Chapter 2
"SPOTS, WHAT SPOTS?"
Time line: Two weeks after returning to Los Angeles.
"Get up Angel it's time to go to church." She didn't get any response from him so she shook him again. This time she at least got a moan out of him as he rolled over. She pulled the covers down this time and started to tickle his side but stopped as soon as she put her hands on him.
Cordelia pulled her hands back then she put her hand on his forehead. Angel was hot, hot like he was when he had a fever. Cordelia called his name again.
"Angel, wake up baby." Angel opened his eyes it took a moment for him to focus in on her.
"Cordelia?" "Yes Angel I'm right here. What's the matter?" "I don't know I feel so hot. I feel like I'm going to catch fire any minute. You better call Mom or Spike."
Cordelia reached for the phone and dialed Giles phone number. After 4 rings Giles picked up the phone.
"Hello." "Giles this is Cordelia is Mom there?" "Yes we were just about to walk out of the door to go to church. Is something wrong? You sound scared." Giles motioned to Mary to come to the phone. "Angels real sick he's running a high fever." Cordelia said as she put the thermometer into Angels mouth.
"Cordelia this is Mom, what's wrong?" "When I went to wake Angel up to get him to get ready to go to church he felt real hot." The thermometer beeped and Cordelia took it out of Angels mouth and read it. "Mom the thermometer says that his temperature is 105." "Has he vomited or done anything else unusual?" "No I don't think so. Just a minute let me ask him. Angel have you been vomiting at all or all you hurting anywhere?"
It took Angel a while to respond. "No." That's all he said then he seemed to loose consciousness. "He said no Mom then I think he lost consciousness." "Okay Cordelia I can't come home yet because my immune system is to weak right now. I am going to call Dr. Thompson and ask him if he could go and check him. Do you know if Hunter is with him?" "Yes they were here just 2 days ago for dinner." Cordelia answered.
"Okay Cordelia I'll call you back in a few minutes and let you know if I contacted Mike. If Angel starts getting hotter put some ice water and rubbing alcohol in a bowl then place a small towel in it. When you take it out don't ring it out too much then put it on his chest and wipe him down with the same water and another wash cloth. I'll call you back in a few minutes. Bye."
Dr. Martin called Dr. Thompson and asked him to go and check on Angel because he was running a high temperature. When she hung up she then called Buffy. "Buffy, this is Mom can you tell me if any of the children that Willow and Tara were taking care of two weeks ago have come down with anything?"
"Yes the littlest one came down with the measles. She was just starting to get sick when Angel came over to get Connor, but she's okay now. Why are you asking?" "Angel is very sick. Cordelia called me to let me know that he was running a high fever." "But Mom he's a Vampire." "Yes Buffy but he is a Vampire that is slowly becoming human again. Thanks for the information. You make sure that you stay away from those children just to be on the safe side, okay?" "Okay Mom. Do you need Spike to come to L.A.?" "No I don't want to take any chances with him catching it or carrying it back to you. Bye."
Dr. Martin called Cordelia back right away. "Cordelia?" "Yes it's me Mom." "Has his temperature gone up anymore?" "No, it seems to be staying at 105." "Okay this is what is going on and what I want you to do. I contacted Mike and Hunter and they are coming over now. I also contacted Buffy and asked her if any of the children that they took care of 2 weeks ago have come down with anything. She said that the youngest one was starting to get sick with the measles when Angel was there. Tell Mike that I think that is what Angel has. It's going to be hard on him and you Cordelia. You're going to have two babies on your hands. Angel is going to be more sick then the average child would be. It's always harder on adults when they get it. Most of all Cordelia you have to be careful with Angels boys. If he gets too hot for to long of a time then manufacture of his little soldiers will shutdown permanently. So do what you can to keep his boys cool. Now let Wesley and Fred know about what is happening but tell Fred to stay away from both Angel and Kathleen. If you need someone to help you get Gunn. I'll call back tonight to see how he is. Good luck Cordelia. Bye."
Two hours later Dr. Thompson and Hunter entered the hotel and went directly to Angels room. The door was open so they just walked right into the room. The drapes were closed but it was still light. As soon as Cordelia saw them come in she stood up from the table where she was feeding Kathleen. They had bought a high chair for her when she started eating solid food so she felt secure in leaving her at the table.
"Thank you for coming Mike and Hunter. Mom told me to tell you that she thinks he has the measles because he was exposed to it the day before we left. I asked her how that could happen since he was a vampire and had never been sick before. She said it was happening because Angel is slowly becoming human."
"How long has he had the fever?" Mike asked Cordelia. "He looked fine last night so I am guessing that it came on just this morning. He was coughing a little last night and he wasn't hungry but that's all. I didn't think much of it because he has started to experience hay fever lately."
Mike was examining Angel while Cordelia was answering his questions. Hunter had gone back downstairs to get some supplies and returned in a few minutes. She gave him supplies to take a sample of blood and swab the inside of his mouth. He listened to his chest for any congestion but found none.
"Cordelia if you have any Tylenol would you get me some please?" Cordelia went into the bathroom and brought back a bottle of Tylenol and gave it to Mike.
Mike called out Angels name but didn't get any response. He slapped his face lightly a few times then. Angel started to open his eyes and looked at Mike for a minute while he tried to focus in on his face.
"Hi Mike, what are you doing here?" "Well Angel you gave poor Cordelia a good scare so she called out the army to see what was wrong with her baby. I just got through examining you and I am sorry to say that you have the Measles."
