Redemption

by kinoa

This is the final book in the The PTB'S Boss Sends Help trilogy. Angel will become human a little at a time. He is being given time to adjust. The families will increase. Who will die first Angel or Cordelia?

13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Why not take her to the hospital over here?" "They don't have the equipment that they'll need to find out what exactly has happened. We need to get her to L.A. where they have everything they need to find out what kind of stroke she has had and how to proceed with her treatment. Let's get her bundled up Giles and get her to L.A. as soon as possible." Spike ran upstairs and bundled Dr. Martin up in a blanket then took her downstairs and to the car where Giles was waiting.

"Get in the back and hold her Giles and I'll drive." Giles did as Spike said. Spike got behind the wheel then and took off for L.A. They arrived at 4 o'clock in the morning and Spike carried her into the emergency room. They all knew Dr. Summers at the hospital from when he came with Dr. Thompson for a delivery. Giles waited with Mary while Spike was talking to the Resident in charge of the evening Emergency room. He gave him all of the information describing the stroke and the drug that he had administered to her at her request.

"Apparently she had a premonition that this was going to happen and she had one of the nurses that worked here fill a syringe with a thrombolytic medicine." Spike told him. "That sounds like Dr. Martin. She's not one to wait around for things to happen. We'll be taking her upstairs in a few minutes and start testing her to see what has happened and hopefully confirm her own diagnosis. You might as well take her husband home. As I am sure you have determined already her stroke is at an end. We'll be putting her through a battery of tests to determine the exact cause of the stroke and hopefully prevent her from having another one." Spike nodded then turned and went over to Giles.

"Giles we might as well go now. They are going to be taking her upstairs to start a battery of tests to find out exactly what happened and determine her treatment. We'll come back this afternoon and see what they have found. I have to let Angel know what has happened and what is happening right now." "Yes I guess your right. She won't know that we're here anyway and my overextending myself won't do any good." Giles and Spike left then to go to the hotel.

When they arrived at the hotel Giles unlocked the door and they went in. As they walked in they were confronted by Angel and Connor who had jumped down from the second story balcony.

"Angel." Giles said. They looked at each other. Both men loved Mary. Both would give their life for her. Giles couldn't hold it back anymore. All the tension that had been building up in him since he saw his wife going through the stroke finally broke lose and he couldn't hold it back any more. Angel could sense his despair. He took Giles in his arms and let him finally let go of all of his grief.

As Giles finally opened the door to his grief his legs gave out and they both sank to their knees. Angel held onto Giles for as long as he felt he needed his support. After awhile Giles let go of Angel and just sat down on the floor, he didn't feel that he had the strength to get up just yet.

"Can you talk now?" Giles blew his nose and wiped his eyes. "We were having a glass of wine before going to bed. Mary said it helped her to relax so that she could sleep. After I had given her, her glass of wine we sat down and watched the evening news. She was leaning against me when I saw her glass starting to fall. I caught it just in time but I didn't say anything because I thought she had fallen asleep. When I got up I looked at her and her eyes were open. I said 'Mary are you alright'? She didn't say anything and continued to stare into space. I picked her up and took her into the bedroom. She looked like she was in an hypnotic state. I shook her and called out to her again. She looked at me with recognition in her eyes then passed out. I called Spike and he came over right away. Spike determined that she had, had a stroke. He told me to call and let you know."

"Okay then I take it that you've taken her to the hospital already?" Angel asked Spike. "Yes, after I talked to the Resident in charge of the emergency room he suggested that we go home and they would be taking her upstairs to start a battery of tests to determine exactly what kind of stroke she had. She wasn't awake when we left Angel and I didn't think that it would do us or her any good to sit around at the hospital just waiting for their findings. I told him that we would be back by 12 noon."

"How bad do you think it was?" Angel asked. "All I know Angel is that she was able to talk to me to let me know that she wanted me to give her the drug that was in the syringe that Cylinda had given her. I think Angel that she had a feeling or premonition that this was going to happen and that's why she wanted that drug to take with her. As to how bad the stroke was we won't know until she wakes up again. The affects of the stroke often doesn't show how it affected the patient until they wake up or as much as several days later. It's very important though that they determine what kind of stroke she had because they have to start the appropriate treatment as soon as possible."

Spike bent down to help Giles up. "Go to bed Giles. Would you like for me to give you something to help you to sleep?" "I think that would be a good idea, otherwise I don't think I'll sleep at all." "Okay I'll be right back. Wait here okay?" "Yes I'll be right here." Spike was back in a few minutes with a mild tranquilizer for Giles. "You want it in your arm or your neck like we do Angel." "I'll take it in the arm. I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to needles and taking it in the neck looks like it hurt a lot." Giles took his jacket off and Angel held it for him while he rolled up his sleeve for Spike to give him the shot. When he was done Angel gave him his jacket and Giles went upstairs and to bed.

"I'm going to let Mike and Hunter know what has happened and that I will be going to the hospital at 12. Goodnight Spike and thank you." Angel put his arm around Connors shoulder and they both went upstairs. "I have a test tomorrow Dad. As soon as I can I'll head for the hospital." "Okay Connor." Angel let Mike and Hunter know what was going on then he went to bed. Cordelia was still sleeping when he returned to bed. He lay beside her and put his arm around her. He always found comfort in her warmth. After 30 minutes of just lying beside her and looking at the portrait he got up, put his sweat pants and shirt on and made his way down to the chapel. He had brought his rosary with him. He knew he needed this form of structured prayer because his mind was wandering over to many memories. Angelus was working overtime and he knew that this would make him crawl into the furthest corner of his cage and become mute.

Two hours later Angel made his way back upstairs and to bed. He was finally able to sleep.

At 11 o'clock Angel woke up to Spike calling to him to get up so they could go to the hospital. "I'll be ready in 20 minutes." Angel jumped in the shower and was dressed and headed downstairs in 20 minutes as promised. Cordelia was already in the van and waiting for him with a thermos full of warmed blood. Lou was staying home with all of the children and the Sanchez family. Everyone else was in the van. Hunter and Mike had already left for the hospital earlier.

Angel drove up to the front of the hospital and turned the keys over to the valet. While he was taking care of that Cordelia was getting Mary's room number. As soon as Angel joined them they headed upstairs to the 5th floor and room 523. As they all came out of the elevator Mike and Hunter were waiting for them in the waiting room. Mike saw them stopping at the nurse's station and came out to greet them.

"Angel, everyone, come over here we were just waiting for Mary's doctor to come and speak to us. They've completed all of their tests. Here he comes now." Mike stood up along with the rest. A tall black man approached the group. His skin was more an olive tone then black and did not have the appearance of the average black man that lived in California. He walked with confidence in himself and looked as though he stepped aside for no one unless politely asked.

"Hi I am Dr. Kent I've been taking care of Dr. Martin." "Hi I am Dr. Mike Thompson, this is my fiancé Dr. Mikayla Hunter we are friends of the family and we frequently work with Dr. Martin." Mike continued to introduce everyone and saved Angel and Giles for last.

"And last but not least is her son Angel Martin and her husband Rupert Giles." "Giles? We have her last name as Martin." Dr. Kent asked. "Yes she kept her last name since everyone knew her by Martin so instead of changing everything she kept her last name." Giles said.

"Well lets sit down everyone and I'll let you know what we have found and what kind of treatment she is currently receiving. We have determined that Dr. Martin has had what is known as an Ischemic Stroke. This is a stroke where a blood vessel carrying blood to the brain is blocked by a blood clot. It's the most common type of stroke. Usually this type of stroke results from clogged arteries which is what has happened to Dr. Martin. We are administering drugs to her right now to help dissolve the clot and hopefully this will take care of it. If it doesn't then we will have to go in and remove it. The drug that Dr. Summers administered to her right after the stroke helped her a lot and hopefully that will lessen the damage. She still hasn't regained consciousness so we don't know exactly what the extent of the damage is. The only thing that we can see right now is the facial muscles on the left side of her face are paralyzed. As soon as she wakes up we will be better able to determine what her condition is and what kind of treatment she will need from now on. For now I will let only her husband and son visit her. As I said she is unconscious and she won't know your there." Dr. Kent got up then and Giles and Angel followed him.

