Author's Note: Thanks to all those who have left me great reviews! They all made me smile :)
I wrote a nice Long chapter just for all of you...Keep the reviews coming and I'll keep the long chapters coming :)
Chapter Two
It pained Angel so to see his son in such a drug induced state. He wished so badly he could simply make his son all better instantly rather than have to wait until the drug ran its course.
"Daddy… Why do you look so sad? Do I make you sad?"
"I'm not sad… I love you too much that you could never make me sad." Angel smiled down at his child.
"I love you too daddy." Connor jumped up and engulfed his dad in a tight hug.
It felt good for Angel to have his son being so affectionate with him. He just couldn't make up his mind if it was just the drug talking or if Connor truly felt that way about him.
Cordilia then entered Angel's bedroom with a large cup of cool water along with a pitcher of water. She found Angel being hugged by his son; she couldn't help but smile at the sweet moment.
Angel pulled away from his son gently and turned toward Cordelia.
Cordelia walked closer and offered the glass of water to the teen and set the pitcher on the nightstand.
"Here you go sweetie." Connor accepted the glass and drank it thirstily as Angel and Cordelia watched warily.
Connor leaned back onto the bed closing his eyes and Angel leaned in and took away the now empty glass from the boy's gentle grasp and placed the glass on the side nightstand.
"Hey pal, I don't think you should go to sleep just yet."
"I'm na sleeping... It just feels soo good dad and your bed is the most comfortable bed I have ever been in...Come... sit next to me dad." Connor murmured and patted the side next to him as he opened his eyes looked up at his dad expectantly.
Angel sat next to his son and Connor snuggled against his dad's strong chest. Cordelia smiled at Angel expressing how cute she thought the sight was.
"Thanks Cordy for all your help, I really appreciate it."
"You don't have to thank me; I have a special place in my heart for Connor too, call me if you need anything I'll be downstairs helping Fred do some research on our latest case."
Cordelia left Angel's bedroom and Angel look down at his son and noticed how his had a smile plastered on his face.
"I've never felt this happy in my entire life."
"You will feel this happy again son, just without what you took tonight, I'll make sure of it."
"You know... I never really liked Fa- uh Holtz, he always made me feel like I was a monster... just like my parents."
Angel could not contain the anger he felt at that pronouncement.
"Did he ever hurt you son?" The worry was evident in Angel's voice.
"He did when I was small but only when I was bad but once I got older I got too fast for him to catch." Connor ended up laughing at the memory while Angel looked disturbed.
"You know I've never really felt safe before…but now being with you makes me feel really safe."
"I will always protect you Connor and keep you just as safe from here on out I promise you son."
Connor started squirming uncomfortably against Angel's gentle hold and started to make his way off the bed.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Angel asked with a stern undertone already fearing that Connor wanted to bolt out of the room.
"Uh… the bathroom?" Connor looked at his dad questionably.
"Oh... okay...go ahead but leave the door open please."
Connor went and did business and was back by Angel's side in no time.
"You want some more water?"
"No…dad, tell me about my mother."
Angel was a bit taken aback by his son's request but complied none the less.
"Well… your mother, Darla was a beautiful woman with an angelic face and bright blue eyes, you were the best thing that had ever happened to her, you shared your soul with her and that brought out a beautiful side to her that I had never seen before. She loved you so much Connor, so much so that she gave her life for you."
"Really? Holtz always told me that she was a vicious monster that she even tried to kill me when I was born...I'm glad she didn't...it always hurt thinking my own mother wanted to kill me…I guess allot of what Holtz told me was lies…you know he died right?" Connor asked quietly against Angel's shirt as his eyes continued to flutter wildly.
"Who died?" Angel was taken aback by the question deep down he hoped the kid meant Holtz.
"Holtz... he... killed himself last week...he made Justine kill him so it looked like a vampire attack so I would think you killed him, he's was not who I thought he was...I don't know what to believe anymore... everything I was taught to believe most of it has been lies." Connor's eyes watered up and spilled a couple of tears down his cheeks.
