A/N-. Okay...well...lets see where I can take this....i have a vague idea, but you're gonna need to tell me how you think it's going and I *do* accept constructive criticism... so don't be shy and do tell me *Exactly* what you're thinking... Thanx.
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"Come on already...make with the talking...what did you find out? What is there to know about me? PLEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEE..." I whine at Angel. I've been doing it for the past 5 minutes, while he's been in the other room getting out some first aid equipment.
"After we get you cleaned up." He responds, emerging from the supplies room, a box of all sorts of medical stuff in his arms. I'm sitting on the all-too-familiar couch again. He drops the box on the coffee table in front of me and then takes a seat to my right. He shuffles closer to me and reaches for some iodine and a few cotton swabs. "This may sting a little..." He warns.
"A *little*? Unless they've started diluting the stuff MAJORLY, I doubt the effects will be *little*." I wince as he brings a piece of the soaked cotton to my face. "Ouch...ow...shhiiiittt....pain...ooohh...stinging...bad...." I ramble.
He chuckles gently. "Okay...face done..."
"Great. Now you can start the explaining..."
"Nope. You're still hurt." He gestures to my back. "I can smell the blood."
"And *there's* an interesting conversation starter..." I smile at him to let him know that I don't mean to be disrespectful and all that jazz...I'm just having fun. He looks at me expectantly. "Okay...okay..." I say, turning from him and hesitantly lifting the back of the shirt. He gasps slightly, which I know is not a good thing. "That bad, huh?"
"Well... let's just say it doesn't look good."
"Oh..." I grimace again as the stinging sensation graces my back. "Ho...ha...hi...hoo.. Hurts..."
"There..." He says dabbing my lower back. You have no idea how self conscious I feel right now...I think my heartbeat went through the roof around sometime last week...and its not slowing down. I'm sitting alone with the one guy that's haunted my dreams for TPTBs know how long and all I'm wearing is his shirt and a black lace g-string, with matching bra. That's it. "Uh..." He says cautiously "I think you might need to lose the shirt."
"What?" I manage...I think my heart rate has actually left the planet now.
"Its got blood all over it...I'm thinking it won't be too comfortable."
I swallow. "Fine..." Pulling it off, I realise just how battered I am. I'm feeling the bruising like you wouldn't believe...and my muscles ache more than anything I've ever experienced. I turn and pass Angel the shirt, feeling vulnerable and way too self-conscious. "Sorry I got it all messed up."
"Oh, yeah...like I'm going to care about the shirt when the girl I'm supposed to be keeping safe almost got killed...again." He stands up and offers me his hand.
"Man, Cordy's really introduced you to a lot of things, hasn't she? I mean...the Angel that was on Btvs barely got humour or sarcasm...yet *you*; the Angel of AtS, have got `em down pat..." I trail off, realizing that I'm standing up and acting normal...while still in my skimpy underwear. "Ummm...this is awkward..." I blush. What is it with me blushing? I *never* used to blush...
He does that half-smile thing and disappears into the room that leads to the basement/laundry. He comes back with a new shirt. "Try not to get this one all bloody..." He jokes.
I laugh a little and take it from him, slipping into it quickly. "Thanks...and I promise that if someone tries to attack me, I'll throw it off and blind them with the bleckyness that is me without clothes..."
He shakes his head. "Don't undervalue yourself. You without clothes isn't a bad thi...just crossed a line didn't I?"
My eyes widen a little. "Yep...but in a good way. On second thoughts...No...not good. You're supposed to say those sorta things to Cordy. Not me. Plus...you're not supposed to lead 16-year-old girls on...we all saw how ba-" I cut myself off. That was close. I almost slipped up in an incredibly horrible way. Anyhow...I like the idea of Buffy and Spike... so it's no use bringing her up...not if I want Angel to eventually get with Cordelia.
"Technically...you're not 16..."
"Pardon?"
"Well, the *you* in another dimension may be, but we have to consider time riffs and everything..."
"Then how old *am* I?"
"Well...on what date do you turn 17?"
