All You Have To Do Is Smile
By Kyizi
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me, I'm only playing :)
Rating: PG-13/R
Spoilers/Timeline: This is set directly after the Season 2 finale
Dedication: To Sugar, Zen and Kath who gave me great lines and ideas with their insane chatter on the CA board ;) and, as always, to Heliona and the ever patient Loriel Eris.
To all those on the CA board (Wren, Keira, Kath, Angelfan1099 etc) who gave me info on the surroundings, shops, history etc. (Sorry if I haven't named you, but there are soooo many of you and you're all great!)
But mostly to Carrie, whose wonderful fic "Take Your Time" and its sequel inspired me to actually use this idea with the thinking that it might work! Due to the fact that I've been taking her version of history as read, I (again) had to use the CA board in the beginning, so thanks to everyone else there who gave me the info about what really happened!
Feedback: Do you want to see me beg? It's not a pretty sight but I'll do it… ;)
E-mail: kyizifanfic@hotmail.com
Yahoo! Group: KyiziFic
Notes: This fic will mostly be written from Cordelia's POV with the occasional trip into Angel's psyche.
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Part Eight
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He studied the texts with a gentle hand, making sure that the letters stayed in place. Time travel was difficult at the best of times, but trying to make sure that a piece of the future remained in the small window of timelessness was a very exact and difficult thing to do. He relished in the complexity of it and revelled in the danger he possessed.
He had been observing them since that night in the cavern, and he had to wonder how he had missed it before. How had he missed every caress and gentle smile they sent towards each other? It was sickeningly sweet, really, and if he hadn't already had plans for them, he would have had to play with their lives anyway. There was just something about the fluffy-bunny-ness of any situation that sent him into a meddling frenzy. After all, how could a relationship possibly be fun without a little blood and screaming?
He laughed. Well, Angel and Cordelia were about to find out.
*
"Miss Cordy! Miss Cordy!" Catherine jumped off the horse into Cordelia's waiting arms. "Did ye see me, Miss Cordy?"
"I was standing right here, and I saw every little thing!" Cordelia said with a grin, swinging the girl around in her arms. Catherine giggled, then squealed when she saw Angel walking towards them. She wriggled as Cordy set her on her feet and ran towards her brother.
"Lucky! Lucky! Did ye see me?"
Angel laughed and picked Catherine up, swinging her in a circle before settling her in his arms. "O' course I saw ye, Angel. You were perfect. I'll bet ye'll have them judges givin' ye first place before ye know it!" Angel smiled at Cordelia over Catherine's head and the girl giggled.
"Miss Imogene," he said softly, reaching for her hand and kissing the back of it.
Cordelia tried to stop herself from blushing; something she was becoming grudgingly used to. Angel seemed to know exactly how to get her to go bright red, and he delighted in doing so. "I'm fine, Liam, thank you for asking."
Angel smiled and Cordelia returned it while Catherine tugged on his collar. "What is it, little one?"
"Did ye ask 'er yet?"
"Why don't you ask her, Cathy," Angel said with a smile.
"Miss Cordy, would ye like te come a trip t' the beach wit' us?"
Cordelia smiled and laughed a little. "I'd love to come, Cathy. If you think you can put up with me."
"Don' be silly, Miss Cordy," Catherine giggled. "We can make castles and bury Lucky in't sand!"
"Oh, ye can can ye?" Angel said, raising his eyebrows and tickling his sister mercilessly.
"Liam!"
Cordy noticed the immediate change in Angel's demeanour as the man approached. There was no mistaking that the older man was Angel's father, and there was also no mistaking the fact that he disapproved of Angel, a lot.
Angel had set Cathy to her feet, but the girl was still gripping to his hand and leaning against his leg. She was watching her father and mother approach them with a big smile on her face.
"Mam, Pap, did ye see me?"
The elder man's expression softened at once, and he smiled at his daughter. "Of course we saw ye, precious," he said proudly. "Wouldn' miss it fer the world." He turned to Cordelia and smiled at her. "You must be Miss Imogene," he said extending a hand. "Our little one here talks about ye all the time."
Cordelia laughed and shook the man's hand. "Well, I'm sure Aunt Ella could say the same thing with me talking about her. You have a beautiful daughter, Mr. O'Brien and a very fine son."
