CHAPTER TITLE: Possibly WitchCraft
RATING: R, for language, violence and stuff
SUMMARY: The morning after...no, not THAT!
PROMPT: Connor AU Series, #3 Alcohol
WARNING: Here there be, language, spanking. THIS IS YOUR WARNING!
CHARACTERS: Angel, Connor (15), Wes, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, A surprise at the end
DISCLAIMER: Let's just say, if I owned Angel, I wouldn't need to be writing fanfics, now would I? They would be episodes. AND it would not have been canceled.
NOTES: Not AS LONG as it usually turns out to be, but it had to happen sometime!

Sorry for the delay! ((smacks self on head, again)) I keep forgetting about updating! Ahh, need a calendar or something. New Year's Resolution!!

Thanks again for all the reviews, favoriting, and alerts! You ALLrock!!!

Title Kinda touches on a scene here. And, yes, I such at titles. Really badly. :0)

The Next Morning:

Connor awoke, not too certain of why the room was spinning. He wished it'd stop.

A second later it did. His stomach however…

Angel entered the room, having heard from the living room signs that the little rebel was awake, just as Connor made it to the bathroom.

He shook his head.

Angel, or rather Liam's, first time with alcohol had rendered much of the same effects. Granted, in those days aspirin wasn't made available and if it had been, his father would not have gotten it for him. Liam had been a little younger than Connor was when he'd gotten ripping drunk, but that wasn't a topic to be brought up at the moment. He had to focus on his son, and more importantly imparting that such behavior was not acceptable.

Connor dragged himself out of the bathroom. He could sense his dad's gaze on him as he walked himself back into the room.

Angel was leaning against the a side table, watching him. To say it unnerved him was an understatement. He knew that they had to address what he'd done the night before and he wasn't too happy about that.

Seeing as how he'd have to pass by his dad to get back to his 'bed', way to close to swatting proximity, Connor walked over instead to Angel's bed and flopped down onto it.

The covers on the master bed were so-oh comfy that snuggling into them, Connor almost fell back to sleep.

Angel sighed, watching his 'tough' son cuddle into the warmth and comfort that the bed provided. Having just heard the boy gorging his insides out he felt slightly bad about what he was about to do. But, the alternative being that Connor go around thinking that sneaking out and drinking all night was acceptable was enough incentive to walk him over to the slump form.

Shaking him slightly back into consciousness, Angel handed over some aspirin.

"Take these, you'll feel better," he instructed.

Connor took the pill, drowning the water right after. He knew that he was in deep trouble, and there was just no sense in doing something more to aggravate the man.

Taking the empty glass back, Angel set it aside standing before his son with his arms crossed over his chest. Connor tried to maintain eye contact but couldn't.

"Want to tell me what you were thinking last night, sneaking out of here?" Angel asked, way too calmly.

To say that he'd been pleasantly pleased with how easy it had been didn't seem like the right answer, so Connor kept his mouth shut.

Still not the right answer.

Angel reached forward, taking Connor's chin in hand and making the boy look back at him.

"I asked you a question."

"I…I wasn't?" Connor answered, unsure of himself. It sounded like a safe enough answer, it was after all what Mr. Hayes, his mathematics teacher, also said. That they didn't understand because they weren't thinking.

Angel scoffed.

"Well, at least we can agree on that," he said, not sounding so agreeable. "Care to tell me why you found the need to sneak off last?"

Connor sighed. To say that he hadn't really thought of his repercussions until the very last second was really taking its toll on his. Especially since he just acted, no real thoughts involved.

It was after all how he'd survived most of his life.

Angel released his chin, returning to his imitating pose of crossing his arms and frowning intensely.

"Tell me all that happened last night."

"Oh come on," Connor moaned, dropping his head onto his hands.

"Now, Connor," Angel firmly ordered.

So, slowly, he did. He told of how he'd been asked to go by some girl, and how the guys had seemed to think of it as a big deal. He told of B's plan to get them out, but how B had had to work that night (otherwise, they'd probably would've gotten away with it, but he left that part out). He told of getting into the night club and then finding Izzy, then losing Izzy into the mix. He told all of which he could remember, which including completely forgetting how in the world it was that he had started drinking. And the girl, he had no idea where she'd came from. Aggie Whatsherface.

"You mean to tell me that you have no idea how you got drunk?" Angel asked, leaning on the back of the Connor's couch and glaring at the teen.

