A/N: Have decided (on advice from gidgetgirl) that I ought to finish this.
Which means uber updates. Cool for you, itchy brain for me.
Plus, it's late, I'm tired- kudos to gidget for the reasoning behind Bryn's outbursts.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Look, you're gonna have to go to him." Cordelia made shooing motions. Spike raised his eyebrows at the dark haired ex-Seer. His expression made it plain that talking to his grandsire was not on his 'popular things to make or do' list.
"Why am I going to do that, beautiful?" he drawled, his blue eyes scanning her. Cordelia folded her arms defensively.
"Hey, pay attention here, ghostie. I know I'm stunning and all, but you've got stuff to do, don't you? That kiddo relies on you and Angel can't see what's happening." Cordy rolled her eyes. "Buffy walks in, and it's an end to, 'Cordelia, I can't un-live without you, let me stay by your bedside and hold your hand until you wake up', and hello angsty pain. She's like a magnet. A big, angsty, pain-magnet."
Spike frowned. "So you want me to tell Angel to look after his kid because- ?"
"Pfft. Just do it because I said so," Cordelia ordered, folding her arms. Spike sighed, wondering if evil-posession qualified Cordelia as evil herself. She was certainly acting like a goddess that ate people.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Buffy, I tried to contact you," Angel was in the middle of saying, as the blonde vampire half materialised in his office. He blinked. "Spike?"
"Spike?" Buffy's eyebrows shot skyward, as she gave Angel a questioning look.
"Now we all know my name," Spike drawled. "Angel. Your daughter is hiding in Harmony's office. Under the desk. Go talk to her." He rolled his eyes at the ceiling, with a little jerk of his head. "Am I done now?" he addressed it.
Buffy frowned. "Is he still insane?' she whispered to Angel. Angel shook his head, although currently, the jury was out on that one.
The blond vampire disappeared, leaving the uncomfortable silence to the two others. Buffy folded her arms.
"Does he do that often?' she asked, conversationally. Angel nodded.
"I really have to-" he looked uncomfortable. She nodded.
"Go."
* ~ * ~ * ` * ` * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ~ *
"Bryn?" Angel bent down, and looked under the bed. "What are you doing down there?" Bryn was curled up, her back to him, her knees hugged to her chest.
"Thinking."
Angel's lips twitched into a soft half smile. His Bryn could plot, and plan like any other evil mastermind, but brooding was something she rarely did. He sat down beside the desk, his legs crossed. He picked up a piece of paper, crayoned in pink and yellow. And red. It was lying on the carpet, with Brynna's distinctive 'people circles' drawn in her wobbly hand.
"What about?' he asked, keeping his voice light, and cheerful. Bryn wriggled a bit under the desk.
"Stuff," she answered resolutely, stubborn as always. "Where's my Jory?"
He softened once more. Darn it, he never wanted to punish his little girl, and now she was hurting, and lost, and feeling lonely, and he wished he could just smooth out all the wrinkles in the world, and make it better for her.
"I don't know, Bryn," he said quietly. "Do you?" Odd though it seemed, a lot of the time, Bryn seemed to ask questions she already knew the answer to. Where the non-angel Jory was was something only the four year old would know.
Bryn squirmed around a bit, until she was facing him, her eyes filled with something Angel couldn't understand. The look in them was the same one she had when she went- When she was away.
"She doesn't want me,' she whispered to herself. "I forgot." She looked away again.
"Why didn't you want to see your Mommy, Bryn?" Angel asked, picking up the picture once more. He inspected it, drumming his fingers on the side of the desk. "This is pretty."
"No it isn't," the child mumbled, her eyes wide with fear. "It's dark, and damp, and blood, there's blood. And Jory came. Daddy, don't let it get her."
"I won't," Angel promised, scooping out his little girl from underneath the desk, and sitting her on his lap, stroking back feather soft hair from her forehead. "I won't let it get her." Bryn leant back, resting her head against his shoulder, slipping her thumb into her mouth, her left hand curling around his own thumb, and sighed, sleepily.
"It hurts, Daddy."
