Cordelia looked at the stairs of the Hyperian Hotel. After explaining the
Delegation of Aurelius to his friends, Angel had gotten up quietly and
walked upstairs. It had been almost eight hours since then and no one had
left the office, except for Gunn who had left to get breakfast for the crew
of Angel Investigations.
Fred walked quietly into Wesley's office where she say the ex-watcher fast asleep on top of a pile of books about vampire orders, as well as books on the Order of Aurelius. Fred walked over and picked one up. She opened it to look inside at the test and a picture fell out. She took it off of the floor and looked at it intrigued. The photograph was very old, the date on the back said 1894, and the front was a picture of a man and a woman in Victorian dress. The man had his arms around the woman's waist, and she was smiling at her lover, Fred assumed. She opened the book to where the picture fell from to see more photos of the couple. She jumped as Wesley's voice startled her.
"See anything interesting?" He asked, still appearing fast asleep upon the pile of books, except for the movement of his mouth.
Fred laughed uncomfortably as she put the book back on Wesley's desk. "You scared me."
Wes opened his eyes and sat up, a piece of paper sticking to his face. He pulled it off and looked at the Texan girl. "Sorry. But really, did you see anything interesting?"
Fred nodded and picked up the book she had been holding and looked at the title: "The Scourge of Europe". She wasn't really sure what that meant but she turned her attention to the picture that had intrigued her so. "This couple? Who are they?"
"That would be Spike and Drusilla. Uh, Drusilla was sired by Angelus in 1860, and Spike was sired by Drusilla in 1880. They traveled with Angelus and Darla until 1900 when Angel got his soul. After that they were together for almost another century, when Spike was, uh, dumped by Drusilla for his interest in the slayer."
"Angel's slayer? Um.Buffy? The same one?"
"Yes. He's actually living in Sunnydale now, helps Buffy and her friends. Hasn't hurt a human in about for years."
Fred looked puzzled. "How do you know all this?"
Wesley smiled. "Word travels on the grapevine." Fred raised an eyebrow. "The grapevine being Angel."
Fred laughed and looked back at the photograph. Spike was obviously very handsome, looks competing with Angel's she though. Though the picture was in black and white, she could tell that he had blonde hair, which complemented his pale, vampiric features. She wondered how old he was when he was turned; he looked like he couldn't have been older than twenty-five. She sighed at what a tragedy it must have been for his family to lose him. She then turned her attention to the woman. Raven-haired and mysterious, Drusilla looked as evil as she probably was. She was beautiful of course, but form Fred's experience, vampires just tended to look good.
She placed the picture on the desk and looked back at Wesley. "May I borrow this?"
Wesley nodded and opened another book; Fred turned and walked back into the lobby. She sat down on the sofa and opened the book. Cordy walked over to her and attempted to read over her shoulder.
"What's that?"
"Um. a book about some of Angel's vampire family," Fred told her as she turned to a page with more pictures.
"HA!" A loud and mocking laughed escaped from Cordelia's mouth. Fred looked up confused.
"What's so funny?"
"These pictures. Is that. is that Spike? Oh my god, the last time I saw him he was bleach blonde and black clad with a leather duster to top it off. The man looked like he was trapped in the seventies." Cordelia leaned over and looked at the dates on the pictures that were all from the late 1800s. When Cordelia finished getting over Spike in tweed, she looked back up at the stairs of the Hotel.
"I'm gonna go check on Angel," she told anyone who would listen as she headed upstairs. She walked in the direction of Angel's room when she suddenly stopped, seeing that he was sitting in the rocking chair by Connor's crib, watching his son sleep. Cordy walked quietly over to Angel so as not to disturb the sleeping child, and placed a caring hand on her friend's shoulder.
Angel didn't turn to look at her but acknowledged her presence with a nod of his head. "Hey Cordy."
"Hey Angel," she whispered as she sat on the other chair beside the crib. "Are you okay?"
"He lost his mother so young," he told her sadly, even at that point in time it was hard for Angel to think of Darla, "what if I die and he doesn't remember me either? What if I never get to watch him grow up?"
"That's not gonna happen, Angel. We have been through so much worse, you will get through this and you will come back from whatever it is you have to do as good as new."
He shook his head with the same sadness that he had whenever he mentioned his sire. "You know, I always thought I'd be at this thing with Darla. If you had asked me 110 years ago what I'd be doing at the Delegation, I would have told you that I would be marching in with Darla on one arm and Dru on the other, I would have staked Spike by that point of course, and I would have taken over. Look where I am now, Cordy. A single father who was trying to kill two people I had loved and almost the people he loved at the time doing it."
"Things change, Angel. Everything has to change and it's not so bad."
"Not us, not demons," he mumbled under his breath, remembering what Spike had said when he saw him for the first time in 100 years.
"What's really wrong then, Angel?"
He laughed as quietly as he could. "I'm afraid."
"We all get scared, Angel. That's part of life."
"But I'm not alive."
"Last time I checked I wasn't wasting my time talking to a corpse. You have more life in you than many people I've met who, you know, aren't vampires. You have so more drive in left in you that I seriously doubt that the PTB's brought you all this way just to get you killed. You have so much more to do in this world Angel, sometimes you just gotta have a little faith."
