Chapter 16
Angel sat on the charred bed as Buffy sat beside him. They had returned last night to an empty hotel. They had showered and changed into more comfortable, less wet clothes. Buffy told Angel she was going to the kitchen, but when she didn't return for a while, Angel got worried and went down to find her sitting on the kitchen floor crying. She had called Willow and told her, Tara, and Dawn what had happened, and she had done it all without crying. Angel had taken her back upstairs and they had sat there all night and most of the day. They never talked to each other, they really didn't have to. Now they sat in the same position, Buffy's head on Angel's shoulder and Angel's head lying on top of hers.
"It's hopeless. Half these files I can't even read the client's names! What's this? Fizzana? Fizz, Fizzacar? What does this say to you?" Gunn asked.
"I think it's Frysylka? Oh, right. They were that couple that called last week with the squatter in their layer. Wesley was supposed to ... It was supposed to be taken care of." Fred answered.
"Well, I guess he was too busy stealing the baby."
"Don't. Okay?"
Lorne walked in. "So, how's it coming? Making any headway on those pending file piles?"
"Some. Sorta." Gunn said.
"There's just so much to keep track of." Fred countered.
Lorne looked at the stairs leading up. "Still. At times like these it's good to keep busy. Throw yourself into work. Stay active."
"Lorne, they lost their only child they'll ever have." Fred said.
"Ah, sugar, I know. I know. I just wish they'd talk to us."
"Might be safer to leave them alone for a while. I'm pretty sure the rage is past, but you really wanna find out first hand?" Gunn said.
"I'm sure Angel's not planning to finish what he started at the hospital." Fred said.
"Only because Wesley is too smart to show his face around here."
They all turned as the hotel doors opened and Cordy and Gru walked in.
Cordy grinned. "We're back! And we're bearing gifts!"
They all just looked at her.
"What happened?"
The door opened to Angel's apartment and Cordy stepped in. Neither Buffy nor Angel turned to acknowledge her. She stepped over the fallen beam and walked over to the couple. Cordy sat down next to Buffy and put a hand on her back.
"I'm so sorry."
Buffy and Angel didn't respond, but Cordy knew they heard her. To Cordy, they looked like two grieving statues. Cordy stood and walked out leaving them alone again.
She came back later that day to find them lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She walked over to a chair and sat down. Buffy glanced down at Cordy.
"I'm just here, ok?"
Buffy looked at her a little while longer than closed her eyes as tears started to well up. Soon, Cordy got hungry and she left the room thinking the two were asleep. When she came back, they were sitting up and looking at Conner's crib again. Cordy went over and hugged Buffy. The slayer didn't hug back, just reached up and touched Cordy's arm. Cordy let go and went back to her chair. She shut her eyes and after a while Angel said something.
"I think he was gonna be left-handed." Cordy opened her eyes and looked at the two on the bed. Angel was talking to no one in particular, but he had the attention of Buffy and Cordy. "The way he would hold on to your fingers? His left hand always squeezed just a little bit tighter. Kid had a grip. He was gonna be a southpaw for sure. When you live as long as I do, you eventually lose everyone. I'm not saying you get used to it, but you expect it. You deal. But he was just... He was just a little... You think you know something about living because you have this really long life. And that's really all we have, I mean, in my case anyway. And one day you wake up and you have something else. Something so much more."
"A future." Cordy said.
"We had a son and I have a wife. A family."
Buffy gripped Angel's hand and she put her head on Angel's shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her hair.
"What are we gonna do?" Buffy asked.
"We could always go back to Sunnydale."
"No! What if Conner comes back? He'll be so scared! He'll think we don't love him because we left and moved on."
"Shh." Angel rubbed her back. She let one tear fall before she got up to get something off the floor. It was a smaller replica of Mr. Gordo, Buffy's stuffed pig. She had found this in a shop somewhere in LA and bought it, saying that he wasn't old enough to get the original.
