CHAPTER TWO
(See part one for disclaimers)
The lobby of the old Hyperion Hotel, makeshift home of Angel Investigations and its four employees, was filled with the musical giggle of a four year old child and the deeper chuckle of the dark skinned gang-runner, known as Charles Gunn. As the only person not emotionally connected to the formerly mentioned ex-Scooby, it fell to him to look after the child while the others dealt with the situation at hand.
Angel sat, mournful eyes sliding from the unopened box in his lap to the boy currently playing hide and seek with Gunn. Wesley had volunteered to call Sunnydale and request that Giles, Willow, Buffy and the others to come to the city because he had a "surprise" for them. And Cordelia sat sadly, reading a thick folder at the table, Michael hovering nearby offering assistance when she needed it. Gabriel had left to gather the rest of Alex's (and Xander's) stuff, surprisingly a lot seeing as though he'd only been a child a little over two weeks.
Angel sighed heavily, looking again at the box in his lap. Xander's last gift to him. No one could blame him for being a little wary, not really. He and the good hearted teenager had never been on good terms. At best they tolerated each other, at worst, well, there were wars less bloody. But the message he'd seen earlier… The young man seemed earnest in his attempt at wanting to reconcile their differences. And Angel would never know now whether they could have been friends.
His fingers traced over the plain wooden box, ghosting over the simple string that held it together. It was one of those ones that you could buy anywhere, cheap wood and mass produced, but it was sturdy. And it felt light. It was about the size of an outstretched hand on every side and his name was scrawled in Xander's distinctive hand across the top. He'd almost expected it to read "Deadboy".
He almost rose when he again heard a sob escape Cordelia, but Michael looked over and shook his head. He'd known that despite their tragic romance in high school and all the anger she had had toward the boy, they had made up long before they both left after graduation and that she had always hoped that he'd come back and renew the friendship. Of course, he was back now, but she was to be his mother, which cast an entirely different light on the matter.
Another sigh escaped his lips and he looked down at the box again. Such a deceptively ordinary box, he thought again, totally indifferent to the turmoil it was inflicting. He slowly, almost shyly, untied the string and deposited it on the small table by the sofa he sat in. With shaking hands he removed the lid, tensing as though he expected a serpent to leap from its confines. He dared not look for a moment, but, as if inevitable, he cast his eyes back to its contents and saw… packing foam. Small, bow shaped and pristine white. He could have laughed, but he didn't.
Carefully he reached down under the polystyrene, letting a few pieces drift to the floor. He scrabbled around in it for a few moments, letting ever more foam escape, until, at last he touched something different. Small, smooth and cold, like glass or maybe metal. He grabbed it and extricated his hand, sending more bits to the littered carpet, and held up his hand before him.
In the centre of his palm laid a small charm on a long silver chain. The charm itself was a single teardrop, that was as transparent as crystal, but crimson and hard as steel. It was quite pretty, but Angel couldn't see why the boy had given it to him, of all people. Why not Willow, or Cordelia? He absently picked at the chain, deep in thought, until, he sensed someone standing before him. It was Gabriel, back from his car with the last box of Alex's belongings. Its lid was opened and Angel saw various DVD's and CD's, some for children and some more his, Xander's, taste.
"It's a tranquillity amulet," Gabriel murmured, setting the box near the rest. "Xander made it himself. He said he wanted to give it to you as a peace offering."
Angel frowned. "A tranquillity amulet?"
"Yeah. Supposedly it helps calm and soothe whoever wears it." Gabriel looked down, then back at the vampire almost embarrassed. "He, uh, said that you could use a hand controlling emotions. Uh, you know, emotions…"
Angel stared for a moment before the man's meaning became clear. It's suffice to say that any notions Gabriel had about the ability of vampires to blush were put a side. He looked again at the small charm dangling lazily from his fingers. "And it works?"
Gabriel flushed and looked away. "Well, yeah, it uh, kinda does." There was a story there but Angel didn't really feel like finding out. He reached up and put it into his shirt pocket. He would look at it more later on, when the shock had won off. His thoughts were too mixed up right now, and he needed a clear head.
