Kinda took the Dawns appearance in photos to explain Conner's absence in Cordelias.

Previously: Cordelia has came around and has started to remember what happened before she went into her coma. The only person she turned to was Wesley, seeking forgiveness and answers.

Tripping Down Memory Lane

"Yes, that's right. I would like all of Miss Chases' belongings to be sent to my apartment." He listened further into the receiver. "Yes, anytime tonight will be fine." Wesley looked up as someone entered his office. He covered the microphone on the telephone. "Hello Gunn." Wesley nodded again. "Thank-You for all your help." He replaced the receiver. "What's wrong Gunn?"

"Nothing, thought I would just remind you of the meeting. Who was on the phone?" Gunn sat in the corner seat.

"No one. Just a supplier about some texts I wanted sent over from England." He lied. "Right, I'm ready."

They walked in silence along the corridor with everyone smiling and nodding to them as they passed. When they reached the Boardroom, everyone was waiting for them. Angel's head rose as Wesley walked into the room, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Wesley. Have you been to visit Cordelia recently?"

Wesley covered his surprise well. "Yes, yesterday, to try an new spell. I'm afraid to say, it didn't work but I am still trying."

Angel stared at him briefly before apparently letting it slide. "OK, there's a lot to discuss…"

Cordelia allowed the doorman to escort her up to Wesley's penthouse apartment. He handed her a spare key and left her to make her own way in. Cordelia wasn't sure what she expected when she opened the front door to the apartment but what she saw wasn't what she anticipated. The front room was sunny and airy, a beautiful buttermilk on the wall. There were lots of photos. Some of people from his past, a photo of Faith and Buffy together, but when it was taken she wasn't sure. There were also photos of the A.I group; one of the night of the ballet, Angel looking handsome and Wesley behind the camera. One was of Fred in a lab, the one at Wolfram and Hart she guessed. The last one she came to was the one that filled her heart with joy. It was a photo of just her and Wes in the park when they went to get ice cream. Gunn took it, about 3 weeks after Angel had sacked them. Her stomach grumbled reminding her that she hadn't eaten in 6 months. She passed by an office in her search for the kitchen. On his desk sat a memo, from Harmony. Cordelia stifled a laugh. Maybe it shouldn't surprise her that Harmony had found a place in the evil law firm.

The kitchen was surprising well stocked. Wesley didn't seem a big fan of cooking but then again that could also have changed, she didn't know. After preparing an omelette, she sat down in the living room and contemplated what her next move should be. Angel would find out soon enough that Cordelia was no longer in a coma and wasn't even at the hospital any more. He would come looking for her, maybe, and she didn't want to have to put Wesley through the ordeal of lying to his friend.

Angel sprung to her mind, as she thought he would. Times flashed through her head of when Angel had always been there for her. The time he had been sitting by her bed, waiting for her to wake up from Skip's journey. He had held her hand so tight she could almost feel it through her consciousness. The look on his face when the never ending visions had left her head, when the demon had cursed her. He had always been there when she woke up, except this time. Had what she done really be that bad?

She sat there thinking of Angel until it went dark and the ringing of the doorbell brought her out of dream world. Cordelia wiped the tear away from her cheek and made for the door. She peeked through the peephole to see a well-built man with a clipboard.

"Miss Chase? We're Vorex, the storage company. Mr. Wyndham-Price asked us to bring your items to you. If you could just sign here and we'll start moving it in."

Cordelia scribbled on the delivery note and the boxes started to appear. "How many boxes are there?"

"Only 5, about the size of a tea chest."

Cordelia nodded dutiful. Her entire life packed into 5 tea chests. She wondered who had packed her things up, if they had gone through everything or if the movers had. The boxes were stacked for her in the spare room and left for her to unpack. It brought back the terrible memories of when she had unpacked on arriving in LA. It was only one bag and that had made her cry even more. Most of her old clothes had been sold and so had most of her belongings. The first crate she opened contained her photos. She smiled at the pictures that had charted her life. There were ones of Xander, them together and then the ones of Angel Investigations. They were smiling in the pictures, most of them just randomly shot. That was how it meant to be; smiles and laughter. Cordelia studied some of the pictures of her and Angel, most of them looked like he was cradling something and she was looking down at his arms, but there was nothing there. They were peculiar pictures. She ran her fingers over the picture of Angel and herself just before they went to the ballet. They were smiling at each other, happy, caught unawares. A tear trickled down her cheek. The sound of keys in the door distracted her.

