1 Past, Present, & Future
By – Colleen "Coll", Forker18@aol.com
Teaser: X-over with BtVS. Cordy gets a vision that sends the gang packing to Sunnydale, knowing that Sahjahn fits into it all but not sure how. Also, they get shocked when each member of the Angel Investigations gang realizes they have to deal with their past.
Genre: Angel: The Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Romance/Suspense/Action
Pairing: Gunn/Fred, Angel/Cordelia
Rating: PG-13 - R
Distribution: Sure, why not, just ask!
Spoilers: Up to Sleep Tight, and makes references to some rumors floating around on the net.
Special Thanks to: All the Forkers (Especially those @ the fanforum board! Love you guys!) and everyone @ FF.net for reviewing my fics!
Part 1
"So, Sunnydale?" Fred asked Wesley as he packed some of the more important books into a box that sat on his desk. "I'm finally going to meet all the people with the weird names." Wesley smiled at that, even though he didn't stop packing. "You've found something," she said suddenly. "Not just about Sahjahn, but about the dimension…didn't you?"
Wesley froze. How did she know him so well? "Are you sure you're not the one with magic powers Fred?" he asked her with raised eyebrows. "You don't need magic powers to see how a persons feeling or what they're thinking when you look into their eyes," she answered. "What did you find out?"
"I found some information on the dimension," he answered slowly. "That's all, but from there, hopefully…" He let himself trail off. 'Hopefully' rung in his head. That's all he had left…hope. When he lifted his head, Fred was watching him. She shook her head as soon as he looked up and half smiled. "What?" he asked her quietly.
"I know that you think you have all this makin up to do," she started off. "The last thing any of us wanna see, Wesley, is for you to get hurt or work yourself senseless." "I'm afraid I don't really understand too well what you're trying to say." He confessed with a furrowed brow.
"Don't work yourself to death. Don't let it consume you."
How did she do it? How could she make him feel this way and still…he let the thought trail off. She's being your friend, Wesley told himself. You know it and she knows it. "Will you promise me that?" she asked quietly. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes before slipping them back on and looking back at her waiting face.
"I promise."
It figures that Gunn would choose this moment to enter his office. "Pack up, Fred."
~*~
"Deep breath, Cordy." She told herself as she grabbed the knob to Angel's door and pushed it open. He didn't look up until after a minute. "What's up?" he asked quietly. She felt his pain inside her even more when she was near him, but she had to be strong and summon the bitch inside of her that could put away emotions.
"I had a vision," she said as she walked over and sat on the bed next to him. "Angel…it's Buffy, and it has to do with Sahjahn too. We have to go to Sunnydale." The word hit with a strong impact, she could tell. "What did you see?" he asked after a few silent minutes.
"It looked like the future," she explained. "I saw us, Buffy, Willow, Xander, everyone. It's big Angel, we have to pull ourselves together." "How does Sahjahn fit in?" he asked after another long pause. She was surprised that wasn't the first question out of his mouth. "Wesley found something in a book. He thinks that he's after your past."
"He does?" Angel echoed. This was going to be hard. Wesley and Angel haven't seen each other since…well, since the hospital. She had heard from Fred that Angel had to be pulled away from Wesley. "We have to go now," she said ignoring the bitterness in his tone and the way he wouldn't say Wesley's name. "I can feel it, there's not a lot of time before…well, whatever happens happens."
"Get everyone together then." He told her. It was the nice way of saying I want to be alone. She left without a second thought. With Angel, Cordy knew when to push and when to just back off. With the mention of Sunnydale and Wesley in the same conversation, she knew it was time to leave him with his thoughts.
Cordelia gently shut the door behind her and went downstairs. "Where's Anya?" she asked Gunn when he was the only person she saw in the lobby. She also noticed how he stared at the window in Wesley's office where Fred and him talked.
"Had to make a phone call," He answered when she had come down and plopped down on the couch with him. "You can sense people's feelings, right?" Cordy smiled. "Anyone can sense how she feels about you, Gunn," she assured him truthfully. "Even Wesley."
