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 ShaJhan 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!
1.1 Part 11
Fred imagined he knew she was watching him and just ignoring her.
Or maybe, maybe, Gunn was a real big idiot.
Either way, Fred wished he would do something: talk to her, look at her, or comfort her. She wasn't really quite sure what she did, or did she do anything? Something has been off about Gunn for a while now, and all she wanted was for him to just tell her what was going on.
"Charles." She whispered. He looked at her with big, brown eyes that were full of pain. She wanted so badly to make it go away, but how could she do that if she had no idea what put it there.
"What's going on with you?" she blurted out with a little more force. Gunn looked back at her with the same face he always used when she brought this up. "Nothing." He whispered.
"Cut the bullshit, Charles," Fred shouted. "You're scaring me. I want to know what's going on." Gunn looked back at her, his face expressing shock. "Please, Charles," she pleaded. "It kills me seein you this way, and I love you so much…when you're like this…"
"Wesley."
Fred furrowed her brow at his reply. "Wesley? What does he have to do with this?" she asked him as she walked over to him and faced him. Gunn looked at her, opened his mouth to speak, and shut it again.
Opening his mouth a second time, the words came out, "How do you feel about him?" "Wesley?" Fred asked with raised eyebrows. Gunn nodded in response. Fred shook her head, "He's my friend, you know th…"
She trailed off, realizing, for the first time, what it was all about. He thought she loved Wesley. Fred knew that Wesley, well, he was interested in her at a time, but that all passed.
"That's what all this has been about," she said aloud. "All those times you shut me out and lied about bein fine, that's what you thought about" "Can you blame me?" Gunn shot back as he straightened. "With the way he feels about you and the way you act with him-"
"He's my friend," Fred countered, cutting Gunn off before her face fell, realizing one thing Gunn said. "The way he feels about me?"
Gunn sighed and turned away from her, but Fred caught his arm and tugged him back. "Charles." She said sternly. "He loves you, Fred," Gunn said quietly, his voice choking a bit when he said her name. "He does. I'm not the man he is, Fred. You have more in common with him and he can give you a good life.
"I don't have anything to give you."
Fred' face softened as she cupped his face with her hands. "I love you, Charles," she said firmly. "You. I want to be with you. I kinda knew about Wesley early on, but I know that I'm supposed to be with you."
The doubt remained in his eyes. "How can you know for sure?"
Fred smiled at him. "The way I feel when I'm around you tells me everything I need to know," she told him. "It hurts when you're not with me, and I love ever second I spend with you. Plus, the whole end of the world thing going on…kinda makes your priorities clear to you.
"You're at the top of my list, Charles. I love you."
"Baby," Gunn said as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I love you too." His other hand tangled itself in her hair, pulling her closer, touching her lips to his. The kiss was sweet at first, like all of Charles' kisses, but Fred took the initiative.
Fred opened her mouth and caressed his tongue with hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her when he pulled away. "What is it?" she asked with a slight pout.
Gunn smiled at her and pushed some of her hair out of her face. "Buffy and Spike aren't back yet," he told her sadly. "We should check it out." Fred looked at her watch, then back at him. "Buffy said-"
"Something happened to them, baby," he interrupted gently. "How do you think Angel would feel if we walked away? Plus, you know, I kinda owe Spike." Fred hesitated before she nodded. "Just kinda wished we had…you know, time…to…well, we just made up-"
Gunn leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss. Fred's eyes drifted close before returning the pressure. Gunn was the one to pull away again. "We have all the time in the world, cause we're gonna get through this," Gunn told her and kissed her lightly again.
"Let's go." He told her as he grabbed her hand and followed the path Buffy and Spike took.
~*~
"You OK?"
Buffy looked over at Spike. "Don't do this," She said firmly. "Not now."
She could imagine that he was boiling up inside right now. "Bloody hell," he said through gritted teeth. "You know, a guy tries to just see if someone's OK and he gets his bloody head torn off."
"Oh, and you weren't gonna try and make it about me hugging you, Spike?" Buffy said as she stopped and looked back at him. "Give me some credit, Buffy," Spike countered. "We're in the middle of something big. I know there's a time and a place for things."
Buffy sighed. It just kept getting more and more confusing with him. Which is why she forced her mind to just keep focusing on the task at hand: finding Wesley. She wasn't going to worry about Spike or what Gunn and Fred might say to Angel.
