Disclaimer: All characters and things from ANGEL and BUFFY belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. If they aren't on the show they belong to me.
Summary: A different turn of events after Season 1 Episode 12 "Expecting" A/C pairing
CHAPTER 57Angel drove the car around a few blocks trying to see if anyone had spotted Dana. So far every time they got out to ask people, someone had seen her, which helped Angel, Spike, Jess, Wesley, and Gunn narrow down the area they had to look for her in.
Angel parked on a side street, and looked around the car at the rest of the gang. "We should probably look for her by foot now. We have a few blocks that she could be in. If we keep driving we might miss her."
Jess nodded, agreeing with her father. "We should stick together though. None of us can handle her alone."
"Alright." Angel said, getting out of the car, as his phone rang. "Who is that?"
Jess picked up her dad's phone. "Lorne."
"I'll call him back later." Angel said. "Everyone leave your phones, we don't need them going off if we are trying to track this girl."
Everyone in the car nodded, placing their phones on the seat and then following Angel down the street. The walked about two blocks with no sign of Dana or anyone hurt.
"Maybe she isn't around here." Gunn offered. "This street seems pretty quiet."
Angel took in the smells around him. He could smell her faintly. "No. She's been here."
Spike agreed. "Not to long ago either."
"Well, where could she have gone?" Wesley asked.
Suddenly, the group heard a desperate scream coming from a few blocks over.
"You had to ask?" Jess asked Wesley sarcastically as the group quickly took off in the direction the cries were coming from.
Lorne and Fred had gotten Cordelia situated in the room of the hospital wing designed just for her, and so far had not left her side. They were all still waiting for the doctor to arrive.
"Did anyone get a hold of Angel?" Cordelia asked, trying to ignore the pain she was in.
"He'll be here, cupcake, don't worry." Lorne ignored Cordelia's direct question because he didn't want to upset.
"Did anyone call him?" Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the demon, and then Fred. Even while she was in labor, the seer commanded a hell of a lot of respect.
"We're trying Cordy." Fred tried to calm Cordelia down.
"He's not answering his phone." Cordelia snorted, knowing Angel all to well. "You would think that if he was going to answer his phone, now would be the time to do it! It's so typical of him—AHH!"
Fred looked down at the stopwatch in her hand as Cordelia had another contraction. "That's eighteen minutes apart."
Cordelia let out a gasp as the contration passed and then she collapsed down into her pillow. "Angel better get his butt here soon!"
Just then the door to the room opened, and Cordelia held her breath, hoping it would be Angel, but it was only Dr. Scott.
Dr. Scott smiled at Cordelia. "Mrs. Angel, how are you feeling?"
"I'm in labor." Cordelia snorted. "How do you think I feel?"
Dr. Scott laughed to himself. "Well, let's just see how everything is going, then."
Cordelia sighed again and fell back into her pillow. Where was Angel?
Angel and Jessica led the group around a corner, but stopped short when they saw Dana over a man's body. She looked distraught and confused, but she quickly looked up when she heard Angel, Jess, Gunn, Wesley, and Spike approach.
"Dana?" Angel called out, cautiously moving toward the slayer.
Dana seemed to panic, and then quickly jumped through a basement window of the building she was standing by before anyone from the fang gang could even blink.
"Brilliant." Spike snorted. "You scared her off."
"Okay, new plan." Angel turned to the group. "Wesley, Gunn, you two go get the police to get this body up…" He pointed to the man Dana had previously been standing over. "And then tell the firm to send me down something to restrain Dana in so we can get her back to the office."
Gunn and Wesley nodded.
"What are you going to do?" Wesley asked.
"Me, Spike, and Jess are going in there after her." Angel nodded toward the building.
"Be careful, man." Gunn said, before he and Wesley took off down the street to get the police.
"Okay." Angel looked at the building Dana had gone into. "Spike, you take the back door, me and Jess will take the front. Be on guard, she's strong."
"Are we taking her down or?" Jess asked.
"No. Not unless we have no choice. I want to keep her safe, it isn't her fault this happened to her." Angel told his daughter.
