Disclaimer: I own none, only Casey. Joss, the insane god he is (the rat
bastard he is too), owns the whole cast of characters you see, save again,
for Casey, she is mine. Oh, and inspiration comes from Jen and L.
gidgetgirl and Ivorycat respectively. My inspiration for the plot came from
L's work with Connor's Just Desserts and Jen is always giving me ideas.
Author's Note: This fic will be ending soon. Like one more chapter soon I want to move onto bigger and better things. Now no comment from the peanut gallery! I'm hopefully working on a series of short fics dealing with Jen's character Anni from her fics and co-writing a fic with three fellow authors, called Saving the Series: The Torch Bearer. I'm also looking forward to working on three new fics, but you'll have to wait for them. But now onto the story.
Summary: The End is near.
******************
Chapter Thirty-Four: Redemption
Angel came to slowly, finding himself in a white room. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself. Then it all came back to him.
It, evil came, threatening to destroy the world. Everyone fighting, everyone dying. He remembered the bloody bodies and he felt tears pelt down his face. "My little boy, may little girl," he whispered to himself, tracing his arms, seeing if he had any type of weapon on him. He had nothing to live for anymore, he had nothing; the best way out was to end it all right there. In the white room. Nobody would know, no body would care if all he was, was a pile of dust.
But he found nothing, and gone were the dark pants and shirt her wore, instead, he found himself in white shirt and pants. They were lose on him, but they were clean. He sighed in frustration, why was he here? Why was he spared? "Why?" he whispered to himself, pitifully.
"Because this is your redemption," a soft voice brought him out if his almost trance like state.
"Redemption? But I don't have anything to live for," Angel said as he looked up. When he saw who stood in front oh him. "Cordelia?" he whispered, hope in his voice.
"No," the woman shook her head, her dark curls falling against her face gently. "I only look like her. Would you like it if I changed?"
Angel nodded, not trusting his voice. 'Cordelia Chase' nodded and slowly started to shrink, into Buffy Summers. He paled at this and the woman frowned, and she began to morph again, this time into Casey. Furrowing it's brow, it glared at Angel, "Well what do you expect me to turn into?"
Angel sighed, and looked back up, "I don't know. Anything you turn into hurts too much."
The thing smirked and turned into Doyle, Angel's one time seer, and half demon. Frowning, it shook its head and then finally turned into a young girl, with brown hair plaited down her back. "That's it, I'm showing my true self, you're too weepy," she said, her bottom lip protruded slightly.
"Kathy?" Angel asked, amazement. It was his, well Liam's, little sister, Kathryn. Often known as Kathy. It was someone he hadn't seen in well over 250 years.
She smirked, something he never remembered doing. "And give the boy a prize. I'm your first kill, I'm the last person you have to save in order to reach redemption."
Angel was confused, "What do I have to do?" he asked finally.
"Take my hand, and go back to the land of the living." Kathy offered her hand, and Angel looked at it.
"But what is there to live for?" he asked slowly, Kathy had never told him what redemption really was.
"Family, you're family. You will live for your family. You saved the entire population of Earth, suddenly, that outweighs the evils that Angelus committed. Your family will be given back." Kathy kneeled down and looked Angel in the eye. "You'll have a reason to live, your family."
Angel looked back up at her, determination clear in his eyes. "Give me your hand," he said finally. "I'll do anything to get my family back."
The two siblings linked hands and Angel felt himself grow lighter and almost float away. As quickly as the feeling came, it was gone. Blinking, Angel found himself in the Hyperion, across from his stood Kathy, his sister, dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
"What?" he asked her under his breath.
"I simply folded time. It's about March 2002 right now," Kathy answered him.
They talked for awhile and Kathy proceeded to fill Angel in. But when he asked about Casey or Connor, she stayed strangely silent. They had stumbled on to their fifth silence when Cordelia burst into the room. "Angel!" she cried, running to him. She embraced him, and he returned the hug awkwardly. But he soon grew comfortable in it, and drew her closer.
"What's up sweetie?" the words came naturally to Angel, and before he could put a puzzled look upon his face, Cordelia burst out into a large smile.
"You're going to be a daddy, twice!" she giggled and smiled at the same time. "I'm three months pregnant, with twins!"
"That's wonderful Cordy!" Kathy said from where she was standing.
Cordelia turned and faced the teenage girl. "You'll be an aunt, and with Angel finally having his shanshu, he can be a normal father."
Angel grinned, "But most father's aren't almost 300 years old."
Kathy laughed, "Technicalities. But you should be happy; you get your own little pack of rugrats to terrorize the hotel. And I get to spoil them," she looked at her watch and her hand went to her mouth, "I'm late! I'll see you two later!" With that she bounded out of the hotel and into the settling of night.
"Hi Will! Bye Will!" she said as she passed the bleached blonde vampire.
"Oi Queenie, Peaches, guess what!" Will swaggered in, well as much as one can when they are pushing a double baby stroller in front of them.
"What have we told you about kidnapping Spike?" Cordelia joked as she walked toward the vampire.
