Part 6 : Return to the Mission
In his apartment, Wesley watched Steven asleep in his bed. In his sleeping position, he clutched a weapon of some sort. He was obviously used to taking care of himself and was always prepared. He may have been able to care for himself wherever he had been, but he was not used to the ways of their world and would need somebody to help him out. Wesley thought that he was the wrong person to conform to a carer for the troubled teen. He could barely take care of his own life and his own problems, simply creating more difficulties.
Later, Wesley looked for something for Steven to eat. All he had was large quantities of alcohol and some junk food. He finally found some suitable cookies for him. As he handed over the food, Steven was sitting on the couch , staring at the television in amazement. When he was before, there had been no such thing as this box with small people inside it. Wesley had explained that there were not actually people inside the machine, just images of actors on the screen, for the amusement of the people that watch. Apparently Steven had seen something like this before, but it was much larger. Wesley figured that Angel had taken him to the cinema.
Even though it had been easy enough to find something to occupy the boy with, Wesley was at a loss of what to do. He needed a father to take care of him, but that father had been put out of action. Wesley knew that Steven would not go to retrieve his father on his own. Right now, Wesley was the only person who could reunite the two of them, the only one who was in the position to help Angel. Right now, he had very little wish to ever see the vampire that had tried to kill him not so long ago. He knew that Angel would not change his feelings, even if Wesley did save him. But he would not be able to live the rest of his life knowing that he had known where he was and left him. He could finally do something right...
***
When Cordelia woke up she was momentarily confused, but it did not take her long to figure out where she was. She was still in the chair that she had fallen asleep in, wrapped in Angel's coat. As she got up and made her way to the bathroom, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost midday. She was surprised at how long she had slept, she normally got up much earlier than this. She had needed the rest, though, and she felt much more positive and relaxed, even more determined.
She soon realised that she would need some more clothes. The clothes that she had slept in would not be suitable for another day. Even so, she managed to make herself presentable for the trip back to her apartment. As she went downstairs to the lobby, she saw that Fred and Gunn were busy working in the office. She smiled to herself at how great they were and felt slightly guilty.
"Hey guys," she smiled brightly. "Why didn't you wake me up? I should be helping here."
"I was just gonna come check on you," Gunn assured her. "Besides, you were exhausted and you look so peaceful and sweet when you are asleep." He stopped talking, noticing Fred clearing her throat. He kissed Fred on the cheek, winking at Cordelia at the same time.
"I saw that, Charles!" Fred punched him on the arm.
"Damn, girl, that hurt."
Cordelia looked away sadly. Seeing them together so happy made her thing of what could have been with her and Angel and what she would have to step away from. She quickly closed off these thoughts and prepared to leave. "I'm going to go home, see Dennis and sort things out. Will you be here for a while?"
"Yeah, that client will be coming back some time soon." Fred supplied.
"The stalker one? Maybe Angel can help out when I find him." She smiled, realising what she had said.
"Good luck. Is there anything we can do Cordy?" Gunn did not like to see her taking charge of it all on her own. It could be too much for her to handle.
"I'll be okay. I'll phone if I need you." With that, she was gone.
When she arrived at her apartment, she was back to positive thinking and had thought through many different possibilities. She figured that she had nothing to lose at this point by trying to summon a vision. She had already started to have some control over her visions, when she had been able to go back to see Angel fighting the vampires alongside his son.
After cleaning herself up and sorting things out in her apartment, she sat down on her couch and started to induce a vision. She did not really know how to proceed, but she figured that she would just have to think strongly and focus on finding Angel. As she relaxed into the couch, she emptied her mind of all thoughts and concentrated on Angel's face.
"Take me to Angel," she whispered.
Soon enough, everything changed and she felt water all around her. 'These visions are getting more and more real', she thought. She could not see anything and wondered what sort of vision showed nothing but darkness. Suddenly, it dawned on her that this was real, that she was actually underwater. Cordelia started to panic, wondering what had happened and the water around her began to glow as thoughts sped through her mind. The light that was around her lit up the ocean floor, illuminating a big object in front of her. She drew closer to the box shaped thing and gasped as she saw what was inside.
'Angel,' she did not know how she had sent him the message, but she knew he heard because he opened his eyes. It shocked her when he immediately closed them again.
'It's not real,' he seemed to be telling himself.
'It is real. Everything is going to be alright.'
Angel opened his eyes, wanting to believe, but not seeing how any of it could be true. 'Help me,' he willed.
Cordelia blinked, quickly accepting the reversal of roles. She had to do something, had to save him, like he had saved her so many times before. First, she would have to get him out of his prison. 'Close your eyes, I'll get you out.' Angel did as she requested.
