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"I wonder how Angel's going," Fred said, "Hope he finds Connor"
"Well, the dimensional crack has been closed," Lorne announced, "All done"
"Good. Now we won't have to worry about any more nasties coming through," Cordelia said, while changing Ashleigh, "Gunn, take this"
Gunn grimaced and grabbed the dirty nappy, holding it away from him as he walked off. Cordelia placed a new nappy on Ashleigh and smiled at her
"You think he'll find Connor?" Fred asked
"He's found him," Cordelia replied, looking past her
Angel entered the hotel, looking a little worse for wear as he sat down
"How'd it go?" Cordelia asked
"I found him," Angel replied, "We talked"
"With his hands?" Lorne asked
"Not all of it is from him. His name is Steven now. But he's still our son"
"He'll come back, won't he?" Cordelia asked
"Yeah. I hope he will"
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"Days?" Holtz said in disbelief, reading the paper, "It has been mere days?"
"I got some food from a large metal box outside," Connor said
He dumped the food onto the table, before moving to the window, staring outside
"I don't like this place. Too many people. It's not like home"
"Quor-toth was never our home, son, it was our prison. And you found the way out"
"Cracks were already there. I just made the sluks show me"
"Rats fleeing from daylight. My boy's smart," Holtz smiled, patting Connor's cheek
"I'm sorry I didn't get to kill him," Connor said
"If you did, you wouldn't the boy I raised or the man I know you'll come to be"
"But he took so much from you. He deserves to die"
"That may be, but also, that's how we came to be together. Fate brought us together; Steven and I wouldn't have it any other way. God gave me a second chance. He gave you, so I lavish the love upon you I could never give my first children"
"Because he took them from you," Connor said, "I wish I had killed him"
"There is still much to learn, Steven"
"And I want to learn"
"Good. You must go to him," Holtz said, "Walk in his world. But always be on your guard. The demon will show you many bright and colourful things"
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"Okay, so far, so good," Fred said, "Not much here, but here is where the portal was, so that's normal. Mark it done"
Gunn made a small mark on the floor, as Fred continued with her monitor. She had built it in order to track down anything that might have come out of Quor-toth. Angel was upstairs in his room, working with the punching bag, while Ashleigh was lying on the bed, watching him, as Cordelia came into the room
"They're searching for anything else that could have come out of the portal"
"That's good," Angel said, striking the bag a few times
"And I want you to know that what you're doing…is right. He'll come back"
"I hope he does. I hope he comes around"
"Of course he will, Angel. We're his parents. Connor will come back to us"
"I lost him once before, Cordy, I'm not gonna lose him again. I thought we would have so much to do together before he-"
"Grew up?"
"Hated me"
"He doesn't hate you, Angel. He doesn't know you. Don't worry, he will, once he realizes what he needs the most. A mother and father. Parents. Us"
"What if he doesn't come back?" Angel asked hesitantly
Cordelia pulled Angel into her arms, giving him a reassuring hug. He kissed her forehead, before breaking away and putting his shirt on, as Cordelia grabbed Ashleigh
"Let's go join the others," Angel suggested
The couple headed downstairs, hand in hand as they joined Fred, Gunn and Lorne
"How's it coming along?" Cordelia asked
"Nearly done," Fred replied, "Getting something here"
She followed her monitor, coming to the stairs and looking up, seeing Connor standing before her, a blank look on his face
"Oh, hi, Angel and Cordy's son. I didn't mean to click at you"
She joined the others, as Angel stepped towards Connor
"Hey, how's it going?"
