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 71It had been two weeks since Jessica's near to death experience and she was almost all healed, although she was sure she would carry the scars from the sword Lindsey had sliced her open with forever.
As Jessica had been healing up, the rest of the fang gang had been working with the contract she signed with Wolfram and Hart regarding Connor to try and figure out why he had suddenly gotten his memory back and what had happened to the people he used to consider his "family."
It was early in the morning when Jessica woke up. She could tell because the sun was just starting to rise outside her window. She figured she would be the only one up that early and she wanted to get in a good breakfast before everyone else raided the kitchen.
She got out of bed and carefully threw on a black tank top, trying not to stretch out the scars on her back and stomach. She then slid on a pair of jeans and made her way down the stairs.
Jess had expected the lobby to be empty and was surprised when she saw her mother sitting on the couch, playing with Erin who was attempting to swat Cordelia's hand away from her every chance she got.
"Hey." Cordelia smiled at Jessica. "Didn't expect you to be up so early."
Jess nodded. "I didn't sleep great last night."
Cordelia patted the couch next to her, motioning for Jessica to sit down. Jess made her way over, taking the seat next to her mother, and smiling down at her little sister who tried to grab for Jessica's hand.
"What's wrong?" Cordelia asked.
Jess sighed. "I'm just sick of being in here, doing nothing. I'm better now, I can go fight."
Cordelia shook her head, trying to hide her smile. "Jess, we are just worried about you. We almost lost you there for a minute, and it might not be a big deal to you that you almost died, but it matters to everyone else in this house."
Jess rolled her eyes as she leaned back into the couch. "I wish everyone would just stop worrying."
"Well, we won't." Cordelia said as she moved Erin to lay the baby onto her chest. Erin snuggled close to Cordelia, sucking her thumb.
"Well, we should start to worry about other things." Jess told her mother. "Not just me."
"What other things?" Cordelia asked, looking over at Jessica.
Jess shook her head. "Something's coming. I can feel it." She looked up at her mother, catching Cordelia's eye. "You can feel it too."
Cordelia stood quickly, shifting Erin in her arms, and not wanting to carry on this particular conversation with her daughter. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Mom…" Jess started.
"Come on." Cordelia motioned for Jessica to follow her into the kitchen. "I'll go make you some breakfast."
Jessica sighed, getting up from the couch and following her mother. Jess didn't know why, but she had a feeling deep in her gut that something big was coming. Something that would change their lives forever, she just wished she knew what it was.
Angel ran the gel through his hair one more time to make sure it was all standing straight up. He then made his way down the stairs to find Wesley, already in his office, over the contract about Connor.
"Anyone else up?" Angel asked.
Wesley nodded. "I only got up a few minute ago. I heard Cordelia and Jess in the kitchen though."
Angel nodded. "Find anything else about this contract?"
Wesley sighed. They had looked over the contract for the past two weeks, making sure they had gotten all their information. Truth was, after the first three days Wesley was sure they had found everything they needed to know, he just continued to look it over, mostly to keep Angel from going after Lindsey and Eve. He knew the longer he needed the contract, the longer Angel would wait to get even with Lindsey and Eve. Wesley truly believed Lindsey and Eve deserved something for what they had done to Jessica, but he did not believe that Angel should kill them. He didn't think Angel would be able to live with himself if he did. "Just the same stuff."
"So we got it all?" Angel asked.
"Well, what we have is that Connor's memory would come back once this contract was broken. I think logically it just took him longer to get it back because he had eighteen years written over with new memories. The rest of us only had two years written over." Wesley explained. "As for the family he used to live with, they weren't real. The Senior Partners created them specifically for Connor's memory."
"I know." Angel seemed bored. "We knew that a week ago."
"Then that means we know bloody everything." Spike said as he made his way into the office. He was annoyed they hadn't retaliated against Lindsey and Eve already. He thought they deserved what was coming to them.
Wesley nodded. "We do then."
