Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
So this is the last viewing chapter before Break III, and then 4 more episodes. Hope all enjoy this one.
And after I posted the last chapter- David Boreanaz, Julie Benz, Amy Acker, Nicholas Brendon, Adam Busch, Tom Lenk and Danny Strong have all spoken for Charisma and against Joss too. Funny how Warren and Andrew are scumbags but their actors are such nice people. But then again, that is the art of acting.
Chapter 15- Expecting
"Now I wonder what this one has in store", Willow said.
"Knowing the kind of life we all live, nothing good", Buffy said as she started the recording.
At night in the office, Cordelia put on some lipstick using a lobby window as a mirror, Angel complimenting her as she jumped and spun around, before looking back at her reflection, and now a streak of lipstick had gone from her mouth's corner to her cheek, making her comment how she looked like Joker now.
"Yeah, she does", Xander said as they all chuckled. "Now if she put on a jester suit, she'll be Joker and Harley in one."
Angel apologized as Cordelia said how he could hum a tune when he was sneaking up on people while fixing her lipstick, and then Angel asked her why she had filed Mrs. Benson under 'P', and after a small argument, Cordelia remembered it was actually 'F' since she was from France, and Angel reminded she made him want to drink, Cordelia saying that was the French for him.
"Are the French really like that?" Buffy asked Giles.
"Maybe they met some unique one", Giles said.
Then Wesley arrived, saying he had been in the neighborhood with his new Bavarian fighting ax. He held it up, saying he thought Cordelia might have had a vision so his help in the battle against evil would be needed, but Angel said they were evil-free at the moment, so Wesley asked if they would take him on a Word-Puzzle 3-D, Cordelia saying she wasn't 80 yet.
"So he still can't admit that he is working with them", Willow commented.
"Still has some pride in him, but I think it will go away, based on what you said about him", Tara said.
Wesley started if shaking a booty at a trendy hotspot was someone's idea of life, then he would be, but he never got to finish as Cordelia's two glamorous lady friends walked in, making him finish that he would be sick with envy.
Everyone chuckled as Xander said. "It happens to all of us."
One of them called Sarina greeted him and complimented his ax as he nervously swung it around, embedding it into the wall, Angel not commenting, and Cordelia asked Sarina how she looked, Sarina saying Wilson wouldn't be able to take his eyes off of her. Angel and Wesley were confused who this Wilson was as Sarina said he was a fashion photographer from LA who had been seeing Cordelia, while she turned to Wesley and said the Hugh Grant thing was working for her. Angel asked why he didn't know she was seeing someone, and she said she was ashamed of him as he'd give him the third degree, the other friend called Emily commenting Angel could give her the third degree anytime.
That made all chuckle again as Buffy said. "Perks of being that good looking."
"Yeah, that I have to admit", Xander muttered, though to be honest he really didn't look too bad himself, so perhaps he had been an outcast due to his bumbling habits rather than his looks. [1]
Cordelia then put her hand to her forehead, dropping to the floor behind her desk as Angel knocked some letters to the floor, asking Cordelia to grab a file while Wesley started picking the letters, and Angel distracted the girls with talk of where they were going. Cordelia was writhing on the floor, a flash of her vision visible, and Angel accidentally made Sarina and Emily think he was gay.
"How did they get that?" Dawn asked, confused.
"Maybe there are certain stereotypes in their heads which Angel accidentally projected", Tara said.
"Sucks", Willow muttered.
Cordelia was back on her feet as Angel inquired about the client discreetly, and Cordelia flashed to her vision, saying the client was like a big baby hatching from an egg with really large hands, in need of a manicure, and writing an address, handed it to him, saying this was where they were supposed to meet. Then she left with her friends for the party.
"Well, at least this time the vision didn't ruin her plans for the day", Buffy said and all found that good.
