Sins of the Father
Chapter Five
"Please tell me you're joking, Fred," Wes said calmly, stifling a yawn.
"No, not joking," Fred answered, sounding close to tears. "I think he's in some kind of coma or something. God, Wesley, what are we going to do?"
Wesley sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Get some vervain, dragon's blood powder and comfrey. I'll be there as soon as possible," he dropped the phone without waiting for an answer. He cursed as he made his way to the spare room that had become Lottie's room. "Bloody stupid! He's obviously insane. Lottie? Lottie? Wake up, c'mon, we've got to go to the hotel. Angel knocked himself out."
"Wha -? Huh -?" she shifted and rubbed her eyes. "What?"
"Angel went a little overboard with the orris root and he's slightly unconscious. So, we have to go rescue him," he said and once more cursed the vampire's stupidity and recklessness.
"Oh," she accepted this easily and slipped out of bed and down the hall to the bathroom, grabbing her clothes as she went.
Wes stared after her and smiled. He had caught himself watching her lately, awed by the simple fact that she was his daughter and seemed to enjoy his company. It had been a long time since someone had been comfortable in his prescience and he found himself enjoying it.
The phone rang and he sighed. I'll be there as soon as I can, Fred, he thought, grabbing the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hello, lover."
"Lilah," Wes answered flatly. "I thought I made myself quite clear when I said we were over?"
"You've said that plenty of times, honey."
"The difference is that this time, I actually mean it. Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."
"How's your kid?"
Wes gripped the phone and hesitated. He had been about to hang up, but now he was frozen.
"What the hell do you mean by that?"
"Well, I just hope she's ok. Does Angel know about her yet?"
Suddenly everything came into startling focus. You didn't end things with Lilah; she ended things with you. If you had the nerve to end a relationship with her, you would pay.
"I knew you were a bitch, Lilah, but I do believe you've surpassed yourself."
With that he slammed the phone down and leaned against his desk, breathing hard through gritted teeth. That bitch! She had told Angel about Lottie. That would explain Angel's "This your daughter, Wes?" He had shown no surprise and now Wes knew why.
Just what did Lilah hope to achieve by it? Revenge, he answered himself. To get back at you through Angel… To allow Angel revenge. He remembered the veiled warning he had given Angel: "I just wanted you to know that when I - when Connor was a baby, I wasn't aware I had a daughter."
He remembered the horrifying thought he'd had when he had seen Angel note his daughter. Maybe, just maybe, some deep rooted Angelus-like idea might rise to the surface and prompt Angel to carry out revenge on Wes by taking Lottie as Wes had taken Connor. And that's just what Lilah intended. She'd get back at you and Angel would have crossed a line… Just like Wolfram and Hart have always wanted.
"Dad? You, um, you ok?" Lottie's voice was tentative and when he looked at her, it was like looking at himself when his father was in a particularly terrible fury. He gulped hard and extended a hand to her.
"I'm fine, I'm just angry at Angel for being stupid. Come on, let's go and wake him up."
"Well, look who it is. The prodigal returns," Lorne watched Wes enter the Hyperion, with Lottie wandering in front of him before sinking onto the couch and curling up with a yawn.
"Hello, Lorne. How was Las Vegas?"
"Glitz aplooza. But after a while, the sparkle hurts your eyes. And you know, you'd think that if you hit someone over the head with a statue, you'd say 'sorry' before hello."
"Ah, yes. Sorry about that," Wes dropped his gaze momentarily.
"Don't worry about it. I got over it. So, who's the mini-Wes?" he leaned over the counter and jutted his chin in Lottie's direction.
"I'm surprised you haven't been filled in," Wes replied. "I was under the impression that my personal life was up for public scrutiny."
Lorne shrugged and walked around the counter with his hands in his pockets.
"Fred filled me in. And you know the girl when she gets excited; I couldn't quite hear her what with the excited squeaks. Which leads me to my next point, since when did you have a daughter?"
"I wasn't aware I did," Wes answered. "Not until a few days ago anyway. So, what happened to Angel?"
"Well, Angel-cakes got a Cordy craving and did the ritual. I'd got all the stuff and he couldn't wait 'til you showed up today. Gunn found him in the middle of the trance then poof! He was flat out on the floor and has been for most of the night."
"Why didn't you call me?" Wes asked with a bite of impatience.
"And would you have thanked us if we woke up the cutie pie? Anyway, he wasn't going anywhere. Here, I got the vervain, comfrey and dragons blood power. You get on up there and I'll keep an eye on the little muffin."
Wes cast a glance toward his slumbering daughter and out to the world beyond the doors where the city was due to be crushed in the morning rush.
