CHAPTER TWO
Connor turned off the kiddie movie as soon as Fred was out of sight and found X-Men 2 on one of the premium channels Gunn kept saying they'd have to get rid of because money was tight. Kid stuff wasn't to Connor's tastes. He'd leave that to Fred who loved collecting children's books. She really loved the Dr. Seuss books and was always adding to the collection. He hated them with their silly words like the Lorax and dumb arguments about green eggs and ham. He was convinced he'd have grown up an idiot if Father had exposed him to such dribble. Still, he had to admit Hop on Pop sounded like a good idea.
He was busy trying to puzzle out the reason Rogue made him feel funny in ways he didn't understand and had never felt before when there was a noise at the door. Connor went to investigate, picking up the knife he had gifted to Gunn. When he got to the lobby, there was a stranger standing at the desk. He was a short slender man with curling brown hair and suspicious blue eyes. The stranger wore tight jeans, a bright red shirt and black boots with swirls of red and bumpy leather like he had skinned and tanned a demon for his foot wear. Connor could appreciate that. The young man took a sniff, imprinting the man's scent. It wasn't one he had come across in the hotel before. There was nothing familiar about the man and from his expression Connor figured the man wasn't expecting him.
"Since when did Angel start taking in kids?"
"Since they're his," Connor shot back, tightening the grip he had on his knife.
The man noticed and backed up a step, shaking his head. "That's not possible unless..." The man pulled a squirt gun out of the back of his blue jeans.
Connor saw the belt holster there. "If that's holy water, go ahead. I'm not a vampire. You obviously know what Angel is, I guess."
"A real bastard," the man said, squirting Connor just in case.
"No argument." Connor grinned ferally as he wiped at the wet spot over his heart. "Who are you?"
"Lindsey McDonald." He made no friendly overtures. "Can you tell Angel I'm here?"
"No Angel, he's missing," Connor replied.
"Missing?" Lindsey put away his holy water gun. "What happened?"
"No one knows." The boy's ferocious grin broadened. "Gunn and Fred are searching for him and Cordelia."
"Fred?" Connor debated for a moment about giving out more information. "Gunn's friend."
Lindsey seemed surprised. "I didn't think Gunn went in for men."
"Fred's a girl." Connor shrugged, not really getting the implication.
"Cordelia's gone, too?" Lindsey sat on the odd, round couch wearily.
"Not sure if they went together or not. They were going out on a date and disappeared," Connor said, noting the man's shock at the word, 'date.' "Why do you want to see Angel? You're not a friend or you'd know he's gone." Connor's eyes slotted suspiciously.
"You haven't told me who you are."
"Connor."
"And by some miracle, you're the son of a vampire," Lindsey said, not sounding entirely convinced.
"Yeah, lucky me." Connor padded around the room with nervous energy. "So what do you want?"
Lindsey ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I should talk to Gunn or Wes."
"Don't know a Wes." Connor shrugged. "Gunn's out."
"Just you here then?"
Connor's lip curled as he played with the knife. He didn't like all the questions. "Might as well tell me what you wanted with Angel." Connor loomed over the seated man.
Lindsey scooted to the edge of his seat so he could get an envelope out of his back pocket. He looked at it then at Connor as if judging whether or not he should say anything. "I got this letter. It's dated over a year ago. There's a little sticky note on it asking me to meet tonight at the Sagebrush. I wanted to talk to Angel and ask why she would wait a year to mail a letter and ask me to come all the way back to California. As much as I don't want to ask for Angel's help, he would know Darla better than anyone."
"Darla sent you a letter?" Connor put his knife down.
"You know her? Has she been here with Angel?" Lindsey spat that out as if it was a distasteful piece of food.
"She's dust," Connor said, his voice flat, his eyes cold.
Lindsey's mouth dropped, his lips trembling. "Dust?"
"She died giving birth to me." A hint of emotion crept into his voice.
The letter fell from Lindsey's fingers as his eyes went a little moist. He jumped to his feet. "You're Darla's son?"
"Yeah."
Lindsey crossed over to him and went to touch Connor. The boy jerked away, going for the knife. Lindsey retreated, hands up. "I won't hurt you. I just...I cared about your mother. I came back here, at great risk, to meet with her."
"What kind of person cares about a vampire?" Connor's tone stung harshly.
"She wasn't a vampire when I met her. I...it's a long story." Lindsey scooped up the letter. "How is it Darla has a teenaged son? If you came from before Wolfram and Hart brought Darla back, the firm would have known about it. There's not enough time for you to have been born after the time she left me for Angel."
"Ended up in Quor-Toth as a baby. Time moved differently there." Connor shrugged. "Guess I'd only be about eight months old now. Mother lived with you?"
"For a while. She went back to Angel. I got mad, ran him over with my truck then left town soon after," Lindsey said unapologetically, puzzling over the glee in Connor's face at his confession.
"A truck?" The boy's blue eyes danced.
Lindsey smirked. "Yeah, bashed him with a sledgehammer a few times, too. He had it coming."
