Jessie is my own character, all the rest belong to Joss Wheden and
Twentieth Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Etc.
Angel is feeling lonely, Cordelia has a new boyfriend, and is out a lot of the time, and Wesley is not great company. Then a young girl turns up at Angel Investigations, claiming to be Angel's cousin.
Angel leaned back in his leather chair, and looked at the clock. It was half past four. Still another hour and half until Angel Investigations officially closed, although of course, they were always open. They had to be, considering their clientele. Angel stared at the clock. It was an ornately carved wooden clock. It worked fine, but the glass across the face was cracked. He smiled grimly as he remembered the demon with the thousand eyes. And the day that Buffy had walked away, not knowing that they'd actually spent 24 hours together. Angel didn't regret his decision, how could he? But he ached inside when he thought of Buffy, and the time they'd spent together. He could imagine her in Sunnydale, going to Uni, hanging out with Willow and Xander. Did she have a new boyfriend? He decided he didn't want to know. Angel glanced at the clock again. Five minutes had passed. Would Cordelia ever turn up? He grinned. Probably not. Ever since she'd met Peter at that bar, where they were supposed to be on the look out for a Gangarion Demon, he's barely seen her. Sometimes she remembered to call in and tell him she wouldn't be there, but not very often. And Wesley, well, he wasn't much good. He was in love with Cordy, and was moping about the place, ever since she'd met peter. Wesley had heard a answer phone message from Peter to Cordy earlier that afternoon. He'd freaked, and gone out to calm down. Angel rolled his eyes. He didn't mind that much. It wasn't like they were inundated with clients, was it? His eyes roved round the small waiting room, through the window of his office. The waiting room was sunny, and bright, unlike in here, thought Angel. His room was dark with the blinds drawn down over the window. But then, it had to be. Angel got up to go down to his apartment in the basement of the building to make himself a cup of coffee. As he crossed to the lift, the door to Angel Investigations opened. Angel ducked back into the office.
"Hello? Angel?" The intruder was a young girl, about 15, with short blonde hair. She was wearing jeans and a short, pale blue tee-shirt. Angel froze. He didn't know this girl, and yet she knew his name. Then he began to think clearly. Cordelia must have told her to ask for him. Or Wesley.
"Hey! Angel? You here?" She stood in the waiting room, looking around. The desk Cordelia ought to be sat at seemed to be her main subject of attention. Angel observed her through the window. She hadn't seen him yet. She was quite cute, thought Angel, with that blonde hair that looked like it had a mind of its own. She wasn't what you'd call beautiful, but she was attractive. Angel laughed at himself. Why was he looking at her in this way? She was a client, and she was just a kid. Angel shook his head, and opened the door.
"Hi. Can I help you?"
"You must be Angel. I'm Jessie. My mom sent me. I'm your cousin. You were the only family we could find in LA, so my mom said I should come and meet you and see if I could stay with you for a bit."
"Huh?"
"I'm your cousin. We looked you up, on the thing in the library. Nobody seemed to know much about Angel Investigations though."
"Look, kid, you can't be my cousin. It's impossible. I don't have any family."
"Sure you do. Me."
Angel found himself drawn to this little kid. She wasn't like most kids, with attitude. Angel could see that she was nervous, but was covering it up.
"Look, if I can help you with anything, I'm willing, but I don't think I'm your cousin. There must have been some mistake. Maybe you mistyped something."
"Oh. Are you sure?"
"I haven't got any family. They're all dead."
"Really? What, all of them? Parents, brothers, grandmas, everyone?"
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
"It's a long story."
"I've got all day." Jessie sat down on a chair. She patted the brightly sunlit seat next to her.
"Come sit down." Angel shook his head and moved back, further into his dark office. Jessie got up and followed him in.
"What's up? Hey, am I interrupting? I'm sorry, I just... never mind. Look, I'll go, tell my mom that we made a mistake."
"No, wait, kid. Come in, sit down." Jessie sat down in the chair opposite the desk. She looked small and lost in the dark room.
"I can't be your cousin, because I'm 245 years old. I'm a vampire, and I killed all my family when I was first sired, and besides, they were all Irish." He stopped, watching her face. She didn't look shocked. Or scared. She nodded.
"Right. But if you're a vampire, then how come you're up during the day? And how come you're not attacking me right now?" Angel grinned.
"Well, there's nothing to stop me. I could if I wanted."
"But let me guess, I'm not your type?" Angel detected bitterness in her voice.
"Hey, no, kid. I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that. I can eat you now if I wanted. But I don't because I have a soul and if I ate you, I'd have to live with the guilt, and I can't do that. I already have the guilt of the murders of thousands of people on my conscience."
"So you're Angelus? The one with the angelic face? I knew it!"
Angel stared.
"How the hell did you know?"
"I did some research. I'm interested in that sort of thing. I don't really know why. I had a feeling, when I realised you were Angel."
"Ok then." Angel stared at her. He'd never opened up to a person that fast. Even with Buffy, it had taken ages.
"Look, I can't go home. My mom is having a nervous breakdown or something, and she won't let me in the house. Please can you help?" Angel looked at the little kid sat in front of him. His heart was heavy. He knew he ought to send her away.
"Look, I would, but you don't know the kind of people we get in here from time to time. I wouldn't want you to get hurt." Jessie got up from the chair.
"Ok. Fair enough." She turned and walked out of the office. Angel stared for a minute. Then his conscience took over. Which he hated. He ran after her, without thinking. He ran straight into the sunny waiting room. He let out a yell as his skin began to smoke. Jessie turned, and then tackled him round the legs, knocking him backward into the dark study.
"I was coming after you," panted Angel, a few minutes later. They were down in his basement apartment now, and Jessie was examining the spearheads on the wall, while Angel attended to his burns.
"I gathered that."
"Look, you can stay for tonight. You can have my bed, I doubt I'll sleep much."
