Title: Saving Connor
Author: Kat
Distribution: Go ahead, I guess. Just ask first, please.
Feedback: No feedback, no more chapters. Ok, that's a lie, cause I'd keep writing anyway, but it makes me happy. Just don't be nasty, or I'll cry.
Summery: This is what I think happens after 'Sleep Tight', when Holtz takes Connor through a portal to the Quortoth, the darkest of the dark worlds. Can't tell you anything else, I don't want to spoil anything. *G*
Disclaimer: Not mine. Joss created them And then he messed with their lives and separated soul-mates and tortured them and hurt them and we hate him for what he's done to our beloved characters… Ok, done ranting. For now. Anyway, they're Joss's to hurt if he wants to. And then I write fic to make it all better.
Dedication: For everyone who was traumatized by 'Sleep Tight', who has "May the Powers That Be protect little Connor" written on their IM away messages and scribbled on their notebooks, or who just thinks Angel's been through too much and deserves a little happiness.
*******************************************************************
Gru sat on the bus, Cordelia asleep by his side. She had never stopped staring into space and murmuring, "gone, gone, gone, gone…" She looked so desolate, but nothing he did could even make her acknowledge his presence, let alone comfort her. He had finally drugged her to get her to sleep. In Pilea, sleep was considered to be a great aid in healing. And whatever ailed his princess, Gru wanted her to be better very, very soon. The bus was nearing LA, and he didn't understand the method of payment they used in this world.
****************************************
Angel awoke with a start, disoriented. He took in the warehouse with a confused grimace and tried to get up. He heard his chains rattle, and memory came flooding back. Faith. Sunlight. Connor. Connor being carried by Holtz into the darkest of the dark worlds. Himself, leaping after his son, and being thrown back by a bolt of lightning from the hole between worlds. Lying dazed as the portal closed on his son and the man who had stolen him away. Angel collapsed, moaning. He had been hoping so much it had all been a dream. The slamming of a door jolted him momentarily out of his misery. He sunk back when he saw Faith. "You should have let me die."
The Slayer just grinned at him. "Now, when have I ever done the right thing?" Her cocky attitude annoyed Angel. Funny, whenever he'd seen her before, he'd been able to ignore it and see the fear and self-doubt it masked. But he didn't have the will to look beyond it now. "I have to go out for a while. Be a good boy and don't go anywhere until I come back."
Angel scowled at her. "It isn't as if I've got much of a choice."
Faith shrugged. "Well, if I left you one, you'd just go finding some way to rid the world of your miserable self. I just swept this place. Can't have you making little piles of dust."
****************************************
Tara looked around the bus stop, unsure of what to do next. She'd never been to LA, and she wasn't sure Buffy was up to navigation right now. At least when Tara talked to her, Buffy would look *at* her instead of *past* her. That was a big improvement over the wait at the bus stop in Sunnydale. Although the pain in her friend's eyes almost made Tara wish she were still distant. That pain was terrifying in its intensity and had the disconcerting tendency to spread to whoever was close by. At least if the person close by happened to be a Sensitive. Tara had all she could do to keep herself from being pulled into Buffy's pain and getting lost in it. If they were going to get anything accomplished, Tara had to concentrate on keeping herself focused. So, she reluctantly sent Buffy to sit on a bench, where her proximity wasn't so dangerous. Meanwhile, Tara attempted lucklessly to stop a cab. Evidently, this was a feat which was much more complicated than it looked in the movies.
****************************************
Willow was getting exasperated. She'd called a meeting of what was left of the Scoobies, in hopes that they could come up with a plan of how best to handle patrol, etc. with Buffy gone. So far, all they had come up with was worry and griping. The griping was Anya, who loudly wanted to know why there had to be a crisis three days before her wedding. The worrying was mostly, or at least most vocally, Dawn, who never dealt well with Buffy being absent for any reason anymore. Xander was broody enough that she would have accused him of impersonating Angel if she thought levity were remotely appropriate, and she was nearing the end of her patience. "Guys! We have to come up with a way to help Buffy! That's what we do, remember? We help Buffy? Fight evil? Save the world? Sound familiar?"