"Then we can go after those two brainless blockheads." Spike smiled slyly as he spoke of Lindsey and Eve.
Angel nodded. "We can, and we will." He made his way out of the office with Spike and Wesley following him, to find Gunn and Connor making their way out of the basement. "What were you two doing down there?"
"Training." Connor smiled at his father.
"He was kicking my butt." Gunn nodded toward Connor as he took a seat on the couch.
"Nothing new there." Jessica said as she made her way into the lobby from the kitchen, a cup of blood in her hand.
Gunn twisted his nose at Jessica comment. "Thanks Little-Miss-Super-Strong."
"That was original." Jess said, rolling her eyes at the name Gunn had called her.
"Well, it's official." Fred's voice filled the room as she entered. "Jess is definitely feeling better. Her attitude is shining and everything."
"Yeah." Jess nodded. "I'm feeling much better." She looked up at Angel. "I can fight."
"No you can't." Cordelia said, making her way into the lobby from the kitchen with a gurgling Erin in her arms. "You're not well enough yet."
"I'm fine." Jess told her mother. "I heal fast."
"Well, speaking of fighting." Angel cut in. "We're ready to go after Lindsey and Eve."
"What?" Cordelia seemed taken back. She was sure that Angel's temper had cooled off enough by now that he wasn't going to do anything stupid, but in fact she was wrong. He still wanted Lindsey and Eve dead.
"We found everything out about Connor?" Gunn asked.
"Everything is the same as before. Connor is supposed to remember us because the contract was broken, and his family never existed." Angel repeated the facts that the Fang Gang already knew.
"And the weird part is, I don't really care that much." Connor admitted. "It's like it was all a dream."
Angel nodded, understanding. "Well, since we've got that all figured out, its time we get rid of Lindsey and Eve. We don't need them anymore." Angel's eyes went dark as he talked about Lindsey and Eve.
"Angel, this is crazy." Cordelia moved forward, grabbing Angel's arm. She would not let him do this. "You can't just go killing people. You know it's not right, you know it in your soul."
"Did you see what they did to Jess?" Angel asked, angry that Cordelia did not support him. "What they did to our daughter?"
"Yes, Angel, I saw it, I was there." Cordelia reminded him. "And I'm angry too! But you can't kill them! It doesn't prove anything."
"It proves they won't be able to do it again." Angel said.
"Angel, listen to her for a second." Gunn said. It was clear that everyone in the room disagreed with Angel's opinion on what should be done with Lindsey and Eve; well everyone except Spike, who thought Angel's plan was brilliant.
"What?" Angel looked around the room to see everyone staring at him.
"Cordelia's right." Wesley said. "You can't kill them."
"Yes I can." Angel said. "I'm very capable of it."
"We know that." Fred said. "But you should think about this."
Angel's face was like a stone.
"Angel, you go and do this and I'll lose you." Cordelia told him. "You won't be able to stand yourself after it. It might feel good for the first few minutes, the first few days, but in the long run, can you live with killing them?"
Angel looked over at Jessica to see her looking down at her hands, not really wanting to take part in the discussion. He remembered the look in her eyes as Lindsey's sword ran through her body, the blood she had lost, how she had almost died, and every ounce of anger and hate he had in his body built up. He turned back to Cordelia, his eyes cold. "Yeah, I think I could live with that." He then turned back to the rest of the room. "If no one wants to help me, fine, but I'm going." He moved to the weapons cabinet. "And I'm going now."
"I'll join you." Spike said, not missing a beat.
"That's it?" Angel looked around the room at his family. "Spike is the only one that agrees with me?"
"You can't kill them." Connor tried. "What they did was wrong, but you won't make it right this way."
"This has nothing to do with making things right." Angel told his son. He looked around the room one more time, waiting for someone else to follow him, but no one moved. "Fine. Spike, let's go."
Spiked nodded as he followed the dark haired vampire down the basement steps and to the sewer.
Fred sighed the moment Angel left the room. "What are we going to do now?"
