CHAPTER 5

Historical Note: By now, the story takes place in the end of the fifth season of Buffy, and the fourth season of Angel.

Author's Note: Ok, in advance, It may be a little longer posting new parts. It's true, a few chapters on this one have been pre-written as well, but I still have to go through and edit, and sometimes make a few changes. Plus, Mid-terms are coming up, so I may be kinda busy, but I'll try my best!! Please come back every few days and see if I've posted more tho! I just got another opinion, thanks soo much! But that only brings me up to 2 opinions about the Cordy/Connor thing. One says yes cause it'd be interesting, one says no cause it was gross to see the first time around. I need people's advice here. I'm begging you, I mean, on my knees! Lol. PLEASE e-mail me and met me know!

Author's Note II: Yes, I myself realize Wesley's role in this is very much messed up. LOL. This will get better. I think I messed up earlier somewhere… But he will be involved more! I have not seen a lot of these episodes, I've just read about them in a few episode guides. With that little bit of info I got there, I tried to fill in the blanks… and yeah… I hope this doesn't suck too horribly!

Author's Note/Historical Note: This part takes place three months after where the second one left off. Angel is still missing, leaving Buffy to deal with the Hyperion Hotel, and to raise Connor. Cordelia has also gone missing, and the crew is searching for her as well. Also, Joyce gets terminally ill, forcing Buffy to go back to Sunnydale and take care of things for awhile not knowing she'd end up doing it permanently.

A Few Weeks Later...

"Angel, you sure you should be up and about? I mean, shouldn't you be upstairs resting?" Gunn asked as he walked into Angel's office.

"You're starting to sound like Buffy; I'm fine," he assured Gunn as he looked up. "Besides, it looks like there's some work to be catching up on now that I'm back," he said as he gestured to his desk.

"Has there been any word on Cordy's whereabouts?" Angel asked curiously. Gunn sighed and shook his head.

"Afraid not." Angel nodded.

"Maybe we should rake the bottom of the ocean for a big metal box," he suggested.

"Speaking of which, you haven't heard from Connor since you gave him the boot; have you?" Gunn asked. Angel shook his head as he put his pen back in the jar on the table.

"Nope. Not really expecting to for a while," he told him truthfully.

"How's Buffy takin' it?" he asked. Angel stood up and scratched the back of his head.

"She's doin' good. I mean, she's dealt with hard things all her life, I guess she's used to it," he explained.

"Where is Buffy anyway?" Angel asked as he walked out from behind his desk.

"Oh ah, she's down stairs beating the hell out of the punching bag," he said. Angel smiled. "Glad I haven't made her mad," he added thinking of the damage she could really do to him if she wanted to.

Angel laughed. "Thanks Gunn," he said before walking out of his office. He then headed down the stairs to see Buffy.

* * *

"Any chance you might want to take a break from beating on that thing?" Angel asked as he walked down the stairs. Buffy punched the bag once more before turning towards him with a smile on her face.

"Hey," she said out of breath as she walked over towards him. "Is everything ok?" she asked. Angel shook his head.

"Yeah. Everything's ok...for the time being. I just wanted to come down here and see you," he explained.

"Any word on Cordy?" she asked. Angel shook his head.

"No, not yet," he said.

"Has anyone heard from Connor?" she asked.

"Nope, and I don't think we will be hearing from him for a while," he assured her. Buffy sighed.

"I just wish I knew if he was ok," she admitted. Angel put his hand on her warm shoulder.

"Buffy, he's fine. He knows how to take care of himself," he reminded her. Buffy sighed.

"How did this happen?" she asked. "We just got him back; I thought we could finally be a family. Now look at where we are?" she asked. Her voice sounded empty.

"Buffy he'll be fine," he assured her. Buffy nodded.

"You're right. I guess my brain still hasn't adjusted to all of this yet," she said.

"I know, I still can't believe what's happened either, but it is, and we have to deal with it," he told her. The two then fell silent.

"Fred, Gunn and I are going to Cordy's to start packing her stuff up if you wanna come?" he offered.

"Ok, sure. It beats staying here in the basement," she told him as they headed towards the stairs.

* * *

"Which box are we putting her clothes in?" Fred asked as she walked out of Cordy's bedroom with a hand full of clothes. Angel looked up.

"In this box," he said as he pointed to a box. Fred nodded and began to carefully place the clothes in the box. Buffy looked around the room.

