Um, I don't own this or anything else. Any attempts to sue will result in my giggling to the point of passing out because I do not have anything worth taking.

Axe in hand, Angel crept down the stairs with the grace and stealth acquired by age and experience. On high alert, he used his senses to locate his gracious host in the kitchen. There was a minimum amount of movement behind the door suggesting he would have a good chance of taking them completely by surprise. And then he'd get the hell out of there. Wherever here is.

Angel opened the door, poised to attack when he got a good look at the occupant of the kitchen. He stood frozen in the doorway.

He took in the sight. But he couldn't trust that. The First had tricked him before and had only gotten bolder as the years went by. Buffy and the other slayers may have defeated the army of the First but there's no way to actually defeat Evil Incarnate.

He listened. There was a heartbeat or a reasonable facsimile of a heartbeat. It sounded just like the millions he'd heard over the years since he'd been turned. But it was too easy to fake so it couldn't be trusted.

He smelled the air. It was the scent that convinced him. He would never forget that scent. Cinnamon, vanilla, and chilies overlaid by the floral notes of a designer perfume. Sweet, spicy and woman all wrapped up in a picture of beauty, class and grade-A Bitch. It was the scent that convinced him that this was indeed Cordelia Chase that sat at the kitchen table, eating Chinese food with a cup of what smelled like blood sitting at the place across from her.

"Sit down and eat before you fall down. I know you've been grieving but I would've thought years of being in my presence would've taught you the value of looking your best no matter the occasion. I was in a coma and I still got my hair and nails done." She gestured at him. "There's no excuse for this sad display."

"Cordy?" Her look softened and she flashed a bright smile at him.

"Yeah Angel, it's me."

Before she completed the sentence, he had crossed the room, gathered her up in his arms and held her close. This woman had been through so much with him. Sunnydale, the Scoobies, Doyle, Wolfram & Hart, Connor, and those were just the top five. She was his compass. When he lost her, he should've known he would lose his way soon after.

He valued Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Lorne, called them friend and mourned the loss of them, but none of them was Cordelia Chase.

They just stood in the kitchen wrapped around each other. Angel didn't want to let her go. He couldn't lose her again. A few minutes into the hug, Cordelia patted his back and tried to ease out of the embrace. He wouldn't budge.

"Angel?" No response. "Angel?"

He grunted.

"Angel, I love you, but if you don't let me go, I'm gonna show you the move my father's bodyguard taught me when I first hit puberty." Angel reluctantly released her. She gave him a small smile and sat back down.

"Eat." She commanded before returning to her meal. On autopilot, he sat down and took a sip of the cup in front of him. Angel blinked as he processed the taste of the blood.

"This is human." He looked at Cordelia almost accusingly. He could hear Angelus keen at the thought of something other than pig's blood.

Cordelia nodded. "Yup. Now hurry up and finish. We've got to get you back to your fighting weight."

"Cordelia, you know I don't drink human. I…" She cut him off.

"Look, not that the self-flagellation isn't cute and all but you not starving yourself on nutritionally deficient blood is just one of the many changes we're gonna be making. So suck it up. I want you to finish that and what's left on the stove because if you get staked because you're too weak and too damn slow to defend yourself, I will personally travel to hell to bring you back and I'll take you shopping every day for a month—Shoe shopping." She threatened. "Now, drink."

~~I like this girl~~ Angelus crowed. ~~I'm so glad I didn't kill her. Maybe I should've turned her.~~

Angel shuddered at the thought of a vampire Cordelia and shared the image with Angelus. The demon recoiled. ~~Maybe not~~

Angel smiled at the demon.

"Stop taunting Angelus and Angelus stop poking at Angel." Angel's head snapped up in shock. "I need your full attention. What I got to say is for the both of you because this affects you both."

~~Who does that bitch think she is?~~ Suspicion rose in both demon and soul.

~~It's almost like the lass is not afraid of me. It's fucking insulting~~

"Funny thing about being a higher power, having your body hijacked and practically raped for months on end by an old one who used your body to give birth to itself, being in a coma for a year and the dying. Not to mention the million dollar therapy inducing trauma of sleeping with a boy whose diapers you changed not 8 months before." Cordelia looked straight at Angel and he got the uneasy feeling she was looking directly at Angelus.

"Very little scares me now." Her eyes narrowed. "And I'm the Queen Bitch and you'd do well to remember that. Now we're gonna eat and I'm gonna explain things."

Angel would never admit it out loud, but he was a little bit afraid of the woman in front of him…and a little bit in awe. Nobody had stood up to Angelus like that since…

~~The boy~~ Angelus said in a wistful tone. ~~And his backbone is still more impressive~~

Angel thought back to that night and agreed.

"If you two are finished reminiscing, maybe we can get back to the reason we're here."

"You can hear Angelus? How?"

"A gift." Angel raised his eyebrows. "No, really. It was a gift. I have been designated your life coach/therapist/guide. Until my job is done, I will be able to hear both demon and soul when the need arises."

"Who would do that?"

"The same being that brought us here."

"Where is here?" Angel burst out suddenly. "I know where it's supposed to be but it can't be. Sunnydale is a pit on the horizon. It has been for over a year. Hellmouth or not, towns don't reappear out of thin air. Buildings yes, towns no." He said, thinking about Wolfram & Hart's rapid rebuild after the destruction of the Beast.

"It hasn't reappeared because it hasn't disappeared." She suddenly stood. "Take a good look at me, Angel. What do you see?"

Angel leaned forward in his chair. Cordelia turned in a slow circle. For a full minute, Angel studied her but he could see nothing more or less than the beautiful woman she had always been. She completed her circle and stood facing him with her hands on her hips.

"Well?" Angel just looked at her with a clueless expression on his face.

~~Oh you lackbrain! You've taken too many hits to the head by Slutty. I never thought you could shame me further but this is a whole new level~~ Angel could feel Angelus fuming in his cage. He tried but he still wasn't getting it. Angelus screamed in frustration.

~~She's a goddamn teenager again!~~ Angel's face slowly morphed from puzzlement to shock as Angelus' words sunk in.

"Finally! We're getting somewhere!" Angel sputtered.

"How? What?" Then the full implication hit him.

"We're actually in Sunnydale? Before it imploded?"

Cordelia nodded. "We're about 6 weeks before Miss Bottle-blond comes to town." She stared at him with a determined look in her eye.

"This time, things are going to be different." She straightened her spine. "We've got work to do."