Cordelia shrugged, absentmindedly bouncing Erin in her arms. "I don't know."
"This is going to get bad." Jess said suddenly. "He messes with Lindsey and Eve, he messes with everything that company stands for."
"You don't think he should do this?" Gunn asked her.
Jess shrugged. "I don't know what he should do. I get he's mad at them, hell, I'm mad at them, but I just feel like attacking them is not the best idea."
"Well, why didn't you say something before he left?" Gunn seemed a little ticked off. "He's doing this for you."
"You think I don't know that?" Jess asked him, anger in her voice.
"Look, it doesn't matter." Connor tried to mediate. "We just have to think here."
"There's nothing to think about." Jess stood. "Dad and Spike are going to do this regardless of what we think. That was clear the minute they walked out of here. I just have a bad feeling about it is all."
"So, we don't do anything about it?" Connor asked. "We just let them go get themselves killed."
"They won't get killed." Jess said. "They are too valuable to Wolfram and Hart. If the Senior Partners could ever find a way to get rid of either of their souls, then they would have one of their most prized monsters on hand, and they know that."
"So, you don't think your dad or Spike are in danger then?" Fred asked.
Jess shook her head. "No. The only ones in danger are us. The people Dad and Spike care about." With that Jess made her way over to the counter. "So, what are the cases today?" She gave her famous grin.
Everyone else stood in the room, completely quiet, thinking about all Jessica had just said, and realizing just how right she was. If anyone was in danger, it was them, not Angel and Spike.
Angel and Spike stopped at the sewer entrance to Wolfram and Hart. The vampires looked at each other and then back to the small hatch above their heads that led to the basement of Wolfram and Hart.
"Are we really going to try this again?" Spike asked. "I mean, going back into that building?"
"No." Angel said, and began walking again in the sewer.
Spike hunched his eyebrow, confused by Angel's actions. "Where are we going?"
"Lindsey's apartment." Angel said over his shoulder.
"Doesn't he live here?" Spike pointed up to Wolfram and Hart. "Like you guys did when you ran that damn place?"
"No." Angel shook his head. "I made sure of it a few days ago. He still owns his apartment, goes there every day."
"How do you know?" Spike asked.
Angel turned, looking back over his shoulder at Spike, semi-annoyed. "I've got an informant on it."
Spike nodded, following Angel silently for a few more blocks until Angel suddenly turned to a sewer access door.
"This leads up to Lindsey's apartment building." Angel said.
"So what are we going to do?" Spike asked. "He's not exactly going to invite us in."
"He's not home, anyway." Angel said. "He's at work."
"Okay, so what are we doing then?" Spike asked.
Angel checked his watch. "He'll be home in a half hour. He comes home everyday for lunch."
"Still got the problem of him inviting us in." Spike reminded Angel.
"I've got a plan for that too." Angel told the other vampire as he made his way up the stairs that led to Lindsey's apartment, careful to avoid the direct sunlight.
Connor and Jess sat at the counter, bored out of their mind as they watched Cordelia nervously clean the entire lobby as Erin giggled and kicked her feet in the portable crib set up in the lobby. Wesley and Fred were out picking up groceries, and Gunn was taking a nap on the couch Cordelia was cleaning around.
Jess sighed, trying not to laugh at her mother. It was clear Cordelia was worried about Angel and in turn decided to clean until her arms were swore. "This is boring." She turned to Connor. "Are you sure we have no cases today?"
"None." Connor shrugged, spinning around slightly in his chair.
Suddenly, the front door of the hotel swung open and Lorne entered, whistling to himself.
"Well, someone's in a good mood." Jess said to Lorne.
"And someone is in a cleaning mood." Lorne looked over at Cordelia. "Princess, what are you doing? This lobby smells as sterile as a hospital."
Cordelia looked up at Lorne. It was clear that the immortal mother's thoughts had been somewhere else, she hadn't even heard Lorne. "Sorry, what?"
"Why are you cleaning so much?" Lorne asked again.
