Chapter 4
"Tonight you will become a man." Angel said to his son.
Connor looked at Gunn and Wesley.
"This is for real Connor. Angel realized that you had probably never been with a girl. Holtz being what he was he probably never let you get near women. Also we have no idea if you even know how to have sex with a girl. It's not that we think your stupid or anything but we know what kind of man Holtz was. Young men usually learn about these things from other young men. Which means after we get through talking to one of our friends that we think knows how to have sex we usually come away still knowing absolutely nothing." When Wesley seemed to be done talking Angel stepped in.
"Connor I'm going to do the same thing for you that an older man, that I looked up to, did for me. He arranged for an older woman to be my first sex partner. She was an older woman that knew how to teach young men how to make love. To a woman the foreplay is important. To us men all we want is the intercourse. But if your partner isn't satisfied then your not really making love your just having sex. My teachers name was Mary. She taught me how to make love to a woman. She is the reason why Cordy often says that the women were probably taking numbers for the chance to share my bed." Connor was surprised that Angel was being so open about his personal life before he became a Vampire. He usually didn't like talking about his pre-Vampire days. "Connor I specifically asked for an experienced older woman that would teach you. She is also going to teach you about protection. When I was a young man we didn't know about all of the diseases that you could pass onto your partner or that you can get from them. We just got sick and died early. "
Wesley looked at Gabriel and said "make sure he learns all about protection and the consequences if he doesn't use them."
"We'll take good care of him." Gabriel said. Gunn, Wesley and Angel left then. They didn't want to embarrass Connor anymore then they already had. Angel, Wesley and Gunn went to Carritas for the next 3 hours. They spent the time talking about their first time with girls. Angel of course had more interesting stories since his took place a couple of centuries ago. The guys tried to get him to tell them his secrets of how to make love to a woman.
"Sorry guys part of the reason that women are attracted to me is because I'm a Vampire."
"That's okay Angel. I have a way to find out your secrets. The first time you nail Cordelia, I'll get Fred to talk to her and then Fred will tell me." Gunn said. "Also for a small fee I'll give that information to Wesley." "Gee thanks." Wesley said in response.
They spent the next 3 hours like this just shooting the bull and bragging about their conquests. Three hours after leaving Connor they where in the parking lot of the theater to pick him up. Connor came running over to them 15 minutes later.
"Lets go, I'm hungry." The men just looked at him and busted out laughing.
"Okay Connor how many times did you do it?" Gunn asked.
"How many times do you think?" Connor asked them. Gunn said 2 times. Wesley said twice.
"I say three times." Angel said.
"No, come on Angel, I know he has your strength but 3 times in the last hour or hour and a half."
"The first time was for himself, the second time was when she taught him what to do to a woman and the 3rd time was for when she taught him what rang his chimes." Wesley and Gunn looked at Connor for confirmation.
"He's right." Connor said.
"I told you I had a good teacher and apparently Connor did to. What did you pay Gabriel?"
"Five hundred for the night." Gunn answered.
"Give him another thousand Wesley. Also give him my thanks for taking care of my son so well. Find out who the woman was and send her 3 dozen white and red roses and personally hand over to her $1,000. What ever you do Connor don't ever mention this to the women. This is something that only us men will know about."
The guys finally made it back to the hotel by 2 am in the morning. Connor went to the kitchen to make a sandwich and Wesley, Gunn and Angel went to their rooms. Angel warmed up some blood and drank it then went to bed. Cordelia was sleeping in her own bed tonight which Angel thought was probably for the best. He was afraid he might talk in his sleep about tonight and then it would be the dog house for him.
The next morning the men came dragging in. They all just sat down at the table and waited for their coffee. When they realized that the women were not going to bring the coffee in Wesley got up to get it for them. He found that there was no one in the kitchen. He did find a note by the coffee maker. He started the coffee and some hot water for his tea and went back to the table.
"There is no one in the kitchen but I did find this note. It's to all of us from Cordelia."