"Do you hear that?" Buffy whispered as her and Spike stopped. She looked over at him. He nodded once as he looked around. Buffy began moving forward as Spike looked around. She heard him curse and turned to see what happened.
"Oh crap."
~*~
They were getting nowhere, and she knew it.
Cordelia figured Angel knew it too. They hadn't said anything to each other in the time they spent looking for Connor. The sun was going to be up in a couple hours. They didn't have a lot of time left.
She took in her surroundings. Good old Sunnydale, she thought, allowing her mind to wander for a second to something other than Connor and/or Angel. She was so busy worrying about everything that Cordy didn't notice the crack that her shoe got caught in.
Angel had caught her though, like he always does. "Thanks." She whispered. Cordelia didn't really know why she bothered though; she hadn't gotten through to him so far.
"No, thank you," Angel said quietly. "You've been here for me, Cordelia, ever since you got back. You'll have no idea what that means to me, and it means a lot."
And that was that. Angel continued to move forward, and Cordelia took a second to take it all in before following. The vampire with a soul rounded the corner that led to an ally. Cordelia turned the corner and screamed.
One of the demons that were at the school attacked Angel. Two more appeared at the end of the ally and were running straight for Angel. "Angel, look out!" Angel hit the demon he was dealing with hard, knocking it out instantly.
Angel looked down at the approaching demons then back at Cordelia. "Run, Cordy! Get help!" "Angel, no-"
"Run!" Angel barked as he vamped out and ran towards the demons. There was nothing she could do here, and she hated that. So she ran, and she hated that too.
But everything would be OK. Angel would defeat those things, he would be able to find Connor easily by himself, and she could find Gunn and Fred and they could look too.
Yeah, that's what she's gonna do.
~*~
"Get back!"
Gunn shoved Fred back as he ran forward, ax in hand, ready to pounce the demons that were carrying Buffy and an unconscious Spike away. She was screaming at him to run though, but there was no way in hell he was gonna let the things from the school get them.
A demon that jumped down from the fire escape knocked Gunn down to the ground. When he looked up, Spike and Buffy were gone. He turned and knocked the demon off of him with the handle of his ax.
That's when he heard Fred's scream echo through the ally. "Fred!" He called as he got on his feet and ran back. The cross bow he gave her was on the ground, and one of those demons had Fred slung over its shoulder.
Gunn picked up his pace. When he was close enough to touch the demon, he tripped, but Gunn took the demon down with him. Fred slammed into the wall as Gunn got to his feet and brought the ax down on the demon's neck.
"Baby," Gunn said as he kneeled down next to her. "Baby, you OK?"
Fred nodded as she brought her hands up to her head. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Just…bleedin." Gunn lifted Fred to her feet and held her close. "Shit," he muttered as he looked around the empty ally. "They got Buffy and Spike."
"We should get back to the Magic Box," Fred told him. "Get a hold of Cordelia and Angel, we have to figure this out, Charles."
"We will, we will," Gunn said as he pulled Fred closer and stroked her hair. "Relax. Let's go before more of those things show up."
Gunn held his arm around her waist as he moved down the ally towards the streets. Fred was still a little groggy, so Gunn moved a little slower and more cautiously. When they reached the street, someone slammed into them, knocking Gunn down and Fred landing on top of him.
"Gunn, Fred, thank God!"
Gunn looked up and saw Cordelia who was now hunched over and breathing heavily. "Cordy, what happened? Where's Angel?"
"Taken," she replied as Gunn and Fred got to their feet. "By the demons that were at the school." "Those things just took Buffy and Spike." Fred said quietly.
"Shit," Cordy muttered. "Something's happening. We should get back to the store, find Wes."
Gunn and Fred exchanged a look before turning back to Cordelia. "Wesley's gone, Cordy," Fred told her. "I brought it up before you and Angel left." Cordelia looked like she wanted to smack herself.
"Great, we just lost almost all of our muscle and now a big chunk of our brain," Cordy sighed. "We gotta get back…do something."
"You do realize this is it Cordelia," Gunn said as they began to walk. "The big thing you saw is getting closer. We can't just go back to the magic store and dick around."
"Who says we're going back to the magic store to dick around," Cordelia replied. "We're going there to load up, get everyone else, then go and kick this things ass."
By – Colleen "Coll", Forker18@aol.com
Teaser: X-over with BtVS. Cordy gets a vision that sends the gang packing to Sunnydale, knowing that ShaJhan 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!
