Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Angel series except my own.
Kaia lay awake in the unfamiliar bed frustrated that even though she was dead tired she still couldn't sleep. She had long finished the tea and sandwich that had been brought to her two hours ago. The bath that Fred had run for her had felt like heaven. She had protested the lavender smelling candles at first, but had agreed because she was too exhausted to argue. It was a good thing though, because that aromatherapy crap really did work. She had instantly felt so calm and at peace that had she nearly fallen asleep in the tub.
After her bath, she had quickly washed her again for the second time that day, thanking the lord that Fred had given her an expensive conditioner that would be able get the tangles out of her hair. Fred did blow dry her hair for her as promised, rambling all the while about various things. Kaia barely paid attention to her, as she talked, simply nodding every now and then to show she was listening. Then Kaia had remembered she had a meeting with a new client, her first contract with a huge corporation, and had come to the conclusion that maybe having Fred girly her up might not be such a bad idea. This contract would be her biggest deal, one that could have her set for another 4 months at least. She couldn't afford to mess it up. She had to appear as professional as possible. She had scowled as she remembered the new suit she had bought for the meeting was hanging in the closet at her apartment.
She had explained her predicament to Fred, pointing out the fact that her clothes were at her apartment and she desperately needed something at least semi-professional to wear to her meeting. Fred had hastened to reassure her that she could take her measurements right then and have some clothes and shoes in the appropriate sizes sent to the house for her to choose from. Apparently, Wolfram & Hart was a bigwig law firm with expense accounts at various boutiques, salons, spas, department stores, you name it. They could have just about anything delivered at any time. Fred had scurried from the room and had come back just as quickly holding some sort of hand held device that took measurements by simply scanning your body frame. Kaia had seen some pretty awesome things, but even she had to admit that was pretty cool. After that, Fred had said goodnight promising to get up early to help her get ready. Kaia had protested half heartedly, but secretly she appreciated Fred's efforts. It had been so long since she had any girlfriends...well any type of friends really.
Now she was snuggled under the soft purple comforter, eyes straying around the room taking in the decor. The way the room was decorated was made to make the person feel at home and comfortable, but Kaia was far from that. The fact still remained that she had endured one hell of a day. She couldn't remember going through so much excitement in one day before. She couldn't believe that she was now in the house of the two people she had vowed to avoid. She was stupid to think fate would let her have her way. It was obvious to her now that this was no coincidence. There had to be a reason why fate kept throwing her together with these people. If she wanted to be honest with herself, then she knew that fate hadn't really stepped in here at all. She was the one that made the decision to go back there...back to Angel.
She knew that she didn't have a choice, but it still weirded her out how safe she felt with Angel...actually with the rest of his friends too. They made her feel at ease without really trying. Fred was an absolute sweetheart. She seemed a little geeky, but then again who was she to talk. She built computer programs for a living for Christ's sake. Gunn, he seemed to have a direct, brash way of dealing with things. If he wanted to know something, he didn't seem to pull any punches. She could respect him for that...for his guts.
Angel and Wesley, however, were the ones who deeply affected her psyche. Kaia was desperately afraid that maybe her dreams were true. In fact the more she thought about it, she knew they were true. She felt it deep down in her soul. She couldn't describe it in words. It was like beyond woman's intuition. Being a telepath taught her that her gut instincts were usually on target. Now what in the world was she going to do about it? What was she supposed to tell them? She could start out with 'hey Angel I've been having these dreams about you and in one of them I called you dad. Oh and Wesley, apparently we may be soul mates or something.' Yeah that would go over real well. She definitely couldn't tell Wesley about the dreams. It was out of the question. It was bad enough that he was nearly killed today by those people that were after her. She didn't know what she would have done if someone else had died because of her.
Kaia pounded the bed with her fists, aggravated with her thoughts. There was no way she would get any sleep if she couldn't stop her thoughts from racing like this, but she couldn't help it. She had so many questions. If Angel was her father, then why does he seem to not know her? How could he have fathered a child and not know? Originally, she had only thought of herself as some sort of failed military experiment, but now she didn't know what to think. Obviously everything wasn't at all how she thought it was. And who was her mother? Did she not tell Angel about her existence, instead opting to give her own flesh and blood away to the government to be used as a science project? Anger began to bubble below the surface, but she willed it away. Right now she needed to relax. She had to get up early in the morning and she needed to look well and rested for her meeting.