"What does it say?" Angel asked.
"Fred and I took Dr. Martin to run some errands. We will probably be gone all day so you guys are on your own. While we are gone you can spend the day clearing a space in the main kitchen. You will find a map of the kitchen and the space Dr. Martin wants you to clear. Also you can pick up a small microwave to put into room 412. Stock it with the following supplies."
Angel looked at the others. He put his head down on the table.
"I don't know how but she knows what we did last night." Angel said.
"Hey I was just doing what my boss told me to do. I am innocent." Gunn said. He was hoping if she believed he was just doing what Angel told him to do he would get away with only a few minor injuries.
"No, she couldn't possibly know. She's just baiting the hook Angel and she's waiting to see which one of us will lose our nerve and confess." Wesley said.
"I hope your right Wesley. You know how she can make me squirm. I don't know how she does it but she can make me confess to the sinking of the Titanic." Angel was definitely going to have a bad day.
The girls had stopped at a local restaurant to have breakfast. They were taking their time.
"They should be up by now. They are probably reading the note right now and Angel is starting to squirm. The others are thinking if Cordelia can make Angel squirm what is she going to do to us if she finds out the truth of what we did last night. Angel you better confess to her. If we throw you out as the sacrifice she'll leave us alone. That woman can do some serious harm to a mans mind." Cordelia said as she painted an imagined scenario to Fred and Dr. Martin. They were all laughing at how easy it was to make men squirm. It was an ability that all women were born with. But Cordelia had it down to a fine art.
"So how did you find out what they did last night?" Dr. Martin asked.
"I don't know what they did but Angel will get so nervous that he'll confess. That's when I will find out and respond as though I always knew." Cordelia smiled at them.
"You are a wicked woman Cordelia Chase." Dr. Martin said.
"They don't call me Queen C in Sunnydale for nothing." They all laughed at her. She was a real pro at handling mens minds. She could take them and make them do what ever she wanted.
"Come on Dr. Martin you must have done it to your husband from time to time." Cordelia said.
"Yes, but nothing like you do to Angel and the rest. My games usually took place when I wanted him to fix the dinner at night so that it would be ready when I came home. He used to irritate me by not putting his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. I would think of different ways to get him to put them in the hamper. But you know Cordelia, when he died I went home and took all of his clothes out of the dirty laundry and my son's toys and tossed them up in the air and left them where they landed for at least one month. All of the things that they did that irritated me before seemed insignificant to the pain that I felt in my heart. It's funny how the irritating things they did are the things that I missed the most. I cried for what seemed like a month after they died. I still miss them Cordelia. Be careful or when and if Angel dies before you, you will have too many things to regret. Let's go I have a lot to do before dark." Dr. Martin picked up her bag and the bill and went to pay for their breakfast.
They all piled into the car without saying anything. Cordelia was driving. After awhile she decided to break the silence.
"Did I ever tell you how Angel used to play a game with me with money?"
"You mean where he would hide some money when you were in the old office." Fred said.
"Yes, but I never told you why I was able to smell the money."
"What do you mean smell the money. I never heard or read about this in the Watchers Chronicles." Dr. Martin said.
"This happened before Wesley joined Angel Investigations. I used to tell him that I could smell money. For entertainment and when things were slow, as they usually were, Angel would hide a $20 bill around the office and then wait for me to find it. The first time he did it I only took 20 minutes to find it. After I realized how much fun he was having watching me look for the money I started taking longer to look for it. One day I entertained him for almost 3 hours. I never told him though why I can smell money."
"You must be allergic to the ink or paper." Dr. Martin said.
"Yes, I'm allergic to the ink that they use. How did you know?"
"There are a few cases like yours that have been documented." Dr. Martin said.
