Part Two
The next day, Ron was waiting for Connor in front of the school. He
had told his mother and father about his new friend, he had even
mentioned Pandora, and it had seemed to make his mother feel better.
She had smiled. Moving always made her feel guilty, because it made
her feel like she couldn't give him a proper home. She had lived her
whole life in the same town and had grown up with her friends.
"Hey, Connor, ready for another day?" Ron greeted the other boy with a
grin. "Ready to face the commander in chief of the Conventionality
Police, otherwise known as Amanda Vespy?"
"I'm not particularly looking forward to that." Connor looked around.
"Have you seen Pandora?"
"Nope, but I'm sure she'll be in class." Ron elbowed Connor. "Took a
liking to her did you?"
"No," Connor immediately protested as his face heated up. His mother
had said almost the same thing the night before when he had told them
about Pandora Halliwell. The last thing he needed was for people to
think he liked a girl. "She was just acting weird yesterday, don't
you think?"
Ron shrugged. "She's a girl," he said as if that was the only
explanation needed. They entered the classroom to find Pandora already
sitting at her desk reading a book.
"Hey, Pandora," Connor greeted her as he sat down behind her. He
ignored Ron's pantomimed calf eyes and desperate clutching of his
heart. "You're here early this morning."
"My Mom and Aunts had some...business to take care of this morning so
Dad brought me early before he went to...work." Pandora neglected to
add that the reason why they arrived so early was because they had
orbed into the alley behind the school. Her Mom, Aunt Phoebe, and
Aunt Paige had to go vanquish a demon. She hoped they were alright.
"Good morning, class." Ms. Foster breezed in and cast a smile in the
general direction of the class. Pandora dutifully faced forward,
pushing any worry she had for her family to the back of her mind.
*****
"Phoebe, watch out!" Piper cast her hands in her sister's direction.
The small blue demon with the glowing green eyes behind Phoebe exploded
into blue ash and swirling green smoke.
"Was that the last one?" Phoebe coughed. She looked around the parking
garage, but only saw parked cars.
"I think so." Paige stood up from behind the convertible she had ducked
under for cover when one of the demons had flown at her. She had orbed
it into oblivion before it had hit her. "What the hell were they? I
thought we were tracking a Wilcate demon?"
"We were." Piper dusted herself off. "I think those were the
welcoming committee."
"Well, I feel welcome." Paige joined her sisters. "How come this
isn't getting easier? We're the Charmed Ones, we kick ass - we've
proven we kick ass - why aren't they cowering and running from us?"
"Because evil isn't easily intimidated." Phoebe bit her lip and tucked
a stray strand of light brown hair that had escaped her braid behind
her ear. She cast a wary glance at her older sister. "Maybe these
demons were a distraction. The Source has sent a Wilcate after Pan
before."
"It can't enter the school. Wilcates can't stand on sacred ground and
Saint Jude's is built on sacred ground, that's why Leo and I chose it.
Pan's safe." Piper headed back to the car, her jaw set, but she
couldn't stop the quaver in her voice.
"Of course she is." Paige frowned at Phoebe as they followed their
older sister. She then pasted on a bright smile. "So, did Pan say
anything about her first day of school? She was kind of quiet when I
picked her up yesterday."
"I think it's different than what she expected. She likes her teacher
and the schoolwork though."
"She is her mother's daughter." Phoebe smiled.
"Yeah." Piper grimaced. "I wish she were more like you and Prue and
not so shy. She needs friends, not ridicule from her peers."
"She'll meet friends, she's just being picky. That's a good thing,
because being picky means you end up with really good friends." Paige
glanced at her watch. "I've got to go or I'll be late for a meeting
at the courthouse. Do you need me to pick Pan up again after school?"
"No, Cole said he would do it," Phoebe answered for Piper. She and the
eldest Halliwell walked to the black SUV recklessly parked in the
middle of the lane while Paige headed to her blue sports car. "Have
you seen him around the courthouse? He hasn't really said anything
about his new job as a child advocate."