Anya fidgeted. "Can't we save the world after the wedding? When Xander will be on our honeymoon, with me, and therefore not in danger."
Xander sighed. "Anya…"
"Was she really freaked out?" Dawn inquired. "Cause last time she really freaked out, you had to go into her mind after her and make her come out. You can't do that anymore. What if she never comes out?"
Willow closed her eyes and prayed for patience.
"…non-refundable down payment on the reception hall…"
"…we've talked about this. Helping Buffy is the most important…"
"…trapped in her mind. I can't loose her again…"
Willow gave up and wearily rested her head on her hands.
****************************************
Faith was relieved to find someone waiting for her when she got to the bus stop. She'd expected them to be long gone, and searching LA for a lone, lost-looking blonde girl was a loosing proposition. She winced when she recognized the girl she had been so cruel to the night she partied in Buffy's body. There were so many things in her past that she wished she could take back. The least she could do would be to remember her name. Tina? Tamara? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Faith? You're Faith, right?" The girl looked nervous. "You probably don't remember me; we only met briefly, and you were…"
"Horrible to you. I remember. I hurt so many people." Faith was surprised at the pang of guilt and self-loathing she felt for what she had done that night. She thought she had worked through all that. "Did you bring…"
"Tara?" Buffy's voice answered Faith's question. Two questions, actually; Tara! That was it!
Faith surveyed Buffy's defeated expression; her vacant stare. "Wow, she took it hard. You here in a supervisory capacity?" She was kind of curious about the presence of the other girl. She'd figured Buffy would come alone.
Tara nodded. "She asked me to come. Now that you're here, I can go…" She seemed uncertain, and her nervous glance at the passing traffic gave Faith a clue why.
"Never been in a big city before?" The blond shook her head, eyes wide as, horn blaring, a mustang narrowly managed to cross three lanes of traffic in a matter of seconds to turn right. Faith just grinned. "You'll get used to it. Go collect her," indicating Buffy. "I'll grab us a ride."
And Tara stared in fascination as Faith calmly stepped into traffic and stood waiting as a taxi screeched to a halt about an inch from her. No wonder the movies didn't show how it was really done.
Author: Kat
Distribution: Go ahead, I guess. Just ask first, please.
Feedback: No feedback, no more chapters. Ok, that's a lie, cause I'd keep writing anyway, but it makes me happy. Just don't be nasty, or I'll cry.
Summery: This is what I think happens after 'Sleep Tight', when Holtz takes Connor through a portal to the Quortoth, the darkest of the dark worlds. Can't tell you anything else, I don't want to spoil anything. *G*
Disclaimer: Not mine. Joss created them And then he messed with their lives and separated soul-mates and tortured them and hurt them and we hate him for what he's done to our beloved characters… Ok, done ranting. For now. Anyway, they're Joss's to hurt if he wants to. And then I write fic to make it all better.
Dedication: For everyone who was traumatized by 'Sleep Tight', who has "May the Powers That Be protect little Connor" written on their IM away messages and scribbled on their notebooks, or who just thinks Angel's been through too much and deserves a little happiness.
*******************************************************************
Gru sat on the bus, Cordelia asleep by his side. She had never stopped staring into space and murmuring, "gone, gone, gone, gone…" She looked so desolate, but nothing he did could even make her acknowledge his presence, let alone comfort her. He had finally drugged her to get her to sleep. In Pilea, sleep was considered to be a great aid in healing. And whatever ailed his princess, Gru wanted her to be better very, very soon. The bus was nearing LA, and he didn't understand the method of payment they used in this world.
****************************************
Angel awoke with a start, disoriented. He took in the warehouse with a confused grimace and tried to get up. He heard his chains rattle, and memory came flooding back. Faith. Sunlight. Connor. Connor being carried by Holtz into the darkest of the dark worlds. Himself, leaping after his son, and being thrown back by a bolt of lightning from the hole between worlds. Lying dazed as the portal closed on his son and the man who had stolen him away. Angel collapsed, moaning. He had been hoping so much it had all been a dream. The slamming of a door jolted him momentarily out of his misery. He sunk back when he saw Faith. "You should have let me die."
