Disclaimer: I do not own Angel: the series or Buffy: the Vampire Slayer shows or characters. I do however own the characters of Cathy Lucy Angel and Nicholas (Nicky) Wood. No money is exchanging hands. Please don't sue me. I'm just a poor college student without a dime.
Summary: This story is the sequel to Fast Forward. (Sorry, I spelled Lindsey's name wrong. It's Lindsey with an 'e' not 'a'.) Connor has finally come back home after living in Quar'toth for ten years. Each chapter will focus on a separate character's point of view as Connor adjusts to being back home and living with his family.
Pairings: Angel/Cordy, Faith/Wood, Fred/Wesley, Gunn/OC, Spike/Buffy, later on Connor/Dawn, Anya/Xander, Willow/Kennedy.
The song that inspired this story is This Year by Christina Aguilera. (Click to get the lyrics)
If you want to skip around to other chapters first you can, but they might not be up yet. I just put in the links in advance. They are all separate stories with different points of view.
Rating: PG-13 to R for Language. Mostly the F word. I use some other bad language, but nothing you probably haven't heard anywhere else.
This Year
By: Sensue
Chapter Five: February
(Wesley's POV) x-over with Tru Calling (Harrison Davies)
Hyperion Hotel (Wesley's office)
In the year of the champion's return.
The enemy which had taken from the champion
Will know pain.
It will change him,
Force him to guide others
In the spirit of the light.
No longer to hurt
Or punishment of threefold
Will be upon him.
I have read the bloody thing, perhaps over a hundred times and yet, I am still no closer to deciphering its actual meaning. Angel has been pressuring me to find out as much information as possible regarding the Prophecy. Alas, I haven't been able to find anything pertaining to it, besides this passage.
Of course, it's understandable; Angel has been very stressed as of late, worrying about his teenaged son and charge that both snuck out while we slept. Angel has confided in me that he worried his son may be getting himself in trouble. I've told him that, due to his young age and experiences, it would be quite a while before Connor will settle down enough to feel comfortable in this new world and to talk to us about his experiences in Quar'toth.
Harrison, I feel has been a good influence on Connor. Now, Connor has a peer, a friend that he can confide in. And vice versa, Connor has helped calm Harrison, giving him someone to care for, who will look up to him and imitate his behavior, one that didn't revolve around gambling. It's unfortunate that Harrison had to learn the truth about the real horrors that this world has to offer.
There are times in which I wish that I was unaware of the demons, witches, slayers, and hell dimensions that exist here. When the forces of darkness didn't enter my thoughts, my nightmares, in fact. But, regrettably, I was a Watcher's son; his only son, in fact, and I was required to maintain the highest degree of professionalism and knowledge about all things related to the slayer; including all of her possible enemies.
I was forced, unwillingly into a mold no one could fill by my father and when I failed at that impossible task, I was punished and ridiculed. At least at Angel Investigations, my attempts are as rewarded as my accomplishments. At least, I have help. I have friends. And I have Fred.
Fred, her very name brings a smile to my face. Even with her wild ideas and inventions, she never ceases to amaze me. I've never had an absolute source of unending encouragement and support before her. I don't know what I would do without her, which is why as I look at the diamond ring enclosed in its velvet box, I am going to ask her to marry me.
The question becomes how; I am by nature, a shy person who is easily flustered when confronting others with my true feelings. I don't know what the bloody hell I'm going to say or do in order to talk her into marrying me. So I did what any other man facing this dilemma did, I asked for advise.
Asking the women I work with for advice is out of the question. They would inevitably hint my intensions to Fred. Women had ways of communicating with each other about these sorts of things that do not require actual words; more like giving each other a look. Fred especially is aware of her surroundings; for example she knew of Cordy and Angel's love, or kye-rumption/ moira as she would say, for each other. I do have a theory that women can't read their own men, rather being able to see the other men and their intentions towards their relationships better. Cordy had no clue that Angel loved her, yet she knew that I had feelings for Fred. Strange, this women's intuition. I hope that my hypothesis is proved correct because I don't want Fred to know of my plans until I actually 'pop the question.'
First, I went to Angel. After all, he's married; he'll know what to do. When I asked him to tell me how he asked Cordy to marry him, he gave me the strangest look.
"Wes. You were there when I asked Cordy to marry me, remember the soul binding rings ceremony." Angel reminded me.
"As I recall Angel, you asked Cordy to marry you in an abandoned railroad quarry near some warehouses. Not the most romantic of places. And you had demon guts still on you from the fight with those demons we fought earlier that evening." Angel had a distant look on his face, a small smile forming at the thought of his wedding ceremony. Angel and Cordy didn't have an engagement period, they went directly to the altar, figuratively speaking of course, or Angel would've burst into flames.
The look quickly passed as the insult was understood, "Hey, It was romantic. I asked her during someone else's wedding. Lots of women think that it's a great place for a proposal, you know, so your friends can be extremely jealous and stuff."
