Guardian Angel

Chapter 7

Part 1

Angel called the Hyperion to let Buffy know that he and the others were on their way back after visiting Wesley. She told him briefly that they had had an unwanted visitor, but they were fine. Angel started to panic; he closed his cell phone and stepped on the accelerator. Everyone in the car noticed his action but Lorne was the first one to speak.

"Angelcakes, what is it? What has happened?"

"Someone sent a shape-shifter after Connor. Buffy stopped it; she said that they are fine. I shouldn't have left them alone."

Cordelia was adamant, "Angel, slow down. It only takes ten minutes to get to the hotel; if you wrap this car around a tree, it is going to take a whole lot longer. They weren't alone, Groo was with them; besides if Buffy said they are fine, then they are; now slow this damned car down."

"ANGEL!" Gunn yelled, his voice finally getting through to Angel who slowed the car down to eighty miles an hour but not less.

He dashed into the hotel lobby, almost falling over the demon's dead body. "Sorry I had to leave it there, I didn't want to leave Groo and Connor alone in case we had another guest from Lilah."

"Lilah is responsible for this? I'll just have to pay her a visit." Though Angel's voice was low and menacing everyone knew that his anger was not directed at them.

"Don't worry, Angel, I have plans for Lilah." The smirk on Buffy's face told them much more than her words did and they knew that Lilah would forever regret what she had done.

Part 2

Two days after her botched attempt to retrieve Connor, Lilah paid a visit to Wesley; she carried flowers and a wrapped gift.

He was more than surprised to see her when he opened the door, but he let her in.

"What are you doing here, Lilah?"

She seemed genuinely distraught over his condition and tears came to her eyes. "I-I heard … I.. Oh, Wesley ..." She let the tears roll down her cheeks.

Wesley was more than shocked at her behavior, but he was completely convinced that her concern for him was genuine. He took the gifts from her, put them on a nearby table and held her as she cried.

Lilah pulled away from him, embarrassed by her actions; she turned away in an effort to pull herself together. "I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me; I just…I'll go...I..."

"Don't go," Wesley said almost urgently; "let me get you a cup of tea."

When he left the room, Lilah smirked inwardly, 'Now tell me that performance wasn't worthy of at least an Emmy nomination.'

And so Lilah's plans for Wesley were working. She charmed her way back into his life and his bed before he knew what was happening. He kept reminding himself that this was the same Lilah that had been after Angel since he arrived in LA, but he convinced himself that with him she was different, she had no hidden agenda, she loved him.

By the time he was recovered enough so that he could move to Sunnydale and assume responsibilities as Faith's watcher, everyone, even Faith, accepted her as Wesley's girlfriend and did not question Lilah's presence every few weeks at Buffy's house on Revello Drive. Of course the Scoobies didn't know the extent of Faith's earlier involvement with Lilah and no one told them about it.

Unknown to anyone else Lilah had surveillance devices planted in various places in the house as she formerly had at the Hyperion and through that she gained invaluable information about Angel, Connor and the Slayer. She found out, for instance, that Angel was now human and that the slayer was back on earth and living at the Hyperion.

'I wonder how long the slayer has been back. I bet she is the reason I didn't hear anything from the changeling that I sent to get the kid. I can't let Wesley know that I was involved in that. I wonder if I can get him to contact Angel, just to see how things are going. It's a risk, but I have to get that kid; the Senior Partners are breathing down my neck again. I can't afford to slip up again.'

Part 3

In LA Buffy, Angel and the rest of AI were successful in thwarting all attempts from demons (and a few humans) at kidnapping or causing harm to Connor, but Buffy was worried. She approached Angel one day and voiced her concern.

"Angel does it seem to you that things have been too easy for us in protecting Connor? I would have expected an all-out assault against us from the demon community and certainly more than that one attempt from Wolfram & Hart. I can't help but feel that something is in the works and I want to know what it is."

"I know what you mean, but I haven't heard of anything and neither has Lorne. Do you think it's time to pay Lilah another visit?"

"Maybe, but before I do, I want to contact Sunnydale again to see if they've heard anything. I know that Faith would've called if she suspected anything, but just in case."

What Buffy learned when she spoke with Faith chilled her to the bone – not only was Wesley seeing Lilah, but she was paying regular visits to him at Buffy's house and Wesley was currently in LA for the day.

