Title: Deception
Name: Misha
E-mail:
Rating: NC-17
Category: Crossover
Content: A/C romance, AI angst, A/B angst
Summary: Cordelia is dead. and Angel is crushed. But is their foul play involved? And if so, what will Angel do to right the wrong?
Spoilers: End of BtVS, AtS Season 5, up to 100th episode/"You're Welcome" (I think that's the name).
Disclaimer: Not mine. Don't claim them...anymore.
Distribution: Want some? Hit me up.
Notes: Challenge by Childe of Blade, I don't remember everything. Someone from the council killed Cordelia (but I won't give names). Meeting between council and W&H, through sleuthing, Angel finds out the truth about Cordelia.
Thanks/Dedication: My readers/commenters. Thanks for the support and the e-mails.
Feedback: Hell yeah.
*For I can love lightly and I can love strong. And I can keep the old love 'til the new love comes along. I only said I loved you for to give your heart ease. And when you're not with me, I'll love whom I please.*
[B]Chapter One[/B]
A pouting Eve walked onto the elevator with the whole AI gang standing behind her to make sure she left.
"It's really been a pleasure. Let's never keep in touch." Cordelia said, making Eve glare at her.
"It's a new game, Eve." Angel said. "If I were you, I'd start thinking strategy."
"And here I was thinking revenge."
"And what do you imagine the senior partners are thinking?" The elevator doors closed on Eve. Lorne turned to his friends.
"Well, I'm thinking seabreeze, compadres. I gave up a lot of blood for this gig."
"And I didn't get any. I kept begging Eve to run, but..." Harmony shook her head, pouting. Spike didn't care, his own ego was bruised.
"Well, I've been prancing around thinking I had a destiny. Love to drown my embarrassment in a few pints."
"We should all get a drink." Fred said. "We haven't done that in...ever." Gunn agreed.
"I'm in. Cat and Fiddle?" He asked, pressing the elevator call button.
"Yeah," Wes chimed in, then turned to Angel. "Unless, of course, you're busy packing."
"A drink sounds good. I'll go get my coat." The elevator sounded just as Angel walked toward his office. The doors opened and everyone walked onto the elevator, minus Cordelia.
"You guys go ahead. We'll catch up. Oh, and Wesley?" Cordelia smiled admiringly. "You still work the best mojo in town." Lorned looked at Cordelia and pointed to Wesley incredulously.
"I bleed from the neck, he gets the props." Cordelia smiled as the elevator doors closed, drowning out the chuckling group.
Cordelia walked into Angel's office just as he put on his blazer.
"So..." Cordelia said, walking up to Angel, "you feel good?"
"I do. I just...I kind of feel bad about it."
"My God, you are a piece of work."
"I just don't feel like I deserve..." he shrugged, "I mean, all I did was beat up a tiny Texan. It's not like I helped anyone." He sat on the arm of the chair.
"Sure you did."
"Who?"
"Boy, I really do fall for the dumb ones." Angel looked up. Not sure how to feel about the insulting revelation. "You know how you're always trying to save, oh, every single person in the world? Did it ever occur to you, you were one of them?"
"No, it never did."
"Well, you made the list gorgeous." Angel smiled softly. "And you needed some help."
"And you were the one that helped me."
"I did my part." She sat beside him.
"Lindsey wasted a lot of energy trying to make me doubt myself. I know it's not even close to over, but I do feel like I can do this. Wolfram & Hart, whatever's coming, I feel like we can beat it."
"I know."
"You do?"
"I always did. I...I just needed you to know it, too."
"So all that stuff about the deals with the devil..."
"Was God's honest truth. But you're bigger then that. You'll win this in the end." She stands up and steps away. "I, uh...just wish I could be there to see it."
"What do you mean? You're not..." She turned to face him.
"I can't stay. This isn't me anymore. You can say good-bye to the gang for me, explain everything once you understand."
"That's gonna be never." He said, getting up and walking toward her. "I need you here."
"Don't make it hard, Angel." Cordelia said, tears in her eyes. "I'm just on a different road...and this is my off-ramp. The Powers That Be owed me one, and I didn't waste it. I got my guy back on track."
"Cordy, there's just-" Cordelia touched her hand to his face gently.
