Ok this is a long chapter because it is the main chapter of the story, the chapter that inspired the story. Just a warning!!!!!
Chapter 5 – 'Revelations and Confusions But Where Are the Answers?
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He was 18 now. Everything was topsy-turvy. His life wasn't all it used to be. Everyone was gone now and he was left to the world along. His mother hadn't left him without support, in fact he was set for life if he wanted to but something at the back of his mind kept nagging him to find the truth. Nothing had been kept from him but he didn't want to upset his mother even though she encouraged him to find the man she called Angel…his father. There had been pictures she shown him, clothes that she had kept but nothing really that would directly tie him to his father. His mum had died three years before and he had lost his mentor and farther figure when he was 9. Conner climbed out of the hired Mercedes and walked across the street to the little suburban house that sat on a leafy street. Innocent and normal unlike the impression his mother had given him of it. He was surprised to still see it standing. He looked at the tree that was growing in the garden. There were names carved into its trunk. 'C-O-R-A' 'D-O-Y-L-E' and in a heart was 'B-U-F-F-Y + A-N-G-E-L'. He felt his heart twist. Imagine if his mom had ever seen this, her heart would have broken. The man that was inside that house was man who had hurt his mom beyond all pains. He knew that she had never got over his fathers betrayal. Conner knocked solidly on the front door, which he noticed had small nicks out of the wood. A young girl, around his age, opened the door and looked quizzically at him.
"Can I help you?" She asked, her voice strangely sweet.
"Yeah, I am looking for your father. Angel. Is he in?" Conner asked trying to sound less frightened.
The girl turned around and yelled into the house. "DAD! SOMEONE AT THE DOOR FOR YOU!"
Conner heard heavier footsteps come through the hall. He held in a gasp as he saw the man who's face had echoed photographs that his mom had shown him. The face had aged and his skin darkened but he supposed that was because he had had access to the sun now unlike his LA days.
"I'm Angel Summers, how can I help you?" Angel looked at the young man on his doorstep and felt like he should know him. Nothing prepared him for what Conners answer was.
"My name is Conner Chase. My mom told me that you were my father." Conner said simply, letting his words sink in. He had, had years to deal with this but this man had only had a few minutes.
"C…Con…Conner? It is really you?" Angel recoil as if he had just received an electric shock. "It...It can't be. I saw you…Holtz took you into…Hell."
"Can I come in instead of talking about this here? I mean, it would be easier for both of us if we sat down. Trust me."
Angel lead him inside and sat him down on one of the terracotta couches in the living room. Conner could see Cora hanging around outside the door on the phone. She put the phone down and wondered into the room.
"I'm going over to Michelle's to give you some space to talk. Maybe get to see you again sometime Conner." Cora picked her bag up from beside the couch and picked up a pair of car keys under Angels nose and quickly left.
"Let me guess, you don't know where to start huh? I was like that when mom told me the story. I asked lots of questions and she had all of the answers well she thought she did! How about I give you the story?" Angel could do little but nod. "Well when Holtz took me, I was only a few weeks old. Then Holtz took me to a home in another dimension. It wasn't that he sent me to a hell dimension; it was just that he had a red portal because he wasn't pure of heart. You know, kinda like the light sabres in the old film 'Starwars'? Red equals evil and blue equals good?" He saw Angel wasn't getting it. "Never mind. When mom started to come after it, Holtz took me on the run with him because he knew that mom wouldn't stop until she found me. Too many people underestimate mom. She brought me back to this reality and I was so scared all the time, I wouldn't come out of my room so mom came up and we drew in my room, cooked in my room and gradually she got me out of that room and took me to the park. She always said that I had your talent for drawing. I went to school, helped mom out at home."
Angel put his hand up in the air to stop Conners story. "Conner, if you are my son, your mother died during childbirth. Are sure you have the right person?"
"Darla!" Conner spat out the name. "She's was never my mom. My mother was called Cordelia Chase. You should know, you used to be with her."
"Cora?" Angel muttered in disbelief.
Conner felt for the man in front of him. "After you left her to come back here, she came after me. She kept on searching and fighting for 3 years until she managed to find me and bring me home. She became a warrior. I stopped calling her Cordy after the other children showed up. I called her mom one day like the other kids did and she started to cry. Uncle Gunn said it was fine 'cos they were tears of joy, something he hadn't seen her cry in years." When Conner mentioned Gunn he hung his head in sadness.
"What happened to Gunn?" Angel asked curiously.
"Gunn died when I was 10. Holtz came back to find me and Cordelia was out signing foster papers. Gunn tried to protect me but Holtz killed him. He died in hospital after mom came back and killed Holtz. When they read his will out he left everything to mom and the kids but he put in a line that he didn't want us to cry at the funeral 'cos mom was never to cry tears of sadness again so she cried tears of joy that he could be with his sister at last."
