Warning: Okay guys this chapter is almost 4,000 words. So before you sit down to read, make sure you don't have anywhere to go for a bit. I hope you enjoy it though!
Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Angel series except my own.
Kaia leaned her head back against the seat as she watched the tall buildings and the array of people hustling down the street, on their way to work no doubt. She let a small sigh escape her lips as she let her attention travel to the driver. Suddenly she wasn't so sure if allowing Gunn to go with her had been such a good idea. She appreciated his efforts to be some sort of a bodyguard but he was worrying her. She was getting the distinct impression that he was going to do all he could to stop her from leaving. Throughout the entire drive to her meeting he had done nothing but sing Angel's praises. The meeting had gone extremely well, thankfully, and they were now heading to her apartment to pick up her stuff. She had thought he had run out of nice things to say about Angel, but she was wrong.
Kaia rolled her eyes as Gunn continued to regale her with stories of how they 'helped the hopeless'. It was clear that he was trying to convince her to stay…to let them help her. Kaia bit down on her lip, aggravated with her current situation. This was all Fred's fault. She must have put him up to this. Why else would he be so interested in whether or not she stuck around? She saw the way he looked at Fred earlier this morning before they left…the way he kissed her goodbye. He was completely, hopelessly in love with her. It was obvious that he would do anything for her. It was just her luck that what Fred wanted right now was for Kaia to stay with them.
Finally, they pulled up in front of the apartment building and she felt Gunn nudge her slightly. "Hey, anybody in there," he asked as he waved a hand in front of her face. "We're here. Aren't you gonna get out?"
Kaia turned to watch him as he took the key out of the ignition. She placed a hand on his arm as he made a move to open his door. "Just where do you think you're going," she demanded. "You're not coming with me so I suggest you just put the key back in the ignition. You need to leave…now!"
Gunn raised an eyebrow and chuckled lightly. "I suggest you remember that the only woman who can order me around is Fred and you're not her," he said sarcastically. "Now come on let's go get your stuff."
Kaia growled in frustration. What was wrong with these people? Did they have some sort of death wish or something? "You can't come with me," she said firmly. "Right now as we speak there are three dead bodies in my apartment. Two of them are human and one is not. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be seen around here, just in case someone called the cops. If I'm going to get in any trouble, I'm going do it alone."
Gunn shook his head. "No can do girl. For some reason, Angel believes you're worth saving...not that I don't. It's just that I'm not so sure that you're being straight with us, but that doesn't matter. I support Angel no matter what and that means going up there to your apartment with you. Angel would skin my hide if I let anything happen to you. He's already going to be pissed when he realizes that you left without saying anything and that I had something to do with it. So please let's just go get your stuff and then we can go back to the house. Just talk to him first and then you can decide if you want to leave. You owe him that much."
Damn. She hated to admit it, but he was right. She needed to at least talk to Angel one last time before she just disappeared from his life. And what about Wesley? Could she really just leave him? What if she was giving up her last chance to be happy? Maybe it was time that she thought about herself for once…thought about her own happiness. As soon as that thought entered her mind, she quickly discarded it, berating herself for even thinking that. "Okay let's go," she said. "But one thing…we'll teleport upstairs. Grab my hand."
Gunn pulled back in shock. "What the hell you mean we'll teleport," he said. "I don't think so. Why can't we walk in the front door like normal people?"
"Because Gunn, I don't want anyone to see you going in there," she replied in an exasperated tone. "They might be watching the car right now as we speak." Kaia took a quick look around for a good measure, breathing a small sigh of relief at seeing no strange cars parked. "Look stop being a pansy ass and take my hand. Are you scared or something?"
Gunn glared at her defiantly. "I'm not scared of nothing. Just give me your damn hand and let's get in and out of there quickly!" Kaia couldn't stop the smile that formed on her face. He was such a liar. He was terrified. She could smell his fear. She decided though not to rib him about it, at least not right now. Kaia reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze before teleporting. In seconds they were in her apartment.
Kaia took a quick glance around the apartment. She went into feral mode as she tuned into her surroundings. She didn't hear anything except Gunn's hard breathing and she didn't smell anything out of the ordinary, which bothered her. Come to think of it, where were the bodies? There were two dead men and one dead demon lying on her rug last night. Actually, if her memory served her right, that demon wasn't quite dead when she left. She had decapitated it, but the head still appeared very much alive. Where the hell did it go? Kaia slowly began walking forward, still keeping her senses sharp for any false movements or sounds.