"Cordelia? I'm home." Wesley called out as he entered the flat. He seen the delivery note on the coffee table in the living room and headed for the spare room. "I see you got your things from…" He saw the tears on her cheek. "Heavens Cordelia, what's wrong?" He saw the picture in her hand and put a comforting arm on her shoulders.

"Do you ever think that we'll be that happy again?"

Wesley considered her question. "To be honest Cordelia, I don't really know. So much has happened to us all and I think the decision to move Wolfram and Hart may bring us all back together again as a team."

"Or break us. I'm still trying to understand the whole Lets-Join-The-Enemy. Has Angel taken to it OK. You know how our 250+ year old Vampire hates change."

"They have excellent resources though Cordelia, we can help so many people en-mass."

"Answer the question Wes. Is Angel OK?"

Wesley ran his finger around his collar in discomfort. "He hasn't been OK since you went into a coma. So it would be hard to tell if it was the change to Wolfram and Hart or you missing from our lives that has made him the way he is."

"How is he?"

"Angel has changed in attitude. He is regressed into his Sunnydale persona. Broody, less approachable, especially since the day we signed on the Wolfram and Hart. Something seems to be missing from him. You know when you lose your keys down a drain, you know that you aren't going to get them back but you still keep looking at the drain every time you pass it, just in case."

"Way to go with the analogy Wes. Why didn't he come and visit me? When I was in that hospital?"

Wesley couldn't look her in the face. "It was too painful Cordelia. He loved you and to see you in that state without being able to do something crushed him. He saw you before they took you to Dunstaffnage and he came back harrowed and sat in the dark for 3 days. He knew you were being well looked after and he received reports on you every week. We really didn't have much hope for your condition."

She simply nodded. "I think I'll go and see him tomorrow. When would be the best time? Does he sleep at Wolfram and Hart? Does he still patrol or does he had goons now to do that for him."

"He has an apartment not far from here and he still patrols at night. He'll be in the office at sunset tomorrow. We have an important contract signing at mid-night. He'll be in to finalise the details. Are you sure you're ready?"

"I have to see him at some point and I don't want you to have to lie to him. Eventually he'll find out that I've left the hospital. Will you come with me? I mean just to his office. I don't know how I feel about going into that building alone."

He smiled and pulled her up from the floor. "Of course I will."

"Thank-you Wes. What would I have done without you? Never thought we'd be here like this."

"Fate moves in very funny ways, and not in a ha ha sense."

They walked off to the kitchen, clattering dishes, as Cordelia's first real meal in 6 months was prepared.

Next Morning

Cordelia stood in front of the mirrored wardrobes, agonising over what to wear. She wanted to make an impression but not look as if she made an effort. She wasn't that person anymore, she didn't need to hide behind her looks. She settled for a cornflower blue camisole set with a pair of back ¾ length trousers and a pair of black slip-ons. Wesley check that she was ready to go and they headed for the car pool.

They arrived at Wolfram and Hart as the sun started to descended in sky, creating an indigo glow over the clouds that had started to gather. The guards on the door nodded respectively to Wesley as they passed through the security door in the underground parking lot. Cordelia slid her hand into Wesley's and he gave it a tight squeeze in support. The door of the lift opened on the management floor and they stepped out onto a plush carpeted corridor. They walked hand in hand to outside Angel's office. Harmony had gone somewhere leaving Angel's office interrupt-free. Wesley hugged her and slipped silently away. Cordelia raised her hand to knock on the door, hesitating slightly before knocking hard on the wood. A gruff voice requested her to enter. She opened the door, her former boss's standing at the window as the sunset, passing a sad shadow across his face.

"Hello Angel."