(A/N): I'm sooo pissed off! A world without Angel is like Mariah Carey
having another hit single. It just isn't natural....
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Chapter 4: A Champion Realized Pt.1 Questions
"Dammit Beck! You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" Chloe yelled from the kitchen. Grinning, Becca peaked her head from the bathroom across the apartment. "Actually, I got peanut butter in your chocolate. Don't have the money to buy my own." Becca chuckled and moved to her room as Chloe glared at the soaked, towel-draped teenager.
"Hardy har har, wise-guy." Chloe opened the refrigerator and using a skill that clearly defies gravity, grabbed the milk in one hand, orange juice in the other and a pack of pop tarts. As she tried to close the refrigerator door with one foot, she hopped over to the small dinner table a few hops away to put that day's breakfast on the table. Once she securely set all the items on the table she grabbed a glass for some orange juice and went to work on her pop tart.
"So what's the agenda for today? After you watch Spongebob of course." Becca walked out of her room wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. Her hands were wrapped as if she were practicing to fight. Becca always had her hands covered be it gloves or with tape. Still towel drying her short thick brown hair, she sat down across Chloe. "Of course. You'll find this fairly shocking but I plan on actually doing some work today." Chloe stopped mid-chew and choked on her smore pop tart.
"Don't do that! You're liable to start an apocalypse! I'm sure Hell dropped a few degrees with that revelation." Becca chuckled as she got up and went to the cupboard above the sink. When she didn't find a bowl she began searching through the impressive collection of dishes left unwashed. With a triumphant smile, she uncovered a bowl and proceeded to wash it, leaving the other dishes to 'soak'. Becca walked back to the table with Golden Grahams in hand and began to fix her breakfast.
"You know, you'd think a guest in my home would offer to wash the dishes." Chloe commented nonchalantly with a slight smile. "That's true but I earn my keep. You think those vamps dust themselves? I have to tell ya Chlo, just cuz you don't see em doesn't mean they aren't there. And you happen to be a very nummy treat."
Becca looked up from her cereal and laughed at Chloe who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Joking, Chlo. But seriously, I'm hired muscle and I ain't cheap!" Chloe chuckled and began eating her second pop tart. "I thought you were a warrior. A Champion of the People." Chloe finished with a flourish of her hand, causing Becca to roll her eyes. "True, but when my rescuees invite me home, its pretty much destiny from there."
Chloe looked at the girl in mock-sappiness. "Yeah, you're like that stray puppy that you don't know where it's been but is just so cute ya gotta keep it. Ow!" Chloe glared at Becca who looked like the picture of innocence as she rubbed her aching leg. "Well would you prefer to be Little Orphan Annie?" Chloe ducked from the onslaught of sugar-sweetened cereal that Becca chucked toward her head. Chloe got up and put her and Becca's dishes in the sink.
"Listen, Nancy Drew. I need your journalistic skills to help me do some research. Find the heart of all the Uberevilness in this town so that I can squish it and do a Mexican tap dance on it." Chloe blinked and stared at the young brunette, puzzled by her somewhat original euphemism for killing evil.
"Uh-huh. Sure. You could come to work with me if you want. I have a column I have to write and my boss loves children." Becca glared at Chloe and slapped her hand away when she tried to pinch her cheeks. "Oh really." Becca countered snarkily as she followed Chloe out the door and grabbed her leather jacket. "Does he love children who replace the toner in the copy machine with blood?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Angel strode back into the offices of Wolfram & Hart, covered in blood with his blood smeared axe in hand. He entered his office and sat down on the new desk that obviously replaced the old one that was now just splinters. He didn't even acknowledge Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Lorne who were now all in his office waiting for him. Angel sighed, silently counting to ten. "There's nothing more to discuss. I'm resigning."
Lorne shifted on the arm of the couch next to Fred. "Gee, it seems like a ripe topic for discussion to me." Wesley stepped toward Angel's desk. "What happened last night was tragic. It's a terrible setback, but..."
Angel looked up at Wesley and stood, walking around to his desk chair. "Setback, Wes? It's status quo. Evil wins, 'cause instead of just wiping it out, we negotiate with it. Or worse...for it." Seeing Angel's hopelessness, Fred chimed in. "Angel, we're doing the best we can." Unconvinced, Angel continued. "It's not that you guys aren't doing your jobs. It's that we shouldn't be doing these jobs in the first place... or I shouldn't."
