:: Tremble
::
by Rachel
Email: rachelpeek@excite.com or MDCF@excite.com
Summary: A series of earthquakes
hit LA and Cordelia worries about Angel being alone in the Hotel. Takes place
whenever after "Epiphany" but before any major plot changes to the show.
Definitely heading in an A/C "getting it on" direction…
:: Visit my Angel site at http://www.geocities.com/underabluenight
::
Tremble: Part 1
The ground trembled in the still
of the warm L.A. am.
At first, it felt like a big truck
going by, and the sleeping Cordelia Chase turned over, ignoring it, and covered
her head with her pillow. But then the wind chimes outside began to ring in
absolute menace, and she slowly stirred. The shaking grew more violent, and
with a loud pop, the walls began to shudder, and various picture frames toppled
from their places on her nightstand. Cordelia's eyes opened wide, and she lay very
still, clutching the sheets against her and holding her breath. Very quickly it
stopped, and once it ended, its ruckus was replaced by the innate blaring of
car alarms up and down the street.
The earthquake had lasted only
seconds, and to most Southern Californians, it was insignificant. To Cordelia
Chase, it was enough to get out of bed for…she glanced at the clock…even
at 7:32 am.
She slid her white terrycloth
bathrobe on over her pajamas…if you could call them that; merely a tank top
and girly boxer shorts…then slipped on her slippers and padded out into the
living room. She dragged herself across the hardwood floor, noticing that,
besides a few askewed pictures, everything was in order; there was no permanent
damage done; and then went straight to the front door. She undid the chain lock
and flung it open wide. She stared out into the empty hallway for a few meager
seconds…apparently none of her neighbors cared to check on anyone else's
safety…before slamming it closed.
"Dennis," She groaned groggily.
The air around her surged with the ghost's energy, and she knew he was there,
listening. She shook her head in disgust and headed towards the kitchenette.
"People really suck."
During her ritual coffee and
glancing through yesterday's paper, another quake came. The aftershock seemed
worse than the original. It lasted a few seconds longer, enough time for
Cordelia to take shelter beneath the eve of the doorway to the living room, and
things seemed to sway more.
She frowned at the ceiling lamp,
swinging to and fro.
'Good thing Wes is away,' She
thought. 'He's such a wimp…"
She braced herself as the rumbling
grew suddenly worse. The walls shook very hard, and suddenly Cordelia was
scared.
And then it stopped, as abruptly
as it had come.
She moved slowly out of the safety
of the doorway and looked skeptically up at the still swaying ceiling lamp. She
decided she should get dressed, and probably go check on the office…or Angel,
seeing as she suddenly didn't really want to be alone right then.
"Good idea." She commented
herself. "Dennis, I'm going to check on Angel…I'll be back later."
She disappeared into the bedroom
and quickly changed her clothes.
Two bus stops and two blocks
later, Cordelia approached the large vintage hotel occupied by her friend…alone.
This suddenly bothered her.
She glanced sideways up at it,
suddenly seeing how really, really, really old it looked, as
opposed to the newer, and earthquake-safe, buildings in the district
surrounding it, and she found herself wondering what would happen to it if a
really BIG earthquake hit…
"Eek!" She
squealed, and ran to the front doors.
She dug quickly through her purse
to find the keys, and let herself in.
She stepped into the lobby,
closing the door behind her, then quickly crossing the tiled entry, came down
the lobby steps two at a time and looked around.
"Angel?" She called out, her voice
echoing slightly in the space. She quickly peeked into his old office and found
it empty. She came back to the center of the lobby. "Angel??? I came to check
on you…" She turned towards the stairs and cocking her head, peered up at them.
"Angel???"
"I'm coming," He called out.
Cordelia sighed slightly in relief, and a few seconds later, he appeared,
barefoot, though dressed in his usual black dress slacks and buttoning up his
long sleeved black shirt. He looked tired. "Hey," He said.
"Hey…I got worried," She glanced
around. "Did you feel it?"
"Yeah, it woke me up,"
"I don't think its safe for you to
be here." She warned.
"What? Why…" He reached the
landing and walked past her towards the office kitchen.
"Well," Cordelia started,
following on his heels. "I was walking up the street, and I kinda…looked…at
the hotel, and…" He turned to face her, putting his hands on his hips,
listening. She grimaced apologetically and smiled. "Angel…this place is a
dump."
