Thanks for the Reviews and Welcome new reader of the story! Yes yes...Wesley and Sophia really do need each other don't they? Well let's see if I can do anything about it. This is for you Imzadi...LINDSEY...ok just a bit o' him but he will come later. Read and you'll get the answer. Yeah I'm vauge but it's all for the love of you guys. What is suspence without mystery? Ok enough of me babbleing..Here's the Fifth chapter..
By the Way: It'll start to pick up after the six chapter ..And oh! I don't own the Buffyverse (though in Myverse, I still don't)
Enjoy!
"May I?"
Wesley offered his hand to help Sophia out of the car
"Thank you" She took it and let his soft skin stroked her own silky skin and lead her out of Angel's coverable. She smiled sweetly at him while he smiled back, but that proceeded with both of themlooking down sheepishly.
"Quite the gentleman Wesley" She liked him already. Hell, she was smitten beyond belief by this kind-hearted English chap.
"The most gentle touch I've ever known" As unusual with Wesley, he remembered her touch even seconds after it happened.
After Gunn and Angel had told them that they were "needed" inside, Sophia and Wes waited outside knowing that the final preparations were being put together.
A second pang of silence between the two.
"I applaud your save earlier today"
"Oh I just thought that would be a good way to go. I mean who doesn't start the whole 'nice to meet you' process with a lively discussion of ancient demon ways?"
He chuckled at her
"Of course. Not many people would have caught the feelings of a person by just looking at them"
"I swear I will explain that later"
"I know"
"So, the party will be starting soon. You ready?"
"Always be prepared is my mantra."
"Ok Wesley, I'll believe it when I see it."
Wesley's cell phone started to ring and he picked it up.
"Excuse me. Hello?"
"Wes? It's Angel. Could you and Sophia come inside now? I need help"
"Mental. Of course. Oh your being coy because Cordelia's next to you."
"Right"
"Fine then. We'll come now"
He hung up and saw Sophia looking at him questionably
"They want us to come inside now"
"Ok. Our surprise party starts."
He motioned for her to go ahead of him
"No Wesley. Equality in the workplace and in a friendship. Although I do like the chivalry"
"That sounds reasonable. "
"All right. Let's go together"
They smiled at each other. Wesley opened the door to Caritas for Sophia
"Good listener. Chivalrous but not domineering"
They went down the stairs and, as he had promised, Wesley got on the other side of Sophia.
"Surprise!"
It was déjà vu for Sophia as everyone was glowing, figuratively of course, and smiling their little hearts out.
"Oh God!"
"This amazing everyone"
In all actuality, Sophia was a little surprised. The club was beautiful and very bright with streamers and balloons everywhere.
And in the middle was a big
"Welcome Home Wesley and Sophia!"
There was a wide variety food on a nicely decorated table with a huge cake at the end.
In all the excitement Sophia accidentally backed into Wesley, who had moved behind her to let her have her moment. He held up his hands and had instantly put his arms around her to catch her.
"Oh!" She turned her head quickly and blushed
"I'm sorry Wesley. I'm an extraordinary klutz "
"It's no trouble"
She rapidly took herself out of his strong arms and moved to the others.
"Do you do this often? Plan parties and welcomings on a daily basis?"
"It's a side thing" Cordelia was still a little memorized by the look that Wesley and Sophia shared . Sophia went around to greet everyone.
Wesley had shaken himself out of another lovely moment with Sophia and found himself being hugged by Lorne.
"Well my English muffin, how are you?"
"I'm fine Lorne and you?"
"Just peachy keen with a side of love. And you mister man, have you found a Spanish rose for yourself?"
Lorne was always in tune with emotions and would let you know if you need to act on those feelings.
"Lorne, I barely know her"
"Ever heard of a little thing called "soul mates" also this nifty word called kyruption. You two seem to have it, and you haven't even battled together, but you have it. Trust me, I am the knower of all"
Wesley thought about it for a second and was interrupted in his thinking by a huge Cordy hug"
"Hey Wes. London isn't calling for you anymore is it?"
"Not soon I don't think"
"Good because we were so lost with our big boss man"
"I missed you too Cordelia"
Fred was next with party hat in hand
"Welcome home Wesley"
"Thank you Fred, how are you?"
"Still in the honeymoon stages of marriage"
Wesley loved that the magic between his two good friends was still there, even after three years of marriage
"Always good to hear. Fred?"
