A New Beginning

Written by: Sensue

August 13, 2003

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Angel: the series or Buffy: the Vampire Slayer.

I'm just using them for enjoyment purposes. I really want them, though, if you'd care to

sell them to me. I promise that I would not do horrible story lines.

Summary: Angel Investigations has just got a little bigger. (Angel/Cordy)

Notes:

I hate Angel: Season Four, so I'm ignoring that any of the very icky things that happened.

(NO Cordy/Connor, NO Evil Cordy, NO bad Wesley, NO working at Wolfram and Hart.)

I'm truly hoping that putting Spike in Season Five will make the shows funnier than they

have been. I can't wait.

Backstory:

In LA: Angel got rescued from the bottom of the ocean by Wesley, who they forgave and

let back into Angel Investigations. Cordelia returned from the higher planes, with her

memory in tact, and helped everyone get over the horrible betrayals of Wesley and

Connor. Angel and Cordy realize that they are in love and are unable to be together.

In Sunnydale: Buffy and the newly created band of slayers defeated the first as shown in

the last episode (Chosen), Spike dying to save everyone as a champion. Buffy takes the

Scooby Gang and the girls to another area to train and teach them to "save the world."

Faith and Robin Wood are now in a relationship and decide to work with Angel instead

of going with Buffy.

PS: This story is not beta'd. All mistakes are my own. (Hopefully very few, if you catch

any major ones, please let me know.)

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Chapter One:

A day in the life

It was peaceful outside in the gardens. The scent of

jasmine, freshly blooming in the cool night air. So

peaceful one could almost forget about the horrors that

live outside of their sanctuary. Hand-in-hand, no words

were necessary as they gazed in each others eyes. Years

together had taught them that words were inadequate to

describe the love they felt for one another. Passion rose

as eyes locked on lips. Slowly they crept forward to meet

for a kiss. Each anticipating the pleasure.

Crash.

Crack.

Bang.

As one of the windows of the Hyperion Hotel was demolished

as Spike, AKA William the Bloody, was thrown out, landing

ten feet away from the happy couple.

"Robin! Gunn!" Cordy screamed, "Stop ganging up on William!

You both better stop, Right this second!" She and Angel ran

over to William to see if he was okay. Cordelia Chase-Angel

or Cordy, as everyone called her, knelt beside William, as

she loved to call him, and gently ran her hands over the

many small cuts on his face and neck. "Oh, William," she

spoke fondly, "What happened this time?"

William took her hands in his and kissing the pulse-point

on her wrists told her that he was alright. At first, the

idea of a vampire kissing so an area that they could feed

from was alarming, however Cordy realized that it was about

trust. That she could trust William not to bite her. "It's

okay, Princess. The pompass jackasses will get over it."

"Spike, this has got to end. We've got to work together

here. The children will get upset. The others don't know

who to defend. It's chaos. I have a business and my family

to think of. If these fights don't stop, I might have to

ask you to leave. I don't want to have to: we need another

champion fighting the "good-fight", but unfortunately,

Wesley, Fred, Lorne, Gunn, Robin and Faith arrived before

you did." Angel lectured.

"Bloody hell, sire. I'm trying here. It's them, the two

'baldies' that have decided that I'm still a 'Bad Man'. I'm

not, you know, ever since I got my soul back. I've really

been trying not to hurt anyone. They're just pushing my

buttons."

"Don't worry. I'll talk to them." Cordy said quietly. Not

quiet because she was upset, but quiet in the dark and

deadly way. She had that glint in her eyes. Angel called

that look the mother bear from hell look. "I will not let

them hurt you again." They all walked into the hotel and

stood right in front of the stairs.

"Gunn! Robin! Get you asses down here. NOW! Don't make me

come up there."

____________________

Chapter Two:

Memories

Angel just stood on the sidelines, watching his wife work.

It was amazing. For once it seemed that everything in his

life was perfect. His son, Connor, now a strong young man

of twenty years had settled down from this wild tendencies

and truly become of the the Power that Be's or PTB's

greatest champions. Instead of trying to kill each other,

his son now asked for his advice, had come to HIM and

talked about his feelings, instead of just expressing them

in violence.

