Redemption

by kinoa

This is the final book in the The PTB'S Boss Sends Help trilogy. Angel will become human a little at a time. He is being given time to adjust. The families will increase. Who will die first Angel or Cordelia?

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Surprise!" Everyone shouted.

"Look Daddy a gym and a big swimming pool. Grandma had it built all for you Daddy so that you can get better." Kathleen said as she was jumping up and down.

"How did you get this done so fast?" Angel asked as he wheeled himself over to the equipment. "Well it's like Xander said to me 'Dr. Martin with enough money you can do anything'."

"I see you guys are going to have fun putting me through the meat grinder tomorrow." "Oh you don't know how much we have been waiting for this, especially me." Wesley said.

As Angel was looking at everything Cordelia was constantly holding his hand while Kathleen was sitting in his lap. It was obvious that they wanted to spend some private time with him.

"Thank you Mom for all of this." "You're welcome Angel. I think maybe it's time for you to go to your room now." "Yes I am tired but I would like to try one thing if you don't mind." "No, go ahead; what would you like to try out?" Angel wheeled himself over to the bars that would allow him to try to walk. "Wesley and Gunn, would you help me to get up please?" They came over and each took one of his arms and lifted him out of the wheelchair. With their arms around his waist they put him between the two bars that he could use to support himself as he tried to walk. With much difficulty Angel moved his legs while supporting himself with his arms. Three steps is all he had in him but it was enough to prove to himself that he could now control his legs and arms. He knew that it would take him several weeks at least before he could give up the wheelchair but eventually he would. Before he could collapse to the floor Wesley and Gunn came and caught him.

Angel was sweating when they put him back in his chair. "At least I know I can do it. Put your sweat pants on tomorrow guys because I'll want to start early. I am sick and tired of being in a wheelchair so much and I don't intend to spend any more time in it then I absolutely have to." "Be careful Angel you won't be able to recover your strength over night. This is going to take several months at least." Hunter told him. She went over to some equipment that was lined up on the wall. She grabbed a couple of hand grips and gave them to Angel. "Keep these with you at all times Angel and use them to strengthen your grip. Let's take small baby steps at first. Don't try to push yourself too hard or you will hurt yourself. Right now I want you to forget the rule of 'No Pain No Gain'. When your body starts hurting too much it's telling you to slow down."

Angel took the hand grips from her and started trying to squeeze them together. He could barely make them move let alone close them. "Let's go Cordy I want to see Nicky and Mike." "Goodnight everyone and thank you again Mom." Everyone returned his goodnight then left the gym and went to be with there own families. It had been a long day for Angel and he was tired. But it was a good tired and not the life draining fatigue he was feeling before he went into his thirty day sleep.

As Cordelia pushed Angel's wheelchair into the room Lou stood up. As usual she had been guarding the boys while Cordelia was gone from the room. She came over and greeted Angel as though he was her father. "How are you doing now?" "A lot better then I did before I went to sleep. How is Nicky and Mike doing?" "They were sleeping but when I could hear you coming down the hallway they started to wake up." Cordelia came over and picked up Nicky and gave him to Angel. Instead of crying as he usually did Nicky was quietly staring at his father. His father gave him a kiss on his cheek but when Nicky felt his whiskers he wiped at his face. "He doesn't like your whiskers." Cordelia said. Lou took Nicky from Angel and Cordelia gave him Mike. Nicky started to cry until Lou started talking to him and singing him his Irish Lullaby in almost a whisper.

Mike was looking at his father and laughing at the feel of his whiskers on his little hand. The boys were starting to notice other things besides whether their stomachs were empty or if they were uncomfortable in any way. Angel touched Mikes mind with his. He established a link with him that was less then the one he had shared with Kathleen. He had done the same with Nicky some time ago. It was one of the ways he was able to make him quiet down. This link would tell him where they were at all times and of their well being. "You better take him Cordelia, my arms are getting tired and I might drop him." Cordelia and Lou put the boys back into their crib.

"Would you like me to help Cordelia put you to bed before I leave?" Lou asked Angel after she helped Cordelia settle the boys down. "Yes that sounds good to me." Cordelia pushed his wheelchair closer to their regular bed instead of the hospital bed that was still in the room. Lou took most of Angel's weight on herself and with Cordelia helping they lifted him and placed him down on the bed. He was able to sit up by himself now. "I can take care of him from here Lou thank you. Say goodnight to your father Kathleen and go to bed." Kathleen came over and gave her father a hug and kiss again then left with Lou.

It took Cordelia only a few minutes to remove Angel's clothes and help him to lie down. She quickly removed her own and got under the covers with him. He had gone to sleep almost instantly after laying down. Cordelia was content now though. As far as she was concerned the earth had been going backwards when he left but now everything was now normal and the world was going in its correct direction again.

The next morning they just stayed in bed for a while. Cordelia brought Angel up to speed on all of the goings on at Angel Investigation. Angel wasn't surprised by the news of Connor and Lou's impending wedding. "My poor son he should just go ahead and have sex with Lou. Before my soul was made permanent all I could think about was being able to have sex with you and go all the way. If it wasn't for Angelus taking over and your little bat I would have taken you long before our wedding night." "He's not as weak as we are Angel. It seems that ever since he decided to work with you instead of against you his moral values have stepped up a notch as well. I can tell you that Connor has an iron will because all of the stuff that I've been teaching Lou hasn't made him cave in yet. I only had to go through half of my tricks before I had you in my clutches."

Angel stared at Cordelia. "Do you mean to tell me that you had your sights set on me way before I made any advances towards you?" Cordelia raised herself up on her elbow. "I wanted you Angel from the get go. But if I had waited for you to get your nose out of your usual brooding mode Kathleen would have still been a twinkle in your eye. And speaking of our miracle princes you should have seen her when you left. She slept with me each night so that I wouldn't be lonely. By the second night she started helping me by making Nicky stop crying so much. I asked her what she was doing to make him quiet down and she told me that she had asked Grandma how she could make Nicky stop crying so much. Mom told her to learn to sing the Irish Lullaby that she sings to you when you're having a hard time sleeping. So Mom taught her the song and all Kathleen has to do is walk up to Nicky and just touch him and he'll quiet down. She said she talks to him in his mind and sings the song. She was so cute Angel when I asked her to teach me to sing the song. She had me sing it over and over again until she thought I had it down pat. She would say 'No Mommy like this' then she would sing it again and I had to get it just right before she would give me her seal of approval."

"Well we better get up so that I can start on my road to recovery." "You don't want to have something to eat first?" "Nothing solid just a glass of blood please." Cordelia warmed up a glass of blood for him then took care of the boys. She gave Angel one of the boys to change then sat down to give them their breakfast. Nicky was being good now that his Daddy was back. They were staying awake longer now and Angel was able to play with them a little bit after they had been fed. He was able to make them just squeal with laughter. While Angel entertained the boys Cordelia took the chance to take a shower. When she came out someone was knocking at the door. "Come in Spike." Angel called out.

"Are you ready to start your day? Wesley and Gunn have already had their breakfast and are waiting for you downstairs. Wesley is especially anxious to get started with your torture session." Spike said as he came in and took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Yeah why don't you help me get my sweat pants on and a t-shirt." While Spike helped Angel Cordelia finished getting dressed herself then put some clothes on the boys for the first time. They had been too small for any of the clothes she had for them but they were finally able to fit into the little jumper suits Fred had given her. After Spike helped Angel to the wheelchair Cordelia gave him one of the boys to carry while she carried the other one. She didn't trust his arms to be strong enough yet so she put a sling around his neck and arm that would help him to hold onto one of the boys.

When they arrived at the gym Angel couldn't help it when he saw Wesley with a big grin. "You just can't wait can you? I bet you were down here at 6 this morning just to make sure I didn't start without you." "Close but not quiet right. I was here at 8."

For the next 3 hours Wesley and Gunn had Angel going through a routine that the therapist had given Wesley and Dr. Martin. For the next 2 weeks this was Angel's schedule, three hours in the morning and 3 hours in the late afternoon. When Wesley and Fred where busy teaching the children then Gunn and Spike put Angel through his routine. By the end of the second week Angel was able to walk short distances with the aid of crutches and within another week he discarded those and used a cane. During the Thanksgiving holiday Connor was able to work out with Angel and gave Gunn and Wesley a break. To build up his endurance they did ten laps around the large pool at first and added a lap every day. Connor had been teaching Kathleen and Junior how to swim when ever he could but now he gave them more of his time and the lessons lasted longer which suited Kathleen and Junior just fine.

Spike, Buffy and Joyce left on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving. Cordelia had told Joyce and Kathleen that Joyce could come and spend two weeks at the Hotel for the two weeks before Christmas because Uncle Wesley said that there wouldn't be any school for those two weeks and that's why they had to wait until then.

Both Connor and Lou had been spending a lot of time in their rooms studying which was good because Connor needed to keep his mind on his studies. The evening before the Christmas holiday started Lou took her GED test. Connor had been taking finals all during the week so he had gone to bed as soon as he got home since he had been getting only five hours of sleep each night. At 7 that evening Lou knocked on his door to call him to supper.

He called out for her to come in. "Are you coming down for supper?" Lou asked as she opened the door. She was shocked at what she saw when he took the pillow off of his head. "My goodness Connor you're all red." "I know and I'm itchy and can't stop scratching." Lou grabbed Connors shirt and pulled him up from the bed." Let's go and see Grandma." Everyone else was sitting at the table but when they heard Connor and Lou come down stairs and calling Dr. Martin they all went to the clinic.

"What's wrong Connor?" She could see how his skin was all red and he was constantly scratching. "I don't know, when I was driving home from my last class I started itching so bad. I took a shower and I was able to go to sleep for awhile afterward, but when Lou woke me up I started scratching even more." Dr. Martin and Wesley looked at Connors skin. Both thought they knew what it was. Dr. Martin went to the drug cabinet and pulled out a small vial and filled a syringe with the contents.

