Chapter Four

Family Lineage

"You're… a vampire… but you have… a soul?" Ella repeated for only the fourteenth time. Patiently as he stood staring down at her, Angel nodded slowly. "How did this happen again?"

"Oh, for God's sake, haven't you been listening?" Cordelia threw her hands up in the air after storming into the room uninvited.

"Apparently you have," the vampire gave her a small smile and gestured to the door with a firm nod. "If you will, Cordy."

"Is that your name?" Ella asked quietly. "Cordy?"

"It's short for Cordelia," the brunette offered with a shrug.

"I like it," she responded. "It's pretty and has a nice ring to it."

"It does, doesn't it," Angel agreed. Abruptly it hit him on what exactly he had said and he looked away quickly, gazing with keen interest at the carpeted floor. In the doorway, Cordelia gave Ella a large smile and turned a slight pink so fair that no one could even notice. The vampire coughed uncomfortably. "Uh, yes. Continuing. You wanted to know how this happened? The soul?"

"Yes," Ella nodded like a bobble doll.

"Oh, honestly, that's simple," Cordy intervened. She sat down on the bed next to the blond and rushed forward into the story. "Really, it's so simple. He's lived for, like, two hundred and forty eight years—"

"Forty seven," Angel interrupted personally. "Only two hundred and forty seven."

"Whatever," the brunette rolled her eyes and returned to her story. "Darla, this vampire… you know, now that I think about it, would you call a female vampire a vampiress?"

"No, Cordy, you wouldn't," the vampire drawled. "The story, Cordelia, since you seem so intent on telling it."

"Oh, right. Anyway, over two hundred years ago, Darla sired Angel and he was the meanest vampire of all. I mean, like this guy killed hundreds of people without batting an eye. Then one day he goes and kills this poor gypsy girl and her family gets really mad. So they curse him with a soul so he can feel guilty for the rest of his life… which would be for all eternity.

"And he feels really guilty because he remembers everyone he ever killed, which was a lot of people. So he secluded himself until he happened to come to Sunnydale a couple of years ago," Cordy told her.

"Um… Cordelia…" Angel tried to interrupt, really not wanting the story to go any farther. He felt that their guest didn't need to know that particular part of his life story.

"So, in Sunnydale he meets Buffy Summers. I'm a friend of hers," the brunette continued without faltering. "Well anyway, Buffy is the Slayer. I mean, there have been Slayers before her but she was the Slayer, the Chosen One. And our Angel here falls in love with her. One night the two of them have sex and BOOM! There goes Angel's soul. Turns out he can't achieve 'perfect happiness' without losing his soul. Come on, right? I mean, what good is a guy who can't have sex at least every once in a while—"

"Cordelia…" Angel warned.

"Anyway, he goes all evil in Sunnydale but eventually he got his soul back and came here to L.A. and here he is today," Cordy finished with a firm nod to Angel before returning her attention to Ella. "Would you like to hear how he met me? It's an exciting story… perhaps not as exciting as how he met Fred and Lorne or even Wesley and Gunn, but it's still a good story."

"No, that's alright," Ella nodded slowly. "I get the gist of the story."

"And you're okay with everything?" Angel asked softly, his eyes boring intensely into her own. "You're not scared, are you, Ella?"

"Whoa… hold on," she held up a hand. "Did you just call me Ella?"

"That's your name, isn't it?" Cordy inquired, her eyes widening slightly.

"Where did you get that from? If I might ask," the blond stood up and moved across the room to the dark window, fingering the white drapes fondly.

"Your driver's license," the vampire responded.

"Oh," her face lit up in a small smile as though she understood completely what happened. Angel pulled her wallet out of his pocket and showed her the license, which sat in a clear pouch on the front. She walked to him and fingered it lovingly. "I understand now."

"Do you?" Cordelia demanded as her brows knit close together. "Because I sure don't."

"My name isn't Ella," she answered softly. "You see, I have a sister… had a twin sister. Her name was Isabella. Our mother was a strict Italian and never called my sister by her nickname of Ella but when Isabella went to get her driver's license, she… I guess the term is tweaked her name so that it would only read Ella."

"Had a twin sister?" Angel looked down into eyes that were filled with sudden lost. He could see just how lonely she really was and had been for such a long time.