Anya came out from behind the desk and suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Hey, it's the big man carrying a Carathian head!" she exclaimed. Cordy and Gunn turned to see Groo walking towards them with a smelly, disgusting demon head.
"For you, princess!" Groo said as he bent down on one knee and smiled up at Cory brightly. Cordy put on her best fake smile and grabbed Groo's arm. "We need to talk about something," she said once they were alone. "First, lose the nasty head. Second, I got a big vision. We need to go away for a while, but you have to stay here and protect L.A. while we're gone, do you understand that?"
"The greater Powers that sent you this vision said for me to specifically stay here?" he asked innocently with raised eyebrows. Cordelia looked at him for a moment before nodding, before lying. "Then it shall be done, Princess."
~*~
"So…," Gunn said awkwardly to the broken girl from Sunnydale. "You were a demon. That's…cool." "You think so?" Anya asked in a rather excited tone. "Yeah, sure," he said quickly. "I'm gonna go tell Fred to start getting ready."
"Is she your girlfriend?" Anya asked as soon as Gunn stopped talking. Gunn nodded in response, trying to talk to her as little as possible. "You are aware that Wesley is interested in her, right?"
Gunn smiled at that. From the file he's read…Cordy was a tactless bitch back in Sunnydale. He imagined that Anya was acting very Cordy-like right now. "Yeah, I know," he said quietly. "We've got to get ready."
"Ready for what?"
Gunn stopped again at Lorne's voice. He had been on the streets every night, trying to find something out about Connor and Sahjan. "You don't know already?" Gunn asked the former host with a slight smile. Lorne knew everything.
"I know that we'll all be getting a blast from the past," Lorne answered in his usual cryptic way. "When are we leaving?" He held up his suitcase, letting Gunn know he was ready.
"As soon as possible," Cordy answered as she and Groo came back into the lobby. "Glad to see you're ready." "What kind of demon is he?" Anya blurted out. Lorne raised his eyebrows. "The kind that comes from another dimension," he said as he came forward and offered his hand to Anya. "Lorne. Which Sunnydale chick are you?"
"Anya." She replied. Lorne sighed, "Sorry about what happened, Muffin." Anya furrowed her brow and looked to Cordelia for an explanation. "Lorne can read auras, tell how they're feeling, stuff like that."
Lorne smiled, "I don't mean to startle you, but your emotions are like a flashing neon sign." "Hey, not to sound like a bitch," Cordy started out. "But I'm still feeling this vision, and by my counts everyone's here, so…"
"I'll let Wes and Fred know." Gunn announced. He got a look from Anya. There's nothing between them, he told himself as he opened the door and said, "Pack up, Fred."
~*~
They left an hour after that, because of the whole sun in the sky thing. Fred shut the file that lay open in her lap and put it aside. "Man, I thought the past five years of my life were bad," she commented. "Angel's been to hell and back, literally. Buffy died, twice. Hell, the whole universe completely changed because Cordy made a wish."
"It's a lot to take in at first," he told her. "Don't worry though, you're not alone in the 'I-don't-have-a-clue-who-the-hell-anybody-is' category." She smiled at him, even though his eyes were on the road and she figured he wouldn't be interested in her smiling at him. That's when he smiled back at her, without even taking his eyes off the road.
Fred got tingles; they rippled through her body. "I feel really bad for Angel though," she said after a moment. "I mean, he has to deal with the loss of his son and now he's gonna be thrown into his past."
"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Hey, listen…um this vision of Cordy's is big and a lot of shit is gonna be going down. I just, you know how I feel about you, right?" Fred raised her eyebrows.
Was the world ending, cause the way Charles was talking, that's how it sounded to her. "Charles, is something wrong?" He got that deer-in-the- headlights kind of look, like she had just cornered him.