"So Cordelia found you and rescued you and didn't bother to tell me or even let me see you? Do know how long I have grieved?" Angel shouted angrily.
"Not as long as she grieved over you I bet. She was protecting me." Conner shouted back, calming his voice again. " Remember Holtz was after you and using me to do. If I wasn't around you, he couldn't hurt you. Don't be so one track minded!"
"So Gunn and Cordelia had some children together huh? I always thought they would get together." Angel said sadly.
"Nah. Mom and Gunn were never together thought the kids were convinced of it. They used to hold hands around the others just to wind them up." Conner let out a small laugh. "Mom only loved two men in her life; you and me. Mom couldn't have kids 'cos of the accident with the rebar. When she caught Xander cheating?" He waited for Angel to nod. "She fostered and adopted lots. Over a 100 kids passed thought The Pad. That's what we called the house where Angel Investigations was; she kept your name sake. Wells he had all this money and wanted always wanted lots of kids. Guess this was the next best thing. Gunn never forgave you for leaving mom, he said you were weak and a 'Son of a Dog' He used to call yo that instead of Angel and mom slapped him up the head every time."
"Where is Cordelia now?" Angel asked desperate to see her again. "Did she come with you?"
Conner looked sadly at the floor and wiped a small tear away. "Angel, I'm so sorry. She died three years ago. We were on a vision and a demon beat her in to a pole sticking out of some concrete at the cement works at an industrial estate. Angel she was a half demon but even that couldn't save her. The doctors couldn't do anything. She died three days later. I was there, all the kids were there." Conner put a solid hand on Angels shoulder. "Angel, you are the last one left. Don't let their memories make you brood. Mom would come down and slap you upside the head and you know she would."
Angel laughed at how much HIS son sounded like CORDELIA.
"Angel, can I ask you a question?" Conner asked a hint of fear in his voice.
"Sure, ask away. I bet there is a lot you want to know."
"Well no not really, mom filled me in. I just wanted to know why did you leave her and did you ever love her?"
"I loved Cora more than you will ever know but I was constantly scared. You know how things turned out with Buffy first time around? I was scared that it would turn out like that again. I was constantly on my mind. She told me to leave and I left because I didn't deserve her anymore. I used to leave her early in the morning and go to a beach just up the pacific Highway. I used to sit there until dawn. It was special place to us both and I could sit there to remember the good times, the time when I wasn't scared. I told her I loved her as I left, I even have the jumper she gave me for my birthday. It still smells of her. I have never loved Buffy as much as love her. I have thought about her everyday since I left. Wrote her letters and everything. But you have to understand that I was constantly being told that Buffy was my destiny and that she was my Chosen One. I can't deny what prophecies say. Most of them are true. All except the one that took you from me. Buffy offered me a safe love where Cora was always unpredictable. Must be the name. My daughter Cora is the same. Strong headed and pig-stubborn. So I choose a life with Buffy. But I still loved Cordelia too."
"But you have kids with Buffy. She came to see you one day and seen you playing with them in the garden. Doyle called you 'daddy'. You must have loved her to marry her and have kids with her."
"I never married Buffy. Look!" Angel held up his hand. "Doyle and Cora aren't mine. When I came back Buffy was already pregnant by a one night stand that went wrong. I never thought badly for her for it. I offered to help and let her write my name on the birth certificate. I only got my Shansu on the 23rd of April 3 years after I came here."
"That was when I came back to this dimension. It must have been mom setting you free at last huh? Mom got a wedding invitation when she got back with me. It was your handwriting. She didn't open it thought"
"That was for Xander and Anyas wedding! I wrote the invitations to save them money and Anya loved my script! Where is Cordelia bur…Buried?" Angel asked as a lone tear ran down his cheek.
"She buried in a cove in LA. She always called LA her home even though we moved to New York 12 years ago. Visit is some time. She would like it. You don't have to worry about. She was a warrior of the Powers; they look after their own in their own way. I am going to leave now. Here." He handed Angel a business card with a deformed lobster on it or in other words the A.I logo. "Like Mother and Father, like Son huh! I have to get back to New York. My girlfriend is waiting for me. I promise I will visit again but I think we still have a ghosts to let go of Angel."
When Angel finally drew his eyes away from the business card that was still familiar to him Conner was gone, the front door blowing in the wind.
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That was a long chapter for a reason explained at the top of the page so don't flame me for it!
OK the next chapter is the last chapter. It is where all is made clear and people will finally get the shipperish of this whole story.
I am really proud of this story cos I got to play with a character that remains undeveloped in the series so I get to mould and shape at will. I ain't manipulative at all (!)