After she administered the shot to him they could see him start to relax within minutes. "Let's go and have supper everyone. You'll be okay now Connor I believe the rash is the result of your nerves being on edge all week. I gave you a mild sedative. You should sleep pretty good tonight. I went through the same thing when I was going through a finals week. Apparently Wesley did also." "You should have seen me Connor your rash is nothing compared to what I had. I had hives and was in bed for the next 4 days." Wesley said. Just thinking about it was making him itch.

Angel lightly kicked Cordelia under the table. When she looked up he looked towards Lou. What she saw was Lou staring at Connor with a far away look in her eyes while Connor was barely staying awake.

"Lou, why don't you help Connor to go to bed I think his head is going to fall in his plate any second now. You can take him something later tonight when he is able to keep his eyes open for at least a few minutes." Lou looked at Cordelia and saw her wink at her. "Yes I think that would be a good idea. Come on Connor lets put you to bed." Connor was already sleeping though. Lou shook his shoulder. "Connor wake up so you can go to bed." Connor looked at her with one eye shut and the other open. "I think that would be a good idea. Goodnight everyone." Connor said as he got up and put his arm around Lou's shoulder. She helped Connor to his bedroom and everyone heard the door close once and that was it.

"If that guy doesn't come downstairs tomorrow morning with a smile that goes from ear to ear I'll have to say he is a lot better man then I am." Gunn said. Everyone looked at him and started laughing. It was a good thing that Tom had gone out that night with some of Gunn's boys. They were going after a nest of Vampires that night and they had asked for his help.

After everyone else went to their rooms Angel and Cordelia heard Connors door open. Cordelia went out into the hallway and saw Lou walking back to the stairs. She stopped in front of Cordelia. "Well he went to sleep and hasn't awakened again." "Later tonight Lou around 2 or 3 in the morning, go and make him a big sandwich and take it to his room. I think he will be well rested by then." Lou smiled at her then went to her own room.

As Cordelia had suggested Lou set her alarm for 2 in the morning. She put her sexiest nightgown on and went downstairs to make a big Dagwood sandwich for Connor then went upstairs and lightly knocked on his door. He didn't answer so she opened the door and went in. Toby woke up and greeted her. He scratched at the door and Lou let him out which suited her just fine. She really didn't want an audience her first time with Connor.

Lou put the sandwich on the kitchen table and went to join Connor on the bed. She blew into his ear several times before he woke up. He looked at her with only one eye open. Connor propped himself up on his elbow and took a good look at her. "I believe you've been talking to Cordelia again." "Guilty as charged." "You know the rule that I am trying to stick to Lou. Please don't make it harder on me then what it already is." "Why are you being so obstinate Connor?" "Because even though I realize that Holtz was not my father and many of the things he taught me were wrong and were told to me in order to fulfill his wish of killing my father, this having sex before marriage is not part of that hatred. It is part of his Puritan upbringing. Even the Catholic Church says that sex before marriage is wrong and that we should wait until we give ourselves to another person in marriage. I also understand that many of the moral lessons that the Church teaches us is looked upon as antiquated theology. But if you think about it Lou many of those rules were given to us to protect us. Look at what has happened in the world today Lou. People have either no moral values or low moral values and because of that there are diseases like AIDS, STDs and worst of all the killing of unwanted children. Our society has taught women that it is there right to choose what happens to their own bodies and some even call unborn babies nothing more than parasites. They give them names such as " It " or " Fetus " instead of Baby. They do whatever they can to convince women that they have the right to kill a person that they don't have the time for or are an intrusion on their lifestyle as long as that person is still in the woman's body. Do you understand now Lou why I want us to wait?"

Lou felt like a harlot that was doing her best to entice a man that wanted to be faithful to God and his beliefs. "I'm sorry Connor, please forgive me. It's just that when I see you, especially with your shirt off, I just want you so bad that it's all I can do to keep myself from jumping you right then and there." "I know how hard it is, believe me I know exactly how hard it is. I must take 2 or more cold showers a day."

Without saying anything else Lou got up and said goodnight then left. Connor jumped up and took 'another' cold shower.

The next morning Connor went to Angel and Cordelia's room and listened at the door for a few seconds to see if it was okay to go in. He heard them talking so he thought that this was just as good a time as any.

Connor knocked on their door. "Come in Connor." Angel called out. "Good morning Angel and Cordelia, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Angel and Cordelia looked at each other when they saw how serious he looked.

"Is something wrong? You look so serious." Angel asked. Using his cane Angel got up from the bed, where he had been changing Nicky, and went to the kitchen table where Cordelia gave him and Connor a cup of coffee. Connor played with his cup for a while.

"Cordelia Lou came to my bedroom this morning dressed in a very sexy nightgown. I am sure that you know her intent was to get me to cave in and have sex with her. I also know Cordelia that you have been coaching her on what to do to get me to breakdown and take her before we are married. I also remember asking Dad to tell you to stop coaching her. I am pretty sure that he did what I requested and you have ignored what I and Dad asked." Connor had tears that were threatening to spill over as he looked at Cordelia.

"I am going to ask you again Cordelia to stop encouraging Lou to come after me. I can't begin to tell you how hard you're making it for me to stick to my own rules and beliefs. I had a long talk with her this morning and explained why I didn't want to have sex with her until our wedding night. By doing this Cordelia I am not saying that I think that any of you were wrong when you had sex before you were married, I am just saying that for me it's wrong. I want Lou to remain pure and for her to give herself to me as pure as she was the day she was born. These beliefs were hammered into me almost daily by Holtz and I just can't separate myself from these beliefs so easily." Connor paused for awhile.

"Ever since I first saw Lou I haven't had sex with anyone else and although I can't give myself to Lou as pure as I am asking her to be I'm doing my best to be as pure as I can. Besides going to confession before our wedding I am also going to ask Grandma to test me to make sure I'm clean." Connor paused for awhile.

"Will you do this for me Cordelia? Please." That did it. Connor knew he had won her over with that last please.

Cordelia got up and hugged him. "I'm sorry Connor I didn't know you were so committed to this. I'll talk to Lou and tell her that we have to stop what were doing otherwise we may drive you crazy." She smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Dad please, don't get mad at Cordelia for going against my wishes. Grandma told me that for a woman like Cordelia it's in her blood to help any woman that asks for her help in catching a man." "I won't beat her too badly. At least not where it will show but don't be surprised if you see her wince every time she goes to sit down for awhile." Angel said with a smile. Connor got up and went to say good morning to his brothers. "Don't spank her too much Dad, after all she did give us Kathleen and my little brothers here." Angel got up and joined him at the crib. "Yes I guess your right we do owe her for them. How about if I spank her just 5 times?" "That sounds about right. I'll leave you to your husbandly duties now." Connor smiled at him then left. A second later though he opened the door again. "Uh Dad don't put too much force behind your hand after all I am asking her to plan my wedding." "Okay son, I'll keep that in mind."

When Connor left Angel slowly approached Cordelia. She took a few steps back. "Now Angel I said I was sorry. You're not really going to spank me, are you?" Angel kept on advancing on her. Cordelia started to run for the hallway but Angel grabbed her arm. "Come on now Cordelia take your punishment like an adult. You know you were wrong in doing what you did, especially after I told you to stop it." Angel pulled a chair over where he could sit down. Then he pulled Cordelia over so that she was standing in front of him. She hadn't dressed yet and all she had on was a nightgown and bathrobe. "Wait a minute Angel let me lock the door. I wouldn't want Kathleen to come in and see her Mommy being spanked by her Daddy." When Cordelia came back she stood in front of him and untied her bathrobe and let it fall to the floor. She had her hair pulled back and being held with a large clasp. She slowly reached for the clasp and pulled it off and let her hair fall then shook her head so that it would fall down her back. Then very slowly she pulled off her nightgown and tossed it to the side. Angel looked at her. She had lost most of the weight she had gained during her pregnancy. He felt as though he was going to have an orgasm just looking at her. He knew that Cordelia knew exactly what she was doing.

Very slowly Cordelia lowered herself and stretched herself across his lap. When she felt he had looked over the merchandise enough she said, "Okay Angel, I'm ready to take my punishment." Angel ran his hand over her cheeks very slowly. They were so round and perfectly formed. He lowered his head and kissed each one of them then drew back and ran his hand over her back and through her hair. Then he pulled back his right hand and gave her 5 wops on the behind just like he told Connor he would.

When he let go of her and helped her up she looked at him with tears in her eyes as she rubbed her behind. "You did it, you actually spanked me, I didn't think you would do it after that performance I put on." "I knew that was why you were doing it. Now maybe when I tell you to stop doing something you'll do what I say." Cordelia went running into the bathroom and Angel grabbed his cane and went downstairs for breakfast.

Everyone was downstairs and eating their breakfast. When Angel put his own breakfast together and sat down everyone noticed that Cordelia wasn't with him.

"Where is Cordelia Angel?" Dr. Martin asked.

"She is upstairs tending to her bruised pride. We had a few words this morning about something that I forbade her to do and she did anyway." Dr. Martin and everyone else but the men stared at him. Lou was the only one of the women that still had her head down and continued to eat her breakfast. It was apparent that Connor had told them what happened.

They all knew what he meant and collectively decided to mind their own business. Dr. Martin was the only one that was about to say something else when she felt Rupert's hand on hers. He looked at her and shook his head but Dr. Martin started to say something anyway. "Angel you didn't really spank her did you?" Everyone was surprised when Giles said "Don't interfere Mary this is between Angel and Cordelia." "But Rupert." "Mary unless you want the same thing I would advise you to sit down and finish eating your breakfast. In this matter it is between Angel and Cordelia, a husband and wife, and not your son and daughter in-law. Now sit down and finish your breakfast." Mary looked at Rupert and decided to obey his wishes. She answered with a "Yes dear" and sat back down and finished her breakfast without saying anything more.

Cordelia didn't come down to get something until everyone had left the table. Her pride couldn't take the men's looks of 'It serves you right for doing what you were told not to do' and the women's looks of pity.

