{"id":8728,"date":"2015-12-13T14:21:18","date_gmt":"2015-12-13T14:21:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/?p=8728"},"modified":"2015-12-13T15:01:37","modified_gmt":"2015-12-13T15:01:37","slug":"too-little-too-late-1-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/13\/too-little-too-late-1-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Little, Too Late 1-3"},"content":{"rendered":"

Title: Too Little, Too Late<\/b>
\nAuthor: <\/b>SKauble<\/strong>
\nPosted Here: <\/b>20 Sept 06
\nEmail<\/b><\/a>
\nRating: <\/b>NC-17 (eventually)
\nCategory: <\/b>Angst, romance
\nContent: <\/b>C\/A
\nSummary: <\/b>This is based on a challenge by Impress<\/strong> which is included \u2026Like most of the fics I have in the works.TPTB get tired of Angel\u2019s fickle commitment to duty and send Cordelia a new champion (not Groo). Impress\u2019 imagination totally rocks!
\nSpoilers: <\/b>A bunch. Good Lord, AtS isn\u2019t even on the air anymore. Is it really still spoiling anything?
\nDisclaimer: <\/b>The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
\nDistribution: <\/b>Please ask first.
\nNotes: <\/b>This fic is to promote the FSB archive.<\/b><\/a> Pylea didn\u2019t happen. I reject Whedon\u2019s reality as I find my own vastly superior. The reason Angel didn\u2019t run off to help Buffy with Glory is \u2018cause they were out of town, not out of the dimension, on a case. Therefore there is no Groo, and by extension no Fred. Sorry, but it has to be.Note #2:<\/b> This part is reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally angst ridden. My life sucks so everyone else has to suffer. Bwahahahahahahahahaha\u2026it\u2019s really kinda sad. Note #3:<\/b> This was a great challenge by Impress<\/strong>, so if the story sucks it\u2019s all in the execution and not in the conception.<\/p>\n

Challenge by Impress:<\/b><\/p>\n

Angel loses\/endangers\/abandons his seer one too many times. As punishment, The PTB assign Cordelia to a new warrior (not Groo). Angel is now forced to earn\/win back his seer.<\/em>
\nFeedback:<\/b>Always appreciated, never discouraged.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter One<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou understand why I have to go, right?\u201d The plea in Angel\u2019s voice was unmistakable.<\/p>\n

Letting out a small sigh Cordelia pinned a smile on her face and faced the inevitable head on.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I do, Angel. Coming back from the dead doesn\u2019t sound too pleasant. Buffy needs you. You need to go. I get that. And we\u2019ll be okay; we\u2019ll call if anything comes up. It\u2019s only a couple of hours away and it\u2019s only for a couple of weeks. Go Angel; we\u2019ve got things covered here.\u201d<\/p>\n

That had been almost a week ago. One slow, boring week. It was a small favor from TPTB that Cordelia greatly appreciated.<\/p>\n

Alas, fate never being a friend of the young seer, it chose that moment of thanks to interfere and her brain was speared by the white hot pain that always accompanied her visions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell that was ick.\u201d Thought Cordelia from her position on the floor. Both Wesley and Gunn had come running when they\u2019d heard the commotion. They tried their best to stay alert, but it seemed that no one but Angel had both the speed and the eerie ability to sense an oncoming vision that kept her from landing on the floor every time the Powers called.<\/p>\n

Handing her some aspirin and water Wesley waited until she\u2019d swallowed both before beginning the familiar routine of unraveling the message she\u2019d so painfully received.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you see, Cordelia?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing too awful tonight. 3 vamps at the Star Cinema on Spring St. They were picking off the audience one by one. You know, I miss the old days when the bad guys were just about mindless violence. Now they\u2019re all making with the plans \u2013 Pyramid schemes, sneak attacks; what\u2019s next \u2013 telemarketing? Geez!\u201d<\/p>\n

Wesley smiled at the brave front Cordelia put on to disguise her pain; to save them distress. Sometimes he thought about telling her that it didn\u2019t work \u2013 that they all still worried every time. But he had a feeling that protecting them actually made her feel better and he wouldn\u2019t take that away from her for the world.<\/p>\n

While Wesley had been contemplating the impact of the visions Cordelia had already forced herself to rise from her place on the floor, grab a stake and a crossbow and was waiting impatiently at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cCordelia \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

Wes didn\u2019t get any further before he was cut off.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan it, Wes. I\u2019m going and any time that we waste arguing about that fact puts lives in danger. I may not be a great fighter, but I grew up on the Hellmouth. Believe me, I get the concept of staking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cordelia\u2019s declaration was followed by a small demonstration as she raised her sharpened wood into the air and brought it down repeatedly in a pantomime of vampire dusting.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, well, conceptualization is far different than \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n