"Let her sleep," he said."She's had a long week and I got her up early."
Lorne raised his eyebrows subtly as Wes covered her with his jacket, tucking her in a little before taking the supplies and setting off up the stairs. He could hear Fred's hysterics from halfway down the hall and the calming tone of Gunn. He entered the room quietly and took in the situation at a glance.
Angel was lying on the floor with a pillow under his head, glowing faintly. Fred was in a corner, with Gunn's arm around her shoulders. Gunn was watching Angel warily. Fred's hand was pressed to her mouth and she was whispering to Gunn about what would happen if Angel didn't wake up. Sat in a shadowed corner with his fist curled moodily under his chin was Connor, who cast dark looks at Fred and Gunn, totally ignoring Angel.
"I've got the supplies," Wes said, entering the room and frowning down at Angel. "Honestly, you'd think someone of his age would have a little sense."
"Will he be ok?" Fred asked.
"He'll be fine, Fred," Wes reassured her. "He probably overdid the orris root and ended up in too deep a trance. I did warn him we'd have to be careful with the measurements."
"Look, just wake him up so we can get on with our lives," Connor said.
"Connor," Fred snapped.
He rolled his eyes at her and stood up, striding to the door.
"Let me know when you're done," he said, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him.
"Right, so what do we do?" Gunn asked.
"Crush this lot up," Wes said tossing the supplies to him. "Feed it to him and chant some Latin."
Gunn chuckled, but stopped immediately at Wes's serious face.
"You mean you were serious?"
Connor stomped down the stairs and threw himself into one of the red chairs in the lobby.
"Hey, kid," Lorne greeted. "Why don't you make a little more noise and wake up the little muffin?"
"What?" he snapped.
Lorne rolled his eyes and counted to ten. He hadn't been back very long before Connor started to get on his nerves again. He approached the teenager with caution and frowned down at him.
"You know, she hasn't done anything to you," he thumbed toward Lottie. "So why don't you let her sleep? Her dad's here taking care of yours after all."
Connor looked at Lottie and for a moment, he scowled shifted.
"Who is she?" he asked.
"Wes's daughter."
Connor nodded and reclined back in the chair.
"You think they'll wake him up?" he asked after a moment's silence.
"You betcha. If there's one thing I do know, it's that Wes knows his stuff. We'll have your pops back in no time. And Cordy right along with."
Connor snorted and leaned his head back, shutting his eyes. Lorne started to return to the front desk when a white light screamed out of Angel's room, engulfed the first floor and tumbled into the foyer. With a resounding pop they all felt inside their ears, it disappeared. Lottie bolted up with a loud shriek and Lorne reached out to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Ok, bite-size, you know what I said about Wes knowing his stuff? Maybe I was wrong."
A yell of rage echoed through the empty silence.
"You bloody idiot!"
"I'd better go check on your dads," Lorne said uncertainly. He cast Lottie an uncertain look. She was pale and her blue eyes were wide in the face. She looked terrified. Without thinking, Lorne picked her up gently and placed her on Connor's lap. "Watch her," he instructed. "I'll be back in a minute, sweetpea, and I'll bet your dad's just fine."
He turned away; leaving Connor staring incredulously at the girl as she shifted so she was sitting on the arm of the red chair. Her eyes were still wide, but the terror seemed to be fading, replaced by cautious interest.
Angel's door flew open, banging off the wall and Wes's yells were clearer.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he practically screamed at Angel. "Do you know what could have happened to her? To you both? You stupid bloody idiot!"
"I had to, Wes!" Angel protested, his voice weak, but firm. "I read through your notes and even you had doubts about whether it would work. So I found this spell and it's ok now, isn't it?"
Lorne entered the room cautiously. Gunn's hand was hovering between him and Wes, seeming to think that English might need restraining. Wes was obviously livid. Angel was glaring at him from his position seated on the edge of the bed. Fred was ignoring the exchange and was staring in shock at the other person on the bed.
"Cordy!" Lorne exclaimed. "She's back! Oh, hallelujah!"
Wes paused in his pacing and looked toward Lorne. Then his eyes slanted to Cordy, dressed in white and looking like she was merely sleeping.
"Is she all right?" he asked softly, a dramatic change in tone from his earlier yells.
Fred stepped forward and took Cordy's wrist.
"I think so. I think the um, white light kinda left her a little… sleepy?"
"As it would," Wes snapped, looking at Angel again. "Are you insane?"
"I had to," Angel answered somewhat petulantly.
Wes snorted and turned on his heel, stalking out of the room toward the staircase. Fred hurried after him as he descended into the lobby. He went over to Lottie and Connor and dropped to his haunches beside her.