As they approached the room they found the curtain drawn and a lot of activity was going on in the room. "Let's wait here I think the nurses are doing something for her." After a few minutes one of the nurses pulled back the curtain and they came out.

When the first nurse saw the Doctor she said "She's awake now Dr. Kent. We were just cleaning her up for her husband and sons visit. You can go in now."

Angel and Giles followed Dr. Kent into the room but with a signal from him they stayed out of sight. "Hello Dr. Martin I am Dr. Kent and you are under my care. Can you tell me what your name is?" Dr. Martin looked at him. She didn't say anything at first and appeared to be trying to remember what her name was. Very slowly and quiet clearly she said her name. "My…..name…is…Mary…Teres….Martin. I ….am….a surgeon …. and a psychiatrist." She smiled as she finished. With the left side of her face paralyzed she looked odd as she spoke. "Yes that's very good. Let's see what else you can do. Touch my hand with your right hand." Dr. Martin once again took a moment to think about what she was being requested to do. She looked at her right hand and slowly raised it to touch his hand. They went through this routine with each hand and each leg. Although she could feel his hand when he touched her she could not control her left side.

Dr. Kent turned to Angel and Giles and signaled for them to come over to the bed. Both Giles and Angel approached the bed slowly. Angel let Giles go first. "Mary." Dr. Martin looked at him and after a few seconds recognition came into her eyes and she smiled and put her right arm out to him. Giles sat on the side of the bed and took her in his arms. He kissed her even though she couldn't respond very well. "I thought I was going to lose you Mary." Mary pushed him away and said. "I…am….still here. Not the same ….but….still…here." She hugged him again and whispered in his ear. "I still remember my big stud muffin." They laughed and he kissed her repeatedly. He stood up when he heard Angel clear his throat. "Do you remember your son?" Giles asked.

Mary smiled and put her arm out to him. "How could I …ever…forget my Angel." He went to the other side of the bed and hugged her and kissed her. "How are you feeling Mom?" "Better, I finally got rid of the headaches." She laughed when she said that.

Dr. Martin looked at them and said, "I want to go home." "Are you tired of us already Dr. Martin?" Dr. Kent said. "Yes, I want to go home….now." "Well I can't let you do that today but tomorrow we should have everything done and then we'll be able to discharge you, okay?" "No… I want to go home now."

"Is there anyway that we can take her home today. We have 3 other Doctors where we live and I am sure that we can get Cylinda to take care of her and she is an R.N." Angel asked.

"I'm sorry Mr. Martin but I can't discharge her today we are still waiting on certain bodily functions to prove that they are all still functioning normally. I promise though that tomorrow at 12 noon you should be able to take her home." Dr. Kent said.

"Sorry Mom you heard the Doctor. Be good now and maybe Dr. Kent will let Giles spend the rest of the day with you." Angel said as he held her hand. That got a smile from her and she reached for Giles. "Okay….I'll be good, but only if Giles can stay with me." Angel took a kleenex from the table at the end of the bed and wiped the drool coming out of the left corner of her mouth. "Can the rest come in to see her?" Giles asked.

"Yes but only 2 at a time and for only a short time each. Before I leave for the day I will be coming back to see if you can walk at all so get some rest okay." "Okay." Dr. Kent left the room then. "Angel…. would you brush my hair and ….braid it…. in one… big braid…. please." "Sure Mom. Let me go and get a couple of rubber bands from the nurses station and I'll be right back. Can you help her to turn around Giles so that I can fix her hair? I'll be right back."

As promised Angel was back in a couple of minutes and he proceeded to brush and braid his mother's long hair. When he was done he stepped back and said "How does that feel." "Better thank you." "I am going to bring Cordy and Fred in first Giles okay." "Okay Angel." When Angel left Dr. Martin turned to Giles. "Giles is Angel ….your son?" Giles looked at her then realized that there were some parts of her memory that were gone. "He's your son Mary." She answered with a simple "Oh."

Cordy and Fred came in and waited for Dr. Martin to look at them. Giles backed away from the bed so that they could each stand on either side of the bed. She gave no indication that she didn't know them and kissed and hugged each as though they were her daughters. When they left Dr. Martin asked Giles if they were related to her. Once again he had to explain who they were. He had to do this with each person that came in. When Spike turned to leave he stepped outside of the room with him for a second.

"Spike she seems to be getting worse in her memory. She has asked me how she knows each person that has come in and she even asked me if Angel was my son." "Giles that is why Dr. Kent wants her to stay here a little longer. They want to give her time to go through as many physical functions as possible to see if anything needs to be done to help her function as close to normal as possible. As she goes through the day make sure that you note if she remembers anyone. I am going to tell the Sanchez family to come here also to see if she remembers them. When you see Dr. Kent tonight let him know if she remembers any one at all. She seems to have a selective memory which explains why she remembers us but not how or why she knows us. I believe that Angel will be able to help her to remember more in much the same way that he used to talk to Kathleen. I don't think he had better try it though until we get her home. Just to let you know Giles I will be leaving tomorrow night to go home. She has Hunter here to help her and I am sure that between Angel and Hunter our Dr. Martin will regain her memory in a very short time. Making her go through all of the exercises that the therapist wants her to perform will be the hard part. I am sure that you realized by now that being stubborn and hard headed is a Martin family trait." "Thanks for everything that you've done Spike. I don't know what I would have done without you. Well actually I probably would have just called 911 but just knowing that you are in Sunnydale makes me feel more comfortable." Spike and Giles hugged then he left to join the rest.

Angel came in to say goodbye before they all left to go back to the hotel. "We are going to be going home now Giles. Call me when you're ready to come home. Connor said that he was going to come over once he was done with his classes for today. Good bye Mom. Promise me that you'll be good now." "I promise ….I'll be good. Don't …forget that I am home …. tomorrow." Angel gave her a kiss then left to join the others.

Wesley had to drive Dr. Martin's car home since Spike had to climb into the back of the van to get out of the sun. Fred had joined him and as they sat there taking in the interior they looked at each other. "Let's take the long way around." Fred said with a mischievous grin. Wesley went around the entire Los Angelus basin before he made his way back to the hotel.

"We thought you guys got lost or were mugged or something. Where have you been?" Cordelia asked. "Oh we just took the long way around and I do mean the loooonnng way around. Dr. Martins car is so nice to drive. So what are you guys doing?" Wesley asked.

"Angel was looking for you to help take Mom and Giles furniture upstairs to their new rooms. You came back just in time to help take their bed upstairs." Cordelia said as she headed downstairs to get Dr. Martin's sheets and blankets that she had washed.

After they had everything situated for Dr. Martin's homecoming tomorrow they had a quiet dinner in their own rooms. Connie had made a dinner that they could all easily put together. Everyone was thinking about Dr. Martin and how the stroke had affected her. Angel was quiet through out their dinner. When he was done he looked at his wife. "Let's go out for an evening ride with Santana and Aunt Bee." "That sounds like a good idea I'll be ready in just a few minutes." "Okay I'll get Kathleen ready to go and visit with her boyfriend." "Who is her boyfriend?" Cordelia asked. "Junior, I saw them in the playpen kissing the other day. It was so cute but for some strange reason I suddenly felt a green eyed monster looking over my shoulder." Cordelia came over to him and put her arms around his waist as he finished putting Kathleen's pants back on. "That's okay Angel I think it's normal for a daddy to be jealous of any boyfriends that come sniffing around their little girl. Fortunately for you right now at this stage of the game Junior is only sniffing at her nuclear waste diapers." They both laughed and Angel tickled Kathleen until she started laughing.

"Mommy and Daddy are going to go horseback riding for a few hours then we'll be home before it's time for you to go to bed, okay?" "Okay Daddy have fun. I love you Daddy." She gave her daddy a big kiss then reached for her mother. "I love you Mommy." She gave her mother a big kiss also then she wanted to be put into her walker. She was walking so well that she barely needed the walker and used it more as a backup to her legs when they got tired.

