Wolfram and Hart's New Guest
By jessebelle
Author's note: Sorry guys, I really didn't mean to keep you hanging that long. I got sick and was out of school for a week so I had to get better. Now I have to deal with a lot of back assignments, but, since I have a whole two days off for a teacher's convention, why not update my stories. So, I'm betting you all want to know who this mysterious person is. Most of you guys said that it had to be someone Hermione knew in your reviews. Only one person got the answer right. So, congrats tri, you're the next contestant on the Price is Right! Ah, yeah. Well, I Love thinking out of the box with this story and shocking you all. It's fun to come up with the strangest ideas. But, the next addition to our lovely cast of characters will be….well, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be reading to find out who it is?
Huggles and Snuggles,
jessebelle
She had just opened her mouth to politely decline, when the elevator beeped and the door opened. And out stepped….a familiar face, but only to one of their group. A sullen looking teenage boy walked out of the elevator. Behind him, a middle aged couple followed with worried expressions on their faces.
"Conner." The name left Angel's lips in a shocked whisper.
The teenager looked up at Angel. The name Conner made a feeling of resentment and guilt fill him. It wasn't his name though. He let his parents lead him to a desk where a young, blonde woman sat filing her nails. As they approached, she looked up, registering their appearance.
"Hi, we're looking for a Mr. Angel." The older man had a supportive hand resting on the teenager's shoulder.
Harmony's eyes widened a bit and she leaned past them to look at Angel. The vampire was still shocked with the impromptu appearance of his son. Especially because of the deal he'd made with the law firm he now ran. "Angel?"
Pulling himself together, he walked over to Harmony's desk and closer to this son. "Hi, I'm Angel. Wha-what can I do to help you?"
The rest of the group all looked at each other bewildered. Sensing a bit of urgency, Wesley decided to take charge where it concerned the young woman before him. "Hermione, since your stuff is already here, and we don't know if your headmaster would, ah, approve of your decision to leave with Spike, why don't you spend the night here? It seems that something has come up with Angel, and I know he probably wants to talk to you. You must be tired, too, considering the different time zones."
Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Wesley cut her off. "It doesn't have to be permanent, I know you want to leave, but, it's only for tonight and I'm sure everything will look different in the morning."
Hermione looked over to Xander. "What do you think?"
Seeing the obvious exhaustion in her features, Xander smiled. "I think you should stay the night. If anything, I'm too tired to move you."
"Come on Mione, you haven't even seen the room they got for you. It's tight."
Looking over at Gunn, she wondered what he'd just said. She opened her mouth to disagree, but a yawn escaped her. Her resolve slowly dissolving, she nodded. "Fine, but just for the night."
Wesley grinned. "Wonderful. Um, it appears that Angel's going to be busy, why doesn't Gunn show you your room."
Hermione just nodded. "Fine Charles, lead the way. I'll see you tomorrow Xander?"
The one-eyed wonder just nodded. "You bet. I'll even bring donuts."
Hermione laughed as she let herself be led away from the lobby by Charles. But before she left, she caught eyes with the teenager that had captured Angel's attention. It briefly registered that his eyes looked a bit familiar, before he looked away and she turned a corner.
888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
"Hi, I'm Angel. Wha-what can I do to help you?" In all of his 250 plus years, Angel had never felt as nervous as he did now, facing his son and his 'adoptive parents'.
"Mr. Angel, My name's Laurence Reilly, this is my wife Colleen, and our son, Conner. He's the reason we're here for your help."
Angel swallowed. "Oh, um, there's no Mr. just Angel. Nice to meet you."
He watched as his son, looking far more innocent then he'd ever seen him, nodded at him. "We're here because we want the truth."
If his heart had been beating, Angel was sure it would have stopped. "The truth?" Angel's voice sounded bad, even to his own ears.
Mr. Reilly nodded. "Yes, the truth about my son's adoption. We followed the trail and it led us here, to you. Of course, Wolfram and Hart handled the adoption, but there are some things I'd like to clear up, about Conner."
