Part Four
Family dinners were a tradition in the Halliwell home. At least once a
week, they made a point of having the whole family together for a meal.
Piper would cook something that was someone's favorite food and they
would all gather together and discuss the family business of demon
hunting and any other issues that had come up. There were always
issues when three adult sisters and two of their significant others
lived in the same house.
"So, Pan, how was school today?" Piper cast a guarded look at Phoebe
and Cole. They were studiously ignoring each other and the tension at
the table was palatable. She definitely did not want to start the
dinner with their issues. Piper passed the mashed potatoes to her
daughter. "Did you make any new friends?"
Pandora scooped some potatoes onto her plate as she considered her
answer. She had never lied to her parents before. She had never
really lied to anyone before. It would probably be best to start by
omission. "Yeah, I did." Pandora bit her lip and passed the ceramic
bowl with red stripes to her Aunt Paige. "I had a premonition today
about this girl. She was in the basement and she was in danger. I
went down there to check it out and she went back upstairs and nothing
happened to her. These boys had seen me when I was having the
premonition and they found me in the basement and I pretended that I
was upset and sick and they helped me. I told the teacher that it was
a seizure and I was under the care of a specialist. I missed my
afternoon classes." Pandora finally took a breath. She looked up.
Five adults were staring at her. "Well," Paige said from beside her,
offering Pandora a quirky smile, "It sounds like an interesting
second day of school. Who are these new friends you made today? The
girl you saved from possible impending danger or the boys who helped
you?"
"The boys. Connor and Ron. They're new too."
"Did they think there was anything strange about your 'seizure?'"
Piper asked carefully. Her daughter was alienated enough - with the
premonitions, the powers, the expectations of the Elders - she didn't
need her mother making her feel like a freak too.
"No, they didn't think it was strange at all." Technically, it wasn't
a lie. Connor and Ron thought premonitions, magic, and battling large
serpentine demons was perfectly normal.
"It's a good thing we notified the school of your medical history of
'seizures' then." At her father's smile, Pandora's guilt intensified.
She didn't say anything though. For the first time in her life, she
had something apart from her family. As guilty as lying made her feel,
the surge of independence Pandora was experiencing was too fulfilling
to give up.
*****
There was no milk and cookies waiting for Connor when he got home from
his second day of school. The office was quiet as each of the adults,
except for Cordelia who had picked him up, was engrossed in their
research. Fred was busy on the computer, her hair done up in its
usual loose, curly ponytail and the neural pads that connected her to
the computer and internet were secured to her temples. They still had
the older model computer with the screen and the temporary neural pads.
No one in the office had went for neural implants for the simple
reason that they did not need Wolfram and Hart attempting to hack into
any of the AI team's brains. Wesley and Fred both suspected that the
law firm often used the neural net to influence judges and jurists to
their clients' advantage.
"Mom, what's going on?" Connor looked up at his mother as Wesley walked
past them, muttering to himself. He didn't look up from his book.
Whatever was going on, Connor knew it was important, because even
Uncle Gunn and Uncle Lorne were pitching in with research.
"We've started the search for your Aunt Willow again. We've got some
new information and she might be in trouble." Cordelia took off her
jacket and walked over to Angel's desk. He was sitting with his elbows
on the desk, his head in his hands. Willow's letters were spread out
in front of him. "Angel, we're home. Any luck?"
Angel looked up and smiled wearily. He rubbed his hand through his
hair. "Hey. The letters aren't telling me anything about where she
was when she wrote them. She doesn't drop any hints - nothing about
the weather, what she's doing, friends - and if you read between the
lines, the only thing you know is that she's not fine. She's alone and
very scared. I never should have given up looking for her."
"You'll find her, Dad, and when you do I can finally thank her for all
the cool presents she's sent me." Connor eyed the old, mysterious
books on the office shelves with anticipation. He was only allowed to
look at them under strict supervision and certain conditions. He was
also only allowed to look at the ones deemed 'safe' by his parents.
"Can I help?"
"No." Cordelia nixed the hopeful gleam in her son's eyes before Angel
could. She ruffled his hair as a consolation prize. "Now that you're
a school-faring boy, you have homework to do."
"Uh, yeah." Connor looked down at his feet. He had to tell them
something, Ms. Foster would probably mention how he missed a whole
afternoon of classes eventually. "Something happened today."
"What! Why didn't you say something right away?" Cordelia grabbed
Connor by his arms. She frantically searched his limbs for broken
bones while she looked for any visible bumps or bruises. "Are you
okay, honey? Who hurt you?"
