Chapter 23: All good things come to an end
Title: A new beginning.
Author: Nikka
Author notes: Hey everyone, If you need to know about summary, rate and all the rest it's all in chapter 1 I'll just remind you that **English is not my native tongue** I want to thank Kelly for all the great works she's done, and to welcome aboard Nisus who from now on will be reproofing my fic. As it is you may still find some spelling & grammar mistakes. You're more than welcome to let me know about them but remember you may find them while you read the story. Have fun.
A special thank you to Nisus for reproofing my story. As of that the upload of the chapters may take longer. And to Kelly get well soon.
Feedback: I love love love reviews and I'll be sure to mention it at the end of every chapter.
***
It all happened so fast. The barrier fall and willow tried to hold them back as long as she could. When she finally collapsed the demons roared forward. Angel leaped forward trying to keep them away. The fight was in progress, as many as they knocked down the more they came. Willow tried using her powers till one of the demons knocked her out sending her flying against the wall. Spike knocked one of the demons down and smiled a cocky and premature smile. He didn't even hear Buffy's 'look-out' warning. The sword went through, he fall to his knees. "Spike!" Buffy called out he grabbed the sword and with a swift move pulled it out. He screamed. He was back on his feet just to see Buffy fall down on the floor one of her arrows inserted in her left shoulder. She backed against the wall using it for support.
"Buffy..." He ran to her, shoving a few demons along the way.
"No. Stop." She said while holding her bleeding shoulder. "I'm not dead. Keep fighting."
"You're hurt." He said to her.
"I also made a promise, and so did you." He looked back; Angel was still fighting trying to back the demons off. He stood in front of the door, fighting to keep them away. "Help him." Buffy whispered to him. Spike got up gave her one last look and joined Angel.
A few more minutes past by, to them it seemed like eternity. Spike was fighting two demons while Angel was fighting another three. The Sheryon leader went past them and through a breach in Angel and Spike's formed barrier and past through. Before Angel had a chance to react the Sheryon walked through the door and into the delivery room.
***
The leader of the Sheryon advanced towards the drape. "Noooo." Angel rushed in as the Sheryon opened the drape. Cordy saw him and panicked. She saw the blade coming towards her; she could see the doctor screams in fear but not leaving her sight. She saw Nurse Thompson trying to fight it, but he just slammed her against the wall. She fell to the ground unconscious. From the side she saw Angel laying on the ground after one of the demons knocked him down, he could barely move so he tried crawling until one of the demons clicked him again.
"Stop it." She begged the Sheryon.
"This child must not come to pass."
"Cordelia Now!" The doctor ordered and with one last ounce of strength she had left, she pushed. She screamed in pain. Suddenly a bright light came out of her. It surrounded her but quickly spread. As the light touched the Sheryon's hand, it began to disintegrate. Angel looked amazed as the light grow and grow disengaging all of the demons it touched.
Willow slowly came to, realizing, the demons that not long ago surrounded her, were gone. She stood on her feet. Oddly enough her head didn't hurt. She touched her forehead searching with her fingers for the big ugly bruise she was expecting, but it wasn't there. The rest were in no shape to move, Buffy was leaned against the wall with a bleeding shoulders and Spike was in the midst of battle, when he realized he had no one left to fight. He turned around looking for Buffy, who by now was standing with no injuries in sight. All of their bruises and stab wounds vanished. Nurse Thompson looked confused as she came to, not really understating what have just happened. As the light dimmed and finally vanished, Angel looked up searching for Cordy. It was all done. The demons were gone, along with the pain and destruction they have caused. The doctor seemed perfectly normal as if nothing she saw affected her.
"What are you doing here?" Nurse Thompson asked Angel. "I told you to wait outside, didn't I?"
"But you said, with everything that's been going on..."
"It's just a baby not a war zone." Suddenly, it hit him. Cordy erased it all, as if the demons never were, as if all of this never happened.
"Take the baby." The doctor said quickly. She pressed a button as she ran to Cordy's side. Another nurse came in carrying a cart followed by another nurse and another doctor. They all surrounded Cordy while nurse Thompson attended to the baby.
"What happened?" Angel asked trying to go through.
"Please wait outside." One of the nurses tried moving him.
"Angel?" Buffy who walked in looking for him, tried, with Spike's help to pull him aside. "They need to help her." She tried reasoning with him.
"Leave me alone." He pushed her away and walked out.
***
"Angel?" She followed him outside.
"Let him be." Spike said to her. "I'm going out for a smoke."
"Great." She sighed and sat on the bench in the waiting area.