"Yes, had," the girl replied. "She was slaughtered by a vampire several years ago. When she… left me, I felt as though I lost half of myself. I guess I keep her wallet with me at all times to help fill that hole. See, her eyes were green while mine are blue."

She showed the vampire the pictures. Sure enough, Isabella Winters' eyes were an emerald while the unnamed girl in front of him had blue eyes with stars of silver sprinkled in them.

"If you're not Ella…" Cordelia started slowly. "Then who are you?"

"My name is Rachele Winters but now I go by Rae," she offered with a sad smile. "It's funny how time changes people right."

"You said your sister was killed by a vampire," Angel changed the topic quickly. "Do you know the name of the vampire that killed your sister?"

"Yes," Rae responded with malice in her voice. She walked back to the window and stared out at the lights that shone into her room like a nightlight. "I even tried to stake her myself, really I did. I've only killed a vampire or two in my lifetime and I'm not really a great fighter, I'm not. Never really came in contact with demons before, either. But, God, how I really wanted to stake her but she left town before I even had the chance. I wouldn't know where to find her now even if I did want to find her."

"Well, I'd want to find her if I were you," Cordelia snapped. "The vampire's a total bitch that's what she is. To do something like that to you."

"Cordy," Angel put a hand gently on her shoulder to restrain the brunette. "What was her name?"

There was a long pause and when Rae turned her attention to the vampire, her blue eyes were alight with blazing anger.

"Drusilla," the blond growled. "Her name was Drusilla."

"Oh… boy…" Cordelia muttered. "Angel, outside in the hall now." The brunette dragged the vampire out into the hall before he even had a chance to react. "Oh, don't worry. Make yourself comfortable, Rae, and we'll be only a minute."

"Oh, you and your vampire legacies," Cordelia grumbled as she pulled Angel a short ways down the hall so that the two would not be overheard.

"Is something wrong?" Angel demanded, crossing his arms over his chest as Cordy released her grip on him.

"Did you not hear what the poor girl just said?" she snapped.

"Yes," the vampire nodded. "I meant is something wrong other than finding out Drusilla killed her sister that was important enough for you to drag me out in and down the hall."

"Okay, maybe you don't get how humans work, Angel, but trust me I do. And this girl has 'if I find her sire, I'll kill that one too for making her' kind of vibe going on."

"And?"

"And I really, really don't want to see you go to the stake… at least not when you're you, you know, good Angel out to save the world and all. Maybe if you were bad Angel then it'd be okay."

"Is there a point to all of this, Cordelia?"

"Yes, do not tell her you created that monster Drusilla, please! Can't you see the girl's suffered enough?"

"Yes, and you don't have to worry," he awkwardly patted her on the head before walking back to the room. He called over his shoulder, "I wasn't planning on telling her."

"That's my Angel," she smiled to herself. "Always coming to people's rescues and lying through his teeth if he sees fit. I think I like that perk!"

"Do you have someplace to stay? At least if just for the night?" Angel asked Rae as she properly hung her clothes to dry in the bathroom. "Perhaps a friend?"

"No one," the blond answered. "I just got into town tonight. Figures, huh? How I can't even stay out of trouble for even one night. I'm such a ditz."

"You are not," the vampire insisted. "Do you have any clothes or whatever? My seem a little…"

"Too big?" Rae finished for him. She pulled on the sides, which pulled out to fit almost another half of her. "Yeah, but my car is parked by the alley where everything happened tonight."

"Do you have the keys?"

"In my jean pocket."

"Give them to me. I'll have Gunn go and get your car. It really isn't that far from here. You can stay here for a couple of days or however long it takes for you to get on your feet."

She tossed him her car keys and he headed for the door. Once it was opened he turned back to her.

"Are you sure you're okay with staying here?" he asked genuinely.

"You mean with you being a…"

"Vampire?"

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," she responded quietly. "I've moved on from that point in my life. And you're not like other vampires, Angel."

"I've been told."

"You're special," she smiled shyly at him. "You help people and somehow… I don't think you can hurt me."
"I'm glad you trust—"

"Besides," Rae added. "I really have no family left for you to kill if you did turn evil. I don't have any friends. I have no place to live, no job, no steady source of income. I have money but that's useless to a vampire, is it? No pets, either. I guess, I really have nothing in life to lose."

Somehow, leaving the room, his unbeating heart felt a lot heavier than when he had walked into it and he really didn't know how.