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So yeah. Things in Roswell weren't turning out as badly as I thought they would. Once Buffy and crew got over the initial shock of seeing us, as well as Angel's very subtle entrance, they were fun to be around. Sure, there was awkwardness. But why shouldn't there be. It's not like they remember me as one of their favorite people. Come on? I was the uber- bitch of Sunnydale High. They don't know how much I've changed. If they'd acted all happy to see me, then I would have known they were faking it. You don't have to have the vision thing to know that people should be a little leery of the new and improved Cordelia. I'd be leery of me too, if I were them. So awkwardness is okay because at least it's real, and real is good.

The giggle fit in the hotel room loosened us all up and we headed over to the Crashdown to eat. There was a time when I wouldn't have set foot in a place like the Crashdown (please? Cordelia Chase in a diner? Like that would ever happen.) But times are a-changing. I went in without saying a word, not even a quip about the tacky UFO sign even though I so wanted to say something. For once I held my tongue, I needed, no I wanted them to see that I had changed.

The place was packed when we first walked in and I had to admit that the place was cute on the inside. We found a booth in along the wall and all squished in. I guess the girls have become regulars of sorts because I was the only one to look at my menu. The blonde girl from last night, I think her name's Maria, smiled at us and waved a finger at us in a kind of "be right there" motion. The girls just smiled and waved back.

I looked over the top of my menu at Tara and Willow who were sitting across the booth from us. "That's Maria right?"

From her seat beside me Dawn chirped in, "Yup. That's Maria. I like her. She's nice. Kind of weird, but nice."

"What right do you have to call anyone weird Dawn?"

"Brat!"

"What?" Buffy says innocently. "I was just teasing."

"Next time I speak to my parents, well if I ever speak to my parents again, I need to remember to thank them for letting me be an only child."

"Oh we're just joking Cordelia," Buffy answers.

Dawn rolls her eyes, "You might be joking. I never said I was. You are a brat."

From her position squished next to the wall, Buffy manages throw her arms around Dawn's neck and plant the sloppiest kiss I've seen on her cheek. "What are you talking about Dawnie? You know you love me. Come on admit it. I'm the bestest big sister in the world. I woooove you, my witttle sister."

Dawn does her best to get Buffy's arms off of her, but it's basically impossible. Buffy has the advantage of both being the Slayer, so Slayer strength, and the bonus of really wanting to annoy her. That's a dangerous combination. I've got to give Dawn credit because she was trying really hard to stay mad at Buffy, but it just wasn't gonna happen. In defeat, Dawn finally admits, "Fine. I love you and you're the best sister ever. Now would you get off of me please?"

Buffy unlatches herself from Dawn and adds smugly, "See? I knew it."

Wow. Buffy almost looked more pleased with herself right then than she does after defeating some major demon. That's kind of sick, but I suppose it's just sisters for you.

Maria came over and took our orders and that's how the rest of the meal went, the five of us just kind of goofing around not really talking about anything serious. There were a few awkward pauses every once in a while, but like I said I'm okay with that, but over all it was a fun lunch.

The crowd died down a little and we decided to hang out for a little while longer. The girls had spread out into various groups and were chatting with the Roswell crew so I decided to take the opportunity to call Wes to check on the happenings in LA. I asked Maria if there was a place I could go that might be a little quieter and she pointed me to the break room. I was walking there when my cell phone rang.

"Cordelia here. What can I do for you?"

"Cordy," Angel's voices boomed from the other end. "What's going on? Where are you?"

"I'm at the Crashdown and nothing is going on. I put a note under your door. Didn't you see it?"

"No. I didn't." I can hear him shuffling around his hotel room, and I know that he's looking for the note. Dumb guy thinks I'm lying to him. Please. Like I'd lie to him about something as dumb as a note. I hear a slight grunt in the background and I know that he must have found the note. Haha. "Okay here it is."

"Well duh. I put it there. Where else would it be? It's not like it can get up and walk away."