Angel saw his son's dilated eyes spilling a few tears and he pulled his son close and fiercely hugged him tightly.
"I'm so sorry Connor; I wish I could have saved you from the hell you went through… I promise you son, I will never fail you again."
"I don't blame you." Connor murmured against his dad's chest as his body trembled from coldness and it didn't go unnoticed by Angel, he wished so badly he could warm his son up with body heat.
"Come on kiddo lets get you under the covers you'll be warmer." Angel rose up out of the bed and pulled back the comforter from his bed and pulled it over his child then he filled a glass of water from the pitcher that was still half way full on the nightstand and held it out to his son.
"Here you go son, drink some more water."
"I don't want-"
"Just try drinking some...please."
At hearing Angel's pleading tone Connor reach forward accept the glass and drink the water.
"Good boy." Angel praised.
Connor had never really been praised before and it made him feel nice hearing it, he handed back a now empty glass to Angel with a shy smile painted on his face.
Angel placed the glass on the nightstand and went and sat down next to his son.
Connor instantly snuggled close to his dad one again and Angel took in his son's scent not wanting to ever let his baby boy go again.
Angel felt his son falling into sleep and lightly shook him.
"Hey pal look at me for a second." Angel wanted to make sure his kid's eyes were not fluttering any longer from his high.
Brilliant blue eyes looked up at Angel and he then felt relieved that Connor's eyes were no longer fluttering but just drooping from exhaustion.
Angel gently grasped each side of his son's milky white cheeks and looked at his kid straight in the eyes lovingly.
"Do me favor kiddo…remember how much I love you once you wake up." Angel pulled Connor closer and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
Connor nodded sleepily then snuggled closer to his dad and fell into a peaceful deep sleep.
Angel was preparing mentally for when his son were to wake, he knew that the kid would most likely be hostile with him, so he cherished every second he held his son close.
Angel silently held his child for a few hours before all too soon for the vampire Connor started to moan awake.
Connor's head was dully throbbing as he woke, he surprisingly felt quite comfortable were he lay, he slowly opened his eyes and he was met with worried brown ones starring back at him. Connor's eyes instantly widened as his body grew stiff; he thought he had just dreamed the previous night.
Connor visibly flushed and pulled away from Angel, looking for a quick exit.
"Its okay, you're safe." Angel reassured, talking to his son like he was a skittish puppy.
"What happened?" Connor demanded looking everywhere except at Angel.
"I found you in a club that you had no business being in drugged out of your mind, what the hell were you thinking young-man?" Angel's worry and anger at finding his son drugged came out vehemently.
"I don't have to answer to you demon!"
Angel tried to cover up the hurt he felt with a stern gaze towards his son.
"How are you feeling now?"
Connor ignored Angel's question entirely and asked one of his own.
"Where are my clothes?"
Angel gestured toward a plush chair where Connor's clothing lay.
"I am going to buy you some new clothes later on tonight, those are past their limit."
"I don't need or want anything from you." Connor walked to the chair and changed into his jeans not caring with underwear then slipped on his shoes. He decided to stay with the white t-shirt he was already wearing since he really liked how it felt and smelled…it had his dad's scent which sort of comforted him in a way he had never felt before and that wasn't something he was ready to admit willingly. Also Connor wasn't too fond of the red dress shirt Marty had loaned him, he seriously thought Marty was some kind of witch or something that was the only reason his mind could come up with for the way he felt and acted the prior night.
"Are you hungry?" Angel asked trying his best to ignore his son's insolent attitude.
"No...I'm leaving." Connor was having a hard time making eye contact with Angel, he felt quite embarrassed with most of the prior nights events.
"No, you're not."
Connor glanced up at his dad in utter outrage.
"You can't make me stay here!"
"I'm your dad and you will do as I say and I say you are staying until I decide you are ready to be on your own so until then you will live here."
"No!" Connor tried to run past Angel but was easily caught by his dad's arms. Connor noticed he was not as fast or as strong as usual as he tried to tear out of his father's strong grip.
"You need to calm down son." Angel told his son firmly against his ear as he held him close and securely.