Cordelia and Angel made it out to the stables by 7. It was almost dark and Vince cautioned them about riding so late at night. "We'll be okay Vince. I can see very well at night." "Stay away from the bridge Mr. Martin we've had reports of a gang hanging out over there." "Okay Vince, thank you. We should be back in an hour or two." Angel and Cordelia took off down the street then. Santana was feeling frisky tonight.

"When we get to the dirt road we can give them their head. Santana feels like he needs a good run." As soon as they hit the dirt road Cordelia called out to him. "Last one to reach the river for the cross over and the big rock has to get up with Kathleen tomorrow morning." "You're on." Angel yelled back at her as he kicked Santana in his ribs and he leapt forward. He hated getting up in the morning since he was still having the urge to sleep during the day so he didn't hold Santana back at all. Before he knew it he was way ahead of Cordelia and couldn't see her so he reined in and listened for her. He couldn't hear or see her so he started back. He knew how tricky she could be so he walked Santana back slowly. The wind wasn't in his favor and Cordelia knew that. As Angel had backtracked almost 100 yards Cordelia pulled out onto the trail back where he had stopped and turned around. She waited for her scent to reach him. It was 5 minutes before he turned around and looked back up the trail. She waived at him then took off for the river. Even though Santana had tried his best to catch up she had too much of a lead on him and Aunt Bee reached the river before he did.

"What's the matter old man? You seem to be losing your edge Angel." As Angel came after her she turned Aunt Bee around and took off across the river and up the other side. It took him another 400 feet before he caught her, grabbed her and pulled her off of Aunt Bee.

"You little brat, I think my heart actually stopped a few minutes while I was looking for you. Don't scare me like that." Cordelia could see that her little game had backfired and he was truly afraid for her. "I'm sorry Angel I promise that I'll never do that again." She lowered her head and pressed her ear against his chest. "What are you doing?" "I'm checking to make sure that your heart is back to it's normal beat." "Why?" "I want to make sure that you'll be okay when I do this." She pulled away from him then and jumped onto Aunt Bee and took off for the stable.

"Just wait till I get her home." Angel said to himself. He jumped on Santana and headed after her. When Angel could see that she was on the street he guided Santana to the back of the stables and jumped him over the gates until he reached the street and pulled him to a halt and looked for Cordelia.

As Cordelia walked Aunt Bee back to the stables she was looking and listening for Angel. She concentrated on the link that they shared and for a split second she could see herself coming down the street. She knew where he was now and continued down the street at a slow trot. They looked at each other as she went past. He pulled up along side of her.

"How did you know I was up here?" "I have my ways and if I tell you then you'll know how and I'll never be able to get ahead of you again. So it is my secret my dear." She leaned over to him and pulled him over so she could kiss him.

As they arrived back at the hotel they saw Wesley and Giles coming in at the same time. They all stopped at the kitchen to get something hot to drink and a snack.

"How is she doing Giles?" Angel asked after they all had a chance to drink and eat something. "She's the same as you saw her. In some ways she has become more child like in her demands to do things. About an hour after you left she had forgotten that you had said that she had to stay one more day and started to demand that I take her home. It was at that time that we found out that she could stand but she could only walk by taking a step then dragging her left leg into position. The nurse and I watched her walk down to the elevators so she could get the exercise Dr. Kent wanted her to have. I then picked her up and carried her back to her bed. She threw a hissy fit but then calmed down when she saw that I wasn't going to give her what she wanted." Giles was laughing. "It was just like taking care of Kathleen except you could discipline Kathleen but you can't do it with Mary. For some reason when I threatened her with telling you about what she was doing she stopped and thought about it then calmed down and stopped fighting us."

"Well I think it's time for me to go to bed. Giles we have made up a new bedroom for you and Mom. Angel has been working on it since you left for Sunnydale and we just moved your furniture up there today. He thought it would be quieter up on the fifth floor. So don't go to your old room just head up to the fifth floor and all the way to the end. He gave you the room that is on the corner and you can see all over the neighborhood. Good night everyone. I'll pick up the little munchkin before I go upstairs Angel." Cordelia said as she put the dishes in the dishwasher then left.

Everyone had answered with a goodnight. Angel was quiet for a few minutes then he said "Tomorrow when we pick Mom up Giles I want to stop at the church on the way back. Will you do exactly as I say and don't ask me to many questions when we get there." "Sure Angel." "Good then I will see you tomorrow. Good night."

Wesley and Giles just looked at each other. "What do you think he is going to do?" Wesley asked Giles.

"I think he is going to ask his Boss for a special favor and if there is a price to be paid then he'll pay it. Goodnight Wesley." They both left then and Wesley turned off the lights. He checked the doors and made sure that the security system was on then went upstairs to his family.

The next morning Angel asked Cordelia to go with them to pick up Dr. Martin. Of course Cordelia had no problem with that and handed Kathleen over to Lou.

As soon as Dr. Martin saw everyone she had a big grin on half of her face. She was already up and dressed and just waiting for them. The nurse came in when she saw Giles enter the room. "Good afternoon everyone. Dr. Martin has been a good girl all morning. She kept reminding me to make sure that I told her husband and son how good she was and didn't cause any problems. She got up early this morning and asked one of the aids to help her shower and wash her hair for her. So she has been sitting in this chair patiently waiting for you to pick her up. Even Dr. Kent was surprised that she was doing so well."

Giles went to Mary first and gave her a kiss and hug then he backed away so that Angel could go to her then Cordelia.

"We can go home now?" "Yes we sure can." Giles said. "Excuse me but we need some papers to be taken cared of also Dr. Kent needs to talk to whoever will be the primary caregiver for Dr. Martin." The nurse informed them.

"Dr. Hunter will be taking care of her. She said that she can either come in and talk to Dr. Kent or they can talk on the phone." Angel told the nurse. "Okay then who will be taking care of the papers and the bill?" Before Giles could say anything Angel said that he would take care of it.

Angel came back in a few minutes with several prescriptions that they had to fill before they returned home. An aid followed Angel in with a wheel chair. With Angel there Dr. Martin didn't give them any problem about having to use the wheel chair she just obediently sat in the chair and let Giles push her out and downstairs. When the valet brought the van over Dr. Martin wanted to get into the van by herself and pushed everyone's hand away. After several attempts she admitted defeat and looked to Giles. "Gee that only took 3 minutes for you to admit you needed help I hope that will be the norm for you." Giles said. He reached for her hand but she pushed it away and reached for Angel instead. As Angel helped her to get into the van she looked over his shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Giles. His only response was to laugh. With only half of her face muscles working it made for a very funny looking picture.

Angel was quiet as he drove to Fr. Barris's church. He could hear his mother struggling to talk to Giles and it made his heart hurt for her. He pulled into the church parking lot and pulled over to the covered unloading area out of habit. Without saying anything to anyone he got out and went to the other side and helped Cordelia out then opened the side door and picked up Dr. Martin.

"Cordelia would you get the keys out of my pocket and you will find a key that has a cross marked into it. That key will open this door." She did as he said and opened the door for him. Giles followed Angel in then Cordelia closed and locked the door again. Angel had talked to Fr. Barris the day before and had asked if they could have the use of the church at this time.

Angel walked to the front pew and put Dr. Martin there then Giles sat next to her. Angel went up to the alter then and brought one of the tall alter candles over and placed it in front of Dr. Martin and lit it.

Angel asked Giles to follow him while Cordelia sat with Dr. Martin. "Giles do you think you can hypnotize her now? I only want her to go into a deep sleep." Giles was about to ask why then he remembered what Angel had said last night. "Okay Angel I'll try." Giles hypnotized her without any problem this time. As Angel asked he put her into a deep sleep. Angel reached over then and picked her up. He walked up to the alter and placed her on top of it. Then he kneeled in front of it and started to plead with God for her return to perfect health. He took his rosary out and began to pray. Cordelia saw him take out his rosary and she did the same. She didn't know exactly what he was doing but she was going to add her prayers to his. Fr. Barris had also entered the church and was adding his prayers to the rest.