"Cordelia." What's his problem? Such a cranky boy today. "Is everything okay there?"

"Yes Angel. Everything is fine. We're all fine. Buffy is fine. Nothing has happened. We just ate lunch." I know I shouldn't ask, but I can't help it. The curiosity is killing me. "What's your issue today Angel? I mean besides my uninformative vision. You seem extra irritable today and I thought for sure you'd be better seeing as how we know that Buffy's okay. Well at least for now."

For a moment, there's nothing but silence on the line and I can tell that Angel is trying to decide whether or not to tell me. I know him well enough to know that he's probably sitting on the edge of the bed, in the dark, with his head in his hands as he tries to make this decision. Good lord, I need to get a life. I know the brooding habits of a vampire. "It's the dream I was talking about Cordy. Something's not right with those people we met last night at the Crashdown."

"Oh my god, Angel. You have got to be kidding. They're just a bunch of teenage kids. The only reason you think that they're not right is because they're perfectly normal. And last I checked you've never met a perfectly normal anything."

"But Cordy, the dream."

"Fine. I give up. What about this dream makes you think that these kids aren't right." I lower my voice a little because, as I look around the breakroom, I realize that any one of the people that we're talking about could walk in here at any moment. While I don't particularly buy into Angel's theory, I do think it would be rude for them to hear me talking about them.

"The girl, the tall one."

"Isabel?"

"Yeah, I think that was her name." Angel hesitates for a second and I swear him take an unnecessary breath. He's actually starting to freak me out, and I brace myself for the worse. "She was in my dream last night."

Huh? I can't help it. I burst into a fit of laughter.

"Cordy? Cordelia stop it! This is serious."

"I'm…. sorry…. Angel…..just….. a ……sec….." I pull the phone away from my ear and bury my face in my hands to try to purge the last of the laughter from my system. Okay, I think I'm okay now. "Is that all this about Angel? You're freaking out because you dreamt about her?"

"No that's not what it was. It wasn't like *that*."

"Sure. Uh-huh. You just feel guilty because you had a sexy dream about an underaged girl, but that shouldn't be anything new to you." Oops. That shouldn't have actually left my mouth.

"Cordelia." He says my name abruptly and I can tell he's loosing patience with me.

"What Angel? So you had a dream about a girl you don't know. It's perfectly normal. She's a pretty girl. It's no cause for sending out the red alert."

"I mean it Cordelia. It wasn't like that. I had a dream and it was like she was in the dream, but not in the dream. Like she was watching my dream because she was in my head."

"Okay sweetie even coming from you that's crazy talk. People just don't get inside other peoples heads."

"I know that Cordelia. That's why I think something's up with them. Or at least her. Maybe she's a demon of some sort."

"I think you spent too much time in Sunnydale. I think she's a normal girl and you just need to accept the fact that you had a dream about her and move on with your life. Or un-life."

"Forget it Cordelia. I'm coming over there. Call Wesley and see if you can have him do some research into demons that could do something like this."

I look at my watch. It's barely five in the evening. "Um Angel? Aren't you forgetting something? You can't come over here unless you like the up in flames look. The sun's still up."

"Look outside Cordy. It's raining." I go to the back door and look out the little window. Huh, I guess it is. "I'll bring a blanket just in case, but I'll be fine. Call Wesley. I'll be over in a few minutes."

Before I can say anything else, the line goes dead. "Bye to you too Angel," I mutter. I go over to the couch and plop down on it in a huff. Fine. I'll call Wesley. Just so he knows that I'm only calling Wesley because I was already going to call Wesley before his little phone call. I'm not calling Wes just because Angel told me to. I won't be pushed around like that for a crazy idea he has. I'm not his little lackey. I guess it can't hurt to have Wes check into the possibility of a demon that can get inside heads or dreams. This is crazy.