"Measles, how can I have the measles?" "Remember those children that were at Buffy's house when you went there to pick up Connor?" Mike asked him. "Yeah, don't tell me I caught it from one of them?" "Yup, that's exactly where you got it." Mike said with a smile.
Mike helped Angel sit up and gave him the Tylenol and some water.
"Okay Angel this is all I can give you. Antibiotics don't work with the Measles. The only thing that I can give you is aspirin or Tylenol for the fever. You can give him water and alcohol baths to try and keep the fever down. Drink plenty of water Angel it will help to keep your body hydrated because the fever will make you perspire heavily. If he starts having respiratory problems use a vaporizer to ease the congestion. Once again regular medication doesn't work with measles. If he should start having problems with his ears or you hear him wheezing a lot when he breathes let Hunter or I know. You should start seeing the spots, that are characteristic of measles, appear sometime within the next few days. He is showing the classic spots inside his mouth right now. How has Kathleen been doing?" Mike stood up then and went to the bathroom to clean his hands thoroughly before going to examine Kathleen. He felt her forehead and looked inside of her mouth as best he could but she seemed to be healthy.
"She has been just as happy go lucky as usual. Her Daddy's illness hasn't seemed to bother her." Cordelia answered.
"I know Mary has given her all of her baby shots so hopefully she won't catch it but it is possible for her to get sick with it so keep a close eye on her. Is Gunn, Wesley and Fred in the hotel?"
"Yes, did you want to talk to them?" Cordelia asked. "Yes, tell them to meet us downstairs."
Mike and Hunter went downstairs and waited for the rest to come down. Hunter made some coffee for everyone. She could hear everyone coming downstairs so she went back to the dinning room table. Greetings were exchanged as the rest came to join them at the table.
"How is Angel doing Mike?" Wesley asked.
"He is a sick man Wes. It's going to take him another week or so before he is over the worst part and that's why I wanted to talk to all of you. Fred since you're pregnant I think it would be best for you to go and stay some place else. Why don't you use the opportunity to go and visit your parents. I don't think he has the German Measles, which is dangerous for a pregnant woman to have since it causes birth defects, but I think you should leave just to be on the safe side. I've taken samples from Angel and I'll be sending them to the lab to check to make sure that they are just the regular measles. Wes you need to decide if you want to stay here and help Cordelia and Gunn take care of Angel or go with Fred. Now you know how bad Angel tends to get when he has a fever, I advise you to call Connor to come back for a couple of weeks. I've already spoken to Cordelia about it and what she has to do, now I don't think his temperature will go up any higher, at least it doesn't with normal people but since Angel has always had a problem with fevers going sky high, you may have to give him an ice bath again because regular antibiotics and medication doesn't work with measles." Mike finally stopped talking to take a breath.
"I think you had better go Fred and I'll stay here to help Cordelia. When we are sure that he is okay and the rest of us are clear I'll join you at your parents. We can have a little vacation and finish our interrupted Honeymoon." Wesley said. "Okay I think that's a good idea also. I'm sorry I can't stay Cordelia." Fred said as she started to get up from her chair. "Don't give it a second thought Fred. You just take care of your little Fed Ex package." Everyone had started to refer to the baby Fred was carrying as her Fed Ex package every since she told Wesley about her pregnancy as though it was a delivery that was coming by mail.
"Okay Cordelia, don't hesitate to make that call to Connor to get him back as soon as possible. Stock up on the ice and I suggest you transfer Angel to 412 where that bath tub is that you can put him and the ice in. Hunter and I will check in on him twice a day. Gunn I suggest that you stay at the hotel and don't visit your group of kids until you know for sure that you aren't coming down with it. It will be highly contagious while he has a fever. Tell them what to look out for just in case you've already contaminated them. We will be leaving just as soon as I can wash my hands. Hunter will come tomorrow morning and I'll come at night. Good luck." Mike and Hunter went to Dr. Martins clinic to wash their hands then left.
Cordelia went back to her bedroom and checked on Angel. She took his temperature again and found it to be the same. She breathed a sigh of relief then washed her hands before going to Kathleen to clean her up after feeding her. Meal times were always a fun time for Kathleen. Her Mother was able to get most of the food in her but Kathleen was interested in the food, but to play with. To say the least her high chair often looked like a war zone.
Fred was able to get a flight out to Texas that evening so Wesley and her went out and spent some quality time together before they had to be parted for the first time since they had married.
Gunn took care of any customers that came in and fortunately Cordelia hadn't had any visions. He went up to check on her around 2 in the afternoon. He knocked on the door. "Cordelia it's me Gunn, can I come in?" "Yes Gunn come in." When Gunn opened the door what he saw almost scared him. Poor Cordelia looked like she had been in a fight with some demons that threw up on her. She had baby food all over her hair because Kathleen had hit the edge of her baby dish and the food went flying all over her mother. Kathleen thought the whole thing was pretty funny because she was giggling and continuing to smear the food all over the high chair tray, her face, clothes, and if Cordelia put any part of her person near her daughter she would find it on her as well.
So this was what Gunn saw when he opened Cordelia and Angels bedroom door. Gunn could do nothing to stop himself from laughing so hard that he had to sit on the floor.
