(A/N):In the words of my good friend, Jay, who also likes Angel (well, actually he likes Illyria...blah)
Jay- He just SHOT them? There's like 6 of them and he SHOT them! Angel wouldnt shoot them!
Me- Yep, he shot em. Wesley did it and since those people just watched Connor being hurt, sure as hell he shot em!
Jay- Damn! Well, dont go breathing Connor's precious air or Dad's going 2 shoot u all! I mean, cmon, his AIR. Dont take the kid's air!
Me- Jay, wat the hell? XO
Jay- Stay AWAY from the air! Angel's child's air! Dont breathe it in! You'll get shot!
Me-
Ok, so that was our late-nite conversation. Well, my bad. If I was Angel and sumbuddy took my kid's air, Id shoot him 2, but that wasnt the point of it...Grrrrr, Jay, grrrrrrr I say. And 2 answer u all, YES, I KNOW Connor's fake family names. I just didnt like em. They sound so stupid and old fashioned, so I changed em XD
...Hav I mentioned lately that I hate Eve? I HATE EVE! Im sorry ur name is Eve but I HATE U. Eve should just die. Just die.
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Within the corridors of Wolfram & Hart, a vampire walked. A vampire muttered. A vampire quickened his pace. A vampire looked over his shoulder and growled at the goddess that was quickly stalking after him. "Dont follow me!" He growled out, his hands raised to his head as if to pull at his platinum hair in annoyance.
But Illyria didnt back off or away, just lengthened her strides so that they walked almost side by side as the vampire made more guttural noises in his irritation. They finally came upon the main lobby where Spike noticed people were clumping together, almost all sipping on some kind of beverage or liquor, talking amongst themselves in their own special little groups. It almost unnerved the vampire seeing so many suits casually "hanging out", but it was pretty much after hours, and he blamed the fact that the new building of W&H had yet to create their very own bar like they did in the previous one. It was almost aggravating, really. The firm was supposed to be a place of work and business. Didnt people have bloody lives to go home to? Was staying at Wolfram & Hart day and night the only real highlight of the evening to those stupid corrupted employees? And where was Angel? Spike was given a job, yes, but by hell was he going to accomplish it on his own like some underpaid undead slave!
And where the hell was the green loafer with the juice when you needed him?
He again noticed the blue woman next to him, matching pace, a slightly erratic pace at that, now that he realized he couldnt shake off the goddess so easily. Damn, there shouldve been a bar.
"I intend to fight you. I need to better my skills in this...this place of your world" Illyria stuttered , somewhat uncharacteristically, glancing around the area in great disdain. "I requ-, no, I do not request, I order you to spar with me. There is nobody else willing to do so." She immediately stopped in her steps as Spike whirled on her, gaze sneering.
"And how do you feel about that? Wait, I dont fucking care! You dont see me holding some bloody clipboard scribbling down your thoughts anymore, now do you? Need I remind you that you not only literally kicked my battered arse down a hallway, but you also threw me through a pissin' glass window!" He threw out a hand and tapped on the nearest cubicle window, the woman inside looking up confused. Spike then clenched his fist and knocked on the wood holding the glass in place. "And see this? Wood." He pointed to himself. "Vampire," he drawled out, as if talking to a three-year-old. "We dont exactly get along, you know."
He swiveled on his heel and started to walk away. "If you want somebody to bruise up, why dont you ask your little four-eyes guide. Im sure he wouldnt mind some one-on-one with you," he called out over his shoulder. "Just because youre in her body, pet, doesnt mean Im going to tolerate you all the time." With that, he strutted off as Illyria looked on in bewilderment.
Suddenly, she sensed a presence behind her.
"Had a little rough-up with lover boy, did we?" Lilah spoke next to her ear as the blue-haired woman directed her gaze but didnt turn her body completely to the side.
"You are mistaken. We have not coupled nor do I plan to do so with any creature of this world." Lilah raised an amused brow but said nothing as the goddess continued to speak, her voice now almost sad and confused. "I do not understand. Is he angry with me because I allowed him to touch wood, the very poison all of his kind fears?" She cocked her head to the side. "He is different. More than usual."
