TITLE: I've Got You Under My Skin
AUTHOR: Jana Kay
EMAIL: jana_kay17@yahoo.com.au
DISCLAIMER: All Angel and BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, the WB and 20th Century Fox, and Roswell characters also belong to others. I don't know who.
RATING: R
PAIRING: Angel/Cordelia
SPOILERS: Up through to the end of S1 for A:tS, and the end of S4 for BtVS as well. Spoilers up through to 'Crazy' for S1 of Roswell also.
SUMMARY: An Angel/Roswell crossover, where Agent Topolsky's character on Roswell becomes a vessel for Darla's demon, brought back from Hell in the Angel season finale.
NOTES: These: //.....// indicate thoughts.

*****

PART I


Cordelia paced nervously around the area in front of her front door. It had been a week since Wolfram & Hart had raised their demon in a box, and she was slowly but surely going out of her mind with worry about what was in it. And not only what was in it, but how it would hurt her family, because she knew it would.

Wesley and Angel were all she had. Whether they were being her friends, coworkers, confidantes or family, she cared for them fiercely. And she'd be damned if she let some boxed demon hurt them, or take them away from her.

Ever since she woke up in the hospital, she found herself being able to better feel the pain and suffering of those around her. Like her senses were attuned to it to a much higher degree. In short, she'd become partially empathic. If the emotions of those around her were strong enough, she could sense them, but in truth, the emotions that showed themselves the strongest were grief and pain.

It gave her a chance to help those around her if she had the chance to meet them. A chance to give them a little shiny spot amongst the dreary backdrop of their lives. But she'd also become careful with the use. Probing into another person's emotions and thoughts, no matter how slight, was a violation of privacy. That was one thing she'd learned from that double-crossing demon, Barney.

Since Angel's apartment and office exploded, Angel Investigations had moved to Cordelia's apartment. Currently, the dining room table was covered in pile upon pile of dusty tomes, lovingly cared for and studied by Wesley. Not to mention a few of Angel's which had miraculously managed to survive unscathed. Or at least, relatively.

Newspapers were stacked neatly in a corner, having been combed thoroughly by Angel so as not to miss a possible case opportunity while her visions were on hiatus. The couch that folded out to make a bed was currently folded out, and a few items were thrown on it in disarray. Mainly Angel's clothes, which he'd hurriedly changed out of just before he ran out her door a little over two hours ago with Wesley. Lack of an apartment had caused him to move in with Cordelia for the moment, and she didn't mind sharing the space. It was nice to have someone around who could actually talk back. She got so lonely sometimes....

He told her they'd be back in an hour. An hour and a half at most. Never did two hours come up. And she'd tried his cell phone and he hadn't been answering. She was going to wear a hole through the carpet the way she was going, but she couldn't help it. She was scared out of her mind.

'What ifs' were racing through her mind by the bucketful.

'What if they ran into a trap?'

'What if they were in a car accident?'

'What if Angel lost his phone?'

'What if they're hurt somewhere?'

'What if the demon in the box attacked them?'

Damn! It all came back to the box.

Looking back over at the dining table, her eyes fell on the open books chock full of information that was doing them absolutely no good. Next to them lay the Scroll of Aberjian, which was also doing them no good. Well, except for telling them Angel would become human, which was a good thing - no a *great* thing - and saving her life, but apart from that, nada on what hell fiend had been raised, and oh even better, nada on how to get rid of the damn thing, save Cordelia herself going and wringing its demony neck.

She cursed fluently under her breath as she sped up her pacing and locked her hands together behind her back. She dimly registered that a small part of her brain could actually almost start to see the tracks she was making on the carpet. Well that was just perfect wasn't it?

Now she'd need to get new carpet too.

It was in that one single moment that she'd been distracted that the door decided to fly open.

Whirling to face the door, she froze momentarily at the sight of Angel carefully carrying Wesley in, one of the former Watcher's arms draped over Angel's broad shoulders as the cool figure supported his weight. Then the moment passed and she was moving again. And Wesley was hurt. Dammit! It was starting already.

