Family
Chapter 1
This is a 'what if' story that happens sometime after the team return from Pylea and Fred has settled down and Angel has found out that Buffy isn't dead. It's just a bit of fun and is very fluffy. This story isn't for those who want full on action. It's my first story. Thanks to Oddments and Tweaks (Mission 2110) for giving me the courage to publish. I hope you enjoy it.
Los Angeles was so busy. The conference had finished and I had two days until the return flight. I think it was the union's way of saying thank you because the conference had been in the school holidays and I had given up five days of my precious time with the family to go on the conference at the last minute. I wasn't the school rep. but Sarah had become ill and I said I would stand in for her on the booking form – not thinking that I would actually have to go. Still I had my shopping list. Beth was so easy going, she didn't mind if I didn't bring anything for her but of course I would. My eldest daughter was by far the easiest to buy for - a rainbow hippy, battle re enactor with a passion for archaeology, what could be simpler! Kate knew exactly what she wanted. Once she knew which hotel I was staying in she had researched which mall was closest, found the shop she wanted and checked if the basketball boots she loved were in stock, which they were. Liam wanted any official merchandise from the Lakers and Finn said he would like a selection of Marvel Comics. David said that he would just pay for it all. I love my husband!
People from the conference dispersed and I was left on my own to shop. The Mall had late shopping so I wandered over to find the presents. I must have taken longer than I thought because by the time I had bought the last present, my feet were killing me and the Mall was looking quite deserted. Somehow this made me feel uneasy and I really wanted to get back to the hotel, have a bath and go to sleep. I was walking out of the entrance, ready to cross the road when something brushed my sleeve; it was vaguely human shaped so being British I mumbled, "Sorry." A distinctly non-human face turned round to look at me,
"It's OK," it said and moved away.
"Oh…" I whispered and stopped. I wasn't sure what had happened. At that moment I was violently pushed from the back by something else that was running really quickly passed me. I lost my balance and ended up sprawled on the floor. The sound of running footsteps came closer and then suddenly stopped.
"Are you OK?" An American voice asked (What else as I was in America? But with the experience I had just had I didn't know what to expect!) however this one seemed so familiar. A hand was stretched out to help and as I got up I looked into very familiar face,
"Liam!" I gasped
"Clare?" Came the reply.
"Oh sorry," I apologised, "I thought you were my son, hang on how did you know my name?"
The tall, handsome, dark haired man stood infront of me.
"I'm not sure," he looked at me, "I thought you were someone I knew a very long time ago."
"In Galway?" my mouth seemed to have a mind of its own as I hadn't intended to say that, I just blurted it out.
It was as though he was in a freeze frame; he stopped deadly still and then looked at me.
"Who are you?" he asked slowly. (The sensible side of my brain was telling me to back away and return to the hotel. The other side of my brain was now hooked and wanted to know more. It won.)
"Clare Kerrigan, and you?"
"My name is Angel."
"Is that anything to do with Angelus?" I replied almost knowing the answer. I could tell by the look on his face that there was something, something that had stirred within him and that something was stirring in me too.
"How…who are you..?"
"I'm someone who is tired and desperate for a cup of tea." I replied. I thought for a moment, "Look, my hotel is across the road, why don't you come with me and we can have a chat?" (The sensible part of my brain was screaming 'What inviting a man up to your room, you stupid woman!' and the other side of my brain knew I would be always safe with this man.)
"Yes," he replied, almost seeming to be having the same battle with himself." Let me help you" He picked up my parcels and we walked together to the edge of the road. It was very busy and I naturally held his hand, which was surprisingly cold.
"Sorry," I apologised, "It drives Liam and Finn and Kate mad but not Beth as she's so laid back – it's a Mum thing"
"That's OK," he smiled, and didn't draw his hand away. We crossed the road and walked into the hotel and up to my room. After some negotiation with the door key I went into the room and put my parcels down. "Come on in," I said, seeing him still standing in the doorway, "and I'll put the kettle on." Angel walked in and put the rest of the parcels on the table with the others and came over to me and helped me off with my coat. He put it on the bed and noticed the picture of my family. There was a picture of David and me with the children. A very relaxed picture, we were all laughing – I remember I said something really stupid and everyone laughed - Beth and Kate were sitting infront of David and Liam and Finn were infront of me. Angel saw my blond girls and dark haired boys. Although Finn and Liam were identical twins, there was something about Liam, the expression on his face that was mirrored in the man looking at his picture.