After kneeling in front of the alter for three hours, in deep prayer, Angel reached out his hands and leaned against the alter. When he did this a very subtle mist surrounded him and the alter. Cordelia went to Giles and put her arm through his. Next to Angel a woman stood with her hand placed on his head. As they watched they could see her lips moving but they couldn't hear anything. After she was done talking she bent down and kissed the top of his head then the mist disappeared. After another 10 minutes Angel stood up and picked up his mother and placed her next to Giles.

"Bring her out of the hypnotic sleep Giles and tell her that she is going to be very sleepy when we get back to the hotel and that she will not wake up again until tomorrow at 9 o'clock in the morning." Without question Giles did as Angel instructed. When they entered the freeway again Cordelia called the hotel and let them know when they would be home.

When they returned to the hotel everyone greeted Dr. Martin with hugs and kisses. Everyone was on the verge of tears as they greeted her. They all felt that they had come to close to loosing her.

More than once she had to ask Giles who they were even though she had seen them just yesterday. When it came time for Kathleen to greet her grandmother it was clear to everyone that Dr. Martin remembered her.

"Hello my little ….. Godchild. Grandma ….missed you so much do you have a kiss for me?" Kathleen put her hands on both sides of her grandmother's face like she so often did to her mother and father. She stared at her grandmothers face and looked at each side carefully.

"What's wrong with your face Grandma?" Kathleen pointed to the left side of her grandmother's face. "This side is broke, it doesn't smile like the other side." "Well …… remember how when you're ……..mad and you have your ……grumpy face on and your Mommy tells you to smile or your …..face is going to stay like that?" "You mean like this?" Kathleen put her grumpy face on. "Yes exactly like that. Well when ….Grandma and …..Grandpa where gone I was missing you and everyone so much that I didn't smile at all and Grandpa said 'If you don't ….smile once in a while …..then your face is going to be ……stuck like that. I looked at your Grandpa then and I tried to give him a smile but all I could do was give him only …..half of a smile because one side was already broke. So …..yesterday Grandpa and ….Uncle Spike took me to the …..hospital and they did a ……bunch of tests on me and my doctor said "Well Dr. Martin the only way that you can get better is to go home and be with all of your family and give this to Kathleen because she is the only one in the world that can fill it." Dr. Martin reached into her deep pocket and found a note that she had asked Dr. Kent to write to Kathleen. She had explained to him how she was going to use it to explain to her granddaughter why she was having a problem.

"Here you are ……Miss Kathleen it is a ……prescription that only you can fill." "What does it say Grandma?" "It says;

To Kathleen Martin

Give 3 kisses a day to your Grandmother

1 kiss in the morning before breakfast

1 kiss in the afternoon before lunch

1 kiss before going to bed

Kathleen looked at the piece of paper carefully as though she was reading it.

"Okay Grandma here is your lunch kiss." Kathleen took her grandma's face in her hands and gave her a gentle kiss on each side then one on her lips.

"Why did you kiss me like that?" "Because I didn't want this side to get mad because I didn't give it a kiss too. So I gave each side a kiss so they would both be happy and the middle one was just for you." "With so much love being given to both sides I am sure that the …..sad side will be better very soon. Thank you." Dr. Martin gave her granddaughter a kiss and a hug then Giles gave her back to Angel.

"I think I would like to go and take a ….nap now everyone. For some reason I seem to be very sleepy. I'll see you all later tonight." She had walked into the hotel but now she was too tired to walk the rest of the way. "Can you get the …..wheelchair for me Giles? I don't think I'll be able to make it to our ….room."

Wesley brought the chair over that was in the corner of the dinning room. "Here you go Dr. Martin we brought it over for you already. It's been cleaned and dusted for you. I think this old wheel chair has been put through more use since we moved in then in all the years before." Giles helped her to sit in the chair. Angel and Cordelia then followed them to their rooms on the 5th floor.

"Angel would you wait out her in the hallway while Cordelia helps me get Mary settled in?" Angel waited out in the hallway with Kathleen. He put her down and let her walk up and down the hallway. She held onto her Daddy's hands at first but before they got half way down the hallway she was pushing him away from her. Of course she landed on her well padded rump 4 or 5 times but she didn't give up she just got back up and started again and before he knew it her Daddy was chasing her up and down the hallway.

Cordelia opened the door as Angel was chasing his daughter down the hallway. When Kathleen saw her mother she went running to her. "Come on you two you can come in now." Cordelia picked up Kathleen and went into the room. Angel followed her in and closed the door. The room was darkened and Angel saw his mother already in bed with her nightgown on. He went over to her and sat on the bed. He took her hands in his.

"Mom I am going to do something that you may find uncomfortable but it will let me help you with your memory. Once I do this you will be able to speak more easily. Do you mind if I do this?" "You're going to ……establish a …..link between us?" "Yes." Angel looked to Giles. "Giles I'll try not to be in her mind all of the time but I may not be able to block it out when your being, shall we say intimate. Do you mind?" Giles hesitated before answering. "I'll put up with anything Angel if it means it will help Mary to recover faster." "Good, I was hoping you would say that."

Angel reached out for his mother and put his hands on either side of her head. He closed his eyes then and concentrated on establishing a link between them. It wasn't easy because they weren't related close enough by blood or marriage. Cordelia and Giles watched him. Angel started to perspire he was concentrating so hard. Dr. Martin showed no reaction to his attempts to establish the link. Finally after almost twenty minutes he lowered his arms and lay down. Cordelia went to his side. She put her hand on the side of his face. He was warm to the touch and she found a trickle of blood coming from his ears. She went into the bathroom and ran cold water over a wash cloth and wiped his face and the blood from his ears.

"Angel, how are you feeling?" He opened his eyes and sat up. Cordelia helped him over to the kitchen table. Giles made some coffee for all of them. While they waited for the coffee Cordelia rinsed the wash cloth again put some ice cubes in it and pressed it to the back of Angel's neck. In a few minutes Giles joined them with the coffee.

"Angel, were you successful?" Giles asked. "Yes I was finally able to establish the link." "Angel you started bleeding from your ears again. You know that if Hunter hears about this she is going to tell you to cut the link." Cordelia warned him.

Angel looked at her with tears threatening to spill over. He reached for her hands and put both of his hands around hers. "Giles, would you call Wesley please and ask him to join us? I try to make him aware of anything that I do that may affect Angel Investigations." Giles went to the phone and called Wesley.

When Wesley came in Angel explained everything that he had done up until now except for the visit at the church. "Now I have something else to tell you that I haven't told Cordelia or Giles yet. Before we returned from the hospital we stopped at the church. While we were there I asked God to heal Dr. Martin. I prayed harder then I've ever prayed before. Finally after almost three hours Sister Margaret came to me. She told me that God could only give me part of my request. But even that small part was going to come at a high price. She explained to me that when we leave this world Christ does forgive us our sins when we admit our sins and ask for forgiveness and His mercy but before we can enter into paradise we must pay for those sins. She said it's kind of like when we were kids and our parents told us not to play in the mud puddle and we did anyway, we were so cute the way we looked all covered in mud that our mother would forgive us but before she would allow us to come into the house we had to remove our clothes and clean up and then she would clean our clothes. Usually we have to clean ourselves up after leaving this world but before entering paradise and the only place we can do that is in hell where we are scrubbed clean more or less. Some people, like Mom and Sr. Margaret, are given the chance to pay for their sins while they are still in this world."

"But how could Sr. Margaret and Mom possibly have sinned so much that they should suffer this much." "Remember when we went to see Sr. Margaret and Connor asked Mom the same type of question?" "Yes, she said that the sisters know more about what sin is and have more rules to follow, thus they have more rules that they can break and are judged more harshly when they do break those rules and commandments since they are the brides of Christ and should know better." "I have been given that chance also Cordelia and that is why I have to suffer so much. Sr. Margaret said that He would allow me to suffer for some of Mom's sins. She wasn't able to tell me what I will have to suffer but she did tell me how Christ will heal Mom. She said that her facial muscles would be healed and that I was to establish this link so that I could help her to remember things and how to speak normally more quickly.

I wanted to tell you three all of this because I will be gone for 40 days and nights to endure this suffering. You cannot come looking for me because if you should find me before the 40 days are up then I will have to start it all over again later.