Cordy got up and walked to Buffy. Buffy carefully placed the little pig in the crib. Cordy rubbed her back and Buffy turned to face her.
"I miss him so much."
"I know." Cordy said. She pulled Buffy into a hug and this time Buffy did hug back. They let go and walked back into the main room. Buffy sat back on the bed and Cordy on the chair.
"I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I know what you guys are going through or that I could begin to understand what it is you're feeling. The last thing you need right now is someone saying that given time things will get better or the hurt's gonna go away. Because things won't get better. The hurt's never gonna go away. The truth is, if you both lived another two hundred years, you'd never forget how Connor was taken from you. And you shouldn't. You both loved your son, and you'll go on loving him, and missing him. You'll go on living, too. You'll do that."
"I don't know how." Angel said.
"You don't need to. The 'how' works itself out. Life will just keep happening. There'll be people who need us and so we'll help them 'cause that's what we do."
They heard someone crying and Cordy got up. She opened the door to the apartment to reveal Fred standing in the hall, crying.
"Fred." Cordy said.
"I'm sorry. I was gonna knock, but it wasn't a good time, so I didn't. And I don't know what else to do!" Fred said.
"Fred, what is it? What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"It's Charles. I think he's in terrible danger."
"Wow." Cordy said
"I know, huh?" Fred said.
"I'm sorry this has come to pass." Gru said.
"I'm a little confused." Angel said.
"About what? What was unclear?" Fred asked.
"Well, upstairs you said you thought Gunn was in danger." Cordy said.
"He is!"
"And you think that because...?"
"He broke up with me!"
"Oh."
"But not really."
"Oh. No?"
"No!"
"That is good. I am relieved." Gru said.
"No this is worse. Much worse. I wish he had broken up with me."
"Fred, are you sure he didn't? I mean, those things you said he said to you..." Cordy said.
"I know I said he said those things to me, but he would never say those things to me."
"Those things he said?"
"Exactly! That's why I know he's in trouble."
"Let me get this straight. You and Gunn aren't broken up?"
Fred threw up her hands. "I guess!"
Cordy got up to give Fred a hug. "Fred, honey."
"Don't you see? He hurt me. And the only reason he'd do something like that is to protect me from something. And whatever it is, it's gotta be bad, because this hurts like hell."
"Then I guess we better help him." Buffy said.
"We are not losing another member of this family." Angel said.
Cordy turned off the speakerphone when she heard Gunn's answering machine. "Still no answer at his place or on his cell phone."
"That does not bode well." Gru said.
"We're gonna have to split up." Angel said.
"To cover more ground. That's a good plan. I agree." Gru said. Cordy smiled at Gru.
"Buffy and I can go check out Gunn's old gang haunts, see if they've heard from him." "Or if they know of any old enemies he might have." Buffy said.
"Exactly."
"Hmm." Gru said.
"You three go by Gunn's place, just to make sure."
"Maybe we should report his truck as stolen." Cordy said.
"That's not a terrible idea. Get the police involved in case none of this pans out."
"We should leave Lorne a note, let him know what's going on." Fred said.
"If none of us come up with anything, we regroup back here at midnight." Angel said.
"And perhaps as we search we can leave these small rectangles behind." Gru said holding up a business card. "As did that creature that came by yesterday inquiring about Gunn."
"Right. Good. What? Let me see that." Angel said.
"Small rectangles with telephonic digits on it. So people can get in touch with us should they learn anything."
"Someone came by here looking for Charles?" Fred asked.
"Yesterday. Please remind me to give that rectangle to Gunn once we find him. I am confident we shall."
"That guy worked for Jenoff." Angel said.
"Jenoff?" Buffy asked.
"The soul sucker."
Gunn watched as the body of Jenoff's latest victim was dragged past him.
"Charles Gunn, I'm impressed. Not a lot of guys walk through that door of their own free will. Not the second time anyway. She must be pretty special, this girl you're getting ready to give my merchandise to." Jenoff said.