Lilah smirked at her, crossing her arms. "I dont think its anything like that. You just got blown off, deary. All women go through it, whether alive or undead. Men are pigs. Well,...almost all of them are, anyways." Lilah moved past her, continuing on her way, as Illyria stared after, more confused than ever.
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Connor watched from the entryway as Emily made her way briskly around the livingroom, picking up discarded bottles and papers and trashing them in the black elastic bag in her hand. She stopped and bent over the coffee table, seeing the small baggy of white powder laying innocently there and pondered throwing it away also.
"There was alot of glass in your room that I cleaned up already. Go wash up and get ready for bed," she told the boy behind her as she tucked away various items into the tin can on the table, shoving it under the couch quickly.
"Why?" Connor asked quietly, not moving.
Emily smiled shakily. "Because you have school in the morning, bright and early."
"No...Why was there alot of glass in my room?"
"Your lamp...I-It fell off your desk. It must have been on the edge. You should be careful with that. And there was glass in your sheets on the floor. Did you break a cup last night?" She flitted around the room not waiting for the boy's response, still picking up discarded items.
"Yeah. I dropped it. Can I help clean up?" Connor moved forward but Emily waved him off with a small laugh.
"Im a mother and a wife. I think I can handle a little mess. Now go upstairs and I'll be up in a minute. You said you needed to speak to me about something, right?" He nodded, looking unsure, but she motioned with her head to the stairs. "I'll be up in a minute, Connor," she repeated, softer this time, and the boy relented, doing as he was told, trudging up the carpeted steps with his bags. As soon as he was out of sight, she made a grab for the bong and whiskey bottle, rushing to the sink to dump out the contents as a lone tear slipped.
Connor walked into his room, noticing that, yes, his lamp was missing, and contemplated what had actually happened to it as he set his bags of gifts from the vampire down. He quickly dismissed the thought though as he spied the phone box sticking out, and, grinning, he ripped it open, plugging the charger into the outlet next to him. He knew he wasnt supposed to turn on the phone, it had to be charged while off, but he did so anyway, smiling even wider as the device lit up in green and blue. He set it to the side just as his "mom" walked in, giving another one of her all familiar and shaky smiles. Connor didnt like those smiles. It disheartened him greatly that she was sad, but he knew she would never admit to it if he asked, so he kept his mouth shut and smiled back as she seated herself on the bed, patting the spot next to her.
"We'll get you a new lamp, alright, sweety?"
"Its ok," Connor replied, sitting down.
"No, Im sorry."
"Its ok," he repeated.
"And..." She looked away, wringing her hands. "Im sorry I li-fibbed. I didnt mean to blame you for this."
"I know."
Emily looked over at him, surprise showing in the depths of her deep brown eyes. "You know...? Yes, you always seemed to, didnt you? Ive never realized..." Connor nodded along, looking down at his floor. "But...do you know everything?"
Connor looked up, confused, squinting his eyes and frowning. "What do you mean?"
But Emily only stared back at him, reaching forward to cup his chin in her small palm. He noticed her hands were cold. Almost as cold as Angel's. After a few more minutes of silence, she turned away, and directed her upset eyes to the cell phone. "School called earlier. They said you never showed up for any of your classes today. Where were you?" Connor stayed silent, slightly ashamed as he dug his dirty shoes into his carpet. "Were you with that man? Mr. Angel?"
"Yeah," Connor admitted quietly, inclining his head.
"All morning, too?"
Connor nodded. The tension that had suddenly enveloped the room was almost driving him crazy.
Emily pointed to the phone. "And was he the one that bought you that?" Connor nodded again, staring at her with an unreadable expression. Emily bit her lip before continuing, but looked slightly interested. "What is he to you?"
"Thats...what I wanted to talk to you about..." He scratched at his ear, slightly nervous. He had no clue where to begin. And he didnt think he could tell her the truth- the complete truth.