Angel went to his coat as Wesley wondered if he'd need his help or not, and Angel handed him the address as he walked by him, making Wesley grin as he hurried after him, then turned back to sling his bag over his shoulder and tried to pull the axe from the wall. Angel watched from the lobby through one of the windows as Wesley pulled the axe free, falling to the floor in the process.
Everyone laughed again as Giles said. "Still behaving like a bumbling buffoon."
Wesley later looked at the address and lowered the paper to reveal a mailbox with the same address. Angel pulled out a sword while Wesley had the axe in his right hand and a crossbow in his left. They walked up the steps to the door, and Wesley kicked the door open, jumping through as Angel tried to follow but bounced off an invisible wall. Wesley pointed his weapons at an old couple, threatening them while Angel looked at a neighboring house and saw the thing from Cordelia's vision hatching through a window, and said how termites laid eggs everywhere, including next door, motioning there, and Wesley looked too, his weapons still trained on the older couple.
"So, epic fail again", Dawn said. "Wesley is full of those."
"Put the weapons down", Willow said.
Wesley lowered his weapons as Angel said they fought termites everywhere, so they left, Wesley apologizing for the door.
"I think you shouldn't have gone in like that in the first place, since if the bad guy was here, they'd be alerted to your presence", Buffy commented.
Later, the bedroom was seen from outside, the window splattered with orange slime. The demon baby screamed as Angel and Wesley battled him. One of them was thrown against the wall next to the window, making the plaster outside break. Wesley was then sent flying through the door with a scream, but he picked himself back up and ran in with his ax, saying the Demon would pay for that. There was some more fighting, then the Demon was heard dying with a squeal as Angel and Wesley walked out, splattered with gore and disheveled.
"So, Demon is beaten, and Cordelia gets to go out, good day and happy ending, right?" Xander asked hopefully, though it was more of a way to convince himself that nothing would go wrong.
"This has just begun", Tara reminded grimly.
Wesley commented how it was bracing and Angel wiped his sword, saying this was a newborn so they wouldn't want to run into it when it had a driver's license.
Everyone gulped, wondering how bad that would be.
Wesley sarcastically thanked Cordelia for sending them to the wrong house but Angel said it had worked out. Wesley said she wasn't paying attention to her duties lately, but Angel said she had a lot to deal with, including Doyle's death, inheriting the visions, and she was still young, trying to find her place in the world.
"Yes, life hasn't been the kindest to her", Buffy said, sympathizing with her, as did the others. Cordelia may not have been called as a Slayer like Buffy was, but her life was full of hardships too, and she was facing them bravely.
Wesley said Demon Hunters had a higher calling, Angel pointing out some gore on his cheek which he wiped, and then said he was fond of Cordelia but she was going out with doxies. Angel said they had liked him, making him say he didn't mean doxy in a sexual promiscuous sense, while also asking if the ax through the wall had put them off. They walked by a lady in a bathrobe with curlers in her hair as Angel said that was charming, and also said that the ladies finding them gay added to the mystery.
That made everyone chuckle again as Tara said. "Angel really knows how to sate someone's insecurities."
"Guess that's a superpower too", Willow commented.
At La Brea Lounge, Sarina talked to her date Jason and kissed him while Emily came over and said she was bored, and Cordelia was talking to Wilson on a couch. He asked what leaving Sunnydale had been like, and she said like skydiving without a parachute, and had also smashed her body to bits, before asking about a guy with fame and fortune who was supposed to be here, but Wilson said he came and went, Cordelia asking Wilson to tell him to not fleet her way.
"If you tell him yourself, he wouldn't dare to", Xander said, making all laugh, because it was true.
Wilson then thanked Cordelia for making him not hate dating and said he'd send Sarina flowers, and on seeing her look added for introducing her to him.
"Isn't he charming?" Buffy asked, and no one could disagree.
"But I feel there is something more about him", Giles said, and no one could shake that feeling either.
As they talked more, Wilson said he was photographing people, which was proof all had a real life but him, he was recording it, not living the moment like her, flattering her.
"He sure knows how to flatter ladies", Dawn said.