"Wrong?" he laughed. "Well," she started slowly. "The way you're talking…it's like the end is coming, or your worried about losing me or something." "Really?" she nodded in response and he continued. "I don't think this is the end of the world, Fred, but I just want you to know how important you are to me and how happy I am when I'm with you."
"I know that, Charles," she said quietly. "But it still…it seems like you're telling me this because something's on your mind." The way he didn't answer her told her she was right. She knew Gunn better though. If something were bothering him, he would tell her.
At least that's how it's been before.
"But, if something was the matter, I know you'd tell me." She continued quickly before he had the chance to respond. She placed her hand over his. The last thing she needed was Gunn thinking she didn't trust him, especially since they were going to be thrown into a situation where they didn't know any of the people involved.
"Believe it." He said as kissed the inside of her palm.
~*~
"Do we, um…have to go this fast?" Anya asked from the backseat. Cordy turned to get a look at Anya. She looked as green as Lorne, who also looked greener than usual. It was Wesley that kept her gaze, though; he hadn't said a word, neither did Angel.
Angel took the off ramp at fifty miles per hour. He breezed through the red light ahead of them and sped up. "Apparently we do." Cordy answered Anya dryly as she turned back around in her seat.
"Trying to set a record on how fast you can get from L.A. to Sunnydale?" Cordy asked with a chuckle. Angel briefly glanced at her before turning back to the road. She turned again, but to look out the rear window. "Good thing I gave Gunn and Fred directions on how to get there."
"If this vision of your is as big as you say it is," Angle cut in sharply. "Then I want to get there and take care of it as fast as I can so we can back to getting Connor." Even though he was being an asshole, it was the most he had said since she got back from vacation.
"How long till we get there?" Lorne asked as he slid on a pair of sunglasses. "With the way speedy's going…an hour," Cordy answered. "And what's with the shades? What are you, a reject from 'Men In Black?' It's night!"
"It's you," Lorne retorted. "All of you and your loud auras! I can't see, I'm blinded. The sooner we get to Sunnydale and deal with everything, the better."
"Amen to that, sister." Cordy agreed.
By – Colleen "Coll", Forker18@aol.com
Teaser: X-over with BtVS. Cordy gets a vision that sends the gang packing to Sunnydale, knowing that Sahjahn fits into it all but not sure how. Also, they get shocked when each member of the Angel Investigations gang realizes they have to deal with their past.
Genre: Angel: The Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Romance/Suspense/Action
Pairing: Gunn/Fred, Angel/Cordelia
Rating: PG-13 - R
Distribution: Sure, why not, just ask!
Spoilers: Up to Sleep Tight, and makes references to some rumors floating around on the net.
Special Thanks to: All the Forkers (Especially those @ the fanforum board! Love you guys!) and everyone @ FF.net for reviewing my fics!
Part 1
"So, Sunnydale?" Fred asked Wesley as he packed some of the more important books into a box that sat on his desk. "I'm finally going to meet all the people with the weird names." Wesley smiled at that, even though he didn't stop packing. "You've found something," she said suddenly. "Not just about Sahjahn, but about the dimension…didn't you?"
Wesley froze. How did she know him so well? "Are you sure you're not the one with magic powers Fred?" he asked her with raised eyebrows. "You don't need magic powers to see how a persons feeling or what they're thinking when you look into their eyes," she answered. "What did you find out?"
"I found some information on the dimension," he answered slowly. "That's all, but from there, hopefully…" He let himself trail off. 'Hopefully' rung in his head. That's all he had left…hope. When he lifted his head, Fred was watching him. She shook her head as soon as he looked up and half smiled. "What?" he asked her quietly.
"I know that you think you have all this makin up to do," she started off. "The last thing any of us wanna see, Wesley, is for you to get hurt or work yourself senseless." "I'm afraid I don't really understand too well what you're trying to say." He confessed with a furrowed brow.
"Don't work yourself to death. Don't let it consume you."
How did she do it? How could she make him feel this way and still…he let the thought trail off. She's being your friend, Wesley told himself. You know it and she knows it. "Will you promise me that?" she asked quietly. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes before slipping them back on and looking back at her waiting face.