"Liam," I said, " fourteen, gorgeous and drives me mad, just like his brother, as any fourteen year old would, Beth is twenty-one and Kate is sixteen very good big sisters to the boys and Beth is such a wonderful older sister to them all."
"Beth looks so like you."
"Yes, she does, so does Kate a bit, but don't ever say that to her or she will never forgive you, when you are sixteen, it is not cool to be told you look like your mum. But…" I said pausing, "Why do you look so like my sons?"
"Let's have tea," he suggested, which I made and we sat down on the sofa.
He picked up the picture and brought it over to the sofa.
"You look such a happy family." he smiled.
"We are, we are very lucky, I have a wonderful husband whom I love very much and four great children who give me so much pleasure. They also get on with each other really well most of the time, and always have done. I'm really proud of them."
"It's so wonderful to hear that. You must be great parents."
"Well we have always tried to give time to them although we both work. We have made the effort to be there for them and I teach so I've always had the holidays with them and infact they came to the school I teach at, I taught them all. We treat them all as individuals, especially Liam and Finn; they may look alike, but they have very different personalities and needs. Finn is very like Beth, easy going and full of fun, Liam is much more deep and can be dark and brooding sometimes who needs his space and when you are an identical twin, that can be very hard – Finn places no demands on him, but most other people see them as, 'The Kerrigan twins.' Liam and Kate are very good together they can spend the entire day in the same room without acknowledging each other whereas Beth and Finn would crack within ten minutes and have to speak!"
We both took a drink of tea and made the same satisfied noise which made us both laugh at the same time. There was something so familiar about this man, I couldn't help smiling. Angel put his cup down.
"How did you know about Galway?" he asked.
"Well," I started, "How about I tell you everything I know and you tell me what you know." He smiled at me which I took to be a yes and so I took a deep breath and started.
"In 1747 my family lived in Galway. There was a plague, it began with Liam the son of Jonathon and Mary and the only person who was not struck down with the illness was Clare O'Malley. "
"Clare!" whispered Angel, he seemed as though his thoughts were far away and then he snapped out of it, "Apologies, please carry on."
"She had married Martin Brewster who was living in England. They travelled around Europe for a while with his job as he was a journalist, they heard that a Mr Angelus was looking for them, but they never met. They came to England where they settled down and had a family, and lo and behold, we are the latest generation"
"How do you know all this?" he asked
"Clare kept a diary which we have at home, and I also have this."
I went over to the drawer by the bed and took out a small box. I brought it over to Angel and showed it to him. Very carefully he opened the box.
"I carry it everywhere with me."
"No!" He whispered.
"What is it?" I asked
"Inscribed inside it are the words, 'Clare my angel'"
Now it was my turn to gasp and sit down.
"How…..."
Angel looked me straight in my eyes and said simply. "Because I gave it to her."
My mouth opened, I thought I was going to say something but just opened and closed my mouth like a gold fish. Inside my hand was the silver locket with a sapphire inside it with, 'Clare my angel' inscribed in there. The locket had been handed down from each generation along with the diary.
"So, so …..so you are saying you are Liam?"
"Yes,"
"The Liam from the eighteenth century." It was a statement rather than a question.
"Yes."
"How?" My stomach was churning with panic, but my heart was racing with anticipation. My brain was still working out what I should say. It decided nothing.
"It's a long story."
"I have two days"
He took a deep breath and started. "I was the only son of my mother and father and I was a great disappointment to them. My father was very strict and expected me to be perfect. When I didn't come up to his expectations he punished me. As I grew I began to think that I was no good to anybody and that I deserved to be punished for making my parents disappointed with me. I began to annoy him deliberately, taking all the consequences. The only person to help and stand up for me was Clare, my aunt, my mother's youngest sister. She was only four years older than me and would stand up to my father, some times saving me from a thrashing, sometimes receiving one herself if she got in my father's way. I loved Clare. She was gentle and kind and always saw the good in me. Which I never did. I was a waster but she never gave up on me. I became a frequent visitor to the inns and would sometimes stay with Clare until I was in a fit state to go home. Sometimes she would hide me from my father when he was after me with a horse whip in his hand. But even Clare couldn't save me from myself. She couldn't prevent me from meeting Darla and being turned."
