Instant Rewind: Chapter 7

Angel shielded his eyes and walked through the bright pure white light. Once on the other side Angel lowered his arm and looked around the room. It was exactly how he remembered it. The huge arches and columns created a circle. The white marble shone as the light from above bathed the room in a rich warm glow. Angel looked ahead of him and saw two figures standing before him. They were exactly how he remembered them. Their skin looked like the marble in the room, blue and white. Their eyes were golden and showed their age and intelligence. Slowly they walked towards him. As if they were expecting him. The female twin smiled slightly; her brother seemed greatly irritated.

"What have you brought us?" She asked. Angel held up the golden dagger. As if of its own will, the dagger flew from Angel's hand and landed in hers. She examined the piece and then tossed it to her brother. Satisfied with the gift, the dagger disappeared.

"What can we do for you surface dweller?" The brother asked.

"Do you remember me?" Angel asked.

"Yes." The woman replied.

"Then you must know why I am here." Angel stated simply, "I don't belong here. I know that and you know that. So why am I here?" The woman walked around towards him and looked him in the eyes. Her brother stayed where he was and began to speak.

"You are here because we have brought you here."

"Why?"

"The question you should be asking is how." The female Oracle said.

"Okay, how?"

"The world you live in is a complex mix of cause and effect. Every situation an individual is faced with has a series of answers. Most would think you have the right answer and the wrong; but in truth there are an infinite number of ways any decision could go. Think of it this way: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." She moved to face Angel as she continued to explain, "For example, think of a certain situation that you have personal been through…say the Day that Never Was…in one world you turned back, became an immortal. In another world you remained human with the love of your life." Her brother stepped next to her and continued:

"Every decision you make creates an alternate reality that continues to co-exist together. Each one dependent on the other to continue moving, or else they run the risk of destroying each other. Your world and this one is in imbalance."

"We have brought you here to fix what this Angel could not." The female Oracle concluded.

"So the Powers that Be brought me here? To fix what this Angel could not?"

"Yes."

"Does Wolfram & Hart know about this?" He asked them. The male Oracle scoffed and furrowed his brow.

"Wolfram & Hart. They think they know everything. They have no idea that we switched their leader right out from under their nose. Of course they don't know. The Senior Partners and we have existed together for centuries. We have learned to co-exist together without conflict. Until…"

"Me." Angel finished.

"You have been rather destructive as of late." The female Oracle stated.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Fix what this Angel could not."

"How?"

"Do we have to tell you everything?" She asked him.

"It might make things easier." Angel said.

"One of your tasks is already finished: you have made amends with your family. All though this Angel has amazing negotiating skills, he lacks in personal relationships. He has become so consumed by his job that he lost sight of the most important part of his life: his family. You have already mended that." Angel was suddenly proud of himself. But there was more he had to do.

"What else do you need me to do?"

"Finish the merger." The male Oracle said.

"Are you serious? You want that to be finished?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Angel asked.

"Believe it or not, merging these two clans will do more good than evil. It must be done in order for this world to survive. Once the merger is complete, we have less to worry about. A truce will mean less death and destruction."

"Figured as much." Angel said, "So complete the merger any thing else?"

"One final thing: you are to leave Wolfram & Hart in the care of Lindsey McDonald. It is his destiny to run this company, at least in this world."

"Done. Just out of curiosity, what does the other Angel have to do…in my world I mean?"

"That is none of your concern." The male Oracle stated simply.

"Look, if I'm going to be doing work for you at least you can tell me what you have the other Angel doing in my world."

"What you have done in your world will never be forgotten. Your actions alone have brought down the most evil of all corporations in the world. However, as I mentioned we exist with the Senior Partners, despite what they are and have done. That imbalance in your world can only end in the entire destruction of all worlds."

"So you are happy with what I did, or your not?"

"We need it fixed. You cannot have a world were there is no evil. Good and evil balance each other and if there is too much of one, the world falls apart. We must allow Wolfram & Hart to rebuild itself and this worlds Angel can make it happen. He has amazing negotiating skills."

"So you want him to reverse everything I have done?" Angel asked.

"Yes."

"Why does all of this matter? Why couldn't you have just left us the way we were?"

"It is never that simple. Had we not interfered the world would eventually come to an end. We have told you want you want to know, now you may leave."

"Wait! How will I know when its over?" The Oracles stopped and turned back to him.