Minutes later a soft knock sounded at the door, and Kaia called for the person to come in. She knew instantly it was Angel; as she just now felt his presence outside her door. He poked his head in the door, his hand on the doorknob as if he was unsure of coming into the room. Kaia sat up with her back against the headboard and waved him in the room. He gave her a half smile as he came inside crossing the room to stand at the foot of her bed. At his uncomfortable stance, she patted the side of the bed for him to sit. He sat down awkwardly his eyes staring straight forward. What did he want? He clearly wanted to talk to her about something, but he was just sitting there not saying anything. She couldn't even hear him breathing, which disturbed her because she should have heard it with her super sensitive hearing. There was that strange odor again. Maybe slaying demons so much allowed an inhuman stench to cling to his body.
Angel cleared his throat nervously, finally stealing a glance at her. He smiled warmly and Kaia smiled back. "I don't know why I'm so nervous here," he said softly. "Actually I do sort of know why. You kind of put me on edge...in a way that I can't really describe. It's like right now I have a feeling like I should know you, but I know I don't." He paused, noticing that his words sounded confusing even to him. "Do you know why I feel this way," he questioned uncomfortably.
Kaia shrugged feigning innocence. "I don't know Angel. You tell me. I can't explain what you're thinking in your head. I mean I could, but I don't think I should." At Angel's confused expression, she continued, "I'm telepathic". Angel's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Really," he replied. "So you can read my thoughts? Have you did it yet...read my thoughts I mean." Kaia shook her head, but Angel's instincts told him she wasn't being completely honest.
"Kaia you do know that you can trust me right," he asked her, his dark eyes meeting hers. "You can trust all of us."
She averted her eyes, suddenly finding the plaid pattern of the comforter interesting. She finally lifted her head and nodded. "I'm not really sure why I trust you, but I do," she told him. "I sort of understand how you feel…about the way you feel like you know me. I feel the same way. I'm not exactly sure what's going on. It's a little unnerving to be honest."
"O-kay," Angel said slowly. "So we seem to be on the same page here. There's something else we need to talk about though. I know you're exhausted, but I don't think this can wait. Earlier you said they wanted to take you back. What did you mean by that? Who are they?"
Kaia eyes widened before she forced her face to become blank. She couldn't deal with these kinds of questions right now. Angel saw the flash of fear cross her face just before he saw her visibly shut down. He knew that look well, because that was an expression that he used often. She was such an enigma. This was a person who thinks nothing of saving others, but won't accept help herself.
"Look, Kaia the only way I can help you is if you're straight with me," he said firmly but gently. "You've already said you can trust me. Why can't you just tell me what's really going on?"
Kaia bit her lip, but remained silent refusing to meet his eyes. Angel jumped up from the bed and began to pace back and forth, his jaw clenched in frustration. Kaia's eyes narrowed as she noticed Angel's reflection was absent every time he passed the mirror. Well, well, well. This was an interesting twist. She had wondered why he smelled different. Spike and Lorne had that same smell...it was just not human. His skin was also so pale and the little mirror trick was a dead give away. She didn't know why she hadn't come to this conclusion before. Why didn't he tell her he was a vampire? Why was he so nice and caring? Vampires as a rule were not usually nice. And since when do vampires work in law firms? Apparently, she wasn't the only one not being completely straightforward here.
Angel sighed loudly. "Okay…you're tired and you need to rest. Maybe I shouldn't have come up here badgering you with questions. I'm sorry. Why don't I let you get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning." Kaia nodded but kept her eyes looking down. Angel shook his head as he walked to the door, disappointed that he didn't seem to be getting anywhere with her. When his hand touched the doorknob, she called out his name. "Yes," he answered.
"Angel I appreciate everything you've done for me," Kaia said honestly. "Welcoming me into your home like this was really cool of you, but in the morning we won't be having that talk. I'm going to leave and you promised not to stop me. Remember? That was our deal."
Angel nodded. "I remember…good night," he whispered. After Angel left the room, closing the door behind him, Kaia let out a deep breath. Why did her life have to be so hard? Couldn't anything ever be easy? She didn't want to leave, but she had too. If she wanted to keep them safe, she had to go. She didn't have a choice. Or did she?
"Okay, you can open your eyes now," said Fred, a little too happily. Kaia allowed her eyes to remain closed a moment longer, almost afraid to see her reflection in the mirror.
Fred rolled her eyes. "Oh would you just open your eyes you big chicken. You can kill demons without blinking an eye, but you're afraid of a little pampering. Kaia you look beautiful, which you would know if you just open your eyes."
Kaia finally opened her eyes, letting out a loud gasp as she stared at herself in the mirror. The last time she had looked this made up was early in her senior year of high school. She tentatively touched her face in reverence at the sight of her face made up with foundation, face powder, blush, eye shadow, and even lip gloss. She hadn't worn lip gloss in forever but…it looked good. She looked good with her dark hair falling in luxurious curls and the simple, but elegant makeup. Fred, the darling she was, had arranged for a stylist to come at 5:00 in the morning to style her hair as well as several designer suits and shoes had been delivered to the house.
