Chapter 17
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Angel series except my own.
Wesley ran his hand up and down the young woman's back in a soothing manner, murmuring words of reassurement. He felt a wave of anger hit him at the callous behavior Angel just displayed. How could he just walk away from his own daughter? Wesley knew finding out you had a child that you didn't know existed was a shock but still. How could Angel be so cruel? Because of his cruelty, Kaia was now crying in his arms, her sobs sending twinges pain through his own heart. He heard a sniffle behind him and he was quite sure that Fred was now crying as well. Kaia's sobs began to subside and she pulled back. Wesley's heart lurched at the pained expression in her brown eyes. He pushed her hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek; trying to convey some sort of comfort…comfort her father should have been giving her. Her hands released his shirt as she tried to pull away from him completely, but he held fast to her shoulders.
Then her body stiffened as she felt his presence was still near. She was correct. Angel was standing at the top of the stairs concealed behind the wall silently watching the scene before him. He had closed his eyes, in hopes of blocking out the sight of Kaia crying in Wesley's arms, but his keen hearing still picked up her heart wrenching sobs. Suddenly her sobs had subsided and she had pulled away from Wesley's grasp. He knew she could feel him nearby the moment he noticed her body stiffen. He sighed loudly as he stepped out from behind the wall into their line of vision and began his descent down the stairs. She didn't turn around, as he got closer to her even though he knew that she could sense he was almost upon her. He reached out a hand to gently grab her shoulder and she spun around to face him before he could. At the look in her eyes, he found his hand falling back down to his side. She was hurt…and angry…and he was sorry.
She wasn't the only one angry. Wesley was regarding him with a look that held no sign of pity. "Angel," he began, his tone angry.
"I know Wesley," said Angel looking at his friend, interrupting the lecture he saw coming his way. "I'm sorr. I was just so angry…and...I just freaked out. I had to walk away for a moment…gather my thoughts and calm down." He then looked into his daughter's eyes. "I'm sorry," he repeated in a whisper. She gulped and looked down at the ground playing with her fingers. Wesley laid his hands on her shoulders in comfort. "Are you alright Kaia," he asked, his eyes still holding a note of hardness as he gazed at Angel. She nodded but didn't speak.
"It's okay Wesley…I can take it from here," Angel bit out, as he felt his anger returning. He knew Wesley was just being protective of Kaia, but she didn't need protection from him. He was her father damn it! Wesley's behavior was bringing up old feelings to the surface…feelings that were better off lying low.
Wesley raised a brow. "You wouldn't have to take it from here if you hadn't left like that," he responded.
"You know what Wes, why don't you back off," Angel said angrily.
"If that's what she wants me to do then I will," Wesley responded evenly.
Angel looked down at the ground and placed his hands on his hips in an effort to stop himself from placing them around Wesley's throat instead. He loved the guy, but he chose the wrong moment to be noble. "Look I think you need to take a step back," Angel said his voice dropping several octaves as he met Wesley's cold eyes. "She is my daughter and I need to talk to her. I admit I wasn't thinking clearly. I was frustrated…angry. Right now I just want to hold my child…you of all people should know how I would feel about having a child kept from me. You should know how I feel right now." Wesley's face visibly paled and his hands fell back down to his sides. He backed away a couple steps, glancing down at the ground sheepishly.
Angel stared at his daughter trying as best he could to take in every feature…every freckle on her face. His daughter…it felt so strange to think that, but yet still so right. It would explain everything…the way he felt so protective of her…the way he felt like he knew her from somewhere. He knew fate had brought her to them for a reason. He just hadn't expected this. He gripped her arms softly as he pulled her close to him. She remained stiff in his arms as he held her. He breathed in her light perfume and the fresh smell of her hair. Her very essence was now being committed to his memory as he held her tighter. She finally relented and brought her arms around him. He closed his eyes tightly when he heard her sniffling and he knew she was crying again. "It's okay," he whispered, running a hand down her hair. "It's okay now. I'm here. I'm not going to let them hurt you. I won't let them take you away."