There was a brief shimmer of light in the office, that Angel had come to associate with either Bryn's guardian, or Spike. Neither of which boded particularly well. This time, the familiar form of a teenage girl appeared, her hair falling into her eyes. She gave it a tired swipe, and finally stopped, her image more fuzzy than normal.
"I don't have long," she stated, unnecessarily. She never appeared long, only long enough to tell him he was doing something wrong. How a dead teenager knew more about his kid than he did, Angel was still a little uncertain on.
She sighed, her face tired. "Big emotional pain here. Kinda like a doorbell There. I came, I saw, I helped, I got gone. Paraphrasing Caesar, you know I'm tired."
Angel stroked Bryn's hair, watching Jory. He'd found it helpful to stay silent around the non-angel, or she went off on tangents.
"You want to know why the family reunion didn't go so well, yes?" Jory asked, looking down at Bryn with almost hunger in her eyes. She shrugged sadly. "It's not quite so fun when the kid was two. You recall I told you you died in her world."
"Yes," Angel answered slowly. "That came up."
"Surprise, the tale doesn't just contain woe, horror, and all the other pre- watershed family stake sessions. I'll spell it out, haven't got the time to be cryptic. Bryn saw her die." Jory's tone was flat, expressionless. "Vampire. Pool of blood. The kid watched her mother tortured, and killed. About four months after, you died. None of the old pizzazz without the Slayer left. So now you know. 'Til she's over that, you're going to get nowhere with the Slayer equals Mommy kick. Bryn was able to comprehend you weren't That Daddy, you were new. But Buffy's memory, her essence, everything a kid remembers about the mother that cradled it is imprinted on Bryn's heart. With death putting a fat red 'x' through it."
She watched Angel's expression, then smiled bitterly. "Kinda makes me glad I don't know my mom. They don't tell us. They take away the memory. So you don't obsess. Bryn's memories were too deeply in there, plus, she's corporeal. PTB seem to find that a little bit wall-like when it comes to making her a Star Child. She kept some of it, not all. Patience, kinda the essence."
She stepped away, obviously readying herself to return to the other place. Angel paused, looking down at Bryn.
"Jory?"
She turned, her shape even fuzzier, blue light starting to shine through it. He frowned, puzzled.
"Why don't you visit her any more? She keeps asking for you." Jory smiled again.
"PTB. Decided I got 'attached'. I got a new assignment, new Star kid to watch out for, teach the ropes. I've been around a while, Angel. They like me to 'mentor'. So they moved me on. 'Sides," she stopped, her gaze direct. "I'm not her guardian anymore."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The limousine gleamed as it rolled along in the neon lights. The brunette raised her eyebrows, taking it all in. She admired the champagne bottle in the holder with a dry smirk.
"Wow. Get the whole hen night set up. I appreciate the ticket out of jail, really I do, but cards like that come at a price." She ripped open a bag of peanuts, and slipped one into her mouth, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "I'm more of a 'salty' chick. I just want to know what I've got to pay, upfront."
Lindsey unlocked the briefcase perched on his knees with a small 'click', silently admiring the young woman across from him. He extracted a slim manila folder, and laid it on top of the leather briefcase.
"All it needs is a signature," he said smoothly, proffering it to Faith. Faith tossed the last of the peanuts into her mouth, and scanned the contract.
"It's got clauses," she commented, re-reading the interesting paragraph, concerning what was going on in the firm. Finally she tossed it back.
"I don't speak lawyer," she said bluntly. "What is it you want from me?"
Lindsey smiled, a hint of danger behind it. "I need an eye out. Bringing you up to speed a little. Angel has taken over Wolfram and Hart. A few of us have decided that non-evil isn't as profitable as evil was. I don't need a lawyer, but I do need someone to cover my back. I heard you were the right person?" he raised an eyebrow questioningly. Faith cocked her head on one side.
"I do get a kick ass apartment, right?"
Lindsey smiled.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ` * ~ * ` * ` ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Bryn gazed solemnly around the corner, checking the corridor for stray lawyers. Xander crunched into his snack bar unthinkingly. Spike and Bryn both stared at him accusingly, matching scowls on their faces.
