Zigpal- Thanks for the review (and claps of course) and yes, Lorne does have a lot to say...although it won't make sense till later on. As is always the case with Lorne's readings hehe. And don't worry- Mopey Willow will be all pulling-up-the-socks soon.
Jason Barnett- I never meant for Willow to be 'taken in'.Giles isn't trying to win her over. He's just teaching her the beginning; how she should have learnt Wicca from the start. And Will, being the little knowledge-seeker that she is, found what Giles said very interesting.
Rabidreject- Thanks for the review, and yeah, I like the Angel Crossovery goodness too. No more sobbing now coz here is the update. Hehe. Beginning of the week (ish) instead of the middle so not too bad...haha. And thanks, yeah, my weekend was great though of course I'm shattered now. haha
A/N: This chapter is pretty much a bridge. Lorne's reading and then how Giles and Joyce are being effected relationship-wise by this new addition. Next chapter will get back to the plot line.
"You want me...to sing?" Joyce asked, barely hiding her nerves.
"That is how it works," Lorne smiled kindly at her, making a little circling motion with his hands as though to say 'so...sing'.
"Right here? Now?" Joyce asked even more nervously as she looked around at everyone and Cordy, while feeling sorry for her, could barely contain a laugh at the sight. When Joyce was nervous, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Buffy, "In front of all these people?"
"Well, no...they don't have to stay honey," Lorne told her, "But some prefer an audience- makes it more-"
"They can leave," Joyce hurriedly said before looking at the others apologetically, "Sorry if they came out a little rude. It's just-"
"It's perfectly understandable," Wesley told her, "We'll just go into the other room over there"
"Yeah," Cordelia agreed, "While asking ourselves why Angel never asks us to leave the room when he sings"
"Hey," Angel said, clearly offended, already heading off with Connor in the direction of the room Wesley had pointed out.
As Joyce watched them all walk off into the next room she felt intense relief and intense fright all at the same time. Relief because they wouldn't be able to watch her and fright because she knew once they had all left the foyer, then she would have no more time to kill or procrastinate and then she would have to sing. She really hated singing, well she sang on her own like most people, but intentionally singing for someone else? That just made her want to scream. She reached for Rupert's hand to hold for emotional support to find it wasn't there. He'd started to walk off too.
"Hey- where are you going?" She asked, quickly grabbing his hand to pull him back, "I need you here."
"Oh, right,"
They heard the sound of the door clicking shut and Lorne turned to Joyce with an expectant look.
"So, do you wanna give it a shot now?"
"What am I supposed to sing?" Joyce asked, "I mean is there anything that-"
"You can sing whatever you want" Lorne assured her, "Anything that comes to mind"
"Right," Joyce smiled slightly, looking down at the ground as she tried to summon her confidence back to her, "You see- it's just I don't really make a habit of singing. Ever" She told Lorne, before pausing in thought, "Except for that one time a little while ago when Sunnydale became a musical...but that really wasn't of my own free will"
"Pardon?" Lorne asked, his eyes wide in amazement, "Became a musical? Like everyone was bursting into a song of their own?"
"At every unfortunate opportunity," Giles elaborated, "We found that we frankly had no choice in the matter"
"Wow, I would have loved to- seeing into their souls through the lyrics as well as the notes," Lorne was obviously deliriously happy over this thought, "And the music.- original scores and..." He trailed off as he saw the pointed look that both Giles and Joyce were giving him, "Sorry- I got kinda..." He trailed off again before finally regaining focus, "So let's hear you sing blondie. Pun not intended," He added as a pointed afterthought.
"But I still don't know what to sing..." Joyce reminded him, "In all honesty...my mind's gone completely blank"
"Hmm..." Lorne seemed thoughtful for a moment, "Well, usually I like the singer to choose their own song- kinda reveals a lot. But this one time? I let cha off," He grinned, before becoming thoughtful once again, "Well, tis the seasonal month now, so why not sing us to have a merry little Christmas"
"You want me to sing a Christmas song?" Joyce asked sceptically and Lorne sighed in exasperation.
"My aren't you picky. Just sing hon. It only has to be for a couple of lines"
"Unh," Joyce complained childishly with a roll of the eyes as she held onto Rupert's hand tighter and sang the opening lines of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
Okay, so the gang at Angel Investigations were nosy. And the room they had been exiled to wasn't sound proofed. And it had a window.
"She's not bad," Wesley commented as he and Cordy peered through the window to see what was going on while they all listened intently to the muffled sound of Joyce singing.
"She's definitely better than Angel," Cordy agreed.
