Angel opened the door to the office and paused,
sensing something was terribly wrong. Cordelia sat at her desk, crying softly,
as Wesley fumbled to comfort her. The pair froze at the sound of the door opening.
They both sprang to action, grabbing weapons from the massive arsenal piled on
the desk and aiming them at him. All without ever taking their eyes off Angel.
Angel stared at them in shock and disbelief,
noting the huge crosses that hung around their necks. "What's wrong?"
Cordelia's voice shook but her hands were
steady as she kept the crossbow she held trained on Angel. "What happened last
night? Are you really Angel?"
Angel was confused. "I told you what happened.
Now will one of you please let me in on what's going on here."
Wesley's voice was quiet. "Giles phoned not
too long after we spoke with you. They found Buffy in Restfield Cemetery this
morning. Her neck had been broken."
It was as if all the air had been sucked from
the room. Or at the very least that his life had ended. Last night, while he
shared Xander's bed, Buffy had been fighting for her life a few blocks away.
He took an unsteady step toward them and then fell forward, his legs giving
out from underneath him.
He was vaguely aware of the clatter as Wesley
and Cordelia dropped their weapons and rushed to his side. Their earlier uncertainty
was gone. Regardless of what had happened last night, this was Angel. His reaction
proved it.
Angel tried to focus. He knew they were speaking
to him but he couldn't hear them through the roaring in his ears. Cordelia's
face swam before his eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen and her cheeks stained
with recently shed tears. Her mouth was moving. Finally, he was able to clear
his head and understand what she was trying to tell him.
"She's not dead, Angel!"
"But—"
Wesley placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"She's not dead, Angel. Her neck was snapped. Several vertebrae were broken
but her spinal cord was not severed. She's in a coma."
She's alive. That was Angel's only thought.
He kept repeating that to himself until he felt the black fog that had enveloped
him begin to recede.
Cordelia took Angel's hand between her own
and squeezed as hard as she could. Her eyes pleaded with him. "Angel, what happened
last night? Please tell us. Whatever it was, it wasn't you. But we need to know
the truth."
Angel stood and moved to a chair. He sank
down slowly as he gathered his thoughts. He looked up at Wesley.
"Something broke her neck and left her for
dead?"
Cordelia stepped in front of Wesley, her arms
folded across her chest. She refused to be put off. "What happened last night?
Did you see Buffy?"
Angel couldn't get past it. Someone had tried
to kill Buffy. He could picture her lost and alone, dying slowly on the cold
ground. He could feel the rage building inside of him.
"I didn't see Buffy last night, Cordelia."
He bit out.
Cordelia fired back. "Someone broke her neck,
Angel! That's an Angelus calling card if ever I've heard one. The evil you snaps
heads like they're Pez Dispensers!"
Angel flew to his feet, enraged. "Yes! And
it wasn't me! If I'd tried to kill Buffy last night, she'd be dead. Not in a
goddamned coma!"
The other two visibly flinched at his statement
and took a step back. He winced inwardly and tried to regain control.
"I'm sorry. It's just—"
Wesley stepped forward, hastening to calm
him. "We realize you're upset, Angel. Nevertheless, is there any chance that
you've blocked out part of the night? Can you remember every second from when
you left here?"
Yes, he could remember it. He may not have
been in control of his body during those dark hours but all he had to do was
close his eyes and he could recall every caress, every breathy cry, every moment
he had spent with Xander.
Somehow, he didn't think that was the kind
of information they were looking for.
"Yes, Wesley. I was a little fuzzy when I
first woke up this morning but once the hangover lifted, I remembered everything
I'd done and seen. Buffy and I never laid eyes on each other last night."
Cordelia was not nearly so reassuring. Now
that her initial fears of what Angel might have done and what those actions
might do to the vampire who had become her family were lifted, she wanted answers.
And she wanted them now. "Then where the hell were you?"
"He was with me." A somber voice announced.
The three of them turned and, almost in union,
their mouths dropped open at the sight of Xander Harris standing in their doorway.
It was hard to tell who was more shocked, Wesley or Cordelia.
No, Angel thought, the most shocked award
would have to go to me.
Of all the ways he'd imagined the day turning
out, Xander arriving in LA and announcing that they'd spent last night together,
while he was soulless no less, was not even remotely on his vast list of possibilities.
"Xander?" Cordelia finally managed to squeak.
"Um...Hi, guys." Xander waved sheepishly.
"I happened to run to Dead Boy last night. When I realized that he was...ah...missing
something, I managed to subdue him. He was unconscious in my basement all night."
"And why didn't you just tell us that?" Cordelia
turned back to glare at Angel, suspicion clearly evident in her gaze.
Wesley cleared his throat. "Now, Cordelia,
in Angel's defense, it has been a rather trying 24 hours for him."
Xander stepped further into the office, closing
the door behind him. "I went to see Giles and he told me what had happened.
I tried to get back to tell you...but you had already left. I thought I should
get here as fast as possible in case Cordy and Wes wanted to stake first and
ask questions later." He eyed the impressive amount of weaponry on display.
"Looks like that was a good plan."
Cordelia rushed over and threw her arms around
Angel's neck, hugging him tightly. She leaned up and whispered in his ear. "I'm
sorry. I was just so scared when I thought that I was going to lose you...too."
Angel surprised them all when his arms lifted
to hold her close. "It's okay. I'm sorry I scared you." He breathed a sigh of
relief that he hadn't managed to lose his best friend on top of everything else.
Cordelia stepped back, smiling brightly. "Thanks,
Xander, for coming. It was pretty dodgy in here until you showed up."
Angel glanced over at the young man, an indefinable
expression in his eyes. "Yes, thank you, Xander."
"Not a problem. There was something I needed
to take care of anyway."
Wesley started in surprise. "Oh? Anything
we can help with?"
"I need to talk to Angel. Privately."