"If only I knew it too", Xander muttered.
Later, Cordelia opened the door to her apartment, thanking Wilson for everything, and after some ranting, the two ended up kissing, and they parted as Cordelia asked him to come in instead, Wilson walking in and looking around. Cordelia dimmed the lights and said compared to her old place, this was Buckingham Palace.
"Yeah, that sounds right to me", Tara said.
Wilson asked if she lived alone and the lights went bright at that point, making Cordelia comment she was the only one who lived here and was alive while she turned them back down, but they brightened again as Cordelia made an excuse about wiring and old buildings. Cordelia then said she was rusty in dating now, so she was open to suggestions, so Wilson suggested some music, and Cordelia turned the radio on but the mellow music was switched to some rousing Polka instead, making Cordelia laugh and turn it off.
"Why is Dennis doing this?" Dawn wondered.
"Jealous?" Xander suggested.
"Or maybe Giles is right about the guy, and Dennis knows it too", Buffy said, and all realized that could be true too.
Cordelia went into the kitchen, making tea, and asked Dennis to knock it off and she'd kill him if he killed the mood again, before realizing it was an empty threat as he was a ghost due to already being dead, and then said she'd play 'Evita' around the clock.
"That is a legitimate threat", Giles said, everyone chuckling at Cordelia's behavior.
Wilson asked who she was talking to and Cordelia ranted about a ghost in the place, passing it off as a joke and said she talked to herself. Wilson then leaned forward to kiss her, and soon, she kissed back, and later they were in the bedroom, kissing more while a bare back was seen.
"That was a bit quick, wasn't it?" Xander asked. "And I'm not saying that because I'm jealous."
"Yes, it is very quick", Willow agreed. "Though the guy was a bit too charming."
"Still, it's a bit off", Buffy said, and all had a bad feeling.
Cordelia woke up next morning, but Wilson was gone, and she noticed the time was 10:47 A.M., realizing she would be late. But when she pushed her blanket aside, she had a hugely pregnant belly.
Everyone stared with wide eyes, unable to formulate words at what had just happened.
"Wha….wha…wha…..the hell?" Xander finally said, speaking for everyone. "Did 9 months pass in one night or something?"
"Mother of God!" Giles said, actually having to take off his glasses and clean them.
"How did this happen now?" Dawn wondered. "Did the guy have some magical….thing or something?"
"Maybe he did", Buffy said. "In which case, he shouldn't have slept with her, or wore protection, or just warned her of it. The jerk!"
"Dennis didn't like him, his intention were clearly bad in that case", Willow pointed out.
"And Cordelia fell for his charms", Tara sighed. "And this is what happened."
Everyone could feel their sympathy going out to her. Sure, she had sex with the guy way too quick, but that didn't automatically mean she deserved this! And it wasn't like casual sex was wrong every time, as long as it was agreed upon beforehand, which hadn't been the case here, and a sudden magical pregnancy just made it even worse. [2]
Angel and Wesley later walked to her apartment, concerned that she hadn't returned their messages. Angel banged on the door and got no response, so he turned the knob, breaking the door, and came in, looking around and saying he had a bad feeling, and Wesley agreed, Angel saying this wasn't like her. Wesley started how avoiding her responsibilities was a lot like her nowadays but then Angel swung open the bedroom door and they saw Cordelia sitting up in bed, Wesley shocked already.
"My reaction exactly", Giles said, everyone wondering how this was gonna go now.
Cordelia didn't look at them and asked Angel why she wasn't waking up from her dream, begging for help, and Angel sat at the bed's edge, assuring he would. She told him all that had happened, saying it had been safe, and she hadn't even talked to him since it would be weird, but Angel said he'd have answers and assured she could call and he'd talk instead. Cordelia said she was being punished, but Angel assured she wasn't.
The viewers did not outright cry, but Cordelia's condition did make their eyes watery.
"He did this! He needs to pay", Xander snarled, clutching his fists angrily, everyone else sharing his sentiments.