"Angel, don't sweat it. I'll stay somewhere else. I know it's really rude of me to ask to stay."
"No, kid, I'd like the company. Cordy and Wesley are all over the place at the moment, so I could do with having someone around."
"Well, if you don't mind..."
"Course not." Angel grinned at the little kid. Jessie grinned back. Then the bell went upstairs, that signalled someone was in the office. Angel, still minus a shirt, from where he'd been seeing to his burns, ran up the stairs. Jessie was right behind him.
The dark office held two men. One was sat in the seat Jessie had been in earlier; the other was standing. They were big, hulking men.
"They were on the varsity team, that's for sure," muttered Jessie, from behind Angel. Angel pushed her back toward the stairs.
"Go back down stairs kid."
He heard Jessie's sneakers squeaking on the tiled floor.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" asked Angel, standing rather than sitting behind the desk.
"I doubt it very much. But I'm sure we can help you. A young girl by the name of Cordelia?" Angel started forwarded. His hands gripped the edge of the desk, as he fought to keep his face human.
"Cordelia? What about her?"
"If you ever want to see her again, you'll meet us at midnight at the junction between 2nd and 15th street. OK?"
"Tell me what you've done with her," spat Angel.
"Let's just say... all's fair in love and war..." and the two men left. Angel threw his desk over with a roar. His face became feral, as he threw things around, his immense strength frightening even himself. After putting his fist threw the wall, he went to walk toward the stairs to go down stairs. Jessie stood, leaning against the doorframe, a look somewhere between terror and respect on her face.
"Kid, I... I'm sorry, you shouldn't have seen that."
"It's ok. It doesn't matter. I've never seen a real vampire before. How do you make you face go like that?" Angel remembered that he was in vampire mode. His eyes were yellow, and there were bulges above his eyes, and of course, his teeth were longer.
"Um, its kind of hard to explain. I can control it sometimes, but when I'm angry, it shows through. I guess you could say it's my true self coming through."
"Nah, I don't think so. You can't help being a vampire. It's not like you asked for it." Angel grinned. His face became human once more.
"You're alright kid. Now, I'm gonna have to go out for the night. Like I said, you can have my bed. I have to go and... see some friends."
"Angel, I may be kid, but I'm not stupid."
"No, I know."
"I know you have to go and meet those men. I'm coming with you."
"You so are not," said Angel.
"I'd like to see you stop me," said Jessie, defiantly. She crossed her arms across her chest.
"Did you ever get kicked out of school?" asked Angel, suddenly. Jessie dropped his gaze and looked at the floor.
"Right. Ok, you can come with me, but you're to do exactly as I say, and stay out of the way. OK?" Jessie nodded, still looking at the floor.
"Hey, I don't care that you got kicked out of school. It doesn't bother me. I mean, come on, I killed my entire family. I'm hardly one to judge, am I?" Jessie grinned.
"No, I guess not." Angel held out his hand. Jessie took it. They shook hands, and then Angel led her down the stairs.
"We need to find some decent weapons. I have no idea what I'm up against tonight."
"You? We."
"We have no idea what we're up against tonight." Angel ruffled Jessie's hair. "We."
Angel watched the sky darkening over the City of Angels. He was worried about tonight. Worried about Cordelia. She might be a bit of an airhead, and not a particularly great receptionist, or whatever the hell her job was with him, but he was very fond of her. He turned back to wear Jessie was finishing off her tea at the table in the little kitchen. There was something about this kid that made Angel want to take her in his arms and hug her. But he barely knew her. OK, yeah, she was his cousin, apparently, but he didn't know her. He'd ransacked the cupboards to find something to eat for her. She'd watched with that strange look on her face again. He couldn't decide if it was respect, or fear, or amusement. He'd finally found some soup and a chocolate bar. Probably left from when Buffy had been here. He smiled grimly as he glanced at Jessie again. She had a slight look of Buffy about her. Angel shook his head. He could see Buffy in anyone if he tried hard enough.
"You OK, kid?" She looked up and nodded. Her blonde hair flopped across her left eye and she brushed it back impatiently with her left hand.
"What time are we leaving?" she asked.
"Soon as possible. If Wesley ever gets back here."
"Wesley?" Jessie put her spoon down, having finsished the soup. Angel started to clean up. He opened the fridge while the water was running in the sink, and pulled out a carton of blood. He heard Jessie make sick noises behind him.
"Hey, you'd rather I ate you?" He spun round, angrily. He expected Jessie to shrink away from his anger. But she looked him straight in the eye.
"No way. But that still looks gross. A plastic carton of blood. It's horrible!"
"Just pretend it's cranberry juice." Jessie laughed.
"OK then. That I can handle." Angel ruffled her hair again. He wanted Jessie to put her arms round him and hug him. He felt like he was a big brother to her. It was strange, he thought to himself as he went up to the now dark waiting room to see if there was any sign of Wesley. It was strange that he never liked getting close to people. He avoided it. But with this kid, he felt like he'd known her for ages, and he felt close to her. It was an odd feeling. Reminded him of Buffy. He shook his head. He had to stop thinking about her. It wasn't fair. There was a thud and a yelp from the stairs. Angel ran, thinking the worst. He dived down the stairs, just to find Jessie sprawled in a heap at the bottom.
"What happened?" he asked. Jessie righted herself and sat up. She looked up at him, a sheepish grin on her face.
"I uh, slipped. And I fell down the stairs." Angel laughed out loud. Jessie got up, looking indignant.
"It's not that funny. I could have hurt myself. There's no carpet in this damn place."
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at me," said Angel. He touched Jessie's shoulder.
"You OK though?" Jessie nodded. She followed him as he began to get weapons ready for the evening. Some stakes, and that crossbow. Bit heavy, but never mind. Angel paused. Jessie was watching him again.
"What?" he asked, half annoyed, half amused.
"Nothing." Jessie swung round and looked the other way. Angel went over to her and pulled her off her chair. She shrieked as she landed on the floor.