"What?" Xander protested, through a mouthful of nutragious bar. "I'm hungry." Spike glanced at Bryn, and sighed.
"Did he really have to come?' he asked, seriously. "Whelp here can hardly do construction, let alone mastermind evil."
"I resent that!" Xander snapped. "I'm just as evil as you are, soul boy junior." He looked intensely satisfied with the phrase. Bryn cocked her head to one side, sizing Xander up. She straightened, and looked dead at Spike.
"He's right," she shrugged.
"Are we going to trip these lawyers or not?' Spike shot at Xander, intensely annoyed that Bryn seemed to have decided the whelp could be evil. Xander however, had a great big grin on his face that the four year old had indeed confirmed his evil-genius status. That she was a four year old had entirely passed him by.
"Trip is good," Bryn nodded. She handed Xander one end of the twine, and Spike the other. "Stretch it," she ordered, pointing to either end of the door frame. Spike raised his eyebrows.
"When did you get to be supervisor?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling with humour. Bryn narrowed her eyes, in an uncanny resemblance to one coma-ed Seer.
"Pfft. Just do it because I said so," she stated firmly, folding her arms across her chest. Spike frowned, looking at her. Bryn smiled cryptically.
"Stretch further," Bryn commanded, her thumb edging toward her mouth. Although Hero Brynna Angel was always up for annoying-lawyer fun, she was still a little quiet from her and Buffy's introduction several hours ago. Dawn and Willow had gone to find food, while Buffy and Angel talked. Xander had found a nutragious bar, and Bryn and Spike plotting.
"What are you doing?" A woman's voice, cool and calm came fro, behind them. She was tall, and slim, with piercing blue eyes, her dark hair pulled back in a tight knot. Bryn pointed to Xander.
"He did it,' she said immediately. Xander frowned.
"How come I get blamed, not you?' he shot at Spike.
"Newcomer's privilege," the vampire shot back, with a smirk.
"Jocasta Kingston," the woman crisply introduced herself, her gaze cold on Xander and Spike. "I suggest you clear this up. The meeting will shortly be over."
Bryn stuck her tongue out at the lady's back as Jocasta Kingston walked down the hall. Spike gave a sigh.
"Come on then, kidlet. Better hand you over to Willow and Dawn."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Spike, you can't smash anything up here," Cordelia observed, inspecting her nails, idly wondering if the astral planes could conjure up a decent pearly finish polish. The blond vampire stalked up and down, his fists clenched. Cordy watched him go, her head tilting slightly to the side, observing the benefits of leather pants. Buffy may be the ho biscuit of the undead (currently pulling the 'oh my god, I'm the mother of your child? Bat eyelashes, , but Spike's buns did look more than okay in a coating of leather.
'Spike buns. Buns of Spike. Cordelia, you so need to get laid,' she thought to herself miserably. When Casper, the annoying non corporeal vampire started looking attractive, Cordelia Chase just knew it didn't bode well.
"Well look at him!" the vampire finally exploded. "All big hair, and kicked puppy eyes. Who bloody wants to sleep with the sodding Andrex puppy?"
Wow. When 'bloody' and 'sodding' got mentioned in a half-second space, it was a meaningful moment for the vampire. Either that, or he'd partially materialised in one of Angel's pep talks to the staff.
"Why aren't you pissed?" he whipped around, folding his arms across his chest, scowling darkly. "Angel and Buffy. That never ends well. Last time, he tried to end the sodding world when they slept together."
Cordelia nodded. "Yup. They know it too. Plus, there's the whole angsty sub- tones of this little get-together. I doubt this is gonna get R-rated."
Buffy curled up on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her. Angel handed her a mug of chocolate. She sniffed, appreciatively, and smiled, shyly.
"It smells good," she said softly. "Chocolate in France is to die for, but I always missed yours." She looked down at the mug quickly, biting her lip.
Spike made a dismissive sound. "So the vampire makes hot chocolate. Just makes you fat."
