Chapter 3 - 'Rack 'em, Stack 'em and Pack 'em!'
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Cordelia landed with ease in the new dimension. She had been at this for 3 years and her hope was as thin as a silk thread. She adjusted the backpack on her back that held all her worldly belongings. If the Sunnydale crew could see her now, they wouldn't believe it that the only make-up she wore was rose lip gloss and that her attire wardrobe was black and only 12 pieces big. In all the dimension hopping she had been through, she had visited 'Sunnydale' three times. The first time, there was no Buffy and the town was like the wish, a blood bath, a ghost town where front gardens had turned into cemeteries and people had stopped burying the dead as they were just going to rise anyway. The Master ruled supreme. She knew Holtz wasn't there, she couldn't feel Conner anywhere. The second time it had just been like a normal town, both night and day. No Vampires, no demons, no bump in the night stuff. Cordelia had a strong attachment to stay but after two weeks there, she failed to find Holtz or Conner and she had to leave when she seen her own grave. She had died at 16. The third time she stayed for months. She had seen Holtz, fought Holtz and just about managed to get away with her life when a dark figure picked her up from the ground and took him back to his house. When she awoke and seen those familiar brown eyes staring back at her she found it too hard to leave. But in the end she knew that she would have to move on and, more likely than not, meet another version of Angel.
She did but now Holtz stayed clear of the Hell Mouth and wandered far across the world. As she track Holtz, she saw Conner grow. Holtz taught him how to fight, taught him how to hate. She could still remember the day that she heard Conner call Holtz 'dad'. Her mind flashed to Angel. He should be with his son, he should have got to see his first steps, not Holtz.
Cordelia hunted like a primed animal, finding Holtz hiding out in Paris' Latin Quarter. She has spent 3 years tracking him and now she had him. There was no Justine, no minions, just one-on-one. Angel had taught her well before…before…she couldn't even think about that now. She had to concentrate on getting Conner back. She had spotted Holtz in a park, stalking, keeping up his habits. He hadn't recognised her, well why should he? He hadn't seen her for 6 years. Her hair was long again, her attire completely black and close fitting to her body. Their battle insured in an empty park. Each sword swipe met with a counter move. Cordelia hadn't decided what would claim her first; Holtz's sword or the fatigue that was claiming her body. She took advantage of the older opponents tiredness and swung for his stomach. The sword caught his abdomen and left a 12 inch gash across it. Holtz fell to the ground. Cordelia took advantage and ran. She ran to the house where Holtz was staying and found the small boy sleeping in a single bed, covers pulled up around him. Cordelia inserted the sword back into the holder on her back and hovered over the child. She pushed him gently on the shoulder and gasped as two familiar brown eyes stared back at her.
"What's happening? Where's dad?" Conner asked gripping the covers for sheer life.
"Your daddy was a bad man and he's gone. I'm gonna take care of you now. Nothing will ever hurt you again. I promise. What did your daddy call you?" Cordelia asked, now kneeling by the bedside.
"He called me Conner."
Cordelia smiled that Holtz had kept his real name. At least she could hold on that part of Angel now. "Well, Conner, you're gonna come home with me. I have a big house now and we can live together. You can go to school and be normal."
Conner smiled and drifted off to sleep again. He felt a strange connection with the brown hair woman who had come to take care of him. A family connection. Cordelia adjusted the sword on her back and pick Conner up, covers and all. She cradled him close to her chest and pulled the covers closer to his small body. She headed out of the door and sprinted easily to the place where she had arrived in this dimension. The black scorch mark was still visible on the ground. She stood in it and whispered:
"Powers That Be, I have found your Light. I request that you send us back to where we come from. I ask this as a Seer and Warrior to you. You are Duty bound." Cordelia saw Holtz stagger out of the darkness. She cursed quietly as not wake Conner. "Don't screw me over this time!" She begged the PTB.
The blue and purple portal opened around them, bathing them in a blueish haze. Conner woke up, fascinated by the pretty colours. Holtz tried to reach for his 'son' but only felt a burning sensation as the portal closed around them.
Cordelia opened her eyes slowly as the light dimmed through her eyelids. She looked around in wonder at a home she hadn't seen in 3 years. A mature looking man peeled himself out of the shadows.
"I wondered when you would be back. It's been a long time." He spoke in a horse voice filled with sleep.
Cordelia held the child closer to her but loosened her grip once she recognised the face staring back at her. "Gunn. You waited for me."
"Damn right Barbie. You think I was letting a pad like this go, you must be crazy. Sure you those visions aren't affecting you." A gasp caught in his throat as he saw the bundle in Cordelias arms. "Cordelia. You found him?" Gunn took a few steps closer.
"Yeah. He's back and this time I won't let him go. He's back with his family." Only now that she was back at a place she could consider home did she let her emotions show. For the first time since Angel left, she cried.
Gunn walked up to his friend and put a light arm around her shoulder. "It's OK Barbie, you're home now."
Cordelia looked up at him with sad eyes. "But this isn't home. I don't want to stay here anymore. Plus Holtz might come back and I am not letting him take my son away again. I won't, not again."
