Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em and most likely never will. Besides, if I did, there wouldn't be fan fic because everything would be absolutely perfect. The basis for most of the Connor-Angel interaction is from the original script…not me.
Summary: Conner, after beating Angel to a pulp, but not killing him yet, is going to pull an Angelus...so to speak. He is going to inflict the worse kind of torture on Angel...he will kill his beloved.
Rating: PG-13 for future graphic description and language, but if you watch the show you can read this, unless otherwise noted.
Spoilers: Ats 1/2/3 and Buffy end of season 5 and all of season 6.
Timeline: 'Angel' "The Price and A New World" and 'Buffy' "Entropy and Seeing Red" and beyond.
Genre: Romance after a few chapters. First though the setting and problem has to be set. Then the angst and occurs and hopefully the B/Aness occurs.
A/N: Be patient with the B/A stuff. Give me a couple of chapters. I've been sick this past week and have been taking notes and am now writing up a storm and I apologize for the gap but it couldn't be helped.
A/N: For the sake of this fic, Holtz never came out of the portal after Connor did.
Feedback: If you want, it lets me know that it's being read. I'd like it but no seriously cruel flames please. I don't like that...Duh!
Enjoy!
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"So? Where is she?"
"Shhheeee's not here!"
"Well, she ain't patrolling, she ain't at the Magic Box, she ain't at Willy's, and she sure as hell ain't at me crypt!" Spike 'kindly' pointed out to a nervous Tara. He punctuated each place Buffy wasn't at with a step both closer and increasingly filled with more and more conviction. "So? WHERE IS SHE?"
Before Tara could answer an announcement from the stairs startled both of the. Tara was relieved and then panicked in that order. Relief filled her as she didn't have to face Spike (alone) with her questions and then panicked set in when she realized it was Dawn. She didn't know how to deal with the whole situation as it was and Buffy had given strict orders to keep away from Spike and was implicit on Dawn's involvement in the game of keep away.
"What are you doing here?" Dawn's tone held a slight edge of being pissed off, something Spike didn't seem to notice.
"Nibblet! What a pleasant site to see! Ya know…" Spike was then abruptly cut off…
"Can it! We don't need to hear and more of you crap!"
It would be the understatement of Spike's century to say that he was shocked at Dawn's tone and harsh words. She usually loved him. "Spike this and Spike that…" but now she was telling him that he was full of crap.
Dawn went to stand by Tara and both females held smiles that were beheld triumph at the wide eyed, gaping vampire in front of them. Spike's usually cocky grin and matching attitude were somewhere else, where, no one knew, but they sure as hell weren't in that house. Dawn and Tara had successfully flabbergasted a smartass, loose-lipped asshole who had way too funny a dye-job that any sane person wouldn't stop to take a second glance.
In a last shot attempt to regain any little, miniscule part of his dignity that hadn't already been dashed by a jealous Zeppo with an axe, a powerful blonde Slayer with her own personal Scooby gang, military men with technology and tainted blood, an unfaithful girlfriend/Sire or his own personal stupidity Spike dared to open his mouth again. "Nibblet…"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT! Don't call me anything!"
"Oh, I see, so she's turned you all against me…huh? Well let me tell you this, I'll be back, de-chipped and 'badder' than ever!" As he turned to leave he left them with one last pitiful thought in an attempt to intimidate the teenager and Wicca, "We'll see who's full of crap then!"
Once he was in his Crypt Clem found him.
"I was just in the neighborhood and I thought, you know, there's a Nightrider marathon on the TV, so, uh… I got HOT WINGS!"
Spike was pacing his crept with his head hanging and muttering "What's wrong with me? How did she do this?"
Realization donning on Clem, "Oh, The Slayer, huh? Gosh. She break up with you again?"
"She and I were never together. Not really. She wouldn't lower herself that far."
"She's a sweet girl Spike, but hey. Issues. And no wonder, with the coming back from the grave and whatnot. I had this cousin, got resurrected by some kooky shaman-who-boy! What that a mess!"
