A/N: Hey everybody, here comes a new chapter and I really, really hope you will like it, because, just like with my other stories, I feel kind of out of rhythm with writing this, so I hope it's not too awkward *sheepish smile* I'm also considering to make a cover for this story, even though I've no idea how to do it and if I do it'll probably look like crap... I'm just not good with graphic programs, but I'd really like to have a cover for my stories... *sigh* so I'll try and come up with something that looks at least okay...
Reviews are, of course and as always, most appreciated, because I love to hear what you think about my story *puppy dog eyes*
And also I have an important question for you, which goes for most of my stories (especially this one, the Leverage/Angel crossover and my Leverage story In the Darkness): Since ff . net doesn't allow too explicit scenes, I was thinking about creating an account at archiveofourown, so that I can post the chapters with the explicit scenes (even though I'm not sure how explicit I will be, but I'd like to have the option), over there and post them without the explicit stuff over here, so you can all read the version you'd like. So, the question is, do you think that it's a good idea? I'd really like your opinion on it, since I'm not sure...
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Of course thank you to darkshadowarchfiend, Jesco123, msdarque, McCoy's Secret Lover, SlytherinQueen020, fro-chan, dr3, JohnneyAntonelli and Elura The Strange for all your kind comments *hugs you all* Your words mean so much to me and always make me smile with happiness...
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Warnings: AU, SLASH (Lindsey/?, Lindsey/Angel somewhere along the way)
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Disclaimer: The characters from Angel belong to Joss Whedon and I'm just borrowing them for my little story. This is not for money, but just for fun...
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Chapter 3
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"Do you think he's waking up?"
"Yeah, it looks like it."
Two voices filtered through Lindsey's brain when he slowly started to wake up from what felt like a heavy sleep. The sudden wave of pain that washed through him, however, made it impossible for the young man to put names to the voices, because the pain almost made him black out again. Everything was hazy and he couldn't stop the groan of pain escaping him. Why on Earth did he feel like he'd been stabbed into the back with something really, really sharp?
Lindsey tried to blend out the pain and focus his mind. He almost frantically searched his mind for the last thing he could remember and that might give him an idea why he felt like crap and why his subconsciousness urged him to jump out of whatever bed he was lying in and run.
Suddenly it all came rushing back to him... Angel... the demon... Eliot...
"Eliot!" he screamed, or better wanted to scream, but it was merely a hoarse whisper that emerged from his dry throat.
"Daddy!" his son answered immediately and unbearable relief spread through Lindsey and helped ease the pain he was in a little. At least his son was alright, no matter what had happened.
Two thin arms carefully wrapped around him and that gave Lindsey the strength to finally open his eyes. He blinked a few times, so that his eyes could adjust to the light again.
When he could finally see again, the picture that greeted him was entirely unexpected, totally disturbing and also a little cute.
Because he didn't just see his son sitting by his bedside, no, he also saw Angel, who held Eliot in his lap, arms secure around the young boy's waist, so that he could lean over to the bed and hug Lindsey. And what surprised Lindsey even more, was that Eliot didn't seem to mind to sit in Angel's lap, quite the contrary. When he was sure that his father was awake, he snuggled up against the vampire.
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Lindsey really needed to find out why the hell Eliot and Angel seemed to be so close and what the hell was going on here. He tried to sit up, but pain shot through his back and he carefully laid back down so he wouldn't hurt his back anymore.
Angel and Eliot immediately reached out to see if he was okay and Angel, who actually looked concerned, put a gentle hand on Lindsey's shoulder and told him: "Keep lying down, Lindsey. You need to heal or there might be lasting damage."
Lindsey stared at the vampire and just now he realized that he was unable to move his right arm and he paled even more, but he didn't dare to say anything. Angel had obviously seen the panic and he tried to assure: "Dr. Sanders, Wesley and Lorne are sure that it's going to be temporary and that your arm will heal with time."
Lindsey snorted, but again he didn't say anything, trying to come to terms with what Angel had just told him. He looked at his right arm that was lying useless by his side and only Eliot's presence stopped him from freaking out completely. He stared at his hand, trying to get it to move, but nothing happened.
"What else are you not telling me?" he asked, his voice raspy from not having talked for so long and also from desperately trying to hold back his tears. Seconds later a glass of water was held against his lips, wherever it had come from and he smiled gratefully at his son, who held it in his small hands, looking at his father with concern, but also trying to be brave for Lindsey.
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Angel looked at the young lawyer and hesitated a little, before he finally explained: "You should rest, since you've been out of it for four days."
Lindsey's eyes widened again and he stared at the master vampire.
"Four days?" he rasped, even though it got easier to talk with everything he said. Angel cleared his throat and stood up, helped Eliot sit on the bed beside his father and ran a hand through his hair.
"I'll go and get Wes and Lorne so that they can take a look at you and maybe Dr. Sanders, if they think that's neccessary," he explained and was out of the room before Lindsey could say a word.