"I'm here to make good on my debt. You don't even talk about her. Once we're squared, you don't even think about her." Gunn said.
"She was never part of the deal. Hold him."
Gunn glared at the goon. "I'm not gonna run. But touch me, and you better. Let's just get this over with."
Jenoff lifted his hand, preparing to stick his fingers into Gunn's eyes the way he did with the other guy, when the door to the casino floor burst open.
"Gunn!" Angel called.
Gunn spun around and Jenoff lowered his hand. Jenoff's guards go to intercept the group, but Angel, Buffy, Gru, and Cordy fight them off while making their way across the casino to where Gunn and Jenoff were standing.
"Charles!" Fred yelled.
"Fred!" Gunn yelled back.
Gunn starts to go to her, but the Goon took a hold of him and Gunn stopped. The crowd in the casino milled around and began to close in around the four intruders even as the last guard goes down.
"Angel." Buffy said.
"I know." Angel answered.
"We are surrounded." Gru stated.
"I know."
"We have to help Charles." Fred cried.
"I KNOW."
Angel grabbed a hold of yet another demon guard and put his ax against its throat.
"Who does a guy gotta kill to get to talk to the boss around here, huh?"
"I'm the boss." Jenoff said, walking towards them. "Mind telling me why you're disrupting my business?"
"Actually it's you who's disrupting my business. You're about to deprive me of a very valuable employee. Charles Gunn there, he works for me."
"A good business man always looks into the background of potential employees. Had you done that you might have learned that he is strictly short term material."
"I'll make a deal with you. You release him, forget what he owes you, I'll let you live."
"Thank you." Jenoff turned away. "Kill him."
The crowd turned ugly.
"Double or nothing." Angel called.
Jenoff turned back as the crowd fell quiet. "You're offering me your soul?"
"Chance to win it, anyway."
"How stupid do I look to you? You're a vampire. I can smell it from here."
"Take a bigger whiff. I'm a vampire with a soul."
"Oh. You're THAT vampire."
"I choose the game. I win, we walk out of here, Gunn's debt disappears. You win, you get us both."
Jenoff nodded, beginning to chuckle.
Angel and the rest of the group walked over and sat down at a table. Buffy stood behind Angel.
"Brilliant stall tactic. You bought us some time. Now, what's the plan?" Buffy asked.
Angel held up a deck of cards. "This is the plan."
"Really?"
"Really. We're gonna win Gunn's soul back."
"This is so wrong in so many ways. I mean, it's not money or a stuffed bunny Angel's playing for. It's my boyfriend." Fred said.
"Fred, I understand you're nervous, but don't be. I've been around a long time, played a lot of cards, won a lot of bets." Angel said.
"See, that's where we're different. I tend to get lost and lose things. And I can't lose Charles."
Angel never took his eyes off Jenoff. "I'm not gonna lose."
A Goon looked at Jennoff, "You worried about this?"
"Like taking candy from a baby." Jenoff replied.
"Angel, if we must rely on luck, I prefer the odds of my sword. We should fight our way out." Gru said.
"I got to disagree, Gru. Fighting puts all of us at risk. My way's safer."
"If you win! But if you lose your soul, won't you go evil and start killing everybody, including us? Am I wrong?" Fred asked.
"Uh, not wrong in theory, but I gotta go with Ace on this one, sorry." Buffy said.
Angel got up. "I'm gonna win. And if I lose..." he handed Buffy a stake. "You know what to do. Make it quick."
"You know I will."
All around the room people were placing bets.
The goon leaned into Gunn. "Jenoff let's me have the bodies when he's done with them." Gunn watched as Angel and the others walked towards them and Angel sat down next to Jenoff.
"One hand of cards. You win, this man walks free. I win, I keep his soul, and I get yours. Name your game. Omaha? Texas hold 'em? Seven card stud?" Jenoff said.