Spike nodded in agreement. "I'll meet you inside."
"Be careful." Jessica's eyes connected with the blonde vampire and he could tell she meant the words she said to him.
"You too." Spike said back to Angel and Jess before he took off around the building.
Cordelia left out a sigh as Fred wiped the sweat up from the seer's forehead. The doctor had told Cordelia she was progressing rather slowly which Cordelia viewed as both good and bad. Good, because it gave Angel more time to get there, but bad because it meant she would be in pain for a hell of a lot longer.
"I'm going to go try Angel again." Lorne stood.
"Try Jess too." Cordelia said weakly. "Or Spike or Gunn or Wesley. Try them all."
Lorne nodded before exiting the room.
Cordelia turned to Fred. "I can't believe the irony in this."
"What do you mean?" Fred asked.
"Angel's been home the past few weeks doing nothing. The one time he has a case I go into labor." Cordelia snorted, rubbing her belly as she felt small spurts of pain cross it.
"Cordy, just relax. Angel will get here soon, it's not good for you or the baby to worry about it." Fred said softly.
"Fred, why isn't he answering?" Cordelia asked. "I mean, he can't work his phone great, but he can pick it up, and Jess and the rest of them can work a cell phone."
Fred nodded. "That's true."
"Nobody's answering." Cordelia whispered, her eyes pleading with Fred's.
"What are you saying?" Fred asked.
"What if something is wrong?" Cordelia was struggling to hold back tears, and Fred couldn't tell if they were tears of pain or tears of worry.
"I'm sure everything is fine, Cordy." Fred said. "Why don't you just rest?"
Angel and Jess slowly made their way into the building and over to the basement door, both of them holding their breaths, not like either actually needed to breathe. Angel looked at his daughter who gave him a quick nod and then watched the vampire knock the door down.
Jess and Angel quickly scrambled down the stairs, not needing time to let their eyes adjust to the dark.
"Dana?" Angel called out, scanning the room.
Neither Jessica nor Angel could see Dana anywhere in the room.
"She did come in here, right?" Jess asked.
Angel looked up at the broken window that Dana had jumped through. "Yeah, she did."
Suddenly, Jess felt something drive through her shoulder. She collapsed to the floor, crying out in pain as Angel quickly made his way to her side, seeing that a screwdriver was lodged in her right shoulder.
"Dad, behind you!" Jess managed out just in time so Angel could dodge Dana's neck blow.
Angel quickly got to his feet; countering each swing Dana took at him with a huge axe. "Dana, we want to help you."
Dana shook her head. "Evil…must die."
"Okay, now just relax, doll." Spike said, from behind Dana.
"Spike!" Angel shouted. "Take her down, I've got to get Jess out of here!"
Spike nodded, taking a few swings at Dana.
"I'm fine, Dad." Jess said, standing with Angel's help and then pulling the screwdriver out of her shoulder. "We've got to finish what we started. We've got to get her back to the firm."
Angel nodded, turning back to Dana, only to find her gone, and Spike in a heap on the floor. Angel then smelt the distinct odor of blood. "Spike! I told you not to hurt her!"
"I didn't!" Spike whimpered out.
"I smell blood!" Angel growled.
Spike nodded, holding up his arms so that Angel could see the vampire no longer had either hand. "Yeah, my blood."
"Spike!" Jess rushed forward as Spike collapsed into her arms. "Dad! She cut his hands off."
"Where did she go?" Angel shook Spike.
"Window." Spike managed out.
Angel nodded. "Jess, get Spike's hands, and get him back to the law firm.
Jess nodded, gagging as she picked up Spike's two limp hands. "I need to get them in ice."
Angel looked around, spotting the small refrigerator on one side of the basement. "In there!"
Jess moved quickly, filling a bucket she found with ice and then dropping Spike's hands in it. She then turned back to the blonde vampire, throwing him over her shoulder. Spike was glad the girl had demon strength.
"Where are you going?" Jess asked Angel as he handed his daughter the car keys.
"After Dana." Angel told his daughter.
"Dad…" Jess went to argue.
"Just get Spike back." Angel said. "He needs help."
