Anne opened her eyes slowly, trying to sit up, only to feel a warm hand push her back down. "Don't get up. Your wound needs more time to heal."

Anne settled back down against the pillows, happy to stay where she was. It had hurt to move in the first place. She looked to the side, smiling weakly at Connor. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Connor said, smiling back. Just seeing her eyes open again made him happier than he remembered being in a long time. "You scared me there."

Anne grimaced, thinking about how her temper tantrum had almost gotten her killed. "I'm sorry."

Connor pushed her hair away from her forehead. "Not your fault. I was the one that made you run out like that. God, if anything had happened to you…"

Anne took his hand, giving it the strongest squeeze she could manage. "Wouldn't have been your fault. I was the one dumb enough to put myself in that sort of danger."

"I still almost lost you. You were bleeding so much, and…" Connor's voice trailed off as he brought her hand to her lips, kissing it softly.

"But you saved me," Anne said. "I saw you, the way you fought for me. You saved my life."

"I don't feel much like a hero."

"You're mine."

Connor leaned over, kissing her forehead. "You need to get more rest. Let that wound heal."

Anne didn't want to sleep anymore, but she was too tired to fight it. Her eyes drifted shut again.

Connor pressed one more kiss against her hand before letting it go. He got up from his chair beside her bed and went downstairs to look for his father, finding him in the office. "Anne woke up," he said as he walked in. "She's out again now, but she did come to for a few minutes."

"How did she seem?"

"Good. Well, good for someone with a serious injury. I think she's going to heal up just fine."

"She should. She heals like us."

"I'm worried about her, Angel," Connor said. "She's more vulnerable like this. And she can't go back to London now. We can't move her."

"I know," Angel replied. "I called her parents. Her father is coming here."

Connor's eyes widened. "What? When?"

"As soon as possible. Buffy wanted to come, too, but he convinced her to stay with the other two children. They're younger than Anne. The youngest is only six. But her father will help protect Anne."

"Yeah, right after he kills me," Connor muttered.

"Well, I guess you should've thought about that before you slept with the man's daughter."

"You won't tell him, will you?" Connor asked.

"No. For one thing, he'd hold me responsible for it, too. I was the one that sent her off with you, after all."

"Good point. He'll kill both of us."

Angel snorted. "He can try."

"I for one would rather he didn't." Connor leaned against the wall. "She looks so weak, Angel. None of that fire I love so much about her."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Love?"

Connor looked at his father with a start. "Don't analyze anything I say right now. I'm not thinking clearly."

"I've caught that, actually."

Connor gave Angel an annoyed look, but then he sighed, worry returning to his features. "I panicked when I saw that demon on her. Hell, I panicked before that. I heard her scream, and then her blood… And I fought like I haven't in years. I didn't even think. I just knew I had to kill them all before they got to her. I had to protect….I had to protect my…"

"Your mate," Angel said, filling in the word Connor didn't want to say.

"Yeah." Connor ran a hand through his hair. "This is insane. I have a life. A good life that I've worked hard to build. And she's…she's a sixteen year old girl. Why can't I keep myself from feeling this way about her?"

"Maybe it's genetic."

"That's not funny."

"I wasn't kidding."

"I don't know what I'm going to do. Laura will be back soon. What do I say to her? 'Sorry honey, knew I said forever, but then I met this really hot sixteen year old girl?' And then what? I drop everything here, move to England, and ask Buffy Summers if she minds me shacking up with her teenaged daughter? Sure, that'll end up with me in one piece."

"Who knows. Buffy at sixteen…"

Connor cut him off. "Would you have ever wanted me doing any of the things you did at sixteen?"

"Hell no." Angel frowned. "I see your point."

"I'm in trouble either way. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I can go back to Laura. After being with Anne, the thought of being with my wife again makes me feel cold."

"You know, I never thought Laura was right for you," Angel said. "Not that I'm saying Anne is, but at least I can see the connection there. Laura never seemed to appreciate you. She just wanted to turn you into something else."

"I know. I wanted to be something else. I scare myself, Dad."

Angel blinked. Connor calling him "dad" these days was…rare to say the least. "I know. And believe me, I can relate to that. But are Laura and the life she wants you to live really the answer?"

"You wanted me to be normal."

"I wanted you to be happy."

Connor let out a heavy sigh. "I can't let myself go. It's too dangerous. After what happened with Jasmine…"

"Connor, that wasn't your fault. You were manipulated by a very powerful evil force. We all were. You can't keep carrying the blame for that."

"I was easily manipulated, Angel. And with what I am, it made it all the worse. I'm the Destroyer. And I destroy everything I touch."

"Connor…"

"I need to go back upstairs and check on Anne. I want to be there for her when she wakes up."

"Yeah, okay. Call down here if you need anything."