He was again cut off as Cordelia simply rolled her eyes at what was sure to be an untimely and long winded lecture and walked out the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cHold up, girl.\u201d Gunn called as he rushed out the door behind Cordelia. He hadn\u2019t known her all that long but with her it was quality not quantity that counted, and he knew her well enough to know that once she set her mind on something there was no changing it. He\u2019d certainly tried when she\u2019d made him her mission.<\/p>\n

But still, his genuine concern and the despondent look on Wesley\u2019s face demanded that he try.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ain\u2019t taking you with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pausing, Cordelia turned with a smug look on her face that encompassed both Gunn and Wesley who had just come barreling out the door loaded down with weapons.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s fine. If you don\u2019t want to take me with you I understand. Honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both the look on her face and their knowledge of her nature told them that although she said what they wanted to hear they still weren\u2019t going to be happy with the outcome.<\/p>\n

They were right.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello. Vision girl here. You know, the one who tells you guys where to go and make with the fighting. I don\u2019t need<\/b> you to take me anywhere. I can get to there just fine by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wesley knew that Cordelia wasn\u2019t bluffing and he knew when he was beat. With a long-suffering sigh he admitted defeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet in the truck, Cordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shooting them a bright smile Cordelia let out a squeal of excitement for winning the argument as she climbed into the truck.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on boys. Time’s a wastin\u2019. We have people to save and vamps to dust.\u201d<\/p>\n

This time it was Gunn who rolled his eyes. They were so whipped. On the bright side at least they weren\u2019t as pathetic as Angel\u2026yet.<\/p>\n

Apprehensive, the two men nonetheless piled into the truck; worried for the victims, each other, and most importantly the young woman sandwiched between them.<\/p>\n

The theater was dark as the trio of do-gooders rushed in. One would think that the yelling, shrieking, and general sounds of mayhem would have attracted the attention of the employees or, at the very least ensured the raising of the lights. But no, they seemed oblivious to the deadly commotion. It could have been a theater in Sunnydale for all the notice they gave it.<\/p>\n

Wesley knew that they had the element of surprise on their side, but he acknowledged that the continued darkness certainly favored their foes. They\u2019d been able to stake one before the other two became alert to their presence, but once they had noticed their companion was nothing more than a gray paste on the sticky theater floor the fight began in earnest.<\/p>\n

\u201cCordelia; get those people out of here\u201d Wesley ordered as his sword arced out, catching the vampire\u2019s shoulder and sending him stumbling back. These were no mere fledglings and the combat was brutal and vicious. He just hoped that they could end it before Cordelia had completed the evacuation and waded back into the battle.<\/p>\n

At first Cordelia\u2019s efforts to help the hopeless were met with boos and calls to sit down. But as the people became aware of the struggle that was occurring in the aisles a huge wave of humanity rose up and raced past her, jarring her from all sides. She barely managed to keep hold of her stake, but her grip on the larger crossbow was impossible to maintain and was jerked from her hand in the crush of the fleeing audience.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden Cordelia became aware of a new danger as people began pushing and shoving each other trying to get out the emergency exit.<\/p>\n

\u201cStupid hopeless.\u201d Cordelia muttered as she thrust her way to the front of the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough!\u201d She bellowed to the panicked throng and despite their obvious fear they, remarkably, stopped. Looking them over with a glare that had made both vampires and their slayers tremble Cordelia calmly issued her instructions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

And bowing to her apparent authority they began to file out in a hurried, but much more orderly fashion.<\/p>\n

Seeing a redheaded girl of about 16 crying on the floor, grasping her ankle in pain, Cordelia rushed over, pulling her up and supporting her weight as she practically dragged her to the exit as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

Looking back to check on her guys she saw that the fight had moved to the front of the theater where both Wesley and Gunn were struggling with the last of the vamps.<\/p>\n

Wesley was beginning to worry. As well as he and Gunn were doing they were both still human and were starting to feel a sense of fatigue that wouldn\u2019t plague the vampire for some time yet. Knowing that the fight had to end soon he waited for Gunn to swing out with his axe. As the vampire leapt back to avoid the blow Wesley rushed him knocking them both to the ground and embedding his stake in the demon\u2019s abdomen. Flipping adroitly to the side, Wesley cleared the path so that Gunn could deliver the final blow.<\/p>\n

Sprawled on the ground, the vampire read his death in the eyes of the young man above him. As he moved his hands to offer himself what feeble protection he could, his fingers collided with something solid. Turning his head he saw that it was the abandoned crossbow. Knowing he\u2019d never be able to raise it, aim, and shoot either of the men before they were upon him he resigned himself to a final death and one last malevolent act. Using the last of his energy he rolled onto his injured stomach and took aim at the retreating girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cCordelia!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCordelia!\u201d<\/p>\n

