CHAPTER 6

Historical Note: This Trilogy takes place in the fifth season of Buffy, and the third season of Angel.

Author's Note: The board game part I wrote strictly for fun! And instead if Dawn ever having a crush on Spike, she kind of has one on Angel. What else… oh yeah! The moment you've all been waiting for! The return of Connor! Guys, I'm really sorry. I've got a lot of replies sayin 'please don't have Connor come back a teenager' and now I feel bad, BUT I had to. Like I said, I'm trying to keep this story as close to both shows as possible. I'll try to make Connor's return as a teenager better. Oh yeah, and I got a review mentioning that Wesley was somewhat of a 'pushover' last part. He's better this part. More in charge. Cause if you'll remember, he was a bit of a whimp and a push over in the beginning, then around season 3 he toughened up.

By now in the show, Dawn has joined the Summers' family, but the arrival of Glory will be postponed due to my stories perspective; which is about Buffy, Angel, and Connor. Also, you'll notice that some of the plots from both of the shows later episodes are happening sooner since I've altered a lot of both shows story lines.

Author's Note II: I'm still debating whether or not to add the Cordy/Connor thing as gross as that was. I'm having a hard time trying to make up my mind. I need help you guys!! Could you all do me a favor, and e-mail me with your thoughts on it; have a Connor/Cordy relationship or no? And maybe give a few reasons or ideas along with it!! It'll help SOO much! Please send these to Naskt8@aol.com. Have the 'subject' be Cordy/Connor Opinion PLEASE cause I don't want to accidentally delete it!! Thanks, this will help me SO much!

"Ok, your turn," Angel told her as he sat beside Dawn on the couch playing a board game with her.

Buffy had few errands to do with the Scoobie gang, so Angel decided to stay at the house. He had planned on sleeping for a while longer, but Dawn had come in and begged him to 'hang-out' with her.

A few hours later, Buffy walked through the door with her sunglasses on.

"I'm home," Buffy called out as she placed her keys on the table by the door. She walked into the living room and slowly took off her glasses as she caught view of Angel playing a board game with Dawn.

"Wow. This is different," Buffy said as she walked over to them. Joyce appeared from behind her with a plate in her hand.

"I know. It's kind of nice, huh?" Joyce said as she continued to dry the plate.

"Yeah, It is," Buffy agreed. Angel smiled at Buffy.

"Hi. She asked me if I would play a round with her," he explained. Buffy nodded.

"Only they've been playing all morning," Joyce added before returning to the kitchen.

"You have, have you?" Buffy asked trying to hold in a laugh. "Who's winning?" she asked curiously as she walked over to them. Dawn looked up and smiled.

"Me," she told her sister proudly. Buffy then noticed what game they were playing.

"Oh, Monopoly. I love that game!" Buffy told them as she walked over to Angel and sat down beside him.

"How are the guys?" he asked curiously.

"Oh you know them," Buffy answered. "But they did tell me to tell you they say hi," she told him as she leaned closer and kissed him.

"You seem to be doing alright today," he observed. Buffy shrugged.

"Yeah I guess. I mean, I would still like to know what that vamp meant the other night about Connor coming back," Buffy admitted. Dawn looked at them confused.

"What about Connor coming back?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just the other night a vampire I was fighting with gave me a cryptic message about him that's all," she explained.

"What does Giles say about it?" Angel asked.

"He's looking into it. He didn't know anything about it off the top of his head," she told him.

"Don't worry about it Buffy. Giles will find out what he meant by it," Dawn assured her sister.

Buffy smiled. "Yeah. I'm sure he will,"

* * *

Back In L.A...

The next evening, Angel headed back to L.A. He could only stay for the weekend, and he had to be back before Monday.

He realized from his visit that he wasn't around as much as he should be. Even though Buffy moved back home to get her life back on track after Connor was kidnapped, it didn't give Angel a right not to visit Sunnydale more often. He and Buffy were technically still a couple, although they didn't live together….at the moment.

Angel pulled up in the motel's parking lot and sighed. He already missed Buffy and it had been only a few hours since he'd seen her. He grabbed his bag out of the back of the car, and walked over towards the door.

As he got closer to the door, he realized the lights on. They're probably researching, he thought. He smiled. He had missed them while he was in Sunnydale. As he walked in he noticed everyone was there.

"Angel, hey man," Gunn said uneasily.

"Hey guys. What's going on?" he asked curiously as he noticed a few open books were sitting on the front desk.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong here. Were great, you?" Cordelia asked. Angel looked at them and could since something was up by their expressions.

"Alright. Now I know something's up. What's going on?" he asked as he put his bag down by the stairs and walked over to them.

"Now Angel, keep in mind were not even sure if what we saw was..." Lorne trailed off.