"I'll see him at the meeting. I think he likes it." Paige got into
her car. "See you later."
"Or sooner if any more demons show up." Piper waved as Paige drove
off. She turned to Phoebe as they got into the car. "What's going on
between you and Cole?"
"Nothing. We haven't really talked and I don't see very much of him
lately - not since I turned down his last proposal. He's disconnecting
from me, Piper. He's still depressed and angry. You would think that
he had gotten used to being human by now, it's been eleven years."
"I think his moods have more to do with his girlfriend rejecting his
proposals of marriage for the last eleven years. He seems to have
accepted his humanity just fine. He did refuse the Source's offer to
give him back his demon powers."
"That's because he had to kill Pan to get them back and he adores
her."
"He probably would like a few children of his own." Piper glanced at
Phoebe, but looked away before asking her question. It had been on her
mind for a few years now. At first, the idea of Phoebe being involved
with a demon who had tried to kill them was unsettling, but Cole had
proven that he was no longer a murdering minion for the Source. "Just
out of curiosity, why did you turn him down this time?"
"I don't know." Phoebe sighed and leaned her forehead against the
passenger side window. She frowned at her reflection as Piper drove
out of the parking garage and headed toward their club, P3.
*****
The day was half over. The day was half over. Pandora repeated that
mantra to herself over and over. Why had she ever wanted to go to
school? The Elders could have taught her everything she would ever
need to know and probably more than that if she asked, but they
couldn't have given her friends. She had wanted to meet other children
her own age and have fun like Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige had when they
had gone to school. But that wasn't going to happen. For some reason,
Amanda Vespy had taken it upon herself to make Pandora an outcast.
She didn't know what she had done wrong, she had tried to be as normal
as possible. She hadn't used her powers at all - not even by accident-
although she had been sorely tempted.
"Watch it, Heathen," Amanda turned and hissed when Pandora bumped into
her in the lunch line. "I guess your parents didn't bother to teach
you manners."
For a second, a variety of hexes and curses she had read in the Book of
Shadows flitted through Pandora's mind. Using any one of them would
have been satisfying. And wrong. Pandora sighed. She looked down at
the banana and apple she had set on her tray. It would have to be
enough, she had a sudden desire to be alone. She wasn't that hungry
anyway. Pandora walked out of the line and headed out into the
courtyard.
As she passed through the glass door leading outside, a small dark
haired girl brushed past her on her way inside. A sudden flash of
light and pain froze Pandora. A jumble of images assaulted her brain.
The small girl cowering in a corner. The dusty bricks of a basement
wall. Glowing blood red talons reaching toward a bent dark head.
Pandora gasped and stumbled outside, not noticing when her tray slipped
from her grasp and crashed to the ground.
"Honestly, I don't know how she was accepted into this school. My
parents were told Saint Jude's was a very prestigious, but if they had
known that they let in graceless heathens....well, they would have sent
me to school in Paris instead." Amanda flipped her hair over her
shoulder. The girls around her tittered on cue.
From behind them, Connor frowned. He had seen everything and it
worried him. "Did you see what happened to Pandora?" he asked Ron to
make sure he wasn't overreacting about something that might be normal
behavior for adolescents.
"Yeah, Amanda said something mean to Pandora and she left. Then that
girl walked by her and she freaked." Ron added two dishes of green
Jell-O to his tray. It joined the Twinkies and the baloney sandwich.
"She's a strange one."
Maybe to some, but to Connor, Pandora's behavior was all to familiar.
The way she had went rigid and then twitched, losing all control of
her muscles had reminded him of when his mother had a vision. "I'm
going to go check on her." Connor set his tray down and headed toward
the courtyard.
"Guess I am too." Ron shrugged. He looked down at his tray for a
moment, appraising each of the items sitting on it. Finally, he
snatched up the Twinkies and the sandwich before following Connor out.
