The Gift
Chapter 10
End of previous chapter.....................
Five very large men had grabbed Angel and quickly put him down with something that they pressed over his mouth which had him unconscious in seconds. They quickly dragged him out to a van in the alley way behind Caritas and did the same to Dr. Martin. While they put Angel in chains they put tape around Dr. Martins hands. Four of the men got into the van while one of them went over to a large black Limo, climbed in and joined 2 men that had been sitting in the back. "We have the Vampire and a woman that he had his arm around. We think it's the woman he calls Dr. Martin sir." "Good, now well find out what Morgan is up to." One of the men sitting in the back seat said.
The van that was carrying Angel and Dr. Martin traveled on I-5 and over into the San Fernando Valley. It pulled into a warehouse located in Van Nuys by the airport where many antique planes used in the movies were kept. The warehouse was used to store miscellaneous items used by the studios. Many of the items were previously used on western movie sets. Now though all of the warehouse and its contents were owned by the 2 men that were in the back seat of the limo.
The limo driver followed the van into the warehouse and stopped just behind it. The driver got out and came around to the back and opened the door for his employer. The three men got out then and went over to the back of the van. Two of the men that had grabbed Angel opened the doors of the van. They had cattle prods in their hands which were a lot more powerful then those made for humans. They soon realized that they didn't need them because the occupants were still unconscious. Two of the men pulled Angel out and placed him on the floor of a cage. One of the other men picked up Dr. Martin and placed her on a couch that was by the cage that Angel was in. Five more chairs were set up around the cage. The 3 men from the limo took seats around the cage. The others went over to a table and started to play cards. Dr. Martin was the first to awaken. She sat up and looked around. The first ones she spotted were the men in the chairs.
"Where are we and why did you take us away from Caritas?" One of the men got up and came over and sat on the couch next to Dr. Martin. He wasn't a very tall man, he appeared to be around 5"6' or 5"7'. He wore an expensive looking blue suit with a silver tie and a diamond studded tie clasp. She could smell the expensive after shave he was wearing and also the pipe tobacco. Even though he was small of stature he carried himself in such a way that you immediately saw him as a leader.
"Dr. Martin I presume." "Yes, I am Dr. Mary Martin." Dr. Martin was afraid, but she did her best not to show it. At the same time she was worried about Angel and concerned that he hadn't regained consciousness yet.
"Dr. Martin I am Stephen Johnson, this is my colleague David Peterson."
"Mr. Johnson, would you let me check Angel please?" Dr. Martin asked. She was concerned that they may have carelessly let Angel hit the back of his head.
"Why do you want to check him. He appears to be just passed out from the alcohol and the either."
"We were in an accident last Friday and Angel was the only one hurt. As a result from those injuries Angel is having problems with his motor skills and he is temporarily blind." Dr. Martin wasn't sure if she should tell Johnson any of this but she finally decided that it wouldn't make any difference once Angel woke up.
Johnson motioned for one of the guards to open the cage and to unlock the chains on Angel while he cut the tape binding Dr. Martins hands. She immediately went to Angel and the guard closed the cage door.
She carefully checked the back of his head for blood and to see if the wound had been reopened. Everything looked ok though and no blood was present. She picked his head up and attempted to get him to wake up by lightly slapping his face. Angel started to wake up. He rubbed at his eyes and turned his head around as though he was trying to see where he was, then he remembered that he was blind.
"Where are we?" "We've been kidnaped Angel. We seem to be in some warehouse where they store furniture that they use in the movies. I hear airplanes taking off and landing all of the time also so we must be very close to an airport. The planes sound different from regular propeller driven airplanes though. They make a lot of noise so that it sounds like they are very heavy and slow. Do you think you can contact Cordelia and let her know we are okay?" Dr. Martin asked him as she helped him to get up.
"I'll try but I can't promise anything." Angel started to walk forward and quickly ran into the bars of his cage. He ran his hand around the cage to get an idea as to how big his cage was. He then turned to where he sensed that the men were.
"Why have you taken us and who are you?"
"I am Stephen Johnson and beside me is my partner David Peterson. We have brought you here to find out what David Morgan is doing. We know that you have had something to do with his new business. We know that he came to you for something. He was observed going into your hotel with a rather large group of his guards and his wife. What we found very odd is that his guards left except for one and Morgan along with his wife stayed overnight with you. Everyone is wondering what this new business is and that is what you are doing here Angel. You are here to answer our questions."
"Why don't you ask David Morgan?" Angel asked. All the time he was listening to Johnson he was taking in all of the scents of everyone their. He also listened to the planes taking off and landing. Every bit of information that he could take in without his sight was being recorded and cataloged in his mind. Later he would use that information to get out. Right now he was passing it on to Cordelia. Whether she was receiving it or not he couldn't tell, he had never tried communicating to her from such a long distance. He couldn't even do it with Spike but he was hoping that the special bond between Cordelia and himself would strengthen that link.
"We don't believe that Morgan will give up that information until he is ready to. Right now he is renovating an old hotel. We have been able to obtain information that he is taking special care to soundproof each room. The rooms are being furnished with the very best in furnishing and each room has its own whirlpool bath. We know this because of the orders he has placed. So tell us Angel what is he doing?"
"Do you know what I am and what David is?" Angel asked.
"Yes, that is why we have you in that steel cage." Johnson answered.
"You know then that this cage can't hold me if I didn't choose to let it set my boundaries. Open up the door and let us out. I promise not to attack you unless I am provoked." Angel put his hand out to Dr. Martin then so that she would come to him. Dr. Martin came to his side and Angel put his arm around her shoulder and held her closely. He bent his head down and kissed the top of her head then whispered to her. "Cordelia heard me. I can hear her calling to me. It's very faint and I don't know yet if she heard me tell her where I think we are."
"Okay Angel. I have heard that you are a Vampire with a soul and that you are a man of honor so I am going to trust you. I want to warn you though that my men do know how to subdue you if you try anything." He told the guard to let them out. Angel put his hand on Dr. Martins shoulder and she lead him out when the guard opened the door.
"Do you have bathroom facilities that I can use Mr. Johnson?" Dr. Martin asked.
"Yes. Richards show them where it is. When they are done return them here." The man that Johnson called Richards came over and led Dr. Martin and Angel to the bathroom. Dr. Martin went in first and left Angel with Richards. A few minutes later she came out. "Do you have to relieve yourself Angel? I know you had 4 or 5 glasses of beer." "Yes I have to go but I want Richards here to take me in. I have a hard enough time as it is and I don't think I could do it knowing that your in their with me." Dr. Martin tried to cover her smile and keep it out of her voice.
"Richards would you please take Angel in. I noticed that the bathroom has a urinal so just point him in the right direction. You might have to turn the water on so that he can hear the running water. Offer your arm to him so that he can hold onto you. Angel there is one step that you have to go down so be careful. Richards will watch for you and tell you when you have to take a step down." Richards offered his arm to Angel and Dr. Martin put his hand on Richards arm and close to his elbow. She stood back then and they went into the bathroom. Five minutes later the door opened again and Richards guided Angel out. He continued to guide Angel back to Johnson and the rest. He guided him over to the couch and Dr. Martin followed.
