Title: What If?
Author: angel-chicka1539
E-mail: hamiltsn@hotmail.com
Rating: PG
Summary: What if Cordelia had a vision of herself in trouble. Can the AI team save her before it's too late?
Pairing: Angel/Cordy……eventually
Disclaimer: The characters in the following are from the brilliant mind of Joss Whedon. I'm just having a little fun.
Chapter One
"Man, I don't think we've ever had a fight that intense," Gunn said as he and Wesley walked through the double doors of the Hyperion Hotel, struggling to hold Angel up between them. Cordelia Chase looked up from her copy of People magazine and hurried over to help them through the door.
"Wow, it looks like you guys really took a beating! Was that little, itty-bitty demon I saw in my vision that much trouble for you manly men," she asked innocently, batting her eyes in the process. The only response she got from the three battle-hardened men in front of her were three, very intense sets of eyes glaring back at her.
"Whoa…if looks could kill. Sorry, I'll be Supporto-Girl now," she promised. "How are you guys," she asked sincerely.
"Gunn and I are fine," Wesley stated. "But I'm afraid you'll have to patch Angel up again." Cordelia looked over at Angel, who was already waiting patiently on the steps with the first-aid kit in hand.
"Where?" she asked simply as she walked over to him, eyes full of concern. Over the few years they had worked together, Cordelia had bandaged Angel up more times than she could count and more times than she cared to remember.
"Ribs," he gasped, obviously in a great deal of pain as he took his tattered shirt off. Cordelia inhaled sharply when she saw the wound. Sure, he had probably had worse in his 240 plus years, but this was by far the worst she had seen.
"Oh my God, how were you still walking," she asked him, eyes wide with amazement. "Hey, I'm Super-Human-Vampire-Strength-Guy," he joked weakly. He always did that, tried to make a joke to take Cordelia's mind off the intensity of the situation. And it usually worked, but not this time.
Cordelia looked at him for a long moment. "Why do you do that?" she finally asked him. "Do what?" he questioned. "You know what, Broody-Boy," she said sarcastically, her dark eyes flashing.
Gunn and Wesley looked at each other. "Uh-oh," said Wes. "We'd better get out of here fast." He'd known Cordelia for a while now and he knew when she was about to lose her temper.
"Why, what's gonna happen, English?" Gunn questioned. "Gunn, I know that we've only worked together for a few months now, but believe me, Cordelia's ready to throw a royal fit. We need to clear out of here now," Wes explained, pulling Gunn out of the room with him. "Or there are going to be two more fellows in need of medical attention."
"Oh…gotcha man," Gunn stated. Cordelia was so upset and so intent on getting an answer from Angel that she didn't even notice Wesley pulling Gunn out of the room.
"Well, I'm waiting for an answer Angel," Cordelia said, reaching for the anti-septic. He took a deep breath and answered. "Look Cordelia, I just don't want you to have to worry about everything around here, wondering if I'm going to be okay on top of worrying if we're going to be able to save the people in your visions, which, you know, we don't sometimes…." he trailed off.
Cordelia looked up at him in surprise. Did he just open up to her? Her breath caught in her throat as he gazed down into her eyes soulfully. "Oh," she said softly, almost sorry she had made him feel bad, and so touched that he didn't want her to worry anymore.
"Hey, do you think you can bandage me up now or do I have to bleed all over the floor for the rest of the night," he joked quietly.
This last statement jogged her back into reality. "Oh God, I'm sorry," she said hurriedly, avoiding his gaze. "There you go, all set. Do you want me to get Wes or Gunn to help you upstairs?"
"No, it's not that bad, really. Actually, I think I'm gonna take another pass tonight," he said as he walked away, knowing this would get her going again. "Three, two, one…he murmured to himself, grinning.
"What!" Cordelia shrieked loudly. So loudly in fact that Gunn and Wes came rushing in from the next room just in time to see Angel grin widely and say "Gotcha."
"Oh you are so gonna pay for that one, just see if I share with you the next time the Powers decide they want to fax your workload into my head," Cordelia promised. As soon as the words left her lips, her mind was slammed with multiple images. Images she didn't understand and one's she couldn't believe she was seeing.
"Oh, God," Cordelia rasped, hot tears springing to her eyes. "I've got you Cordy, what is it? What did you see?" Angel asked her softly, gently cradling her head. The look Cordelia gave him made his blood run cold (figuratively, of course), almost making him fear what she was about to tell him.
"It was…Me."