Gunn was still standing where she left him, feeling slightly nauseous. He knew this was a bad idea. He was never, ever teleporting again. He ran a hand down his face as he wondered why the hell he had agreed to come with her anyway. Fred, that's why. He stared at Kaia curiously as she seemed to be walking very slowly, almost as if she was staking out the place. "What the hell are you doing," he asked furiously. "We don't have time for this. Just get your stuff and let's go."
She turned around and fixed him with a glare as she placed a finger on her lips, signaling him to be silent. He gave her a strange look, but then nodded in understanding. Gunn closed his eyes and his fists clenched at his sides. He had forgotten all about the fact that she had been attacked in this very apartment just last night. He was definitely slipping. How could he have forgotten that? Now as he watched Kaia move from room to room throughout the apartment, he wondered who was supposed to be protecting whom. She obviously didn't need his help.
Kaia entered her bedroom with caution, sniffing the air as she crossed the doorway. Her room was completely ransacked, drawers opened and clothes strewn everywhere. She noticed her laptop was not on the desk where she had left it. It was no matter. She never kept anything vitally important on there anyway. Kaia went to her closet and removed one of the boards from the floor. She reached down inside the hole and retrieved the duffel bag she always kept there. She did a quick inventory of the bag, satisfied that everything was still in place. She would have to assume a new identity, but she was accustomed to that by now. Right now she just needed to get this talk with Angel over with so she could get to an airport and get the hell out of L.A.
She exited the bedroom and found Gunn to be standing right where she left him. He looked a little sick and she almost felt bad for not warning him about the side effects of teleporting. Almost. "I'm ready," she announced. "Let's go." At that, Gunn appeared to look even sicker. Kaia covered her mouth to hide her smile.
"You think this is funny," Gunn sneered. "I feel like I'm about to hurl all over this rug and you think it's a joke! Kaia teleported and reappeared standing directly in front of him. Gunn jumped and held a hand to his chest. "Don't do that," he ordered. "I'm already sick to my stomach. Do you wanna give me a heart attack too?"
She forced herself to look contrite. "I'm sorry Gunn," she said apologetically. "The first time you teleport, it always leaves you feeling a little out of sorts. After a couple of times, you get used to it." Gunn gave her an incredulous look. "A couple of times," he said loudly. "I am not ever tele…what the hell?" Gunn glanced around in surprise, realizing that they were now sitting in the car again. He glared at her as he felt another wave of nausea hit him. She was just sitting there in the passenger seat smiling at him. It was all he could do to stop himself from just ringing her little neck.
"Oh come on Gunn," Kaia said as she punched him playfully in the arm. "Buck up. It will pass in a couple minutes. I promise." Kaia threw her bag in the backseat of the car and buckled her seatbelt. She felt his eyes boring holes into the side of her head, but she refused to look at him. "Weren't you the one hurrying me," she asked. "Come on let's go!" Gunn finally turned his attention forward and pulled the car key out of his jacket pocket. He jammed it in the ignition angrily and pulled out onto street. Angel better know what the hell he's doing, because he sure didn't.
As they pulled up to the gate of the house, Kaia immediately felt her body tense. She really didn't want to have this conversation with Angel, but she owed it to him to at least pretend to listen to what he had to say. Her eyes opened wide as she took in the size of the house or should she say mansion. They actually had a gate with a guard booth. Kaia saw the front porch looming in front of them and she took a quick glance at the guard. He hadn't seen her yet. He seemed to be engrossed in whatever was playing on the television. A ball game she realized. Some security they have here. She crouched down in the seat and nudged Gunn. She pointed to the guard and whispered to him that she was going to teleport to the porch. He nodded and she vanished, reappearing on the porch. She spied a large shrub to the side of the house and quickly teleported behind it, not wanting the guard to see her.
Gunn pressed the buzzer and the guard looked up. He gave Gunn a quick wave as he pressed a button to open up the iron gates. Gunn nodded in acknowledgment and drove forward up the driveway. His eyes searched the front yard searching for Kaia, questioning where the hell she was. Kaia saw the car coming up the driveway and she decided to just teleport inside the house instead. If she teleported back inside the car, she would still have to get out and walk inside the house. Angel probably trusted his security, but she sure as hell didn't. Kaia teleported and landed in the living room area of the house. She saw the familiar couch she had laid on just last night and she sighed. She brushed her long bangs out of her eyes and started walking forward towards the smell of coffee and food. She heard the door open and spun around swiftly, relieved to only see Gunn walking through the door. He shut the door behind him and approached her with a look on his face she couldn't place.
He stopped directly in front of her and continued to stare. "You're very strange you know that," he said finally. Kaia chuckled. "How's your tummy feeling," she asked him. "You feeling okay now? Is the nausea gone?"