Gunn stepped forward. "I'd say we've all had a bellyful. Any thought about what would happen to us if we tried to say bye-bye? The ramifications, I mean. You think the senior partners are just gonna let us breeze on out the front door?" Fred looked at Gunn uncertain. "You're saying we're trapped here?" Unperturbed, Gunn continued. "I'm saying we knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this gig. Let's not start pretending that this was some lease with an option to buy."
Angel looked at the young man, suspiciously. "Gunn, you really think they won't let us out? Or is it that you just don't want to leave?" Gunn looked to his side, then looked at Angel, raising his eyebrows. "OK. Maybe I don't. It's 'cause I believe in what we're doing. We made the right call." The suspicion in Angel's voice grew. "And I'm sure that legal brain upgrade they gave you has got nothing to do with..." Tried of the insinuations that he had jumped ships, Gunn interrupted quickly. "We all got something out of this."
As the tension grew in Angel's office the telephone rings, causing Lorne to let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Slowly, Angel picked up the phone. "Yeah. It's Angel. What?" Wesley observed his boss. "What is it?" Wesley asked. Angel tilted the phone receiver away from his mouth to answer Wesley. "It's Cordelia."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So whaddya need me to look up?" Chloe asked as she sat down and pulled her chair up to her desk. Becca sat on the desk to the side of Chloe's computer and frowned in concentration. "Give me anything you can on a law firm called Wolfram & Hart." Chloe looked up at Becca, surprise written all over her face. "I guess I wouldn't be too surprise if considering your current line of work you needed a lawyer but how can you afford to get one from one of the most prominent law firms in the country?" Chloe logged on and went to W & H's site. Becca just grinned until they reached the site's homepage.
"It's amazing what the general public tends to skim over. Look at the description of the firm." Chloe muttered as she read the small passage but decided to read one specific line out loud..."Specializes in Supernatural Activities? You're telling me that...?"
Becca's grin grew into a cheeky smile as she moved behind Chloe and leaned in, one hand resting on her desk and the other on the back of the blonde's chair. "I assume that the hard-working journalist you are, you're used to some unorthodox methods." Becca moved back to her seat, perched next to Chloe's computer. Becca used the index finger of her right hand and drew a make-believe square. "Ya know, working outside the box."
Chloe leaned back in her chair and for the first time, regarded the teen with suspicion. "Oh yeah. How did you come up with that conclusion?"
Becca grinned. "Let's just say that in my "current line of work" I need to be a good judge of people, or demons, or any other worldly sort of beings. I have to that that knack, just like you." Chloe smiled, nodding her head in approval and sat back up ready to work. "So, like I asked before whaddya need me to look up?" Chloe raised an eyebrow when she saw Becca's grin.
"Have you ever seen Alice in Wonderland? Cause you look like the Cheshire cat right about now." A glint that matched the smile devilishly glittered in Becca's eye.
"I just want you to use some of your sources to get me a little info on Wolfram & Hart. Perhaps some floor plans..." Chloe nodded in understanding and waved her hand dismissively. "Say no more, Beck. I'll get you what you need faster than you can say "The white rabbit"!"
Becca rolled her eyes at Chloe's joke. Becca clasped her hands together and in a manner eerily similar to Mr. Burns in 'The Simpsons', purred "Excellent."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At the hospital, Angel left Wesley to fill out the paperwork they needed to discharge Cordelia while Cordelia yelled at him, asking how in the love of al things fluffy and cute could they be running Wolfram & Hart. Hearing the exchange made Angel smile as she walked around aimlessly, feeling almost an urge to explore. After everything that happened as of late, seeing Cordelia walking around, snarky as ever... It was kinda like the first day she came to work for him. A breath of fresh air and a welcome reprieve from the dark cloud that seemed to suffocate him.
He didn't snap out of his reverie until he was in front of a glass window staring at the prone body of his son in the room. If his heart could beat it would have broken his chest as he rushed into the room. He grabbed the clipboard at the end of the bed and sighed in relief when he read that his son only had a broken arm and a slight concussion. Angel allowed himself a bit of a smile as he realized why he felt such a pull to come to this room. He slowly walked to the side of Connor's bed and gently stroked his son's forehead. Reluctantly he removed hid hand and took out what looked like apiece of parchment paper, rolled up and tied with a red ribbon in the shape of a bow. He placed it among the flowers, cards and other Get-Well wishes on Connor's nightstand. Staring at Connor intently, as if trying to burn his son's face into his memory, Angel sighed and walked toward the door.
"Good-bye son."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
R&R
(a/n): I love this story. I love it dearly. It is my brainchild.... I think I just sufficiently creeped everyone out.