They found Pandora sitting under a tree, her knees drawn up to her
chest and her head in her hands. Connor crouched down beside her.
Tentatively, he touched her shoulder. "Are you okay, Pandora?"
"Yeah, you don't have some weird medical condition that involves
seizures, do you?" Ron unwrapped a Twinkie and bit into it. He threw
the wrapper onto the grass.
"You shouldn't litter." Pandora raised her head. Tears stained her
cheeks and she scrubbed at them with the heel of her hand. "And no, I
don't have a medical condition."
"Wow, you're even bossy when you're upset. What's got you so hacked
off? It's not Amanda, is it? Because she's just a stuck up snob.
They have them in every school." Ron bent and picked up the wrapper.
He stuffed it in his pocket.
"You wouldn't understand." Pandora stood up. Her face and eyes were
red from crying, there wasn't much she could do about that, but she
smoothed a hand over her hair to make it more presentable.
"We might." Connor rose as well. "It might help if you talk to your
friends."
Friends. What would Pandora tell her friends? That Amanda Vespy was
right? That she was weird. That she was a witch. That her mother
and aunts were witches, but not just any witches, they were the Charmed
Ones. That her father was a white-lighter, a guardian angel for good
witches and her uncle was an ex-demon. That would go over real well.
Connor and Ron would think she was nuts. They would tell everyone she
was crazy and then there would be no chance at all for her to fit in.
"I can't be friends with boys!" Pandora snapped instead of pouring out
all of her secrets. The tears started running down her cheeks again.
"That would just make me weirder." She ran off toward a side door to
the school. Hopefully everyone would still be in the lunchroom and she
could hide out in a girl's bathroom in peace.
"There you have it, she doesn't want to be our friend." Ron shook his
head. The crying figure of Pandora disappeared into the school. "That
just goes to show you - you never leave green Jell-O for a girl. It's
not worth it."
"We can't let her go like that." Connor started following Pandora's
shaky route back to the school. "She's upset."
"And she's just going to go cry in the bathroom!" Ron watched Connor
for a bit before throwing up his hands and running up to join him. "I
guess we're her friends whether she likes it or not."
*****
The dusky gloom of the hotel lobby where the offices of Angel
Investigations was based was suffused with the golden light that
filtered through the dark curtains or blinds covering the windows.
Wesley and Cordelia sat at Wesley's desk going through old case files
and updating their demon database while Angel and Gunn went through the
weapons closet to make sure everything was battle ready. Fred was at
the library, doing research on her doctoral thesis on the place of
parallel universes in the space/time continuum.
"Cordy's calmer today," Gunn commented. He ran his finger carefully
along the blade of a broadsword to test its sharpness. "Has she
decided the creepy-crawlies aren't going to attack Conner in the middle
of math class?"
"I think she was reassured when Connor talked about meeting some of the
other children yesterday." Angel glanced over at Cordelia. She was
typing something into the computer as Wesley read from a file. It was
a bit early for them to be updating the database - they had just done
it a couple of weeks ago - but Wesley had suggested it to keep Cordelia
busy.
Gunn leaned forward. "He tell you about the girl...Pandora Halliwell?"
Gunn's teeth flashed as he grinned.
Angel chuckled. "Yes. Cordelia was particularly pleased to hear
about her. Although Connor was quick to tell her she wasn't his
girlfriend."
"I don't know, Angel-man, you might want to sit him down for a birds
and bees talk." Gunn laughed at the shock and horror that crossed his
friend's face.
"He's only eleven." Angel swallowed hard. "It was hard enough trying
to explain the circumstances of his birth, especially since we still
don't have any idea how the hell that happened." Angel's dazed
rambling was interrupted by the front door opening. Whoever it was,
it was someone who knew Angel, because the door was opened carefully -
so as to not throw a lot of light into the room. "Hello," Angel
called out in greeting and stood up.