"Thank you Richards." "Your welcome Mr. Angel." Richards answered and then returned to his original seat. "Please just call me Angel."
"Johnson, I can't tell you what Morgan is doing exactly all I can tell you is that he came to ask my permission to carry on a new type of business here in L.A. that only he could run. You can't run the same business because you don't have access to the correct type of employees. Nor do you have the set up to take care of these employees. I can't explain further because you need to see a tape that he has in his possession. But my advice to you is to just wait until he is open for business then send someone in to use the service that he is providing. Or else I can give him a call and you 2 can meet at my hotel where you can both feel safe."
"What assurance do I have that I will be safe and that he will tell me what he is doing? It's not only me that's interested Angel. The other groups that carry on business here in L.A. are interested also. I have even received inquiries from Chicago." Johnson said. Just as he was through talking one of his guards came running in. He whispered something to him.
"It seems that you have some people that want to rescue you. I am going to let you go for now Angel and I will call you to see when you want us to meet with Morgan. Don't betray me Angel, you'll regret it."
Angel didn't say anything more. He could have told Johnson all that he wanted to know but he felt that, that was Morgans business. Richards gave Angel his arm to hold on to and started to guide them out of the warehouse. When Angel felt that they were almost at the door he stopped and pulled Richards to him. Angel whispered in his ear, "Tell Johnson that he is the one that will regret it if he continues to try to satisfy his curiosity. If he continues to pursue this then dry dock will become a very well used phrase. Thank you for your help."
Dr. Martin stepped forward and took Angels hand and put it on her shoulder. She carefully stepped out of the warehouse. "There is a step there Angel so be careful." Angel put his toe forward until he found the step then proceeded. Wesley, Gunn and Spike came over to them.
"What happened Angel?" Wesley asked. "We'll explain everything later, for now lets head over to Morgans. Give him a call at home to see where he's at. Is Cordelia with you?" "Yes she's with Buffy in your car. We needed her to find you and Dr. Martin." Wesley said as they walked back to the cars.
Cordelia almost fell as she climbed out of the back of the car. She ran to Angel and threw her arms around his neck. They were so happy to be together again where they could touch one another that they just stood there and hugged each other.
Wesley had called Morgans home and found that he had been at work but that he was on his way back home. "Let's go Angel, Morgan is on his way home right now. I told Marissa that we were coming over right now."
Angel got into the back of the car and Cordelia sat with him. Dr. Martin sat in the back with them and Buffy sat with Spike in the front. "How was it when you heard me calling to you?" Angel asked Cordelia as she leaned her head on him. She was tired and it had already been a long day and night.
"You came through loud and clear. I tried calling to you did you hear me?" "Yes but very faintly. Maybe you'll get better as time goes by. I can sense you all of the time now though. Since we are together now why don't you try to get a little sleep. I can sense how tired you are." Angel said as he hugged her more tightly. Cordelia slept peacefully now that she had her husband with her.
Cordelia was only able to get twenty minutes of sleep before they reached the Morgans house in the hills. Wesley stopped at the gate and told the guard that they were expected by Marissa Morgan. The guard opened the gate and they all drove to the front entrance of the mansion. As Spike came to a stop Angel woke Cordelia up.
"Why don't you just raise yourself up and sit on the side then swing your legs over and get out that way?" Spike suggested as he held the door open. Angel liked his suggestion so he sat on the side of the car and swung his legs over and promptly fell over and out of the car when his foot caught on the seat belt that was hanging in the back of the seat. Fortunately for Spike he caught Angel just as he started to fall head first. Angel disentangled his foot from the strap and put his feet squarely on the ground. To Spikes surprise Angel reached out and grabbed Spike around the neck with his arm. They fell on the ground and started wrestling to be the one on top. The guards came running over but Wesley stopped them from separating the two. "Let them have some fun, it's been pretty serious lately and I think this is just helping them to let out some steam."
Angel was getting the better of Spike because Spike was being careful not to let Angel hit his head. After they both started breathing hard Spike held up his hands and said "I give up, you win." He then helped Angel up.
Cordelia came over to Angel and started to clean the grass off of his jacket. Buffy did the same for Spike. "Did we have fun?" Cordelia asked Angel. "Yes as a matter of fact I did. Thanks Spike I needed that." "Any time Sire." Spike said as he finished brushing himself off.
"Lets go you two before Morgan and Marissa wonder what happened to us." Wesley started walking towards the house where Marissa was standing and watching. Spike came over to Angel and offered his arm. They all walked up to the entrance of the house then. Marissa greeted them all and asked them to come in. She noticed how Angel and Spike walked more slowly and Angel seemed to be careful of each step he took. She also noticed Angel walked slightly behind Spike and with his hand through Spike's arm. Spike and Angel stopped to greet Marissa and as usual she curtsied to him but he couldn't see her. He didn't grab her hand or hug her so she stepped forward and took his hand and kissed it.
"Please come in Angel. David is on his way home now and I've let him know that you were coming here and wanted to speak with him." Marissa said as she walked with him to the sitting room. Everyone sat around the room where ever they could find a seat. The butler brought in some chairs from the dining room for those that were still standing. Marissa excused herself when she heard her husband come in. David came directly over to Angel to shake his hand in greeting. He immediately noticed that Angel was having a problem with his sight. Gunn, Spike, Connor and Buffy were sitting close to Angel and that they had sat with their backs to the wall.
"I see that you have had some changes recently." David stated when Angel hesitated in shaking his hand. Spike had to tell him that David wanted to shake hands. David then had to take Angels hand instead of the other way around.
"Yes, we have had some changes. We were in an accident on Friday when we were coming back from the L.A. airport. Dr. Martin had to tell me that a P.V.C. pipe flew off of a truck and hit me in the back of the head. As a result I have temporarily lost my sight and I am having a few problems in my motor skills." Angel told David. David noticed how Angel talked with his head slightly bent down.
"From what Marissa tells me you are still able to handle yourself quiet well. She said she saw you and Spike wrestling out on the front lawn." They all started laughing when he said that.
"Yeah I have to apologize for that childish display. I had been sitting in the back of my car and Spike kindly suggested that I raise myself up and sit on the side of the car and swing my legs over. Unfortunately for me he neglected to tell me that he had left his seat belt hanging over the back of the seat and when I swung my legs over to the outside my foot got caught in the belt and I almost fell backwards. He saved his life though by catching me, but I felt that I had to punish him by grinding his face into the ground and making him cry uncle." Everyone was laughing when he got through.
Marissa stepped forward "Does anyone want something to drink before we go any further?"
"Yes Marissa can I have a nice tall glass of cold milk and a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich? All of a sudden I am having an awful craving for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Cordelia asked as she licked her lips.
"I presume you want one also Angel?" Marissa asked. "I'm not feeling her cravings yet but I am sure I will shortly so yes you might as well bring me one also but I'll take a cold glass of blood instead."
Everyone asked for coffee, hot tea or cokes. Marissa left to let the butler know what they wanted and then returned to sit by her husband.
"How have you been doing lately David?" Angel asked him. "Better Angel better. I guess my demon isn't as near as bad as Angelus. I have been able to reconcile myself with the things that I have done in my past. Ever since you forgave me for what happened to you and your wife I started getting better. I guess you could say it was my turning point. I sleep in our bed with Marissa now instead of the basement chained to a pipe." Marissa held David's hand while he was talking.