Too soon. Too fucking soon.

She was going to lose them.

//Over my dead body!//

She quickly closed the door behind the two as Angel carried Wesley further into the apartment, then she ran over to help the dark-haired vampire lower Wesley onto the couch bed. "What happened?"

They finished getting Wesley comfortable, then Angel turned to Cordelia with sad eyes, his mouth twisted into a tired grimace. "Vampires. A nest."

She nodded in painful understanding, but before she could run and get the first-aid kit from the kitchen cabinet, a quiet groan sounded from Wesley and his eyelids fluttered slowly open.

He blinked groggily, and looked up into the two unlikely faces that had become his family over the last half a year. "Did we get them?"

It came out as a mumble, followed by a groan as he attempted to sit up on the make-shift bed.

Before he could move again though, Cordelia had her hands on his shoulders, stilling any more possible movements he might want to make for the time being.

"Hey! In case you've forgotten buddy, you're still hurt. From the explosion as well as what happened out there just before. Rest now okay? You're safe here. You don't have to move."

Her expression was soft as she looked down at Wesley, her dark hair framing her face, and in turn, he couldn't help smiling slightly at her concern. It felt good to know people cared. To know you were needed, wanted, not just a worthless good for nothing piece of rubbish that nobody had even wanted around in the first place....

He nodded his head absently, the small smile still playing lightly over his lips. "Yes mother."

She ignored that.

Straightening up, she moved quickly to the kitchen, not surprised in the slightest to see the cabinet door containing the first-aid kit float open on its own, and the kit come out to rest in her hands.

She looked up at the ceiling.

"Thanks Dennis."

Then she was heading back in the direction she came from.

In the short time she'd been out of the room, Angel had removed Wesley's shoes and set them up neatly next to the wall, then had sat down gingerly next to the Watcher's legs. He turned his head as Cordelia came back inside, already holding the kit open and pulling out the things she thought they'd need. She looked up as she drew closer, and caught his eye.

Angel smiled gently at her despite the situation. It still amazed him no end how the Queen of the Cordettes had become his best friend. She'd changed so much. But in good ways. And the changes had helped her mature too. Gone was the teenage Sunnydale cheerleader, replaced by a mature woman and seer, who at times, seemed wise beyond her years.

It hurt his dead heart to know that part of that painful wisdom she had, was due to the evil she had to face every day while working with him, for him, by his side.

As his best friend.

He never thought he'd have someone there like that. Someone to fight beside him regardless of the relationship they had. Buffy had Willow and Xander. The only Slayer who came complete with friends. They stuck by her through thick and thin. No matter how their lives changed, their friendship was the one thing that remained. They fought the good fight.

And Angel had helped Buffy too. He'd also loved her. He'd worshipped her as best he could for as long as he could, and he held her whenever she needed him and was hurt and crying, and even when she didn't. But that wasn't enough. It had never been enough. She had just been too blind with love to notice, and that made a part of him fiercely pleased. She loved him so much she didn't care for consequences. She didn't want to let him go.

But he couldn't live in a dream forever. The appearance of Angelus and then his bout in and return from Hell forced him to stop and take the blinders off, and though he still loved her, he left her. Because even though their love would be eternal, their lives weren't destined to run down the same path. They would fight on the same side, but they weren't meant to fight at the other's side.

At the beginning, it hurt fiercely knowing she was only a few hours away. Knowing that all he had to do was take a drive and then bam! There she'd be. Moonlight encasing her hair, making her look like a fierce angel come down from heaven. But before the dreams went too far and he got carried away, he always remembered that he didn't deserve anything from heaven. He didn't deserve a piece of sunlight, or a piece of happiness wrapped up in a package of Buffy.

And so he didn't go.

He remained in LA, and suddenly, there was Doyle. And after that, Cordelia. And somehow in some strange twist of fate, they managed to chip away some of his icy armor and began calling him friend.