"They'll come back." Willow tried encouraging her.
"I don't get it, how did she do it?" Buffy asked reflecting on everything that happened.
"I guess she had more power than we thought, or maybe..."
"What?" Buffy asked intrigued.
"Maybe the baby had something to do with it. I mean after all it was described as the miracle child."
"I have a bad feeling that this time the prophecy isn't wrong." Buffy said quietly afraid to admit it.
"I don't know if he can handle it?" Willow wondered.
"He has to." Buffy replied. "It's not just him now, there's a child involved."
"I know but..."
"What?" Buffy didn't understand why Willow stopped talking, when realized she was staring at something over her shoulder. She turned her head to see the doctor coming their way, they both stood.
"I wish her family were around..." The doctor started to explain. "But since they're not in the picture..." She paused, "Any way, I'm sure you know how to get in touch with them." The two nodded.
"The baby?" Willow asked in hesitation.
"The baby's fine." The doctor smiled. "Right weight, height, perfectly healthy...."
"And Cordy?" Buffy asked when suddenly she saw Fred, Wesley, Gunn, Connor and Giles heading their way.
"Hey." Buffy greeted them. Giles smiled obviously happy to see her.
"The doctor was just telling us about Cordy and the baby." Willow explained.
"We better sit down." The doctor offered.
"I'm an expert in bad news." Buffy said. "And it doesn't matter if you stand or sit."
"I guess not." The doctor replied.
"Then how is she?" Gunn asked anxiously.
***
"I wish I had better news for you." She sighed. "I wish..."
"She's dead?" A voice from behind asked. The doctor turned to see Angel.
She wasn't sure whether he was asking or stating a fact. "No she's not." Although he didn't reply, you could see he felt relived, but not happy, not yet, not till he see her and talk to her. "But she's not well either." The doctor continued. Angel didn't seem surprised, as if he waited for the other shoe to drop.
"What are we dealing here with?" He advanced towards the doctor.
"I have to say we never seen anything like it before, we're consulting other physicians around the world for..."
"Doctor." Wesley cut her off. "Cordelia?"
"Yes of course." Her expression changed. "As I said, she's alive but in a comatose state."
"A what?" Buffy asked confused. "She's in a coma, from giving birth?"
"As I explained it's a very rare, and actually never heard of condition. We're running tests to get a better idea..."
"Will she wake up?" Fred asked in a quiet and sad tone.
"We don't know." The doctor replied. "If we address this as any other coma case... it's an unknown territory for us..." The doctor stopped talking as she noticed Angel turning around and walking away.
"Angel?" Fred called out to him. He stopped his back facing her "Where are you going?"
"To say goodbye."
***
He opened the door slowly, afraid of what he may find inside. The room was empty, even Nurse Thompson was nowhere to be seen. On the bed lay Cordelia. She looked so peaceful, he walked towards her, almost expecting her to wake up and give him one of her million dollar smiles. But she didn't. The monitor monitoring her heart rate was beeping on the screen. It was the only indication she was still alive. He sat by her bedside, taking her hand and squeezing it tight, hoping it might wake her up.
"I want to be angry with you, and I have a right to be." He said firmly. "You left me, left our family, and I bet you knew it was coming, you always do." He looked down at the floor searching for words, knowing she may not hear him, not really caring. "I should be used to you leaving me by now, right? But than again you can never be ready to lose..." He paused. "I don't even know if I lost you, maybe if I did, this could have been easier." He looked at her almost waiting for her to reply, "What am I suppose to tell your child when he..." He stopped realizing he didn't know the gender, "Or maybe she, asks me where's mommy?" A knock on the door caught his attention. "Yes?"
Fred came in rolling a bassinet. "I thought you might want to meet your daughter." She smiled.
"A girl?" He said astounded. "It's a girl?" Fred nodded with a huge smile. Angel stood up and walked towards her. In the bassinet, laid a beautiful baby girl. The only way you could tell it was a girl was from the pink blanket she was wrapped in. "Why did you say my daughter?" Angel asked after Fred's words sunk in.
"Apparently Cordelia named you as the father of her child, when asked to fill in her details." Angel smiled, he didn't mind, he knew Cordy loved this baby more than anything, so giving her to him to raise was an honor. "She's going to keep us busy that one." Fred smiled staring at the sleeping baby. "The nurse needs you to fill in her birth certificate."
"Okay." He mumbled, unable to take his eyes off her.
"They need a name," Fred explained.