Cordelia looked down at the rag in her hand. "I…uh…"
Suddenly Erin seemed to have gotten bored kicking her feet around, and she began to cry, causing Gunn to shoot up out of his sleep and off the couch.
"What? What?" Gunn asked, half asleep.
"Sorry, Gunn." Cordelia apologized for her daughter as she moved to pick Erin up. Once Erin was in Cordelia's arms, she swatted at her mothers breast and giggled, looking around the room and spotting Connor. Erin then stretched one of her arms out to Connor.
Connor smiled, moving toward Cordelia and taking a giggling Erin out of his mother's arms. "Hey baby…"
Erin nuzzled close to Connor. Over the last two weeks Erin had become very attached to her older brother since he had been taking care of her while Cordelia was taking care of Jess.
"Why don't you and me go outside in the garden?" Connor asked Erin. "It's so nice out." He looked up at Cordelia. "Mom? Can I take her outside?"
"Sure." Cordelia smiled at her son as she watched him walk toward the door leading to the garden with a giggling Erin in his arms.
Jess rolled her eyes at Connor and Erin. She felt a little jealous of Connor and how much Erin seemed to be attached to him. Erin was not like that with Jess at all, but that was no one's fault but Jessica's. When Erin was first born, Jessica had helped Cordelia out a great deal with her baby sister, but over the past month or so, Jess had seen little of her sister. Jess sighed, realizing that she should probably spend a little more time with the baby.
"Angel and Spike back yet?" Gunn asked.
"No." Cordelia sighed, taking a seat on the couch.
"Where did they go?" Lorne asked.
"Oh, after Lindsey and Eve." Cordelia seemed to huff. It was clear she was annoyed with Angel's decision, but also worried about her husband.
"What?" Lorne's eyes grew wide. "Why would they do that?"
"Because they are dumbasses." Jess said simply.
Angel and Spike leaned against the wall outside of Lindsey's apartment. Angel was standing perfectly still, staring at the opposite wall, but Spike was getting fidgety, and kept bouncing his back off the wall.
"Stop that." Angel said, not looking at Spike.
"What?" Spike asked as if he had no idea what Angel was talking about.
"Stop moving." Angel said, still not looking at the blonde vampire next to him. "It's annoying."
"Well, I'm bloody bored." Spike seemed to whine. "I thought Lindsey was supposed to get back here twenty minutes ago."
"Maybe he's running late." Angel rolled his eyes, when suddenly he heard someone coming up the stairs.
Spike heard the footsteps too, and stopped moving, standing silently for a moment.
Suddenly, Lindsey turned the corner with a smile on his face, which faded once he saw Angel and Spike standing there. It was clear that the young lawyer was thrown off by the vampires' presence, but not enough to not react. He quickly approached Angel and Spike as if it was something he did everyday.
"Can I help you two?" Lindsey asked the vampires who were blocking the door to his apartment.
In one swift motion, Angel had Lindsey by the throat, pushing the young lawyer against his own apartment door. "Open your door and let us in."
"I'm not inviting you in." Lindsey told him.
Angel pressed Lindsey harder against the door. "Open it and let us in."
"Or what?" Lindsey managed out.
"Or you'll see what I can really do." Angel threatened, pushing Lindsey even harder into the door.
Lindsey sighed, reaching for his keys and handing them to Spike.
Spike looked at Angel.
Angel looked back at Lindsey. "Invite us in and Spike will open the door."
"Fine, come in." Lindsey said under the pressure of Angel's grasp.
Spike opened the door, and Angel threw Lindsey into the room. Spike followed Angel into the apartment, closing the door behind him.
"Nice place you've got here." Spike said, looking around Lindsey's apartment.
"What do you want?" Lindsey asked, gathering himself off the floor.
Angel turned, his eyes black as a starless night. "Jessica's fine, incase you wanted to know."
Lindsey nodded, a small grin dancing across his lips. "So that is what this little visit is about? What I did to your daughter?"