"Let me go!"
After a few minutes of putting up a fight to get out from his dad's hold he tired himself out and soon laid lack against his dad's chest breathing heavily.
Angel walked Connor towards a plush chair and pushed him to sit in it.
"Stay put." Angel commanded sharply before he went and filled a glass with water at the nightstand.
All Connor could do was glare at his dad as he tried to catch his breath again.
Angel walked back over to his son and held out the glass with water towards him. "Drink it."
Connor accepted the glass with a nasty glare etched on his face and drank up all the water thirstily.
Once Connor was done drinking, Angel took the glass away from him and looked down sadly at his son.
"Look Connor, you're my kid and I love you, there's nothing you can do or say to change that, I will do everything to help keep you safe…you taking drugs last night was wrong, you could have easily died! You must never do drugs again, do you understand me?"
"I don't have to answer to you!"
"Yes, you do."
"No I don't! I don't answer to demons!"
"Do you remember what I told you before you went to sleep last night?" Angel tenderly asked, trying to find that sweet boy he knew existed inside Connor.
Connor visibly flushed at the memory knowing how he had been very affectionate with Angel the night before.
"I'm not just a demon, I am your dad that loves you very much."
"I need to go."
"I already told you, you're not leaving, the only place you are going to go now is downstairs with me so you can eat then we could talk."
Angel did not wait to hear whatever protest his son was bound to spew; he simply grabbed the kid by the arm and led him downstairs to the kitchen all while Connor loudly protested at being manhandled.
Cordelia, Fred and Gunn were all gathered around the front desk and they looked on a little shocked that Angel was taking a more hand on approach in dealing with his kid. Gunn was a little more satisfied that Angel was finally taking the boy in hand.
Once Angel entered the kitchen he sat Connor on a stool and looked at his kid poignantly.
"Stay put."
Angel was surprised when his kid did not even move an inch; he thought the kid must have been pretty hungry.
Angel went to the refrigerator and pulled out some ham, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. He then grabbed a loaf of bread of the side counter and started the task of putting together a sandwich for the kid. He was pretty quick about it; he had the sandwich served on a plate before the kid in no time along with a tall glass of milk on the side.
Connor was starving so he readily picked up the sandwich and took a bite then he made a face and spit out a piece of a tomato.
"What is that?" He asked clearly disgusted.
"It's a slice of tomato."
"I don't like it."
"Okay…pick it out then."
Connor gave a small huff and picked out the tomatoes then ate the sandwich hungrily and drank his milk.
Angel sat next to Connor and waited until his son finished his meal to have a very serious talk with him.
Once Connor was done eating he glanced at his side to Angel. "Thank you for the food, but I still think it would be best for me to go."
"I already told you no, you're not leaving."
That did not bode well with Connor at all. "You can't make me stay!"
"Lower your voice and calm down, I am not yelling at you so I'd appreciate the same courtesy and as I said before yes you are. I am going to make sure that you are safe from now; we are going to go over a few rules that I am going to set for you to keep you safe and the consequences if you ever break one of the rules too."
"I'm not going to listen to you!" Connor stood abruptly flinging the stool he was sitting in backwards then tried to make a run for it.
Angel quickly stood up and took a firm hold of the kid's arm before he made it out the kitchen door and gave him light shake. "What do you think you are doing?"
Deep down Connor did want to listen to Angel, deep down he knew how much his dad really loved and cared about him but he was such a stubborn boy that was not willing to give in.
"Let go of me!" Connor tried to pull out of Angel's firm grip wildly.
Angel instead pulled his son in closer and wrapped his arms around the teen securely; afraid the boy would bolt.
"Just relax, you are safe here, this is your home and you don't run away from your home, you need to listen to me because I'm your dad and you're my kid."
Connor knew Angel was not going to let go of him if he kept on fighting back so he simply quit fighting against Angel's strong hold but he was not going to quit for long… When he had the chance he was going to make a run for it, so until then he would act as if he was acceptant of Angel's authority.
Angel felt his son suddenly relax in his arms.