Suddenly Angel looked up, with a panicked expression. "I can't..." He stammered, "I don't know what she wanted to name her... she never told me what...."
"Annabel." Fred said with a comforting smile.
"How do you...?" Angel asked confused.
"Lorne." Fred explained. "After she learned the baby was a girl, she confided to Lorne and when they spoke about baby names..."
"Annabel." Angel continued the sentence.
"Yes." Fred looked surprised. "How did you know?"
"She told me once she always loved the name Annabel. I guess I just forgot." He explained.
The door opened and a nurse came in. "I'm sorry I have to take her." She smiled as she rolled the baby to the door.
"When can I take her home?" Angel asked anxiously.
"First you sort out the paperwork and if everything is in order... in a few days." The nurse smiled as she left the room with the baby.
"I better let you finish." Fred said and walked out leaving him alone with Cordy.
"That's one hell of a job you left me in charge of." He returned to his seat. "I promise I'll take care of her as if she was my own...." He paused hesitating whether she was really his, "She is mine." He assured himself, "and I'll keep her safe till you wake up, and you will, you have to for her. I know nothing about clothes," he chuckled, "So unless you want me and the gang to be her fashion mentors..." He paused taking a moment, "you better wake up." His voice cracked.
He stood up still holding her hand. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." He whispered. He laid her arm next to her body and walked out closing the door behind him.
***
"Noooo... Stop it...this child must not come to pass...Cordelia Now!" She opened her eyes, her body flinched she raised her upper body in one swift movement, she was sitting, it what appeared to have a bed. She looked around frantic. Nothing seemed familiar. The room was dark and bare. She looked down at herself; she was wearing a nightgown, with teddy bears on it. She looked at her hands, **my nails** she thought, **they look awful**. She touched her face, realizing she had two small pads attached to wires glowed to her skull. She yanked them out; it hurt a bit. She touched her hair; it was still short, but longer than she remembered. She gave the room another look, realizing she was in a hospital. "Angel?" She said looking around her, and then she remembered. She grabbed her belly looking for traces of her unborn child, but there were non-to be found. It was flat as it was almost 5 months ago, or was it less? She pulled the covers over her to revel her bare legs, she tried moving her legs, but nothing happened. "Come on." she urged them, but they didn't respond. She tried again, realizing she couldn't move them. "Am I crippled? No I can't be." She looked to her side. On the nightstand stood a pair of small scissors. She grabbed them and punctured her leg. "Aww." She said in pain. "Not crippled." She smiled. "So why can't I move?" She grabbed on leg and moved in over to the floor, the other one still remained on the bed. Than she took the other one as well. She was just a few inches from the floor, but it seemed to her is if a valley stood between her and the ground. "Just do it already." She snapped at herself and with one jump. She fell as fast as she jumped, her body crushing down to the floor.
The door opened and someone walked in. "Good morning Cordelia have you slept...?" there was a brief moment of quiet before the nurse pushed the button and turned on the lights. In a few seconds the room was packed. Cordy who was still lying on the ground tried to seat up, hopping she'd look less pathetic than she felt. It didn't take long for the nurse to see her and with the help of an orderly to get her back into bed. Than the doctor came, he checked her legs looking for reflexes. He pinched her, "Hey watch it." She snapped at him. "I could have told you that would hurt."
"I'm Sorry Cordelia, but we have to make sure there is no permanent damage."
"Since you know my name don't you think I should know yours?" She was a bit surprised of how informal this doctor was; true he was young, but still.
"I'm sorry, it's been so long, we've all got use to calling you by your first name."
"That's nice." She smiled a fake smile. "Back to who you are? Why am I here? And what the hell happened to my nails?"
"Corde... I mean Miss Chase." The doctor corrected himself. "What year is it?"
"What is this? Did I bump my head during delivery, speaking of which where's my baby? I want to see her? Is she okay?"
"Cordelia!" The doctor raised his voice. "I know you have a lot of questions and all we'll be answered shortly, but first, I need you to answer a few important questions I have fro you, starting with the date, if you remember it?"
November 2002. Happy?" She raised her eyebrows. The doctor whispered something to the nurse who stood beside him and she quickly left the room.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"Come on..."
"Cordelia..." The doctor gave her a firm stare, and she felt like a five year old been sent to her room.
"I was having a baby, and as far as I remember you still come for to the hospital in those situations, right?" She said sarcastically.
"Nothing's wrong with your humor, that's for sure." The doctor smiled as he wrote something his pad.
"Now can you tell me what's going on here?"
"Actually we've contacted your family and as soon as they arrive we can..."
