Chapter 24: Home sweet home.
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.
"Angel?" She said again after he didn't respond. "What things? What's so different? I mean I guess things changed in almost two years, but never the less, it couldn't have changed that dramatically, right?" She looked for reassurance, "Right?"
"Wes, can you give us some time alone?" Wesley nodded and quietly walked out. "What I'm about to tell you is not easy to hear, and you may find it... scratch that, you will find it confusing, at first."
"Angel you're scaring me?" her voice trembled.
"It's not my intention, but you need to know about the past year and half, and it was a busy year and half."
"Okay." She hesitated. "Just spill it."
He moved his chair closer to the bedside, "After Annabelle was born...
"You named her Annabelle..." Cordy smiled.
Angel smiled happy to see her wonderful smile again. "After she was born," he continued, "we had it good for a few months, we managed... more than that, we were a family. Buffy and the gang stayed for awhile to help, but even after they left..." He paused almost paining for lost days.
"I'm guessing a but is coming."
"And a big one," he replied. "It was around 3 months after the birth, strange things started to happen."
"Strange how?" She inquired.
"Weird cases, dead rats, birds dying, rain of fire... you know the usual."
"Yeah if you're leaving on Hellmouth and you've seen a pre-apocalypse weather." She smiled a half smile.
"We knew things are going to get worse, but we didn't know how worse." He told her of Jasmine, before she had a name, before they even knew she existed. Back then; of what seemed to be ages ago, they thought they only had the beast to worry about.
"The beast?" she asked confused.
"Her tug, Minion, whatever..." Angel explained. He continued explaining how they tried fighting him, how he killed everyone at W&H, which Cordy didn't find so horrible.
"I mean in the big-picture-sense." She defended herself. "It's not like I'm happy they're all dead."
"It's okay, we thought so too, only to discover he was just eliminating the competition. Which naturally led to the sun turning black..."
"Black? As in night-all-day-long?"
"That's right." Angel replied. "At that point Lorne was contacted by the powers that informed him they're sending someone to help us. We thought they'd send warriors or something of the sort, but apparently their idea of help included Monks coming to take Annabelle to safety."
"What?!" She yelled. "You let them take her?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "If you were so concerned about her, you should have given her to Groo. I trusted you..."
"Cordy!" He yelled. "We had no choice." He said in a firm voice. "We were outnumbered, fighting an unstopped beast, the sky were dark, demons were everywhere... they offered to help..."
"You didn't know them..." She said angrily.
"They came with the powers' blessing."
"So what?!" She raised her voice. "First of all you couldn't know that for sure, I got false visions in the past remember?" She raised her hand indicating she wasn't through. "Secondly, so what if they did, it's not like they've never been wrong before."
"I know. But we had to get her out of there."
"So why not turn to her father?"
"Cause we..." He stopped realizing he had no one to blame but himself, Fred did insist they'd contact Groo, it was he who insisted otherwise, "...I," He emphasized... "Never told Groo."
"Why?" She asked wanting to understand and not be mad at him, wishing there was a reasonable explanation.
"I don't know, but I didn't, and by then it was too late. We just didn't have the time to find a hot spot, go to Pylea, search for Groo, and still come back in time to fight the beast." She didn't say anything in response and Angel thought it would be best just to go on with his story. "They took her, promised they'll keep her safe and send her back when the time is right." He paused making sure she was still listening o him. "We spent the next few months trying to stop the beast. We tried everything, even bringing Angelus back..."
"You what?" She yelled again.
"But hey it turned out okay, right?' He tried humor thinking it would relief the situation. It didn't.
"So what you ended up calling Willow for help?" She asked knowing the answer already.
"How did you...?" He stopped, thinking it wasn't important right now. "Yeah we did, ad Faith as well."
"A homicidal slayer, just what you needed. I'm glad my daughter was nowhere near that fiasco."
Angel ignored her remarks and kept on. He told her of Jasmine's arrival, and the effect she had on all who saw her. He also told her about her nasty habit of eating people and how they all came to and learned what she really was.
"So she gave human race peace on earth in the expense of eating 2-3 people a day." Cordy summed it up.
"Something like that." Angel smiled slightly; glad to see she was in a better.
"So you all fought her, what happened next?" She asked curiously.
"Almost all of us..." Angel's expression changed.
"Did something happen?" Her voice trembled, "Did someone...?" She couldn't bring herself to say those words.
"No." He replied with a sad tone that made her wonder.
"Then what?" She asked confused.
"Connor." Angel said quietly. "That kid never had a break in his life. From the moment he was born... demons tried to kill him, a crazy vampire hunter from 3 centuries ago kidnapped him into a hell dimension..." He paused, "And a god like demon used him to come into this world and destroyed him in the process."
"Destroyed him?" Cordy asked confused. Suddenly it daunted her, "did he...?" She stammered.
"No." Angel replied a she sighed in relief, "but he may as well had been."
"Angel...?"
He knew she was lost and he knew she needed to know. "After Jasmine was killed, Conor lost it, really lost it." H e paused for a moment, reflecting in silence, "That is when I decided to make a deal with the devil."
"What kind of deal? And I'm guessing you're not really talking about the devil, right?" She chuckled with hesitation.
"No." He smiled. "But they are second in line."
"W&H." She said and he just nodded. "That's why the doctor waited for you and called you Mr. Angel?" He nodded again. "So what? You decided to work for them be their head boy or something?" Her voice rose with each word. Anger was making his way in. "You lost your soul.... Again!"
"That's a bit extreme." He resented the metaphor; she of all people should know the difference.
"You work for the same organization we fought against for over 3 years. The same organization who tried killing you time and time again, who, twice, inflected unbearable pain on me ..."
"I know..." He tried to explain, but she kept on.
Who tried kidnapping your son and turning him against you..."
"I had to." He cut her off.
"Had to?" She repeated his words with a skeptic tone. "There's always a choice Angel."
"You have to understand..." He sighed.
'I'm trying to Angel, I really am. But it's hard..."
"I know, and that's why it's important I explain." She remained. "All I waned was to see the people I love happy and well," He said quietly. "And with the two most important people I failed." She knew whom he meant. She didn't need to ask.
"What kind of deal Angel?" She asked firmly, afraid of the answer.