Will just smirked, but generally ignored the comment, "I'm an uncle!" he looked so proud and Cordelia squealed.
"Babies!" Cordelia squealed again and dropped down to her knees to inspect the two bundles of joy.
"The one on my left," Will indicated the smaller one that was dressed in pink, "is Claire, she's 2 months old. And the one on my right," he pointed to the larger one who was dressed in a pair of blue overalls and a red shirt, "is Charlie, he's 16 months old."
"They're so cute!" Cordelia said as she instantly went into mother mode, "Aren't they Angel?"
Angel just grinned and nodded.
Five months later Cordelia was in the hospital, very pregnant, and very much in labor.
"Drugs!" she called out in pain, making Angel wince slightly.
"You just have to wait a moment," Angel said softly, but Cordelia only shot him a look.
"But I don't want to wait a moment, I want the drugs now," Cordelia ground out. Angel only nodded and left the room, hoping he could bribe someone enough to go in there instead.
"Coffee?" Kathy shoved a cup of the steaming beverage into Angel's hand.
"How did you know?" Angel said as he accepted it gratefully. Taking a deep gulp, he made a face. This coffee defiantly didn't live up to Starbucks.
"I could hear her. I'm going to find a nurse, maybe get something to calm Cordy down. I'll see you in a bit," and with that she was off, leaving Angel alone in the hallway, the cup of coffee in his hand.
A couple hours later, a nurse called Angel into the room, saying that his wife was requesting his presence. He blushed at that. They weren't married.yet. Seeing as he was still leery about stepping foot inside of a church and the whole burning when touching a cross thing he had to endure for almost 300 years, he was still avoiding churches like the plague.
A couple of more hours went by, and soon Cordelia and Angel were bestowed with two darling children. And when the nurse asked for names, Angel's eyes glistened with unshed tears, which everyone thought were of happiness, but in all actuality it was for the two children these were supposed to replace. "Connor for the boy, and Casey for the girl. Cordy, please choose the middle names," he said quickly.
He felt slightly bad about stilling Cordy out of the naming process, and no doubt he would get an earful later, but the names just seemed to fit. When the proud parents were left alone with their children for 'bonding time' as the nurse put it, Angel gave a sorry look to Cordelia, "Sweetie, I'm sorry I just blurted out those names."
Cordelia gave him a strange look, "Why are you sorry? The names are perfect; they are perfect. But suddenly I think our lives are about to change, big time. But maybe it's for the better." She smiled at him as he smiled back and nodded.
So this is what redemption was about, it was about life. And life was about family. Granted his family was a little bit odd, but then again, what family wasn't? But he wouldn't have his any other way. Family was family, and this one was his.
The End
Author's Note: This fic will be ending soon. Like one more chapter soon I want to move onto bigger and better things. Now no comment from the peanut gallery! I'm hopefully working on a series of short fics dealing with Jen's character Anni from her fics and co-writing a fic with three fellow authors, called Saving the Series: The Torch Bearer. I'm also looking forward to working on three new fics, but you'll have to wait for them. But now onto the story.
Summary: The End is near.
******************
Chapter Thirty-Four: Redemption
Angel came to slowly, finding himself in a white room. "What the hell?" he muttered to himself. Then it all came back to him.
It, evil came, threatening to destroy the world. Everyone fighting, everyone dying. He remembered the bloody bodies and he felt tears pelt down his face. "My little boy, may little girl," he whispered to himself, tracing his arms, seeing if he had any type of weapon on him. He had nothing to live for anymore, he had nothing; the best way out was to end it all right there. In the white room. Nobody would know, no body would care if all he was, was a pile of dust.
But he found nothing, and gone were the dark pants and shirt her wore, instead, he found himself in white shirt and pants. They were lose on him, but they were clean. He sighed in frustration, why was he here? Why was he spared? "Why?" he whispered to himself, pitifully.
"Because this is your redemption," a soft voice brought him out if his almost trance like state.
"Redemption? But I don't have anything to live for," Angel said as he looked up. When he saw who stood in front oh him. "Cordelia?" he whispered, hope in his voice.
"No," the woman shook her head, her dark curls falling against her face gently. "I only look like her. Would you like it if I changed?"
Angel nodded, not trusting his voice. 'Cordelia Chase' nodded and slowly started to shrink, into Buffy Summers. He paled at this and the woman frowned, and she began to morph again, this time into Casey. Furrowing it's brow, it glared at Angel, "Well what do you expect me to turn into?"
Angel sighed, and looked back up, "I don't know. Anything you turn into hurts too much."
The thing smirked and turned into Doyle, Angel's one time seer, and half demon. Frowning, it shook its head and then finally turned into a young girl, with brown hair plaited down her back. "That's it, I'm showing my true self, you're too weepy," she said, her bottom lip protruded slightly.
"Kathy?" Angel asked, amazement. It was his, well Liam's, little sister, Kathryn. Often known as Kathy. It was someone he hadn't seen in well over 250 years.