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After the door had closed behind the souled vampire and father and son were alone, Eliot again wrapped his arms around his father and hugged him as tightly as he dared without hurting him. Lindsey immediately put his left arm around his son, trying not to think about his numb right arm. He also ignored the pain he was in to comfort his son. The young lawyer didn't even want to think about how lost Eliot must have felt these past days with people he only knew from Lindsey's stories whenever Wolfram and Hart had allowed him to see his son, also worrying if his father was going to wake up.
Eliot needed reassurance and Lindsey was fully prepared to give it to his son, no matter that he himself felt like shit and wished that he'd still be asleep.
"Oh daddy, I was so worried about you when you wouldn't wake up," Eliot whispered, sobbing against his father's shoulder, now that he was alone with him.
"Shh, it's going to be okay, Eli," Lindsey whispered, trying to soothe his distraught son.
"I'll be okay and as soon as I can get out of this bed, we'll get out of this city, buy a nice ranch and you'll finally get that horse you always wanted," he explained, a slight smile on his face, before he added:"Just you and me, like it used to be before I got us into this mess. And we're finally going to be free again."
He ran a gentle hand through his son's hair that was surprisingly looking like it had been combed and not sticking in all directions like it normally did. All in all, Lindsey noticed that Eliot looked like Angel's team had taken good care of him and Lindsey was grateful for that.
/It's probably been Lorne who has taken care of Lindsey. He's been smitten with Eliot ever since he met him when he was still a toddler and when I came to this cursed city./ Lindsey mused and he was already thinking about a way how to thank the demon.
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Eliot's next words, however, were more than a surprise to Lindsey. The little boy, who should have been squealing with joy, because he had always wanted to live on a ranch and have his own horse, something he had in common with his father, only shook his head vehemently.
"Why do you wanna leave daddy? I don't wanna leave anymore. I wanna stay here with Angel. We could be a family," he said, looking at his father with wide, innocent blue eyes, but Lindsey could also see the fear in his son's eyes, as if he had been afraid to tell his father about what he wanted.
Especially when Eliot saw the disbelieving and almost hurt look in Lindsey's eyes, he threw his arms around his father again.
"Please don't be mad at me, daddy," he pleaded, again sobbing a little, obviously thinking that his words had hurt his father.
"I'm not mad, buddy," Lindsey quickly assured, wishing that he could pull his son into a secure embrace, but his right arm made that impossible. So he pulled Eliot as close as he could with his left arm and kissed his son's forehead.
"How could you think I was mad? I'll never be mad at you for telling me what you want, Eli. You're the most important person in the whole world to me and I want you to be happy," he said softly, because he really didn't want his son to think that he had disappointed him or that his opinions and wishes didn't matter just because he was a child. He knew from experience how much it hurt when the people who should care about you the most, just ignored you and your wishes and he never wanted his son to feel like he had felt as a child ever.
"I'm not mad, Eli," he repeated and he added, when his son looked at him, a doubtful look on his face: "I was just a little surprised that Angel will let us stay. You know what has happened between us before."
Lindsey had told his son all about Angel and what had happened between them, well, without the bloody details, because he would never hide something that important from his son.
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Eliot was about to say something, when suddenly another voice joined the conversation: "I think we should discuss this later, Eliot, as soon as your father feels better."
Angel had come back a little while ago and had caught part of the conversation, was now looking at father and son with mixed feelings.
In the last four days Eliot had somehow managed to worm his way into the vampire's heart more than he should have been able to and Angel somehow didn't really mind. His eyes traveled to Lindsey. The master vampire still wasn't sure what to feel about the young lawyer.
Ever since Eliot had told him that Lindsey seemed to be in love with him, he had wanted to find out if that was really the truth... and he had also wondered what he would do about it, if it was indeed true.
But then the demon had attacked Lindsey and for about two days they hadn't even been sure if Lindsey would survive.
And when Angel had seen that demon hurt Lindsey, a fury unlike anything he had ever felt, had washed through him and he had literally ripped the demon to pieces.
That had told Angel that he really needed to reexamine what he felt for the young lawyer. But he also didn't really want to find out why, because if he did think about it too much, he would most likely open Pandora's box so to speak and make things much too complicated.
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Angel was shaken out of his thoughts by Eliot asking: "Please tell daddy that you want us to stay." The boy looked at Angel with the same pleading blue eyes that he had had directed at his father just moments before.
The vampire sighed and walked over to the bed, put a hand on the boy's head and smiled gently.
"Eliot, I think we should talk about that later. Right now, Wesley and Lorne need to take a look at your dad so that he will get better. And Cordelia is down in the kitchen baking cookies and she could really need your help."
Angel thought it was better for Eliot to be out of the room and not only because that would give Angel some time to think about what to tell Lindsey and the boy about if the could stay or not. No, he also really didn't want Eliot to see the nasty wound on Lindsey's back, because the kid was still traumatized enough after the demon's attack on his father. And the vampire also wanted to talk to Lindsey without his son present. So he was relieved, and by the look in Lindsey's face he was too, when Eliot's face lit up with a smile.