"A truly romantic argument as to why she should stick to you, ghost boy," Cordelia observed from her own corner.
"We need to-" Angel dropped into an armchair, drawing it closer to the couch. The dim light of the lamp glowed softly.
"Talk?" Buffy finished for him. She smiled again bitterly, nodding. "I knew it. Nothing ever comes up without pain, or feelings, or talking."
"Yes, because you're a doomed romance," Cordelia informed her. She rolled her eyes. "Soul mates never works out. Look at Romeo and Juliet." She frowned, invisaging balcony scenes, and poetry. "Alternatively, don't."
"Why didn't you tell me, Angel?" Buffy demanded, standing up, clutching at her mug. "A word on the phone, hey, Buffy, you have a kid that you don't remember, a kid who doesn't even want you? Do I not even merit an explanation these days? God, Angel, you've had weeks, months to know her. Our daughter. I'd known about her existence five seconds, and I still don't understand how she does exist. This thing about you being human," the mug shattered in her hand under the pressure. The Slayer blinked at it a moment, a little shocked.
"I didn't know a lot," Angel interrupted. "I didn't know what she liked, what she didn't, Buffy, I ate children, I didn't look after them. I didn't know she'd seen you die," he said quietly.
"Commnence the angsty pain," Cordelia rolled her eyes once more. "You know, they should have a soundtrack. Something romantic and swell-y.. Y'know, rises up when they get all emotional and stuff."
"What would mine and Buffy's be then, love?" Spike asked lazily.
"'Oops, I did it again," Cordelia answered immediately.
Buffy's eyes filled with shock. "She saw me-' she whispered.
"Buffy, I know it's hard for you. But she's four. She has to learn to know you again, and it was a shock. For both of you," Angel said softly, taking her hand. She looked at it, a little surprised.
"Get your thieving paws off her," Spike grouched, his arms folded.
* ` * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
A/N: *sigh*. Long chapter. But plot advancement. I beg of you, review, I am up at two thirty, and I have work in less than six hours. I'm going to bed. *sigh*. However, I did a chapter for you guys, so-
REVIEW!
Plus, it's late, I'm tired- kudos to gidget for the reasoning behind Bryn's outbursts.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Look, you're gonna have to go to him." Cordelia made shooing motions. Spike raised his eyebrows at the dark haired ex-Seer. His expression made it plain that talking to his grandsire was not on his 'popular things to make or do' list.
"Why am I going to do that, beautiful?" he drawled, his blue eyes scanning her. Cordelia folded her arms defensively.
"Hey, pay attention here, ghostie. I know I'm stunning and all, but you've got stuff to do, don't you? That kiddo relies on you and Angel can't see what's happening." Cordy rolled her eyes. "Buffy walks in, and it's an end to, 'Cordelia, I can't un-live without you, let me stay by your bedside and hold your hand until you wake up', and hello angsty pain. She's like a magnet. A big, angsty, pain-magnet."
Spike frowned. "So you want me to tell Angel to look after his kid because- ?"
"Pfft. Just do it because I said so," Cordelia ordered, folding her arms. Spike sighed, wondering if evil-posession qualified Cordelia as evil herself. She was certainly acting like a goddess that ate people.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
"Buffy, I tried to contact you," Angel was in the middle of saying, as the blonde vampire half materialised in his office. He blinked. "Spike?"
"Spike?" Buffy's eyebrows shot skyward, as she gave Angel a questioning look.
"Now we all know my name," Spike drawled. "Angel. Your daughter is hiding in Harmony's office. Under the desk. Go talk to her." He rolled his eyes at the ceiling, with a little jerk of his head. "Am I done now?" he addressed it.
Buffy frowned. "Is he still insane?' she whispered to Angel. Angel shook his head, although currently, the jury was out on that one.
The blond vampire disappeared, leaving the uncomfortable silence to the two others. Buffy folded her arms.
"Does he do that often?' she asked, conversationally. Angel nodded.
"I really have to-" he looked uncomfortable. She nodded.
"Go."