Putting her arms around the box, Cordelia concentrated her energy onto Angel's cage and felt a burst of power surge through her. The bright flash of light lasted several seconds, making her no longer able to see Angel's face. When the light started to fade, a dull explosion made ripples in the water that slowly travelled up to the surface. The box had disintegrated into tiny pieces and Angel fell to the ocean floor, knocked unconscious by the blast.
Cordelia rushed to his side, unhappy that she had not had enough control over her power and that she had hurt him. He did not seem to be hurt, but he was not waking up as she held him in her arms. She knew that she had to get them out of there, but she was unsure how. It would be difficult to swim up to the surface and she had no idea where they would end up. Another problem with that was that the sun was still up. She realised that she had to somehow teleport them back to the hotel, even if she was still unsure about the use of her power.
As she had before, she concentrated her thoughts on the hotel and held tightly onto Angel. Within seconds, they were transported to the hotel, in Angel's room as she had planned. She knew that it would be a bad idea to appear in front of Fred or Gunn, she did not want to create more difficulties and extra explanations. She lay the unconscious Angel on his bed, stroking his cheek and willing him to wake up and be okay. This seemed to make him more relaxed, although he was still unconscious.
She positioned herself in the chair next to the bed, holding onto his hand, supplying him with her warmth. A lot of time passed without either of them moving, she knew she had been there a while because their clothes had dried. She knew that she should tell the others what had happened, but she did not want to separate herself from Angel now that she had finally found him. She did not want to break the connection between them. Cordelia moved onto the bed, lying her head on Angel's chest, staring up into his motionless face.
She remembered back to her birthday when they had been in a similar situation, when she had been the one lying motionless on the bed. It was obvious that she was doing something, because simply lying next to Angel was draining her of her strength.
An eternity passed before Angel finally started to stir. Cordelia had lain there so long she had no idea how much time had passed. Minutes or hours, they were all a blur. She had stopped thinking about things, concentrating simply on Angel's recovery and returning him to his mission. Even though she had to leave, she would make sure that he was back on track to redemption.
"Cor?" He pronounced weakly. Her heart melted when he instinctively said her name, before he even opened his eyes. He knew she was there even without looking. Was it his vampiric senses or was it something more? Did he just want her to be there?
"Hey Angel. I'm here. Just rest, you'll be okay." She smiled at him. He was going to be okay, she should be happy, but she could only think of having to leave again.
In his apartment, Wesley watched Steven asleep in his bed. In his sleeping position, he clutched a weapon of some sort. He was obviously used to taking care of himself and was always prepared. He may have been able to care for himself wherever he had been, but he was not used to the ways of their world and would need somebody to help him out. Wesley thought that he was the wrong person to conform to a carer for the troubled teen. He could barely take care of his own life and his own problems, simply creating more difficulties.
Later, Wesley looked for something for Steven to eat. All he had was large quantities of alcohol and some junk food. He finally found some suitable cookies for him. As he handed over the food, Steven was sitting on the couch , staring at the television in amazement. When he was before, there had been no such thing as this box with small people inside it. Wesley had explained that there were not actually people inside the machine, just images of actors on the screen, for the amusement of the people that watch. Apparently Steven had seen something like this before, but it was much larger. Wesley figured that Angel had taken him to the cinema.
Even though it had been easy enough to find something to occupy the boy with, Wesley was at a loss of what to do. He needed a father to take care of him, but that father had been put out of action. Wesley knew that Steven would not go to retrieve his father on his own. Right now, Wesley was the only person who could reunite the two of them, the only one who was in the position to help Angel. Right now, he had very little wish to ever see the vampire that had tried to kill him not so long ago. He knew that Angel would not change his feelings, even if Wesley did save him. But he would not be able to live the rest of his life knowing that he had known where he was and left him. He could finally do something right...
***
When Cordelia woke up she was momentarily confused, but it did not take her long to figure out where she was. She was still in the chair that she had fallen asleep in, wrapped in Angel's coat. As she got up and made her way to the bathroom, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost midday. She was surprised at how long she had slept, she normally got up much earlier than this. She had needed the rest, though, and she felt much more positive and relaxed, even more determined.
She soon realised that she would need some more clothes. The clothes that she had slept in would not be suitable for another day. Even so, she managed to make herself presentable for the trip back to her apartment. As she went downstairs to the lobby, she saw that Fred and Gunn were busy working in the office. She smiled to herself at how great they were and felt slightly guilty.
"Hey guys," she smiled brightly. "Why didn't you wake me up? I should be helping here."
"I was just gonna come check on you," Gunn assured her. "Besides, you were exhausted and you look so peaceful and sweet when you are asleep." He stopped talking, noticing Fred clearing her throat. He kissed Fred on the cheek, winking at Cordelia at the same time.