"Is he your friend? Or is he..." Something more? She didnt want to ask it outloud- she knew itd be extremely embarrassing for her son if she tried to get him to openly admit to anything else, but she needed to know. As a mother, she needed to know what kind of relationship they held. The Wolfram & Hart lawyer was obviously an older man...that had seemed to take a rather curious liking to the sixteen-year-old boy.
But Connor only nodded again, shoving his hands under his tense legs, completely oblivious to the implications his "mother" had put out into the air. "A friend. Well, more like...an older brother." He gave a small grin, looking over at Emily. "A really over-protective older brother."
"Or like a father." Connor froze, turning away, but Emily merely nodded also, pointing to the phone. "Well, he seems to take good care of you and he seems to concern himself over you." She then felt the fabric of his sleeve, a small slice of shame running through her frail body.
"He yells at anything that touches me," Connor put in quietly, almost disturbed by Emily's piercing gaze and blaming his sudden flair of honesty on that fact. "And he's always hugging me and stuff. He's really ...nice." He looked down again, not meeting her eyes.
Emily frowned. To her, Angel really did secrete a very fatherly vibe, if nothing else. It would explain alot. Not everything, but a majority to her troubled mind and memories. "So what is it exactly you want to discuss with me? I have a feeling its not just to talk about your new friend." She smiled a watery smile at the boy as he looked up with a hesitant request in his eyes.
"Well, you know, Christmas is coming up and ummm..."
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Lilah flung open the thick mahogany doors with a well-placed smile, not at all expecting who she saw sitting calmly on the corner of the vampire's desk, stick-like legs swinging restlessly. "Well, well," she smirked, crossing her arms. "This is, to say the least, a surprise. Did you get promoted?"
Eve looked at the undead woman with a blank expression. "No, this is still Angel's office."
Lilah indicated around her with an impatient look. "Well, where is he?"
"Not here, apparently."
"But you are, so that means he will be."
"He has many offices, you know," Eve sighed, looking down at the grey carpet.
"Ah, yes," Lilah smiled sardonically. "But none with such expensive features or impressive views however...like this one." She walked over to the large bay window and stared out at the city beyond.
"Why are you here?"
Lilah gave the small woman a superior smirk. "I could ask you the same thing." Just as she had returned working at the firm, she had met Eve...and hated her instantly, especially when others had nicknamed the frail woman "the miniature Lilah." Eve had nothing on her, that was for damn sure. Had not lived her life or shared her memories or partaken in her experiences. Maybe the only thing that had been going for the woman was her title of "Child of the Senior Partners", but even that, now, was gone, considering she was on the run from those very "parents" that had brought her in on this life.
Lilah gave a small disapproving glance to the woman. The mere fact that she was there was pissing her off. If this was her "replacement", then it only proved her theory that she had been considered nothing throughout her career. She had accepted her job and its terms with a gracious smile, even the dirty, which was just about everything, she had not frowned on. And this woman, this sickly looking woman placed in front of her, was quickly and easily chosen to just erase all that and all she had accomplished just because of what, a heartbeat? That was the only difference between the two as of now.
Lilah was dead. Eve was not.
Lilah's cell phone rang and she easily reached in her suit for it, noticing with a haughty smirk that Eve's blank expression had turned into a glare. "Lilah."
"Yes, excuse me, Ma'am. There is a very important issue we must discuss."
"Who is this?" She asked sharply.
"Patrick Tull, Ma'am. Officer Patrick Tull. Co'head of Wolfram & Hart's Armed Forces League."
"Alright, go on, but may I remind you that Im not your consulting supervisor. I believe Angel holds that position."
"Yes, Ma'am, I understand this, but Mr. Angel has taken the day off, and in any case, this business we have does not...concern him. It concerns previous members of Wolfram & Hart."
Previous members, she wondered to herself, confused, but didnt ask only because of the fact Eve seemed to be trying to listen intently. She curled her lip at the woman and walked out of the office.
"Where should we discuss this matter?"
"The fifth floor's surveillance room, Ma'am."
"On my way."
Lilah walked quickly, all the while racking her brain as to what concerned her as a "previous" employee of Wolfram & Hart. This was the second building, created just as Angel was hired, therefore whatever happened here, he would of course have knowledge of. And it would affect him. What was happening that didnt concern him but that she knew about?