I gave him a glare; the man clearly has no notion of romance. "It was a demon wedding! And Cordelia's friends from high school weren't even there. It was just us, the family."
He gave me an equally poignant glare, then in that childish tone that he sometimes assumes when arguing with Spike, argued, "Yeah. But she DID say yes, SO THERE!"
"Yes. But that doesn't help me in the least. After all I'm not going to crash a demon lair and hope that they're in a happy, romantic mood." I left the room, leaving Angel standing there contemplating his spontaneity and romanticism.
There is no bloody way in hell that I'm going to ask Robin Wood for advice, either. It took the man five years to talk Faith into accepting his proposal. I'm willing to wait until Fred is ready, of course, but I really don't want to wait that long for a positive response.
Now, I'm down to asking Gunn or Lorne for their help. Though, I think that I'll only ask Lorne as a last resort. Not that I don't think that Lorne would help me, on the contrary, I believe that he'll be the best person to ask when it comes to what women want. The only problem is that everything he feels is clearly written on his face. He doesn't have a poker face…the girls would see through him in a moment. They'll know he's hiding something and then talk him into spilling his guts, especially Cordy. She always has to know everything: "know all, see all" is her motto. The man simply isn't capable of deception, even if it's a wonderful surprise.
So, I decided to go Gunn first, in hope finding some of my answers. How in the world am I going to ask her to marry me? What will make Fred the happiest woman on earth?
Unfortunately, once I instigated a conversation with Gunn, he turned the tables on me and told me that he needed my help, instead. Not only had the man already bought his girlfriend, Andrea an engagement ring, but he had also reserved a restaurant and hotel room located on of the more touristy and classy areas of L.A. so that he could asked her to marry him tonight. He wanted my advice. I tried my best to help him, but I suspect the only thing he needed was encouragement and acknowledgement that his decision was sound. I told him to follow his heart; that it would work out if he willed it.
In a way, I wish I was like Gunn. Spontaneous, able to react at any moment to anything that arises, including love. When the man wants something with all of his heart, he works for it and almost always gets it. He found his true love in Andrea, and now, without any signs of hesitation or doubt, he was going for it…the dream of a family, starting with marriage.
Gunn left the hotel this evening in a wonderful mood. Every inch of him was smiling. He dressed handsomely in his black tuxedo, and went out to meet the limousine that he rented especially for the evening in front of the hotel. From there on, he would go on to surprise Andrea with the limo, then after a lovely exotic dinner, would ask for her hand.
I sat in my office, head in hand, trying my best to come up with a similar plan. Isn't it funny how I can come up with the most intricate and decisive attack plan, yet I am unable to think of a single bloody original romantic idea that will end in Fred agreeing to marry me.
Well, maybe I could ask her to marry me in her favorite Taco stand. No…that wouldn't work. Hell, my plans will end up with me being slapped or something equally embarrassing. Bloody hell, I hit my head on the desk a few times. I'm such a wanker.
"Not that I bloody well care, but why are you damaging the desk?" The British accent sounded extremely bored and unconcerned. The blond vampire stood at the doorway, an unlit cigarette hanging from his lips.
"Spike, what do you want? And I thought you were going to give up the cigarettes." I didn't bother to look up at him. I truly couldn't care.
"I lied," he answered, "and I don't want anything. I'm bored and thought it might be entertaining to make fun of you. Head Boy," he added off the top of his head. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and tucked it behind his ear.
God, the Head Boy remarks are getting stale. "Well, can't you see I'm busy? Go annoy Angel or something." I wished him away. Mentally forcing him out of the office and to my occupied thoughts.
He didn't leave. Of course, he didn't leave. The bloody idiot lives to annoy the hell out of us. "Well, I would, but I'm getting bored with messing with Peaches too. But seriously, what are you doing? Pretend that I care." He came into the office now, pulled up a chair and sat across from me. He actually seemed interested.
Unfortunately, by now, I was plenty aggravated, not only by Spike but with myself. I wanted to purge myself of my insecurities and fears; Spike was the only one in the room to listen to my rants. "If you must know, I was planning on asking Fred to marry me. But, now just don't know if I can." I put my hands flat on my desk, practically launching out of my chair to then pace the office. "I honestly don't know how to ask the girl without making a complete blubbering fool out of myself. She's not going to say yes. Why would she? She deserves better; I mean, she's a brilliant scientist and what am I? I'm the group researcher. Big deal, I bloody well can read! I don't have anything to offer her. I don't know what I was thinking!" I pulled the jewelry box out of my pocket, looking at it once more, and then throwing it on my desk.
