Title: Mine
Author: Aimee
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Awakening
Pairing: Angel/Cordelia
Summary: Cordelia's heart belongs to Angel.
Disclaimer: If you recognize them, they belong to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Otherwise, they're mine.
Author's Note: In my version, everything Angel dreamed of actually happened. Angelus never appeared.
Angel knocked Connor down. "It's not all about you, Connor. What you want isn't always what other people need," he told his son.
Connor lunged at his father. "She's mine!" he screamed as he punched Angel across the room. "She was mine," he repeated.
"No, she wasn't," Cordelia told him as she and Wes entered the room. "I'm sorry, Connor, but you need to understand that. The truth is, my heart has belonged to your father for a long time."
He just looked at her for a second and walked off into the night.
Cordy looked at Angel, desperation clearly written across her pretty face. "Wes, could you give us a few minutes?" Angel asked the other man.
Wes looked from one to the other and nodded. "Sure. I'll wait for you on the steps to the entrance," he told him and left.
Angel watched as heartwrenching sobs seemed to overcome Cordy. He was beside her in an instant, lowering them both to the floor and gathering her in his arms. She buried her face against his chest and sobbed. He just held her, knowing that was what she needed most at that moment.
"It's all my fault," she told him, lifting her head from his chest and looking into his eyes. The look on her face nearly broke his heart. "If I wouldn't have been so stupid, none of this stuff with Connor would be happening."
"Cordy, we all make mistakes," he told her softly.
"But I fed, changed and bathed him when he was a baby," she whispered as the guilt washed over her and tears overwhelmed her once again.
"Shh, it's okay," he told her, holding her close. His heart ached for her, knowing this would haunt her for a long time to come.
"How can you ever forgive me?" she asked softly.
"Because I love you," he told her softly.
"I love you, too, Angel," she whispered.
"I guess we should go find Wes before he wonders what happened to us," he told her, kissing her softly.
She smiled a smile that Angel knew was genuine because it reached her eyes. "Yeah," she said, reluctantly removing herself from his embrace.
Standing up and brushing himself off, he pulled her into his arms once again. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, Cordy, but it's a gift I will treasure for the rest of my life," he told her softly.
"Oh, Angel," she whispered.
"I promise to love and cherish you," he told her.
She smiled that brilliant Cordelia Chase smile that made him fall in love with her all over again. "You already do," she told him, laying a hand on his cheek and looking into his beautiful brown eyes. "I love you," she whispered as she leaned up to kiss him softly.
"I love you, Cordy."
She smiled and took his hand in hers. "Let's go home," she said. With that, they made their way to where Wes was waiting for them.
