CHAPTER 11

"Here you are, drink up." Wesley said as he handed Cordelia a mug of tea. "And you'll need to eat; several small meals throughout the course of the day will keep your blood sugar steady. It will help you avoid feeling nauseous all the time." He informed her as he set down a plate with a peanut butter sandwich.

Cordelia nodded, her eyes were still wide as she sipped her tea. Her feet were propped up on a pillow on top of the coffee table beside Angel – who was watching over her like a mother hen.

"Are you feeling alright? Light headed or anything?" Angel asked, pushing her hair back from her face.

"I'm…fine…" She said in a dazed tone. Her eyes were out of focus but for the fiftieth time she turned to him and gave him a pleading look. "Two?" She asked again and he smirked.

"Two." He said with a nod, watching her take a deep breath and clutch her mug of tea as if it was the only thing keeping her from floating away.

"Well, I suppose we'll need to draw Doyle…or whatever it is that presently inhabits Doyle…out of hiding so we can inform him." Wesley thought aloud.

"Or not, we don't have any idea how he'll react to the news that…" Angel began but Cordy's voice cut in.

"He knows." She said softly, still sipping her tea as she stared at some distant point on the wall across the room.

"I beg your pardon?" Wesley said in confusion. "So you've spoken to him?"

Angel watched her shake her head slowly and scanned his memory of all things Brachen for any references to psychic links, he had nothing.

"No…but he made this weird comment that didn't make sense to me before…" She said with a sigh. "He said something about how he'd taken care of the deposits and needed to get to the withdrawals. I was kind of out of it but remember being annoyed that it took a major case of the evils for Doyle to start speaking money fluently."

Angel tilted his head to the side. "When did he say that?"

"He said it after…" Cordelia began, but finishing that sentence in her mind seemed to snap her out of her daze and she trailed off. A quick look at Angel's face confirmed that he didn't need her to elaborate so she continued. "And right before he started acting out what happened the night he died."

Angel's posture went rigid as it dawned on him.

"What?" Cordelia asked. "You've got that 'I just figured something out' look."

"Right, as in 'I just figured out why Wolfram & Hart would want Doyle back'." He shook his head and scowled. "He was trying to take the visions. That's why he wanted to reenact the night he died; he was trying to trigger you passing them to him the same way he passed them to you."

"Miss Chase's medical record has been updated, as of 11:00 today Cordelia is listed as being in her fourth week of gestation." Lilah said as she entered the room, smiling over at Doyle as she closed the folder she was carrying. "I suppose congratulations are in order."

"What can I say, I've got impeccable aim." Doyle said with a grin before pointing at Lindsey. "Told you I'd had enough time with her."

"This is excellent news. Well done, Mr. Doyle." Holland said with his ever present smile. "You'll go to her at once, lure her away from the others so our team can bring her into custody."

Doyle looked over at him quizzically and Holland laughed.

"Not to kill her, of course, at least not until after she's given birth. You'll be free to use her as you see fit until then, just as long as your…activities…in no way endanger the children. As we agreed you'll be permitted to extract whatever pleasures the body you've taken is craving from her – I believe eight months will be a sufficient amount of time to ensure that." Holland said casually as if negotiating the terms of a business deal.

Doyle nodded. "That's plenty long enough; I'll likely get bored of her after a few weeks anyway."

Holland studied the face of their associate, searching for any hint that this revelation was being received with hostility. The ice blue eyes that stared back at him seemed to hold nothing but amusement for the situation and Holland smiled as he smacked his hand down on the table. "That's what I like to hear. We'll need to keep her in our custody for the term of the pregnancy; can't very well have those babies out there growing where just anyone could get a hold of them – not with how valuable they'll be to the firm once they're born."

"Then tell your boys to get ready and give me a yell when it's time to go. Let's bring her back here so I can start reaping the benefits of my employment." Doyle said with a grin and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

His face didn't change; his posture and expression gave no outward indication of the thoughts that were suddenly raging in his mind.

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