"How about a simple cut of the deck? High card wins." Angel stated smugly.
"Vampire not only got soul, he got guts."
The dealer at the table set down a deck of cards and shuffled it.
"Feeling lucky?"
"After you."
Jenoff looked at Angel for a moment then cut the deck and turned the top card over. A nine of clubs.
Angel cut the deck, blew on his fingers and looked up at Gunn, who gave him a slight nod.
Angel flipped the top card over.
"A three?" Angel said.
"A three?!" Gunn cried.
Jenoff smacked his palm down on the table. "A three. You lose."
Angel glanced at Buffy she kissed him as if he were going to lose his soul, then she lifted the stake and slammed it down on Jenoff's hand, pinning it to the table. Jenoff let out a scream of pain.
"That quick enough?" Buffy asked.
"Works for me, baby."
Angel swung his ax around and beheaded Jenoff. The Casino owner's head bounced across the crap table as the crowd gasped in shock.
Gunn rammed his elbow in the goon's face then knocked him back into the slot machines. Fred ran to him and he caught her in a hug.
"Angel..." Gunn said.
"It's over. No need to say thanks."
"You're right. If killing him was that easy, I would have done it myself."
Angel looked down as Jenoff's headless body sat up and a new head started to emerge from the remains of his neck, while letting out high shrieks.
Angel looked around the casino and the demons and people staring at the screaming head on top of Jenoff's body.
"Now we fight." Gru said.
"Anybody else in here owe this guy?" Angel asked.
One of the guards hurried over and began to pound on Jenoff. He was quickly joined by others in the crowd and Angel, Buffy, and the rest of the gang used the confusion to hurry out of the Casino.
Back at the hotel, Angel and Buffy stood by Conner's crib. They stared at it for a long moment. Behind them, the door opened to the apartment and Cordy stepped in. Buffy and Angel ignored her as they stared at the crib. Then, to Cordy's amazement, they started to take the crib apart. Quietly, Cordy left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Angel sat on the charred bed as Buffy sat beside him. They had returned last night to an empty hotel. They had showered and changed into more comfortable, less wet clothes. Buffy told Angel she was going to the kitchen, but when she didn't return for a while, Angel got worried and went down to find her sitting on the kitchen floor crying. She had called Willow and told her, Tara, and Dawn what had happened, and she had done it all without crying. Angel had taken her back upstairs and they had sat there all night and most of the day. They never talked to each other, they really didn't have to. Now they sat in the same position, Buffy's head on Angel's shoulder and Angel's head lying on top of hers.
"It's hopeless. Half these files I can't even read the client's names! What's this? Fizzana? Fizz, Fizzacar? What does this say to you?" Gunn asked.
"I think it's Frysylka? Oh, right. They were that couple that called last week with the squatter in their layer. Wesley was supposed to ... It was supposed to be taken care of." Fred answered.
"Well, I guess he was too busy stealing the baby."
"Don't. Okay?"
Lorne walked in. "So, how's it coming? Making any headway on those pending file piles?"
"Some. Sorta." Gunn said.
"There's just so much to keep track of." Fred countered.
Lorne looked at the stairs leading up. "Still. At times like these it's good to keep busy. Throw yourself into work. Stay active."
"Lorne, they lost their only child they'll ever have." Fred said.
"Ah, sugar, I know. I know. I just wish they'd talk to us."
"Might be safer to leave them alone for a while. I'm pretty sure the rage is past, but you really wanna find out first hand?" Gunn said.
"I'm sure Angel's not planning to finish what he started at the hospital." Fred said.
"Only because Wesley is too smart to show his face around here."
They all turned as the hotel doors opened and Cordy and Gru walked in.
Cordy grinned. "We're back! And we're bearing gifts!"
They all just looked at her.
"What happened?"
The door opened to Angel's apartment and Cordy stepped in. Neither Buffy nor Angel turned to acknowledge her. She stepped over the fallen beam and walked over to the couple. Cordy sat down next to Buffy and put a hand on her back.