"It isn't funny Gunn. She shouldn't be able to do this stuff for a few months yet. She shouldn't be coordinated enough yet. It's all his fault that her mind is advancing so fast. Then he had to get sick with the measles of all things." Cordelia walked over to the bed where Angel appeared to be sleeping. "Your making her do this Angel aren't you. Yeah, I know your awake and your just pretending to be sleeping." She went back to the sink, wet a kitchen towel and started cleaning up her daughter. After a few attempts at cleaning her hair she gave up and pulled her out of the high chair and took her into the bathroom.
Cordelia gave Kathleen to Gunn. "Would you hold her for a minute Gunn while I gather hers and my clothes, I have to give her and myself a bath. The little rug rat got her food in my hair as well." Gunn held Kathleen out at arms length. She still had food all over her so he wasn't taking any chances of being included in on her little fun time.
Cordelia came back and took Kathleen from Gunn. "Thanks Gunn, if you hear Angel yelling later on don't bother coming up. It will just be me making him suffer for what he has done."
Cordelia went into the bathroom with her daughter and closed the door. Gunn felt sorry for her so he cleaned the floor and high chair up for her. Before he left he went over to Angel and felt his forehead.
"Your warm but your not so warm that you should be passed out so open your eyes." Gunn said as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Angel opened his eyes and started laughing. He sat up and swung his legs over to the side of the bed. He was laughing so hard that he started coughing and choking so hard that Gunn started to pound him on his back. When he was able to get his coughing under control he was out of breath and felt weak. Angel laid back down again. Gunn stood up then. "Good, God punished you for being so mean to your poor wife. You should be ashamed of yourself." "Oh I am, I am, but I was having so much fun that I almost lost it when Kathleen turned the plate over and the food landed all over Cordelia. That part was pure accident, I didn't tell her to do that."
"Your playing with fire there Angel since she is the one that is taking care of you." Gunn left then and went back downstairs. It was getting late so he went into the kitchen to make a sandwich for himself and Cordelia. He made a roast beef sandwich for himself and Cordelia and a large mug of blood for Angel. He took Cordelia and Angels food up to them. He knocked on the door before opening it. "Cordelia are you still in the bathroom?" "Yes Gunn." "I made a sandwich for you and I brought a mug of blood up for Angel. I'm going to leave it on the table then leave okay?" "You're so sweet, thank you, you're a life saver." Gunn put Cordelia's sandwich on the table and gave Angel his blood. "Thank you." Angel said. "You're welcome you bad person you." Gunn said with a smile then he left to go and eat his own sandwich.
Angel was starting to feel bad about what he did. So he got up and went to the bathroom door and listened to see if Cordelia was still in the bathroom. He could hear her making noise in the water as she bathed her daughter. Angel carefully opened the door and walked in and pulled his shorts off and climbed into the whirlpool opposite of Cordelia.
"So you were awake." "Yes and I was telling Kathleen what to do. But I swear on my mothers grave that I didn't tell her to flip her dish over. That was purely an accident. Gunn cleaned up everything for you, he felt so sorry for you." Cordelia had finished cleaning up her daughter so she gave her to her Daddy so that she could clean herself now. Then she took Kathleen and got out of the tub and Angel bathed himself.
Cordelia put a fresh diaper on Kathleen and put her in her pink sleeper. Without dressing Cordelia went to the couch and turned the TV on and made herself comfortable then put Kathleen to her breast. When Angel came out he found her still on the couch. He brought her sandwich over to her along with a glass of cold milk. Kathleen was done nursing so Angel took her from his wife and put her in her crib. The bassinet was too small for her now so they had purchased a crib along with the high chair. He went back to the couch and brought his blood with him. Cordelia was watching a movie and eating her sandwich. When she was done she just leaned back on the couch and pulled the blanket around herself.
Cordelia wasn't talking to Angel so he knew that he was still in the dog house. He always crumbled right away once he realized she wasn't talking to him because she was mad at him for something he did.
"Cordelia I'm sorry, but I was just having so much fun with her that I couldn't stop myself. I am truly sorry and I promise that I will never do anything like that again. Please, can you find it in your heart to forgive me?" Angel didn't try using his puppy dog eyes because he wanted her to know that he was being sincere.
After five minutes Cordelia finally spoke up. "Alright I forgive you but if you ever do that again Angel you will find my side of the bed empty for at least a week. Do you understand?" "Yes Mam." "Okay, I want you to go back to bed now." "Yes Mam." Angel got up and went back to the bed and got in under the covers then held her side of the sheets open so that she could climb in also. Cordelia checked on Kathleen then went to the bed and slipped in next to her husband and they both went to sleep for a couple of hours.
It was 5 o'clock in the evening by the time they woke up again. Cordelia was awakened by Angels shaking next to her. He was so cold that his teeth were chattering. She could see the perspiration rolling down off of his face. Cordelia put her hand to his forehead and pulled it away almost immediately. She pulled the covers up around his neck along with the quilt but he was still cold so she pulled on her outer clothes and ran to the hallway closet and grabbed three more blankets. Before running back into the room she called downstairs for Gunn.
"Gunn I need you up here now." She didn't wait for an answer she just ran back into the room and started throwing the blankets on Angel. She heard Gunn coming up the stairs and into the room.
"What's wrong Cordy?" "I need you to be here incase I need your help." Since his teeth were still chattering she put the thermometer under his arm and stayed by his side to make sure that he kept his arm close to his body. When it beeped she checked it but didn't say anything right away. Gunn finally said "Well what's his temperature?" "106. Gunn come and hold him up for me. I have to get him to take some Tylenol." Gunn went to the bed and helped Angel to sit up while Cordelia gave him the Tylenol and water.