Spike slowly reached over the desk to pick up the box. He opened it to look at Fred's ring. He whistled when he saw it, "Wow, so Angel must pay you for every book you read then, because he doesn't pay me this much. This is quite a piece of rock. None of my friends have a rock this big. Fred'll love it. That is, if you ever get the stones to ask her to marry you." [I loved that line…B:tvs, Season 2: Becoming Part I.~Sensue]
What in bloody hell was he talking about! "It's not about that. It's about not being good enough for a woman like that. A woman like Fred." I stopped my frantic pacing to throw myself back into the chair I had abandoned.
Unexpectedly, Spike put his head closer to mine, his hand indicating that he wanted me pull my head towards his, as if he was going to tell me a secret. "If you feel like that, then you will never get the girl. You'll never be good enough for her, because that's what you'll think. Let me tell you a story about this guy I knew." He pulled his head away, leaning back against his chair to get comfortable.
"Now, this boy was a lot like you, shy, not really sure of himself at first. Well, all of that changed when he met the woman of his dreams. He loved her. He loved her so much that he risked public ridicule to tell her his feelings for her. Even wrote her poetry and all of that fluffy lovey dovey stuff."
Alright, perhaps, Spike can help me. He does have a hundred years of experience in dealing with women. Of course, the woman he spent most of that time with was a complete loon. Though, he might be able to give me a few pointers. "What happened? Did the boy end up with the girl after he confessed his love for her and his intentions to marry her?"
He shifted in his seat, "Well, no, the girl told him that he was beneath her and told him off, publicly humiliating him so that everyone laughed in his face and made him run off crying." His eyes became distant, "Of course, that same girl who turned him down ended up as a Vengeance Demon, who protected unwanted and uncared for children, for some weird reason." He snapped out of it, looking back at me, "That's not the point though; the point is that he wasn't shy about his feelings for her. He told her how he felt, didn't let fear hold him back from telling her." [The girl is, of course, Cecily or Hallie, the Vengeance Demon. B:tvs: Season 5: Fool for Love. ]
I wasn't sure if I could take that sort of risk, "But if she hurt him…"
"Bullocks! Get over it! Be a man and get some stones! Just ask Fred, she'll say yes. Just keep pestering her until she does, you know like Robin did with Faith. Hopefully, it won't take you that long for an answer. God, you act like she's not worth a little risk. If you love her, then love her enough to try. If you're just going to give up, then let her go. Let her find someone else, someone who isn't afraid of commitment. God, I wish that I had half a chance to be Buffy right now. It's just not our time. She has to lead the other slayers. Of course, my duty is to redeem my soul and to protect the bits. I just can't leave Cathy and Nicky, or even Connor or Harrison for that matter, and go to Europe. I have to stay here now. I've got responsibilities; A calling, helping the helpless and all that, now. You, well, you can just hightail it whenever you want. You don't have anything holding you back. You can have the life that you want. It's up to you. You can stay here, in your dusty old, book filled office, or you can get out, and spend the rest of your life with the woman you love. I mean, you're a bloody fool. You risk your life everyday! Everyday! For people you don't even know. Are you telling me that you're not man enough to risk your heart in love? Come on now, it's not rocket science. Don't think! Just do what your heart tells you." Spike spoke as if he was giving some sort of a sermon. Yelling at me to get the point across.
I think that it worked. Strange, but every word that Spike uttered entered my heart as if he shot it with an arrow. He's right, I need to do this. I can do this. I can ask Fred to marry me. I can tell her that I love her, that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I have nothing to lose but my heart and I don't need my heart to research demons. I only need it to love her. If she says no, I will go on living my life like I always have. Alone, with my books, reading about prophecies, demon lore, slayer history, and their effects on our world. If she says yes, then I will be the happiest man on earth. I will live my life trying to show her how much I love her. Perhaps we could start a family; or just spend time together as husband and wife.
But still, "Alright, I'll ask her to marry me. Now I know what I'm going to tell her: I'm going to tell her everything that I feel for her. But I still need help with the details. When and where do I ask her? It has to be perfect; I want her to remember it for as long as she lives."
Spike looked at me blankly, shaking his head after a few minutes. He started mumbling something about me being a bloody idiot under his breath. "You bloody stupid wanker! God! Do I have to tell you everything? Think! What is the most romantic holiday of the entire year?"
I looked at him questioningly. "Spike, what the hell are you talking about?"
"Alright. You're supposed to be the genius of our group. Help us all…What's February 14?"
"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"
"It's the American Valentine's Day, you ponce! Valentine's Day is in about two weeks, you can ask her that night. She'll be swept off her feet. Just tell her how you feel, like you just told me, but, I don't know, why don't you write her a poem or something?"
"A poem? I can't write poetry."
"What do you mean, you can't write poetry? You can write a hundred page paper on the rituals of the donkey demons if Angel asked you, but you can't write a half page poem. Come on!"
Of this, I was serious. Never in my life had anyone asked me to write poetry. I had no idea where to start. "Listen, I don't know if this is true or not, but I heard Angel say once that you used to write poetry. Can you help me? Please, Spike?"