Now I have to tell you the worst part of it Cordelia. I have to break our link together. As you've seen it costs me too much to help Mom and maintain our link."

"I understand Angel go ahead and do it now I know how much it is costing you." Angel reached for her and it took him only a few minutes to break the link.

"Angel does the link between you and your childe still exist?" Giles asked.

"Yes, that link is the only link that I cannot sever because I did not establish it, although I did make it stronger when I had to go looking for Cordy and Mom. As time passes though it grows weaker and will return to its original strength. It will only end when one of us dies." Angel stood up then and started for the door while still holding Cordelia's hand. He stopped and turned to the two watchers.

"What I have told you tonight cannot be repeated to anyone else until it is over. Try to carry on as usual. Tomorrow I believe the physical therapist will be here at 11 a.m. and he will start Mom on her therapy. Goodnight." Angel and Cordelia left then to be with their daughter.

Wesley and Giles sat down again when they left. "Is that all that happened Giles. Usually there is more." "You know Wesley I have never been one to be a very religious man. Even though I go to church with Mary every Sunday I still remain a skeptic. But what I saw today in that church Wesley has made a true believer out of me. After what I saw I think I will join the rest of you and convert to the Catholic Church. When we left the hospital we went to Fr. Barris's church. You know Angel has his own key to the church. Anyway he carried Mary into the church then asked me to hypnotize her so that she would go into a deep sleep. I did as he requested and when she was in a deep sleep he picked her up and laid her on the alter. Then our 250 plus years old Vampire knelt before the altar and stayed there for the next 3 hours. After 2 hours and 45 minutes Cordelia and I saw a soft white mist come down and surround Angel and the altar. In the mist I saw a woman dressed in a white nun's habit. She stood next to Angel and put her hand on his head as an adult would a child. She spoke to him for the next 15 minutes then she disappeared along with the white mist. I was so hypnotized by this event that I didn't notice that Cordelia had come over to my side and had her arm around mine. Mary has told me about this happening to him twice before but in the bottom of my heart I did not believe her. Wesley, today I became a believer."

Cordelia was hungry when they left to go to their rooms. "Angel I am going to go and make myself a sandwich do you want something? I know it's been a long time since you ate last." Now that you mention it I am hungry. How about a roast beef sandwich? I'll fix myself a mug of blood up here." "Okay, roast beef sandwich it is. Why don't you see if you can find our daughter while I get our sandwiches." Cordelia went to the kitchen while Angel went looking for his daughter. After trying a few doors he finally smelled her in Tara and Willow's room. He knocked at the door and Willow answered it. "Oh hi Angel are you looking for Kathleen?" "Yes I smelled nuclear waste over here and I knew she had to be in here." Willow laughed. "I just got through cleaning her up. You should see the new trick that Connor taught Toby. He knows when she has made a deposit before we do so Connor taught him to fall over on his side and play dead from the smell. It's real cute." Willow said as she bent down to pick up Kathleen.

Angel could hear Tara in the bathroom vomiting. "Is Tara sick?" "Heck no, she's pregnant." "Pregnant but who is the father?" "Didn't you know that both Tara and I have been trying to help Hunter and Mike have a baby?" "You what?" "Come in Angel and I'll explain the facts of life to you." Willow laughed as she asked him to come in and have a seat at the kitchen table. "Very funny." Angel said as he took a seat. "Now what's this all about? I know that Hunter can't have children."

"That sir is incorrect. Mike and Hunter found out that her ovaries are still producing eggs it's just that her body is to cold to sustain a pregnancy. So Mike has been giving her hormones to make her ovaries produce more than one egg at a time. When you said that you could smell three women that were ripe he checked Tara, Hunter, and I and we were all ready at the same time. So Hunter helped Mike get what we needed from him then he took about 10 of her eggs and put them together in a little Petri dish and made sure that they all got fertilized and started to multiply. Then he placed 5 in me and 5 in Tara. None of mine took because it was already too late for me but Tara was just right." "That means that she could possibly have 5 babies." "Yes but most likely they didn't all take." "Wow and I thought 1 was tough on the woman, I can't even begin to imagine how hard it must be for 5." "Well don't let Tara hear you say that she's nervous enough as it is. We called the midwife yesterday and she is sending us a bag of the tea she gave Cordelia." "Does anyone else know about this?" "You are the first one to know. We haven't told Hunter and Mike yet since they've been busy with patients and then Dr. Martin got sick."

Tara came out of the bathroom just as Willow finished explaining everything to Angel. She came over to the kitchen table and sat down. Willow grabbed a kitchen towel and put it into some ice water she had waiting for her. She put the towel on her neck and forehead. "How are you doing?" She asked Tara. "Tired, all I want to do is sleep right now." "Do you have some crackers in here?" Angel asked. Willow went to the cabinet and pulled out a box of Saltine crackers. "I had forgotten about these. Here Tara eat these it will make your stomach feel a little better." Tara took the crackers from Willow and ate a few. When she started feeling better she took the box from Willow and ate them steadily until her stomach started feeling better.

"I think that Cordelia still has some tea left and she doesn't seem to be having a problem with this pregnancy. I'll go and get some and I'll be right back." "Thanks Angel." Tara said as he went out of the door with Kathleen.

By the time he returned to his room Cordelia was already back with the sandwiches and something for Kathleen. It was late and way past her dinner time. Just as she started to warm Kathleen's food up Angel came in with her. "Where have you been?" "I've been talking to Willow. Do you have any of your morning sickness tea left?" "Yes." "Get it and let's go over to Willow and Tara's room. Tara needs some." She didn't ask the obvious question and just pulled the jar out of the cabinet and followed him back to the girl's room.

Willow had left the door open so they just walked in. "So Tara don't tell me you've been cheating on Willow?" Cordelia said with a smile. She proceeded to make some tea with the hot water Willow already had on the stove.

"Here you go Tara. Let it sit for a few minutes then you can drink it." Cordelia took one of the chairs at the table and Angel had taken the other one. "So Mike took my advice and you're the lucky one." Angel looked at Cordelia. "How did you know about this?" "I didn't know she was pregnant but I did suggest the possibility to Mike that Hunter's ovaries might still be producing eggs but since she was so thin her body may have stopped having a menstrual cycle. A woman's body Angel has to have a certain percentage of body fat or she stops having the ability to get pregnant. Plus since Hunter's body is so cold she couldn't sustain a baby anyway. I also suggested that if her ovaries were still producing eggs then maybe Tara or Willow might be willing to carry the baby to term." Angel looked at his wife.

"You are a constant source of wonderment to me Cordelia Chase-Martin." Cordelia bent over and gave Angel a kiss. "I'm glad I still have something left to surprise you with my dear. Let's go I have to feed the princess before she falls asleep. Make sure that you drink that after every meal Tara. The measuring spoon is in the bag and you use just one per cup let it sit for a few minutes after you put the water in. If you need me for anything else just let me know. Are you going back to Sunnydale or staying here while your pregnant?" "We're going to talk to Mike and Hunter first then probably leave after Mike confirms that I'm pregnant." Tara said. "Thank you for the tea Cordelia."

"This is going to make Hunter and Mike very happy." Angel said as they made their way back to their own rooms. Cordelia wrapped her arm around Angels and said "I have a feeling Angel that God is going to grant Hunters request that she be allowed to grow old with Mike and finally die. But I think she will have to live just a little longer than Mike because he is about the same age as Mom and is having a family late in life. It's good that their child will have so many children his or her own age to grow up with."

They went into their rooms then and fed Kathleen who was already sleeping in her daddy's arms. Cordelia wasn't nursing her anymore so they got her to eat just a little then put her to bed with a bottle.

The next morning everyone was up earlier then usual and came down for breakfast. Spike was still at the hotel and was going to be leaving as soon as the light would permit him. Hunter and Mike had come in late last night after a heavy day in the office. Connie had cooked Dr. Martin's favorite breakfast of pancakes. She also had platters of scrambled eggs and sausages.

Since Dr. Martin couldn't use her left hand Giles was buttering her pancakes and putting syrup on them then cutting them up. "Thank you my dear." "Your very welcome my little buttercup." "Wow, I need a glass of milk to wash down all of the sugar that's going around the dinning room." Gunn poured himself a glass of milk and drank it all.