"Everyone's better than Angel Cordy," Gunn said straightforwardly and at Angel's look he just shrugged, "Oh come on, you can't actually think you sound good when you sing can ya?"
As she reached the line 'gather near to us once more', Joyce believed she sang more than enough and she cut off.
"That was...erm, you don't need anymore do you?" She asked Lorne anxiously.
Lorne however didn't reply for the moment, but seemed completely lost in thought.
"Wow...I didn't expect...wow..." Lorne whistled in disbelief, "I didn't expect things to be that complex"
"Complex?" Cordelia asked as she and the others came back into the foyer. It was an amazing feat Connor was still quietly sleepy after all this to-ing and fro-ing.
"How come you came back in at..." Joyce began to ask, but stopped when she realized she knew the answer, "You were listening in," She accused, before resorting to using a motherly warning tone, "Cordelia..."
"What?" Cordy asked, not fazed in the slightest, "Wesley was listening in too"
Both Giles and Joyce looked over at him, shock etched on their faces that Wesley would be so nosy.
"I was not-" Wes immediately protested before sighing, "Okay, fine. Yes, yes I was"
"Now what'd ya see doc?" Cordy asked, not even bothering to hide her nosiness.
"Well-" Lorne turned to Joyce, "You don't mind them listening in to this bit do ya? Coz the little whippersnappers can go away again"
"No, no it's fine," Joyce assured him with a sigh, "They'll just find a way to listen in anyway"
"So, uh, what did you see?" Giles asked anxiously.
"All and nothing," Lorne replied and before any of them could ask about this profound answer, he immediately elaborated, "It seems this lady here isn't meant to be here at all"
"Pardon?" Giles asked.
"Joyce is it?" Lorne double-checked although he was sure he already knew and Joyce nodded in confirmation, "Joyce should have been out of this world a good while ago." He stepped forward so he was talking intimately and directly to Joyce, "You see, the original design had you written out, you'd played your part and well, your story was supposed to come to an end" Every one was deathly silent as they listened to Lorne tell Joyce that, essentially, right now, she should be dead, "But you two getting it together seems to have changed all that, not gonna tell you how- you'll figure it out in due time I'm sure- but well, without you two being a two, well," He shrugged sympathetically at Joyce, "I don't think you'd be here at all. Now that'sa kind of certainty that comes along but once in a lifetime. Don't forget that." He told the two of them and couldn't help a little smile as he watched Giles, having heard how the Grand Design had had things mapped out for Joyce, put his arm around her, pulling her just that little bit closer as though subconsciously making sure she was still there.
"Now, this is one complicated journey she's on," Lorne carried on.
"Joyce is?" Giles checked and Lorne shook his head
"No, the baby"
"It's...it's a girl?" Joyce asked, her hand reaching up to cover her lips as her emotions at this revelation threatened to overtake her.
"A daughter?" Giles could barely form the word and he was surprised he managed to say it without stuttering.
"Yes," Lorne nodded, briefly wondering whether he should have given away that much information, "But while it's going to be complicated, with you two crazy kids there she's gonna do fine"
Cordelia suddenly let out a burst of laughter.
"Was there something funny about that?" Lorne challenged, though their was humor in his voice.
"No, it's nothing," Cordy assured him, "It's just well one- referring to them two, especially Giles,as a 'crazy kid' is funny enough but..." She smothered another giggle, "If you knew how the two of them actually got together..." She finally composed herself as she managed to stop letting out smothered giggles, "Well, let's just say you'd find it a whole lot funnier"
"Well I've had a glimpse at how this kid came about- and that's funnier," Lorne retorted, confusing Cordy but causing Giles and Joyce to blush in the extreme. "Anyway, where was I?" Lorne returned his attention to the couple in question, "Oh yeah, right. "She's uh she's got a lot of destiny on her shoulder this chica. A lot. I mean, sure she'll have some issues with it at first- you'd know all about that- " He nodded in the direction of Giles and Rupert briefly wondered (and also, worried) over how much Lorne had seen from just the few lines Joyce had sang, "but she'll come through- even revel in that destiny- in the end," The host of the presently defunct Caritas continued.
"But is she going to be okay?" Joyce asked with firm quiet urgency in her voice. This destiny thing was definitely a heavy weight on Joyce's shoulders- was it too much to ask for one daughter to be free of all this madness?- but right now, all she cared about was that her youngest was going to be fine.
Lorne paused for a moment as though contemplating whether to give Joyce an answer to her question or not.