"Hi, Angel." Anya Harris closed the door. She was alone, which was
strange because Anya had never set foot in the Hyperion without Xander
and their children. "You have to stop calling Xander about Willow.
It's going to kill him."
Everyone stared at Anya after she made her pronouncement. Her lip
trembled and she was on the verge of tears. Angel immediately crossed
over to her and guided her into one of the lobby chairs. "I haven't
spoken to Xander about Willow in almost a month. She sent an early
birthday present to Connor and I was thinking about her. I need to
know what happened."
Anya offered Angel a tremulous smile. "She never forgets Brenden and
Michelle's birthdays either, although sometimes I wish she would. It
hurts Xander that she's gone and he doesn't understand how she can
know so much about our lives and yet she won't let us know anything
about hers. Buffy thinks she's still using black magic."
Angel sat down across from Anya. Gunn, Cordelia, and Wesley also found
seats near them. Gunn didn't really know Willow, he had just met her
that one time when she came to tell them that Buffy was dead, but he
knew how her disappearance had torn up Angel and Cordelia. Even Wesley
had been upset and he had also once confessed that he hadn't known the
young witch that well.
"Are you finally going to tell us what happened?" Cordelia asked.
"Yes." Anya stared down at her clasped hands. "Xander and I would
have told you ages ago, but Buffy didn't want you to know. Xander's
loyal to Buffy - she's his only friend left - and I'm loyal to Xander,
but it's been eleven years. We can't keep living like this. Xander
can't keep living with this, if I tell you, you have to promise to stop
calling him about Willow."
"We won't call unless we find her," Cordelia offered the promise Anya
had asked for and an additional one that she knew Angel wasn't
committed to.
"What did Buffy do to make Willow leave?" Angel asked quietly, partly
to divert attention from Cordelia's rash promise and partly because he
really wanted to know. He had always known that the reason for their
silence was guilt and since Buffy was the most adamant that Willow's
disappearance from their lives not be talked about, she had to be the
one feeling the most guilty.
"Well, as you know, Willow had some trouble with magic use - she was
addicted to it - which isn't uncommon to untrained witches. After Tara
left her, she found a way to turn Amy from a rat back into her human
form. Amy introduced her to this dark warlock, Rack, who dealt in
powerful black-market spells and he fed her addiction...."
"And Willow put Dawn's life in danger," Cordelia interrupted. "We know
this part. Why did Willow leave?"
"Willow went cold turkey - no magic. She was doing okay and Xander was
so relieved. He had been so worried about her. About a month later,
Rack turned up again. He just walked right into the Magic Box. He
told us that Willow was still coming to him - that she had never
stopped - and we believed him. Buffy was livid. She kicked Willow out
of her house and, well, no one exactly volunteered to give her a place
to stay. She stayed at that crappy hotel for a few weeks and tried to
convince us that Rack was lying, but we wouldn't listen to her. Then
she just left. We didn't mean for her to leave town and disappear - it
was supposed to be tough love. Xander broke down, he realized that
Willow was telling us the truth. She had been fine that last month, a
little shaky, but not wrecked like she had been when she was going to
Rack. Buffy refuses to believe it though, she insists that Willow is
dangerous and that we're better off with her gone. It's tearing
Xander apart."
"Maybe if Willow knew that, she would come back." Cordelia reached
over and squeezed Anya's hand. She threw a pointed look in Angel's
direction. "And then she could show Buffy that she's wrong and that
she isn't evil."
"Okay, fine. We'll look for her again." Angel looked at Wesley. "At
least we have a bit more to go on. Why don't you see what you can find
on this Rack guy, Wesley? I'll got to Lorne's and ask if he's heard of
him or if he knows where we can find him." Angel stood up. Willow
might not want to be found, but she would want to know if her friends
were suffering because of her disappearance. And Angel couldn't bare
the thought of Willow being out there thinking that she didn't deserve
to be with her friends because she thought she was evil.