"You were partly right about the head boy. I agreed to run W&H along with the rest." He said as he looked firmly into her eyes. As if he was saying to her; no regrets, no turning back the clock.
"Don't tell me all you got out of this miserable deal, is to see me open my eyes again... cause that was a lousy deal to make."
"It wasn't just you, but you were part of it." He explained. "They took care of you, made sure you got the best care, the latest technologies..."
"But in the end it took me nearly two years to wake up, and I did on my own." she said with an accusing tone. She was Angry at him for making her feel responsible.
"But you did wake up, and besides..." He sighed. "Like I said, there was others things involved..."
"Conor." She said as he nodded. "What did they do to him? Cause from what you told me, he wasn't something they could fix."
"But they could rebuilt."
"They what?" She asked confused and amazed. "How can you rebuilt a person... all that he is all that he feels..."
"Is the sum of his memories, isn't it?" he cut her off. "We are what we remember. We learned it the hard way with Lorne's little spell."
"You changed his memories." She said in realization. "You built him a life that never were."
"Not just him, all of them. Everyone who ever knew him, except you, that is."
"So, no one remembers Connor?" She asked.
"Except you and I, and I'd like to keep it like that." She nodded, trying to absorb it all. "I know this must be overwhelming, for you..."
"That's an understatement." She commented.
"But I ask you not to judge. It's hard for me as it is..."
"It doesn't sound hard, Mr. Angel." She snapped at him.
"Don't do this, not now, not after..." He stopped, trying to control his temper, not to let too much on. If only she knew what was really at risk, if only he could tell her the choices he had to make for her, for their future.
"And Annabelle, where's my daughter in all of this?"
"She's here, with us." He replied. "She came back just in time."
"In time for what?" She asked in hesitation.
"Why don't we talk about it later." He suggested.
"No." She protested." I want to know. "What happened to her? Is she safe? When can I see her?"
"Cor..." He tried squeezing in a word.
"Unless your next words are, 'sure Cor what ever you want', don't bother." She cut him off.
"She's safe and well. You can see her as soon as you wish to, only I don't think..."
"I wish to." She cut him off again.
"If you'd just let me finish a sentence, you'd realize it's not that simple." She silenced, waiting to hear what he had to say. "When the monks took her, they said they'd keep her safe, and apparently safe in their book meant a different dimension-safe."
"They took her to another dimension?" Cordy asked surprised, but then remembered a different dimension doesn't have to be a bad idea, true her expression with other dimensions wasn't so great... but still.
"They apparently knew about Jasmine more than they let on, and knew the only way to keep Annabelle safe is by taking her to another dimension, a protected one."
"Protected how?" Cordy asked intrigued and worried at the same time.
"Protected from insiders, from space and time." Angel explained.
"Angel, it has a bad sound to it." She stammered. "I don't like the way this is going. Nothing good ever comes out of alternate dimensions."
"Not necessarily, look at Fred. If we had never come to Pylea..."
"And on the other end there's Connor. And look how good that turned out." The minute she finished that sentenced she wished she hadn't. "Angel I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay." He brushed it off. "It's not like you didn't say anything that wasn't true. My son turned out not so great, but not Annabelle. She's different."
"Angel she's barely two years old, you have no way of knowing how...." she stopped. There was something about Angel's expression that worried her. "Angel what? What am I missing here?" Angel didn't reply, he didn't know how to tell her. He knew how she'd feel, cause he felt it once before. "Angel?" Her voice brought him back to the reality he had to face, the truth he had to tell her. "That dimension..." She asked as pieces of the puzzle started coming together, "When you say protected from time and space..." Her voice trembled; she was starting to understand, to realize how much she had mist in two years. "Time moves differently there, doesn't it?" Angel just nodded unable to look at her. "She's..." She stopped trying to take it all in. "How long...I mean..."
"17." He replied.
"Wow that's a lot." She chuckled with a chocked tone.
"The powers needed her to be able to protect herself." He tried to explain, more to himself than to her. "They needed to teach her about the power she possesses... Cordy she's..."
"I know..." She cut him off. "She was the one who defeated Jasmine right? Is that what you meant when you said she came back just in time?" Angel nodded again. "The powers needed their champion and they needed her fast. No time to waste, why wait for 17 years if we can ship her off to boarding school for a few months and get an insist champion."
"It's not like that cordy. You know the powers..."
"I don't presume to know the powers Angel. And you shouldn't either." She said in anger. "The things they did to me, the things they put me through..."
"Cordy, I know it's a lot to take in, but She's a great kid. She's smart and beautiful, just like her mother."
"And who might that be, cause its sure hell not me."
"You are her mother and she knows that." Angel replied with a firm tone. "They made sure she'd know, which is a lot more than Holtz ever gave me..."
"Not to ruin you analogy Angel," She interrupted him, "but Holtz was a demanded person, filled with revenge. The powers are suppose to be the good guys."
"And they are Cor, they kept her safe..."
"On what expense? They robbed her of her childhood."
"If you'll just meet her you can see for yourself how great she turned out. You could talk to her, you'll see it's not that bad..."
"I can't see her, not yet."
"But a minute ago you insisted." Angel said confused.
"That was before I knew my daughter was all grown up."
"Cordy it doesn't matter, not to her. It shouldn't matter to you either." She didn't reply as she turned her head to the other side looking away from him. "Cor..."
"I need to rest now." She said coldly.
Angel knew when to back off. He didn't want to push her. "Fine, you rest and I'll come and see you later, okay?" He got up and headed for the door. "If you need anything... well, I'm sure you'll tell someone."
The numb in her feet wore off after a few days, with the help of a physiotherapist and an obstinate and egger Cordy, who used up every free moment she had to walk and walk. Visitors came and gone. They were all excited to see her awake at last.
Over the next few days Angel and the gang filled in the blanks. They told her about the "first" and the end of Sunnydale. They told her of the one who were lost and the one who survived, even Spike, who eventually tagged along to one of Fred's visits, cause he was curious, according to him. The only one, who didn't stop by, to Cordy's request, was Annabelle.
Nearly a week past by till the doctor gave the final approval for Cordy's release from the hospital.