"Why do I feel this way Clem?"
"Love's a funny thing Spike. Not much I can tell ya 'bout that."
"Is that what this is…LOVE? It's the chip! Little Jiminy Cricket, gnawing bits and chunks!" Getting frustrated, Spike threw his hands up in the air and then rested them on his head and squeezed hard, like he was trying to push the chip out. "Everything used to be so clear. Slayer. Vampire. Vampire kills Slayer, sucks her dry, and picks his teeth with her bones." Then he took a moment, almost in thought, "She thinks she knows me. She thinks she knows who I am. What I'm capable of. She has no idea. I wasn't always this way. It won't be easy, but I can be like I was. Before they castrated me. Before…" Spike paused again, and then in a reassuring gesture, started to nod his head in a positive motion and continued, "Then she'll see who I really am."
Clem, being totally clueless to Spike's actual motives, ideas and whole semi-intellectual spiel, nodded his head and smiled brightly, thinking the vampire was now in a good mood and offered him the bucket, "Hot wing?"
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"Angel" came his deep voice, peppered with a bit of relief at the fact his son would be with him soon and anxiety over anything having to do with a certain blonde slayer.
"Hey, it's me" Came the reply.
"Cordy" he said in way of greeting, "Are they there yet, is he there?"
"Listen, something's happened and Connor's loose again…in LA. Gunn and Groo are out now. Angel…"
"Thank you Cordelia," his voice devoid of emotion held a tone that told Cordelia the conversation was over and the click of the cell phone on his end, and the tone on the other end of the line proved it. Something happened. I hope no one's hurt. Well maybe you should've asked if she's hurt. I have to find him…soon.
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"No one was picking up at the house and Willow got worried. But she didn't pay it much mind once she remembered Tara saying she might go out to the Magic Box. She hung up the phone after waiting not so patiently for someone to answer it for god knows how long and calmly (sort-of) sat down. She was frazzle, to say the least by Buffy's situation. Situation, she laughed inwardly…situation…my god she realized, Buffy's dying…again, what is she the death magnet, duh! Slayer…yes. Willow wasn't great in crisis situations, but Buffy was. Willow was good at comforting…others but not herself…Buffy was, and all Willow could think was Oh, if she would just wake up right now and tell me it's gonna be alright! Willow's thoughts kept going like this for a period of time unbeknownst to the ex Wicca. Every now and then, they would tumble to the 'dark side' and Willow needed to physically shake them out of her head. She tried to calm down but her nerves were on the edge and she was on the brink of losing it. She had to stay strong, she thought, for Buffy. Yeah right! You're strong now. She inwardly mocked herself. Sitting there for so long, again, a long time Willow didn't know had passed, she was jolted from her not-so-great thoughts by Cordelia's piercing voice, booming from the upstairs, where they had set Buffy up in the 'care center' and Willow could barely believe her ears, "Willow, she's awake!" Her head snapped up and as she ran up the steps, nearing her best friend's sickly form, she thought Thank You!
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A/N: I didn't put in the parts about Connor's meeting with Sunny because I think pretty much everyone who reads this story will have already seen "A New World" and can tell where I left off. Anyway, Connor sees Sunny in trouble, rescues Sunny from druggie Tyke and after beating him and his goons in to bloody pulps, Connor precedes to cut off Tyke's left ear as a trophy, no one is dead. They go to the motel where everyone crashes, Sunny and Connor bond all the while Angel is looking for Connor. This picks up from where Connor wakes up and Sunny isn't there. Also, if you didn't know, the "medicine" in this story line is drugs.
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Connor had fallen asleep after an exhausting day in the motel Sunny took him to, after eating moon pies and making a new friend. His head was resting comfortably upon a couch cushion as he was half laying down, half sitting up, supported by the sofa at his back. He looked so innocent and harmless as he slept; a seemingly restful sleep and to any ordinary onlooker, he's just a runaway teenage boy just waiting to be found. But, to the few certain people who knew who and what he was, it's a whole different story. To those people, he's not a runaway; he's a missing child, in actuality, just a young baby born not a year ago. To them, he's Connor, the kidnapped child of two vampires, two very strong vampires from a strong vampire bloodline and the only son, the only possible child (thought impossible) of the only known Vampire with a Soul.
