Author's Note: This is an alternate universe where, at the end of season 3 of Angel, Connor sees Holtz's murder and instead of sinking Angel to the bottom of the ocean, he runs away in pain and confusion.

"Thank you," he said as he quickly turned his back on the trucker who had been kind enough to let him ride along for the final leg of the journey. It was different here. Before, he would have had to battle for his very life, not to mention to get transportation. All this required was asking enough times till he found the right person. It was slightly disturbing at first. He had half expected the first few rides he had hitched to turn into a trap.

"You running from something?" They would ask when they noticed that he was constantly tense. He felt like their relaxation would probably be their downfall, but he also knew that these men probably meant him no harm. Besides, the answer he gave, though true, never was enough information to lead to any harm.

"My father." His real father. Not the man he had been kidnapped and raised by, although he had begun to doubt how much raising had actually taken place. His real father. The murderer, the monster, the vampire. The man he had sworn to kill but had found himself unable to do it after the letter and the scene he had witnessed. Holtz begging Justine to frame Angel, so that, in death, he would forever poison Connor's thoughts. He shook his head and continued on his way.

At least he had finally gotten here and could forget about all of that. He didn't know too much about this land, but somehow Boston had sounded appealing. It wasn't just that it was a long way away from Los Angeles, although that was certainly nice. And it wasn't just that it was a city, and, from what he had gathered, cities were the place to disappear. He couldn't quite put his finger on why he had finally decided on Boston as his destination. Perhaps he never would, and perhaps he wouldn't stay here long anyway. All he knew was that the little money he had managed to accumulate, most of it stolen from Justine and Angel Investigations, was almost gone.

He stopped for a moment and sighed, wondering not for the first time if leaving had been such a good idea in the first place. Did he really know how to survive in this world? Looking up at the massive building across the street, the Tipton Hotel, he felt lost and alone in a world this large and confusing. Kill or be killed was so much simpler.

"Hey, Zack, look, there's an injured bird in the road." Looking over, he noticed that there was a young, blonde haired boy in the street, holding on to a bird that was very feebly flapping its wings. Zack, the boy he had been calling to, looked identical in every way except he was a few inches shorter and a few pounds heavier. Also, the other one, Zack, had an intense look of fear on his face as he yelled, "Cody, look out!"

Years later, Connor would still never be able to explain why he did it. As he followed Zack's pointing finger though, he saw the oncoming truck and saw that the boy in the road, Cody, wasn't moving out of the way. Flinging himself across the street with his greatly enhanced speed, grabbed the boy, and the two were slammed by the side of the truck as the driver swerved to avoid them. Connor's body absorbed the majority of the shock, and he and the boy were lying on the street amidst glass and metal, but otherwise unharmed from what Connor could tell. People on the streets were screaming and crowded around them, the boy in his arms was crying, and the twin brother and a woman were pushing their way through the crowd towards them.

"Oh my God, Cody, are you alright? Where does it hurt? Call an ambulance, someone, my son was hit by a car, call an ambulance!" The woman was screaming and crying. Connor guessed that this was probably the boys' mother. Another blonde haired girl started saying that they shouldn't be moved until the ambulance got there. The mother wrapped her arms around the boy and was crying as she stroked his hair. As he started to stand up, someone grabbed his arm.

"Oh, no, lay down little heroic person and wait for the ambulances." Connor was about to tell the man he was fine when all of a sudden loud sirens and flashing lights appeared near them. Two more vehicles had appeared, and a bunch of men came out with what looked like stretchers. He recognized them from what Holtz had called the makeshift one had had used to carry Holtz back to camp after he had been injured. The men lifted both him and the boy on to the stretcher with wheels and took them back to the vehicles. The mother and the other boy followed in the boy's vehicle.

He was tense almost the entire journey. The men were doing things to him, examining the few cuts he had obtained from this incident, taking notes, and they tried to put something over his mouth which he pushed away. When they stopped, the men wheeled him into a building where they did more odd things to him. Things called X-Rays, MRIs, and Cat Scans. He was 

confused, but he held back from attacking. From what little he knew of this world, he knew that these men meant him no harm.

