The Return

Author: Nicole Lane

Summary: Cordelia performs a spell to bring Doyle back from the dead. How will the gang react to his arrival and how will they fare when a new big bad makes his presence known? Set in season four. Cordelia/Doyle.

Chapter four: Conversations

Angel was in shock. Cordelia stared at him in twisted defiance, and the rest of his employees looked startled and confused. The focus of his shock, however, stood behind the seer, and was a man he had watched die nearly three years before. The vampire sputtered and stumbled over his words as they came pouring out, "how is this…oh my…"

Doyle smiled crookedly at his former boss and tipped an invisible hat. "Good to see you, Angel."

"Is it really you?" asked Angel in a hushed whisper. Still, the question carried through the lobby and only served to further confuse the rest of the staff.

Doyle walked down a few stairs, surpassing Cordelia with a comforting squeeze on her shoulder. The smile on his face changed into something more affectionate as he looked at his old friend. "It is. Looking well, Angel."

His eyebrows drew together as Angel continued to stare at Doyle. His voice, when it finally came, was cool as his gaze shifted to the seer, now behind Doyle. "I would be lying if I said the same." He frowned. "Cordelia, you hid this from us?"

Her face still betrayed the defiance Cordelia felt toward Angel. She knew he would be clouded by the feelings he had for her, and that the vampire would make Doyle feel unwelcome because the half demon carried the same feelings. Cordelia adopted a carefree tone as she spoke, but let her eyes tell Angel a different story. "I was still reeling from the fact that it worked. I just wanted to bask in my own awesomeness for a bit." She laughed lightly, but the tension in the lobby was still overwhelming.

Doyle frowned at Angel and backtracked until he and Cordelia shared the same step. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he chided, "cut her some slack, Angel. She only wanted to help me."

Angel hardened his features and crossed his arms, spurred on by the unwavering expression Cordelia still levelled toward him. "No, this should have been a team decision."

It was Connor who finally asked the question that the majority of the gathered crowd had been internally wondering during the entire exchange. His gaze was distrustful and a tad jealous. "Who is this man?"

Cordelia smiled at the teenager and softly answered, "Connor, this is Doyle." She watched recognition wash over Wesley, but decided to elaborate when Connor, Gunn and Fred still looked on in confusion. "He was one of the original team members."

Amusement bubbled up inside Cordelia as she watched something spark for Fred. The Texan smiled and proclaimed, "the man who gave you the visions!"

Doyle suddenly tensed beside the seer. His stare was full of horror and regret when Cordelia met his eyes. He whispered, "you have visions?"

Cordelia bit her lower lip and, in a similarly low voice, responded, "when you kissed me, they passed on."

"Princess, if I had known…" He closed his eyes so she would not have to see the sorrow he felt.

Cordelia let her hand rest against Doyle's cheek as she shook her head emphatically. "No apologies. Those visions gave me a purpose." She smiled reassuringly until Doyle nodded slightly and let her hand fall to his chest.

Angel broke their moment, his voice harsher than necessary. "How do we known it's really Doyle, Cordelia? You could have released some horrible demon."

Her gaze hardened again and her voice was strong and unwavering as she responded, "I didn't."

Angel shook his head, overcome by sadness and trying to mask it with anger. He took a moment to collect himself and choked out, "so many things could have gone wrong."

"Nothing went wrong," said Cordelia, confidently. "I was reckless, sure, but it paid off."

Doyle laughed slightly, attempting to break the tension in the room. He looked down at his old friend with disbelief written across his face and a question in his eyes. "Angel, you're giving the impression that you're upset she saved me from hell."

Angel softened his resolve and sighed. "No. It is wonderful to see you. It really is." Just as the half demon began to smile, Angel qualified his response, snidely adding, "as long as you are you."

Cordelia gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. "He has been here all day, Angel, if he was a demon he would have attacked by now." Her hand found her hip and she raised her chin to the vampire, who continued to study the pair on the stairs with a mixture of shock, distrust and little bit of hurt.

Gunn spoke up for the first team since Cordelia and the stranger appeared at the top of the stairs and turned to his boss, offering a solution to the situation. "Not to interrupt what seems to be a pretty intense conversation here, but we could always get Lorne to read him. Find out if he is whoever you guys think he may or may not be."

Fred clutched her boyfriend's arm and nodded emphatically. "Charles is right. Lorne will be able to tell what his intentions are."

Doyle turned to Cordelia, asking without words her opinion on the newest development. She nodded her head at him, showing him that she agreed with the idea. She explained, "Lorne is an empath. A completely harmless, show tune singing empath. Would you agree to a reading?"