As promised the first thing Angel did was take her on a Hair-nails-cloths-and accessories-tour, as Cordy named it. It was already evening, when they finished their tour. Cordy was amazed at how storeowners treated Angel as he walked through the back door, with so much respect and flattery. She liked it and feared it at the same time. She knew it all had a price and she wondered whether that price was too high.
"I'm exhausted." She sighed as she entered the Limousine and immediately lay down. Angel sat in the seat in front of her.
"Are we done?" He asked.
"I think so." She smiled. "I look and feel like a million bucks." She touched her hair gently. "I like it curled up."
"I like it too." He smiled, happy to see her so happy.
"So where to now?" She asked eagerly.
"I thought I might show you your new home."
"Uh." She replied.
"Is that it uh?" He asked surprised. "I thought you'd be more excited than that?"
"I am." She explained. "But I'm worried as well."
"Worried?"
"Yes." She said quietly. "I'm worried about joining this new and unfamiliar world, that you all seemed to fit in to so nicely."
"You will to." He assured her. "Just give it time."
"What will I do there?"
"Sorry?" Angel didn't get the question.
"Fred is head of the Science department, Wesley's head of the mystic, Lorne is the cruise director and Gunn is L.A. Law. And you...." She paused for a moment, "You're captain in command."
"So...?" Angel still didn't get it.
"Where do I fit in? What's my roll? What's my department?"
"I thought Fred explained it pretty well over two years ago." Angel smiled gently. "You're the heart."
"Whose heart? Does W&H even know this word exists in the English vocabulary?"
"You're our heart, the Angel Investigations heart." Angel explained.
"But that doesn't exists anymore. There's a sign on the door."
"Cordy." He leaned forward with his upper body. "You'll do what you always did, only now, you'll have assistance and secretaries."
"Like harmony?" Cordy didn't like that little info at all. She didn't trust her. "Besides, what do I need assistances for? I don't even know what I'm suppose to be doing there."
"You'll figure it out, we all did." Angel tried again, realizing he was not getting through to her.
"But you all have some kind of expertise, I one the other end..."
"Cordy." He cut her off. He seemed a bit annoyed. "Give it a chance okay? Besides right now all you have to do is see your new apartment. Can you handle that much?"
"I think so." She smiled, although she wasn't at peace with the whole idea.
The car entered the underground parking lot, and pulled in front of the elevator.
"Where are we?" She asked.
"Home." He replied with a goofy smiled. The driver opened the door and Angel walked out. "Come on." He said as he reached out his arm to help her out of the car. She took it and climbed out. By now her bags were out of the car.
Angel pushed the elevator button and the doors opened reveling the inside of the elevator. The floor was covered with a beautiful carpet. Pinned to the wall was a wooden seat with cushions on it. There wasn't a bellboy there, but it looked fancy non-the less. "I got rid of him." Angel said after he saw how Cordy inspected the inside of the elevator.
"Got rid of whom?"
"The bellboy." He explained.
"Uh." She nodded.
"Shell we." He extended his arm inviting her to come inside.
"My bags." She looked back.
"They'll bring it up for you." He smiled. She entered the elevator and Angel pressed the upper button. The elevator started moving. If it weren't for the lights of each floor passing by, she wouldn't have known they were moving at all. "Excited?" Angel asked as the floors shifted.
"A bit." She smiled nervously. "I wish we'd get there already. How high is it?"
"Why are you afraid of highest, cause if you are..."
"No. I'm not." She smiled. "I just wondered that's all."
"Be patient." Angel said as they almost reached the top. "It will be worth it. I promise."
The doors opened and Angel walked out. "Welcome home." He smiled as he moved to the side reveling the inside of the apartment. Cordy gasped. It was incredible. In front of her she saw glass doors leading to a balcony, from what she could tell, overviewed the entire city. "Are you coming?" She looked at him, when realized she was still inside the elevator. She smiled slightly as she stepped out. "I'll give you the grand tour." He was so excited. "This is the living room as you can see." He pointed to the side. "And here is your well equipped kitchen." He walked to the right and past the counter. She followed him. The kitchen was big enough for her. "I know you don't cook but I thought you'd still want a kitchen that has it all." He explained. "Now over here." He ran to the other side and entered a small corridor. "Come on." He called out to her as she lingered behind. "Here's one bathroom." He pointed to the left.
"One?" She wondered.
"Yeah you have another one in your bedroom." He explained.
She walked in. It was nothing but small. Actually it was beautiful. She had a huge tub, which Angel didn't forget to mention, could be converted into a hot tub. Against the wall was a big wooden closet, filled with soft floppy towel and hair shampoo and other stuff, she all recognized as her own. "Here's the laundry basket." He pointed at it. "But don't worry, there's someone who does that for you."
"Really?" she said impressed.
"And over here." He walked out and walked into the room on the right side of the corridor. "This is the guest/television/what-ever-you want-room." She peeped inside. It was a nice room, the size of her old bedroom. It had a couch and a television, a desk with a computer on it. Another closet, god knows for what. "And now." He walked a few steeped forward and entered the room at the end of the corridor, she followed him in. "this is your bedroom." He said proudly. Cordy looked stunned, the room was huge. In the center stood an enormous bed with a canopy on top of it. On the side was a dresser with a mirror and all her cosmetic and perfume products.
"How did you?" She wondered, and then remembered Angel had all of her stuff while she was... asleep.
"Over here is your closet." It was actually another room, she could easily walk into, it had shelves and hangers and all of cloths were already there, arranged by color and season. "And here is the second bathroom." He pointed to the room next to the closet. It was as beautiful as the big bathroom, but more intimate. "And here you have another balcony." She looked to the other side of the room amazed. "So what do you think?"
"Is that it? Not that I'm complaining I'm just..."
"That's it, no more surprises." He smiled.
"It's beautiful Angel, thank you."
"I knew you'd like it."
"Yeah, you know alright." She smiled nervously.
"Is everything alright? You seem... I don't know." He sensed something was wasn't right.
"I'm just tired." She said.
"Of course, you had a busy day." He said apologetically. "Why don't you take a long hot shower and I'll send up some food for you?"
"Is this an hotel? I mean a real one?"
"No." he chuckled.
"Then where are we exactly?" She wondered.
"We're at W&H's building."
"We are?" She didn't know W&H had such apartments in their building.
