Author's Note: Again, thanks for all the reviews! You guys SO rock! :) Sorry about the delay with this chapter.. things got really hectic. But hey--this one's a long one!
Disclaimer: Stated in first chapter. But I'll be redundant and repeat myself: I own nothing. Except for Journey, his entire personality, Milo and Charlotte Wyndham-Pryce, and Caden Michaels.
----
"How's he doing?" Wesley asked softly as he entered Journey's bedroom.
Angel lifted his head, which had been resting in his hands. He shook his head and shrugged. "I.. I don't know."
"Have you called anyone else?" Wesley walked over to the other side of Journey's bed, opposite Angel, and picked up the boy's limp hand, feeling for a pulse.
"Um.. Lorne was going to try to find us this doctor who used to spend a lot of time in Caritas. But other than that... "
Wesley replaced Journey's cold hand. "And where's Cordelia?"
"She had to make sure her parents left okay." Angel said slowly. "But then.. she went for a walk, I guess." He looked at his unmoving child. "He really scared us. He's still scaring us. What's wrong with him?"
Wesley shook his head sadly. "I don't know for sure. I'm going to go downstairs and go through the scrolls.. see if there's anything listed about a sickness or anything. And I'll go call Fred and tell her about what's happening and she can contact Gunn and Faith." He paused. "You don't think that Wolfram & Hart would have anything to do with this, do you?"
"I don't know... I guess it's possible."
"Nothing's really ever happened to him, now that I think about it." Cordelia added, entering the room.
"What do you mean, Cordelia?" Wesley asked, as Cordelia came over to where he was standing and knelt beside the bed to hold Journey's hand.
"What I mean is, if he's so special, and he's talked about in all these prophecies, why hasn't anyone come after him sooner?"
Angel nodded solemnly. "She's right. I can't believe we never noticed this before. This could be someone's idea of taking Journey away from us."
Wesley headed for the door. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
He left, and Angel let his head rest on Journey's bed, just inches from where he held his son's hand in his. He felt like crying. But he couldn't let himself. He couldn't allow that to happen. What if Journey was to wake up and see his Dad crying? It wouldn't be a good reassurance. In trying to stave off the unwanted tears, Angel closed his eyes and just sat there, unmoving, unbreathing, unliving, but in pain all the same.
And as he sat there, holding back tears as best he could, a horrifying thought ran through his head: What if they couldn't find a cure for whatever was ailing Journey? What if Journey died?
Angel wasn't sure he could handle the pain of losing Journey. He was one of the only high points in Angel's life. Besides Cordelia, Journey was the only other person that Angel truly loved with all his soul. If Cordelia were to die, Angel would be heartbroken. But he'd be able to make it if he still had Journey. If Journey were to die, what would he do? Cordelia's got Caden.. but who would he have? The simple answer: no one. The simple solution to this problem: Journey could not die.
Angel raised his head to find Cordelia staring at Journey with tears in her eyes. "Angel?" she asked softly.
"What is it, Cordelia?"
She paused. "Do you think he's going to.. die from this?"
"No. He's not." He told her.
"But how can you be so sure?"
"I just know this, okay? Believe me, he won't die from this." `He can't die from this. I won't let him.' "In just a day or two, he'll be back running from Milo and Charlie. In a day or two, he'll be back badmouthing your husband."
Cordelia cracked a small smile. "He does like to do that."
"Yeah." Angel agreed. "Just you wait, Cordy. Any day now, he'll be awake and back to being Journey again."
---
Angel was wrong. In three days time, Journey still hadn't awakened from whatever he was in. Nor had they found any clue as to what was happening to him. And Angel hadn't left Journey's bedside for any reason.
Lorne's demon doctor had come, but couldn't explain what was happening to Journey. There wasn't anything about in the scrolls either, and Wesley concluded that they'd just have to wait it out and see what happens.
Cordelia spent the last three days in and out of Journey's room, taking small trips downstairs to get something to drink or eat. She was worried sick over what was happening to Journey, but she was also worried about Angel. She'd never seen him so distraught. And frankly, it kind of scared her.
