Disclaimer: I do not own Angel, nor do I posses any rights to it whatsoever. This story is purely for non-profit, entertainment related purposes. (Ha!! Try to sue me with a nifty disclaimer like that)

Author's note: Bear with me a moment so I can catch you up to speed. Alright, so, in my opinion, (forgive me, superfans) Angel kind of went south after Cordi got her evil on and Connor tried to kill his only remaining parent. So in this story, Cordelia is a little absent because she ascended to the Powers that be (and stayed there), and Connor got over his daddy issues, actually formed a bond with Angel, and is currently living in the hotel as a full-on member of the monster fighting squad. With me so far? I also have Faith in the mix because she decided to stay in L.A. to help out the gang. Here we go, enjoy the ride!

Chapter One:

City of Angels

The streets of Los Angeles were bustling and crowded, typical for this time of day, especially for this kind of day. The sky was clear and blue, the temperature a comfortable seventy five degrees. People flooded into every shop, purchasing gifts for upcoming birthdays and trying on trendy new clothes.

A young man crossed the intersection of seventy sixth and Blain, his pace leisure and his posture relaxed. His sleek hair, a soft shade of maple brown, blew sideways in the gentle breeze. Pedestrians rushed past him and impatient drivers honked their horns. He paid them no attention, so deep in thought that his mint green eyes were empty and unfocused. If only they all knew what he was thinking, what he was.

He didn't even know the answer to that question. He was so much more human than those he fought, yet so much more than human. His very existence went against nature.

A small, silver cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He moved towards an unoccupied bit of sidewalk to answer the call. "Yeah, hello?" he greeted the person on the other end.

"Hey, Connor, where are you?" rang a soft female voice with a slight southern accent.

"Jaxx Boulevard. Why?"

"Oh, nothing- Gunn and Wes were going to head out to Cayman's Bluff to check out that murder scene from last night, and I thought you'd like to tag along. Wes even managed to score and official-looking detective's badge. Interested?" Her voice was very sweet, and unconvincing.

"Look Fred, Wesley and Gunn are going to have to work out their issues some time, they don't need a mediator, let 'em duke it out."

"That's not funny, Connor. Wes was all broody when he came down stairs, and this hotel only has room for one Moody Man."

Connor chuckled under his breath, picturing his un-dead father scowling at his desk, dark hair sticking straight up. He could hear Fred letting out a sigh of defeat, drumming her thin fingers on whatever hard surface she was in front of. "Maybe I can get Faith to play third wheel. Oh, there she is- alright, bye."

"Oh, Fred?"

"Huh?" she asked, slightly distracted- no doubt trying to think of a way to ask their newest team member to babysit a couple of feuding guys. He guessed she would say something to the amount of "Screw that" before walking out of the room. According to her, daylight hours were a Slayer's off-time.

"My money's on Gunn."

"Bye, Connor." Click.

He smiled as placed the phone back in his pocket, and began walking back in the direction he came. He felt a little guilty for declining her request, only because he liked Fred so much, but had absolutely no interest in listening to Wesley and Gunn bicker and squabble.

The two of them had been at each other's throats for days, picking arguments over the most insignificant things imaginable. It all started a week back, when Wes hung up on a few of Gunn's old pals who had called asking for the gang's help on a vampire situation downtown. Young girls had been disappearing nearly every night, and the culprits managed to get away every time. Was defended his actions by saying that Gunn's over-zealous old crowd was only going to get them into trouble, seeing as how the police was on their tails (accusing them of gang activity and suspecting them of the crimes they were trying to stop).

Gun had been furious, knowing that his old friends were out of their league in this case, and that it would probably end badly. Wesley pointed out that the information he got from them was being put to use, and that "just because we're not working it with them, doesn't mean we're not helping." To which Gunn threw an empty peanut butter jar at him. As a result, Connor found himself going for quite a few walks.

As he rounded the corner, something, someone, crashed into him. The next thing he heard was the sound of books and papers flying everywhere, and a startled "oh!" as he stumbled forward, trying to catch his balance.

A young woman was desperately trying to cling to an armful of, well- everything. Until five steps ago, it seemed that she was loaded up with books, folders, brochures, and a shopping bag full of what looked like, not-surprisingly, more books. She bent to scoop them up, attempting to stack them up into a neat pile.

He got down on his knee and helped her collect the scattered items. "I'm sorry about that; I wasn't paying much attention to where I was going."

She looked up when he spoke, and his breath caught. She was beautiful. Not in the Cover-of-Playboy way, but warm and alluring- like the best bits of life; laughter, holidays, friendships, everything that he had missed out on funneled into one human being.

She smiled slightly, the gesture lighting up her exquisite face. Her dark brown eyes drew him in, twinkling with life. "Oh, it's fine. Two more steps and they would have come tumbling down anyway." Her tone was so light and tranquil; it was like a lullaby sung softly in his ear.

He looked down at the book in his hand, three inches thick and entitled "The Theory of Superhuman Abilities". Her other books consisted of titles such as "Inside the Mind", "Paranoid Schizophrenia", "The Supernatural: Fiction or Reality?"…

"Light reading?" he asked the girl, handing her the remaining books. She rose gracefully, slinging her bag onto her shoulder and trying to situate her enormous load.

"There was a sale down at the bookstore on 12th" she shrugged her small shoulders, looking up into his eyes. Her caramel toned light brown hair tumbled in waves past her shoulders, reflecting the glowing afternoon's sunlight and casting her in brilliant warmth. She spoke again, glancing pointedly at his shirt- which was somehow wet. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even realize. Good thing it was iced, I was considering their new Pumpkin Spiced Latte."

He looked down at his light blue cotton T-shirt, which was now covered in cold, ice-blended coffee. His mind was so absorbed in the girl in front of him, that he hadn't even noticed her empty Starbucks cup. He felt exceptionally unobservant…and a little chilly 'round the torso area.

"No, really, it's okay. I never liked this shirt anyway. Besides, you were the victim here, I bumped into you, and I got my just reward."

She smiled again, exposing a set of perfect white teeth, "Soaking it in cold water will work wonders, trust me- after three ruined sweaters, I have much experience in the area of caffeinated beverages. I'm Lana, by the way."

"Connor" he smiled as he answered, and shook himself out of the daze she was putting him in. He felt like he just got hit by a Hummer.

Lana glanced at a thin white leather watch on her left wrist, "I should get going. It was really nice meeting you, Connor. Maybe we'll run into each other again."

P.S- that Pumpkin Spiced Latte was actually just added to Caribou Coffee's menu, so- I lied. But, in my defense, Starbucks is so much more Californian.