"So what do you think," Fred asked nervously. "You haven't said anything yet. You're just staring." Kaia stood up from the chair facing the vanity mirror and walked over to stand in front of the lengthwise mirror. She studied her reflection carefully, twisting to the side to view the black pinstriped suit she wore. She faced forward again smoothing her hands down the fitted jacket and running her hands along the lace of the matching pinstriped bustier she wore underneath before finally glancing down at the 3-inch stiletto pumps she wore on her feet. Kaia smiled finally and spun around to face Fred to find an astonished expression on her face.
"Fred, what's wrong," she asked. "I look okay right. I mean I know it's been a while since I've really dressed up, but I think that lady did a great job. Don't you?"
Fred nodded her head vigorously. "I agree," she said emphatically. "You look great! I don't know why you choose to wear those tomboy clothes, but yet you can walk gracefully across the room in 3-inch heels and not just any heels…stiletto heels at that. You've been frontin' with us!"
Kaia let out a giggle. "Frontin," she said, her eyebrows raised mockingly. "Okay Fred, I think you should stay away from BET. And as I told you earlier, I've dressed like this before, well with the make-up and stuff. It's just been a while. I used to dress up in mini-skirts, stomach-baring tops, high heels, makeup, the whole girly shit, but I'm different now."
Fred walked forward, her face taking on a serious expression. "Are you really…different I mean? Or are you just forcing yourself to be? I completely understand if that's what you're doing. I used to be extremely shy and I know what it feels like to want to just blend in and to not want to be noticed. I'm assuming you thought if you kept yourself scruffy looking that it would be easier to hide…to blend in, but you're wrong. Whoever they are found you anyway. You're looks can't be hidden that easily. You're beautiful, even without the makeup and girly shit."
Kaia blushed as she picked at her nails. Fred slapped her hand away. "Don't do that! You'll ruin your manicure." Kaia rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you made her give me a manicure anyway," she retorted sarcastically. "You don't really look that high maintenance yourself!"
At Fred's crest fallen expression, Kaia winced. Sometimes she could be so careless with her words. "Fred that's not what I meant," she said quickly. "You are totally girly and beautiful. You know that. It's just you have a kind of innocent beauty. It's really natural and you don't have to wear stilettos to see it…like I do."
Fred blushed. "Thanks," she said. "I look okay, but you…you're made for this type of clothing. You remind me of a friend of mine. She was gorgeous…sexy…just like you, but she's…well…she's gone now." Fred bit her lip as she felt the tears creeping in. Cordelia had been gone a year and she would still tear up at the thought of her. Fred glanced at Kaia and forced away the sadness upon seeing the worried glance Kaia was sending her.
"Now come on," Fred continued. "You have an 8:30 meeting and you're going to be late if we don't leave right now. L.A. traffic can be a bitch to get through. Wait…do you need to stop at your apartment for something? Oh scratch that. You can't go back there. They might be waiting for you."
"It's okay," Kaia replied. "I gave the big presentation two weeks ago. We just needed to tie up a couple loose ends and I needed to sign some paper work. No big deal…and Fred…I'm going to have to go back to my apartment sometime to pick up my stuff. I told Angel last night that I was leaving in the morning and I meant it. After I leave here, that's it."
"But," Fred began.
"No Fred…just don't," Kaia said quickly. "I have to leave. If I don't, those men will come here after me. It's only a matter of time before they find me. They already saw Wesley's face. When they find out I'm not at my apartment anymore, how long do you think it will take them to track me down here?"
"I know…I know," Fred replied anxiously. "It's just you shouldn't have to go through this alone."
Kaia smiled and pulled Fred into a quick hug. "Fred I've been alone for a long time. It's what I'm used too. I'll be fine. Now I have to go. Like you said, I'll be late."
"What do you mean you have to go," Fred asked pulling back slightly. "You're not going alone! Let me just grab one of the guys to go with you…just to make sure you'll be safe."
"No, you can't," Kaia exclaimed. "They'll only try to bring me back here. I can't let them keep putting their lives in danger for me."
"Well Kaia I hate to break it to you, but that's what we do," Fred answered tartly. "We put our lives in danger for others all the time. Besides, if they don't go then I'm going with you. At least let me get Gunn." Kaia bit her lip going over her options. Gunn didn't trust her as much as the others so he was more inclined to let her leave and maybe having a little back up wouldn't be such a bad idea. She could make her meeting, stop by her apartment to pick up the duffel bag she always had packed, and jump on the next available plane out of this town. Gunn wouldn't try to stop her.
"Okay go get him, but you're staying here," Kaia finally responded. "Now hurry and be quiet about it." Fred nodded and bustled out of the room. Kaia hoped she wasn't making a mistake here.
Note: Here's another chapter. Please review.