You will not blush, Cordelia Chase, you will not blush! she admonished herself as she blushed. You're just trying to get Angel's father to see that he's someone to be proud of, that's all.
Angel's father looked slightly taken aback, but after a moment, he smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm very blessed wit' my children."
Angel looked a little shocked, but he didn't get to think for long as his mother smiled and walked to Cordelia, embracing her. "It's wonderful to fin'ly meet ye, Miss Imogene," she said with a smile. "I was beginnin' t' think ye were too g'd te be true, an' our Cathy and Liam had jist made ye up!"
Cordelia laughed. "No, I assure you, Mrs. O'Brien, I'm perfectly real, and whatever he said, don't believe a word of it!"
"Now, Miss Imogene, d'ye really think I'd say anyt'in' that wasn' the truth, now?"
"Well, I suppose not," Cordelia smiled at him. "But I wouldn't be surprised." Cordelia blushed again as she noticed that Angel's parents were observing them with faint smiles on their faces.
Wonderful, Cordelia thought sarcastically, as if it isn't bad enough that Angel knows I'm hot for him, his parents know, and they only met me ten seconds ago!
"Miss Imogene," Angel's mother ssaid with a smile, "we'd love it if ye could join us fer dinner tamorrow evening."
Cordelia smiled. "I'd like that."
"Wonderful. Shall we say-"
"Liam! Liam!"
Cordelia frowned and turned to look at the small child careering through the paddock towards them. Although she couldn't see the girl, Cordelia assumed, from the girl's height and build that she was around her age, and looking rather excited to see Angel.
"Oh, there's Elizabeth,"
"What?" Angel asked, frowning.
"Lizzy's in my class at school." Catherine said with a grin as Cordelia almost fell to the ground laughing.
'Lizzy' had looked up at them, and while Cordelia could tell from the style of clothes that the Lizzy was Catherine's age, the fact that it was Wesley that was looking adoringly at Angel made it hard to believe.
Cordelia glanced at Angel who was looking back at her with something akin to horror on his face. She struggled to keep her laughter at bay, turning a snort of laughter into a cough. Seeing Gunn as an old woman had been funny, but something about the way 'Wesley' was looking at Angel made Cordelia think that the latest development would be all the funnier.
Angel's mother leaned over to Cordelia, a small smile on her face. "Wee Elizabeth has a bit of a crush on our Liam," she said, and Cordelia tried not to laugh.
Oh, this is definitely funnier, she thought. This is enough ammunition to keep me in silk and diamonds for the rest of my life!
"Liam!" Wesley/Lizzy had now reached them and was smiling expectantly up at Angel, who was looking even more horrified as he realised what the 'little girl' wanted. Cordelia put her hand over her mouth as Angel tried to swing 'Wesley' around in his arms, sure that the image would be etched into her memory for the rest of her life.
"Liam, can ye come an' play wit' us? Annie an' Mharie are over on the green."
"Oh, Mam, can I play?" Catherine asked, running over to tug her mother's dress.
"Of course, you can, but make sure to stay wit' the others."
"Lucky, are you comin'?" Cathy turned to Angel. "Or are you goin' roun' the stalls with Miss Cordy?"
Cordelia smirked as a large grin broke on Angel's face. Cathy had just given him a way out, and she had to say, she wasn't averse to being that way out.
"I think I'd best stay wit' Miss Imogene, Angel. But you go play."
'Lizzy' looked a little put out, and Cordelia was, once again, trying to keep a straight face, but Catherine had soon pulled her away, calling, "Good bye," over her shoulder. Cordelia turned to Angel, feeling a little uncomfortable being around him when his parents were there.
She knew that Angel hadn't found it easy to go back and live with his family after having spent the last couple of hundred years remembering how he had tortured and killed them. Especially Cathy. It wasn't difficult to see that the little girl was the only thing he loved unconditionally.
"Miss Imogene, would you care t' accompany me through the stalls?" Angel asked, and she could see that he was struggling to ensure that he didn't make any mistakes. She was, after all, considered to have a large fortune in the Americas, and it wasn't a good idea to seem to informal with her in front of his parents.