At the loud and very unknown sound of a fire engine's honk, Connor suddenly awoke and in a move of self-defense and habit, pulled two daggers out, all in the same motion. The sirens Connor heard are now a dim sound in the distance and he stood up and looked around. When he didn't see Sunny he called out for her and heard no response. When he didn't see her in that room or in the hall Connor started making his way down to the room slightly down the hall and as he moved the floor creaked beneath him and his senses peeked up as he stiffened and slowly entered the bathroom. Connor saw Sunny slumped against the side of the bathtub. There was a tourniquet around her upper arm and a syringe still fused in her vein in the upper part of her arm as it stuck out. He finally realized Sunny wasn't alive anymore when he crouched down beside her and called her name remorsefully. Then, he saw the packet of 'medicine' that she had showed him earlier and stood up all of a sudden with a very bad look on his face. A look of anger mixed with annoyance that stung Angel to the core as his son suddenly spun on his heels to face him.
"Connor"
After the vampire had greeted his son he then saw the slumped form of Sunny with the needle sticking out of her arm and immediately went into 'father mode' and reached for Connor's left arm with vampiric speed and quickly asked his son, "She didn't shoot any of this crap in you, did she?" And just as quickly as Angel grabbed the arm, his son pulled back and took it away and replied in a cool tone, "No." Angel took this as his queue to show a placating gesture and held up his hands in such gesture, "Okay, I'm sorry. I just…" and he trailed off and started to speak in relation to Sunny, "We'll take care of this, okay? Together." But apparently Connor had other plans and just shook his head and walked past Angel back in to the main motel room as he said, "Too late. Too late."
The vampire followed his son in to the other room and started, not really thinking about what he was saying, more like grasping at straws. "Connor. I'm sorry about… Was she you're friend? Connor. Just talk to me." Connor seemed to not even notice his father's desperate pleas for attention as he picked up the leather jacket of Tyke's that Connor had taken from him as Angel trailed off, "Well, you know, I figure you have to be feeling like you traded in one hell dimension for another right about now, but if you just let me…"and sniffed it. Angel stopped his fatherly pleas and changed his tone to a questioning one as he finally saw what Connor was doing, "What are you doing?" and roughly grabs the jacket out of Connor's hands. "What is that?"
Not taking the invasion on Angel's part Connor yelled, "Give that back!" And in return Angel now sniffed the jacket and asked him, "Why? Who're you tracking?" Trying to be faster, Connor tried to retrieve the jacket by making a grab for it but Angel was faster and stopped him and realization dawns on the 247-year-old as he sees another packet of drugs 'leap' out of the jacket's pocket, "Right. I get it. You're going after the guy that gave her the junk."
"His medicine killed her."
"And you're going to do what about it Connor?"
Connor's one word answer was, "Punish."
Angel corrected his wayward son, "You mean, kill." Angel then stopped Connor after he tried for the jacket again, "Slow down." He directed his son who then proceeded to attack him but Angel took a hold of him and pushed him up against the wall and demanded, "Listen to me!" And in return Connor slammed Angel up against the wall and screamed, "No!" As Connor released Angel the vampire sighed as his son went to retrieve the jacket again. Once again, the vampire pinned his son up against the wall, "You will listen." But of course, being ever the disobedient Connor hauled back and clocked Angel across the face and Angel pushed Connor's face into the wall. "I'm not gonna let you walk out that door and get into any more trouble. Hear me?"
"Fine," Connor huffed as Angel let him go and took a step back. A moment passed and then Connor spun around and attacked Angel again, only to be tossed on the floor. As Angel sighed, "I'm sorry. You just don't understand how this world works." Connor looks up and stated what he thought was obvious, "I understand. Sunny was nice. Now she's dead."