While Cordelia reassured herself that Connor was in one piece, Angel's
eyes flashed yellow and he let out a low growl. "Were you attacked?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Connor shook his head vehemently and
struggled out of Cordelia's grasp. They had made a wise decision when
he, Pandora, and Ron had agreed not to tell their parents about the
Cellar Serpent or their mutual supernaturalness. His parents were
freaking out and he hadn't even said anything yet. "I'm fine. That
girl I told you about yesterday, Pandora, she had a seizure at lunch."
"Is she okay?" Cordelia managed to ask as she sat down in an office
chair. Her heart was thumping madly. Now that she knew Connor wasn't
in immediate danger or hurt, it was starting to slow a bit.
"She's fine. She was a bit disoriented after and Ron and I found her
wandering in the basement. She got upset if one of us tried to leave,
so we stayed with her until she felt better and we all missed
afternoon classes."
"Did you explain everything to your teacher?" Cordelia asked. Her
heart was back to its normal rhythm, but she was still shaky. She
didn't know what she would do if anything happened to Connor.
"Yeah, she said we weren't in any trouble and if it happens again we
should get a teacher."
"Thank you for telling us. You should get to your homework now."
Angel watched his son leave the office. He was relieved that Connor
was okay and proud that his son had helped out a classmate. A female
classmate. Angel frowned, remembering the conversation he and Gunn
had before Anya's visit. "Cordelia, do you think I should have the,
uh, birds and bees talk with Connor? He seems to like this Pandora
girl a lot."
"Angel, they're eleven." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I know back in
your day they were marrying off kids at the age of thirteen, but we
don't do that anymore."
"I'm not that old. Girls were around sixteen or seventeen when they
got married when I was human."
"Wow, I never realized that you were an old maid, Angel." Cordelia
smirked at his scandalized expression. She decided to take pity on
him and return to the subject at hand. "Don't worry, Angel, I gave
Connor the technical details when he asked where babies come from when
he was eight. That was when Xander and Anya came to visit and she was
pregnant with Brenden, remember. I told him it was a physical
expression of love between two adults, but I guess if you want to you
can give him the guy sex talk. Doesn't that just consist of you
clearing your throat awkwardly a lot and then slapping him on the back
after handing him a Playboy? I really think you should wait until
Connor is fifteen or sixteen for that. Actually, I would appreciate it
if you would...."
"Jumping Jehosphat!" Angel was saved from the rest of Cordelia's
harangue by Lorne's yell. The green-skinned reader demon walked into
the office, his red eyes blazing with excitement. "Why didn't you
tell me you had tracked the little witch to Milwaukee? I got a contact
there."
"You know someone from Milwaukee?" Angel couldn't keep the disbelief
out of his voice. "You've been to Milwaukee?"
"I know I give the impression of a horrible homebody, but I have
traveled a bit. It's a long story, but the gist is I was headed to
New York under the misguided notion that the bright lights of Broadway
were calling my name. Unfortunately, I accepted a ride with a Travois
demon - they specialize in road trips being nomadic demons - but the
funny thing about Travois demons is that...."
"Lorne, make it a shorter story." Angel stood up. He took the file
from Lorne's hands. A photograph of Willow with Buffy, Anya, and
Dawn was paper clipped in front. It had been the most recent picture
Xander had taken of 'his girls' and he had sent it to Angel when they
had begun their search for Willow all those years ago. It had been
taken a few days after Buffy's resurrection, all four girls were
smiling, but Anya was the only one who was happy. Beneath the three
other smiles, Buffy looked empty, Dawn looked scared, and Willow looked
sad. Even then she had been sad.
"Travois demons have a terrible sense of direction, we took a wrong
turn and ended up in Milwaukee. That's where I met Tanya, she's a
Dispero demon. She helps people and demons find their direction in
life and if need be, she helps them find a new life. She told me to
hightail my sweet hinny back to L. A....."
"Your friend helped Willow disappear," Angel interrupted Lorne. He
walked back to the desk and set down the file. He picked up the phone.
"Call her. Find out where she helped Willow disappear to."
"It won't be that easy, Angel-cakes."
"Make it that easy. Please." Angel held out the phone.
*****
It was moments like this that Willow treasured. Ron was at the kitchen
table doing his homework. Lindsey was helping her with the dishes.