"Into what?" I asked astonished at the story.
"A vampire."
"A vampire?" I said wondering what he was talking about – Bella Lugosi. Dracula?
('I'm not listening' the sensible part of my brain interrupted.)
"Let me finish and then you can ask all the questions you want." He smiled at me but I knew that this was a very hard decision he had made to tell me.
"Sorry, carry on."
"Darla turned me into a vampire, and I became Angelus. The first act I performed was to kill my family, and I would have killed Clare had she not been visiting friends in the country. Darla and I moved on around Ireland and then into Europe. I remember trying to contact Clare but we always seemed to miss her and her husband. It nearly became an obsession to find her. We killed and tortured and maimed until a gypsy curse gave me a soul. I saw what I had done and have been trying to atone for it ever since. Clare was the one true friend I had in the world. She was my angel. So I became Angel to try and become that person she hoped and prayed I would be." He paused for an instant as he had been telling the story he had been staring into space and then looked into my eyes. "And you look so like her and when I saw Beth – she was just as I remember Clare."
I just looked at him. I saw my Liam, and how did he know about the inscription? Only the family did. How could this be true? But in my heart of hearts I knew it was, I felt a bond with him. I couldn't explain it I suppose I needed time, but I did believe him.
"Angel, this may seem really strange, but I somehow do believe you. Are you really a vampire and have been around since the eighteenth century?"
"Yes."
"Could you show me?" (The sensible part of my brain was now going into panic attack mode; the other part was filled with wonder. Guess which one won.)
"Come with me." He walked toward the bathroom where there was a full length mirror.
I followed him in, he should have been infront of me in the mirror but all I could see was myself. As I reached out to touch his arm, in the mirror I could see my arm lifting and touching nothing- whereas I could seem him infront of me and my arm resting on his - I felt really light headed.
"I have to sit down." before I knew what was happening, he lifted me up and sat me back down on the sofa. He got me a drink of water.
"God you must be strong to lift me up." I joked.
"You are as light as a feather."
"I love you." I smiled.
"Do you know what this means?" he asked.
"No."
He spoke very slowly but with real passion. "I'm no longer on my own, I have real blood family, after all these years. " He was smiling and looked really like Finn now – he continued getting faster, "I want you to meet my friends, the family I have around me, we work together and I want them to meet you. Is that alright?"
"Yes, of course, but you'll have to give me a little while to come to terms with the fact that suddenly I have a new….nephew? Cousin? The children will love it!" I was now beaming. He smiled at the thought of having more relations.
"Can I ask you what it means to be a vampire in 2009?"
"Do you know that's the first time anyone has asked me that, they just assume things about me. I do drink blood, but pig's blood. I have no breath and my heart doesn't beat. I do bleed but I heal very quickly. I have to stay out of direct sunlight or I will burn up and I can be killed by having a wooden stake thrust into my heart or be decapitated. I cannot enter someone's house unless I am invited. I am stronger than I was when I was human and I will age only very, very slowly. I have no reflection in a mirror. Apart from that I'm a normal guy. I am a private investigator trying to keep the city free of demons that want to hurt people, I live in the Hyperion hotel with Cordelia, Wesley, Fred and Gunn and sometimes Lorne who is a green skinned empathy demon and is a good guy."
My head was spinning and finally gave up when he said demon as though it was normal. But I was buzzing with excitement.
"Now will you do something for me, will you tell me about your family? I want to know about your husband and your children."
"Yes of course, try to stop a proud mum from talking about her children, so David and I have been married for twenty eight years and I love him now more than ever." I talked and talked about how David and I met, what we did, how I was always getting myself into stupid situations, the children growing up, the fun we had the holidays, the sports, drama, dance the antics the kids got up to, the friends everything.
As I was talking, Angel was so attentive, listening and laughing about the family, asking questions, really getting to know his new family.
I happened to glance at the clock at it said 3.00am.
"I must get some sleep," I yawned.
"I am so sorry, I'll go"
And then I heard my self say, "There's no need, we can both crash on the bed, its big enough, come on."
