Disclaimer: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Angel are not mine, I'm just playing with them.
Chapter 17: Madness
The scene that Connor and Dawn flashed in on took them both by surprise. Younger Connor and Cordelia were sitting on a bed, facing each other.
It's almost as icky looking as the one we just left, Dawn thought.
She glanced at Connor for a reaction. He appeared intrigued. Dawn felt a moment of panic. What if Connor had been in love with Cordy and vice versa? It took her a minute to focus on what Cordy was saying.
"I don't know how..." Cordy began, slowly lifting the hem of her shirt.
"What?" Younger Connor asked. Cordelia reached for Younger Connor's hand, and as she pulled her shirt up a little further, placed it on her stomach. Her slightly bulgy stomach.
"We're having a baby." Cordelia replied.
"Oh, Goddess." Dawn gasped. She and Older Connor shared a look. A baby?
*
Lindsey was very glad that vampires couldn't come in without an invitation. Angel was not very happy to see him.
"What? No hug?" Lindsey taunted the brunette vamp.
"After I get through with you, there won't be anything left to hug." Angel threatened, in an Angelus-like way. "Just a blood stain and bad memory." He finished, with a smirk on his face.
"Oh, my murderous hand and I are shaking." Lindsey deadpanned.
"Invite me in, and you'll learn a new definition of murderous." Angel egged Lindsey on.
"Now, why would I do that?" Lindsey asked. "You'll spoil all the fun I'm having with your ex-girlfriend." He taunted Angel. Angel growled, vamping out.
"If you've laid a finger of that murdering hand on Buffy, they'll be picking up pieces of your body from here to what's left of Sunnydale." Angel tried to get past the barrier. The testosterone war was interrupted by a female voice.
"What the hell is going on here?" Buffy demanded, extremely irate. Lindsey and Angel turned to look in her direction. Clearly, the petite slayer was pissed. "You two know each other. Figures. One more fabulous cosmic act that ranks right up there with Jen and Ben in 'Gigli'." She said, her tone sarcastic. Buffy sighed, running a hand through her hair. "You, invite him in." She pointed at Lindsey. "You. Shut up and get over it." Buffy said to Angel. Both of them opened their mouths to reply, but closed them when she gave them each a scathing look. Lindsey admitted defeat.
"Come in." He murmured. Angel hesitated, then crossed the threshold. In seconds, he held Lindsey in a death grip. Buffy wrenched them apart.
"We don't have time for this!" She shouted. "I don't care what your history is. Your son..." Buffy began, stressing the word son, "and my sister are in some kind of whacked out magic coma, and all you two want is to have a pissing contest!" Buffy exclaimed. Angel's face abruptly changed at the mention of Connor.
"Is he all right?" Angel wanted to know. "Where is he?"
"In the other room." Buffy answered. She motioned for him to follow. Lindsey trailed behind them, rubbing his neck. "I've called Willow, and she'll be here as soon as the coven in Devon can teleport her in." She filled them in. Buffy opened the door to Lindsey's study, and what it revealed shocked Angel. His son, and Dawn were unconscious, lying intertwined with each other, their hands clasped together. They were amid a large circle of candles, and the flickering flames caused unnatural shadows to bounce across the walls.
Spike was kneeling next to the circle, the look on his face intense as he stared down at Dawn. His 'Bit. He reached out a hand to touch her, but Buffy grabbed his hand before he could.
"Don't." She said gently. "Willow said not to touch them. We could get drawn into the spell." Buffy explained. The four of them stared silently at the couple on the floor, willing them to wake up.
*
Connor and Dawn flashed in abruptly. Dawn steadied herself by grabbing Connor's arm. Little tingles ran through her fingertips, and they shared a look of longing. Connor covered her hand with his, and leaned forward.
An agonized scream got their attention. Cordelia lay in the middle of the floor, on a pile of blankets, gripping the sides of her stomach.
"Oh, Goddess, Connor." Dawn gasped. "She's in labor." Older Connor just blinked, but didn't reply. Younger Connor entered the room then, dragging a sobbing young girl by her bound hands behind him. She was dressed in white, and it was obvious that she was an innocent. Cordelia cackled with glee, as she urged Younger Connor to kill the girl. Both Dawn and Older Connor's mouths dropped open.
"Please tell me you didn't." Dawn whispered.
"I don't remember." Was all Older Connor could manage.
Younger Connor struggled with killing the girl and reason became clear. Darla was standing before him, dressed in white as well. Older Connor had a death grip on Dawn's hand. They watched in silence as Darla urged Younger Connor not to do it. Cordelia twisted everything Darla said with an evil laugh, in between labor pains.