It was all so normal. It was like they had lived here as a family
forever instead of gallivanting across the country like the fugitives
they were. She wished she had never met Rack, but then she wouldn't
have Ron and he was the most important thing in her life. She had
never loved anyone as completely as she loved her little boy. He was
nothing like his father. Willow shivered as Rack's face popped into
her mind. She hated thinking about him. She always had this paranoid
notion that he knew when she was thinking about him and could use it
to track her and Ron.
"Are you okay?" Lindsey's voice calmed her fears a bit. Willow had
just begun thinking of him by that name. Before he had always been
Mac, her friend and savior. When they had decided to move to L. A.
when Mac had gotten a record deal, he had insisted that he go back as
Lindsey MacDonald. His stage name was still Mac MacDonald, but he
wanted his family and friends to call him Lindsey again. He said he
wanted to reclaim his name from evil. He wanted to be able to
introduce himself as Lindsey MacDonald and be proud. Willow was proud
of him. He was a great man.
"I'm fine." Willow smiled up at him. She took the last plate from
the sink and handed it to Lindsey. He put it away in the cupboard
while she shut off the sonic pulses that blasted the food and germs
from the dishes.
"Really?" Lindsey could tell Willow was preoccupied. With what, he
could only guess. Being in the same city as Angel and being so close
to Sunnydale was probably unnerving her. He knew being so close to
Wolfram and Hart and the evil that he once was a part of was
unsettling for him. Lindsey wished that Willow would confront her old
friends as he had confronted Lilah. That way he could give that self
righteous, hypocritical vampire a piece of his mind. Rack had taken
advantage of Willow and her friends had turned away from her on his
word. But Lindsey couldn't very well tell Angel any of that or give
him the sucker punch he deserved if Willow refused to come forward and
continued to hide from them.
"Yes, really." Willow laughed softly. She reached up and gave Lindsey
a peck on the cheek. "Don't be such a worry wart, Mac - I mean,
Lindsey. I won't hide forever, I promise. I just need a little more
time." She let Lindsey gather her in his arms for a comforting hug
before she pulled away. If she stayed in his warm embrace she would
cry. "Ron, how's the homework coming?"
"Okay. I'm almost finished." Ron's nose stayed buried in his grammar
text.
"Wow, this is a lot of homework for the second day," Lindsey commented
as he and Willow joined their son at the table. He picked up one of
the books. "They're driving you hard at this school."
The time had come. Ron had been waiting for an opportunity to mention
what had happened that afternoon to his parents and it had finally
come up. He fiddled with his pencil and set his book down to face
them. "I kind of have to catch up because I missed classes this
afternoon."
"You skipped school?" Willow couldn't believe it. She knew that Ron
was more daring and confident than she had been at his age, but she
had thought she had instilled in him a sense of responsibility. Maybe
this unstable lifestyle with all the moving around had made her son
into some kind of delinquent.
"No, not intentionally." Ron unknowingly put a halt to the visions of
him hanging out in alleys and smoking that were running through his
mother's mind. "You remember Pandora, the girl I told you about
yesterday? She's new too and so is Connor...."
"Connor?" Willow interrupted. Connor was the name of Angel's son.
She saw Ron nod as he went on with the rest of his story. This Connor
he was talking about couldn't be Angel's son, he was some other boy
with the same name. She was being silly, what would Angel's son be
doing at a Catholic school? But the same question could be asked about
her son. Willow listened with half an ear as Ron explained about
Pandora's seizure and disorientation. Her son's new friend couldn't
be Angel's son. Connor's life was in constant danger from various
vampire cults and demons. There was no way that Angel would let the
boy out of his sight and away from his protection. No, Ron's friend
was a different Connor. Not Angel's son.
*****
It was an unconventional meeting place, but ever since they had killed
the Silear Nathair and discovered that they weren't alone in hiding
their real selves, the basement had become comfortable. The hidden
stash of heavy metal music had disappeared, so they didn't have to
worry about the girl Pandora had saved from coming back. It had
become a habit for Pandora, Connor, and Ron to bring their lunches
to the basement and spend the lunch hour there instead of in the
cafeteria or outside in the courtyard. It gave Pandora a brief respite
from Amanda's taunting and the guys a chance to show off their
respective powers.
"Cool!" Ron looked on with envy as Connor twisted a metal bar with the
ease of someone wringing a towel.
"It's just strength." Connor shrugged and set the bar down. "You
can do magic," he pointed out.