"I'm so sorry."
Buffy and Angel didn't respond, but Cordy knew they heard her. To Cordy, they looked like two grieving statues. Cordy stood and walked out leaving them alone again.
She came back later that day to find them lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She walked over to a chair and sat down. Buffy glanced down at Cordy.
"I'm just here, ok?"
Buffy looked at her a little while longer than closed her eyes as tears started to well up. Soon, Cordy got hungry and she left the room thinking the two were asleep. When she came back, they were sitting up and looking at Conner's crib again. Cordy went over and hugged Buffy. The slayer didn't hug back, just reached up and touched Cordy's arm. Cordy let go and went back to her chair. She shut her eyes and after a while Angel said something.
"I think he was gonna be left-handed." Cordy opened her eyes and looked at the two on the bed. Angel was talking to no one in particular, but he had the attention of Buffy and Cordy. "The way he would hold on to your fingers? His left hand always squeezed just a little bit tighter. Kid had a grip. He was gonna be a southpaw for sure. When you live as long as I do, you eventually lose everyone. I'm not saying you get used to it, but you expect it. You deal. But he was just... He was just a little... You think you know something about living because you have this really long life. And that's really all we have, I mean, in my case anyway. And one day you wake up and you have something else. Something so much more."
"A future." Cordy said.
"We had a son and I have a wife. A family."
Buffy gripped Angel's hand and she put her head on Angel's shoulder. He leaned over and kissed her hair.
"What are we gonna do?" Buffy asked.
"We could always go back to Sunnydale."
"No! What if Conner comes back? He'll be so scared! He'll think we don't love him because we left and moved on."
"Shh." Angel rubbed her back. She let one tear fall before she got up to get something off the floor. It was a smaller replica of Mr. Gordo, Buffy's stuffed pig. She had found this in a shop somewhere in LA and bought it, saying that he wasn't old enough to get the original.
Cordy got up and walked to Buffy. Buffy carefully placed the little pig in the crib. Cordy rubbed her back and Buffy turned to face her.
"I miss him so much."
"I know." Cordy said. She pulled Buffy into a hug and this time Buffy did hug back. They let go and walked back into the main room. Buffy sat back on the bed and Cordy on the chair.
"I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I know what you guys are going through or that I could begin to understand what it is you're feeling. The last thing you need right now is someone saying that given time things will get better or the hurt's gonna go away. Because things won't get better. The hurt's never gonna go away. The truth is, if you both lived another two hundred years, you'd never forget how Connor was taken from you. And you shouldn't. You both loved your son, and you'll go on loving him, and missing him. You'll go on living, too. You'll do that."
"I don't know how." Angel said.
"You don't need to. The 'how' works itself out. Life will just keep happening. There'll be people who need us and so we'll help them 'cause that's what we do."
They heard someone crying and Cordy got up. She opened the door to the apartment to reveal Fred standing in the hall, crying.
"Fred." Cordy said.
"I'm sorry. I was gonna knock, but it wasn't a good time, so I didn't. And I don't know what else to do!" Fred said.
"Fred, what is it? What's wrong?" Buffy asked.
"It's Charles. I think he's in terrible danger."
"Wow." Cordy said
"I know, huh?" Fred said.
"I'm sorry this has come to pass." Gru said.
"I'm a little confused." Angel said.
"About what? What was unclear?" Fred asked.
"Well, upstairs you said you thought Gunn was in danger." Cordy said.
"He is!"
"And you think that because...?"
"He broke up with me!"
"Oh."
"But not really."
"Oh. No?"
"No!"
"That is good. I am relieved." Gru said.
"No this is worse. Much worse. I wish he had broken up with me."
"Fred, are you sure he didn't? I mean, those things you said he said to you..." Cordy said.
"I know I said he said those things to me, but he would never say those things to me."
"Those things he said?"
"Exactly! That's why I know he's in trouble."
