Thank you for the reviews. It's always good to receive them.
HKW..Angel seems out of character because his redemption is slowly coming his way and he is being given the time to adjust. I am sure you would agree you don't change the way you think and act overnight. You need time to adjust. Angel has a lot of issues that he has to deal with from his past. You can't change and become a better person when you still are holding onto the bad memories of your past. Angel is reconciling himself with his past now. He has a lot to go through still yet.
"The GIFT
Chapter 5
They didn't have to far to travel to get to the small village that Angel had lived in. The house he had rented for them was set further back from the road and they had to go down a dirt road to get to it. As they approached the house Angel stopped for a moment and called the number of the people he had rented the house from.
The Jenkins were Americans that had moved to Ireland where Mrs. Jenkins was originally from. They sunk their money into buying up small run down homes and fixing them up then renting them out to Americans on vacation. The homes were advertised as being very historic in nature and the only modern devices in the homes were the bathrooms and refrigerators. The stoves were wood burning stoves and homes were kept warm by fireplaces. The renters were encouraged to light the houses with the multitude of oil lamps and candles instead of the few electric lights that were provided. Angel and his family had to wait for 30 minutes before the Jenkins came. When they finally arrived they could see why it took them so long. They were riding a horse drawn cart that had only 2 wheels.
Everyone got out of the van and approached them. "Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins I presume." Angel put out his hand. "Yes, Angel Martin?" "Yes." Angel said then Mr. Jenkins took Angels offered hand and shook it. Angel introduced the rest of his party. "Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins this is my wife Cordelia, my mom Dr. Martin and my son Connor. Guys this is Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins they own this house that we are renting for the next 2 weeks. If you notice that they don't have an Irish accent it's because they are Americans that came here to retire."
"Let us show you your house." The Jenkins led everyone into the house. Angel noticed that they didn't even have to unlock the door. The house he had rented was a 2 story house with a thatched roof and white walls on the outside with a deep green trim. The door was a dutch door that was split in two so that the top could be open and the bottom closed. They showed Angel and Connor how to take care of the fire places and where the wood was kept. Mrs. Jenkins showed Cordelia and Dr. Martin how to use the kitchen stove and start a fire in it. She also showed them how to wash dishes wash clothes and iron. Much to Cordelia's and Dr. Martins relief though Mrs. Jenkins said she would send a woman around twice each week to see if they wanted their clothes cleaned and ironed. The woman that would come had her own washer and dryer. Mrs. Jenkins said that they learned early on that today's materials were not made to stand up to the old way of washing.
The Jenkins continued to show the Martins the rest of house. The upstairs bedrooms all had their own fireplaces and the master bedroom was the only room with a balcony and a shower. Dr. Martin and Connor had to share a bathroom that was between their two bedrooms.
Next the Martin family was led outside to the barn where they had 4 horses stabled and a cart that was big enough to carry all four of them if they wanted. Angel had wanted his family to see how he used to live when he was a young man. He had been so happy when Willow had said she found Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins advertisement in the Galway yellow pages. They had it listed under
Bed & Breakfast and listing historic homes to rent also. Angel had made the call to rent the house and had talked to Mr. Jenkins for awhile about the house. He had asked about any animals that would be around. Mr. Jenkins had offered the use of a cow so that they could have fresh milk, chickens for eggs and horses for either riding or pulling a cart.
Mr. Jenkins gave Angel the keys but told him that the town is very quiet and most people feel safe in leaving the doors unlocked. After the Jenkins left Angel turned to everyone and asked "Well, what do you think?" Their was silence for a few minutes. Connor was the first to speak up.
"Hey Maw. When is dinner? I am mighty hungry after plowing the south forty today. Come on paw lets go kill us a mess of possum for the pot tonight." "Knock it off." Cordelia said. "Lets get in the van to go to town. We have to do some shopping because there isn't anything on the shelves and the refrigerator is running but nothing is in it. So Paw get that youngun of yours and lets get going. Common granny before these 2 completely go back to the 17th century." Connor and Angel were practically laughing their heads off. Cordelia knew that this was going to turn out to be a rotten deal and she was going to make him pay when they got home. Women worked far more than men did back than (as they do now). While the women were working their hands raw the men were going to be having the time of their lives.
When they arrived in the small town they went to what seemed to be the local grocery store. It only took them 20 minutes to do the shopping in what passed for the market then the next stop was the butcher. Ground hamburger, pork chops, steaks, and a lamb crown roast was bought. Cordelia asked about fresh pigs blood for a recipe that an Irish friend had given her. "I am sorry Mrs. Martin but we won't have any fresh pigs blood until next week Monday when we do the butchering for the week." The butcher said. "Okay, put me down for 2 gallons next Monday. Thank you." They all loaded up in the van again and left for their new temporary home.
"Your going to have to do your shopping for blood elsewhere Angel. They don't do their butchering until next week Monday." Cordelia said.
"Well I guess I have no choice but to go shopping tonight. You want to go night shopping with me tonight Connor?" Angel asked. "Yeah, Tarzan and boy go shopping tonight. Tarzan show boy how to wrestle great water buffalo to the ground." Cordelia and Angel just looked at each other. "Your son is becoming quiet the comedian." "Like father like son." Angel said with a grin on his face.
Angel pulled the van up to the side of the house that opened up to the kitchen. Everyone got out and helped to take the packages into the house and put them away. They spent the rest of their time getting settled in. Angel started a fire in the living room and showed Cordelia and Dr. Martin how to start a fire in the stove. Cordelia and Dr. Martin each tried to pump water that went into the kitchen sink. At first they had to use both hands to raise and lower the pump handle. For now they just filled up a tea kettle so they could have tea.
"Angel and Connor come over here please and help us shell the peas. Granny is going to peel the potatoes and I am going to start the stove so we can have some pork chops. Before you do that though Angel would you fill up a pan full of water to boil the potatoes in. Cordelia pulled down a cook book that Mrs. Jenkins had given her. It showed how the women used to cook without all of the modern conveniences. Along with the book Mrs. Jenkins gave Cordelia a container full of yeast that had to be kept alive by using some of the original batch to make more. She said that the original yeast had been started back in 1735 and that the women of the town were quit proud of their little batch of yeast.