"We will determine when it's done. When it's over, you will have a choice: either remain here in this world or go back to yours. Make the right choice. Now go." Light blinded Angel and he was flung backward. Within seconds, his back hit the wall of the cavern under the Post Office. Wesley was standing in the center of the room and when Angel appeared, he moved away from the alter and helped Angel up.

"Did it work?" He asked.

"Yeah." Angel said as he slowly stood with the help of Wesley, "They did it. They brought me here. The Angel from this reality is in mine. We have to fix each other's problems before we will have the opportunity to go back. That's it in a nutshell."

"You'd think they could have done it in such a way that you would remember such a thing and not have to go to such lengths to find out the truth."

"Yeah well, the Powers that Be are never that easy." Angel dusted off his pants and watched as the fire in the alter extinguished itself. Wesley and Angel moved away from the center of the room and left the underground sanctuary to the surface above. Once under the LA night sky, Wesley turned to Angel.

"So now what?" He asked.

"Well, I have to complete the merger. They want it to go through. Don't ask me why because I really don't understand it myself, but they want that finished. Once that's done and I hand Wolfram & Hart over to Lindsey I can go back to my world."

"So when's the merger finished?" Wesley asked.

"The signing of the merger is next week. I just have to make it that long and make sure that no one kills each other…or me." Wesley walked way from Angel for a moment then turned around.

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" Wesley asked.

"Well, I think that things are going to get a little scary over the next week. I think it would be easier if Buffy and the kids had better protection. Away from Wolfram & Hart. The only person in the world I trust is you."

"Angel…I would love to have them stay with me but do you think that is wise with…"

"Cordelia?"

"No, Connor." Angel looked at Wesley and smiled.

"Has he not met them before?" Angel asked.

"No."

"Wesley I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it would be important."

"I know that Angel." Wesley walked towards his car and continuously looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching.

"Wes, please. Do it for Buffy. This isn't about me; this is about her and the kids. They are innocent in all of this. Besides, maybe I'm supposed to fix things with you guys, considering this Angel doesn't know what he is doing."

"He thinks he is doing the right things just as I'm sure that you think you are doing the right thing in your world. I can't fault him for that." Wesley stopped in front of his car and opened the driver side door.

"So will you do it?" Angel asked him. Wesley got into his car and turned the engine over. He sat there for a moment and then pushed down on the window.

"All right. I'll do it. But you can't tell Wolfram & Hart where they are."

"Thank you Wesley." Wesley rolled the window back up and put the car into gear. His car pulled away from the curb and it was gone. Angel watched as the taillights disappeared. Walking to his car, Angel got in and turned the car over. He drove away from the Post Office and thought of everything that he had heard. It finally made sense, why he was here and what he needed to do. He arrived back at Wolfram & Hart just after 11:00. The offices were empty except for a few associates. Angel nodded to them and went to his office. He closed the door and moved towards his private elevator to his home. Once upstairs a solitary light shone in the living room. Angel hung up his coat and loosened his tie. He saw that Buffy was sitting in a large lazy-boy chair a book across her chest. Her reading glasses had fallen down her nose and her eyes were closed. She snored softly and for a moment Angel simply smiled. She was so beautiful sleeping there. The electric fireplace roared in front of her making the room glow softly. Angel walked up to her and put his arms under her lifting her from the chair. Her head rolled and rested on his chest. She sighed into him and continued to dream. Slowly, Angel walked her to their bedroom. Gently he placed her down on the bed and drew the covers around her. He left his wife to sleep and went to his kid's bedrooms. He opened the door to each room to make sure they were still in their beds sleeping. Angel went back to his bedroom and undressed. Slowly he crawled into bed and rolled onto his side so he was facing Buffy. He pushed her hair aside and looked at her perfect face. He sighed and yawned. He didn't want to go to sleep but his eyes just wouldn't let him remain awake. Slowly he allowed his body to force him into sleep with a smile on his face.

--

Angel woke early the next morning to make sure that he was ready before Buffy was. He was going to be taking them to Wesley's today, before the merger meetings started. It will mean an entire week away from his family. Buffy wouldn't be happy with it but he wasn't ready to tell her that he had figured out what was going on with him. Not yet. Buffy was the first one up. Angel had the coffee on and he was already dressed. Buffy came up behind him in her robe and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Morning." She said to him. Angel rotated in her arms and handed her a cup of coffee.