"February 13^th 2002." I tell him...but then it dawns on me that I would have *had* to stumbled into a later date in this world `cos otherwise Connor still wouldn't exist, Buffy would still be dead and Cordelia wouldn't be part demon yet... "Oh...I turned 17 months ago according to you guys, then...wow...I'm 17. Woo hoo! Go team me!"
Angel chuckles a little more and we sit back down on the couch. "What else do you know about me? And do you have any idea what that Damien guy wanted? And why did he keep calling me Nicola? Why did he send those vamps out to kill me?" I throw all these questions at him and he smiles.
"Okay...firstly, we worked out how you got here..." He begins. "You switched places with your twin in this dimension...See, apparently we all have them...that's why I look just like that Boring guy..." I shake my head at him and he tries not to notice. "...sometimes there's a connection of some kind between us and them...be it that we're the same as the TV character they play or just that the people we associate with are the twins of those that we associate with in the other dimension...these links don't need to be our friend in this one to be our friend in that one, though...and vice versa..." He raises an eyebrow at me. "You with me so far?"
"I think so. We have things in common with a twin in another reality, but it doesn't have to be exactly the same. Got it." I respond.
"Okay, that was easier to understand than my ramblings..." He pauses and tries to determine where he left off. "Twins...that's right... however we don't always share the same personality or qualities as them...but somehow...because we *do* share an energy...we're linked to them. I'm not quite sure how it works...but it does. And sometimes, when you get a feeling of dejavu it *can* mean that your other self...if you want to call them that...well, it means that they're experiencing something almost the same and the barrier between you is thinning... Of course, its not *every* time you have dejavu...but its been known to happen." He pauses again. "Still with me?"
I nod again. "Yeah..." Suddenly it hits me. "Ooh...I was getting heaps of dejavu all day before I got here..."
"I remembered you saying something about that...so that's when it started falling into place." He nods. "So... The barrier separating your shared energy thins a little when you have little bits of dejavu and obviously, if it's a big enough thing happening to the 2 of you at the same time, which is *VERY VERY* rare as Wes tells me, the barrier disappears for a second and-"
"And then I fell through into this world...and my twin-"
"Fell into yours."
I stare at Angel, not speaking. It makes sense...which, okay, I probably wouldn't believe under any other circumstances...but I get it. "OhMyGod...then...that would explain why Dr Evil upstairs kept calling me Nicola...he thinks I'm her...then, in my home reality, my family would mistake her as me." I pause to let it all sink in. "That's if she's alive `cos when we switched I was being mugged by a group of guys...and she was being attacked by vamps... but I can hold my own...yet, I don't think she could. Not if Damien's reaction to my being able to fight is anything to go by..." I look at Angel again, this time searching his eyes, giving off every vibe I can to tell him that I'm scared of the possibilities. "Angel...if she's dead...I-I can't go back home..."
He leans forward and takes my hand. I catch my breath...then upon realising the stupidity of my actions, let it go again. "It's okay..." He croons, "...I don't think she's dead. If she was, you'd have suffered from it. I mean, you're energy is a shared one but with what's happened...the bond would be even stronger...so if she died...you'd feel it. Well, that's the theory anyway..."
"Thanks..." I tell him. "You have no idea how grateful I am for your help right now...and I don't mean just physical help. You're supporting me and making me feel like everything's gonna be okay...and I really, *really* appreciate it." I pull my hand away from his and try to bring the focus back to the here and now. "So...who's this Damien-The-Demon guy and what does he want with me...I mean, Nicola?"
"Well, Truthfully...I didn't know he was even up there with you...Cordy's vision was of you and this Nicola girl switching places...I didn't even have a *clue* you were under attack...so, all we know is what I've told you. That's it."
I smile. "Well, you have sources and underground contacts and stuff..." I can feel myself getting excited at the prospect of what I'm about to suggest. So excited, in fact, that I can't wait to rush my idea at him. "Can we go chase up the information? Like you do on TV...I mean, you know what I mean...I've always wanted to..."