"It's going to take them awhile to get here from Florida." She replied thinking he referred to her parents.
"No I meant your husband and co-workers." The doctor explained.
"My what?" Cordy said in shock. "Am I married? Is this some kind of alternate reality or something?"
"Uh, doctor?" One of the nurses pulled him aside as she whispered something in his ear, and pointed to a chart she was holding.
"I'm sorry." He turned around facing her again. "I was misled."
"So I'm not married?" She asked confused and relieved all at once.
"Not as far as we know." The doctor smiled embarrassed. "So we'll just wait for them to arrive, and we can all sit down..."
"No. Tell me now." She insisted.
"They'll be right over." The doctor tried reasoning with her.
"But I don't want to wait, so if could just..."
"I'm Sorry Miss Chase." The doctor changed his tune. "Mr. Angel specifically asked to wait for him in the event you..."
"Mr. Angel?" She said surprised. "It's okay, I'm sure Mr. Angel wouldn't mind." She giggled.
"I'm sorry I have to insist."
"Geez, what is he? Your boss or something?" the doctor didn't reply he just looked down at his pad. "Okay what's going on here?" Cordy got a strange vibe, as if all wasn't right with this reality she woke up to. "I want answers and I want them now!" She raised her voice.
"Look at that. Awake only half an hour and already bossing people around." She looked towards the door to see Angel and Wesley standing there with a huge smile on their face.
"Hi guys." She smiled back at them, but before she had a chance to say anything else, the tow leaped forward and hugged her, or more like squeezed her. "Guys... I can't breath..." she said with chocked tune. The two quickly backed off.
"Sorry." Said Wesley.
"I know you missed me and all, but it's only been a few days?" She assumed.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Angel asked as he and Wesley took some chairs and sat beside her. No one but the doctor stayed, the rest left, to give them some privacy.
"Not with the questions again?" She wined.
"She thinks it's 2002." The doctor whispered to Angel, but apparently loud enough for her to hear as well.
"You make it sound like I'm crazy or something." She got mad.
"No one said your crazy." Angel calmed her down. "Maybe it would be best if you leave us alone." The doctor nodded and walked out.
"This guy is really scared of you." Cordy chuckled. "What did you do to him? Showed him your game face?"
"Something like that." Angle replied. "Cordy... back to the last thing you remember?"
"Fine." She grouched. "I was laying in bed, delivery was taking longer than expected..." She paused trying to recall, "Willow came in, said something about a spell she needed to perform..."
"That's good." Wesley said. "But what's the very last thing you remember?"
"I don't know, it's all a blur... I guess I remember someone screaming a long no, I guess it was me."
"No actually it was I." Angel corrected her.
"You?" She asked surprised, "Why would you scream...? Wait..." the picture was getting clearer. "I had a sword pointed at me... Her expression changed to fear as she remembered. "The Sheryon... he wanted to kill me... he said; this child shall not come to pass... I remember now." She looked scared.
"It's okay Cordy, it's all in the past." Wesley tried calming her down.
"What past? She yelled. "How long have past? How long was I out?"
"Cordy please calm down." Wesley tried again.
"No damn it." She pushed away his comforting arm. "How long?" What's today date? Answer me!" She looked straight at Angel.
"February 2004." He replied as a shocked expression replaced the feared one. "2004?" She said, not believing. "Two years?
"Actually if you calculate it correctly it's barely been 18 months."
"That's comforting." She said cynically. "It's only been a year and a half not two like you thought. Wow what a difference."
"I'm sorry." Angel said quietly.
"And the baby? Where's my daughter?"
"She's fine, we took care of her, just as I promised." He smiled.
"I want to see her."
"All in good time." Angel replied.
"What's that crap all in good time." She was angry, more at the world than with him.
"There are a few things you need to know before you meet her, to avoid any confusing questions."
"She's barely two years old Angel. What questions do you think she'll have?"
"Well, that's another thing we should talk about." Angel said to her surprise. "Things are different now, a lot different."
***
TBC
Hi ppl,
A few expiations: As you noticed the story jumped in time. I made it so, she went into coma at the beginning of season 4 (around the same time Spin the bottle aired), and she regained consciousness at the midst of Season 5 (around the time You're welcome aired). In the following chapter I'll explain the story plot in that missing time, so hang in there.
Thank you for your wonderful reviews for the previous ch. and please let me know what you thought of this one.
A little warning.... The next update may take longer than I intended, due to very very bust times, so be patient, as I know you will.
Thank you, and as always I hoped you enjoyed it.
Nikka.