While the stove was warming up Cordelia started a batch of bisquits to go with the rest of the meal. Tomorrow morning she would have to start several loaves of bread.
Within 2 hours they had prepared their dinner and eaten it. Angel had eaten only a small amount since he had to go shopping later in the evening.
"That was an excellent meal Cordelia. You did a real good job with the biscuits." Dr. Martin said as she leaned back in her chair and sipped at her tea.
"Yeah, if the Sunnydale gang saw her they would feint." Angel said with a smile.
"Yes, I noticed that. It seems like every time Willow, Buffy, and Xander saw Cordelia doing something domestic, as they called it, they seemed to be in shock as though she was retarded or something and they didn't think she was capable of such things." Dr. Martin said. Cordelia and Angel were laughing.
"When I was in high school I kept a certain amount of distance between anything domestic and my person. Poor Angel and Wesley sometimes they would have rather fight a demon then drink my coffee."
"So did you go to school to learn to cook or did Angel teach you?" Dr. Martin asked. "Angel taught me some and the rest I learned from cook books and watching cooking shows. Right now though I need one of these big strong men to fill up a couple of buckets with water and put them on the stove to heat up so we can clean up in here."
"Connor would you get that please? I'm to weak from lack of blood." Angel said as he put on a show to emphasize what he had said.
Connor got up and pumped the water into 2 buckets then put them on the stove to heat up. He threw a couple more sticks of wood in the stove to get it going again. The water heaters that were in the house were only for the bathrooms so everything for the kitchen had to be heated on the stove.
Angel was watching Connor. When he was done Angel asked him "Do you know how to ride a horse Connor?"
"We had something like them in Quartoth but they were all wild and I would only ride them when I could catch them."
"How about you Mom, ever ride a horse?" "No, I never had the chance. I'm afraid it's the buggy for me." "Well I know Cordy knows how to ride but is it safe for her in her condition?"
Angel asked as he grabbed onto Cordelia as she walked by. He put his head over her womb so he could listen to Kathleen's heartbeat. Cordelia put her hand on his head and put her head back and concentrated on listening through the link.
Angel raised his head "Her heartbeat is strong and getting stronger." Angel said as he looked up into Cordelia's eyes.
"How good of a horse rider where you Cordelia?" Dr. Martin asked.
"I used to compete in dressage." "Then I don't think you should have a problem then. Let's finish cleaning the kitchen first though." Dr. Martin said as she got up to help Cordelia. Working together it only took them 30 minutes to finish up. Cordelia went up stairs to change and Angel, Connor, and Dr. Martin went to the barn to get the horses ready. Angel showed Connor how to hitch up the horse to the cart then showed him how to saddle the horses. Cordelia came out at that time with a jar of honey.
Angel backed the horse out of the stall. It was fighting him a little and almost reared when he touched him. "Why is she fighting you?" Connor asked.
"She senses what I am or rather who I carry with me. It's the main reason why I don't keep any animals around me. The horses that Darla and I would steal couldn't wait to get away from us."
Angel was having a hard time getting the horse to take the bit. "Here Angel let me put some honey on it. It's how I would get my horse to take the bit. I spoiled him rotten. It got so bad that he would sniff the bit first and if it didn't have honey on it then he wouldn't take it." Cordelia poured a little honey on the bit then held it against the horses teeth. She sniffed at it carefully then when she opened her mouth to lick it Cordelia pushed the bit in her mouth. The mare didn't mind being saddled after that because she was contentedly playing with the bit and trying to get all of the honey off of it.
Angel continued then with showing Connor how to saddle the mare. When he was done he watched Connor saddle the other one. When Connor was done Angel helped Cordelia mount her horse. She took her through a few moves to see how she responded.
"Common Mom, get in." Angel reached out for Dr. Martins hand and she climbed into the front seat. Connor got in on the other side. Angel mounted his horse. "Take her around in a circle Connor and lets see how good you are at the reins." Connor directed the horse around the house.
Angel was satisfied that he knew what he was doing. "You are obviously an old pro Connor so lets go. If we should leave your sight for awhile just keep going down the road. I'll be checking out the fields for sheep and then we'll catch up with you."
Angel and Cordelia headed off at a slow pace. They passed several fields full of sheep and some cows. Unfortunately their were too many houses near by. Angel spotted an opening in between fences. He yelled to Cordelia, "Lets go over here and check it out."
Ireland was covered with rocks and the farmers throughout the years put them to good use by making fences. Most of the fences were low but high enough to either keep sheep or cows in or out and were easily jumped by a horse. Cordelia called out to Angel "Lets play follow the leader." Angel yelled at her "Cordelia no," but she had already kicked her heels into her mares sides and headed for the fences. Angel had no choice but to go after her. They jumped one fence after the other. After crossing four sections of land and all of their fences Cordelia found herself on the top of a hill. This is where she stopped and got off. Angel came up behind her as she was checking her horses legs to make sure they were okay after jumping so many fences.
"Now that would be a mighty tempting sight if I didn't feel like spanking you for taking off like you did." "Aw come on Angel lighten up a bit. Have fun. Let your hair down. Do something unusual." She jumped on him and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Angel fell backwards and they landed on the ground.
"We can't do that out here in the open Cordy. What if someone comes along?" "I know doesn't it turn you on even more." She started kissing him and running her hands through his shirt and down his pants. When Cordelia did that Angel pushed her off of him.
"Cordelia Chase Martin get up from there." Angel pulled her up but Cordelia just started again. He picked her up and put her on her horse. "What do I have to do with you? Tie you up."
"Ewwwww, kinky. Sounds like fun." "Cordy!" Angel was surprised at how she was acting.
"Angel my hormones are crying out for sex and you won't give me any."
"Well now you know how I've felt for the past 10 years with Buffy and than with you." When Angel saw the look on her face when he said that he knew he was in the dog house because all of a sudden she had the Queen C look. Cordelia pulled her horses head around and took off back to the road. Angel got on his horse and took off after her. As he was going through the fields he noticed a small heard of sheep and no one in sight. He would have to come back tonight with the empty milk bottles. Angel reached the road right after Cordelia did. Instead of stopping though she kept going after Connor and Dr. Martin.