And in the surveillance room, no less?
She arrived there, walking at a pace that others would consider running, looking frazzled and crossing her arms over her chest. "What is it?" In the room was an officer, presumed Patrick Tull, and the two station men, one who was Spanish and one who looked to be Jamaican with long dreads, already seated at the small surveillance tvs.
"Check it out for yourself, mami," motioned the Spanish man.
Lilah glared but bent down anyway, growling, "Call me "mami" again, your head's going to be on a platter." She peered at the screen, seeing another officer, who was pacing in a corridor, seemingly muttering to himself, holding his gun tightly, and surrounding him were men in black jumpsuits, all having their guns raised and pointed at the officer.
Lilah chewed on her bottom lip, confused. The men in black jumpsuits were an actual team of the Armed League...They were pointing their guns at a man with a higher-ranking position, a man who was most likely in charge of them all.
She shook her head, not understanding in the slightest. "What am I looking at?"
"Ma'am, that is my partner, Daniel Nolan. And he is on the thirteenth floor."
The thirteenth floor? Lilah sucked in a breath. No, it couldnt be. Her eyes widened. "Why are their weapons trained on him?"
"He is posing a threat, Ma'am."
'Dreads' spoke up. "We have close-up visual and sound. You can listen to whats going on." As he said this, he turned a knob and the speakers next to them came to life.
"Where is he? He's gone. Where have you taken him? He cant go back. They'll hurt him like they hurt me. Where is he? Where are you hiding him? I have to make him see! Where is he? Where is he!" The speakers crackled and Daniel Nolan continued to pace on the screen.
"Shit," Lilah cursed, straightening and running a hand through her hair. "It knows he was here." She turned a steely glare to Tull. "And how do you know?"
"My partner and I were also assigned to watch that floor, but nothing like this has ever happened before, Ma'am."
"Thats because Angel's son was here in the building," she said in a low tone, still watching the screen as the team held back with their weapons. "The irony to put that thing on the thirteenth floor...Do you have any form of contact with any member of that team?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Then get ahold of one of them. And repeat after me." She told him her words and he relayed them into his walky-talky as they all continued to watch the screen intently.
After a second, one man stepped forward and spoke directly to the pacing Nolan. The possessed officer then cocked his head to the side and started to shake, backing away, before his body slumped to the floor, unconscious. They all watched as a vapor inserted itself into the air above the fallen man and disperse, quickly sailing through a white wall.
"Alright," Lilah barked out. "Tell your men to get out of there, and somehow seal off that floor. Get the shamans or whoever to do it, but I dont want anybody else walking on that floor, understood?"
"Yes Ma'am, but what about Mr. Angel?"
"What about him?" Her gaze was icy.
Patrick Tull only nodded, taking the hint, before switching on his walky-talky again.
"Tell no one of this." And with that, Lilah walked out, body stiff.
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It took almost twice as long to get back to the firm, mostly because of Gunn who discretely complained of starvation and also because of the vampire himself, a large silly grin spread across his features, who wouldnt even walk through the building's doors, knowing all of Wolfram & Hart would witness just how ridiculously happy his young son had made him feel.
After a good half-hour of trying to contain his happiness, he strolled through the work place, a stony expression set, that quickly gave way to his abnormally wide smile that had been present ever since the drive back. Gunn just raised his eyebrows, holding back a smirk.
"Well, goodnight, Angel, man," Gunn broke away, walking off in a different direction. "Im heading out."
"Ok, I'll see you in the morning. And Gunn, uh...thanks for coming with us today."
"Yeah. Didnt really see the point of it, though. I mean, besides drilling the kid for presents..."
"..."
Gunn rolled his eyes but still grinned. "Ahuh, figures it was for that. See ya."