"What!" He said. He looked around
and gestured at the ceiling. "This hotel is beautiful. It's—it's a landmark, a
part of history! It's perfect."
"Maybe for a museum," She quickly
added. He gave her a look. "But not for a home…especially not for one of my
friends."
"Cordy…" He started again towards
the kitchen.
"Angel! This is LA!"
"So?"
"SO! It's like Earthquake City
here, and I…" Glancing at the walls. "Don't think it's so up to par anymore…I
mean just look at it."
Angel humored her and looked
around.
"There's nothing wrong with it,
Cordelia,"
"Angel, it's like a million years
old!…and…and there's like a MILLION floors that could come crashing down on
your head! Think about it!" She exclaimed. Angel smirked. He was much older
than this hotel. He didn't take well to cracks about his age… Cordelia didn't
take note of his annoyance. She went on. "Imagine it, Angel! Some early
morning, not quite that different from the one today, the ground starts to
shake! You wake up in a sweat! The walls are swaying like crazy, and you sit
there helplessly in bed, watching the walls and thinking, 'You know, Cordelia
was probably right about this place…' ONLY YOU DON'T GET TO FINISH THAT THOUGHT
because BAM! A fault line opens up, and this place takes a header SMACK! Right
into the ground! And then the floors start collapsing, and then the walls, and
then the roof caves in! And…Oh my god! The SUN comes bursting through—"
"Okay, I get the point,"
"AND YOU'RE TOAST!" Cordelia
gasped, mostly for dramatic effect, and came up to stand before him. She
crossed her arms. "Angel! This place is a disaster waiting to happen! You cannot
stay here anymore, I forbid it."
"Forbid?" Angel questioned,
crossing his own arms. He glanced around uneasily though, and took what she
said to mind. "Um, maybe… Cordelia! You're getting all worked up over
nothing! I'll be fine."
"Maybe you will! But, maybe you
wont." She let her voice hint at catastrophic possibilities.
They entered the kitchen and Angel
went to the refrigerator. Cordelia slid into a chair at the table and rested
her chin on her hand.
"You want some juice?" He asked
dryly, taking his own 'juice' from the fridge (from his blood supply) and
setting it down on the counter.
"Sure."
He took out the new carton of
Minute Maid Orange Juice, which he kept on hand especially for times like
these…when Cordelia was being chatty, or when she, Wes, and Gunn were staying
late and Angel would cook them an early breakfast. He poured her a tall glass,
then emptied his packet of blood into a mug and sat down across from her. They
both drank.
"Angel," Cordelia said, adding a
little 'please' to her tone. "Don't stay here…at least not for the next few
days."
"Cordy—"
Angel was cut off by another
earthquake.
The walls started to shake again,
and surprised they both looked up.
This time, there was a thunderous
rolling involved, and Cordelia swore a freight train was about to come crashing
through the doors. The entire hotel vibrated; the glass of the doors, windows
and skylights rattled in their panes.
When it didn't slow, Angel started
to stand, holding out his hand to Cordelia. She took it quickly and he pulled
her from her seat to the kitchen doorway. The rumbling got worse.
"Angel!" Cordelia shrieked. The
whole place started pounding. He grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled
her back against him as he braced himself in the doorway. Cordelia squeezed her
eyes closed, pressing her face to his chest and clutched him.
Things started falling. Her glass
of juice rocked to its side, spilling across the table and then rolled off and
crashed to the floor. The cupboard doors rocked, swinging open, and dishes hit
the floor in a sharp clatter. All over the lobby plants fell over, lamps tipped
and broke, and books came loose from shelves. Loud snaps sounded out as some of
the tiles in the main entrance cracked apart, and the floor continued to sway
nauseatingly.
Angel grit his teeth. Cordelia's
heart was racing. He could feel it through her skin. He tucked his chin against
her head and promised her it'd be okay.
"Don't worry, it should stop
soon,"
"I hope so!"
Just when they began to doubt his
words, after a final rumble and a rolling snap, the earth grew still again.
Angel still held Cordelia
protectively, but his grip on her loosened. She, however, still clutched
frantically to his shirt. She opened her eyes and peeked out. Angel raised his
head and carefully looked around.
The damage wasn't as bad as it
could have been.
Slowly he released her, and with
careful steps, came out of the kitchen to investigate. Cordelia followed him on
shaky legs, taking deep, needed breaths, trying to calm herself down.