1.1 Part 11
Fred imagined he knew she was watching him and just ignoring her.
Or maybe, maybe, Gunn was a real big idiot.
Either way, Fred wished he would do something: talk to her, look at her, or comfort her. She wasn't really quite sure what she did, or did she do anything? Something has been off about Gunn for a while now, and all she wanted was for him to just tell her what was going on.
"Charles." She whispered. He looked at her with big, brown eyes that were full of pain. She wanted so badly to make it go away, but how could she do that if she had no idea what put it there.
"What's going on with you?" she blurted out with a little more force. Gunn looked back at her with the same face he always used when she brought this up. "Nothing." He whispered.
"Cut the bullshit, Charles," Fred shouted. "You're scaring me. I want to know what's going on." Gunn looked back at her, his face expressing shock. "Please, Charles," she pleaded. "It kills me seein you this way, and I love you so much…when you're like this…"
"Wesley."
Fred furrowed her brow at his reply. "Wesley? What does he have to do with this?" she asked him as she walked over to him and faced him. Gunn looked at her, opened his mouth to speak, and shut it again.
Opening his mouth a second time, the words came out, "How do you feel about him?" "Wesley?" Fred asked with raised eyebrows. Gunn nodded in response. Fred shook her head, "He's my friend, you know th…"
She trailed off, realizing, for the first time, what it was all about. He thought she loved Wesley. Fred knew that Wesley, well, he was interested in her at a time, but that all passed.
"That's what all this has been about," she said aloud. "All those times you shut me out and lied about bein fine, that's what you thought about" "Can you blame me?" Gunn shot back as he straightened. "With the way he feels about you and the way you act with him-"
"He's my friend," Fred countered, cutting Gunn off before her face fell, realizing one thing Gunn said. "The way he feels about me?"
Gunn sighed and turned away from her, but Fred caught his arm and tugged him back. "Charles." She said sternly. "He loves you, Fred," Gunn said quietly, his voice choking a bit when he said her name. "He does. I'm not the man he is, Fred. You have more in common with him and he can give you a good life.
"I don't have anything to give you."
Fred' face softened as she cupped his face with her hands. "I love you, Charles," she said firmly. "You. I want to be with you. I kinda knew about Wesley early on, but I know that I'm supposed to be with you."
The doubt remained in his eyes. "How can you know for sure?"
Fred smiled at him. "The way I feel when I'm around you tells me everything I need to know," she told him. "It hurts when you're not with me, and I love ever second I spend with you. Plus, the whole end of the world thing going on…kinda makes your priorities clear to you.
"You're at the top of my list, Charles. I love you."
"Baby," Gunn said as he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "I love you too." His other hand tangled itself in her hair, pulling her closer, touching her lips to his. The kiss was sweet at first, like all of Charles' kisses, but Fred took the initiative.
Fred opened her mouth and caressed his tongue with hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her when he pulled away. "What is it?" she asked with a slight pout.
Gunn smiled at her and pushed some of her hair out of her face. "Buffy and Spike aren't back yet," he told her sadly. "We should check it out." Fred looked at her watch, then back at him. "Buffy said-"
"Something happened to them, baby," he interrupted gently. "How do you think Angel would feel if we walked away? Plus, you know, I kinda owe Spike." Fred hesitated before she nodded. "Just kinda wished we had…you know, time…to…well, we just made up-"
Gunn leaned forward and silenced her with a kiss. Fred's eyes drifted close before returning the pressure. Gunn was the one to pull away again. "We have all the time in the world, cause we're gonna get through this," Gunn told her and kissed her lightly again.
"Let's go." He told her as he grabbed her hand and followed the path Buffy and Spike took.
~*~
"You OK?"
Buffy looked over at Spike. "Don't do this," She said firmly. "Not now."
She could imagine that he was boiling up inside right now. "Bloody hell," he said through gritted teeth. "You know, a guy tries to just see if someone's OK and he gets his bloody head torn off."
"Oh, and you weren't gonna try and make it about me hugging you, Spike?" Buffy said as she stopped and looked back at him. "Give me some credit, Buffy," Spike countered. "We're in the middle of something big. I know there's a time and a place for things."
Buffy sighed. It just kept getting more and more confusing with him. Which is why she forced her mind to just keep focusing on the task at hand: finding Wesley. She wasn't going to worry about Spike or what Gunn and Fred might say to Angel.