"Probably."
"Here." Lindsey gave him the letter. "Not sure she'd want you to see this but maybe you ought to. I'd want to know my mother had some love in her, even if she was a vampire."
Connor took the letter and read Darla's tender words to Lindsey. His mother had spared this man out of love, out of something in her demon heart that could be touched. This wasn't the woman Holtz told him about. Of course, he didn't know if this letter was real but why would this man lie? "She didn't kill you."
"She could have easily," Lindsey assured him. "She didn't have a soul like Angel and yet she stayed with me, didn't hurt me, maybe even loved me as much as she could."
Connor wanted to ask how it could be Angel had a soul but he kept quiet. He didn't want the stranger to know he didn't know what was going on. "You loved her," he said, feeling that deep down. He heard it in Lindsey's voice but he didn't understand it.
"I did. If I had known you existed I would have..." Lindsey touched his shoulder and this time Connor allowed it. "Well, Angel probably wouldn't have let me see you."
"Don't have to worry about that now," Connor said with an enigmatic smile that made Lindsey nervous. "So you know my mother didn't send this letter. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to the club. I know someone tried to lure me there. Now I'll be ready for her," Lindsey said grimly.
"Need someone to watch your back?" Connor looked eager.
Lindsey looked at him in surprise. "You've a little young for clubbing."
"Been to them with my dad," Connor said.
Lindsey studied him, trying to weight this unknown. "Why would you want to help me?"
"You told me something about my mom I didn't know. I appreciate that." Connor smirked. "'Sides, I'm bored."
"Oh, great." Lindsey's face screwed up then he shrugged. "Sure, why not? Are you any good in a fight?"
"I said I was from Quor-Toth. Do you know what that means?"
"Wolfram and Hart had an interest in it, darkest of the dark places. Never did figure out a way there to tap into that," Lindsey admitted.
"The demons there call me the Destroyer." Connor tapped his chest proudly.
Lindsey's eyebrows lifted. "Okay, that sounds like adequate back up to me. But you need to listen to me while we're there, okay? Otherwise we might get tossed out. And I know Wolfram and Hart and I'm not sure you do."
"They've tried to kidnap me or something."
"A living child of a vampire? I'm shocked as hell you aren't in a cage somewhere with Wolfram and Hart scientists poking and prodding you." Lindsey gestured at the knife Connor still clutched. "You can't take that. They won't let us in with weapons."
Connor tossed it on the desk, grinning. "I am a weapon."
Lindsey grinned back. "Perfect."
Connor turned off the kiddie movie as soon as Fred was out of sight and found X-Men 2 on one of the premium channels Gunn kept saying they'd have to get rid of because money was tight. Kid stuff wasn't to Connor's tastes. He'd leave that to Fred who loved collecting children's books. She really loved the Dr. Seuss books and was always adding to the collection. He hated them with their silly words like the Lorax and dumb arguments about green eggs and ham. He was convinced he'd have grown up an idiot if Father had exposed him to such dribble. Still, he had to admit Hop on Pop sounded like a good idea.
He was busy trying to puzzle out the reason Rogue made him feel funny in ways he didn't understand and had never felt before when there was a noise at the door. Connor went to investigate, picking up the knife he had gifted to Gunn. When he got to the lobby, there was a stranger standing at the desk. He was a short slender man with curling brown hair and suspicious blue eyes. The stranger wore tight jeans, a bright red shirt and black boots with swirls of red and bumpy leather like he had skinned and tanned a demon for his foot wear. Connor could appreciate that. The young man took a sniff, imprinting the man's scent. It wasn't one he had come across in the hotel before. There was nothing familiar about the man and from his expression Connor figured the man wasn't expecting him.
"Since when did Angel start taking in kids?"
"Since they're his," Connor shot back, tightening the grip he had on his knife.
The man noticed and backed up a step, shaking his head. "That's not possible unless..." The man pulled a squirt gun out of the back of his blue jeans.
Connor saw the belt holster there. "If that's holy water, go ahead. I'm not a vampire. You obviously know what Angel is, I guess."
"A real bastard," the man said, squirting Connor just in case.
"No argument." Connor grinned ferally as he wiped at the wet spot over his heart. "Who are you?"
"Lindsey McDonald." He made no friendly overtures. "Can you tell Angel I'm here?"
"No Angel, he's missing," Connor replied.
"Missing?" Lindsey put away his holy water gun. "What happened?"
"No one knows." The boy's ferocious grin broadened. "Gunn and Fred are searching for him and Cordelia."
"Fred?" Connor debated for a moment about giving out more information. "Gunn's friend."
Lindsey seemed surprised. "I didn't think Gunn went in for men."
"Fred's a girl." Connor shrugged, not really getting the implication.
"Cordelia's gone, too?" Lindsey sat on the odd, round couch wearily.
"Not sure if they went together or not. They were going out on a date and disappeared," Connor said, noting the man's shock at the word, 'date.' "Why do you want to see Angel? You're not a friend or you'd know he's gone." Connor's eyes slotted suspiciously.