(The sensible side of my brain had given up at this point and just wanted to go to sleep too.)
We slipped off shoes and got into the bed, just putting the covers over. He puffed the pillows up and put his arm out. I snuggled up to his chest and he put his arm around me. I felt safe, like when I was with David.
"You smell like Clare." he whispered.
"Is that good?" I asked.
"Very."
With that I snuggled down some more and drifted off to sleep.
I woke up lying on something that wasn't a pillow, and then I remembered.
"Angel!"
"Yes, I'm here"
"Oh good it wasn't a dream. Oh God did I dribble or snore" I asked mortified that our first few hours together proved to be one of loud snoring and dribbling!
"No, you were very quiet; I just listened to your heart beating and your rhythmical breathing. It was very comforting. It made me think of some of the happy times I had with Clare, the picnics, the walks, the jokes. I haven't had those thoughts for many, many years, you have woken something in me that I thought was long forgotten and gone. Thank you so much." and he kissed me on the forehead.
I sat up. "If you give me fifteen minutes I'll get ready and we can go and visit your friends." I stopped, "Oh, I'm sorry, we can't because its daylight and you could go poof… sorry I didn't mean that." I was now squirming.
"Don't worry," he smiled, "there are ways of getting around LA during the day without me coming into direct contact with the sun."
I showered and got ready.
"You were quick," he smiled, "how did you do that so quickly and look so great?"
It was my turn to smile, "Thanks." I could feel myself getting rather red.
"Come on," he said.
Before I knew it we were down in the lift, down in the basement and travelling along a very large sort of tunnel system. It was dark and I was holding onto Angel's hand very tightly.
"Do you travel this way much?" I whispered.
"Yes all the time and why are you whispering?" He asked.
"In case anything hears us."
"Are you frightened?"
"A little." I said honestly.
He put his arm around me. "There's no need to be I can't smell anything."
We had been walking for some time when Angel announced, "Here we are."
I was climbing a ladder into a basement and then climbing stairs and found myself in the hall of a hotel. I was still holding on to Angel's hand when he led me into the foyer. There was a group of young people and one green skinned person with horns. I squeezed Angel's hand tighter, he looked at me and smiled, "Come on." he encouraged. "Meet my family."
"Hey, Angel" a tall black man came over, "Who do you have with you?"
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Clare, from England, she's my cousin."
"Hello." I smiled.
Everyone looked stunned. The younger woman with long hair came over and held out her hand.
"Hi pleased to meet you, I' m Fred, well Winifred, but everyone calls me Fred."
I shook her hand, "Hello."
Everyone came over and said Hello – Wesley, Cordelia, Gunn and Lorne. When he held my hand he smiled, "It's all true, sweet cheeks, she is simply dripping with the old Angel genes, a real member of your family."
"How?" asked Cordelia who liked to be called Cordy.
"Let's have coffee and doughnuts and I'll explain," said Angel. Gunn and Fred went off to get the supplies.
Soon we were all chatting and Angel and I filled everyone in.
"Wow!" said Gunn. "More Angels!" he turned to me, "give me five." Which I obligingly did, "She's cool," announced Gunn.
"You have four children and look at your skin" said Cordy, "How do you do it, you look great"
"Thanks," I said, "its luck, nothing else."
Angel had brought the photo of the family to show and I said that he could keep it as I had about a million at home. He seemed really touched and immediately went into the office and put it on his desk.
I talked to Wesley and Cordy informed me that he used to be a Watcher, which was to do with guiding the Vampire Slayer of which there is only one at a time in the whole world. Except there were two at the moment. He had been a watcher of Faith, but was now retired and there was also a Vampire Slayer called Buffy who was still alive and who had fallen in love with Angel.
"But," I said, "If she was a Vampire Slayer isn't that rather odd…?"
"Oh tell me about it," interrupted Cordy who then began to tell me the story of Angel and how Buffy and Angel slept together and how he lost his soul and Angelus came and then Buffy killed him and sent him to hell and how Angel came back and they fought the First and how Angel and Buffy could not be together and how Angel left and came to Los Angeles and how Buffy stayed in Sunnydale which was on top of a hell mouth and Faith was in prison after being rogue and Angel visited her.
"Stop!" I gasped, "Have to take a brain break." (The sensible part of my brain had got lost when I walked into the foyer!) They all smiled.
