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Cordelia sighed, resting her head in her hands on the desk. She was tired and worn out. Looking after two young children was not easy. Angel could see the strain wearing down on her. He did his best to do what he could with their children, but lately, Cordelia seemed really tired. She wasn't getting much sleep due to Ashleigh's fussy needs. She need a break, Angel thought, a good break away from work. He fingered the engagement box in his pocket, knowing that now was not the right time, nor there would be a good time for a while if this kept up. The only way he could really propose to her was when she was good and rested, but that wasn't happening
Sighing, Angel picked his daughter up and moved out into the lobby, slowly rocking her to sleep, as Connor joined him on the couch, staring at his sister
"Ashie cranky?" he asked
"No, she's just tired, buddy, like your mother. Try not to harass her, okay. If there's something you want, come see me or your uncles"
"Okay then. You wanna play with me?"
Connor held up one of his toy cars to his father, who chuckled and joined him on the floor, placing Ashleigh in her bassinet. Cordelia watched from her computer as Angel played with their son and a small smile appeared on her face. She was glad for Angel stepping in and doing his best to making sure she got rest. She had been tired and worn out these last few days and things were a little awkward with Angel following the incident at the ballet. Speaking of which, ever since that night, Wesley had barely been seen outside his office. Getting herself a cup of coffee, Cordelia headed into the office, finding Wesley pouring over something
"Whatcha doing?" she asked
"Working on something," Wesley replied without looking up
"Okay, Wes, you can look at me. I'm not mad at you or anything"
"I know that, Cordy, but…she chose and it wasn't me"
"I guess I can understand why you've been moping these past few days, but you can't do it forever. You gotta come out and join the living sometime"
"I would, but I'm working on something and I can't just leave it"
"In other words, you don't wanna see Fred and Gunn get all snugly together?"
Wesley looked up at her, a five o'clock shadow growing
"Piper's available if that helps," Cordelia suggested
"Thanks, but it doesn't"
"Okay then, Giles junior, I'll leave you to it then"
She left the office, seeing Gunn at the weapons cabinet, grabbing his axe, before leaving the hotel with Fred
"Where are they going?"
"Got a case," Angel replied, checking on Ashleigh, "A woman called, asking us to spy on her husband. She thinks he's cheating on her"
"Okay, so why would Gunn take his axe along"
"Maybe it's a demon he's cheating on her with"
"Or maybe it's just an ordinary, human woman"
Cordelia sat down on the couch, seeing that her daughter was sleeping contently
"God, I am so tired," she said, leaning back
"You need a break," Angel said, "You need a holiday"
"I would take one, but I can't leave you guys"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll be fine. Honestly, think it over. It'll be good for you"
"What about Ashleigh? She needs me, Angel"
"She's on the bottle, Cordy. I can handle the kids. You need the break"
"Alright then, I'll think about it. God knows I need it, but I can't leave you"
Angel smiled, leaning up and capturing Cordelia's lips in a kiss
"Thanks, Cordy. But I can handle myself and this is important for you"
About an hour later, Angel and Cordelia had put their children to bed, with still no sign of Wesley, Gunn or Fred. But it was then the phone rang and Angel answered it. Within minutes, he put his coat on, grabbed his broadsword and headed out into the night, arriving at Gunn's last location. There was no sign of the pair, as Angel headed over to the large tree. Roots suddenly shot out of the ground and wrapped around Angel. Quick as a flash, he brought his sword up between himself and the roots, as he was sucked underground, cutting his way out of the roots
"Oh, hey Angel," Fred called
Angel saw her and Gunn tied to the wall with massive tree roots, then saw the large, ugly face carved into one of the walls, as it waved its roots around
"Well, aren't you just ugly?" Angel asked, "What is this thing?"
"We don't know," Gunn replied, "It grabbed our guy and I think it absorbs our life forces through the roots. That's the idea I'm getting"
"Alright then. Let's go"
The tree monster lashed its roots at Angel, but he sliced through them, littering the floor with severed roots, as the monster roared in pain. Angel leapt away from a sweeping root, as another root shot at him. Hacking it off, Angel then moved towards the monster, as it roared and lashed out at him again. Dodging a few roots, Angel found that a root had trapped his right arm, as another root slammed into his chest, right where his heart would have been, dropping him to his knees. The monster roared in triumph, but then a look of worry overcame its face
"Vampire," it cried
"Yeah, that's right," Angel replied, "No life force. How does it feel?"
"So…cold," the tree monster moaned
Angel removed the root from his chest, before heading over to the monster and stabbing it through the face. Black blood poured from the wound, as Angel then sliced apart the roots holding Gunn and Fred prisoner. There was nothing he could do for the man Gunn had been following
"Let's get out of here," Angel said
They left the cavern, arriving back at the Hyperion. Angel wiped the blood off the sword, before putting it back in the cabinet and removing his coat, as Cordelia got up from her desk and walked out into the lobby
"What happened?" she asked
"Tree demon," Angel replied, wincing in pain
"Are you alright?" she asked with concern
"Yeah, I'll be fine. You two should get cleaned up"
Gunn and Fred headed upstairs, as Cordelia turned to Angel
"I've given some thought to what you said earlier"
"Yeah and what's your decision?"
"I'm gonna go on holiday. I hope that's okay with you and that you don't mind"
"Cordy, I'm the one who suggested the holiday. You look so tired, you seriously need it. And don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I've got the gang to help me if I need it"
"Well, okay then. Thanks for this, Angel"
"Cordy, I love you, alright and I would do anything for you"
He walked over to the counter, before pulling out a rolled-up wad of money
"Here, this is for you. I've saved this up for you"
"Why would you do that?" Cordelia asked
"Lately, motherhood has been getting to you and a break is calling"
"Thanks, Angel, for everything"
Cordelia took the money and kissed Angel on the lips, before heading upstairs. He followed after her and helped her pack a few things. Once she was done, Cordelia went into the next room and placed a kiss on her children's foreheads, before heading down into the lobby, where Angel was waiting with her suitcase
"I know this is completely sudden," he said, "But you need it. You deserve it"
"Thank you, Angel. I'll see you in a couple of weeks?"
"Yeah. You have fun and don't worry about a thing. We can hold the fort here. You get a vision, just give us a call and we'll handle the rest"
"You are so sweet. You have no idea how lucky I am to have you"
"I have an idea of how luck I am to have you. And our children"
"Goodbye, Angel"
She and Angel shared a passionate kiss, before breaking away. He kissed her forehead and she grabbed her suitcase, before leaving the hotel. Angel smiled as she left, knowing it was for the best. She needed it right now and when she returned, she would be well rested and fresh. And that's when he would propose to her. Smiling, Angel headed into the office to check on Wesley
"Cordy's just left. She's going on holiday"
"That's good to hear," Wesley said, "She looked ragged these last few days"
"Yeah, it's for the best for her. She seriously needed it. anyhow, I thought I'd let you know, so you don't worry, okay?"
"Thanks, Angel. Goodnight"
Angel left the office, as Wesley returned to his work. Following Ashleigh's birth, he had been working on the Nyazian scroll, trying to figure out the mystery behind her birth. He knew it was impossible for her to be born and yet she had been. But during his work, he hadn't found any references to Ashleigh. Only to her brother. A prophecy and a dark one at that. His translations jumped out before him and the words terrified him. Prophecies were bound to come true and this one, he didn't want it to
THE FATHER WILL KILL THE SON
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