"Fine I'll… listen to you." Connor muttered and acted defeated.
Angel smiled and released his kid and looked at him both relived and happy that the kid was finally showing signs of obedience.
"Are you going to try and run off again?"
"I won't."
"Good, now I think now we should go over those rules I was talking about." Angel went to one of the kitchen drawers and pulled out a note pad and a pen and placed the items on the counter in front of where Connor was seated earlier. " Pick up the stool and have a seat son."
Connor replaced the stool back in place and sat himself down looking at the items his dad placed on the counter in front of him suspiciously.
Angel went and sat next to his son once again. "Here's how this is going to work, I am going to tell you a rule and then you will write it down on the notepad before you."
Connor was about to argue but he decided to keep his mouth shut and play along, he couldn't wait till he had the chance to get away. Connor picked up the pen and looked at his dad expectantly and Angel smiled at him.
"Rule number one... No drugs and no alcohol… Rule number two…no lying what so ever...Rule number three…no hunting on your own…Rule number four…no stealing…Rule number five… no disobedience... and Rule number six no running off... I think that will be all for now…do you have any questions about the rules I've set for you?"
"No." Connor replied in a tone filled with boredom as he tried his best to hide his annoyance.
"Okay…also there will be consequences if you break any of the rules…so I suggest you follow the rules or else you will find yourself… grounded."
"Grounded?"
"Yes grounded, meaning you would be put on restriction and not allowed to do anything remotely fun until I say otherwise."
Connor bite back an angry retort, he thought Angel was being overly controlling.
"So now that we got that settled lets go check out what the gang is up to." Angel threw an arm around Connor's shoulders and led the teen out to the lobby.
Connor felt a little awkward as his dad's friends stared at him.
"Hey Connor, I'm happy to see you're feeling better." Cordelia smiled and walked over to the boy and gave him a hug.
"I'm happy you're feeling better too Connor, we were all pretty worried." Fred said and went and gave the boy a hug too after Cordelia finally released him.
"You gave us quiet a scare last night kid, I'm glad to see you're alright." Gunn said and ruffled the boy's hair a bit.
Connor shyly smiled, it made him feel pretty good that they all were being so nice to him; it made him feel even more as if he belonged there, but he tried his best to brush those feelings to the side. He was beyond confused on what he wanted anymore, he was raised to hate all demons and yet he wouldn't even exist if it weren't for two vampires. Connor wanted to deal with his conflicting feelings on his own and far away from everything that just confused even more and also because he was scared and that was something he rarely ever felt and the very few times he had felt that in the past the only thing he knew to do was to run.
"Hey Angel, Fred and I are going to go to the mall in a few minutes and I think it would be a great idea to take Connor with us, it'll give him a chance to pick out things he likes and it'll be fun for him too."
Angel sighed and looked at his son. "I don't know Cordy, I don't think it's such a good idea-"
Connor on the other hand thought it was a great idea…he had no idea really what a mall was but he didn't care he wanted to get out. "Dad, I want to go with them."
Angel could not say no to his kid when his kid's bright blue eyes looked at him pleadingly.
"Fine…you can go But you need to stay close to Cordy and Fred at all times, understand?"
"Yes, I'll stay close to them."
"Great then lets start heading out, don't worry Angel we'll take good care of him." Cordelia promised as she grabbed her purse then walked over to Angel.
Angel withdrew his wallet and handed Cordelia one of his credit cards. "Don't go too crazy buying stuff, only get stuff he really needs please."
"Of course Angel, you know me, I never go crazy buying stuff." Cordelia smiled a little wickedly.
"Come on sweetie, let's get you some style." Cordelia told the boy waving him to follow her and Fred.
Angel was not ready to let his son go, so he pulled the boy towards him.
"Remember to stay close to them and listen to them, have fun and behave yourself okay, I'll see you later kiddo." Angel pulled Connor into a hug and then kissed him on his temple gently.
Connor was not used to being babied in any way and it sort of made him feel safe on one hand but on the other it sort of annoyed him too. He couldn't help but feel kind of embarrassed with his dad's public display of affection as he pulled away from his dad and follow the women out.