The Slayer just grinned at him. "Now, when have I ever done the right thing?" Her cocky attitude annoyed Angel. Funny, whenever he'd seen her before, he'd been able to ignore it and see the fear and self-doubt it masked. But he didn't have the will to look beyond it now. "I have to go out for a while. Be a good boy and don't go anywhere until I come back."
Angel scowled at her. "It isn't as if I've got much of a choice."
Faith shrugged. "Well, if I left you one, you'd just go finding some way to rid the world of your miserable self. I just swept this place. Can't have you making little piles of dust."
****************************************
Tara looked around the bus stop, unsure of what to do next. She'd never been to LA, and she wasn't sure Buffy was up to navigation right now. At least when Tara talked to her, Buffy would look *at* her instead of *past* her. That was a big improvement over the wait at the bus stop in Sunnydale. Although the pain in her friend's eyes almost made Tara wish she were still distant. That pain was terrifying in its intensity and had the disconcerting tendency to spread to whoever was close by. At least if the person close by happened to be a Sensitive. Tara had all she could do to keep herself from being pulled into Buffy's pain and getting lost in it. If they were going to get anything accomplished, Tara had to concentrate on keeping herself focused. So, she reluctantly sent Buffy to sit on a bench, where her proximity wasn't so dangerous. Meanwhile, Tara attempted lucklessly to stop a cab. Evidently, this was a feat which was much more complicated than it looked in the movies.
****************************************
Willow was getting exasperated. She'd called a meeting of what was left of the Scoobies, in hopes that they could come up with a plan of how best to handle patrol, etc. with Buffy gone. So far, all they had come up with was worry and griping. The griping was Anya, who loudly wanted to know why there had to be a crisis three days before her wedding. The worrying was mostly, or at least most vocally, Dawn, who never dealt well with Buffy being absent for any reason anymore. Xander was broody enough that she would have accused him of impersonating Angel if she thought levity were remotely appropriate, and she was nearing the end of her patience. "Guys! We have to come up with a way to help Buffy! That's what we do, remember? We help Buffy? Fight evil? Save the world? Sound familiar?"
Anya fidgeted. "Can't we save the world after the wedding? When Xander will be on our honeymoon, with me, and therefore not in danger."
Xander sighed. "Anya…"
"Was she really freaked out?" Dawn inquired. "Cause last time she really freaked out, you had to go into her mind after her and make her come out. You can't do that anymore. What if she never comes out?"
Willow closed her eyes and prayed for patience.
"…non-refundable down payment on the reception hall…"
"…we've talked about this. Helping Buffy is the most important…"
"…trapped in her mind. I can't loose her again…"
Willow gave up and wearily rested her head on her hands.
****************************************
Faith was relieved to find someone waiting for her when she got to the bus stop. She'd expected them to be long gone, and searching LA for a lone, lost-looking blonde girl was a loosing proposition. She winced when she recognized the girl she had been so cruel to the night she partied in Buffy's body. There were so many things in her past that she wished she could take back. The least she could do would be to remember her name. Tina? Tamara? It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Faith? You're Faith, right?" The girl looked nervous. "You probably don't remember me; we only met briefly, and you were…"
"Horrible to you. I remember. I hurt so many people." Faith was surprised at the pang of guilt and self-loathing she felt for what she had done that night. She thought she had worked through all that. "Did you bring…"
"Tara?" Buffy's voice answered Faith's question. Two questions, actually; Tara! That was it!
Faith surveyed Buffy's defeated expression; her vacant stare. "Wow, she took it hard. You here in a supervisory capacity?" She was kind of curious about the presence of the other girl. She'd figured Buffy would come alone.
Tara nodded. "She asked me to come. Now that you're here, I can go…" She seemed uncertain, and her nervous glance at the passing traffic gave Faith a clue why.
"Never been in a big city before?" The blond shook her head, eyes wide as, horn blaring, a mustang narrowly managed to cross three lanes of traffic in a matter of seconds to turn right. Faith just grinned. "You'll get used to it. Go collect her," indicating Buffy. "I'll grab us a ride."
And Tara stared in fascination as Faith calmly stepped into traffic and stood waiting as a taxi screeched to a halt about an inch from her. No wonder the movies didn't show how it was really done.