When they caught up to them they just rode in silence for awhile. Connor finally spoke up.
"Did you find what you where looking for Dad?" "Yeah, we can come back around midnight. Mom by any chance do you remember the street name my families farm house was on?"
"Yes, I have it in my little black book. I also have the number." "Do you know who owns it?"
Angel asked.
"No, I wasn't interested in looking up that information at the time. We can probably check it out in the public records tomorrow." "Lets do that. Nothing looks familiar to me. Lets go back now. It'll be dark in another hour. Why don't you try driving the cart on the way back Mom."
"Yeah Grandma, it's easy." Connor gave Dr. Martin the reins. "Pull back gently to make her stop, now gently pull just the right reins to make her turn to the right. She responds well to a light touch." Dr. Martin was a little nervous at first but she quickly became accustomed to holding the reins and directing the horse. After 15 minutes she even became relaxed and let the horse go at it's own chosen speed. Cordelia and Angel were in the front so the little mare just followed the other two horses.
As they approached the house Angel, out of habit, cautiously pulled into the barnyard. His eyes were constantly moving over his surroundings. Cordelia and Dr. Martin looked at each other. They were both wondering what was wrong.
"Angel, is their something wrong?" "No Mom, I guess it's just out of habit. I haven't survived for almost 300 years by being careless. Please just ignore me. I'll be alright." Angel had dismounted and opened the doors to the barn wide enough for Dr. Martin to drive the horse in. Angel placed his horse in his stall and left it saddled since he was going out in a few hours.
He watched Dr. Martin directing the little mare to position the cart in it's storage area. She got down and started to unharness the horse. Connor and Angel just looked at each other. They were surprised at her skill in maneuvering the horse.
"Common Grandma, you must have been around horses before. You did that like a pro." Connor said as he started to help her unharness the horse and put her into her stall.
"No I never have been around horses until today. What I do very well though is watch other people doing things. I guess you could say that photographic memories run in the Martin family."
"Then how come I don't have it?" Connor asked. He put the harness away and grabbed a rag and began to wipe down the mare. "I don't know Connor but I can say that my fathers, father had it but it skipped my fathers generation."
Cordelia had gone back into the house already. Connor and Dr. Martin had noticed that Cordelia was mad about something. When Dr. Martin went into the house Connor asked Angel "I noticed that Cordelia seems to be mad about something, what did you do?"
"What do you mean what did I do, what makes you think that I did something to make her mad?" "Because every time she's mad it's because you either said something or did something to make her mad." Connor said as they walked back to the house.
"Well it was a little of both this time and it's not what I did but more of what I didn't do. She wanted to have sex right out in the open and at the top of the hill. When I said no she started to get mad. She said her hormones where crying out for sex and I wouldn't give it to her. Of course I then stupidly came back with 'Now you know how I felt for the past 10 years with Buffy and then with you.' That is what put the last nail in the dog house." Angel hit his head with his hand several times. "Stupid, stupid, stupid. I don't know when or if I will ever learn not to mention Buffy's name. It's a button that I know Cordelia has that is very sensitive." Angel looked at Connor and stopped him and put his hands on him. "Connor I am going to tell you about a really devastating curse that we Martins have to suffer and endure." "And what is that Dad?" Connor asked with a grin. "We Martins have the curse of being seen as beautiful people by other people, and we Martin men sometimes get ourselves caught between two women. The second is always jealous of the first." "Well Dad if I were you I would spend some extra special quality time with her tonight otherwise the Queen C demon might come out." "Wait a minute Connor I just remembered we have to feed the animals. It should only take us a few minutes." Connor and Angel went back into the barn. Angel fed the cow while Connor fed the chickens that had congregated in the barn as well since their was no chicken coop. They fed 2 of the horses grain and hay and the 2 that they were going to be using that night they only fed one half of a leaf of hay.
"It looks like your going to get a lesson in how to milk a cow Connor. Her udder is full and she has to be milked now. I'm going to see if there is a pale inside that I can use to put the milk in. I'll be back in a few minutes." Angel went back to the house while Connor finished feeding.
"Cordelia have you seen a bucket in here that I can put the milk from the cow in?" Angel asked as nicely as he could. He had to be as sweet as possible if he was to share her bed tonight. Cordelia had been making the next days bread when he came in but she dropped what she was doing and took the pale out and washed it with some hot water she had on the stove. When she handed it to him she gave him a sweet smile to let him know he was out of the dog house. Fortunately Cordelia's hormones were on the upswing now. "Wait a minute Angel. Mom you want to go and see Angel milk the cow?" "Yeah, lets see how good of a farmer he is." They both followed Angel back to the barn. Angel had taken a warm cloth back with him to the barn so that he could clean off the cows tits. He reached for the small stool and put it next to the cow and sat down then put the bucket under the cow. He wiped all four tits off and started. It took him a few tries before he was able to get anything but once he remembered how to do it the milk came out easily. After a few minutes when he had relieved the pressure in the poor cows udder he asked Connor if he wanted to try it. "Yeah!" Connor answered excitedly. Angel got up and let Connor sit down on the milking stool. He showed Connor how to move his hands in order to get the milk out. It took him a few tries but he finally got the moves down pat and continued to almost fill the bucket. When he couldn't get anymore he wiped the tits again and put the stool up on the hook. Angel led her back into her stall and gave her a leaf of alfalfa hay.
"Well that's it until tomorrow morning farmer Connor." Angel said as they walked back to the house.
"Now what are we going to do with it?" Cordelia asked as Connor put the pale on the kitchen table. "Well what happened to it after I gave it to my Mother I don't know. I do know though that she let it sit for awhile then skimmed the cream off of the top to make butter and cream for coffee. Maybe there are some instructions in that cook book that Mrs. Jenkins gave you or you could take a ride over to her house tomorrow and ask her." Angel said as he sat down at the table and pulled a chunk of bread off of the loaf of bread they had bought at the store.
