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: Angel and Spike get a chance to get back the people that meant the most to them after the battle against Wolfram and Hart. But can they keep the real past a secret from the only people they want to share it with? A/C S/B
CHAPTER 16
The commotion of the police arresting Angel had traveled around the hotel quickly, and as the police led Angel out of his room, Gunn and Wesley both appeared in the hallway, clearly shocked at what was going on. Cordelia too, stuck her head out the bedroom door, although the chief of police made sure she did not leave the room.
"What the hell is going on?" Gunn questioned, seeing that Connor was standing next to the chief and Cordelia.
"Mr. Angel is under arrest for the kidnapping and rape of Cordelia Chase." The chief of police said.
"What?" Gunn was outraged as he looked over at Cordelia.
"No!" Cordelia shook her head. "He didn't-"
"Miss…" The chief of police put his hand on Cordelia's shoulder. "We are going to get you to a hospital. If you'll just calm down…"
"Stop telling me what to do, you idiot!" Cordelia snapped. She was beyond floored that Angel was being led away by police for something he didn't do, and she was completely confused on the fact that she was even standing there. Last time she checked, she had died in a coma.
"Just relax." Connor told her.
Cordelia turned to Connor, ready to snap, but restrained herself, remembering that he didn't know who she was. It wasn't like she could find it in her heart to yell at him anyway, he was like a son to her.
"It's alright!" Angel yelled back at Cordelia before the police took him out of the hotel.
"Alright." The chief turned to Wesley and Gunn. "Who are you two?"
"Charles Gunn." Gunn said, eyeing the chief up. He was not a fan of the police.
"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." Wesley said. "We were both rooming here. Now please, explain what is going on."
"Connor will." The chief said. "I have to get Miss Chase to a hospital."
Before Cordelia could object two female police officers were helping her down the stairs and out of the hotel, with the bed sheet still wrapped tightly around her, leaving Connor with Wesley and Gunn.
"Alright." Gunn shook his head. "So, what the hell just happened?"
"Angel was arrested…" Connor said.
"Yeah, I saw that part." Gunn folded his arms across his chest.
"It was reported that he kidnapped Cordelia Chase, and, the way we found her, raped her as well." Connor said, half-heartedly.
"You don't sound too certain of any of that." Wesley said.
Connor shrugged. "It's what the report said. Her family called in a few weeks ago to their local police, said she was missing."
"Well, she might have been missing, but there is no way Angel kidnapped her." Wesley said. "I don't know him well, but he doesn't seem like the type. I trust him."
"Me too." Gunn said. "And I don't trust anyone." Which was true, making what Gunn said even weirder for him. He had no memory of his old life, the one Angel was a huge part of, so Gunn could not figure out why he had so much faith in Angel, but he did.
"At any rate, I met Angel here." Wesley said. "He was alone. Cordelia did not show up until the next day."
"What?" Connor raised an eyebrow.
Wesley nodded. "The first night I stayed here, Angel was alone, and then Cordelia showed up on her own. There was no force, I can assure you."
Connor thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "But why would she be reported missing?"
"She could have run away." Gunn said. "People do it all the time."
"But what was she running from?" Connor asked. "She has a good life, good friends, a lot of money…"
"Money ain't everything." Gunn told him. "And you better double check all these charges on Angel because I don't think he did it, and I'm getting the feeling you don't think he did either."
Connor sighed, running his hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. I can't get the L.A.P.D. to run the files, and besides, the case is getting moved back to Sunnydale."
"So?" Gunn shrugged. "All you gotta do it get us the files. We can run them."
"Yes." Wesley nodded. "Fred? Maybe she could help as well."
"And that Lorne dude." Gunn added.
After a moment, Connor nodded. "Yeah, that could work…"
Just then the front doors to the Hyperion Hotel swung open and Buffy and Spike came crashing through them.
"Angel!" Buffy called out. "Cordelia!"
"Angel!" Spike joined her.
"He's gone." Wesley spoke to the people below him in the lobby, the people he did not know and yet felt that he recognized them. "Both of them are."
"We're too late…" Buffy turned to Spike.
"Too late for what?" Gunn asked. "Who the hell are you two?"
Spike laughed to himself. It was good to see both Wesley and Gunn again, even if they didn't remember him. "I'm Spike, and this is Buffy."