He looked over to where Alex hung around Gunn's neck and down his back, giggling at his captive tried to remove the boy, but failed miserably. Calmly, Gabriel swept over and removed the youngster swiftly, and was rewarded with a sloppy kiss before the bundle of energy ran off to whatever new game he had in mind, a reluctant Gunn not far behind. Gabe grinned at the vampire.
"He's a good kid, if you can keep up with him."
"What does he remember?" The grey eyed man looked startled, but not overly surprised at the question.
He sighed and gestured that they sit.
He took a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Not a lot, really. Its, like, anything after he was four, last time, has been erased. Memories, fears, things like that. It's like his mind has made itself match his body. He was a bit mixed up the first couple of days, but after that he became your typical toddler." He toyed with the edge of his shirt for a while.
"However, he seems to have retained a lot of what we like to call inbred skills. Stuff he used all the time that etched itself into his memory banks. Reading and writing, mathematics, even art to an extent. And judging from his earlier reactions he might have retained some of his simpler, more common demon fighting instincts."
"What about his parents?"
Gabriel shook his head. "He has a vague inkling of parents, but because he's lived so long without them, he hasn't retained much of them. There is a couple of things that concern us though."
"What?"
"Well, we're not sure if, as he grows older, he'll regain at least part of his memories. Like, if his body ages so will his mind." He paused. "Michael thinks its unlikely, and so does the therapist in our cell, but this is totally unprecedented so we can't be sure."
Angel nodded, sadly. "And the other?"
Gabriel grimaced and looked away. "We're not sure if…that when the spell backfired and turned Xander little if…anything else came through."
Angel frowned. "What do you mean, "anything else"?"
"Like, magic, and, stuff."
Angel sucked in an unneeded breath. "I see." Gabriel nodded glumly. "Yeah."
They sat a few minutes, before Gabriel pulled a disk out of his pocket and handed it over. "Give this to the watcher. It's our virtual archive of all the demons we've encountered and the info we have on them. There might be some stuff you can use on it."
Angel thanked him silently then looked once again toward the young boy that had brought such sorrow.
(See part one for disclaimers)
The lobby of the old Hyperion Hotel, makeshift home of Angel Investigations and its four employees, was filled with the musical giggle of a four year old child and the deeper chuckle of the dark skinned gang-runner, known as Charles Gunn. As the only person not emotionally connected to the formerly mentioned ex-Scooby, it fell to him to look after the child while the others dealt with the situation at hand.
Angel sat, mournful eyes sliding from the unopened box in his lap to the boy currently playing hide and seek with Gunn. Wesley had volunteered to call Sunnydale and request that Giles, Willow, Buffy and the others to come to the city because he had a "surprise" for them. And Cordelia sat sadly, reading a thick folder at the table, Michael hovering nearby offering assistance when she needed it. Gabriel had left to gather the rest of Alex's (and Xander's) stuff, surprisingly a lot seeing as though he'd only been a child a little over two weeks.
Angel sighed heavily, looking again at the box in his lap. Xander's last gift to him. No one could blame him for being a little wary, not really. He and the good hearted teenager had never been on good terms. At best they tolerated each other, at worst, well, there were wars less bloody. But the message he'd seen earlier… The young man seemed earnest in his attempt at wanting to reconcile their differences. And Angel would never know now whether they could have been friends.
His fingers traced over the plain wooden box, ghosting over the simple string that held it together. It was one of those ones that you could buy anywhere, cheap wood and mass produced, but it was sturdy. And it felt light. It was about the size of an outstretched hand on every side and his name was scrawled in Xander's distinctive hand across the top. He'd almost expected it to read "Deadboy".
He almost rose when he again heard a sob escape Cordelia, but Michael looked over and shook his head. He'd known that despite their tragic romance in high school and all the anger she had had toward the boy, they had made up long before they both left after graduation and that she had always hoped that he'd come back and renew the friendship. Of course, he was back now, but she was to be his mother, which cast an entirely different light on the matter.