Angel smiled and nodded. Her words were just comforting enough to get him to the phone call he had to make that night. He was about to tell Cordy what a wonderful person she was, when his train of though was interrupted by the stirring of his young son.
Fred walked quietly into Wesley's office where she say the ex-watcher fast asleep on top of a pile of books about vampire orders, as well as books on the Order of Aurelius. Fred walked over and picked one up. She opened it to look inside at the test and a picture fell out. She took it off of the floor and looked at it intrigued. The photograph was very old, the date on the back said 1894, and the front was a picture of a man and a woman in Victorian dress. The man had his arms around the woman's waist, and she was smiling at her lover, Fred assumed. She opened the book to where the picture fell from to see more photos of the couple. She jumped as Wesley's voice startled her.
"See anything interesting?" He asked, still appearing fast asleep upon the pile of books, except for the movement of his mouth.
Fred laughed uncomfortably as she put the book back on Wesley's desk. "You scared me."
Wes opened his eyes and sat up, a piece of paper sticking to his face. He pulled it off and looked at the Texan girl. "Sorry. But really, did you see anything interesting?"
Fred nodded and picked up the book she had been holding and looked at the title: "The Scourge of Europe". She wasn't really sure what that meant but she turned her attention to the picture that had intrigued her so. "This couple? Who are they?"
"That would be Spike and Drusilla. Uh, Drusilla was sired by Angelus in 1860, and Spike was sired by Drusilla in 1880. They traveled with Angelus and Darla until 1900 when Angel got his soul. After that they were together for almost another century, when Spike was, uh, dumped by Drusilla for his interest in the slayer."
"Angel's slayer? Um.Buffy? The same one?"
"Yes. He's actually living in Sunnydale now, helps Buffy and her friends. Hasn't hurt a human in about for years."
Fred looked puzzled. "How do you know all this?"
Wesley smiled. "Word travels on the grapevine." Fred raised an eyebrow. "The grapevine being Angel."
Fred laughed and looked back at the photograph. Spike was obviously very handsome, looks competing with Angel's she though. Though the picture was in black and white, she could tell that he had blonde hair, which complemented his pale, vampiric features. She wondered how old he was when he was turned; he looked like he couldn't have been older than twenty-five. She sighed at what a tragedy it must have been for his family to lose him. She then turned her attention to the woman. Raven-haired and mysterious, Drusilla looked as evil as she probably was. She was beautiful of course, but form Fred's experience, vampires just tended to look good.
She placed the picture on the desk and looked back at Wesley. "May I borrow this?"
Wesley nodded and opened another book; Fred turned and walked back into the lobby. She sat down on the sofa and opened the book. Cordy walked over to her and attempted to read over her shoulder.
"What's that?"
"Um. a book about some of Angel's vampire family," Fred told her as she turned to a page with more pictures.
"HA!" A loud and mocking laughed escaped from Cordelia's mouth. Fred looked up confused.
"What's so funny?"
"These pictures. Is that. is that Spike? Oh my god, the last time I saw him he was bleach blonde and black clad with a leather duster to top it off. The man looked like he was trapped in the seventies." Cordelia leaned over and looked at the dates on the pictures that were all from the late 1800s. When Cordelia finished getting over Spike in tweed, she looked back up at the stairs of the Hotel.
"I'm gonna go check on Angel," she told anyone who would listen as she headed upstairs. She walked in the direction of Angel's room when she suddenly stopped, seeing that he was sitting in the rocking chair by Connor's crib, watching his son sleep. Cordy walked quietly over to Angel so as not to disturb the sleeping child, and placed a caring hand on her friend's shoulder.
Angel didn't turn to look at her but acknowledged her presence with a nod of his head. "Hey Cordy."
"Hey Angel," she whispered as she sat on the other chair beside the crib. "Are you okay?"
"He lost his mother so young," he told her sadly, even at that point in time it was hard for Angel to think of Darla, "what if I die and he doesn't remember me either? What if I never get to watch him grow up?"
"That's not gonna happen, Angel. We have been through so much worse, you will get through this and you will come back from whatever it is you have to do as good as new."
He shook his head with the same sadness that he had whenever he mentioned his sire. "You know, I always thought I'd be at this thing with Darla. If you had asked me 110 years ago what I'd be doing at the Delegation, I would have told you that I would be marching in with Darla on one arm and Dru on the other, I would have staked Spike by that point of course, and I would have taken over. Look where I am now, Cordy. A single father who was trying to kill two people I had loved and almost the people he loved at the time doing it."
"Things change, Angel. Everything has to change and it's not so bad."
"Not us, not demons," he mumbled under his breath, remembering what Spike had said when he saw him for the first time in 100 years.
"What's really wrong then, Angel?"
He laughed as quietly as he could. "I'm afraid."
"We all get scared, Angel. That's part of life."
"But I'm not alive."
"Last time I checked I wasn't wasting my time talking to a corpse. You have more life in you than many people I've met who, you know, aren't vampires. You have so more drive in left in you that I seriously doubt that the PTB's brought you all this way just to get you killed. You have so much more to do in this world Angel, sometimes you just gotta have a little faith."
Angel smiled and nodded. Her words were just comforting enough to get him to the phone call he had to make that night. He was about to tell Cordy what a wonderful person she was, when his train of though was interrupted by the stirring of his young son.