All it took was one woman, his Cordy. She, after she

returned form the higher planes, a part-demon/ seer/

warrior/ princess of a hell dimension, found Connor and

comforted him as a mother. He found acceptance for once in

his life, from a woman he was ashamed to say he'd once

tried to kill because she was a demon.

Connor had once told Angel that he was happy that his

father was happy with Cordelia, of course that was right

before he'd sunk him to the bottom of the ocean for three

months; But Angel still took it to heart. His son was happy

that Cordy was a "mother-figure."

Angel was slowly realizing that his "un-life" was

incomplete without Cordy in it. The only problem lie in the

curse, the happiness clause. He could not be with Cordelia

or any other woman for that instance, not that he'd want

to… Even his thoughts were becoming stammer-y, he was a big

dork. Even if he said, what the hell, I don't care, Let's

be together anyway, she wouldn't allow it. "I've seen the

horrors Angelus caused. I don't want to be the cause of

releasing him into the world again, Angel. I'm so sorry,

but I love you enough not to let myself get too close."

He ached to have her in his arms. To give her pleasure and

make her happy as she would make him, but fear held them

back.

Until…Fate stepped in. Or should I say Faith.

____________________

Chapter Three:

Faith

Faith, along with her new (first actual) boyfriend Robin

Wood, former principal of Sunnydale High and son of a

slayer, asked Angel for a job at Angel Investigations.

Angel, always looking for a way to help Faith, once of the

slayers, on her quest for redemption, immediately agreed.

In a way, she reminded him of himself, on the edge between

good and evil.

It was not a happy couple of weeks getting adjusted to the

new couple. First, they decided to move in, which usually

wasn't a problem because the hotel was huge, but the "mad

loud sex" as Faith put it pissed off the occupants mainly

Angel, Cordelia, Lorne, Connor and Fred. It also made it a

lot harder to control the Animal Passions. Secondly, Robin

was used to being in charge, similarly to Gunn when he

first arrived to Angel Investigations, and would argue with

Angel and Wesley constantly. Finally, Angel had to let him

know who was the boss.

In a way, Angel was grateful that Buffy, Dawn and the rest

of the Scooby Gang had taken the younger, new slayers

elsewhere to train. Angel almost had a coronary, well he

would have if his heart would beat, just thinking about all

of those teenage girls living in his home. Whew.

A year ago, Faith was out one night on patrol when she

spotted two demons conducting some kind of ritual in the

old abandoned train yard. Her first instinct was to kill,

but due to the control exercises taught by Angel and Wesley

and the lectures about "All demons aren't bad" speech by

Cordy, she quickly squashed it. Instead, she pulled out a

company cell-phone, called for back-up, and watched the two

demons. It was a strange ritual. There was very little

blood letting that usually accompanied demon rituals. No

sacrifice, screaming or killing in this ritual. It was

almost boring to Faith to watch.

The entire gang pulled up behind on of the trains in what

they all jokingly, quaintly called the "Angel-mobile". They

also joined the "stakeout" information gathering mission.

Wesley spoke up. "Angel, those demons are conducting a

binding ritual, essentially a wedding."

"No way," Connor, in that teenaged sarcasm replied.

All of a sudden, the chanting stopped and a flash of white

light surrounded the couple. They turned, and saw their

tails, tails as in spies behind them. Before Angel and the

others could pull out their weapons, Wesley raised a hand

in the air and spoke softly, "We mean no harm. We were just

observing, I hope you don't think us rude."

It was strange how the man who had betrayed Angel and the

rest of the Fang Gang, as they jokingly called themselves,

could revert back to a good friend, one who out of deeds

and action proved himself one of the Angel Investigation

team. After a few months, he was promoted back to one of

the leaders under Angel and Cordy. Fred was still too

docile to consider leading and Gunn too spontaneous.

Wesley, due to his days translating demon texts at the

Watchers' Academy spoke their language and inquired about

the ceremony. After about fifteen minutes of asking

questions, he looked up with a huge face-splitting smile

and told everyone that Angelus would never again be a

problem in their lifetimes.

____________________

Chapter Four:

Happy Days are Here Again

"What, how, huh?," seemed to be the questions that popped

out of everyone.