Cordelia pulled the cook book out and Dr. Martin started looking through it for instruction on how to handle the fresh milk. Cordelia finished the bread dough and put it on the counter and covered it with a couple of layers of towels. Tomorrow morning she would put it on the top shelf of the stove so that it would rise. For now though it would be cold enough in the kitchen to keep it from rising to much. Dr. Martin couldn't find anything in the cook book so Cordelia called Mrs. Jenkins for her advice. When she got off of the phone she went to the table and picked up the pale of milk and poured it down the drain. She carefully cleaned the pale and put it on the counter with a towel over it to keep dust out of it.
"Why did you do that?" Connor asked. "Mrs. Jenkins said it was best to throw it out. She'll come over tomorrow and show us how to handle the milk. She advised me not to drink any of it since I was pregnant. They are going to bring a couple of calves over tomorrow to help use up the cows milk. That way it won't go to waste." Cordelia went to the refrigerator. "I want a beer Angel but I don't want a whole bottle do you want the other half?"
"I will take you up on the offer my dear young beautiful wife." "How about you Connor?" "Yes please, do you want to share mine Grandma?" "That sounds good. It will help me relax so I can sleep tonight." Dr. Martin said as she got up to get 2 glasses for herself and Cordelia.
When Cordelia gave Angel his bottle she bent forward and whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry I was being such a witch. All I can say in my defense is that it's your daughters fault. She's the one that's making me feel this way. Do you forgive me?" "Of course I do. How could I possibly stay mad at Gods gift to me." Angel gave her a kiss. Then drank his beer.
Dr. Martin got up from the table. "I guess I will go to bed now. It has been a long day and I still have my prayers to do. Goodnight everyone." Dr. Martin got three goodnights in return.
"Lets go upstairs Cordy. I haven't done mine either. I'll meet you down here in 1 hour Connor." Connor nodded at him. He drank the rest of his beer then went upstairs for a short nap.
One hour later his internal clock woke him up. He went into the bathroom to relieve himself and splashed some water on his face. Then he quietly went downstairs. Angel came out of his bedroom a few seconds later. He was holding some plastic tubing and a needle to extract the blood. They went outside before talking.
"Grandma must have talked to Cordelia for her to apologize like that." Angel said as they walked to the barn. "It sure is nice to have her with us at times like this."
"Why does Cordelia do that when she knows it's wrong." Connor asked.
"Well the way Spike explained it to me is that when a woman is pregnant her body is spending so much time providing for the baby that's growing inside her that she can't think straight because her hormones are firing off much more than what her body is used to. She kind of overdoses on hormones and her mind has a hard time dealing with it. Some parts are used to much smaller amounts of certain hormones and some parts aren't used to dealing with it at all. But between you and me Connor I think he was pulling my leg a little. When I get a chance I am going to ask Mom to explain it to you and I since you will have to deal with this one day also."
"I'm sure glad that women have the baby's instead of us." Connor said after thinking about what Angel had told him. By this time they were at the barn and were backing their horses out of their stalls. They both mounted and took off down the road. Angel was watching Connor. He was impressed that his son rode so well. Apparently the animals they had in Qurtoth were very similar to horses because he took to horseback riding like he had always done it.
At first they traveled at a brisk pace until the area they were approaching looked familiar. Angel slowed his horse down until they found the opening between the fences, he kicked his horse with his heels so she would start running and build up enough speed to clear the stone fences that started just a short distance from the road. On the 3rd jump Angel spotted the sheep. He pulled his horse up to a stop and dismounted. Connor did the same. Angel quickly caught one of the sheep.
"Connor come here and hold it while I put the needle in and get some of the blood." Angel hit a vein on the first try. He only took half a gallon of blood then told Connor to let it go. Connor let it go and quickly grabbed another. They went through this routine until Angel had filled up one jug and had the other jug half full when Connor heard two shots ring out. He saw Angel fall backwards. He quickly let go of the sheep and went to Angels side.
"Angel." Connor shook his father. "Dad you have to get up the owners are coming." Angel opened his eyes. "Put everything over on the other side of the fence then come back here and help me up." Connor did as Angel said and hid them in the grass on the other side of the rock fence. He went back to Angel and helped him to stand up. He leaned heavily on Connor at first but as the owners approached he stood up straight.
"Thank goodness their isn't any moon tonight otherwise they would have been able to see us more clearly." Connor said as he helped Angel. "I am going to tell them that we were going for a midnight ride when we saw a large dog or wolf attacking theirr sheep. We scared it away but when they fired their gun at us they scared your horse who reared and threw you off and you dislocated your shoulder. Does that sound good to you?" "Okay." Angel was in a lot of pain but he gathered his strength and was able to remain standing. At first he leaned heavily on Connor. When the men arrived they had their guns raised at Angel and Connor.
"Wait a minute guys were your neighbors." Connor said as he raised his hands.
"I'm Angel Martin and this is my son Connor." Angel stopped talking because of the pain and Connor took over. "We were just out for a midnight ride and came across something attacking your sheep. When you fired at us my dads horse got scared and threw him. It feels like he dislocated his shoulder." The men looked at the 2 strangers suspiciously.
"You're the American renting the Jenkins house?" "Yes." Angel answered.
Finally the older man reached out his hand to shake Angels and Connors hand. Angel winced when the older man shook his hand vigorously.
"Thank you for chasing the dog away. I'm Bob Dunnagin and this is my son Jimmy. I hear an Irish accent in your voice Mr. Martin. Are you from Ireland?" "Yes I was born here but I went to America a long time ago. I brought my family here on vacation and we just got in today. We are renting the house up the road from Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins for the next 2 weeks." Connor noticed Angel sway a little. "I'm sorry Mr. Dunnagin but I need to get my father home so we can get his shoulder fixed."
"Don't you want to take him to the Doctor to get his shoulder fixed?" Mr. Dunnagin asked. "No my grandmother is a Doctor and he has done it several times before so that his shoulder pops out of place easily now. Would you help me get him up on his horse though?" Connor asked as he helped Angel over to his horse. Bob and Jimmy helped Angel onto his horse then gave him the reins. Jimmy went to the gate and opened it for them. Then walked to the other two gates and opened them also. Connor told him thank you and he led Angels horse back to the barn. Connor went to the back door at the kitchen instead of the front.