* ~ * ~ * ` * ` * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ ~ *
"Bryn?" Angel bent down, and looked under the bed. "What are you doing down there?" Bryn was curled up, her back to him, her knees hugged to her chest.
"Thinking."
Angel's lips twitched into a soft half smile. His Bryn could plot, and plan like any other evil mastermind, but brooding was something she rarely did. He sat down beside the desk, his legs crossed. He picked up a piece of paper, crayoned in pink and yellow. And red. It was lying on the carpet, with Brynna's distinctive 'people circles' drawn in her wobbly hand.
"What about?' he asked, keeping his voice light, and cheerful. Bryn wriggled a bit under the desk.
"Stuff," she answered resolutely, stubborn as always. "Where's my Jory?"
He softened once more. Darn it, he never wanted to punish his little girl, and now she was hurting, and lost, and feeling lonely, and he wished he could just smooth out all the wrinkles in the world, and make it better for her.
"I don't know, Bryn," he said quietly. "Do you?" Odd though it seemed, a lot of the time, Bryn seemed to ask questions she already knew the answer to. Where the non-angel Jory was was something only the four year old would know.
Bryn squirmed around a bit, until she was facing him, her eyes filled with something Angel couldn't understand. The look in them was the same one she had when she went- When she was away.
"She doesn't want me,' she whispered to herself. "I forgot." She looked away again.
"Why didn't you want to see your Mommy, Bryn?" Angel asked, picking up the picture once more. He inspected it, drumming his fingers on the side of the desk. "This is pretty."
"No it isn't," the child mumbled, her eyes wide with fear. "It's dark, and damp, and blood, there's blood. And Jory came. Daddy, don't let it get her."
"I won't," Angel promised, scooping out his little girl from underneath the desk, and sitting her on his lap, stroking back feather soft hair from her forehead. "I won't let it get her." Bryn leant back, resting her head against his shoulder, slipping her thumb into her mouth, her left hand curling around his own thumb, and sighed, sleepily.
"It hurts, Daddy."
There was a brief shimmer of light in the office, that Angel had come to associate with either Bryn's guardian, or Spike. Neither of which boded particularly well. This time, the familiar form of a teenage girl appeared, her hair falling into her eyes. She gave it a tired swipe, and finally stopped, her image more fuzzy than normal.
"I don't have long," she stated, unnecessarily. She never appeared long, only long enough to tell him he was doing something wrong. How a dead teenager knew more about his kid than he did, Angel was still a little uncertain on.
She sighed, her face tired. "Big emotional pain here. Kinda like a doorbell There. I came, I saw, I helped, I got gone. Paraphrasing Caesar, you know I'm tired."
Angel stroked Bryn's hair, watching Jory. He'd found it helpful to stay silent around the non-angel, or she went off on tangents.
"You want to know why the family reunion didn't go so well, yes?" Jory asked, looking down at Bryn with almost hunger in her eyes. She shrugged sadly. "It's not quite so fun when the kid was two. You recall I told you you died in her world."
"Yes," Angel answered slowly. "That came up."
"Surprise, the tale doesn't just contain woe, horror, and all the other pre- watershed family stake sessions. I'll spell it out, haven't got the time to be cryptic. Bryn saw her die." Jory's tone was flat, expressionless. "Vampire. Pool of blood. The kid watched her mother tortured, and killed. About four months after, you died. None of the old pizzazz without the Slayer left. So now you know. 'Til she's over that, you're going to get nowhere with the Slayer equals Mommy kick. Bryn was able to comprehend you weren't That Daddy, you were new. But Buffy's memory, her essence, everything a kid remembers about the mother that cradled it is imprinted on Bryn's heart. With death putting a fat red 'x' through it."
She watched Angel's expression, then smiled bitterly. "Kinda makes me glad I don't know my mom. They don't tell us. They take away the memory. So you don't obsess. Bryn's memories were too deeply in there, plus, she's corporeal. PTB seem to find that a little bit wall-like when it comes to making her a Star Child. She kept some of it, not all. Patience, kinda the essence."
She stepped away, obviously readying herself to return to the other place. Angel paused, looking down at Bryn.