"Well, it seems that the rings that the demon bride and

groom are wearing link soul-mates together for as long as

they live. There is a catch however, if ever one of the

partners strayed away from the other, the bond would be

severed and the souls could never again be bound to

another. Once the bond is broken, it could never be

replaced or rejoined again. It also only links soul-mates,

those not destined to be together cannot be joined. In your

case, Angel, it could allow you to experience 'perfect

happiness' and keep your soul without fear of Angelus,"

Wesley finished.

It was a strange moment, the night air seemed to shimmer,

the others practically bouncing with excitement. Everyone,

but Cordy, who looked stricken. Once she seemed to find her

voice, she put on a fake smile and said, "Oh,

congratulations Angel. We call call Buffy right away.

She'll be ecstatic. You'll finally get to be together."

Angel just looked at her. Her eyes were watery. "I'm so

happy for you."

Now, Angel had met a lot of people in his life, but none as

clueless as Cordy was about his feelings for her. "No,

Cordy. Buffy is, was with Spike. She doesn't want me in her

life. I don't want her in my life anymore. I want you."

Angel couldn't stand it anymore. He got down on one knee as

he asked, "Cordy, Will you please marry me?"

He unnecessarily held his breathe waiting for her answer.

She looked at him with bright shiny eyes. Tears had finally

spilled over. "Oh. Angel, Yes, I will. I love you so much.

I was just afraid the second that you could be with

someone, you'd leave me and run to Buffy, your first love."

Angel couldn't say anything. He just reached out and held

her, whispering in her ear that he loved her more than he

ever loved another woman.

The events that followed were like a haze. They asked the

demon newlyweds to help their fellow part-demons to marry.

The ceremony was beautiful, well as beautiful and a train

yard could be, as the night sky filled with white lights.

From that night on, as long as they were faithful, the

rings would never be able to come off. For as long as Cordy

lived, the threat of Angelus wouldn't haunt them.

____________________

Chapter Five:

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes…

Nine months after the blessed event, another miracle

happened with the name of Cathy Lucy Angel, Angel and

Cordy's baby daughter. Connor was overjoyed to have a baby

sister. He doted on her and promised to teach her

everything that he knew. Cordy and Angel now had a son and

a daughter. They both loved their daughter. Cordy

especially loved having a little girl around the house. So

did Angel for that matter. It was just a matter of time

before Cordy made Angel forget his stupid idea. There was

no way a daughter of Cordelia Chase-Angel would be placed

in a convent. "No way in Hell."

Spike unexpectedly arrived right before the birth. It seems

that the PTBs sent down a champion to protect the baby. Now

was the small matter of getting along without trying to

stake the vampire.

Cordy seemed to be the only one who truly understood him

and loved him for who he was. She called him her brother-

in-law. She also never called him Spike, for he was always

her William. And he too loved her as a sister, calling her

Princess and giving her kisses on the cheek and wrists.

Angel fought with Spike at first, but after being glared at

by his beautiful bride, just stopped trying. He knew that

she would always be faithful to him and he to her, no

matter how Spike kissed her.

____________________

Chapter Six:

A New Era

Cordelia was getting back into lecture mode, warning the

two not to mess with William anymore. After five minutes,

Gunn and Robin had glazed over eyes. The Princess in Cordy

would not allow them to ignore her and smacked each on the

head. "Pay attention, Don't mess with William."

William, who held his tiny protectorate, Cathy, in his arms

looked very mischievous. "I'm sorry, luv. I'll try harder

not to make fun of the bald nancy boys." This earned him a

smack on the head, lightly of course, not to wake the

sleeping 'bity bit', as William never failed to call her.

Everyone smiled, knowing they couldn't stay mad with such a

cute baby in front of them.

It was a new era of Angel Investigations. One with an even

bigger family than expected. The future seemed so

wonderful and full with joy, hope, and faith. All of these

things now became a part of the business motto; One of the

three number one priorities of redemption.

The End.

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Well, I hoped that you liked this story. It's the first fan

fiction that I've ever written. I've always had ideas, but

this was the only one that has ever made it down on paper.

If you have any suggestions for the next story, please

email me: angelcordyfan@yahoo.com