He was sure he had to be sweating. "Oh. Uh, why don't you follow me into my office?" He nervously started toward his office doors where, only a half hour ago, he'd been brooding in peace. He noticed that the group he'd been a part of had dispersed and that Hermione was, once again, gone. Damn, hopefully he'd get another chance to talk to her; otherwise, he'd have to pull out the big guns. Letting the Reilly family go first, he filed in his office behind his son. He gestured for them to take a seat and sank down into his chair behind his desk. He could tell that this conversation was going to have a huge impact on the future. He only hoped that it would be a good one.
Gathering his courage, he made himself sound in control. "Mr. and Mrs. Reilly, what exactly would you like cleared up."
A look passing between the two, they looked over to their 'son'. Conner shrugged as if to say, 'don't look at me'. With support from his wife, Mr. Reilly began. "Well, Conner's gotten to the age where he's become… curious. We just recently told him of his adoption and, I think he's a bit lost."
Conner rolled his eyes. "Way to sound melodramatic, dad." He turned to Angel with a look that made the vampire want to crawl under his desk and hide. "Mr. Angel,"
"It's just Angel."
"Okay, Angel, I found out I was adopted a few months ago. I went through the anger, the betrayed feeling, and now I'm curious about my biological parents. Dad did some digging and we found out that the adoption was through your law firm. There's also another reason I'm a little anxious to know where I came from." He gave a pointed look to his 'parents'.
Drawing a breath, Mrs. Reilly continued. "You see, Angel, a month ago Conner was involved in a serious accident."
Angel sat up at that and looked his son over for injuries. Seeing his reaction, she continued. "Exactly. It was a horrible car accident and, well, Conner shouldn't have survived." She gave a sad smile. "I thank God each day for not taking him away from me, but we still want to know why Conner survived with barely a scratch." She reached over and took Conner's hand. The teen smiled at his mother.
"So, will you help us?" He looked Angel straight in the eye.
It was like the entire world came crashing down him. Everything that had gone on with his son flashed through his head. Seeing the raw hopefulness in his son's eyes, he spoke before he could stop himself. "Of course."
The Reilly's all smiled. "Thank you; you don't know how much this means to us."
Angel nodded, his thoughts elsewhere. "You're welcome."
"So what happens now?"
Angel shook himself out of his thoughts. "I'm sorry, what?"
Mr. Reilly gave Angel a look. "I mean, what are you going to do to help us find Conner's parents?"
A flash of panic went through Angel at those words. It just now registered on what he'd be doing. "Oh, well, I guess we start from the beginning. Do you have his adoption papers?"
Mrs. Reilly nodded and pulled some papers from her purse. She slid them over to Angel. "Here."
Picking up the legal documents, he opened them. Sure enough, there was Wolfram and Hart's logo, along with Lilah Morgan's signature. He looked up to face the happy family. "Why don't I have someone analyze these? I'm sure there should be some records here about the adoption. "
Mr. and Mrs. Reilly smiled and stood up. "That would be wonderful."
Angel nodded, his thoughts a bit elsewhere. "I'll call you if I find anything."
"Thank you, this is really a huge help to our family." They shook hands with Angel as they began to leave. Slowly Conner got up, the look on his face a bit inquisitive. Slowly he held out his hands to shake. A bit apprehensive, Angel took it. "Thanks."
Angel swallowed nervously. "No problem."
As soon as the Reilly's and Conner were gone, Angel shut off the lights and locked his office. He sat down at his desk. He had some brooding to do.
A/N: Yay, I hope you liked it. It just occurred to me that in like, 14 chapters, I've only spanned one day. I better get going with this fic. Yay, Conner's here. I just thought I'd add him to the mix. Don't worry, this is still all about Hermione and her adventures in LA. I just figure Conner can be included in this crazy party. Plus, hello? Gotta add another reason for Angel to brood. Expect the next chapter within the next week. If I don't update by then, you have my permission to send rabid weasels after me.
Huggles and Snuggles,
jessebelle