She came back upstairs that day, and took her place on the other side of Journey's bed. "Angel, you can take a break if you--"
He never even let her finish. "I'm fine."
Cordelia nodded. "All right."
They lapsed into silence again and Cordelia began to flip idly through a magazine she'd brought upstairs with her. Sighing audibly, Angel rose to his feet and began pacing the area beside Journey's bed.
After about fifteen minutes, Journey's eyes fluttered. "Da-daddy?" He whispered.
Angel was at his side immediately. "Journey, I'm here."
"Daddy?" Journey's now-opened eyes were roaming frantically around the room. "Daddy, where are you?"
Cordelia looked up as Angel grabbed Journey's hands and wrapped it in both of his. "I'm here, J. I'm right here. I'm holding your hand."
Journey tentatively raised his other hand to touch Angel's face. "Daddy.. is that you?"
"Yes, Journey. It's me, son." Angel reassured him.
Journey's eyes stopped roaming and he shook his head slightly. He let out a shaky breath. "But... I can't see you, Daddy."
Angel glanced at Cordelia. "You can't see me, or you can't see anything?"
It took Journey a second to reply. "I can't see anything. I.. I'm scared, Daddy."
Angel's eyes widened as he realized what this meant. He looked again at Cordelia. Her magazine fell to the floor and she muttered, "Oh, my God."
Journey's head turned towards her. "Cordy? Cordy, is that you?"
She leaned forward in her chair as tears welled up in her eyes. "Yes, sweetie, it's me. I'm here too." And though she'd tried to hide the fact that she was beginning to cry from Journey, a shaky sob/sigh escaped before she could stop it.
Journey took his other hand and brought over towards her. She gently grabbed a hold of it, and he squeezed her hand tightly. "Don't cry, Cordy. Okay? Everything will turn out all right. I promise. So, don't worry now, okay?"
Cordy nodded, though Journey couldn't see her do so. "Okay, baby. I'll stop."
Journey closed his eyes as his hands began to go limp in their hands. He grinned softly. "I'm not a baby..." He trailed off.
"Journey?" Angel asked. "Journey, can you hear me?"
But Journey didn't respond. Cordelia shook her head sadly.
"He's gone again, Angel."
* * *
"He woke up for a few minutes--he talked to us and everything--but then he closed his eyes, and that was that." Cordelia reported to Wesley, Faith, and Gunn downstairs.
"Okay.. so he was here and now he's all comatose again?" Gunn repeated.
"Basically, yeah."
"Wow, that's weird." Faith added.
"It's sad too." Cordelia responded.
"Sad?" Wesley asked.
"Well, why Journey was speaking with us, he mentioned that he couldn't see... ANYthing."
They were silent for a moment, before Wesley stated optimistically, "I'm sure it's just a side effect of the illness."
"Yeah, it'll probably go away once he gets better." Faith told her.
"Yeah.. hope so." Cordelia sighed softly. "Anyway, where's Fred?"
"She's at home with Milo and Charlie." Wesley said. "They've got.. chicken pox."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "The pain you have to suffer to get a public education." She looked up at Wesley. "Well, what are you still doing here?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"What are you doing here?" Cordelia repeated slowly.
"I went through the scrolls another time. I still haven't found anything."
"You shouldn't be here, okay? Go home. Your kids need you. Your wife needs you."
Wesley hesitated. "Are you sure you don't need me? I mean, I was going to go out with Gunn and Faith to fight the Lefflochlar demon you saw in your vision..."
"Ah, don't worry `bout us." Gunn said dismissively. "We can take care of this demon with our eyes closed."
"Cause kickin' demon ass is in our blood!" Faith and Gunn exchanged a high-five. "We're just waiting till nightfall."
Cordelia turned back to Wesley. "See? We'll be fine. Go home, get some rest and the chicken pox, and we'll see you tomorrow."
Wesley nodded. "All right. But you promise to keep us apprised of Journey's condition?"
"Cross my heart."
After Wesley exited, Cordelia turned to Gunn and Faith. "Are you guys sure you have everything for your demon hunt?"
"We already told you that--"
Cordelia held up her hands. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Kickin' demon ass is in your blood, yadda yadda, whatever." She shook her head. "What are you going to do afterward?"