"What was that for?" she demanded as she scrambled to her feet. Angel calmly picked up a large battle-axe, and weighted it in his hand.
"What?"
"What did you throw me on the floor for?"
"Why not?"
"That's not a proper answer!" Before Angel knew where he was, Jessie had hurled herself on his back. Luckily Angel had put the axe down, because otherwise it would have gone straight into him as Jessie crashed him to the floor.
"Hey!" he yelled. He twisted round and grabbed the little kid by the arms, flipping her over. She kicked out as she went over, and caught him square in the jaw. He dropped her, and grabbed his jaw.
"Ow! God, you're smart." Jessie lay on the floor, looking angrily up at him. Angel offered her hand. She let him pull her to her feet, but then she walked away from him and walked up the stairs to the office. Angel went after her.
"Hey, you OK? Sorry if I hurt you."
"I'm OK. You didn't hurt me. You know how to throw me so that you don't."
"Yeah, well. Hey, kid, what's the matter?"
"Nothing. What time are we going?"
"Soon." Angel stood for a moment in the dark office, and then he went to where Jessie was sitting on the swivel chair behind the desk. She swung the chair away from him as he went closer. Angel sat on the desk and pulled the chair round. Jessie avoided looking at him.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I was just messing around. I haven't got anyone like you, I don't know how far to push it. I'm sorry, kid." Jessie glanced up at him.
"It's OK. Don't sweat it."
"We still friends?"
"Course we are!" She reached out and put her arms round his waist. Angel squeezed her to him, then pushed her away.
"Right then, mate. We've got a lot to do, and not much time to do it in!" Jessie saluted him.
"Yes sir! What do you want me to do, sir!"
"At ease." Jessie dropped her hand. Angel grinned.
"Come on. It's dark. We'd better go." He grabbed his duster coat from behind the office door.
"I haven't got a coat," said Jessie.
"Hang on. " Angel disappeared down the stairs, and came back a few minutes later with a black shirt.
"It'll be a bit big. But it'll keep you warm. And make you dark. Come on." Angel began to lock all the doors, although he knew that if someone really wanted to come in, the doors being locked wouldn't stop them. He glanced round at Jessie, who looked like she was a bit lost in his shirt.
"You OK?"
"Yup."
"Right then. Let's go."
"Hey, what about this Wesley person?"
"Oh, I give up on him. Ever since Cordy met Pete, he's been a mess." Jessie blinked.
"Come on kid. Let's get a move on."
Angel pounded the streets, Jessie following in the wake of his duster, just about keeping up with him. She looked around the streets of LA. To her surprise, they were practically deserted. As if reading her thoughts, Angel explained.
"The streets round here have to be empty. There's an 80% chance that you'll be eaten alive round here. Most people stick to the clubs on the beachfront, or in China town. It's just not worth it round here."
"Uh, great. Thanks for that."
"Sorry. But perhaps it's best that you know."
"Uh, yeah. Perhaps." Angel glanced back. Jessie looked up at him, and grinned. Angel stopped. Jessie crashed into the back of him. Angel expected her to shout, but she didn't make a sound. She just peered round him.
"Nice of you to make an appearance." The man's voice was smug, and dripped with sarcasm.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not supposed to be here yet."
"We knew you'd come early." Jessie hid behind Angel. She didn't know
if she'd been seen yet, but she didn't make it obvious that she was there. Angel stiffened as a van drew up beside them. A body was thrown out of the back and the van roared off again. Angel didn't move. He wanted to grab Cordelia's body and run, but if he moved, it left Jessie exposed.
"Not interested?" The man's voice made Angel's blood run cold.
"How do I know its her?" asked Angel, nonchalantly. He knew full well that it was Cordy, he could tell.
"You know its her. Pick up her body, or we'll make you very very sorry."
"You guys don't scare me," said Angel, keeping an arrogant twang in his voice.
"Perhaps not. But we scared her," he said, indicating the crumpled figure on the floor.
"And we scared baby face behind you." Before Angel knew what had happened, Jessie had been grabbed and was being dragged away from him. She was fighting manfully, and managed to break her attacker's grip as Angel flew in to rescue her. He was halted by a tall man with dark hair.
"Now, now, now," he said, pushing Angel away from the others, and from Jessie who had been caught again and was bent double under the man's arm, desperately fighting against him.
"Pete. I knew you were no good." Angel's voice came out in a rasping whisper.
"Yeah, well, you didn't do a lot to help Cordy though, did you? You didn't make an issue of it. I'm disappointed in you Angel. I thought I could trust you to look after my girl. But you didn't. You couldn't protect her."
"You know Cordy. She won't be told what to do by anyone. She was hardly going to take kindly to me telling her not to see you. That wouldn't have gone down very well."
"That's true. My Cordy was a very spirited girl."
"Is. Not was."
"No, Angel. Was. She was a very spirited girl." Angel managed to swing a punch at Pete, but Pete was very quick, especially for his size and height. He punched Angel in the gut, winding him. Angel vamped out, and, whilst still trying to get his breath, he threw his whole body at Pete, who crumpled and fell to the floor. The two men holding Jessie looked at each other. They too vamped out. Jessie saw their faces and was filled with fear. They didn't look anything like Angel had, although their vampire features were the same. Their eyes were hateful, whereas Angel's had been remorseful. Jessie cowered away from them. They both laughed, advancing on her from either side. Jessie clamped her hands to her neck. Then it occurred to her to run, and she took off into the night. Her sudden exit startled both vamps, and it took them a split second to realise what was going on. Angel saw Jessie take off, and was revitalised at the thought of her safety. He gave Pete an uppercut to the chin, and Pete reeled over backward. In the minute or so that followed, Angel knelt beside Cordelia, feeling for a pulse. He found one, faint, but there was one. He began to lift her, but was aware of Pete getting back to his feet behind him. He carefully laid her down again, and turned to face Pete, who had also vamped out. This more than took Angel by surprise because he'd seen Pete in the daylight.