"Let me get this straight. You and Gunn aren't broken up?"
Fred threw up her hands. "I guess!"
Cordy got up to give Fred a hug. "Fred, honey."
"Don't you see? He hurt me. And the only reason he'd do something like that is to protect me from something. And whatever it is, it's gotta be bad, because this hurts like hell."
"Then I guess we better help him." Buffy said.
"We are not losing another member of this family." Angel said.
Cordy turned off the speakerphone when she heard Gunn's answering machine. "Still no answer at his place or on his cell phone."
"That does not bode well." Gru said.
"We're gonna have to split up." Angel said.
"To cover more ground. That's a good plan. I agree." Gru said. Cordy smiled at Gru.
"Buffy and I can go check out Gunn's old gang haunts, see if they've heard from him." "Or if they know of any old enemies he might have." Buffy said.
"Exactly."
"Hmm." Gru said.
"You three go by Gunn's place, just to make sure."
"Maybe we should report his truck as stolen." Cordy said.
"That's not a terrible idea. Get the police involved in case none of this pans out."
"We should leave Lorne a note, let him know what's going on." Fred said.
"If none of us come up with anything, we regroup back here at midnight." Angel said.
"And perhaps as we search we can leave these small rectangles behind." Gru said holding up a business card. "As did that creature that came by yesterday inquiring about Gunn."
"Right. Good. What? Let me see that." Angel said.
"Small rectangles with telephonic digits on it. So people can get in touch with us should they learn anything."
"Someone came by here looking for Charles?" Fred asked.
"Yesterday. Please remind me to give that rectangle to Gunn once we find him. I am confident we shall."
"That guy worked for Jenoff." Angel said.
"Jenoff?" Buffy asked.
"The soul sucker."
Gunn watched as the body of Jenoff's latest victim was dragged past him.
"Charles Gunn, I'm impressed. Not a lot of guys walk through that door of their own free will. Not the second time anyway. She must be pretty special, this girl you're getting ready to give my merchandise to." Jenoff said.
"I'm here to make good on my debt. You don't even talk about her. Once we're squared, you don't even think about her." Gunn said.
"She was never part of the deal. Hold him."
Gunn glared at the goon. "I'm not gonna run. But touch me, and you better. Let's just get this over with."
Jenoff lifted his hand, preparing to stick his fingers into Gunn's eyes the way he did with the other guy, when the door to the casino floor burst open.
"Gunn!" Angel called.
Gunn spun around and Jenoff lowered his hand. Jenoff's guards go to intercept the group, but Angel, Buffy, Gru, and Cordy fight them off while making their way across the casino to where Gunn and Jenoff were standing.
"Charles!" Fred yelled.
"Fred!" Gunn yelled back.
Gunn starts to go to her, but the Goon took a hold of him and Gunn stopped. The crowd in the casino milled around and began to close in around the four intruders even as the last guard goes down.
"Angel." Buffy said.
"I know." Angel answered.
"We are surrounded." Gru stated.
"I know."
"We have to help Charles." Fred cried.
"I KNOW."
Angel grabbed a hold of yet another demon guard and put his ax against its throat.
"Who does a guy gotta kill to get to talk to the boss around here, huh?"
"I'm the boss." Jenoff said, walking towards them. "Mind telling me why you're disrupting my business?"
"Actually it's you who's disrupting my business. You're about to deprive me of a very valuable employee. Charles Gunn there, he works for me."
"A good business man always looks into the background of potential employees. Had you done that you might have learned that he is strictly short term material."
"I'll make a deal with you. You release him, forget what he owes you, I'll let you live."
"Thank you." Jenoff turned away. "Kill him."
The crowd turned ugly.
"Double or nothing." Angel called.
Jenoff turned back as the crowd fell quiet. "You're offering me your soul?"
"Chance to win it, anyway."
"How stupid do I look to you? You're a vampire. I can smell it from here."