"That's right. I am a male witch." Ron grinned. He waved his hand
and the book in Pandora's hand jerked out of her grasp and floated
high in air.
"Ron, you shouldn't be using you powers and neither should you,
Connor." Pandora frowned disapprovingly at them. She held out her
hand. "Give it back."
"You're a witch. Take it." Ron floated the book even higher. "Come
on, Dory, you know you're dying to show us what you can do. Think of
it as practice."
"Ron." Pandora stood up. She reached up toward the book. "I don't
have complete control over my powers like you. I could blow it up."
"Then I owe you a history book. Try it."
"Yeah, Dory, you can do it," Connor offered encouragement.
Pandora bit her lip. She gestured toward the book and it froze in
place. "Damn," she muttered. "Bring it down, please."
"Okay." Ron waved his hand. The book didn't move. "Oops. I can't
move it with your freezing spell on it."
"Great. What are we going to do if someone comes down here? How are
we going to explain a book frozen in mid-air?"
"Don't be so paranoid, Dory. No one ever comes down here."
Connor laughed as his friends launched into an argument that had become
very familiar over the last three weeks. Ron was always showing off
his powers and Pandora always scolded him about getting caught. The
argument always ended in a good natured stalemate, so Connor usually
stayed out of it until they were finished. He didn't know that much
about magic and its practice. His Aunt Willow was a witch and all
discussions of magic had been a sore subject around his home because it
brought back memories of her. It was especially touchy now because
his family was hitting nothing but dead ends trying to find her. Out
of curiosity, Connor interrupted his arguing friends to ask, "Ron,
aren't you a warlock?"
In the resounding silence that followed Connor's question, the freezing
spell ended and the book dropped to the cement floor with a loud bang.
Ron was white, his orange freckles standing out like speckles on an
egg. Pandora shivered. Finally, she took pity on their new friend.
"Warlocks are evil, Connor. They steal witches' powers. Ron is a
male witch."
"Oh." For the first time in his young life, Connor felt a fear that
had nothing to do with death. He was afraid that he had lost his best
friend because he had asked a stupid question. "I'm sorry, Ron. I
didn't know...I didn't mean...."
"I know." Ron swallowed and offered his friends a weak smile. "It's
okay. It's a common mistake, like thinking I'm a wizard."
"Of course it is. Let's get back to class. We wouldn't want to be
late." Pandora herded them both to the stairs.
"You guys are still coming to my place after school, right?" Connor
hoped he hadn't messed things up. They had just decided to take the
next step in their friendship and spend time together after school at
each others' homes. They had decided on Connor's first because neither
Pandora or Ron had ever met a real vampire before, not that Connor's
Dad would realize that fact. When he had asked his Mom and Dad if his
friends could come over to visit, they had been so excited. He would
hate to disappoint them and himself.
"That's the plan." Ron shook off his shock. It was just a question.
Connor hadn't been accusing him of anything, just asking a question.
"Hey, Dory, you forgot your book." Ron turned to get it, but it
dissolved in a swirl of blue light and ended up in Pandora's hand.
"Excuse me, Pandora Halliwell, but what would you have done if someone
had saw that? How would you have explained yourself?"
"Ron's right." Connor shook his head gravely. "You really shouldn't
flaunt your powers like that, Dory."
"Shut up." Pandora tossed her hair and walked ahead of them.
*****
The little snot monsters had finally vacated the building. Lilah
walked carefully down the middle of the hallway, there was no way she
was going to get any kid-ick on her new suit. It was an original
Charlemagne. She stopped at a classroom that had a young, pretty
teacher sitting at a desk correcting homework.
"Hello." Lilah walked into the room and stood in front of the desk.
"I'm here to check on the progress of my Godson."
"Connor Chase is doing very well. He has fit in effortlessly with the
other children. He displays an eagerness to learn, a concern for the
welfare of his fellow class-mates, as well as super-strength. He has
befriended a witch and a male witch and the three of them killed the
Silear Nathair that dwelled in the basement." Lana Foster set the
twisted bar she had retrieved from the basement on her desk. She
looked up at Lilah, her eyes twin pits of blackness. "Is there any
more information that you require, Ms. Morgan?"
"Not at the moment, but keep your eyes open. I will need every little
detail about my precious Godson." Lilah opened her briefcase. She
took out an orange piece of paper with black lettering announcing
'Parent/Teacher Night.' "First, I have a task for you to perform.
Make sure Angel gets this."
To be continued....