Connor dismounted and went to Angel. "Come on Dad we're home." Angel looked at Connor as though he didn't recognize him. He then leaned forward so he could get off of the horse, but he ended up falling into Connors arms. They sat on the ground for a few minutes while Angel rested. He started to get up and with his sons help he made it to the back door. Connor sat him down on the kitchen table and laid him on his back.
"Cordelia, Grandma come down stairs Angels been hurt." He was helping Angel take his jacket and shirt off when he heard them come running down the stairs. Dr. Martin had her medical bag with her. Angel took one look at her then he promptly lost consciousness.
"What happened?" Cordelia asked as she put the large tea pot on the stove. She threw a few pieces of wood in the stove to get it warmer in the kitchen and to heat up the water. When they finished taking Angels shirt off Dr. Martin examined the wounds. One of the bullets had gone into his right hip and felt like it was positioned right against the hip bone. The other bullet had hit his left shoulder and was still in it. She wasn't concerned with the one in his shoulder so much as she was concerned with the one in his hip. Dr. Martin got the instruments out that she would need and put them in a pan of hot water.
Cordelia came over with a bowl of hot water and started to clean Angels wounds up. Angel was starting to regain consciousness again. Dr. Martin came over to him 'Angel you just can't stay out of trouble can you?' "If I didn't get into trouble once in awhile you wouldn't get to practice your medical skills." Angel said. "Well we have a little problem here that I am going to let you tell me what you want me to do. You have one bullet in your left shoulder and that one isn't to bad. I'm going to take it out in a second. The one in your left hip though is a problem. I think it's sitting against your hip bone and I think it has moved from it's original spot. If I try taking it out now I'll be probing with blinders on. My question to you is do you want to wait to get home to do this or do you want to do it now?" "Lets do it now. I can tell you if your hot or cold." "Angel are you sure about that? Your going to be conscious and your going to be in a lot of pain."
Angel raised himself on his elbow and grabbed Dr. Martins arm. "Mom, I've been tortured and then crucified and I survived. It can't possibly be any worse. Please take it out." He lowered himself back down. He was breathing hard and the towel they had put against his wounds started to become red with his blood. "Okay Angel, calm down. Concentrate on slowing your breathing and heart rate down. Your going to make yourself bleed out. Help him Cordelia while I get ready."
Cordelia held Angels hand and wiped his forehead with a cool cloth. Angel closed his eyes and concentrated on slowing his heart rate down. "Do you remember when you sat down in the rocking chair in your room when Connor was a baby and I put him in your arms and you fed him his first bottle. Think of that time Angel. Think of the love that grew in your heart for your son. I could practically see the soft blue color of your aura. You were at peace with the world as you rocked your son. When he started to fuss a little you started to sing the Irish Lullaby to him very softly and he slowly closed his eyes. He felt safe and loved in his daddy's arms." Cordelia ran her hand over Angels hair. He closed his eyes and you could see him slowly gain control of his breathing. Cordelia let go of his hand and checked his wounds. The bleeding had slowed down and was almost stopped on his shoulder.
Dr. Martin brought her sterilized instruments over. She lifted the towel on Angels shoulder. "I'm going to start now Angel are you ready?" "Yes, go ahead." Dr. Martin put the forceps into his shoulder and was easily able to grasp the bullet and pull it out without any problem.
"Cordelia clean his shoulder and bandage it please." As Cordelia started to work on Angels shoulder Dr. Martin went to the other side and started on his hip. She placed the forceps into the wound and went straight down. "Move it down just a little towards my leg." Angel was holding his breath. Dr. Martin felt the tip of the forceps hit the bullet. She opened the forceps a quarter of an inch which caused Angel more pain. He let out the breath he had been holding and started breathing heavily again. She carefully grabbed the bullet and pulled it out. She showed it to Angel then threw it into the bowl with the other one.
"Where is Connor?" Angel asked. "He went back to get the jugs of blood. He should be back at any minute." Cordelia answered as she cleaned up the blood from his hip and bandaged it. Just as she finished Connor came inside carrying the blood. He put one of the jugs in the refrigerator and the other one he used to pour some blood in a glass for Angel. He helped him to sit up. "Here Dad drink this. It's the lambs blood and it's still warm." Angel drank the whole glass then asked for more. When he was finished he said 'Thank you Connor. That was good. I think I'll ask David if I could keep a small herd of sheep on his property. It's a good change of pace. I used to drink sheep blood all of the time when I was traveling the countryside by myself."
"I need to go and unsaddle and feed the horses Cordelia do you want Angel on the couch or upstairs?" "Let's put him on the couch for tonight. I don't think he could make it upstairs right now." Cordelia answered as she came to help him. They laid Angel on the couch then Connor went outside to tend to the horses and Cordelia finished cleaning the kitchen. When she was done she went upstairs and got their pillows and sheets and several quilts. She carefully made a bed out of all of the sheets, blankets and quilts on the rug in front of the fireplace. Dr. Martin helped Cordelia get Angel up from the couch and helped him to lay down on the floor. "Thank you Mom I can take care of him from now. Goodnight." Dr. Martin kneeled down by Angel and felt his forehead. It was cool to the touch so she gave a sigh of relief. "I guess that talk that Christ gave Angelus has stopped him permanently from causing Angel any more problems. Goodnight Cordelia." Dr. Martin went upstairs then.
Connor came back 15 minutes later. "Everything okay now Cordy?" Connor asked when he noticed the blankets on the floor. As he approached them he then saw Angel was on the floor also. "Everything is okay now. Mom was able to get both bullets out and he has already started to heal. Can I get you anything to eat Connor? You must be hungry after all of the activity tonight." Cordelia asked as she continued to make Angel comfortable. "I think I'll make a sandwich for myself then I'll go upstairs." Connor went into the kitchen and made himself a large sandwich and grabbed a can of Pepsi then went to all of the lamps and blew them out. He put another log on the fireplace for Cordelia and Angel then turned the one electric light out and headed for the stairs. "Goodnight Cordy. Don't hesitate to call me if you need me." "Goodnight Connor." When Connor finally left Cordelia took her robe off and got under the sheets and blanket and laid down next to Angel. She felt his forehead and Angel reached for her hand and held on to it. He went to sleep then knowing that she was next to him. Cordelia fell asleep also.