Title: A new beginning.
Author: Nikka
Author notes: Hey everyone, If you need to know about summary, rate and all the rest it's all in chapter 1 I'll just remind you that **English is not my native tongue** I want to thank Kelly for all the great works she's done, and to welcome aboard Nisus who from now on will be reproofing my fic. As it is you may still find some spelling & grammar mistakes. You're more than welcome to let me know about them but remember you may find them while you read the story. Have fun.
A special thank you to Nisus for reproofing my story. As of that the upload of the chapters may take longer. And to Kelly get well soon.
Feedback: I love love love reviews and I'll be sure to mention it at the end of every chapter.
***
It all happened so fast. The barrier fall and willow tried to hold them back as long as she could. When she finally collapsed the demons roared forward. Angel leaped forward trying to keep them away. The fight was in progress, as many as they knocked down the more they came. Willow tried using her powers till one of the demons knocked her out sending her flying against the wall. Spike knocked one of the demons down and smiled a cocky and premature smile. He didn't even hear Buffy's 'look-out' warning. The sword went through, he fall to his knees. "Spike!" Buffy called out he grabbed the sword and with a swift move pulled it out. He screamed. He was back on his feet just to see Buffy fall down on the floor one of her arrows inserted in her left shoulder. She backed against the wall using it for support.
"Buffy..." He ran to her, shoving a few demons along the way.
"No. Stop." She said while holding her bleeding shoulder. "I'm not dead. Keep fighting."
"You're hurt." He said to her.
"I also made a promise, and so did you." He looked back; Angel was still fighting trying to back the demons off. He stood in front of the door, fighting to keep them away. "Help him." Buffy whispered to him. Spike got up gave her one last look and joined Angel.
A few more minutes past by, to them it seemed like eternity. Spike was fighting two demons while Angel was fighting another three. The Sheryon leader went past them and through a breach in Angel and Spike's formed barrier and past through. Before Angel had a chance to react the Sheryon walked through the door and into the delivery room.
***
The leader of the Sheryon advanced towards the drape. "Noooo." Angel rushed in as the Sheryon opened the drape. Cordy saw him and panicked. She saw the blade coming towards her; she could see the doctor screams in fear but not leaving her sight. She saw Nurse Thompson trying to fight it, but he just slammed her against the wall. She fell to the ground unconscious. From the side she saw Angel laying on the ground after one of the demons knocked him down, he could barely move so he tried crawling until one of the demons clicked him again.
"Stop it." She begged the Sheryon.
"This child must not come to pass."
"Cordelia Now!" The doctor ordered and with one last ounce of strength she had left, she pushed. She screamed in pain. Suddenly a bright light came out of her. It surrounded her but quickly spread. As the light touched the Sheryon's hand, it began to disintegrate. Angel looked amazed as the light grow and grow disengaging all of the demons it touched.
Willow slowly came to, realizing, the demons that not long ago surrounded her, were gone. She stood on her feet. Oddly enough her head didn't hurt. She touched her forehead searching with her fingers for the big ugly bruise she was expecting, but it wasn't there. The rest were in no shape to move, Buffy was leaned against the wall with a bleeding shoulders and Spike was in the midst of battle, when he realized he had no one left to fight. He turned around looking for Buffy, who by now was standing with no injuries in sight. All of their bruises and stab wounds vanished. Nurse Thompson looked confused as she came to, not really understating what have just happened. As the light dimmed and finally vanished, Angel looked up searching for Cordy. It was all done. The demons were gone, along with the pain and destruction they have caused. The doctor seemed perfectly normal as if nothing she saw affected her.
"What are you doing here?" Nurse Thompson asked Angel. "I told you to wait outside, didn't I?"
"But you said, with everything that's been going on..."
"It's just a baby not a war zone." Suddenly, it hit him. Cordy erased it all, as if the demons never were, as if all of this never happened.
"Take the baby." The doctor said quickly. She pressed a button as she ran to Cordy's side. Another nurse came in carrying a cart followed by another nurse and another doctor. They all surrounded Cordy while nurse Thompson attended to the baby.
"What happened?" Angel asked trying to go through.
"Please wait outside." One of the nurses tried moving him.
"Angel?" Buffy who walked in looking for him, tried, with Spike's help to pull him aside. "They need to help her." She tried reasoning with him.
"Leave me alone." He pushed her away and walked out.
***
"Angel?" She followed him outside.
"Let him be." Spike said to her. "I'm going out for a smoke."
"Great." She sighed and sat on the bench in the waiting area.