"If she had to be punished, then how much is she going to be? She has suffered enough already", Willow said. "She doesn't deserve this."
"No one good does", Tara agreed.
Angel took the phone but the number had been disconnected, so he told Cordelia to rest while he'd look into this, assuring her she wouldn't be alone. Cordelia looked at her belly, saying that was the problem so she wanted to be left alone. Angel and Wesley left, assuring they'd be outside and closed the door. The box of tissues floated up from the night stand and one of the tissues floated over to Cordelia who took it, blew her nose and blotted at her eyes. The blanket moved up to her neck and Cordelia sighed.
"He's so sweet", Dawn said about Dennis, and everyone agreed. He was a nice, sweet friend in need for Cordelia.
"Now if only he had managed to scare that guy away", Buffy sighed. "But at least he's here for her. Nice guy. Which you don't get a lot in LA."
"Yeah, he's a great guy, even if he's dead, to think his own mom did it", Willow said in sympathy and disgust, sympathy for Dennis and disgust for his mom.
"Oh she was a sick woman! She got punished for her actions when she died and then when Dennis took down her ghost", Giles snarled.
"And now he has a good roommate in Cordelia", Tara added.
"Yeah, and he's a nice one too", Xander agreed. "Good ol' Dennis."
Later, Angel put down a phone, telling Wesley that all the ways to contact Wilson were off the table now, and said this might be a procrea-parasitic Demons, Wesley having heard of them and realized human mothers couldn't survive the labor, Angel also saying that ones that did wished they hadn't. Since Cordelia could give birth at any moment, they needed to move fast and decided for a pre-natal exam, while Angel would find daddy.
"So the guy was a Demon who can get ladies pregnant really fast?" Willow wondered. "What a sicko to do that!"
"Yeah, really hope he gets beaten up soon", Dawn agreed.
"There are some Demons like that I've heard of, but none of them look like this. They are big and ugly", Giles said to the rest. "There is something more here."
Everyone's interest increased.
Angel later arrived at the La Brea Lounge, speaking to the bartender, and eventually said one of the jerks he served drinks to had hurt his friend Cordelia, giving his name of Wilson Christopher. Angel asked about him, and the bartender said they hung wherever Sarina told them to, and she ruled the girls. Angel thanked him as the bartender asked. "So, you're her boyfriend?" Angel firmly said. "No. I'm family."
That statement made everyone have a relieved and even hopeful smile. Angel and Cordelia were family now.
At a waiting room in the hospital, another pregnant woman inquired about the baby's gender to Cordelia as she just stared in shock, while Wesley walked in, saying he'd told them this was urgent. The woman tried to touch Cordelia's stomach but Cordelia shut her away, freaked out.
"She's so freaked", Willow muttered.
"Who wouldn't be in her place?" Tara asked.
Later, a doctor examined Cordelia, noting she was 8 and a half months pregnant already, and Wesley commented t felt like yesterday. The doctor asked if they could have the name of her previous doctor but Cordelia said he was the first, Wesley adding in California as they'd moved from England. The doctor eventually asked Cordelia to lie down, calling her Mrs. Penborn.
"Wesley being from England helps this act", Buffy commented.
The doctor and the nurse started the ultra sound, noting there were twins, but then saw a third heartbeat, and more, shocking the doctor who assured her nothing was wrong and decided to withdraw the amniotic fluid. He asked the nurse to prep her while Wesley stared at the screen, then her.
"What did this sicko put in her?" Dawn asked, angry and horrified.
"More than one", Xander snarled. "Bastard."
Angel stepped out an elevator into a dimly lit hallway, knocking on a door as Sarina told him to leave it outside, but he walked in, seeing the place was dark and just lit by candles. Sarina had her back to him and was lighting another one. She said the light was hurting her eyes now, and Angel could relate. She turned to Angel, lifting a bottle to her lips and drinking. She was as pregnant as Cordelia. She said people would tell her not to drink as it would hurt the baby, but she hoped it did.