Jess sighed, knowing Angel was right. "Be careful."
Angel nodded as he watched his daughter hurry up the stairs. He then turned to the window Dana had exited through and followed the slayer.
Lorne was standing in the hallway, pacing. He had tried Angel and Jessica's phone four times each now. He decided he should try Wesley now. To his surprise, after a few rings, Wesley answered.
"Wesley?" Lorne was relieved.
"Yes?" Wesley asked on the other end of the line, in a hurried voice. "What is it Lorne? We're busy."
"Where's Angel?" Lorne asked.
"Tracking the girl. She is rather dangerous, a slayer actually." Wesley said. "So unless this is urgent, I suggest you stop calling."
"Wes, it's Cordelia." Lorne told the ex-watcher.
"What about her?" Wesley's tone of voice changed immediately at the mention of Cordelia. Lorne could tell he was worried about the seer. "Is something wrong?"
"She's in labor." Lorne told him. "And she wants Angel."
"Damn it." Wesley mumbled. "I don't even know where he is. He, Spike, and Jess went to follow the girl."
"Well, I suggest you find him, because Cordelia is about ready to stake him if he ever gets here." Lorne said.
"I can imagine." Wesley told the demon. "I'll try to find him, just don't tell Cordelia you don't know where he is."
"And risk my head? I'm just going to say he'll get here as soon as he can." Lorne said.
"Good." Wesley sighed. "Thanks for calling, Lorne."
"You better go find the vampire." Lorne said, referring to Angel.
"Yes." Wesley agreed, and hung up the phone.
Gunn had contacted the firm and was waiting at the beginning of the alley, watching the police remove the body of the man when he saw Jess come around the corner with Spike swung over one shoulder, and blood dripping down the other.
Gunn rushed forward. "Jess? What happened?"
"Dana attacked us." Jess told Gunn. "Chopped Spike's hands off."
Gunn looked down at the bucket in Jessica's hand and turned away when he saw Spike's hands lying in the ice. "Ouch."
"Bloody right." Spike chuckled weakly. Jess could tell they were losing him. "He's losing a lot of blood. I need to get him back to the office."
Gunn nodded, helping Jess get Spike into Angel's car. "How are you?" He motioned to her shoulder.
Jess looked at the blood dripping down her arm. "Fine. I'll be fine."
Just then Wesley came from across the street, frantic. "Jess! Jess!"
"What?" Jess turned to Wesley. "Spike got hurt, I need to get him back to the office."
"It's your mother!" Wesley told her.
Jess froze in place, panic shooting across her face. "My mom? What's wrong? What happened to her?"
"She went into labor." Wesley told her.
The coloring in Jessica's face completely faded as she stood there, taking in the words she had just heard.
"Jess?" Wesley questioned the girl softly.
Jess snapped out of her trance. "When? When did she go into labor?"
Wesley shrugged. "I'm not sure. Lorne called to find your father."
Jess nodded. "I should go get him. He went after Dana."
"Uh, luv?" Spike called out from the back seat, hardly able to open his eyes.
"You have to get him back." Gunn told Jessica, motioning to Spike. "If you don't, he'll die. Get back to the law firm, get to your mother, we'll find your dad."
Jess nodded slowly, getting in the car. "Okay. Okay, sounds good." She then turned the car on, checked Spike, and took off down the street.
"You think she's okay to drive?" Gunn asked, watching Jessica's car speed out of sight.
"She seemed worried." Wesley said. "We need to find Angel."
"He'll be worse then Jess was." Gunn commented.
Wesley nodded. "And from the looks of Spike and Jess, Dana could give Angel a good beating."
"Yeah." Gunn said, as he watched the trucks from the firm turn the corner. "And here comes back up."
Cordelia let out a gasp of pain as she gripped onto Fred's hand until the contraction was over. She then slumped back into the pillow, breathing heavily. "Where the hell is Angel?" She barked. "I'm going to stake him! I swear it! He did this to me and he's not even here! He's a dead man!"