"You're a vampire?"
"No, I'm a puppy dog. Yes, I'm a vampire, and I'm gonna kick your ass."
"But you were in the sunlight!"
"Was I? Oh, yes, I suppose I was." The vampire's voice took on an amused tone, as if he was talking to a small child. Angel growled in the back of his throat.
"You see, I was being loved. Cordelia adored me. And so, naturally, my life force was stronger. Something about emotions does that to me. I can be in complete darkness, but if I'm feeling down or unhappy, even then I can burn. But when I'm happy, beware! I am the only vampire in LA to be out at midday!" Angel stared at Pete in horror. He had read something about this in one of his books. Pete was a Karakan Vampire. There were very few of them in the world. Angel thought hard. They couldn't be killed the normal way. A stake through the heart would dust the body, but the soul of the vampire, well, the being. The vampire couldn't have a soul, unless, thought Angel, you were cursed, like me. The being of the vampire would still be around and would inhabit the body of someone else. It was a very dangerous species. Angel had once wished he were one, when Angelus had ruled his heart. But not anymore.
"So you can walk around in the middle of the day, huh?" Impressive. But what about when Cordelia comes round? She won't love you anymore."
"Won't she? She doesn't know anything about me, and let's face it, Angel, she's not going to listen to you. You said it yourself, she doesn't take kindly to being told what to do, especially by you. And when she comes too, and finds herself in my arms, with me crying over her, thinking she was dead, she's not exactly going to be hating me." Angel could feel the blood pounding in his head. Pete was going to have Cordelia completely brainwashed. Angel lost his temper. He flew at Pete, taking the bigger vamp by surprise. Pete fell backward, banging his head on the edge of the sidewalk. He let out a yell, as blood began to pool on the floor beneath him.
"You can't have Cordelia. I won't let you," Angel panted, as he stood over Pete. Pete tried to sit up, but his head was swimming, and he was in a lot of pain. Blood continued to pour out of a gash in the back of his head. Angel pushed him back down again with his foot.
"You stay the hell away from Cordelia. You go near her ever again, and I'll kill you. I'll drive a stake through your heart and I'll blow your dust to the four corners of the earth."
"Go ahead," muttered Pete, slurring his words slightly. His vision was deteriorating – he couldn't see Angel properly.
"Go ahead," he repeated, "kill me now. I'll only rise again. I'm a Karakan, Angel. I can't be destroyed." His head fell back, hitting the road with a dull thud. Angel stared at him for a moment, then scooped up Cordelia's body, and ran.
The hospital was brightly lit. Angel hated it. The false light was too light, too bright. It was the middle of the night, and yet it looked like the middle of the day. Angel pushed his way through the double doors that led to the reception area.
"Can I help you?" asked a young woman on the reception.
"My friend... she was attacked. I found her in the street. She won't wake up."
"Right, can I have her details please?" Angel stared at the woman in disbelief. Here he was, dirty and sweaty with a broken girl in his arms. Surely Cordelia should be rushed off at once? Where were all the doctors?
"I don't have time! She needs help now!" shouted Angel. The reception area went quiet, and few old ladies with grey hair looked round at him indignantly.
"I'm sorry sir, but it is procedure. I must have her details before she can be seen," said the receptionist. Angel glared at her. He could feel his vamp face coming, and he looked down at Cordy to hide it. Then he charged through the doors that led to the rest of the Accident and Emergency ward.
Jessie leaned against the wall, completely out of breath. She was fit, and she was small, and didn't have a lot of weight to carry. She could run fast, and she could run for a long time. But she was gasping for breath. Waves of nausea hit her body, as she stood, shaking, against the dirty wall. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't know where the vampires that had been following her had gone. They could be watching from the shadows for all she knew. Jessie had simply run. She'd gone round corners, ducked round cars, up dark alleys that normally would have scared the hell out of her, but this time she just ran through them, not looking at anything. By doing this, she's managed to lose them. But now she knew that she couldn't go on for much longer. She didn't know which part of LA she was in. She could have been anywhere. Holding her breath for a moment, she listened. But all she could hear was the blood pounding in her head, and her own rapid heartbeat. She leaned her hands on her knees, and began to breathe slowly, in, out, in, out. Her breathing returned to a reasonably normal state and she stood up straight and looked around her. There was a high, dirty wall in front of her, which made the alley she'd run into a dead end. At the other end, there was a narrow road she'd run down. She began to make her way toward the road. At least there were more likely to be people there, although perhaps not great people. People she probably wouldn't want to meet. Junkies and such like. Jessie's legs were shaking, and she still felt sick, but she knew that she had to keep moving. She walked down the road, and out onto a wider, more main street. She looked for a sign. Elm. Great, she thought to herself, Nightmare on Elm Street. Funny. Some people could be counted on to do stupid things like this, and the LA council was obviously no different. But even so, knowing what street she was in didn't help matters much. She still didn't know where she was, or where she was in relation to Angel Investigations' offices. She looked up and down the road. Right or left? Jessie was left handed, so she chose left. Left used to mean wrong, in the olden days, thought Jessie as she quickly walked along, not looking at anything for gear of offending someone. If that's the case, then this is the sort of place where it still would mean wrong. So it means that I took the wrong way. I should have gone right. Fear clutched at Jessie, making her hands shake. Then the logical part of her brain woke up. Don't be daft Jess. You know full well that it doesn't matter which way you'd turned. You'll work it out eventually. Jessie grinned to herself. Yeah, right if you don't die first, either raped and murdered, or attacked by some nasty monster, said the less logical part of her brain. Jessie put her hands over her ears, as if doing that meant that she could block it out. She came to the end of the street. Looking left, she could see just a dark street with few streetlights. Those that were there, had no bulbs, or had been vandalised. Looking right, Jessie was sure she smelt the sea. Not stopping to think that you couldn't smell the sea in this part of the city, she began to run.