*****
The next day, Ron was waiting for Connor in front of the school. He
had told his mother and father about his new friend, he had even
mentioned Pandora, and it had seemed to make his mother feel better.
She had smiled. Moving always made her feel guilty, because it made
her feel like she couldn't give him a proper home. She had lived her
whole life in the same town and had grown up with her friends.
"Hey, Connor, ready for another day?" Ron greeted the other boy with a
grin. "Ready to face the commander in chief of the Conventionality
Police, otherwise known as Amanda Vespy?"
"I'm not particularly looking forward to that." Connor looked around.
"Have you seen Pandora?"
"Nope, but I'm sure she'll be in class." Ron elbowed Connor. "Took a
liking to her did you?"
"No," Connor immediately protested as his face heated up. His mother
had said almost the same thing the night before when he had told them
about Pandora Halliwell. The last thing he needed was for people to
think he liked a girl. "She was just acting weird yesterday, don't
you think?"
Ron shrugged. "She's a girl," he said as if that was the only
explanation needed. They entered the classroom to find Pandora already
sitting at her desk reading a book.
"Hey, Pandora," Connor greeted her as he sat down behind her. He
ignored Ron's pantomimed calf eyes and desperate clutching of his
heart. "You're here early this morning."
"My Mom and Aunts had some...business to take care of this morning so
Dad brought me early before he went to...work." Pandora neglected to
add that the reason why they arrived so early was because they had
orbed into the alley behind the school. Her Mom, Aunt Phoebe, and
Aunt Paige had to go vanquish a demon. She hoped they were alright.
"Good morning, class." Ms. Foster breezed in and cast a smile in the
general direction of the class. Pandora dutifully faced forward,
pushing any worry she had for her family to the back of her mind.
*****
"Phoebe, watch out!" Piper cast her hands in her sister's direction.
The small blue demon with the glowing green eyes behind Phoebe exploded
into blue ash and swirling green smoke.
"Was that the last one?" Phoebe coughed. She looked around the parking
garage, but only saw parked cars.
"I think so." Paige stood up from behind the convertible she had ducked
under for cover when one of the demons had flown at her. She had orbed
it into oblivion before it had hit her. "What the hell were they? I
thought we were tracking a Wilcate demon?"
"We were." Piper dusted herself off. "I think those were the
welcoming committee."
"Well, I feel welcome." Paige joined her sisters. "How come this
isn't getting easier? We're the Charmed Ones, we kick ass - we've
proven we kick ass - why aren't they cowering and running from us?"
"Because evil isn't easily intimidated." Phoebe bit her lip and tucked
a stray strand of light brown hair that had escaped her braid behind
her ear. She cast a wary glance at her older sister. "Maybe these
demons were a distraction. The Source has sent a Wilcate after Pan
before."
"It can't enter the school. Wilcates can't stand on sacred ground and
Saint Jude's is built on sacred ground, that's why Leo and I chose it.
Pan's safe." Piper headed back to the car, her jaw set, but she
couldn't stop the quaver in her voice.
"Of course she is." Paige frowned at Phoebe as they followed their
older sister. She then pasted on a bright smile. "So, did Pan say
anything about her first day of school? She was kind of quiet when I
picked her up yesterday."
"I think it's different than what she expected. She likes her teacher
and the schoolwork though."
"She is her mother's daughter." Phoebe smiled.
"Yeah." Piper grimaced. "I wish she were more like you and Prue and
not so shy. She needs friends, not ridicule from her peers."
"She'll meet friends, she's just being picky. That's a good thing,
because being picky means you end up with really good friends." Paige
glanced at her watch. "I've got to go or I'll be late for a meeting
at the courthouse. Do you need me to pick Pan up again after school?"
"No, Cole said he would do it," Phoebe answered for Piper. She and the
eldest Halliwell walked to the black SUV recklessly parked in the
middle of the lane while Paige headed to her blue sports car. "Have
you seen him around the courthouse? He hasn't really said anything
about his new job as a child advocate."