"No! I know how."

"You just don't actually know how. Or when. Or how many!"

Well, when Angel put it that way, it sounded as bad as it felt. Just freaking great.

"Yeah," Connor answered cheaply. What else could he possibly say? His dad already knew the answer, and if he didn't he would probably be able to tell he was lying before he even spoke a word.

Angel rubbed at his face. This was worst than he imagined. He wondered if he should get into all the dangers of the human world, or just ground him indefinitely.

"Connor, you had have no reason to be anywhere near any clubs or alcohol."

"You have alcohol. All over."

Angel groaned. So not what he had wanted to discuss.

"I'm an adult. And I'm a vampire. My liver is as dead as its going to get. You, however, are only fifteen and human. You have no right to be drinking and your body can't possible handle the impact. And, it's against the law. Do you need any more reasons?"

Connor groaned. Angel was being exceptionally loud that morning.

"Not so loud, Dad," he moaned, covering his ears.

Angel sighed.

"Alcohol, does that to you son. Makes things distorted, and makes you feel like sh- bad in the morning. You're way too young to understand the effects that it can have on you, which is why its illegal for you to drink any."

"Everyone there was drinking."

Angel slumped, completely not expecting that answer. But really, when it came to Connor, he should stop being so surprised all the time.

"Well, since you mentioned it, just because others are doing something, doesn't give you the right to do the same thing. So, it's not an excuse. You have a mind of your own, use it."

"I did! I told Izzy no!"

"How do you know Izzy gave it to you? You can't even remember drinking it!"

"I know I can't! I'm sorry! Alright!"

No, it wasn't alright. Inside, Angel was terrified at all the possibilities of what could have happened to his son. Sure, he headed W&H now, but there were so many other things out there that still wanted a piece of the boy. Literally.

He couldn't even be certain that all the baddies knew that the 'baby' of two vamps wasn't a baby any more.

"Do you have any idea-" Angel started to say, but then he stopped. He didn't want his son to have those kinds of thoughts in his mind. The kind that kept him awake for months and gave the rest of his team restless nights.

"Forget it," Angel muttered, more to himself than the fidgety, cranky figure before him. He walked over to his son and tugged him to his feet.

"Dad?"

"Connor, what you did last night was completely irresponsible. I left Gunther with you for a reason -

"You don't trust me," Connor finished. He sounded saddened by the thought, showing for the first time that he even cared about what Angel really thought of him.

"No," Angel replied sadly. He wished he did, but the boy before him was, for all effects, still a stranger. "And after last night, can you blame me?

"I want to trust you, son. I really do. But, you've got to give me something back in return. You've got to make it so that I can trust you, and you have to trust me back. So far, I think you can trust that your deeds won't go unpunished. I think you know how serious I am at keeping you safe. If that's not clear, I hope this reminds you."

Resigning himself again to the task, Angel sat down on the edge of his bed pulling Connor in front of him.

"Wait! Nooo, don't do that," Connor whined, taking a firm grip of his pajama bottoms' waist.

Angel pried the bottoms free, ignoring his son's whine as he tugged the apparel down.

Connor groaned.

"Please? I'm sorry!" Connor immediately stated, knowing that how he was currently feeling was going to make for the 'experience' just that much more painful.

"As well you should be, Con. But you snuck out and then drank yourself silly and that's just unacceptable." With that said, Angel placed Connor over his lap and proceeded to show the teen just how unacceptable his behavior was.

Angel was pleased to see that the couple of spanks the night before for cursing hadn't had too much of a lasting damage. In fact, there was no sign at all that he had even spanked the boy.

Connor whined and squirmed, trying to get free or talk his way out of the punishment. However, his mumbled mind was making so that his words came out incomprehensible.

Angel continued to spank him over until his cheeks turned lightly red. By then, Connor was wailing, and the fight was mostly gone from him.

"You will not sneak out of here again, do you hear me?" he asked, placing two particularly hard swats at the top of his thighs.

"Ye-es!" Connor yelled, gripping the bed sheets tightly in his fists.

"And you will never drink again!"

"I won't, I pr promise!"

Seemingly satisfied, Angel placed a final volley of swats, harder than the rest, on the repent bottom.

Gathering Connor back in his arms, Angel held him until the tears stopped streaming down his sad eyes.

"You okay?" Angel asked him.