"You're Spike?" Wesley asked. "The Spike I spoke on the phone with?"
Spike nodded. "That was me."
"I'm sorry I hung up." Wesley apologized.
"Not a big deal." Spike told him. "I was just trying to warn Angel."
"Warn him about what?" Gunn questioned.
"I'm sorry, we didn't catch your names." Buffy smiled smugly at Gunn. She didn't care for his tone of voice.
"I'm Gunn." Gunn told her.
"I'm Wesley." Wesley introduced himself.
"Connor." Connor said simply.
Spike looked up at Connor in awe, unable to believe that Angel's son was standing there in front of him. He looked so much like Darla, even more so then he had when Spike met him at Wolfram and Hart.
"Alright, so back to what you were warning Angel about…" Gunn interrupted Spike's thought process.
"Right. I called to warn him that the bloody police were after him." Spike said.
"How did you know?" Connor questioned.
"Because, Buffy and I were Angel and Cordelia's friends, and when they ran off together-" Spike was cut off by Gunn.
"Oh? They ran off together?" Gunn looked over at Connor.
Connor felt himself shrink under Gunn's glare. "So Angel didn't kidnap Cordelia?"
"Hell no." Buffy said instantly. "That was some crazy story her ex-boyfriend made up because she wanted to be with Angel. Cordelia's parents and the Sunnydale police were just stupid enough to buy it."
"You're kidding right?" Connor asked.
"No." Spike told him.
"Great…" Connor sighed.
"Why?" Buffy asked.
"Connor here is the L.A.P.D.'s little golden trainee." Gunn patted Connor sarcastically on the shoulder.
"You're kidding?" Buffy looked up.
"No." Connor said. "But if what you're saying is true then this is all bad."
"Well, it's all bad." Spike told him.
"Where are Angel and Cordelia?" Buffy asked.
"Angel is on his way back to the Sunnydale jail." Connor said. "And Cordelia is on her way to the hospital."
"Why?" Buffy's eyes grew wide. "Is she hurt?"
"Not exactly." Connor sighed. "When we arrived here, she and Angel were in bed. Angel was also charged with raping her."
"WHAT?" Buffy was shocked.
"I know it's bad…" Connor started.
"Wait! Wait! They are sleeping together?" Buffy was shocked. "Cordelia never…we need to get back to Sunnydale." She told Spike.
Spike nodded. "We do."
"Look." Wesley descended the stairs. "You two head back to Sunnydale, check in on Cordelia when she gets there. There are a few of us here in L.A. who are going to look into things. We will call you when we figure anything out."
"Sure." Buffy said, writing her number down and handing it to Wesley. "Call us once you find anything."
Wesley nodded as he watched Buffy and Spike exit out of the hotel. He then turned back to Gunn and Connor. "We have some work to do. Connor, you go get Fred, Gunn and I will go to Lorne's. We need to get going here."
Gunn and Connor both nodded. None of them could figure out why, but for some reason they all felt the need and desire to help Angel and Cordelia out, as if they were family to them. None of them had any idea how close to the truth that came, especially for Connor.
Cordelia sighed as she sat in her hospital room. She hated hospitals and she had every right and reason to. For starters, she had died in a hospital, not to mention the rebar incident or the time she had spent in the hospital when she had the endless visions, but this was far worse then any of those times. This time she was there because her best friend was under arrest and she was just another part of the case that would be built against him. She felt helpless, and she hated not knowing what she was doing back.
Finally the doctor came back in, telling her that her parents were there and she could go home. Cordelia snorted at him as she exited, she could not believe her parents were picking her up. She was twenty-four years old, not a child, yet no one seemed to believe her. They just kept telling her that the stress was getting to her and that she was really only eighteen. The first thing that Cordelia had established was that she hated whatever reality she was in now.
Cordelia made her way into the hall to see her parents standing there with Xander next to them. Cordelia rolled her eyes at the sight. She remember what Xander had done to Angel in this reality, and she hated him for it. She just couldn't figure out why he had done it. Xander had never been that ridiculous before.
"Cordelia!" Xander grinned, running over to her and kissing her on the forehead. "You're safe."
"Get off of me." Cordelia said coldly.
Xander moved away from her, but gave her a slight stare.