"I saw that, Charles!" Fred punched him on the arm.
"Damn, girl, that hurt."
Cordelia looked away sadly. Seeing them together so happy made her thing of what could have been with her and Angel and what she would have to step away from. She quickly closed off these thoughts and prepared to leave. "I'm going to go home, see Dennis and sort things out. Will you be here for a while?"
"Yeah, that client will be coming back some time soon." Fred supplied.
"The stalker one? Maybe Angel can help out when I find him." She smiled, realising what she had said.
"Good luck. Is there anything we can do Cordy?" Gunn did not like to see her taking charge of it all on her own. It could be too much for her to handle.
"I'll be okay. I'll phone if I need you." With that, she was gone.
When she arrived at her apartment, she was back to positive thinking and had thought through many different possibilities. She figured that she had nothing to lose at this point by trying to summon a vision. She had already started to have some control over her visions, when she had been able to go back to see Angel fighting the vampires alongside his son.
After cleaning herself up and sorting things out in her apartment, she sat down on her couch and started to induce a vision. She did not really know how to proceed, but she figured that she would just have to think strongly and focus on finding Angel. As she relaxed into the couch, she emptied her mind of all thoughts and concentrated on Angel's face.
"Take me to Angel," she whispered.
Soon enough, everything changed and she felt water all around her. 'These visions are getting more and more real', she thought. She could not see anything and wondered what sort of vision showed nothing but darkness. Suddenly, it dawned on her that this was real, that she was actually underwater. Cordelia started to panic, wondering what had happened and the water around her began to glow as thoughts sped through her mind. The light that was around her lit up the ocean floor, illuminating a big object in front of her. She drew closer to the box shaped thing and gasped as she saw what was inside.
'Angel,' she did not know how she had sent him the message, but she knew he heard because he opened his eyes. It shocked her when he immediately closed them again.
'It's not real,' he seemed to be telling himself.
'It is real. Everything is going to be alright.'
Angel opened his eyes, wanting to believe, but not seeing how any of it could be true. 'Help me,' he willed.
Cordelia blinked, quickly accepting the reversal of roles. She had to do something, had to save him, like he had saved her so many times before. First, she would have to get him out of his prison. 'Close your eyes, I'll get you out.' Angel did as she requested.
Putting her arms around the box, Cordelia concentrated her energy onto Angel's cage and felt a burst of power surge through her. The bright flash of light lasted several seconds, making her no longer able to see Angel's face. When the light started to fade, a dull explosion made ripples in the water that slowly travelled up to the surface. The box had disintegrated into tiny pieces and Angel fell to the ocean floor, knocked unconscious by the blast.
Cordelia rushed to his side, unhappy that she had not had enough control over her power and that she had hurt him. He did not seem to be hurt, but he was not waking up as she held him in her arms. She knew that she had to get them out of there, but she was unsure how. It would be difficult to swim up to the surface and she had no idea where they would end up. Another problem with that was that the sun was still up. She realised that she had to somehow teleport them back to the hotel, even if she was still unsure about the use of her power.
As she had before, she concentrated her thoughts on the hotel and held tightly onto Angel. Within seconds, they were transported to the hotel, in Angel's room as she had planned. She knew that it would be a bad idea to appear in front of Fred or Gunn, she did not want to create more difficulties and extra explanations. She lay the unconscious Angel on his bed, stroking his cheek and willing him to wake up and be okay. This seemed to make him more relaxed, although he was still unconscious.
She positioned herself in the chair next to the bed, holding onto his hand, supplying him with her warmth. A lot of time passed without either of them moving, she knew she had been there a while because their clothes had dried. She knew that she should tell the others what had happened, but she did not want to separate herself from Angel now that she had finally found him. She did not want to break the connection between them. Cordelia moved onto the bed, lying her head on Angel's chest, staring up into his motionless face.
She remembered back to her birthday when they had been in a similar situation, when she had been the one lying motionless on the bed. It was obvious that she was doing something, because simply lying next to Angel was draining her of her strength.
An eternity passed before Angel finally started to stir. Cordelia had lain there so long she had no idea how much time had passed. Minutes or hours, they were all a blur. She had stopped thinking about things, concentrating simply on Angel's recovery and returning him to his mission. Even though she had to leave, she would make sure that he was back on track to redemption.
"Cor?" He pronounced weakly. Her heart melted when he instinctively said her name, before he even opened his eyes. He knew she was there even without looking. Was it his vampiric senses or was it something more? Did he just want her to be there?
"Hey Angel. I'm here. Just rest, you'll be okay." She smiled at him. He was going to be okay, she should be happy, but she could only think of having to leave again.