Fred was taken back by Cordelia's sudden outburst. A few hours ago she had been crying that Angel wasn't going to be there, and now she wanted him dead. "Um, Cordy…"
"What?" Cordelia snapped at Fred, clearly in a lot of pain.
Fred just looked down at her hands, not knowing what to say to Cordelia. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about the awkward silence in the room for long as Lorne quickly entered, a huge grin on his face.
"Good news, darlings." Lorne told the two women.
"Did I set the world record for longest labor ever?" Cordelia snorted, sarcastically.
"Cordy, you've only been in labor for about ten hours." Fred reminded her.
"Seems longer." Cordelia narrowed her eyes at Fred.
"Anyway, back to the good news." Lorne said. "I just got off the phone with Wesley and…"
Lorne's voice trailed off as he saw Fred rapidly shaking her head from the demon not to mention Angel's name. However, Lorne didn't catch on very quickly.
"And they've been busy on the case, but Angel is going to get here as soon as he can." Lorne finished.
Fred threw her hands up in the air, and waited for Cordelia to start snapping the minute Angel's name came into the conversation.
"Is he okay?" Cordelia's voice was filled with concern and Fred's jaw practically fell open at the complete turn around Cordelia had done yet again when it came to Angel. Ten minutes ago, the seer was ready to stake the vampire, and now she was worried about him.
"Well, yeah." Lorne honestly didn't know. Wesley hadn't said much; just that he didn't know where Angel was exactly.
Cordelia's eyes narrowed at the demon, she knew Lorne wasn't telling her exactly everything. "Lorne…what aren't you telling me?"
"What? Nothing." Lorne cringed under Cordelia's intense stare. Lucky for him, another contraction hit her before she could get another word in, and Cordelia cried out in pain.
Angel tracked Dana down a block and into an alley. He looked around to see that the alley ended in a dead end and there was nowhere for Dana to go, no way out. Except, he couldn't find Dana in the alley.
Angel's eyes darted from one side of the dark street to the other, looking for any sign of movement. He knew Dana was there, he just didn't know where. Suddenly, he felt himself being kicked in the back and fell straight down.
Angel quickly got to his feet, turning on his heal to find himself face to face with Dana. She grinned at the vampire.
"Dana." Angel narrowed his eyes at the girl. "I don't want to hurt you. I need you to listen to me."
"Evil!" Dana spat at him.
"No." Angel shook his head. "I'm not. You just have to trust me and listen to me…"
Angel's voice faded as felt Dana's fist connect with his face. He scrambled back to his feet, his game face on. "Okay, fine, you want to play rough, we can do that." He lunged at Dana, knocking her against the wall.
Jess rushed into the hospital wing of Wolfram and Hart with Spike swung over her shoulder and his hands in the bucket she was carrying. She scrambled to the front desk to find a short, stocky nurse sitting behind it.
"We need a doctor!" She told the nurse.
The nurse looked up at Spike, and then at Jessica's wound.
"What happened?" The nurse asked.
"His hands." Jess plopped the bucket on the counter. "He needs a doctor."
"I'll go find Dr. Scott. He's head of reconstruction surgery." The nurse told her.
"I thought he delivered babies." Jess recalled hearing his name in conversations with her mother.
"We don't get too many of those, so he does the reconstruction surgeries too." The nurse said. "He can probably patch up you as well."
Jess looked down at her shoulder. "I'm fine."
"You should really get it look at-"
"I'm fine!" Jess snapped. "Go get the damn doctor or I'll find him my damn self!"
The nurse nodded, slightly startled by Jessica's temper, and took off down the hallway.
Gunn and Wesley led the backup vehicles from Wolfram and Hart on a wild goose chase around downtown L.A. Neither knew where exactly to look for Angel, and both feared he was either dust, or going to miss the birth of his child. They needed to find the vampire, and they needed to find him fast.
"You know Cordelia will kill us if Angel doesn't get back there before she has the baby, right?" Gunn looked over at Wesley who was driving.
Wesley nodded, swallowing hard. "I'm well aware of that."
"So then we can tell her it's your fault we couldn't find him, right?" Gunn asked.
"What?" Wesley was taken back. "No."