"Well, we're so good that we'll probably have time to catch a flick, MOM. " Faith informed her.
"Cordelia, we're big boys and girls now. We don't need you worryin' `bout us." Gunn added.
"Too bad. Can't help it. Worryin' is in my blood." Cordelia walked over to the stairs and back up to Journey's room.
* * *
One week later
"Angel, I'm not tired."
Angel shook his head. "I don't care whether or not you're tired. Just go sleep, okay?" Angel ordered her, sending her down the hall to his room. He couldn't be worrying about the health of both of the people he loved. He forced his eyes to stay open. He was tired too, but he could sleep later, when Journey was better. Besides, he didn't need sleep, really. But Cordelia, on the other, hadn't slept in days. Thus the reason he exiled her from Journey's room.
Angel stared at his son, willing him to wake up and be okay. A week had passed and Journey hadn't awakened again. It worried Angel, but there really wasn't much he could do about it. Even Lorne had said so, when he'd come just a few days ago to pry into Journey's sleeping mind.
"Sorry, sweetcakes, but I didn't find anything unusual. He'll come out of this on his own."
Angel stood up and slowly began to straighten the messy sheets on Journey's bed. He thought about changing the sheets completely, but he didn't want to hurt Journey, wherever he was. So, deciding against it, he settled for straightening instead. After smoothing out the sheets and blankets, he gently lifted his son's head and fluffed the pillows behind his head. Once that was down, he carefully laid Journey's head back against the pillows. Before he sat back down in his chair beside Journey's bed, he paused a second to look at his son. Parental instincts taking over, he swept aside Journey's hair and placed a kiss on his forehead.
Before he knew it, Journey's eyes had popped open and Journey had grabbed Angel's shirt with a death-man grip, yanking him towards him.
"Journey?" Angel asked in alarm, struggling to free himself from Journey's powerful-than-human grasp. "Journey, what the--?"
Journey's eyes glowed red briefly before he said, "Don't let her out of your sight."
"What?"
"Keep her safe. Keep Cordelia safe." His eyes glowed red once more and then closed, as his grip on Angel's shirt loosened.
Angel didn't have time to think because the air was suddenly pierced by a scream. Leaving Journey behind, he quickly ran to Cordelia. "Cordelia, are you okay?" He asked, bursting into the room.
She held her head as tears ran down her cheeks. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
He rushed to her, kneeling beside her. "What is it, Cordy?"
"I had a vision... a bad vision."
"Again? You just had one earlier today. Does it deal with the band of Talmachliers you saw in your vision this morning?"
She shook her head sadly. "It was a man, no, a demon--a demon man.. killing Caden."
Angel frowned. "Are you sure? Isn't he supposed to be out of town?"
"That's what I thought too.. but I know what I saw, Angel. They were on a rooftop.. and this guy was yelling at Caden.. and then.. he through Caden off."
Angel nodded. "Okay, I'll beep Gunn and -"
"No! You can't.. they're still out with the Talmachliers."
Angel closed his eyes. "I'll have to go then." He looked behind him towards Journey's room. "All right.. you stay here and--"
"Uh uh. I'm coming with you. Lorne's here.. J will be okay."
Angel shook his head. "You're staying here, Cordelia."
She grabbed his face and looked into his deep brown eyes. "Angel.. he's.. my husband. Okay? I'm going whether you allow me to or not."
Angel took one look at her tearstained eyes and his resolve crumbled. "All right.. but you're staying out of the way, understand?"
He helped her to her feet and they hurriedly told Lorne of where they were going. Grabbing some weapons from the weapons cabinet, they were off. Since it was night, they jumped into Angel's car, and headed to where Cordelia's vision had taken place. They parked near the fire escape and Angel helped Cordelia up the ladder before going up himself. After a few minutes, they reached the top where they heard the sounds of a struggle. The wind was unusually strong and fierce, and they were speaking in low voices, but Angel could hear them anyhow.
"Stop fighting me over this!"
Cordelia turned to Angel. "What's going on?"
"I don't know." He whispered back. "Hold on."
Angel climbed past Cordelia to where he could peek over the top of the building without being seen.
