1 Part 12 –
Cordelia padded barefoot through to the bedroom looking for Angel, she had just discovered something unusual about herself that she hadn't noticed before and wanted to ask him about it, she thought maybe it was something else Doyle had passed onto her. 'Although he never told *me* about it, mind you he never told *me* about being half-demon, maybe he told Angel?'
But, that wasn't the most important thing, her ultimate goal was to drop hints about how much she liked a dress in a magazine she was holding, and hopefully receive it off him for her birthday, it was only four days away don't you know! 'Bet Brood-boy has forgotten about my birthday, ha, we'll see about *that*!'
She found the vampire she was looking for sat on 'his' side of the bed reading a book. (Angel hadn't wanted to get a new bed, and so let Cordy pick her side, not that it mattered anyhow, she slept nights and he slept days, though that sleeping schedule wasn't true to the past few days.)
"Angel?" Cordy asked as she perched beside him on his side.
"Uh - oh." He muttered, Cordelia just caught it.
"Uh - oh, what?"
"You want something." He stated, not even looking up from his book.
"Well, it is my birthday in a *four* days, and I can't find any short of present hiding round here so you have obviously either found another place to hide it, haven't got it yet, *or* you have forgotten I'm going to be hitting twenty!"
The latter had been the correct guess, he had planned to get her something a week ago, but had forgotten with all the dealings with demons. He managed to hide the fact that he hadn't, though.
"So," she continued, "if you have forgotten, or just haven't bothered yet. There's this dress in here I like - and it's quite cheap really!"
"In my terms, your cheap is expensive, and your expensive is... is...., well, a LOAD of money. Expand on cheap, Cora."
"'ninety–eight dollars."
"Huh... I expected it to be more. You lost your taste for expensive clothes, Cordy?"
"Hey, I'd rather having something I *like* a lot than something mega expensive that I don't like as much."
Angel sighed and pulled the magazine from her hands. "Show me."
Cordelia reached over and found the right page, she pointed at a beautiful red long leather made dress, with a long slit up the one side, and a zip on the front that ended just where the model's breasts rounded out. 'Cordy would look great in this.'
"What'd ya think?"
"I think it's nice."
"*Nice!* Just nice?"
"OK, it's *really* nice."
Cor rolled her eyes defeated. "Yeah, really nice." She said in a bored voice.
Angel put the magazine beside him. "And who knows, I might get you a *really* nice birthday present."
Cordelia's bright smile appeared on her face in an instant. She shrugged. "Who knows!"
She stood up and headed to the door, Angel picked up his book and began reading.
"OH, I wanted to ask you something!" Cordelia blurted out as she paused by the door, Angel put his book down and looked over at her, eyebrow raised questionably.
"And that'd be..."
"Was there anything else Doyle failed to tell me apart from the whole half- demon thing?"
"No. At least I don't think so. Why'd you ask tha -"
"- Do you think he could've been hiding something else from *both* of us?"
Angel frowned. "Like what? And why are you asking me this stuff?"
Cordelia ignored his questions. "Do you reckon he could've passed other *stuff* to me when we kissed?"
"Cora, why are you -?"
"Hey, do ya think he didn't tell us cuz he thought we'd be weirded out? - But that's silly cuz we have seen enough weird things *not* to be weirded out anymore, right? *And* I don't think it's weird - kinda cool, actually!"
"Weirded out?"
"Maybe he didn't know!"
"Know what?" Angel asked, completely confused as he stood up and moved towards his seer.
"*Or* maybe it didn't come from him altogether!"
"What'd you mean -?"
"Hey, I know! Maybe it's something I caught from one of the past demons you've killed!"
"Cordelia, what -?"
"Oh, my, gosh!" Her eyes widened and she finally stopped talking so continuously.
Angel became worried. "What?"
"Could it be, like, extra seer stuff that comes after time - like puberty kicks in *after* you've been born for ages. Do you think that this is like, seers puberty?"
Angel just stared at her with a raised eyebrow, having no idea what his seer was babbling on about.
Cordelia gave him a look. "Angel, are you listening to me?"
"*What* are you talking about?!"
"The thing!"
"What thing?"
Cordelia's face clouded over. "I forgot to mention the *thing*, huh?"
"Well, nothing 'thingy' springs to mind!"
"Sorry, I guess I got carried away... So, anyways, I just did this thing - this abnormal thing, and I thought maybe it was an extra seer thing Doyle didn't mention to me, or possibly something completely different - who knows!"
"Cora, *what* is the thing?"
She grabbed his arm and led him into the kitchen and started filling up a cup with water.
"Nothing *big* really, see, I had this cup of coffee that went cold, and when I picked it up to go get rid of it *wishing* that it was still warm so I wouldn't have to bother making more, it magically became steaming hot - I *so* nearly burnt myself!"
She placed the water on the table. "Look, that's cold water, right?"
Angel dipped his finger in it, still a little confused at what she was going on about. "Totally."
He watched as she picked up the cup, closed her eyes for a split second, and waved her hand over it before placing the cup back on the table.
"Right, now feel that."
He went to put his finger in, but Cordelia, fast as lightning, quickly grabbed his hand before he could do it. "Trust me. You'll get burnt."
She picked up the cup and handed it to him, and he was *very* surprised to feel heat coming from the cup.
Angel frowned, and inspected the cup, thinking it might be a trick. "How did you-?"
"- How the hell am I supposed to know! You're the experienced one in these things - *You* tell *me*!"
Angel bit his bottom lip for a second, looking from Cora who was leaning on the table to the cup in his hands. "WESLEY!" He yelled, Cordelia nearly fell over in surprise.
