Act 2: Healer of the Broken Heart
© 2003 by Chris Regan
Saints are watching
Two week later Angel had been out looking into another set of murders, he came back to the office to meet with his three PM client. Harmony new the appointment had been moved a week but didn't tell him, Gunn, Wesley, Spike and she had set up the party for that time frame, as she sits at her desk doing her nails, she stops looked her watch thinks to herself
"He is later than usually."
He came running in from the underground garage "Harmony is my Three o'clock here?"
"Yea Angel Spike has them in Conferences room."
"Thanks" he said as he heads that direction.
She picks up the phone.
Spike hears his phone ring looks at his phone and says "Harmony".
"He's back and on his way" after she hangs up she gets up then fallows Angel.
Angel opens the door and starts to say, "I'm sorry I was late but…" when he hears "SURPRISE" coming from inside the room as Harmony walks up behind him. He shakes the hands of the well wishers closest to him, as he does he sees a crossed the room Spike Dressed in a deep wine shirt black pants and the long black leather coat with a drink in his hand and a very smug look on his face.
Angel made his way a crossed the room "You think you got me don't you."
"I don't think I dam did good job of it."
"How the hell did you find out when I was turn any how?"
"Darla and I had a heart to heart long time ago."
As the band started to play and many went out on the dance floor Angel saw Connor talking to a blonde-haired woman.
"I'm going to greet some more of my guests, don't drink too much."
"Yea when have I."
Angel looked at him and shook his head. As Angel across the room shaking hands to where Conner and the blonde-haired woman were talking after there dance.
Conner said "Happy Birthday Angel."
Angel rubbed his neck then popped it to relieve some of the tension he felt.
"Thanks, how is school going?"
"Good, I got into the program I wanted."
"Good what are you studying?"
"Dead people!"
"What in hell!"
"Yea that is where I thought I was at least it smelled that way."
To see Angel with that look that says Oh no, I thought I gave him a good life this time around.
Connor starts to laugh then said "God, Angel lighten up I'm studying to be a medical examiner."
With a look of shock "Oh, I thought you would shoot higher."
"Angel now you sound like my dad, he didn't think I shot high enough either!"
"Its just I didn't want you around dead bodies, demons and that stuff."
"Thanks for the concern Angel but with you and Darla as my birth parents it stands to reason I would enter the family business."
"I don't want you in the family business as you call it!"
"So you know about Darla, what do you know about her?"
"She was one of the worse vampires of her time like you were."
Angel paces points to the young woman, "What about her? Does she know what…?"
Conner says in a calm voice "Her name is Leana; Leana knows you're my birth father and yes she knows you're a vampire with a soul."
"She is in danger every moment she is with us!"
"Angel I'm…"
Angel holds his finger up, as if he were going to say something to the young woman when Connor broke in,
"Angel, Leana can protect herself she is a Slayer!"
Angel starts to pace back and forth; "My son has fallen for a slayer why not I fell for a slayer! You know about Slayer! How the hell did you find out about slayers?"
With a deep breath from exasperation "Angel I barrowed books from the library, talked to Wesley and the others. Angel did you really think you could hide the affair you had and the damage it caused."
As he throws his hands in the air pacing, "You talked to my staff about this and you didn't come to me!"
"Angel you have been busy and distracted with this latest case I was surprised you're taking time out for your own birthday party."
"Yes, I have been very busy but…"
"Angel it's Okay if you are embarrass or ashamed about your affair. Look at all the crap I put you though if I were you I would hate me and want me dead."
Angel paced again "Yes at one point I did! You stole Cordella from me you trapped me in that coffin and threw me into the ocean."
"Angel I'm sorry about that but we were both different people.
"But now!" said Leana.
"But now things are different."
"Different how…"
"Spike stayed when I thought he would run to Buffy the first chance he got, you turned into the type of kid I could be proud of, Faith and the rest backed me up when it looked pretty grim.
"Yea Angel it was wild, wasn't it?"
Yes it was, I just wish Cordella could have seen you now she would have been very proud…"
Harmony had been watching the stressed scene with a nervous look, as Spike returned without his leather coat.
He watched the scene for a moment and could see Conner was holding his own with Angel then as he unbuttoned and rolled up his sleeves asking, "Harmony is the cake and ice cream ready?"
Without looking at him, she said "Yea Spike."
Wesley had walked up "Wesley you get Angel, Harmony and I will get the cake and ice cream."
Wesley got Angel and escorted him to the table that had the cake setting on it.
The Musicians started playing every bodies old favorite Happy Birthday and every one sang, Angel took the knife Harmony handed him and he sliced the cake and in record time it was given out, as Harmony scooped the ice cream, every one had cake and ice cream. In an hour every one got back on the dance floor to dance. While other slipped away going back to projects or go home to family and loved ones.
When the party wraps-up, Spike is sitting in a quiet reflective way thinking about Buffy's birthday party, as Wesley and Angel are sitting drinking and talking as they watching the band pack up there, gear and haul it out to their van in the early hours of the morning.
"I wish Cordella had been here she would have loved to be involved with the party but…"
In an angry tone, "But she is dead Wesley let it be!"
"Have you found any sigh of your girl friend the werewolf?"
Still angry "No it's like she disappeared, she and her family were saw getting into a forest green jeep at the airport from there the trail has gone cold."
"Too bad"
"Yes it is!"
"Is that why you're up tight?"
"Yes"
"Wesley have you heard anything from Buffy or Giles?"
"Nothing from Buffy, I've talked to Giles a little but he isn't very forth coming when it comes to information on Buffy."
Wesley looks at his watch as Harmony walks up "You ready to go?"
"Yes"
Angel's eyebrows raised "You and Harmony."
"Its nasty out and I'm dropping her off Angel that is all."
"Yea right, what ever."
As Cordella sat beside a pond in heaven watching Angel she turned to Michael and said "He won't make it through this will he?"
"I don't know Cordella there are other factors that will come into play as things move forward."
He took his finger, dipped it into the pond, and stirred the water counter clockwise causing a ripple that went around in circles. The scene in the water changed showing what looked to be Buffy but she was dressed in Victorian garb, she, Cecily, and an older man at a grave she was crying as an older man held her, Cecily stood there watching the scene I looked at the gravestone read William Smith.
"Who is that? That isn't the Buffy I know, I have never seen her be that up set over anything!"
"No it isn't Buffy, that is Beda her great, great grandmother she was in love with William when he was alive."
"What does that woman have to do with our present day Buffy?"
Michael smile then stirred the pond clockwise and caused a ripple again showing present day Buffy, at the same grave but she is talking to the head stone as if she were insane.
"What do you see Cordella?"
Looking I said, "I recognize the worried faces of the Scooby's behind her;
"What else."
"I see the vacant faces of other young women behind them as if they don't see what the slayer is seeing.
"What else."
"Michael I don't know maybe I'm being dense but she looks like she gained weight."
"Very good your observations are sharp."
"Explain to me why Buffy has gained weight and why she is insanely talking to the same head stone as her great, great grandmother was crying at?"
"Buffy is there because in her despair over the loss of Spike it has weighed heavily on her soul, she feels it is her fault. She blames herself for William's death as did her great, great grandmother. What she hasn't seen yet is she has been left with a gift."
"What gift Michael?"
"You will see in due time."
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