"I'll see him at the meeting. I think he likes it." Paige got into
her car. "See you later."
"Or sooner if any more demons show up." Piper waved as Paige drove
off. She turned to Phoebe as they got into the car. "What's going on
between you and Cole?"
"Nothing. We haven't really talked and I don't see very much of him
lately - not since I turned down his last proposal. He's disconnecting
from me, Piper. He's still depressed and angry. You would think that
he had gotten used to being human by now, it's been eleven years."
"I think his moods have more to do with his girlfriend rejecting his
proposals of marriage for the last eleven years. He seems to have
accepted his humanity just fine. He did refuse the Source's offer to
give him back his demon powers."
"That's because he had to kill Pan to get them back and he adores
her."
"He probably would like a few children of his own." Piper glanced at
Phoebe, but looked away before asking her question. It had been on her
mind for a few years now. At first, the idea of Phoebe being involved
with a demon who had tried to kill them was unsettling, but Cole had
proven that he was no longer a murdering minion for the Source. "Just
out of curiosity, why did you turn him down this time?"
"I don't know." Phoebe sighed and leaned her forehead against the
passenger side window. She frowned at her reflection as Piper drove
out of the parking garage and headed toward their club, P3.
*****
The day was half over. The day was half over. Pandora repeated that
mantra to herself over and over. Why had she ever wanted to go to
school? The Elders could have taught her everything she would ever
need to know and probably more than that if she asked, but they
couldn't have given her friends. She had wanted to meet other children
her own age and have fun like Aunt Phoebe and Aunt Paige had when they
had gone to school. But that wasn't going to happen. For some reason,
Amanda Vespy had taken it upon herself to make Pandora an outcast.
She didn't know what she had done wrong, she had tried to be as normal
as possible. She hadn't used her powers at all - not even by accident-
although she had been sorely tempted.
"Watch it, Heathen," Amanda turned and hissed when Pandora bumped into
her in the lunch line. "I guess your parents didn't bother to teach
you manners."
For a second, a variety of hexes and curses she had read in the Book of
Shadows flitted through Pandora's mind. Using any one of them would
have been satisfying. And wrong. Pandora sighed. She looked down at
the banana and apple she had set on her tray. It would have to be
enough, she had a sudden desire to be alone. She wasn't that hungry
anyway. Pandora walked out of the line and headed out into the
courtyard.
As she passed through the glass door leading outside, a small dark
haired girl brushed past her on her way inside. A sudden flash of
light and pain froze Pandora. A jumble of images assaulted her brain.
The small girl cowering in a corner. The dusty bricks of a basement
wall. Glowing blood red talons reaching toward a bent dark head.
Pandora gasped and stumbled outside, not noticing when her tray slipped
from her grasp and crashed to the ground.
"Honestly, I don't know how she was accepted into this school. My
parents were told Saint Jude's was a very prestigious, but if they had
known that they let in graceless heathens....well, they would have sent
me to school in Paris instead." Amanda flipped her hair over her
shoulder. The girls around her tittered on cue.
From behind them, Connor frowned. He had seen everything and it
worried him. "Did you see what happened to Pandora?" he asked Ron to
make sure he wasn't overreacting about something that might be normal
behavior for adolescents.
"Yeah, Amanda said something mean to Pandora and she left. Then that
girl walked by her and she freaked." Ron added two dishes of green
Jell-O to his tray. It joined the Twinkies and the baloney sandwich.
"She's a strange one."
Maybe to some, but to Connor, Pandora's behavior was all to familiar.
The way she had went rigid and then twitched, losing all control of
her muscles had reminded him of when his mother had a vision. "I'm
going to go check on her." Connor set his tray down and headed toward
the courtyard.
"Guess I am too." Ron shrugged. He looked down at his tray for a
moment, appraising each of the items sitting on it. Finally, he
snatched up the Twinkies and the sandwich before following Connor out.
