Chapter Two
Cordelia blearily opened her eyes and cursed her unlined curtains, the sun shone through the fabric as if it didn't even exist making sure that she was up with the sun every morning. She stumbled out of bed and wrapped herself in her dressing gown, slipping into her fluffy pink slippers and briefly considered which day she should go out and buy new curtains. She shuffled down the staircase, heading straight for the kitchen and wishing you could inject coffee. As usual, Angel was sitting at the table fully dressed as if waiting for her. She walked straight past him and flicked the switch on the coffee machine; caffeine came first at this time of the morning.
"Have you just come in?" she yawned, still standing over the machine and willing it to speed up her first hit of the day.
"Yeah," said Angel, leaning back in his chair. "It was really quiet last night; the streets are practically empty,"
"Hey, maybe we finally killed all the bad guys," smiled Cordelia sarcastically, Angel smiled softly. "Just a thought,"
Cordelia poured herself a large mug of thick black coffee and stirred half a teaspoon of sugar into it, her early morning treat. The smell filled the kitchen and revived her almost immediately; she sat down at the table and took a hot, tongue-burning mouthful.
"Connor was out last night," said Angel, breaking the silence between them. "Alone,"
"That's good. I don't think Allie's ready… oh, that's not what you meant, is it?"
"I'm trying to respect his privacy and do the right thing but it's dangerous out there, he should go out with Gunn or me; not alone,"
"Angel, " sighed Cordelia. "He's perfectly capable of dealing with the dangerous alone, you taught him everything you know and he had some tricks of his own before that. There's no need to worry,"
"I know," he smiled. "Father's job to worry, I guess. I'm glad Allie's here though, she has a calming influence on him, I like her,"
"Yeah, she's fitting in well. It's nice having another girl around the place,"
Angel nodded in agreement, he had been concerned about Allie's background when Connor first brought her back to the Hyperion but her enthusiasm and total openness forced back the worries. She helped Fred with reading ancient demon texts, Gunn had taught her how to fight hard and dirty while Wesley couldn't stop praising her speedy learning and the skills she had acquired so quickly.
"Must be nice having Connor back though,"
"It is, but it's not just him. You and Lorne and Wesley too, it feels like a family again,"
"Yeah," grinned Cordelia. "We are kinda great,"
"No, you need to keep your elbow and shoulder locked or you'll dip the sword," instructed Wesley. "Try and keep it steady, do it again,"
Allie nodded and returned to her starting position before following the exact choreographed sequence Wesley had set out for her. She felt like the girl in Crouching Tiger only nowhere near as good, the sword was too heavy but she locked her shoulder and held it up anyway. She would have preferred to be wielding a crossbow or Gunn's hunting axe but she didn't want to disappoint Wesley, he had taught her so much since her arrival and she felt that she owed it to him to learn swiftly and proficiently. She lifted the sword and spun with it, plunging the blade into thin air before withdrawing and spinning it over her head and stabbing behind.
Across the room, behind the reception counter, Connor and Fred were pretending to be working but were both watching Allie and Wesley sword fighting. Connor flicked lazily through an Aramaic book that he couldn't even read while Fred tapped the keys of her laptop idly. There was nothing to do, Angel was sleeping, Cordelia had gone curtain shopping and nobody knew where Gunn and Lorne had sneaked off to.
"So, how are things with you and Allie?" asked Fred, Connor raised an eyebrow and ignored the question. "C'mon Connor, I'm so bored. You gotta give me something,"
"Okay, things are fine," he sighed, pausing for a moment. "I guess,"
"What do you mean?" asked Fred, turning from her laptop to face Connor. He looked over at Allie and Wesley, making sure they couldn't hear him.
"Well, I'm not sure; I haven't really done this before… y'know, the dating thing. Anyway, we keep having these little fights over nothing at all and it's driving me crazy. I mean, how are we supposed to get on if we're always fighting?"
"Connor, that's what relationships are. I think there's something wrong if things are perfect all the time,"
"I figured that but what if it's not? I think she still blames me for killing her sister. She said we were in it together but it was her sister,"
"I know it must be hard knowing that you did that to her but you should just give her some time," said Fred, still a little shocked that she was giving Connor advice. "It took me a really long time to leave Pylea behind me and get on with life here but I did it eventually. I just needed a bit of time and some help from my friends,"
"How much time?"
"It depends; give her as much as she needs. Are you sure it's her that has the problem over this though; maybe you're just feeling guilty for killing someone. It doesn't mean she holds you responsible if you're holding yourself responsible,"
"Maybe," he sighed, looking across at Allie. She was walking over to the weapons cabinet to replace her sword, her and Wesley had obviously finished. Connor smiled as she rushed over and perched on his lap, he moved his arms around her waist to steady her before kissing her shoulder.
"Were you watching?" she asked excitedly. "Wes says I'm almost ready to start fighting the real demons,"
"Maybe I'll take you out some time," grinned Connor, glad that Allie was so happy with her improvement. He looked to Fred to add some words of encouragement but her gaze rested on Wesley, watching as he packed away his own weapons. Connor coughed loudly and Fred snapped out of her dream-world, turning to look at Allie.
"Yeah," she said, "Getting out there is the best thing, and nobody wants to be left at home while everyone else is out having demon fun,"
"Speak for yourself, Princess," said Lorne, following Gunn into the room through the side doors. He was carrying a large white box which he placed on the reception counter with a smile.
"I though only Cordy was out shopping," sneered Connor, smiling to himself.
"No, the men go too. Bought a present for our newest feature," said Gunn, smiling at Allie. She hopped down from Connor's knee and ran her hands over the box, looking up at Gunn and grinning. "Go ahead," Allie slipped the lid of the box off and brushed back the tissue paper, lying amid black crepe paper was a shining new hunting axe just like Gunn's.
"Oh my God, it's beautiful," she exclaimed, taking it out and admiring the workmanship. "I don't know how to thank you,"
"That smile is thanks enough," smiled Lorne.
"C'mon, let's go try it out," said Gunn. Allie nodded excitedly before kissing Connor briefly and running down to the basement with Gunn.
"Is she really ready, Wes?" asked Connor, Wesley walked over to the reception desk to join everyone else.
"She's as ready as any of us were when we started out," he said softly. "She can start the night watch but not alone, she needs to kill a few times before she's ready. It'll be a shock to the system," Connor nodded but still looked concerned, a part of him had hoped this day would never come. Things would be so much easier if Allie stayed at home night after night and Connor remained her protector and nothing would change. Allie's newfound independence might mean the end of their relationship.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, stop thinking about it," said Fred, mistaking Connor's frown as a leftover of their conversation. He managed a half-hearted smile in return before running up to his bedroom to consider the future of him and Allie.
