Hey, just a note to clarify this is definitely BA don't worry about that, but hmm… no I won't say more than that, just read it, and also near the end you may notice something and think it's a mistake, but it's not. Hmm… maybe you won't notice it anyway, so qudos if you do… okay really off-topic now.
Weasy
Part Two-
//We were so strong, Where did it all go wrong?
So tell me why, I'm swimming against the tide?
And I'm praying for my life back
'Cos I'm losing you//
Losing You - Busted
Cordelia wandered through Sunnydale; grateful for the pink rays of dawn on the horizon that was keeping the bad guys away. A quick visit to her old house had reassured her that if nothing else in this world was consistent, the IRS was. She had virtually no money, a quick search of her clothes told her she had no cell-phone either, she had no idea where she was living. She knew Willow and Buffy were living at UC Sunnydale in her world, but here she had been told that Willow had not gone to UCS, Cordelia quickly deduced without Buffy she must have gone to some other University. The whole thing sucked, without Willow, and with Giles thinking she was crazy she had no idea how to put everything back.
She knew Buffy had gone to Hemery in LA but when she'd called them from a payphone they refused to tell her anything but that she hadn't graduated last year. Her last hope was a demon bar she'd often heard discussion of 'Willie's'. The whole problem with that was that she'd never been there and consequently didn't know where it was.
Xander had returned, freshly changed into his normal jeans and a brightly coloured shirt, having had no luck in finding Cordelia. Sighing Giles poured himself another cup of tea and let his fingers linger over the phone.
"I guess we'd better warn this Buffy girl that a crazy slayer is heading her way." Xander cued, and Giles nodded finally picking up the handset.
"The problem is," Giles replied, "I have no idea how to explain it, without sounding crazy myself."
"Always a challenge." Xander agreed, "I'm gunna go get Oz and see if he can help track her with his wolfie nose."
"Good idea." Giles sighed, before dialling the required digits into the phone he watched as Xander left. "Hello, I'd like the number of Buffy Summers… No, I'm afraid I don't know the area, just give me the number of all the Buffy Summers in California, please." He waited for a moment, before scribbling something down on the paper in front of him. "Yes, that certainly is helpful… ahuh, yes it is an unusual name." Letting the phone drop back into its receiver with a click he took a moment to study the number in front of him. Helpfully there was only one Buffy Summers in the whole of California. Picking up the handset again he began to dial.
She found Willie's eventually, a ramshackle establishment catering primarily to the demon underworld, but assorted other criminals as well, and Cordy loathed to enter, the feeling of the eyes of all the regulars on her was akin bugs crawling over her skin.
"Slayer!" Willie greeted her in a loud voice, approaching the bar Cordy kept a reasonable half a meter away from it, fear of catching hepatitis preventing her from touching anything.
She nodded in greeting. "Where's Angel?" She demanded in her best menacing voice.
"Don't know no Angel." Willie shrugged eyes dancing over the regulars who had shrunk back into their seats.
"Why don't I believe you?" She tried.
Willie shrugged nervously again before leaning forward. "Ask Spike." He muttered.
"Fine." She sighed. "Where's Spike?"
Willie shrugged, "He should be back from LA, probably went to the Bronze to hunt." His eyes went wide. "I mean… to er, dance and sing… 'cos he's just that kind of vamp…"
Not knowing what to say to that Cordy just left, she didn't see why it should be shocking to the Slayer that Spike was going to kill people that was what he normally did. Sighing to herself she headed to the Bronze and hoped it was still open, 'cos at least she knew where that was.
"Buffy Summers?"
"Yep." Buffy replied curling up on the sofa in her new apartment she yawned a little, having been woken by the phone ringing at this deeply early hour, she glared at the flashing video clock that read five thirty. "What's the emergency?"
"My name is Rupert Giles, You won't-"
"Oh, hey," Buffy replied, "Hang on - I've got a message for you somewhere."
Giles paused. "I'm sorry I don't…"
"No, it's not from me, you see I only just moved back to LA a couple of weeks ago, before then I was working on a case in New York and I met a certain red headed Wicca who holds you in very high esteem."
"Willow? How is she?" Giles enquired.
"She's doing great, well… great once we vanquished the demon from quor'toth that was attacking her hall, she was doing pretty well on her own though, she kept anyone from getting hurt 'til we could deal with it." Buffy laughed at some private memory and Giles wondered what it might have been.
"I take it you're aware of the preternatural then?"
"Quite definitely, is there something you'd like help with?"
"Perhaps, if you've met Willow she might have told you about Cordelia… the Vampire Slayer?"
"The name rings a bell."
"Well, I believe her to have been infected by some kind demonic poison, she firmly believes that you were intended to be the Slayer instead of her… anyway, she left my house last night quite irrational and looking for you."
"That's kinda weird, given that I've never met her. Well, thanks for the heads up, if she turns up what do you want me to do?"
"Well… bring her back here." Giles finally decided leaving an address he paused before hanging off, "You don't happen to know some person called Angel as well?"
Buffy laughed, "As it happens, he's my husband, do you want to speak with him?"
"No, no… it's quite alright, but perhaps you should bring him with you when you bring Cordelia."
