Like Father, Like Son

by Pat and Michelle Weakley



Chapter One

I



Connor curled into a tight ball. The stomach cramps were getting worse. They were always bad at night, but tonight was the worst yet. During the day, the pain though always there, would lessen enough so that he could pretend that everything was normal. It was at night that the cramps were so bad that he would find himself staring at the ceiling until it began to turn pink with the coming of dawn.

It was useless to stay in bed anymore. After putting on some pants he crept out of his room and through the darkened hallway. Everyone was asleep, except for Angel, but he was quiet, doing whatever he does in the dead of the night. Even though they had come to accept Connor's presence and he had come to grudgingly accept them, he would never become one of them. Even if he wanted to.

His wandering led him to the hotel's large kitchen. The thin moonlight streaming through a high window gave him just enough light to see his way around the stainless steel appliances and cabinets. Opening a cabinet door, he rummaged through boxes of cereal and canisters of Cordelia's diet drink power. Finally he found her secret stash of M & M's and took a large handful of them. He ate them one by one, wondering why the brunette actress was so blissful about eating the things or anything else that was chocolate for that matter.

Deciding that the little bits of chocolate did nothing to ease the pain in his belly, he opened the refrigerator door. For a few moments he stood transfixed by the bright light coming out of the opened door. He had never realized how bright it was. It took a few minutes until he could see clearly again. There were several bottles of soda in it plus some limp carrots. Connor lifted the lid of a dish and found in there something covered in green velvet that looked half alive. He experimentally sniffed it, then with a grimace of distaste tossed it back into the refrigerator.

Connor noticed several bottles of Angel's blood supply, a reminder of the vampire's unnatural needs. Gross, he thought, How could anyone ever consider drinking the stuff? In his eyes Angel was not even a true man. He was monster masquerading as a human being. Even though he was of Angel's blood, he could never consider the man as his father. He would never call him father with affection.

Nothing looked even remotely appetizing except for a package of hamburger meat. He had seen Gunn cook up large patties of the meat, transforming it into a massive sandwich that was nearly too tall to bite into. If the vampire hunter could do it, Connor figured, so could he. He found a small frying pan and lit a fire on the industrial size stove. Imitating Gunn, Connor formed a large patty and threw it into the pan where it began sizzling.

With a disgusted grimace, Connor noticed his hands were sticky with a cold layer of fat from the hamburger. He automatically started to wipe his hands on his pants when he remembered Cordelia lecturing him about it. As if she was standing next to him, he could hear her say, "Ewww, don't do that! That's nasty and totally gross."

He groaned looking at the mess on his hands. He had to do something about it. There weren't any towels around, or any paper towels either. With an exasperated sigh he headed for the sink. Unthinkingly he licked a finger. It didn't taste half bad. He licked another finger and another until he had licked them all clean. Still unconcerned, he washed his hands in the sink until they were completely clean.

Returning to the stove, Connor flipped the hamburger with a spatula onto its other side. It didn't seem to be cooking fast enough. He raised the heat, but it still wasn't cooking fast enough. Connor pressed the hamburger with the spatula impatiently, watching the pink juices run out of the cooking meat. Gunn had told him before that a hamburger was done when the juice came out clear. Connor was starting to get hungry. Very hungry. He couldn't wait anymore. He hungrily grabbed at the hot meat. It was very hot and barely cooked inside. He didn't care. It tasted very good. The knots in his belly began to slowly loosen.

Then the half-cooked hamburger was all gone. There was only the raw meat in the package. Too hungry to cook the remaining meat, Connor grabbed a chunk and ate it. He was surprised to find that it tasted better uncooked. Hungrily, he ate it handful after handful until the package was completely empty. The pain in his belly was nearly gone, but he was still hungry. In fact he was even hungrier than he was before.

He slammed open the refrigerator. There had to be more meat in there. He needed meat. There was none. The bottles filled with blood called him. He could feel his own blood respond to that siren call. His ears roared with a dizzying rush of hunger. The blood was such a beautiful shade of red. It was so very, very lovely. So very tempting. His mouth was watering with desire. He grabbed the nearest bottle, guzzling down its contents without taking a breath. It tasted so good. Never had he tasted anything so sweet, so wonderful. The pain was gone. Never had his head felt so clear. Never in his life had he felt so alive and powerful.

The blood was cold and there was an odd tang to it. An unnatural tang. Something in his own blood told him that it was not quite right. Pigs' blood, not human, of course. Angel in his self-imposed denial refused to drink human blood even if it was stolen from a blood bank instead of a living throat.

"Connor? Are you okay?" Fred asked from behind him.

Connor spun, wiping the blood from his lips with the back of his hand. She was so pale in the light from the refrigerator. Curly brown hair tumbled down her slender shoulders. She looked frail and helpless despite the thick robe she clasped close to her throat. He could hear her heartbeat. He could hear it beating wildly with fear. He could hear the blood rushing through her veins. Warm blood. Hot blood. Living blood. Connor leapt at the girl.

Fred screamed, the feral light in his eyes frightening her. Yellow eyes and fangs that gleamed against blood stained lips.

Connor grabbed Fred's hair, turning her head back, exposing her white throat. The blood was very close there. He could feel its heat. He could almost taste it.

"Connor! What the hell is going on?" Gunn roared, rushing for the boy.