"Angel, wake up. I need for you to take these Tylenol." Angel opened his eyes and took the medicine and water then went back to sleep again. After a few minutes his chattering stopped and he settled down into a more peaceful sleep. She took his temperature again and found that it was down to 103.
"I've never seen Tylenol work so fast before, it usually takes 20 to 30 minutes to start working on me." "Yeah I know he seems to react to it real fast and the affects seems to last a lot longer. This morning Dr. Thompson gave him 2 and it made his temperature go way down for about 5 hours. Hunter said it was because he's never had it before so as far as his body is concerned it's a brand new powerful drug."
Cordelia covered him up again and took some of the blankets off and folded them again. She put them on one of the chairs that was in the corner just in case she needed them again. "Can you stay with them for 30 minutes or so. I need to put these sheets and towels in the wash and I just need to get away for a while. They should both sleep for the next several hours." "Sure Cordy, take as much time as you want." "Thanks Gunn, you're a prince among men." Gunn just smiled at her as she picked up the sheets and the rest of the dirty linen along with Kathleen's clothes.
As Cordelia was walking downstairs with the dirty laundry Wesley came walking in. "Hi Wesley how was your day? Did you spend some quality time with Fred and Junior?" "Junior, what makes you think it's a Junior? She hasn't even had an ultrasound yet." Wesley said it in a way as though he thought she knew something.
"Oh no reason just that Fred and I decided that it's a boy. Anyways we have been having loads of fun here. Your associate, my dear sweet husband, and father of our child has been having fun during his periods of lucidity." She stood there with her hands on her hips, which Wesley knew was an invitation to him to ask why.
"Why do you say that? What did he do now?" Wesley asked as he went to her and took the basket of dirty laundry and followed her downstairs.
"You know how he has been able to make Kathleen do some things?" "Yes." Wesley said as an encouragement for her to continue.
"Well I didn't know it but in the early part of the afternoon I was feeding Kathleen solid food. Without my knowledge Angel was awake and watching me and apparently he was feeling better because he decided to make our daughter do things that she shouldn't be able to do yet." "Like what?" Wesley asked. He was doing his best not to laugh.
"Kathleen is just starting to learn to eat solid food and sit up in the high chair so she pretty much had her hands full just sitting up straight but Angel had her raising her hand and blocking the spoon full of food from going into her mouth. She was getting it all over herself and in her hair and when she did take the food she would practice spitting it out at me. That little rug rat had baby food all over herself and me. I was covered in baby food especially when she flipped over the dish and it went all over me and in my hair. Then she was swishing her hands in it and throwing it on the floor. When I looked over at Angel he pretended to be sleeping."
"My poor baby. Come here you look like you need a major hug." Wesley went to her and took her in his arms. Cordelia went to him and cried on his shoulder for a few minutes. The crying was more from the stress of having to take care of two babies at the same time.
After a few minutes she pulled back from him. "Then Wesley I couldn't even take it out on him. After I gave myself and Kathleen a bath and put her to bed he came over to me and apologized. We fell asleep on the couch and when I woke up a few hours later his temperature had gone way up again. Gunn and I got him back to bed and I piled the blankets on him because he seemed to be terribly cold even though his temperature was up. It was crazy. I didn't know whether I should wash him down with ice water or pile the blankets on. Since his teeth were chattering I piled the blankets on. With Gunn's help we got him to take some more aspirin and in 15 to 20 minutes he stopped shaking and his temperature started to go down." Cordelia pulled away from him then and wiped her eyes and grabbed some Kleenex from the box on the folding table and blew her nose.
"Thank you Wesley, I needed that. I may have to do it again though since this is only the beginning." she started putting the laundry in the washing machine then. When she was done they both went upstairs to see how Angel was doing.
When they arrived at Cordelia and Angels room they saw Gunn over on the couch watching television and Angel and Kathleen sleeping peacefully. "Gunn you can go now. Thank you for watching them." Gunn got up and started to leave when he saw Wesley. "Hay Wes. How did it go today?" "Good. Fred's plane took off just an hour ago and she is supposed to land in Texas in about another hour."
"Well guys I am going to be going out tonight. I have a date with my girl tonight. She only has a couple of days off after working 12 to 16 hours each day and tonight is her first night free after using all day to catch up on her sleep. I'll have my cell phone on so call me if you need help."
"By any chance Gunn does your girlfriend know anything about us and what we do and especially Angel?" Cordelia asked.
"Well yes and no. She knows what we do but not about Angels being a Vampire and all." Gunn had a pretty good idea what she was going to ask next.
"How about bringing her around to introduce the rest of the family?" Cordelia asked with her best million dollar smile on.
Gunn knew what she had up her sleeve. "I'll ask Cordy but I can't promise anything. I'll see you later."
Cordelia went over to check on Angel. He felt warm but not to warm so she decided to let him sleep. She thought to herself 'At least when he is sleeping he isn't causing me any problems.'
The next day Connor arrived along with Toby. He was a big help to her in taking care of Kathleen. When comparing Kathleen to her Daddy, Cordelia told the guys that Angel won as the biggest baby. "His mother must have really babied him when he was sick. I can see why he misses her so much."
On the fourth day the famous SPOTS showed up and the fevers were much lower. When his chest was fully covered by the spots Cordelia decided to have some fun at Angels expense. She called Wesley, Gunn and Connor to come up to their room. She then pulled out the movie camera and met them out in the hallway.