"Yeah?"
"You want me to wear the hat?"
"Well, if you want. The other's wouldn't"
He took the hat and placed it on his head
"Looks perfect"
Wesley heard a voice from behind him. It was Sophia with her casual smile
Fred also noticed the way they looked at each other and thought of one word
"Kyruption. They have it. They'll fall in love and have babies. Her black hair and his blue eyes. Oh, it's gonna be great!"
"Well I guess you two met each other."
"Yes"
"Fred this is another achievement of wonderful standards."
"Oh it was nothing"
Sophia and Fred hugged and Fred whispered in her ear
"Y'all are perfect together"
Sophia looked at her wide-eyed and Fred winked.
"Ok I'm gonna see if the cake's still not eaten. Good to have you back Wes"
Sophia was about to say something but Faith came up to them.
Faith and Wesley had become friends after many years of deep seeded hatred and Faith torturing Wesley. They had become co-workers and eventually Faith had cryingly apologized to Wesley for everything she's done one night after Wesley was shot and almost killed. They developed a brother-sister relationship and Wesley had been the older sibling when Faith needed it.
She hugged him and smiled
"Hey Wes. How was jolly ol England?"
"It's still the same. Foggy and cold"
"Gotta love the Brits. And how are you Sabrina?"
"Sabrina?"
"Faith's nickname for me. But it's not because of the witch."
"The Audrey Hepburn character?"
Sophia liked that he new the reference right away
"No man has ever said that before."
"Yeah. I liked it because no one's right when they think it's the teen witch."
"That's Faithy for ya"
"Don't say anything about the nickname, Wes"
"What nickname?"
He smiled slyishly at her
"No tricks up your sleeve watcher"
Faith smiled and hugged Sophia
"Faith, can you come over here?" Fred was calling from the food table
"I'll be right back. Welcome home you two"
She left and Angel came to the two with Connor and put him in Wesley's arms.
"How about you say hi to uncle Wesley and Sophia before you go to bed? I'm going to get something to eat"
"Hi Uncle Wesley!"
"Hello Connor. How are you my little boy?"
"Ok Uncle Wes. How was Englan?
Connor couldn't pronounce 'England'. He was very advanced for his age, yet he couldn't say 'England'.
"It was fun. I brought you back a toy car"
"Yay! Thank you!"
"He's great with Connor"
"Hi Sophia…is it ok if I call you Aunt Sophia?"
"Well sure it is. I'd love that"
"Did you meet Uncle Wesley?"
"Yes I did."
"He's nice. You'll like each other because your both vwey nice"
She smiled at Connor and then at Wesley.
Angel came back and took Connor
"Ok little buddy. it's time for beddy bye"
"No daddy!"
"Connor?"
"Oh ok…Nighty night Aunt Sophia and Uncle Wesley"
"Good Night Connor. Sleep well honey"
"Good night . I'll give you the toy tomorrow'
"Promise?"
"Cross my heart"
They each gave him a kiss. Cordelia and Angel went upstairs to Lorne and Faith's apartment to set him down for his bedtime.
Lorne said hello to Sophia and Gunn talked to Wesley.
"I can see you have a thing for her"
Wesley's eyes bulged a bit
"What?"
"It's about time you have a woman. And Sophia is great for you"
"Gunn, she works for me"
"So?"
"So I need to maintain a professionalism with her"
"Right. No I understand. Did you get the memo that said half of us are married to each other or dating each other?"
"Gunn. Let it go"
"A'ight man, but you need to live a little"
Wesley salavated when he heard the phone rang
"Oh hey everyone Lindsey and Kate are calling from New York" Fred put the cell phone on speaker and let everyone listen
"Hey guys. How's the fort holding up?"
Lindsey and Kate McDonald moved from LA to escape. They wanted to leave the rough demon life after Wolfram and Hart had been destroyed. They moved to a New York suburb to start a family. Lindsey had been an enemy of Angel, but after being forced to work together on cases, they, reluctantly, formed a friendship that carried to the other members of the Angel Investigations team. Cordelia played match maker to Lindsey when she set up Kate Lockley, a friend on the force, and him. They hit it off and fell in love. After Wolfram and Hart collapsed, they decided to marry and leave the craziness behind.
"Hey Guys!" Kate was six months pregnant and both she and Lindsey were ecstatic
"Hey you two! Kate how's the baby?" Cordy had grabbed Angel when she heard Fred yell and had run down the stairs.