Mrs. Sanchez, Joaquin's mother, was in the kitchen when Cordelia came in looking for something to eat. She didn't dare look her way, other then when she walked in, she just said good morning and grabbed a bowl of cereal. She knew Mrs. Sanchez probably approved of Angel spanking her for doing something that he told her not to do. Mrs. Sanchez said something to Connie in Spanish. Cordelia went over to Connie and whispered to her 'What did she say?' "She said a woman that disobeys her husband shows a lack of respect for him." Connie said. "Do you think I was wrong in helping Lou to try to get Connor to cave in?" Cordelia whispered. Connie looked at Cordelia, "Yes." Cordelia was surprised at her answer; she didn't say anymore and just finished her cereal and went back to the boys.

While Cordelia was busy elsewhere Angel had gone to Wesley's office looking for him. "Hey Wesley would you come over to the clinic with me I noticed that Mom was in there doing an inventory of her supplies." "Sure Angel what did you need?" Wesley asked as he got up from his desk and walked to the clinic with him. Angel nonchalantly put his arm around Wesley's shoulder. "We have to ask Mom to do something for us and this is the perfect time to get it done. Cordelia is ready to have sex now and if I get this done now she will forgive me for spanking her." Wesley started to walk the other way but Angel had a firm grip on his shoulder.

"I am not ready for this yet Angel. I don't need to try to get on Fred's good side, besides I'm having second thoughts about this." "Come on Wesley be a man and take responsibility for making sure that Fred won't be put in danger any more by getting pregnant again. You don't want her to die do you?" "No." "Okay then be brave and let's go in together." Wesley thought he might as well do it now because he didn't think Angel would let him go anyway.

The two men walked into the clinic together. Dr. Martin turned and looked at them when they walked in. "Do you boys need something?" She asked as she continued to mark down on a supply sheet what she had and what she needed.

Angel took a deep breath and let it out slowly while Wesley just hung his head down. "Mom, Wesley and I would like to get a Vasectomy." Dr. Martin turned and gave 100 percent of her attention to them now.

"When would you like to have this done?" "Right away or I may lose my nerve and I can hold onto Wesley for just so long." "Okay let me get a hold of Mike and Hunter. I am going to need their help to put you to sleep and with Hunter helping me we can get you both done right away. I'll call you when we're ready." Angel kept a firm grip on Wesley's shoulder all the way back to the second floor. When Angel arrived at his room he let go of Wesley's shoulder.

"Don't chicken out on me now Wesley." "I won't." Wesley said as he went back to his own rooms. "Let's not tell the girls until Mom calls us okay?" Angel said just as Wesley got to his own door. "Okay." Wesley answered. They both went into their own rooms then. Cordelia was busy folding laundry and then started to put clean sheets on the bed. Angel put his cane on the chair and helped her. When they were done he helped change the boys. Cordelia didn't say anything about what happened that morning until they finished cleaning the boys and she settled down on the bed to feed Nicky and Mike.

"Angel, I'm sorry I went against what you and Connor wanted. When I went downstairs to get some cereal Mrs. Sanchez was in there with Connie and she told Connie something in Spanish but somehow I knew her remark was about me. I asked Connie what she had said and Connie told me she said 'A woman that disobeys her husband shows a lack of respect for him'. I asked Connie if she thought I was wrong in helping Lou to make Connor cave in and she said yes." Cordelia was quiet for awhile then she looked up at Angel and said "Please don't ever think that I don't respect you Angel. I will always respect you and I am sorry if what I did made it look like I didn't. Please forgive me for being so disrespectful towards you and Connor."

Angel sat on the bed next to her with Mike in his lap. "All is forgiven my Beloved." He lowered his head and kissed her gently and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

Two hours later Dr. Martin called Angel. When he answered the phone she said "We're ready for you Angel. Bring Wesley down with you also. Hunter will take care of him while I take care of you." "Okay Mom we'll be there in just a few minutes. It may take me a little longer though if I have to pry Wesley's fingers off of the door frame." He hung up then and took Cordelia's hand. She had just put Mike back in the crib and both boys were sleeping. "Let's go Cordelia." "Where are we going?" She asked as she followed along. "We're going to get Wesley and Fred and then we're going downstairs to see Mom." He went to Wesley's door and knocked on it. Wesley answered it. "Okay Wesley Mom's ready for us." Wesley saw Cordelia so he grabbed Fred's hand. "Let's go downstairs to the clinic Fred and don't ask any questions until we get there okay?" "Okay Wesley." The boys were sleeping so she felt safe in leaving them alone. Cordelia and Fred just looked at each other questioningly.

When they reached the clinic they saw all three doctors waiting for them. They had the gurney next to the exam bed. Dr. Martin came over with a couple of hospital gowns. "Take your clothes off boys and put these on." "What's going on Mom?" "Your husband's ladies are going to make the ultimate sacrifice and have a vasectomy. They don't want you ladies to have to take birth control pills for the rest of your child bearing years. It should only take us about 30 minutes or less once their out." Angel and Wesley were taking their clothes off and giving them to their wives. Both Cordelia and Fred grabbed their husbands and gave them a hug and kiss then let them finish getting ready for their noble sacrifice.

Every thing went okay and an hour later they were starting to wake up. Wesley woke up first. "How do you feel?" Hunter asked him. "Sore." Wesley answered as she helped him to sit up. Fred was standing next to the bed with the wheelchair.

"Take it easy for the next 3 days. Stay in bed the rest of the day and take some aspirin if you start hurting too much. If he has any swelling Fred just give him an ice bag. One of us will check you tomorrow Wesley." Hunter helped him off of the gurney and into the wheelchair. As they passed by Cordelia Fred told her that she would bring the wheelchair back down in a few minutes. "Okay Fred." Angel was starting to wake up now. "How is my big stud muffin doing?" "Okay." He said in a high pitched voice then cleared his throat and said Okay again. She gave him a kiss on his cheek and said "You were so brave to do this Angel. I'm going to take good care of you and anything you want you can have if it's within my power to give it." Fred came back with the wheelchair then went right back upstairs. Mike came over and helped Angel off of the bed and onto the wheelchair. "Give him an ice pack for the swelling and aspirin for the pain." Mike told Cordelia. "I'll take good care of him." Before they left the clinic Dr. Martin called to Cordelia. "You know they are going to milk this for all it's worth." "I know Mom but after such a big sacrifice they deserve it." Cordelia helped Angel up to there room's and treated him like a King for the next two days. Knowing how fast he healed Cordelia figured he should have been able to get up and around by the next morning but like Dr. Martin had said he was milking it for all it was worth.

On the morning of the third day both Angel and Wesley came down for breakfast. It was apparent to Angel and Wesley that everyone knew about their Vasectomy. The main clue was when all of the women stood up clapping for them and their taking the initiative to take on the problem of birth control from the women.

Cordelia was still attending to Angels every need and want. After Fred put the boys in the play pen she went back to her seat and attended to Wesley. "Would you like me to fix your plate up for you Wesley?" "Yes please." Connie had made pancakes and waffles, eggs and sausages. There were also fresh strawberries and bananas already cut up. Whip cream and several different types of syrup was also put on the table. Fred made up a plate of a couple of waffles with whip cream on the top with slices of strawberries and bananas with a side of two fried eggs. She put this beautiful plate in front of Wesley along with a kiss on his cheek.

Cordelia had done the same for Angel except he had the pancakes with two eggs on the side with sausages. His pancakes were smothered in margarine and maple syrup. She had also made him a large cup of French vanilla coffee.

A couple of days later Fred and Wesley heard a lot of noise in Angel and Cordelia's room in the middle of the afternoon. Then they heard furniture being pushed along on the wood floors. Fred looked at Wesley. She could see a gleam in his eyes as he approached her slowly. He pushed her up against the kitchen table and started to unbutton her blouse. As he started to kiss her he said "Any time any place will now be put into practice and after so long of being in Dry Dock I am going to need a lot of practice." After a few minutes Angel and Cordelia could hear crashing coming from Fred and Wesley's room. They just smiled at each other since they knew that the same thing that was happening in their room was happening in the room next door. "Any time any place." Angel said in between kisses.

The next two weeks were nerve wracking for Lou and Connor as they waited for their grades and to see if they graduated. Angel and Cordelia hadn't announced yet who they had chosen to be Nicky and Mikes Godparents so they decided to give them something else to think about for awhile since they had chosen Connor and Lou as their Godparents. They chose to announce it at Supper that night.

As everyone sat down at the table, and before the food was brought in, Angel tapped his glass with his fork to get everyone's attention.

"Because of everything that has been going on this last couple of months Cordelia and I are late in having the boys baptized. We would like to ask two of the people at this table to take on that chore of taking care of the boys if something should happen to Cordelia and me. Lou and Connor, would you accept the responsibility of being Nicky and Mikes Godparents?"

Connor stood up and Lou did also. "Yes Dad I accept the honor of being their Godparent." "Yes Angel and Cordelia I accept also." Lou went over and gave Cordelia and Angel a kiss. "Thank you for thinking that I am worthy of this honor." Lou said. Connor came over and shook his fathers hand and gave Cordelia a kiss on her cheek. The boys were sleeping in the play pen so they left them alone and went back to their chairs.

"Well now that, that's over when are we going to go and buy the Christmas tree for the lobby?" Angel asked no one in particular. "I think we can go tomorrow Angel." Wesley said. "Before we all leave the table I want to give Connor and Lou these envelopes that came in the mail today." Wesley passed down the envelopes to Lou and Connor. They each tore open their envelopes and everyone was quiet while they read their test results.

Connor jumped up and down and let out a big whoop. "I passed 1st in my class." Angel and Wesley went over to him and congratulated him. Everyone else was congratulating him as well when all of a sudden he became quiet. He realized that Lou wasn't jumping for joy. "Lou, how did you do?" Connor asked her softly.