"Yeah," He finally said, "She's going to be fine- no need to get all Thelma-and-Louise there. Jeez, what is it with you people and rushing me along in my answers? I'm offering you a service here," Lorne sounded genuinely exasperated, "Now...erm..." He frowned,"See- I've lost my flow now. Ah that's it." He looked at Joyce and Giles, "There's just one more thing that I should tell you- now, don't be getting too worried, but being aware might be just the thing- this pregnancy? It's gonna be complicated- at the beginning, and the final hour"
As if sensing the effect this had on everyone, especially the expecting parents, Connor, who moments ago had been asleep in Angel's arms, burst into loud ear-destroying sobs. Angel put on his game-face, grinning at Connor, but for once it did nothing to pacify him. The gang all rushed around the Father-and-Son, hurriedly trying to calm the baby down (Fred tried pulling funny faces.) Lorne just sighed at the noise and flopped down on the nearby sofa and Giles and Joyce, not being part of the group dynamic, just watched from afar.
That is until it became blatantly obvious that Connor wasn't going to stop crying anytime soon.
"Erm...do you mind if I try?" Joyce offered, stepping forward and the group immediately parted eagerly to give Angel room to hand the child over. Angel, however, looked very reluctant.
"I don't know," He said over the Connor's cries, "What if it makes him worse?"
"There is no worse than this!" Cordelia told him, "Give him over!"
With a reluctant sigh, Angel handed over his son to Joyce.
"It's okay, Connor. Connor- Daddy's right here" Angel assured the baby softly as he handed him over.
"Daddy?" Joyce asked in pure shock, immediately clocking onto Angel's slip-up, but preoccupied with the baby that was now in her arms and not Angel's, she was unable to pay more attention to this revelation. However, she knew for damn sure that she wanted answers. Now. She glanced over at Giles, "You ask," She told him, before returning her attention to Connor.
"Adoptive child, correct?" Giles guessed, "Though heaven knows how or why"
"No, uh, not adoptive," Angel admitted reluctantly, "He's actually my, my son"
"What?" Giles was completely flummoxed, "But that's not possible- vampires can't- vampires can't have children"
"Tell that to Darla..." Cordy mumbled quietly, but apparently loud enough for Giles to hear.
"Darla?" Giles asked, "What has Darla to do with all this?"
"She was the Mother," Cordy explained, grinning, clearly enjoying the effect this sudden share mode was having.
"How? But- wasn't she...years ago- staked when- by Angel!" Giles exclaimed, barely forming sentences as complete confusion and shock overcame him. Cordelia would probably have said more in reply, but suddenly everyone's attention was drawn away from the confusing matter at hand, by the fact that Connor had fell completely silent and by the peaceful expression on his face,fell asleep. Joyce was rocking him gently, clearly quite proud of herself for this accomplishment.
"You did it," Angel said in disbelief.
"Don't act so shocked," Joyce told them all, "I have raised two-well, one really...but let's not get into that. Either way, you'd be amazed what tricks a mother keeps up her sleeves"
"Please share this trick," Cordelia urged as she and Angel both rushed forward towards her, looking down in amazement at the sleeping Connor.
"The rock-and-walk," Joyce said in reply as though it were the simplest thing in the world.
"The who and the what?" Cordelia frowned and Joyce smiled before explaining.
"The rock," Joyce emphasized the gentle rocking, "and walk," and then joined it with subtle pacing.
Giles found himself watching this scene intently, so intently in fact that he didn't realize anyone had walked up beside him until Wesley spoke.
"You seem rather taken aback,"
"Taken aback?" Giles questioned, not quite taking his eyes away from Joyce. 'Taken aback' wasn't quite how he guessed his expression looked.
"Yes," Wes nodded, "I think perhaps you didn't consider the fact that Joyce would be a natural at this now...and so, you're rather worried that you won't be"
Giles really hated when people were insightful. Especially when it was annoyingly so. So, he didn't reply to that comment straight away, instead, he chose to continue watching Joyce as she yet again illustrated to Angel, the trick of getting Connor to go to sleep.
"I love that woman," He stated suddenly and Wesley was rather taken aback himself by this sudden blatant announcement of feelings.
"I'd gathered that from when you married her," Wesley settled for light humor in response- it was a comfortable neutralizer to a potentially awkward situation.
"I know," Giles said patiently, almost tutting at Wes' response. He was in what Buffy referred to as 'share mode'. It was a decidedly rare occurrence and he would have preferred it if he wasn't mocked, "But there are times, just brief moments..when I'm reminded of that fact. And it can be so incredibly overpowering and- I don't like it," Giles admitted and Wesley frowned.