As they drove toward the mall, Cordelia tried to engage in a conversation with the really quiet boy in the backseat of her car.
"Conner, you are going to love the mall!"
"What's the mall?"
"You'll see now, we are almost there."
Cordelia parked her car and the trio made their way into the large mall. Connor looked around in amazement; he had never seen that many people gathered together at one place walking around carrying shopping bags.
"Connor, stay close to us." Cordelia looked behind her and noticed Connor was slowly trailing behind her looking around as they walked through the mall.
"I'm right behind you."
"Get next to me." Cordelia pointed to the space by her side.
Connor sighed and then walked to stand next to her; he was surprised when she took a hold of his hand and then started walking in a quicker pace.
"You don't have to hold my hand." Connor complained as he tried to shake of her grasp.
"Your dad would kill us if we lost you so I am not taking any chances buddy."
Cordelia led him and Fred into a clothing store and started scanning through some jeans and pulled out a few that she thought would fit the boy nicely while Fred was scanning through a few shirts.
"Connor what do you think about these?" Fred held out a few polo shirts toward the boy.
Connor shrugged.
"I really like those." Cordelia remarked.
"I don't understand why I need more than one set of clothing, in Quor-Toth I managed without many clothes."
"Well in this world things are different; you're going try this on for me." Cordelia held out a pair of jeans to the boy.
Connor accepted the jeans then reached down to undo his pants.
"Stop! What are you doing?" Cordelia hissed irritated that the boy was about to undress in public.
"You asked me to try it on."
"Yes in the dressing room not out here! Come on, I'll show you where you can change." Cordelia led the teen to the dressing room and waited outside the door to see for herself if the pants fit the boy well.
"Come out and show me how it looks once you try them on."
Moments later Connor stepped out of the dressing room.
"They look really nice Connor, how do they feel? Are they comfortable?"
"Yeah...they fit well, I like them."
"Great, let's go find you a few more pairs in that size."
Cordelia and Fred helped Connor find a few more pairs of jeans and a few t-shirts and polo shirts, socks and underwear in the clothing store. By the time they were done in that particular clothing store they had three bags full of clothing for the boy.
"Okay, we've got the clothing out of the way now lets get some stuff for your room, every teenage boy wants to make their room their own in their own way...what's your favorite color Connor?" Fred asked as they entered a home decor store.
"Uh...I don't know…don't have one I guess."
"Everybody has a favorite color...come here, look at these different colored comforters, which one do you like the best?"
Connor looked at all the different colored comforter sets and a green colored one he found he liked the best.
"I like the green one."
"Good, then green must be your favorite color."
They ended up buying a bed in a bag green comforter set that the kid had chosen and a few accessories for his bedroom too.
Connor could not believe how long he had been at the mall with Cordelia and Fred, he thought about running off a few times but every time he thought he had a chance Cordelia Chase decided to grab his hand in a death grip. He hated to admit it to himself but he was kind of enjoying himself spending time with them, he found the mall to be quite fascinating. Connor started to realize the more time he spent with the women he didn't have the heart to run from them he didn't know when it happened but he actually cared about the women and what they thought of him.
"Oh I almost forgot we need to get Connor some shoes too and then I think that would be it." Cordelia told Fred.
They made a last stop at a shoe store and Cordelia had the boy try on a few pairs of sneakers, she ended up buying three pairs for the boy and then they were done with their shopping extravaganza.
They made it back to the car with Connor carrying big three bags and Cordelia and Fred each carrying two big bags.
Connor could not believe how much meaningless things people obsessed themselves with in this world. He was also tired, he had spent hours in the mall with the women and all he wanted to do now was sleep and sleep he did, he ended up knocking out in the backseat of Cordelia's car about halfway back home.
Cordelia was the first to notice the teen fast asleep in the backseat when they came across a stop light; she lightly got Fred's attention. "Look in the backseat, how cute is that?"
They had spent the whole day out and the sun was starting to set just then as they arrived before Connor woke up.
