[Disclaimer: I do not own what Joss Whedon has created]
Author's Note:
To Imzadi, if you're reading this story:
You absolutely always request Lindsey in stories, and I'm sticking him in. Just not the way you'd expect.
History Always Repeats Itself
Chapter Two: Crazy Red Head, Take Two
by Adele Elisabeth
It had been Parent Day at school, but Cordelia couldn't make it, and neither could Giles, so Annabelle's backpack contained posters from some of Cordelia's movies, and two video tapes -- Cordelia's favorite starring role, 'The Chosen One', and 'The Real Cordy Chase'.
So, they were gathered in the living room to watch 'The Real Cordy Chase', and maybe even that movie, mostly because it looked pretty good, and very familiar.
On screen, Cordelia Giles sat in her living room with the reporter type guy, who Angel recognized with a start as Lindsey McDonald.
"Through these past years, you've made a lot of films. Which would you say was your favorite?" Lindsey asked, flashing a million-dollar smile.
"I would have to say it would be 'The Chosen One', because the writer and director was a close friend of mine, and it was great working with her." Cordelia gave her own trademark 100-megawatt grin.
In the living room, Cordelia had been reading the blurb on the back of aforementioned movie. She looked incredulously at Annabelle. "I played the Slayer?"
"Auntie Willow wrote and directed it, it was really cool. Callista Winters, Vampire Slayer. They made a series." Annabelle nodded. "Shhh, now, and finish watching the program."
'The Chosen One' had kept them all amused, with characters mirroring everyone.
Callista, the Slayer.
Alexandra, her geeky wiccan pal.
William (Will, or Wills), her occasionally moron-like mate.
Faith (that one got a few laughs from everyone), the bitchy cheerleader and may queen.
Charles Price, Callista's Watcher.
Jacqui Winters, Callista's mom.
Oh yeah -- and more.
"So basically, back where you're from, Cordelia's a star and Willow writes movies?" Buffy asked Annabelle.
"Auntie Willow's a writer, Auntie Buffy. Between Auntie Willow's writing, the Magic Box, and Mommy's movies, we're all pretty well taken care of." Annabelle nodded. She wasn't sure she liked this Auntie Buffy, who seemed to hate her Mommy (or how her Mommy hated her right back), but an Auntie Buffy was an Auntie Buffy. Right?
"So, no problems coming back from the dead and being broke?"
"We got the 'Bot a job while you were dead." Annabelle informed her. "Spike let us have her for patrolling and stuff, and she was all fixed up so she wouldn't think she loved him, because while you were dead, Uncle Spike met Auntie Faith and they're like Mommy and Daddy are now.The Bot's still around, she's fun."
"Ah. Umm." Buffy just nodded.
"Mommy said that Slayers were supposed to stake vampires, not date them, but she was only joking because she's friends with Uncle Spike and Uncle Angel, and they're vampires. Uncle Spike has a chip. Sometimes he babysits me, and I get to tag along when Dawnie goes over to his crypt to visit."
The 'Giles' Reality
Cordelia was having a relaxing aromatherapy bath. She sure as hell needed one.
Not too far away, in Buffy's place, Buffy and Willow were winding down from the stressful day with the latest episode of their favorite show. You guessed it. 'The Chosen One'.
On screen, Callista was breaking into a warehouse to rescue Faith and Alexandra, who had been kidnapped by a demon cult for sacrifices.
"It's still kind of weird," Buffy observed as she watched. "But in a good way, y'know?"
"Kind of funny." Willow nodded.
They watched in silence for a while, and when the credits came on, Buffy stood up. "Time to go kill stuff."
"Kill it more, anyway." Willow quipped.
"Yuh-huh. Wanna come?"
"I'm Research Girl tonight. Finding a way to get Annabelle back. Niamh can get there, but she can't bring anything back. She wants to go anyway, y'know, stay with Annabelle. Be a link."
"Link?"
"Wes and Giles have a spell, which should allow us to talk to Niamh."
"Cool. Should?"
"It may or may not work. Niamh wants to go, regardless. We all love Annabelle. She thinks it might make Cordy feel better if there's somebody she knows and trusts there to protect her wee girl."
"Not a bad idea. Let me know how it goes when I check back in." Buffy shrugged on her coat, and Willow got hers. Buffy would walk her to the Giles apartment, and then go slay some bad guys. That was how it worked, but Buffy always asked if she'd come patrolling, just in case.
"Do your spell." Niamh instructed. "I'm going. Call me if it works, 'kay?"
"Niamh, wait," Wesley protested, stepping forward, but her clear soprano filled the room. Tendrils of multicoloured magic surrounded the siren, and then tightened around her, pulling at her. And then she was gone.
"Bloody hell."
The Liam Reality
In the Liams' living room, Spike echoedWesley's sentiments under his breath as he got a lapful of a foreign Niamh. He knew it wasn't his Niamh, because his Niamh was in the kitchen, heating him up blood and making herself a cup of tea.
Anyhow, the foreign Niamh leapt out of his lap, startled.