He studied me, reading my body language, as if he was afraid that I'd use that information to blackmail him. I know for a fact that Spike lives off of his reputation as William the Bloody. He hates to be envisioned as a 'Nancy Boy' as he puts it. I mentally promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone of his help. It will be our little secret.
"Alright… I'll help you, but if you tell anyone that I helped you, I'll rip your head off and shove it up your ass. And don't think I'm just joking, I've actually done it to people before." Then he instructed me to get a notebook and pencil to write down ideas for the poem. He called it brainstorming. I called it a waste of perfectly good paper. I must've thrown out thirty pieces of paper in the trash trying to get something to sound right.
Finally, he just stopped me, "You know, you're right, you can't even bloody write a poem. I'll write it for you, just don't strain yourself." He took another sheet of paper, closed his eyes in concentration. After about five minutes of silently rehearsing the poem in his mind, he started writing it down on paper.
Winifred,
Your love,
its shimmering effervescence
Calls to my heart,
Entrapped to be yours alone
For no one else can touch it,
Hidden in a chest.
The key…
Yours,
To have and hold,
Opens the chest
And gives you my heart,
Forever.
As I read Spike's work, I feeling of awe came over me. It was beautiful. Fred would love it.
I've got the ring. I've got the poem. I've got a new attitude on love and I've got two weeks to plan the most romantic proposal in history.
Two weeks later…(Valentine's Day)
8:00 am
Today is the day that I'm finally going to ask Fred to marry me. I've already arranged all of the tiny details: the restaurant, music, and the ring are in proper order. All I need now is Fred to make me the happiest man on the planet.
Fred is completely unaware of my intensions, believing that we are merely going out to dinner on Valentine's Day; to spend a night alone together. I've tried very hard to keep my nervousness and excitement concealed until I'm ready to ask her.
She is sitting in the kitchen, right now, having a cup of coffee and chatting happily with Cordy, Faith, and Andrea about Andrea's upcoming wedding. The girls have already looked through countless bridal magazines and discussed everything from the dresses to the cake and evaluated the pros and cons of each product. Andrea had already decided that Cordy, Faith, and Fred were going to be her bridesmaids along with her sister and her cousin, who were planning on coming to town to help with the wedding. The problem that they faced was getting into an agreement about the color, style, and length of the gowns. Each woman had a different idea of fashion, thus the mini-argument between them.
Soon, Fred will be making the same sort of plans for our wedding day. I can picture her in Andrea's place, practically glowing with joy and excitement. I take a deep breath, yes, it's going to happen. I can do this and she'll say 'yes.'
"Good Morning, ladies. I trust you all slept well?" I walked into the kitchen to interrupt the squabbling, leaning in to kiss Fred on the cheek. "Good morning, Fred."
Her face lights up, warming my heart, filling me with a sense of calm and certainty. "Good morning, Wes. Isn't it a beautiful day? We're so lucky that we have the day off today. Now we can spend it outside instead in the office researching or something like that. Hey, maybe we can even go to the beach or the amusement parks or something fun like that before dinner?" Fred looked at me, hopefully.
I can't help to smile back at her, "Of course, it's our day off. We can do whatever we like. Although, I was hoping—."
The thundering roar of footsteps practically flying down the stairs cut my words off, making me forget what I was planning on saying. "Hey, mom. Hey, Fred. Faith. Andrea. Uncle Wes." The boys are awake. They run into the kitchen, like a homing beacon to a tracking device, Connor and Harrison go directly to the food. Andrea had already prepared breakfast, for a change, instead of Angel. Gunn, Robin, Nicky, and Cathy, always woke up early to get ready for work and school. Their day started before the others even woke. Connor and Harrison pick up dishes, which they fill completely with eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, and pancakes then sitting down to stuff it in their mouths as fast as humanly possible. You'd think that they'd been starved for years.
Cordy had gotten up, poured me a cup of coffee, and fixed me a plate of my own. Cordy was in a wonderful mood, she looked at me playfully, "Wesley, if you were planning on eating anything, I figured I better save you some before the non-stop-eating-machines over here finished everything off." I laughed.
"Thank you, Cordy. I truly appreciate that. If they were locus, they might leave crumbs. But alas, eighteen year old boys leave no survivors." I drink my coffee, hiding my mirth at the two. They looked up, giving us their innocent faces.
"Who us? You must be talking about someone else," Harrison inserted, "I have no clue what you're talking about. Do you, Connor?" Connor his mouth stuffed with an entire pancake just shook his head 'no.'
We finished the rest of our breakfast quietly joking with each other as not to disturb the remaining members of the family still asleep upstairs. Angel and Spike usually never got up until mid-afternoon, while Lorne just liked to sleep in.