Family dinners were a tradition in the Halliwell home. At least once a
week, they made a point of having the whole family together for a meal.
Piper would cook something that was someone's favorite food and they
would all gather together and discuss the family business of demon
hunting and any other issues that had come up. There were always
issues when three adult sisters and two of their significant others
lived in the same house.
"So, Pan, how was school today?" Piper cast a guarded look at Phoebe
and Cole. They were studiously ignoring each other and the tension at
the table was palatable. She definitely did not want to start the
dinner with their issues. Piper passed the mashed potatoes to her
daughter. "Did you make any new friends?"
Pandora scooped some potatoes onto her plate as she considered her
answer. She had never lied to her parents before. She had never
really lied to anyone before. It would probably be best to start by
omission. "Yeah, I did." Pandora bit her lip and passed the ceramic
bowl with red stripes to her Aunt Paige. "I had a premonition today
about this girl. She was in the basement and she was in danger. I
went down there to check it out and she went back upstairs and nothing
happened to her. These boys had seen me when I was having the
premonition and they found me in the basement and I pretended that I
was upset and sick and they helped me. I told the teacher that it was
a seizure and I was under the care of a specialist. I missed my
afternoon classes." Pandora finally took a breath. She looked up.
Five adults were staring at her. "Well," Paige said from beside her,
offering Pandora a quirky smile, "It sounds like an interesting
second day of school. Who are these new friends you made today? The
girl you saved from possible impending danger or the boys who helped
you?"
"The boys. Connor and Ron. They're new too."
"Did they think there was anything strange about your 'seizure?'"
Piper asked carefully. Her daughter was alienated enough - with the
premonitions, the powers, the expectations of the Elders - she didn't
need her mother making her feel like a freak too.
"No, they didn't think it was strange at all." Technically, it wasn't
a lie. Connor and Ron thought premonitions, magic, and battling large
serpentine demons was perfectly normal.
"It's a good thing we notified the school of your medical history of
'seizures' then." At her father's smile, Pandora's guilt intensified.
She didn't say anything though. For the first time in her life, she
had something apart from her family. As guilty as lying made her feel,
the surge of independence Pandora was experiencing was too fulfilling
to give up.
*****
There was no milk and cookies waiting for Connor when he got home from
his second day of school. The office was quiet as each of the adults,
except for Cordelia who had picked him up, was engrossed in their
research. Fred was busy on the computer, her hair done up in its
usual loose, curly ponytail and the neural pads that connected her to
the computer and internet were secured to her temples. They still had
the older model computer with the screen and the temporary neural pads.
No one in the office had went for neural implants for the simple
reason that they did not need Wolfram and Hart attempting to hack into
any of the AI team's brains. Wesley and Fred both suspected that the
law firm often used the neural net to influence judges and jurists to
their clients' advantage.
"Mom, what's going on?" Connor looked up at his mother as Wesley walked
past them, muttering to himself. He didn't look up from his book.
Whatever was going on, Connor knew it was important, because even
Uncle Gunn and Uncle Lorne were pitching in with research.
"We've started the search for your Aunt Willow again. We've got some
new information and she might be in trouble." Cordelia took off her
jacket and walked over to Angel's desk. He was sitting with his elbows
on the desk, his head in his hands. Willow's letters were spread out
in front of him. "Angel, we're home. Any luck?"
Angel looked up and smiled wearily. He rubbed his hand through his
hair. "Hey. The letters aren't telling me anything about where she
was when she wrote them. She doesn't drop any hints - nothing about
the weather, what she's doing, friends - and if you read between the
lines, the only thing you know is that she's not fine. She's alone and
very scared. I never should have given up looking for her."
"You'll find her, Dad, and when you do I can finally thank her for all
the cool presents she's sent me." Connor eyed the old, mysterious
books on the office shelves with anticipation. He was only allowed to
look at them under strict supervision and certain conditions. He was
also only allowed to look at the ones deemed 'safe' by his parents.
"Can I help?"
"No." Cordelia nixed the hopeful gleam in her son's eyes before Angel
could. She ruffled his hair as a consolation prize. "Now that you're
a school-faring boy, you have homework to do."
"Uh, yeah." Connor looked down at his feet. He had to tell them
something, Ms. Foster would probably mention how he missed a whole
afternoon of classes eventually. "Something happened today."
"What! Why didn't you say something right away?" Cordelia grabbed
Connor by his arms. She frantically searched his limbs for broken
bones while she looked for any visible bumps or bruises. "Are you
okay, honey? Who hurt you?"