"We take what we can get champ, and we do our best with it. I'll be seeing you." Cordelia smiled through the tears and turned to walk out of the office. She stopped, turned around, and walked back to Angel quickly. "Oh, what the hell? One for the road?" He met her half way, hands cupping her face as he kissed her. The kiss was interrupted too quickly though when the phone rang.
"You know, um...I don't...I don't need to get that." Cordelia tenderly straightened his tie.
"That you have to get." She went to pull away as Angel walked to the phone. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him, then yanked the phone and cord from the wall.
"No. I don't." And then he kissed her again, his arms wrapping around her waist. Cordelia gave in to the kiss, opening her mouth to Angel's when his tongue swept across her lower lip. Her hands wrapped around his neck, her head tilting, allowing him better access.
Angel's hands moved to her shirt and pulled hard. The material ripped and she broke away from him, eyes wide.
"You ripped my shirt." He grinned wolfishly.
"I'll buy you a new one." He said, then captured her lips again. An alarm in her brain went off, but her hands betrayed her and went to his shirt, slowly undoing the buttons. She knew she should stop, turn around, and walk out the door. But the PTB did owe her, and an extra hour or two making out with a shirtless Angel wouldn't hurt.
She ran her hands along his smooth chest, then followed the trail with her lips. Angel shivered and moved his hands to the front of her bra, snapping the garment in half.
"Angel," she protested weakly. He smiled.
"You know the aggressive thing turns you on."
"Honestly, anything you do turns me on Angel." She responded seductively, biting down softly on his nipple. Angel growled and pulled her flush against him, his demon face staring down at her. She reached up and caressed the ridges of his face, before pulling his head down to meet her lips for a kiss.
His lips moved from hers, down her chin and under, to her neck, across her shoulder, moving further south.
"Angel, we should st...Angel...ah..." she gasped as his mouth took her breast into his mouth, fangs lightly scraping the sensitive mound. A jolt of heat shot through her body. Her hands pulled his head back up to face her. The lust and love in his eyes made her quiver. "Angel, we shouldn't. Your soul."
"Cordy. I don't think perfect happiness is even possible in the place. No matter how much I love you." She pursed her lips together as her eyes blinked away the tears threatening to fall.
"I love you too. But I have-"
'Just give me tonight. Make your decision tomorrow."
"I won't want to leave you."
"That would be the plan." He said, sending her a loving smile. "Come here." She didn't get a chance to move in either direction though as his fingers moved insider the waist of her pants and pulled her close to him.
His hands cupped her face with both hands and he bent down to kiss her lovingly. The sweetness of the kiss made her gasp. The gasped drowned in his mouth, his tongue brushing against her lips, slipping into her mouth. Cordelia's fingers moved down to his belt, removing it. The she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants.
He picked her up and carried her to his room and laid her on the bed. As he moved off of her, he peeled off her remaining clothing. His eyes drank in their fill, before traveling up and locking with hers. Their gaze was locked as he removed his pants and boxers, then climbed over her and placed a soft kiss to her nose.
"Not fair," she muttered.
"What?"
"You stared at me from head to toe, and I didn't even get a peek. You and your vampire speed..."
"That comes in handy later. I promise." Cordelia's legs moved on either side of Angel's body and he let himself linger there for a moment, getting lost in her eyes again. "I love you." She smiled, hiding her sadness, hoping that he'd understand tomorrow.
"I love you too baby." Angel's lips met hers softly as he entered her slowly, giving them time to savor the feeling. He stopped as he filled her completely, both of them shivering in pleasure at their perfect fit. He pulled out almost completely, then thrust hard and deep. Cordelia let out a soft moan, the whispery sound becoming more frequent as Angel worked up a rhythm that brought them slowly closer to the edge. Cordelia tried to increase the speed, but Angel refused.
"We got all night. No rush." He said, kissing her again. But despite his words, his speed began to increase. Cordelia lightly clawed at the insides of his forearms. A soft purr rumbled through Angel's body, and Cordelia felt it transfer to hers.
Angel's lips moved against hers as his thrusts grew more frequent, her legs wrapping tight around his waist. The kiss contrasted the rapid movements of their bodies. Cordelia began to shake and Angel felt her inner muscles tighten around him. Angel's mouth moved to her neck and he bit down with blunt teeth. The mild pain intensified her pleasure and she came, calling his name, fingernails digging into his skin.