It was too much for him, Dawn realized, as she watched Connor's younger self struggle with the decision. Cordy would win. He would kill the girl.
"You killed her." Dawn said, her voice devoid of emotion. Older Connor glanced at her sharply.
"I...How do you know?" Older Connor asked, hoping it wasn't true.
"You can see the defeat in his eyes...your eyes." Dawn replied. "I don't want to see this." She went on, her voice monotonous. Older Connor pulled her to him, and she hid her head in the crook of his neck, her tears soaking his shirt. Moments later, Connor was happy to see that Cordelia was tired of his waffling, and killed the girl herself. He watched as coated his hand in the girl's blood. Younger Connor placed his blood-soaked hand on Cordy's belly, and as a bright light exploded from it, Angel entered the room. He and Younger Connor fought, but it was to no avail. A bright light exploded from Cordelia's stomach, and disappeared as a being took its place. They got one look at her, and then Dawn and Older Connor flashed out of the room.
*
Buffy found Angel sitting in the corner, keeping vigil over Dawn and Connor. She'd long ago sent Lindsey out the room. The tension between Angel and the southern brunette was nearly palpable, and Buffy couldn't deal with it and the mess her sister was in at the same time. Spike was out there too, unable to sit still. She placed her hand on Angel's arm, getting his attention. He looked up at her, his eyes shining.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked, settling down next to him.
"I just got him back." Angel began. "I don't want to loose him again."
"Dawn just doesn't think sometimes." Buffy replied.
"Don't blame her. They both made a mistake." Angel said, putting a comforting arm around the blonde slayer. Buffy smiled a small smile.
"Who would've thought that your son and my sister would end up like this?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah." Angel smiled. "The next thing you know, they'll be dating." He went on. They shared a smile, and as their eyes met, it became a little charged.
"It just figures." Buffy spoke quietly. "After everything that happened with us..." she trailed off.
"Yeah." Angel agreed. "It figures." An awkward silence filled the room, each of them unwilling to look away from the other. He reached out a hand, and his thumb stroked her cheek gently.
Buffy inhaled sharply as his hand touched her face. Speechless, she just stared at him.
*
Connor and Dawn appeared in the middle of some no-name L.A. street. Everywhere they looked, there was chaos and destruction. Explosions rocked the air, and fire burned as far as the eye could see. In the middle of all this mess, Dawn realized that Angel was fighting someone.
"He's fighting your daughter." Dawn pointed in Angel's direction.
"She's not my daughter." Older Connor denied. "I don't know what she is, but she's not human." He said.
"She may not be human, but she's still your daughter." Dawn reminded him. He went silent.
After a few more minutes of the fight, Connor's younger self appeared. His daughter appealed to him, and he responded by emotionlessly shoving a metal pipe through her skull. Dawn's stomach rolled as she registered what had happened, and desperately tried not to loose her lunch.
"I killed her." Older Connor said, staring in disbelief. His younger self ran off, and Angel frantically called after him. Dawn had no time to get her bearings before she and Older Connor flashed out again.
*
"I think my cookies are nearly done." Buffy said. It was the first thing that popped into her head. Angel wasted no time, cutting her off before she was finished speaking. He kissed her roughly, and Buffy felt her insides melt. His hands tangled in her hair and her hands latched around his neck. For a moment, they were mindless of the situation Dawn and Connor were in. For a moment, they lost track of their surroundings. They broke apart gasping, Buffy staring at Angel.
"I love you, Buffy." Angel choked out. "I tried not to, but I can't stop." Tears formed in Buffy's eyes at the familiar declaration of love. He'd said the same thing the night of her seventeenth birthday, and it was something she would never forget.
"I...Oh, God, Angel." Buffy couldn't put together a coherent reply.
*
This time when they flashed in, Connor and Dawn weren't sure what to expect. What they found was beyond even their ability to believe.
"I've gone mad." Older Connor whispered, as he watched his younger self attach bombs to the people he held hostage. He gripped Dawn's hand. She slipped a comforting arm around his waist. Dawn noticed the arrival of Angel, but Older Connor didn't. He was too busy staring at what his younger self had become. Empty, cold, and violent. Was he really all those things? Had he ever known real love? Or was it all just implanted in his brain?
Dawn watched as Angel and Younger Connor exchanged barbs, and then proceeded to fight. When Cordelia's comatose form was revealed, Dawn was sure Angel was going to seriously harm his son. The fought for a few more minutes, and suddenly, Angel had Younger Connor pinned to the floor. Dawn and Older Connor held their breath as they waited to see what Angel would do. Suddenly, the room flashed white, and they disappeared.