"That's ok Grandma and Grandpa he's just jealous because Cylinda has been working long hours at the hospital this week and sleeping at her own apartment. He's been in dry dock for so long I caught him tracking in sand yesterday." Connor said. Wesley cracked up. "That's pretty good Connor, I'll have to remember that one."

Tara reached over across the table and gave Hunter an envelope. "What's this?" Hunter asked. "Open it." Willow said. Hunter opened the envelope and knew what it was right away. When she opened the envelope she turned to Mike and showed him. She started to cry and Mike hugged her. They went around to the other side of the table and Hunter hugged Tara. They were all crying and hugging each other. Cordelia and Angel were the only ones that knew what was going on.

"May I ask what this is all about?" Wesley asked what everyone wanted to ask.

"Willow would you explain to everyone why we are so happy." Tara asked. Willow proceeded to explain to everyone what they had been doing and what the envelope had that made Hunter and Mike so happy. Hunter went over to Dr. Martin and hugged her. She got on her knees next to her chair and held onto her hand. "Mary I think that our Lord has granted my request. This baby will be the beginning of the end for me. I believe he will finally allow me to grow old and die. Thank you Mary for all of your help and guidance." "You're welcome Hunter." Hunter kissed and hugged her again then went back to her seat beside Mike.

"I noticed that you're speaking more clearly now and without hesitation. Has a miracle happened with you also?" Spike asked. "I guess you could say that but my miracle came in the package of a 6 ft. 1 Angel. Angel established a link with me so that he could help me to learn to speak again. To do this both Angel and Cordelia sacrificed their link with each other so that he could be with me for awhile." Angel looked at his Mother and winked at her.

After breakfast Willow and Tara went with Hunter and Mike to his office so he could confirm Tara's pregnancy.

At 11 a.m. Dr. Martin's physical therapist came to help her with relearning how to control her arm and leg again. He was impressed by the gym downstairs. He gave Giles suggestions on things that they would need for Dr. Martin. She was being a good girl today and cooperated fully with the therapist. Giles knew it was because Angel was standing to the side and watching the whole procedure.

The next several weeks went on like this with daily workouts in the gym and then the therapist. After only a few visits to the speech therapist the rest of the sessions were canceled. The therapist told her that she was getting along just fine and didn't need her help anymore. When she said this Dr. Martin looked at Angel and winked at him. They smiled and he gave his mother a hug and kiss as he helped her out of the hospital where the speech therapist was located.

Two weeks after this last session occurred Angel told his mother and Giles that he was going to break the link with her because she was doing so well. Giles was happy about that. He hadn't been able to have sex with his wife knowing that Angel was listening. After he broke the link Angel listened to Dr. Martin as she had a long conversation with Kathleen. He didn't hear even the slightest delay as she went from one word to the next. After an hour of this Angel called an end to the visit. It was time for both his mother and Kathleen to have their afternoon nap.

"Come on you two it's nap time. Your Mommy is going to come looking for you if I don't put you down for your nap and Grandma has to take a nap also." Dr. Martin gave her granddaughter a kiss then they left.

Cordelia was in their room and she looked up as they came in. "I was about to come looking for you two. It's time for our nap young lady.

"Can I lie down on your bed Mommy?" "I don't mind but we need to ask your Daddy also." "Can I Daddy?" "I don't sleep in your bed why should I let you sleep in my bed?" "Because you love me Daddy and I'm your princess." Angel looked at her with a smile. "Well that is all true and I must say you gave me a real good reason. Can we go to the park when Connor comes home Daddy?" "Any thing for my little princes. Now go to sleep or you won't be going anyplace." Angel put her up on the bed and she crawled over to where her mother was and lay down. Angel closed the drapes and turned everything off then took his shoes and shirt off and lay down with his girls. Before going to sleep he reached over to Cordelia and re-established the link between them again. Cordelia put her hand up to the hand that was on her face. She lifted it slightly and kissed the palm of his hand.

"Hello my husband." Angel leaned over Kathleen and kissed Cordelia. "Hello my wife. Did you miss me?" "Always." They all went to sleep then and didn't wake up until 4 in the afternoon.

The first one to wake up of course was Kathleen. She crawled up on her Daddy's back and jumped up and down. "Wake up Daddy, it's time to go to the park." "If you don't stop jumping on Daddy's back I am going to turn you into a pretzel." Kathleen kept on jumping on his back and as her daddy promised he turned around and pulled her down then started to twist her legs and arms around by taking her arms out of her shirt and putting her feet through the arm holds. She couldn't get out of it so she pulled the only option open to her. "Mommmmmmmyyyyyyyy Daddy made me into a pretzel and I can't get out."

"Mmmmm, a pretzel. I think I'll have a bite." Cordelia pretended to start eating her tummy up and Kathleen started laughing so hard that she let some nuclear waste go. "Ewwwww you little Rug Rat." Kathleen just laughed. Cordelia got up and went to the dresser where she kept all of the things Angel would need to clean his daughter up along with a clothes pin. She put everything on the bed and then put the clothes pin on his nose.

"I guess this means that I have been elected for removal of all nuclear waste material." Angel said as he proceeded to clean his daughter up.

When he was done he cleaned himself up then and changed into more park like clothes. He picked Kathleen up along with a coat for her and went looking for Connor. They found him downstairs in the garden and playing with Toby. "Come on Connor let's go to the park." Kathleen said. "Okay let me take Toby in then I'll be right back." Connor took Toby upstairs to be with his Grandmother and told her he was going to the park with Angel and Kathleen. "Don't stay out to late Connor." "We won't Grandma." He took off downstairs then and joined Angel and his sister in the mini van.

The park was only five miles away and most of the traffic had left Los Angeles. The only people in the park now were people with their children just like Angel was doing. Connor and Angel had taken Kathleen to the swings and while Angel pushed her on the swing Connor kept an eye out for anything suspicious.

The danger wasn't in the park today though. Lilah was leaving the office early today and was on her way home as she passed the park. What she saw almost made her get into an accident. She wasn't quiet sure that she saw what she thought she saw so she made a circle around the park then went by again. She stopped as soon as she could where she could keep an eye on Angel and his children.

"Robert this is Lilah, get a team out here at the park that's close to the office. Yes that's the one. We have a special package that is just waiting for us to pick them up. Make sure that you have a strong tranquilizer to knock them out. You'll need enough for two. I'll be in the parking lot keeping an eye on them." She put her cell phone away and waited. They had wanted to get at Connor for so long. It was still a mystery as to how he could have been born to two vampire parents. The baby they could understand since her mother was human, but Darla was a cold Vampire. Within a few minutes a couple of white vans pulled up along side of her. She pointed out Angel and Connor and the team went into action.

Without knowing why the hair on the back of Angel's neck went up. Apparently Connors did also. "Let's go Dad. I feel danger near by." "Yeah, me too, but it's not danger I feel it's something evil." Angel stopped the swing Kathleen was on and picked her up. Both Connor and Angel turned then to head back to the parking lot. Their eyes were constantly scanning the area. As they came closer to the parking lot each of them felt the tranquilizers hit them in the neck. The one hitting Angel missed Kathleen's head by just inches. Kathleen started crying when her daddy fell. Angels last conscious thought was to protect his daughter. Her little leg was underneath his body and although it wasn't really hurt it was in an uncomfortable position and causing her some pain.

The crew from Wolfram & Hart quickly gathered the three up and put them in the back of their white van and took off for a safer location located in the bowels of Wolfram & Hart. Kathleen was crying all of the way. She was in so much emotional distress that it was picked up by her mother.

Cordelia was carrying a load of clothes up stairs that she had just washed. When Kathleen's call reached her she dropped the basket and almost fell backwards.

"Wesley." She screamed. Wesley had been downstairs in his office working when he heard her call out to him. He ran up the stairs to Cordelia. "What is it are you having a vision?" "No something has happened to Kathleen. She is crying real hard and she's scared. She is looking at Angel and he has a tape across his mouth and he's chained up. They have Connor also." "Who has them?" "I don't know, all I know is that she is scared." "They went to the park didn't they?" "Yes." "Okay let's start there then."