"How is the business going?" "It's going very well. We haven't opened for business yet but we will be soon." It was obvious that he was very happy about the soon to open business.
"David the reason that I wanted to see you at this late hour was because Dr. Martin and I were kidnaped by a Stephan Johnson and David Peterson. We had been having a few drinks at Caritas and they snatched us out of the back when we were coming back from the bathrooms." David looked at Angel as though he wanted to ask a question.
David leaned forward and whispered something in Angels ear then sat back down.
"Yes I do occasionally. Getting Cordelia's morning sickness and cravings isn't the only thing that I pick up from her. It's terrible when you first get that feeling and you don't remember what it means. Cordelia and I will have to talk to you and Marissa about that later but for now lets get back to Johnson and Peterson. Johnson kidnaped us because he wants to know what you are up to. He knows all about the hotel your are renovating and the beautiful furniture you are installing in each of the rooms and the extra sound proofing of the walls. He knows all about the hotel David but he doesn't know why your doing it. He said he even has Chicago calling him to find out what your doing. I told him that he needed to talk to you about it and to see a certain tape that was in your possession. I also told him that I would set up a meeting place where you would both feel safe." Angel stopped when the butler brought him his sandwich and drink. Others brought in a couple of trays full of the requested drinks. He noticed how the butler gave him his sandwich before he gave Cordelia hers. He thought this was odd because protocol dictated that the woman was always served first except in certain cases.
"Yes I have heard how the mafia is interested. Usually they don't bother me because of what I and all of my guards are. Did you tell them anything about what I am doing?" "No I was able to talk my way out of it. One of the guards, a man named Richards, was helping while we were there. Before we walked out of the warehouse I told him to tell Johnson that he would regret it if he continued to pursue his curiosity and that the words 'Dry Dock' would become very familiar to him." All of the men laughed at this.
"I don't know Angel. This is big, really big when the big boys from Chicago want to know what is going on. Do you have any suggestions as to how we can handle this?" Cordelia whispered to Dr. Martin "I think that this is good for Angel to see how David handles things. David opens himself up for suggestions from others and doesn't think that his way is the only way like he does." "Yes I think so to. Why don't we see if the women can go someplace else and talk. I think that the men will feel more comfortable talking without the women around." Cordelia tried to get up by herself but she was starting to feel awkward with the extra weight of her daughter and the extra pounds she was putting on. So far she had only put on 7 pounds besides Kathleen's weight but it was weight that she wasn't used to.
Wesley had been sitting next to Cordelia so when he saw her trying to get up he stood up and pulled her up. "Thank you Wesley. I must remember not to sit on this couch until after Kathleen is born." All of a sudden Cordelia started to cry. "What's wrong Cordelia, why are you crying?" Wesley asked as he hugged her. "I don't know, I guess I'm just very tired and I feel so fat. I feel like I'm as big as a house. I can't even get up from the couch by myself?" She pushed herself away from him and went to Marissa. "Do you have someplace I can lay down Marissa? I'm real tired and sleepy." "Sure Cordelia, come with me, you can lay down in the library."
Angel called to her "Wait a minute Cordelia were leaving now." Angel stood up and held his hand out for Morgan. "Thank you for coming and telling me about this Angel." David said as he shook Angels offered hand.
"Either come and see me or give me a call tomorrow David and let me know what you want to do. We have an architect coming tomorrow, then we will be leaving to go to Sunnydale on Tuesday evening. I am offering you the use of my home there for your meeting if you like." "Thank you I'll think about it. I'm sorry that you and Dr. Martin were drawn into this."
Spike came to Angel and offered his arm. They all left then and returned to the Hyperion. Cordelia was half asleep as Spike led Angel up to their room. Angel was holding onto Spikes arm and Cordelia was holding onto Angels. They looked like 3 kids that were being taken some place and the teacher told them to hold onto each others hands. Wesley was laughing to himself as he walked to his room with Fred by his side. "What's so funny?" Fred asked as they approached their room.
"Look at Angel, Spike, and Cordelia." Fred looked at them. "Aw that's cute." They went into their room then and quietly closed the door on the days activity. Everyone was tired so they all went to sleep. Connor as usual was the only one that was still up. As usual he had made a bee line to the kitchen and made a sandwich for himself and took it upstairs to his room along with a tall glass of milk and chips.
The next day no one was stirring until after 11 a.m.. Everyone came down the stairs at the same time. Angel was feeling a little more confident in walking without being able to see. He had his hand on Cordelia's shoulder as they walked to the elevator and came over to the dinning room table. Cordelia was still feeling fat today so she fixed herself a couple of soft boiled eggs with only one piece of toast with no butter. Instead of the whole milk she had a glass of the 2 milk. She brought Angel a glass of his warmed blood along with her food.
They all brought their pictures of how they wanted their rooms to be built. Dr. Martin had hers along with a picture of how she wanted the medical room to be built also.
When they started comparing their notes on how the lobby should be changed Angel spoke up. He hadn't said anything about how Cordelia wanted the room or how the children's rooms should be built but he did speak up when he heard them talking about making changes to the lobby.
"I don't want any changes to be made to the lobby." Everyone stopped talking and looked at Angel. Wesley started with why he thought they should make changes. Everyone else added in their two cents also.
Dr. Martin was the only one that hadn't said anything. "Why don't you want it changed Angel?" She asked in a calm voice which was totally different from the others. Everyone looked at Angel again.
"I have too many memories in there. It's where you gave me back my life and took me away from Angelus. It's where I hung from that cross for an hour until Cordy found me. It's where I first met you Mom and where Cordelia and I professed our eternal love for each other in marriage. Do what you have to do Wesley to make it safe for the children but don't change the way it looks please." Angel got up then and made his way over to the kitchen by himself. He wanted a cup of coffee. Cordelia and Wesley followed him.
Cordelia went over to Angel. "Hey that was pretty good." She put her arm around him. "Yeah, I surprised myself also. I wasn't really thinking about where I was going I just wanted to come to the kitchen and I did it. Wesley I know you're here." "Yes Angel." "Wesley, I just have too many memories in the lobby and I don't want it to change. Every time I walk in there those memories come back to me. They remind me better then the mark of Dr. Martins ring in the palm of my hand. But most of all I remember and thank God for the day you, Gunn and Cordelia excepted me back as your friend." Wesley, Cordelia and Angel all hugged. By the time they separated they where all sniffling and grabbing a napkin to blow their noses and act like nothing happened.
"It will stay the same Angel until we are no longer here to say that it stays the same." Wesley said. "Thanks Wesley. I appreciate it."
They all went back to the dinning room table then. Angel didn't even hold onto anyone as he walked back with his coffee. "The lobby will stay as it is. We will make whatever changes we have to make to make sure that it is child proof but the look of the lobby and the 2nd floor balcony will remain the same." No one said anything because they all knew why it was going to stay the same.
"I am going downstairs to get some exercise does anyone want to join me? Someone like Spike maybe." Angel asked as he stood up and drank the rest of his coffee as he headed for the basement door. Spike jumped up and ran to his side. "Getting brave aren't we."