"Was what?" Angel asked getting worried. "What? Spit it out," he told them.

"We may have seen Connor," Wesley explained calmly as he walked over towards Angel.

"What?" Angel asked in shock. "Where?" he asked quickly. All he could think about was finding him and bringing him back.

"In the Hotel," Cordelia told him. "Angel, there's something else," Cordelia told them.

"What is it?" he asked worriedly. Cordelia looked at the group then back at Angel.

"Connor. He was, um, older," she told him trying to break it to him lightly. Angel looked at her confused and worried.

"What. What do you mean? How much older?" he asked quickly.

"By the looks of him; seventeen, eighteen," she told him. Angel looked at them all once more before walking away towards his office. They stood in silence until they heard the sound of the door slam shut.

"Well that went well," Cordelia announced.

"Come on guys. Let's get back to work. I want to know what to do if Junior comes back," Gunn said as he tried to re-focus the group.

"I want to know if that really was Connor, and if so; he didn't seem too really like Angel," Wesley said.

"Gee Wes what gave it away? Was it when he told us he wanted to kill Angel, or when he said he'd be back to do so?" Cordelia said sarcastically.

"Come on you guys. We need to figure out if this really is Connor or not," Lorne said agreeing with Gunn.

"Alright, but for the record I think he is," Cordelia told them.

"How do you figure? I mean, I know I'm kind of new to the group in all and I never even saw him as a baby, but, how can you be so sure?" Fred asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious? He looked just like Angel," Cordy pointed out. "He also has Buffy's eyes. Trust me. I've known both Buffy and Angel for a long time. I think I'd know when I see they're kid," Cordelia explained.

"Alright. Whatever. Let's just get to work," Gunn told them. Cordelia sighed.

* * *

Angel sat in his office for a while before deciding he had to call and tell Buffy. He looked at the clock that hung on his office. It read one thirty in the morning. He sighed as he picked up the phone. He really hated calling over there this late, but he knew she'd be mad at him if he waited to tell her. He dialed her number and waited as he heard the ringing noise in the phone.

"Hello?" Joyce's sleepy voice answered the phone. Angel really felt bad now for calling at this hour.

"Joyce it's me. I'm really sorry for calling at this hour, but something's come up," he told her.

"What is it? Is everyone alright?" she asked sounding slightly more awake than a few seconds ago.

"Actually, I think we found something, important. Can I talk to Buffy for a second?" he asked.

"Sure. Just a second Angel," Joyce said. Angel heard the other line go silent as Joyce walked to Buffy's room to wake her. A few seconds later, he heard the other line pick up.

"Angel? What's wrong?" Buffy's sleepy voice asked. Angel heard another click; letting him know Joyce hung up her phone.

"I think we found Connor," he told her. She went silent for a second. Most likely from shock, Angel thought.

"Buffy?" Angel asked making sure she didn't faint on the other line.

"I'm on my way," she told him.

"Buffy, you don't have a licensee. How are you going to get here?" he asked.

"I don't know. But I, I'll find a way," Buffy told him sounding fully awake and sounding as if she was about to break down.

"Buffy, calm down. I'll go and get you," he told her knowing he should.

"I'll unlock the door, and I'll be downstairs waiting," she told him.

"Alright. Hold on, and I'll be there as soon as I can," he told her.

In Sunnydale...

Buffy quickly hung up her phone, and grabbed her suitcase from under her bed. She then walked over to her dresser and grabbed some clothes and threw them in the suitcase.

"Buffy, what's going on?" Joyce asked as she walked into her daughter's room and saw Buffy quickly throwing her clothes into her suitcase. "Is Angel all right?" she asked.

"It's not Angel, its Connor," Buffy told her as she continued to pack.

"He found Connor?" Joyce asked happily.

"I, I don't know. All he said is that they think they found him. How, I'm not sure," she explained.

"This is great," Joyce said. Dawn staggered into the doorway from all the commotion going on at that hour of the night.

"What's going on? And who was that on the phone?" Dawn asked. She looked at her mother then at her sister, who was frantically packing up her clothes.

"Buffy, are you leaving?" Dawn asked worriedly. Buffy stopped packing and looked at her sister.

"Dawnie I have to. Angel found Connor," she told her sister.

"He did. Oh my god, is Connor ok?" Dawn asked quickly. She had been worried about Connor, and was upset that he was kidnapped.

"I don't know. Angel didn't say," Buffy told them. "That's why I'm going there for a while. To help them find Connor,"

"Buffy how are you getting there? Is mom driving you?" she asked. Buffy shook her head.

"Angel's on his way to get me," she told her. "I have a feeling there's more he's not telling me," she admitted.

"Honey, whatever it is he's probably waiting to tell you in person." Joyce assured her.

"Yeah, you're probably right." she told her mother as she closed the suitcase

Back In LA...