"They rebuilt it after the beast destroyed everything."
"Uh." She nodded.
"I have a place here too." He explained.
"And the others, do they stay here as well? Cause Fred use to live at the hotel and Wesley..."
"No.' he cut her off. "They have their own place. You could to, if you want to."
"And Annabelle? Where does she live?"
"Right now with Fred. She preferred it." Angel walked out of the room and towards the entrance.
"You're leaving?" she asked, not sure whether she was reified or anxious about staying alone.
"I have some things I have to do," he opened the front door. "But I promise I won't be long." He smiled.
"It's okay, I don't need someone to held my hand." She replied after feeling like he was mothering her.
"I know." He replied as he walked out. "Uh." He stopped at the entrance. "Anything special?"
"Special?" She didn't follow.
"About dinner I mean." He explained.
"Chinese is always nice." She smiled.
"Okay." He smiled and closed the door behind him.
"So?" Fred asked him as he entered the conference room. Everyone was sitting around the big table awaiting his word.
"This is not why I called this meeting for." He said as he took his seat.
"We know, you want the weekly update, and you'll have it," Wesley said, "right after you tell us, how she liked or disliked the apartment."
"Fine." Angel sighed, as if it was a burden, which it wasn't. He couldn't wait to tell them how she reacted. "She loved it. She couldn't believe it was all hers..."
"And the stuff we got her?" Fred jumped in.
"She was impressed we knew exactly what to get, and she was very appreciative." He said as she smiled a huge smile of satisfaction.
"And the song, you played her the song?" Lorne asked eagerly.
"Not yet, but I will later on." Angel said as he saw the disappointment on his face. "Or you can go and play it for her as soon as she...." Before he could finish the sentence Lorne was on his feet ready to go. "Finishes her bath." He finished off the sentence and Lorne sat down with a sigh. "You guys, calm down. We don't want to alarm her. Don't forget we all had two years to come to this point and another few good months to adjust to this place, she had neither. She missed a lot and as good as storytellers we are..."
"He's trying to say, she didn't live through the hell you did, so back off." Spike summed it up.
"Thank you for that unneeded help." Angel snapped at him.
"And Annabelle, is she ready to see her?" asked Fred.
"Not yet, she needs more time." Angel replied.
"She's been awake for almost a week now, don't you think Annabelle should be allowed to see her mother?" Fred said with an excusing tune.
"I do." Angel said firmly. "But she's not calling the shots, I am. And until Cordy says it's okay, I can't permit it."
"She has questions Angel, and she's angry."
"I know..."
"No you don't." Fred raised her voice. "I'm the one who's living with her. I'm the one who's taken care of her for months now. Not you."
"And you're doing a great job." He said calmly. "But I won't force Cordy into something she's not ready for."
"So what should I tell Annabelle?"
"To be patient. She's 17, and a very mature 17 years old, I might add"
"Fine." Fred sulked and leaned back in her seat.
"Now as for the report." Angel said and everyone looked at their pages.
"Princess? Are you decent?" Lorne opened the door slightly and knocked.
"Come in." Cordy greeted him with a smile. She was wearing a bath rob and had a towel wrapped around her head. "Hi." She smiled as he walked in. "Found the song you left me."
"Oh already?" He said disappointed.
"Uh I'm sorry, you wanted to show it tome?"
"It's okay, as long as you found it and liked it. You did, didn't you?"
"I did Lorne, and thank you. It was very thoughtful."
"So how do you like the new place?" He joined her n the sofa.
"It's nice." She smiled.
"Nice? What's wrong?" Lorne asked.
"Nothing." She replied. "It's just that I'm not sure... uh I don't know."
"Yeah you do. It's okay I won't tell daddy." He winked.
"I guess, I don't feel like I belong here, you know?" She took a sip form her drink. "Angel showed me around the place and all I could think of was, how much I miss my old apartment..."
"And your handy phantom." Lorne added with a smile.
"Yeah, there's nothing like living with a ghost. Especially Dennis, he was always so thoughtful." She remembered with a smile.
"Cor, sweetie?" Lorne pulled her back.
"Sorry." She smiled. "It's unnerving living in the belly of the beast."
"You can live somewhere else, if you want to."
"I don't think Angel will like it." She explained.
"Probably not." Lorne agreed. "But it's your life."
"That's just it. I don't think it's my life, I don't think I feet in."
"Come again?" Lorne tried to follow.
"This is not me Lorne, not anymore. This was me 3 years... wait it's five now right?" Lorne nodded. "Anyway, this stuff are nice, but that's all they are. This doesn't feel like home."
"Give it time."
"Time is not the issue." She cut him off. "It will never feel alright, not living here and not working here."
"So what are you saying?"
"Nothing I guess." She paused for a moment. "At least not now. It will break his heart."
"And ours." Lorne added. "Especially Annabelle's"
"Is she pretty Lorne?" Cordy asked intrigued.
"Meet her and find out." He said illusively.
"I can't, it's too weird. I'm barely 23 and I have a 17 years old kid."
"Weird, true." He nodded. But fact, also true."
"I lost you there." She said confused.
"She's 17, and she's your daughter who wants to meet you. You can't hide from that fact, just like you can't changed her age or turn back time."
"So your answer is, deal." She said.
"In a nutshell." H smiled.
"I know." She smiled back. "And I will meet her... just... not yet."
"She really wants to." He said, hoping she'll reconsider.
"Soon, I promise, I.... " A knock on the door interrupted her. "Finally." She said with a sigh. "I'm starving." She got up to answer the door.
"Saved by the delivery boy." Lorne called out to her. She turned back and smiled at him.
She reached out and opened the door not looking up. "Hi." She said with a smile, when suddenly she froze. On the other side stood a young girl, with long brown hair and beautiful big brown eyes. She was carrying a bag, and looked awful familiar to Cordy.
"Hi mom." The girl said. "Thought you might be hungry."
TBC
Hi ppl,
First thing, thank you for your wonderful reviews, support and patience. I know some of you wanted my head on a platter, hopefully not literally, cause of the way I left the story, but in all fairness I did give you a warning in the end of ch 23. I hope the next chapter won't take that long although I'm still very busy.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always I'd appreciate your reviews.