"I won't allow you to do this."
He saw Caden grin evilly. "Oh, won't you? I mean, I'm sure I can get you to change your mind."
"Are you sure about that?"
"What's going on?" Cordelia repeated impatiently.
"Shh!" Angel shushed her.
"Sure I'm sure. I mean, someone who's dead can't stop the inevitable from happening."
"You'd have to kill me first, though. Do you really think you can do that?"
"Oh, yes, I will. Tell me what I where it is or I will kill you."
Angel saw Caden fly towards the other man, in an attempt to shove the man off the building. Angel jumped onto the rooftop to stop him. He rushed towards the two with his superhuman strength and speed, but he was too late. The other man flickered, and Caden went flying through him and over the side of the building, landing with a sickening thud below.
Angel stopped. "Oh, my.." He turned back, hoping Cordelia hadn't seen it, but she had. She scrambled atop the building and rushed to where she'd last seen Caden. "Caden?" She yelled. "Caden? Cade!?" She started to shake and sway. Angel grabbed her from the edge and she collapsed, sobbing in his arms.
He turned his attention towards the man. "What was he talking about? What was he looking for?"
The guy sighed wearily. "Are you Angel?"
"Who wants to know?"
"You're the father of the prophesied child, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Well, there's only one thing that will ever kill your son. A special elixir concocted of various poisons from many dimensions. And the only time it'll virtually work is right after the sickness."
"Sickness? Does this sickness involve a coma?"
"Yeah. How'd you know that? He's not already experiencing this, is he?"
"Uh, yeah." Angel affirmed.
"Oh, dear." He looked at Cordelia. "Is she going to be all right?"
"She'll be okay.. someday. That was her husband."
"Well, I'm quite sorry for that. But I was chosen by the powers that be to protect the elixir from any evil, and well, her husband was just about as evil as they come."
"Excuse me? Why'd the powers make the elixir in the first place?"
"In case your child ever turned evil." He told him. "We couldn't have an undying, all powerful evil being just roaming the earth, now could we?" The man flickered before his eyes. "I must go. I'm .. I'm sorry for her loss." And with that, he disappeared.
Angel tried to comfort Cordelia. "Cor, it'll be okay. I promise."
"No, it won't be okay!" She screamed. "It won't be okay!" She pulled free from his grasp, and stood on her own two feet. "Why couldn't you have saved him? You're a champion. Why didn't you act like a champion today?"
He took a step towards her. "Cordelia, calm down..."
"Stay away from me!" She screeched. "And don't tell me to calm down. I do not need to calm down." She started to pace back and forth.
"Cordelia, he may not even be dead. He may be just fine.. maybe he landed in a dumpster."
"Don't you dare! Don't lie to me. You know he's dead. You killed him, Angel. Champion Angel killed my husband. Are you happy now?" She screamed as the tears continued to pour down her cheeks. "Now you can marry me, Angel! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?!"
Angel didn't know what to say. He backed up away from her, until he was standing close to the edge and far from Cordelia. "Cordelia.. I--"
"Don't try and make excuses, Angel. You never liked Caden. You never liked Caden and me together. You let Caden die. Do you hear me? You LET him DIE, Angel." She sobbed. She walked closer to him. "I can't even stand to look at you." She said, bitterly. She stared at him, her eyes full of hatred and rage. And suddenly, her hands were on his chest, pushing him backwards and over the side of the building. "I'll never talk to you as long as I live!" He heard her say, just before he fell down five stories.
Seconds later, he smacked into the ground. It hurt.. it hurt like hell, but he was fine. He laid there for a few minutes, aching in pain, before slowly sitting up. He sat up just in time to see Cordelia get into his car and take off. He shook his head gently, trying to clear it from all the crazy thoughts and the pain that was throbbing in his head.
All of a sudden, he realized that he had fallen from the exact spot where Caden had fell. But as he looked around, Angel couldn't find a body anywhere. It was like Caden had never been here.
"Surely not..." He thought as he stood up slowly, wincing from the pain. He searched the area as thoroughly as he could, coming up with not a single trace of Caden. The man had mentioned Caden was evil.. but was Caden.. a demon?
