Catching Up
Across town Kate and Angel sat in a different bar. This one was also dark and smoky. Kate had decided she needed a beer to calm her nerves. She couldn't believe she was finally seeing Angel again after all these years. The waitress approached the table, and Angel's less then pleasant mood caused her to address Kate.
"What can I get you?"
"A beer for me…Angel?"
"Yeah, sure why not?"
"A Miller Lite and a Guiness, on my tab please."
The waitress left to get their drinks. There was an awkward silence before Kate spoke.
"Angel, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I never meant to leave the way I did. But I was confused and angry. I just wanted to get away from Los Angeles."
"Don't you mean get away from me?" Angel spat.
"No! Well, okay, I was a little freaked out…you know…about my feelings for you."
"Feelings? What feelings?"
"Angel, come on, there was something…at least for a while…an attraction at the least."
"Well, yeah, I mean I guess there was some chemistry."
"Angel, I was attracted to a vampire. Do you know how hard that is? Soul or no soul, you are still a demon."
"Well it never bothered Buffy, or Cordelia, or any number of women," Angel countered defensively.
"Their fathers' weren't killed by a vampire."
"Okay, I guess I can see your point there."
The waitress brought the beers. Kate and Angel sat there sipping on them quietly for a few moments.
"That night you saved my life was the scariest night of my life. Before I knew what I was doing I packed a bag and left. I just left. I didn't know where I was going. All I knew was L.A. was hell on earth for me and I never wanted to see it again."
"And me? Did you ever think about picking up the phone? Or writing a letter? I spent months searching for you. I was so afraid something had happened to you. That you had done something to yourself…" That night was frightening for Angel as well. The night Kate tried to take her own life. Had he gotten there only a few moments later, the pills and vodka would have won. Kate would be dead.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to deal with that life anymore. I just wanted a fresh start. And I had it. A nice, normal, supernatural free existence. Then I came here and it's all starting up again. So went to Minnesota, I mean, what could be more normal then the Midwest? I found what I was looking for, I found peace."
"If your life was so great there why did you move here?"
"Ever been to Minnesota in January? Look, Minneapolis was nice and normal, but I needed more excitement. When I heard about the job here, I decided to take it."
"Hmmm…I see." Angel took another sip of his beer. Kate waited for him to say something, but he didn't. The silence was too unbearable, she had to say something.
"Angel, what is going on? Why is Las Vegas suddenly a big place for evil?"
"Come on Kate, Vegas has always been a mecca for evil, but usually it's the human kind. Nothing of this proportion though. With a new hellmouth opening things are going to get pretty interesting around here. It's going to be bloody and messy and scary." Angel paused to see Kate's reaction. "So are you going to run again?"
"No," Kate quickly answered, "this time, I'm staying…to fight the good fight. I didn't understand that before, but I do now." Those words rung in Angel's ears, it was exactly the same thing Doyle said before he died. Those words caused Angel to soften a little.
"Good. Because we are going to need all the help we can get."
Kate and Angel slowly fell into an easy conversation. Angel updated Kate on everything that had happened after she left. How he and Darla bore a son, Connor, who was subsequently kidnapped by his mortal enemy and raised in a hell dimension, only to come back an angry teenager hell bent on killing Angel. He told her how he realized his love for Cordelia but couldn't get to her in time to tell her. About Cordelia becoming a goddess and existing on a higher plane, about not having her memory when she finally came back. He explained how Cordy and Connor hooked up and became pregnant with a demon goddess. He told her about Cordy going into a coma and then dying, or so he thought. And he told her about Wolfram & Hart.
"So let me get this straight," a confused Kate interrupted, "you stopped this Jasmine from taking over the world, so the Senior Partners gave you Wolfram & Hart. Your mortal enemies just gave you their company? That doesn't make any sense."
"It did once we realized it was just a ploy to distract us from the Apocalypse. See by having our hands full, then dividing us, killing Cordelia and Fred, and all the other problems, we were weakened and vulnerable. What a perfect time to end the world. Really it was a brilliant strategy if you think about it…and you're evil."
"But you beat them. How?"
"Easy, we used the Senior Partner's own liaison to get to them. And we destroyed them. No Senior Partners, no Wolfram & Hart. We found where they had been keeping Fred and Cordelia's souls captive and got them back."
"Are they all right?"
"Well, Cordelia is a little ticked off that I didn't find her sooner. She said I should have known that she would never leave me…."
"So, are you two still in love?"
"Yes, more then I ever thought possible," Angel answered quietly. "It's weird, I always thought Buffy would be the only girl I ever loved. But she was a girl when I was with her. Even though I'm centuries older then her, it was a high school love. With Cordy, we were friends first, the love came later."
"I see." Kate sighed. It's just as well, things would have never worked between her and Angel. There was too much history and baggage there. Kate and Angel finished their beers and talked about what the next plan of attack was. They parted ways a half hour later. Kate went home to sleep before her next shift. Angel went home to face the wrath of Cordelia.