"Sure thing…" The conversation wrapped itself up and Buffy hung up the receiver, smiling quietly to herself as Angel handed her a cup of extra strong coffee, before sitting down beside her and settling his sleep-filled gaze on her. She curled into his side and kissed his chest before sipping her coffee.
"What's going on?" Angel asked, pressing a kiss into her blonde hair as they watched the sun rising on the horizon.
"Possible trip to Sunnydale."
"Hmm… really?" He muttered as he hands began to skim down his wife's body.
"Not for a while yet." Buffy reassured him, and putting her drink on the side she shifted to straddle Angel's lap, and seized his mouth in hot kisses.
It was a while before Cordy found Spike, and as soon as she did she wished she'd brought a weapon with her… not that she really knew how to use any of them… but Spike wouldn't have known that. Spike for his part didn't seem very interested in attacking her, instead he was leering at her suggestively, trying to ignore this, Cordy ploughed on with her task.
"Where's Angel?" She demanded.
Spike shrugged, "In LA… shagging his girl, I s'pect."
Cordy blinked, "Shagging? Oh dear god. This world just gets crappier and crappier." Collapsing on the sofa next to Spike she watched as the hormonally charged residents of Sunnydale writhed on the dance floor. She never remembered the club being so busy, sighing she tried to ignore the weird itch in her belly that was making her so uncomfortable.
"What 'bout you?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.
"What?" Cordy snapped, turning to face him, she felt his hand run down her leg. "What the *hell* are you doing?" She demanded.
"Nothing I haven't before." Spike laughed, turning on her heal Cordy fled the Bronze, pushing her way through the crowds she saw blurs of fangs and red and realised with a sick lurch that the whole place was filled with vampires. Rushing out the steel door she ran through the alleyways in the morning light and was a million times grateful that Spike had allowed her to leave. She couldn't believe that this Cordy… the Cordy she was now, had slept with him, worse she'd got the vibe this morning from Xander that they were still going out. Being the Slayer appeared to have turned her into a cheating ho… but as much as she hated Buffy she knew that she wasn't like that, that she wouldn't have done that… not with Spike. Throwing a crate at the wall she watched as it splintered into a thousand pieces, propelled by her super-strength, showering her with pieces of wood, she cried out in frustration. Everything was just so wrong!
A few hours later Cordelia was wrapped in a blanket and sitting on Giles sofa sipping tea. Giles, Oz and Xander stood a little way off anxiously discussing what could be done. "She hasn't said a word since we found her just sitting in that alley."
Giles sighed, anxiously cleaning his glasses before replacing them. "This Buffy, person, whom Cordelia was raving about, she is real… and she's a demon fighter I called her earlier and she was willing to help, I think perhaps we ought to bring her here… see if she can make any sense of this, since she's clearly involved."
"And Angel?" Xander asked.
"Is her husband…" Giles shrugged. "I don't know anything more, would you help Cordelia into the spare room, she ought to get some rest if we're going to be questioning her later.
"Sure." Voicing his agreement Xander moved away and whispering something in Cordy's ear tenderly helped her up.
"Oz… I wonder if you might be able to get in touch with Willow? I think we may need her assistance." Giles asked and Oz nodded and headed for the door, silent as ever.
Picking up the phone again, Giles dialled Buffy's number again.
Hearing the shrill ring of the phone Angel groggily disentangled himself from Buffy's arms, and sat up from the floor where they had fallen asleep barely half and hour before.
"Hello?" He answered taking the phone into the kitchen he eased the door shut behind him so as not to wake Buffy up. "Angel Investigations."
"Hello, this is Rupert Giles. Is this Angel?" Giles guessed.
"Yes." Wracking his memory he recalled the name. "Is this Willow's friend Giles?"
"Yes, I spoke with Buffy earlier."
"About the Slayer, I remember." Seeing Buffy enter the room he smiled, knowing as always his attempt to allow her some sleep had failed, there was something about the bond between then that meant neither of them slept well when they were alone.
"We have located her, but whatever's wrong with her seems to be getting worse. Since Buffy offered to help earlier I thought perhaps you wouldn't mind coming down to have a look."
"Hang on." Covering the handset with one hand he turned to Buffy who was lounging on the bed beside him. "Giles wants us to come down to Sunnydale."
Buffy shrugged. "Sure, I'll go get Pike and Doyle." Rolling off the bed she opened the wardrobe and began flicking through his clothes in search of one of his silk shirts. Rolling his eyes at her obsession with his shirts Angel turned back to his conversation with Giles.
"That's fine, we'll be there in a couple of hours." After exchanging a few pleasantries Angel hung up and shook his head at Buffy who… now dressed in worn jeans, and a white tank top that left covetous inches of flesh visible between the low cut of her jeans and the bottom of the tank. One of his red silk shirts was thrown around her shoulders, and she was busy threading a similar red silk ribbon through the belt holes of the jeans.
"What?" She eventually demanded.
He sighed. "I really don't want to leave this room right now." Sauntering over she gave him a sweet kiss before turning away.
"Sorry baby. Vamps gotta do…"
Flashing into his vampiric guise he seized her and threw her onto the bed tickling her mercilessly.