"Remember what Angelus used to tell you all of the time when you where first turned?" Angel asked Spike. "Yeah, you don't know if you can do it until you try it. Just let me go first in case you fall okay?" "That's agreeable." Angel said as Spike went first and then turned and watched him.
Angel stood at the top of the stairs and holding onto the door. "How many steps are their?" Spike counted the steps. "Sixteen." "Okay then here it goes." Angel let go of the door and started to go down the steps without hesitating. He counted the steps as he went down, 1,2,3,4,5,6..........
He didn't stop until he got to the 16th step and then jumped with both feet to the floor. He had a big grin on his face just like a little boy that had just successfully managed the stairs by himself.
"Congratulations Sire. I'll make sure that you get the blue ribbon tonight. So, what do you want to do first?" "Lets warm up first." Angel said as he started to take his clothes off. He continued until he had stripped down to his shorts. That's when Spike said something before Angel took off his last stitch of clothing. "Wait a minute now. What are you doing. You going to let Angel Jr. get some air or something." Spike was just going to take his shirt off but stopped when he saw how far Angel was going.
"Why not, are you chicken or something. The only one here that hasn't seen all of me is Dr. Thompson. Or are you afraid that Angel Junior might start getting excited when I see Cordelia come down in the full blown beauty of her pregnancy. Then you'll be able to see what the women have been talking about."
"Do you really get turned on when you see Cordelia?" Spike asked Angel as he sat down on the edge of the folding table. Angel had started to do some stretching exercises but stopped when Spike ask him that.
"Spike it's weird, I've often heard the description of a pregnant woman as glowing but I didn't know that it turned me on. Every time I see her I start reacting to her. The bigger she gets the more powerful my reaction to her is. The worst thing Spike is that she doesn't want to have sex very often now. It's almost as bad as it was before our wedding. Sometimes it gets so bad that it's actually painful, but fortunately at those times my body starts getting hot so at least I can go and take a cold shower." Spike was smiling as he listened to Angel.
"Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought of you talking like this. I knew that Angelus would always choose a pregnant woman over a non pregnant one and now I know why."
"Did he really? I guess that was something that he always left me out of. Lets get busy before Cordelia comes down here and you get a view of real greatness." Angel started doing his stretching exercises again. Spike stripped down to just his shorts and joined Angel in the center.
Forty five minutes into their exercise routine Wesley came down and told them that the architect was on his way and would be there in another 30 minutes. "What are you two doing anyway?" Wesley went back to the top of the stairs and shouted. "Hey everyone Angel and Spike are down here exercising naked."
Spike and Angel heard everyone come running over to the basement. "Let's do some push ups before we call it quits. They won't be able to see anything and yet get a good look at what you call your tight butt." Angel whispered to Spike before the others got their. "Well lets give them something to look at." Spike took his shorts off. "You want to join me in the free for all?" Yeah, hell every one has seen me anyway. I don't need to try to hide anything." Angel took his shorts off and put them to the side then started doing pushups. Spike positioned himself close to Angel. When he heard everyone coming downstairs he started counting loudly except he kicked it up by 60.
61,62,63,64,65,66,67
All the ladies came down first and took seats at the bottom of the steps. Dr. Martin whispered to Cordelia and Buffy. "They are obviously putting themselves on display. Let's play with what they are giving us. Fred would you go and get us 2 measuring sticks?" "Sure Dr. Martin." Fred made her way through the crowd on the steps and was back in less then a minute with 2 yard sticks. She gave the yardsticks to Dr. Martin. "Thanks Fred. Here we are girls. Do you know what to do?" "Oh yes." Buffy and Cordelia said as they took the measuring sticks. "Lay it on thick ladies." Dr. Martin said with a grin. She tried to hide it by putting her hand over her mouth.
Buffy and Cordelia made their way down the steps and walked over to their respective husbands.
100,101,102,103,104,105,106.
Cordelia and Buffy got on their knees then laid down on their sides. "Come on Angel I can't get a clear measure here. How is Spike doing Buffy?" "I almost got it, one more time Spike but a little higher. Oh darn, I almost had the measurement then as I was looking at the number Angel was just going up and he drew my attention away from the number. Why don't you measure Spike Cordelia and I'll measure Angel. That way we'll be sure to keep our eye on the numbers."
"That sounds good to me." Cordelia said. She had some difficulty getting up though and that caught Angels attention. He couldn't see her but he heard her very well. He felt himself starting to get warm but he thought it was just the exercise. Buffy came over and helped Cordelia up then laid down on her side next to Angel.
130,131,132,133,134.
As she started to take her measurements she noticed that Angel was going to hurt himself any moment now. Buffy jumped up and grabbed a couple of towels and threw them over Angel and Spike. "Uh Cordelia I think they need to stop now. The show I believe is over."
150,151,152,153,154,155.
"Angel and Spike stop right now."
156,157,158,159,160.
"I said stop right now." Cordelia was still laying down and trying to get a measurement. "Why do you want to stop, I almost got my number." Cordelia said as she looked over at Buffy.
"I'll show you why." Buffy put her foot on Angels behind and pushed him down hard. Of course what she thought would happen happened.
"OW!" Angel yelled. Cordelia sat up and said 'Oh.' Dr. Martin, Fred and Hunter, who had arrived a few hours ago, were laughing so hard they were crying.
"Lets go ladies so that Buffy and Cordelia can dress their husbands who can't seem to keep their clothes on when their playing." Wesley said as he shooed them up the stairs.
"Really Angel can't you control yourself." Cordelia had gathered up his clothes and handed them to him one by one as he put them on. "As a matter of fact Cordelia we can't. Once the count down for the missile has started the sequence can't be stopped." Spike said as Buffy gave him his clothes as he put them on one by one.
"Once I heard you having difficulty getting up because of your pregnancy I couldn't stop thinking of having sex with you. So it was your fault. In fact Buffy and Spike get out of here and lock the door when you go out." Angel wanted to take Cordelia right their in the basement.
"Angel the Architect is coming we can't do that now. Besides I'm too uncomfortable to feel like sex now. I'm sorry baby but face it your in Dry Dock for awhile." Cordelia buttoned Angels shirt and checked him out to make sure everything was zipped and buttoned.
Angel put his hand on Cordelia's shoulder and followed her upstairs. Spike and Buffy followed them. When they arrived at the dinning room they found the architect was already their. "I'm going upstairs Cordy anything you want to do is okay with me except for you know what."
"Okay Angel. I'll be up as soon as I can." Since Spike and Buffy wasn't needed they went to their rooms and guided Angel on the way. Angel took his rosary off of the bed stand and sat down in his big chair and started praying the rosary. When he was done he just sat and meditated for awhile. He used to call it brooding until Dr. Martin had told him that it was called meditating.
The phone rang and broke his train of thought. "Hello. This is Angel" "Angel this is David. I've talked with all of my advisors and we have decided that it is best to meet with Johnson over in Sunnydale. We can meet with just your people their. My personal guards insisted though that I take along at least one of my guards. So I'm bringing Bobby. Johnson can do the same. Give me a call when you have everything set up. If Johnson wants more than 1 guard with him then that's okay with me but no more than 3. One of us can easily take care of 3 of his guards but hopefully that won't be necessary. And of course I'll bring my tape." "Okay David, he should be calling soon because I told him that we would be leaving tonight to go to Sunnydale. I'll call him as soon as I set things up. David do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" "Sure Angel."