Doyle shrugged carelessly, trusting his saviour's judgement. "If that would make you all feel better."

Cordelia smiled and whispered, "Thank you, Doyle."

Doyle looked at her curiously and responded just as softly, "No problem, Princess."

Connor was the first to break the awkward silence that had fallen over the hotel. With a sullen expression he made for the weapon cabinet, muttering, "someone needs to patrol."

Gunn shared a look with Fred and cleared his throat. "How about I go with you, Connor?"

Connor didn't look up as he responded, "Sure."

Fred clutched her boyfriend's arm as he made for the cabinet, and nuzzled his neck. When she pulled away they shared another look and she whispered, "Be safe, Charles."

"Hey, with boy wonder on my heels I probably won't even see any action," assured Gunn with a crooked smile, gently pulling away from Fred and walking over to Connor.

The Texan frowned and mumbled, "I hope so."

Wesley shifted awkwardly and cleared his throat. "So, do we all go see Lorne?"

Angel shifted suddenly and made a bee-line for his office, a nasty scowl sprawled across his features. As he passed Wesley he ordered, "Call him, see if he can come over."

Fred stood awkwardly in the lobby as her boss passed by. She called out, meekly, "What if he's busy?"

Angel continued on as if Fred hadn't spoken. "Find me in my office when he gets here."

Doyle slowly descended the stairs, Cordelia following him with a worried expression. He paused at the foot of the stairs and turned to Cordelia with a small half smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Here I thought it was impossible for him to be any moodier than he was before."

She smiled sadly and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "You would be surprised."

Fred stepped toward the duo and extended her hand with an open smile. "Hi!"

Doyle smiled slightly as the bundle of energy radiated before him and after a quick glance back to Cordelia he accepted the hand. "Hi."

She shook back enthusiastically. "My name is Fred. Angel saved me from a hell dimension," said Fred with a wide, open smile.

Doyle laughed softly and patted Fred on the back. "Doyle." He quirked his lips thoughtfully and continued, "Angel saved me from myself, I guess."

Cordelia rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his abdomen. Her voice was soft, but carried purposefully through the lobby. "The Powers did, Angel was just a vessel."

Doyle turned his head slightly toward the beautiful woman and replied seriously, "I think we owe a lot more than you think to Angel, Cordy."

Fred glanced between the two, then to Wesley who was studying the interaction from afar. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and plastered another smile across her face as she vibrantly inquired, "So, you are a half demon, too?"

"Too?" Doyle questioned with a jovial grin as he settled into the conversation with Fred. "Are you a half demon, Darling?"

A silence enveloped the room again. Cordelia placed a hand on his shoulder and whispered, "Doyle."

He turned to Cordelia, shock coloring his face. Soon a smile broke across his features and a laugh bubbled up. "What? You? Wow, that is a secret you kept hidden pretty well."

Cordelia laughed lightly, but her eyes were clouded and worried when they met his. "It happened recently. I was born human, thank you very much."

Wesley spoke for the first time since Angel had locked himself in the office. "The visions were killing her, so Cordy had to become part demon to handle them." He glanced at Cordelia with a mixture of apology and resolve.

"Stop it." the seer said as she saw the horror pass over Doyle's face. She shot a dark look at Wesley who busied himself with a phone call at the main desk before focusing on the most important person in the room to her, explaining, "I could have given them up. I wanted to keep them. Having them made me feel closer to you."

Fred quirked a smile and looked between Doyle and Cordelia. "So, you guys used to date?"

Cordelia averted her eyes. "No."

"Not for lack of trying." Doyle amended with a grimace. The expression melted into a mask of pain as he swiftly grasped his side. "Could we sit down?"

Fred was immediately flustered and grasped Doyle's arm, leading the half demon to one of the lobby couches with Cordelia's help. "How rude of me! Are you hurt?"

Cordelia scowled and sharply remarked, "He just got an express ticket out of hell, which is not really a place known for hugs and kisses, Fred."

Doyle gave Cordelia a dark look and rubbed Fred's hand reassuringly and he said, "I'm fine. I appreciate your concern."

Cordelia sunk into the couch beside Doyle with a shaky sigh. "I'm so sorry, Fred." She dropped her head into her hands and continued, "I just feel so mentally and physically drained and just…argumentative."

Fred smiled at the seer and tipped her head in acknowledgement of the apology. "This is a pretty touchy situation, I understand." She lowered her voice and let her eyes dart to the office. "Angel was acting really out of character, too."

Doyle chuckled lightly and patted Cordelia's knee. "If that was Cordelia acting out of character then things really have changed around here."