Another sigh escaped his lips and he looked down at the box again. Such a deceptively ordinary box, he thought again, totally indifferent to the turmoil it was inflicting. He slowly, almost shyly, untied the string and deposited it on the small table by the sofa he sat in. With shaking hands he removed the lid, tensing as though he expected a serpent to leap from its confines. He dared not look for a moment, but, as if inevitable, he cast his eyes back to its contents and saw… packing foam. Small, bow shaped and pristine white. He could have laughed, but he didn't.
Carefully he reached down under the polystyrene, letting a few pieces drift to the floor. He scrabbled around in it for a few moments, letting ever more foam escape, until, at last he touched something different. Small, smooth and cold, like glass or maybe metal. He grabbed it and extricated his hand, sending more bits to the littered carpet, and held up his hand before him.
In the centre of his palm laid a small charm on a long silver chain. The charm itself was a single teardrop, that was as transparent as crystal, but crimson and hard as steel. It was quite pretty, but Angel couldn't see why the boy had given it to him, of all people. Why not Willow, or Cordelia? He absently picked at the chain, deep in thought, until, he sensed someone standing before him. It was Gabriel, back from his car with the last box of Alex's belongings. Its lid was opened and Angel saw various DVD's and CD's, some for children and some more his, Xander's, taste.
"It's a tranquillity amulet," Gabriel murmured, setting the box near the rest. "Xander made it himself. He said he wanted to give it to you as a peace offering."
Angel frowned. "A tranquillity amulet?"
"Yeah. Supposedly it helps calm and soothe whoever wears it." Gabriel looked down, then back at the vampire almost embarrassed. "He, uh, said that you could use a hand controlling emotions. Uh, you know, emotions…"
Angel stared for a moment before the man's meaning became clear. It's suffice to say that any notions Gabriel had about the ability of vampires to blush were put a side. He looked again at the small charm dangling lazily from his fingers. "And it works?"
Gabriel flushed and looked away. "Well, yeah, it uh, kinda does." There was a story there but Angel didn't really feel like finding out. He reached up and put it into his shirt pocket. He would look at it more later on, when the shock had won off. His thoughts were too mixed up right now, and he needed a clear head.
He looked over to where Alex hung around Gunn's neck and down his back, giggling at his captive tried to remove the boy, but failed miserably. Calmly, Gabriel swept over and removed the youngster swiftly, and was rewarded with a sloppy kiss before the bundle of energy ran off to whatever new game he had in mind, a reluctant Gunn not far behind. Gabe grinned at the vampire.
"He's a good kid, if you can keep up with him."
"What does he remember?" The grey eyed man looked startled, but not overly surprised at the question.
He sighed and gestured that they sit.
He took a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Not a lot, really. Its, like, anything after he was four, last time, has been erased. Memories, fears, things like that. It's like his mind has made itself match his body. He was a bit mixed up the first couple of days, but after that he became your typical toddler." He toyed with the edge of his shirt for a while.
"However, he seems to have retained a lot of what we like to call inbred skills. Stuff he used all the time that etched itself into his memory banks. Reading and writing, mathematics, even art to an extent. And judging from his earlier reactions he might have retained some of his simpler, more common demon fighting instincts."
"What about his parents?"
Gabriel shook his head. "He has a vague inkling of parents, but because he's lived so long without them, he hasn't retained much of them. There is a couple of things that concern us though."
"What?"
"Well, we're not sure if, as he grows older, he'll regain at least part of his memories. Like, if his body ages so will his mind." He paused. "Michael thinks its unlikely, and so does the therapist in our cell, but this is totally unprecedented so we can't be sure."
Angel nodded, sadly. "And the other?"
Gabriel grimaced and looked away. "We're not sure if…that when the spell backfired and turned Xander little if…anything else came through."
Angel frowned. "What do you mean, "anything else"?"
"Like, magic, and, stuff."
Angel sucked in an unneeded breath. "I see." Gabriel nodded glumly. "Yeah."
They sat a few minutes, before Gabriel pulled a disk out of his pocket and handed it over. "Give this to the watcher. It's our virtual archive of all the demons we've encountered and the info we have on them. There might be some stuff you can use on it."
Angel thanked him silently then looked once again toward the young boy that had brought such sorrow.