Connor gave him a look that clearly replied, 'Who are you kidding!' but kept the comment to himself.

"Yeah, okay, dumb question. But I'm serious Con, I can't have you sneaking out of here. I need to know here you are at all times."

"That just really sucks," Connor muttered into his chest.

"Well, that's just how it is. We went over this before, I have to take care of you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. And if it does, I have to be able to know here you are so that I can help you," Angel tried to explain. He unconsciously tightened his hold around the boy, remembering how torturous it was for him when the boy had been taken away from him.

"Um, Dad? I kinda, need…ta...breath."

"Huh? Right," Angel replied, loosening his arms a little.

Connor sighed.

"Okay, I get it. I got it before. You don't want me missing. You don't want me gone, and all that. I got it. You don't have to do that again."

Angel smiled down at him, wondering sadly if the innocent face before marked with its tears and juvenile glow, looked the same when he'd been younger.

"You, mister, brought that on yourself. I don't like doing that. I'd prefer if you did learn from this and I won't have to repeat it, but can you honestly tell me that you're going to listen to everything I say from now on?"

Connor's gaze was enough answer. The defiant little rebel perfectly understood that, unless he changed his ways, that would be repeated. Often.

"I didn't even like the stupid beer," Connor mumbled, trying to find some kind of balance to his predicament.

Angel stifled a laugh as he stood them both up, replacing Connor's clothing. He then placed the boy back into the bed, tucking the comfy, soft bedding around his small frame.

"Good to know," he said, kissing his forehead and wiping away the last signs of the tears.

Connor twisted onto his stomach, hugging the sheets close to him. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but they still smelled of Angel and that made him feel safe.

Angel walked back into his office. The rest of his team was there waiting for him. He comforted Fred, who had not seen Connor the night before, and Lorne, who was shocked to hear that the little tot had gotten wasted, and told them the boy was fine.

Wes and Gunn had too headed out to look for the little imp, and had been pleased to find out that he'd been found. When they had arrived at W&H, they'd heard the scene that the woman had pulled and then had heard Connor's quick retort. They had been surprised by his language.

Seeing as how Angel had handled the situation quickly and had headed back up to the pent, they decided against making their presence known and could tell that Angel appreciated it. Because, of course the vampire had known them to be there.

They all briefed about their latest case, and headed off to their work, all the while thinking about how much simpler it would have been had the Connor that returned maybe had been a few years younger.

Angel had headed back upstairs to see Connor for his 'lunch break' hour. He found Connor stretched out on his stomach in the family room watching TV.

"This going to be a vice?" Angel asked taking a seat behind the kid on the couch.

"What is?" Connor asked, not looking away from the screen.

"The TV," Angel asked, laughing as the kid's actions had been enough answer for him.

"Don't know, what's a vice?" Connor asked, smirking.

Angel frowned, but following the boy's playful demeanor.

"You've been to a Catholic school for one full week and you don't know what vice is? I don't believe it."

Connor laughed slightly. Actually laughed. Angel smiled despite himself.

The boy's laughter was a virgin treat to his ears.

"Kidding," Connor said, rolling his eyes. "Or what, vamp with a soul's got no humor?"

Angel took one of the throw pillows on the couch and tossed it at the kid's head.

"Hey! Alright, alright!"

"Yeah, buddy boy, watch yourself."

"Watch myself do what?" Connor asked, flipping over and shifting around to sit so that nothing touched his sore bottom.

"Funny. Real funny. I must have lost all my humor genes passing them onto you."

Connor rolled his eyes.

"Connor come here please, I want to tell you something."

Connor gave him a nervous look, and for good reason. He'd gotten spanked that morning and the previous night, so he wasn't too keen on the matter.

Nevertheless, he settled down besides Angel on the sofa, grateful for the expensive furniture which was really soft and not that disturbing on his bottom.

"I didn't enjoy the fact that I had to go searching for you last night, you know. Wesley, Gunn, Vega, and a lot of other people dropped what they'd been doing to go looking for you and that just can't happen all the time."

"I know, I'm sorry. Are you going to spank me again?"

Angel reached over and hugged his son close.

"No, son. You were already punished and that was that. However, this was a repeat offense for you, you know."

Angel waited to see if the boy admitted to the fact and sure enough Connor slowly nodded his agreement.