"I didn't pass. I missed it by just 4 questions. I'm sorry Connor. I know how disappointed you must be in me. It looks like I am going to have to go to High School until the end of the next semester and take the tests again." She left the letter on the table and ran to her room. Fred grabbed the letter and read it carefully. "Connor, go and tell Lou that she was sent the wrong letter. This letter is for a Louise Chambers." Connor jumped up to each balcony until he reached the 3rd floor.

Connor knocked on the door. Lou didn't answer it and he could hear her crying. "Is this the room of Louise Chambers?" Connor called out real loud. He could hear her stop crying and blow her nose. In the next minute he heard her unlock the door and open it. "What did you say?" "I said is this the room of Louise Chambers because that letter you opened is addressed to a Louise Chambers." It took a minute to register with Lou as to what Connor was saying.

"You mean that I may have passed?" "Yes you certainly may have. Fred is checking right now." Lou ran downstairs and looked for Fred. She found her in the clinic and on the phone. Lou and everyone else was sitting in the lobby and watching Lou walk back and forth. After 30 minutes Fred finally came out. She didn't look too happy. Lou came and stood in front of her with the tears already starting to fall. "What did you find out?" Lou asked as she wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Lou I am so sorry. With all of your studying you only ……..PASSED FOURTH IN YOUR GROUP." Fred shouted. She hugged Lou. When she let go though Lou was still staring at her. Then Fred saw her eyes go up into her head and Lou fell to the floor in a dead faint. Hunter was the closest one to her. She lifted Lou's eye lid and checked her pulse. "She's okay she just fainted." Hunter slapped her face lightly. Lou opened her eyes and looked at Fred. "Did you say that I passed Fred?" "Yes you passed fourth in your group." Lou reached for her and hugged her. Fred helped her up then Lou turned around and looked for Connor. He was standing right behind her. Lou jumped into his arms and he landed a great big kiss right on her lips and he didn't care who was watching.

Everyone was clapping for her. Connor finally let her down. With tears in her eyes and a smile on her face she said "Thank you, thank you everyone. All of those hours of studying was worth this moment." Lou said as she wiped her face and blew her nose with the Kleenex that Fred gave her. Tom, her brother, came in at that time and she went running to him and hugged him. "I passed Tom, I passed fourth in my class." "Congratulations Lou, Dad would be proud of you." "That's not all Angel and Cordelia asked Connor and I to be Godparents to Nicky and Mike." "My goodness but you guys have been busy. I'm going to go and take a shower before I get dirt all over the floor. I'll be right back to hear the rest of your news." Lou let her brother go and watched him go upstairs. "What's wrong, I thought he would be happy for me."

Angel came forward and put his arm around Lou's shoulder. "He'll be okay Lou. He's just feeling a little left out of everything and missing your father right now. I'll go and have a talk with him and hopefully he'll be okay after a good nights rest. At least that's what Cordelia always tells me and it always works." Angel gave her a kiss on the forehead then made his way to the elevator. Angel didn't join Cordelia in bed until late that night. He remained awake for the next couple of hours thinking about Tom and what he could possibly do to help him. It occurred to him that what Tom needed was a girl friend. Angel jumped out of bed and pulled his pants on then went down to Gunn's room and gave it a light tap on the door. He knew Gunn and Cylindia were in there together. By listening to what was going on he thought he must have interrupted something so he just left and went back to his room. He wrote Gunn a note telling him to get a hold of his friend in Covina and tell him he will have a customer tomorrow night. He slipped it under his door then went back to bed. He was able to sleep now that he had found a solution to Tom's problem.

The next morning at breakfast he announced to everyone that all of the men were going to be going out tonight to paint the town red in celebration of Connors passing of all of his finals. "Cordelia I want you girls to have a celebration of your own." Angel knew that Joaquin was in the kitchen so he thought he would ask him if he wanted to join them. "Joaquin would you and Connie come here for a moment?" "Yes Mr. Martin." Joaquin said as they came to the table.

"Joaquin we men are going to be going out to paint the town red would you like to go with us? The women are going to have a party also to celebrate Lou's passing her GED also but they are going to be staying here. I am sure that they would like you to join them Connie." Joaquin and Connie looked at each other and Connie put her head down while Joaquin gave Angel his answer. "I thank you for the offer Mr. Martin but I don't think that it would be proper for us to party with our employers." Angel said something to him in Spanish and Joaquin answered in Spanish. Angel stood up and looked at Dr. Martin. He paused as though thinking about his next move. "Mom, would you come with me please? Joaquin and Connie would you stay here for a few minutes please?" "Yes Sir." Joaquin answered.

Angel and Dr. Martin went to the kitchen where Mrs. Sanchez was sitting and cutting onions. "Mrs. Sanchez I know that you are the one that is telling your son and daughter-in law that it is not proper for any of you to become too personal with us. Mrs. Sanchez is it because of a problem that you have with me and what I am?" "No Senior Martin. I have no problem with that, but I have worked for many families and my mother and father before me. It has always been a rule for us that the workers stay separate from the family that they work for. We are poor working class people Senior Martin and it is not good for my son and his wife to mix with the higher class of people that we work for."

"Mrs. Sanchez I want you to understand that although most of the people here work for Angel Investigation, of which I am the owner, none of us see each other as co workers but as family members. If you recall my mother has told us that your grandson, Junior, will become part of the Angel Investigation family. Although your son takes orders from me it's not because I see him as my employee but as a co worker. It takes a lot of people doing all different kinds of work to keep our home running properly. Before your family came and joined us Cordelia and Fred did all of the work that your family does. Now they are busy raising the next generation of Angel Investigations and no longer have the time to keep this place running properly. I am asking Joaquin and Connie to join us in having some fun because you are all part of our family now and we wouldn't feel right if we were to have fun and Joaquin and Connie were left behind as though we didn't like them." Angel sat back and waited for Mrs. Sanchez to think about what he said.

Dr. Martin hadn't said anything while Angel was talking. "Would you leave us alone for a few minutes Angel?" Angel just looked at her then took his cane and went back to the dining room.

Fifteen minutes later Dr. Martin came out with Mrs. Sanchez. Dr. Martin went over to her chair and Mrs. Sanchez went over and stood by her son. "Senior Martin I have reconsidered what you have said and I believe it will be alright for Joaquin and Connie to join all of you in your party. I will take care of the children tonight ladies so that you can all have fun and relax." "Thank you Mrs. Sanchez." Angel said.

"Okay everyone at 7 o'clock we men will meet here and I think we can all fit in Connor's van. Needless to say ladies we men will not be here for supper." They all got up from the table then and went their separate ways. Angel called out to Gunn. "Gunn did you get my message?" "Yes, everything is set up for 8:30 tonight." "Good job."

Angel went to the gym to get some exercise in before the afternoon. He was still having to rely on his cane so doing exercises that would help him to do away with it was top on his priority list. One of the things that he wanted to do with the 2nd generation was to go up to the San Gabriel Mountains and run with the wolves. He wasn't sure if the problem that caused him to use a cane in human form would show up as a wolf and using four legs. He thought he would try it but he wanted hunter with him just in case he had a problem.

"Hi Hunter, can you give me a few minutes of your time in the gym?" "Sure Angel I'll be right there." She walked into the gym with Kathleen and Toby following her.

"Well, I didn't know you were babysitting." Angel said when he saw his daughter and Toby come in also. "Cordelia was busy with the boys so Kathleen and I have been spending some quality time together haven't we?" "Yeah Daddy, Aunt Mickey has been showing me how to do some magic." Thru the link she told her Daddy 'I know it's not real magic Daddy but I don't tell Aunt Mickey that.' He just smiled at her and winked.

"Okay Hunter I asked you over here because I am still having a problem with my left leg. I thought of changing to a wolf and seeing if any weakness in my leg would show up that you could see." "Okay Angel go ahead." Hunter said. "Can I do it too Daddy? I haven't ever played with you as a wolf." "I don't see why not. Do you need Aunt Mickey to go with you?" "No I can do it by myself now. I play all of the time with Connor and Toby." "Okay, since you're a big girl now go into the girl's bathroom and change and I'll go into the boy's bathroom and meet you out here."

Kathleen ran into the bathroom and was out in just a few minutes. She came out and ran over to Toby. Since she was four years old now she was almost as big as Toby but of a more slight build. You could easily tell that she was a young wolf that could be interpreted as a teenage wolf. Toby still knew who she was though and they started playing but stopped when Angel came out. Both Toby and Kathleen went to lick his face and lay down in front of him as he stood over them. It was how all wolves greeted him whether they were Vampire wolves or real wolves or dogs as with Toby. He gave his signal that it was okay to play now. He had decided to play a game of follow the leader and started running around the gym and climbing onto tables and machines.

Hunter was watching him all of the time and watching him favor his left hind leg. She couldn't see anything wrong with the leg. His problem seemed to be more of a problem that was being caused by his favoring the leg and thus keeping it weak. "Angel, come here." Hunter called out to him. The little pack of wolves and dog came running over to her. "Lay down Angel so that I can check your left leg." Angel complied. She checked his left hind leg by feeling the muscles and tendons. The muscles in his lower leg seemed to be smaller then it should be. The bones felt like they were nice and strong though. She got up and went to the phone by the doors and called the Lobby. Fred answered. "Fred this is Hunter. Is their any strangers in the Hotel?" "No just those that live here." "Okay tell everyone to keep the stairs clear for awhile. I am going to be leading a group that will be using the stairs to exercise." "Okay Hunter."

Hunter went to the doors that went into the Hotel and locked them in the open position then she went back to the gym and locked those doors in the open position. She stopped in front of the group of animals and said "Okay I am going to go and change and when I come out I will be the leader and everyone will follow me okay?" Angel and his daughter gave a grunt kind of bark.

When Hunter came out again she was a beautiful dark colored wolf. Her hair was just a little longer then a regular wolf. The rest greeted her then she took off into the hallway to the Hotel lobby and up the stairs. Hunter led her little pack up and down and up and down all five flights of stairs several times. After the third time she could see Angel starting to limp a little so she called an end to the exercise by running back into the gym and just laying down on the mats so they could cool down and regain their normal breathing. When she felt that they had all cooled down enough she jumped into the pool and did several laps before climbing out and going to the ladies room. Kathleen followed her in and they took a shower. When they came out they found that Angel had already gone up stairs.

