Chapter 2 - 'I Wish I Didn't See That'
The sun had set over twenty minutes ago and Buffy was itching to get out and fight. She stamped her foot in fusteration. Angel was still upstairs checking on Cordelia. She had seemed fine when she had checked in on her, a little agitated maybe, tossing and turning in her sleep. Gunn, who was getting the weapons ready in the corner, looked over and almost sighed in annoyance. None of them knew, none of them understood what his Barbie was going through. He was still confused as to why Cordelia hadn't told them, she didn't like to hide things from her friends but from what he had gathered, the Scooby Gang and the Fang Gang weren't that much of friends.
"Slayer will you just chill? Angel is just making sure that Barbie is OK. She has had a tough time of late. The vis...fits are getting worse, more of them than ever. Give them a break. Angel feels bad enough for them and for Wesley being in hospital without you putting in ya two bit worth OK." Gunn stated, shocked at his own outburst. He didn't like this Buffy. She was different to what Cordelia had described her and he wouldn't have put the Slayer down as the love of Angels life, though he knew that had changed.
With the last wepon in the bag Gunn headed out to the car and dumped the bag in the car just as Angel came down the stairs form his room.
"Got anything for me Fred?"
Fred stuck her head sheepishly out of the door and stared the people all around. "Umm. They are Holder Demons...like young humans. Stab them through the heart to realease the souls then can be killed by decapitation or removal of the heart."
Giles stared at the young lady, impressed by her research skills. He didn't know anything about how Angel had known about the sacrifice but Fred had shown incredible speed at finding all the imformation needed.
"Fred why don't you show Giles Wesleys' library and Cordelias computer system?" Angel knew the only time that Fred had ever felt comfortable around groups of people was when she was talking about research or physics. "Willow, i know Cordelia has a store of food in the main kitchen but i don't think that Yogaurt, fruit and Chunky Monkey is gonna feed 8 people. Why don't you phone for take-away or there is grosery store down the street if you really want to shop. When Cordelia wakes up tell her that her medication is in the medical box and that she should rest until i get back."
It was dark through the tightly drawn drapes as Cordelia slowly came around from her post-vision sleep. She had trouble focusing on the floor as she swung her legs out of bed and began to make her way out to the hall. Her other sets of clothes lay folded on the chair in the comer where Angel usually watched her sleep. The marble stairs were more in focus than the floor and improved with each step she took. The voices slowly drifted to her ears, Willow, Tara and Xander sat on the couch or on the floor beside the couch eating a cartoon of ice cream. As Cordelia looked closer she noted they had their spoons in her Chunky Monkey. A growl, almost silently, eminated from her throat. At the bottom of the stairs Willow lifted her head hearing for the first time that Cordelia had woken.
"Cordelia, you're awake. Angel said that you would be out for hours. He said you have to rest until he gets back. You still look kinda white." Willow noted with genuine concern in her voice.
"Yeah well Angel isn't my keeper. Has anyone seen Fred?"
"Strange girl, likes Tacos, long brown hair? I think she is in there. She's been in there since you left. I think that she is stuck in there with all Wesleys tomes."
"Xander, she's not strange. You're strange Xander. If you see Angel tell him we went to the Mall."
Cordelia strutted of in the direction of Wesley's office and spied Fred sitting at the desk with her glasses perched delicately on top of her nose, just about to fall off but never that far. Cordelia slowly opened the door causing Fred to look up like a rabbit in the headlights.
"Urn.. Cordelia. Your awake? Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah I wanna go to the Mall, do a bit of light shopping just to cheer me up. You wanna come?" Cordelia asked hopefully. She didn't feel like being alone after her dreams.
"I don't know. We've fallen behind with the research since Wesley has been in hospital. I think we should catch up."
"Fred." Cordelia whined in her famous voice. "I get the visions therefore I say when we research. Right now I say we shop plus if you aren't researching your scribbling on your walls and that isn't healthy."
Fred closed the book in a flutter of dust and stood up, flatting her wrinkled clothes. "OK but please don't make me try on anything that makes me look like some Hollywood scarlet."
Cordelia crossed her fingers behind her back and promised. She grabbed their coats from the coat rack in the office and dragged Fred reluctantly behind her.
"Willow, when the Dark Avenger gets back tell him if he wants me then I have my cell phone, if he can figure out how to use his."
With that they were gone.
Later
The shopping bags were hung from almost every possible hook-up point on their hands, four or five bags to each fingers. The conversation had been flowing non-stop since they had left in the 'company' car and now Fred was at ease in Cordelia company, willing to share times that she had experienced in Pylea.