"That was just the icing on the vicious, brutal, and miserable cake you people at Wolfram and Hart have been baking us for years." Angel said with anger rising in his voice. "What you did to her can never be justified, but I have an idea on how to make everyone involved feel better."
"Really?" Lindsey crossed his arms, trying to mask his own fear. He had never seen Angel this angry before and he was starting to contemplate his actions against Jessica. Maybe he shouldn't have tried to kill her.
Angel nodded. "Really." He shoved Lindsey down onto the floor. "You said something earlier about Angelus and torturing people. You said you knew what I was capable of, that you had read all about my past. Well…" Angel towered over Lindsey. "I was thinking I would show you first hand what I am capable of."
Lindsey swallowed hard as the realization of what was going to happen to him came crashing down, full force. He was going to die. Angel was going to be the one to kill him, and no one, not even the Senior Partner's knew about it to stop the vampire with a soul. Lindsey felt as though the room was getting smaller and smaller with each step that Angel and Spike took toward the lawyer.
Connor sat on a bench in the garden with Erin in his arms. The sun was shining and it was very warm out. He was glad to be outside. He looked up at the clear blue sky, and then down at Erin, who was now asleep in his arms.
"You have no idea how cute you are." Connor told the sleeping baby. He ran a hand over Erin's head of dark, straight hair. "I can't imagine not ever getting the chance to know you." Connor sighed, realizing that a few weeks ago he did not know Erin. A few weeks ago he couldn't even remember his real family. "I know Jess probably already promised you this, because I know her, sometimes better then I know myself, but I won't let anything ever happen to you. I promise." He kissed Erin softly on the head.
Just then the gates to the garden swung open and Fred and Wesley entered, carrying grocery bags.
"Hey Connor." Fred waved to the young man sitting in the garden.
"Hey." Connor whispered back, motioning to Erin to let Wesley and Fred know that the child in his arms was sleeping.
"Oh." Fred nodded, understanding as her voice dropped to a whisper. "We'll just take these bags inside."
Connor stood, balancing Erin in one hand, and taking a bag from Fred. He had turned into quite the gentleman.
Wesley led Connor and Fred back into the lobby where they found Lorne drinking a sea breeze, while talking on the phone, Cordelia now busy folding mounds of laundry, and Jessica and Gunn sprawled out in front of the T.V. playing video games.
"What a lively bunch." Wesley commented on the group in the room.
"You're back!" Gunn jumped to his feet.
Jessica was close behind the ex-lawyer, tossing her video game controller onto the floor. "We thought something happened." She said to Wesley and Fred as she and Gunn ripped through the bags of groceries. "We are starving."
"Well, good to see you were worried about us and not the food." Wesley said sarcastically.
Gunn nodded, holding up a bag of cookies. "Thanks." He and Jessica then made their way back to the video game.
Cordelia stood, turning to see Connor standing awkwardly with Erin in his arms. She moved to the door, deciding Erin would be a good way to keep her mind off of Angel and all the images that plagued her thoughts of what he was doing at that very moment. "Here, Connor, let me take her." Cordelia held her arms out for Erin.
Connor nodded, handing Erin over to Cordelia very gently. "She's asleep."
Cordelia smiled down at her daughter as Erin cuddled closely to Cordelia, her eyes never opening. She was a good sleeper. "I'll just bring her upstairs and put her down." Cordelia said, moving toward the stairs with Erin.
Once Cordelia was out of the lobby, Lorne sighed. He had gotten off the phone a few minutes ago. "She's a mess."
"Who?" Fred asked.
"Cordelia." Lorne said.
"She's just worried about Angel." Fred stood up for Cordelia.
"I know." Lorne took a deep breath. "I think we all should be. I can only imagine what he and Spike are going to do to Lindsey and Eve if they find either of them."
After a moment, Wesley spoke up. "I'm not so sure I even want to imagine that."
Everyone in the room seemed to nod in agreement. It was clear they were all worried about Angel and Spike, and what would happen as a result of the two vampires' actions.