"So, it's a whole racket then", Willow realized.
"A group of charming guys impregnating beautiful, unsuspecting women", Buffy said. "This is sick."
"Even I have not heard of something like this before", Giles said. "This is new, and horrifying."
Cordelia was having a procedure done on her as the doctor asked her to countdown from 5 while they used a syringe to take some fluid, and Cordelia reached one, repeating it a few times while the fluid was extracted. He gave it to the nurse but then the syringe cracked and fell down, shattering, and the fluid burnt a hole in the ground, making the doctor and nurse leave while Wesley bent down, watching with a dropped jaw.
The viewers had their mouths hanging open too.
"So he put something that corrosive in her?" Dawn asked, even more angry and horrified.
"Looks like it", Buffy sighed. "Come on, Angel, save her."
Cordelia asked what was inside of her as Wesley insisted to find Angel, and then she asked if they looked healthy. Wesley stared at her.
"Huh?!" Everyone went.
"How did this happen now?" Xander wondered.
"Maybe the longer she carries them, the more under this Demon's effect she is", Tara suggested. "So it's gaining control over her."
"Which means they need to work faster", Willow said urgently.
Sarina was still in disbelief as Angel said it was happening to Cordelia too, the two telling each other than Jason and Wilson were gone. She sat on a couch, saying she hadn't known this would happen. Angel pointed out she had known something would. She said she knew the guys, and remembered their money smelled bad, and the guys were really jumpy at times, but in this town, many were fake, so she hadn't given much thought to it.
"Which ended up being a big mistake", Giles sighed sadly. "In a town like that, everyone needs to be more careful."
Angel asked if she'd family she could call, but Sarina said she didn't, and the guys had liked that, saying she had said the same about Cordelia. Angel asked where he could find them, but she bent forward and screamed and at the same time, Cordelia did too while Wesley lead her down the elevator and out of it, assuring all would be fine.
"So they look for girls who don't have anyone in the city, and do their thing", Buffy said. "And they have been doing this for quite some time."
"Which means many girls have Demon babies because of a mistake they made", Xander sighed. "These people need to be beaten down by a real man."
"You?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, but anyone who is cool will do", Xander told her.
He led her to Angel's bedroom, putting her on it as he put a blanket around her, and then Cordelia told him he was afraid of what was inside her, and said there were 7 of them, all talking to her at once. Wesley started saying how he knew this was difficult but she said he didn't know what it was like to be a partner in creation.
"This is getting freaky now", Buffy said. "And 7? Urgghhh!"
"Clearly, this Demon's control is getting stronger", Tara told everyone.
Cordelia whispered they weren't human, but Angel and Doyle weren't either, though he was half, and good. Wesley blotted her forehead with a handkerchief and she sank into the cushions, closing her eyes while Wesley pulled the blanket around her, and then he turned to see Angel in the bedroom, the two walking to the main apartment where Angel told him Sarina was a victim like Cordelia too. He flipped through a phone book, saying Wilson's rich buddies were in on it, and had impregnated many. Wesley then showed him the piece of paper with the 7 heartbeats. Angel realized someone was building an army.
"So they are impregnating women with Demon spawn to build an army of Demons", Xander said.
"Which just made this even more urgent", Willow commented.
Angel reached some yellow pages, telling Wesley that according to Sarina, Wilson and his rich buddies hung out at a private gun club called 'Guns and Cigars', so he would find them while Wesley would narrow down the species so they could terminate them without hurting Cordelia. Wesley pointed out a chance they couldn't, and Angel said in that case they would wait till birth, though Wesley pointed out she may not make it.
"It shouldn't come to that!" Buffy said. "Just save her and get these Demon people down!"
"Yes, they should, but it's not that simple", Giles said with a sigh.
They entered the kitchen area where Cordelia was gulping down blood, some dripping down her chin as Angel said he now realized how disgusting it was and asked Wesley to get her back to bed and order her a pizza. Cordelia put the now half-empty container back, wiped her mouth and walked past them, saying she was hungry.
