She had never seen such utter carnage. And for a slayer, that was saying something.
Rebecca watched as the bodies were zipped up into body bags, and mentally slapped herself for thinking "bodies." They were not bodies, they were people. People she knew. People she had cared for.
But her time was up. She had waited long enough. Now was the time to take him back. She could not keep him here because of how…
Because of how she loved him.
He was special, she knew it. From the first second she had seen him, she loved him. Rebecca didn't believe in love at first sight, but with him it was different. And he had felt the same way. He had broken up with his girlfriend Tracy for her. And they got together.
But then Rebecca had been called. And she learned everything about him. Where he came from. Who he had been. What he was going to do. At first she was horrified, and then she was afraid. Because she was going to lose him. And she knew it, deep down. It gnawed away at her, inside.
His family had been brutally murdered hours before. His sister, his mom, his dad. He had no-one left. No one except…
Angel.
Connor was going back.
Angel sat behind his desk at the Hyperion Hotel, taking a very painful stroll down memory lane. He missed his son. Sure, they didn't have much of a relationship, but Angel still missed him terribly.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, and reminded him he had done what was best for his son. And had got to see him smiling, happy. That was all he wanted, even if he couldn't give that to Connor.
He heard the front door open, and he heard Fred's gasp of surprise. He stood, curious, wondering if it was a new client.
Connor stood in the doorway, tears streaking his pale cheeks. His long brown fringe still falling carelessly into his eyes, his hands shaking. There was a girl behind him. She was roughly his age, and they were holding hands.
Angel noticed how pretty she was, even for a girl her age. She had long black ringleted hair, and blue eyes, almost as blue as Connor's.
"Um…can I help you?" Angel asked, remembering that Connor would not know who he was.
"Yeah, you can. Is there something you can give him, to calm him down?" The girl asked, her voice firm. Connor didn't seem to hear her.
"Sure." Fred disappeared into the office, and re-appeared a few seconds later with a glass of water and two sleeping tablets.
"Thanks." The girl took them, and touched Connor's face. He looked at her, his eyes distinctly pained.
"Becca…did you see what they did?" He asked, more tears cascading down his cheeks. She held him, so tenderly that it pained Angel to watch.
"Yeah, baby I did. But you have to go to sleep for a while, ok?" Connor nodded. She smiled at him. "Here, take these." She held the pills out to him, and he swallowed them, followed by the water.
"There are plenty of rooms upstairs, you can take him up there." Fred spoke kindly to the girl, and she nodded, leading Connor upstairs.
Rebecca laid Connor out on the bed, and removed his black boots from his feet. He was still awake, although barely.
"You have a good sleep, ok?" She smiled softly at him, as if nothing was wrong, and stroked his hair. "Goodnight." She bent over, and gently kissed his lips. Softly, he kissed her back.
Seconds later, he was sleeping soundly. Rebecca turned off the light, and left the room, to go back downstairs.
The girl sat down in front of Fred, Angel and Gunn. She looked tired, and distracted. Angel spoke first.
"How do you know my son? How do you know about us?" He asked.
"It's a long story. You might wanna sit down."
So they all did, and gave her their full attention, which she appreciated, as she had some major explaining to do.
"My name is Rebecca Matthews. I was activated as a Slayer by the Watchers Council a couple of months ago. It went against all their rules, but they did it anyway. They told me they had someone who needed protecting. There was a prophecy made about a teenage boy, the bastard son of two vampires. The prophecy no longer exists in its entirety, but it speaks of a great warrior, who would fight to save the world. This warrior, would be a teenage boy, and the bastard son of two vampires. He would have to fight alone, with no help from anyone. If he fails, the world ends to put it simply. So the watcher's council figured out that the warrior the prophecy spoke of, was your son, Connor." She explained slowly, to their silence.
"But he's not Connor anymore…" Fred began.
"That's why I bought him back. The Connor I know…he's a lot of things, but he's no warrior. So you gotta bring the old Connor back. Cuz if you don't, the world will end. I was sent to watch over Connor, and protect him, and I did. But his family were murdered last night, so I bought him here."
"You want us to wipe the memories that were built for him?" Angel asked, unsure if he could.
"I don't want to, but this isn't about what I want. It has to be done."
"But he's happy now." Angel argued.
"I know. But you have to do this." She paused. "Angel, I am in love with your son. Not with the Connor he was, but the Connor he is. And I'm sacrificing that so that he can save the world, cuz when it comes down to it, he's going to be the only one who can."
"We'll do it." Angel nodded. "Whatever it takes. Fred, call Wesley, get him here. Tell him everything we know about this prophecy. Gunn, go with Lorne, see if you two can find a spell to wipe Connor's current memory, and get the old Connor back." Angel told them. They all nodded, and started work.
Rebecca sat in silence for a while. Angel sat beside her, and began speaking softly, so only she could hear.
"I know this is hard for you. But you are doing the right thing." He told her. She smiled slightly.
"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna miss him is all."
"The old Connor…he wasn't that bad. He had it rough, and it affected him. I'm sure you'll see that."
"I understand now. What being a good slayer means. It's all about sacrifice. That's the price you pay for being a champion." She murmured.
"Someone has to do it. Rebecca, you're more than welcome to stay here. We could use a Slayer on our team." Angel smiled warmly. It was a genuine smile.
"Thank you. I have to go, gig tonight." She stood, and pulled her jacket on.
"Gig?" Angel couldn't help but smile.
"I'm in a band. We're playing a club called Dive tonight."
"Hopefully we'll have done the spell by the time you get back." Angel said, slightly warning her that her boyfriend would not be waiting for her when she came back. She nodded sadly.
"Good."
And then she left.
Angel watched from a corner, his arms crossed and his eyes concerned. Lorne was sitting crossed legged on the floor in the middle of a hastily drawn pentacle. Connor was sleeping on the bed, totally unaware of what was about to happen to him.
Lorne began doing the spell, chanting in Latin. Angel tried to keep up, put couldn't help it. All through his mind, images of Connor were flashing past. Connor fighting, Connor sobbing, Connor with explosives wrapped round his body.
Angel did not know how Connor would react. Or if Rebecca would be able to stand seeing the old Connor. It could break her.
Suddenly, Connor's blue eyes snapped open. He lay on the bed unmoving for a moment, before sitting up, and glancing at the people around him. He blinked.
"Ok, an explanation would be good right about now."
"She's in a band?" Gunn asked, grinning when Angel explained where Rebecca was.
"Oh that's nice." Fred smiled her innocently young smile. "Maybe we should go, show our support."
"Go where?" Connor inquired as he walked slowly down the stairs, buttoning up a clean shirt.
"Rebecca's band are playing a club tonight." Angel explained. With a reaction similar to Gunn's, Connor replied.
"She's in a band?"
"Yes, she's in a band." Angel sighed.
"Can I go see her?" Connor asked, trying to sound casual.
"Alone?" Angel pierced his son with a look. Connor's eyes went suddenly very cold.
"I don't play well with other children." He answered. "And I'd like to get a few stakings in before sunrise." Connor slipped a stake into his belt. this was the Connor Angel had known - a fighter. A hunter. Angel nodded his consent, and Connor disappeared into the inky night.
It was almost good to have him back.