Angel journeyed to his main office, frowning. It was true- none of the "gang" ever hung out anymore, unless on a mutual case or checking out anything that was work-related in the slightest. He hadnt even taken it into consideration because the truth was, he wasnt bothered by it. Running almost all of Wolfram & Hart took up too much of his time, anyway, social included, and he figured the others shared in the same feeling. He knew Wesley didnt leave his office practically at all- the vampire wouldnt even be surprised if the other man ordered a bed placed in his area within the next few days. And Angel of course knew Illyria didnt get out much, that being her own decision. Gunn's pasttime seemed to be consuming his brain with knowledge of the White Room. If not working, the ex-gang member would spend all his time up there, talking to a panther for God's sake.
Knowing all this, Angel knew there really wasnt much time for anything else, especially some "quality time" with old friends.
Above all, Connor was now thankfully back into his life again.
Thinking of his son, Angel quickly lost his frown, already reminiscing the great time, besides the demon attack, they shared that day. It had almost been like old times and Connor was up-to-par with his fighting abilities, if not a bit rusty like he had known. Except this time...
They had enjoyed each other's company respectively, maybe a little bit overboard-made by the vampire himself. He had always yearned to be close to his son and now, he could see that road upon him, his feet clearly walking it, and soul practically shaking with uncontainable joy as his son was right beside him.
At that moment, nothing could destroy the feeling of happiness that traveled through his cold body, but as he swung open his office's double doors, he was almost ready to laugh at the sheer irony of what the universe placed in front of him. No, nothing could ruin his night.
Not even Eve.
"Angel." She swung her legs with the nod of her head. "How was your day? Or day-off, I should say."
"First," Angel sighed, closing his doors behind him and walking to his leather chair, "Get off my desk. And second, my day was wonderful. How was yours?" He flashed a smile that resembled a cocky grin to the small woman in front of him.
"The same. My day was absolutely awe-inspiring, considering I spent most of it being yelled at and lectured by the Senior Partners."
"Not really my fault," Angel smiled.
"Yes, actually it was. Thats why Im here. Did you know you had three extremely important and well-extinguished clients today visiting you?" Angel only leaned back further in his chair. "Clients who, might I add, were paying a great deal of money to the firm to handle a simple problem that concerned us anyways?"
Angel felt no need to redeem his actions but glared at the woman anyway, speaking low. "One of them hurt my son."
"The heart only gets in the way."
"So speaks a woman who most likely doesnt have one."
"And for good reason, too," Eve nodded, pacing now. "You almost cost the firm millions of dollars."
"Nothing is worth more than my son." He suddenly clenched his teeth. "'Almost'?"
"Yes, almost. I had to take care of the problem that you would have let bring us all down."
"You had them killed." He leaned forward now, hands placed on the desk, eyes hard and burning. "You had no right. They were human."
"No they werent. You have no idea how much power it takes to invoke a Korr-Pokk goddess. Power, which by the way, humans can never attain in a single lifetime. So in order to do it, they had to make a bargain. A trade."
"A trade? Trade what?"
Eve smiled widely. "Their souls. And since separately, they were low-level humans with nothing in life to achieve, both souls were needed to call that one goddess. Another human trait is extreme guilt, by the way, and thats the only reason why she accepted their request"
"To forgive them." Angel leaned back again, almost rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I got that part earlier. So you took care of it, fine, not really much I can do to change that, but why stand here and tell me this now? What do you get out of it?"
Eve sighed. "Angel, Im just letting you have your warning. You cant seem to clearly see it any other way. If we had wanted you to completely bankrupt us and bring us down, we would have left you where you were before. You were doing a great job of it on the outside. But now you work for us."
"As I understand," the vampire narrowed his eyes, "You all work for me. That was the deal I made when I accepted this position."
"No, the only deal you made was to save your son and give him a different life, which you did. The counterpart of that pact was to come and run all of Wolfram & Hart, which as of now, youre not doing a very good job of."
Angel just sat quietly, looking up at her impassively for a while before speaking again, eyebrows raised. "Are you done?"