~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter 4: A Champion Realized Pt.1 Questions
"Dammit Beck! You got chocolate in my peanut butter!" Chloe yelled from the kitchen. Grinning, Becca peaked her head from the bathroom across the apartment. "Actually, I got peanut butter in your chocolate. Don't have the money to buy my own." Becca chuckled and moved to her room as Chloe glared at the soaked, towel-draped teenager.
"Hardy har har, wise-guy." Chloe opened the refrigerator and using a skill that clearly defies gravity, grabbed the milk in one hand, orange juice in the other and a pack of pop tarts. As she tried to close the refrigerator door with one foot, she hopped over to the small dinner table a few hops away to put that day's breakfast on the table. Once she securely set all the items on the table she grabbed a glass for some orange juice and went to work on her pop tart.
"So what's the agenda for today? After you watch Spongebob of course." Becca walked out of her room wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black tank top. Her hands were wrapped as if she were practicing to fight. Becca always had her hands covered be it gloves or with tape. Still towel drying her short thick brown hair, she sat down across Chloe. "Of course. You'll find this fairly shocking but I plan on actually doing some work today." Chloe stopped mid-chew and choked on her smore pop tart.
"Don't do that! You're liable to start an apocalypse! I'm sure Hell dropped a few degrees with that revelation." Becca chuckled as she got up and went to the cupboard above the sink. When she didn't find a bowl she began searching through the impressive collection of dishes left unwashed. With a triumphant smile, she uncovered a bowl and proceeded to wash it, leaving the other dishes to 'soak'. Becca walked back to the table with Golden Grahams in hand and began to fix her breakfast.
"You know, you'd think a guest in my home would offer to wash the dishes." Chloe commented nonchalantly with a slight smile. "That's true but I earn my keep. You think those vamps dust themselves? I have to tell ya Chlo, just cuz you don't see em doesn't mean they aren't there. And you happen to be a very nummy treat."
Becca looked up from her cereal and laughed at Chloe who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Joking, Chlo. But seriously, I'm hired muscle and I ain't cheap!" Chloe chuckled and began eating her second pop tart. "I thought you were a warrior. A Champion of the People." Chloe finished with a flourish of her hand, causing Becca to roll her eyes. "True, but when my rescuees invite me home, its pretty much destiny from there."
Chloe looked at the girl in mock-sappiness. "Yeah, you're like that stray puppy that you don't know where it's been but is just so cute ya gotta keep it. Ow!" Chloe glared at Becca who looked like the picture of innocence as she rubbed her aching leg. "Well would you prefer to be Little Orphan Annie?" Chloe ducked from the onslaught of sugar-sweetened cereal that Becca chucked toward her head. Chloe got up and put her and Becca's dishes in the sink.
"Listen, Nancy Drew. I need your journalistic skills to help me do some research. Find the heart of all the Uberevilness in this town so that I can squish it and do a Mexican tap dance on it." Chloe blinked and stared at the young brunette, puzzled by her somewhat original euphemism for killing evil.
"Uh-huh. Sure. You could come to work with me if you want. I have a column I have to write and my boss loves children." Becca glared at Chloe and slapped her hand away when she tried to pinch her cheeks. "Oh really." Becca countered snarkily as she followed Chloe out the door and grabbed her leather jacket. "Does he love children who replace the toner in the copy machine with blood?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Angel strode back into the offices of Wolfram & Hart, covered in blood with his blood smeared axe in hand. He entered his office and sat down on the new desk that obviously replaced the old one that was now just splinters. He didn't even acknowledge Wesley, Gunn, Fred and Lorne who were now all in his office waiting for him. Angel sighed, silently counting to ten. "There's nothing more to discuss. I'm resigning."
Lorne shifted on the arm of the couch next to Fred. "Gee, it seems like a ripe topic for discussion to me." Wesley stepped toward Angel's desk. "What happened last night was tragic. It's a terrible setback, but..."
Angel looked up at Wesley and stood, walking around to his desk chair. "Setback, Wes? It's status quo. Evil wins, 'cause instead of just wiping it out, we negotiate with it. Or worse...for it." Seeing Angel's hopelessness, Fred chimed in. "Angel, we're doing the best we can." Unconvinced, Angel continued. "It's not that you guys aren't doing your jobs. It's that we shouldn't be doing these jobs in the first place... or I shouldn't."
