[Reviews - 51]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 3079 times

- Text Size +




--


Angel had returned to the hotel a little before midnight because the A.I. had a case to work on and Angel thought he had figured everything out.

Angel wasn't too informed about the "sire obsession period" childes went through but he knew that when it ended it was like getting an epiphany. Angel was confident that Buffy would come to her senses then and realize that she didn't love Spike. He was not sure if Buffy would stake him or not. She did seem very attached. And Angel knew how hard it was to stake your sire. He himself couldn't do it twice.

One thing Angel couldn't fathom was why Spike would put up with Buffy's friends. He could convince her in her current mind set to come away with him albeit with some difficulty but still...It would probably happen. He understood Spike's attachment to Buffy. No vampire would just abandon a Slayer childe. But even so...why was Spike so romantically involved? Angel couldn't figure it out.

He returned to the hotel to find all the Sunnydale gang settled into their rooms. The only remaining A.I. member was Cordelia, who was sitting in the lobby with her head in her hands. Angel felt a rush of guilt at having forgotten about her vision-induced migraine. As he walked through the front door, she looked up at him. Her eyes were red.

--= * =-- --= * =-- --= * =--

The next morning was dreary; gray clouds hung in the sky. Inside the Hyperion's lobby, Angel accepted a box from a delivery guy and handed him some money.

"Thanks. Keep the change."

The delivery guy raised an eyebrow.

"Wow. A whole dollar just for me. I'm the luckiest delivery man ever." He said on his way out.

Angel shook his head slightly and closed the door, before setting the box on the counter. Cordelia looked up from her desk.

"What's all this?"

"Lunch. I was hungry."

He set a few wrapped sandwiches out in a row on the counter top. Cordelia, enticed by the food, got up and approached the offering with a wary look on her face.

"You don't eat food."

"Oh, I can. It doesn't keep me alive, but, you know, sometimes I get a hankering."

"You had a hankering for turkey, ham and roast beef sandwiches?"

Angel pointed to a sandwich near the end.

"You missed the vegetarian."

"Soup and salad, too? What is going on here?"

"I forgot what you liked," Angel said quietly.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Well, you said, why is everyone asking you if they can get you anything, and-and I didn't wanna /do/ that..."

"So you did this - instead."

"Yup." Angel said in an even quieter voice.

Cordelia let the suspense build for a second.

"I love you," she said, grateful, at last.

Angel's worried look melted into a big smile as Cordy picked up two of the sandwiches.

"And you ought to do that more often." She said and headed back to her desk.

"Buy you food?"

"Smile."

She reached her desk and hunched over as another rerun flash of her recent vision seared through her head. Angel came over to her, the worried look reappearing on his face.

"What?"

"Okay, this is weird." Cordelia said, looking up. "Before he put the knife in his eye he was happy. He was /happy/ about his eye. Like it was new or - something."

"New?"

--= * =-- --= * =-- --= * =--

About an hour later, Anya entered the lobby, looking well-rested. After Angel had retreated to his office, she and Cordelia began an interesting discussion, mostly about Xander, but with some other topics mixed in. They reminisced about how much they had hated high school, and Anya remembered Cordelia's wish that Giles had reversed.

"/That's/ why you're human? Then it's my fault. God...I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Anya said sincerely. "I'm happy. And I've got Xander."

The two had become pretty good friends and were talking over the sandwiches when Buffy came down the stairs yawning.

"Hey Buffy," Anya said. "Cordy and I thought of something."

"Is this about Xander?" Buffy said warily.

"No, it's about you. You'll save a lot of money, now that you're a vampire."

Buffy gave them an odd look.

"Yeah...I guess," she said after a moment.

Buffy walked over and asked if there was any blood in the refrigerator. Cordelia blanked for a second at the oddity of Buffy asking for blood before saying that yes, there was.

"You don't need to buy tampons anymore," Anya supplied.

Buffy raised her eyebrows at the ex-demon's tactlessness. Cordelia looked unfazed. They had obviously already discussed this. "Well, for yourself anyway."

Buffy stared at her and then ambled over to the mini-fridge.

"You'll only have to buy food and stuff for Dawn now. Think of the savings," Anya continued gleefully as Buffy pulled out a chilled package of blood.

She vamped and bit through the plastic. Cordelia and Anya watched as Buffy drained the entire bag's contents. When she was done she crumpled up the plastic bag in her hand and let her face lose its demonic features. She noticed the two girls staring at her and she sheepishly smiled and wiped her mouth with her hand.

"Sorry. I haven't eaten in over a day."

Simultaneously, Anya and Cordelia both shrugged and went back to their sandwiches. Buffy ran her tongue over her teeth in her closed mouth and threw the empty bag in the garbage can.

Angel, who had creaked the door open an inch or two, was filled with sadness when he saw Buffy vamp and eat. He hated that she had to be this way; hated that she had been infected with a demon her soul would have to battle for eternity; hated Spike for doing this to her; hated that his annoying grandchilde could have her in a way he never could. He opened the door and walked out.

Buffy turned around, and for a minute, nobody moved. They all just stared at each other. Angel nearly winced at how much Buffy smelled like her sire. The scent was fresher than yesterday, but Angel didn't say anything.

"Morning," Buffy said at last, albeit awkwardly.

"It's lunchtime." Angel said.

"Oh." Buffy said quietly. "I'm still getting used to the whole nocturnal thing."

Another long pause.

"I'm...sorry about last night. I just...needed to think." Angel offered finally.

Buffy nodded to show that she understood and then gave Angel a small smile to show she forgave him. Then the awkward silence resumed its position in the conversation slot.

"Hey Buffy, where's Spike?" Anya asked out of curiosity. She /really/ hated useless extended silences.

"Showering," Buffy replied with a little confusion, but she let it go.

Just then, Dawn bounced into the lobby looking for food.

--= * =-- --= * =-- --= * =--

Most of the Scoobies and the A.I. team were lounging about the lobby when, later that afternoon, Wesley and Gunn returned from investigating and informed Angel on everything they'd learned during the day. Unfortunately, the information found was interesting but not enough to help them solve the mystery of Cordelia's vision.

"We're at a dead end," Gunn said dejectedly.

Wesley sat down on the edge of the desk with a frustrated look on his face.

"I thought we had more than that," he said.

"There is only one thing we can do now." Angel said.

The Scoobies noticed an immediate change of attitude in the L.A. gang.

"Oh, god. Oh, no." Cordelia said in horror.

"The karaoke bar." Wesley said. The very thought made him wince slightly.

"Karaoke bar?" Buffy said, confused.

"Angel's gonna sing?" Gunn queried.

"Hell no," Spike objected.

"Isn't there some other way?" Cordelia said, near pleading.

"There has to be. Think, damn it!" Wesley said.

Angel looked from one person to the next. "Hey! Wha..?"

"Karaoke bar?" Buffy asked again.





You must login (register) to review.