The next morning Angel woke up early and flexed his shoulder. It was stiff but completely healed. He pulled the top of his shorts down a little and lifted the bandage. The bullet hole had new skin over it although it was still a little red around the edges. He got up on his knees and crawled over to the fireplace where he stirred the wood up and placed 3 more logs on the fire. Then he crawled back under the covers. The fire felt good on his back. He cuddled up to Cordelia and went back to sleep for another couple of hours.
Without warning Cordelia jumped up and ran for the kitchen. She threw a few small pieces of wood into the stove after stirring the embers and stuffing a piece of a newspaper into the fire. The paper quickly caught fire and then the small pieces of wood caught fire. When those were burning she threw a couple of larger pieces of wood on top of it then replaced the covers for the top of the stove. She pulled her bowl of dough out from under the towels on the counter and placed it on the top shelf of the stove and placed just one towel on top of it so that it wouldn't develop a crust and prevent the dough from rising. She ran back to their makeshift bed and quickly crawled under the covers with Angel.
"It's a good thing your body warms up a little when you've been under the covers for awhile otherwise I might throw you out." Cordelia told Angel as she cuddled up to him. Angel tried putting his arm around her but it was still to sore so he just put his head on her chest and raised his arm up as high as he could to wrap her in his arms. They went back to sleep then until he felt the blanket being pulled up higher and covering Angels head. They woke up then and Angel pulled the blanket down.
"What's the matter Mom?" Angel looked at her with one eye opened and the other closed.
"Angel, Connor has already come through here so that he could take care of the animals. Since you had your head on Cordelia's chest she had the blanket down by her waist and Connor got a good look at one of the twins." Cordelia was awake also and when she heard Dr. Martin say that she jumped up and ran upstairs to get dressed. Twenty minutes later she came back down with a brush. "Mom would you brush my hair for me and put it into a ponytail. The skin around my breasts are starting to get sore and I can't raise my arms up high enough." "Sure Cordelia come and sit down at the table so I can brush your hair." Cordelia sat down and let Dr. Martin slowly brush her hair.
When she was done Cordelia thanked her and got up to check her bread dough. It was rising nicely so she formed it into a loaf and started up the oven so that she could bake it. After forming it into a loaf and putting it into a greased pan she placed it back up on the shelf to rise a second time. Then she went to check on Angel. He had wrapped the quilt around himself and slowly made his way up the stairs. Cordelia found him taking a long hot bath.
"How are you feeling?" "A lot better than I did last night." Angel said as he started to bathe himself. "Okay, do you think you can dress yourself without any problem?" "Yeah, I'll be down in about 20 minutes." Cordelia bent down and gave him a kiss then left.
By the time Connor and Angel came to the kitchen Cordelia's bread was in the oven baking and she and Dr. Martin were cutting up some fruit to have with their breakfast. Connor grabbed himself and Angel a cup of coffee and they sat down at the table. "Well farmer Connor how are the livestock doing?" Angel asked as he drank his coffee. "Just fine Pa. I milked our cow without any problems Pa but it sure does vex me something awful Pa that I have to just throw that milk out. I hope the Jenkins can bring those calves over pretty soon Pa." They all laughed at the way Connor was talking. Angel pulled the straw hat that Connor was wearing over his eyes.
Dr. Martin scrambled up a half dozen eggs with onions and placed it on the table in a bowl. Cordelia served up her freshly baked bread with plenty of butter and jelly. She warmed up Angels blood on the stove then brought it over to him along with the fruit Dr. Martin had helped her cut up earlier.
"So what are we going to do today Mr. Martin?" Cordelia asked as she tried pulling her legs up on the chair. But her stomach was starting to stick out more so her attempts were unproductive. "I want to see if we can find my old home. How soon can you all be ready?" Angel asked. "I think if you helped Mom clean the dishes while I clean up the rest of the kitchen we should be ready in about 73 minutes, I mean 20 minutes." Cordelia gave Angel her million dollar smile as he called it. "Okay I think the "3" of us will have this cleaned up in no time at all." Angel said with his own smile playing across his face. He noticed Cordelia didn't even flinch at the number 3 that he had emphasized when he said it.
When they were done with the kitchen the ladies went upstairs to change. When they came down they each had long skirts on with oversized blouses that would keep them warm. Dr. Martin had her hair up in a bun and Cordelia ,with Dr. Martins help, had her hair pulled back and being held with a large clip. "I thought we were going to take the horses out." Angel said. "Angel you aren't ready to go horseback riding yet." Dr. Martin said as she put a large scarf on her head and wrapped it around her shoulder. "I feel fine, see all healed." Angel said as he pulled his shirt off of his shoulder to show her where the bullet had gone in. "Angel that one isn't the problem, the one that isn't healed all of the way is this one." Dr. Martin approached him and pressed her thumb on the one that was in front of his hip bone. "Ouch! Okay I get your point. But tomorrow Connor and I get to go and have some male bonding." "Don't count on it. Did you forget that this is Sunday. The last Mass is at 12:30. Let's get going so we aren't the last ones going through the door after mass starts." Dr. Martin led the way to the Mini Van and they all loaded up.
Angel found the church easily. They had made it just in time. Dr. Martin lead the group in and to the front of the pews and just in time for mass to start. After mass they went to see the pastor and asked if the church had all of the old records of the families that lived in the village back in the 1700's. "Yes, but do you have any idea as to where the property is that you want to see or investigate?" "All I know is that it was called the Martin farm back in the first half of the 1700's. We thought it might be on the tax rolls or else in the old records of the church that would show records of births or deaths." Angel asked the old Pastor.