Angel followed shortly behind Cordelia, cheek rubbing against hers, his lips whispering her name as he came. He held her to him, loving the sound of her deep breaths. Her hands scratch his scalp gently as his weight made her sink deeper into the mattress.
"I love you Cor." Angel said again, wanting her to know he really meant it and that he didn't say it just because he was in the moment. He wanted to assure her it wasn't just lust. Cordelia didn't need reassurance. She knew he did truly love her.
"I love you too Angel," he didn't hear it though as he fell asleep. It had been a long day. He didn't need to hear it either, he knew she loved him in return. Cordelia knew he was asleep and she took in a deep, shaky breath. "And I'm so sorry."
[B]Chapter Two[/B]
Angel woke up, feeling something he hadn't felt in a very long time: happiness. Not perfect happiness of course. Such a thing wasn't really possible being the CEO of an evil law firm. But he was as close as he could get. And now, with Cordelia at his side, everything seemed so much simpler. He smiled, eyes still closed, and reached for his love.
Angel's eyes snapped open when his arms couldn't find her. He sat up in bed, head instinctively looking to each side of his king sized bed, then around the room. For a moment, he almost believe the previous night didn't happen. But his scattered clothes on the floor, and the smell of sex and sweat shook those thoughts away.
"Cordelia?" He didn't hear a response. "Cordy?" Angel stood up and walked to the bathroom. He knew she wasn't in there before he even reached the room, but he had to look anyway. He turned away from the bathroom and stared around his room, unable to sense her anywhere. He pulled on a pair of pants and left the room.
Angel moved swiftly down the stairs, calling Cordelia's name as he went. Wesley, Gunn, and Fred heard the vampire's voice and met him in the Wolfram & Hart lobby.
"You guys seen Cordy?"
"Not since she went up to your room last night." Gunn said, then sent him a smirk. "From the look of you, you two spent some quality time." Angel didn't get the chance to answer as an employee brought him the telephone.
"What?" He answered. "Yeah, I know, she was...what?" His voice cracked. "No, but she...we..." now Angel started to panic. "Um, when did she...oh. She, um, she never did wake up? But-" Angel's eyes met his friends', the emotion obvious with glistening, unshed tears. "Yeah, okay." He hung up and the group stared at him, knowing by just the look on his face.
They all watched, frozen to their spots as Angel hung up the phone. It had yet to register in the vampire's mind. The words kept playing over and over again. Cordelia was dead...
Then it finally hit Angel and he threw his head back and let out a sound that shook the building. In it was the howl of his demon. Angry, fierce, murderous, enraged. And in it was a scream expressing his soul's torment. Lost, hollow, full of agony and outrage, his heart ripping to pieces as tears started to fall freely down his face.
All this combined in that terrible sound of grief that left the vampire's throat, creating something extremely painful and heartbreaking to hear. A sound that echoed throughout the law firm, that was heard for miles and felt by all, causing a shiver to run down the spine of everyone and everything, demon and human alike, chilling them to the core.
Angel fell forward onto his knees and grabbed onto Fred, who he didn't even know was there, burying his head in her abdomen, grasping onto her with everything he had, holding on for dear life.
She looked to Wesley and Gunn, not knowing what to do. The two looked back, just as confused and heartbroken, not hiding their emotions all to well either as Angel's heart wrenching sobs cut into all of them.
"Angel, it's-" Fred cut herself off. There was nothing to say. She couldn't tell Angel it would be okay. How did you convince someone life would go on when the only thing that made him wake up every morning was gone?
The only thing that had kept Angel going was the chance that Cordelia would awake, the two would finally be together, and some how, everything would work out and make sense again.
Now she was gone. And gone with her, was Angel's hope, his connection to humanity, and he heart. What was he supposed to do now? What would force him to wake up every morning and keep him from walking into the sunrise?
"I'm sorry Angel." She told him softly, her words only increasing his grief. She pursed her lips together and held onto him, giving into her own feelings of loss. Wesley and Gunn remained silent, the only sound registering that of Angel's sobs.
Spike walked in and saw the group, including his grandsire, who looked like he had lost everything that meant something in his world. Spike walked slowly to Wesley and Gunn, frowning.
"The chit." The two nodded slowly in unison. Spike didn't need any more words.