Both voices were frantic in their warnings and she swung around to assure herself of the safety of her friends. Seeing the vampire armed with her crossbow and poised to shoot, she realized that the danger was not to them but to herself and the petrified girl beside her.<\/p>\n

As the bolt entered the air it was clear that the cowering teen was the target of choice. Cordelia wondered at the lack of intelligence found in so many vampires. Angel wasn\u2019t stupid, but maybe that was just the soul \u2018cause Angelus wasn\u2019t too bright with his whole \u201csend the world to Hell\u201d plan. But this vampire seemed dumber than most. Didn\u2019t he understand that she was the reason he was going to die tonight? She supposed that he didn\u2019t otherwise he would have been aiming at her instead of the whimpering girl next to her. Not that it mattered as Cordelia hurled her body into the redhead\u2019s, knocking her aside.<\/p>\n

At first she thought that she\u2019d been fast enough and they\u2019d both escaped injury. But as she hit the floor a wave of pain burst through her radiating from her chest outwards. She recognized the feeling \u2013 impalement. Mercifully she didn\u2019t feel it for long as darkness reached up to embrace her.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter Two<\/b><\/p>\n

Angel glanced over at the blonde walking at his side. They\u2019d just finished their midnight patrol and were within sight of the quaint and cozy home on Revello Drive.<\/p>\n

For the thousandth time he wondered what he was doing there. Sure, Buffy was having a hard time adjusting to being back, but she had a strong support system of family and friends and he was simply on the fringes of her life \u2013 like he\u2019d always been.<\/p>\n

After yet another awkward night of hoping to be attacked if only to break up the strained silence, Angel faced the fact that he didn\u2019t belong there. He missed his home, he missed his mission, but most of all he missed his family.<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t surprised that back in Sunnydale he\u2019d been relegated, once again, to the shadows. No, what startled him was how much he hated it there. He hadn\u2019t realized how much he valued his new life until he\u2019d tried the old one back on for size.<\/p>\n

Angel was shaken out of his thoughts by the electrical strains of \u2018Mandy\u2019 emanating from his inside coat pocket. Seeing Buffy\u2019s raised brows he shot her a sheepish smile explaining, \u201cCordy programmed the phone.\u201d Recognizing Wesley\u2019s cell phone number he flipped open the small device. Before the phone even reached his ear he could hear the loud crackle of static.<\/p>\n

\u201cWes? Wesley?\u201d Angel attempted to hear his friend\u2019s voice among the grating noise.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel?\u201d A faint voice replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Wes. I can barely hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHold on.\u201d Wesley\u2019s request swam through the fuzz.<\/p>\n

Even with his enhanced hearing he could barely make out the Englishman\u2019s words.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel?\u201d<\/p>\n

The static was still present but had eased some allowing him to distinguish the odd tone in his friend\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWesley, is everything alright?\u201d Unease was beginning to push itself to the forefront of his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Angel; it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

The static poured forth from the phone once more and Angel paced restlessly, hoping to strengthen the connection as his concern was fast transforming to worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel?\u201d The anxious voice surfaced again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWesley, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d His voice growled down the line though he wondered if Wesley would be able to hear the dangerous sound in the midst of the din.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Cordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n

And everything stopped. The cars passing by, the people in their yards, the very air itself stilled as the world seemed to fracture around him. This time his voice was hesitant; needing to ask the question but so scared to hear the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWesley?\u201d<\/p>\n

It was funny; the static which had been so annoying before was still present and yet he heard every word as if they were separated by inches and not miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at Memorial General\u2026It\u2019s bad Angel. You need to get here now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crackling spiked and the call was lost, but that didn\u2019t register with the vampire as his phone slipped from nerveless fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAngel?\u201d Buffy reached forward, gathering something was terribly wrong but not knowing what. She had been deeply entrenched in misery recently, but even she wasn\u2019t so disconnected that she couldn\u2019t feel the waves of pain rolling off his still figure.<\/p>\n

As she touched his shoulder it was as if she\u2019d shocked him into action and she jumped back in surprise as he spun around, and with a burst of speed that left him nothing but a dark blur, crossed the distance to his car and vaulted himself into position behind the wheel.<\/p>\n

Watching the car move at nearly the same speed the vampire had, the slayer could only stare and hope that things would work out well for someone in this cold, sharp world.<\/p>\n

\n

Chapter Three<\/b><\/p>\n

Were it not for a vampire\u2019s lightning quick reflexes the black Plymouth convertible would have cause an endless array of accidents as it careened down the road at breakneck speeds. The driver, however, didn\u2019t care. He\u2019d survive most crashes and as for the humans around him \u2013 well there was only one human\u2019s well being that concerned him right now.<\/p>\n