"Well the way I found out that I was allergic to it was when I was a little girl my parents took me to the Treasury department where they print the money. I started to have such a hard time breathing that I passed out. When I opened my eyes I was on the floor outside of the printing room. The nurse that they had on staff said that some people are allergic to either the ink or the paper and react in different ways. She said that I probably would have to be careful when going into a bank, if they had a new shipment of freshly printed paper money I might have the same reaction. She was right because whenever I have to go inside a bank I have to call ahead and ask if they have received any new stacks of money. Now days though I almost never have to go inside. You can take care of almost everything through the drive up windows so that's what I do when I can't go in. Don't ever say anything to Gunn, Fred because he'll tell Wesley then Wesley will tell Angel. Our game will be over then."
"Here is the address of the pharmaceutical company that has all of the supplies that I want to be kept at the hotel. Do you know where it is?" Dr. Martin asked Cordelia as she handed her the address.
"Yes this is over in the San Gabriel valley over by Covina. It's just on the other side of the town.
It took them almost an hour to drive over there. The traffic was terrible during the day and not just Monday thru Friday but every day. As they were driving down main street they happened to see Wesley going into an office that was right next to an adult theater.
"This is very interesting. Yes indeed very interesting." Cordelia laughed a low wicked laugh.
"Cordelia, your going to use this information to find out what they did aren't you?" Dr. Martin asked.
"Who me? I wouldn't do a thing like that when Angel is in such a precarious condition. Why that would be cruel. I'm hurt that you would even think that."
"Tell me Fred, why don't I believe her?" Dr. Martin asked.
"Maybe it's because we know her to well." Fred said.
They all had a good laugh over that. They reached the pharmaceutical company a few minutes later and Cordelia parked the car right in front of the company. Dr. Martin was the first to get out of the car.
"Come on girls I don't want to let you out of my sight."
"Lets go Fred I guess she wants to keep an eye on us." Cordelia said.
"No I think it's you she wants to keep an eye on Cordelia." Fred said.
"Why me. Poor simple innocent me. Why I wouldn't hurt a fly." Cordelia said as she continued to grin from ear to ear.
"It's not that you would hurt the fly that I'm worried about Cordelia. It's the fun you would have from torturing it." By then they had reached the door and went inside. Dr. Martin went to the receptionist and gave her the Business card that John had made up for her.
"I would like to speak to someone about ordering a large amount of medical equipment and drugs, bandages that sort of thing and I want to get all of that done within the next 2 hours. Can you get me someone that can do that?" The receptionist called someone on the phone.
"Mr. Randal will be with you in just a few minutes. Would you like something to drink. Coffee, tea or some kind of cola?"
"No thank you we just had breakfast a while ago. Thank you though." Dr. Martin went back to Cordelia and Fred and sat down.
Mr. Randal came out in just a few minutes as the receptionist promised.
"Good morning Dr. Martin I am Tony Randal. Yes I know I have the same name as the actor but no we are not related. Everyone asks so I always try to get it out of the way first. Would you follow me please and I will show you around the plant if you would like."
"No that's quiet alright Mr. Randal I really don't have time for this. What I would like is to see a catalog if you have it and for you to be ready to write down whatever I tell you to. Do you mind if my companions come with us.?"
"No problem. Please would you all follow me and will go into a meeting room where we can be more comfortable. We also have a computer in their so I can tell you right away if we have something in stock and can deliver it tomorrow."
Cordelia and Fred followed them into the meeting room and the receptionist brought in some coffee even though Dr. Martin declined any. Mr. Randal usually liked it though and so she brought enough for everyone.
Fred and Cordelia were impressed with the business like demeanor that Dr. Martin displayed. She was ordering equipment left and right. Poor Mr. Randal could hardly keep up. She only stopped and spoke to them once.
"Fred do you know how to use a microscope and do simple tests? I know you were going to school to become a physicist but what I don't know is how far you went. If I knew that then I would know what you are able to do."
"I was on my final year of school and I would have graduated in just 3 months."
"Good, then I'll order you a bunch of toys also. Do you have another catalog that they could look at Mr. Randal?" Dr. Martin asked.