"Morning." He kissed her forehead and smiled. Buffy walked towards Bella and Liam's rooms to check on them. It was still early for them to be up but they would be up soon.

"We have to get some things together." Buffy looked at him and furrowed her brows.

"What? Why?"

"Because you and the kid's are going to go and stay with Wesley." He said to her.

"What? Why?" She asked him again.

"Because I think things with this merger are going to get kind of tense and I would feel better if you and the kid's were somewhere safe. Where I knew you were safe and away from Wolfram & Hart." Angel put his coffee cup down and went back into the bedroom. He pulled out a small suitcase and started to put some things in it. Buffy watched as he packed her things for her. She wanted to object but she knew that he was right. It was safer away than here. She went to the nightstand and opened the top drawer. She wasn't sure if she was going to show Angel things, but she figured it was about time he knew. She took out a piece of paper and walked up to him.

"Angel. I think you are right." She said to him. Handing him the paper Angel realized the gravity of the situation he was in. On the paper was a threat that if he didn't back down his family would be next.

"When did you get this?" He asked sitting down on the bed.

"I don't know, a couple of days ago. I didn't want to tell you. The pressure on this merger is huge and I just didn't want to make it worse." Angel crumpled up the paper and threw it in the garbage.

"All the more to have you stay with Wesley." Angel said.

"Okay. But only until this is over." She said to him.

"Not a moment longer." He said to her. She leaned into him and kissed him softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. Angel pushed her towards the bed and kissed her more passionately. Wrapping her legs around his torso Buffy urged him closer. Angel wanted nothing more than to lose himself in her, even if it was just this moment but they had so much to do that he had to pull away.

"Not that I wouldn't love for this to continue but we have to get going before the meeting today at 11." Buffy didn't let him go.

"Oh, it won't take long. When was the last time we indulged in a quickie?" She asked him. Angel smirked at her and kissed her again.

"The other day, in my office."

"Oh right. That one…"

"That one." Angel smiled at her and kissed her again, and again. Maybe he would take up the Oracles on the option to stay here after this was over. In his world Buffy was in Europe with someone else…though he wasn't sure who it was…but he was sure she was over him. Buffy's arms tightened around his neck and Angel laughed.

"Let go." Buffy pouted and released his neck.

"You are no fun." She said. Angel leaned down and took hold of her bottom lip in his teeth. Buffy smiled and Angel growled slightly.

"I'm lots of fun, just right now I want to get going." Angel stood and picked up Buffy's bag. He took it to the front door where Liam and Bella's bags were also waiting. Buffy leaned against the doorframe of her bedroom and watched as her husband picked up all three bags and hit the elevator button.

"Could you get the kid's up so we can get going?" Buffy nodded and watched him get into the elevator. The doors closed and she was left alone. Buffy turned around and discarded her robe. Quickly Buffy got dressed and finished her coffee. When Angel returned she had Liam and Bella up and ready to go.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked.

"We are going to stay in a hotel, won't that be fun?" Buffy asked her.

"Will daddy be there too?" She asked. Buffy zipped up her daughter's coat and smiled.

"No, baby. This is you, Liam and me only. Kind of like a little vacation. Daddy has a lot of work to do and he needs the time alone. It will only be for a week and then we will be with daddy again."

"I don't want to go." Angel squatted down and touched her nose.

"Bella, you have to do this for daddy. It's important. It's only one week. Then after that you can spend all the time in the world with me. I promise." Tears filled her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck. Angel hugged her back and smiled. Liam stood behind his sister and nodded his head at his dad. Angel stood, taking Bella with him, and hit the elevator button. The family filed in and together they descended to the parking garage.

--

Angel sat outside the Hyperion Hotel for twenty minutes before he worked up enough courage to go inside. Wesley had assured him that the team would be out when he brought Buffy and the kids over. Together, the family got out of the car and headed towards the front entrance. The lobby was empty except for one solo figure behind the desk. Wesley looked up and smiled. He came out from behind the desk and waited. Buffy went right up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Wesley hugged her back and smiled.

"It's good to see you." She said.

"You as well." Wesley released her and saw the two children behind her. He waved to Bella as she moved to hide behind her dad's leg. Liam went up to him and extended his hand.

"Hi, I'm Liam." He said. Wesley shook his hand and smiled.

"Good to meet you." Angel walked towards Wesley and smiled. Wesley bent down and smiled at Bella.