When Angel had changed back his left leg was hurting him a lot so he went up stairs and thought he would soak in the whirlpool for a while. When he was done with soaking in the whirlpool he asked Cordelia to massage his leg. By 7 o'clock the rest of the men were down stairs and waiting for Connor and Angel. Spike yelled at the bottom of the stairs. "Let's hurry it up you two beauty queens. I tell you guys ever since Angel has been able to see his reflection it's been next to impossible to get him away from the mirror." Spike had his back turned to the stairs so he didn't notice both Angel and Connor making their way to the back by using the back stairs. Just as Spike finished his speech Connor came through the back door and said. "Common guys we've been waiting for the past 15 minutes." They all went running to the back then and piled into Connors van.

The first stop was Covina and Gunn's friend. As Angel did for Connor he also did for Tom. They dropped him off for his movies and his first sexual encounter. Connor was over 21 now so he went to the bar along with the men and had a couple of beers and that was all since he was driving. Three hours later they went to pick up Tom. From there they headed for the San Gabriel Mountains and bought some food to take up to the mountains with them. Angel was driving so he pulled into a dirt road once they passed the San Gabriel Dam. Before leaving the van Angel put his Forest Ranger sticker on the van so no one would bother them. He led the men half a mile up the trail and along side of a stream where a pool had been made. This is where they were going to spend the next several hours eating barbequed chicken, ribs and drinking beer. The night was warm so the water was warm. They hadn't had a storm for the last several weeks so the water was clear. When they were all covered with barbeque sauce Angel and Spike took off their clothes and jumped into the water. The rest followed their example. When Joaquin took his clothes off the other men tried not to stare at him. It had formerly been agreed upon by all of the men that Angel and Giles were equal in being the best equipped men among them, but then they saw Joaquin. Spike was the first to state the obvious.

"Angel and Giles you have just been deposed from your pedestal. Now that Joaquin has joined us it's clear that he belongs on that pedestal. It's a wonder that Connie can walk each morning." All of the men stood up and bowed to Joaquin. Joaquin stood up and started to pound his chest like Tarzan and gave a loud Tarzan yell. They all had a good laugh. After they had cleaned themselves of all of the barbeque sauce Angel climbed out of the pool and put several more logs on the fire so they could dry off. When Spike, Connor and Tom came out he told them "Why don't you take Connor and Tom for a run Spike. I was going to do it myself but that exercise that Hunter put me through really tired my leg out and I don't want to over exert the muscle in my leg so soon."

"That sounds like fun. Let's go boys." Tom, Spike and Connor all stood up a little ways away from the fire and changed into wolves. As soon as they were sure they were okay they took off.

"That is always unnerving too watch." Wesley said. He was starting to get cold so he got dressed again. All the other men did the same. Angel got up and listened to the night air. He could hear them running down a prey. By the time they came back Wesley, Giles, Gunn and Joaquin had fallen asleep next to the fire that Angel had kept going. They were covered with dirt and mud so they jumped into the water after changing back to their human forms and cleaned themselves.

They didn't get back to the Hotel until almost 6 in the morning. The women let them sleep until 12 noon then woke them up for Lunch. Fred lifted the covers off of Wesley's feet and started to tickle them with a feather. "Stop it Fred." "Get up Wesley, Dr. Martin has been waiting for you. She wants you to meet her over at the Dairy Queen as soon as you can." "Why over at the Dairy Queen?" "I don't know. All I know is that you and Gunn are to meet her over there ASAP and she said to make sure that Angel doesn't know where you are going."

When they arrived at the Dairy Queen they saw both Giles and Dr. Martin. They bought their ice cream then joined them at their table. "So what's up Grandma and Grandpa?" "Very funny spoiled rotten brat. Don't you remember an agreement I made with Angelus almost five years ago?" "Yes I do and Gunn has already been working on your son's playpen." "You guys must have had a good time last night, because you are just full of wisecracks today." Dr. Martin said as she eyed her husband, Wesley and Gunn. The men gave her big smiles in return. "Where is Spike? How come you didn't want him to join us?" Wesley asked. "Buffy and Spike left to go back to Sunnydale an hour ago. They wanted to get back so they could start doing their Christmas shopping tonight. They left Joyce with us until after Christmas."

"Well what have you done and where?" "I have some of my boys helping me to set up Angel's play pen in the middle of the desert in Death Valley. There is a small community just before you reach the hill that separates California and Nevada. It's on the outskirts of Death Valley. About 10 miles into Death Valley from this town there is a small valley of sorts that is surrounded by huge boulders. We have started to construct the cage for Angelus. All we have left is to put the top on and to put a large enough tent up to protect him during the day. We should be finished with it by next Saturday." Gunn said as he ate the last of his ice cream Sunday.

"That's good. The Monday after we'll take Angel out there. Make sure Wesley that we have the copy of what was said five years ago. If it's okay with you two I'll give Angel something to make him sleep for at least 8 hours on Monday night. How long will it take us to get there Gunn?" "About 3 hours maybe a little longer." "So if I give him the drug at 4 A.M. we should have him there in time to wake up by twelve noon." "Correct." Gunn answered. "Good, with any luck then we can be done with this before we have to start concentrating on Christmas." When they were done with their ice cream they all went their own way.

Giles and Dr. Martin went to the Magic Shop, Wesley and Gunn went to an Army Navy store to look for a tent that was big enough to cover the Playpen.

Cordelia and Lou had left to go shopping for her wedding gown while Connor took Tom to go shopping for their wedding clothes. Before they left Connor had asked Cordelia when she would be ready for the wedding. "I'm not sure Connor. Although we have been planning the wedding we only found out last week that you two were ready to have the wedding. So give me a week to find out when I can get everyone scheduled, but I am trying for the end of January." "The reason I am asking is that I also have to tell the L.A.P.D. when I will be able to start working. Do you think I will be safe in telling them that I can start at the beginning of March?" "Yes I think you would be safe in setting that date. That will give you more then enough time to have your honeymoon and settle down enough so that you can be separated for at least 10 hours." Cordelia gave him and Lou a big smile. They all separated for the day then while Connie took care of the children along with Fred.

Connor and Tom had gone to a men's store to be fitted for their tuxes. Cordelia had given them a clipping of the style that they were to order. Tom was too young to go to a bar so Connor took him to one of his favorite restaurants. The local Green Burrito that was in Los Angeles. They took their bags of food and Connor drove to the alley behind Caritas and they sat and ate their food. While they sat and ate their food they talked. They talked about last night mostly and Tom's first sexual encounter. It turned out that they both had the same women teach them about sex.

"I want you to know Connor that I think that if you're even half the man that your father is that you'll be a good husband to Lou and I'm glad that it's you that she fell in love with." Connor reached over and shook hands with Tom. "Thanks Tom." "By the way, why did you choose to come to this alley way?" Connor didn't answer him right away. After a few minutes he said "Cordelia told me that this is where I was born and where my mother killed herself so that I could live."

"So we both lost our Mothers when we were born." Tom said as he looked over the alley way. "Did they know why your mother thought she had to kill herself so you could live?" "No. All Angel knows is that she came to them two days before I was born and that she was in labor for most of that time. He said that some how she knew that I couldn't be born unless she died. He said she told him to tell me that she loved me then she staked herself in the heart, she turned to dust and I was left there lying on the rain soaked pavement with my mothers dust on me and the rain washing her away. I come here once in awhile to talk to her. Everyday when I pray the Rosary I pray for her soul. Once I understood that a persons soul leaves their body when they are turned I knew that there was a chance that she could go to heaven. Father Barris explained it to me that just like my father my mother would not be held accountable for what her demon did when it had control of her body. She only had to answer for her sins before she was turned and for the short time that Wolfram & Hart arranged for her body to be brought back from the dead and given her soul back. Before my mother was turned she made her living as a prostitute and was dieing of one of the STD diseases. When Wolfram & Hart brought her back the STD came with her and she started die from it again and it was too far advanced for modern medicine to do her any good. She wasn't of any use to Wolfram & Hart after she failed in turning my father again so they located Drusilla and had her turn my mother again. That was when my father killed my mother's body so that she wouldn't have to suffer anymore. He told me that even though they don't have a soul any longer their consciousness is still part of the body but is unable to control their own body."

"That's why my father killed our mother also. He said he couldn't stand to see her suffer any longer. I guess we're more alike then we knew." "Yeah I guess we better get back. It looks like it's going to rain." Connor started his van up and they were back at the Hotel within just a few minutes. It started raining buckets just as they came through the door.

"Where have you two been?" Angel asked as he was just coming back from the gym. "We went to get fitted for our monkey suits then I took Tom with me while I visited with Mom." "I hope you ordered the suit she told you two to get." Angel asked with a worried look on his face. "You know I did. I'm not stupid enough to go against what I am told to wear during their wedding." "That's a wise decision. As long as you understand that this is there wedding and you are just there to say 'I Do' you'll do just fine." Angel went upstairs then to take a shower. Hunter had put him thru a workout again and his leg was hurting again but not as much as it did the first time she had him running up and down the stairs.

As soon as he could Angel headed for David Morgan's house. He had already contacted Greg Steele, David's dog trainer, to make sure he would be available today to take him to look at some puppies.

After Wesley and Gunn found the tent they needed they took it to store at the warehouse that a lot of Gunn's kids lived at. When they were done they went shopping for the Christmas tree for the lobby. By 6 o'clock everyone was back at the hotel and came out to help with the Christmas tree. The tree was 8 feet tall so it took all of the men to carry it in and set it up.