I'm behaving like a child. One that's just spied a new ride or toy or something...and is begging whoever it is she's with to let her play. "I know what to do...*and* it's crucial information...regarding me no-less...Please?" I tug at his hand, playfully. "Puhleeeaase?" Now I'm adding my big-brown-puppy-dog-eyes...the ones that I learnt to perfect from years of watching David Boreanaz do it on TV. (Well, really, I'm just mimicking from all the years of watching the vampire in front of me...but lets not get technical...)
He shakes his head. "Not tonight. You're injured and you need to sleep." I open my mouth to protest, but he adds a firm, "We'll discuss it in the morning."
Defeated, I rise and offer him my hand. He takes it and I help him up. "You know...you're gonna be a great dad for Connor. You've got the tone *and* the glare perfected for when he hits his teens..."
He smiles a genuine and even proud smile. "Thankyou."
"You're welcome. But if you even *think* about treating me like I'm your daughter figure again, I'll go insane. I mean, seriously...it makes it wrong for me to have a secret crush on you..." I laugh... "But if I keep letting it slip, it's not so secret, is it? Oh, well...doesn't make it any less weird..." I look up at him again. "Don't worry...I'm just *playing*..." Actually...having Angel as a father figure *would* be pretty cool... and I think I'm finally letting go of this whole crush thing...
We reach the elevator and he presses the button to our floor. After a few seconds, Angel says. "Hang on...when I told you that you looked good without clothes, I mean...well, when I slipped up and crossed that line...Which I'll *never* do again...you said that I was supposed to say those types of things to Cordy... What, pray tell, did you mean?"
I smirk. "Ooh...look, there's my room...and its soo early in the morning...I think I'll get some sleep. `Night."
"Hey!" He protests as I open the door and walk in. "This isn't over!"
"And now *you're* doing the clichéd lines?" I throw back, half closing the door. "Oh, brother..." I shoot him one last grin and close the door.
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A/N- Righteo then...you gotta review now. I mean it ppl... please don't rely on others...it doesn't always work out well... :) Kay...well...you know what u have to do... REVIEW IT PLEASE! PUHLEEEAAASSE! I need the feedback...the fic will die without it... (I'm serious...it will.)
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"Come on already...make with the talking...what did you find out? What is there to know about me? PLEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEE..." I whine at Angel. I've been doing it for the past 5 minutes, while he's been in the other room getting out some first aid equipment.
"After we get you cleaned up." He responds, emerging from the supplies room, a box of all sorts of medical stuff in his arms. I'm sitting on the all-too-familiar couch again. He drops the box on the coffee table in front of me and then takes a seat to my right. He shuffles closer to me and reaches for some iodine and a few cotton swabs. "This may sting a little..." He warns.
"A *little*? Unless they've started diluting the stuff MAJORLY, I doubt the effects will be *little*." I wince as he brings a piece of the soaked cotton to my face. "Ouch...ow...shhiiiittt....pain...ooohh...stinging...bad...." I ramble.
He chuckles gently. "Okay...face done..."
"Great. Now you can start the explaining..."
"Nope. You're still hurt." He gestures to my back. "I can smell the blood."
"And *there's* an interesting conversation starter..." I smile at him to let him know that I don't mean to be disrespectful and all that jazz...I'm just having fun. He looks at me expectantly. "Okay...okay..." I say, turning from him and hesitantly lifting the back of the shirt. He gasps slightly, which I know is not a good thing. "That bad, huh?"
"Well... let's just say it doesn't look good."
"Oh..." I grimace again as the stinging sensation graces my back. "Ho...ha...hi...hoo.. Hurts..."
"There..." He says dabbing my lower back. You have no idea how self conscious I feel right now...I think my heartbeat went through the roof around sometime last week...and its not slowing down. I'm sitting alone with the one guy that's haunted my dreams for TPTBs know how long and all I'm wearing is his shirt and a black lace g-string, with matching bra. That's it. "Uh..." He says cautiously "I think you might need to lose the shirt."
"What?" I manage...I think my heart rate has actually left the planet now.
"Its got blood all over it...I'm thinking it won't be too comfortable."