They found Pandora sitting under a tree, her knees drawn up to her
chest and her head in her hands. Connor crouched down beside her.
Tentatively, he touched her shoulder. "Are you okay, Pandora?"
"Yeah, you don't have some weird medical condition that involves
seizures, do you?" Ron unwrapped a Twinkie and bit into it. He threw
the wrapper onto the grass.
"You shouldn't litter." Pandora raised her head. Tears stained her
cheeks and she scrubbed at them with the heel of her hand. "And no, I
don't have a medical condition."
"Wow, you're even bossy when you're upset. What's got you so hacked
off? It's not Amanda, is it? Because she's just a stuck up snob.
They have them in every school." Ron bent and picked up the wrapper.
He stuffed it in his pocket.
"You wouldn't understand." Pandora stood up. Her face and eyes were
red from crying, there wasn't much she could do about that, but she
smoothed a hand over her hair to make it more presentable.
"We might." Connor rose as well. "It might help if you talk to your
friends."
Friends. What would Pandora tell her friends? That Amanda Vespy was
right? That she was weird. That she was a witch. That her mother
and aunts were witches, but not just any witches, they were the Charmed
Ones. That her father was a white-lighter, a guardian angel for good
witches and her uncle was an ex-demon. That would go over real well.
Connor and Ron would think she was nuts. They would tell everyone she
was crazy and then there would be no chance at all for her to fit in.
"I can't be friends with boys!" Pandora snapped instead of pouring out
all of her secrets. The tears started running down her cheeks again.
"That would just make me weirder." She ran off toward a side door to
the school. Hopefully everyone would still be in the lunchroom and she
could hide out in a girl's bathroom in peace.
"There you have it, she doesn't want to be our friend." Ron shook his
head. The crying figure of Pandora disappeared into the school. "That
just goes to show you - you never leave green Jell-O for a girl. It's
not worth it."
"We can't let her go like that." Connor started following Pandora's
shaky route back to the school. "She's upset."
"And she's just going to go cry in the bathroom!" Ron watched Connor
for a bit before throwing up his hands and running up to join him. "I
guess we're her friends whether she likes it or not."
*****
The dusky gloom of the hotel lobby where the offices of Angel
Investigations was based was suffused with the golden light that
filtered through the dark curtains or blinds covering the windows.
Wesley and Cordelia sat at Wesley's desk going through old case files
and updating their demon database while Angel and Gunn went through the
weapons closet to make sure everything was battle ready. Fred was at
the library, doing research on her doctoral thesis on the place of
parallel universes in the space/time continuum.
"Cordy's calmer today," Gunn commented. He ran his finger carefully
along the blade of a broadsword to test its sharpness. "Has she
decided the creepy-crawlies aren't going to attack Conner in the middle
of math class?"
"I think she was reassured when Connor talked about meeting some of the
other children yesterday." Angel glanced over at Cordelia. She was
typing something into the computer as Wesley read from a file. It was
a bit early for them to be updating the database - they had just done
it a couple of weeks ago - but Wesley had suggested it to keep Cordelia
busy.
Gunn leaned forward. "He tell you about the girl...Pandora Halliwell?"
Gunn's teeth flashed as he grinned.
Angel chuckled. "Yes. Cordelia was particularly pleased to hear
about her. Although Connor was quick to tell her she wasn't his
girlfriend."
"I don't know, Angel-man, you might want to sit him down for a birds
and bees talk." Gunn laughed at the shock and horror that crossed his
friend's face.
"He's only eleven." Angel swallowed hard. "It was hard enough trying
to explain the circumstances of his birth, especially since we still
don't have any idea how the hell that happened." Angel's dazed
rambling was interrupted by the front door opening. Whoever it was,
it was someone who knew Angel, because the door was opened carefully -
so as to not throw a lot of light into the room. "Hello," Angel
called out in greeting and stood up.