"You must be Bella. I'm Wesley. I'm a friend of your daddy and mommy's." He said. She peeked around Angel's leg and smiled with her eyes.

"Good to meet you." She whispered. Wesley stood and extended his hand to Angel.

"Let me help you with those. I will show you guys upstairs and to your new rooms for the next week." The group followed Wesley upstairs. Angel looked around and smiled. It had been so long since he had stepped foot into this hotel. Everything was the way he remembered it. The ascended the stairs and went left when they hit the top. Wesley took them up another flight of stairs and turned right. On the left a door stood open. Inside Angel recognized his old room. Wesley smiled at him when they entered the room.

"I thought it was appropriate." Wesley stated.

"Thanks." They put the bags down at the front door and Wesley showed them the room. Everything was as Angel remembered it down to the sheets on the bed. Wesley had put two smaller beds into the corner of the living room but everything else was the same.

"I stocked the fridge with food so you don't have to worry about that. The stove works and so does the TV. We don't get very good cable, we can't afford the luxuries in life, but it has the basics."

"Thank you Wesley, for letting us stay here. I know its not going to be easy." Buffy said to him.

"My pleasure." Bella went to her bed, which had a pink blanket on it and saw that there was a small cradle and doll next to it.

"Look daddy!" She cried. Angel moved towards her and sat on her tiny bed.

"Wow. Isn't that cool." Wesley smiled and walked towards her.

"I found that downstairs amongst some of the things there. I thought she might like it."

"Thank you Wesley." On Liam's bed there was an old book. The book contained some old stories, fairy tales. Liam ran his hand over the book and looked up at Wesley.

"What is this?"

"It is a really old book of Grimm Fairytales. You will like them, they are not your average fair tale."

"Thanks." Liam said.

"You're welcome." Downstairs they could hear yelling. Wesley stood and walked to the door. Silently, Wesley told Angel and Buffy to stay here and wait for him to come and get them. Buffy nodded and closed the door behind him. She turned back to her family and smiled.

"Well, what do you think? This isn't so bad. Did you know your daddy used to live here for a while?" She said.

"He did?" Bella asked. Angel picked her up and put her on his knee.

"I did."

"Could you tell me about it?" She asked. Angel smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

"Maybe when you're older."

--

Wesley came down the stairs and saw his friends arguing in the lobby. Now what. He thought. Wesley descended the stairs and stood with his arms crossed as he listened to their argument.

"You were the one who let him get away."

"Me! What are you talking about? You are the worst bait in the world." Gunn retorted.

"Well, if you had just listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have needed bait and you would have let me help, but oh no, you boys have to go all macho man." Cordelia shouted back. Fred moved to stand beside Cordelia.

"You know she is right." She said. Connor stood behind Gunn as they continued to argue.

"Look, it doesn't matter. It's over now, it got away and we will just have to track it down and get it later." Connor said noticing Wesley.

"I gather the job didn't go well." Wesley said.

"It would have gone fine, if Gunn had just listened to me." Cordelia snapped. Wesley walked towards them and smiled. The usual banter always made him smile. Connor could feel that something was up and he waited.

"What's up Wes?" He asked.

"I have a rather large favour to ask all of you and what I need from you is to listen to me and not get angry."

"What did you do?" Cordy asked.

"I went to see Angel."

"WHAT!" Gunn yelled, "Oh hell no! You did not go see that asshole."

"Gunn, we promised we would listen." Fred said. Gunn shut his mouth and left the lobby.

"Why did you go see Angel?" Cordy asked.

"Because Buffy asked me too. She says that he has changed. I owed her because of what we did…so I saw him."

"And?"

"And, I think…no I know…she is right. Just from spending that little time with him, he is not the same Angel. Actually it turns out he literally, isn't the same Angel." Wesley began to explain what he and Angel had learned from the Oracles and when he finished Cordelia started to laugh.

"Are you kidding me? You actually believed that?"

"I did, and I do. Whether you want to accept it or not, I am the boss here. I believe him and I think we owe it to him, as his friends…and family, to help figure this out. Think of it as another job, that he is going to pay us for."

"What exactly does he want us to do?" Connor asked. For Wesley's entire explanation he had remained silent.

"All he is asking us to do is protect his family. From the demon clans, from Wolfram & Hart…he just wants us to protect his family. He won't be here. Just his family." Wesley looked at Connor who crossed his arms and frowned.

"They're already here aren't they?" He asked.