I swallow. "Fine..." Pulling it off, I realise just how battered I am. I'm feeling the bruising like you wouldn't believe...and my muscles ache more than anything I've ever experienced. I turn and pass Angel the shirt, feeling vulnerable and way too self-conscious. "Sorry I got it all messed up."
"Oh, yeah...like I'm going to care about the shirt when the girl I'm supposed to be keeping safe almost got killed...again." He stands up and offers me his hand.
"Man, Cordy's really introduced you to a lot of things, hasn't she? I mean...the Angel that was on Btvs barely got humour or sarcasm...yet *you*; the Angel of AtS, have got `em down pat..." I trail off, realizing that I'm standing up and acting normal...while still in my skimpy underwear. "Ummm...this is awkward..." I blush. What is it with me blushing? I *never* used to blush...
He does that half-smile thing and disappears into the room that leads to the basement/laundry. He comes back with a new shirt. "Try not to get this one all bloody..." He jokes.
I laugh a little and take it from him, slipping into it quickly. "Thanks...and I promise that if someone tries to attack me, I'll throw it off and blind them with the bleckyness that is me without clothes..."
He shakes his head. "Don't undervalue yourself. You without clothes isn't a bad thi...just crossed a line didn't I?"
My eyes widen a little. "Yep...but in a good way. On second thoughts...No...not good. You're supposed to say those sorta things to Cordy. Not me. Plus...you're not supposed to lead 16-year-old girls on...we all saw how ba-" I cut myself off. That was close. I almost slipped up in an incredibly horrible way. Anyhow...I like the idea of Buffy and Spike... so it's no use bringing her up...not if I want Angel to eventually get with Cordelia.
"Technically...you're not 16..."
"Pardon?"
"Well, the *you* in another dimension may be, but we have to consider time riffs and everything..."
"Then how old *am* I?"
"Well...on what date do you turn 17?"
"February 13^th 2002." I tell him...but then it dawns on me that I would have *had* to stumbled into a later date in this world `cos otherwise Connor still wouldn't exist, Buffy would still be dead and Cordelia wouldn't be part demon yet... "Oh...I turned 17 months ago according to you guys, then...wow...I'm 17. Woo hoo! Go team me!"
Angel chuckles a little more and we sit back down on the couch. "What else do you know about me? And do you have any idea what that Damien guy wanted? And why did he keep calling me Nicola? Why did he send those vamps out to kill me?" I throw all these questions at him and he smiles.
"Okay...firstly, we worked out how you got here..." He begins. "You switched places with your twin in this dimension...See, apparently we all have them...that's why I look just like that Boring guy..." I shake my head at him and he tries not to notice. "...sometimes there's a connection of some kind between us and them...be it that we're the same as the TV character they play or just that the people we associate with are the twins of those that we associate with in the other dimension...these links don't need to be our friend in this one to be our friend in that one, though...and vice versa..." He raises an eyebrow at me. "You with me so far?"
"I think so. We have things in common with a twin in another reality, but it doesn't have to be exactly the same. Got it." I respond.
"Okay, that was easier to understand than my ramblings..." He pauses and tries to determine where he left off. "Twins...that's right... however we don't always share the same personality or qualities as them...but somehow...because we *do* share an energy...we're linked to them. I'm not quite sure how it works...but it does. And sometimes, when you get a feeling of dejavu it *can* mean that your other self...if you want to call them that...well, it means that they're experiencing something almost the same and the barrier between you is thinning... Of course, its not *every* time you have dejavu...but its been known to happen." He pauses again. "Still with me?"
I nod again. "Yeah..." Suddenly it hits me. "Ooh...I was getting heaps of dejavu all day before I got here..."
"I remembered you saying something about that...so that's when it started falling into place." He nods. "So... The barrier separating your shared energy thins a little when you have little bits of dejavu and obviously, if it's a big enough thing happening to the 2 of you at the same time, which is *VERY VERY* rare as Wes tells me, the barrier disappears for a second and-"
"And then I fell through into this world...and my twin-"
"Fell into yours."