After the boys finished absorbing the food, they announced that they were going to spend the entire day on the beach and in the various stores that lined it. Connor kissed his mother and told her not to wait up for them. They were going to be later than usual. She reminded him to keep his cell-phone on, just in case and to have fun at the beach.
I'm glad the boys have made friends at the beach. Connor needed to get out more, to spend more time having fun with humans his own age, instead of surrounding himself in violence that seemed to always to find all of us in our field of work. Angel Investigations has become extremely well known in Los Angeles. That a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because our business is booming with clients who walk in, instantly knowing that we can solve their problems. And it's a bad thing because, not only is Wolfram and Hart still trying to destroy all of our hard work, but demons are starting to band together in attempt to defeat us, especially the Slayer and the Vampires with a Soul.
As of yet, they are drawing blanks. Those at Angel Investigations are a mighty force to be reckoned with. We don't easily give in to the forces of darkness. It's sort of a moto.
Lorne pops his head in the kitchen, yawning and complaining about the noise. He says that the boys are louder than a herd of elephants; he can't sleep anymore. Andrea starts talking of stopping by one of the bridal shops. Cordy jumps at the chance to go shopping and talks Faith into coming with them, pleading with Lorne to watch the door for clients for them. He agrees, but makes Andrea promise him that he could pick out the music for the wedding. She laughs at him, "Lorne, I wouldn't have anyone else even think of touching the music. I would actually love it if you would sing."
I laugh; Lorne jumps up and down, shouting in joy…If I remember correctly from our 'visit' to Plyea, he was actually doing the dance of joy. He ran over to Andrea, picked her up, and spun her around excitedly. "Thank you, Thank You, Thank you. I can't believe this. I'm so excited. I get to sing at your wedding. I'm your wedding singer. And you don't have to worry about anything. It will be perfect. Thank you, sweetie. I love you, now. If you ever want to go for a second husband, I'm your demon," he jokes.
A couple of minutes later, Fred and I were the only two in the kitchen. It's funny, but somehow it felt intentional. Oh, well, we might as well take advantage of it. It doesn't happen often. Funny, as Fred's mouth claimed mine, she must've read my mind.
6:30 pm—Dante's Restaurant.
What a wonderful day. This may be the happiest day of my life and looking into Fred's eyes as we sit in this gorgeous restaurant, it may be hers as well. We spent the entire day together, holding hands, talking, shopping around. We even walked to the beach, dipping our feet in the water as we waded in the surf.
Now, it's time, I thought, listening to the soft violins playing a romantic piece. I put my hand in my pocket, feeling the box I had hidden there. "Fred, this has been such a wonderful evening. I really don't want it to end. We've been through a lot together, getting to this point. But I just wanted to tell you that I, I love you, Fred."
Her eyes got misty, "Oh, Wesley, I love you, too." She put her hands out for me to take. I reached out for her, feeling her warm hands against mine. I hope she doesn't mind that mine are sweaty.
"Fred, I just, well…" I was starting to get flustered now. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to calm myself and remember exactly how and what I was going to say. I pulled out the poem that Sp—I had written. "I wrote you a poem."
"Wesley, you wrote me a poem? Oh, that's so sweet. The last time someone wrote me a poem I was in the first grade." My stomach dropped. I'm such an idiot. She continued, "Of course, I hated boys at the time and thought he had cooties or something. But I can't believe you wrote me a poem. Read it to me? Please."
The beads of sweat had started dotting my forehead. I was starting to feel lightheaded. Bloody hell, just keep it together. "Well, alright. I'll read it to you, but please keep in mind that I'm not very good at writing poetry." I took a couple of deep breaths and used the table cloth in front of me to wipe at my forehead before I started.
"Winifred, Your love, its shimmering effervescence Calls to my heart, Entrapped to be yours alone For no one else can touch it, Hidden in a chest. The key…Yours, To have and hold, Opens the chest And gives you my heart, Forever." I risked looking in her eyes as I finished my recitation. She had her hands over her mouth.
Then she started clapping. "Oh, Wes. That was fantastic. I loved it. Thank you. It's the best poem I've ever heard." Fred leaned in to kiss me. "Really, Wesley, I loved it."
I kissed her back, suddenly relieved. Things were going right on schedule. She loved my poem. That's superb. I released the breath that I was holding. Now, it was time to ask her to marry me. "Fred, I wanted to ask you something." I had the ring now enclosed in my hand.
She looked at me intently. "What, Wesley? Did you need help with something in the office?"
"Um, no. Not that. I just wanted to say again that you mean so much to me, and that I would be honored if—."
A scream rang from behind me. I automatically stood, moved in front of Fred, my arms in front of me, ready to extend my collapsible sword at any moment. The instinct to protect and kill anything that jumped out at us was now dominant.
The woman who screamed, ran to the other side of the table where her dinner companion sat and threw herself on him, her voice resounding clearly in the now quiet restaurant. "Yes, Josh. Of course I'll marry you. Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you. I love you so much." The woman stopped her screaming long enough for her new fiancé to put the ring on her finger.