"Why do you ask others for their advice?" Angel was hesitant to ask the question but he finally got it out.
"I didn't use to do it Angel but every time something didn't go the way I expected it to Marissa would ask me why I hadn't asked others opinions on the problem. She said they might of had a better idea as to how something should be handled. So I finally took her advice and started asking for others opinion. You could of knocked me over with a feather when things started going better and business started improving. So now I always discuss anything big with a group of my guards. These guys are more like my family just like your people are like your family."
"Thanks David I appreciate your being honest with me. Good bye." Angel hung up then and went back to his meditation.
An hour later Cordelia came up. She had a sandwich for herself and one for Angel also. She was tired after her session with the architecture. Dr. Martin was talking to him now and telling him how she wanted her clinic set up. She had been consulting with Hunter on this and incorporating some of her suggestions.
"Angel open the door please. My hands are full." She heard Angel coming over to the door. He opened it and stepped back, he could smell the food she had in her hands.
"What did you bring me?" "I brought us lunch, a ham and cheese sandwich for me and roast beef for you. No potato chips for either one of us. I have some baby carrots if you want any. You want a glass of blood, coffee, or tea?" "Warm blood and tea later. Thank you." Angel said as he sat down at the table. He took the plates off of the tray then put the tray on the floor next to the table. Cordelia warmed up some blood for Angel and grabbed a glass of milk for herself.
"What have you been doing while I was busy planning our room and our children's rooms?"
"Nothing much. David called not to long ago. He said that he wanted to use our mansion in Sunnydale to have the meeting. I told him that as soon as I get a call from Johnson I would call him to let him know when we can meet." Angel said as he picked up his sandwich. He took a spoon and put it into the glass of blood and spooned some of it onto his sandwich. When he felt Cordelia's eyes on him he said "Hey, you have your crazy cravings and I have mine."
"I'm not saying anything." Cordelia said as she held up her hands while laughing. "By the way Dr. Martin told me that she checked with the hospital in Sunnydale and she has booked us for La Maz classes that start on Friday at 7 P.M. and she is going to be with us for some of the classes."
"Are you getting excited or scared or anxious or whatever?" Angel asked her. "It's less than 90 days before the bell rings and it's time for Kathleen to make an appearance."
"Are you?" Cordelia turned the tables on him.
"In a way yes." Angel put his sandwich down. Wiped his mouth and put his hand on Cordelia's.
"Cordelia I promise that I will be with you all of the way, even if I have to move a mountain to get to you." Angel leaned over and kissed her. He picked her up in his arms then and took her to the bed. He started to make love to her but she stopped him. "I'm sorry Angel. I'm just to uncomfortable right now to have sex. I just want you to hold me for now. My breasts are starting to get more tender and my back is hurting most of the time. Just hold me okay?" Angel pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. "Go to sleep Cordy. Rest in the knowledge that I love you and I will always do my best to be at your side." They both went to sleep then as she nestled into his arms. Cordelia always felt safe and loved when she was in bed with Angel and he held her as he was doing now.
They were awakened by the phone ringing two hours later. It was Johnson.
"Hello this is Angel." "Angel this is Johnson. Have you spoken to Morgan?" "Yes, he has agreed to meet with us at my home in Sunnydale. What day can you meet with us?" "How about Thursday?" "I believe that will be okay with him. Give me an E-Mail address and I'll send the address and directions to you, and Johnson don't forget that there are several Vampires on the premises along with a Slayer. Don't even think of trying anything because you won't stand a chance. Morgan is going to bring one of his guards with him and he has agreed for you to bing up to 3 of your guards. I won't allow any guns though. I would like one of the guards to be Richards if that's okay with you?" "Why Richards?" "I just took a liking to him." Johnson gave Angel his E-Mail address and then they hung up.
Angel called Morgan right away. "Morgan, this is Angel. Johnson called. He has agreed to meet with us on Thursday. Let's make it at 8 at night okay?" "That's fine with me. Can you send me the directions?" "Yeah, I think Cordelia has your wife's E-Mail address. I'll have her send it to you. See you on Thursday. Good bye."
Angel got up then straightened his clothes and put a fresh shirt on. Cordelia hadn't got out of bed yet and she seemed to still be sleeping but her heart didn't sound right. Angel went over to her and tried to wake her up. He slapped her face lightly and called out to her. "Cordelia wake up." She still didn't open her eyes and yet her heart was beating as though she was awake. Angel backed away from her. He was more scared. He went to the door and opened it. Spike and Dr. Martin were just approaching the door. "There is something wrong with Cordy, she won't wake up."
They both noticed how scared he was.
Angel went to the corner and just stood there. Dr. Martin and Spike did a quick check of Cordelia then Spike picked her up and took her downstairs to the clinic. They could see right off of the bat that she had lost too much blood. Her skin was cold to the touch and pale. Her eyes had a sunk in look to them. Hunter had followed Spike and Dr. Martin into the clinic. They worked on Cordelia for the next 30 minutes to get her stabilized. Then they went to the dining room to get something to drink. Fred went in to sit with Cordelia while the others went to get some coffee. Dr. Martin noticed that Angel wasn't around.
"Where is Angel Wesley?" "He must still be in the room. I'll go and get him." Wesley took the stairs two at a time and was at Angels room within seconds. He found him still standing in the corner. "Angel come down stairs with me." Wesley said it as softly as he could. Angel reached out his hand to Wesley. "Is she alright?" "I don't know Angel but I believe she is stabilized though." Angel took Wesley's arm and they went down stairs.
"Wesley bring Angel over here please." Wesley sat Angel down by the 3 at the table then took the chair on the other side of Dr. Martin. "How is she?" She is okay for now Angel. We are giving her a transfusion right now. We've called Mike and we will be taking Cordelia over to his office as soon as she gets her color back and regains consciousness.
"What is wrong with her?" Angel asked. They noticed that his arm was shaking again. It hadn't done that for the past 24 hours.
"We don't know why Angel but she keeps on losing blood. Hunter has a theory but we need to check on a few things that we can only do at Dr. Thompson's. We will need you to participate in the test though." Dr. Martin told Angel. She got up then and took his hand and put it on her shoulder. "Lets go and see Cordelia Angel." They all went to the clinic as they were calling Dr. Martins special area now.
Fred stood up when they came in. "She's awake now Dr. Martin." "Thank you Fred." They all came over to the bed. Cordelia opened her eyes and looked around. "My goodness you would think I was in a regular hospital with so many doctors around me. Angel." Cordelia reached out for Angels hand. He held her small hand in both of his.
"How are you feeling?" Angel asked her. "Better, I had woke up before you did and I felt so weak that I couldn't get up. I guess I just passed out." "You are going to have to stop doing this Cordelia, your going to make me grow gray hairs." Angel gave his wife a kiss then stood up straight.
"Okay Cordelia, Spike is going to take your blood pressure and temperature. Then we are going to bundle you up and take you to Dr. Thompson's office and try to find out why this is happening. First though Angel we would like for you to try to see how Kathleen is feeling." "What do you mean by feeling. Her mind is blank I never sense anything from her."