"Nice landing, pet." He drawled, standing up. "Oy, poof!" he yelled. "Inter-reality traveller number two, in the living room!"
Angel came down the stairs, from putting Annabelle to bed. Cordelia and the others were doing a research party in the offices.
"Niamh?" Angel did a double-take as the Niamh of this reality came out of the kitchen to stand by her double.
"Where's Annabelle?" Niamh demanded. "Well?"
"Firstly, is there something other than Niamh we can call you?" Angel asked. "We're going to get really mixed up."
"Angel, don't screw me around on this one. Where is she?"
Angel could see he wasn't getting any further until Niamh was certain Annabelle was safe and sound. "She's upstairs, sleeping. She's top-and-tailing with Genevieve."
"Okay." Niamh relaxed slightly. "And I have a middle name, Maeve. Call me that."
"All right, Maeve."
A little later, Niamh and Maeve -- jesus, she was even starting to think of herself as Maeve -- were alone in the living room.
"What's it like, y'know, being in a different reality?" Niamh asked her double, in a 'I'm just asking you this to make conversation' way, to cover her curiosity.
"Well...it's sort of weird. Obviously. In that it's so similar here that I can forget it's different, and then one of those little differences will jump and bite me on the arse." Maeve attempted to explain it, and was quite proud of the way she did.
"For example?"
"You've been reformed for decades, right?"
Niamh had a sinking feeling. She nodded, slowly.
"I 'reformed' about a year after Genevieve's visit to my reality. Sort of got caught in the act by some of the Scoobies." Maeve didn't look uncomfortable discussing it, which didn't surprise Niamh. She'd always been a very open person, in most ways, anyway.
"How...?"
"Vampire in dark alley outside the Bronze, with girl. Your usual Saturday night scene. At first, Spike was going to come and, I don't know, subdue me or something, but Buffy stopped him when I staked the vampire. Of course, she rethought that when I turned and calmly slit the poor girl's throat." Maeve shrugged. "Then they attacked me, and for some reason, they didn't want to kill me. So I end up in chains in Spike's crypt as they try and reform me. What fun. Not. Anyway, it was my Wes that succeeded in the end. He's been hiding something from me for a while, but from the barest glance of a small black velvet box I got, I think I know what it is."
Wesley, as if on cue, stood in the doorway. "Ladies, if you don't mind coming and joining the research party?"
The fiery-haired pair exchanged a glance and shrugged. Niamh was all for it -- something to distract her. Maeve just wanted to get Annabelle home.
"So, what is the same in your...dimension?" Buffy asked, curious. She and Maeve were of the few that had managed to escape that dreaded, evil denizen of hell -- research. "Did you ever get the trio of nerds bugging you guys or anything?"
"You mean See Evil, Hear Evil, and Do Evil?" Maeve raised an eyebrow, and nodded. "Yes, we had the displeasure of their acquaintance. Broodier-Than-Thou entertained ideas of heading to the City of Angels and making it the City of Angel, but so far he hasn't followed through. I reckon he will, though. Seeing Little Miss Blonde And Dangerous -- sorry, you -- seriously screws him up. That and the fact her and Xander look like they'll pair off at any moment."
"Is Tara there?" Buffy decided to ignore the prospect of Buffy-n-Xander smoochies.
"Who?"
"That answers that question. Willow's girlfriend."
"Willow's married to Anyanka, told you that already."
"Oh. Right. Well...why does Annabelle look at me like she does? All disappointed and sad? She did it to Cordelia, too, when the two of us were--"
"On auto-bitch at a hundred miles per hour? Yeah, noticed that. It's probably because she's used to it being Mom, Auntie Buffy, Uncle Xander, and Auntie Will. The Scoobies. The inner circle that it's so hard to get into."
"Cordelia Chase is an inner-scooby?" Now if that wasn't completely absurd she didn't know what was.
"Yeah. Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Xander. Ever since the incident with Genevieve, or so I understand. They were already way established by the time I was in the picture. Cheerleader and the Tweed Avenger were engaged then, I think."
"You know, I'm starting to see where Spike picked up his habit of renaming everybody."
"Who, me?" Maeve feigned innocence. "Bite your tongue! Nah, actually it was the other way around. I've picked up a few of his nicknames, too, over the years."
"What do you call Willow or Xander?" Buffy couldn't help but be curious.
"Lumpy Minion One and Two. Nah, just joking," she hastily assured at Buffy's look, "The whelp -- blame the Billy Idol wannabe for that one -- would be Xander, and Willow's just...well, Wills. Though I have cracked a few jokes at her expense."
Buffy raised an eyebrow.
"No rest for the wiccan."
"Oh, that's pathetic!"
"The whelp and I have long come to the conclusion that we are the comic relief. Which we provide, in spades -- hey, mini-bit, whatcha doin'?"
Annabelle stared at her feet. "Everybody's different." She complained. "Wanted -my- crazy lady."
"Crazy lady?" Buffy raised an eyebrow, again.