TBC
Disclaimer: Stated in first chapter. But I'll be redundant and repeat myself: I own nothing. Except for Journey, his entire personality, Milo and Charlotte Wyndham-Pryce, and Caden Michaels.
----
"How's he doing?" Wesley asked softly as he entered Journey's bedroom.
Angel lifted his head, which had been resting in his hands. He shook his head and shrugged. "I.. I don't know."
"Have you called anyone else?" Wesley walked over to the other side of Journey's bed, opposite Angel, and picked up the boy's limp hand, feeling for a pulse.
"Um.. Lorne was going to try to find us this doctor who used to spend a lot of time in Caritas. But other than that... "
Wesley replaced Journey's cold hand. "And where's Cordelia?"
"She had to make sure her parents left okay." Angel said slowly. "But then.. she went for a walk, I guess." He looked at his unmoving child. "He really scared us. He's still scaring us. What's wrong with him?"
Wesley shook his head sadly. "I don't know for sure. I'm going to go downstairs and go through the scrolls.. see if there's anything listed about a sickness or anything. And I'll go call Fred and tell her about what's happening and she can contact Gunn and Faith." He paused. "You don't think that Wolfram & Hart would have anything to do with this, do you?"
"I don't know... I guess it's possible."
"Nothing's really ever happened to him, now that I think about it." Cordelia added, entering the room.
"What do you mean, Cordelia?" Wesley asked, as Cordelia came over to where he was standing and knelt beside the bed to hold Journey's hand.
"What I mean is, if he's so special, and he's talked about in all these prophecies, why hasn't anyone come after him sooner?"
Angel nodded solemnly. "She's right. I can't believe we never noticed this before. This could be someone's idea of taking Journey away from us."
Wesley headed for the door. "I'll be downstairs if you need me."
He left, and Angel let his head rest on Journey's bed, just inches from where he held his son's hand in his. He felt like crying. But he couldn't let himself. He couldn't allow that to happen. What if Journey was to wake up and see his Dad crying? It wouldn't be a good reassurance. In trying to stave off the unwanted tears, Angel closed his eyes and just sat there, unmoving, unbreathing, unliving, but in pain all the same.
And as he sat there, holding back tears as best he could, a horrifying thought ran through his head: What if they couldn't find a cure for whatever was ailing Journey? What if Journey died?
Angel wasn't sure he could handle the pain of losing Journey. He was one of the only high points in Angel's life. Besides Cordelia, Journey was the only other person that Angel truly loved with all his soul. If Cordelia were to die, Angel would be heartbroken. But he'd be able to make it if he still had Journey. If Journey were to die, what would he do? Cordelia's got Caden.. but who would he have? The simple answer: no one. The simple solution to this problem: Journey could not die.
Angel raised his head to find Cordelia staring at Journey with tears in her eyes. "Angel?" she asked softly.
"What is it, Cordelia?"
She paused. "Do you think he's going to.. die from this?"
"No. He's not." He told her.
"But how can you be so sure?"
"I just know this, okay? Believe me, he won't die from this." `He can't die from this. I won't let him.' "In just a day or two, he'll be back running from Milo and Charlie. In a day or two, he'll be back badmouthing your husband."
Cordelia cracked a small smile. "He does like to do that."
"Yeah." Angel agreed. "Just you wait, Cordy. Any day now, he'll be awake and back to being Journey again."
---
Angel was wrong. In three days time, Journey still hadn't awakened from whatever he was in. Nor had they found any clue as to what was happening to him. And Angel hadn't left Journey's bedside for any reason.
Lorne's demon doctor had come, but couldn't explain what was happening to Journey. There wasn't anything about in the scrolls either, and Wesley concluded that they'd just have to wait it out and see what happens.
Cordelia spent the last three days in and out of Journey's room, taking small trips downstairs to get something to drink or eat. She was worried sick over what was happening to Journey, but she was also worried about Angel. She'd never seen him so distraught. And frankly, it kind of scared her.
She came back upstairs that day, and took her place on the other side of Journey's bed. "Angel, you can take a break if you--"
He never even let her finish. "I'm fine."