"Well what do you think Cordelia?" Gunn asked her since she was the one that had to give her okay. She walked around it to see if there were any bare spots. She took her time and checked it to also see if it was too dry to be in the hotel where it would cause a fire when the lights were on all night. "It gets my stamp of approval. You guys did pretty good. Well I don't know about anyone else but I'm too tired to decorate it tonight so what do you say we do it tomorrow?" Everyone agreed. As Cordelia turned to go back upstairs to get the children for supper she had a Vision and had to sit down. Angel grabbed a tablet of paper and pen and ran to her side. After 5 minutes the Vision was over and she took the paper and pen from Angel and wrote down an address.

"What did you see?" Connor asked. "There were 10 of them chasing after something but I don't know what it was. The group had a mixture of demons and vampires and they were chasing someone up at the Forest Lawn cemetery." Cordelia said as she rubbed her temples. "I think we better all go since there are 10 of them." Connor said as he gave the paper to his Father. Angel gave the paper back to his son. "You take this son, I'm still having a problem with my left leg." Connor smiled at him and joined the others at the weapons cabinet. He picked up his bag full of stakes, including the special one for Toby, and they all headed for his van and Gunn's truck.

"I'm glad you did that Angel. You can kind of consider this as a small vacation before Connor starts working at the Police Department." Cordelia said as she turned and continued up the stairs. When they sat down for Supper there weren't too many people at the table so everyone at Dr. Martins side moved down to Angels. The children remained at their table and as usual Kathleen led the prayer of thanksgiving.

Fred and Wesley's boys Robert and David were starting to feed themselves now and wanted to sit at the table with the rest of the kids instead of being stuck in their highchairs. "Mommy we want down so we can eat with the others." Robert said as he tried wiggling out of the highchair, but Fred had put the tray close to their chests so they couldn't worm their way out. "No Robert, you and David have to stay here because there isn't any room for you at the children's table. Isn't that correct Uncle Angel?" Fred said.

"That's right but maybe tomorrow we can find something bigger that can hold all of you along with Toby. So be good now and stop acting like babies, because if you continue fussing then I'll start thinking that you're still too young to sit with the other children." The boys stopped as soon as he said that. "We'll be good Mommy." The boys started eating the rest of their food then while being perfect angels.

"How is business going at the shop Rupert?" "Very well my dear, very well indeed. Ever since the Christmas shopping season started after Thanksgiving business has really started to pick up. I think I'll ask Willow and Tara to come and help me during the weekends since that is when we have the highest amount of shoppers coming in." "I can help you Rupert." Dr. Martin offered. "Yes dear and I really do appreciate it but you tend to give a look of puzzlement whenever a customer asks about something like a David's Eye, which is the new name for Eye of Newt." Giles was patting Mary's hand when he said this. Angel was laughing at what Giles said. "Yes I have to admit that some of the things that your customers ask for give me the creeps. When I had one person ask me for the hand of a mummy I almost lost it. It took all that I had not to go 'Ewww yuck'. Yes I think you had better ask Willow and Tara."

"I used to make my living by collecting 'Eye of Newt' when I lived up in the northern part of China. It was easy to collect up there and I used to bypass the middle man and send it directly to London once each year. My Swiss bank account became quiet fat from the money off of those. In fact that's where Angel and I met up for the second time. He helped me to collect them and other ingredients that year." Hunter told everyone. "Wait a minute, after what you just said I don't think that 'Eye of Newt' is what it sounds like so exactly what is 'Eye of Newt'?" Dr. Martin asked.

Hunter, Giles, and Angel were laughing. "I have some in the basement Mom, I'll be right back." Angel got up and walked down into the basement where he kept a locked cabinet. He came back in a few minutes and gave his Mother a small bottle. "This Mom is Eye of Newt." Dr. Martin opened it and looked at it. She poured a tiny amount into her hand and smelled it. "This looks like a flower or rather the center of a flower." "That's exactly what it is. It's the dried center of a pink flower that grows in the higher mountain ranges of China." Dr. Martin put it back in and closed the bottle then started laughing at herself. "I thought you were talking about the little lizards eyes. In my mind I was picturing you two collecting all of these little lizards that you were killing then plucking their eyes out." They were all laughing at her and the picture she had painted.

Kathleen was listening to them talking. She came over to see the contents of the bottle that her Daddy had given Grandma. "Can I have some Grandma?" Dr. Martin put a couple in her hand. Kathleen carefully looked at them. The other children came over to look at it and let Toby smell them. Then she surprised everyone by taking them to the large planter that held a palm in it. She rubbed them between her hands and threw it on the dirt in the planter. She said the word GROW then backed up. Within minutes a tall plant about 3 feet high grew and then pink flowers started to pop up all over the plant. At a much slower rate the flowers opened and displayed delicate pink petals with a soft yellow center. Kathleen pulled one branch off and took it back to her Grandmother.

"Isn't it pretty Grandma?" "It sure is, in fact it reminds me of the soft pink and white blanket I bought you for your Baptism. Can I keep this?" "Yes Grandma it's for you." "Thank you I am going to put it in a glass of water and put it right by my bed so that it will be the last thing that I see when I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I open my eyes." Kathleen's Grandma gave her a thank you kiss then.

"Were going to go and play in our room now Mommy." Kathleen said. "Do you think that David and Robert could go and play with you?" Fred asked before they left. "Sure Aunt Fred. Junior and I will take care of everybody." Fred put the boys down and they went around the table to Kathleen. "Okay everybody let's hold hands." With Kathleen in the lead she held onto Joyce's hand, Joyce held onto Robert's hand, Robert held onto David's and David held onto Junior. She led everyone over to the elevator, closed the door and they left for the third floor.

"Isn't she something? Kathleen is going to be a natural mother and she is going to do real well in leading the others as they go through life." Dr. Martin said as she looked at the elevator go up.

"You should have seen them Mr. and Mrs. Martin. One day when Mr. Martin was taking care of them for the day Kathleen came into the kitchen along with Junior and her wagon. She told me that they were going to have lunch in their room and she was going to fix sandwiches for her Daddy and Junior. When I was done giving her a supply of peanut butter and jelly I asked her if that was enough. She put her finger under her chin and looked at everything and said 'I think that will be sufficient, do you agree Beloved?' Junior replied 'I agree sweetheart'. Then they pulled the wagon back up to their room." Mrs. Sanchez told them.

"Where did they get that from?" Dr. Martin asked Cordelia and Angel. "Angel calls me Beloved sometimes and I've heard Connie call Joaquin Sweetheart sometimes." "Beloved? That's a rather poetic and romantic term that I have never heard anyone in real life use. Does it have a special meaning to you?"

"Beloved is an ancient term used among Vampires. The story goes that when a Vampire finds that special person that they will have an all consuming love for them. That person will save them and cause their soul to be returned to them. That person is called their Beloved and they are what, now days, you call a Soul Mate. For me Cordelia is my Beloved even though my soul has already been returned." Angel reached for Cordelia and kissed her gently.

"You never told me how you got your soul back Hunter. Did you find your Beloved at one time?" Dr. Martin asked. Hunter looked down at her hands and remembered a ring that was there four thousand years ago.

"Yes I did. Shortly after I was turned my brother introduced me to a young man that when I saw him I knew that he was my Beloved. We loved each other as much as Angel and Cordelia love each other. Some how, and I don't know how they did it, but my Beloved and brother were able to have my soul returned. But like so many other people in my long life my Beloved died and my brother shortly after. Until Mike came into my life I was alone. My heart was empty. I had casual physical relationships with other Vampires and people like I did with Angel but I wouldn't let it go any further then that. I didn't want to hurt as much as I did before."

Just as Dr. Martin was about to go to Hunter Mike came up behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. Hunter had her head on the table and was crying so she didn't see her husband come in. Mike very quietly walked over to his wife and pulled the chair out that was next to her and sat down. Very gently he put his hand on her hand and said "You will never again have to walk alone Mickey. I will be by your side until I leave this world and if I am allowed to I will walk beside you in spirit. We will have a baby that you will raise up to be an exceptional person. You will raise our child with four thousand years of saved up love. Best of all Mickey I want you to remember that you have me to lean on now. Listen to my heart Mickey, from the moment I saw you I knew that its soul purpose from then on was to beat for you. You are my Beloved Mickey." Mike pulled her onto his lap and hugged her. "I've been so alone Mike, I've been so lonely for so long. No one can possibly understand what it is like to live for four thousand years. Hold me Mike, hold me tightly." Hunter was crying so hard that her chest started to hurt.

Hunter grabbed at her chest. "Mike my chest hurts." Angel came over and listened to her heart and lungs. "I think she's okay Mike. I think she is just tired now and needs to rest." "How do you know?" Mike asked as he held Mickey close to him. "I know because I've cried like that before and since my heart and lungs were not used to so much activity they started to hurt. The pain though redirected my thoughts. The result was that they slowed down again and the pain went away. Angel ran his hand over her hair and she started to calm down.

"I think I'll take her to bed now. She has to deal with hormones that she hasn't experienced in four thousand years and piled on top of everything else it's dragging her down. I started to turn over my practice to another Doctor today and by the end of January I will be able to spend all of my time with her." Mike picked Hunter up in his arms and took her to there bedroom where he stayed with her the rest of the night. Everyone else left to go to their own rooms also.

The rest of the men finally came back at 10 o'clock. Connie had left food in the refrigerator for them so that all they had to do was put it into the microwave. They were so hungry they didn't even bother to clean up first. Each one filled up a plate full of the cold food and took it to their individual rooms to eat after they cleaned up.

The next day Hunter was feeling better and joined everyone else in decorating the Christmas tree. Each person brought out their own personnel Christmas ornament and put it on the tree also. When they were done everyone started to bring the presents down, that were already wrapped, to put under the tree. Gunn was gone all weekend while he was finishing up the preparations for Angelus to come out for 24 hours.

At 7 P.M. on Sunday night Wesley received a call from Gunn saying that all of the preparations had been completed and they were ready for Angelus. Wesley let Dr. Martin know. Since they were all just making their way downstairs for Supper Dr. Martin put a small vile into her pocket that she had sitting on her dresser. She made her way over to the kitchen first and made out like she just wanted to help take the food in and offered to take Hunter and Angels drink into them. While she had her back turned to everyone she pulled out Angels mug slipped in the contents of the vile then took it into him. As everyone sat down to eat Angel was drinking his blood and then started to have some of the rest of the food. Half way through his dinner he put his fork down and leaned back in his chair.