Eve gave him a look. "I dont know, are you? Or are you finally ready to resume all responsibilities for every action and role you've acquired here?" Neither spoke for a while and after another heated and impatient glare from the vampire, Eve finally backed away, relenting. "Ive jotted down on your memo everything thats happened since you left this afternoon and you have another meeting early in the morning in Meeting Room 10. Eight AM. Dont miss it this time. Also, you might want to write out a check, a big one, for the little mess you left our newly-hired clean-up crew this morning outside the building. It wasnt pretty and it took out half the street." She opened the door, but turned back around before actually fully leaving, a grand smile stretching out her features. "By the way, what do you think Connor would like for Christmas?"
Angel's gaze was cold again. "From you? Nothing. Now get out."
"Why yes sir." Her smile turned thin and she left.
Angel glared strongly at the door, almost wishing he could forget a couple of centuries of maturity and find something close-range to throw at it, but his angry thoughts were soon disrupted by a loud ringing from his jacket. He took out his cell, his glare quickly dissolving to a face-splitting smile, as one name flashed blue across the top screen. Clearing his throat almost nervously and rubbing his suddenly sweaty hands against his black pant legs, he answered, embarrassed that he could clearly hear his own happiness bubbling away.
"Hey, kiddo! I see the phone is working already. You like it?"
"Yep. I even took the time outta my night to pick out a fitting ring-tone for you!"
"Oh really?" Angel leaned back with a grin. "What is it? I guess with my personality, something classica-"
"Er wrong. The X-Files! Doo doo doo doo Doo dooo. Doo doo doo doo Doo dooo," the boy mimicked with glee.
"What?"
"DOO doo doo doo Doo doooo-"
"-Brat," Angel growled out, but then laughed as Connor continued with his comical humming. "Just wait until I choose your's now." He grinned again as he heard his son laughing through the phone. "Seriously though, Connor, its getting late. Shouldnt you be in bed? You have school in the morning."
"Yeah, yeah. And technically I am in bed. I just wanted to call and tell you that youre my Christmas present."
Angel held the phone away from his ear for a second, looking at it, then brought it back to his cheek, confused. "What?"
"I talked to them, Angel, and they said it was ok to spend the nights with you. I mean, if you still want me to, that is..."
"Ye-Yeah! Thats...thats great!" Angel was thrilled but he didnt want it to rush to his head just yet. "But...I would like to talk to them myself about this, Connor." He chewed on his lip, slightly troubled. It wasnt that he didnt believe his son, he more than firmly trusted anything that the boy said to him, but it was almost unfathomable that both parents had agreed so quickly.
What came next, however, completely put a stop to all thoughts.
"Yeah, I knew that. Here you go." From within his room, Emily bent down and gently placed a kiss to her son's forehead, before taking the phone.
"Hello?" After a second of no response, she tried again. "Hello?"
"Uhh yes, sorry. Mrs Riley, h-how are you?" Angel silently cursed his voice for sounding unprofessional yet again.
"Im fine, thankyou," came the woman's smooth reply. "Im sorry we didnt get to talk about things earlier. I had alot on my mind."
"No. No, its no problem." He still couldnt believe he was already talking to the lady. He was planning, later, to list down alot to say to both parents, but now he had no clue on what to say. He hoped letting her lead wouldnt come off as rude. He was, oddly enough, too nervous to start out with anything.
"So, as I understand it, you seem to be a very special...friend to my son," she saw Connor giving her an odd look but continued, "and you two want to...get to know each other better? May I ask why?" She heard Connor groan a "Moooom!" and roll his eyes, but she smiled down at him, a real smile, he noticed, his eyes almost lighting up. "What?" she questioned. "Im allowed to ask, right?" She turned her attention back to the phone and almost laughed outright at the stuttering man.
"Uhh well, its nothing like...uhh I just wanted to...err...See, I thought that maybe...Wow," he finally relented with a small laugh, "Everything Im trying to say is going to sound kind of...bad."
"Honesty is the best, Mr. Angel."
"I..." The end was silent after a while and Emily finally sighed, looking down at the boy staring back up at her, tucked away comfortably in bed.
"Well, is it atleast safe to assume youre not going to kidnap him and leave him tied-up in a ditch?" She got another "Moooom!" from the boy and allowed a laugh to escape. "What? You are beautiful, Connor. I worry about kidnappers and pedophiles every day!"