Cordelia nodded. "All right."
They lapsed into silence again and Cordelia began to flip idly through a magazine she'd brought upstairs with her. Sighing audibly, Angel rose to his feet and began pacing the area beside Journey's bed.
After about fifteen minutes, Journey's eyes fluttered. "Da-daddy?" He whispered.
Angel was at his side immediately. "Journey, I'm here."
"Daddy?" Journey's now-opened eyes were roaming frantically around the room. "Daddy, where are you?"
Cordelia looked up as Angel grabbed Journey's hands and wrapped it in both of his. "I'm here, J. I'm right here. I'm holding your hand."
Journey tentatively raised his other hand to touch Angel's face. "Daddy.. is that you?"
"Yes, Journey. It's me, son." Angel reassured him.
Journey's eyes stopped roaming and he shook his head slightly. He let out a shaky breath. "But... I can't see you, Daddy."
Angel glanced at Cordelia. "You can't see me, or you can't see anything?"
It took Journey a second to reply. "I can't see anything. I.. I'm scared, Daddy."
Angel's eyes widened as he realized what this meant. He looked again at Cordelia. Her magazine fell to the floor and she muttered, "Oh, my God."
Journey's head turned towards her. "Cordy? Cordy, is that you?"
She leaned forward in her chair as tears welled up in her eyes. "Yes, sweetie, it's me. I'm here too." And though she'd tried to hide the fact that she was beginning to cry from Journey, a shaky sob/sigh escaped before she could stop it.
Journey took his other hand and brought over towards her. She gently grabbed a hold of it, and he squeezed her hand tightly. "Don't cry, Cordy. Okay? Everything will turn out all right. I promise. So, don't worry now, okay?"
Cordy nodded, though Journey couldn't see her do so. "Okay, baby. I'll stop."
Journey closed his eyes as his hands began to go limp in their hands. He grinned softly. "I'm not a baby..." He trailed off.
"Journey?" Angel asked. "Journey, can you hear me?"
But Journey didn't respond. Cordelia shook her head sadly.
"He's gone again, Angel."
* * *
"He woke up for a few minutes--he talked to us and everything--but then he closed his eyes, and that was that." Cordelia reported to Wesley, Faith, and Gunn downstairs.
"Okay.. so he was here and now he's all comatose again?" Gunn repeated.
"Basically, yeah."
"Wow, that's weird." Faith added.
"It's sad too." Cordelia responded.
"Sad?" Wesley asked.
"Well, why Journey was speaking with us, he mentioned that he couldn't see... ANYthing."
They were silent for a moment, before Wesley stated optimistically, "I'm sure it's just a side effect of the illness."
"Yeah, it'll probably go away once he gets better." Faith told her.
"Yeah.. hope so." Cordelia sighed softly. "Anyway, where's Fred?"
"She's at home with Milo and Charlie." Wesley said. "They've got.. chicken pox."
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "The pain you have to suffer to get a public education." She looked up at Wesley. "Well, what are you still doing here?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"What are you doing here?" Cordelia repeated slowly.
"I went through the scrolls another time. I still haven't found anything."
"You shouldn't be here, okay? Go home. Your kids need you. Your wife needs you."
Wesley hesitated. "Are you sure you don't need me? I mean, I was going to go out with Gunn and Faith to fight the Lefflochlar demon you saw in your vision..."
"Ah, don't worry `bout us." Gunn said dismissively. "We can take care of this demon with our eyes closed."
"Cause kickin' demon ass is in our blood!" Faith and Gunn exchanged a high-five. "We're just waiting till nightfall."
Cordelia turned back to Wesley. "See? We'll be fine. Go home, get some rest and the chicken pox, and we'll see you tomorrow."
Wesley nodded. "All right. But you promise to keep us apprised of Journey's condition?"
"Cross my heart."
After Wesley exited, Cordelia turned to Gunn and Faith. "Are you guys sure you have everything for your demon hunt?"
"We already told you that--"
Cordelia held up her hands. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Kickin' demon ass is in your blood, yadda yadda, whatever." She shook her head. "What are you going to do afterward?"