Thanks 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.
"Angel?" She said again after he didn't respond. "What things? What's so different? I mean I guess things changed in almost two years, but never the less, it couldn't have changed that dramatically, right?" She looked for reassurance, "Right?"
"Wes, can you give us some time alone?" Wesley nodded and quietly walked out. "What I'm about to tell you is not easy to hear, and you may find it... scratch that, you will find it confusing, at first."
"Angel you're scaring me?" her voice trembled.
"It's not my intention, but you need to know about the past year and half, and it was a busy year and half."
"Okay." She hesitated. "Just spill it."
He moved his chair closer to the bedside, "After Annabelle was born...
"You named her Annabelle..." Cordy smiled.
Angel smiled happy to see her wonderful smile again. "After she was born," he continued, "we had it good for a few months, we managed... more than that, we were a family. Buffy and the gang stayed for awhile to help, but even after they left..." He paused almost paining for lost days.
"I'm guessing a but is coming."
"And a big one," he replied. "It was around 3 months after the birth, strange things started to happen."
"Strange how?" She inquired.
"Weird cases, dead rats, birds dying, rain of fire... you know the usual."
"Yeah if you're leaving on Hellmouth and you've seen a pre-apocalypse weather." She smiled a half smile.
"We knew things are going to get worse, but we didn't know how worse." He told her of Jasmine, before she had a name, before they even knew she existed. Back then; of what seemed to be ages ago, they thought they only had the beast to worry about.
"The beast?" she asked confused.
"Her tug, Minion, whatever..." Angel explained. He continued explaining how they tried fighting him, how he killed everyone at W&H, which Cordy didn't find so horrible.
"I mean in the big-picture-sense." She defended herself. "It's not like I'm happy they're all dead."
"It's okay, we thought so too, only to discover he was just eliminating the competition. Which naturally led to the sun turning black..."
"Black? As in night-all-day-long?"
"That's right." Angel replied. "At that point Lorne was contacted by the powers that informed him they're sending someone to help us. We thought they'd send warriors or something of the sort, but apparently their idea of help included Monks coming to take Annabelle to safety."
"What?!" She yelled. "You let them take her?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "If you were so concerned about her, you should have given her to Groo. I trusted you..."
"Cordy!" He yelled. "We had no choice." He said in a firm voice. "We were outnumbered, fighting an unstopped beast, the sky were dark, demons were everywhere... they offered to help..."
"You didn't know them..." She said angrily.
"They came with the powers' blessing."
"So what?!" She raised her voice. "First of all you couldn't know that for sure, I got false visions in the past remember?" She raised her hand indicating she wasn't through. "Secondly, so what if they did, it's not like they've never been wrong before."
"I know. But we had to get her out of there."
"So why not turn to her father?"
"Cause we..." He stopped realizing he had no one to blame but himself, Fred did insist they'd contact Groo, it was he who insisted otherwise, "...I," He emphasized... "Never told Groo."
"Why?" She asked wanting to understand and not be mad at him, wishing there was a reasonable explanation.
"I don't know, but I didn't, and by then it was too late. We just didn't have the time to find a hot spot, go to Pylea, search for Groo, and still come back in time to fight the beast." She didn't say anything in response and Angel thought it would be best just to go on with his story. "They took her, promised they'll keep her safe and send her back when the time is right." He paused making sure she was still listening o him. "We spent the next few months trying to stop the beast. We tried everything, even bringing Angelus back..."
"You what?" She yelled again.
"But hey it turned out okay, right?' He tried humor thinking it would relief the situation. It didn't.
"So what you ended up calling Willow for help?" She asked knowing the answer already.
"How did you...?" He stopped, thinking it wasn't important right now. "Yeah we did, ad Faith as well."
"A homicidal slayer, just what you needed. I'm glad my daughter was nowhere near that fiasco."
Angel ignored her remarks and kept on. He told her of Jasmine's arrival, and the effect she had on all who saw her. He also told her about her nasty habit of eating people and how they all came to and learned what she really was.
"So she gave human race peace on earth in the expense of eating 2-3 people a day." Cordy summed it up.
"Something like that." Angel smiled slightly; glad to see she was in a better.
"So you all fought her, what happened next?" She asked curiously.
"Almost all of us..." Angel's expression changed.
"Did something happen?" Her voice trembled, "Did someone...?" She couldn't bring herself to say those words.
"No." He replied with a sad tone that made her wonder.
"Then what?" She asked confused.
"Connor." Angel said quietly. "That kid never had a break in his life. From the moment he was born... demons tried to kill him, a crazy vampire hunter from 3 centuries ago kidnapped him into a hell dimension..." He paused, "And a god like demon used him to come into this world and destroyed him in the process."
"Destroyed him?" Cordy asked confused. Suddenly it daunted her, "did he...?" She stammered.
"No." Angel replied a she sighed in relief, "but he may as well had been."
"Angel...?"
He knew she was lost and he knew she needed to know. "After Jasmine was killed, Conor lost it, really lost it." H e paused for a moment, reflecting in silence, "That is when I decided to make a deal with the devil."
"What kind of deal? And I'm guessing you're not really talking about the devil, right?" She chuckled with hesitation.
"No." He smiled. "But they are second in line."
"W&H." She said and he just nodded. "That's why the doctor waited for you and called you Mr. Angel?" He nodded again. "So what? You decided to work for them be their head boy or something?" Her voice rose with each word. Anger was making his way in. "You lost your soul.... Again!"
"That's a bit extreme." He resented the metaphor; she of all people should know the difference.
"You work for the same organization we fought against for over 3 years. The same organization who tried killing you time and time again, who, twice, inflected unbearable pain on me ..."
"I know..." He tried to explain, but she kept on.
Who tried kidnapping your son and turning him against you..."
"I had to." He cut her off.
"Had to?" She repeated his words with a skeptic tone. "There's always a choice Angel."
"You have to understand..." He sighed.
'I'm trying to Angel, I really am. But it's hard..."
"I know, and that's why it's important I explain." She remained. "All I waned was to see the people I love happy and well," He said quietly. "And with the two most important people I failed." She knew whom he meant. She didn't need to ask.
"What kind of deal Angel?" She asked firmly, afraid of the answer.