"You haven't told me who you are."
"Connor."
"And by some miracle, you're the son of a vampire," Lindsey said, not sounding entirely convinced.
"Yeah, lucky me." Connor padded around the room with nervous energy. "So what do you want?"
Lindsey ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe I should talk to Gunn or Wes."
"Don't know a Wes." Connor shrugged. "Gunn's out."
"Just you here then?"
Connor's lip curled as he played with the knife. He didn't like all the questions. "Might as well tell me what you wanted with Angel." Connor loomed over the seated man.
Lindsey scooted to the edge of his seat so he could get an envelope out of his back pocket. He looked at it then at Connor as if judging whether or not he should say anything. "I got this letter. It's dated over a year ago. There's a little sticky note on it asking me to meet tonight at the Sagebrush. I wanted to talk to Angel and ask why she would wait a year to mail a letter and ask me to come all the way back to California. As much as I don't want to ask for Angel's help, he would know Darla better than anyone."
"Darla sent you a letter?" Connor put his knife down.
"You know her? Has she been here with Angel?" Lindsey spat that out as if it was a distasteful piece of food.
"She's dust," Connor said, his voice flat, his eyes cold.
Lindsey's mouth dropped, his lips trembling. "Dust?"
"She died giving birth to me." A hint of emotion crept into his voice.
The letter fell from Lindsey's fingers as his eyes went a little moist. He jumped to his feet. "You're Darla's son?"
"Yeah."
Lindsey crossed over to him and went to touch Connor. The boy jerked away, going for the knife. Lindsey retreated, hands up. "I won't hurt you. I just...I cared about your mother. I came back here, at great risk, to meet with her."
"What kind of person cares about a vampire?" Connor's tone stung harshly.
"She wasn't a vampire when I met her. I...it's a long story." Lindsey scooped up the letter. "How is it Darla has a teenaged son? If you came from before Wolfram and Hart brought Darla back, the firm would have known about it. There's not enough time for you to have been born after the time she left me for Angel."
"Ended up in Quor-Toth as a baby. Time moved differently there." Connor shrugged. "Guess I'd only be about eight months old now. Mother lived with you?"
"For a while. She went back to Angel. I got mad, ran him over with my truck then left town soon after," Lindsey said unapologetically, puzzling over the glee in Connor's face at his confession.
"A truck?" The boy's blue eyes danced.
Lindsey smirked. "Yeah, bashed him with a sledgehammer a few times, too. He had it coming."
"Probably."
"Here." Lindsey gave him the letter. "Not sure she'd want you to see this but maybe you ought to. I'd want to know my mother had some love in her, even if she was a vampire."
Connor took the letter and read Darla's tender words to Lindsey. His mother had spared this man out of love, out of something in her demon heart that could be touched. This wasn't the woman Holtz told him about. Of course, he didn't know if this letter was real but why would this man lie? "She didn't kill you."
"She could have easily," Lindsey assured him. "She didn't have a soul like Angel and yet she stayed with me, didn't hurt me, maybe even loved me as much as she could."
Connor wanted to ask how it could be Angel had a soul but he kept quiet. He didn't want the stranger to know he didn't know what was going on. "You loved her," he said, feeling that deep down. He heard it in Lindsey's voice but he didn't understand it.
"I did. If I had known you existed I would have..." Lindsey touched his shoulder and this time Connor allowed it. "Well, Angel probably wouldn't have let me see you."
"Don't have to worry about that now," Connor said with an enigmatic smile that made Lindsey nervous. "So you know my mother didn't send this letter. What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to the club. I know someone tried to lure me there. Now I'll be ready for her," Lindsey said grimly.
"Need someone to watch your back?" Connor looked eager.
Lindsey looked at him in surprise. "You've a little young for clubbing."
"Been to them with my dad," Connor said.
Lindsey studied him, trying to weight this unknown. "Why would you want to help me?"
"You told me something about my mom I didn't know. I appreciate that." Connor smirked. "'Sides, I'm bored."
"Oh, great." Lindsey's face screwed up then he shrugged. "Sure, why not? Are you any good in a fight?"
"I said I was from Quor-Toth. Do you know what that means?"
"Wolfram and Hart had an interest in it, darkest of the dark places. Never did figure out a way there to tap into that," Lindsey admitted.
"The demons there call me the Destroyer." Connor tapped his chest proudly.
Lindsey's eyebrows lifted. "Okay, that sounds like adequate back up to me. But you need to listen to me while we're there, okay? Otherwise we might get tossed out. And I know Wolfram and Hart and I'm not sure you do."
"They've tried to kidnap me or something."
"A living child of a vampire? I'm shocked as hell you aren't in a cage somewhere with Wolfram and Hart scientists poking and prodding you." Lindsey gestured at the knife Connor still clutched. "You can't take that. They won't let us in with weapons."
Connor tossed it on the desk, grinning. "I am a weapon."
Lindsey grinned back. "Perfect."