Finally, they put him in a room with the other little boy, Cody, and his family. He laid back in the bed they had put him in and listened to the family talk.

"Sweetheart, I'm glad you're alright, but what have I told you about playing in the road?"

"Mom, I was just trying to help an injured bird. Its wing was broken! How was it supposed to get out of the way."

"You both would've been squashed if that guy hadn't come along."

"Don't ever scare me like that again." She kissed his forehead several times and, though he audibly groaned, Connor could tell that the boy didn't really mind it. It was nice watching that. A parental figure caring for her children, something Connor had been too young to ever remember having. The woman looked over towards him and smiled.

"Thank you so much for saving my son's life. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough." She tousled the boy's hair, who was know engaged in a conversation with his brother. Connor quickly remembered the etiquette he knew and offered his hand out.

"My name's Connor." The woman turned red.

"Oh my God, I'm so embarrassed. Where are my manners? I'm Carrey," she shook his hand. "The little rascal that you saved is Cody, and his twin brother is Zack." She looked over at them expectantly, and they said hello in unison. They were both watching him now. Another man walked into the room who was wearing a long white coat and had a lot of papers in front of him.



"Hello there, my name is Dr. Jacobs." He looked over at Connor who gave his name back. The doctor smiled. "That was a pretty brave thing you did. Might've killed you, but it was still pretty brave. Not many people would've jumped in front of a car for someone they didn't know." Connor silently thought that he couldn't figure out why he had done it in the first place anyway. "All the tests are back on you two, and outside of a few scrapes and bruises, you two are just fine. It looks like the driver slowed down enough to avoid doing any serious damage. However, it's hospital policy to keep you both here overnight, just in case." Cody groaned and Zack laughed at him and said something about having the "sweet all to myself tonight!" Carrey thanked the doctor, who was now looking at Connor.

"Connor, was it? You didn't seem to have any identification on you. Do you have any insurance or any I.D. at all?" He didn't know what insurance was, but he knew he didn't have any identification so he shook his head. He had been asked for that before. The doctor frowned. "We'll work something out. In the mean time, I want you two to rest. We'll check on you throughout the night, and, assuming there aren't any problems, you're both free to go in the morning." Dr. Jacobs and Carrey both stepped outside and talked in low voices. The twins looked over at Connor. Zack started asking questions.

"So, how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"What school do you go to?"

"I don't."

"Are you homeschooled?"

"No."



"Where do you live?" He didn't really have an answer for that, so he just shrugged. The boy's mother walked in. "I'm sorry, Cody, but visiting hours are over. We'll be back in the morning to pick you up. Be good." She hugged the boy and the exchanged "Love you"s.

For a while, they just sat there in silence. Finally, Cody rolled over and looked at Connor. "So, how did you do it?"

Honestly confused, Connor asked "What?"

"How did you get in front of the car in time? I had just heard Zack yell and all of a sudden you were there in the way. And I don't care what the doctor says, it didn't slow down. It plowed right into you."

Connor shrugged. "I guess I'm just lucky." Cody laughed.

"Yeah, sure. So you don't live in Boston?" Connor shook his head. "And you don't have any I.D. What are you, some super-soldier-secret-agent who's run away from the military?" Connor just looked out the window. Was the kid making fun of him? "I won't tell anyone." The boy promised and asked him if he wanted to watch television. Connor agreed, and the circumstances of his rescue or his identity didn't come up again.

As the two watched cartoons and talked, he decided that he liked the kid. He learned that Cody and his twin brother Zack were eleven. He also learned that they had just moved into that hotel and that their mom sung there as a job. And he learned that the blue cloth that Cody was holding was called "Blankie" and that it was sort of supposed to make him feel better. Connor understood. He had had a favorite knife back at home that always made him feel safer when he slept with it. Somehow, Cody didn't seem to find this quite as comforting.

Finally, Cody rolled over and bade him good night. Connor laid back and reflected on his first day in his new home.