Wesley went to get Gunn, Spike, and Lou. He explained what was going on and they all jumped into his SUV. It was already starting to get dark by the time they started for the park. They found Cordelia's mini van without any problem. Wesley had a duplicate key so they checked inside for any evidence or note that may have been left behind.

"Spike, can you pick up their scent?" "Yeah it seems to be headed downtown." "Okay let's see if you can follow it." They got back into the SUV and Spike told them where to go. As they came to a large building Spike told Wesley, "This is it they're down there somewhere." They all looked at the sign in front of the building. In big bold gold letters the name WOLFRAM & HART was spelled out.

Lou started to get out. Gunn jumped out and grabbed her arm. "You can't go in there Lou. They'll stop you before you get to the receptionist." "Why can't I go in. They have all three of them in here. I can smell them. I know that they're in there."

"Lou these people are the very personification of evil. We can't help them right now. We'll have to make plans to get them out. Now get back in and well go back and get the van and return home." Lou reluctantly did as she was told.

When they returned home Cordelia was waiting in the middle of the lobby. Wesley went to her. "We couldn't find them Cordelia but Spike was able to trace their scent to Wolfram & Hart."

"Where is my daughter Wesley, I want Kathleen." Cordelia was crying and yelling at him at the same time. Wesley just hugged her. "We'll find a way to get her back Cordy. I promise we will get them all back."

Dr. Martin came out of the elevator shortly after Wesley returned. Giles was with her and without saying anything they went outside to her car. Giles had tried to talk her out of it but with Mary being a Martin he knew it was useless to try anymore so as usual he just did as he was told. What he had been told to do was drive to Wolfram & Hart.

When they arrived Dr. Martin just got out and with Giles help went into the building and asked to see Lila. She gave the receptionist one of her own cards to give to Lila. Dr. Martin and Giles took a seat in a very comfortable waiting area. It was 20 minutes before Lila was located and she came out to the Lobby.

Giles and Dr. Martin stood as she approached them. Lila put her hand out to shake their hands. Giles declined but Dr. Martin shook her hand. Because of Dr. Martin's stroke it was a little difficult for her to make herself understood since the left side of her face was paralyzed. The words came out clearly though when she asked for that which she came for. "Lila I want my Granddaughter back. She is just a baby and can't possibly be of any use to you." Lila looked at her for a moment.

"Because of what you did for me Dr. Martin I will get your Granddaughter for you. Wait here while I have someone bring her." Lila went to the receptionist's desk and called downstairs. She knew that this wasn't going to make the Senior Partners very happy but she would think of something to tell them. Besides they had already taken a blood sample from her and performed other medical tests that would tell them all about her physical makeup and her constant crying was getting on her nerves.

A woman came up the elevator a few minutes later. She had Kathleen in her arms. As soon as Kathleen saw her grandmother and grandfather she started reaching for them and screaming at the top of her lungs. "Grandma they hurt my Daddy and Connor. I want my Daddy and they won't let me go to him. I want my Daddy, I want my Daddy." To hear Kathleen crying and calling out for her Daddy left everyone else crying also. Dr. Martin gave her to Giles to hold. He could see that she had been crying for a while because her eyes were all red and puffy. He took out his handkerchief and wiped her eyes and got her to blow her nose. She put her head against his shoulder then and stuck her fingers into her mouth and started sucking.

"Lila, why have you taken my son and grandson? What do you intend to do with them?" "Dr. Martin I have given your granddaughter back to you because of what you did for me. We have Angel and Connor because we are curious about Connor and how he came to be. Two Vampires are not supposed to be able to have children. We intend to find out what Connor is made of. We have Angel because we have questions and he has the answers." "How long are you going to keep them?" Giles asked. "As long as it takes. Oh and you might as well contact the school that Connor attends. He won't be finishing out the semester. Good night." Lila turned and left then to return to her own kind of entertainment.

Dr. Martin and Giles left then and returned to the hotel. Cordelia could sense Kathleen's nearness so she came running downstairs as soon as she heard the doors open and close. Kathleen reached for her mother as soon as she saw her. Cordelia hugged her so tightly that Kathleen almost couldn't breath. She kept telling her mother how the bad people had hurt her Daddy and Connor and how they wouldn't let her go to her Daddy. Cordelia finally took her attention away from her daughter and looked at Dr. Martin. "What happened, did they say when or if they were going to release Angel and Connor?"

Dr. Martin looked to Giles to explain what happened. Wesley was standing by Cordelia. As Giles finished telling them what had happened and what Lila had said Wesley and Giles looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing that this was the beginning of Angels suffering to pay for his Mothers sins and they were to leave him alone until the 40 days and nights had passed. It was late and they hadn't had anything since lunch.

"Why don't you go upstairs Mary and I'll see what Connie has in the ice box." Dr. Martin just nodded an okay and went to the elevator." He waited until Mary had gone upstairs.

"Wesley, what are we going to do? Everyone is going to be expecting us to do something." Wesley came over to the kitchen and sat down. "I knew that this was going to be the hardest part Giles when he told us not to do anything." They didn't notice Cordelia coming into the kitchen.

"You won't have to worry about that gentleman. I'll take care of that. If anyone asks you anything send them to me." "Okay Cordelia." Wesley and Giles answered. Cordelia took her daughter up to their room then. She busied herself with fixing something for her to eat but Kathleen would turn her head away when her mother would try to feed her. So she left the dish for her. She thought she wanted to feed herself but Kathleen just let it sit there and continued to suck on her fingers.

"Aren't you hungry Kathleen?" her mother asked her. Kathleen just shook her head and continued sucking on her fingers. "Okay Mommy will put it in the refrigerator and you can have it later if you get hungry." Cordelia wasn't feeling hungry either. She knew that this was what Angel wanted but it was going to be almost as hard on her as it was on him. She put Kathleen in her pajamas and she got ready for bed herself. Instead of putting her into her crib she placed her in the bed next to her and they both went to sleep. It was a restless sleep though because Angel's suffering came across to her through the link they shared once again.

In the bowels of Wolfram & Hart Angel lay on the floor of his prison cell. Even though he was in a prison cell they still had his hands and feet bound and a tape over his mouth. They had Connor in the cell next to him but he was free to move around. The cells were separated by a few feet so Connor couldn't reach over and free his father. Lila had come in and told them that Dr. Martin had come and picked up Kathleen. They were both thankful for that.

In the morning a group of men had come in to feed Angel and Connor. While the majority of the guards stood back with their guns aimed at their two prisoners two of them opened the doors and placed their food on the floor. Angel was given a 12 oz. jar of blood while Connor was given potatoes and eggs with a steak cooked rare and two slices of toast with butter and jelly and a large cup of coffee.

"I don't drink coffee. Can I have a large glass of cold milk?" "Sure kid." Connor didn't make any move to get free. He knew that they would shoot his father if he did. Although it wouldn't kill him it would cause him a lot of pain.

The other guard was too afraid to be so lenient with Angel. He asked another guard to help him lift Angel up from the floor and place him on a chair that he had brought in. The guard took the tape off of Angel's mouth and put the jar of blood to his lips. Angel drank it greedily. When he was done he asked "Where's the rest?" "That's all you get. They want you to stay alive but not to alive." The guard said with a laugh.

The guard feeding him the jar of blood stood back when he was done and another person dressed in a white lab coat came in. Angel was wearing a long sleeved coat and shirt and it was obvious that the technician needed access to his arm. "I need for you to release his right or left arm." "What for?" The guard asked. It was plain to see that his request made the guard nervous. "I need access to his arm so that I can get it ready to give him something to relax." The technician held up a syringe and smiled. The guard pulled out his knife and cut the top of Angels sleeve off then pulled both sleeves down then backed up and out of the way.

Angel could see that this was heroin. "Don't do it guys, it's been tried before and if you continue you'll have a visitor that you won't want to deal with." "They know about the actress that drugged you and Angelus came through. They figured a way around that so shut up and get ready to go on a long trip." Angel watched the technician ready his arm for the drug then administer it. When they were done they exited the cell and it was locked again. All of the guards exited the room and they were alone again.