"Fred, have you came across any soul sealing or soul restoring spells in Wesley's books or in the scrolls?" Cordelia asked in an almost whisper.
"Are you scared that Angel will lose his soul in the battle with the demon? I am sure that he won't risk it and from what I hear Willow saying, Buffy would stake Angelus in a second if he got lose again."
"No. The head ache from the vision has gone so that means that they have defeated the demon OK." Cordelia explained for the first time.
They were leaving the GAP store when Cordelias hands flew to her head and the lights began to course through her head. She screwed her eyes and waited for the pain to tear it's way through her senses and leave her screaming in fear and agony. The shopping bags scattered across the floor as Cordelia dropped them and Fred scrambled to catch her before she shattered her skull on the marbled concrete floor. Fred runnnaged in Cordelias purse pulling out her economy sized bottle of Codeine. Cordelia slowly can around from her vision and began to focus on her surroundings. The lights had stopped flashing and she wiped away a tear in her eye. She pushed the bottle away from her and back towards Freds chest.
"I didn't hurt." Cordelia explained.
Fred looked on, confused and not wanting to argue. She had seen Cordelia after a vision, arguing with Angel. It wasn't a pretty site.
Cordelia sat on the bench and relived her vision in a great detail. The room was darkened, a little lamp on in the comer. She knew where she was and that scared her even more. Angels room was unmistakable. The heavy drapes and smell of masculinity and sandalwood. She could see them beneath the crisp white sheets of the bed, moving together. It surprised her but she didn't dread it. It was what she felt that scared her. She felt, instead of the pain, pure and uninhibited happiness. It wasn't the first time that the Powers had sent her the visions, instead she had been having it about once day on average. No pain, only the feeling of complete and utter pleasure from both of them. Angel would lose his soul in an instance if it ever happened but the Powers had never sent them a vision that she couldn't change. This she could change with one word: No. This wouldn't happen.
Cordelia grabbed her bags and pulled Fred back to the car and started the engine. Fred hung on for dear life as Cordelia careered along the highway back towards the hotel. She screeched to halt outside the hotel and turned to apologise to Fred. As Fred got out of the car she expected Cordelia to go with her but instead she turned to see the car pull away and into the night. Fred let out a large sigh as she soon connected a little of what was going on with Cordelia and the rest of the Angel Investigations crew. But she couldn't know the full extent of what would happen. Not yet.
The sun had set over twenty minutes ago and Buffy was itching to get out and fight. She stamped her foot in fusteration. Angel was still upstairs checking on Cordelia. She had seemed fine when she had checked in on her, a little agitated maybe, tossing and turning in her sleep. Gunn, who was getting the weapons ready in the corner, looked over and almost sighed in annoyance. None of them knew, none of them understood what his Barbie was going through. He was still confused as to why Cordelia hadn't told them, she didn't like to hide things from her friends but from what he had gathered, the Scooby Gang and the Fang Gang weren't that much of friends.
"Slayer will you just chill? Angel is just making sure that Barbie is OK. She has had a tough time of late. The vis...fits are getting worse, more of them than ever. Give them a break. Angel feels bad enough for them and for Wesley being in hospital without you putting in ya two bit worth OK." Gunn stated, shocked at his own outburst. He didn't like this Buffy. She was different to what Cordelia had described her and he wouldn't have put the Slayer down as the love of Angels life, though he knew that had changed.
With the last wepon in the bag Gunn headed out to the car and dumped the bag in the car just as Angel came down the stairs form his room.
"Got anything for me Fred?"
Fred stuck her head sheepishly out of the door and stared the people all around. "Umm. They are Holder Demons...like young humans. Stab them through the heart to realease the souls then can be killed by decapitation or removal of the heart."
Giles stared at the young lady, impressed by her research skills. He didn't know anything about how Angel had known about the sacrifice but Fred had shown incredible speed at finding all the imformation needed.
"Fred why don't you show Giles Wesleys' library and Cordelias computer system?" Angel knew the only time that Fred had ever felt comfortable around groups of people was when she was talking about research or physics. "Willow, i know Cordelia has a store of food in the main kitchen but i don't think that Yogaurt, fruit and Chunky Monkey is gonna feed 8 people. Why don't you phone for take-away or there is grosery store down the street if you really want to shop. When Cordelia wakes up tell her that her medication is in the medical box and that she should rest until i get back."