The people in the restaurant started clapping and calling out their congratulations. I sat back down, suddenly mortified at my behavior. Damn it. It was MY TURN to ask Fred to marry me. Not Josh!!!
Fred sat watching the festivities behind me. The woman was still making a scene, jumping up and down. Kissing Josh. "That's so romantic. Isn't it, Wes?"
Soon all of my worries were forgotten again. It's alright, I told myself, I can try again. "Yes. It is," I say, rather dreamily.
"So, what were you going to ask me?" Fred asked gently. Her face still smiling gently at me.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you that I love you. That the times we've had together have been the best days of my life. I was hoping that you'd feel the same way," I started, "Fred, will you—."
Crash.
Slam.
Crack.
A dish flew past my head hitting the end of our table, knocking off our glass center piece, and sending it crashing noisily to the ground. I turned my chair quickly to see who was attacking us.
"You fucking bastard. You're breaking up with me!!! I'm four months pregnant with your baby and you're breaking up with me!" The woman shouted, her partner attempting to calm her, obviously fueled the fire because she started throwing dishes off of the tables that surrounded hers. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU'RE MARRIED?" The scream was so loud it the crystal chandlers in the restaurant started to reverberate.
"Oh, Bloody Hell," I put my hands against my head. This is not going so well.
Fred must've stood up because her hands were resting on my shoulders. "Wesley, I hope you don't mind, but I really don't like this restaurant. I'm having a great time, but in all honesty, when you've lived in a Hell Dimension for five years, you don't want to be eating anything like frog's legs, ever again. Can't we just go to the taco stand instead? Please?"
"Alright. We'll just leave." I motioned to the waiter to bring our check. A few minutes later, the waiter handed me that little black folder that contained the check. $57.85. The number was larger than life. What the bloody hell? We didn't even order our meal. It was sixty dollars for two glasses of champagne! That's preposterous. I smiled at Fred, who looked at me questioningly. The waiter came back and asked me if everything was okay. It took everything in me not to yell.
"I'm just wondering if you didn't make a mistake. We didn't order our food yet, perhaps you have us confused with another table." The waiter stuck his nose up at me.
"Well, sir. It was twenty dollars for the champagne, you understand. But there was some damaged caused to your table. That center piece is extremely expensive. Perhaps next time you can be more careful in a fine restaurant, like ours." The man's voice was so condescending that I wanted to punch him. Truly break his pointed nose.
I bit my tongue. There was no way that I was going to let that pompass jackass ruin my mood. I just held up my credit card for him to take.
"Wesley, we didn't break that center piece! Why didn't you say anything?" Fred seemed concerned. Her brow furrowing as her hands flew as she spoke. "That woman who freaked out on her boyfriend did it."
I held up my hand, "It's alright. It is not worth it. I'd much rather just leave this horrible place and never come back." The waiter came back, had me sign the credit slip, then wished me adieu`.
We left, both upset at the waiter, but trying to get past it so that we could enjoy the rest of our evening. As I promised we stopped by Fred's favorite taco stand. It was fairly romantic, I suppose, especially since it was located near the amusement park. After a quick meal of taco salads and bean dip, we decided to walk over to the park and ride the carousel.
Hand-in-hand we walked, although the sounds of screaming children and laughter filled the air, it seemed as if we were the only people there. It was serene, no words were necessary. As we stood in line to ride the carousel, I felt that it was time.
"Fred, I was planning on asking you something in the restaurant, but I was interrupted." I palmed the ring again.
"Oh, yeah. Before the pregnant woman started screaming about how that bastard of a boyfriend was leaving her. And the nerve! He was married and didn't even tell her. I mean, come on. She had to have known, right? There are signs. I mean, the ring line on his hand for example. Or…Oh. I'm sorry. I'm doing it, again. What were you saying?"
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned my head to see the carnie, the very large and muscled carnie, ask for our tickets. I let out an exasperated breath. God! I pulled out the tickets and practically threw them in the man's face. I'm so sick of this. Why won't anyone let me ask the woman I love to marry me without interruption?
Fred's hand pulled at mine, stopping me from moving. "Wesley, that was rude! Why did you do that? All he did was ask for the tickets? What's wrong with you? You've been acting so weird today." She had her hands at her hips in that 'you're in trouble' posture that Cordy assumes when she's about to lecture us.
Well, I'd had just about enough today. "The problem is that no one will let me finish. Do you know how hard it is to get in the right mood without someone just interrupting you? I'm frustrated is all!"
"Frustrated about what? What are you trying to say?" She was starting to look upset at me. Her voice rose as she became defensive.
The words were about to be blurted out of my mouth, when a shrieking scream was herd throughout the park. Bloody hell, what is it this time? A woman freaking out over a rollercoaster? A frog jumping out of a hat? What!?
