Connor smelled her tears as soon as he walked into the room, and they tore at him. The lust he'd been feeling for her took a back seat to something else, a need to hold and comfort her.

Somehow, that scared him even more.

Though the room was dark, he could still make out her form on the bed. She was turned away from him, but he could tell by how tense she was that she was well aware of his presence.

"What do you want?" she asked after he'd stood in the doorway silently for several minutes.

Connor reminded himself why he'd come here. He had to stick with the plan, or he'd end up with her in his arms again. "I feel like a jerk for just now asking this, but, um…are you on birth control?"

Anne sat up, pushing the sheet down and raising up the edge of her t-shirt from the back. "It's a birth control patch," she said, her fingers grazing something that looked like a square band-aid. "Specially formulated to interact with my…unique physiology." She turned and looked at him then, staring at him defiantly, though the red rims around her eyes told another story. "Is that all?"

"Yeah. I was just…worried about that. I'll…go back to my room now."

"Okay."

Connor turned around, but didn't step out of the room. He heard her rustling as Anne got back under the sheet. She grew silent again, but he could smell a fresh wave of tears, and his control began to slip. He didn't want her hurting. With a silent curse, he faced her again. "I'm sorry."

"For what? It's not like you did anything I didn't want."

"But I hurt you. I didn't mean to do that."

"I'm fine, Connor. Really."

"No, you're not. You're crying."

"So? Doesn't have to be about you, you know. Demons are trying to kill me. I could be crying about that."

Connor regarded her for a moment, his heart pulled in two different directions. He remembered his wedding vows, his promise to forsake all others. But something inside him was telling him that his need to be with Anne went beyond any vow he'd ever made. That she was his and nothing could change that.

The need to be with her too compelling to ignore, Connor sat beside her on the bed, holding his arms out to her. Anne hesitated for only a moment before moving into them, clutching him tightly. She needed this, needed to feel him against her.

"I'm sorry," Connor said, stroking her hair. "I didn't want to hurt you, Anne. But I shouldn't be doing this. I'm married to another woman. This is wrong."

Anne looked up at him, a fierceness in her blue eyes. "But you're not hers. You're mine. You've always been mine. Don't you know that, Connor?"

"Yeah, I do." He brought his lips to hers, kissing her as he lowered her back down on the bed.

Connor pulled away from her mouth to kiss the last of her tears away, making Anne shiver. "I need you," she whispered. "Once wasn't enough."

Connor didn't think it would ever be enough. He knew in that moment that he'd reached the point of no return, and he was prepared to pass it. He could deal with the repercussions later. Now was about enjoying the feel of the woman in his arms.

After he made love to her, he used what energy he had left to roll them over, letting Anne rest on his chest as he pulled the sheet over them. "Stay here?" Anne asked softly, her eyes drifting shut.

"Yeah," Connor replied, pressing a shaky kiss against her forehead. He wasn't sure he could've left even if he wanted to. Holding Anne like this made him feel too good to give it up.

Anne drifted off to sleep in Connor's arms, a small smile on her lips.


Despite the fact that he'd been awake for a while, Connor didn't want to move. Anne felt so good in his arms, so right. He was simply holding her as she slept, and he felt more at peace than he had in his entire life.

The effect she had on him scared him. When he wasn't with her. When he was with her he didn't care that she had the power to turn his whole world upside down. All that mattered was that then, in that moment, everything felt right.

But he had to leave. It was getting late in the morning, and even though he knew there was a good chance his father would stay asleep for a while, Cordelia wouldn't. She'd be up, ready to start the business day. It would be better if he wasn't caught in bed with Anne.

She whimpered as he slid out of her arms, and Connor's heart clenched at the sound. It amazed him how much he wished the circumstances were different. He'd known this woman only a few days, and already she was making him wish he'd never met his wife.

If he'd never been taken to Quartoth, they'd only be a little less than four years apart in age. It still would've been enough of a difference to matter at this age, but not really in the long run. They'd raise some eyebrows, but nothing to the point that they would now. He could be with her without having to sneak around, without having to try to bury his feelings.

And something told him he'd still want to be, no matter what different turns his life could've taken.

He kissed her forehead, resisting the urge to do anymore. They didn't need to be caught in the same room like this…

Connor tried to sneak out of the room only to find himself almost immediately face to face with his father.

"Sleep well last night?" Angel asked.

Connor groaned inwardly. Wasn't this just his luck… "Yes, as a matter of fact I did," he replied, looking back at Angel defiantly.

"You said you weren't going to do that again."

"This isn't any of your business, Angel."

"It damn well is my business! You're under my roof right now, Connor. It's bad enough to think about you doing this anywhere, but you will not do it here."

"What I do in private is never your business. I'm an adult."

"Well she's not! Her parents put her under my protection when they sent her here, and I'm not going to allow you to continue to take advantage of her." Angel's tone was dark, his voice almost a growl.

"Take advantage? That isn't what I'm doing. And you have really got to cut the hypocritical crap. It's getting old real fast."