She explained what she wanted to do and for the next hour they played connect the dots while Cordelia made a movie of the whole process. "When the time is right I am going to play this movie then we will see who has the last laugh my dear Angel." She told Angel, while he was still sleeping, after Gunn and Wesley had left. She put the camera away then and went back to folding Kathleen's laundry. She was happier then she had been for over a week. She was so happy she was whistling while she folded the laundry and put it away.
About five days later the spots started to disappear and the rash started along with a fever. By the second day Angels fever was approaching 107. Cordelia went to the balcony and called for Gunn, Wesley and Connor.
All three of the men came running up to her room. "What's wrong Cordelia?" Wesley asked.
"His fever is going real high Wesley. Lets try to get him into the whirlpool bath and see if we can get it cold enough for him in there. Connor would you start bringing ice up." Connor ran downstairs and Wesley and Gunn got Angel up and into the whirlpool bath.
Cordelia had started the cold water running into the bath while waiting for the men to come and help her with Angel. It was almost full by the time they put him in it.
Connor came up with five bags of ice. The others helped him open them as fast as they could and dumped them right on top of Angel. They were having a hard time holding onto him to keep his head above water so Cordelia started to take her blouse and jeans off so she could get into the bath with him. "No Cordelia I'll get in with him. Your not strong enough to handle him by yourself." Wesley said as he took his shoes, socks and shirt off. He didn't bother to take his jeans off since he wasn't the one that was hot with a fever. As Wesley got in the tub Gunn and Connor held Angel up so Wesley could slide in behind him and hold him.
Cordelia and Wesley started to move the ice around and all over Angel to try to get the water cold as fast as possible. In the mean time Gunn and Connor had run down stairs to get more ice. Angels hands and legs had started to shake from the fever. Cordelia grabbed some more Tylenol and was able to get him to take them with more water. Connor and Gunn arrived with more ice and dumped it into the bathtub. Angel finally stopped shaking and Cordelia took his temperature again. It was down to 102. "Okay guys we can take him out now."
Connor and Gunn helped Angel to get out and took him to his bed. Cordelia put another blanket on the bed so she could wrap him up in it and dry him off. She gave more towels and Angels robe to Wesley so he could take his jeans off and dry himself off. When she came back into the bathroom after putting Angel back to bed she found Wesley shivering and his teeth chattering he was so cold.
"Wesley lets get you to bed so you can warm up. Fred has an electric blanket on the bed doesn't she?" "Yyyyeeeesssss, ssssssshhhhheeee ddddooooeeeessss." "Come on Wesley." Cordelia put her arm around him and took him back to his bedroom and after turning the blanket on she told him to take the robe and his shorts off and to get into the bed."
"Cordelia, I assure you that I can disrobe and get into bed by myself." "Don't be a fuddy duddy Wesley, you don't have anything that I haven't seen before. I'll turn around and then I want you to take those shorts and robe off then crawl under those sheets and blanket." She could hear him taking the shorts off and crawling in under the sheets and electric blanket. Cordelia turned around then and picked up the shorts and robe and put them over a chair while she made a cup of hot tea for Wesley. He had fallen asleep though so she just put it on the stand next to the bed. She quietly picked up the clothes and left.
This was the last episode of high fever for Angel and the measles. Except for the rash that followed the SPOTS he did okay as far as being a good boy. Angel was itching so bad from the rash that he was causing his skin to bleed with the constant scratching so Cordelia filled the bathtub in 412 with an oatmeal bath that Dr. Thompson had brought her. He helped her get the bath ready and then helped her with Angel.
"Ewww, this feels funky." Angel said as he slid into the bath. He smeared it all over his arms and chest where the rash was the worst. He sat there for the next hour, for the first time in 3 days he was able to sleep without waking up because of the itching that was driving him crazy. Wesley, Gunn and Connor had come up to 412 along with Dr. Thompson and Cordelia. While Angel soaked they played cards and Kathleen slept on the bed. Since Angel wasn't included in the game others were winning. Hunter was downstairs making some sandwiches for the humans and mugs of blood for herself and Angel. While she was in the kitchen someone came into the Hotel and rang the bell at the lobby desk. Hunter went to see who it was. She soon found out that it was a customer for Angel Investigations so she called upstairs to Wesley and told him they had a customer.
They dealt Wesley out of the game while he went down to the Lobby to talk to the client.
"Wesley this is Mr. Johnson Meadows, Mr. Meadows this is Wesley Wyndham Price an associate of Mr. Angel Martin. Mr. Martin is ill right now so Mr. Price will help you. I'll take my leave now gentlemen. Would you like something to drink Mr. Meadows?" "Yes some hot tea please, Earl Grey if you have it." Mr. Meadows asked. "And you Wesley?" "No nothing thank you."
"Mr. Meadows would you come into my office where we can discuss your problem." Wesley guided Mr. Meadows into his office and closed the door. "How can Angel Investigations help you Mr. Meadows?"
"I have a son Mr. Price, he is 16 years old. Recently he has become involved with a gang. He spends all of his time with them. We received a call from his school last week they said he hadn't been in school for the past 2 weeks and they wanted to know if he was going to be returning to school anytime soon. My wife, his mother, and I confronted him when he came in, in the morning. We asked him why he hadn't been in school for the past 2 weeks. He became very angry and told us to stay out of his business. So I did the next best thing and had him followed. Here is the report from the investigator." Mr. Meadows paused for a moment. He did his best to control himself. Wesley could tell that he was about to break down.