Angel is feeling lonely, Cordelia has a new boyfriend, and is out a lot of the time, and Wesley is not great company. Then a young girl turns up at Angel Investigations, claiming to be Angel's cousin.
Angel leaned back in his leather chair, and looked at the clock. It was half past four. Still another hour and half until Angel Investigations officially closed, although of course, they were always open. They had to be, considering their clientele. Angel stared at the clock. It was an ornately carved wooden clock. It worked fine, but the glass across the face was cracked. He smiled grimly as he remembered the demon with the thousand eyes. And the day that Buffy had walked away, not knowing that they'd actually spent 24 hours together. Angel didn't regret his decision, how could he? But he ached inside when he thought of Buffy, and the time they'd spent together. He could imagine her in Sunnydale, going to Uni, hanging out with Willow and Xander. Did she have a new boyfriend? He decided he didn't want to know. Angel glanced at the clock again. Five minutes had passed. Would Cordelia ever turn up? He grinned. Probably not. Ever since she'd met Peter at that bar, where they were supposed to be on the look out for a Gangarion Demon, he's barely seen her. Sometimes she remembered to call in and tell him she wouldn't be there, but not very often. And Wesley, well, he wasn't much good. He was in love with Cordy, and was moping about the place, ever since she'd met peter. Wesley had heard a answer phone message from Peter to Cordy earlier that afternoon. He'd freaked, and gone out to calm down. Angel rolled his eyes. He didn't mind that much. It wasn't like they were inundated with clients, was it? His eyes roved round the small waiting room, through the window of his office. The waiting room was sunny, and bright, unlike in here, thought Angel. His room was dark with the blinds drawn down over the window. But then, it had to be. Angel got up to go down to his apartment in the basement of the building to make himself a cup of coffee. As he crossed to the lift, the door to Angel Investigations opened. Angel ducked back into the office.
"Hello? Angel?" The intruder was a young girl, about 15, with short blonde hair. She was wearing jeans and a short, pale blue tee-shirt. Angel froze. He didn't know this girl, and yet she knew his name. Then he began to think clearly. Cordelia must have told her to ask for him. Or Wesley.
"Hey! Angel? You here?" She stood in the waiting room, looking around. The desk Cordelia ought to be sat at seemed to be her main subject of attention. Angel observed her through the window. She hadn't seen him yet. She was quite cute, thought Angel, with that blonde hair that looked like it had a mind of its own. She wasn't what you'd call beautiful, but she was attractive. Angel laughed at himself. Why was he looking at her in this way? She was a client, and she was just a kid. Angel shook his head, and opened the door.
"Hi. Can I help you?"
"You must be Angel. I'm Jessie. My mom sent me. I'm your cousin. You were the only family we could find in LA, so my mom said I should come and meet you and see if I could stay with you for a bit."
"Huh?"
"I'm your cousin. We looked you up, on the thing in the library. Nobody seemed to know much about Angel Investigations though."
"Look, kid, you can't be my cousin. It's impossible. I don't have any family."
"Sure you do. Me."
Angel found himself drawn to this little kid. She wasn't like most kids, with attitude. Angel could see that she was nervous, but was covering it up.
"Look, if I can help you with anything, I'm willing, but I don't think I'm your cousin. There must have been some mistake. Maybe you mistyped something."
"Oh. Are you sure?"
"I haven't got any family. They're all dead."
"Really? What, all of them? Parents, brothers, grandmas, everyone?"
"Yeah."
"What happened?"
"It's a long story."
"I've got all day." Jessie sat down on a chair. She patted the brightly sunlit seat next to her.
"Come sit down." Angel shook his head and moved back, further into his dark office. Jessie got up and followed him in.
"What's up? Hey, am I interrupting? I'm sorry, I just... never mind. Look, I'll go, tell my mom that we made a mistake."
"No, wait, kid. Come in, sit down." Jessie sat down in the chair opposite the desk. She looked small and lost in the dark room.
"I can't be your cousin, because I'm 245 years old. I'm a vampire, and I killed all my family when I was first sired, and besides, they were all Irish." He stopped, watching her face. She didn't look shocked. Or scared. She nodded.
"Right. But if you're a vampire, then how come you're up during the day? And how come you're not attacking me right now?" Angel grinned.
"Well, there's nothing to stop me. I could if I wanted."
"But let me guess, I'm not your type?" Angel detected bitterness in her voice.
"Hey, no, kid. I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that. I can eat you now if I wanted. But I don't because I have a soul and if I ate you, I'd have to live with the guilt, and I can't do that. I already have the guilt of the murders of thousands of people on my conscience."
"So you're Angelus? The one with the angelic face? I knew it!"
Angel stared.
"How the hell did you know?"
"I did some research. I'm interested in that sort of thing. I don't really know why. I had a feeling, when I realised you were Angel."
"Ok then." Angel stared at her. He'd never opened up to a person that fast. Even with Buffy, it had taken ages.
"Look, I can't go home. My mom is having a nervous breakdown or something, and she won't let me in the house. Please can you help?" Angel looked at the little kid sat in front of him. His heart was heavy. He knew he ought to send her away.
"Look, I would, but you don't know the kind of people we get in here from time to time. I wouldn't want you to get hurt." Jessie got up from the chair.
"Ok. Fair enough." She turned and walked out of the office. Angel stared for a minute. Then his conscience took over. Which he hated. He ran after her, without thinking. He ran straight into the sunny waiting room. He let out a yell as his skin began to smoke. Jessie turned, and then tackled him round the legs, knocking him backward into the dark study.
"I was coming after you," panted Angel, a few minutes later. They were down in his basement apartment now, and Jessie was examining the spearheads on the wall, while Angel attended to his burns.
"I gathered that."
"Look, you can stay for tonight. You can have my bed, I doubt I'll sleep much."
"Angel, don't sweat it. I'll stay somewhere else. I know it's really rude of me to ask to stay."