"What I've done in the past isn't the issue here. You're making a mistake, and I can't just sit by and watch you do that. I'm your father."

"Yeah, and you've done such a great job with that."

Angel's entire body was tense as he fought to keep himself in check. "Connor, try to put aside whatever resentment you have for me, and look at this rationally. What about what we discussed last night—the prophecy? This isn't exactly the way to keep her from getting pregnant."

"We talked about that. She's on birth control."

"Yeah, well, your mother was a vampire. No better birth control than that, and look what happened." Angel jerked his hand towards Connor.

"If it's a prophecy, Angel, there's not much I can do about it anyway. What am I supposed to do…sign it away?"

Angel's eyes narrowed. "Connor…"

"I'm going back to bed," Connor said, turning towards Anne's door.

"In there?"

"Yeah. No point in sneaking out if you already know."

"No. I'm not letting you stay here if you're doing that."

Connor turned back around, meeting his father's eyes. "Then I'll wake Anne up and we'll leave."

"This is insane! You barely know her. Not to mention the fact that you have a wife. Why are you acting this way about that girl?" Angel sneered. "Is the sex that good?"

"It's not about that. Not completely anyway… I feel something with her, Angel. Something that I don't think I can fight. And if we're linked together through a prophecy…"

"We don't know that for sure, Connor. It's just a theory. I need to call Buffy, find out what else she knows about that. She has the Council researching the things the demons have said when they've attacked Anne."

"Are you going to tell her about the latest addition to that?"

"That they called you her mate? Do you want me to?"

Connor sighed. "I don't know. It could help figure out what all of this means and get these demons off Anne's back, but…"

"Her parents would kill you?"

"I'm thinking more along the lines of tag-team torture followed by slow, painful death."

"Yeah, there's always that. And you're still going back in that room, aren't you?"

"I shouldn't have left in the first place. I shouldn't make her wake up alone."

Angel knew the only way to keep his son from going back to Anne was to physically restrain him, and he wasn't sure he was quite up to that at the moment. "Could you at least knock it off with the sex? She's underage, and her parents have access to an army. Really some things you might want to consider."

"I'll keep that in mind." Connor went back into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

Anne was sitting up in the bed, the sheet wrapped tightly around her. "I didn't think you were coming back."

"I wasn't going to."

Anne turned her gaze down, staring at the bed. "Oh."

"But I did." He sat beside her on the bed. "I just didn't want Angel going off. I didn't want to leave you, Anne."

"I heard you talking to Angel out there, so I guess that isn't really an issue now…"

"He isn't happy."

Anne looked up slightly, giving him a small smile. "Is he ever?"

"Not with anything I do, I think." He took her hand. "Last night really meant something to me, Anne. I want you to know that."

"It meant something to me, too, Connor. It meant a lot to me."

"I just wish…god, I wish you were older."

Anne snatched her hand away, letting his fall to the mattress. "That really matters to you?"

"How can it not? You're sixteen. I'm technically old enough to be your father."

"Do you feel fatherly type feelings towards me?"

"No, of course not."

"So that's not really a problem."

Connor ran his hand through his hair. "It is a problem. What we've been doing—it's illegal. The age of consent here is eighteen, and you're a couple years shy of that. And I'm married."

"Leave her! We can go to England. I'm legal there."

"I can't do that, Annie. I have a wife. We've been married for ten years. I've known you two days."

"So, what? I'm just a bloody fling to you? Is that all this is?"

"No! I told you this meant something to me."

"You said last night meant something to you. Last night. Does that mean that's it? It was fun, but it's over now?"

"No, I just…" Connor stood up again. "I don't know how to handle this. I can't just walk away from my marriage."

"Yes you can! There's something powerful between us. I know you feel it."

"I do, but Anne, I have to be realistic. I've built a whole life for myself. I can't just throw it all away because I'm attracted to you."

"Tell me honestly, Connor, do you have any intentions of stopping the affair as long as I'm in the Los Angeles?"

Connor let out a deep breath. "No."

"So you were what, planning to fuck me for a little while, sow your wild oats, and then go back to your calm, suburban existence with your frigid wife?"

"No! I just…I can't stop when you're near. I know I should, but I can't fight it."

"And doesn't that tell you anything?"

"It tells me I'm a dirty old man with no self control."

"Would you stop that? I'm old enough to make my own decisions!" Anne met his eyes, desperation clearly written on her face. "We're so good together, Connor. I know you feel it."

"I do. And god, Anne, I want you. But Laura… I can't just abandon her."

"Get out."

"Anne…"

"Get out!" Anne was screaming now, her body shaking with anger. "Get away from me!"

"Anne, please…"

Anne grabbed the lamp from the bedside table, throwing it just past Connor's head so it smashed against the wall. "Out!"

Connor didn't say anything else, just backed out of the room and shut the door behind him.

Anne pulled her knees to her chin, unable to stop the tears that fell from her eyes.


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