"It's OK, We'll leave. Set up somewhere else. This arrived for you about two years ago." Gunn handed her a gold engraved envelope. "It's Angels handwriting." Gunn stated cautiously.
Cordelia's face remained passive. She turned the envelope over in her free hand and then turned away. There was a small clatter as the envelope hit the bottom of the trash bin. "Well I would be 2 years too late or maybe I was 6 years too late huh? I'm going to put him in my bed then we'll start making arrangements to leave. New York is a nice place to bring up kids huh?" She stroked the side of Gunn's face. "Your looking good Gunn." She smiled sadly at him before turning away and going up the marble stair case.
Upstairs she undressed Conner and dressed him in one of Angels old shirts, still smelling for the Vampire long gone. He snuggled himself into the plush covers and fell into a deep sleep. Cordelia watched Conner sleep for an hour, stroking his brown hair away from his face. She couldn't help but listen him breathe, unable to believe he was back.
When she went back downstairs., Gunn was packing up the computers and files. A.I was packing up and moving home. She looked around the Hotel and grimaced at the good and bad memories that flooded to her.
"So what is the game plan here?" Gunn asked as he packed away the last of Wesleys tomes.
"I think it is time to call in some old contacts and get out of here. I'll understand if you wanna stay Gunn. I mean you have your crew and Fred is still here."
Gunn looked away in pain and guilt then his eyes flew to the sun-lit courtyard. Cordelia walked towards it and saw the marble stone glinting in the sunlight.
"Oh Gunn I am so sorry. I never knew. I would have come back…How long?" Cordelia asked gingerly.
"Two years, 4 months and 3 days. Childbirth. I lost them both. I don't want to stay here anymore. You let the memories stay and you'll live and die in them."
"They are too much for us huh? I guess New York is the best move."
"Wow, dimension jumping really made you a wise one Barbie." Gunn smiled at her.
"Dido. Now let me see if we still have the number." She flicked through the rolla-fax on the reception desk. "Bingo."
She picked up the phone and dialled the unfamiliar number praying that he was still alive and at least remembered her.
"Hello David. It is Cordelia Chase at Angel Investigations. We need your help."
She could almost hear David jump for joy on the other end of the phone. "So the Dark Avenger needs my help. Sure I'll do anything."
"Need you to hook me up with some offices in New York. A new base for Angel Investigations."
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OK, Those that know my work, you know what kind of a shipper i am but this is just a different edge on it. It isn't until the final chapter (Chapter 6) that i will reveal just where the heart of this story lies. OK. Please don't ask me what shipper it is or you will ruin the story!!!
Nuttyginger
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Cordelia landed with ease in the new dimension. She had been at this for 3 years and her hope was as thin as a silk thread. She adjusted the backpack on her back that held all her worldly belongings. If the Sunnydale crew could see her now, they wouldn't believe it that the only make-up she wore was rose lip gloss and that her attire wardrobe was black and only 12 pieces big. In all the dimension hopping she had been through, she had visited 'Sunnydale' three times. The first time, there was no Buffy and the town was like the wish, a blood bath, a ghost town where front gardens had turned into cemeteries and people had stopped burying the dead as they were just going to rise anyway. The Master ruled supreme. She knew Holtz wasn't there, she couldn't feel Conner anywhere. The second time it had just been like a normal town, both night and day. No Vampires, no demons, no bump in the night stuff. Cordelia had a strong attachment to stay but after two weeks there, she failed to find Holtz or Conner and she had to leave when she seen her own grave. She had died at 16. The third time she stayed for months. She had seen Holtz, fought Holtz and just about managed to get away with her life when a dark figure picked her up from the ground and took him back to his house. When she awoke and seen those familiar brown eyes staring back at her she found it too hard to leave. But in the end she knew that she would have to move on and, more likely than not, meet another version of Angel.
She did but now Holtz stayed clear of the Hell Mouth and wandered far across the world. As she track Holtz, she saw Conner grow. Holtz taught him how to fight, taught him how to hate. She could still remember the day that she heard Conner call Holtz 'dad'. Her mind flashed to Angel. He should be with his son, he should have got to see his first steps, not Holtz.
Cordelia hunted like a primed animal, finding Holtz hiding out in Paris' Latin Quarter. She has spent 3 years tracking him and now she had him. There was no Justine, no minions, just one-on-one. Angel had taught her well before…before…she couldn't even think about that now. She had to concentrate on getting Conner back. She had spotted Holtz in a park, stalking, keeping up his habits. He hadn't recognised her, well why should he? He hadn't seen her for 6 years. Her hair was long again, her attire completely black and close fitting to her body. Their battle insured in an empty park. Each sword swipe met with a counter move. Cordelia hadn't decided what would claim her first; Holtz's sword or the fatigue that was claiming her body. She took advantage of the older opponents tiredness and swung for his stomach. The sword caught his abdomen and left a 12 inch gash across it. Holtz fell to the ground. Cordelia took advantage and ran. She ran to the house where Holtz was staying and found the small boy sleeping in a single bed, covers pulled up around him. Cordelia inserted the sword back into the holder on her back and hovered over the child. She pushed him gently on the shoulder and gasped as two familiar brown eyes stared back at her.