I stare at Angel, not speaking. It makes sense...which, okay, I probably wouldn't believe under any other circumstances...but I get it. "OhMyGod...then...that would explain why Dr Evil upstairs kept calling me Nicola...he thinks I'm her...then, in my home reality, my family would mistake her as me." I pause to let it all sink in. "That's if she's alive `cos when we switched I was being mugged by a group of guys...and she was being attacked by vamps... but I can hold my own...yet, I don't think she could. Not if Damien's reaction to my being able to fight is anything to go by..." I look at Angel again, this time searching his eyes, giving off every vibe I can to tell him that I'm scared of the possibilities. "Angel...if she's dead...I-I can't go back home..."
He leans forward and takes my hand. I catch my breath...then upon realising the stupidity of my actions, let it go again. "It's okay..." He croons, "...I don't think she's dead. If she was, you'd have suffered from it. I mean, you're energy is a shared one but with what's happened...the bond would be even stronger...so if she died...you'd feel it. Well, that's the theory anyway..."
"Thanks..." I tell him. "You have no idea how grateful I am for your help right now...and I don't mean just physical help. You're supporting me and making me feel like everything's gonna be okay...and I really, *really* appreciate it." I pull my hand away from his and try to bring the focus back to the here and now. "So...who's this Damien-The-Demon guy and what does he want with me...I mean, Nicola?"
"Well, Truthfully...I didn't know he was even up there with you...Cordy's vision was of you and this Nicola girl switching places...I didn't even have a *clue* you were under attack...so, all we know is what I've told you. That's it."
I smile. "Well, you have sources and underground contacts and stuff..." I can feel myself getting excited at the prospect of what I'm about to suggest. So excited, in fact, that I can't wait to rush my idea at him. "Can we go chase up the information? Like you do on TV...I mean, you know what I mean...I've always wanted to..."
I'm behaving like a child. One that's just spied a new ride or toy or something...and is begging whoever it is she's with to let her play. "I know what to do...*and* it's crucial information...regarding me no-less...Please?" I tug at his hand, playfully. "Puhleeeaase?" Now I'm adding my big-brown-puppy-dog-eyes...the ones that I learnt to perfect from years of watching David Boreanaz do it on TV. (Well, really, I'm just mimicking from all the years of watching the vampire in front of me...but lets not get technical...)
He shakes his head. "Not tonight. You're injured and you need to sleep." I open my mouth to protest, but he adds a firm, "We'll discuss it in the morning."
Defeated, I rise and offer him my hand. He takes it and I help him up. "You know...you're gonna be a great dad for Connor. You've got the tone *and* the glare perfected for when he hits his teens..."
He smiles a genuine and even proud smile. "Thankyou."
"You're welcome. But if you even *think* about treating me like I'm your daughter figure again, I'll go insane. I mean, seriously...it makes it wrong for me to have a secret crush on you..." I laugh... "But if I keep letting it slip, it's not so secret, is it? Oh, well...doesn't make it any less weird..." I look up at him again. "Don't worry...I'm just *playing*..." Actually...having Angel as a father figure *would* be pretty cool... and I think I'm finally letting go of this whole crush thing...
We reach the elevator and he presses the button to our floor. After a few seconds, Angel says. "Hang on...when I told you that you looked good without clothes, I mean...well, when I slipped up and crossed that line...Which I'll *never* do again...you said that I was supposed to say those types of things to Cordy... What, pray tell, did you mean?"
I smirk. "Ooh...look, there's my room...and its soo early in the morning...I think I'll get some sleep. `Night."
"Hey!" He protests as I open the door and walk in. "This isn't over!"
"And now *you're* doing the clichéd lines?" I throw back, half closing the door. "Oh, brother..." I shoot him one last grin and close the door.
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A/N- Righteo then...you gotta review now. I mean it ppl... please don't rely on others...it doesn't always work out well... :) Kay...well...you know what u have to do... REVIEW IT PLEASE! PUHLEEEAAASSE! I need the feedback...the fic will die without it... (I'm serious...it will.)