"Well, I figured, you've known her longer, so she might be easier on you."
Wesley raised an eyebrow at Gunn. "Let's just find Angel."
Gunn nodded, looking out the window. "Stop!"
Wesley slammed on the breaks, throwing both men forward. "What?"
Gunn pointed down an alley. "It's Angel!"
Wesley followed Gunn's finger, seeing that indeed Angel was down the alley, fighting Dana. He then signaled for all the Wolfram and Hart trucks to pull over and go help Angel.
Cordelia was grasping tightly onto both Fred and Lorne's hands as another contraction passed and Dr. Scott was moving around down at the foot of her bed. When the contraction stopped, Cordelia propped herself up as best she could so she could see the doctor.
Dr. Scott smiled at her. "Your contractions are still ten minutes apart, Cordelia. Now, you could start progressing rapidly at his point, or it could take another couple of hours."
"Couple of hours?" Cordelia collapsed back down into her bed, exhausted and drained. "I swear it! Angel comes anywhere near me he is dead!"
Just then the nurse Jessica had talked to earlier came rushing in the room. "Doctor?"
"Yes?" Dr. Scott turned to the nurse.
"We have an emergency outside. A vampire missing both of his hands, he's lost a lot of blood, you need to get him reattached fast." The nurse explained.
Panic flew across Cordelia's face. "A vampire?" She was scared, was the vampire Angel?
The nurse nodded, and then turned back to the doctor. "And Miss Angel is out there. She has a nasty wound to her shoulder but she refuses to have it looked at."
"I'll talk to her." Dr. Scott said, leading the nurse out of the room.
Cordelia's eyes immediately darted from Fred or Lorne, who were also taken back by the nurse's story.
"Cordy, I'm sure everything is fine..." Fred tried to calm the pregnant woman down.
"It's Angel." Cordelia was fighting back tears. "And Jess…"
"I'll go talk to Jess." Lorne stood. "The nurse said she was out there."
Cordelia nodded, and watched Lorne exit her room.
Lorne made his way down the hall of the hospital wing to find Dr. Scott and the nurse loading someone onto a stretcher while Jessica was fiercely shaking her head at anything the doctor or nurse said to her.
Jessica then looked down the hall, and caught Lorne's eye. A small smile of relief crossed her face as she began sprinting up the demon.
"Lorne!" Jess called out. "Where's my mom?"
"Down the hall, second door on the left." Lorne told her, looking back to the stretcher, but still unable to see who was on it.
"Okay." Jess nodded. "Stay with Spike."
"Spike?" Lorne asked.
"That's him." Jess pointed to the stretcher. "He got his hands hacked off, long story. Just, stay with him, I have to go get to my mom."
Lorne nodded as he watched Jessica hurry down the hall.
Gunn and Wesley quietly made their way down the alley that Angel was fighting Dana in, with half of Wolfram and Hart behind them. They stopped a few feet short of the vampire and slayer and looked at each other.
Wesley nodded, knowing what Gunn wanted him to do. "Angel?"
Angel turned, with Dana in a headlock, to see Gunn, Wesley, and his employees. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Let us take care of Dana." Gunn told him.
Angel shook his head while Dana managed to sweep the vampire off of his feet. Angel countered, throwing Dana into the brick wall, and watching her slump down for a moment. She was losing her steam.
"I can't." Angel said, not taking his eyes off Dana. "She's too dangerous."
"Angel, Cordelia is in labor!" Wesley spat out before he even realized what he was saying.
Angel's expression went blank. "What?" He turned to his two friends.
"Cordy's having the baby." Gunn repeated what Wesley had said.
"I…I…" Angel's mind was racing a million miles a minute. So fast, in fact, that he had forgotten about Dana and she pounced on him. He turned quickly, kicking her off of him, and watching as two people from Wolfram and Hart hit her with two tranquilizers, knocking the slayer right down.
"You need to get back to the firm." Wesley told Angel, who just nodded slowly at the ex-watcher's words. "We'll take care of Dana. We'll bring her back to the firm with us so we can decide what to do."