"Yes of course." He called the receptionist and asked her to bring in some more catalogs.
Dr. Martin was done by 3 o'clock and gave Mr. Randal her credit card to pay for everything. Her credit card had no limit on it. Since Dr. Martin was a nun she did have to ask for permission from the Mother Superior to use her own money for this transaction. Her vow of obedience took precedence in this case. She had called Mother Superior the previous night and asked for permission to do this. Permission was always given for a Sister to use their own money but the rules stated that they must ask for permission. The rule was there so that religious wouldn't spend money unnecessarily and thus observe their vow of poverty. Dr. Martin had been a wealthy woman when she went into the convent and had put everything in the hands of a very good friend that was a CPA. She received monthly reports of her finances but that was the extent of her involvement. This was the first time that she had ever used the credit card that he provided her with.
By the time they were done it was 3:30 in the evening. Cordelia was eager to leave because it would be dark by the time they arrived. She knew Angel would be pissed. She thought it would be best if she called him to let them know they had just finished with Dr. Martin's business and that they were on their way back.
"Cordelia I want you to stop at a church that is by the Los Angeles County Hospital." Dr. Martin promised she would only be in there 10 minutes.
"Okay I'll call Angel and let him know that we'll be late getting back."
After stopping at the church Dr. Martin kept her word and was gone only 10 minutes. They were back on the road and arrived at the hotel at 6:30.
Cordelia, Fred and Dr. Martin ran into the hotel. They all had to go to the bathroom real bad after having the coffee at the company.
Angel came running into the lobby from his office but all he got was a glimpse of the women running up the stairs.
Wesley and Gunn where just finishing putting a bunch of sandwiches together for everyone and they came into the lobby just in time to see them running up the stairs.
"I guess someone had to go to the bathroom real bad." Gunn said.
Ten minutes later the women came back down and went to the table.
"Well I think we should go out more often Fred. They have everything ready and all we have to do is sit down and eat. Did you fix some blood for Angel?" Cordelia asked.
"He's in there now fixing it." Wesley said.
Dr. Martin came and sat down along with everyone else. Angel was drinking his blood and watching everyone else enjoy their sandwiches.
"Why don't you have a sandwich Angel?" Dr. Martin asked.
"I don't eat solid food very often because I can't taste it and I can't survive on it."
"Go ahead anyway and try one." Dr. Martin saw that Angel wasn't going to take one so she grabbed a roast beef sandwich and put it in front of him. "Consider it Doctors orders."
Angel looked at her and then at Cordelia. He took a small bite just to make her happy. Then he took a larger bite of the sandwich.
"I can taste it, I can taste it." Angel took another bite and slowly chewed it and savored the taste.
"How, why?" is all he could get out in between bites.
"Consider it a gift from St. Michael. That's all I know."
When he finished it he asked if he could have another one.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you and don't do it to often. Your body isn't used to solid foods and if you should be staked or shot your really going to be in for problems and it will take you longer to heal."
Gunn was never one to pass up the opportunity to take a jab at Angel.
"Mmm mm, this roast beef sandwich is so good. Im on my second one it's so good. And these new chips are good too. We have to make sure we get these again their so good."
Everyone was watching Gunn so they didn't even notice Angel get up from his chair and go to him.
"Now, what were you saying about that sandwich?" Angel asked. He had his hand on Gunn's shoulder just for emphasis.
"Nothing Angel, nothing. I was just saying how good the sandwiches tasted." Gunn was laughing so hard he almost choked on his sandwich. Angel grabbed the sandwich and they both fell to the floor when Gunn wouldn't let go. These two big men that fought demons side by side were now on the floor fighting over a sandwich like two big kids. Gunn managed to shove the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and Angel finally stopped and went back to his chair. Cordelia just looked at him with a smile on her face.
"Did you have fun?"
Angel looked at her and drank some of his blood that was now getting cold. He grabbed her glass of water and downed it in one gulp. He wiped his had with the back of his hand.