Cordelia threw her infamous Queen C glare right back at him.
"Honey, let's get you home." Mr. Chase told his daughter.
"No." Cordelia told him. "We need to fix this. Angel did not kidnap me or rape me, okay? And he is in jail for it now. For something he didn't do!"
"Honey, it's been a long few weeks for all of us." Mrs. Chase told Cordelia. "You need to rest."
"I don't need to rest! I need to go to Angel!" Cordelia's voice rose, causing everyone in the hospital to look at her.
Mr. Chase smiled uneasily. "Cordelia, you are making a scene…"
"Oh yeah?" Cordelia raised an eyebrow at her father. The father she had not seen since she have moved out of Sunnydale. "I don't care!"
"Cordelia, cut the crap and let's get out to the car." Xander told her.
Before Cordelia could object, Xander was pulling her out of the hospital, his hand gripped tightly around her arm. Cordelia did not like the new Xander at all, and she knew she needed to find Spike or call Lorne so they could explain everything to her and help her find a way to get Angel out of jail.
Angel was escorted to his cell in Sunnydale by two police officers. Neither of them were very big and he was certain that if he had half of the power he had possessed as a vampire that he could have easily broke both of their arms in half.
He was placed in his cell, and the police officers took his cuffs off and then locked him in. One of them then went down the hall, but the other, Officer Mack, stayed behind, staring in at Angel with a grin.
"What?" Angel finally asked him.
"So Cordelia Chase, does she look as good undressed as she does dressed?" Officer Mack asked vulgarly.
"You're sick." Angel told the officer through a clenched jaw. He wanted nothing more then to reach out through the bars of the cell and strangle Officer Mack for speaking of Cordelia in that manner.
"Me?" Officer Mack laughed. "You're the one who kidnapped her and defiled her…"
"I did not!" Angel stood, walking over and leaning against the bar. Being in the cell reminded him of the time that they had brought Angelus back to figure out what the Beast really planning. "I would never do that to her."
"So the police report is just a bunch of crap then?" Officer Mack asked sarcastically.
"Damn right it is." Angel was angry now.
"I doubt it. And you'll be stuck in that cell for the rest of your life, giving everyone else who wants a piece the chance to be with Miss Chase." Officer Mack grinned. "I'm sure she needs comforting right now."
That was it. Angel was at his end. He could not listen to Officer Mack talk about Cordelia as if she was an object. All of the angry he had toward Officer Mack and the entire situation he was in had reach an all time high. Angel ripped at the bar and was surprised when he realized he could bend it slightly.
Officer Mack was also surprised and held his gun up at Angel immediately. "Knock it off."
Angel did as he was told and moved back to his cot, unable to believe what he had just done. He could not believe his own strength. He had felt that strength before, that surge of power. It was how he felt everyday when he had been a vampire.
Angel looked down at his hands, unsure of what was happening to him. He looked back over to where Officer Mack had been to see that the police officer had left. Angel then stood, moving over to the brick wall and hoping he was not about to shatter his hand. He then, with all of his might, closed his eyes and punched the wall.
Angel opened his eyes to see that his knuckles were bleeding but still intact. He then looked at the wall in front of him to see that his fist had left a huge dent. Angel staggered back in disbelief. He couldn't figure out what was happening. Yesterday he had been a normal human, and then he slept with Cordelia. The next thing he knew Cordelia remembered everything and he was gaining back his vampire strength. None of it was making sense. Was he turning back into a vampire or was this the Powers way of correcting what was happening? Was he supposed to gain his strength back and help Buffy fight the vampires? He wasn't sure, but he needed to figure it all out, get out of the prison cell he found himself in, and get back to Cordelia. In all of it, she was still his first priority.
Spike and Buffy reached Sunnydale right as the sun was coming up. They road down the street toward Buffy's house. Spike was just about to pull into the Slayer's driveway when he felt Buffy pull on his jacket and point ahead past her house.
"What?" Spike asked, over the sound of his motorcycle.
"Go! Pass my house!" Buffy said.
"What?"
"Just do it!"
Spike did as he was told and drove past Buffy's house, rounding the corner and stopping once they were on the next street. "Why did I just drive past your house?"