"Come with me." They followed him to the kitchen where the priest told them to have a seat and that he would be right back with the books for those years. He was back in a few minutes with 2 very old looking large ledger type books which he carefully laid down on the table in front of Angel. "Please be careful as you turn the pages, they are very old and brittle. Would anyone like some hot cocoa or coffee?" They all answered no and started looking through the pages. Angel started looking through the pages that were dated for 1727 which was his birth year. Dr. Martin took the book that was for the last 50 years in the 1700's. She started with the pages marked for 1753 which was the year Angel was turned into a Vampire by Darla. They kept their voices down so that the priest couldn't hear them. Cordelia was looking through the 1700 to 1750 book with Angel and Connor was looking through the 1750 to 1799 book that Dr. Martin was looking through.
"It's weird thinking that my father and mother were alive when these old books were new and births and deaths were being recorded in them for the first time." Connor whispered to Dr. Martin. After a few minutes Connor called out 'Here it is.' Connor brought the book over to Angel and showed him where there was a notation for his death and the funeral. The book had his name along with 'Son of John Martin of 27 Darnell Lane.' Angel looked up to everyone else and said 'Now all we have to do is find out where 27 Darnell Lane is.' He picked up the books and went into the living room where the priest was sitting and reading the local newspaper and having a small glass of brandy.
"Fr. John were done with the books. Can you tell me where 27 Darnell Lane is?" Fr. John came and took the books from Angel and put them on the dining room table. "Come with me to the front and I'll show you." They all followed him to the front porch. "Turn to your right as you get on the road then the first dirt road that you come to on your left will be Darnell Lane. There is only one way to turn on that road. Keep going on that road until you come to the end. I'm not 100 positive but I believe that the road ends at 27 Darnell Lane. That house has been empty since 1753 but someone in the Martin family has been paying the taxes all these years. In order to find out who paid the last taxes you will have to wait until tomorrow when the county office is open. They will have the records on the farm." "Thank you very much Father for all of your help." Angel shook his hand then they all got into the van and Angel followed the priests directions.
Thirty minutes later after following a barely discernable road they came to the end of Darnell Lane. Angel turned the motor off and just sat there for a while. He just stared at the old house. After awhile he finally spoke. "This is it. This is the house where I was born. This is the house where I killed my family." Cordelia put her hand on Angels right hand and rubbed the palm of his hand where Dr. Martins ring had been burned into his skin. Angel looked at Cordelia and said 'I mean where Angelus killed my family.' He bent down and brought her hand to his lips and kissed her hand. "Lets go."
They got out of the van and walked up to the house. Angels birthplace was run down and the walls were barely standing. The roof had long ago given way. "Cordelia and Mom, stay out here. Connor and I will check to see if it's safe for you to go in. I doubt it though because it looks like the roof caved in." The women stayed on the outside while the men went in. As he thought, the roof had caved in but the first floor was still in tact since the second floor had held up over the years. "Connor tell the women they can come in. I think it's safe enough on the first floor."
When Cordelia and Dr. Martin came in they found Angel standing in front of the fireplace. He was just staring at it. In particular he was staring at the corner next to the fireplace. Cordelia put her hand on Connor and Dr. Martins arm. "I think that's where Angelus killed Angels sister."
They went to the other side of the room and looked into the sitting room. Connor tried the hand pump by the kitchen sink. It was just like the one they had in the house they were staying in. On the second downward push of the pump handle it broke off. The bolts holding the handle to the pump were all rusted and had just fallen apart. Cordelia opened the cabinets to see if their was any dishes or glasses in them. To her surprise she found a number of dishes and cups still in the cabinets. She reached for one odd looking cup. When she touched it a large spider came running out of it. She screamed and Angel came running. "What's wrong?" Cordelia had jumped back so quickly that she ran into Dr. Martin and they would have fallen if it hadn't been for Connor standing behind Dr. Martin. "It's a huge spider. It was in the cup that I wanted to look at." Angel reached for the cup and looked inside to make sure the spider was gone. He looked at it and turned it around. Then he turned it upside down. Without warning he smiled and the tears started coming down. "It's a cup that Kathleen made for me. See, she put my name and hers on it." Angel showed them the names that his sister had carved in it. He gave the cup to Cordelia to put in her bag.
"We better get out of here. There is no telling what else may be in here." They all went out and Angel carefully closed the doors. He looked around the house to the back. He spotted a large tree that was so big it looked like it was several century's old. He started walking towards it with Cordelia in tow. The ground was a little soggy from the snow that had melted so Connor held on to his grandmothers hand to help her walk through it.
Angel stopped in front of the tree. He let go of Cordelia's hand and started walking around the tree and carefully checked the ground for something. "What are you looking for Angel?" Cordelia asked. "I'm looking for my mothers grave marker. My father paid a man to carve a headstone for my mothers grave. He had carved it out of marble so it should have held up over the years." They all started to look under the huge tree. "Here it is." Angel said softly as he came to a stop over a stone that had been broken in half. He picked up the other half and sat it up straight so that he could read the words on the front. Everyone came to his side. Angel cleaned off the stone with his handkerchief. Cordelia read the notation.
"Mary Rose Martin
beloved wife and mother
Taken from us on this day
14th January 1739."
When Cordelia was done no one said anything. They all had their eyes on Angel. He was quiet, then he stretched out on the ground and laid down next to his mothers grave and started to cry. Dr. Martin pulled on Cordelia's and Connors arms and led them back to the van. "Let's leave him alone for awhile." They walked back to the van and waited for Angel.
Cordelia started to squirm in her seat. "Mom I have to pee. I'm going around to the back of the house." Cordelia got out and made her way to the back. She came back in a few minutes. "I feel a lot better now. Is he still on the ground?" "Yes. He has a lot of years to travel through and a lot of things to tell his biological mother. I think I'm going to take a nap, why don't you do the same Cordelia. I think Angel will be there for at least 3 hours." Dr. Martin adjusted her seat so that she could lay down. She took her coat and laid it over herself. Cordelia did the same and before he knew it Connor didn't have anyone to talk to so he got out of the van and took a walk around the property.