"Jory?"
She turned, her shape even fuzzier, blue light starting to shine through it. He frowned, puzzled.
"Why don't you visit her any more? She keeps asking for you." Jory smiled again.
"PTB. Decided I got 'attached'. I got a new assignment, new Star kid to watch out for, teach the ropes. I've been around a while, Angel. They like me to 'mentor'. So they moved me on. 'Sides," she stopped, her gaze direct. "I'm not her guardian anymore."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
The limousine gleamed as it rolled along in the neon lights. The brunette raised her eyebrows, taking it all in. She admired the champagne bottle in the holder with a dry smirk.
"Wow. Get the whole hen night set up. I appreciate the ticket out of jail, really I do, but cards like that come at a price." She ripped open a bag of peanuts, and slipped one into her mouth, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "I'm more of a 'salty' chick. I just want to know what I've got to pay, upfront."
Lindsey unlocked the briefcase perched on his knees with a small 'click', silently admiring the young woman across from him. He extracted a slim manila folder, and laid it on top of the leather briefcase.
"All it needs is a signature," he said smoothly, proffering it to Faith. Faith tossed the last of the peanuts into her mouth, and scanned the contract.
"It's got clauses," she commented, re-reading the interesting paragraph, concerning what was going on in the firm. Finally she tossed it back.
"I don't speak lawyer," she said bluntly. "What is it you want from me?"
Lindsey smiled, a hint of danger behind it. "I need an eye out. Bringing you up to speed a little. Angel has taken over Wolfram and Hart. A few of us have decided that non-evil isn't as profitable as evil was. I don't need a lawyer, but I do need someone to cover my back. I heard you were the right person?" he raised an eyebrow questioningly. Faith cocked her head on one side.
"I do get a kick ass apartment, right?"
Lindsey smiled.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ` * ~ * ` * ` ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Bryn gazed solemnly around the corner, checking the corridor for stray lawyers. Xander crunched into his snack bar unthinkingly. Spike and Bryn both stared at him accusingly, matching scowls on their faces.
"What?" Xander protested, through a mouthful of nutragious bar. "I'm hungry." Spike glanced at Bryn, and sighed.
"Did he really have to come?' he asked, seriously. "Whelp here can hardly do construction, let alone mastermind evil."
"I resent that!" Xander snapped. "I'm just as evil as you are, soul boy junior." He looked intensely satisfied with the phrase. Bryn cocked her head to one side, sizing Xander up. She straightened, and looked dead at Spike.
"He's right," she shrugged.
"Are we going to trip these lawyers or not?' Spike shot at Xander, intensely annoyed that Bryn seemed to have decided the whelp could be evil. Xander however, had a great big grin on his face that the four year old had indeed confirmed his evil-genius status. That she was a four year old had entirely passed him by.
"Trip is good," Bryn nodded. She handed Xander one end of the twine, and Spike the other. "Stretch it," she ordered, pointing to either end of the door frame. Spike raised his eyebrows.
"When did you get to be supervisor?" he asked, his blue eyes sparkling with humour. Bryn narrowed her eyes, in an uncanny resemblance to one coma-ed Seer.
"Pfft. Just do it because I said so," she stated firmly, folding her arms across her chest. Spike frowned, looking at her. Bryn smiled cryptically.
"Stretch further," Bryn commanded, her thumb edging toward her mouth. Although Hero Brynna Angel was always up for annoying-lawyer fun, she was still a little quiet from her and Buffy's introduction several hours ago. Dawn and Willow had gone to find food, while Buffy and Angel talked. Xander had found a nutragious bar, and Bryn and Spike plotting.
"What are you doing?" A woman's voice, cool and calm came fro, behind them. She was tall, and slim, with piercing blue eyes, her dark hair pulled back in a tight knot. Bryn pointed to Xander.
"He did it,' she said immediately. Xander frowned.
"How come I get blamed, not you?' he shot at Spike.
"Newcomer's privilege," the vampire shot back, with a smirk.
"Jocasta Kingston," the woman crisply introduced herself, her gaze cold on Xander and Spike. "I suggest you clear this up. The meeting will shortly be over."