We both turned to run towards the sound, against all of the people trying to stampede out of the area. That was the first indication that it was serious. Most people ran away from danger. The screams were coming from the Haunted House. One of the little children cried that they had big teeth.
"Wesley. It's coming from the Haunted House. Those things always have mirrors in them. If it's a vampire, it's the perfect place to hide. No one would see them in the mirrors until it was too late. Oh, God." Fred was standing behind me.
"We'll luckily for those people in there; we've learned to never leave the office without weapons. Let's see if we can stop them." I motion for her to stay behind me as I extend the collapsible stake. I assume that they are vampires or else the people fleeing would've been screaming something about 'monsters.' Fred, always prepared, pulled out her tazer.
We stay quiet as we entered the Haunted House. "Be careful," I whisper to Fred, "these things can be mazes and there are people dressed up like monsters in here to scare people. We don't want to stake the wrong thing." She whispers back her agreement.
It's erringly quiet. The screams stopped suddenly. We've now come up toward the House of Mirrors. Crap. We won't be able to see the vampires in the mirrors.
Woosh. Crash.
A vampire is thrown against the mirrors and knocks them down. Breaking them instantly. The sounds of footsteps break the silence. Another wooshing sound followed by a poof tells us someone is in here. Someone who knows how to stake vampires. Fred pulls out a stake that she had hidden in her purse and stakes the vampire lying unconscious by our feet. The vampire turns to dust.
I look at her. "Is it possible that Angel could've sent someone here? I haven't heard about any vampire haunts in this area, but perhaps they did."
"I don't know, Wes. Maybe and maybe not. We still have to be careful." As she spoke those words, the mirrors behind and in front of us crash down.
We're surrounded!
"You vampires picked the wrong place to hang out." The voice called out, and echoing in the cavernous house.
Fred screamed as a body fell from above us, landing five feet from her. I pulled her quickly behind me as the stake converted to a sword. I was about to lunge at the figure, when Fred pulled me back, throwing me off balance and on the floor.
I was about to yell at her to get down, when she exploded, "CONNOR ANGEL!!! HARRISON DAVIES!!! What the HELL are you doing here?"
Well, now I looked more closely. Yes. It was them. I got up from off the ground and dusted myself off. Now it was my turn to put my hands against my hip. "Well, answer her! What are you doing here? Does your father, your sister know you're here?"
They put down their weapons…fairly familiar weapons I must add. Connor carried his father's favorite broadsword, while Harrison held a powerful crossbow located in my private collection. I don't think that Fred noticed them. They both looked at each other, not answering.
Connor looked at Fred, giving her a pathetically innocent expression, "I'm sorry. We just heard screams and thought we should help."
Fred fell for it, "Oh. Well, that was a good idea. But weren't you at the beach?"
Harrison jumped in with an explanation, "We got bored at the beach and I thought that it'd be cool to show Connor the wild rides at the Amusement Park."
"Ok. But you two should head home then. Cordy'll be worried about you two. Next time be more careful, okay, Honey?" She patted each boy on the head.
"Ok. We will." They both answered. Then scampered off, rather quickly.
"Well, wasn't that nice, Wesley. They helped those people. It's good to know that they didn't run away like all of those other people when others are in danger."
"Yes. It was very nice of them to stake those vampires." Now the only question I have is if they had come here from the beach, how did those weapons magically appear in their hands? Something is going on with those two. Something dangerous.
Fred waved her hand in front of my face. "Wesley, are you listening to a single word that I'm saying?"
"Um, no. Sorry, Fred. I was just thinking. What were you saying?" I apologized.
She stood in front of me, asking, "What were you going to ask me? Before the screams that is? You said that you been wanting to ask me something all night and that you keep getting interrupted. Well, I don't think anything is going to interrupt you now, so ask away." She gestured with her hand to continue.
I took in a needed breath, "Fred, it's not the right time. I wanted it to be special."
Fred's hands were thrown up in exasperation. "Wesley! For Pete's sake, just ask. You've had something crawling up your butt all evening. Just ask. It's not like you're going to ask me to marry you or something." Her eyes grew big at that thought, "Is it?"
Oh. Bloody Hell. I scrubbed my hands against my hair, "Well, actually, I was." I pulled out the velvet box, opened it and, like tradition, went down on one knee, "Fred, will you marry me?"
Her eyes widened more than I thought possible. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh. Wesley. Um. Okay." She started laughing. "I mean, Yes. I'll marry you."
I stood up, rather quickly, the blood rushing to my brain making me feel lightheaded. Or perhaps that was Fred's kiss taking my breath away. After a long passionate kiss, I pulled the ring from its box and placed it on her delicate hand. It looked astonishing. Its radiance blinding.
She kissed me again. And again. Until we forgot that we were in a Haunted House.
