Chapter Six

Spike stalked outside feeling very pissed off and slightly humiliated. He threw himself on a bench outside the door, and lit a cigarette. 'That woman is going to be the end of me!' he thought to himself. One moment she was innocence incarnate, the next she was...well...dammit! She hadn't had a clue until Charlie had spelt it out for her! Suddenly, he felt rather bad for being so angry at her. He was so busy chastising himself, that when he looked up from the spot on the pavement that had held his attention for several minutes, that he almost missed seeing Illyria walking by on the opposite side of the street.

"Hey Blue!" he called over to her. Illyria stopped, and looked over at him. She looked a bit surprised to see him there, but she swiftly turned and started walking across the street. Cars screeched to a halt to avoid hitting her, and a couple of the drivers hurled several unsavory words at her.

Spike noticed she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by a boy in his late teens, who seemed very oddly familiar. Illryia reached him quickly. She seemed very unconcerned about the cars and their drivers. 'Sometimes she's in her own little world,' Spike thought to himself. Instead he said, "Um...Illyria, next time wait for the cars to actually stop, huh?"

Illyria looked back at the cars with distaste, but nodded her head in acquiescence. The boy hurried up after her.

"I found this one in the graveyard," she stated.

"That's nice Blue. Um..who is he?"

The boy stuck out his hand. "Connor. We met a few months ago at Wolfram and Hart."

Spike took his hand and nodded. "Right! I remember now. Super boy! How've you been then?"

"Fine. Got back from LA a few days ago," he noticed Spike flinched at the mention of Los Angeles. "Is Angel with you?"

Spike looked at Illyria, and tried to keep his face impassive. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Gunn and Layla leaving the restaurant.

"Hey, you found her then!" Gunn smiled at Illyria, then noticed Connor. "And...I don't know you."

"This is Connor," Illyria stated, "He came to Wolfram and Hart while you were in the holding dimension. He is a friend of Angel's."

"Oh," Gunn said. He really did not want to be reminded of that recent time in his life. "Right. Well, pleased to meet you. This is Layla." He pointed to the woman at his side.

Connor nodded at her. She looked at him with kind eyes and a smile. 'Wow,' Connor thought, 'Where do they get these women?' But they were stalling. He could feel it.

Spike looked at Connor. "We were headed back to the motel. Do you want to join us?"

Connor nodded, and the group walked back in silence.

Bartleby arrived to find Daniels in teleconference with five others of his rank. Daniels waved him over to a chair, and asked the council if they minded a brief recess while he consulted his agent on recent events. The others nodded, and Daniels disconnected his link.

"Show me the footage Bartleby."

Bartleby handed Daniels the camera, and waited patiently as he watched the footage, twice. Then he put down the camera, and sighed.

"You did good work tonight Bartleby. I will pass this on to the council, and see what they come up with. From what I see and your description, she appears to be some type of demon, but I am unclear who or what."

"They knew each other, sir. I could tell by their body language and speech. And Sir, I believe they were friendly."

Daniels nodded. "I am authorizing you to make contact tonight. We must secure the services of this slayer. Otherwise, He will not be pleased." He shuddered as did Bartleby. No one had met the leader of their order, but none dared cross or disappoint him. For none lived to tell the tale of it.

"I will secure him tonight, Sir. I shall not fail."

Daniels nodded. "I hope for your sake you do not," he said as Bartleby hurried from the room.

They had arrived back at the motel in silence. Spike led the way inside, everyone followed, but Layla who stayed outside.

"So where is Angel?" Connor asked, for what he felt was the millionth time. "I know something big went down in LA. Hell, I was in it!"

Spike looked down. Illyria looked sad. Gunn bit his lip. Then Connor knew. He just knew. He backed up against the wall. His legs felt suddenly uneasy, and his mind reeled.

"Where is he!?" he said frantically. This was not happening. This was not supposed to happen.

"Where is my Father!?" he screamed. The dam had burst inside. Everything he had held at bay since he had remembered came crashing in. Every moment. Every thought. Every feeling. Every hope.

Spike looked stunned. "What...what did you just say?"

Gunn looked floored. He just sat down in a chair.

Illyria walked over to him, and put her hand on his arm. "He fell in battle that night. He is at peace now."

Connor just stared at her, and collapsed into tears. He cried for everything that had happened, he cried for Angel, and he cried for what could have been. She held him, until the sobbing quieted, and he was able to stand on his own again. Then led him to the bed, where he sat down. He felt numb, cold, and suddenly very much alone in the world.

Spike looked at Illyria. "You knew?" he said to her. She nodded. "Angel has a son? How in bloody hell did Angel have a son? And how come none of us knew about it?" He paced as he spoke, then just gave up and sat down too.

Illyria looked at them. "Angel made a deal with the Wolf, Ram and Hart. He would take over the Los Angeles branch, if they gave Connor a ...normal life." She looked at Connor, then back at the others. "They had Cyrus Vail alter the reality of this world. No one but Angel remembered him."

"How do you know then?" Gunn asked stunned.

"Wesley found out about the reality shift when Connor arrived. He was suspicious of Angel's attitude toward him. He and I went to Vail's home, and Wesley shattered the Orlon Window. This allowed us and Connor to remember what we had forgotten."

"You mean what Fred had forgotten," Gunn whispered.

Illryia nodded silently.

Spike sat in awe. "But how?"

"Darla," Connor said, his mouth dry. "My mother was Darla." Spike's eyes widened more. "A crazy Power That Be tried to manipulate things. I was created for her crazy genetic experiment." The look on his face showed he did not want to get into it more.

Spike just shook his head. "I need a drink. Anyone else?"

Everyone, but Illyria nodded. "Right. I'll head over to the liquor store across the way, and get some then." Spike fled from the room.

Connor stood. "I need some air." No one argued with him. He walked out the door to the balcony. Layla was sitting there, swinging her legs over the side. He didn't even notice. Had it only been four days? He still felt Angel's hands on his arms; could still hear his voice in his ears; could still feel the ground rock underneath his feet.

"Go home, now!"

"They'll destroy you."

"As long as you're ok, they can't."

Connor felt fresh tears as he remembered those last words. He lived, but with regrets. He had finally started to get to know him, and now he was gone. Gone. Connor grabbed the railing to keep himself from falling.

Layla looked at the boy next to her. She felt his grief and regret, as keenly as if it were her own. She knew she could say nothing to him that would ease his pain. When he had regained control once more, Connor realized that Layla was sitting on the very unsteady railing next to him.

"You should probably get down from there," he offered. She smiled back at him.

"It's ok. I've been higher."

Connor looked at her unconvinced.

"Layla, for pity's sake love, get down from there!" Spike called from below.

Layla grinned at Connor, pointed down at Spike, and tapped the side of her nose. "Predictable Chaos," she stated. Then she twisted, and jumped back onto the porch. "Let's go inside shall we?" She walked inside leaving a very befuddled and slightly amused Connor on the porch.