"Shhh," he crooned, as her arms tightened around him even more. He couldn't believe that he could have lost her. Last night, she had come to him injured with a gaping hole in her chest. If not for her healing ability, she could have died without him ever knowing that she was his child. He forced himself to squelch the anger he felt rising. Wolfram & Hart…what more could they possibly want from him? Anything bad is what they would want for him. He wouldn't let them get away with this. He had lost the chance to have a life with Connor, but he would be damned if he would lose Kaia too.
Kaia pulled away from her father, wiping her hands across her cheeks roughly. She sniffled again and he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped away the rest of her tears. He smiled softly, caressing her cheek, still marveling at the fact that she was his. She returned his smile with a half smile of her own. The smile fell away from his face when he saw her eyes become clouded again. "Hey it's going to be okay," he told her.
She shook her head. "How is it ever going to be okay Angel," she asked in disbelief. "This is not just about me or saving any one of you in this room right now. It's about protecting a boy who doesn't even know who we are…my brother. They're going to go after him if I don't give them what they want."
"But what they want is you," Wesley chimed in. "We can't just let them have you. You just found your father and he isn't ready to give you up just yet." Angel glanced over Kaia's shoulder and gave Wesley a half smile in gratitude. Wesley nodded in answer.
"I know that Wesley," she said impatiently, turning around to face him. "But I don't see another way. You heard that guy. In a couple days, they'll send word and if I don't come to them, they'll go after Connor. Those people killed my mom and my dad to get to me…well my adopted mom and dad anyway. All they did was love me…they didn't deserve to die and neither does Connor."
Angel spun her back around. "That won't happen," he said firmly. "I promise you that. And you're not going anywhere with them. We'll think of something. We'll come up with a plan…we always do…right guys?"
"Right," said Gunn and Wesley simultaneously. Fred only nodded and smiled.
"Right," said Spike, his voice uncharacteristically soft. He was feeling the guilt creep into every part of his being. He and Angel would never be best friends, but that didn't mean Spike didn't care about him…even though he would deny it if asked. How could he be apart of something so…so…god he couldn't even find a word for it. He was so different now. He couldn't fathom doing something like that, but he knew it was a distinct possibility. When he was evil, there wasn't much he wouldn't have done…especially if it had meant sticking it to Angel. "Angel…Kaia…I am so sorry," he said, shaking his head and staring down at the ground. "I don't even remember ever doing that…not even when I was evil. Angel you have to know that I'm on your side now. If I would have known--"
"It's alright Spike," said Angel, and he meant it. "I don't blame you." Spike wasn't to blame for any of this. If anyone had a blame in this it was him. How could he have been fooled so easily? Brought down by a pill…a stupid pill. Angel vaguely remembered waking up and not knowing how the hell he had gotten back home. He remembered that there had been brief images rolling through his head, but he had thought it was a dream. Obviously, it hadn't been. It had really happened. Because of his stupid mistake, a child was made from him and kept in some military facility being experimented on. God knows what they did to her in there.
Kaia saw the flashes of guilt and pain cross her father's face. He walked away from her and sat down heavily on the couch leaning forward placing his hands in his hair. He looked back up to her face and then glanced at Fred. "Fred could you please take Kaia upstairs to change and rest," he asked.
"Sure Angel," she said as she walked over to Kaia and took hold of her hand leading her over to the staircase. Kaia pulled back and looked back over at Angel.
"Angel it wasn't your fault," she said forcefully. "Don't do this to yourself. Don't blame yourself for any of this."
He looked back down at his lap. "I can't help it," he said simply. "Just go upstairs with Fred okay. Spike can you go up there with them? I want some muscle near Kaia at all times."
"Sure mate…absolutely," said Spike as he walked over to where Fred and Kaia were standing. He gently prodded Kaia in the back to go up the stairs, but she didn't move.
"It's okay sweetheart…I'll be up in a little while," he said catching her gaze. "I need to talk with Gunn and Wesley for a minute. Go on." She nodded and followed behind Fred up the stairs with Spike bringing up the rear.