Then Doyle had died, but he still had Cordelia. And the two had drawn closer in their loss, reaffirming friendship in the face of heartfelt grief. But in such a short amount of time he nearly lost her too. Twice. First for her new powers as a seer, and second by a demon hell bent on procreating.

And he swore to himself he'd never let it happen again.

He cared for Wesley, and he'd cared for Doyle, but it was Cordelia he'd somehow managed to form an attachment to. Cordelia he knew he'd somehow die without if he had lost her in that hospital.

Why?

Because.

She was his best friend.

And she fought beside him through thick and thin, just like Xander and Willow did for Buffy. She was someone he never thought he'd have. And she wasn't scared by the fact that he was a vampire. She wasn't disgusted when he fed in front of her, something he'd always been scared to do in front of Buffy, afraid she wouldn't accept him. The demon was as much a part of him as his soul and Cordelia knew that. She accepted that. And she loved him for that.

She was his link to the Powers. She was his seer, and he was her boss.

She was his best friend, and he was hers.

Despite the fact that she lost a little more of her innocence every day with him, Cordelia always stuck around. And now she was even more determined to than ever.

And though part of Angel felt guilty about her loss, a small greedy part of him was fiercely happy, because that meant she'd stay by his side just that little bit longer.

He was snapped out of his reverie by Cordelia's voice.

"Wesley, where are you hurt?"

Angel quickly scooted down the bed to make room for Cordelia, as she set the kit on the coffee table and sat on a corner of the fold out bed.

"Would you like me to make a list?"

Cordelia winced. "You're hurt that much?"

Wesley smiled a little. "No. But my ego needed a little more sympathy."

Cordelia rolled her eyes good-naturedly as she reached over and grabbed the antiseptic, twisting the cap off. "We'll have a group hug later, but for now, let me fix you up."

As Cordelia busied herself with patching up Wesley's injuries, Angel stood and went into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see if there were any blood bags left. Finding two more hanging at the back, he took one out and closed the door.

His face flickered for a moment as he sank his fangs into the bag and ripped it open, then returned to normal when he was done. At that moment, a mug floated over to him from the clean side of the sink.

He acknowledged the general area around the floating mug with a, "Thanks Dennis," then plucked it out of the air and set it down on the counter, emptying the contents of the bag into it then throwing the bag in the garbage.

Picking up the mug again, he put it in the microwave and set it for 50 seconds. When the microwave dinged to signal that it was done, he pulled the mug out and leaned back against the counter, sighing as he took a sip of the warm red liquid.

He stayed in that position until he was done, all the time the sounds of Wesley and Cordelia's voices drifting back to him through the arch. When he had drank the last of the blood in the mug, he turned to the sink and rinsed it out, not wanting to have Cordelia come along later and have to wipe crusty blood flakes out of her mug herself. And since he was living with her for the moment, he felt the need to pull his weight around the place, not leaving his friend to clean up after him whenever he had the urge to dirty something.

As he was finishing off the mug, he sensed Cordelia coming into the room behind him, and he propped the mug up on the drying rack then wiped his hands on a dish towel as he turned around to face her, leaning back against the sink.

Cordelia smiled wanly as she ran a hand through her hair, then opened the fridge, not getting anything out, but just looking. With a sigh, she closed the door then turned to face him, leaning against the counter opposite him as she crossed her arms. "He's asleep."

Angel nodded his head. "I know."

She looked at him curiously as she said, "How did you know?"

He tilted his head slightly and nodded towards the arch where Cordelia had come in from. "I could hear his heartbeat slow down. They always do that when people go to sleep."

She let out a breath as she stared at the fridge. "Of course."

They were both quiet for a few minutes, comfortable with the silence after the anxious activity, then Cordelia broke it. "Why were you guys so late? Was it because of the Fang Brigade?"

Angel took an unneeded breath as he raised his eyes to meet hers. "Not exactly."

"Then how exactly?"

"We dealt with the slime demon, then Wesley thought we should drop by the library for a few more books." Angel glanced toward the arch again. "He thought that a certain translation book would help him--"

"Work out what they raised," Cordelia murmured.