Connor looked up at the tall black man, the light from the open refrigerator door shining on the man's shaved head. Glancing down in shock at the sobbing girl in his arms, Connor thought wildly, Oh, my God, what am I becoming?

Gunn's fist slammed into his face, sending him against the hot stove, spilling the hot fat in the pan onto the floor.

Slipping and sliding, Connor yelled at him, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"

Gunn grabbed at him, slipped on the fat and landed cursing with a heavy thud on the floor.

"Gunn! Connor!" Angel yelled.

Connor helplessly saw Angel standing in the open doorway with a horrified look on his face. The horror on Angel's face matching the horror the young man felt deep in his soul.

There was nowhere to go. Panicked, he spotted the open window. Connor chinned himself up to the window then smashed through it with his bare feet.

The window was too small for Angel to go through. He headed for the front door, trying to catch up with Connor. Gunn grabbed Angel's shoulder. "What the hell's is going on with that boy?" he demanded. "What kind of monster is he turning into?"

"I don't know," Angel shot back.

"He attacked Fred!" Gunn persisted. "He was drinking blood. He was going to bite her. You saw the fangs."

"Yeah, I saw the fangs," Angel bit out, angrily snatching Gunn's hand away from his shoulder. "We won't know a damn thing until I catch him." He glanced back at Fred who was shakily walking toward them. "Take care of her," he growled at Gunn. "I'll be back as soon as I can."





II

It was hopeless, Angel decided after several hours of frantically searching the neighborhood. The boy could be anywhere. He glanced up at the sky. The stars dimly seen through the LA smog were becoming even more dim as the eastern horizon began to lighten. It would be day soon. He had to get back now.

Fred greeted him as he wearily entered the front door. "How are you doing?" he asked her.

Fred nodded with a small, self-deprecating smile, "I'm okay. I was just frightened that's all. He didn't mean to hurt me."

"That didn't mean he wouldn't have. You saw those fangs. He's going Vamp on us," Gunn stated harshly to Angel.

"That might not be so," Fred said, trying to ease Gunn's worries. "His face wasn't all vampy looking, you know."

"Maybe so, but he still was going to bite you," Gunn replied, protectively wrapping his arms around the much smaller girl.

"Hey guys!" Cordelia said stepping through the open door carrying a large pink box in her hands. "Where's Connor? I got some donuts. I couldn't figure out what he likes so I got some chocolate covered, some cinnamon rolls and filled ones too. Now don't anybody touch the apple fritter. That one's mine."

Suddenly she noticed the grim looks on everyone's faces. "Uh guys. What's going on? Where's Connor?"

"Uh, Cordy," Angel said, drawing the brunette to the side, "We got a problem."

"He didn't run away again, did he?"

"Yeah, he did," Angel admitted reluctantly.

"I thought we finally had everything settled," she replied, "this sucks big time. How are we going to find him?"

"Well," Angel said slowly, "there's another problem."

"What problem? Other than a teenager on the loose, that is?"

"He attacked Fred."

"What?"

"He was going to bite her."

"You're kidding. Right?"

Angel shook his head. "No."

"But why?"

"I think he's inherited a lot more than just vampire strength from Darla and me."

"Like what?"

"I think he's hungry . . . "

"Hungry for . . . " she pressed impatiently.

"Uh . . . "

"Yeah?"

"Uh, blood."

"WHAT?"

"I think he's developing a hunger for blood. Human blood."

"Oh, great. Now not only do we have a teenager on the loose, we got one who is hungry for blood. Great."





Cordelia looked over the shambles in the kitchen as she laid the donuts on the counter. "Jeez guys, did you have to make such a mess? Good grief." She spied the open canister of M&M's. "Great," she said with a frown, "He ate most of my M&M's too."

Suddenly she dropped the canister, shattering the glass and spilling the remaining M&M's onto the floor. She pressed a hand to her forehead as her eyes fluttered wildly.

"Cordy, are you all right?" Angel asked, placing a concerned hand on her arm. Even though Cordelia's visions no longer left her incapacitated since she became half-demon, they still worried him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I may have a clue where might be. Maybe," she said uncertainly. "I saw a man, tall, dressed in a long dark green overcoat. I can't see his face. I dunno, maybe there's a mask. I can't be sure. I wish these visions were a lot more direct. I don't know why the Powers That Be have to be all so mysterious anyway. Why can't they just tell you straight out what they mean . . . ?"

"Cordy . . . the vision . . . " Angel pressed.

"All right, all right," Cordelia replied testily. "I see this guy, no make it two guys, the other guy's all dressed in black. And there's this car. A big one. It looks kind of like a limo, only a little bit shorter. But it's real big. And it's black, but it looks kind of weird."

"What do you mean weird?"

"I dunno," she shot back, "it just looks weird that's all. It kind of has a grille that looks kind of like a Mercedes, but not like anyone that I've seen before. Did I say it's black?"

Angel nodded impatiently.

"Well, anyway, it's black. And yeah," she said with a puzzled frown. "I think it's firing out rockets. Now what kind of car fires out rockets?"

"I don't know," Angel said, as puzzled as she was. "Anything else? How does this relate to Connor?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I have no idea. It's just a feeling I have. I think he's in danger. Of course he's in danger, but I think there's something else. I think he is a danger."