Buffy arrived right on time, crowded into Spike's care with Willow and Xander. They helped Angel load the car. Angel left a note for Cordelia's mother saying there was an emergency and Cordelia would call when she could. The reception had ended half an hour ago and Victoria had yet to come back. He put the note on the table and picked Cordelia up. He carried her to the car and Spike opened the passenger door. She didn't even stir when he buckled her in and reclined her seat.
Angel closed the car door and turned to the others. "I spoke to Wes. They know we're coming, so they'll have plenty of rooms at the hotel ready. You can stay there, if you want."
Buffy nodded. "That'd be great." She looked at her friends. "Let's get going."
> > > > > >
Angel was halfway back to LA when he noticed that Connor and Cordy were both asleep. While Cordy hadn't woken up at all, Connor had been gurgling happily earlier.
Angel sighed and tried to relax. It was hard. He was worried about Cordy. She'd never had visions this close together before, other than when she was in the hospital, courtesy of the Vocah. The visions seemed to last longer and the pain seemed worse.
He turned to Cordelia when she moaned. She squirmed a little, moaned again, then was quiet. He turned his attention back to the road.
"Angel?" Her voice was quiet and laced with sleep.
Angel glanced at her. "Hey."
"Where are we?"
"About 20 minutes out of LA."
"LA? Oh, right. The vision." She winced at the memory. "Where's everyone else?"
"Following us in Spike's car. They're going to be staying at the hotel."
Cordelia nodded and snuggled back into the seat. "Connor asleep?"
"Yeah. For about half an hour, I think."
"I scared him with my vision. He was crying. I scared him."
"He just didn't like to see you hurting," Angel said.
Cordelia was quiet for a few minutes. Finally she said, "I could have hurt him. I could have dropped him or landed on him when I fell."
"You didn't."
"But I could have."
"What are you saying?"
"Maybe I shouldn't hold Connor anymore. I mean, my visions are unpredictable. They can come at any time. The Powers That Be don't care if I'm holding your son."
Angel gave her an incredulous look and slowed the car. "Are you serious? Cordy, Connor loves you. You'd never hurt him, I know that. I know your visions are unpredictable, Cordy, but you've done fine with them this long. And before you got your vision today, you made sure Connor was OK. Don't you dare change anything you do with him, Cordy. I won't let you."
They were both silent as Angel pulled the car up in front of the hotel. Fred, Wes, Gunn, and Lorne came out to meet them. Fred got Connor out of his seat while Gunn and Wes went to help the others with their luggage.
Angel went around the front of the car and opened Cordelia's door. He took her hand and pulled her out. Once on her feet, she swayed, and he put an arm around her waist to steady her.
Once in the hotel, the guests were shown to their rooms and they took their bags up. Then everyone gathered in the hotel lobby. Angel made it a point to put Connor in Cordy's arms. She looked at him but said nothing as she tightened her arms securely around the little boy.
Once everyone was settled in the lobby, Angel took charge. "OK, there are three attacks happening simultaneously tomorrow night: an AA meeting downtown, a family in the suburbs, and a couple on the bluff outside LA. Three attacks, three Bamboria demons."
"Bamboria demons are notorious for being very nasty demons," Wesley cut in. "They will zero in on any vulnerability you have. They won't stop until their prey is dead, thereby giving the Bamboria strength and power."
"We need three separate teams. Spike, Buffy, and I will each lead a team. The rest of you will be with one of us," Angel said.
"I think we should assign the teams now," Buffy said. "They should be based on strength and ability."
Angel nodded. "OK. I'll take Fred and Cordelia. If Cordy feels up to it, that is."
Cordelia nodded. "I'll be fine."
"I'll take Willow and Gunn," Buffy said.
"Wait. That means I'm with Spike," Xander said. "I can't be with Spike."
Buffy sighed. "Fine. I'll take you and Wes. Willow and Gunn can go with Spike. Anybody object?"
When nobody objected Angel spoke again. "OK. We got tomorrow night. The goal is to save these people and kill the Bamboria demons."
"There is no specific way that Bamboria demons have to be killed. You can kill them any way you wish: decapitation, sword through the heart, whatever you wish," Wes said.
"Do we need a game plan or are we just gonna wing it?" Willow asked. "Cause I'm all for having a game plan."
"We can make a game plan if you want, love," Spike said," but I doubt we'll stick to it once the fight starts."
"Here's my game plan," Gunn said. "I'm gonna kick some Bamboria ass."
"OK, well, that works for me," Xander said.
The group sat in silence for a few minutes. There were no sounds except the occasional coo from Connor. Finally Buffy sighed. "Well, it's getting late. I think I'm gonna head up to bed." Willow and Xander agreed, and the three headed upstairs.