Connor just stared, eyes wide. He never wouldve pegged the frail woman to have such a weird sense of humor.
Emily turned her attention back to the phone. "So is that a no then?"
The other end was silent for a second before she heard. "I would never let anything harm him." come out in an almost deadly tone. She held her breath for a second, curiously shocked, then let it out slowly, running her thin hands through her son's silken hair.
"I like your answer," she said quietly. "It seems I have nothing to worry about then. I always wanted an older positive male influence in my son's life and now it looks like Ive got it. Thankyou. I'll leave it for you two to decide when this should all start. Good night, Mr. Angel."
"Just Angel is fine and goodnight, Mrs. Riley," she heard, before handing the phone back to her son, who was gazing up at her with an almost breathtaking smile. It squeezed at her heart for a second as she leaned down and kissed him again.
"I love you. Get to sleep soon."
"Mm," he agreed, getting the hair out of his eyes. "G'night, Mom."
Hearing that, her watery smile was back in place, much to Connor's confusion and dismay, as she left the room quietly.
Connor stared after for a second, a strange feeling of dread rolling around in his stomach, before turning back to the phone and the vampire's questioning voice. "Yeah, Im here. Sorry about the third-degree."
"No, I welcomed it. Honestly, I didnt expect to talk to them so soon. Well, actually, at all. If they had been me, I wouldnt have even listened. I forgot to ask before but...is he OK with all this?" Even being polite enough to say "Mr. Riley" was giving too much credit for the man, Angel still felt. He doubted he would ever like the husband.
"Oh...yeah," Connor winced guiltily. "He's... asleep now, though. He has work in the morning. We all talked. He's OK."
"Alright, good. I thought we might actually have to go through with the kidnapping plan if they didnt agree," Angel joked, not at all caring to admit how truthful it was.
Connor laughed, holding the phone closer. "Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"Really really?"
"Uhh...yeah yeah."
Connor laughed again, grinning wide, then after a moment, just smiled softly. "...Really?"
"Yeah," Angel gently replied.
They talked a little while longer, mostly all topics of conversation being absolutely nothing, but neither wanted to admit to each other or themselves they were definitely enjoying just listening to the other's voice.
But as acute hearing picked up the sound of a car door slam outside followed closely by another, Connor decided the talk had to come to an end. "Hey Angel, I should probably get to sleep now." He could clearly make out the all-too familiar sound of retching from the front yard. "School in the morning, you know..."
"Oh right, right, Im sorry," Angel apologized, sounding like he was kicking himself mentally. Connor would have laughed if not for the fact every second his gaze was darting from the window to the door. He heard Emily suddenly gasp from downstairs and the doors slamming, tuning out whatever Angel was saying now. He heard voices, but only Emily's and another man's, not Dormon's, but familiar just the same. Was that even a good thing?
"Hey, um, tomorrow, right?"
"What?"
"Will you pick me up tomorrow? It's the last day of school for the holidays and I get out early. Can you come get me in the afternoon instead?" He spoke quickly, feeling bad that he was rushing what little time he and his father had on talking that night, but something wasnt right downstairs and he didnt want the vampire's own supernatural hearing listening in.
"I'll be working until the evening but I'll have Gunn pick you up and take you to the hotel if you like. You'll have to stay there though until I get home."
Now distracted from the noises downstairs, he stared at his wall, shocked. His face almost glowed at the word but he wondered if the other man even realized what he said.
"Connor? Did you hear me? Do you have his number?"
"Y-Yeah," the boy smiled. "Gunn gave me it."
"OK then." There was another silence, this one, however, feeling slightly awkward.
"Um I gotta go, Angel."
"Right." Connor could almost see the nod in his father's voice.
"'Night."
"Uh goodnight. And...um..."
"Yeah?"
"...I love you, Connor."
Connor's breath stilled, already fearing the feeling of not knowing what to say. The man had said those three innocent words before, throwing them around to him left and right, but that was the past where he hadnt even considered them true, where they were only words said to keep up appearances of blood and to take up space. That was when he had loathed the vampire and loathed the fact that a monster could say those important words so easily to him when he had been looking for that feeling those words truly brought all along. But now...