"As a matter of fact yes it was fun." He leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Wait until later tonight and I'll show you exactly how good I'm feeling."
"Doc you better get the tranquillizers out again." Cordelia said.
"Sorry Cordelia. I'll only use those when it's for Angels own good. Besides you always have the bat under the bed." They all busted out laughing at that one.
Cordelia gave Angel a kiss and started to clear the table.
"Angel come with me out into the garden I want to talk to you and I want to stretch my legs. Their sore from sitting too much."
They went into the garden and Dr. Martin turned to Angel.
"I wanted to tell you that tomorrow we'll be going upstairs to room 412. Cordelia and Fred fixed it up yesterday for us. We turned the refrigerator on and took up some snacks for me and blood for you."
"It sounds like we're going to be up there for a while." Angel started to back up and away from her.
"Yes we will. I'll allow only one more person up there with us. Do you want Cordelia with you?" Dr. Martin had noticed Angel backing away but she didn't say anything. She just made a mental note of it.
Angel thought about it. Dr. Martin knew he wanted to say yes but he also didn't want Cordelia to see him so vulnerable. His need for her to be by his side was apparently stronger though.
"Yes, I want her with me."
"When ever your ready come up to the room. Don't worry about keeping me waiting I have plenty to keep me busy." She gave him a smile and went through the doors leaving Angel to his thoughts.
Angel spent a restless night. Angelus was constantly assaulting him with accusations of how he knew all about the killing of people. Especially the children. He would tell him that Dr. Martin was lying about the date of Kathy's death. Angel was their and told him, Angelus, what to say in order to get into the house. He reminded him of how good her blood tasted.
The next time Angel woke up from a nightmare he looked to his side to see if Cordy was still there. Then he remembered she had decided to take a bubble bath in her own bathroom before going to bed. She must have fallen asleep when she got out of the bath. Angel pulled his sweat pants on. He didn't bother with his shirt. He went to his door and opened it. He looked up an down the hallway to see if anyone was up yet. Angel quietly went across the hallway to Cordy's room and carefully opened the door. There she was, it was like he thought, she still had her bathrobe on and was lying on the bed crosswise. He carefully laid on the bed beside her and tried not to wake her up. As soon as he layed down he was asleep and this time it was a deep restful sleep.
When Cordelia awoke in the morning she found Angels arms around her. She felt the top of her head starting to get warm and realized her drapes were open. The sun light was shining on her head and was within inches of Angels head. She jumped up and closed the drapes. When she turned back to the bed she saw Angel was still asleep, he had just rolled over and was hugging her teddy bear. He never knew how close he came to turning to dust. She looked at her watch, it was almost 10 am. As carefully as she could she lifted his arm and pulled the teddy bear away then laid down beside him and put his arm down over her. Even though Angel's body was always cold she always felt warm and secure next to him. She traced the outline of his face with her nail. It tickled him and he wiped his face as though he was trying to chase away whatever was on his face. He opened his eyes to see Cordy's face right before his eyes.
"Good morning sunshine." Angel said as he gazed at her face.
"Sunshine, how can you say that, sunlight is death for you." Cordy said.
"I don't view sunshine so much as my death but as the light at the end of the tunnel. It's the light that Im aiming for, the light makes me endure anything to get to it." He put his hand to the side of her face.
"Right now though you are the only sunshine that I want or need."
He kissed her. It was a long lingering kiss as though he couldn't get enough of her and if they pulled apart he wouldn't be able to ever hold her again. He lifted his head. Her head was lying on his arm and he just looked at her. He traced the outline of her large perfectly shaped mouth. Her eyes were also large and bright. In a way she reminded him of Sophia Loren. She had large features also. But like Sophia Loren, Cordy's features all fit together perfectly.