"You were partly right about the head boy. I agreed to run W&H along with the rest." He said as he looked firmly into her eyes. As if he was saying to her; no regrets, no turning back the clock.
"Don't tell me all you got out of this miserable deal, is to see me open my eyes again... cause that was a lousy deal to make."
"It wasn't just you, but you were part of it." He explained. "They took care of you, made sure you got the best care, the latest technologies..."
"But in the end it took me nearly two years to wake up, and I did on my own." she said with an accusing tone. She was Angry at him for making her feel responsible.
"But you did wake up, and besides..." He sighed. "Like I said, there was others things involved..."
"Conor." She said as he nodded. "What did they do to him? Cause from what you told me, he wasn't something they could fix."
"But they could rebuilt."
"They what?" She asked confused and amazed. "How can you rebuilt a person... all that he is all that he feels..."
"Is the sum of his memories, isn't it?" he cut her off. "We are what we remember. We learned it the hard way with Lorne's little spell."
"You changed his memories." She said in realization. "You built him a life that never were."
"Not just him, all of them. Everyone who ever knew him, except you, that is."
"So, no one remembers Connor?" She asked.
"Except you and I, and I'd like to keep it like that." She nodded, trying to absorb it all. "I know this must be overwhelming, for you..."
"That's an understatement." She commented.
"But I ask you not to judge. It's hard for me as it is..."
"It doesn't sound hard, Mr. Angel." She snapped at him.
"Don't do this, not now, not after..." He stopped, trying to control his temper, not to let too much on. If only she knew what was really at risk, if only he could tell her the choices he had to make for her, for their future.
"And Annabelle, where's my daughter in all of this?"
"She's here, with us." He replied. "She came back just in time."
"In time for what?" She asked in hesitation.
"Why don't we talk about it later." He suggested.
"No." She protested." I want to know. "What happened to her? Is she safe? When can I see her?"
"Cor..." He tried squeezing in a word.
"Unless your next words are, 'sure Cor what ever you want', don't bother." She cut him off.
"She's safe and well. You can see her as soon as you wish to, only I don't think..."
"I wish to." She cut him off again.
"If you'd just let me finish a sentence, you'd realize it's not that simple." She silenced, waiting to hear what he had to say. "When the monks took her, they said they'd keep her safe, and apparently safe in their book meant a different dimension-safe."
"They took her to another dimension?" Cordy asked surprised, but then remembered a different dimension doesn't have to be a bad idea, true her expression with other dimensions wasn't so great... but still.
"They apparently knew about Jasmine more than they let on, and knew the only way to keep Annabelle safe is by taking her to another dimension, a protected one."
"Protected how?" Cordy asked intrigued and worried at the same time.
"Protected from insiders, from space and time." Angel explained.
"Angel, it has a bad sound to it." She stammered. "I don't like the way this is going. Nothing good ever comes out of alternate dimensions."
"Not necessarily, look at Fred. If we had never come to Pylea..."
"And on the other end there's Connor. And look how good that turned out." The minute she finished that sentenced she wished she hadn't. "Angel I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"It's okay." He brushed it off. "It's not like you didn't say anything that wasn't true. My son turned out not so great, but not Annabelle. She's different."
"Angel she's barely two years old, you have no way of knowing how...." she stopped. There was something about Angel's expression that worried her. "Angel what? What am I missing here?" Angel didn't reply, he didn't know how to tell her. He knew how she'd feel, cause he felt it once before. "Angel?" Her voice brought him back to the reality he had to face, the truth he had to tell her. "That dimension..." She asked as pieces of the puzzle started coming together, "When you say protected from time and space..." Her voice trembled; she was starting to understand, to realize how much she had mist in two years. "Time moves differently there, doesn't it?" Angel just nodded unable to look at her. "She's..." She stopped trying to take it all in. "How long...I mean..."
"17." He replied.
"Wow that's a lot." She chuckled with a chocked tone.
"The powers needed her to be able to protect herself." He tried to explain, more to himself than to her. "They needed to teach her about the power she possesses... Cordy she's..."
"I know..." She cut him off. "She was the one who defeated Jasmine right? Is that what you meant when you said she came back just in time?" Angel nodded again. "The powers needed their champion and they needed her fast. No time to waste, why wait for 17 years if we can ship her off to boarding school for a few months and get an insist champion."
"It's not like that cordy. You know the powers..."
"I don't presume to know the powers Angel. And you shouldn't either." She said in anger. "The things they did to me, the things they put me through..."
"Cordy, I know it's a lot to take in, but She's a great kid. She's smart and beautiful, just like her mother."
"And who might that be, cause its sure hell not me."
"You are her mother and she knows that." Angel replied with a firm tone. "They made sure she'd know, which is a lot more than Holtz ever gave me..."
"Not to ruin you analogy Angel," She interrupted him, "but Holtz was a demanded person, filled with revenge. The powers are suppose to be the good guys."
"And they are Cor, they kept her safe..."
"On what expense? They robbed her of her childhood."
"If you'll just meet her you can see for yourself how great she turned out. You could talk to her, you'll see it's not that bad..."
"I can't see her, not yet."
"But a minute ago you insisted." Angel said confused.
"That was before I knew my daughter was all grown up."
"Cordy it doesn't matter, not to her. It shouldn't matter to you either." She didn't reply as she turned her head to the other side looking away from him. "Cor..."
"I need to rest now." She said coldly.
Angel knew when to back off. He didn't want to push her. "Fine, you rest and I'll come and see you later, okay?" He got up and headed for the door. "If you need anything... well, I'm sure you'll tell someone."
The numb in her feet wore off after a few days, with the help of a physiotherapist and an obstinate and egger Cordy, who used up every free moment she had to walk and walk. Visitors came and gone. They were all excited to see her awake at last.
Over the next few days Angel and the gang filled in the blanks. They told her about the "first" and the end of Sunnydale. They told her of the one who were lost and the one who survived, even Spike, who eventually tagged along to one of Fred's visits, cause he was curious, according to him. The only one, who didn't stop by, to Cordy's request, was Annabelle.
Nearly a week past by till the doctor gave the final approval for Cordy's release from the hospital.