While Cordelia reassured herself that Connor was in one piece, Angel's
eyes flashed yellow and he let out a low growl. "Were you attacked?"
"No, no, nothing like that." Connor shook his head vehemently and
struggled out of Cordelia's grasp. They had made a wise decision when
he, Pandora, and Ron had agreed not to tell their parents about the
Cellar Serpent or their mutual supernaturalness. His parents were
freaking out and he hadn't even said anything yet. "I'm fine. That
girl I told you about yesterday, Pandora, she had a seizure at lunch."
"Is she okay?" Cordelia managed to ask as she sat down in an office
chair. Her heart was thumping madly. Now that she knew Connor wasn't
in immediate danger or hurt, it was starting to slow a bit.
"She's fine. She was a bit disoriented after and Ron and I found her
wandering in the basement. She got upset if one of us tried to leave,
so we stayed with her until she felt better and we all missed
afternoon classes."
"Did you explain everything to your teacher?" Cordelia asked. Her
heart was back to its normal rhythm, but she was still shaky. She
didn't know what she would do if anything happened to Connor.
"Yeah, she said we weren't in any trouble and if it happens again we
should get a teacher."
"Thank you for telling us. You should get to your homework now."
Angel watched his son leave the office. He was relieved that Connor
was okay and proud that his son had helped out a classmate. A female
classmate. Angel frowned, remembering the conversation he and Gunn
had before Anya's visit. "Cordelia, do you think I should have the,
uh, birds and bees talk with Connor? He seems to like this Pandora
girl a lot."
"Angel, they're eleven." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I know back in
your day they were marrying off kids at the age of thirteen, but we
don't do that anymore."
"I'm not that old. Girls were around sixteen or seventeen when they
got married when I was human."
"Wow, I never realized that you were an old maid, Angel." Cordelia
smirked at his scandalized expression. She decided to take pity on
him and return to the subject at hand. "Don't worry, Angel, I gave
Connor the technical details when he asked where babies come from when
he was eight. That was when Xander and Anya came to visit and she was
pregnant with Brenden, remember. I told him it was a physical
expression of love between two adults, but I guess if you want to you
can give him the guy sex talk. Doesn't that just consist of you
clearing your throat awkwardly a lot and then slapping him on the back
after handing him a Playboy? I really think you should wait until
Connor is fifteen or sixteen for that. Actually, I would appreciate it
if you would...."
"Jumping Jehosphat!" Angel was saved from the rest of Cordelia's
harangue by Lorne's yell. The green-skinned reader demon walked into
the office, his red eyes blazing with excitement. "Why didn't you
tell me you had tracked the little witch to Milwaukee? I got a contact
there."
"You know someone from Milwaukee?" Angel couldn't keep the disbelief
out of his voice. "You've been to Milwaukee?"
"I know I give the impression of a horrible homebody, but I have
traveled a bit. It's a long story, but the gist is I was headed to
New York under the misguided notion that the bright lights of Broadway
were calling my name. Unfortunately, I accepted a ride with a Travois
demon - they specialize in road trips being nomadic demons - but the
funny thing about Travois demons is that...."
"Lorne, make it a shorter story." Angel stood up. He took the file
from Lorne's hands. A photograph of Willow with Buffy, Anya, and
Dawn was paper clipped in front. It had been the most recent picture
Xander had taken of 'his girls' and he had sent it to Angel when they
had begun their search for Willow all those years ago. It had been
taken a few days after Buffy's resurrection, all four girls were
smiling, but Anya was the only one who was happy. Beneath the three
other smiles, Buffy looked empty, Dawn looked scared, and Willow looked
sad. Even then she had been sad.
"Travois demons have a terrible sense of direction, we took a wrong
turn and ended up in Milwaukee. That's where I met Tanya, she's a
Dispero demon. She helps people and demons find their direction in
life and if need be, she helps them find a new life. She told me to
hightail my sweet hinny back to L. A....."
"Your friend helped Willow disappear," Angel interrupted Lorne. He
walked back to the desk and set down the file. He picked up the phone.
"Call her. Find out where she helped Willow disappear to."
"It won't be that easy, Angel-cakes."
"Make it that easy. Please." Angel held out the phone.
*****
It was moments like this that Willow treasured. Ron was at the kitchen
table doing his homework. Lindsey was helping her with the dishes.