"Well, we're so good that we'll probably have time to catch a flick, MOM. " Faith informed her.
"Cordelia, we're big boys and girls now. We don't need you worryin' `bout us." Gunn added.
"Too bad. Can't help it. Worryin' is in my blood." Cordelia walked over to the stairs and back up to Journey's room.
* * *
One week later
"Angel, I'm not tired."
Angel shook his head. "I don't care whether or not you're tired. Just go sleep, okay?" Angel ordered her, sending her down the hall to his room. He couldn't be worrying about the health of both of the people he loved. He forced his eyes to stay open. He was tired too, but he could sleep later, when Journey was better. Besides, he didn't need sleep, really. But Cordelia, on the other, hadn't slept in days. Thus the reason he exiled her from Journey's room.
Angel stared at his son, willing him to wake up and be okay. A week had passed and Journey hadn't awakened again. It worried Angel, but there really wasn't much he could do about it. Even Lorne had said so, when he'd come just a few days ago to pry into Journey's sleeping mind.
"Sorry, sweetcakes, but I didn't find anything unusual. He'll come out of this on his own."
Angel stood up and slowly began to straighten the messy sheets on Journey's bed. He thought about changing the sheets completely, but he didn't want to hurt Journey, wherever he was. So, deciding against it, he settled for straightening instead. After smoothing out the sheets and blankets, he gently lifted his son's head and fluffed the pillows behind his head. Once that was down, he carefully laid Journey's head back against the pillows. Before he sat back down in his chair beside Journey's bed, he paused a second to look at his son. Parental instincts taking over, he swept aside Journey's hair and placed a kiss on his forehead.
Before he knew it, Journey's eyes had popped open and Journey had grabbed Angel's shirt with a death-man grip, yanking him towards him.
"Journey?" Angel asked in alarm, struggling to free himself from Journey's powerful-than-human grasp. "Journey, what the--?"
Journey's eyes glowed red briefly before he said, "Don't let her out of your sight."
"What?"
"Keep her safe. Keep Cordelia safe." His eyes glowed red once more and then closed, as his grip on Angel's shirt loosened.
Angel didn't have time to think because the air was suddenly pierced by a scream. Leaving Journey behind, he quickly ran to Cordelia. "Cordelia, are you okay?" He asked, bursting into the room.
She held her head as tears ran down her cheeks. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God."
He rushed to her, kneeling beside her. "What is it, Cordy?"
"I had a vision... a bad vision."
"Again? You just had one earlier today. Does it deal with the band of Talmachliers you saw in your vision this morning?"
She shook her head sadly. "It was a man, no, a demon--a demon man.. killing Caden."
Angel frowned. "Are you sure? Isn't he supposed to be out of town?"
"That's what I thought too.. but I know what I saw, Angel. They were on a rooftop.. and this guy was yelling at Caden.. and then.. he through Caden off."
Angel nodded. "Okay, I'll beep Gunn and -"
"No! You can't.. they're still out with the Talmachliers."
Angel closed his eyes. "I'll have to go then." He looked behind him towards Journey's room. "All right.. you stay here and--"
"Uh uh. I'm coming with you. Lorne's here.. J will be okay."
Angel shook his head. "You're staying here, Cordelia."
She grabbed his face and looked into his deep brown eyes. "Angel.. he's.. my husband. Okay? I'm going whether you allow me to or not."
Angel took one look at her tearstained eyes and his resolve crumbled. "All right.. but you're staying out of the way, understand?"
He helped her to her feet and they hurriedly told Lorne of where they were going. Grabbing some weapons from the weapons cabinet, they were off. Since it was night, they jumped into Angel's car, and headed to where Cordelia's vision had taken place. They parked near the fire escape and Angel helped Cordelia up the ladder before going up himself. After a few minutes, they reached the top where they heard the sounds of a struggle. The wind was unusually strong and fierce, and they were speaking in low voices, but Angel could hear them anyhow.
"Stop fighting me over this!"
Cordelia turned to Angel. "What's going on?"
"I don't know." He whispered back. "Hold on."
Angel climbed past Cordelia to where he could peek over the top of the building without being seen.
"I won't allow you to do this."