As promised the first thing Angel did was take her on a Hair-nails-cloths-and accessories-tour, as Cordy named it. It was already evening, when they finished their tour. Cordy was amazed at how storeowners treated Angel as he walked through the back door, with so much respect and flattery. She liked it and feared it at the same time. She knew it all had a price and she wondered whether that price was too high.
"I'm exhausted." She sighed as she entered the Limousine and immediately lay down. Angel sat in the seat in front of her.
"Are we done?" He asked.
"I think so." She smiled. "I look and feel like a million bucks." She touched her hair gently. "I like it curled up."
"I like it too." He smiled, happy to see her so happy.
"So where to now?" She asked eagerly.
"I thought I might show you your new home."
"Uh." She replied.
"Is that it uh?" He asked surprised. "I thought you'd be more excited than that?"
"I am." She explained. "But I'm worried as well."
"Worried?"
"Yes." She said quietly. "I'm worried about joining this new and unfamiliar world, that you all seemed to fit in to so nicely."
"You will to." He assured her. "Just give it time."
"What will I do there?"
"Sorry?" Angel didn't get the question.
"Fred is head of the Science department, Wesley's head of the mystic, Lorne is the cruise director and Gunn is L.A. Law. And you...." She paused for a moment, "You're captain in command."
"So...?" Angel still didn't get it.
"Where do I fit in? What's my roll? What's my department?"
"I thought Fred explained it pretty well over two years ago." Angel smiled gently. "You're the heart."
"Whose heart? Does W&H even know this word exists in the English vocabulary?"
"You're our heart, the Angel Investigations heart." Angel explained.
"But that doesn't exists anymore. There's a sign on the door."
"Cordy." He leaned forward with his upper body. "You'll do what you always did, only now, you'll have assistance and secretaries."
"Like harmony?" Cordy didn't like that little info at all. She didn't trust her. "Besides, what do I need assistances for? I don't even know what I'm suppose to be doing there."
"You'll figure it out, we all did." Angel tried again, realizing he was not getting through to her.
"But you all have some kind of expertise, I one the other end..."
"Cordy." He cut her off. He seemed a bit annoyed. "Give it a chance okay? Besides right now all you have to do is see your new apartment. Can you handle that much?"
"I think so." She smiled, although she wasn't at peace with the whole idea.
The car entered the underground parking lot, and pulled in front of the elevator.
"Where are we?" She asked.
"Home." He replied with a goofy smiled. The driver opened the door and Angel walked out. "Come on." He said as he reached out his arm to help her out of the car. She took it and climbed out. By now her bags were out of the car.
Angel pushed the elevator button and the doors opened reveling the inside of the elevator. The floor was covered with a beautiful carpet. Pinned to the wall was a wooden seat with cushions on it. There wasn't a bellboy there, but it looked fancy non-the less. "I got rid of him." Angel said after he saw how Cordy inspected the inside of the elevator.
"Got rid of whom?"
"The bellboy." He explained.
"Uh." She nodded.
"Shell we." He extended his arm inviting her to come inside.
"My bags." She looked back.
"They'll bring it up for you." He smiled. She entered the elevator and Angel pressed the upper button. The elevator started moving. If it weren't for the lights of each floor passing by, she wouldn't have known they were moving at all. "Excited?" Angel asked as the floors shifted.
"A bit." She smiled nervously. "I wish we'd get there already. How high is it?"
"Why are you afraid of highest, cause if you are..."
"No. I'm not." She smiled. "I just wondered that's all."
"Be patient." Angel said as they almost reached the top. "It will be worth it. I promise."
The doors opened and Angel walked out. "Welcome home." He smiled as he moved to the side reveling the inside of the apartment. Cordy gasped. It was incredible. In front of her she saw glass doors leading to a balcony, from what she could tell, overviewed the entire city. "Are you coming?" She looked at him, when realized she was still inside the elevator. She smiled slightly as she stepped out. "I'll give you the grand tour." He was so excited. "This is the living room as you can see." He pointed to the side. "And here is your well equipped kitchen." He walked to the right and past the counter. She followed him. The kitchen was big enough for her. "I know you don't cook but I thought you'd still want a kitchen that has it all." He explained. "Now over here." He ran to the other side and entered a small corridor. "Come on." He called out to her as she lingered behind. "Here's one bathroom." He pointed to the left.
"One?" She wondered.
"Yeah you have another one in your bedroom." He explained.
She walked in. It was nothing but small. Actually it was beautiful. She had a huge tub, which Angel didn't forget to mention, could be converted into a hot tub. Against the wall was a big wooden closet, filled with soft floppy towel and hair shampoo and other stuff, she all recognized as her own. "Here's the laundry basket." He pointed at it. "But don't worry, there's someone who does that for you."
"Really?" she said impressed.
"And over here." He walked out and walked into the room on the right side of the corridor. "This is the guest/television/what-ever-you want-room." She peeped inside. It was a nice room, the size of her old bedroom. It had a couch and a television, a desk with a computer on it. Another closet, god knows for what. "And now." He walked a few steeped forward and entered the room at the end of the corridor, she followed him in. "this is your bedroom." He said proudly. Cordy looked stunned, the room was huge. In the center stood an enormous bed with a canopy on top of it. On the side was a dresser with a mirror and all her cosmetic and perfume products.
"How did you?" She wondered, and then remembered Angel had all of her stuff while she was... asleep.
"Over here is your closet." It was actually another room, she could easily walk into, it had shelves and hangers and all of cloths were already there, arranged by color and season. "And here is the second bathroom." He pointed to the room next to the closet. It was as beautiful as the big bathroom, but more intimate. "And here you have another balcony." She looked to the other side of the room amazed. "So what do you think?"
"Is that it? Not that I'm complaining I'm just..."
"That's it, no more surprises." He smiled.
"It's beautiful Angel, thank you."
"I knew you'd like it."
"Yeah, you know alright." She smiled nervously.
"Is everything alright? You seem... I don't know." He sensed something was wasn't right.
"I'm just tired." She said.
"Of course, you had a busy day." He said apologetically. "Why don't you take a long hot shower and I'll send up some food for you?"
"Is this an hotel? I mean a real one?"
"No." he chuckled.
"Then where are we exactly?" She wondered.
"We're at W&H's building."
"We are?" She didn't know W&H had such apartments in their building.