"Sweetie, wake up your back home." Cordelia said as she parked her car.
Connor awoke a little startled in the backseat.
"Let's go show your dad all the stuff we got."
Connor felt like it was now or never, he had a pretty good time with Coredlia and Fred but he still was not sure if living with Angel was the best thing for him. He was not sure of so many things, the man who had raised was not the man he thought he was and he was scared maybe Angel might cause him just the same or even more pain. Also since he felt such a strong connection to his birth father and a love that he had never known before it only put a fear in him that only made him want to do one thing and that thing was run.
"Okay." Connor made as if he was going to follow when he saw Cordelia and Fred collect some bags and start making their way to the hotel, he made as if he too was going collect some bags, once he saw their attention was elsewhere, he made a rash decision in a state of panic and made a run for it as fast as he could.
Cordelia and Fred entered the hotel with handful of bags.
Angel and Gunn spotted them and rushed to help them.
Angel noticed his son was not near. "Where's Connor?"
"He's right behind us." Cordelia looked behind her and noticed the kid was not there she then went and looked outside and then stood open mouthed in shock.
Since it was already dark out Angel went outside too and looked around. "He must have not have gotten far, I'll be back once I find him." Angel sprinted off after his offspring following the kid's scent that was still strong enough to track.
Connor did not know where to run to, he felt so lost and he hated to admit it to himself kind of scared too but he simply just wanted to be by himself, he trusted no one at that moment just himself really. He ended up running back to the only place he spent most of his time in the past week, it was to an abandoned dirty flea infested nasty motel, he went into the room he had met Sunny in and thought if he should call this place his new home. He looked under a dirty mattress and found his stake he had left there before and shoved it in his pocket; he planned on releasing some tension in hunting some vampires that night.
"Connor lets go home."
Connor didn't need to turn around to know that his dad was standing right behind him.
"No…this is my home."
"No it's not, your home is with me, now lets go now." Angel made to grab the boy but Connor had been expecting the move and easily moved out of the way and faced his dad.
"I just want to be alone!"
"You can be alone all you want at home in your room since you will now be grounded for running off, now lets go." This time Angel was able to grab the kid firmly and march him out of the filthy motel.
With Angel's quick pace they arrived back at the Hyperion in no time.
"Oh good you found him." Cordelia said in relief once she saw Angel dragging a very reluctant teen in through the doors.
"You can't do this! Let me go!"
"Go wait for me in my office now." Angel commanded firmly as he lightly shoved his son towards his office.
"No!" Connor tried to get past his dad to run out but he was forcefully stopped and turned facing Angel's office again and this time Angel gave his bottom a mighty swat as he told him sternly. "Go wait in my office right now."
That one swat had hurt Connor more than let on, he was about to argue but once he saw Angel raise his hand again to deliver another sound swat at his backside he wisely made his way into his dad's office and couldn't help slamming the office door loudly in both anger and frustration.
"Yo Angel, word of advise, that kid is going to need more than one swat to tame that attitude." Gunn approached Angel's side.
"I can't believe you actually spanked Connor." Cordelia was slightly amused and shocked.
"Well I can't let him get away with acting like a brat."
"Yeah man I agree with you, that kid needs to know whose boss; he needs to be put in his place a.s.a.p."
"Angel you're not really going to spank Connor tonight are you?" Fred asked worried for the boy.
"No I don't plan on it, I'm just going to talk to him and hopefully get through to him but if he keeps pushing me tonight I just might."
"If he keeps asking for it, don't hesitate in giving that boy what he needs."
"And what will that be Gunn?" Cordelia asked already knowing what the man's answer was.
"A good spanking."
"Charles, this is Connor we are talking about, don't say that." Fred tried to defend the boy.
"Its true babe, that kid needs to know his place."
"Hey guys, can you do me a favor and head out for awhile, go on and have some dinner on me and please bring some dinner back for Connor."
"Alright we'll get out of your hair now, just please don't be too hard on him." Cordelia accepted the money Angel gave her for dinner and then they were soon out the door leaving Angel alone in the lobby gathering his thoughts.
TBC
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