"No, kid, I'd like the company. Cordy and Wesley are all over the place at the moment, so I could do with having someone around."
"Well, if you don't mind..."
"Course not." Angel grinned at the little kid. Jessie grinned back. Then the bell went upstairs, that signalled someone was in the office. Angel, still minus a shirt, from where he'd been seeing to his burns, ran up the stairs. Jessie was right behind him.
The dark office held two men. One was sat in the seat Jessie had been in earlier; the other was standing. They were big, hulking men.
"They were on the varsity team, that's for sure," muttered Jessie, from behind Angel. Angel pushed her back toward the stairs.
"Go back down stairs kid."
He heard Jessie's sneakers squeaking on the tiled floor.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" asked Angel, standing rather than sitting behind the desk.
"I doubt it very much. But I'm sure we can help you. A young girl by the name of Cordelia?" Angel started forwarded. His hands gripped the edge of the desk, as he fought to keep his face human.
"Cordelia? What about her?"
"If you ever want to see her again, you'll meet us at midnight at the junction between 2nd and 15th street. OK?"
"Tell me what you've done with her," spat Angel.
"Let's just say... all's fair in love and war..." and the two men left. Angel threw his desk over with a roar. His face became feral, as he threw things around, his immense strength frightening even himself. After putting his fist threw the wall, he went to walk toward the stairs to go down stairs. Jessie stood, leaning against the doorframe, a look somewhere between terror and respect on her face.
"Kid, I... I'm sorry, you shouldn't have seen that."
"It's ok. It doesn't matter. I've never seen a real vampire before. How do you make you face go like that?" Angel remembered that he was in vampire mode. His eyes were yellow, and there were bulges above his eyes, and of course, his teeth were longer.
"Um, its kind of hard to explain. I can control it sometimes, but when I'm angry, it shows through. I guess you could say it's my true self coming through."
"Nah, I don't think so. You can't help being a vampire. It's not like you asked for it." Angel grinned. His face became human once more.
"You're alright kid. Now, I'm gonna have to go out for the night. Like I said, you can have my bed. I have to go and... see some friends."
"Angel, I may be kid, but I'm not stupid."
"No, I know."
"I know you have to go and meet those men. I'm coming with you."
"You so are not," said Angel.
"I'd like to see you stop me," said Jessie, defiantly. She crossed her arms across her chest.
"Did you ever get kicked out of school?" asked Angel, suddenly. Jessie dropped his gaze and looked at the floor.
"Right. Ok, you can come with me, but you're to do exactly as I say, and stay out of the way. OK?" Jessie nodded, still looking at the floor.
"Hey, I don't care that you got kicked out of school. It doesn't bother me. I mean, come on, I killed my entire family. I'm hardly one to judge, am I?" Jessie grinned.
"No, I guess not." Angel held out his hand. Jessie took it. They shook hands, and then Angel led her down the stairs.
"We need to find some decent weapons. I have no idea what I'm up against tonight."
"You? We."
"We have no idea what we're up against tonight." Angel ruffled Jessie's hair. "We."
Angel watched the sky darkening over the City of Angels. He was worried about tonight. Worried about Cordelia. She might be a bit of an airhead, and not a particularly great receptionist, or whatever the hell her job was with him, but he was very fond of her. He turned back to wear Jessie was finishing off her tea at the table in the little kitchen. There was something about this kid that made Angel want to take her in his arms and hug her. But he barely knew her. OK, yeah, she was his cousin, apparently, but he didn't know her. He'd ransacked the cupboards to find something to eat for her. She'd watched with that strange look on her face again. He couldn't decide if it was respect, or fear, or amusement. He'd finally found some soup and a chocolate bar. Probably left from when Buffy had been here. He smiled grimly as he glanced at Jessie again. She had a slight look of Buffy about her. Angel shook his head. He could see Buffy in anyone if he tried hard enough.
"You OK, kid?" She looked up and nodded. Her blonde hair flopped across her left eye and she brushed it back impatiently with her left hand.
"What time are we leaving?" she asked.
"Soon as possible. If Wesley ever gets back here."
"Wesley?" Jessie put her spoon down, having finsished the soup. Angel started to clean up. He opened the fridge while the water was running in the sink, and pulled out a carton of blood. He heard Jessie make sick noises behind him.
"Hey, you'd rather I ate you?" He spun round, angrily. He expected Jessie to shrink away from his anger. But she looked him straight in the eye.
"No way. But that still looks gross. A plastic carton of blood. It's horrible!"
"Just pretend it's cranberry juice." Jessie laughed.
"OK then. That I can handle." Angel ruffled her hair again. He wanted Jessie to put her arms round him and hug him. He felt like he was a big brother to her. It was strange, he thought to himself as he went up to the now dark waiting room to see if there was any sign of Wesley. It was strange that he never liked getting close to people. He avoided it. But with this kid, he felt like he'd known her for ages, and he felt close to her. It was an odd feeling. Reminded him of Buffy. He shook his head. He had to stop thinking about her. It wasn't fair. There was a thud and a yelp from the stairs. Angel ran, thinking the worst. He dived down the stairs, just to find Jessie sprawled in a heap at the bottom.
"What happened?" he asked. Jessie righted herself and sat up. She looked up at him, a sheepish grin on her face.
"I uh, slipped. And I fell down the stairs." Angel laughed out loud. Jessie got up, looking indignant.
"It's not that funny. I could have hurt myself. There's no carpet in this damn place."
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at me," said Angel. He touched Jessie's shoulder.
"You OK though?" Jessie nodded. She followed him as he began to get weapons ready for the evening. Some stakes, and that crossbow. Bit heavy, but never mind. Angel paused. Jessie was watching him again.
"What?" he asked, half annoyed, half amused.
"Nothing." Jessie swung round and looked the other way. Angel went over to her and pulled her off her chair. She shrieked as she landed on the floor.