Soon the park security guards burst in...then the assumed it was a childish hoax and banished us from the amusement park.
How we ended up back at the Hyperion, I had no idea. It was if I was floating around a cloud of happiness. I opened the door for Fred, our mouths still dancing together. My jacket ended up in a pile on the front stairs. We had planned on going up the stairs to one of our rooms when catcalling whistles jarred us from our kissing.
Gunn, Robin, Faith, and Andrea were staring at us, expressing their amusement by whistling and clapping. Fred pulled away, grasping my hand in hers, lifted up the hand with the ring. "Hey, guys, Guess What?"
"Oh, my god," the ladies gasped, as they ran over to see it up close. Andrea, picked up her hand, "Wow. It's gorgeous, Fred. Congratulations." She kissed her on the cheek, and then came over to hug me. Faith gave Fred a tight hug, "Congrats. I mean, wow. That's great. Congratulations, Wes, Fred."
Gunn and Robin each gave me a slap on the back. Each congratulating us both in our engagement.
Angry shouts from upstairs overtook the congratulating. Angel's voice was heard throughout the hotel. "What do you mean you RAN INTO SOME VAMPIRES? How do you run into some vampires? If you ran into them, how'd you already have weapons ready? Oh. Yeah. My favorite broadswords just appeared in your hands. Wow. I wish it would do that for me. I wouldn't have to worry about demon's attacking me unexpectedly anymore."
Cordy's voice was heard trying to calm them all down. Reminding them that the children were sleeping. Footsteps coming down the stairs caused us to look up at them. Cordy had both boys by the ears and was dragging them downstairs followed by Angel and Spike. "Now you can yell as loud as you want."
I had to laugh at the sight. The boys looked chagrin at having their ears grabbed by the 'house mother.' The two vampires showing no mercy. "I guess you found out about our two weapon stealing thieves? I was going to mention it."
Harrison and Connor were dragged over to the round couch in the front hall and forced to sit down. Angel had his mouth open ready to interrogate them again.
The door opened to reveal Lorne in his hooded trench coat and sunglasses. "Oh. Boy. You will not believe what I just heard on the streets."
Angel crossed his arms over his chest, "Lorne, can we talk about this later. We're sort of busy right now."
Lorne came over to Angel, and patted his shoulder, "Angel-cakes, trust me, you want to hear this now. Especially since it has to do with the two puppies over here with their tails-in-between-their-legs. They've been busy little beavers."
This caught everyone's attention. "Alright, now I'm curious, what have these two been up to as of late?" I ask, my arms also crossing over my chest as I look down at them. Their mouths have closed tight. Their posture becoming closed off. Funny how they no longer look young and innocent.
"Oh, that's where you're wrong, Wes. That's where we've all been wrong. It's not 'as of late', like we'd all like to think. This has been happening since Connor returned from Quar'toth." Lorne removed the disguise, starting to pace around them. "Angel, Spike, Wesley, have you ever heard of a being called 'the Destroyer?'"
"No, I'd rather say, I'd never heard of the bloke. You?" Spike answered for us.
"Funny. I'd never heard of him either, that was until the fabric of reality was ripped open from Quar'toth." Lorne gave Connor a pointed look.
I caught the look, as did everyone else. Gunn raised a hand, "Are you saying that Connor's this 'Destroyer? 'Cause that's nuts."
"Yes, my little cupcakes. That's what I'm saying. And not only is Connor known as the Destroyer on the streets, but he and his sidekick—."
Harrison jumped in, "Hey. I'm not a sidekick. I'm his partner. Get the story right, okay?"
Lorne glared at him, "Fine—his partner, Harrison, over here, have been going out every night, like Batman and Robin hunting down evil vampires and demons. They've got the demon underground shaking in their boots. They've been doing this for MONTHS!"
Cordy's face got red, "WHAT?! Every night since they got here? Do you know how dangerous that is? Why didn't you tell us? You could've been killed."
Lorne whistled, "Princess. I wasn't done, yet. When I'm done, you won't just want to yell at them." He went over to the cabinet and poured himself a drink. He took a long sip, then passed the bottle to Angel. "Angel-cakes, you might want to drink some of this…oh and pass it to Cordy and Faith too."
He waited until Angel had his drink. "Okay. Like I said, these two have been playing crime fighters for a couple of months; That's not the problem. The problem is that they also have another partner: a partner who in any cases should be dead. You should sit down."
"Oh. Bloody Hell, just tell us what's going on and stop with the suspense," Spike inserts, clearing getting annoyed with the story teller.
Lorne shakes his head, "Alright, but if you pass out or something don't say I didn't warn you." He took another gulp of his drink, "Lindsey McDonald. They're working with Lindsey McDonald."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Ha ha ha… I did that on purpose. Don't hate me. You know what's coming…the explosion that is Angel.
Next Chapter: March (St. Patrick's Day)
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