Redemption, Part Five
The others stood patiently in a circle as Drew and Wesley prepared the materials for the spell. As if it sensed what was about to come, the Orb had begun to softly glow on the way to the warehouse. Wesley added the final ingredient to the mortar, which subsequently began to release a purple flame.
"We're ready, but we can only do one of you at a time."
The two vampires looked at each other. Anne began to gesture but Angel interrupted. "Anne first. Just call it my final service to the Powers."
The others nodded and Anne stepped to the center of the circle. She took a deep breath as Wesley began speaking the incantation.
"AAARGH!" Five Torflakk demons rushed the group, who fell out of their circle formation. Confused, it took several seconds for them to counterattack. Gunn managed to disarm one demon, while Cordelia and Fred kicked and punched another. Angel was temporarily at a disadvantage as the demon he fought overpowered him, but he was able to retake the fight and threw the demon to the ground. Anne snapped the neck of a demon and turned to see Drew being forced back as he fenced a sword-wielding demon with a pipe he had picked up from the warehouse floor, cradling the orb in his other arm. The demon knocked the pipe from Drew's hand and pulled back to strike. Anne raced across the distance in time to be speared through the gut with the demon's sword. Her vampire face appeared, but she quickly subdued it. The demon growled as he removed the sword and swung back. Anne dropped her knees and looked sadly at Drew, clutching her bleeding stomach.
"I'm sorry. I love—" she mouthed at him as the demon's sword decapitated her.
Drew cried out as his former lover turned to dust, then rose to face the demon that had killed her. He charged and the demon struck him. Drew fell to the ground, dropping the orb to the floor. When it shattered into several glass fragments, the demon roared in fury. Angel used the distraction to break the neck of the demon he had been fighting and raced to rescue Drew.
The rest of the fight ended quickly as Angel, Gunn and Wesley killed the remaining demons. Angel reached down to Drew and helped him to his feet. The group gathered around the broken shards of the Orb, looking down at them helplessly.
Wes had just finished placing the translated Torflakk scrolls into a filing cabinet when Fred entered his office.
"Hi, Wes. Did Drew's flight get off all right?"
Wes smiled at her as he walked back to his desk. "Yes, indeed. He told me he was thinking of returning to active Watcher service."
Fred sat down. "Do you…do you miss being a Watcher, Wesley?"
He looked surprised at the question and paused before answering. "Yes, sometimes. I was a very ineffectual Watcher. I don't blame Drew for the bad training, but nevertheless I wasn't prepared to face the real life situations inherent in being a good Watcher. I often wonder if I'd be better, now that I have more experience."
"Well, we'd miss you if you left us. I think you're pretty important to this team. I don't know…what we'd do without you."
Wes smiled at her. "Thank you Fred. That means a lot."
"Why did Drew want to go back to active service?"
Wes laughed. "He said that he had lived in the past too long. He wanted to make a difference with his life, and deal with things not in an ancient text."
Fred and Wes simultaneously looked down at the books scattered across his desk and began to laugh. He looked back up at her. "Drew might be onto something."
Fred smiled shyly. "Wes, would you like to go get some coffee sometime?"
Wesley grinned. "Sure, how about now?"
Upstairs, Angel bent over Connor's crib. He turned at a near silent footstep to see Cordy cautiously entering the room.
"What's up?"
"How are you?"
Angel sighed and turned back to his son. "I wish everyone would stop asking me that."
Cordy joined him at the side of the crib. "Sorry. It's just that if I were you, I'd be pretty bummed."
He shook a teddy bear at the smiling baby, then looked at Cordy. "It's weird, but I'm not. I mean, she was the Slayer and the only redemption the Powers could give her was death. Even when we first learned what the Orb could do, I was skeptical. It just seems like I haven't done enough. I thought about Connor and how I would feel if somebody hurt him. That person could never repay me enough. I haven't earned it yet; maybe I never will."
"So, you don't think you'll ever be able to be happy?"
"No, it's not that. Angel smiled down at his son. "I just have to learn to accept the bad with the good. Isn't that what human life is all about? So I'll go and I'll fight every night. But I'll come home to him." He touched his child's forehead. "I still have him." Angel looked over at Cordelia, reached out and pulled her close. "I still have you." He bent down and kissed her forehead.
The End (Grr. Argh.)
A/N: Well, that teaches me not to go back to older stories since the ending just thoroughly depressed me knowing what I know. Sniff. Poor Angel. Anyway, please please review!