"So, if she was hungry, then why drink?" Xander said, that being the only response he could come up with.
And the others couldn't come up with much either.
Giles had to take off and wipe his glasses again.
"Cordelia…drank blood", Buffy said lamely.
"We saw", Dawn muttered.
"Unfortunately", Willow added.
"Which means this is getting worse", Tara said.
Wilson was shooting a pistol at the gun club and took off his ear protection, turning around to see Angel there, and said that he shouldn't sneak up on people at such places as that's how accidents happened, dropping out a magazine and putting in an old one. Angel then mentioned he was Cordelia's friend, making Wilson say. "This is a private club. Featured word – 'private'." Angel countered. "You don't talk to me, I'll kick your ass. Featured word - 'ass'."
"Even if he does, I think you should kick his ass", Willow said, an all nodded in agreement, waiting for the beat down.
Wilson knew this was Angel and pointed the gun at him, saying Cordelia had told him all about him. Angel grabbed his gun hand, making him drop the gun, then twisted him around and wrapped one arm around his throat. "Yeah, well, somehow, I doubt that. Angel threw him against the wall. "You're human. Then you can't be the father." Wilson tried to get past Angel). "So you and your friends are just a link." He grabbed Wilson by the front of his shirt and pushed him up against a pillar. He asked Wilson how it worked.
"So they aren't the Demons", Buffy said in realization.
"Whoever the Demon is, he gave some of his life force to these people, and they use it to impregnate women with his spawn", Giles summed up, horrifying everyone.
"So that's why these losers are so high in life", Xander snarled.
Wilson wasn't going to talk as Angel hauled back and hit him with a hard right. Wilson hit back but Angel blocked and hit him again, kneed his stomach, and dropped him on the floor with a left hook. Then Wilson's friends arrived, commenting on how Angel wasn't playing nice, and Wilson got back up, saying he had no idea what he was dealing with.
"Still so smug in spite of a beat down", Willow muttered.
"He has his buddies, but none of them know what they are dealing with either", Tara reminded, and now all looked forward to all of them being beaten up again.
Wesley was comparing the ultra sound to engravings of Demons from one of Angel's books, but then he jumped when he looked to see Cordelia next to him.
"This is getting creepier", Buffy said.
Cordelia realized she was having the Demons from the book and took a look, Wesley asking her not to lose hope when she closed the book and slammed it on his head's side staggering him away before hitting him again as he dropped, saying no one could hurt her babies.
"Looks like she completely under that thing's control now", Xander realized as everyone paled.
At the gun club, Angel realized these people were proxies for the Demon who gave them his life force to impregnate women. Jason said they helped him date as he had trouble, and Angel said that's how they got all this to get ahead in life, by being procreative surrogates for a demonic entity, though Jason said he did it for the sex, and Wilson called this business.
"Ruining lives is not a business", Giles snarled.
"You do it for the sex. Now when you get beaten up, you won't do it at all", Xander said.
Angel asked where the Demon was while Jason pulled a gun from his sweater, Wilson telling Angel he was going to have an accident, and pushed him before catching Jason's gun and shot him 3 times in the chest, Angel doubling down.
"Now they will all be beaten up", Dawn said excitedly, everyone just sitting back to enjoy the show.
Their smirks disappeared when Angel straightened up in Vamp face and got up. "I really don't like it when people shoot me."
"Kick their asses!" Xander said, surprised that he was cheering for Angel in Vamp face now, and he summed up what everyone was thinking.
He kicked the gun out of Wilson's hands before kicking him down and tossed Jason away too before smacking another guy away and kicking the last one. He then beat down one who was getting up and as another attacked, he was thrown off. Another grabbed him from behind but Angel tossed him away too. Angel then beat up Jason again before kicking Wilson through a glass door. His face bled as Angel put his foot on his face and said. "Now you're gonna tell me what I need to know."