Angel nodded his head as he turned his gaze back towards her. "Right. Only, on the way to the library, we ran into Gunn. We stopped to chat for a few minutes; we thought maybe he'd have some information we'd be able to use for something, but then we were attacked."

Cordelia groaned. "And how did Wesley get hurt so badly?"

"He was still hurt from the explosion. When two of them got him on either side, it was all he could do to keep them away from his neck, without actually managing to get them off of him." Angel ran a frustrated hand through his hair, then crossed his arms over his chest. "I had three on me at the time, and I couldn't get to him before...."

Cordelia watched him closely. "Before what, Angel?"

He shook his head grimly, then looked at her again. "Before they threw him down a flight of stairs."

Cordelia winced. "Poor Wesley."

"Yeah. Gunn got hurt too, but before he did, we managed to take out the rest of them. After it was over I ran and got Wesley, then drove Gunn back to his place. His friends took care of him after that. Then I brought Wesley here."

He shook his head as he looked down at the tiles on the floor. "I shouldn't have taken him with me. I knew he was still hurt, but I took him with me anyway."

Cordelia sighed as she pushed herself away from the counter. "Come on, Angel. Wesley's stubborn; it's one of the things we love about him. He probably would have followed after you anyway if you'd left him behind. It's the kind of person he is. It's not your fault he got hurt." She moved closer to him, then lay a hand on his arm.

"It's not your fault Angel. You didn't know you'd be attacked. You can't blame yourself for unforeseen circumstances. And he's going to get better. In a day or two, he'll be back on his feet again. In fact, I bet tomorrow, he'll be up trying to research again."

"But--"

"No buts, Angel. No matter how much you try to convince me, some things just aren't your fault."

He looked like he was going to say something again, but instead smiled wanly as he loosened his arms across his chest and let them fall to his sides.

"I still think it's my fault, but thanks for trying to make me feel better Cordelia."

"What are friends for?" She smiled at him as she gave him a mock punch on his arm.

She pulled back quickly when he winced in pain.

There was a long pause as Angel looked anywhere but at her.

"You're hurt, aren't you?" Her tone was full of accusation.

Angel tried to deny it. "It's just a scratch Cordelia; it'll heal fast."

She crossed her arms aggressively as she stood in front of him. "You weren't going to tell me, were you?" Her outrage increased and her tone grew mocking. "Oh look, I'm Angel. I'm strong and tough and don't need anyone to look after me when I get hurt. Why? Because I don't deserve it." She tossed her long hair over her shoulder as she fixed him with an angry glare. "Am I right, or am I right?"

She waited in front of him for a reply.

She was finally acknowledged with a sheepish look.

"Sorry."

She nodded her head firmly. "You should be. Wesley isn't the only one I worry about you know."

She uncrossed her arms as she took a step back. "So. Are you going to let me fix you up? Or are we just going to keep standing here."

He finally moved away from the sink, stripping his grey sweater off as he moved past her. He had his back to her by then, but she still felt the sharp stab of pain he was in, even though he was managing to hide it.

She opened her mouth and gasped silently at the sudden burning sensation, glad he couldn't see her. Because if he had, she would have to explain, and she still wasn't quite sure how to break the news that she'd just become even more fragile than usual.

May the PTB spare her, because she could hear the lectures now.

He'd have a point though and she already knew it. After all, it wasn't the best thing to be in the middle of a life-and-death situation, and being constantly assaulted by the fear and pain of those around you....

If it ever happened, and she prayed silently that it didn't, she had a feeling she'd be skyrocketing with all the emotions; partial empathic be damned.

She pushed aside her thoughts as she left Angel sitting in a chair, and went looking for the first-aid kit again. Picking it up off the floor beside Wesley, she watched his face for a moment. Sleep had made the Watcher's face lose at least ten years, which she had the feeling were brought on by worry and worry alone. The little crow's feet around his eyes which were usually always making their presence known, had all but disappeared. The lines of his face were smooth and relaxed. He looked peaceful in his sleep. And he was safe now. There would be no vampires or demons bursting in here.