"Fine," Connor replied
"Okay, um, everyone, this is Steven. Steven, that there is Fred, Gunn, Lorne, Cordelia and our daughter, Ashleigh"
"How you doing, young man?" Lorne asked
Connor didn't acknowledge his greeting or the others
"So, Fred, are we done here?" Angel asked
"Oh, yes, I think we are. I'll do a perimeter check, then calibrate it for larger areas"
She headed off with Gunn, as Lorne also left the hotel
"I'll leave you two to it," Cordelia said, "Ash and I'll go watch Veronica Mars"
"You sure, Cordy?" Angel asked, "You could join us"
"I'll hold your calls"
Cordelia smiled and walked off, as Angel and Connor both crossed their arms
"ANGEL, CAN YOU HEAR ME!" Cordelia cried suddenly, "HELLO? ANGEL, THERE'S A WOMAN AT A BAR. VAMPIRES ARE THERE"
"Cordy, stop yelling," Angel said, "What's going on?"
"There's a woman at a bar and vampires are there. They're gonna kill her"
"So much for holding my calls," Angel said, before turning to Connor, "So, uh, I gotta go and take care of this. It's kinda my job"
"That's okay," Connor said, heading for the door
"There's gonna be a lot of violence and killing. Interested?"
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Wesley arrived at the nightclub, moving about on the second floor
"Nice of you to arrive. I thought the 'come alone' was quite ironic"
"Lilah," Wesley sighed, facing the lawyer, "Goodbye"
"Wait. Take a look down there"
Wesley sighed and looked down at the bar, seeing Justine having a drink
"A source told her that this place would be crawling with vampires. Which is true"
"And that same source told the vampires that she would be here, correct?"
"She's been pissing off a lot of undead Americans"
"And you thought I'd enjoy a box seat to her slaughter?"
"Well, yeah"
"Goodbye"
"Will he walk back to his car or will he stop to warn her?" Lilah asked, as Wesley paused, "He has to think about it. That's good. You can go now"
"What game is this, Lilah?" Wesley asked, his patience being tested
"To prove we're still friends, I'll have her pulled out before anything bad happens"
"That won't be necessary"
Angel and Connor were moving through the crowd towards the bar
"Here, take this," Angel said, handing his son a stake, "Remember, in there-"
"Heart, I know. My father taught me," Connor said
"I bet he did," Angel muttered, "Lot of innocents here tonight. Don't go staking anyone until they show their game face"
"Will it look like yours?"
"Yeah," Angel replied, before seeing Justine at the bar
Justine also saw him and started to rise up out of her seat, but a vampire grabbed her
"Why do you do it?" Connor asked, "If they're just like you?"
"I'm not like them, Connor"
"My name is not Connor"
Angel pushed his way through the crowd, spinning a vampire around and staking him. A second vampire blocked Angel's stake him, but the souled vampire flicked his wrist, staking the vampire, as Connor watched on. Justine was thrown into the shelves, as Angel struck a vampire, before backhanding a second and kicking a third. A large circle was made around him, as everyone watched the fight progress. A vampire went for Justine, but Connor leapt over the bar and staked him
"Go!" Angel cried to Justine, "Get out of here, now!"
He punched a vampire, then ducked under a fist and struck the vampire in the stomach, as a third vampire hit him in the face. Connor jumped over the bar, kicking a vampire in the chest, then struck another and uppercutted him, as Angel booted a vampire aside. Then, father and son stood back-to-back, exchanged a small look and continued the fight. Angel belted a vampire in the jaw and kicked another vampire in the stomach, as Connor struck two vampires with twin consecutive hits and staked the first of them. Whirling around with a roundhouse kick, Angel took a vampire down, before delivering a straight blow to a vampire's face, then blocked a fist and punched the owner three times in the ribcage, as Connor punched a vampire behind Angel
A vampire got up and ran out through the crowd, as Connor gave chase. Angel took care of the rest, before following after his son, catching his stake arm when Connor faced him, before smacking his hand so he staked the vampire coming up behind him
"They don't need to breathe or make any noise," Angel said, "You did good in there. Nice to see you can take care of yourself"
He made a small step and raised his fists, as Connor stepped back into a stance
"Nice to see you can do that too"
Connor smiled and soon, the pair were exchanging playful jabs with each other, smiling and laughing as they did…while Holtz watched them from a distance
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