"Don't tell me you're full already." Cordelia said. "No, all of a sudden my stomach started hurting." Angel jumped up and headed for the bathroom in his room. Cordelia followed him. When Dr. Martin was done with her dinner she went upstairs to check on him. The door was open so she walked in. "How are you doing?" "Terrible, I think everything I've eaten or drunk today has come up again. I was feeling okay until I started eating tonight." Dr. Martin sat down on the bed beside Angel and checked him.

"You know what I think Mr. Martin. I think you have the good old fashioned flu. It usually hits you like this, hard and fast. Don't give him anything but water and 7-up Cordelia because everything else will come right back up. If you're lucky it will be just the 24 hour flu. If you're not lucky then it will be longer. I'll come to check on you around 4 o'clock to make sure you're not becoming dehydrated. Make sure you clean your hands carefully before you touch Mike and Nicky Cordelia or else you could spread it to them." "I will Mom, goodnight." "Goodnight." Wesley knew what was going on because Dr. Martin had informed everyone what she was going to do to prepare Angel for his transportation. Willow and Spike had already left for the desert so they would be ready by the time they got there. The whole cage was covered in a tent so that Angelus wouldn't be exposed unless absolutely necessary. They had rented a truck and Fifth Wheel trailer along with a generator to fuel all of the electric lights and trailer where they could wait for the 24 hours to pass.

At 4 in the morning Dr. Martin was dressed and ready to get Angel ready to get on the road. She opened the door to Angel's bedroom as quietly as she could and turned the night stand light on. As carefully as she could she gave him a shot to make him sleep for the next 8 hours. When she put the needle in his arm Angel woke up. "What are you giving me?" "Just some antibiotics to help you get better faster, you have a little fever and I don't want to take the chance of it getting worse. Next year I'll have to make sure that I give you a flu shot along with everyone else. It didn't occur to me that you had become human enough to need it. Go back to sleep now." Dr. Martin left the room then and joined everyone else at the dinning room table.

"How is he doing, does he suspect anything?" Wesley asked. "No, I told him that I was giving him some antibiotics because he had a slight fever and I didn't want it to get any worse." "How long do we have to wait before we can put him in Connors van?" "Let's wait at least 30 minutes." Dr. Martin went into the kitchen and made herself a couple of scrambled eggs and toast then took it back to the dinning room table. When she was done she took her plate into the kitchen and left them in the sink. "I'm going to go and wake up Cordelia so she can feed the boys and get ready to go." Wesley nodded at her and took his own plates to the kitchen. Connie had prepared some food for them last night already and filled several ice chests full of food. Connor had bought several blocks of dry ice to keep blood in the ice chest cold for the resident Vampires along with some human blood for Angelus. All of the supplies went into Wesley's SUV. Each person took only a small bag with a change of clothes. It was winter time now so they were more interested in keeping warm in the desert night then they were concerned with staying cool during the day. Wesley had made sure that he retrieved the most important item that they were going to be carrying. That item was the quote of what was said between Angelus and Dr. Martin when she had agreed to let him out for 24 hours if she couldn't find a drug that would allow him to be free for that time.

When Dr. Martin went upstairs she found Cordelia already up and nursing the boys. "Are you almost done with them Cordelia?" "Yes Mom, they woke up when you were in here apparently." "When you're done I want you to get dressed in some jeans and a light blouse. Then pack something for tonight because where we are going is going to be very cold at night. You don't have to worry about the boys because I found a woman at the Free Clinic that I volunteer at that agreed to come and feed the boys for the next 24 hours. She is starting to wean her own baby and she says she has more then enough milk to feed the twins." "But where are we going and what about Angel?" "Angel is going with us now don't ask me anymore questions and do as I say. The men will be up here in a few minutes to get Angel. I'll explain everything to you once we get on the road. I've already left a note for Kathleen. Now hurry up."

Cordelia did as she was told and put the boys back into the crib and quickly got dressed and packed with the clothes she was told to bring. Within a few minutes the men were up stairs with the flat board that was used to transfer people and transferred him to the gurney.

When Xander had built the gym he also took the opportunity to build a covered entrance way for a vehicle as large as an ambulance to fit in. It was coming in very handy right now since it had been raining all night. The men quickly loaded Angel into the back of Connors van along with Gunn, Wesley and Tom. Giles, Fred, Cordelia, Hunter, and Dr. Martin were in Cordelia's van while Mike drove since Dr. Martin wanted to talk to Cordelia. Mike would only allow Hunter to go with them if she promised to stay back from any involvement in handling Angel.

After explaining everything to Cordelia she was quiet for a few minutes. "All I can say Mom is that Angel is going to be thoroughly pissed when he recovers from this and is told why. I think once he has time to think about it though he'll understand."

"Well I'll deal with that once Willow puts his soul back in. Does anyone want coffee?" Dr. Martin asked. She handed out the coffee then they rode the rest of the way in quiet. Each had there own thoughts that were keeping them company. Within 3 hours they were pulling into the location where Gunn had set up what he called Angels playpen. The first thing they did was to unload Angel and put him into the cage. Dr. Martin checked him to make sure he was still in a deep sleep. Spike and Willow had arrived only an hour before and were waiting for everyone else and Gunn who had the key to the trailer. Buffy was pregnant with their twins so she had driven, along with Tara, directly to the hotel.

By 11:45 A.M. Willow was preparing to remove Angel's soul along with Wesley to help her. Gunn and Connor had removed Angel from the carrier and any type of clothing he could use to do damage to himself or others.

As soon as Gunn and Connor came out and double locked the door Willow started the incantation to remove Angel's soul.

As she said the last words they could all see what looked like a wisp of smoke come out of Angel and go into a glass container that Willow was holding in her hands. She put the lid on as soon as he was completely in the container. She placed the container in a padded bag that she then put around her neck and shoulder. They all sat down then and waited for Angelus to wake up.

At exactly 12 noon his eyes started to open. He rubbed at his eyes. They had the tent sides down and all flaps either overlapped each other enough so that no light came in or they were attached with Velcro. They illuminated the inside with several oil lamps.

Angelus sat up and looked around carefully and rubbed at his eyes again. He looked around at his cage. Carefully so that not even the sand was disturbed when he stood up, Angelus made his way around his enclosure. He tested the door by pulling on it back and forth and when it didn't give even an inch he walked on to the next section and especially the corners.

Finally he made his way over to his jailers. "Stand up and face me Mary." Dr. Martin stood up and walked into the light but made sure that she stayed behind the line that Gunn had marked by wood slats. She had been told that this was the limit of Angels reach.

"You think you're pretty clever don't you?" "I don't think it Angelus, I know it." "This is not what we agreed on." "But it is Angelus. I said I would have Willow remove Angel's soul if I couldn't come up with a drug to release you for 24 hours so that you could control Angel's body within 5 years. It has been almost 5 years and I have not come up with anyway of releasing you to control Angel's body. So here we are, Willow has removed Angel's soul and you can now control his body." "Yes that is correct. But look at what you have placed me in. I am still imprisoned in a cage. All it is, is another cage, just larger."

"Yes, that's true, it is just another cage. You must have known that we would never let you out to kill and torture people Angelus. Even if you thought that I was unfamiliar with you and I wouldn't know how tricky you could be surely you knew that Wesley or one of the others would instruct me on how we had to deal with you." "Wesley, yes good old Wesley. Angel loves you as a brother you know. He loves and trusts you so much that he has given you complete control of his finances. If you were really smart Wesley you would let me out and you would have all of that money to yourself. You don't know it Wesley but one of your boys is going to become very sick and your going to need all of that money just to take care of him. He is going to live a long time and it will take money, into the millions, to take care of him now and after you and Fred are gone. All that money that Angel has in those Swiss bank accounts will come in handy."

Wesley didn't react in any way. He just continued to watch Angelus, but Dr. Martin knew that the seed had been planted and even though Wesley knew that Angel would provide for him and his family, she knew that the seed that Angelus had planted would wait and slowly grow.

"In all of my studies and from Sr. Margaret and St. Michael I have all of the information I need on you Angelus and how you would talk to people and try to turn us against each other. You must know that God would not permit you to be let loosed again in the world. One hundred years ago you were restricted by how far you could walk or ride a horse as to how far your evil could reach out into the world. Now though we have cars, jets, telephones, Cell phones, the World Wide Web and your evil could reach around the world in a matter of hours instead of days. So don't waste your time and energy Angelus these people know you too well."

Angelus walked to the bars of his cage and grabbed the sides. He started to try to pull them apart. They could see his muscles straining with the effort. Then without warning he changed to his full demon persona. When he had changed completely they heard the metal creaking as it started to feel the strain of being pulled out of their original shape. Everyone stood up. Gunn raised the machine gun to his side and pulled the safety clip off. Wesley readied the tranqualizer gun. While Connor and Spike just stood with a spike in their hands.

The bars held though. Angelus was only able to push them apart a little. After pulling and straining his muscles to the limit he finally gave up and sat down on the floor of his prison. He changed back into Angel once again. Dr. Martin walked over to him. She had her arms at her back and she walked slowly.

"Are you done now?" Angelus just looked up at her. He was breathing heavily and perspiration was pouring down his face. "Yes, for now."

"Do you know where you are Angelus?" "No, but by the looks of the ground I would say in the desert." "Yes that is correct. You are in Death Valley and there is nothing but desert for hundreds of miles around. If you did get loose you would be caught by the sun before you could get anyplace. Since we have 24 hours for you to be in there I am going to go and take a nap and prepare some lunch for everyone. Would you like a glass of blood? We brought some human blood for you." "How thoughtful of you, yes I would like some thank you." "How about a sandwich also?" "Yes thank you." Angelus replied with a sweet smile.