It was dark through the tightly drawn drapes as Cordelia slowly came around from her post-vision sleep. She had trouble focusing on the floor as she swung her legs out of bed and began to make her way out to the hall. Her other sets of clothes lay folded on the chair in the comer where Angel usually watched her sleep. The marble stairs were more in focus than the floor and improved with each step she took. The voices slowly drifted to her ears, Willow, Tara and Xander sat on the couch or on the floor beside the couch eating a cartoon of ice cream. As Cordelia looked closer she noted they had their spoons in her Chunky Monkey. A growl, almost silently, eminated from her throat. At the bottom of the stairs Willow lifted her head hearing for the first time that Cordelia had woken.
"Cordelia, you're awake. Angel said that you would be out for hours. He said you have to rest until he gets back. You still look kinda white." Willow noted with genuine concern in her voice.
"Yeah well Angel isn't my keeper. Has anyone seen Fred?"
"Strange girl, likes Tacos, long brown hair? I think she is in there. She's been in there since you left. I think that she is stuck in there with all Wesleys tomes."
"Xander, she's not strange. You're strange Xander. If you see Angel tell him we went to the Mall."
Cordelia strutted of in the direction of Wesley's office and spied Fred sitting at the desk with her glasses perched delicately on top of her nose, just about to fall off but never that far. Cordelia slowly opened the door causing Fred to look up like a rabbit in the headlights.
"Urn.. Cordelia. Your awake? Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah I wanna go to the Mall, do a bit of light shopping just to cheer me up. You wanna come?" Cordelia asked hopefully. She didn't feel like being alone after her dreams.
"I don't know. We've fallen behind with the research since Wesley has been in hospital. I think we should catch up."
"Fred." Cordelia whined in her famous voice. "I get the visions therefore I say when we research. Right now I say we shop plus if you aren't researching your scribbling on your walls and that isn't healthy."
Fred closed the book in a flutter of dust and stood up, flatting her wrinkled clothes. "OK but please don't make me try on anything that makes me look like some Hollywood scarlet."
Cordelia crossed her fingers behind her back and promised. She grabbed their coats from the coat rack in the office and dragged Fred reluctantly behind her.
"Willow, when the Dark Avenger gets back tell him if he wants me then I have my cell phone, if he can figure out how to use his."
With that they were gone.
Later
The shopping bags were hung from almost every possible hook-up point on their hands, four or five bags to each fingers. The conversation had been flowing non-stop since they had left in the 'company' car and now Fred was at ease in Cordelia company, willing to share times that she had experienced in Pylea.
"Fred, have you came across any soul sealing or soul restoring spells in Wesley's books or in the scrolls?" Cordelia asked in an almost whisper.
"Are you scared that Angel will lose his soul in the battle with the demon? I am sure that he won't risk it and from what I hear Willow saying, Buffy would stake Angelus in a second if he got lose again."
"No. The head ache from the vision has gone so that means that they have defeated the demon OK." Cordelia explained for the first time.
They were leaving the GAP store when Cordelias hands flew to her head and the lights began to course through her head. She screwed her eyes and waited for the pain to tear it's way through her senses and leave her screaming in fear and agony. The shopping bags scattered across the floor as Cordelia dropped them and Fred scrambled to catch her before she shattered her skull on the marbled concrete floor. Fred runnnaged in Cordelias purse pulling out her economy sized bottle of Codeine. Cordelia slowly can around from her vision and began to focus on her surroundings. The lights had stopped flashing and she wiped away a tear in her eye. She pushed the bottle away from her and back towards Freds chest.
"I didn't hurt." Cordelia explained.
Fred looked on, confused and not wanting to argue. She had seen Cordelia after a vision, arguing with Angel. It wasn't a pretty site.
Cordelia sat on the bench and relived her vision in a great detail. The room was darkened, a little lamp on in the comer. She knew where she was and that scared her even more. Angels room was unmistakable. The heavy drapes and smell of masculinity and sandalwood. She could see them beneath the crisp white sheets of the bed, moving together. It surprised her but she didn't dread it. It was what she felt that scared her. She felt, instead of the pain, pure and uninhibited happiness. It wasn't the first time that the Powers had sent her the visions, instead she had been having it about once day on average. No pain, only the feeling of complete and utter pleasure from both of them. Angel would lose his soul in an instance if it ever happened but the Powers had never sent them a vision that she couldn't change. This she could change with one word: No. This wouldn't happen.
Cordelia grabbed her bags and pulled Fred back to the car and started the engine. Fred hung on for dear life as Cordelia careered along the highway back towards the hotel. She screeched to halt outside the hotel and turned to apologise to Fred. As Fred got out of the car she expected Cordelia to go with her but instead she turned to see the car pull away and into the night. Fred let out a large sigh as she soon connected a little of what was going on with Cordelia and the rest of the Angel Investigations crew. But she couldn't know the full extent of what would happen. Not yet.