"Sure you do Angel. We've seen the look on your face when you put your hand on Cordelia's stomach. You both have smiles on your faces and there is a sense of love in the air. It was the first time that I have ever really regretted not being able to have a baby." As Hunter said this her soft brown skin showed a trail of two tears making trails down her checks. When she noticed the others looking at her she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand.
"Try it Angel. When you seem to be in contact with your daughter I am going to try to join you. Remember how Cordelia had to reassure Kathleen that Connor was okay?" "Yes." "Well you may have to do the same thing for me. Go ahead and start now."
Angel put his hand on Cordelia's stomach, closed his eyes and concentrated. Cordelia felt Kathleen move so that she could put her head under her Daddy's hand. As always Angel had a smile on his face. That was the signal that Hunter was looking for. She put her and on Cordelia's stomach also. Kathleen pulled away at first then she heard her mother say that the stranger was okay. Hunter searched for Kathleen's mind. She sensed a feeling of satisfaction, or of a person that has just had a large meal and was satiated. Hunter pulled her mind out of Kathleen's mind. Angel did the same.
"What did you feel Angel?" Hunter asked as she looked at him. "Nothing that I haven't felt before." "Didn't you sense a feeling her being satiated, as though she had just finished a large meal. Think about when you used to feed on humans Angel. Their must have been times when you had to go several days without a kill, then when you finally were able to feed you felt so good. Do you remember that Angel?"
"Yes, Angelus often let me in on it when he killed. He would be so hungry that he couldn't keep me out of it. The taste of the warm blood running down my throat. The sweetness of the blood if they were scared out of their minds. I felt so good afterwards. I remember sometimes I would think about when I was human and my step mother would cook a large leg of lamb or one of the geese and afterwards we would be so full that we would just lay around and sleep. No one felt like doing anything." Angel stopped and looked at Dr. Martin and Cordelia. He covered his face with his hand.
"Why did you do that to me?" "Because I wanted you to think and remember. Think Angel, think real hard. Isn't that the same feeling that your daughter is feeling right now." Hunter asked him. Angel didn't say anything. He just backed away. "How can this be? How can this happen.?"
"Cordelia do you ever watch Angel drinking his blood and you start to wonder what it tastes like?" Hunter asked. She noticed Angel start to take interest.
"Sometimes, like this afternoon when I brought some sandwiches and a glass of warm blood to him. We sat at the table while we had our lunch and I was watching him spoon some of the blood on his roast beef sandwich. I was just thinking that I would like to taste it. I guess I was staring at him for so long that he felt me watching him." Cordelia said. She was also thinking about how many times she had done it.
"Angel would you help me down please?" "Wait a minute Cordelia, you still have needles attached to you. Let me take your blood pressure and temperature before you get down." Spike said. He gently pushed her back down and put the cuff around her arm. He proceeded to take her blood pressure then her temperature. Hunter listened to the beating of her heart to get the count.
"Her blood pressure is a little low. Her temperature is normal. I think we should give her another bag of blood. She is still a little pale and with her blood pressure being so low she will probably feint again if she tries getting up." Spike told Dr. Martin, Hunter and Angel.
"Go ahead Spike and give her another bag. Cordelia I think I know what is happening
to you, but I want to go to Mikes office to see if we can verify it. About what time did you eat last Cordelia?" Hunter asked. Spike had Cordelia hooked up to another bag of blood by now and was watching it to make sure that it was flowing okay. Angel was watching him watch the blood.
"How can you do that and not start hungering for it?" Angel asked Spike. "I guess I do the same thing that Hunter does. You just kind of slip into a different operational mode. I don't see it as blood for drinking but as a tool that I use to make someone better. I asked Mike one time how he can examine so many women and not want to jump their bones and he said the same thing that I did. You go into a different mode and you just don't see them as people. When Dr. Martin and I were working on you after you were crucified we had you stripped down to your birthday suit. But I couldn't tell anyone how big your equipment is because I wasn't interested in anything other than cleaning you up. I looked at you as my first opportunity to practice all of my book learning and that was the first time that I slipped into my doctor mode."
"Thanks for using that as an example Spike. No wonder you wanted to pull that stunt this morning. I'll have to be careful around you from now on." Angel said. Hunter had never seen Angel blush before. She looked at Dr. Martin and pointed to Angel. "How long has this been going on?" "It's part of his gift from God. Angel is slowly becoming human and little things like this show up. I think since he has been a Vampire longer than he has been a human he is being given things very slowly so that he can learn to deal with it again." Dr. Martin answered Hunter.
By this time the transfusion of new blood had stopped and Spike was starting to take the needle out. "Okay ladies, as soon as it gets dark we can take off. Angel I am going to carry Cordelia over to the couch why don't you take my arm and follow me. It's your turn to sit and let Cordelia lay her head on your lap." Spike picked Cordelia up and Angel put his hand on Spikes shoulder and they went into the lobby.
As soon as the sun went down Spike called Dr. Thompson and told him they were on their way. Dr. Thompson brought the car around to the back and Spike brought Cordelia and Angel out. Hunter sat in the back with them and Spike sat in the front with Dr. Martin. She had started to drive more frequently now that she was going to be living in L.A. permanently.
They were their in less than 30 minutes. Spike had been holding onto the car for dear life. When they pulled up to the back he jumped out as fast as he could. "I am never riding in the car with you again. You drive like a crazy person. I've heard the saying before that if you want to get someplace fast follow a nun or priest. Now I know why they say that and that it's true." Spike went to the other side of the car and helped picked Cordelia up and put her on her feet. They all went in then and waited for Dr. Thompson to see the last patient.
"Dr. Thompson said you can go into his office Spike, he'll be with you in a few minutes." "Thanks Ann." Spike led Angel into the office and Dr. Martin and Hunter walked on either side of Cordelia. When Mike came in he immediately went to Hunter and gave her a kiss.
"Well what's going on Cordelia? What kind of mischief have you been getting into?" "What makes you think I've been up to some mischief? He's accusing me of being a bad person Angel I want you to teach him a lesson." She looked at Angel like she was so innocent. Angel said "Okay." Then he got up and started to walk around the desk. "Angel I'm only kidding sit down."
Angel sat back down right away and laughed. Mike was the only one that wasn't laughing.
"Cordelia lost consciousness again from a lack of blood in her system. This afternoon when they woke up from their afternoon nap she wouldn't wake up. We had to give her 2 bags of blood in order for her to come back to us. From what Dr. Martin and Spike have told me she has been having an ongoing problem with being anemic. So I conducted a little experiment along with Angel this afternoon. As you know pregnant women come up with outrageous cravings. Most people cringe at the sight of what they are eating. I believe that Cordelia has come up with something new that only a women that lives with a Vampire can come up with. I want to test my theory here at your office where we can use the sonnagram to keep an eye on Kathleen." Hunter stopped when Mike raised his hand. Can we stop for a second and have something to eat. Without Spike here to help me I was loaded down with work and I haven't had anything to eat this afternoon. Does anyone mind if our intern gets something for us to eat?" "Yes I'm hungry also. How about a sub sandwich." Dr. Martin said. Without Cordelia knowing it all of this conversation was already set up with Dr. Thompson. Everyone had their part to play.