Chapter 5 – 'Revelations and Confusions But Where Are the Answers?
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
He was 18 now. Everything was topsy-turvy. His life wasn't all it used to be. Everyone was gone now and he was left to the world along. His mother hadn't left him without support, in fact he was set for life if he wanted to but something at the back of his mind kept nagging him to find the truth. Nothing had been kept from him but he didn't want to upset his mother even though she encouraged him to find the man she called Angel…his father. There had been pictures she shown him, clothes that she had kept but nothing really that would directly tie him to his father. His mum had died three years before and he had lost his mentor and farther figure when he was 9. Conner climbed out of the hired Mercedes and walked across the street to the little suburban house that sat on a leafy street. Innocent and normal unlike the impression his mother had given him of it. He was surprised to still see it standing. He looked at the tree that was growing in the garden. There were names carved into its trunk. 'C-O-R-A' 'D-O-Y-L-E' and in a heart was 'B-U-F-F-Y + A-N-G-E-L'. He felt his heart twist. Imagine if his mom had ever seen this, her heart would have broken. The man that was inside that house was man who had hurt his mom beyond all pains. He knew that she had never got over his fathers betrayal. Conner knocked solidly on the front door, which he noticed had small nicks out of the wood. A young girl, around his age, opened the door and looked quizzically at him.
"Can I help you?" She asked, her voice strangely sweet.
"Yeah, I am looking for your father. Angel. Is he in?" Conner asked trying to sound less frightened.
The girl turned around and yelled into the house. "DAD! SOMEONE AT THE DOOR FOR YOU!"
Conner heard heavier footsteps come through the hall. He held in a gasp as he saw the man who's face had echoed photographs that his mom had shown him. The face had aged and his skin darkened but he supposed that was because he had had access to the sun now unlike his LA days.
"I'm Angel Summers, how can I help you?" Angel looked at the young man on his doorstep and felt like he should know him. Nothing prepared him for what Conners answer was.
"My name is Conner Chase. My mom told me that you were my father." Conner said simply, letting his words sink in. He had, had years to deal with this but this man had only had a few minutes.
"C…Con…Conner? It is really you?" Angel recoil as if he had just received an electric shock. "It...It can't be. I saw you…Holtz took you into…Hell."
"Can I come in instead of talking about this here? I mean, it would be easier for both of us if we sat down. Trust me."
Angel lead him inside and sat him down on one of the terracotta couches in the living room. Conner could see Cora hanging around outside the door on the phone. She put the phone down and wondered into the room.
"I'm going over to Michelle's to give you some space to talk. Maybe get to see you again sometime Conner." Cora picked her bag up from beside the couch and picked up a pair of car keys under Angels nose and quickly left.
"Let me guess, you don't know where to start huh? I was like that when mom told me the story. I asked lots of questions and she had all of the answers well she thought she did! How about I give you the story?" Angel could do little but nod. "Well when Holtz took me, I was only a few weeks old. Then Holtz took me to a home in another dimension. It wasn't that he sent me to a hell dimension; it was just that he had a red portal because he wasn't pure of heart. You know, kinda like the light sabres in the old film 'Starwars'? Red equals evil and blue equals good?" He saw Angel wasn't getting it. "Never mind. When mom started to come after it, Holtz took me on the run with him because he knew that mom wouldn't stop until she found me. Too many people underestimate mom. She brought me back to this reality and I was so scared all the time, I wouldn't come out of my room so mom came up and we drew in my room, cooked in my room and gradually she got me out of that room and took me to the park. She always said that I had your talent for drawing. I went to school, helped mom out at home."
Angel put his hand up in the air to stop Conners story. "Conner, if you are my son, your mother died during childbirth. Are sure you have the right person?"
"Darla!" Conner spat out the name. "She's was never my mom. My mother was called Cordelia Chase. You should know, you used to be with her."
"Cora?" Angel muttered in disbelief.
Conner felt for the man in front of him. "After you left her to come back here, she came after me. She kept on searching and fighting for 3 years until she managed to find me and bring me home. She became a warrior. I stopped calling her Cordy after the other children showed up. I called her mom one day like the other kids did and she started to cry. Uncle Gunn said it was fine 'cos they were tears of joy, something he hadn't seen her cry in years." When Conner mentioned Gunn he hung his head in sadness.
"What happened to Gunn?" Angel asked curiously.
"Gunn died when I was 10. Holtz came back to find me and Cordelia was out signing foster papers. Gunn tried to protect me but Holtz killed him. He died in hospital after mom came back and killed Holtz. When they read his will out he left everything to mom and the kids but he put in a line that he didn't want us to cry at the funeral 'cos mom was never to cry tears of sadness again so she cried tears of joy that he could be with his sister at last."