"They'll come back." Willow tried encouraging her.
"I don't get it, how did she do it?" Buffy asked reflecting on everything that happened.
"I guess she had more power than we thought, or maybe..."
"What?" Buffy asked intrigued.
"Maybe the baby had something to do with it. I mean after all it was described as the miracle child."
"I have a bad feeling that this time the prophecy isn't wrong." Buffy said quietly afraid to admit it.
"I don't know if he can handle it?" Willow wondered.
"He has to." Buffy replied. "It's not just him now, there's a child involved."
"I know but..."
"What?" Buffy didn't understand why Willow stopped talking, when realized she was staring at something over her shoulder. She turned her head to see the doctor coming their way, they both stood.
"I wish her family were around..." The doctor started to explain. "But since they're not in the picture..." She paused, "Any way, I'm sure you know how to get in touch with them." The two nodded.
"The baby?" Willow asked in hesitation.
"The baby's fine." The doctor smiled. "Right weight, height, perfectly healthy...."
"And Cordy?" Buffy asked when suddenly she saw Fred, Wesley, Gunn, Connor and Giles heading their way.
"Hey." Buffy greeted them. Giles smiled obviously happy to see her.
"The doctor was just telling us about Cordy and the baby." Willow explained.
"We better sit down." The doctor offered.
"I'm an expert in bad news." Buffy said. "And it doesn't matter if you stand or sit."
"I guess not." The doctor replied.
"Then how is she?" Gunn asked anxiously.
***
"I wish I had better news for you." She sighed. "I wish..."
"She's dead?" A voice from behind asked. The doctor turned to see Angel.
She wasn't sure whether he was asking or stating a fact. "No she's not." Although he didn't reply, you could see he felt relived, but not happy, not yet, not till he see her and talk to her. "But she's not well either." The doctor continued. Angel didn't seem surprised, as if he waited for the other shoe to drop.
"What are we dealing here with?" He advanced towards the doctor.
"I have to say we never seen anything like it before, we're consulting other physicians around the world for..."
"Doctor." Wesley cut her off. "Cordelia?"
"Yes of course." Her expression changed. "As I said, she's alive but in a comatose state."
"A what?" Buffy asked confused. "She's in a coma, from giving birth?"
"As I explained it's a very rare, and actually never heard of condition. We're running tests to get a better idea..."
"Will she wake up?" Fred asked in a quiet and sad tone.
"We don't know." The doctor replied. "If we address this as any other coma case... it's an unknown territory for us..." The doctor stopped talking as she noticed Angel turning around and walking away.
"Angel?" Fred called out to him. He stopped his back facing her "Where are you going?"
"To say goodbye."
***
He opened the door slowly, afraid of what he may find inside. The room was empty, even Nurse Thompson was nowhere to be seen. On the bed lay Cordelia. She looked so peaceful, he walked towards her, almost expecting her to wake up and give him one of her million dollar smiles. But she didn't. The monitor monitoring her heart rate was beeping on the screen. It was the only indication she was still alive. He sat by her bedside, taking her hand and squeezing it tight, hoping it might wake her up.
"I want to be angry with you, and I have a right to be." He said firmly. "You left me, left our family, and I bet you knew it was coming, you always do." He looked down at the floor searching for words, knowing she may not hear him, not really caring. "I should be used to you leaving me by now, right? But than again you can never be ready to lose..." He paused. "I don't even know if I lost you, maybe if I did, this could have been easier." He looked at her almost waiting for her to reply, "What am I suppose to tell your child when he..." He stopped realizing he didn't know the gender, "Or maybe she, asks me where's mommy?" A knock on the door caught his attention. "Yes?"
Fred came in rolling a bassinet. "I thought you might want to meet your daughter." She smiled.
"A girl?" He said astounded. "It's a girl?" Fred nodded with a huge smile. Angel stood up and walked towards her. In the bassinet, laid a beautiful baby girl. The only way you could tell it was a girl was from the pink blanket she was wrapped in. "Why did you say my daughter?" Angel asked after Fred's words sunk in.
"Apparently Cordelia named you as the father of her child, when asked to fill in her details." Angel smiled, he didn't mind, he knew Cordy loved this baby more than anything, so giving her to him to raise was an honor. "She's going to keep us busy that one." Fred smiled staring at the sleeping baby. "The nurse needs you to fill in her birth certificate."
"Okay." He mumbled, unable to take his eyes off her.
"They need a name," Fred explained.
Suddenly Angel looked up, with a panicked expression. "I can't..." He stammered, "I don't know what she wanted to name her... she never told me what...."