He saw Caden grin evilly. "Oh, won't you? I mean, I'm sure I can get you to change your mind."
"Are you sure about that?"
"What's going on?" Cordelia repeated impatiently.
"Shh!" Angel shushed her.
"Sure I'm sure. I mean, someone who's dead can't stop the inevitable from happening."
"You'd have to kill me first, though. Do you really think you can do that?"
"Oh, yes, I will. Tell me what I where it is or I will kill you."
Angel saw Caden fly towards the other man, in an attempt to shove the man off the building. Angel jumped onto the rooftop to stop him. He rushed towards the two with his superhuman strength and speed, but he was too late. The other man flickered, and Caden went flying through him and over the side of the building, landing with a sickening thud below.
Angel stopped. "Oh, my.." He turned back, hoping Cordelia hadn't seen it, but she had. She scrambled atop the building and rushed to where she'd last seen Caden. "Caden?" She yelled. "Caden? Cade!?" She started to shake and sway. Angel grabbed her from the edge and she collapsed, sobbing in his arms.
He turned his attention towards the man. "What was he talking about? What was he looking for?"
The guy sighed wearily. "Are you Angel?"
"Who wants to know?"
"You're the father of the prophesied child, correct?"
"Yeah."
"Well, there's only one thing that will ever kill your son. A special elixir concocted of various poisons from many dimensions. And the only time it'll virtually work is right after the sickness."
"Sickness? Does this sickness involve a coma?"
"Yeah. How'd you know that? He's not already experiencing this, is he?"
"Uh, yeah." Angel affirmed.
"Oh, dear." He looked at Cordelia. "Is she going to be all right?"
"She'll be okay.. someday. That was her husband."
"Well, I'm quite sorry for that. But I was chosen by the powers that be to protect the elixir from any evil, and well, her husband was just about as evil as they come."
"Excuse me? Why'd the powers make the elixir in the first place?"
"In case your child ever turned evil." He told him. "We couldn't have an undying, all powerful evil being just roaming the earth, now could we?" The man flickered before his eyes. "I must go. I'm .. I'm sorry for her loss." And with that, he disappeared.
Angel tried to comfort Cordelia. "Cor, it'll be okay. I promise."
"No, it won't be okay!" She screamed. "It won't be okay!" She pulled free from his grasp, and stood on her own two feet. "Why couldn't you have saved him? You're a champion. Why didn't you act like a champion today?"
He took a step towards her. "Cordelia, calm down..."
"Stay away from me!" She screeched. "And don't tell me to calm down. I do not need to calm down." She started to pace back and forth.
"Cordelia, he may not even be dead. He may be just fine.. maybe he landed in a dumpster."
"Don't you dare! Don't lie to me. You know he's dead. You killed him, Angel. Champion Angel killed my husband. Are you happy now?" She screamed as the tears continued to pour down her cheeks. "Now you can marry me, Angel! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!?!"
Angel didn't know what to say. He backed up away from her, until he was standing close to the edge and far from Cordelia. "Cordelia.. I--"
"Don't try and make excuses, Angel. You never liked Caden. You never liked Caden and me together. You let Caden die. Do you hear me? You LET him DIE, Angel." She sobbed. She walked closer to him. "I can't even stand to look at you." She said, bitterly. She stared at him, her eyes full of hatred and rage. And suddenly, her hands were on his chest, pushing him backwards and over the side of the building. "I'll never talk to you as long as I live!" He heard her say, just before he fell down five stories.
Seconds later, he smacked into the ground. It hurt.. it hurt like hell, but he was fine. He laid there for a few minutes, aching in pain, before slowly sitting up. He sat up just in time to see Cordelia get into his car and take off. He shook his head gently, trying to clear it from all the crazy thoughts and the pain that was throbbing in his head.
All of a sudden, he realized that he had fallen from the exact spot where Caden had fell. But as he looked around, Angel couldn't find a body anywhere. It was like Caden had never been here.
"Surely not..." He thought as he stood up slowly, wincing from the pain. He searched the area as thoroughly as he could, coming up with not a single trace of Caden. The man had mentioned Caden was evil.. but was Caden.. a demon?
TBC