"Because." Buffy said. "My mom would be so mad at me if I just got home now. It's easier to tell her I got in late last night and left for school early. Besides, we have to go past Cordelia's house."
"You think she is back already?" Spike asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Hopefully her parents will let us in."
Spike nodded. "We should spin by later. It's still early yet."
"Alright." Buffy agreed. "We should go let Giles know we are back. I'm sure he is still awake."
Spike nodded in agreement and then took off down the street in the direction of Giles' house. He knew they had to let Giles know all that had happened. He was hoping librarian would have a plan to help get Angel out of jail.
Cordelia sat in her bed and sighed. She looked around her room, it looked the same as it had before the IRS came in and took everything from her family. She wondered if that would happen in this bizarre world she was in. She hated that her parents were making her stay in bed, after all, she wasn't hurt, and she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was twenty-four, and she had seen more hurt and pain in the world then most people did in a lifetime. Hell! She had even died already.
She wanted to just go downstairs and leave. She needed to find Spike or Lorne to have them explain everything to her, and then she needed to figure out how to save Angel, but every time she moved to go downstairs she heard Xander's voice. She had never hated Xander, she had even forgiven him for the whole Willow thing, but she could not stand him now. He was manipulative, bossy, and very angry, three traits the Xander she had dated in high school had never possessed.
Just then, she saw her bedroom door swing open and in walked Xander, a smile on his face. He closed the door behind him and sat down on the edge of her bed.
"How are you doing?" Xander asked her.
"I can't believe you! I can't believe you would do this!" Cordelia told him.
"Do what?" Xander asked innocently.
"Don't give me that look! You're pathetic. You could not stand that I wanted Angel. You couldn't stand that he makes me happy, so what do you do? You lie and you make him look like the monster, when it is really you." Cordelia was about to continue but felt her back be slammed against her headboard.
"Listen to me." Xander held Cordelia in place, pressing his hands into her shoulder. "Forget Angel. You won't make me look like a fool. You're mine. Understand?" Xander glared at her.
"No." Cordelia said simply, her angry rising, she suddenly felt a surge of energy and pushed Xander away from her. "Don't come near me, or I will scream so loud that the deaf people in the nursing home down the street will hear me."
Xander looked at her, but did not tempt her; instead he hastily left her room.
Cordelia looked down at her hands with a smile. She was still part-demon. She could feel it. She still had power and she still was strong. Then for the first time since the ordeal, she realized that Angel had not used his demon strength to get away from the police. That's when it hit her. Angel was human, and whatever reality she was in was completely screwed up. And it seemed only she, Angel, and, from what Angel said, Spike and Lorne remembered their old lives.
Gunn and Wesley entered Caritas to find the club dark. It was still early in the morning so they just assumed that Lorne was still sleeping, but that was too bad. They knew they needed the demon if they wanted to save Angel, they just couldn't figure out why Angel meant so much to them.
"Yo! Anyone here!" Gunn called out.
A minute later, Lorne came stumbling out the backroom, in a robe. "Who the hell is yelling out here?" Lorne realized it was Wesley and Gunn. "What could you possibly need at this hour?"
"We got a problem." Gunn said.
"What?" Lorne was not as angry about being woken up anymore. "What happened?"
"Angel was arrested." Wesley said. "It seems that someone, Cordelia's ex-boyfriend, Harris or something, reported that Angel had kidnapped Cordelia."
"Yeah, and to make it worse, the two of them got groiny last night and when the L.A.P.D. arrived rape was added to the charges." Gunn added.
"You're kidding?" Lorne was shocked at what they were saying, but happy that Angel and Cordelia had finally gotten together, even if Cordelia didn't have a clue how long it took for that to happen.
"Wish we were." Gunn said. "But we need your help. We gotta figure out how to get Angel out of jail and get Cordelia away from Sunnydale. She was running from something."
"Well, I agree there." Lorne said.
"That Connor kid is gonna get us the files we need to run." Gunn said.
"And he will bring Fred to help as well." Wesley added. "We need all the help we can get."
"Well, count me in." Lorne said. He was in complete agreement. Angel needed to be saved. He couldn't believe that Xander had accused Angel of kidnapping, and he was not about to let Angel and Cordelia's one chance at happiness be blown apart right in front of him. He firmly believed that the two of them deserved a happy ending.