"Hi, Angel." Anya Harris closed the door. She was alone, which was
strange because Anya had never set foot in the Hyperion without Xander
and their children. "You have to stop calling Xander about Willow.
It's going to kill him."
Everyone stared at Anya after she made her pronouncement. Her lip
trembled and she was on the verge of tears. Angel immediately crossed
over to her and guided her into one of the lobby chairs. "I haven't
spoken to Xander about Willow in almost a month. She sent an early
birthday present to Connor and I was thinking about her. I need to
know what happened."
Anya offered Angel a tremulous smile. "She never forgets Brenden and
Michelle's birthdays either, although sometimes I wish she would. It
hurts Xander that she's gone and he doesn't understand how she can
know so much about our lives and yet she won't let us know anything
about hers. Buffy thinks she's still using black magic."
Angel sat down across from Anya. Gunn, Cordelia, and Wesley also found
seats near them. Gunn didn't really know Willow, he had just met her
that one time when she came to tell them that Buffy was dead, but he
knew how her disappearance had torn up Angel and Cordelia. Even Wesley
had been upset and he had also once confessed that he hadn't known the
young witch that well.
"Are you finally going to tell us what happened?" Cordelia asked.
"Yes." Anya stared down at her clasped hands. "Xander and I would
have told you ages ago, but Buffy didn't want you to know. Xander's
loyal to Buffy - she's his only friend left - and I'm loyal to Xander,
but it's been eleven years. We can't keep living like this. Xander
can't keep living with this, if I tell you, you have to promise to stop
calling him about Willow."
"We won't call unless we find her," Cordelia offered the promise Anya
had asked for and an additional one that she knew Angel wasn't
committed to.
"What did Buffy do to make Willow leave?" Angel asked quietly, partly
to divert attention from Cordelia's rash promise and partly because he
really wanted to know. He had always known that the reason for their
silence was guilt and since Buffy was the most adamant that Willow's
disappearance from their lives not be talked about, she had to be the
one feeling the most guilty.
"Well, as you know, Willow had some trouble with magic use - she was
addicted to it - which isn't uncommon to untrained witches. After Tara
left her, she found a way to turn Amy from a rat back into her human
form. Amy introduced her to this dark warlock, Rack, who dealt in
powerful black-market spells and he fed her addiction...."
"And Willow put Dawn's life in danger," Cordelia interrupted. "We know
this part. Why did Willow leave?"
"Willow went cold turkey - no magic. She was doing okay and Xander was
so relieved. He had been so worried about her. About a month later,
Rack turned up again. He just walked right into the Magic Box. He
told us that Willow was still coming to him - that she had never
stopped - and we believed him. Buffy was livid. She kicked Willow out
of her house and, well, no one exactly volunteered to give her a place
to stay. She stayed at that crappy hotel for a few weeks and tried to
convince us that Rack was lying, but we wouldn't listen to her. Then
she just left. We didn't mean for her to leave town and disappear - it
was supposed to be tough love. Xander broke down, he realized that
Willow was telling us the truth. She had been fine that last month, a
little shaky, but not wrecked like she had been when she was going to
Rack. Buffy refuses to believe it though, she insists that Willow is
dangerous and that we're better off with her gone. It's tearing
Xander apart."
"Maybe if Willow knew that, she would come back." Cordelia reached
over and squeezed Anya's hand. She threw a pointed look in Angel's
direction. "And then she could show Buffy that she's wrong and that
she isn't evil."
"Okay, fine. We'll look for her again." Angel looked at Wesley. "At
least we have a bit more to go on. Why don't you see what you can find
on this Rack guy, Wesley? I'll got to Lorne's and ask if he's heard of
him or if he knows where we can find him." Angel stood up. Willow
might not want to be found, but she would want to know if her friends
were suffering because of her disappearance. And Angel couldn't bare
the thought of Willow being out there thinking that she didn't deserve
to be with her friends because she thought she was evil.
*****