"Yesterday I was Clare Kerrigan, wife and mum, teacher and conference delegate, today I have a new family and am listening to stories of Vampires and Slayers as though it's the most normal thing in the world!" They all laughed.
"I tell you what, why don't I show you around the hotel," said Lorne and then we can have lunch and go to Caritas, my bar for a good old sing along." (The sensible part of my brain had given up and now just went along with the flow.) The fact that I was agreeing to wander around the hotel with a green demon seemed perfectly fine to me. Lorne was so lovely and we had a great talk. He spoke of his family in another dimension and his descriptions made me laugh. The team had visited that dimension to rescue Cordy and had found Fred who was a physicist and who was really an important member of the team. I told him about my family and the children and what they were up to. We must have spent a good hour wandering around until Angel came to get us to say Fred and Cordy had done some sandwiches.
We all chatted and ate. Everyone was in such good spirits. Cordy said that she hadn't seen Angel this relaxed for a very long time.
As it was getting dark, Lorne said that we should be getting along to Caritas. We went down into the basement and I thought that we would be walking through tunnels again, but there was a huge black car which everyone got into, I sat in the front with Angel and Gunn. It was so amazing, the top was down and it was just like being in a film you see in the 1960's of driving up and down the street along with lots of other cars.
"Clare," Lorne turned to me. "In my bar, anyone is welcome, so you will see all manner of people and demons in there, no harm can come to you because no violence can take place in Caritas, you will be safe. Plus you have Angel."
"Oh yes," said Angel, "You are not leaving my side."
He parked the car and we went in. It was an amazing place beautifully decorated and as we walked down the steps there was a feeling of peace and calm.
"If I have my mouth open, will you tell me?" I asked Angel, holding on to his arm.
"Of course," he laughed, putting his arm around me. We sat down at a table and Angel bought a round of drinks. I had a cocktail which tasted amazing and made my teeth feel slightly numb, I thought I would go slowly as I wasn't sure how long I would be there. There were all sorts of weird and wonderful sights in the bar. Some human, some demon with an assortment of scales, horns, colours, wings and body piercings. 'If only the kids could see me now' I thought to myself.
"So what are you going to sing?" asked Gunn.
"Sing!" I panicked.
"Everyone does a little karaoke here."
"Come on little lady," Lorne held his hand out to me and I got onto the stage with him. (The sensible part of my brain just liked the cocktail and ignored what I was going to do.) We sang, "Bye Bye love," together, he had such a good voice and then I sang, "Matty Groves," on my own. After I finished there was much clapping and a couple of red skinned demons came up to me crying, saying how much they liked it.
"Well thank God you don't sing like Angel," laughed Gunn.
Lorne came up to me and hugged me and he looked at Angel and said, "She has the pure soul, a truly happy and fulfilled individual who has such a contented life – only mild angst that is usually teenager related!"
Angel grinned at me and hugged me. "Clare used to sing that song when she was doing work around the house as you were singing I could see her in her blue apron sweeping the floor. It was so clear. I am so pleased we met."
"So am I," I smiled.
The rest of the night was filled with laughter, tales of Team Angel, recounts of my family life and just lots of jokes and cocktails. By the time we finished I was not drunk, but I certainly had had quite a few and was feeling very merry. We all piled into the car and Angel said, "Why don't you come and stay at the Hyperion for the night and you can return to your hotel tomorrow?"
("Yay!" shouted the sensible side of my brain.)
When we got to the hotel Angel showed me up to a bedroom and I must have fallen asleep instantly.
The next morning I was woken by my phone buzzing. Angel was sitting in the chair next to the bed. He must have been there all night. There were several messages.
The text was from Kate. 'Where's my black T shirt?'
The text from Finn 'Can I go to the basketball mini tournament in Sheffield?'
The text from Liam 'Have you seen my Biology coursework memory stick?'
The text from Beth, 'Have you seen my passport?'
I showed Angel who laughed especially when I texted back, 'Ask Dad, he's the parent who isn't in America. Love you all.'
A few minutes later there was a text from David, one word was on the screen, 'Help!' it said.
We laughed even louder.