"Are you all right?" he asked gently.
She nodded.
"I think - I think the white light scared her," Connor explained. "What was that?"
"That," Wes said. "Was Cordy returning to this dimension."
"What did he do?" Fred asked, touching Wes's shoulder. He glanced back at her and sighed. Reaching out, he plucked Lottie from the arm of the seat and carried her into the kitchen.
He set her down on the counter and crooked a finger under her chin, lifting her face up a little.
"It's ok now," he told her. "It was just a light."
"I know," she stated bravely with a defiant lift of her chin. "I wasn't frightened."
He chuckled a little and shook his head.
"Do you want a drink?" Fred asked. "OJ?"
Lottie nodded and Fred poured her glass, popped a straw in it and handed it to her.
"What about Connor?" she asked suddenly.
"What?" Fred replied, a little surprised.
"Connor. Should I take him a drink because you two have to talk?"
Wes raised his eyebrows and took her glass, lifting her off the counter. He poured her another glass and handed it to her along with her own glass.
"What about a straw?"
He laughed and handed her a straw. She smiled sweetly and carried it out to Connor. Wes leaned against the counter and smiled slightly. "Wes?" Fred ventured. "What did Angel do?"
"He," Wes sighed and paused. "He carried out the spell to contact Cordelia. But what he also did was carry it out in conjunction with another spell."
"Abandonment of Paradise?" Fred guessed.
"No," he replied. "Something in the text indicated that the spell may not work. I told him that and he seemed willing to try it before attempting something else. Instead, he obviously went looking for an alternative. He used the alternative along with the contact spell. That was what knocked him out. By drawing him out of it, we somehow drew Cordy into this dimension. He shouldn't have done it, Fred. I told him that the Abandonment of Paradise might not work if she refused to return, that may be what the text meant when it said the spell may not result in the return of the person. Whatever he did, we cannot be sure Cordy came back willingly."
"She did."
Wes turned slowly and stared blankly at Angel for a long moment.
"What spell did you use?" he asked.
"I think the book called it the Choice of Betters. It was a choice."
"Then why not just wait until we carried out the Abandonment of Paradise?" Wes cried.
"Because it might not have worked! I know you thought that was just because she might not choose to come back, but what if she chose to come back and the Powers didn't let her? It might have meant that!"
"But you didn't even try!"
"I didn't want to risk losing her forever. The Codex Of Powers mentioned the Choice of Betters as an alternative to be carried out by a Champion. I found it in one of your books and it said if she chose, she would be welcomed back on this plane with the blessing of the Powers because -"
"Because the spell was carried out by a Champion with love in his heart, a noble Warrior who fights for the Being's choice. If they succeed, they earn the choice for the Being and the Powers full blessing," Wes finished quietly.
"Exactly."
"Angel, have you any idea how dangerous that spell is? If you hadn't been dead already, you'd probably be dead now. Cordy too, maybe. Yes, it's a good spell to use, but the tests… If you hadn't passed them…"
"Tests?" Fred asked, breaking her silence.
"There were tests," Angel confirmed.
"What were they?"
"He can't say, Fred. One clause is that he can never talk of his time spent on the Higher Plane, fighting for Cordy's choice. Neither will Cordy ever remember anything of her time on the Higher Plane. But why did you have to use it along with the contact spell? If the Powers had taken affront to a lower being contacting a Higher Being whilst taking the tests… Who knows what they would have done?"
Angel shrugged. "We got her back. That's all that matters."
Wes relented and nodded.
"Yes, I suppose so. But how about next time you don't do something so reckless? You try the safest avenues before you turn to spells that challenge the Powers."
"I will."
"Good. Now, will you let me know when Cordy wakes up?"
"You're not coming back tomorrow?" Fred blurted.
"No," Wes shook his head. "I don't work here anymore. I was just doing you a favour, for Cordy."
Angel opened his mouth to argue, but he didn't have the energy right then.
Wes walked out of the kitchen, leaving Fred staring at Angel.
"Why didn't you ask him to come work with us again?" she hissed.
"Because he'd fight me on it," Angel answered. "I don't feel like fighting him right now."
Fred's face softened a little and she smiled sympathetically. There was a screech of laughter and Angel and Fred left the kitchen.
"You have to blow gently," Lottie instructed patiently, blowing bubbles in her own juice with her straw.
Connor scowled at her, wiped the juice off his chin and blew through his own straw.
"Well, looky here," Lorne said, walking down the stairs. "I do believe Connor might just smile."
Connor frowned at him and Lottie gazed up at Lorne, mystified.
"Hang on," she said. "You're green."