The sun was starting to go down when Cordelia woke up. Her stomach had started rumbling. Mary Kathleen must be getting hungry she thought. She got out of the van and walked over to where Angel was still on the ground. He had cried himself to sleep. Cordelia kneeled on the ground and gently shook her husbands shoulder. "Angel, wake up baby. Your daughter is getting hungry. We have to go home now." Angel opened his eyes and looked at Cordelia. He picked up her hand and kissed it. "Mama this is my wife Cordelia Chase Martin. She is pregnant with your granddaughter. I have a son also by the woman that turned me into a Vampire. But Cordelia was given to me by God and my Guardian Angel St. Michael. After so many years mama I am finally happy. Were going to name our little girl Mary Kathleen after Kathy and Dr. Martin. Dr. Martin and I had a mutual adoption. I needed a mother and she needed a son. I am going to go now mama but I'll be back before we go back to the states. I am going to have the farm fixed up and make it look like it used to. I love you mama and I have missed you for so long. Goodbye." Angel went to the grave stone and kissed it.
Angel stood up then and walked back to the van with Cordelia in tow. He seemed more light hearted and his walk was more carefree. Angel was at peace with the world and his demeanor showed it. Connor wasn't at the van so Angel honked the horn. Connor stuck his head out of a window in the second story of the house. He saw that they were all waiting for him so he looked around to make sure no one was around and he jumped from the second story window. Angel drove over to him and Connor got in and they headed back.
"Let's see if we can find someplace to eat. It's to late to go home and fix something. Besides Cordelia said that Kathleen is hungry." Angel placed his hand on Cordelia's rounded stomach. "Our daughter is starting to grow in size now. Her heart beat is nice and strong now. I remember that at one time Drusilla went through a period of time where she thought she was pregnant with Spikes baby. Darla would get so mad at her. Drusilla was always breaking into stores that displayed baby clothes. After about 6 months of listening to her talk about her baby that she said she was carrying Darla turned around one day and slapped Drusilla so hard that she left an imprint of her hand on Drusilla's face. She told Drusilla that she didn't want to ever hear about a baby, that doesn't exist, ever again and if she ever said anything again she would stake Drusilla herself. That very night Spike went out and found the biggest doll that he could find. He stole some baby clothes and blankets so Drusilla could take care of the doll as though it was real. She would even go into the bedroom and remove her blouse and put the doll to her breast as though she was nursing it. Darla got so mad that she broke a chair leg off and was within inches of staking Drusilla. Spike caught her just in time and then Angelus took Darla from him and took her out of the room. He made her go outside for awhile so she could cool down. Angelus knew that they needed Drusilla because of her visions. She would often warn them about something that would happen if they took a certain path. Your Mother had a hot temper Connor, and I think you got that from her."
"What do you mean I got my hot temper from her. You have a hot temper too. You know that hot Irish temper?" Connor said. "Yes, unfortunately you inherited a bad temper from both of us but I think that, that part of you that makes you change from a happy person to a hot, mad, raging bull within seconds comes strictly from you mother."
Dr. Martin saw how mad Connor was getting so she put her hand on his arm to steady him. "Why are you getting so mad Connor?" Dr. Martin said softly. "I don't know. It just comes up in me and it overwhelms me. Holtz beat me many times when I was younger because my anger would get in the way. I would almost always make the wrong choices when fighting monsters in Quortoth. He would have to save me every time I let my temper get in the way. By the time I was 14 I had learned to control it when I was fighting. I would just put all of the energy produced by my anger into fighting the monsters and demons. I think that's why they were all so afraid of me." "At least you realize what is happening and I believe you realize that it is something that you have to learn to control. Not just when your fighting but all the time. I'll help you Connor so that one day, when your in control of Angel Investigations, God won't have to send some old lady to teach you and embarrass the hell out of you in front of everyone." Dr. Martin patted Connors arm then put it back under the cover of her jacket. It was getting cold outside so she asked Cordelia to turn the heater on.
Angel pulled up in front of the local pub. "They usually serve some food also. At least they used to. Stay here, I'll go in and check it out." Angel got out of the van and went into the pub. It looked old inside. In fact it looked like it still had all of the fixtures from when it was first made. The bar was almost a black color from being varnished and all of the thousands of hands that had touched it over the centuries. Over the bar was a painting of a single eye. The handles on the beer dispensers were of carved wood and of a singular design. There were no bar stools except at each end of the bar. These were usually reserved for the elderly gentleman that still visited the pub on a regular basis. The rest just leaned on the bar and rested their feet on the steel pipe that was once painted gold and ran from one end of the bar to the other. Angel spotted the bar tender and asked him if they served food in here. "Yes sir we normally serve a regular menu here but our cook has gone home. If you don't mind sandwiches I can prepare something?" "I think that will be okay. I'll be right back with my family." Angel left and went out to the van. "Lets go in, they serve food here but the cook has gone home for the night so the bartender said he can make some sandwiches for us." Cordelia, Dr. Martin and Connor got out of the van and followed Angel into the Pub. As they went into the Pub all of the men acknowledged the ladies by nodding or tipping their hats. Angel picked a table by the fireplace where they could sit. The bartender took their order and they had a nice quiet meal by the fireplace. It was 8 o'clock by the time they got home. They had, had a long day and the ladies were glad they had gone out to eat.
As they drove up to the house Cordelia noticed that there was a light in the kitchen. She put her hand on Angels arm. "Angel I don't remember leaving the light on in the kitchen." Angel stopped the van and got out. "Connor let's go and check it out." Connor got out of the side of the van and left the door open. Cordelia and Dr. Martin watched Angel and Connor go up to the house. Cordelia knew that they could smell people like dogs could and they could tell if it was someone that they knew or strangers. They watched Connor and Angel climb up to the second story and go through a window. Ten minutes later Angel came out and got in to drive the van the rest of the way. "What was it Angel?" Cordelia finally asked since Angel wasn't forthcoming with the information. "Just 2 old buzzards and a couple of swans trying to set up housekeeping."
Cordelia gave him a puzzled look. "What are you talking about?" "It's Wesley, Fred, Buffy, and Spike." Cordelia screamed and jumped out of the van as soon as Angel brought the van to a stop.
"Do you think she is happy that they are here?" Angel asked as he looked at Dr. Martin and Connor.
"I do believe that you are correct Mr. Martin. In fact I know that you are correct." Dr. Martin said as they all exited the van and went inside.
TBC..........................................................................................