I rang David and explained where everything was. I also told him about meeting a cousin and I had been spending time with him. David responded that I should invite Angel over to meet the family. Angel's reply was that it would be easier if we all came over to meet him and he would pay for the family to come. From nowhere a chorus of shouts yelled, "Yes please!"
"I thought I was talking to Mum," David called.
"Sorry!" apologised Beth
"But can we still go?" asked Liam.
"We'll see." replied David.
"Please Daddy."
"Kate, you know the Daddy thing doesn't work."
"Please Daddy."
"Finn!"
"Well if she can do it so can I."
"It doesn't work for either of you!" David pretended to be cross but the children knew he was only joking.
"Kids," I laughed.
"1, 2, 3 …Come home soon Mum!" they all shouted down the phone.
"See you tomorrow – Love you all!"
There was silence for a few moments.
"I don't want you to go." Angel said quietly. "I've only just got used to meeting you."
"I know," I replied. "But we will now be able to keep in touch and it looks as though my children have decided where we are spending the last couple of weeks of the summer holiday, it beats the camping trip to Devon we were planning. You will be so busy with them all around you; I tell you this hotel will not be large enough for the Kerrigan Family!"
I thought for a while and then asked, "What shall we tell them about you? The truth?"
"I should think that the truth is the best."
"The children will be perfectly fine with it."
"But…?"
"I'm not sure what David will think as I know he will want to make sure that the children are safe. I know they will be – but I have to convince David."
"I'll help you Clare, I'll talk to him with you."
We went down and had some breakfast. Angel said he wanted to go out for a while but would be back within an hour.
Lorne was in the foyer and I wandered over to him and sat down with a cup of coffee. "You know, sweetie," he smiled, "it's been a long time since I've seen Angelcakes so contented. I think you have really made him feel that he isn't alone any more."
"I'm so pleased to have met him and for him to be a part of my life, my history and I can't wait for him to see my family. But..." I paused. "He has such a wonderful family here in LA."
Lorne smiled his fantastic smile that lit up his face.
"Yes family is very important and I've been looking at yours, what good looking boys, so like Angel, I can't believe it, and those girls I'm sure they are going to be heart breakers."
"Well," I said, "our girls are certainly a force to be reckoned with, like their brothers they are black belts at Taekwondo, Beth is a Battle re enactor and has a sword and axe in her room. Kate, Liam and Finn play basketball for national leagues – we are always so busy."
"And how long have you been married?"
"Twenty eight years – it's passed so quickly. David is such a great dad and a patient and wonderful husband."
"Oh I know," added Lorne "It was oozing out of you when you were singing. Nice choice of song, it's the first time we have had that one. Why did you choose it?"
"I always loved the song, I heard it when a band called Fairport Convention sang it in the 1970's and I did some research on it, it dates back to the 1600's. It just sort of popped into my head. I find it amazing that Angel heard Clare O'Malley sing it too."
Angel appeared with bags and bags. "I just thought I would buy the family some presents for you to take back with you."
We spent some time looking at all the wonderful things Angel had bought for the children. He had even bought a bottle of Malt Whiskey for David and finally he gave me a small box. Inside it was a silver locket with an aquamarine in it – which was my birthstone – and it said 'Clare, my angel.' I felt tears welling up in my eyes and I just went over and hugged Angel very tightly. "September was Clare O'Malley's birthday and so I bought her a sapphire, I wanted you to have your own."
A travel bag was found to put all the presents in and I was very sad to say goodbye to everyone. But at least I knew that I would be seeing them in August which was only a few months away.
Angel carried my bag back as we walked through the tunnels. I felt a little safer now and didn't whisper.
"Cordy is really lovely," I said, "Are you and she…?"
"No. We are just good friends."
"Oh." I said.
"Why?" he asked.
"Well it's just that I thought there was a special kind of chemistry between you both."
"Really?"
"Yes."
It was his turn to say, "Oh." I knew that I had sparked off a thought in his head. I hoped that it would grow as I had a feeling that Angel and Cordy were meant for each other.
When we got back to the hotel and went up to my room, there was a letter waiting for me on the table.
"Oh look at this, this is strange. I've got a letter from a solicitor's firm welcoming me to Los Angeles and into your family."
"What are they called?" Angel's tone had altered.
"It's a strange name, but I suppose all solicitors have strange names, this one is called Wolfram and Hart."