'That woman has the nerve of a brass-ass monkey. I have been too lenient with her; it's time I changed the rules of the game.'

Part 4

Buffy waited until Wesley left Lilah's house that evening; as soon as Lilah closed her front door and turned around she found herself face to face with a very angry slayer.

"H-How did you get in here? How do you keep doing that?"

Without answering her questions Buffy got right to the point. "I warned you to let the game play out as it was scheduled and I told you what would happen if I perceived any interference from you. You didn't listen. I gave you a warning 'STRIKE ONE'. You still didn't listen. You are using Wesley to acquire information about Connor; that's strike 2. You have planted surveillance devices in my house; that's strike 3, which loses you your turn at bat."

With each word she spoke Buffy took a step closer to Lilah; her voice was threatening, daring Lilah to move. "You have had the nerve to enter my house. That move puts you out of the game, Lilah. I suggest you go visit your mother; this may be the last chance you get."

Lilah thought that meant that Buffy was going to kill her mother.

"Nooo," Lilah wailed. She grabbed her purse and dashed out the door unmindful of the fact that she was still wearing her robe with nothing underneath.

She broke every speed limit between her house and the care facility where her mother was institutionalized. Ignoring the nurses at the front desk, she ran to her mother's room. There was nobody there. "MOTHER," she yelled as she ran into the hall checking various rooms for her mother.

An attendant heard her and when he saw her state of panic asked, "Miss Morgan, what is wrong?"

"Where is my mother?" she demanded.

"Did you check with the front desk?" the attendant asked and, with as little force as possible, he guided her back to her mother's room.

"No I didn't check with the front desk, my mother is always in her room...," then realizing what the attendant was doing, she demanded, "What do you think you're doing, let go of me."

"Now Miss Morgan, you know that all patients are required to be in their rooms by eight pm."

"Then why isn't my mother in this room."

"Now, now Miss Morgan, this isn't your mother's room, this is your room. I'm sure that your mother will be back for her weekly visit very soon, but I believe she said she was taking a short vacation."

"No no no, this isn't right; this is all wrong. Get the front desk right now."

The attendant was really getting worried about Lilah. He pressed the number one on the panel beside the door which called the front desk. The nurses at the desk could hear Lilah's screams over the phone and two of them headed for her room as another nurse pressed the emergency call button.

The emergency attendants got to the room first; when the nurses arrived they found three attendants trying to restrain Lilah. "What happened?"

"I don't know," the first attendant replied, "I found Miss Morgan in the hall yelling for her mother."

"I was afraid of this; I have been concerned about something like this happening ever since Mrs. Morgan left for vacation. I know that she needed a break from this place; she hasn't taken a week off since she first brought her daughter to us three years ago. Miss Morgan has been making such good progress since Mr. Wyndham-Price started visiting. Does anybody know what caused this setback?"

When the only response to her inquiry was a sad shaking of heads from the others in the room, the nurse said, "Restrain her. I'll give her a mild sedative to calm her down; maybe she'll be more coherent in the morning."

A/N – I have no medical training whatsoever and I do not know if this is how this situation would be handled in an actual emergency. I apologize if this description of events offends anyone.

Lilah lost her ability to speak, but she still fought as the sedative was administered.

As soon as everyone left her room, Buffy appeared. Lilah's eyes widened when she saw the slayer. She couldn't speak, but Buffy could read her thoughts.

"YOU. You did this. Get me out of here," Lilah raged in her mind.

For long moments Buffy walked around the room pausing briefly at various items before she spoke. She turned to look at Lilah and said, "You should have heeded my warning. Now look at you; where is the mighty Lilah now?"

"What have you done to me?"

"I have caused you to switch places with your mother; she now occupies your office at W&H and you are a patient here. Goodbye, Lilah," Buffy said as she started to disappear.

"No, no, don't go; don't leave me here, please, pleasssseee," was the last coherent thought Lilah remembered. She found herself lost in a sea of meaningless thoughts and images as actions she had taken since selling her soul to W&H played over and over in her mind. When she awoke the next morning she didn't remember who or where she was. All she remembered was her last conversation with Buffy and the sight of an angel as it disappeared.

End of Chapter 7