"Cordelia. He or she is great"
"And so is mommy dearest" Cordy was all smiles while taking to old friends
"Hey Buddy, how goes it?"
"Angel! It's great! Gunn, Faith, Fred, Lorne, Cordelia…you guys?"
They individually said hi to Lindsey and each told him how they were
"Is Wes there?"
"Hey Lindsey"
"Hey Wesley. How are ya man?"
"Good good"
"Kate, Lindsey. Sophia Avila is here now"
"It's nice to meet you Sophia"
"Hello. I've heard so much about you guys. You helped bring down a demonic empire"
"Well it was easier than it sounds. You did a great job in Sunnydale delivering Buffy and Spike's Baby." Kate had lost her rough cop edge once she fell in love and got married.
"I hope we can meet you in person soon"
"We're coming to visit after the baby is born"
"Oh yay!" Cordelia hadn't seen her good friends since they had moved away.
"We can't wait to see you and the baby."
"Oh we have news about the babies"
"It is good or bad news because if it's bad.."
"No" Lindsey laughed. He thought that after 7 years of living in demon central, his friends were only used to receiving bad news.
"Good. For once nothing bad has happened"
"We're having twins!"
Everyone exclaimed their joy over the two new tikes that were going to arrive to the happy couple.
After speaking for a couple more minutes, Kate and Lindsey said their goodbye's.
"Once the twins are born, you can expect us back in LA"
"I need to see how bad it is now that Angel is in charge"
"Funny Lind. We expect to see you soon"
"That's right you and little Cordeila"
"Or Charles"
"Or Krevlorneswath. Nice ring a ding to it"
Kate laughed
"We'll put it all in one big name"
"Poor Kid" Faith inserted her own comment
"We'll call again when we need advice on baby names. I miss all of you"
Kate always got emotional when she thought of her old friends
"We all miss you too" Cordy expressed how they all felt with her soft tone
"Bye Everyone and Sophia it was nice meeting you"
"Thanks, you too. Congratulations on the babies"
"Thank you. Bye Guys"
They all wished them luck and goodbye
The rest of the night went smoothly. Cordelia explained everything that Sophia needed to know about the past 4 years. From how Angel and Cordy met in LA, to how they became friends with Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Faith, and Fred.
Fred explained the love story of her and Gunn and what they overcame to be together.
"Mostly how to keep romance and work separate"
Faith spoke of how she made peace with herself and Wesley. She also talked about how she had improved since Sunnydale with love.
"It's not all about sex now" Sophia smiled at her. The improvements that Faith had made were immense
"I'm glad Faith. It's about time that you get what you've always wanted."
It was about 12:00 in the morning when everyone decided to go home
"It's been about 2 years since we've had a fun night out. Maybe we should have more new people come and work for us"
"Glad to have made you day, Cord"
Fred was picking up a broom about to make it swiffer clean
"Wow this place is messy"
"I can help." Sophia stopped Fred from sweeping
"Tarsus Cella"
Instantly Caritas was squeaky gleaming clean.
"Just this once"
"To quote the Beloved Bette. Did you ever know that you're my hero?" Lorne put his arms to her
Sophia laughed
Fred and Gunn said good bye and headed home to their apartment. Faith and Lorne had gone upstairs to 'continue the festivities' as Faith had put it.
"Which really means we're going to sleep as soon as we hit the pillow. I'm pooped poppy seed"
"Fine. Sleep for us."
Cordelia looked at her watch.
"All right we're gonna head home."
"I'll go get Connor, honey"
Angel kissed Cordelia on the cheek and went up the stairs.
"You are very married. I've always wanted that kiss on the cheek, look of the eyes, calling 'hon'"
"It's great. And I know you'll have it"
"And know I know why" Cordy knew a thing or two about Sophia's future love life
"Ready to go?"
Angel had a sleepy Connor in his arms and put him in his stroller.
"Yes hubby of mine"
Cordy went to hug Sophia when Wesley came from the front door from saying farewell to Fred and Gunn.
"Did you two have a good time?"
"It was wonderful, thank you for putting it together Cord. This has been a great welcome. I could say ya beat Buffy's"
"Really?"
"Yeah, and she had a dancing bear"
Cordy laughed and turned to Wesley
"So how'd you like it, Mr. Calm?"