"What was that for?" she demanded as she scrambled to her feet. Angel calmly picked up a large battle-axe, and weighted it in his hand.
"What?"
"What did you throw me on the floor for?"
"Why not?"
"That's not a proper answer!" Before Angel knew where he was, Jessie had hurled herself on his back. Luckily Angel had put the axe down, because otherwise it would have gone straight into him as Jessie crashed him to the floor.
"Hey!" he yelled. He twisted round and grabbed the little kid by the arms, flipping her over. She kicked out as she went over, and caught him square in the jaw. He dropped her, and grabbed his jaw.
"Ow! God, you're smart." Jessie lay on the floor, looking angrily up at him. Angel offered her hand. She let him pull her to her feet, but then she walked away from him and walked up the stairs to the office. Angel went after her.
"Hey, you OK? Sorry if I hurt you."
"I'm OK. You didn't hurt me. You know how to throw me so that you don't."
"Yeah, well. Hey, kid, what's the matter?"
"Nothing. What time are we going?"
"Soon." Angel stood for a moment in the dark office, and then he went to where Jessie was sitting on the swivel chair behind the desk. She swung the chair away from him as he went closer. Angel sat on the desk and pulled the chair round. Jessie avoided looking at him.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I was just messing around. I haven't got anyone like you, I don't know how far to push it. I'm sorry, kid." Jessie glanced up at him.
"It's OK. Don't sweat it."
"We still friends?"
"Course we are!" She reached out and put her arms round his waist. Angel squeezed her to him, then pushed her away.
"Right then, mate. We've got a lot to do, and not much time to do it in!" Jessie saluted him.
"Yes sir! What do you want me to do, sir!"
"At ease." Jessie dropped her hand. Angel grinned.
"Come on. It's dark. We'd better go." He grabbed his duster coat from behind the office door.
"I haven't got a coat," said Jessie.
"Hang on. " Angel disappeared down the stairs, and came back a few minutes later with a black shirt.
"It'll be a bit big. But it'll keep you warm. And make you dark. Come on." Angel began to lock all the doors, although he knew that if someone really wanted to come in, the doors being locked wouldn't stop them. He glanced round at Jessie, who looked like she was a bit lost in his shirt.
"You OK?"
"Yup."
"Right then. Let's go."
"Hey, what about this Wesley person?"
"Oh, I give up on him. Ever since Cordy met Pete, he's been a mess." Jessie blinked.
"Come on kid. Let's get a move on."
Angel pounded the streets, Jessie following in the wake of his duster, just about keeping up with him. She looked around the streets of LA. To her surprise, they were practically deserted. As if reading her thoughts, Angel explained.
"The streets round here have to be empty. There's an 80% chance that you'll be eaten alive round here. Most people stick to the clubs on the beachfront, or in China town. It's just not worth it round here."
"Uh, great. Thanks for that."
"Sorry. But perhaps it's best that you know."
"Uh, yeah. Perhaps." Angel glanced back. Jessie looked up at him, and grinned. Angel stopped. Jessie crashed into the back of him. Angel expected her to shout, but she didn't make a sound. She just peered round him.
"Nice of you to make an appearance." The man's voice was smug, and dripped with sarcasm.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not supposed to be here yet."
"We knew you'd come early." Jessie hid behind Angel. She didn't know
if she'd been seen yet, but she didn't make it obvious that she was there. Angel stiffened as a van drew up beside them. A body was thrown out of the back and the van roared off again. Angel didn't move. He wanted to grab Cordelia's body and run, but if he moved, it left Jessie exposed.
"Not interested?" The man's voice made Angel's blood run cold.
"How do I know its her?" asked Angel, nonchalantly. He knew full well that it was Cordy, he could tell.
"You know its her. Pick up her body, or we'll make you very very sorry."
"You guys don't scare me," said Angel, keeping an arrogant twang in his voice.
"Perhaps not. But we scared her," he said, indicating the crumpled figure on the floor.
"And we scared baby face behind you." Before Angel knew what had happened, Jessie had been grabbed and was being dragged away from him. She was fighting manfully, and managed to break her attacker's grip as Angel flew in to rescue her. He was halted by a tall man with dark hair.
"Now, now, now," he said, pushing Angel away from the others, and from Jessie who had been caught again and was bent double under the man's arm, desperately fighting against him.
"Pete. I knew you were no good." Angel's voice came out in a rasping whisper.
"Yeah, well, you didn't do a lot to help Cordy though, did you? You didn't make an issue of it. I'm disappointed in you Angel. I thought I could trust you to look after my girl. But you didn't. You couldn't protect her."
"You know Cordy. She won't be told what to do by anyone. She was hardly going to take kindly to me telling her not to see you. That wouldn't have gone down very well."
"That's true. My Cordy was a very spirited girl."
"Is. Not was."
"No, Angel. Was. She was a very spirited girl." Angel managed to swing a punch at Pete, but Pete was very quick, especially for his size and height. He punched Angel in the gut, winding him. Angel vamped out, and, whilst still trying to get his breath, he threw his whole body at Pete, who crumpled and fell to the floor. The two men holding Jessie looked at each other. They too vamped out. Jessie saw their faces and was filled with fear. They didn't look anything like Angel had, although their vampire features were the same. Their eyes were hateful, whereas Angel's had been remorseful. Jessie cowered away from them. They both laughed, advancing on her from either side. Jessie clamped her hands to her neck. Then it occurred to her to run, and she took off into the night. Her sudden exit startled both vamps, and it took them a split second to realise what was going on. Angel saw Jessie take off, and was revitalised at the thought of her safety. He gave Pete an uppercut to the chin, and Pete reeled over backward. In the minute or so that followed, Angel knelt beside Cordelia, feeling for a pulse. He found one, faint, but there was one. He began to lift her, but was aware of Pete getting back to his feet behind him. He carefully laid her down again, and turned to face Pete, who had also vamped out. This more than took Angel by surprise because he'd seen Pete in the daylight.