[B]Chapter Three[/B]
[I]Angel's lips kissed their way down Cordelia's spine, making her give a small shiver. Angel smiled, stopping at the tribal sun tattoo and tracing it with his tongue, before blowing on the moist patch of skin. He was rewarded with a small sigh of content. He kissed his way back up, lips whispering incoherent words as he did so.[/I]
Angel let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping as he did so. He stared down at the sketch pad in his hands. In the picture, she lay on her stomach, head turned to the left. Her eyes were closed and the smallest of smiles graced her lips. Her weight pressed into the mattress, back to him, the sides of her breasts sticking out slightly from below her.
He ran his finger down her spine on the paper, down to the tattoo he'd drawn to perfection and to the sheet just below. Her hair fell down her back and to the side in dark, smooth waves, contrasting the soft, smudged, gray of the bedding.
Even in black and white, she was radiant. His Cordelia. The woman with the beauty and cool indifference of a goddess. The woman with a smile so bright, it rivaled the sun. The woman who could compliment him and insult him at the same, leave you guessing, and wanting more. That was Cordelia Chase. Angel's Achilles' heel.
The door opened with a soft, almost inaudible creak. Angel didn't bother turning around. A mug of blood was placed on his beside table. He didn't reach for it, even as his stomach growled.
The need to feed was driving him insane. He hadn't drank since Cordelia's death a week ago. He felt his senses and his body weakening. Reality became a blur and he didn't care to return.
Spike sat in the chair opposite of Angel's bed and stared at the older vampire, then at the numerous mugs of blood.
"Come on mate. You gotta eat somethin.'" Spike said, feeling all too much like a parent counseling a broken hearted teenager through a break up.
Angel didn't respond. He just stared at the mug. He felt as if having an appetite so soon after Cordelia's death was a betrayal of his love. Angel knew life went on, and even as one grieved, the mind had a capacity for pleasure too, as wrong as it seemed. But his heart didn't choose to bask in that pleasure, and it was winning the battle.
Spike got up and sat by Angel, looking down at the newly finished image and frowned. Angel had taken up drawing again. That wasn't a good sign and Spike knew it.
"What are you doin' Peaches?"
"I've been...thinking. That's all."
"Thinking?"
"Yeah. It helps me to think with my hands."
"And occasionally...just the one hand?"
"Spike."
"Oh calm down."
"I'm not in the mood Spike."
"Listen Angel, I know you loved her-" Spike stopped when a sadistic chuckle escaped Angel's lips.
"Love. Spike, do not lecture me on love."
"I know what you're going through. There's nothing wrong with lovin' someone mate."
"What is love Spike? Honestly? I've been there and it only makes life harder. We bash ourselves to pieces against the glass of love like birds crashing repeatedly, stupidly into those enormous plate-glass windows. And for what? A brief moment of pleasure, quickly replaced by pain so horrible it kills you from your soul out."
"You don't mean that Peaches. You know you wouldn't give up a moment spent with that girl."
"Yeah, well, when you look back, sometimes the misses out weigh the hits Spike."
"Angel, you got people here who need you. You're runnin' the show."
"I didn't want to."
"You're takin' Wolfram & Hart out from the inside mate."
"Spike, I was a PI. That's what I wanted. It was simple. Private eyes are the toughest guys in town. They can take anything. Emotions didn't get in the way. That's why I went with it. They're all about the case, the bad guy. Sometimes about justice. They're all about doing what has to be done. But without her. It all seems pointless."
Spike watched Angel stand up and walk to the shower. He looked at the full mug and shook his head, taking the older ones in his hands and to the sink, dumping them out with a grimace.
Spike barely knew the chit and her death had left a hole in his undead heart. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Angel was going through.
The younger vampire stood up and walked out of the room, then into his own, getting ready for the funeral.
The night breeze was cold and everyone clutched their jackets or sweaters closer to their bodies. Except Angel, who allowed the wind to surround him, making the bottom of his long, leather duster circle around him.
He wore no fancy Armani suit, no expensive, Italian, leather dress shoes. He wasn't the high maintenance CEO tonight, runner of Wolfram & Hart. Tonight, he was just Angel. Black slacks, black shirt, black boots, black coat, hair spiked, dark eyes staring down at the freshly upturned soil covering the coffin.
Angel stood there, feeling completely alone, despite the four bodyguards around him, as well as Gunn, Wesley, Fred, Lorne and Spike. All of them keeping Angel secluded from the other people attending the funeral.
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles walked up to the Fang Gang, all casting a glance at the distraught Angel.