~*~
Go on to part THIRTEEN
Cordelia padded barefoot through to the bedroom looking for Angel, she had just discovered something unusual about herself that she hadn't noticed before and wanted to ask him about it, she thought maybe it was something else Doyle had passed onto her. 'Although he never told *me* about it, mind you he never told *me* about being half-demon, maybe he told Angel?'
But, that wasn't the most important thing, her ultimate goal was to drop hints about how much she liked a dress in a magazine she was holding, and hopefully receive it off him for her birthday, it was only four days away don't you know! 'Bet Brood-boy has forgotten about my birthday, ha, we'll see about *that*!'
She found the vampire she was looking for sat on 'his' side of the bed reading a book. (Angel hadn't wanted to get a new bed, and so let Cordy pick her side, not that it mattered anyhow, she slept nights and he slept days, though that sleeping schedule wasn't true to the past few days.)
"Angel?" Cordy asked as she perched beside him on his side.
"Uh - oh." He muttered, Cordelia just caught it.
"Uh - oh, what?"
"You want something." He stated, not even looking up from his book.
"Well, it is my birthday in a *four* days, and I can't find any short of present hiding round here so you have obviously either found another place to hide it, haven't got it yet, *or* you have forgotten I'm going to be hitting twenty!"
The latter had been the correct guess, he had planned to get her something a week ago, but had forgotten with all the dealings with demons. He managed to hide the fact that he hadn't, though.
"So," she continued, "if you have forgotten, or just haven't bothered yet. There's this dress in here I like - and it's quite cheap really!"
"In my terms, your cheap is expensive, and your expensive is... is...., well, a LOAD of money. Expand on cheap, Cora."
"'ninety–eight dollars."
"Huh... I expected it to be more. You lost your taste for expensive clothes, Cordy?"
"Hey, I'd rather having something I *like* a lot than something mega expensive that I don't like as much."
Angel sighed and pulled the magazine from her hands. "Show me."
Cordelia reached over and found the right page, she pointed at a beautiful red long leather made dress, with a long slit up the one side, and a zip on the front that ended just where the model's breasts rounded out. 'Cordy would look great in this.'
"What'd ya think?"
"I think it's nice."
"*Nice!* Just nice?"
"OK, it's *really* nice."
Cor rolled her eyes defeated. "Yeah, really nice." She said in a bored voice.
Angel put the magazine beside him. "And who knows, I might get you a *really* nice birthday present."
Cordelia's bright smile appeared on her face in an instant. She shrugged. "Who knows!"
She stood up and headed to the door, Angel picked up his book and began reading.
"OH, I wanted to ask you something!" Cordelia blurted out as she paused by the door, Angel put his book down and looked over at her, eyebrow raised questionably.
"And that'd be..."
"Was there anything else Doyle failed to tell me apart from the whole half- demon thing?"
"No. At least I don't think so. Why'd you ask tha -"
"- Do you think he could've been hiding something else from *both* of us?"
Angel frowned. "Like what? And why are you asking me this stuff?"
Cordelia ignored his questions. "Do you reckon he could've passed other *stuff* to me when we kissed?"
"Cora, why are you -?"
"Hey, do ya think he didn't tell us cuz he thought we'd be weirded out? - But that's silly cuz we have seen enough weird things *not* to be weirded out anymore, right? *And* I don't think it's weird - kinda cool, actually!"
"Weirded out?"
"Maybe he didn't know!"
"Know what?" Angel asked, completely confused as he stood up and moved towards his seer.
"*Or* maybe it didn't come from him altogether!"
"What'd you mean -?"
"Hey, I know! Maybe it's something I caught from one of the past demons you've killed!"
"Cordelia, what -?"
"Oh, my, gosh!" Her eyes widened and she finally stopped talking so continuously.
Angel became worried. "What?"
"Could it be, like, extra seer stuff that comes after time - like puberty kicks in *after* you've been born for ages. Do you think that this is like, seers puberty?"
Angel just stared at her with a raised eyebrow, having no idea what his seer was babbling on about.
Cordelia gave him a look. "Angel, are you listening to me?"
"*What* are you talking about?!"
"The thing!"
"What thing?"
Cordelia's face clouded over. "I forgot to mention the *thing*, huh?"
"Well, nothing 'thingy' springs to mind!"
"Sorry, I guess I got carried away... So, anyways, I just did this thing - this abnormal thing, and I thought maybe it was an extra seer thing Doyle didn't mention to me, or possibly something completely different - who knows!"
"Cora, *what* is the thing?"
She grabbed his arm and led him into the kitchen and started filling up a cup with water.
"Nothing *big* really, see, I had this cup of coffee that went cold, and when I picked it up to go get rid of it *wishing* that it was still warm so I wouldn't have to bother making more, it magically became steaming hot - I *so* nearly burnt myself!"
She placed the water on the table. "Look, that's cold water, right?"
Angel dipped his finger in it, still a little confused at what she was going on about. "Totally."
He watched as she picked up the cup, closed her eyes for a split second, and waved her hand over it before placing the cup back on the table.
"Right, now feel that."
He went to put his finger in, but Cordelia, fast as lightning, quickly grabbed his hand before he could do it. "Trust me. You'll get burnt."
She picked up the cup and handed it to him, and he was *very* surprised to feel heat coming from the cup.
Angel frowned, and inspected the cup, thinking it might be a trick. "How did you-?"
"- How the hell am I supposed to know! You're the experienced one in these things - *You* tell *me*!"
Angel bit his bottom lip for a second, looking from Cora who was leaning on the table to the cup in his hands. "WESLEY!" He yelled, Cordelia nearly fell over in surprise.
~*~
Go on to part THIRTEEN