"I will." Connor left his father alone and went back upstairs to Anne's bedside, holding her hand as she slept.


The pain was already less this time than when she'd woken up the last time. Anne looked to her side and saw Connor in a chair, his eyes closed. She smiled. He'd been watching over her. That had to mean something, didn't it?

Anne coughed, and Connor's eyes popped back open. He smiled when he saw her looking up at him. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better. And…" Anne frowned. "Hungry."

Connor chuckled lightly. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. Do you want me to get you something to eat?"

"Please. Something light, though. Maybe some soup?"

"Anything you want. I'll be right back."

"Okay. And some water, too. I'm really thirsty."

Connor gave her a soft kiss. "Sure thing."

Anne stared up at the ceiling as she waited for Connor to come back. Despite the pain in her stomach, it warmed her to think of him taking care of her like this. He'd saved her life, and now he was watching over her. He wanted her with him, no matter what he'd said earlier.

Connor was back fairly quickly, carrying a tray into the room. "Is chicken with rice okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Anne said, grimacing as she tried to sit up. Connor set the tray down on the floor, propping the pillows up behind Anne's head to help her. "Thanks."

"Do you want me to help you eat?"

Anne hated to think of herself as having to be fed like a child. But she felt so weak, and her hands trembled every time she tried to lift them. "You don't mind?"

Connor brushed his hand softly against her cheek. "Of course not. I'm here for whatever you need."

"Thank you."

Connor sat on the edge of the bed with the bowl of soup, feeding Anne spoonfuls as well as helping her drink the water when she asked for it. It made his heart clench to see her this weak, and he had to keep reminding himself how strong she really was. She'd be back to her usual strength soon and then…

Connor stopped his thoughts there. And then what? He didn't know, and he didn't want to think about it. He'd just focus on the now, when he knew he could give her what she needed.

Anne looked tired again as she finished eating. "You need to lie down?" Connor asked, setting the empty soup bowl and water glass back on the tray.

Anne nodded. "Yeah. I'm not exactly feeling like my normal energetic self."

"You're using all your energy to heal. Which is good. Means you're getting better." Connor lowered her pillows again, helping Anne to lie back down.

"It doesn't hurt as much."

"Good."

"Connor? Can you…can you stay here in the bed with me instead of the chair? Please?"

He didn't even consider telling her no. She was hurt, and she needed him to take care of her. He took off his shoes before sliding in beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "Is this better?"

"Much," Anne replied, holding him close to her. They were silent for a while, and Anne's hand crept up to play with the small Celtic cross he had dangling from a chain around his neck. "I been noticing this," she said. "Do you always wear it?"

"Yeah. Reminds me of what I'm not."

He didn't have to say anything else for her to know what he meant by that. He wasn't a vampire. He wasn't his father… "Did you get it when you were in Ireland?"

"Yes. A woman I knew there gave it to me." At the sight of her raised eyebrow, he quickly added, "It wasn't like that. She was just a friend. She had grandchildren. But she helped me through a lot."

"Oh." There was a pause, and Anne spoke again. "Why did you leave Ireland? Didn't you like it there?"

"I did. I liked it a lot more than Los Angeles… But I still felt restless. I thought maybe if I came back here, worked through some issues with my father that I could move on."

"Did you do that?"

"No. Well, some, I guess. I don't want to kill him or anything. But there's still issues."

"So why did you stay? If L.A. wasn't giving you what you needed either…"

"I met Laura. I was a mess then. I was floating from job to job, relationship to relationship, no real stability in my life. I was working at this restaurant for a while, and Laura's sister was one of the waitresses. Laura would give her a ride home every night, and sometimes she'd come in and talk to me while we were closing. She seemed so…together. She'd just graduated from Stanford, and she had her whole life planned. I wanted that."

"But you didn't want her?"

Connor frowned. "I don't know. I guess I did then. She wasn't like the other women I'd been with. Gave her a sort of allure. She did help me clean myself up. Got me to finish school and helped me get a job through her father. And when I told her the truth about what I was and where I came from, she stayed with me. She didn't want me to have anything to do with fighting demons anymore, but she didn't reject me."

"Yes, she did. She rejected what you really are, made you be what she wanted you to be instead."

Connor wondered what Anne would say if he told her what she'd just said mirrored many a statement made by his father… "That's what I needed to be. My life was going nowhere, Anne. I needed to be someone else."

"No, you needed to find yourself. You were lost. She wasn't the light to help you find your way."

"And you are?"

"You already know the answer to that."

Connor closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. He did know the answer. And it scared him. He opened his eyes again, looking down at Anne resting against his chest. "You need your rest. I'm sure those demons will attack again, and when they do, I don't want you to be defenseless."

"I won't be defenseless. I'll have you."

Connor pressed a kiss into her hair. "Yeah, you will."


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