It was all so normal. It was like they had lived here as a family
forever instead of gallivanting across the country like the fugitives
they were. She wished she had never met Rack, but then she wouldn't
have Ron and he was the most important thing in her life. She had
never loved anyone as completely as she loved her little boy. He was
nothing like his father. Willow shivered as Rack's face popped into
her mind. She hated thinking about him. She always had this paranoid
notion that he knew when she was thinking about him and could use it
to track her and Ron.
"Are you okay?" Lindsey's voice calmed her fears a bit. Willow had
just begun thinking of him by that name. Before he had always been
Mac, her friend and savior. When they had decided to move to L. A.
when Mac had gotten a record deal, he had insisted that he go back as
Lindsey MacDonald. His stage name was still Mac MacDonald, but he
wanted his family and friends to call him Lindsey again. He said he
wanted to reclaim his name from evil. He wanted to be able to
introduce himself as Lindsey MacDonald and be proud. Willow was proud
of him. He was a great man.
"I'm fine." Willow smiled up at him. She took the last plate from
the sink and handed it to Lindsey. He put it away in the cupboard
while she shut off the sonic pulses that blasted the food and germs
from the dishes.
"Really?" Lindsey could tell Willow was preoccupied. With what, he
could only guess. Being in the same city as Angel and being so close
to Sunnydale was probably unnerving her. He knew being so close to
Wolfram and Hart and the evil that he once was a part of was
unsettling for him. Lindsey wished that Willow would confront her old
friends as he had confronted Lilah. That way he could give that self
righteous, hypocritical vampire a piece of his mind. Rack had taken
advantage of Willow and her friends had turned away from her on his
word. But Lindsey couldn't very well tell Angel any of that or give
him the sucker punch he deserved if Willow refused to come forward and
continued to hide from them.
"Yes, really." Willow laughed softly. She reached up and gave Lindsey
a peck on the cheek. "Don't be such a worry wart, Mac - I mean,
Lindsey. I won't hide forever, I promise. I just need a little more
time." She let Lindsey gather her in his arms for a comforting hug
before she pulled away. If she stayed in his warm embrace she would
cry. "Ron, how's the homework coming?"
"Okay. I'm almost finished." Ron's nose stayed buried in his grammar
text.
"Wow, this is a lot of homework for the second day," Lindsey commented
as he and Willow joined their son at the table. He picked up one of
the books. "They're driving you hard at this school."
The time had come. Ron had been waiting for an opportunity to mention
what had happened that afternoon to his parents and it had finally
come up. He fiddled with his pencil and set his book down to face
them. "I kind of have to catch up because I missed classes this
afternoon."
"You skipped school?" Willow couldn't believe it. She knew that Ron
was more daring and confident than she had been at his age, but she
had thought she had instilled in him a sense of responsibility. Maybe
this unstable lifestyle with all the moving around had made her son
into some kind of delinquent.
"No, not intentionally." Ron unknowingly put a halt to the visions of
him hanging out in alleys and smoking that were running through his
mother's mind. "You remember Pandora, the girl I told you about
yesterday? She's new too and so is Connor...."
"Connor?" Willow interrupted. Connor was the name of Angel's son.
She saw Ron nod as he went on with the rest of his story. This Connor
he was talking about couldn't be Angel's son, he was some other boy
with the same name. She was being silly, what would Angel's son be
doing at a Catholic school? But the same question could be asked about
her son. Willow listened with half an ear as Ron explained about
Pandora's seizure and disorientation. Her son's new friend couldn't
be Angel's son. Connor's life was in constant danger from various
vampire cults and demons. There was no way that Angel would let the
boy out of his sight and away from his protection. No, Ron's friend
was a different Connor. Not Angel's son.
*****
It was an unconventional meeting place, but ever since they had killed
the Silear Nathair and discovered that they weren't alone in hiding
their real selves, the basement had become comfortable. The hidden
stash of heavy metal music had disappeared, so they didn't have to
worry about the girl Pandora had saved from coming back. It had
become a habit for Pandora, Connor, and Ron to bring their lunches
to the basement and spend the lunch hour there instead of in the
cafeteria or outside in the courtyard. It gave Pandora a brief respite
from Amanda's taunting and the guys a chance to show off their
respective powers.
"Cool!" Ron looked on with envy as Connor twisted a metal bar with the
ease of someone wringing a towel.
"It's just strength." Connor shrugged and set the bar down. "You
can do magic," he pointed out.