"Take a bigger whiff. I'm a vampire with a soul."
"Oh. You're THAT vampire."
"I choose the game. I win, we walk out of here, Gunn's debt disappears. You win, you get us both."
Jenoff nodded, beginning to chuckle.
Angel and the rest of the group walked over and sat down at a table. Buffy stood behind Angel.
"Brilliant stall tactic. You bought us some time. Now, what's the plan?" Buffy asked.
Angel held up a deck of cards. "This is the plan."
"Really?"
"Really. We're gonna win Gunn's soul back."
"This is so wrong in so many ways. I mean, it's not money or a stuffed bunny Angel's playing for. It's my boyfriend." Fred said.
"Fred, I understand you're nervous, but don't be. I've been around a long time, played a lot of cards, won a lot of bets." Angel said.
"See, that's where we're different. I tend to get lost and lose things. And I can't lose Charles."
Angel never took his eyes off Jenoff. "I'm not gonna lose."
A Goon looked at Jennoff, "You worried about this?"
"Like taking candy from a baby." Jenoff replied.
"Angel, if we must rely on luck, I prefer the odds of my sword. We should fight our way out." Gru said.
"I got to disagree, Gru. Fighting puts all of us at risk. My way's safer."
"If you win! But if you lose your soul, won't you go evil and start killing everybody, including us? Am I wrong?" Fred asked.
"Uh, not wrong in theory, but I gotta go with Ace on this one, sorry." Buffy said.
Angel got up. "I'm gonna win. And if I lose..." he handed Buffy a stake. "You know what to do. Make it quick."
"You know I will."
All around the room people were placing bets.
The goon leaned into Gunn. "Jenoff let's me have the bodies when he's done with them." Gunn watched as Angel and the others walked towards them and Angel sat down next to Jenoff.
"One hand of cards. You win, this man walks free. I win, I keep his soul, and I get yours. Name your game. Omaha? Texas hold 'em? Seven card stud?" Jenoff said.
"How about a simple cut of the deck? High card wins." Angel stated smugly.
"Vampire not only got soul, he got guts."
The dealer at the table set down a deck of cards and shuffled it.
"Feeling lucky?"
"After you."
Jenoff looked at Angel for a moment then cut the deck and turned the top card over. A nine of clubs.
Angel cut the deck, blew on his fingers and looked up at Gunn, who gave him a slight nod.
Angel flipped the top card over.
"A three?" Angel said.
"A three?!" Gunn cried.
Jenoff smacked his palm down on the table. "A three. You lose."
Angel glanced at Buffy she kissed him as if he were going to lose his soul, then she lifted the stake and slammed it down on Jenoff's hand, pinning it to the table. Jenoff let out a scream of pain.
"That quick enough?" Buffy asked.
"Works for me, baby."
Angel swung his ax around and beheaded Jenoff. The Casino owner's head bounced across the crap table as the crowd gasped in shock.
Gunn rammed his elbow in the goon's face then knocked him back into the slot machines. Fred ran to him and he caught her in a hug.
"Angel..." Gunn said.
"It's over. No need to say thanks."
"You're right. If killing him was that easy, I would have done it myself."
Angel looked down as Jenoff's headless body sat up and a new head started to emerge from the remains of his neck, while letting out high shrieks.
Angel looked around the casino and the demons and people staring at the screaming head on top of Jenoff's body.
"Now we fight." Gru said.
"Anybody else in here owe this guy?" Angel asked.
One of the guards hurried over and began to pound on Jenoff. He was quickly joined by others in the crowd and Angel, Buffy, and the rest of the gang used the confusion to hurry out of the Casino.
Back at the hotel, Angel and Buffy stood by Conner's crib. They stared at it for a long moment. Behind them, the door opened to the apartment and Cordy stepped in. Buffy and Angel ignored her as they stared at the crib. Then, to Cordy's amazement, they started to take the crib apart. Quietly, Cordy left the room, shutting the door behind her.