"Connor…" But he just got up and pulled on Tyke's leather jacket and never took his eyes off of Angel. Then the vampire started again, "I now we haven't gotten off to a great start here, but if we can just take a minute, that'd be good. Please, just…" Connor looked up; glanced past Angel to the door and Angel quickly starts again, "Don't run away from me, alright? I lost you once already. There's just, there's so much I wanna know, so much I need to know. Okay?" There wasn't a response from Connor, he just stood there. So Angel continued, "You been okay? I mean - what was it like there? Did you have any friends? Okay, I mean, not friends. It's not like you were at summer camp. I mean, you were stuck in a hell dimension. Connor, I'm so sorry. I tried to get you back. I did. I tried to come after you. I would have done anything. I just… I just…I couldn't find a way in."
Finally, Connor spoke but his voice didn't betray the emotion that he felt. From what Holtz had told him, this Angelus was supposed to be a monster that didn't care, feel compassion, or even try to trick others with such false compassion. So, in some small part of Connor's brain he thought, Maybe he really does care. "I found a way out."
Angel went back into his babble after his son's remark, "Yeah. You did. You sure did. I should've - I should've tried harder. I - I shouldn't have quit. But you're back. And-and - and that's what's important, you know? You-you came back to me. I wanna know everything, son. I wanna know everything. Everything about you, you know, what your life's been like? You - must have a million questions."
"No." Connor took a step closer to Angel, "My father told me everything." And after a beat where Angel struggled to regain composure continued as steady as possible, "Your father. Holtz isn't your father. He's…" But before Angel could say another word Connor's fury took over and his fist flew through the air and met Angel's face, hard. "You don't get to say that name! You don't even get to think it! I know everything. He told me all about you. That you're a thing that kills and drinks blood. You're a vampire."
Angel straightened up after the blow, "What do you know about vampires?" Connor looked at him with a icy and determined glare of someone trying to act a whole lot older than he actually was and not quite being able to pull it off. "Decapitation, stake in the heart, daylight, fire – did I forget anything?" He paused for a moment, almost if to bask in the stunned look on Angel's face and then stated, "You have a second face. A face for killing. Show it to me. I wanna see it."
Angel didn't move, didn't speak…he just stood there. This provoked Connor to start punching Angel in the chest. He yelled at him to show him the face and aimed his next punch at Angel's face but the vampire caught Connor's fist and held it still. As Angel's faced morphed into 'game face' he spoke these words, quietly, "It looks like this, son." Connor freed his fist from Angel's grasp and took a couple of steps backward, "That's what you are." And Angel's only answer was, "It's part of what I am." And morphed back into his human features and continued, "A part I hope you will be able to accept one day."
Connor was taken a back at this. He didn't expect actual emotion, for him to actually care about him in this way. It made him look at him differently and he thought, Maybe if I find out why he's different, I'll know if I can trust him. "Why do you care? Vampires have no wants or emotions, they're beasts that kill and maim and have no conscience or compassion."
"Not me. I guess you could say…I - I'm different."
"The Soul" Connor remembered being told about that briefly, but not enough to understand. Angel just nodded. Connor continued, "Why don't you kill me? You could've…but you didn't…. why?"
"Two reasons. One because you're my son and I love you and would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. Two, because I don't kill humans or innocents…" then quietly he added, "He did."
"Angelus" Connor whispered in faint realization, but Angel's sensitive hearing heard it.
"There's a difference between us. The soul, me the same thing, I'm not in control or in most cases I'm not even there, physically in the body when the demon takes over. And it's the demon that did all those things. It took me a long time to realize that and a lot of people to deal with. Finally, I was able to draw the line and notice the difference between the two of us, the difference, few people could recognize before."
"I think now I understand." Came Connor's voice. It was the demon, not the soul…not him…not my…………..father.
Before anything else can happen, Angel's senses pepped up and he turned around to see Tyke followed by a couple of his goons entering the motel room and Tyke pulled a gun. Connor tried to get to Tyke but Angel stopped him. "No, no! Don't."