"Still want to impregnate women for a Demon?" Willow asked as all had looks of satisfaction on their faces.
"Got what he deserved, though I'm sure if they weren't short on time, Angel would beat him up just for the hell of it", Buffy said, everyone imagining that, and it was satisfying too.
Cordelia walked into a deserted warehouse with the other pregnant girls, looking at each other while their babies talked to them. Wesley pulled himself off the floor as Angel called him from a phone booth and picked up the phone, Angel telling him Wilson wasn't the father while digging bullets out of himself, and Wesley said it was a Hacksaw beast while also telling Angel that Cordelia had run off to rendezvous with it.
"All of them have", Tara said.
"And it is not an easy one to kill", Giles said grimly.
Angel knew they had gone to Miliken Industrial Park in Reseda as that's where Wilson and the rest had built their shrine, Cordelia knowing that due to a telepathic link with the unborn which it used to control her, so it was psychic umbilical cord. They needed to cut the cord by killing the Hacksaw, but Wesley then pointed out not much could kill it, so Angel asked if he could shoot straight.
"So that's how it was controlling her", Buffy noted.
"They just need to kill it now, and looks like they need a gun of all things", Dawn said.
The girls changed into white robes and were led by Cordelia into a big vat filled with a strange yellow-brown liquid, Wesley coming in as he begged the women to get out but they refused, saying they served their master. The ground shook with thundering footsteps as the Hacksaw arrived through a hole in the wall, angry at Wesley for trying to disturb the birth of his children.
"He is big", Willow said lamely. "Very big."
"I can see that", Buffy muttered.
"How is a gun supposed to kill that?" Giles wondered.
"Maybe it's just part of the plan", Xander said.
Wesley introduced himself and putting up his fists said he was here to fight him to the death, preferably the Demon's. The Hacksaw was amused as Wesley reminded him of David and Goliath and said it was relevant to this situation.
"I really wish it is", Dawn said.
The Hacksaw decided to battle while Wesley inched closer to it on the vat's rim, saying he wanted to know his opponents too, and inquired about hobbies, but the Hacksaw was annoyed when Angel rolled a gas tank down a ramp, drawing everyone's attention, while walking down it. "Sorry I'm late to the baby shower. Brought a little gift."
"I think that's exactly the gift this shower needs", Buffy smirked, now realizing why a gun would be needed, even though she hated them.
Angel picked up the tank, spun and threw it like a discus up at the Hacksaw, who caught it easily out of the air. A label 'Liquid Nitrogen' was on the front of the tank. Wesley pulled out a gun and shot a hole in the tank. The Hacksaw dropped the tank and a stream of liquid nitrogen shot out of the hole up at him. The demon screamed in the fog. The women in the vat screamed, their bellies slowly deflating. Wesley and Angel stared as the demon turned into a Popsicle. The girls stopped screaming. Cordelia looked around then walked up the steps out of the vat. She walked up to Wesley, who backed a couple steps away from her, then she grabbed a big pulley hanging on a rope and swung it into the Hacksaw demon, shattering its frozen body. "I really hate dating."
"Join the club", Buffy said. "But great job shattering it, Cordy. You had your revenge."
"Well, the plan sure did work nicely", Willow said, everyone sighing in relief.
"Demon is dead, and Demon babies are gone", Dawn smiled. "Awesome."
"So, happy ending then", Giles sighed.
"Looks like it for sure", Tara agreed.
"Which is just what they deserve", Xander told them.
Later, in the office, Wesley dusted Cordelia's desk and computer, the board above the coffee machine saying 'Welcome back, Cordelia', and Angel walked in, dropping some magazines on her desk as she liked those. Then Cordelia walked in as they greeted and complimented her, though Angel said it had been 2 days so she didn't need to come. Wesley agreed, saying he'd been helping out as he bent over the coffee machine, realizing someone had forgot to close the filter.
Everyone chuckled.