"You're a vampire?"
"No, I'm a puppy dog. Yes, I'm a vampire, and I'm gonna kick your ass."
"But you were in the sunlight!"
"Was I? Oh, yes, I suppose I was." The vampire's voice took on an amused tone, as if he was talking to a small child. Angel growled in the back of his throat.
"You see, I was being loved. Cordelia adored me. And so, naturally, my life force was stronger. Something about emotions does that to me. I can be in complete darkness, but if I'm feeling down or unhappy, even then I can burn. But when I'm happy, beware! I am the only vampire in LA to be out at midday!" Angel stared at Pete in horror. He had read something about this in one of his books. Pete was a Karakan Vampire. There were very few of them in the world. Angel thought hard. They couldn't be killed the normal way. A stake through the heart would dust the body, but the soul of the vampire, well, the being. The vampire couldn't have a soul, unless, thought Angel, you were cursed, like me. The being of the vampire would still be around and would inhabit the body of someone else. It was a very dangerous species. Angel had once wished he were one, when Angelus had ruled his heart. But not anymore.
"So you can walk around in the middle of the day, huh?" Impressive. But what about when Cordelia comes round? She won't love you anymore."
"Won't she? She doesn't know anything about me, and let's face it, Angel, she's not going to listen to you. You said it yourself, she doesn't take kindly to being told what to do, especially by you. And when she comes too, and finds herself in my arms, with me crying over her, thinking she was dead, she's not exactly going to be hating me." Angel could feel the blood pounding in his head. Pete was going to have Cordelia completely brainwashed. Angel lost his temper. He flew at Pete, taking the bigger vamp by surprise. Pete fell backward, banging his head on the edge of the sidewalk. He let out a yell, as blood began to pool on the floor beneath him.
"You can't have Cordelia. I won't let you," Angel panted, as he stood over Pete. Pete tried to sit up, but his head was swimming, and he was in a lot of pain. Blood continued to pour out of a gash in the back of his head. Angel pushed him back down again with his foot.
"You stay the hell away from Cordelia. You go near her ever again, and I'll kill you. I'll drive a stake through your heart and I'll blow your dust to the four corners of the earth."
"Go ahead," muttered Pete, slurring his words slightly. His vision was deteriorating – he couldn't see Angel properly.
"Go ahead," he repeated, "kill me now. I'll only rise again. I'm a Karakan, Angel. I can't be destroyed." His head fell back, hitting the road with a dull thud. Angel stared at him for a moment, then scooped up Cordelia's body, and ran.
The hospital was brightly lit. Angel hated it. The false light was too light, too bright. It was the middle of the night, and yet it looked like the middle of the day. Angel pushed his way through the double doors that led to the reception area.
"Can I help you?" asked a young woman on the reception.
"My friend... she was attacked. I found her in the street. She won't wake up."
"Right, can I have her details please?" Angel stared at the woman in disbelief. Here he was, dirty and sweaty with a broken girl in his arms. Surely Cordelia should be rushed off at once? Where were all the doctors?
"I don't have time! She needs help now!" shouted Angel. The reception area went quiet, and few old ladies with grey hair looked round at him indignantly.
"I'm sorry sir, but it is procedure. I must have her details before she can be seen," said the receptionist. Angel glared at her. He could feel his vamp face coming, and he looked down at Cordy to hide it. Then he charged through the doors that led to the rest of the Accident and Emergency ward.
Jessie leaned against the wall, completely out of breath. She was fit, and she was small, and didn't have a lot of weight to carry. She could run fast, and she could run for a long time. But she was gasping for breath. Waves of nausea hit her body, as she stood, shaking, against the dirty wall. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't know where the vampires that had been following her had gone. They could be watching from the shadows for all she knew. Jessie had simply run. She'd gone round corners, ducked round cars, up dark alleys that normally would have scared the hell out of her, but this time she just ran through them, not looking at anything. By doing this, she's managed to lose them. But now she knew that she couldn't go on for much longer. She didn't know which part of LA she was in. She could have been anywhere. Holding her breath for a moment, she listened. But all she could hear was the blood pounding in her head, and her own rapid heartbeat. She leaned her hands on her knees, and began to breathe slowly, in, out, in, out. Her breathing returned to a reasonably normal state and she stood up straight and looked around her. There was a high, dirty wall in front of her, which made the alley she'd run into a dead end. At the other end, there was a narrow road she'd run down. She began to make her way toward the road. At least there were more likely to be people there, although perhaps not great people. People she probably wouldn't want to meet. Junkies and such like. Jessie's legs were shaking, and she still felt sick, but she knew that she had to keep moving. She walked down the road, and out onto a wider, more main street. She looked for a sign. Elm. Great, she thought to herself, Nightmare on Elm Street. Funny. Some people could be counted on to do stupid things like this, and the LA council was obviously no different. But even so, knowing what street she was in didn't help matters much. She still didn't know where she was, or where she was in relation to Angel Investigations' offices. She looked up and down the road. Right or left? Jessie was left handed, so she chose left. Left used to mean wrong, in the olden days, thought Jessie as she quickly walked along, not looking at anything for gear of offending someone. If that's the case, then this is the sort of place where it still would mean wrong. So it means that I took the wrong way. I should have gone right. Fear clutched at Jessie, making her hands shake. Then the logical part of her brain woke up. Don't be daft Jess. You know full well that it doesn't matter which way you'd turned. You'll work it out eventually. Jessie grinned to herself. Yeah, right if you don't die first, either raped and murdered, or attacked by some nasty monster, said the less logical part of her brain. Jessie put her hands over her ears, as if doing that meant that she could block it out. She came to the end of the street. Looking left, she could see just a dark street with few streetlights. Those that were there, had no bulbs, or had been vandalised. Looking right, Jessie was sure she smelt the sea. Not stopping to think that you couldn't smell the sea in this part of the city, she began to run.