"Yeah." Angel nodded again as he felt himself running towards the law firm. It was a few miles away, but it didn't matter to the souled vampire. All he could think about was Cordelia and their child and how he wasn't able to be there when Cordelia probably needed him the most.
Cordelia was breathing heavily, and moaning in pain as the door to her hospital room swung open. Her eyes were closed tight as a contraction passed, and she didn't even open them when she heard the door opened. She just assumed it was Lorne or the doctor.
"Mom!" Jessica's voice filled the room as she rushed to her mother's side.
Cordelia's eyes flew open at the sound of her daughter's voice. "Jess?"
Jess nodded, as Cordelia pulled her daughter close to her. "Your shoulder." Cordelia touched Jessica's bloodstained shoulder blade. Even in labor Cordelia acted like a mother.
Jess shrug her injury off. "It's fine."
"Your father?" Cordelia practically whispered. She didn't want to hear what happened to Angel.
"Is on his way." Jess told her. "The girl was a slayer, or something. Me, Dad, and Spike went after her but she cut Spike's hands off so I had to get him back here fast."
"Spike's hands are gone?" Cordelia was worried about Spike, but relieved Angel was okay.
Jess nodded. "Yeah."
"Then where the hell is your father?" Cordelia barked at her daughter.
Jess looked up at Fred who just shrugged, knowing that throughout the entire labor Cordelia had either been worried sick about Angel or ready to push him out into broad daylight.
"He's on his way…OUCH!" Jess felt her mother's hand clamp around her own as another contraction made his way through Cordelia's body. "Mom! MOM! MY FINGERS!" Jess tried desperately to get out of her mother's grasp but it was no use.
Once the contraction passed Cordelia let go of Jessica's limp hand and allowed it to fall onto her huge stomach.
"That hurt." Jess wiggled her hand to get the blood flowing back into it.
"That hurt? That hurt?" Cordelia snapped. "I have been in pain for over fourteen hours, and you have the nerve to complain about me squeezing your hand?"
Jessica's eyes grew wide at her mother's sudden attitude, as she watched Cordelia continue to rant.
"When your father gets here I am going to kill him for doing this to me, do you understand?" Cordelia asked. "So, if I were you I'd make sure his ass stays out in the hallway and away from me…forever!"
"Cordelia…" Fred tried.
"Fred! No!" Cordelia snapped.
Fred looked at Jessica and then stood. She had dealt with Cordelia long enough today, and felt she deserved a break. She'd let Jessica deal with her mother for a little, she decided, as she left the room.
"Mom…" Jess started.
Cordelia shook her head fiercely. "I hate your father right now! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!" Suddenly, Cordelia's eyes grew wide as she had yet another contraction. She let out a scream of pain, clutching her fists together. When it was over, she collapsed down into her pillow, tears of frustration running down her face.
Then Cordelia felt cold hands run over her sweaty hairline, and someone plant a kiss on her forehead with cold lips.
"It's alright, it's all going to be alright." Angel's voice pounded in Cordelia's ears.
Cordelia opened her eyes to see that, indeed, Angel was standing there in front of her. Bruised, and bloody, but still standing. "Angel?" She said weakly as she felt more tears rise in her eyes.
"I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, Cordy. I didn't know." Angel sat down on the side of Cordelia's bed opposite Jessica, taking Cordelia's hand in his and kissing it.
Cordelia nodded, fighting back her tears as she took in everything around her. Here she was, having a baby with her other child on one side of her, and the man she loved on the other side. She really had nothing more she could ask for.
Then she felt the same pain of a contraction ripping through her body, and she remembered why she wanted to kill Angel earlier. "Angel!" Cordelia screamed. "Look what you did to me!"
"Me?" Angel look confused. "Cordy, this wasn't just me. You had some part in it too..."
"Uh! Kid in the room." Jess reminded her parents, not wanting to hear about how her soon-to-be little brother or sister was conceived.
"Jess!" Cordelia panted. "Get the doctor! Get the doctor! I think this is it!"
Jess was shocked, but found herself nodding, and quickly making her way to the door, and out into the hall to find Dr. Scott.