"That's right. I am a male witch." Ron grinned. He waved his hand
and the book in Pandora's hand jerked out of her grasp and floated
high in air.
"Ron, you shouldn't be using you powers and neither should you,
Connor." Pandora frowned disapprovingly at them. She held out her
hand. "Give it back."
"You're a witch. Take it." Ron floated the book even higher. "Come
on, Dory, you know you're dying to show us what you can do. Think of
it as practice."
"Ron." Pandora stood up. She reached up toward the book. "I don't
have complete control over my powers like you. I could blow it up."
"Then I owe you a history book. Try it."
"Yeah, Dory, you can do it," Connor offered encouragement.
Pandora bit her lip. She gestured toward the book and it froze in
place. "Damn," she muttered. "Bring it down, please."
"Okay." Ron waved his hand. The book didn't move. "Oops. I can't
move it with your freezing spell on it."
"Great. What are we going to do if someone comes down here? How are
we going to explain a book frozen in mid-air?"
"Don't be so paranoid, Dory. No one ever comes down here."
Connor laughed as his friends launched into an argument that had become
very familiar over the last three weeks. Ron was always showing off
his powers and Pandora always scolded him about getting caught. The
argument always ended in a good natured stalemate, so Connor usually
stayed out of it until they were finished. He didn't know that much
about magic and its practice. His Aunt Willow was a witch and all
discussions of magic had been a sore subject around his home because it
brought back memories of her. It was especially touchy now because
his family was hitting nothing but dead ends trying to find her. Out
of curiosity, Connor interrupted his arguing friends to ask, "Ron,
aren't you a warlock?"
In the resounding silence that followed Connor's question, the freezing
spell ended and the book dropped to the cement floor with a loud bang.
Ron was white, his orange freckles standing out like speckles on an
egg. Pandora shivered. Finally, she took pity on their new friend.
"Warlocks are evil, Connor. They steal witches' powers. Ron is a
male witch."
"Oh." For the first time in his young life, Connor felt a fear that
had nothing to do with death. He was afraid that he had lost his best
friend because he had asked a stupid question. "I'm sorry, Ron. I
didn't know...I didn't mean...."
"I know." Ron swallowed and offered his friends a weak smile. "It's
okay. It's a common mistake, like thinking I'm a wizard."
"Of course it is. Let's get back to class. We wouldn't want to be
late." Pandora herded them both to the stairs.
"You guys are still coming to my place after school, right?" Connor
hoped he hadn't messed things up. They had just decided to take the
next step in their friendship and spend time together after school at
each others' homes. They had decided on Connor's first because neither
Pandora or Ron had ever met a real vampire before, not that Connor's
Dad would realize that fact. When he had asked his Mom and Dad if his
friends could come over to visit, they had been so excited. He would
hate to disappoint them and himself.
"That's the plan." Ron shook off his shock. It was just a question.
Connor hadn't been accusing him of anything, just asking a question.
"Hey, Dory, you forgot your book." Ron turned to get it, but it
dissolved in a swirl of blue light and ended up in Pandora's hand.
"Excuse me, Pandora Halliwell, but what would you have done if someone
had saw that? How would you have explained yourself?"
"Ron's right." Connor shook his head gravely. "You really shouldn't
flaunt your powers like that, Dory."
"Shut up." Pandora tossed her hair and walked ahead of them.
*****
The little snot monsters had finally vacated the building. Lilah
walked carefully down the middle of the hallway, there was no way she
was going to get any kid-ick on her new suit. It was an original
Charlemagne. She stopped at a classroom that had a young, pretty
teacher sitting at a desk correcting homework.
"Hello." Lilah walked into the room and stood in front of the desk.
"I'm here to check on the progress of my Godson."
"Connor Chase is doing very well. He has fit in effortlessly with the
other children. He displays an eagerness to learn, a concern for the
welfare of his fellow class-mates, as well as super-strength. He has
befriended a witch and a male witch and the three of them killed the
Silear Nathair that dwelled in the basement." Lana Foster set the
twisted bar she had retrieved from the basement on her desk. She
looked up at Lilah, her eyes twin pits of blackness. "Is there any
more information that you require, Ms. Morgan?"
"Not at the moment, but keep your eyes open. I will need every little
detail about my precious Godson." Lilah opened her briefcase. She
took out an orange piece of paper with black lettering announcing
'Parent/Teacher Night.' "First, I have a task for you to perform.
Make sure Angel gets this."
To be continued....