Cordelia.<\/p>\n

Angel cursed again for leaving his phone behind. He wanted to call Wesley; he wanted to demand that he tell him it was all a mistake, a sick joke they were playing on him for being away. Anything but that it was true.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bad Angel. You need to get here now.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Wesley\u2019s words pounded in his head \u2018til he was sure the force of them would shatter his skull.<\/p>\n

Bad. What did bad mean? To Angel any<\/b> pain Cordelia was in was bad. Was this vision pain bad? Broken bone bad? Vocah bad?<\/p>\n

The car veered briefly off course as Angel contemplated and catalogued all of the possible harm that could have befallen his beautiful seer. What had he been thinking \u2013 leaving her to face the monsters in her visions alone?<\/p>\n

Sure, Wes and Gunn were there and while they could each hold their own in a fight they wouldn\u2019t be able to do that and adequately protect Cordelia. They didn\u2019t have his strength, his speed; they didn\u2019t care about her like he did. To them she was a sister, a friend. But to him she was the entire world. She was his light, his humanity, and no matter how far off atonement was he knew that Cordelia helped him find a sense of redemption everyday.<\/p>\n

His hands tightened painfully on the steering wheel as he weaved in and out of traffic conscious of nothing but the driving need to be with Cordelia and the frantic feeling that he was in a race against a clock that he couldn\u2019t afford to lose. He just needed to get there; he needed to see her. Once he was with her it would be okay; he could make things better, make her<\/b> better. He could talk to her, tell her how much he needed her, how he couldn\u2019t do this without her. Cordelia always took care of him, this wouldn\u2019t be any different; she\u2019d hear his words, the desperation in his voice and she\u2019d come back to him. It had worked before when the endless visions had wracked her body and raped her mind, it would work now.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s bad Angel. You need to get here now.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Get there now. Get there now. Angel\u2019s hand slammed against the wheel. He shouldn\u2019t have to \u201cget there\u201d he thought bitterly. He should never have been anywhere else. What the hell had he been thinking running off to Sunnydale as if he didn\u2019t have responsibilities, people who counted on him, depended on him? And what had it all been for? He hadn\u2019t helped Buffy. If anything, all the exercise in futility had shown him was that while he\u2019d always care for Buffy whatever they\u2019d had was long past. But if trying to recapture that past had cost him his future\u2026<\/p>\n

No! He couldn\u2019t think like that. Cordelia was okay. Wesley was just being dramatic. There was never a simple problem that Wes couldn\u2019t magnify into something requiring days of research followed by endless hours of lectures.<\/p>\n

Angel took a steadying breath. He\u2019d be there soon. He\u2019d walk into Cordelia\u2019s room just in time to hear her browbeating the doctors into releasing her. She\u2019d turn to him with that bright smile that meant she wanted something that he knew he\u2019d do anything to give her and she\u2019d start whining in her adorable way about going home, and even though he would know that she should probably stay he\u2019d end up taking her back to the hotel where he would watch over her, soothing his terror with the rhythmic beats of her heart and the steady sounds of her breathing.<\/p>\n

So lost was he in his fantasy world that he almost missed the large medical edifice looming before him. Pulling the wheel hard to the left the car shot across oncoming traffic accompanied by the squeal of tires and the blare of horns. The noises went unnoticed by the frenzied figure in black as his car screeched to a halt in front of the emergency room entrance and flung himself over the car door, not bothering to open it.<\/p>\n

With no regard for the injured crowding the room, Angel reached the desk commanding the instant attention of the triage nurse behind it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCordelia Chase?\u201d<\/p>\n

The harsh growl scraped like broken glass along the nerves of all who heard it. The nurse\u2019s face softened as the danger of the man before her was overwhelmed by the agony in his voice. She remembered clearly the patient to whom he was referring.<\/p>\n

Even if she didn\u2019t recall the brunette that had been brought in with, of all thing, an arrow lodged in her chest, she certainly wouldn\u2019t forget the two men who accompanied her, mad with worry much like the one standing before her now. She wondered what it was about the young woman that inspired this level of panic in the men around her.<\/p>\n

While it had been clear that, even covered in blood, the young woman was a beauty she knew that alone wouldn\u2019t explain the near hysteria of her companions. Knowing the condition in which the patient arrived she didn\u2019t even need to check the computer.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s in ICU. 4th flo-\u201c<\/p>\n

A dark blur streaked across the room and the man was gone before she could even finish.<\/p>\n

Title: Too Little, Too Late Author: SKauble Posted Here: 20 Sept 06 Email Rating: NC-17 (eventually) Category: Angst, romance Content: C\/A Summary: This…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8728","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\/8728","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=8728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goteamfiction.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

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