Wesley and Gunn exchanged a look before walking over to Angel's hunched over form on the couch. "Angel…I'm sorry for how I reacted," said Wesley.
"It's okay," Angel replied as he leaned back against the chair.
"No…it's not," said Wesley as he gingerly took a seat next to Angel.
"Yes Wesley it is," Angel said. He glanced at Wesley and smiled. "At least I know you're protective of my daughter…even though you're not for the same reasons I am." Wesley blushed slightly and rolled his eyes.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he replied dryly. "She's a part of your family. Of course, I would try to protect her." His face hardened then. "Besides…I didn't do that great of a job protecting Connor. I'll make damn sure not to make that mistake this time."
"Wes…about what I said…that's water under the bridge," said Angel truthfully. "We've been over this. You did what you thought was right. You've saved my life countless times after that…even when our friendship was still rocky…you were there for me…for all of us. I'm not thinking about what happened with Connor and Holst right now. My main concern is keeping my kids safe from Wolfram & Hart."
Gunn dropped down in the closest armchair. "Man…this is some heavy shit," he said, shaking his head. "I can't even believe it. They took your sperm and mixed it with some alien chick and made a baby. They never saw fit to tell you this when you took over the firm?"
Angel snorted. "You know how they work. I don't even know why I'm surprised. This is exactly the kind of stuff they would pull." Angel jumped up from his seat and began to pace. "I just can't believe them. They thought they could do this and then just waltz in here and take her. And then they threaten my son too."
Wesley's eyes strayed to something on the floor…the device the vampire had left behind...the one the hologram had appeared from. "Maybe they weren't intending to take her anywhere," said Wesley. "Maybe they just wanted to send her a message." Angel's eyes followed Wesley's gaze and he walked over to the device slowly. He bent down and reached out his hand to pick it up.
"Be careful Angel," said Wesley as he stood up. "We don't know what other surprises that thing holds."
"Yeah…I know," he replied. "But just think of all the fun we'll miss if we don't try to find out." He then picked it up carefully holding it away from his body. He took a whiff to see if he could pick up any dangerous chemicals or explosive matter. Finding none, he brought it closer to his face to examine it more carefully. He noticed there was a variety of buttons, but he wasn't in the mood to try to figure it out right now. Besides, Wesley and Fred were better at technical stuff anyway. "Well so far we know it's some sort of communicating device," he said, still eyeing the strange device curiously. "It's the only way I can figure that we could talk to that hologram. It was something that was pre-taped."
"Let me see it", said Wesley as he beckoned to Angel to throw it his way. He caught it and began to examine it himself. He felt a button on the side and pressed it. A tray slid out holding a small mini disc and he removed it. He then pressed the button again to make the compartment return to it's original position. He held the tiny disc on his forefinger and then handed the device to Gunn, who had come to stand next to him.
"This is some high tech stuff man," Gunn commented. "Why don't we have anything like this?"
"We probably do," said Angel. "Fred would no more about the types of gadgets that we have on inventory than I would. Speaking of which, I need to go upstairs and check on Kaia. Wes…see if you can retrieve whatever information is on that disc. Gunn check out the security up front and the cameras. Those guys got in here a little too easily."
"Yeah I noticed that too," said Gunn. "Not that I'm surprised. It's not like it's the first time our enemies have come looking for us here, but I think I should get some of our contacts from off the street to help out instead of using anyone from the company. We work for Wolfram & Hart and they're behind this whole thing with your daughter. We don't want anyone from that place watching over her...anyone but us that is."
"Gunn is right…we don't know who to trust now," Wesley said, his tone worried.
"We knew we could never trust Wolfram & Hart," Angel said quickly.
"Right you are," Wesley replied. "I'll get to work on reading whatever data is on this disc. I'm sure it was purposely left in there so that we could have access to it."
"That's what I figured…we're gonna play their little game…for now," said Angel as he walked over to the staircase. He ran upstairs his only thoughts now on seeing his daughter.
Note: Here's another installment! Please review! I crave them!