"I'd love to, Liam." Cordelia hoped that she could be afforded the familiarity, seeing as she had no idea how to address him other than that. Was she meant to say Sir Liam? Master Liam? Liam Jr? It wasn't something she had even thought about asking, and she hoped that the fact they had been spending every day together would be enough for her to be allowed to just call him Liam. Aunt Ella never seemed to mind, but then again, Aunt Ella had a large soft spot where both Angel and Cordelia were concerned.
His parents didn't seem to find it impolite, and she smiled, linking her arm with Angels as they started to walk out of the paddock. Cordelia glanced at him for a moment, making no attempt to hide her smirk.
"Don't say a word."
"I didn't say a word."
"Just…just don't."
"I didn't!"
"But you were going to."
"What makes you so sure about that?"
"I know you, Cordelia, that's what makes me so sure."
"And the fact that Wesley has a big fat crush on you wasn't reason enough?"
"That wasn't Wesley, Cordelia," he said through gritted teeth. "And this is not funny."
"You found it funny when it was Gunn."
"Gunn wasn't an eight year old with a huge crush on me, and I didn't have to worry about back injury when we ran into Gunn."
Cordelia couldn't stop herself any longer; she burst out laughing, not caring that people were turning to look at her. It took a little longer, but Angel soon joined in, the image of Wesley in a bright pink dress with an adoring look on his face, finally becoming too much.
"I wish I'd had a camera!" Cordelia said, finally overcoming her laughter. "The look on your face! In fact, make that the look on both your faces! Could you imagine showing a picture like that to Wesley?"
"Only if I wanted him to have a coronary."
They spent the next hour or so wandering through the stalls, buying small trinkets for Cathy and, of course, Cordelia herself. While they were stopped at a small jewellery stall, Cordelia shivered, glancing around. She had been getting the feeling that they were being followed, and it wasn't a feeling she liked all that much.
There was nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone seemed to be having fun, and there was no one looking suspicious. Cordelia smiled at Colin James, the young Englishman that had been staying with his Uncle for the last few weeks, trying to make it look as if she was still having fun…but she just couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.
*
He slipped back into the shadows behind the stall. He wasn't even sure what they were selling, but whatever it was, it smelled awful. Cordelia had almost spotted him, she seemed to be rather distracted when she nodded to the young man walking by her. Angel, for his part, seemed oblivious, and the man had to wonder how he had ever become the Scourge of Europe. He was a snivelling clown of a man with a crush the size of the Titanic, and it was a wonder he'd become anything more than a minion, killed after one battle.
Slipping back out of the Gala, he made his way through the, all but empty, streets of Galway. The entire town appeared to be at the Gala, and that made his life a whole lot easier. He still had plans to make, and he wasn't sure that he could cover up the banging. It was amazing how powerful certain ingredients could be. Add a little of this and a little of that and the explosion of sound could be heard for miles. And interest in what he was doing was something he could ill afford.
He opened the door to his room and closed it behind him, locking it instantly. It was a habit he had picked up when he was a lot younger, but often forgot to do, and he was making a concerted effort to keep it up. The wrong person walking in at the wrong time had often been his downfall.
He sat down and rubbed the back of his neck, relaxing for a few moments. He had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. When she got here in the real timeline, there was no way that she would ever think of taking him. He was weak and she looked for strength. Only if she knew what he was capable of would she ever think of him, which meant she would have to know. Which meant she would have to come from a time where she knew.
He stood up and reached carefully into the area he had suspended in timelessness, carefully turning the pages of his book until he reached the right one. He fingered the paper for a moment, reading the words over and over until they were ingrained in his memory. He had to know what he was doing with this one, it would be extremely difficult; she had already been brought back to life once before, now she had to be brought back in time.
He closed the book gently and turned around, finding all the ingredients he would need. He placed them on his alter and prepared himself for the spell. He carefully mixed his ingredients, and raised his arms, focusing on the one thing that could bring everything to right. The one being that would aid his cause, albeit for a different reason. Closing his eyes, he smiled, chanting forgotten words as he called forth the magic that would be Angel's undoing.
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End of Part Eight
Okay, it's been a while since I wrote this one, I know. I'm sorry, but I got side tracked, as always. This one's for all those readers that have been patient enough to wait for me to get moving! Thanks to Shannon and Heliona for the requests to write more of this one.
Feedback is a gift; it's nice to give :)