"It doesn't look like Cordy's been here for a while," she noted before sitting at the table with Angel.

"I know," he agreed as he continued to look through a pile of Cordelia's pictures.

"Maybe phantom Dennis knows something?" Gunn suggested. Angel looked up and shook his head.

"He's not talking. Besides, I doubt he knows anything more then what we know," he told them before looking back down at a group picture of Wes, Cordy, and Fred. Buffy picked up on Angel's sadness and placed her hand on top of his.

"We'll find her," she assured him. "I bet she's ok and alive wherever she is; it's just a matter of finding her," she told him.

"Have you tried the Oracles?" Fred asked. Angel stood up and sighed.

"I already tried. Even if they knew something we didn't; they're not saying anything," he explained. "I'd better get back to the hotel," he said as he headed towards the door. Fred and Gunn looked at Angel worriedly as well as Buffy.

She looked back at them and said quickly, "You guys can quit any time. We'll continue another time," she said as she followed Angel.

"Are you ok?" Buffy asked. Angel shook his head.

"We should've found her by now; something," he said as he slammed his fist against the wall outside.

"You can't blame yourself. We're all on it," she told him.

"I vowed to myself after Doyle died that I'd keep everyone I loved safe," he explained. "Yeah, I'm doing a great job."

"Angel, you were at the bottom of the ocean for a few months; It's not your fault; Cordy hasn't been found yet," she said.

"There must be someone who knows where she is," he said to both him and Buffy.

* * *

A few hours later everyone was back at the hotel researching possible leads to what might have happened the night Cordy disappeared when all of a sudden, Wesley walked in with a thick folder in his hands.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think I found something of interest," he said as he walked over to them.

"What is it?" Angel asked as he walked over to Wesley.

"It's about Cordy. I think I may know where she is," he told them. The room fell silent as everyone then looked at Wesley. "She is not dead but perhaps in another dimension," he began. "After hearing this rumor, I went to an old friend who knew how to get there. Angel, the only the dead can enter her lair," he informed them.

"How do I get there?" he asked quickly. Wesley looked down and produced what looked like a crystal ball held by a large claw. He tossed the object to Angel.

"It can be opened by a ritual you'll find in the Rynhard text book," he explained

"Is it safe?" Buffy asked.

"Is anything we do safe?" he replied. "I just thought you may want to know about the lead," he said before he turned to go. Angel quickly ran after him and stopped him at the door.

"You know Wesley, I don't blame you for Connor's kidnapping," he told him. "He's back now, and we've moved on from that night. As far as I'm concerned, were ok," he assured Wesley. Wesley nodded.

"I greatly appreciate your forgiveness," he said before leaving. Angel slowly walked back towards the group.

"What is it with you two and doing everything the hard way?" Gunn asked breaking the silence. Everyone looked over at Gunn.

"What? Everyone else's over it. Why can't he just come back and help us out like he used to," he said. Just then, the phone rang. Buffy walked towards the phone and picked it up.

"Hello?" Buffy waited a second.

"What?" she asked worriedly. She then listened for a few moments while the others looked at her worriedly.

"No. No, of coarse I'll be there," she told the other person on the other end. "How long has she been like this?" she asked. After a second she responded. "And you waited until now to tell me?" she asked angrily.

"I'm on my way," she said before she hung up.

"Problems with the family?" Gunn guessed.

"Something like that," she said as she headed for Angel's office. "Could you guys take over here for a while?" she asked.

"Of coarse," Fred said.

"What? What's going down in Sunnydale? An apocalypse?" Gunn asked as he walked towards Buffy.

"My mother, she's sick. Giles says it's pretty serious," she explained worriedly as she walked towards Angel's office.

"Hey, I know this isn't the best time, but, Giles just called," she began. Angel looked up at her worriedly.

"What is it? Is everyone alright?" he asked quickly.

"No," she told him as she tried to hide the worry from her voice. "It's my mom," she explained. "She's sick."

"How bad?" he asked.

"Giles wouldn't say. He just said that I need to be down there," she explained. "I know were kind of tied up here with the new lead in all, but I need to leave. I have a bad feeling about this," she admitted.

Angel stood up and walked over to her. "I can check up on the lead later, this seems more important right now. We can leave tonight if you want," he told her.

"Thank you," she told him. Angel could tell she was worried. He pulled her into a hug.

"It's going to be alright," he assured her as she held him tightly.