"Yay, cookies," he said and was about to climb out of the bed when he suddenly remembered why he had barely left this room in the last four days and he looked at his father again, who still looked pale and sick. Eliot then was reluctant to leave and grabbed his father's left hand tightly unsure what would happen if he left.
But for once Lindsey agreed with Angel that Eliot didn't need to be present when Wesley and Lorne, who stood in the doorway a little awkwardly, examined him and he also didn't need to hear what they would talk about in the next minutes. He squeezed his son's hand gently.
"It's okay, buddy. I'll be right here when you get back. And Lorne, Wesley and Angel will take good care of me, they have done so the last days after all," he assured. Eliot looked a little doubtful, but when his father smiled at him, he returned the smile, hugged his dad carefully and whispered: "I love you, daddy."
"I love you too, Eli and I'm so proud of you," Lindsey answered and kissed his son's head gently. Eliot smiled proudly, jumped off the bed and was out of the room only seconds later.
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Angel listened until he couldn't hear Eliot's footsteps on the stairs anymore and then turned towards Lindsey again, only looking at the young lawyer, not sure what to do and what to say now. Lindsey returned the look, equally at a loss what to say.
It was Lorne, who broke the tense silence. The demon walked over to the bed and smiled brightly at Lindsey: "It's so good to see those blue eyes open again, sugar."
Lindsey could see the honest delight in Lorne's face and he forced himself to smile at the demon.
"Thanks Lorne. Also thanks to you and Wesley for patching me up," he said, knowing that the two had probably cared for him until the doctor Angel had mentioned earlier, had gotten here and took care of him.
The demon only smiled and put a hand gently on Lindsey's shoulder, squeezing gently.
"It was nothing, sugar. And Angel was the one to take care of you and Eliot anyway. We merely helped when he let us," he said with a twinkle in his eyes and Lindsey's eyes widened, before he looked at the vampire, who scratched the back of his head and shrugged.
"Someone had to," he explained as if it was nothing, but for Lindsey it made things even more complicated and the feelings welling up inside him also let him forget about his injuries, but not for long, because now Wesley cleared his throat.
"We should probably check the wound and your arm, Lindsey," he explained and also walked closer to the bed.
Lindsey could see that he was much more reluctant than Lorne and even Angel were and he wondered why. The former watcher had always been indifferent to him, so that he seemed to be anywhere but here right now was a little confusing for the young lawyer, but right now he had other things to worry about. So he nodded slowly and let Lorne and Wesley do their job.
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About ten minutes later he was lying as comfortable on his back again as it was possible, propped up on a few pillows so that he was in more of a sitting position, a clean bandage around his torso and his injured arm in a sling so it wouldn't feel as awkward as it had before. Lorne had assured him that it probably was only a matter of time until the muscles and nerves had healed and he'd be able to use the arm again. But Lindsey had also heard the little doubt in the demon's voice and he knew that there was a chance that he might never regain feeling in his right arm.
But Lindsey tried to keep that possibility out of his mind for now, because he could freak out about that later. Right now other things were a little bit more important, especially his son, who, as Angel had assured him, had fun baking cookies with Cordelia, who, also Angel's information, adored the boy. Lindsey had to smile at that thought, but he knew that his son was able to wrap people around his finger without even meaning to.
"Could I maybe have something to eat?" Lindsey questioned, looking at Lorne, who was still in the room with him and Angel. Wesley had left as soon as they had finished examining him, officially to call Dr. Sanders, so that he would come over later and also take a look at Lindsey, but the lawyer had immediately realized that Wesley was glad to be as far away from him as possible.
Lorne looked between Angel and Lindsey and then he nodded.
"Of course, sugar. I'll get you something," he assured, knowing that Lindsey would be hungry now.
"Something light, Lorne," Angel reminded the demon and Lorne nodded, giving Lindsey another smile, before he walked towards the door.
Just before he closed it behind him, he told Angel: "And you take good care of him, Angel-cakes. And remember what we've talked about."
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With that the demon was gone and Angel and Lindsey were alone. And suddenly the weird tension was back. It was always there when Angel and Lindsey had been alone with each other and they had never been able to figure out why it was there or what to do against it.
Lindsey tried to sit up a little straighter, but he winced when his back started hurting again. Angel was immediately by the young lawyer's side, looking at him in concern.
"Are you okay? Can I help you?" he questioned and his offer was so sincere that Lindsey nodded slowly.
"Could you maybe move the pillows a little?"
Angel did so without hesitation and fluffed up the pillows.
"Better?" he questioned, when he was done, suddenly realizing how close he was to Lindsey. Their faces were only inches apart and Lindsey looked at him with those wide, blue eyes... those eyes that Angel had so often dreamed about, even though he had never allowed himself to think about why.
Had Lindsey's lips always looked this kissable?
And before the vampire knew what he was doing, he closed the remaining distance between them and pressed his lips to Lindsey's...
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to be continued, if you're still interested...
And please, if you haven't, read my question at the beginning of the chapter, because I'd really like your opinion about it...