"Annabel." Fred said with a comforting smile.
"How do you...?" Angel asked confused.
"Lorne." Fred explained. "After she learned the baby was a girl, she confided to Lorne and when they spoke about baby names..."
"Annabel." Angel continued the sentence.
"Yes." Fred looked surprised. "How did you know?"
"She told me once she always loved the name Annabel. I guess I just forgot." He explained.
The door opened and a nurse came in. "I'm sorry I have to take her." She smiled as she rolled the baby to the door.
"When can I take her home?" Angel asked anxiously.
"First you sort out the paperwork and if everything is in order... in a few days." The nurse smiled as she left the room with the baby.
"I better let you finish." Fred said and walked out leaving him alone with Cordy.
"That's one hell of a job you left me in charge of." He returned to his seat. "I promise I'll take care of her as if she was my own...." He paused hesitating whether she was really his, "She is mine." He assured himself, "and I'll keep her safe till you wake up, and you will, you have to for her. I know nothing about clothes," he chuckled, "So unless you want me and the gang to be her fashion mentors..." He paused taking a moment, "you better wake up." His voice cracked.
He stood up still holding her hand. He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." He whispered. He laid her arm next to her body and walked out closing the door behind him.
***
"Noooo... Stop it...this child must not come to pass...Cordelia Now!" She opened her eyes, her body flinched she raised her upper body in one swift movement, she was sitting, it what appeared to have a bed. She looked around frantic. Nothing seemed familiar. The room was dark and bare. She looked down at herself; she was wearing a nightgown, with teddy bears on it. She looked at her hands, **my nails** she thought, **they look awful**. She touched her face, realizing she had two small pads attached to wires glowed to her skull. She yanked them out; it hurt a bit. She touched her hair; it was still short, but longer than she remembered. She gave the room another look, realizing she was in a hospital. "Angel?" She said looking around her, and then she remembered. She grabbed her belly looking for traces of her unborn child, but there were non-to be found. It was flat as it was almost 5 months ago, or was it less? She pulled the covers over her to revel her bare legs, she tried moving her legs, but nothing happened. "Come on." she urged them, but they didn't respond. She tried again, realizing she couldn't move them. "Am I crippled? No I can't be." She looked to her side. On the nightstand stood a pair of small scissors. She grabbed them and punctured her leg. "Aww." She said in pain. "Not crippled." She smiled. "So why can't I move?" She grabbed on leg and moved in over to the floor, the other one still remained on the bed. Than she took the other one as well. She was just a few inches from the floor, but it seemed to her is if a valley stood between her and the ground. "Just do it already." She snapped at herself and with one jump. She fell as fast as she jumped, her body crushing down to the floor.
The door opened and someone walked in. "Good morning Cordelia have you slept...?" there was a brief moment of quiet before the nurse pushed the button and turned on the lights. In a few seconds the room was packed. Cordy who was still lying on the ground tried to seat up, hopping she'd look less pathetic than she felt. It didn't take long for the nurse to see her and with the help of an orderly to get her back into bed. Than the doctor came, he checked her legs looking for reflexes. He pinched her, "Hey watch it." She snapped at him. "I could have told you that would hurt."
"I'm Sorry Cordelia, but we have to make sure there is no permanent damage."
"Since you know my name don't you think I should know yours?" She was a bit surprised of how informal this doctor was; true he was young, but still.
"I'm sorry, it's been so long, we've all got use to calling you by your first name."
"That's nice." She smiled a fake smile. "Back to who you are? Why am I here? And what the hell happened to my nails?"
"Corde... I mean Miss Chase." The doctor corrected himself. "What year is it?"
"What is this? Did I bump my head during delivery, speaking of which where's my baby? I want to see her? Is she okay?"
"Cordelia!" The doctor raised his voice. "I know you have a lot of questions and all we'll be answered shortly, but first, I need you to answer a few important questions I have fro you, starting with the date, if you remember it?"
November 2002. Happy?" She raised her eyebrows. The doctor whispered something to the nurse who stood beside him and she quickly left the room.
"Do you know why you're here?"
"Come on..."
"Cordelia..." The doctor gave her a firm stare, and she felt like a five year old been sent to her room.
"I was having a baby, and as far as I remember you still come for to the hospital in those situations, right?" She said sarcastically.
"Nothing's wrong with your humor, that's for sure." The doctor smiled as he wrote something his pad.
"Now can you tell me what's going on here?"
"Actually we've contacted your family and as soon as they arrive we can..."