"So Cordelia found you and rescued you and didn't bother to tell me or even let me see you? Do know how long I have grieved?" Angel shouted angrily.
"Not as long as she grieved over you I bet. She was protecting me." Conner shouted back, calming his voice again. " Remember Holtz was after you and using me to do. If I wasn't around you, he couldn't hurt you. Don't be so one track minded!"
"So Gunn and Cordelia had some children together huh? I always thought they would get together." Angel said sadly.
"Nah. Mom and Gunn were never together thought the kids were convinced of it. They used to hold hands around the others just to wind them up." Conner let out a small laugh. "Mom only loved two men in her life; you and me. Mom couldn't have kids 'cos of the accident with the rebar. When she caught Xander cheating?" He waited for Angel to nod. "She fostered and adopted lots. Over a 100 kids passed thought The Pad. That's what we called the house where Angel Investigations was; she kept your name sake. Wells he had all this money and wanted always wanted lots of kids. Guess this was the next best thing. Gunn never forgave you for leaving mom, he said you were weak and a 'Son of a Dog' He used to call yo that instead of Angel and mom slapped him up the head every time."
"Where is Cordelia now?" Angel asked desperate to see her again. "Did she come with you?"
Conner looked sadly at the floor and wiped a small tear away. "Angel, I'm so sorry. She died three years ago. We were on a vision and a demon beat her in to a pole sticking out of some concrete at the cement works at an industrial estate. Angel she was a half demon but even that couldn't save her. The doctors couldn't do anything. She died three days later. I was there, all the kids were there." Conner put a solid hand on Angels shoulder. "Angel, you are the last one left. Don't let their memories make you brood. Mom would come down and slap you upside the head and you know she would."
Angel laughed at how much HIS son sounded like CORDELIA.
"Angel, can I ask you a question?" Conner asked a hint of fear in his voice.
"Sure, ask away. I bet there is a lot you want to know."
"Well no not really, mom filled me in. I just wanted to know why did you leave her and did you ever love her?"
"I loved Cora more than you will ever know but I was constantly scared. You know how things turned out with Buffy first time around? I was scared that it would turn out like that again. I was constantly on my mind. She told me to leave and I left because I didn't deserve her anymore. I used to leave her early in the morning and go to a beach just up the pacific Highway. I used to sit there until dawn. It was special place to us both and I could sit there to remember the good times, the time when I wasn't scared. I told her I loved her as I left, I even have the jumper she gave me for my birthday. It still smells of her. I have never loved Buffy as much as love her. I have thought about her everyday since I left. Wrote her letters and everything. But you have to understand that I was constantly being told that Buffy was my destiny and that she was my Chosen One. I can't deny what prophecies say. Most of them are true. All except the one that took you from me. Buffy offered me a safe love where Cora was always unpredictable. Must be the name. My daughter Cora is the same. Strong headed and pig-stubborn. So I choose a life with Buffy. But I still loved Cordelia too."
"But you have kids with Buffy. She came to see you one day and seen you playing with them in the garden. Doyle called you 'daddy'. You must have loved her to marry her and have kids with her."
"I never married Buffy. Look!" Angel held up his hand. "Doyle and Cora aren't mine. When I came back Buffy was already pregnant by a one night stand that went wrong. I never thought badly for her for it. I offered to help and let her write my name on the birth certificate. I only got my Shansu on the 23rd of April 3 years after I came here."
"That was when I came back to this dimension. It must have been mom setting you free at last huh? Mom got a wedding invitation when she got back with me. It was your handwriting. She didn't open it thought"
"That was for Xander and Anyas wedding! I wrote the invitations to save them money and Anya loved my script! Where is Cordelia bur…Buried?" Angel asked as a lone tear ran down his cheek.
"She buried in a cove in LA. She always called LA her home even though we moved to New York 12 years ago. Visit is some time. She would like it. You don't have to worry about. She was a warrior of the Powers; they look after their own in their own way. I am going to leave now. Here." He handed Angel a business card with a deformed lobster on it or in other words the A.I logo. "Like Mother and Father, like Son huh! I have to get back to New York. My girlfriend is waiting for me. I promise I will visit again but I think we still have a ghosts to let go of Angel."
When Angel finally drew his eyes away from the business card that was still familiar to him Conner was gone, the front door blowing in the wind.
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That was a long chapter for a reason explained at the top of the page so don't flame me for it!
OK the next chapter is the last chapter. It is where all is made clear and people will finally get the shipperish of this whole story.
I am really proud of this story cos I got to play with a character that remains undeveloped in the series so I get to mould and shape at will. I ain't manipulative at all (!)