Across town Kate and Angel sat in a different bar. This one was also dark and smoky. Kate had decided she needed a beer to calm her nerves. She couldn't believe she was finally seeing Angel again after all these years. The waitress approached the table, and Angel's less then pleasant mood caused her to address Kate.
"What can I get you?"
"A beer for me…Angel?"
"Yeah, sure why not?"
"A Miller Lite and a Guiness, on my tab please."
The waitress left to get their drinks. There was an awkward silence before Kate spoke.
"Angel, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I never meant to leave the way I did. But I was confused and angry. I just wanted to get away from Los Angeles."
"Don't you mean get away from me?" Angel spat.
"No! Well, okay, I was a little freaked out…you know…about my feelings for you."
"Feelings? What feelings?"
"Angel, come on, there was something…at least for a while…an attraction at the least."
"Well, yeah, I mean I guess there was some chemistry."
"Angel, I was attracted to a vampire. Do you know how hard that is? Soul or no soul, you are still a demon."
"Well it never bothered Buffy, or Cordelia, or any number of women," Angel countered defensively.
"Their fathers' weren't killed by a vampire."
"Okay, I guess I can see your point there."
The waitress brought the beers. Kate and Angel sat there sipping on them quietly for a few moments.
"That night you saved my life was the scariest night of my life. Before I knew what I was doing I packed a bag and left. I just left. I didn't know where I was going. All I knew was L.A. was hell on earth for me and I never wanted to see it again."
"And me? Did you ever think about picking up the phone? Or writing a letter? I spent months searching for you. I was so afraid something had happened to you. That you had done something to yourself…" That night was frightening for Angel as well. The night Kate tried to take her own life. Had he gotten there only a few moments later, the pills and vodka would have won. Kate would be dead.
"I know, and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to deal with that life anymore. I just wanted a fresh start. And I had it. A nice, normal, supernatural free existence. Then I came here and it's all starting up again. So went to Minnesota, I mean, what could be more normal then the Midwest? I found what I was looking for, I found peace."
"If your life was so great there why did you move here?"
"Ever been to Minnesota in January? Look, Minneapolis was nice and normal, but I needed more excitement. When I heard about the job here, I decided to take it."
"Hmmm…I see." Angel took another sip of his beer. Kate waited for him to say something, but he didn't. The silence was too unbearable, she had to say something.
"Angel, what is going on? Why is Las Vegas suddenly a big place for evil?"
"Come on Kate, Vegas has always been a mecca for evil, but usually it's the human kind. Nothing of this proportion though. With a new hellmouth opening things are going to get pretty interesting around here. It's going to be bloody and messy and scary." Angel paused to see Kate's reaction. "So are you going to run again?"
"No," Kate quickly answered, "this time, I'm staying…to fight the good fight. I didn't understand that before, but I do now." Those words rung in Angel's ears, it was exactly the same thing Doyle said before he died. Those words caused Angel to soften a little.
"Good. Because we are going to need all the help we can get."
Kate and Angel slowly fell into an easy conversation. Angel updated Kate on everything that had happened after she left. How he and Darla bore a son, Connor, who was subsequently kidnapped by his mortal enemy and raised in a hell dimension, only to come back an angry teenager hell bent on killing Angel. He told her how he realized his love for Cordelia but couldn't get to her in time to tell her. About Cordelia becoming a goddess and existing on a higher plane, about not having her memory when she finally came back. He explained how Cordy and Connor hooked up and became pregnant with a demon goddess. He told her about Cordy going into a coma and then dying, or so he thought. And he told her about Wolfram & Hart.
"So let me get this straight," a confused Kate interrupted, "you stopped this Jasmine from taking over the world, so the Senior Partners gave you Wolfram & Hart. Your mortal enemies just gave you their company? That doesn't make any sense."
"It did once we realized it was just a ploy to distract us from the Apocalypse. See by having our hands full, then dividing us, killing Cordelia and Fred, and all the other problems, we were weakened and vulnerable. What a perfect time to end the world. Really it was a brilliant strategy if you think about it…and you're evil."
"But you beat them. How?"
"Easy, we used the Senior Partner's own liaison to get to them. And we destroyed them. No Senior Partners, no Wolfram & Hart. We found where they had been keeping Fred and Cordelia's souls captive and got them back."
"Are they all right?"
"Well, Cordelia is a little ticked off that I didn't find her sooner. She said I should have known that she would never leave me…."
"So, are you two still in love?"
"Yes, more then I ever thought possible," Angel answered quietly. "It's weird, I always thought Buffy would be the only girl I ever loved. But she was a girl when I was with her. Even though I'm centuries older then her, it was a high school love. With Cordy, we were friends first, the love came later."
"I see." Kate sighed. It's just as well, things would have never worked between her and Angel. There was too much history and baggage there. Kate and Angel finished their beers and talked about what the next plan of attack was. They parted ways a half hour later. Kate went home to sleep before her next shift. Angel went home to face the wrath of Cordelia.