Spike asked Mike for a pen and paper and took everyone's order down. He had enough blood in a private refrigerator that was in Dr. Thompson's office to feed himself, Hunter and Angel. They all went to the kitchen to wait for Spike to return. Dr. Martin made some coffee for anyone that wanted it. They sat at the table to drink their coffee and talk small talk. Spike was back in less than 30 minutes since he had called in the order before he left. Cordelia warmed up Angels glass of blood along with one for Hunter and Spike. Everyone but Angel was watching Cordelia as she watched Angel spoon some of his warmed up blood onto the roast beef sub. They could see that she was almost salivating as she watched him. They all finished their sandwiches then and Angel finished off his glass of blood.
"How are you feeling Cordelia? Has Kathleen started moving a lot now that your in your 3rd trimester?" Dr. Thompson asked as he got up and poured himself some more coffee.
"Not to bad now that I've given control of the hotel over to Fred. I was getting pretty tired. And as for Kathleen, the little brat is moving around so much that sometimes I think she is playing basketball in there. Ow! Like now. It felt like she bit me or something."
"Lets go see her on the sonnagram." Hunter said. They all followed Hunter and Cordelia into the exam room. Hunter put some gel on Cordelia's stomach so that the scanner could easily slide over her skin. Spike turned the lights out and went over to the bed. Hunter found Kathleen right away. They could see that she had her mouth up against the inside of her small prison. She appeared to be sucking on something. "Angel come over here please?" Hunter called to him. Even though he couldn't see the monitor he could touch Cordelia's stomach and communicate to Kathleen.
"Spike prepare a needle and syringe to extract some of the amniotic fluid." When Spike was ready Hunter told Angel to put his hand on Cordelia's stomach and on the opposite side of where Kathleen was at that moment. When she pulled away from the spot she was in Hunter told Spike to withdraw the fluid in the exact same spot that Kathleen just vacated. After applying a topical anesthetic Spike put the needle in as he watched the monitor carefully to make sure that he didn't touch Kathleen. He withdrew some fluid and pulled the needle out. "Okay Angel remove your hand. Cordelia I want you to think of fixing Angel a glass of blood and watching him spoon some of it onto his sandwich." Cordelia concentrated and within a few moments Kathleen went back to where she was before and put her mouth back to the same spot. They had all seen what they wanted to see now.
"Angel put your hand back on Cordelia's stomach and tell your daughter no, that she is not to do that. She'll know what you mean. Try to put it into a picture like command. Remember that she doesn't understand words but she should be able to understand it if you give her a picture of pulling her away from the inside of the uterus then just say no." Angel did as Hunter instructed. It took a few minutes but they saw Kathleen move away from the inside wall of the uterus.
Hunter took some paper towel and cleaned Cordelia's stomach off and pulled the top of her pants up and her blouse down. "You can get up now Cordelia." Hunter said as she cleaned off the scanner.
Angel helped Cordelia down and they went back to the kitchen along with Spike. Hunter and Dr. Martin went with Dr. Thompson to the room next to the kitchen where they had a small lab set up. They checked the amniotic fluid in their where they had better lighting. They could easily see that their was blood in the fluid. Not mixed in with the regular fluid but pockets of it as though it had just been introduced into it.
"I believe we now have evidence to support my theory." Hunter said to the other two doctors. "Lets go and tell them what their little girl is doing to her mommy."
The doctors all took seats around the table with Cordelia, Angel, and Spike.
"Okay Angel and Cordelia we have found out why your anemic. Your daughter is feeding off of you Cordelia. She is responding to your craving for the blood that you see Angel drinking. Now this doesn't mean that your daughter is taking after her father it just means that she has found a way to get what you are craving. She is taking blood from you by sucking on the inside of the uterine wall. I would guess that somehow by repeatedly trying to get to blood she has created a nipple like break in the uterine wall and is extracting blood by sucking on that nipple. Now when I told Angel to try and stop his daughter he was successful, but you can try to avoid this by not looking at Angel when he is drinking his meal and letting someone else fix it for him. Angel don't dunk your sandwiches in the blood in front of Cordelia. In fact don't do it at all because she will know what you are doing when you turn away from her blood."
"How did you know what was happening?" Dr. Thompson asked Hunter.
"Angel is not the first Vampire to fall in love with a human woman and father a child. Over a thousand years ago a male Vampire came to me and explained what was happening to his wife. I hadn't thought about them until tonight when Cordelia started having problems. It took me a lot longer to figure out what was happening back then. When I did figure it out I told them the same thing that I am telling Angel and Cordelia. It took the woman a little while to get her craving under control but she was okay after that and she had a normal human baby boy."
"Now that, that mystery has been solved we had better get back to the hotel. We have to get ready to go to Sunnydale tomorrow and I am sure that Cordelia is tired." Dr. Martin said as she got up. Everyone else got up also.
"Give me the keys Dr. Martin I'll drive." Spike held his hands out for the keys. "What's the matter Spike have you had a sample of her driving?" Dr. Thompson asked Spike as they walked out and he turned the lights out. "Yes and I can say in all honesty that it will be the last time. She drives like a maniac. I had to check my shorts when we got here." They were all laughing as they left the building.
Spike directed Angel and Cordelia to the back seat of the car and Dr. Martin sat up front with Spike. Hunter rode with Dr. Thompson since she was going to spend the night with him. Before they left Angel called out to Hunter. "Mikalab can you come here for a moment please?" Hunter came over to Angel.
Angel reached out for her hand and Hunter took it. "Mikalab are you going to stay with Mike for awhile?" "Yes I am going to help him in his practice for a few weeks. Then I'll be coming home. I have to work with Willow to create a license to practice medicine before I can work with Mike for any length of time. When you don't grow old you have to pick up and leave every so often and that means creating a new persona to attach a license to. If Spike wants to go all the way in the practice of medicine then he will have to do the same thing."
"Don't forget what I said Mikalab, become friends first. The friendship will sustain your love when the hard times come. When the hotel is done we will be back and your welcome to come and stay with us for as long as you want. We'll have lots of people for you to take care of."
"Thank you Angel. When I come home I want to have a long talk with you and Dr. Martin. Good bye everyone I'll see you in 3 weeks." Hunter returned to Mikes car then every one yelled goodbye.
"She sure is a lot more friendly then she was when she was taking care of you." Cordelia said as she laid down and put her head on Angels lap. Angel covered her with the blanket that he kept in the back. "Don't you remember how I was when we first met. I don't think I even smiled until we started working together. Then I rarely even let you know that you made me smile. I don't think I started to lighten up, as you call it, until we admitted that we loved each other. So my best guess is that she is in love with Dr. Mike Thompson." "No duh!" Cordelia said. That was when he started tickling her. She was laughing so hard that she could barely cry out "Uncle, uncle." "That's better." Angel said, then he lifted her up so he could give her a kiss. "Now take a nap so that we can learn to discipline your daughter later." Cordelia sat up. "My daughter, why is she my daughter all of a sudden. Just because she is reacting to my cravings in such a way that isn't exactly normal all of a sudden she is my daughter. Let's not forget who helped me to create our little love muffin." Dr. Martin was thinking that if Angel answered with anything other than an apology he was going to be sleeping on the proverbial couch.