Bryn stuck her tongue out at the lady's back as Jocasta Kingston walked down the hall. Spike gave a sigh.
"Come on then, kidlet. Better hand you over to Willow and Dawn."
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Spike, you can't smash anything up here," Cordelia observed, inspecting her nails, idly wondering if the astral planes could conjure up a decent pearly finish polish. The blond vampire stalked up and down, his fists clenched. Cordy watched him go, her head tilting slightly to the side, observing the benefits of leather pants. Buffy may be the ho biscuit of the undead (currently pulling the 'oh my god, I'm the mother of your child? Bat eyelashes, , but Spike's buns did look more than okay in a coating of leather.
'Spike buns. Buns of Spike. Cordelia, you so need to get laid,' she thought to herself miserably. When Casper, the annoying non corporeal vampire started looking attractive, Cordelia Chase just knew it didn't bode well.
"Well look at him!" the vampire finally exploded. "All big hair, and kicked puppy eyes. Who bloody wants to sleep with the sodding Andrex puppy?"
Wow. When 'bloody' and 'sodding' got mentioned in a half-second space, it was a meaningful moment for the vampire. Either that, or he'd partially materialised in one of Angel's pep talks to the staff.
"Why aren't you pissed?" he whipped around, folding his arms across his chest, scowling darkly. "Angel and Buffy. That never ends well. Last time, he tried to end the sodding world when they slept together."
Cordelia nodded. "Yup. They know it too. Plus, there's the whole angsty sub- tones of this little get-together. I doubt this is gonna get R-rated."
Buffy curled up on the couch, her feet tucked underneath her. Angel handed her a mug of chocolate. She sniffed, appreciatively, and smiled, shyly.
"It smells good," she said softly. "Chocolate in France is to die for, but I always missed yours." She looked down at the mug quickly, biting her lip.
Spike made a dismissive sound. "So the vampire makes hot chocolate. Just makes you fat."
"A truly romantic argument as to why she should stick to you, ghost boy," Cordelia observed from her own corner.
"We need to-" Angel dropped into an armchair, drawing it closer to the couch. The dim light of the lamp glowed softly.
"Talk?" Buffy finished for him. She smiled again bitterly, nodding. "I knew it. Nothing ever comes up without pain, or feelings, or talking."
"Yes, because you're a doomed romance," Cordelia informed her. She rolled her eyes. "Soul mates never works out. Look at Romeo and Juliet." She frowned, invisaging balcony scenes, and poetry. "Alternatively, don't."
"Why didn't you tell me, Angel?" Buffy demanded, standing up, clutching at her mug. "A word on the phone, hey, Buffy, you have a kid that you don't remember, a kid who doesn't even want you? Do I not even merit an explanation these days? God, Angel, you've had weeks, months to know her. Our daughter. I'd known about her existence five seconds, and I still don't understand how she does exist. This thing about you being human," the mug shattered in her hand under the pressure. The Slayer blinked at it a moment, a little shocked.
"I didn't know a lot," Angel interrupted. "I didn't know what she liked, what she didn't, Buffy, I ate children, I didn't look after them. I didn't know she'd seen you die," he said quietly.
"Commnence the angsty pain," Cordelia rolled her eyes once more. "You know, they should have a soundtrack. Something romantic and swell-y.. Y'know, rises up when they get all emotional and stuff."
"What would mine and Buffy's be then, love?" Spike asked lazily.
"'Oops, I did it again," Cordelia answered immediately.
Buffy's eyes filled with shock. "She saw me-' she whispered.
"Buffy, I know it's hard for you. But she's four. She has to learn to know you again, and it was a shock. For both of you," Angel said softly, taking her hand. She looked at it, a little surprised.
"Get your thieving paws off her," Spike grouched, his arms folded.
* ` * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
A/N: *sigh*. Long chapter. But plot advancement. I beg of you, review, I am up at two thirty, and I have work in less than six hours. I'm going to bed. *sigh*. However, I did a chapter for you guys, so-
REVIEW!