Cordelia placed Erin gently down in her crib, which only caused Erin to stir, and slowly open her eyes. The baby missed the warmth her mother and Connor radiated. That's why she hated when Angel or Jess held her because they were both cold to her touch. Erin liked to be kept warm.
Cordelia sighed, scooping Erin back up and making her way over to the rocking chair, sitting down and silently rocking Erin, hoping the baby would go back to sleep.
Erin didn't go back to sleep.
"Ok, Erin, so I guess your nap is over?" Cordelia questioned her daughter.
Erin looked up at her mother, a small smile finding its way across the baby's face as if to tell Cordelia she was not going to go back to sleep. Erin then snuggled close to Cordelia, reaching her tiny fingers around Cordelia's ring finger, which she found Cordelia's wedding ring on. Erin gently ran her fingers over Cordelia's ring.
"Your daddy gave me that." Cordelia spoke of the ring that Erin seemed so fascinated with.
Erin looked up at her mother the minute the word daddy had come out of Cordelia's mouth, as if the baby knew exactly who Cordelia was talking about. Erin was unquestionably smart for her age.
"That's right, your daddy." Cordelia seemed to know what her daughter was thinking. "He's a good man…vampire…whatever you want to call him." Cordelia let out a soft laugh. "He's good, and he means well, and he would do anything to protect you and your brother and sister." Cordelia spoke softly to the child in her arms. "You need to know that."
Erin gripped Cordelia's hand tighter, and Cordelia was surprised at just how strong Erin's grip was. Erin was much stronger then Jessica had been, but Cordelia assumed that was because she was half-demon when she had gotten pregnant with Erin, and only human when she carried Jessica. Erin had demon strength from both her mother and father, while Jessica had only gotten it from Angel.
"Your daddy is out doing something right now that I'm not so sure I agree with." Cordelia sighed, while running her finger across Erin's soft cheek. "I don't think he fully thought through what the possible consequences of his actions could be. He's too angry. He's so angry about what happened to your sister…"
Erin's eyes locked on Cordelia's like she was asking her mother to continue.
"I mean, I'm upset about what happened to your sister too. Believe me, I am. I saw her…" Cordelia's eyes began to swell with tears as the images of Jessica from the incident with Lindsey flooded her mind. "I saw her bleeding…I saw the sword go through her…it was my fault. I told her about my vision." Cordelia shook her head. "I should have handled it myself…I put my daughter's life in danger…" Cordelia looked down at Erin as one of her tears fell onto Erin's little hand. "She almost died because of my vision, and now because of what happened to her your father is going after Lindsey and Eve. I know why, and somewhere inside of me, I hope your dad does find them, and I hope he does make them pay for what they did, but he can't kill them. I'm afraid…" Cordelia could not control the tears running down her cheeks anymore.
Erin snuggled closer to Cordelia, as if she were trying to comfort her distraught mother.
"I'm afraid I'll lose him if he kills them." Cordelia seemed to whisper to her daughter. "I'm afraid that once he realizes what he has done the guilt will be too much, and I'll lose him. I don't want to lose him." Cordelia rocked Erin, as she starred out the window, thoughts of Angel and the rest of her family racing through her mind.
Lindsey sat in his living room tied to a chair Spike had dragged in from the kitchen. His right eye was completely swollen shut, courtesy of a nice elbow Angel had thrown in the lawyers face. Lindsey was also bleeding from his nose and mouth from a few good blows both Spike and Angel had given him.
"So, what do you think, Lindsey?" Angel asked as he towered over the lawyer with a crowbar he had found in Lindsey's closet in his hands. "You think it was worth all of this to stab my daughter? Are the Senior Partner's worth all of this?"
Lindsey spit the blood in his mouth out at Angel's foot. Scared or not, the young lawyer would not let the vampire get the last line in. "Every second is worth what I did."
Angel raised the crowbar, saying nothing, and striking Lindsey straight across the shoulder. The sound of Lindsey's collarbone cracking gave Angel a small sense of satisfaction.