"You...don't like it?" He asked slowly, clearly very confused, "Might I suggest that you don't tell your wife that little fact. Could put a strain on the relationship"
"I don't like it Wesley, because I like to be in control. And I hate it when I lose such," Giles explained, "That particular feeling- the seeming reminder of how I feel about her- is so overpowering, that it could potentially take all of my control from me with the merest of efforts"
"Wow..." Fred murmured, having been listening in without either men realizing. It was a gift of hers- if she didn't wish to be noticed, she wouldn't be, "That is so romantic"
Giles started, not realizing the girl had been there at all.
"My lord, where did you, uh, never mind. Of what you just heard, ah-"
"Fred," Fred filled in.
"Fred," Giles repeated, while taking off his glasses with one hand and cleaning them with a handkerchief that he held in the other, "Of what you heard Fred, perhaps it would be best you ah choose not to repeat it," He slipped the 'chief back in his pocket and placed his glasses back on, "That applies to you also, Wesley," He added, before stepping away from the two of them to talk to Joyce and also to ask Angel for further explanation on how he could possibly have a son.
"Well, your bags are all in your room now," Gunn said as he and Angel came back down the stairs.
"It's the first room on your right," Angel added and Joyce, the only one there to listen nodded.
"Right, thanks," She was yet again sat on the sofa in the foyer, but now Connor was asleep she was at a loss for what else to do and so had resigned herself to just sitting there and taking heart in the fact that for the past hour or so she'd had no bouts of 'morning' sickness.
"Where's Giles?" Angel asked, with a frown, wondering where the man could have disappeared to in the hotel.
"Oh, I think him and Wesley are...watcher-bonding or something..." Joyce shrugged, but Angel and Gunn just looked confused, "They're translating a text together," She explained.
"Yeah, they are," Cordy confirmed, walking back into the room with Fred, "It's boring as hell in all honesty"
"Oh I don't know," Fred reasoned, "It's a bit interesting...dontcha think?"
"No," Cordelia answered straightforwardly and honestly, "I'm off for coffee- anyone want?"
Gunn and Angel started to make a request but Cordy cut them off.
"I was just being polite," She told them, a touch of the old Cordelia returning, before she headed out of the hotel in search of a caffeinated beverage that wasn't the poison kept in the Hyperion.
Fred watched her go, before deciding on something and taking a seat next to Joyce. She knew Mr Giles had told her never to repeat the romantic monologue she had overheard, but Fred truly saw no harm in telling his wife. After all, wasn't that the person who was supposed to know? Besides, she really wanted to know what Mrs Giles in turn thought of her husband and even more besides, Fred had lived for five years in a hell dimension and hearing someone talk so romantically had further reminded her, gave her further hope, of all the wonderful things she had yet to rediscover in this not-so-hellish world.
"Hi," Fred grinned as she sat down beside Joyce, "I think you look kinda bored here,"
"What?" Joyce looked quite startled by this random statement from a girl she hardly knew, "Oh, not really...just alone time I guess"
"Oh," Fred nodded, "Does that mean you want me to not sit here?"
"No,no it's fine really," Joyce assured, "So...uh, how did you meet Cordelia and the others?"
"Oh, well, I was in a hell dimension for years and years where humans are kept as slaves and then about six months ago Angel saved me and brought me back here and now well, now I kinda live here, you know, at the hotel," She said this list of shocking facts in such a flow that it took a Joyce a moment to register any of what Fred had said. She did get the part about her being in a Hell Dimension though.
"Oh...uh, well, I-"
"It's alright, you don't have to try and say anything apologetic," Fred told her with a smile, "It's a bit hard to say the right thing about something like that." Fred paused for just the briefest of moments before bursting out with another random spurt of information, "Mr Giles said something really romantic about you before"
"You don't have to call him 'Mr Giles' you know," Joyce told her, "Besides...it sounds strange. Everyone back home just calls him 'Giles'. Well, I don't."
"What do you call him?"
"By his name..." Joyce smiled, "'Rupert'...now, erm...now about this romantic thing you heard him say..." Joyce prompted, suddenly becoming seriously interested and Fred giggled a shy laugh.
"Well, he said about how much he loves you and that...he doesn't like it when it makes him feel like he's losing control," Fred told her and Joyce frowned, looking hurt.
"He doesn't like how it makes him feel...?" She asked and Fred quickly shook her head.
"No, not like that...he just said...that, that his feelings were so strong they can, erm..." Fred scrunched up her face in shy concentration as she tried to remember what Giles had said, "'take him over with the merest of efforts'" She nodded to punctuate the statement as though confirming she had gotten the quote correct. Joyce however, didn't say anything in reply, but couldn't help grinning widely. "He just made it sound all romantic and fairytale soundin'..." Fred continued.