She smirked, something he never remembered doing. "And give the boy a prize. I'm your first kill, I'm the last person you have to save in order to reach redemption."
Angel was confused, "What do I have to do?" he asked finally.
"Take my hand, and go back to the land of the living." Kathy offered her hand, and Angel looked at it.
"But what is there to live for?" he asked slowly, Kathy had never told him what redemption really was.
"Family, you're family. You will live for your family. You saved the entire population of Earth, suddenly, that outweighs the evils that Angelus committed. Your family will be given back." Kathy kneeled down and looked Angel in the eye. "You'll have a reason to live, your family."
Angel looked back up at her, determination clear in his eyes. "Give me your hand," he said finally. "I'll do anything to get my family back."
The two siblings linked hands and Angel felt himself grow lighter and almost float away. As quickly as the feeling came, it was gone. Blinking, Angel found himself in the Hyperion, across from his stood Kathy, his sister, dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
"What?" he asked her under his breath.
"I simply folded time. It's about March 2002 right now," Kathy answered him.
They talked for awhile and Kathy proceeded to fill Angel in. But when he asked about Casey or Connor, she stayed strangely silent. They had stumbled on to their fifth silence when Cordelia burst into the room. "Angel!" she cried, running to him. She embraced him, and he returned the hug awkwardly. But he soon grew comfortable in it, and drew her closer.
"What's up sweetie?" the words came naturally to Angel, and before he could put a puzzled look upon his face, Cordelia burst out into a large smile.
"You're going to be a daddy, twice!" she giggled and smiled at the same time. "I'm three months pregnant, with twins!"
"That's wonderful Cordy!" Kathy said from where she was standing.
Cordelia turned and faced the teenage girl. "You'll be an aunt, and with Angel finally having his shanshu, he can be a normal father."
Angel grinned, "But most father's aren't almost 300 years old."
Kathy laughed, "Technicalities. But you should be happy; you get your own little pack of rugrats to terrorize the hotel. And I get to spoil them," she looked at her watch and her hand went to her mouth, "I'm late! I'll see you two later!" With that she bounded out of the hotel and into the settling of night.
"Hi Will! Bye Will!" she said as she passed the bleached blonde vampire.
"Oi Queenie, Peaches, guess what!" Will swaggered in, well as much as one can when they are pushing a double baby stroller in front of them.
"What have we told you about kidnapping Spike?" Cordelia joked as she walked toward the vampire.
Will just smirked, but generally ignored the comment, "I'm an uncle!" he looked so proud and Cordelia squealed.
"Babies!" Cordelia squealed again and dropped down to her knees to inspect the two bundles of joy.
"The one on my left," Will indicated the smaller one that was dressed in pink, "is Claire, she's 2 months old. And the one on my right," he pointed to the larger one who was dressed in a pair of blue overalls and a red shirt, "is Charlie, he's 16 months old."
"They're so cute!" Cordelia said as she instantly went into mother mode, "Aren't they Angel?"
Angel just grinned and nodded.
Five months later Cordelia was in the hospital, very pregnant, and very much in labor.
"Drugs!" she called out in pain, making Angel wince slightly.
"You just have to wait a moment," Angel said softly, but Cordelia only shot him a look.
"But I don't want to wait a moment, I want the drugs now," Cordelia ground out. Angel only nodded and left the room, hoping he could bribe someone enough to go in there instead.
"Coffee?" Kathy shoved a cup of the steaming beverage into Angel's hand.
"How did you know?" Angel said as he accepted it gratefully. Taking a deep gulp, he made a face. This coffee defiantly didn't live up to Starbucks.
"I could hear her. I'm going to find a nurse, maybe get something to calm Cordy down. I'll see you in a bit," and with that she was off, leaving Angel alone in the hallway, the cup of coffee in his hand.
A couple hours later, a nurse called Angel into the room, saying that his wife was requesting his presence. He blushed at that. They weren't married.yet. Seeing as he was still leery about stepping foot inside of a church and the whole burning when touching a cross thing he had to endure for almost 300 years, he was still avoiding churches like the plague.
A couple of more hours went by, and soon Cordelia and Angel were bestowed with two darling children. And when the nurse asked for names, Angel's eyes glistened with unshed tears, which everyone thought were of happiness, but in all actuality it was for the two children these were supposed to replace. "Connor for the boy, and Casey for the girl. Cordy, please choose the middle names," he said quickly.
He felt slightly bad about stilling Cordy out of the naming process, and no doubt he would get an earful later, but the names just seemed to fit. When the proud parents were left alone with their children for 'bonding time' as the nurse put it, Angel gave a sorry look to Cordelia, "Sweetie, I'm sorry I just blurted out those names."
Cordelia gave him a strange look, "Why are you sorry? The names are perfect; they are perfect. But suddenly I think our lives are about to change, big time. But maybe it's for the better." She smiled at him as he smiled back and nodded.
So this is what redemption was about, it was about life. And life was about family. Granted his family was a little bit odd, but then again, what family wasn't? But he wouldn't have his any other way. Family was family, and this one was his.
The End