Gunn stepped forward. "I'd say we've all had a bellyful. Any thought about what would happen to us if we tried to say bye-bye? The ramifications, I mean. You think the senior partners are just gonna let us breeze on out the front door?" Fred looked at Gunn uncertain. "You're saying we're trapped here?" Unperturbed, Gunn continued. "I'm saying we knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this gig. Let's not start pretending that this was some lease with an option to buy."
Angel looked at the young man, suspiciously. "Gunn, you really think they won't let us out? Or is it that you just don't want to leave?" Gunn looked to his side, then looked at Angel, raising his eyebrows. "OK. Maybe I don't. It's 'cause I believe in what we're doing. We made the right call." The suspicion in Angel's voice grew. "And I'm sure that legal brain upgrade they gave you has got nothing to do with..." Tried of the insinuations that he had jumped ships, Gunn interrupted quickly. "We all got something out of this."
As the tension grew in Angel's office the telephone rings, causing Lorne to let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Slowly, Angel picked up the phone. "Yeah. It's Angel. What?" Wesley observed his boss. "What is it?" Wesley asked. Angel tilted the phone receiver away from his mouth to answer Wesley. "It's Cordelia."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"So whaddya need me to look up?" Chloe asked as she sat down and pulled her chair up to her desk. Becca sat on the desk to the side of Chloe's computer and frowned in concentration. "Give me anything you can on a law firm called Wolfram & Hart." Chloe looked up at Becca, surprise written all over her face. "I guess I wouldn't be too surprise if considering your current line of work you needed a lawyer but how can you afford to get one from one of the most prominent law firms in the country?" Chloe logged on and went to W & H's site. Becca just grinned until they reached the site's homepage.
"It's amazing what the general public tends to skim over. Look at the description of the firm." Chloe muttered as she read the small passage but decided to read one specific line out loud..."Specializes in Supernatural Activities? You're telling me that...?"
Becca's grin grew into a cheeky smile as she moved behind Chloe and leaned in, one hand resting on her desk and the other on the back of the blonde's chair. "I assume that the hard-working journalist you are, you're used to some unorthodox methods." Becca moved back to her seat, perched next to Chloe's computer. Becca used the index finger of her right hand and drew a make-believe square. "Ya know, working outside the box."
Chloe leaned back in her chair and for the first time, regarded the teen with suspicion. "Oh yeah. How did you come up with that conclusion?"
Becca grinned. "Let's just say that in my "current line of work" I need to be a good judge of people, or demons, or any other worldly sort of beings. I have to that that knack, just like you." Chloe smiled, nodding her head in approval and sat back up ready to work. "So, like I asked before whaddya need me to look up?" Chloe raised an eyebrow when she saw Becca's grin.
"Have you ever seen Alice in Wonderland? Cause you look like the Cheshire cat right about now." A glint that matched the smile devilishly glittered in Becca's eye.
"I just want you to use some of your sources to get me a little info on Wolfram & Hart. Perhaps some floor plans..." Chloe nodded in understanding and waved her hand dismissively. "Say no more, Beck. I'll get you what you need faster than you can say "The white rabbit"!"
Becca rolled her eyes at Chloe's joke. Becca clasped her hands together and in a manner eerily similar to Mr. Burns in 'The Simpsons', purred "Excellent."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
At the hospital, Angel left Wesley to fill out the paperwork they needed to discharge Cordelia while Cordelia yelled at him, asking how in the love of al things fluffy and cute could they be running Wolfram & Hart. Hearing the exchange made Angel smile as she walked around aimlessly, feeling almost an urge to explore. After everything that happened as of late, seeing Cordelia walking around, snarky as ever... It was kinda like the first day she came to work for him. A breath of fresh air and a welcome reprieve from the dark cloud that seemed to suffocate him.
He didn't snap out of his reverie until he was in front of a glass window staring at the prone body of his son in the room. If his heart could beat it would have broken his chest as he rushed into the room. He grabbed the clipboard at the end of the bed and sighed in relief when he read that his son only had a broken arm and a slight concussion. Angel allowed himself a bit of a smile as he realized why he felt such a pull to come to this room. He slowly walked to the side of Connor's bed and gently stroked his son's forehead. Reluctantly he removed hid hand and took out what looked like apiece of parchment paper, rolled up and tied with a red ribbon in the shape of a bow. He placed it among the flowers, cards and other Get-Well wishes on Connor's nightstand. Staring at Connor intently, as if trying to burn his son's face into his memory, Angel sighed and walked toward the door.
"Good-bye son."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
R&R
(a/n): I love this story. I love it dearly. It is my brainchild.... I think I just sufficiently creeped everyone out.