"Its alright, I understand-"
"-No. No, thats not what-" He choked on his words and sighed heavily, clenching the sheets around him in frustration and boring a mental hole in the wall to his left. "Everything has to be so mushy with you, doesnt it?" He growled out, annoyed, after a second, but was thankful when his father only laughed heartily. All thoughts flew from his head, though, when he heard the soft pad of footsteps rush up and down the stairs. "I hafta go. I'll call you tomorrow." Even to him, his voice sounded panicked so it was no surprise when Angel's deep urgent voice rang out.
"Wait. Is everything alright? Whats wrong?"
"Nothing," Connor forced out calmly, laughing a little. "You worry too much. You better watch that, it'll make you old. Seriously, I hafta go, ok? I'll see you tomorrow. 'Night, Dad." He sat up and threw back the covers as he heard a gentle "goodnight" from the other end, hoping the vampire would be satisfied with that one word rather than the three. He didnt think he could say them quite so easily yet.
He powered off the phone, leaving it on the bed, and quickly walked to his door, peeking out, before stepping quietly to the top of the stairs, looking down. Everything was still dark in the livingroom, save one lamp, and within that light, he could make out two figures, his deductions proving right. Emily was standing beside a tall man, taking urgently. He recognized the guy as Len, one of Dormon's good friends, one of the few people Connor had met in the world that he actually got the chills from. It always seemed like the older man was staring at him, watching him no matter where he went in the house when they both were in it. And every smile Len gave him was false, as if thinking the most evil of things when looking down at him.
Connor inwardly shuddered, not letting it physically show, though. He spied Dormon passed out like always on the couch behind the two, a wet washcloth pressed on his forehead.
"Are you sure he's alright?" Emily was saying, looking worriedly at her husband.
"Yeah yeah," Len took a drag of his cig, eyeing the frail woman by his side. "Just too much to drink. I warned him," he sighed, but looking far from sorry as his smirk plastered itself widely on his face. His eyes were slitted and bright red, Connor noticed. "Quit worrying. He's not a baby," he complained, seeing Emily fuss over the man and rearrange his washcloth. "Lets take this time in front of us as an opportunity."
Emily just looked up at him, confused.
"You and me, doll," Len drawled out, cig waving between grinning lips, as he reached for the small woman's arm. She didnt back away, but she drew her arms around herself protectively, eyes widening.
"No, I cant," she whispered fearfully, looking back at her husband.
"He's not gonna be waking up for a while," Len laughed, grasping her arm firmly. "Cmon. Just you and me. Lets go for a ride."
"N-No, I cant. Connor just came home. I should stay here with him-"
"-The kid?" Len interrupted, grinning even wider now. Connor involuntarily shuddered from where he stood. "Well, then, maybe he'd like to go for a little ride with me-"
"No! No, Len, please-" She gasped as she looked at the stairs, catching sight of the boy looking down at them. She wrenched her arm away from the man quickly, eyes wide in shock.
"Whoo there, girly, watch out!" Len laughed nastily at her, hands raised in a mock surrender, before looking at the stairs himself. His grin turned into a sick leer as his eyes roamed all over the boy. Connor stepped back, almost flinching as his 'mother' spoke to him urgently.
"C-Connor, go into your room, honey. Everything's fine, just go in-"
"No, kid, dont listen to her," Len gave a fake smile as he stepped towards the stairs. "How about coming with me on a little ride? We wont go too far..." He stepped on the first stair, no intention of stopping as Emily pleaded from below. Connor took another step back but pride hindered him from full-out running to the safety of his room. He continued to stare down at the man making his way closer and closer up to him, not at all recognizing the look in the older man's eyes as he gazed into them.
Len leered at him almost hungrily from below. "I know you want to go for a ride with me, kid."
No matter how hard he tried, Connor couldnt look away, and a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach swirled, rooting him to the spot as the dangerous man below loomed closer.
"I saw you today, you know. Got a little secret you feel like sharing with us?"
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