"How's he holding up?" Willow asked, though not really needing an answer.
"Not well. Locking himself in his room a lot. Won't sleep, won't eat. He's just kind of...there, you know?" Wesley asked.
"Well, it's expected," Buffy said. "They were really close."
"Really, [I]really[/I] close." Spike threw in.
"Can I see him?"
"He doesn't want to see anyone Buffy," Wesley said.
"But maybe I could help him. Try to talk to him. Snap him out of it."
"It's not something he can be snapped out of. He needs to grieve. When he has, he'll be back to normal." Wesley said reassuringly, though he didn't believe it, sending them a small smile, one that was supposed to be reassuring. It wasn't though, they could all see it wasn't a real smile.
"He's not really going to snap out of it, is he Wesley?" Willow asked. When he didn't respond, she continued. "What's going on Wes?"
"It's complicated."
"We have time."
"Yes, but Angel-" Wesley looked in the direction Angel was in, only to find the vampire had disappeared. "Well then, I guess we have time too."
"What happened?"
"Cordelia came home. We fought the bad guy, won, a normal Angel Investigations kind of day, just like old times. We went out for a drink. Angel and Cordy were supposed to meet up with us. They didn't."
"What happened to them?" Xander interrupted.
"Nothing happened [I]to[[/I] them. Cordelia, she, um, she stayed the night with Angel." Buffy gave him a strange look.
"Why?"
"Don't make him spell it out for ya luv." Spike said. "Just let your mind slip into the gutter and picture all the kinky things those two did and-ow!" Spike glared at Gunn, who punched him hard in the arm.
"Angel had sex with Cordelia."
"All night, and if I know Angel, and I do know Angel, probably a lot of the day too."
"Spike!" Wesley scolded. "Not now. And yes Buffy, Angel and Cordelia were together. When he woke up, she was gone. Then we got the phone call and found out she never even woke up."
"How's that possible."
"I don't know exactly. But we all know strange things happen. I think Angel might know something. But if he does, he's not sharing information." The two groups stood in silence, processing the information.
"So, what happens now?" Willow asked.
"Honestly," Wesley said, sadly. "I don't know." Again, silence swallowed them. A soft rain started to sprinkle down. The soft falling seeming to represent the tears that fell down Angel's face as he made his way slowly to the Wolfram & Hart building.
[B]Chapter Four[/B]
A knock on the door startled Angel awake. He lifted his head up from his desk, a piece of paper sticking to his face as he did so.
"Yeah?" He asked; removing the paper as Wesley walked in. Wesley took in Angel's disheveled appearance, and his eyes that seemed to be permanently swollen and blood shot.
"I take it your not going?" Angel looked confused.
"Where?" Wesley's eyes dilated slightly. Angel wasn't sure if it was frustration or outrage.
"Angel. Wolfram & Hart has a meeting with the new Council today."
"Oh. Yeah. I, um, I kind of-"
"Forgot?"
"Yeah."
"Angel. I know Cordelia's death was hard on you especially, but it's been about a month now. I'm not saying to stop mourning. We all still are, and we all miss her terribly. I know you loved her and that it's hard for you to focus on anything else, but you still have a business to operate." Angel nodded. Though Wesley saw the motion, he knew the words went in one ear and out the other.
"I know Wes." Angel sighed. "Listen, I'm not the Council's favorite company. We both know that. You should go. You'll know what's going on. I'll probably just zone out or piss them off. Probably both. Just let me know if there's something I need to take care of, all right?"
"Sure Angel." Wesley left the room. He knew that the new Council wasn't too concerned with Angel's past, or their past confrontations. Wesley was positive Angel knew this too. However, the vampire obviously did not want to deal with the Council, and pushing him wouldn't do anything but add anger to his heartbreak.
Angel laid his head down, trying to get lost in the simplicity of his dreams. He was about to curse Wesley for the interruption, when his eyelids started to feel heavy. He went asleep, content with letting Wesley live.
Wesley walked toward the conference room. Just outside the door, seated on a rather lumpy couch were Willow and Xander, which told Wesley that Buffy was here, and Giles probably was too. He passed the two with an acknowledging nod, and then walked into the conference room.
As anticipated, Buffy and Giles were in the room, seated on the right side of the table with other members of the new council Wesley did not recognize. On the left, were other employees of Wolfram & Hart. Wesley took a seat at the head of the table, where Angel would have sat, and swallowed the lump in his throat at the confused glances in the room.