"What's happening? Where's dad?" Conner asked gripping the covers for sheer life.
"Your daddy was a bad man and he's gone. I'm gonna take care of you now. Nothing will ever hurt you again. I promise. What did your daddy call you?" Cordelia asked, now kneeling by the bedside.
"He called me Conner."
Cordelia smiled that Holtz had kept his real name. At least she could hold on that part of Angel now. "Well, Conner, you're gonna come home with me. I have a big house now and we can live together. You can go to school and be normal."
Conner smiled and drifted off to sleep again. He felt a strange connection with the brown hair woman who had come to take care of him. A family connection. Cordelia adjusted the sword on her back and pick Conner up, covers and all. She cradled him close to her chest and pulled the covers closer to his small body. She headed out of the door and sprinted easily to the place where she had arrived in this dimension. The black scorch mark was still visible on the ground. She stood in it and whispered:
"Powers That Be, I have found your Light. I request that you send us back to where we come from. I ask this as a Seer and Warrior to you. You are Duty bound." Cordelia saw Holtz stagger out of the darkness. She cursed quietly as not wake Conner. "Don't screw me over this time!" She begged the PTB.
The blue and purple portal opened around them, bathing them in a blueish haze. Conner woke up, fascinated by the pretty colours. Holtz tried to reach for his 'son' but only felt a burning sensation as the portal closed around them.
Cordelia opened her eyes slowly as the light dimmed through her eyelids. She looked around in wonder at a home she hadn't seen in 3 years. A mature looking man peeled himself out of the shadows.
"I wondered when you would be back. It's been a long time." He spoke in a horse voice filled with sleep.
Cordelia held the child closer to her but loosened her grip once she recognised the face staring back at her. "Gunn. You waited for me."
"Damn right Barbie. You think I was letting a pad like this go, you must be crazy. Sure you those visions aren't affecting you." A gasp caught in his throat as he saw the bundle in Cordelias arms. "Cordelia. You found him?" Gunn took a few steps closer.
"Yeah. He's back and this time I won't let him go. He's back with his family." Only now that she was back at a place she could consider home did she let her emotions show. For the first time since Angel left, she cried.
Gunn walked up to his friend and put a light arm around her shoulder. "It's OK Barbie, you're home now."
Cordelia looked up at him with sad eyes. "But this isn't home. I don't want to stay here anymore. Plus Holtz might come back and I am not letting him take my son away again. I won't, not again."
"It's OK, We'll leave. Set up somewhere else. This arrived for you about two years ago." Gunn handed her a gold engraved envelope. "It's Angels handwriting." Gunn stated cautiously.
Cordelia's face remained passive. She turned the envelope over in her free hand and then turned away. There was a small clatter as the envelope hit the bottom of the trash bin. "Well I would be 2 years too late or maybe I was 6 years too late huh? I'm going to put him in my bed then we'll start making arrangements to leave. New York is a nice place to bring up kids huh?" She stroked the side of Gunn's face. "Your looking good Gunn." She smiled sadly at him before turning away and going up the marble stair case.
Upstairs she undressed Conner and dressed him in one of Angels old shirts, still smelling for the Vampire long gone. He snuggled himself into the plush covers and fell into a deep sleep. Cordelia watched Conner sleep for an hour, stroking his brown hair away from his face. She couldn't help but listen him breathe, unable to believe he was back.
When she went back downstairs., Gunn was packing up the computers and files. A.I was packing up and moving home. She looked around the Hotel and grimaced at the good and bad memories that flooded to her.
"So what is the game plan here?" Gunn asked as he packed away the last of Wesleys tomes.
"I think it is time to call in some old contacts and get out of here. I'll understand if you wanna stay Gunn. I mean you have your crew and Fred is still here."
Gunn looked away in pain and guilt then his eyes flew to the sun-lit courtyard. Cordelia walked towards it and saw the marble stone glinting in the sunlight.
"Oh Gunn I am so sorry. I never knew. I would have come back…How long?" Cordelia asked gingerly.
"Two years, 4 months and 3 days. Childbirth. I lost them both. I don't want to stay here anymore. You let the memories stay and you'll live and die in them."
"They are too much for us huh? I guess New York is the best move."
"Wow, dimension jumping really made you a wise one Barbie." Gunn smiled at her.
"Dido. Now let me see if we still have the number." She flicked through the rolla-fax on the reception desk. "Bingo."
She picked up the phone and dialled the unfamiliar number praying that he was still alive and at least remembered her.
"Hello David. It is Cordelia Chase at Angel Investigations. We need your help."
She could almost hear David jump for joy on the other end of the phone. "So the Dark Avenger needs my help. Sure I'll do anything."
"Need you to hook me up with some offices in New York. A new base for Angel Investigations."
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OK, Those that know my work, you know what kind of a shipper i am but this is just a different edge on it. It isn't until the final chapter (Chapter 6) that i will reveal just where the heart of this story lies. OK. Please don't ask me what shipper it is or you will ruin the story!!!
Nuttyginger