Tyke touched the bandage that covered the bloodied mess of what was left of his left ear. "Where's Sunny?"
Angel answered before Connor could, "Would that be the dead girl in the bathroom?" At that, Tyke motioned for one of his guys to go check the bathroom and then turned to Angel, "Who are you?"
"I'm his father." Then there was a pause in which the two without a gun glared at those who did and they in turn glared back. Then Angel turned to look straight at Tyke, "Let's fin a way to work this out. Talk through it." And then he turned to Connor and said pointedly, "Which is a thing we do here." And then aimed his attention back at Tyke, "There's no need for violence."
Then out of nowhere, Tyke hit Angel across his face with the butt of his gun. "I'm sorry. Did you say 'no need for violence?' You may want to speak up, you see," and Tyke points to his bandaged ear, "…I don't hear so good any more!" After his little outburst, Tyke's goon came back with news that 'Sunny was dead in the can… O.D.'
Tyke then turned to Angel, "Ya know I begged her to get help. Oh, well. One down, one to go."
Angel saw Tyke's pointed look at his son and grew defensive in a big way and tried to remain calm, "We can make this right."
"You can give me a new ear?"
"Well – maybe you can wear a hat."
Before the punning contest could go any further Connor interrupts with deep accusation and hatred in his voice, "YOU KILLED HER!" Tyke just nodded but before he could say anything more a third goon entered and says, "Tyke, cops, man, they're looking for you. They're everywhere." Tyke just looked at Angel and he in return raised his eyebrows at him.
When Buffy woke up she was very disoriented and she asked whoever was in front of her what happened. She couldn't tell who it was because she was so dizzy and her vision was blurry but slowly clearing up. And then Willow's voice sounded in her ears as she kindly recapped Connor's magical poisonous knife and his escape and the fact that Buffy was infected.
"Okay, I can actually see you now. But I really feel like crap!" And then she heard a different person's voice, someone she didn't really know except through Cordelia's introduction as Fred. "Well, I researched the side effects of the poison and the basic drift wasn't good. You should expect stomach cramps, nausea, chest pains and disorientation like dizziness and/or lightheadedness."
Buffy didn't like the sound of that, "Oh, goodie." She joked. "But you said there was a cure, right? So we get this knife thingy and the cure and zing I'm better."
"Yeah if we find the knife at all," came Cordelia's reply from the end of the bed and then realized she said it out loud. "But of course we will" she amended.
"I called Tara," Willow stated, "There wasn't an answer at the house but later I'll try again and see if she can come up with something to help."
"There wasn't an answer at the house?" Buffy asked worriedly. She was increasingly nervous with Spike and her whatever the hell it was out in the open and him just aching to make her life more hectic and signs of his old ways resurfacing. But Willow quickly squashed her worry for now by telling her what Tara had told her, the same thing that kept the Wicca calm. Suddenly Buffy's stomach cramped and she curled into a fetal position on her side in the large bed. She moaned a not good moan that had Willow asking what was wrong and fussing over the Slayer. "My stomach. Cramps don't cover what this is. Ow!"
Suddenly she felt the bed dip and realized Cordelia had gotten up and walked over to the bathroom. Next Buffy heard the sound of water running and she came back out holding a hot water bottle wrapped securely in what looked like a mini pillowcase that fit the rubber bottle perfectly. She went over to Buffy and gently pulled the covers back and handed it to the blonde. "Here…" she said with a genuinely real want to help. She cautiously positioned it on the Slayer's stomach and told her in a warm and comforting tone of voice, "…This will help the pain."
This surprised Buffy and it showed, for only a moment. She and Cordelia shared a brief interlocking of eyes, which spoke worlds, and they silently reached an understanding. They smiled at each other before a cringe of pain took over Buffy's features and Cordelia snuggled the hot water bottle closer to Buffy and lightly tapped it and said, "It'll help."