Cordelia stood up. "I'm tired too. I think I'm gonna head home." She handed Connor to Fred, who immediately started cooing to him.
Angel stood as well. "Why don't you just stay here? It's late."
"No. I really need to just go home," Cordelia said quietly.
Angel watched her for a moment before nodding. "At least let me walk you home."
Cordelia gave him one of her brilliant smiles. "Absolutely."
> > > > > >
Cordelia twisted the key in the lock and opened the door. "Dennis, I'm home," she called out.
Angel followed her in and flipped the lights on. He looked around the room absently as Cordelia went into her bedroom and shut the door halfway.
Angel picked up a picture off the mantle. It was an older one, with him, Cordy, and Wes from years before. "Are you sure you're alright to fight tomorrrow?"
The bedroom door opened and Cordelia came out dressed in her pajamas. "I'll be fine." She flopped down on the couch and curled up. "And anyway, we don't have a choice. We need everybody for this. That's why Buffy and everyone came."
Angel picked up a blanket off the end of the couch and draped it over her. "If you don't feel up to it, we can manage."
"No. I'll be there."
Angel sat down beside her as she burrowed deeper into the blanket. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For this. Your dad just died. His funeral was only a few hours ago. And instead of taking time to grieve, you have to rush off to fight more demons."
"I have the rest of my life to grieve, Angel."
Angel looked at her sadly but didn't say anything.
Cordelia sighed. "That's wasn't supposed to make you fell guilty. It's just the way things are."
"You need to grieve, Cordy. It's not healthy to hold it in or avoid it."
Cordelia closed her eyes. "I will, Angel. But right now I just need to concentrate on tomorrow. If I think about today and what happened, I'll crack. I can't crack right now; you guys need me to be strong."
"What about what you need?"
"I'll deal with what I need tomorrow, after we take care of the Bamboria demons." She shifted positions so that she was leaning against Angel. He lifted his arm and pulled her to him. They sat in silence and eventually Cordelia's breathing evened out. Angel looked down and saw that she'd fallen asleep. He adjusted the blanket around her shoulders and closed him own eyes.
> > > > > >
Cordelia slowly became aware of clanging sounds, coming from far away. A pleasant smell filled her nostrils. She groaned but opened her eyes. She was lying on the couch, under a blanket. She turned her head. She could hear Angel in the kitchen. She smiled: she was getting eggs.
She sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the couch. She yawned, stretched, and made her way into the kitchen.
Angel was standing at the stove, intent on his creation in the pan. He looked so cute wearing the white frilly apron that she'd rarely used and she she had to laugh.
Angel turned around. "What's so funny?"
"I think that apron looks better on you than it does on me."
Angel returned her smile. "What's to think about? I know it looks better."
Cordelia walked around him and peered into the pan: scrambled eggs. "Maybe you should take it back to the hotel and wear it around."
Angel wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Maybe I will."
Cordelia laughed. "I'm sure Spike would love to see that."
Angel made a face. "Spike. You know, there's something about him…"
"Hmm. Could it be the fact that he's a formerly evil vampire who's now fighting for the good guys?"
"What do you mean?"
"Angel, come on. You two are so similar. You were both evil. The Scourge of Europe and William the Bloody. You both had a…thing for Drusilla. You both love Buffy. You're both good now."
"I see the similarities," Angel said dryly. "What's your point?"
"According to the prophecies there's only one vampire with a soul. One good guy. One champion."
"I'm not worried about Spike being the champion," Angel cut in. "I'm really not."
Cordelia watched him thoughtfully for a minute before nodding. "OK, maybe not. After all, you've never liked Spike, even when you were both evil. You don't like sharing your women, do you?"
Angel turned his head to look at her. "What?"
"It was perfectly fine when you turned Drusilla. You didn't mind splitting your time between her and Darla. But you really didn't like it when Spike joined your little group and you had to share. And now he has Buffy."
Angel shook his head. "I really regret telling you anything about my past. You know, you should be a psychiatrist; you're good at getting into my head."
Cordelia shot him a bright smile. "Thank you."
Angel shook his head again. "Look, I admit that the prospect of Buffy and Spike together shocked me. But Buffy is a big girl. She can do what she wants."
"I think she'd doing exactly who she wants," Cordelia quipped.
Angel winced. "That doesn't mean we have to talk about it."
Cordelia patted his arm. "Poor baby," she cooed. "And speaking of babies, are the eggs almost done? I want to see Connor before all hell starts to break loose."
Angel smiled. "They're just about done. We'll head back to the hotel after breakfast."