Cordelia swatted him playfully and admonished, "Quiet, mister. Three years can really change a person." She attempted to make her face a mask of seriousness. "I matured."

Doyle pouted playfully. "I liked the high maintenance drama queen."

"I haven't changed that much." Her eyes drifted back to Wesley now that the miniature disaster had been averted. Her eyebrows quirked in question.

The former watcher responded with a slight nod, and elaborated, "Lorne can be by in half an hour."

Doyle grinned playfully and attempted to lighten the mood as he turned to the watcher and said knowingly, "Now you I remember hearing about."

Wesley raised his eyebrows slightly in curiosity and said, "Really?"

Doyle nodded and smiled at Cordelia as he responded, "Cordelia used to talk about you a lot. Wesley, right?"

Fred looked at her friend with shock and blurted out, "you used to have a crush on Wesley?"

Cordelia glowered at Doyle and rolled her eyes. "Drop it, guys." She pointed a finger at Wesley, who was smiling slightly knowing that the seer brought memories of their brief time together to LA. "And you shut up, mister. It isn't how it sounds."

Wesley cleared his throat uncomfortably and carried the conversation through the somewhat awkward diversion, again focusing the attention on Doyle. "I heard quite a bit about you, as well. We just missed each other, it seems. I arrived in Los Angelus shortly after your death."

Doyle frowned at the mention of his sudden departure. "Is that so?"

"Yes. Angel and Cordelia were still mourning you, in fact." The former watcher leaned forward, reverted to his old, sometimes untactful, ways of intellectual pursuit as he carelessly continued, "I must say, this is most fascinating. You were physically in hell? For all that time?"

Doyle cleared his throat slightly and a dark emotion clouded his features. "Seems that way."

Cordelia held out a hand to stop Wesley from continuing his train of questioning. She adopted a stern, but kind voice as she said, "Wesley, I can see all the questions swimming around up there, but can you file that away for another day?" She rose her eyebrows and gave him a pointed look.

Wesley blushed once the implication of Cordelia's gaze set in. He stuttered an embarrassed apology, "Of course. I apologise."

Doyle quirked a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "No problem."

"It is honestly wonderful to meet you, Doyle. I have heard a lot about you."

Doyle studied a spot on the floor, apparently becoming weary of the constant conversation. He responded softly, "All good, I hope."

Wesley glanced at Cordelia before saying, "for the most part."

Cordelia was quick to switch gears, turning to Wesley and sweetly asking, "We need to find Doyle something better to wear. The sweats are not doing it for me. Do you think you have anything we can borrow, Wes?"

Wesley rose quickly and began to leave the room, saying as an afterthought at the foot of the stairs, "Yes, of course, let me go find a change of clothing."

Cordelia watched him go with a smile before turning to the petite Texan and grinning hopefully, "Fred, could you grab my purse for me? I think it's upstairs." At her curious look, Cordelia elaborated, "headache pills." She touched her hand to her head and made a pained expression for effect.

Fred rose from the couch quickly and smile brightly, glad to be given a way to help the seer. She bounced to the stairs, calling behind her, "sure, I'll be right back!"

Cordelia smiled widely, and spoke in a voice full of fake enthusiasm and pep, "we'll be waiting!"

Doyle smile at her when they were well and truly alone and said, "you are evil."

Cordelia twisted her face in exaggerated hurt and questioned, "complaining?"

Doyle shook his head softly and replied, "never." He glanced around the spacious lobby and added, "finally, some peace and quiet. This place is a circus."

Cordelia nodded knowingly and rolled her eyes. "Happy you came downstairs?"

Doyle smiled softly and chose to ignore the derision in the woman's tone. She placed a gentle hand on her cheek and said in a clear, but low voice, "Happy to be home." His brow furrowed slightly as another thought crossed his mind. "I just wish Angel was happy, too." Both turned their attention to the office door, imagining the sulking vampire within.

tbc…

AN: I would apologize for the wait, but it might sound a bit insincere after all the waiting before. School is out for the summer, though, and updates will come much more frequently! This story should be done by the end of summer. I know it's a bit small this time, but its because I rearranged the chapters a little. The next one is 70 percent finished.

Thank you to my lovely reviewers who I am absolutely awful to. I would like you to know that (despite my apparent allergy to updating) you are the reason I continue writing.

So, thanks to: Anony, CampRockfan4ever, Carrie, Katharina Liebe, Skittles Rainbow Pride, and Verbal-Enigma.

A special thanks to Whooligan for finally talking me into posting this chapter. Thank you for all the kind words and motivation. And the death threats, too. No one wants to run afoul of Spike and his demon army. As far as WWAD…I think Angel would update.