Angel quickly walked out of his office as he pulled on his jacket as he walked into the lobby.

"Angel, where are you going?" Cordelia asked quickly.

Without turning around, or breaking stride Angel replied, "To pick up Buffy." he said.

"Angel wait!" Wesley called out. Angel turned around.

"What, there's more?" Angel asked angrily. The room went silent.

"He came here to kill you," Wesley told him. Angel looked at him confused.

"Wes, what are you talking about?" Angel asked. Wesley sighed.

"Connor, or whoever that was, came here to kill you," Wesley explained. Gunn smiled and took a step forward.

"Yeah, and I've got the bruises to prove it. Man that kid sure knew how to fight," Gunn told them.

"Ok, look. My brain is on overload right now as it is. I'm on my way to go pick up Buffy. I'll be back as soon as I can," he told them before he left.

"So, I'm finally going to be able to meet Buffy. That's good, right?" Fred asked.

"Depends which day you catch her on." Wesley answered.

In Sunnydale...

Angel arrived at Buffy's house sooner than he thought he would. Although speeding the whole way there probably helped a lot. He quickly ran up to the door and opened it only to find everyone sitting in the living room waiting.

"Angel," Buffy said as she ran over to him. He pulled her into a hug.

"It's alright, the gang is on it right now," he explained. Buffy looked up at him.

"Do you think it's him?" she asked.

"I don't know. I didn't see him," Angel told her. Buffy nodded and took a step backwards. He looked past Buffy and noticed Dawn was up as well.

"Sorry I woke you guys up," he said apologizing to Dawn and Joyce.

"No, It's alright. Especially since it's about Connor," Joyce added. Angel looked at Buffy, who seemed to want to leave.

"We should," he suggested motioning to the door.

"Right. I'll call you guys when we have more," she promised. Dawn ran over to Buffy and hugged her.

"I know you'll find him," Dawn told her sister. Buffy hugged her sister.

"Thanks. I'll call you guys," she promised them again. Dawn nodded then hugged Angel.

"We'll be ok Dawnie. I promise," he told her as he kissed the top of her head. The two of them then left for L.A. to find their son.

In LA...

The gang was discussing the possible 'Connor' run in, when Angel and Buffy walked through the door. Their attention automatically snapped to the couple as they walked towards them.

"Hey honey bun, how have you been?" Lorne asked as he walked over to Buffy and hugged her.

"I've been good; you?" she asked.

"We've been good, until Connor dropped by all in fighting mode," Lorne told her. Buffy looked at Angel.

"Fighting mode? What's he talking about?" she asked him. Angel looked down. He had wanted to tell her in private about Connor's drastic age change.

"Angel?" she asked. She walked towards him. Angel looked at Wesley then at Buffy.

"Connor's not a baby anymore. He, he's a teenager," he told her. Buffy stood there looking at him shocked.

"What? How can that be? He's not even a year old!" Buffy protested. Angel walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

Buffy looked at Wesley. "How could he be that old when he wasn't even a year old when he was taken?" Buffy asked desperately.

"As you know, time in hell dimensions are very different from our time," he began. Angel remembered when he was in hell. It had been only months on earth, but in the dimension he was in, he served over a hundred years of hellish torment. Seeing images of Buffy dying while he was tied up, or seeing her with another man instead of him the night they made love. He was forced to see her say the same things with the same emotions she had said to him that night.

"It may have been a month here, but it appears that seventeen, eighteen years went by wherever he was," Wesley continued. Buffy looked back at Angel with tears in her eyes.

"No. It can't be true, It just can't," she said as she collapsed to the floor on her knees. Angel quickly dropped down as Buffy began to cry. He held her.

"Shh. it's ok," he told her. He realized it was a lot for her to deal with and it was late so he lifted her up and carried her into their bedroom and told her to get some rest. A few minutes later, he came back down.

"Is she alright?" Gunn asked as Angel climbed down the stairs.

"She's been through a lot. Even when she moved back to Sunnydale, I mean, she's pretty much stopped eating all together, and she hasn't been sleeping well," he told them. "With tonight's news, it's a lot to deal with. She's exhausted,"

"What about you? How you holdin' up?" Gunn asked.

"I'll make it. I just want to find out if the kid that came in here earlier really was my son or not," Angel told them as he plopped down on the couch. He looked at everyone and noticed they were tired.

"You guys go to bed. It's late, and it's better to think with a fresh mind," he told them. "Cordy, Gunn, why don't you guys stay here tonight? We have plenty of rooms to spare," Angel suggested as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"What are you going to do, just sit here?" Wesley asked. Angel looked up and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm going to sit here for a while, try to figure something out before I go to bed," he explained. The group then began upstairs. Angel sat in the lobby in silence, trying to figure out what he was going to do.