"Do you hear that?" Buffy whispered as her and Spike stopped. She looked over at him. He nodded once as he looked around. Buffy began moving forward as Spike looked around. She heard him curse and turned to see what happened.
"Oh crap."
~*~
They were getting nowhere, and she knew it.
Cordelia figured Angel knew it too. They hadn't said anything to each other in the time they spent looking for Connor. The sun was going to be up in a couple hours. They didn't have a lot of time left.
She took in her surroundings. Good old Sunnydale, she thought, allowing her mind to wander for a second to something other than Connor and/or Angel. She was so busy worrying about everything that Cordy didn't notice the crack that her shoe got caught in.
Angel had caught her though, like he always does. "Thanks." She whispered. Cordelia didn't really know why she bothered though; she hadn't gotten through to him so far.
"No, thank you," Angel said quietly. "You've been here for me, Cordelia, ever since you got back. You'll have no idea what that means to me, and it means a lot."
And that was that. Angel continued to move forward, and Cordelia took a second to take it all in before following. The vampire with a soul rounded the corner that led to an ally. Cordelia turned the corner and screamed.
One of the demons that were at the school attacked Angel. Two more appeared at the end of the ally and were running straight for Angel. "Angel, look out!" Angel hit the demon he was dealing with hard, knocking it out instantly.
Angel looked down at the approaching demons then back at Cordelia. "Run, Cordy! Get help!" "Angel, no-"
"Run!" Angel barked as he vamped out and ran towards the demons. There was nothing she could do here, and she hated that. So she ran, and she hated that too.
But everything would be OK. Angel would defeat those things, he would be able to find Connor easily by himself, and she could find Gunn and Fred and they could look too.
Yeah, that's what she's gonna do.
~*~
"Get back!"
Gunn shoved Fred back as he ran forward, ax in hand, ready to pounce the demons that were carrying Buffy and an unconscious Spike away. She was screaming at him to run though, but there was no way in hell he was gonna let the things from the school get them.
A demon that jumped down from the fire escape knocked Gunn down to the ground. When he looked up, Spike and Buffy were gone. He turned and knocked the demon off of him with the handle of his ax.
That's when he heard Fred's scream echo through the ally. "Fred!" He called as he got on his feet and ran back. The cross bow he gave her was on the ground, and one of those demons had Fred slung over its shoulder.
Gunn picked up his pace. When he was close enough to touch the demon, he tripped, but Gunn took the demon down with him. Fred slammed into the wall as Gunn got to his feet and brought the ax down on the demon's neck.
"Baby," Gunn said as he kneeled down next to her. "Baby, you OK?"
Fred nodded as she brought her hands up to her head. "I'm fine," she whispered. "Just…bleedin." Gunn lifted Fred to her feet and held her close. "Shit," he muttered as he looked around the empty ally. "They got Buffy and Spike."
"We should get back to the Magic Box," Fred told him. "Get a hold of Cordelia and Angel, we have to figure this out, Charles."
"We will, we will," Gunn said as he pulled Fred closer and stroked her hair. "Relax. Let's go before more of those things show up."
Gunn held his arm around her waist as he moved down the ally towards the streets. Fred was still a little groggy, so Gunn moved a little slower and more cautiously. When they reached the street, someone slammed into them, knocking Gunn down and Fred landing on top of him.
"Gunn, Fred, thank God!"
Gunn looked up and saw Cordelia who was now hunched over and breathing heavily. "Cordy, what happened? Where's Angel?"
"Taken," she replied as Gunn and Fred got to their feet. "By the demons that were at the school." "Those things just took Buffy and Spike." Fred said quietly.
"Shit," Cordy muttered. "Something's happening. We should get back to the store, find Wes."
Gunn and Fred exchanged a look before turning back to Cordelia. "Wesley's gone, Cordy," Fred told her. "I brought it up before you and Angel left." Cordelia looked like she wanted to smack herself.
"Great, we just lost almost all of our muscle and now a big chunk of our brain," Cordy sighed. "We gotta get back…do something."
"You do realize this is it Cordelia," Gunn said as they began to walk. "The big thing you saw is getting closer. We can't just go back to the magic store and dick around."
"Who says we're going back to the magic store to dick around," Cordelia replied. "We're going there to load up, get everyone else, then go and kick this things ass."