you hadn\u2019t been there\u2026\u201d He coughed again. \u201cWell, we wouldn\u2019t be talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cordy patted his hand. \u201cNo problem. Always willing to lend a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry about this\u2026.know you wanted to get this taken care of. Wish I could fix this\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2026\u201d Cordelia smiled brightly as she yanked the packet of papers out of her tote bag, \u201cas a matter of fact\u2026if you could just kind of\u2026you know\u2026sign these\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Blevins looked a little surprised. \u201cOh. Yeah, we can do that. You have to take \u2018em down and file \u2018em yourselves. County clerk. County seat. Open till 4:00, so you\u2019ll have to hurry.\u201d He took the pen Cordelia handed him and squinted down at the paper. \u201cUm.\u201d Cordy guided his hand to the line and he began to write his name, his hand starting to shake.<\/p>\n
\u201cUm\u2026.\u201d He wrote his first name and stopped, suddenly gurgling and passing out as the monitor beside his bed beeped an insistent alarm. Cordelia froze, panic on her face. Wesley groaned and covered his face with his hands.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, Cordy reached down and grabbed at Mr. Blevin\u2019s hand, the pen still gripped in his fist.<\/p>\n
Raising his hand to the paper, Cordy guided his hand and signed his last name, snatching the pen out of his hand and stuffing the papers back into her bag just as the curtains ripped open and a team of nurses and doctors raced into the small space.<\/p>\n
Cordy and Wes moved back out of the way, and watched as they worked on Mr. Blevins frantically. A nurse took them aside and said they\u2019d have to go outside to the waiting room.<\/p>\n
Cordelia stalked straight through the emergency room lobby on out into the bright day, an appalled Wesley close on her heels. \u201cCordelia.\u201d His voice was a low hiss. She ignored him and walked around the corner, stopping to pull the papers back out of her bag. Smoothing out the wrinkles, she looked down at them.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia. Oh my god.\u201d Wesley leaned against the wall of a building, closing his eyes. \u201cI cannot believe that you\u2026that we\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEase off, horror boy. We\u2019ll send him flowers later.\u201d Cordelia scanned the papers and carefully put them in order. \u201cOk. I think we\u2019re good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood? We\u2019re awful. We just\u2026forged a signature on legal documents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNope. He signed \u2018em with his own hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Cordelia, really.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh Wesley.\u201d She looked at him closely. \u201cThis has been a train wreck from the get go, Wes. I love you. You\u2019re\u2026.you\u2019re like a best friend or something. But the last month, we\u2019ve been fighting and scraping and yelling and it\u2019s just been nasty. I\u2019ve taken on Klingon ministers, demon virgin sacrificers, and more embarrassment than a human should ever have to take. This is it. This is our out. This is us going back to normal. Sorry it\u2019s not all perfectly Perry Mason for you, but this is what we got. I worked with it, and pulled it out of the crapper.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at him. \u201cNow. Do we both go to the county clerk or do you want to do it or do you want me to do it? \u2018Cause we\u2019re burning daylight, here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley looked at her, resigned, and wordlessly held out his hand. She gave the papers to him, and they looked at each other blankly. She finally spoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cOk. I\u2019ll head on home. You take the bus to the county clerk\u2019s. I think you need the yellow line, and take it to 56th\u2026\u201d Wes looked up as a bus rolled by and on up the street.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, honey, if that was our bus it would be exploding.\u201d Cordelia thought a moment. \u201cOk. You take my car, I\u2019ll take the bus. It\u2019ll be quicker.\u201d She handed her car keys to Wesley and he took them, silent for a moment, shaking his head.<\/p>\n
When he looked up at her, there was a glint of dark humor in his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to hell. You know that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d She patted his arm. \u201cBut we\u2019ll be seated in the singles section.\u201d<\/p>\n
He chuckled mirthlessly, and they both looked down at the papers. Wesley looked up, and searched her eyes, as if looking for reassurance in the hazel depths. Cordy smiled and he nodded his head. \u201cHey, look. 2:15. Ya got just enough time to get to the county clerk and get this notarized and on record.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley looked closely at her. \u201cSure you don\u2019t want to go along? Seems that an occasion of this import\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNah. You go. But\u2026.swing by the Hyperion. Maybe take Fred with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley seemed surprised. \u201cFred.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. Fred. I think\u2026.I think she needs to know this is a done deal.\u201d Wesley seemed speechless. \u201cAnd, you know, if the clerk happens to be Klingon, she can help you translate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley laughed, a little lighter, and looked at Cordelia. She looked back, feeling the old, familiar feelings of love pour through her. This was the best, she thought. This is my family.<\/p>\n
Wesley leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek. \u201cMs. Chase, it\u2019s been an honor being your husband.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled back at him, feeling tears gather in her eyes. \u201cWesley, I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever get married for real\u2026..but if I do\u2026..God, I hope he\u2019s at least half the man you are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley\u2019s smile faltered a bit and then he nodded and rose, ducking his head. He turned to go towards the street where her car was parked. Cordelia watched him, a sad smile tilting her lips. He paused, and turned back to her. She grinned, and intoned solemnly, \u201cWe\u2019ll always have Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley smiled back, and left. The smile bled off her face, and she turned to walk down the sidewalk. Another day, another\u2026..crisis. Her pace picked up. Now on to the rest of her life.<\/p>\n
But first, she had to finish the day.<\/p>\n