My first Angel fanfic. I've been an admirer of Joss Whedon's work and I love the characters on the Angel show. This story is set in the last part of the first season, right after the events in the episode 'war zone'. Please R&R, let me know what you think. And bow down in praise of Joss Whedon. The man is a genius, really.

Eddie – an Angel by my side

He wasn't much to look at. He had a sharp nose, small, grey eyes, and a declining hairline. His hands were too big for his body, and his sense of style in clothes was practically non-existent. Nope, Eddie wouldn't win any beauty contests any time soon, at least, not in this dimension. He didn't stand out in a crowd, one way or the other.

But Eddie was a good person. He tried to live his life the best way he could, and although he didn't have many friends, he was the likeable sort of guy. People would say he had a good heart, and in LA, that was saying something. He didn't deserve to die the way he did.

Angel stood over the body of his upstairs neighbour and unconsciously shook his head. What did this guy ever do to anyone, he wondered. Eddie had been stabbed in the back, the knife severed a part of his spine, and perforated the lungs, judging from the blood that had spat out of Eddie's mouth, onto the street. After centuries of maiming and killing, I'm practically a forensic expert, he thought sarcastically. It was a sad sight. Somehow, the sight of him laying on the ground, his face locked in a surprised expression, filled Angel with a deep regret. He had come here because of one of Cordelia's visions, but he had been too late. Eddie was long dead.

The sound of approaching sirens broke the silence, and Angel climbed up the building adjacent to the crime scene. From the rooftop he watched the police officers finding the body, the ambulance arriving too little, too late, and the homicide detectives coming to take over the investigation. This is one of those cases they'll never solve, he thought. You can't expect a LA cop to wrap his head around the concept of V'Harri demons. The crime was normal enough, just your average street stabbing. But the offender, that was a whole different story. Angel had dealt with those demons before, and the knife which killed Eddie, Angel knew wasn't really a knife. It was the demon's left hand, of which the index finger was ten inches longer than the rest, and pretty sharp. But V'Harri demons usually ate their prey, and Eddie wasn't eaten at all. So why was he killed? And what was he doing in this part of town in the middle of the night anyway?

Angel decided to go back to his office, and put Wesley and Cordelia to work. Maybe Wesley would get something meaningful out of one his books. There had to be an explanation as to why Eddie wasn't eaten, and Angel felt that this explanation would be the key to this mystery. He jumped off at the other side of the building, making sure no one saw him fall five storeys down to the streets before landing on his two feet and walking away. Being a vampire definitely had it's perks. You know – aside from the vicious beast, always lurking under the surface. Angel had a soul, and with it came a conscience. But he never forgot what he really was, and what he was capable of. Other people have nightmares of monsters, I have nightmares of becoming one, he brooded.

He crossed the street, into an alley. He preferred the alleys to the open streets, something a therapist would probably have a lot to say about, as Cordelia once stated. Angel couldn't help but grin at the thought of Cordelia. For all her flaws, he knew she meant well, and her candidness was refreshing to him. Where other people would say nothing or remain polite, she never seemed to hesitate speaking her mind. She made things seem simpler, less complex. She was nothing like Wesley, who had a knack for complicating even the easiest of problems. But he shared Angels desire to do some good, and over the last couple of months, Angel had become very fond of him. My team, he thought. I may be the warrior, the champion according to some, but Wes and Cordy were the real heroes. They didn't have to do this, they didn't do this out of a century of guilt. They did it because it was the right thing to do. And then there was Charles Gunn. Angel didn't know him that well, but he understood him. Gunn was a warrior, like Angel. He led a vampire hunting gang, and taught himself to fight. For an ordinary human, he did quite well. There aren't too many humans who would be a match for a vampire. But Gunn held his own. Angel hoped to have a chance of working more with Gunn, who was not quite there yet in trusting a vampire with a soul. Angel couldn't really blame him. Gunn had just been forced to kill his own sister, who was turned into a vampire. You can't do that and walk away from it without scars. But the first foundations of trust were there, and Angel intended to build on that foundation any chance he got.

Angel found himself in front of the building which housed his office, while he was distracted by his thoughts, his instincts led him back home. "Home", funny, he didn't remember thinking of his apartment as home before. This city really grows on me, he concluded. He opened the door to the gallery and walked towards his front door. It said "Angel investigations" on the glass. It had kind of a ring to it, when Cordy thought it up. Now, it seemed almost pretentious. But then again, he thought, that's me. I am a vampire who calls himself Angel. I've never seen proof of actual angels or of a god for that matter, but if they do exist, I hope they can appreciate the irony.

Angel opened the door and walked in, to find Cordelia behind her desk.

"I was too late, Eddie was already dead. I'm sorry." Angel offered.

"Well, if Eddie's dead," Cordelia answered confusedly, "then who is this guy sitting in your office?"

Angel raised his eyebrows and stared at Cordelia. "There's a guy in my office?"

"Not a guy, it's Eddie!" Cordelia said impatiently. "He came in a few minutes ago."

Now Angel was confused. He saw Eddie, and between the spine severing and the blood flowing out of his mouth, Angel was pretty sure Eddie couldn't have walked away from it. So the next question would be…

"Who or what the hell is that in my office?"

That's all for now, more to come within a week I hope. Thanks for reading and showing an interest!