"Mr. Meadows we have a special sort of clientele that has very unusual problems. We don't handle just any client." Hunter came and knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. She gave Mr. Meadows his tea then left.
"Mr. Price my son is hanging out with a gang of Vampires and he wants to become one of them." He broke down crying then. Wesley waited for him to get control of himself.
"I want you to get him away from them. I want you to show him that what he is getting himself into isn't something that he can let go of as he gets older. This isn't a phase that he can grow out of. I want you to teach him that this is forever. I am a rich man Mr. Price I can pay whatever you are asking." Wesley opened the envelope that Mr. Meadows had given him. He stared at the papers on his desk instead of Mr. Meadows.
"Mr. Meadows I'm not going to promise you anything I'll only say that I will discuss this with my colleagues as to whether we want to take your case or not. Wait for my call which will most likely come by tonight." Mr. Meadows pulled out some of the Kleenex from the box on Wesley's desk. He wiped his face then blew his nose and straightened himself up again.
"Thank you Mr. Price I'll be waiting for your call." Wesley stood up and shook Mr. Meadows hand then guided him out of the hotel.
As he walked up to the fourth floor and 412 he found it empty so he went back down to the second and Angels rooms. The door was open so he walked in. Dr. Thompson, Hunter, Cordelia and Gunn were sitting at the kitchen table and continuing with their poker game. He heard the shower going so he presumed Angel was getting the oatmeal bath off of his body.
"How did it go Wesley?" Cordelia asked him as he walked in. "If Angel agrees to take the case it looks like we have a very important client. I'll wait for Angel to come out so that I can explain it to everyone at one time. Deal me in for now." Wesley put the envelope aside and sat down to play poker with the rest.
After fifteen minutes Angel came walking out. After he dried himself off he went over to Kathleen's crib and looked at his daughter. "Hey Mike is it safe for me to handle my daughter now?" "Sure Angel go ahead your way past the contagious period."
Angel picked his daughter up and went to his bed. He still had his robe on so he sat down on the top of the covers. He picked up his daughter and started playing with her. He was talking to Kathleen all the time and trying to get her to say Daddy. Cordelia watched him playing with his daughter. Hunter caught her eye. She winked at her and told her to do it now. Cordelia smiled.
"Angel why don't you feed her. I have her plate already made up in the refrigerator." "Okay I think I can do that." Angel put Kathleen into her highchair and warmed up her food in the microwave. When the food was done he pulled the highchair close to the sink and a chair that he had brought in from what used to be Cordelia's room. He sat down and started to feed his daughter. They all stopped playing cards and were watching him have a ball with his daughter. When she was almost done with her food Hunter whispered to Cordelia. "Try it now. Remember, concentrate on what you want her to do. Look at her and imagine her making the move you want her to. Don't forget that she can't understand words yet only pictures."
Cordelia put the picture into her head of Kathleen lifting the plate so that it landed on Angel. Kathleen lifted the plate so that it fell on Angels lap then she put her hands in the food and smeared it all over the place. Lucky for Angel though Toby was here and started cleaning up the floor. He got up on his hind legs and started cleaning the food off of Kathleen's feet and clothes. Angel kept his cool and didn't get mad. He figured he deserved it after what he did to Cordelia.
"Well it looks like I have to take a bath again Mommy." Angel went over to the table and pressed up against Hunter. "Give Auntie Hunter a big kiss and hug goodbye." Kathleen reached out for Hunter and put her hands on either side of her face and gave her a big kiss right on the lips. Angel took Kathleen's hand and patted Hunter on the head so that she now had baby food all over her hair. Then he went over to Cordelia and did the same.
"I'll have to be more careful now that I know you can make her do things also. Lets promise each other that we won't do that anymore okay?" Cordelia held out her hand and Angel took it and they shook on the agreement not to make Kathleen do anything anymore.
Angel left then and took his daughter into the bathroom. They could hear the water running into the whirlpool. Cordelia started laughing as soon as he closed the door. She pointed at the food all over Hunters hair. "That worked pretty good. At least now I know I can stop her from doing something dangerous if I have to." She got up and wet a towel and gave it to Hunter along with a dry kitchen towel. "Deal me out guys I think I'll go and play in the water with my daughter and her daddy. Stay here and continue though we can talk about the new client when we get out."
Cordelia opened the door of the bathroom. Angel had the water running and was taking his daughters food covered clothes off of her. Cordelia poured some bubble creating liquid into the water. She checked the water to see if it was warm enough then started to take her clothes off. Angel got into the tub while holding his daughter. As soon as Cordelia was ready she slipped into the water also and sat between Angels legs as usual. They stayed in the whirlpool for at least 20 minutes while they bathed themselves and Kathleen.
Toby went to the bathroom door and pushed on it. Cordelia hadn't made sure that the door closed all of the way so he was able to push it open. When he saw everyone in the bathtub he ran over to it and started to lick everyone's face. Kathleen just loved Toby so everyone that was on the other side of the wall could hear her giggling away as soon as she saw him. Toby's tail was wagging so hard that it made his whole body wiggle. Before they knew it he had jumped into the whirlpool. He had water splashing all over the bathroom. Cordelia got up with Kathleen in her arms while Toby tried to lick her face. Angel stayed in and thought he would take the opportunity to bath Toby but Cordelia knew he was just using it as an excuse to play with him.
Thirty minutes later everyone was out of the tub dried, dressed or brushed. Kathleen was worn out and sleeping in her crib peacefully.