"So I'm the kook of the group. Sue me." Maeve defended, and scooped the little girl into her lap. "There ya go. One crazy lady with a side order of mini-bit."
Annabelle giggled. Her Niamh could be depended upon to crack bad jokes and make her feel better.
The 'Giles' Reality
"This is she."
"Lindsey, great to hear from you again! Yes, Thursday is fine."
"Annabelle's staying with relatives at the moment, but I'll tell her you said hi."
"Yes, and Rupert. I'm sure he'll be really sorry he didn't get to chat to you again."
"So, Thursday it is? Tell you what, you come to my place and we can all have lunch."
"No, it's no problem, really. Besides, you don't eat enough decent food."
"That is not real food, and it doesn't count anyway."
"All right then. We'll see you then."
Cordelia hung up the phone. It was nice to chat to a friend who didn't have anything to do with the big, mean and uglies.
"Cordelia? Who was that?" Giles asked, walking in the door just as she hung up.
"Lindsey. He says hi. He'll be coming around for lunch on Thursday."
"What are you going to say about Annabelle?"
"Firstly, we don't necessarily have to say anything about Annabelle, she could be just at a friend's, but as a matter of fact, I told him she's staying at relatives." Cordelia's face showed the strain she was under. "Please, don't tell me I have to cancel this. I need some normalcy right now, Rupert!"
"I wasn't going to say anything of the sort," he promised, catching her in his arms.
Wesley blinked as he saw Spike's face in the water, rather than Niamh's.
"Oy, Crazy Red Head Take Two, why is TweedManJr in this bowl of water?" Spike shouted. After a pause, Spike was pushed out of the way and Niamh was beaming at him.
"Wes, your spell worked? Knew you could do it, babe."
"Evidently. What's going on?"
"Where's Giles? I better talk to him about this."
Wesley looked up and called for the older man.
After a moment, Giles was bent over the water. "Hello, Niamh. Where's my daughter?"
"You remember Genevieve Liam?"
"Oh, god."
"God had nothing to do with it, tall, dark and tweedy. Annabelle and I are currently enjoying the hospitality of Angel and Cordelia Liam. Genevieve and Owen are teenagers, now, and so much fun. I'm getting a good idea of what Annabelle's going to be like. The researching bug bit the alternate you in the arse, so we're all on research duty."
"Good idea. Is there someone there -- other than Spike -- who we can talk to?"
"How about I go get you?"
To any idle listener, that would sound rather strange, Giles thought to himself. He nodded. "That'll be perfect."
"Perfucked."
"Watch your mouth."
"My nose is in the way, and you can't pull rank on me, boyo. I'm way older than you. Respect your elders, young man!"
"I would if my elder didn't stop traipsing around barely decent. Those skirts of yours are awfully short, Niamh."
"Oooh, so you noticed? I'm telling Cordy on you!"
Giles had a sudden urge to wipe his glasses. "Niamh..." He said in a warning tone.
"Sorry, sorry. I'll scoot and find the other you. He can't sneak peaks at my posterior any more than you can, he married a Vengeance Demon! Clever man. Not." Niamh snorted.
Five minutes later, and a hollered 'Hey, it's for you', Giles saw his own face reflected in the water. It was rather unnerving.
"Yes?"
So this is how Cordelia and Angel felt. Or Niamh and Niamh, for that matter.
Heheheh. Thinking in unison? That's right up there on the Weirdometer.
"I was looking for some information that didn't come laced in NiamhSpeak."
The otherGiles chuckled. "She is rather...well..."
"I know exactly what you mean."
"I expect you do. In any case, I can tell you that your daughter is quite fine, and has settled down much more now that her very own personal 'crazy lady' has arrived on the scene."
"Typical."
"Quite. We're rather adept at dealing with the distraught parents -- the Genevieve incident some years ago springs to mind -- but it's quite an experience to be on the other end."
"Isn't it though? Speaking of the Genevieve incident, sorry about giving you a fright then."
There was a lengthy pause, followed by a chuckle. "The image of myself and a younger Cordelia was quite startling, yes."
"Apparently you married Anya. That startled me, so I suppose we're even."
"How do you know about that?"
"Niamh mentioned it in passing while we were speaking. Here, it's Willow and Anya that are married, so...well, I just never considered Anya in that light."
"I never considered Cordelia in that light, either."
"Never?"
There was another of those lengthy pauses.
***
Author's Note:
I know, I promised the next chapter of A Different World out before the next chapter of this, but I'm suffering from Writer's Block on that story and inspriration on this one. It's a pain in the proverbial backside.
So, I hope you all enjoyed this installment of 'History Always Repeats Itself' and will review. Like, now.
Lindsey: [blinks, surprised] I've never been in one of your stories before...and why am I a...reporter? Hello, evil lawyer?
Author: Pfft.
Lindsey: [sulks about his lack of evilness in this story]
Author: Okay, okay, how about the real you does some evil stuff? [placating tone]
Lindsey: [brightens] Really?
Author: Really. And, on that faintly spoilerish note, we draw to a close! Toodles til next time!