He could finally rest and catch up on all the sleep he'd been lacking in the last two weeks.

She placed the kit on the coffee table, then pulled the covers up around him a bit more, tucking them in slightly to create a cocoon of warmth for when he woke up. When she was satisfied that he was as comfortable as he was going to get, she leant down and gave him a soft kiss on his forehead. Wesley may sometimes act like a stuffy British geek, but he was *their* geek, and he was *their* family. No one was allowed to hurt him. Not without hurting her and Angel first.

She watched his face again carefully as she pulled back. He did look truly peaceful. But after everything he'd been through....

She would just take a quick peek; make sure he was okay; not on the way to any nasty nightmares or anything like that.

It was *totally* justified.

Before she could have second thoughts, she took a deep breath, then relaxed.

Empathics couldn't unconsciously feel sleeping minds emotions. She hadn't realised it at first, but she'd quickly managed to put together the pieces after her experiences in the hospital, then through hours of research, punctuated by cries of, "You have *got* to be kidding!" "No *way*!" "Why did I have to get stuck with this?" "Freaking death demon...." and "Angel is *so* gonna kill me."

Upon waking from her vision trip, the first thing she'd seen had been Angel, followed closely by Wesley as she clutched Angel's hand and thanked whatever God was out there that the numbing pain had finally stopped.

She'd felt what seemed to be waves of relief rolling around the room. At the time, she'd thought it was just her.

When she'd woken up again though, Angel had been asleep, still clutching her hand, but Wesley had been awake. It was then that she felt relief again, but not as much. She'd thought it was a bit strange, since she could tell now that all she was really feeling was bone deep exhaustion, and then somehow, she managed to unconsciously track the source back to Wesley.

However, when she looked over at Angel, it was as though she was hitting a brick wall. Nothing came out.

At least, nothing came out without her trying.

She hadn't figured that out on her own though. Enter research stage right. From what she could find and from the descriptions of what it was, she gathered that this was a power that could go either way. Seriously help, or seriously hinder. And in her research, she'd also figured out how to get into a sleeping mind, and how to control her reactions to waking minds.

Cordelia cleared her mind of all thoughts, and focused on Wesley's face. She squinted her eyes and concentrated steadily for a few moments on the middle of his forehead, then she felt the sudden falling feeling as she was sucked through the cracks in the previously impenetrable brick wall that was Wesley's emotions.

She didn't let herself stay for long. The different shades she saw in there were comforting to her. She knew Wesley was going to be okay. The shade that represented pain was a little too dark for her liking, but she knew it would go away soon. As for the rest, it all looked normal. She was about to release her concentration and let go, when she noticed the shade that represented happiness.

It was a little dull.

Immediately, Cordelia began to worry, indicating just how much she'd changed since her days back in Sunnydale. Back then, she wouldn't have cared two cents about anyone else's happiness except her own, but now....

Why shouldn't Wesley be happy?

Before she could rethink her actions or change her mind, Cordelia reached forward with a hand and lightly touched the shade. Light flared and pulsed under her hand, then she quickly pulled away.

The dullness was gone.

Trying to justify her actions, Cordelia quickly let the connection go, relaxing her concentration and suddenly finding herself back to normal again as she squeezed her eyes shut tight and straightened up slowly from the bed.
This was only temporary, artificial happiness. It wasn't going to effect Wesley in the long run. There wouldn't be any unpleasant side-effects. She'd been quick and hadn't really changed the feeling all that much. She was doing a good thing....

But to be sure, she'd just have to make sure that she and Angel kept Wesley's spirits up for the next couple of days, and then it could be real, and hopefully permanent happiness.

Realising suddenly that she'd been gone from the kitchen for a lot longer than she expected, Cordelia quickly snatched up the first-aid kit from the coffee table, and after sending one last look to Wesley's sleeping face, she turned on her heel and hurried back to Angel.


End part 1