"I love you Cordy like I've never loved anyone before. Not even Buffy. I want to make sure that no one else can ever have you or take you away from me. I want to put you in a cage were you can never get out. Cordelia Chase will you marry me?" Cordelia was shocked. She had no idea he was even thinking of this. But she didn't hesitate to say yes.
"Yes Angel I'll marry you. I love you with all my heart." She put her arm around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. She kissed him as though she was putting a permanent stamp on him that marked him as her's.
"We better get up Cordy or I'll never make my appointment with Dr. Martin." He sat up on the edge of the bed and looked back at her.
"Dr. Martin said you could come up with me if you want to. Do you?"
"Of course I do. After all I have to keep my eye on you now. A handsome man like you upstairs with a single woman. She might jump your bones if their isn't someone around to keep an eye on you two." Cordelia had pushed him back down on the bed and was straddling him. But after she said that he pushed her off of him.
"Cordy why did you have to say that? Now every time I see her that's going to go through my head. Ahhhh! I hate that. Im going to go and take a shower and get dressed. I'll see you downstairs." Cordelia was on the floor laughing her head off. She was going to have fun with this.
Thirty minutes later they were on their way downstairs. They found large boxes all over the lobby of the hotel.
"Hey guys look at all of the stuff Dr. Martin got for us." Wes said. He was like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Look Wesley a microscope. It's a powerful one to." Fred was practically in tears she was so happy. She went to Dr. Martin and hugged her.
"Fred you were with me when I ordered all of this."
"Yes but this is more like, for real, I am actually holding it in my hands. It's not a dream. It's not wishful thinking. It's for real. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Dr. Martin smiled at her. Fred was so innocent in some ways. She gave the list of supplies to Wesley so that he could check every thing against the list.
"The big box is a supply cabinet Wesley. You should probably take that and the refrigerator in first because I ordered a lot of drugs that need to be refrigerated. Fred can probably help you their if you have any questions.
Wesley had been looking over the list of supplies.
"It looks like your getting us ready for a major battle or as though you expect Angel to suffer some major damage."
"I just tried to think of anything that you might need in case of a problem."
"Was Connor ever checked over by a regular Doctor Angel?" Dr. Martin asked.
"Yes, when he was a baby we took him to a pediatrician. He had his blood tested and most of his baby shots." Cordelia answered.
"What about since he came back has he seen a doctor?"
"No, at least as far as I know. He heals pretty fast like I do." Angel answered.
Connor walked up to them at that time. He had brought his dirty clothes over and had been downstairs putting them in the washing machine.
"Hey, what's all the boxes for?" Connor asked as he started to look through the boxes.
"Medical supplies and a microscope from Dr. Martin." Fred was still excited about the microscope. While Wesley was more interested in the heart monitor and other testing equipment.
"Why the heart monitor Dr. Martin?" Wesley asked.
"I'll explain that later Wesley right now I would like for Angel, Cordy and I to go up to room 412. For today it will be just the three of us. Why don't you and Cordelia go upstairs Angel. I'll be up in a minute."
Angel and Cordelia turned and went upstairs.
Dr. Martin called Fred, Gunn, Wesley and Connor over.
"I am going to have a private session with Angel today. It's going to be rather long and very private. I believe Angel would prefer that certain things be kept just between us. If he chooses to talk about it with the rest of you then that will be his choice. Connor I know that I'm asking a lot but can you stay here at the hotel 24 hours a day while I'm here?"
"Sure Doc I don't think that would be a problem. Fred is my old room still available?"
"Of course Connor. Cordelia always keeps it dusted just in case you want to come back."
"Does everyone know what type of blood they have?" Dr. Martin asked everyone.
Everyone but Connor knew their blood type.
"Have you ever drawn blood before Fred?" Dr. Martin asked.
"No, I can test it for the blood type but I've never drawn blood from a human before. When I was on my Daddy's farm I used to draw the farm animals blood for the vet."
"After dinner tonight I'll show you how to do it, okay?" Fred nodded ok and Dr. Martin turned and went upstairs.
TBC.........................