He nodded. "Yeah I'm fine now. And hungry. Come on…let's go see if everyone's already in the dining room." She held out her hand to say 'lead the way'. Gunn shrugged out of his jacket and placed it on a coat rack as they passed through the living room. He then turned to her and looked her up and down. "I've been meaning to tell you that you look hot today girl," he said mischievously. "That stylist really knows her stuff. It's good to see you're not trying to hide that body anymore."
Kaia sent him a grin. "You better look your fill because this get up won't last long," she countered. "I'll be changing back into my clothes before I leave." Gunn stopped just to watch her walk. He was deeply in love with Fred, but even he could see that girl had a damn sexy walk. He shook his head to rid his head of those thoughts as he hurried to catch up with her. He reached out a hand and grabbed her arm causing her to halt in her tracks.
"Wait let me go in first…so that I can explain to Angel," he said. She shrugged as if didn't matter and he walked past her into the dining room area. Fred was sitting at the table with a lab top punching furiously at the keys while Angel stood in the kitchen leaning against the island reading the newspaper and sipping a cup of coffee. Angel glanced up and saw Gunn, but his facial expression didn't change. Gunn sighed. Angel always regarded people with these empty looks where you couldn't gage what he was thinking.
"Hey Angel," Gunn called cheerfully. "What's up man?" Angel only nodded but continued to give him that cold stare. Gunn shook his head and leaned down to kiss the top of Fred's head. He then walked over to Angel, determined to just get this over with. "Look Angel I know you're upset, but Kaia had a big meeting with this important client and she needed someone to go with her. So I tagged along and then we went to her apartment so she could pick up her things."
Fred jumped up from her chair and hurried over to them. "Angel don't be mad with Charles. Kaia was prepared to go alone and I didn't want her to, so I asked Gunn to go with her. By the way, where is she Charles?" Kaia tired of waiting stepped into the room, her heels clicking on the tiled floor. Angel looked over at her and his mouth gaped. She looked…well gorgeous. He knew she was beautiful before, but now she was breathtaking. Angel turned shocked eyes to Gunn and then Fred.
Fred broke into a wide grin. "Doesn't she look great," she asked. "I had some clothes and stuff delivered this morning. I had her makeup and hair professionally done too. I think she looks fabulous."
Angel finally smiled. "Yeah, I think she looks great too," he replied, his eyes not leaving Kaia. He then turned to Fred and then Gunn. "But I would have appreciated it if you guys had let me know the deal. You can imagine how surprised I was to find her bedroom empty. I figured Fred knew what was going on because I smelled her essence in there, but she refused to tell me what was going on. All she said was 'Kaia's okay…she's with Charles'. She wouldn't tell me where you guys went."
"Angel don't be upset with them," said Kaia. "I didn't want you to know where I went. Be glad that I even came back here, because I wasn't going too." At the flash of hurt that passed through his eyes, Kaia cringed. "I'm sorry Angel…really," she said. "I just didn't think it was such a good idea to come back here. Every moment I'm here I put you guys in danger."
"So we're back to this again," Angel said quietly. "Why can't you just trust that we can take care of you and ourselves? You can't handle this alone." Kaia looked at Fred. Fred gave her an 'I told you so' look.
"Fred and I talked about this earlier and I discussed this with Gunn," said Kaia. "I know you want to help, but I've been on the run from these guys for 7 years. Seven years Angel. They do not give up and they don't care who gets in their way. Now they're hiring demons to handle their dirty work. People have already died trying to help me. I won't let it happen to you too."
"Do you mean your parents," Angel asked softly. Kaia looked at him with narrowed eyes. "How do you know about my parents?"
"We had a file on you in our file room," he replied. Kaia regarded him with a confused expression. "Why would a law firm have a file on me," she asked curiously.
"Probably because it's not just any law firm," Gunn chimed in. "Wolfram & Hart used to represent anything and anyone related to evil. The entire company is into serious demonic worshipping, apocalypses, the whole works. They offered us the L.A. branch to take over and we accepted. We figured what better way to fight evil than to do it from within. We now have access to great sources of information, more than we ever had before. Our files have info on all things strange, weird, and demonic. And well, you are strange."
"So you've told me," Kaia said dryly. "So you had me investigated...dug up all sorts of information on me? You also had Wesley and Spike spy on me?" Angel nodded. Kaia closed her eyes and tried her best to push the anger away, but it wasn't working. "What right do you have to dig into my personal life," she asked angrily. "You had no right and you could have gotten your friends killed!"