"Oh, now that is sneaky." Cordelia said to him sitting down.

"Look, I have already said yes and I'm not going to back down now. So if anyone has a problem with it they can go on vacation, effective immediately." Wesley said holding firm. Cordelia moved slightly and looked up at Fred then at Connor.

"Fine, but don't expect me to baby sit her kids." Fred also nodded her head. Wesley looked at Connor and waited. He didn't really care about Gunn; he knew that Gunn would say no, no matter what he said. He would deal with Gunn later. Connor was the swing. He could go either way. Connor relaxed slightly and put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, okay." Wesley smiled and nodded to his friends. They had surprised him. He really didn't believe that they would agree with this. A noise from behind grabbed Wesley's attention as a ball came crashing down the stairs. A squealing sound erupted from the upper level and soon a little blonde girl bounded down the stairs in search of her ball.

"Mister Wesley! Catch my ball please!" Wesley turned and picked up the ball. Bella stood in front of him and smiled. She held out her hands and waited for her ball.

"Here you go."

"Sorry, daddy told me I could play but I had to stay upstairs. But I lost the ball…" She noticed the people behind Wesley and she put the ball in front of her face. Wesley smiled and crouched down. By this time Gunn had come back out from behind the counter with a sword. Hiding it behind his back, Gunn watched the little blonde girl as Wesley pointed out each one of the team.

"These are my friends. They are really nice. That one is Cordelia," Cordelia waved and gave her a big smile, "And the one next to her is Winifred, but we all call her Fred."

"Hi." She said shyly.

"Connor is the one at the back and Gunn is over there." Bella slowly lowered the ball and smiled.

"Hi." She said timidly, "I'm Isabella."

"Bella!" They heard him before they saw him. Angel came around the corner and took the stairs several at a time and fell to his knees in front of her, "What did I tell you! You were to stay upstairs." She lowered her head and held back some tears.

"I'm sorry, daddy." Angel put his arms around her and held her close.

"You scared me that is all. I'm not mad. You just scared me." Angel looked up to see Wesley looking at him with kind eyes. Behind him, the four sets of eyes told a different story. Hatred blared in Gunn's; concern played in Fred's; understanding was etched in Cordelia's; pain radiated in Connor's. Angel stood with Bella in his arms and swallowed slowly.

"Sorry."

"No, it's alright." Wesley stood too and put a hand on Angel's shoulder. Buffy came down the stairs after Angel with Liam in tow. She stopped short and looked at the team that would be her guardians for the next week. Liam took his mother's hand and squeezed. Buffy continued to walk down the stairs and stood at Angel's side. She smiled at them and to her surprise they smiled back. Angel didn't say anything but turned to Buffy.

"I have to go." Buffy nodded and took Angel's free hand. Bella took hold of her dad's neck and squeezed.

"No."

"Bella, daddy has so much work to do and it's only for a week. I will be back. We'll talk every night, I promise." Bella began to cry as Angel tried to hand her over to Buffy. With great effort, he released his daughter's grip and smiled as she sank into her mother's shoulder and cried. Angel ruffled Liam's hair and smiled at him.

"Please don't let your sister get into any trouble."

"I promise dad." Angel turned back to Buffy and cupped her chin. He kissed her gently at first then allowed the kiss to grow slightly. Her arm hook around his neck and she held on as if she was never going to see him again. Tears had formed in her eyes. She felt like she was losing him all over again; she had just gotten her Angel back and now he had to leave once more. She broke the kiss and touched her forehead to his.

"Please, be careful."

"I promise."

"You better call every night."

"I will." Buffy released his neck and allowed him to move towards the front door. Angel walked up the stairs and opened the door to the hotel. In front of him was his family and his friends. Just the way it ought to be. I'm going to have to fix that too before I leave, just so that I know everything is the way it should be. Buffy smiled at him.

"I love you."

"I love you." Angel looked beyond Buffy and locked eyes with Connor. He knew that look all too well. I promise, Connor, that somehow I will fix this. Angel's silent vow made his heart break. Somehow he would. Turning his back on them Angel left the hotel and walked back to his car. He heard Bella crying as she shut the door. Angel sat there for a moment allowing his own feelings to overcome him. A solitary tear fell down Angel's face as he started the car. This would all be over soon and once it was, he would make sure that they were together again. Angel pulled away from the curb and drove back towards Wolfram & Hart. Back towards the belly of the beast.