"Angel will not be joining us tonight. He has other cases he has to deal with," Wesley said. [I]He probably went back to sleep on that damn desk.[/I] "Regardless, we should get on with the meeting." They all nodded in agreement. An older looking man spoke up. Wesley assumed he was the one running the show for the Council now.
"Just as well. I don't think he would have appreciated the topic of this meeting."
"Which would be?" Wesley asked, tone icier than the other British man speaking.
"The removal of his seer."
"Removal?"
[I] Angel knew it was a dream. He knew it as soon as her lips met his. But there was something so realistic about it; it took his metaphoric breath away. She pulled away from him, and he reached for her. She let him hold her, but used her arms to keep him at a distance.
"Not why I'm here Angel," she told him. He furrowed his brow, and she ran her fingers over it, smoothing it out.
"I know why you're here."
"You don't." She grasped his hand in hers, and then tilted her head to the side. He looked in the direction she nodded, confusion kneading his forehead together again.
"I don't..." he stopped when the sound of the monitor flat lining echoed loud in the room. He looked at the machine, at the wires that were obviously disconnected, then to the door. By the time he looked at the door, all he saw was a head of blonde hair as the person left. He looked down at Cordelia in his arms, and jumped at the corpse she had become, a shout mixed with surprise and fear leaving his throat. [/B]
Angel woke up with a start from his dream and took in a few unneeded breaths to calm himself down. He sat in silence, allowing the dream to play in his mind repeatedly, trying to focus on the details that were becoming a distant, blurry memory.
The hospital, Cordelia, wires unplugged, blonde hair, the door crashing closed, camera in the upper corner by the TV.
Angel got up from his desk, pulled his trench coat on, and walked down the stairs at a brisk pace, passing Fred as he did so.
"Angel. You came down...where are you going?"
"I'll be back Fred. I have to go figure something out." Fred watched him leave, concerned, but grateful he was out of his room and office.
"Removal? Define removal." Wesley said, voice stern. He feared where this was going.
"I don't think you need me to draw it out for you." Wesley's eyes widened in horror.
"You killed her!"
"Of course not. We had someone else do it." Wesley reached for the guy's throat when Giles grabbed on to him and held him back.
"Wesley, calm down." The head of the Council told him. "It's not as if we had anything against Cordelia personally. But she did help block out the sun and bring Jasmine about, nearly ending the world."
"That was not her. Her body was invaded by whatever evil entity that was. You can not hold her accountable."
"We understand that. But we couldn't risk the chance of her being evil when she came back."
"She wasn't evil."
"You don't know that for sure."
"I may not have, but Angel did."
"How when she never woke up?" Wesley glared. Argument would be pointless. He knew that much already. "This is why we weren't upset Angel did not join us. His love for his seer clouded his judgment. But you understand what we had to do; you understand the risks of her being alive."
"Or maybe my judgment is clouded as well."
"Wesley, you have to understand."
Angel just didn't understand it. He heard the words coming out of the woman's mouth, but they weren't making any sense. His brain seemed unable to comprehend what she was saying.
"I'm sorry. This isn't making sense. Can you repeat that?" She rolled her blue eyes in frustration, less than happy with having to repeat herself.
Normally, Angel would just turn on the charm and get all the information he needed. His spirit wasn't up to that bluff, though. He didn't have the energy, or the patience.
"The doctor was fired. As soon as the hospital found out what happened, they let him go."
"Why weren't we informed?"
"You were."
"I think I would know if I was told Cordelia was murdered." He said, tone low and nearing a growl. The woman wasn't fazed.
"There was an investigation on it. Not that it took too long, the video proved what happened. As soon as we were positive, you received a phone call. I know. I made the call myself; asked for you personally, and you told me you already knew." Angel blinked as he thought over the past month.
Somewhere in his memory, he could recall the phone call. He answered. As soon as he heard "hospital," "Cordelia," and "death;" he recalled barking, "I know" into the phone, and hanging up.
Angel groaned. Wesley was right. He needed to get his head back to reality. He looked up at the woman. Might as well start now.
"Can I see that video?" She looked at him. For the first time since Angel had been here, he saw some compassion in the woman's gaze. He gave her a faint smile. She returned it for a moment, then nodded, instructing Angel to follow her.