Then Lorne came up and Buffy found herself staring and then shaking her head mumbling something about all the good demons of the world and rolled over. "Hey, kids! Sorry it took so long but Mistress Meerna isn't someone you can find easily. She's downstairs sealing our own little portal right now." Then suddenly she appeared in the room and that made everyone jump, including Buffy which then proceeded to earn herself an 'Ow" for moving at all.
"It is done. I have closed it. Goodbye." And Mistress Meerna was gone like that (snapping of fingers).
Lorne was the only one of them left un-phased and just shook his head slightly and then turned to look at the group. "Anyway, there's a phone call downstairs for someone named Willow." Then he turned to Willow and said, "That you?"
As Willow rose she said, "Yup! That's me…Willow…ya know." And she just made that 'never mind' nod and went downstairs to take her phone call and Lorne went down with her and so did Fred. Cordelia smiled at Buffy and the Slayer tried to return it as best as she could. Then the seer told Buffy she wished she didn't have to go through this but not to worry because one way or the other Buffy would get better and Buffy believed her. "Besides, I sure as hell don't want to go through what we went through the last time you died!"
"Huh?" Was all the blonde in the bed, in a lot of pain could seem to choke out.
"Angel" was all she had to say and the Slayer just closed her eyes and didn't open them until several minutes later when a red head ran in to the room quickly giving off a story about 'The Trio' causing trouble and she had to go and Buffy was supposed to stay put.
When Buffy registered what Willow was saying she very painfully bolted up in bed and then screamed in pain. Then was pushed down by Cordelia and Willow. "I have to go back to Sunnydale, I don't want them hurting anyone. They might not be officially Slayer ass-kicking material but it's not something easy either." That was hard to say with her chest contracting in pain every time she took a deep breath.
"Tara called Xander who by the way apologizes for blowing up at you about the thing and says he's not happy but not angry at you personally. Just pissed in general…anyway, Tara, Xander, Anya, and I can take care of this. We are experienced slayerettes and Tara can be magic gal. Trust me and don't you dare let her out of you site!" She directed that last comment at Cordelia who gave her a mock salute and her word. Willow bent down to give her best friend a hug and as she did, she whispered in her ear, "There was a confrontation with Spike but no violence and Tara says he left town." Buffy stiffened at the mention of Spike but nodded and felt better knowing he wasn't a nuisance right now. "I will check in later." Willow promised as she went out the door and Buffy rolled over and went to sleep after being urged to do so by Cordelia. She went right out.
There were police with flashlights that were moving around the outside of the motel. One of the cops was talking to another squatter and Tyke was aiming his gun at Angel. Angel tries to get to Tyke, "Dead body in the river. Another one in the bathroom. This just doesn't bode well for you, does it?" And then turns to look at Connor, "Well, you see, son, violence just always ends up bad…" With that Angel started to attack Tyke and the goons when Connor quickly joined in, hitting Tyke on his bandaged ear. Tyke fell to the ground clutching his throbbing ear and tried to stop the pain, in the process, trying to suppress a scream of pain as the police close in on the group.
Angel quickly dropped the last goon to the ground and then turned to Connor as he said, "Connor, we got to get out…" and trailed off as he saw that Tyke held Connor like a shield in front of him saying that he's got to get out of there. In a desperate last chance for his son, Angel pleads with Tyke, "Don't. Use me. I'm bigger. I'll make a better shield." While Tyke hesitates, two things happen. One, the police start punching at the door and Connor's doubts about his father's means are squashed as he realizes that Angel was going to sacrifice himself for… and two, Tyke spun in order to shoot and Angel took this opportunity to grab Connor and pull him down to the floor as the bullets began flying. A stray bullet pierced a window, shattering it and Angel yelled to Connor, "Out that window! Go! Our the window!" And Connor got up and ran towards the window following his father's instructions to "Stay down!" That's when the door opened and a cop came in and aimed his gun at Connor's retreating back. In another show of vampiric speed Angel jumped up and took the bullet for his son and stumbles to the ground and he looked up and yelled at Connor, "Go!" and gets up himself and launches himself at his son as they both go out the window.