He hugged her
"It was a Cordelia Chase-Liam party. Only the best will do. It was delightful"
"Am I not the greatest?"
"Look what you did. Straight to her head"
Angel then grabbed her waist from the back and she giggled
Sophia then smiled and side glanced at Wesley.
"Ok crazy kids, go home and sleep. We have work tomorrow"
"Fine Boss Lady. You and Wesley will get along just perfect. All work and no play."
"That'll change" Cordelia saw that her matchmaker skills were in need
"Hey I played. I played a lot today. Yeah ok I need to lighten up"
"No your right. Work comes first then a life. Wow, never again will that come out of my mouth"
"Nice to see that your subconscious is finally catching up with you, Cordy"
"Wes, I said never again. Sophia, here the keys to the hotel"
"Thanks Cord"
"We'll see you tomorrow morning Sophia. Have a good night"
"Thanks Angel, you too. And thanks for not calling me a workaholic"
"Oh never."
He smiled at her
"Good night, Wes. And drive safe"
"Thanks Angel. Good night"
"Good night . Sleep well you two "
Cordelia linked her arm with Angel's as they walked away with the stroller and a dreaming Connor.
Sophia then noticed she had no ride back home since she left her car at the hotel. She didn't want to bother anyone since Faith and Lorne were probably asleep and Cordy and Angel looked extremely exhausted.
"I'm gonna head back to the hotel"
"Do you have a ride home?"
"Well no, but I can walk it"
"This is LA and it's midnight"
"I can take care of myself. I lived in Chicago for 10 years. Not to mention I've survived the almost apocalypse. I think I can handle a few creeps or a vamp"
"I insist Sophia. I would feel better if I knew you were safe"
"All right. But I'm doing it for you. Wait. You don't have a car either."
"I'll take Lorne's"
"Are you sure he'll be ok with that?"
"I doubt he will mind"
"You've never borrowed it before"
"Caught me"
"Ok, but so that Lorne has a car in the morning. How about you drive me home to the hotel, I get my car and I drive you home?"
He looked at her as if she had just spoke in a lost alien language
"Or not."
"I'll just return the car before my way to work tomorrow"
"That works too. But my brilliant scheme was better"
Wesley found Lorne's keys on the bar.
"Who said you get to drive?" Sophia was not one to play damsel in distress
He laughed and handed her the keys.
"Thank Y-"
Then he pulled them away
"Reach for them"
"Cruel cruel creature. Your what 6'1. I'm 5'1. That's a full foot. Unfair advantage. Objection!."
"Were you ever a lawyer?"
"No just loved "The Practice". Now fork over the keys"
He relented and handed her the keys
"Thank you kind sir"
Wesley felt oddly comfortable with her. He could be a jokester one minute and then blush because she accidently touched him the next. An emotional roller coster with out the throwing up.
He opened the door for her and they headed for the car. It was a cute little convertible that Lorne had had his eye on and Faith finally pushed him to buy. Shiny and Green, it was perfect with tinted windows and a sunroof.
They drove to the Hyperion and Wesley walked her to the door.
"It was a great party"
"Yes, Cordelia, Fred, and Faith are very good with parties and welcoming people"
"Nice sentence Price. She isn't just 'people'"
"That they are. I'll see you tomorrow Wesley"
"Be sure to lock up tight. Just to be safe."
"Oh sure. Thank you"
"Have a good night Sophia"
"You too Wesley"
He turned and left Sophia with a tingly feeling she hadn't felt since Christian.
"Bright and early Sophia. You have a load of work ahead of you"
She entered the hotel and climbed the stairs. She got in her night gown and did her nightly routine. She made herself a note to call her father and tell Buffy about Wesley. She got into bed and still smelled the roses.
She sighed and went to sleep.
A pleasant dream overwhelmed her that night. She was stunned by the vividness of the imagery and the sureal feelings that came from it. But the next mornng, she had absoultely no recollection of it.
In the Next Chapter: Sophia's first day at work and Wesley's first adventures into Coffee-topia...Also Sophia plays mommy and toy builder, while failing miserably at being the next Geppeto, when Wesley intodruces her to a story of two tycoons who's story didn't have the happily ever after. Shock and awe...What's that you say? Well, yes I will tell you who they are. All you gotta do is send you thoughts to 1-800-Read the next chapter...Huh Huh? Yeah that was cheesy. Read the next chapter folks!