"It's going to take them awhile to get here from Florida." She replied thinking he referred to her parents.
"No I meant your husband and co-workers." The doctor explained.
"My what?" Cordy said in shock. "Am I married? Is this some kind of alternate reality or something?"
"Uh, doctor?" One of the nurses pulled him aside as she whispered something in his ear, and pointed to a chart she was holding.
"I'm sorry." He turned around facing her again. "I was misled."
"So I'm not married?" She asked confused and relieved all at once.
"Not as far as we know." The doctor smiled embarrassed. "So we'll just wait for them to arrive, and we can all sit down..."
"No. Tell me now." She insisted.
"They'll be right over." The doctor tried reasoning with her.
"But I don't want to wait, so if could just..."
"I'm Sorry Miss Chase." The doctor changed his tune. "Mr. Angel specifically asked to wait for him in the event you..."
"Mr. Angel?" She said surprised. "It's okay, I'm sure Mr. Angel wouldn't mind." She giggled.
"I'm sorry I have to insist."
"Geez, what is he? Your boss or something?" the doctor didn't reply he just looked down at his pad. "Okay what's going on here?" Cordy got a strange vibe, as if all wasn't right with this reality she woke up to. "I want answers and I want them now!" She raised her voice.
"Look at that. Awake only half an hour and already bossing people around." She looked towards the door to see Angel and Wesley standing there with a huge smile on their face.
"Hi guys." She smiled back at them, but before she had a chance to say anything else, the tow leaped forward and hugged her, or more like squeezed her. "Guys... I can't breath..." she said with chocked tune. The two quickly backed off.
"Sorry." Said Wesley.
"I know you missed me and all, but it's only been a few days?" She assumed.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Angel asked as he and Wesley took some chairs and sat beside her. No one but the doctor stayed, the rest left, to give them some privacy.
"Not with the questions again?" She wined.
"She thinks it's 2002." The doctor whispered to Angel, but apparently loud enough for her to hear as well.
"You make it sound like I'm crazy or something." She got mad.
"No one said your crazy." Angel calmed her down. "Maybe it would be best if you leave us alone." The doctor nodded and walked out.
"This guy is really scared of you." Cordy chuckled. "What did you do to him? Showed him your game face?"
"Something like that." Angle replied. "Cordy... back to the last thing you remember?"
"Fine." She grouched. "I was laying in bed, delivery was taking longer than expected..." She paused trying to recall, "Willow came in, said something about a spell she needed to perform..."
"That's good." Wesley said. "But what's the very last thing you remember?"
"I don't know, it's all a blur... I guess I remember someone screaming a long no, I guess it was me."
"No actually it was I." Angel corrected her.
"You?" She asked surprised, "Why would you scream...? Wait..." the picture was getting clearer. "I had a sword pointed at me... Her expression changed to fear as she remembered. "The Sheryon... he wanted to kill me... he said; this child shall not come to pass... I remember now." She looked scared.
"It's okay Cordy, it's all in the past." Wesley tried calming her down.
"What past? She yelled. "How long have past? How long was I out?"
"Cordy please calm down." Wesley tried again.
"No damn it." She pushed away his comforting arm. "How long?" What's today date? Answer me!" She looked straight at Angel.
"February 2004." He replied as a shocked expression replaced the feared one. "2004?" She said, not believing. "Two years?
"Actually if you calculate it correctly it's barely been 18 months."
"That's comforting." She said cynically. "It's only been a year and a half not two like you thought. Wow what a difference."
"I'm sorry." Angel said quietly.
"And the baby? Where's my daughter?"
"She's fine, we took care of her, just as I promised." He smiled.
"I want to see her."
"All in good time." Angel replied.
"What's that crap all in good time." She was angry, more at the world than with him.
"There are a few things you need to know before you meet her, to avoid any confusing questions."
"She's barely two years old Angel. What questions do you think she'll have?"
"Well, that's another thing we should talk about." Angel said to her surprise. "Things are different now, a lot different."
***
TBC
Hi ppl,
A few expiations: As you noticed the story jumped in time. I made it so, she went into coma at the beginning of season 4 (around the same time Spin the bottle aired), and she regained consciousness at the midst of Season 5 (around the time You're welcome aired). In the following chapter I'll explain the story plot in that missing time, so hang in there.
Thank you for your wonderful reviews for the previous ch. and please let me know what you thought of this one.
A little warning.... The next update may take longer than I intended, due to very very bust times, so be patient, as I know you will.
Thank you, and as always I hoped you enjoyed it.
Nikka.