"They rebuilt it after the beast destroyed everything."
"Uh." She nodded.
"I have a place here too." He explained.
"And the others, do they stay here as well? Cause Fred use to live at the hotel and Wesley..."
"No.' he cut her off. "They have their own place. You could to, if you want to."
"And Annabelle? Where does she live?"
"Right now with Fred. She preferred it." Angel walked out of the room and towards the entrance.
"You're leaving?" she asked, not sure whether she was reified or anxious about staying alone.
"I have some things I have to do," he opened the front door. "But I promise I won't be long." He smiled.
"It's okay, I don't need someone to held my hand." She replied after feeling like he was mothering her.
"I know." He replied as he walked out. "Uh." He stopped at the entrance. "Anything special?"
"Special?" She didn't follow.
"About dinner I mean." He explained.
"Chinese is always nice." She smiled.
"Okay." He smiled and closed the door behind him.
"So?" Fred asked him as he entered the conference room. Everyone was sitting around the big table awaiting his word.
"This is not why I called this meeting for." He said as he took his seat.
"We know, you want the weekly update, and you'll have it," Wesley said, "right after you tell us, how she liked or disliked the apartment."
"Fine." Angel sighed, as if it was a burden, which it wasn't. He couldn't wait to tell them how she reacted. "She loved it. She couldn't believe it was all hers..."
"And the stuff we got her?" Fred jumped in.
"She was impressed we knew exactly what to get, and she was very appreciative." He said as she smiled a huge smile of satisfaction.
"And the song, you played her the song?" Lorne asked eagerly.
"Not yet, but I will later on." Angel said as he saw the disappointment on his face. "Or you can go and play it for her as soon as she...." Before he could finish the sentence Lorne was on his feet ready to go. "Finishes her bath." He finished off the sentence and Lorne sat down with a sigh. "You guys, calm down. We don't want to alarm her. Don't forget we all had two years to come to this point and another few good months to adjust to this place, she had neither. She missed a lot and as good as storytellers we are..."
"He's trying to say, she didn't live through the hell you did, so back off." Spike summed it up.
"Thank you for that unneeded help." Angel snapped at him.
"And Annabelle, is she ready to see her?" asked Fred.
"Not yet, she needs more time." Angel replied.
"She's been awake for almost a week now, don't you think Annabelle should be allowed to see her mother?" Fred said with an excusing tune.
"I do." Angel said firmly. "But she's not calling the shots, I am. And until Cordy says it's okay, I can't permit it."
"She has questions Angel, and she's angry."
"I know..."
"No you don't." Fred raised her voice. "I'm the one who's living with her. I'm the one who's taken care of her for months now. Not you."
"And you're doing a great job." He said calmly. "But I won't force Cordy into something she's not ready for."
"So what should I tell Annabelle?"
"To be patient. She's 17, and a very mature 17 years old, I might add"
"Fine." Fred sulked and leaned back in her seat.
"Now as for the report." Angel said and everyone looked at their pages.
"Princess? Are you decent?" Lorne opened the door slightly and knocked.
"Come in." Cordy greeted him with a smile. She was wearing a bath rob and had a towel wrapped around her head. "Hi." She smiled as he walked in. "Found the song you left me."
"Oh already?" He said disappointed.
"Uh I'm sorry, you wanted to show it tome?"
"It's okay, as long as you found it and liked it. You did, didn't you?"
"I did Lorne, and thank you. It was very thoughtful."
"So how do you like the new place?" He joined her n the sofa.
"It's nice." She smiled.
"Nice? What's wrong?" Lorne asked.
"Nothing." She replied. "It's just that I'm not sure... uh I don't know."
"Yeah you do. It's okay I won't tell daddy." He winked.
"I guess, I don't feel like I belong here, you know?" She took a sip form her drink. "Angel showed me around the place and all I could think of was, how much I miss my old apartment..."
"And your handy phantom." Lorne added with a smile.
"Yeah, there's nothing like living with a ghost. Especially Dennis, he was always so thoughtful." She remembered with a smile.
"Cor, sweetie?" Lorne pulled her back.
"Sorry." She smiled. "It's unnerving living in the belly of the beast."
"You can live somewhere else, if you want to."
"I don't think Angel will like it." She explained.
"Probably not." Lorne agreed. "But it's your life."
"That's just it. I don't think it's my life, I don't think I feet in."
"Come again?" Lorne tried to follow.
"This is not me Lorne, not anymore. This was me 3 years... wait it's five now right?" Lorne nodded. "Anyway, this stuff are nice, but that's all they are. This doesn't feel like home."
"Give it time."
"Time is not the issue." She cut him off. "It will never feel alright, not living here and not working here."
"So what are you saying?"
"Nothing I guess." She paused for a moment. "At least not now. It will break his heart."
"And ours." Lorne added. "Especially Annabelle's"
"Is she pretty Lorne?" Cordy asked intrigued.
"Meet her and find out." He said illusively.
"I can't, it's too weird. I'm barely 23 and I have a 17 years old kid."
"Weird, true." He nodded. But fact, also true."
"I lost you there." She said confused.
"She's 17, and she's your daughter who wants to meet you. You can't hide from that fact, just like you can't changed her age or turn back time."
"So your answer is, deal." She said.
"In a nutshell." H smiled.
"I know." She smiled back. "And I will meet her... just... not yet."
"She really wants to." He said, hoping she'll reconsider.
"Soon, I promise, I.... " A knock on the door interrupted her. "Finally." She said with a sigh. "I'm starving." She got up to answer the door.
"Saved by the delivery boy." Lorne called out to her. She turned back and smiled at him.
She reached out and opened the door not looking up. "Hi." She said with a smile, when suddenly she froze. On the other side stood a young girl, with long brown hair and beautiful big brown eyes. She was carrying a bag, and looked awful familiar to Cordy.
"Hi mom." The girl said. "Thought you might be hungry."
TBC
Hi ppl,
First thing, thank you for your wonderful reviews, support and patience. I know some of you wanted my head on a platter, hopefully not literally, cause of the way I left the story, but in all fairness I did give you a warning in the end of ch 23. I hope the next chapter won't take that long although I'm still very busy.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always I'd appreciate your reviews.
Thanks Nikka.