"I promise."
It figures that Gunn would choose this moment to enter his office. "Pack up, Fred."
~*~
"Deep breath, Cordy." She told herself as she grabbed the knob to Angel's door and pushed it open. He didn't look up until after a minute. "What's up?" he asked quietly. She felt his pain inside her even more when she was near him, but she had to be strong and summon the bitch inside of her that could put away emotions.
"I had a vision," she said as she walked over and sat on the bed next to him. "Angel…it's Buffy, and it has to do with Sahjahn too. We have to go to Sunnydale." The word hit with a strong impact, she could tell. "What did you see?" he asked after a few silent minutes.
"It looked like the future," she explained. "I saw us, Buffy, Willow, Xander, everyone. It's big Angel, we have to pull ourselves together." "How does Sahjahn fit in?" he asked after another long pause. She was surprised that wasn't the first question out of his mouth. "Wesley found something in a book. He thinks that he's after your past."
"He does?" Angel echoed. This was going to be hard. Wesley and Angel haven't seen each other since…well, since the hospital. She had heard from Fred that Angel had to be pulled away from Wesley. "We have to go now," she said ignoring the bitterness in his tone and the way he wouldn't say Wesley's name. "I can feel it, there's not a lot of time before…well, whatever happens happens."
"Get everyone together then." He told her. It was the nice way of saying I want to be alone. She left without a second thought. With Angel, Cordy knew when to push and when to just back off. With the mention of Sunnydale and Wesley in the same conversation, she knew it was time to leave him with his thoughts.
Cordelia gently shut the door behind her and went downstairs. "Where's Anya?" she asked Gunn when he was the only person she saw in the lobby. She also noticed how he stared at the window in Wesley's office where Fred and him talked.
"Had to make a phone call," He answered when she had come down and plopped down on the couch with him. "You can sense people's feelings, right?" Cordy smiled. "Anyone can sense how she feels about you, Gunn," she assured him truthfully. "Even Wesley."
Anya came out from behind the desk and suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Hey, it's the big man carrying a Carathian head!" she exclaimed. Cordy and Gunn turned to see Groo walking towards them with a smelly, disgusting demon head.
"For you, princess!" Groo said as he bent down on one knee and smiled up at Cory brightly. Cordy put on her best fake smile and grabbed Groo's arm. "We need to talk about something," she said once they were alone. "First, lose the nasty head. Second, I got a big vision. We need to go away for a while, but you have to stay here and protect L.A. while we're gone, do you understand that?"
"The greater Powers that sent you this vision said for me to specifically stay here?" he asked innocently with raised eyebrows. Cordelia looked at him for a moment before nodding, before lying. "Then it shall be done, Princess."
~*~
"So…," Gunn said awkwardly to the broken girl from Sunnydale. "You were a demon. That's…cool." "You think so?" Anya asked in a rather excited tone. "Yeah, sure," he said quickly. "I'm gonna go tell Fred to start getting ready."
"Is she your girlfriend?" Anya asked as soon as Gunn stopped talking. Gunn nodded in response, trying to talk to her as little as possible. "You are aware that Wesley is interested in her, right?"
Gunn smiled at that. From the file he's read…Cordy was a tactless bitch back in Sunnydale. He imagined that Anya was acting very Cordy-like right now. "Yeah, I know," he said quietly. "We've got to get ready."
"Ready for what?"
Gunn stopped again at Lorne's voice. He had been on the streets every night, trying to find something out about Connor and Sahjan. "You don't know already?" Gunn asked the former host with a slight smile. Lorne knew everything.
"I know that we'll all be getting a blast from the past," Lorne answered in his usual cryptic way. "When are we leaving?" He held up his suitcase, letting Gunn know he was ready.
"As soon as possible," Cordy answered as she and Groo came back into the lobby. "Glad to see you're ready." "What kind of demon is he?" Anya blurted out. Lorne raised his eyebrows. "The kind that comes from another dimension," he said as he came forward and offered his hand to Anya. "Lorne. Which Sunnydale chick are you?"