"Lets have a look at our new client Wesley." Angel said as he picked up the envelope with all of the pictures and report.
Wesley told everyone what Mr. Meadows had requested. Then waited for someone to say something.
"What do you think Wesley? Should we take it, I mean you're the one that spoke to this Mr. Meadows." Angel asked as he looked through the PI's report.
"I think we should take it. In this case though Angel you are the one that is going to be doing most of the work. The rest of us of course will help extract the young man from the gang of Vampires but you are the one that will have to convince him that he has chosen the wrong career."
"How do we know that he hasn't been turned already?" Angel asked. "According to his father he said the big day is supposed to be tonight. His father told me that his son said he was going to be away for the next 3 or 4 days and that when he came back he was going to be a different person."
"Then I guess we have to do it tonight. Since we have to make sure that we extract this kid alive we better get some help. Gunn do you think you could contact you kids and see if they know anything about the gang of Vampires and if they do can they help us tonight? Let them know what we are doing, okay?" "Sure I think I can do that. Do you think you are up to it? You won't alert them with your scratching all of the time will you?"
"I don't know, all I know is that I feel okay for now. What do my doctors feel? Especially Dr. Cordelia Chase-Martin." Angel looked at Cordelia with a smile.
"I have to confer with my colleagues first." Cordelia said as they walked out into the hallway.
"What do you think?" Cordelia asked both Hunter and Thompson.
"How did he look when you two were taking a bath. Was the rash still covering his body or does it seem to be disappearing?" Dr. Thompson asked.
"Well it's still on his legs but it doesn't appear to be as red as it did before. Of course that may be because of his recent oatmeal bath." Cordelia answered.
"I think it will be safe for him to take on this client then. He's almost done with the measles. Let's go and give him the good news." Dr. Thompson said.
They all went back into the room and sat down again. "My colleagues and I have discussed your case Angel and we have decided that you should be okay to take on this new client." Angel looked at Cordelia with a big grin. "Thank you Dr. Cordelia."
"You have your answer Gunn, my Doctors have given me a clean bill of health."
"Okay then I'll go and check with my kids and I'll give you a call as soon as we have located them." Gunn said as he got up from the table. He put his money in his pocket then left.
"If you don't mind guys I feel like taking a nap before all of the activity tonight."
Mike looked at Hunter. "I think we are being thrown out Mickey. Isn't that the way it always is with patients. When they're sick they want to see you right away but when they are all better it's 'Here's your hat, what's the hurry?'"
"Come on Mike lets let him sleep like all good vampires should be doing in the day time. In fact I'm feeling kind of sleepy lets go into Mary's room and take a nap also. The evening is going to be pretty interesting." Hunter took his hand and led him down to Mary's room.
Later that evening Wesley received a call from Gunn. They had located the gang at a warehouse in Van Nuys and he was pretty sure that the Meadows boy was with them.
"Okay Gunn well meet you there as soon as we can." Wesley ran up the stairs and knocked on Angels door.
"Come in Wesley we're up." Angel said.
"Gunn called Angel. He has the location of the gang." "Okay Wesley I'll be down in just a few minutes. Why don't you ask Hunter if she would like to join us and I'll call Connor." "Okay, I'll meet you downstairs." Wesley ran down to Hunters room and knocked on the door.
"Hunter are you in there?" "Yes Wesley." She came to the door and opened it.
"Angel wants to know if you would like to join us. Gunn has located the gang we are looking for and the Meadows kid is with them right now." "Yes I sure would. I'll meet you downstairs in a couple of minutes." Hunter turned to Mike. "I'm going with them Mike, I'll see you back at your apartment when we're done." She gave him a kiss goodbye then left.
Mike walked down to Cordelia's room and knocked on the door. "Come in." Cordelia said.
Mike opened the door. Cordelia was sitting down at the table and nursing Kathleen.
"Come in Mike and have a seat you can keep me company while the kids are out and having some fun."
"How do you do it Cordelia?" "How do I do what?" "How do you keep from worrying about Angel when you know what they are going to be doing?"
"I guess it makes it easier when you're a woman and the man is the one that is doing the fighting plus I've been involved in many fights so I know pretty much of what is going on." Cordelia gave Kathleen to Mike while she cleaned herself.
"Why don't you keep yourself busy and get her to burp up the air she took in while I clean myself." Mike took Kathleen and expertly put her on his shoulder and patted her back until she gave a satisfying burp.
"Have you checked Hunter to see if she is still producing eggs Mike or do you know if she is still having a period?"
"No I always kind of thought that, that part of her died or that she lost the ability to reproduce a long time ago."
"Well I was thinking about it and you know Hunter is pretty thin and she has very little fat content in her body in fact she is more muscle than anything else. It could be that she doesn't have a period because she doesn't have enough fat in her body. If I were you Mike I would talk to her about it and run some tests to see if her ovaries are still producing eggs. Even though her body couldn't sustain a pregnancy you could always get another woman to carry the baby to term. In fact I bet that Willow or Tara would be happy to do it for you and Hunter." Cordelia said.
Mike was quiet while he thought about what she said. "I think I'll take your advice Cordelia and talk to Mickey about it. After all it doesn't hurt to try."
"Where did you come up with the nickname of Mickey?" Cordelia asked.
"Makalu sounds so formal so one evening I just blurted it out after watching a Disney cartoon. She didn't kill me after I said it so I figured she didn't mind." Mike laughed after telling Cordelia.