"Look this is what we do," Angel said calmly. "To help people, we have to investigate and ask questions. I'm sorry if you felt we invaded your privacy, but it was necessary."
Kaia didn't answer for a moment. "How do you know my parents were killed," she asked, her voice even. Angel shrugged. "I just guessed," he answered quietly. "They were the only people mentioned in your file and your file stated that they were dead. I just figured when you said people have died trying to help you that you meant them. I'm right aren't I?" Kai nodded and bit her lip, refusing to cry.
Fred walked forward and grabbed Kaia's hands. "Kaia there's something about you that tells me you're a good person. It's not just the fact that you stepped into help us yesterday and you are currently still trying to protect us. It's just something I feel inside. Angel sees something in you worth saving…and…well so do I. You remind me so much of…my friend…do you remember I mentioned her earlier this morning?"
"Yeah I remember…Cordelia," she answered. Kaia noticed Angel's face hardened and his hand shook slightly as he took another sip of his coffee. Gunn's face appeared sad as he placed his hands in his pockets.
"Yes...Cordelia," said Fred. "She was wonderful. She was tough, smart, and she had such a mouth on her. I see so much of her in you. The way you care so much about others and not yourself reminds me so much of her. She was just like that. If she were here, she would have agreed with us. If you think we're persistent…well when she was finished with you, you would have been begging us to stay." Fred gave Kaia a crooked smile, but Kaia pulled her hands away and wrapped them around herself. Fred noticed she was trying to withdraw, but she refused to let her do that.
"Look, let's cut the crap alright," said Fred loudly. Kaia jumped in shock at the volume in Fred's voice. "You can not just leave," she continued. "You finally meet people who care about you and you're just gonna tuck your tail behind you and run! Aren't you tired of running? Well aren't you? Answer me! Kaia nodded. "Okay, well then why are you still trying to do it? Every time you run they find you anyway. So why not let us all get to the bottom of this. We can stop them and maybe you can finally live a normal life. Well as normal as you can get."
Kaia glanced at Angel and he nodded. She then turned to Gunn and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Girl, I know I come off kind of harsh alright," Gunn said gruffly. "It just takes me a while to trust people. You seem to be on the level though and Angel's usually right about people. You gotta let us help you and I think you can help us out with some cases too."
"Gunn," Angel warned.
Gunn held up a hand. "Nah man, just hear me out Angel. This girl has got some serious power and we need all the help we can get. In turn, we can help her get her life back. This way she feels like she's paying us back. I get the feeling that she doesn't accept anything for free. Why don't we ask her how she feels about it?" Gunn then gave Kaia a pointed look.
Kaia closed her eyes, as she felt herself caving. "Gunn I don't know," she said slowly.
"Look even if you decide to leave, we're still going to investigate these people who are after you," Gunn continued. "I'm extremely interested in finding out who tried to kill Wesley. So either way we'll be putting our lives in danger. So if you want us to stay safe…if you care about us as much as you seem to, then you'll stay and help us figure out what's going on. What do you say?"
Kaia looked at Angel again. "Angel are you sure about this? You're putting your friends in danger for someone you don't even know."
"Now that's where you're wrong," he said. "I do know you. I know you think nothing of trying to help strangers and you're worried about the welfare of people you barely know. Plus, remember what we talked about last night. I meant what I said. I strongly believe that fate brought you into our lives for a reason. Don't you want to find out why?"
Kaia thought about that for a moment. She already knew why, but she couldn't tell him...at least not yet. But she would stay...for now. It was high time she stopped running. She needed to face down these people who were after her and take her life back. And she needed help to do that. She couldn't do it alone. Once she made her decision, she felt some of the weight leave her shoulders.
Kaia sighed. "Okay Angel. You got a deal. You help me get my life back and in return I'll help you any way I can with your cases. I'll stay...for now." Angel didn't say anything. He only nodded and gestured to the food on the dining room table. Kaia's mouth watered at the sight of the food. She hadn't eaten yet and she was famished.
Just then Wesley strolled into the dining room holding a cup of coffee in one hand. "Angel have you spoken to Kaia---," he trailed off as he saw her standing there. Kaia turned around and Wesley gawked at her, unable to pull his eyes away they traveled from her head to her feet. Her hair...her clothes...she looked wonderful...sexy even. Fred's face fell at the expression on Wesley's face. She pushed away her annoyance at Wesley's obvious interest in Kaia. Kaia needed all the friends she could get. Now was not the time to let petty jealousy overtake her. If Wesley and Kaia got together, which by the looks they were sending each other they probably would, then she would just have to get over it.
Feedback is much appreciated! Thanks for the reviews I have gotten so far!