"Still worth it?" Angel's eyes were black as he stared down at Lindsey who had fallen off his chair from the blow.
Lindsey gritted his teeth as the pain from his shoulder ripped through his body. He was going to die. He was ready to die. He just wanted this to be over. "Yeah, still worth it."
Angel raised the crowbar again, but was stopped by Spike, who ripped the bar out of Angel's hand.
"Don't do it, Angel." Spike told him. "Look at him." He nodded over to Lindsey. "You kill him now, you'd be doing him a damn favor."
Angel studied Lindsey. The lawyer was bleeding, broken, and somewhere between crying and unconscious.
"Let him live with these scars." Spike continued. "Let him remember every single morning he wakes up what he did to your daughter."
Spike was angry with Lindsey and had given the lawyer a few good hits, but after spending the past three hours watching Angel torture the young man, Spike was starting to realize that the Fang Gang was right. Angel was losing himself to the darkness by attacking Lindsey. Spike could see it in Angel's eyes; those dark orbs did not belong to Angel, they belonged to someone else. They belonged to Angelus, and Spike knew how dangerous that was since Angelus no longer dwelled in Angel. The vampire standing next to him was not a soulless killer, he was a man with three kids and a wife, and he was losing himself to the darkness. Spike would not let Angel fall into the darkness, not when the dark haired vampire's life was filled with so much light. Light from a family that was waiting for Angel to make it home safe.
Angel turned to Spike. "What are you saying?"
"Let this go." Spike told Angel. "Let him live with what he has done. Isn't that the bigger punishment? Death is so easy; living with your past is the hard part. You and I both know that."
Angel thought for a moment, and then knelt down slowly, locking eyes with Lindsey. "I hope you look in the damn mirror everyday and never forget my daughter's face. Don't ever forget it, because the minute you do, I'll make you remember mine." Angel stood, giving Lindsey a good kick to the face. "Tell Eve it's her lucky day…"
"You leave Eve alone!" Lindsey cried from the floor.
"It's not my style to go after a woman." Angel told him. "I'm not like you, I don't try and kill girls."
"Your daughter's a demon, not a woman." Lindsey smirked through the pain he was in.
This time Spike was the one to kick Lindsey right in his already broken collarbone. "Jess is one hell of a woman. Remember that, because one day, you'll be the one on the wrong side of her sword, and she might not be as charitable as Angel and I were tonight."
Jess sat on the stairs of the lobby, watching everyone else in the room. Connor was asleep on the couch, while Lorne was passed out on the couch opposite her brother, a sea breeze in his hand, and Gunn was sprawled out on the floor, snoring loudly, with a car magazine on his stomach.
Jess looked over to the office to see Wesley sitting at his desk, with Fred perched on his lap. They were in the middle of a kiss, and Jess wished they would pull the shades in the office down so she didn't have to watch their make out session anymore.
After a moment, Jessica sighed, letting herself fall backwards onto the steps. She was bored. There was no one to talk to, her mother was still upstairs with Erin, and she was starting to get a little worried about her father and Spike. They had been gone for about six hours now, and she couldn't help but shake the feeling that something was wrong. She hoped she was mistaken.
Suddenly, Jessica heard the basement door open. She lifted her head to see Angel and Spike walk into the lobby. Jess looked over the two vampires. They both seemed all right, except for the simple fact that they reeked of blood.
"You're back." Jess stood.
Angel nodded. "We're back." He searched the room. "Where's your mom?"
"Upstairs with Erin." Jess told him.
Angel smiled at his daughter, cupping her cheek in his hand. "How are you?"
"Fine, Dad." Jess smiled up at him. "Are you okay?"
Angel nodded, a small smile on his face. "I'm okay. I'm going to go check on your mom."
Jess nodded, watching her father take off up the stairs. He certainly didn't seem like he had killed Lindsey and Eve. She turned her attention to Spike. "So, what happened?"