The phone rang and Cordelia went to answer it. Mike overheard her saying 'Okay, as soon as Lorne can come over well be there. I'll call Sunnydale and let them know. Okay I'll see you soon. Bye.' Cordelia then called Lorne and after only a few minutes she hung up then called Mary in Sunnydale. He couldn't hear what she was saying but it sounded like she was crying.
When she was done she came and sat down at the table and took Kathleen from Mike.
"That was Angel that had called. Wesley is in the hospital and is in surgery right now. When they arrived at the warehouse they found that they had humans and Vampires in the gang. During the fighting one of the gang members that had a machine gun or whatever they call them now days. He started firing without really taking aim and unfortunately Wesley didn't duck behind something fast enough. He took 4 bullets in his chest. He has one in his left lung and one in his right. His right lung has collapsed. Another bullet went right through him and tore up his spleen. The worst one though is the one that hit his heart. Everyone else is okay. I called Lorne and asked him to come and take care of Kathleen, I also called Mom and she said they would be leaving to come to L.A. as soon as they let everyone else know. I called Texas but no one is home right now and they don't have a recorder so that I could leave a message."
Cordelia put Kathleen in her crib then went back to the table and leaned on the table and started crying. Mike went to her and took her into his arms. "He'll be okay Cordelia. You know that he has the assignment from God so you know he can't die yet." "I know Mike but what kind of condition will this leave him in?" "Well you know what kind of condition a man has got be in, in order for him to be able to have sex. So since he still has some children to father you know he has to recover from this."
They sat together at the table and waited for Lorne to come and take care of Kathleen. By 8:45 they could hear Lorne enter the Lobby and come up the stairs.
"Here I am sweety you can go now." Lorne said as he walked over to the crib to check on Kathleen. Cordelia repeated everything to Lorne that she had just said to Mike. She said they would keep in contact to let him know how Wesley was as soon as they were told. She also let him know that Kathleen had just been fed so she should sleep for at least 4 hours. "Okay I got it you get going now and Cordy." "Yes." She turned around and looked at Lorne before she went out of the door. "He will be okay. It's going to be rough but he will come out of this intact and with all of his faculties. I promise." Cordelia ran back to him and hugged and kissed him then she ran out of the door to join Mike in his Viper.
When they arrived at the hospital Cordelia tried Texas again and this time she got an answer.
It was Fred's mother that answered the phone. Cordelia explained everything that had happened so that she could tell Fred. Cordelia gave her, her cell phone number so that she could call her and let her know when they would be arriving. After that it was just a waiting game. Wesley had already been in surgery for 5 hours by the time the Sunnydale gang came. Dr. Martin went to Angel first and hugged and kissed him then she went to Cordelia.
"Has anyone called Fred?" Dr. Martin asked. "Yes I did as soon as I could. Fred and her parents will be arriving at 12 noon tomorrow. I also called Wesley's parents and they said they would call with their arrival time as soon as they made their flight arrangements." "That's good Cordelia I know that his father and Wesley don't get along very well but sometimes things like this can clear the air. Wounds that have been festering for a long time are cleaned out and given a chance to heal. I am going to go and check on what is happening. I'll be back as soon as I can." Dr. Martin left then to check on Wesley. She almost ran into Mike as he came around the corner.
"Have you been able to find out how he is doing Mike?" "No not yet." Mike said as they went up to surgery. Dr. Martin was registered with the hospital so she was covered by their insurance and could perform operations when needed and or assist when they where overrun with patients. She explained who she was to the nurse and she was offering her assistance. The nurse went into the O.R. and talked to the surgeon in control. He turned around and waived her in. The nurse came out and helped her put a gown on after she had washed her hands and arms. She had taken her blouse off already since it would be too hot with it and the gown on. The nurse helped her with her gloves and mask and she went in.
The surgeon in control had been at it for almost 6 hours and he was practically dancing, he had to pee so bad. He told Dr. Martin what they were doing right now then he went running out of the door. Dr. Martin took his place and looked at the resident that was assisting. He was laughing. "What's so funny?" Dr. Martin asked. "When your in school you never think about problems like these, you know like having to go to the bathroom or getting something to eat. It just doesn't occur to you that even surgeons have to pee and eat." "Yes I know what you mean. My perception of surgery was corrected real fast the first time I was in surgery for 8 hours."
Dr. Martin was gone for two and a half hours more before she returned. She had her blouse back on and she had let her hair down so that she could fix it again. They all stood up when she came over to them.
"How is he?" Angel asked.
"I won't lie to you Angel. He is in bad shape. When I went into the operating room to help they had already taken the bullet out of his heart and repaired the holes. All bullets have been removed and the holes repaired. One of the bullets went through his spleen and we couldn't save it so we took it out but people survive just fine without it. The big problem will be with infection. He is being given powerful antibiotics and he is in ICU and will probably be there for the next several days. Now we all know that God has given his orders as to what is expected from each of you so have faith that Wesley will survive this because he still has a lot of work ahead of him. I want everyone to go back to the hotel now and get some rest. I believe you have a client to take care of also Angel."
Everyone got up and started to walk over to the elevators. Angel turned around when he noticed that Dr. Martin wasn't coming with them.
"Are you going to stay for awhile?" "Yes, I am going to keep watch over him. The next 24 hours will be critical. Please take Rupert home Angel he'll only be in the way over here. I am just going to look for an empty bed and get some sleep." She gave him a kiss goodbye then went back to the ICU.
TBC...