I quickly dial the Hyperion on my phone and half wish that nobody answers the phone. It rings a few times and I'm almost ready to hang up when I hear somebody pick up on the other end. "Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."

"Hey Wes. It's Cordy."

I can almost hear the disappointment in his voice, "Oh well. Hello Cordelia."

"Sheesh Wesley. Sorry to disappoint you, but it's just me."

"No of course. It's lovely to hear from you. It's just that I thought, perhaps, that you were a paying customer."

"I understand. How are things there? Everything okay?"

"Why yes. Everything here is good. Business is a little slow, but I suppose that is good considering we're low on help."

"Hey. Don't blame me. I was all for staying there and waiting, but Angel was all gung-ho."

"Yes, yes. I understand. How are things there? Is Buffy okay? Any more visions?"

"Yeah. Everything here is still okay. Buffy and everybody were a little surprised to see us, but that was expected. No more visions though so we still have no clue what we're going to be up against."

"Well then. I don't know what to say Cordelia. When you find anything out be sure to let us know how we can help."

"Actually Wes," I pause, not believing that I'm actually going to say what I'm going to say. "There is something you can help us with. We need research."

"Really?" I can hear his little Wesley ears perking up. He's like a puppy- dog-- a research terrier. "What is it."

"Okay. This is going to sound strange. Oh what am I talking about nothing sounds strange to us anymore. We need to you to look into the possibility of a demon that can get inside someone's head. Or their dreams. Or anything like that."

"Cordy," it always sounds so funny when he calls me Cordy with his proper British accent. "I need a little more information than that."

"It's nothing really. Well at least I think it's nothing. Mostly I'm having you do this to placate Angel's neurosis. Angel had a dream last night and one of the kids here was in it. A girl, a pretty girl. I think he just a dream about a pretty girl, but he insists that it was more than that. He says she was actually in his head." The entire time I hear Wes in the background muttering things like "fascinating" and "interesting." I can practically hear the wheels turning in his head. "Like I said, I think he's just being paranoid, but could you look into it so he'll get off of my back?"

"Of course I will. It is possible Cordelia that Angel is correct about this. He has a good sense about people."

I have to roll my eyes at that. "Please Wesley. Angel has absolutely no sense about people. He hates people. Well he hates most people."

"Still, he knows what he saw better than you do. I've read about quite a few species of demon that can do things like you've described…." Wes starts to ramble off the names of these demons and my mind starts to wander elsewhere. After all these years fighting demons, I could still care less what they're called. Just tell me how to kill 'em. "Cordelia? Cordelia are you listening to me."

"Of course I am Wesley. Lots of demons can get inside people's heads. I can always count on you for the book stuff." At that minute the backdoor flies open and Angel rushes past me and bursts into the kitchen. He really needs to learn to make a calm entrance. "Uh Wes," I'm interrupted because I hear raised voices coming from the kitchen. Okay Angel you're gonna have to calm down before we have a mess to clean up. "Thanks for the information. I've gotta go. Call you later to check in. Bye."

I flip my phone shut and am getting ready to try to deal with the situation that is arising in the kitchen, whatever it maybe, when I hear a scream. Too late.

I try to calmly stroll into the kitchen to break up whatever is going on, but I push the door open and see Angel up in Isabel's face. Max is grabbing Angel by the arm, trying to pull him away from his sister, and Maria is still screaming. The sound of me walking in must have distracted both Angel and Max because they turn to look at me. In the that brief instant, they both let their guard down and then Max does this thing with his hand, a hand that looks like it's glowing, and Angel flies backwards. Okay, so maybe I was wrong about them being normal-- a girl can hope can't she. When Angel picks himself up off of the floor, he has his game face on. He turns to advance on Max, but when Max sees him he and Isabel raise their hands and Angel can't move forward. It's like he's blocked by some sort of barrier. This is strange, very strange. Maria who had actually stopped screaming for a blessed minute turns and sees Angel in all his game face glory, starts screaming again.

Great Angel. Look what you've done now.

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