Dr. Martin left then and went into the trailer. Connor, Spike and Gunn stayed behind to guard Angelus. Since Angel's body had to relieve itself several times a day Angelus went over to the other side of the cage and emptied his bladder through the bars and into the sand. They could hear him mumbling something but all Connor and Spike could hear was '!!!!! Human.'

After a while the women brought Connor, Spike and Gunn something to eat and drink. Wesley brought a large Styrofoam cup full of blood along with a Styrofoam plate with a large sandwich and potato chips on it. He put the cup and plate on the sand in front of the cage. Angelus drank the blood greedily and gave it back and asked for a Root Beer if they had it. This surprised everyone because no one could remember Angel ever drinking Root Beer.

The rest of the day went on like this. Angelus remained quiet and just laid in the middle of the cage. Wesley had been keeping an eye on Angelus like the rest but after thinking about how he was reacting to his situation he decided that they had better talk about this. "Let's go into the trailer people, I don't believe he'll try anything for now." Everyone that had been sitting outside went into the trailer and took a seat.

"I asked everyone to come in here because I think we are going to have to split up so that while some are keeping an eye on Angelus the rest will be sleeping. At 11 o'clock we'll switch. I think we have to do this because I think Angelus has something up his sleeve and we have to be awake and watchful. The only time that we don't really have to worry is during the daytime, but we're coming to the night time and as we all know that is when Angelus is at his best, it's his element. Anyone have any thoughts on this?" Wesley asked as he looked at everyone.

"Okay then since no one has anything to add I suggest that we have Dr. Martin, Cordelia, Tom and Mike watch him until 11 and the rest of us can try to get some sleep."

The first shift went outside along with a carafe full of coffee. It was 4 P.M. when they separated into shifts but it was already starting to get cold in the desert. In the far corner of the cage a Rattlesnake came in under the tent flap. It looked around and tasted the air. He was on the trail of a mouse that had run under the tent flap and crossed the cage as it made a beeline for the underside of the trailer while everyone had been inside. Everyone had already brought out their heavy coats and some blankets. The women were talking by themselves while Tom and Mike were building a fire. When Tom sat down again after getting the fire going he checked on Angelus. He was in the same position he had been in before, laying down with his arms folded behind his head.

Angelus had been listening to everything he even heard the snake starting to make its way through the cage. The snakes mind was just on the mouse and did not care about the people around or in the cage. It was heading for its home for the winter where it would hibernate for the next two or three months and it wanted that last meal of the mouse before he went to bed. Unfortunately for the snake it came too close to Angelus and as it came close to him he reached out for the snake faster then the snake could strike. Before Dr. Martin and Cordelia could react Angelus threw the snake at Dr. Martin. Tom was just as fast though and he caught the snake as it flew through the air. He ended its life quickly by pulling out his hunting knife and cutting the snakes head off while he stepped on the head. Tom held onto the other end of the body with a tight grip so that the blood wouldn't run out.

"Do you want the blood Angelus?" Angelus came over and caught the snake as Tom threw it to him. It was a large snake so he just held his head back and held the cut part of the snake over his mouth and squeezed it so that the blood would flow out faster. When he was done he threw it back to Tom. "Skin it and cook it." Angelus told him.

Cordelia, Dr. Martin, and Mike were watching Tom and Angelus. Mike felt like his heart was in his throat it was pounding so hard. They all watched as Tom expertly slit the snake from one end to the other and pulled the skin off of the snake. He pulled the intestines out and threw them into the fire. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dr. Martin get up and reach for the snakes head.

"Don't touch that Dr. Martin. The head is just as dangerous dead as it was alive." After wrapping the snake around a green branch and placing it over the fire he went back to the snake head and picked it up with his knife. He brought it over to Cordelia and Dr. Martin and showed them the head. "See the fangs?" "Yes." Both Cordelia and Dr. Martin answered as they looked closely at the head. With a dried twig Tom pushed on the fangs and they saw a drop of poison come out of the fang. He looked back at them then took the head and threw it in the fire. He checked the snake and repositioned it so that it would cook more evenly. When it was done he let it cool then gave it to Angelus. When he was done eating it he looked at Tom. "Your Daddy taught you well. That was pretty good. Eating solid food is about the only thing about turning human that I like. The Vampire I had before Angelus was like Spike. He never stopped eating solid food and one of his favorites was snake."

All of the time that Angelus was talking to them he was leaning on the gate to the cage and had his hands over the lock. In his hand he had a long nail that he had found in the sand that was just beyond the bottom plate of the cage. It was old and had obviously been there in the sand for many years. He had bent the end of the nail and he was using it now to try and open the lock.

"Back away from the door Angelus and leave the nail in the lock." Tom said as he brought up his rifle. Cordelia also pulled up Wesley's arrow loaded gun. Angelus looked at Cordelia.

"You wouldn't do it." "Try me. I know exactly where to shoot. Because I love Angel you know that I promised him that I wouldn't let you hurt anyone again using his body." Angelus looked at her a little longer. He tried to weigh her determination against his own. Finally he moved his hands slowly and moved away from the door and lock. He continued to back up until he was in the middle of the cage. Tom went to the lock and checked it. Angelus had tripped the first lock but hadn't pulled it apart. Tom checked both locks and relocked the first one and threw the nail into the fire.

That was the last time that Angelus tried anything with this group. Tom stayed for a while with the second group while Cordelia, Dr. Martin and Mike went in to get some sleep. Tom stepped to the other side of the trailer to let Wesley and the rest know what Angelus had tried and about the snake. When he was done he went into the trailer to get some sleep. Before he went to bed though he took the snake skin and put it into a plastic bag and put it in the ice box, he had plans for that skin.

Angelus was being a good boy for the next 4 hours then at 1 in the morning without any warning he changed into his true demon form. Everyone jumped up out of their chairs as Angelus jumped up and reached for the bars that formed the top of the cage. He swung his body back and forth until he had enough momentum built up and then threw himself at the cage door. Everyone raised their weapons and aimed them at Angelus when they saw and heard the hinges bending. But Gunn had given plenty of extra metal that went through the loops and it still had a ways to go before it would slip out of the catch.

Angelus gave it several more tries then finally gave up and returned to Angel's face and body.

"Have you had enough Angelus?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, I think so." Angelus was breathing hard and lying on the ground. "I think I'll go to sleep for awhile. Do you think I could have a blanket? Angel's human body is demanding more warmth to be comfortable." "I can't do that Angelus but I will build the fire up so that it will be warmer in here. Would you like some warm blood?" "Yes that sounds good."

Connor went into the trailer and warmed up some blood and gave it to Angelus in a styrofoam cup while Wesley built the fire up and started another one at the other end of the tent. Within 30 minutes the tent was warm enough for Angelus to feel comfortable enough to go to sleep.

At 7 A.M. the next morning Dr. Martin, Cordelia, Tom, and Mike came out to relieve the others so they could get some sleep before they had to place Angel's soul back in his body and return home.

"Would everyone like to have some breakfast before you try to get some sleep?" Cordelia asked. "Yes!" The men all answered at once. They even heard Angelus say yes as he came to the cage wall closest to the trailer. "Hey Wesley you guys are falling down on the job. It's getting cold in here again."

"What's the matter Angelus are you feeling Angel's human benefits?" Cordelia asked. "Yes and it's a nuisance." Angelus walked over to the far side of the cage and relieved himself then went back over to one of the fires.

The rest were laughing at him as he held his hands out to get warm. "Laugh it up sweet heart, just get in there and get me a cup of warmed blood a rare steak and 4 eggs sunny side up with two slices of toast with lots of butter on them. If I have to put up with peeing then Angel can put up with the extra calories." Cordelia went back into the trailer laughing at what Angelus said.

Wesley had the fires loaded with wood again and the tent was starting to get warm again by the time breakfast was ready for everyone. They had a large grate that they had put over the fireplace so that Cordelia could use a large frying pan to cook the potatoes and eggs over. Dr. Martin was using the other fire place to cook some sausages and she had a large pot of coffee percolating the old fashion way. It took Gunn a while to find one big enough for all of them. At the last minute and after everyone else had been served Cordelia and Dr. Martin started cooking the eggs and steak for Angelus. His steak and eggs had to be cut for him since they couldn't allow him to have a knife. Fortunately Cordelia knew how Angel liked his food so she prepared everything according to what he liked. Dr. Martin gave him his blood along with a cup of coffee.

"Give me the food and drinks Cordelia and Dr. Martin and I'll serve it to Angelus." They did as Spike said then cooked their own food and sat down to eat. Every ones eyes were on Angelus as Spike served him his food and drinks. Angel wasn't allowed to approach them until Spike backed up then he sat cross legged on the ground and proceeded to have his breakfast along with the rest.

If it wasn't for the fact that Angelus was in a cage you would think that you were watching a group of people that were out camping and were just having breakfast together.

When they were all done and the dishes had been cleaned they all sat down and had one last cup of coffee. It was now ten in the morning and Angelus only had two more hours before he would be put back in his cage inside of Angel. Spike, Connor and Gunn went into the trailer to get some sleep while the rest stayed outside. Dr.Martin was sitting with Cordelia and Giles and talking about last night. Angelus got up and walked over to them and put his arms through the bars of his cage and leaned on it.

"So Dr. Martin it looks like you successfully pulled one over me. Did you plan all of this to get back at me for raping you?" "Of course not Angelus." She answered. Cordelia put her hand on Dr. Martin. "Be careful Mom."

"Come now don't tell me that you don't remember such a memorable day? You were crying but I could feel you getting into the moment, shall we say. That first time I entered you gave you some pain but by the 5th time I screwed you, you were having a good time and within a few minutes you would have reached your first orgasm in a long time. Then you had to call that loser to come and help you. All I can say is that your conscience must have taken over. After all good little nuns aren't supposed to enjoy things like that anymore, are they?" Angelus was watching the look on both Dr. Martins and Giles face. When he saw Giles look of anger as he turned to his wife he knew he had been successful with his fantasy story. 'Bingo, I hit the mark'. Angelus said to himself.

TBC……………………………………………………………………….