"I'm sorry Cordelia I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Please forgive me?" Angel reached over for her hand until he found it then started to kiss it.
"Alright your forgiven, but don't forget Angel that they will be "our" children not yours or mine whenever they are bad or good. Do you agree?" "Yes dear." They were silent for the rest of the ride back to the hotel. Spike and Dr. Martin didn't say anything they just looked at each other and kept their silence.
Spike pulled up to the back of the hotel and let everyone out. Cordelia took Angels hand and put it on her shoulder. Without saying anything she went into the hotel. "Are you hungry for anything?" Cordelia asked Angel as she led him through the lobby. "No, thank you."
Cordelia led Angel into their bedroom. He could hear her undressing so that she could take a shower. Cordelia went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Angel sat for awhile just thinking. He could hear Cordelia starting the shower and getting in and closing it behind her.
After a few minutes Angel stood up and took his clothes off. He walked to the bathroom door slowly. He reached it without any problems. Then he pulled back and kicked the door open.
Angel walked over to the shower and opened it and walked in. He put out his hand and searched for Cordelia and found her in the corner. He grabbed onto her arms.
"Cordelia Chase-Martin we will not have locked doors between us. We will discuss the problem and solve them, then we will go to bed in peace and with nothing but love for each other
in our hearts. Don't ever forget what I have said Cordy and I want our children to learn the same thing. They will learn to solve their problems before they go to bed or they will have to answer to me. Do you understand?" "Yes Angel." "Now, why did you get so mad at me for saying such a simple thing?"
"Because my mother and father used to say the same thing. When I was a good girl and didn't bother them then my mother would say my daughter is a good girl. When I won trophies or first place ribbons for anything my father would say 'that's my girl'. But Angel they never loved me enough to go to any games or watch me perform with my horse. I had my two parents all during my childhood and teenage years Angel and the only time that they acknowledged me was when I did something good. But when I got in trouble then I was the other parents daughter. I don't want that to happen to our children Angel. I want them to know that we both love them when they are bad or good." Cordelia was crying by now. Angel hugged her closely.
"I love you Cordelia and I am truly sorry for saying what I did. I will do my best never to say anything like that again. I would never knowingly hurt you." Angel kissed her then and held her close to him. They finished taking a bath then and went to bed. Dr. Martin went to Spike and Buffy's bedroom door and lightly knocked on it. Spike answered it. "Can you tell if everything is okay with them? I heard a loud noise a while ago."
"Apparently Cordelia went into the bathroom and locked the door. A few minutes later Angel knocked it down and they discussed their problem. He told her 'Cordelia Chase-Martin we will not have locked doors between us. We will discuss the problem and solve them and then we will go to bed in peace with nothing but love for each other in our hearts, but I won't allow you to put locked doors between us.' It's been quiet since then. I think they are okay now though." "Thanks Spike, goodnight."
"The next day everyone was up early to pack and put away the last of the items that they were either going to take with them or place in boxes in the basement. At breakfast Dr. Martin noticed that Angel didn't have any blood with his breakfast but later she saw him making a glass for himself. "Your getting pretty good at doing things for yourself." "Yeah, Hunter told me what to do in order to make my own drink since Cordelia couldn't do it anymore while she is pregnant." Angel said as he continued to make his drink.
"How did things go last night if you don't mind my asking?" Dr. Martin had come in to get herself some more coffee. "We put our problem to rest and went to bed peacefully." "That's good Angel. It's better if a couple always tries to solve their problems before they go to bed. Otherwise they will wake up with them and they tend to hang around longer and get bigger then what they originally were." "That is one thing that I remember about my parents. They always solved their problems before they went to bed." Angel said as he drank his blood.
"Have you decided how you are going to hold the meeting with Johnson and Morgan?" Dr. Martin asked. Just then Wesley walked into the kitchen to get some more tea. "Am I interrupting something?" "No, Dr. Martin was just asking me how I was going to handle the meeting between Johnson and Morgan. I was just about to tell her that I have discussed it with you and Gunn. But we haven't decided yet. Have you had any ideas since our last discussion?" Angel asked Wesley.
"I've been thinking about it and I put it to Gunn to see what he thought about it. Let's tell them to arrive at David Nesbits building in downtown L.A.. He has a landing port on top of his building. We will tell them that they will be given the location for them to land when they are in the air. Then one of David's helicopters will land after the other two have left and pick them up and deliver them to Sunnydale. Johnson will have to keep his guards down to 2 instead of 3. The reason for that is that their just isn't any room. The men will then be returned in the same way. I also want to change the location of the meeting. I would like to have it at Giles store. We will have too many precious treasures at the mansion." Wesley finally finished with his plans and his tea.
"What does Gunn think about this?" "He agrees that we should do it like this. I've contacted
Giles and he agrees that it's safer at his store where it's more public. Of course David is more than willing to help us." "Okay it sounds good to me also. Would you make the call to Morgan and Johnson and tell them about the change in days?" "Yes, I'll do that right now. I believe tomorrow would be a good time. I thought 12 noon would be best. Giles says that they have more people come into his shop at that time which is most peoples lunch break." "Good, what time will we leave for Sunnydale." "As soon as it gets dark which is about 5:30 these days." "Okay that all sounds good to me." Angel left then without asking for any ones help. He found his way to the stairs and only stumbled once.
When Angel left Dr. Martin looked at Wesley in surprise. "Angel is truly a remarkable man. When he makes mistakes or has faults they are whoppers. But his ability to correct himself and to learn is nothing short of phenomenal. If St. Michael is thinking the same way I am then I would say that Angel will be given his sight back sooner then expected." Dr. Martin left the kitchen then and went to the clinic to pack everything and lock up all drugs so that they could be taken with them in a refrigerated ice box. She was taking most of the instruments also. Everything else was to be packed and stored downstairs or pushed to the side. Of course Fred had already packed away her most prized possession. 'Fred's Microscope' as it had come to be known.
By 5:30 all those that were leaving had their bags packed and sitting downstairs. Wesley was going to take the refrigerator in his SUV along with Dr. Martin, Connor and of course Fred. Spike was driving Angels car with Buffy, Angel and Cordelia. Gunn had been gone all afternoon but pulled up just in time for them to leave. At first they didn't know who it was until he got out of the truck.
"Hey, Gunn has a brand new truck." Conner called out to his Dad. Everyone came over to look at it. They couldn't see it very well because the sun was already going down.
"What did you get?" Angel asked since he couldn't see.
"It's a Dodge ram. Fully loaded, along with a roll bar, lights on the roll bar, and it's a 4 wheel drive. And best of all it's black. The front also has a special protective grill."
"Well it looks like you got this just in time. You can carry all of the suitcases." Wesley said. The men started loading the boxes and as many suitcases as the back would hold. Wesley took the rest in his SUV. Xander was going to be the only one left at the hotel so they all waved good bye then took off for Sunnydale for the next 2 to 3 months. Wesley had given him access to enough money so that he could hire as many men as it took to complete the renovation as fast as possible.
TBC.................................