"I had a long chat with Travis yesterday, and he had a very good idea that he pitched to me. I didn't want to do this, but I think that maybe it'll help us all keep better tabs on you."

"What are you talking about?" Connor asked, looking up at him.

Angel sighed, resigning himself once again to the harsher points of parenting. He knew that the boy hated their trust issues, but in all actuality, it was safer all around. Knowing where his son was at all times would be such a stress relief that he had developed and overdeveloped during the boy's time missing.

Reaching into his pocket, Angel brought out a thin black bracelet with a small silver charm on it.

"What is that?"

"It's a bracelet that Travis gave me, for you. They developed it down in the security department. It's a tracker, Connor. It keeps tabs on your location at all times."

"What? But -"

"I'm sorry, son, but you tend to follow your instincts. And while that's a good thing, a great thing that will keep you alive often, it's really not safe for you while you're still so new here."

Connor looked at the bracelet. He didn't like the idea.

"That thing watches me? Tells on me?" Connor accused.

"No! nothing like that. It's a little more complicated. But, what it does is keep a record of your location. You seen maps?" Connor nodded, still looking only at the bracelet. "Well one of the things this does is give your location on a map."

"It's beeping."

Angel nodded. It kind of annoyed him too, he'd have to get them to fix that. He knew that neither of them would do with that thing constantly beep-beep-beeping.

"It's transmitting. It's telling a map where it is. And when I put it on you, it's going to tell the computers where you are."

"I don't want it. It sounds like witch craft."

"Witch craft? Connor, no, it's called technology. Computers, Television, that PSP and Gameboy you love so much. They're not evil, well they can be, but that's not the point. What I mean is this is safe, I wouldn't give it to you otherwise."

"Wait, the TV, and PSP track me too?"

Angel smiled, knowing that his son was smart but wondering if the twenty questions would ever stop.

He hoped they never would.

"No, just the bracelet."

Connor frowned, glaring at the bracelet as intently as he had his uniform on a daily basis.

"Does it help that you don't really have a say in the matter?" Angel asked gently, hoping not to tip the kid off.

Connor scoffed.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that one out, thanks."

Needless to say, Connor was stuck back in the penthouse that he had come to get to know so well. That weekend however, Gunn talked Angel into buying a pool table for the empty space in the penthouse, behind the couches. And so, Gunn started to teach the boy how to play pool and that wasn't too bad.

Come Sunday afternoon, Angel's desk was once again littered with files and he and Wesley were going through them. They spent a few hours at it, enough that Fred had called it a day and was helpfully pointing out the best ways to categorized the mess. Lorne too was there, less helpful but quite entertaining as he talked about some of the people that had passed through his department recently. And it was quite an impressive list. Gunn and Connor had come down waiting to see if maybe they could get someone to get supper for them (they'd gotten too much take out lately, and neither knew how to cook).

As they were nearing the end of the pile, Wes spotted a file that had not been opened.

"Angel?"

Angel looked at the file, suddenly remembering its origin.

"Eve."

"That it?" Gunn asked, remembered the file that had been given to Angel upon their first night there. All of them had been curious but they'd forgotten about it in the chaos hat their lives had taken up.

Springing from his seat and over to the desk, Gunn snatched the file from Wes' hands. He balanced it in his hands, noticing it's strange form.

"There's something in it," he noted.

"Hope its not gross," Fred moaned, thinking of all the things she'd been seeing lately. Sure, it'd been cool; but it was still gross.

"I hope it's evil," Connor muttered, not really interested (since he'd probably not even get to see what it was) but kind of hoping to kill something nonetheless.

"Connor," Angel groaned automatically.

"Relax, Junebuggy," Lorne told the teen, ruffling his hair as he passed him on his way to the desk. "If it were evil, it wouldn't have rested so easily for so long."

"Right, we don't exactly have that kind of luck," Gunn mentioned.

"We have luck," Angel countered, taking the file from Gunn's hands and looking it over himself.

"Face it Angel, if we didn't have bad luck, we wouldn't have any luck at all."

Gunn ignored the glare that was sent at him, From most of the room's occupants.

"Why not just open it, and see for ourselves?" Wes suggested, because knowing the team like he did, they could very well speculate for hours on its contents.

Angel pealed the file open, turning it around so that he could take out whatever was inside.

And then fell an object, straight to the floor, where it shattered…and low and behold, there stood Spike.

To Be Continued...

See you All in the new Year:D