"Oh it's not a fairytale, trust me," Joyce told her, but this point was less convincing due to the fact she was still smiling at what Fred had told her. "We've uh we've had our fair amount of problems"
"But is it worth it?" Fred asked curiously.
"Definitely," Joyce immediately said, leaving no room for doubt, "I just...you know sometimes I think about what would have happened if we hadn't..well, got together...and it just makes me feel..." Joyce searched around for a suitable word to explain it, "Empty I suppose as though my life wouldn't be quite right without him there. I mean he can make me laugh so much through just the littlest things, even more so when he doesn't mean to. And he's just being...being Rupert," Joyce smiled as a memory obviously came to mind, "Like when he gets completely lost in research- and he'll get so excited about finding something new and he looks so...sweet and cute- I mean he'd be completely embarrassed if he knew I thought that- but it makes me want to.." She trailed off as she realized where she was heading with that point and blushed slightly, "Well, you know. And I can just feel so completely safe with him...and when I'm sat with him and he has his arms around me- it's the safest feeling in the world. It's just...he's Rupert. And that's what I love about him." Joyce, as though suddenly realizing how much she had just shared with a virtual stranger, smiled nervously, "I'm sorry- I don't where all that...silly hormones, huh?"
"Well, it's proven that when a woman's pregnant that both Mother and Father are effected in a way that their affection for one another is increased or emphasized? You know, coz of the fact you're seeing him as the Father of your child now and he's seeing you as the Mother. It's this whole new layer thing," Fred explained, "But you two make it sound like really romantic...you should like write it down or somethin'...or not, coz it's kinda private...but..." Fred, clearly embarrassed, abruptly stopped talking and looked over at where Giles and Wes, now being peered at by Gunn and Angel, will still looking at a text together. "They're still translatin' that paragraph..." Fred stated and Joyce nodded in agreement.
"They'll both be one, wanting to get it exactly right and two, wanting to get the better of one another," Joyce told her, "You know, it's one of the highlights of research in Sunnydale in my opinion, when Rupert reads out the new information."
"Huh?" Fred frowned in confusion and Joyce leaned in conspiratorially to explain.
"Well, it's one of the things I love about him- his voice. I liked that even before I started dating him," She smiled, "And frankly, I could listen to him read the phone book"
Fred couldn't help but giggle.
Morning light always looked different when you weren't in your own bed. That was Joyce's explanation for why she always woke with a start at seven am when she was sleeping in a strange place. She shifted onto her side to find Giles wide awake too.
"Hullo," Giles smiled, speaking in a tone akin to 'fancy seeing you here' as though he didn't expect Joyce to be there beside him.
"Morning," She smiled, stretching slightly automatically reaching for his hand under the covers with her own. The moment their fingers entwined, he used the connection to slide her closer to him so they were side to side (or rather front-to-front) in the center of the bed.
As they brushed noses lightly, they dimly heard the sound of the front door downstairs opening and closing and the sound of Cordelia's voice shouting for Angel. Something about a vision. They mutually chose to ignore it and instead fully focused on one another as their lips met in a gentle good-morning kiss. Then, her other hand came from under the covers to cup the back of his head, fingers stroking though his mussed hair and he mirrored the action, running his hand through Joyce's blond curls as they kissed again, and he drew her lower lip into his mouth. He soon realized that this was fast becoming more than a good morning kiss as he traced down her neck with his lips, before she turned her head down to reclaim his mouth once again.
They were a little too enthusiastic to be able to immediately pull apart when the door to their room was shoved open.
"Angel, I can't remember which is your room so-ooooh my god!" Cordelia exclaimed, immediately turning to face the hall and away from the couple.
"I-I-I, uh, Cor-Cordelia what are you doing?" Joyce asked, panicked as she and Giles sat up in bed, startled by the sudden invasion of privacy.
"I couldn't remember which room Angel stays in so I pushed open the first- oh god," Despite the fact she was facing the other way, Cordy had her hand tightly over her eyes, "Oh god- I'm so...I have new sympathy for Buffy"
"Cordelia is something up?" Angel asked, coming down the hall after having heard her calls.
"Dear god, I hope not" She replied and Angel frowned in confusion, wondering what the heck she meant.
"Cordy, let me rephrase the question- what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I erm," Cordelia didn't take her hand away from her eyes, looking much like someone doing an impression of 'see no evil' "I had a vision"