"She came back in two days, she is even more of a badass than I thought", Buffy said. "And here I thought Slayers were stubborn."
"Cordy may not be a Slayer, but she is a hero too, and a badass one at that", Xander said with a smile, and everyone agreed with nods.
Cordelia smiled, saying she was fine and had an audition too, saying the producer was nice and they were going out to dinner. The guys got a little concerned as she said. "He is so sweet. He says that all I have to do is let him impregnate me with his demon master's seed, and I've got the part. She looked back over her shoulder and smiled at the guys, who looked at each other then back at her. "Guys, I appreciate all the concern, but I'm okay. I mean, it was an ordeal, but I got through it, - and I'm a lot stronger than those loser demon surrogates thought."
"That you are", Tara said, impressed, like the rest.
Angel said he was seeing that as Cordelia said. "I learned something, too. I learned, uhm, - men are evil? Oh, wait, - I knew that. I learned that LA is full of self-serving phonies. No, - had that one down, too. Uh... sex is bad?" Angel said with a smile. "We all knew that."
"Yeah", Buffy said with an uncomfortable groan.
Then Cordelia said. "Okay. I learned that I have two people I trust absolutely with my life. - And that part's new." Wesley took a deep breath, then looked away dabbing his handkerchief at his eye. "Uh, some, uh – allergies." Cordelia smiled at Angel, who looked back at her trying not to laugh.
"Awww", all the ladies went at the sweetness of the scene.
"I think Dennis should make that list too though", Dawn popped up.
"Yeah, he should be on there as well", Buffy nodded in agreement. "But at least they all have each other."
"That they do", Xander said. "This was last for the day, right?"
"Yeah, and I am getting hungry already, though no blood", Willow said as they all laughed.
"No one wants it", Tara agreed.
"Let's go then", Giles said as they got off and walked away.
And done. The highlights of this episode were Angel beating down the jerks, Dennis comforting Cordelia (He is such a sweety! He is underrated, and sweet!) and Cordelia's little speech to Angel and Wesley at the end.
[1] Just a little jab at how most of the time the 'unattractive' and possibly nerdy outcasts are played by real hot and muscular people. I mean, Nicholas Brendon was good looking and pretty buff in the earlier Seasons too, like when we saw him in a speedo, so it's kind of hard to buy that a guy looking like that would be an outcast, even if he is a bit bumbling. It's not limited to Buffy though. Tom Welling's Clark Kent and Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker look really hot, so it's a wonder why they are outcasts. It's not just limited to guys though. No matter how nerdy you're gonna make Alyson Hannigan look, she's going to look hot enough to be a popular girl all over the school. The only time they have legit managed to make an attractive actress look less attractive and nerdy enough to be an outcast is Zendaya as MJ in the MCU Spider-Man films, but I'm not a fan of the MCU Spidey films or that MJ in general tbh.
[2] Is it just me or does Joss almost always portray sex as something negative in these shows? I mean, first we had the time when Angel turned into Angelus after his first time with Buffy, then this thing of Cordelia getting pregnant overnight just because she had casual sex, and even in Darla's case she got pregnant after sex and eventually had to stake herself for her baby to live, then the stuff in Season 4 *shutters* and even in the case of Willow/Tara, some people have said that Tara died just a little while after she and Willow were naked in bed together, as if it was punishment for having lesbian sex. While I don't fully buy the last one, I can see why people think that way. And killing Tara off was just unnecessary and cruel, especially since they were giving her a lot more to do in Season 6 outside of her relationship with Willow. But all the other cases I mentioned are 100% legit, so even the Tillow one, while I don't fully buy it, isn't completely unfounded. It's like Joss wants every female character he created to somehow face consequences for their sexual choices (other than Faith and Anya, since they were never involved in those kinds of cases specifically), and take them down a peg. And after the reveal last week, which I think had been building up to for a while, its not surprising that Joss treats his females like trash for one reason or the other, but at least they're still amazing characters in spite of it.
Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with Break III. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!