"Dad what happened the last time you were given drugs." Angel was already feeling the affects of the drug. The room started spinning when he opened his eyes so he kept them shut. "Angelus came through temporarily. The drug I was given gave me an artificial feeling of perfect happiness and Angelus took over for a short time." Angel started laughing at the memories. "We were in my old apartment and Wesley tackled me into the elevator shaft and I was knocked out. When I woke up I found myself chained to the bed with heavy chains." Angel started laughing so hard that he fell off of the chair. "Apparently you're a happy drug user also." Connor couldn't help but laugh at his father.

Angel remained under the influence of the drug for the next 4 hours but before it could wear off completely they came back and gave him more. They kept him under the influence of the drugs constantly and he never had a chance to come down from it. While they were getting Angel hooked on the drug they were busy putting Connor through a battery of tests, physical as well as psychological. After the beginning of the second week they felt safe in removing Angel's restraints. He was constantly either sleeping or existing in a fog. He barely knew where he was most of the time and by the beginning of the third week Lila came down to observe the beginning of his questioning. As intended Angel was very cooperative and answered any questions that they asked. They wanted to know what Angel Investigation was doing these days and who all of the people were that were now living at the hotel. The biggest surprise was the news that they had all become so religious, as those questioning him had put it. When they came to a question that Angel was reluctant to answer they just delayed giving him the drug that he was beginning to crave. He eventually gave them the answer they wanted then they would give him the drug. All the time they were doing this they gave him only a minimum amount of blood to drink and by the beginning of the fourth week he was beginning to have a gaunt look to his face.

At the beginning of the fifth week they started testing Angel for his physical response to the periodic withdrawal of the drugs they were giving him. They were now keeping Angel and Connor in separate rooms but Connor could hear Angel as they started to torture him. They would let him come down from the drug long enough so he would feel everything that they were doing to him.

It wasn't so much what they were doing to him to see what he could withstand that bothered Angel. Angel had been assaulted physically more times than he cared to think about so it wasn't that and it wasn't the fact that Connor was here with him and going through a bunch of tests like a guinea pig. What Angel hated right now was the fact that all he could think about was his next shot of the drug. He was growing weaker and weaker as time went by because of the lack of blood and usually he would be craving blood right now, in fact that should have been the only thing on his mind. For a moment he thought of Cordelia and Kathleen and he had to concentrate on putting a face with those names. He had forgotten about his instructions from Sr. Margaret and why he was letting this happen to him. All Angel had on his mind was when they were going to give him the drug again.

Lila finally came down to observe one of the sessions with Angel. She watched from a room with a two way mirror into the room where they had Angel chained up and hanging from the ceiling. As she watched them torturing him she noticed how he seemed to be in more pain then he did the last time they had him for a short time. She saw Angel do something that she didn't think he could do. He started crying as they continued to hit him with the cattle prods. When he called out to God for help she knew that this was a different man than the one she had been fighting all these past years. This Vampire was vulnerable.

Lila called for the leader of the group of men that were torturing Angel. The leader went over to the other room. Lila gave instructions for Angel to be given one last shot of the drug he was currently being given then he was to be released with his son and dropped off at the back of the hotel. "We now have all of the information that we can obtain from Angel and his son. It's useless to continue to torture him." "Yes Mam. I'll see to their return immediately."

Lila left then to write her report to the Senior Partners.

It was 1 o'clock in the morning when a white van pulled to the back of the hotel and let out their passengers. Connor was having to practically carry his father to the back doors. Neither Connor nor Angel had the keys to the back doors anymore. They had neglected to return the contents of their pockets when they released them. He couldn't do anything but call for someone and kick the door to make a lot of noise.

"Wesley, Gunn open the doors it's Connor and Angel. Wesley, Cordelia were back. Help me." He kept this up until he saw the lights come on in the lobby. He could see everyone coming to the doors. Wesley went to the security pad and shut it off. Gunn opened the doors and grabbed Angels other arm and they carried him over to the couch in the lobby. After they were in Wesley turned the security alarm on again. He ran over to the couch then to check on Angel and Connor. Cordelia was crying as she hugged Angel. She pulled back though when she felt no response from him. He had his eyes open but they were glassy and he didn't seem to be able to focus on anything. She stood up then and joined the others around Connor.

"Connor what did they do to him. His eyes are all glassy looking and he doesn't seem to be aware of his surroundings." Cordelia asked.

"Wesley, Dad was given drugs from the beginning. They've been giving drugs to him every 4 hours. The only time they didn't was when they wanted to see how he responded when they denied him the drugs. During the last week they've been taking him into another room and torturing him. I know they were delaying his next fix during those times because I could hear him screaming. Wesley I've seen kids hooked on drugs and they don't feel any pain when they're high. You can practically cut off their hand and they wouldn't respond to the pain. I'm sure you've noticed how thin he is. They've only been giving him 12 ounces of blood a day. They said they wanted him to stay alive but not to alive. In other words they wanted him to be weak so that he couldn't cause them too much trouble."

"What did they do to you? You seem to be in pretty good health." Giles asked. He had heard the noise downstairs and got up quietly and tried not to disturb his wife who was still sleeping.

"They took pretty good care of me. From day one they were feeding me everything I wanted. They even gave me a tall glass of cold milk when I told them I didn't drink coffee. They kept us both in prison cells that were next to each other but far enough away so that I couldn't reach him. From the start they had him chained up and tied so that he couldn't move or speak. When they brought in my meal of potatoes, eggs, and a steak all they gave him was 12 ounces of blood. He was hungry almost all of the time Cordelia." Connor's tears threatened to spill over.

Connor looked at Wesley and Gunn. "The worst thing of all Wesley and Gunn was that neither one of us fought back. They held us hostage against each other and they threatened to come after Kathleen if we didn't cooperate. So we both took whatever they handed out. All they did to me though was put me through a battery of physical tests to see what I was made of. They seemed to be very curious as to how I could have been born of two vampires. Both Dad and I answered all of their questions so I don't understand why they continued to torture him Wesley." "He'll be okay Connor, your Dad always bounces back within a short time."

"Wesley you don't understand. Dad is a drug addict now. He craves those drugs over blood. We are going to have to chain him up in another 5 or 6 hours because he is going to do anything he has to, to get his next fix. There is one more thing Wesley. Lila came to me before we were released. She told me that while they were torturing Angel they found that he isn't the Vampire that he used to be. He doesn't heal the way he used to and most of all his psychological response to the torture is different. She said that she has been fighting Dad for a long time now and for some reason he doesn't respond in the same way. He feels pain more intensely now and doesn't recover from it very fast. I think Wesley and Cordelia that Dad has become more human then we all thought."

"Gunn we better get those chains out that we had him in when Dr. Martin wanted to talk to Angelus. We have no choice but to put him in the basement. I'm glad I bought the padding for the wrist cuffs. Connor, can you and Lou bring down one of the old mattresses from up stairs?" Connor and Lou left for the elevator. When the doors closed and they were alone Lou turned to Connor and hugged him.

"I was so afraid that I would never see you again." She kissed him over and over again and he responded in a like manner. As the elevator came to a stop they parted and headed for the empty rooms and started searching for a mattress. They came across the men's escape room they used when they've tied one on and they needed quiet and sleep to get over their hangovers. They chose a mattress and took it down stairs to the basement. Gunn and Wesley had already taken Angel downstairs and chained him up to the chains that they had attached to the steel loops that were sticking out of the cement floor. Lou and Connor put the mattress down close to the steel loop in the floor. They helped Angel to lie on the mattress. Wesley had taken Angels torn jacket and shirt off before putting the chains on him.

Through all of this activity Angel gave no response that showed he was even aware that they were there and helping him. Every once in awhile they heard him laughing at something that only Angel was aware of. Before leaving to get some sleep Wesley brought a lamp downstairs that he placed well out of Angels reach. He had finally quieted down and was sleeping now. Wesley knew that within a few hours he was going to start missing his next fix and Angel was going to start his walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It was going to be up to his friends to make sure that he came out of the other side of that valley.

TBC……………………………………………………………….