Spike motioned for Jess to follow him into the kitchen. He didn't want to wake up everyone in the lobby.
Jess followed him, closing the kitchen door behind her. She leaned against the counter, folding her arms. "So, what happened?"
"Your father's a good man." Spike said.
Jess snorted. "I'm sorry, did you just actually compliment my dad?"
Spike glared at Jess. "Yeah. He's not half bad sometimes, alright?"
Jess giggled. "So, I guess he didn't kill Lindsey and Eve then?"
"No. He beat Lindsey to a bloody pulp. I threw in a few good hits too, but Lindsey's alive. Eve, we never even found her." Spike told Jess.
Jess nodded, smiling up at Spike. "I smelt Lindsey's blood on you. I was afraid Dad had really killed him."
"No." Spike pulled Jess in for a friendly hug. "Your dad wanted too, but he knew better. He knew killing Lindsey wouldn't solve a damn thing."
"Because something bigger is coming." Jess looked up at Spike. "I know you can feel it."
Spike nodded. He understood what Jessica meant. He had a gut feeling that all hell was about to break loose, he just wasn't sure when or why. "I know." He looked down at Jessica, and realized just how close to each other they were; only a foot or so apart. "I can feel it…" He whispered.
"What?" Jess seemed to suddenly be captivated with Spike as well.
"This…" Spike leaned in and before he or Jessica knew it, their lips were locked.
Angel glanced into Erin's room to find Cordelia sitting in the rocking chair, slowly rocking Erin. She looked so beautiful, and Angel couldn't help it, every time he saw Cordelia Chase he fell in love with her all over again. He shuffled into the room.
"Hey…" Angel whispered.
Cordelia turned to the door to see Angel standing there. Relief immediately flew across her body. She got up, careful not to wake Erin up, and placed the sleeping baby down in her crib. She then made her way over to Angel, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "You're back."
Angel nodded, holding Cordelia close to him, and breathing in the scent of her coconut shampoo. He wished they could stay like that forever. He just wanted to hold her.
Finally, they broke apart, and Angel took Cordelia by the hand, leading her down the hall and into their bedroom.
"How'd it go tonight?" Cordelia was almost afraid to ask as she took a seat on the bed. She was thankful that Angel was home and safe but she was fearful of what he had done to Lindsey and Eve.
"Lindsey's alive." Angel said simply, knowing that's all Cordelia was worried about. He knew she didn't care if she had beaten Lindsey until he bled, she just didn't want Angel to turn into a killer, and he hadn't. Not tonight.
"He is?" Cordelia smiled up at Angel, glad at the choices he had made early that night.
"I mean, I gave him a good beating, but he was still breathing when I left." Angel took a seat next to Cordelia.
Cordelia nodded, burying her head into Angel's chest. "I was so afraid I was going to lose you tonight."
"You didn't." Angel reassured her as he stroked her cheek. "You never will."
Cordelia moved closer to Angel, kissing him. "I'm glad we can just be a family now." She studied his face. "We're safe now, right?"
Angel smiled down at her, kissing her forehead. "We're safe."
Eve rushed into the hospital room that Wolfram and Hart had assigned to Lindsey. When he hadn't come back in after lunch the law firm sent someone over to check on him, and that's when they found Lindsey in his apartment, barely hanging onto life. They had gotten him back to the hospital wing of Wolfram and Hart and the doctor's had assured Eve that Lindsey would be fine, aside from his broken collarbone.
"Lindsey?" Eve spoke softly as she entered his hospital room.
Lindsey's eye that wasn't swollen shut slowly opened, and he tried his best to smile at Eve. "Hey…"
"What happened?" Eve rushed to his side, gathering his hand in hers. "Did Angel do this?"
"I told you he'd come after us." Lindsey gave a small grin. "We made the first move and he struck back."
"Lindsey…" Eve shook her head. "This is crazy."
"This is it." Lindsey told her. "The Senior Partners wanted to start a war with Angel Investigations, and I think its safe to say the war has begun."