Father and son ran down the street, albeit father running hunched around his middle. It was a deserted street and Connor followed close behind his injured father and asked, "Do you need to stop?" But Angel was ever the tuff guy and said, "It's okay." Then, a police car with it's lights and sirens on turned down the very street they're on and Angel pulled Connor between two parked cars. After the car passes Angel let out a groan as he tried to straighten up. Then he admitted, "Maybe I do need a second."
Connor addressed his father in awe, "What you did…"
"Are you hurt?" Angel interrupted and relaxed after Connor shook his head 'no' and then continued, "…you didn't have to do that, but you did. You saved me…why?"
"Connor, it's simple. You're my son…I love you." And then jokingly because Angel had no idea that it wasn't a matter to joke about added, "Even if you did attack my ex-girlfriend and her sister."
"I am sorry about that. Is she okay?"
Once again, not knowing, "Why wouldn't she be? As I heard it, she kicked your ass."
Then the two laughed and after it died Angel hesitantly asked, "You know, if you want, you can come back to the hotel." Connor stared at Angel for a moment then his eyes looked straight at Angel and he replied, "I'd like that…very much."
Buffy was getting worse. Her temperature had reached 102.3 and her breathing wasn't steady. Her heart rate had picked up and that wasn't good for her chest pains, which had increased. She couldn't talk without pain, so Cordelia stayed by her side just as a comfort. Anything that Cordelia asked her could be answered with a nod or gesture, which took energy the Slayer didn't have. But every the stubborn, she held on and struggled through.
Cordelia was saddened by the fact that she couldn't do anything to help. She didn't have the knife or any kind of medicine to help her and could only provide stupid home remedies that didn't interact with her bodily fluids because they would do no good. She was pacing the room in front of the bed where the Slayer slept when she heard the door to the hotel open and close. She was out of the room like a bolt of lightning and down the stairs. In no time she was in front of Angel and Connor. "What a greeting!" Angel joked as he saw her rush down the stairs. Gunn, Fred, and Lorne came out from various places in the building to see them come in.
"You're hurt," Fred observed.
"I'll live…sort of." Then Angel turned to Cordelia who was staring daggers at Connor. "Cordelia…" he probed.
"First off, it's good to see you. Both of you and I mean it." Then she turned her attention from addressing both of them back to Connor and asked, "Where's the knife?"
"Knife?" Connor asked temporarily confused.
"Yeah, ya know, piece of metal containing poison." When he still looked confused she elaborated, "Let me refresh your memory, cemetery attack on a blonde with a cocky attitude and a big mouth. Slashed her back. I don't mean to be too harsh but we really need that knife Connor."
"Cordelia! What are you talking about?" Angel was confused and very upset. "The Spear?"
"Ugh! Thick today are we? Buffy. Slashed. With Poison. Upstairs. IN PAIN SLOWLY DYING!" Surprisingly Cordelia started crying somewhere around 'with poison' and was suddenly engulfed by Groo's arms.
Connor very, very quietly whispered, "I didn't know it was poisonous. He said it was just a family knife. Said to just…" he trailed off and spun on his heels and was ready to bolt when Angel's hand firmly grasped his forearm and said, "It's okay…stay." Then turned to Cordelia, "He has no knife, find another way…" Angel headed for the stairs and half way up he started to turn around and he intended on asking which room even though he'd know…he was just delaying facing what he thought was his mess. As his head spun around he heard Gunn say "Room 304." And the vampire retreated to find his Slayer.
A/N: Okay, I watched the past and present tenses. ^Check
The B/Aness is in the next chapter so if you want it…review it and it better be good. I was up to the wee hours of the morning doing this work and I am very sick. How do you think I got Buffy's symptoms?
Also, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and to those who asked for Connor/Dawn, I had though about doing that but wasn't sure if it would fly. But now that two different people said 'yes' it will be done.
Okay, thanks for reading…