"Anya." She replied. Lorne sighed, "Sorry about what happened, Muffin." Anya furrowed her brow and looked to Cordelia for an explanation. "Lorne can read auras, tell how they're feeling, stuff like that."
Lorne smiled, "I don't mean to startle you, but your emotions are like a flashing neon sign." "Hey, not to sound like a bitch," Cordy started out. "But I'm still feeling this vision, and by my counts everyone's here, so…"
"I'll let Wes and Fred know." Gunn announced. He got a look from Anya. There's nothing between them, he told himself as he opened the door and said, "Pack up, Fred."
~*~
They left an hour after that, because of the whole sun in the sky thing. Fred shut the file that lay open in her lap and put it aside. "Man, I thought the past five years of my life were bad," she commented. "Angel's been to hell and back, literally. Buffy died, twice. Hell, the whole universe completely changed because Cordy made a wish."
"It's a lot to take in at first," he told her. "Don't worry though, you're not alone in the 'I-don't-have-a-clue-who-the-hell-anybody-is' category." She smiled at him, even though his eyes were on the road and she figured he wouldn't be interested in her smiling at him. That's when he smiled back at her, without even taking his eyes off the road.
Fred got tingles; they rippled through her body. "I feel really bad for Angel though," she said after a moment. "I mean, he has to deal with the loss of his son and now he's gonna be thrown into his past."
"Yeah," he agreed quietly. "Hey, listen…um this vision of Cordy's is big and a lot of shit is gonna be going down. I just, you know how I feel about you, right?" Fred raised her eyebrows.
Was the world ending, cause the way Charles was talking, that's how it sounded to her. "Charles, is something wrong?" He got that deer-in-the- headlights kind of look, like she had just cornered him.
"Wrong?" he laughed. "Well," she started slowly. "The way you're talking…it's like the end is coming, or your worried about losing me or something." "Really?" she nodded in response and he continued. "I don't think this is the end of the world, Fred, but I just want you to know how important you are to me and how happy I am when I'm with you."
"I know that, Charles," she said quietly. "But it still…it seems like you're telling me this because something's on your mind." The way he didn't answer her told her she was right. She knew Gunn better though. If something were bothering him, he would tell her.
At least that's how it's been before.
"But, if something was the matter, I know you'd tell me." She continued quickly before he had the chance to respond. She placed her hand over his. The last thing she needed was Gunn thinking she didn't trust him, especially since they were going to be thrown into a situation where they didn't know any of the people involved.
"Believe it." He said as kissed the inside of her palm.
~*~
"Do we, um…have to go this fast?" Anya asked from the backseat. Cordy turned to get a look at Anya. She looked as green as Lorne, who also looked greener than usual. It was Wesley that kept her gaze, though; he hadn't said a word, neither did Angel.
Angel took the off ramp at fifty miles per hour. He breezed through the red light ahead of them and sped up. "Apparently we do." Cordy answered Anya dryly as she turned back around in her seat.
"Trying to set a record on how fast you can get from L.A. to Sunnydale?" Cordy asked with a chuckle. Angel briefly glanced at her before turning back to the road. She turned again, but to look out the rear window. "Good thing I gave Gunn and Fred directions on how to get there."
"If this vision of your is as big as you say it is," Angle cut in sharply. "Then I want to get there and take care of it as fast as I can so we can back to getting Connor." Even though he was being an asshole, it was the most he had said since she got back from vacation.
"How long till we get there?" Lorne asked as he slid on a pair of sunglasses. "With the way speedy's going…an hour," Cordy answered. "And what's with the shades? What are you, a reject from 'Men In Black?' It's night!"
"It's you," Lorne retorted. "All of you and your loud auras! I can't see, I'm blinded. The sooner we get to Sunnydale and deal with everything, the better."
"Amen to that, sister." Cordy agreed.