Title: When You Come Back to Me Again
Fandom: Angel/Highlander
Author: Christina A and M. Edison
Disclaimers: The bunch from Angel belong to their production company
and this particular concept of Immortality belongs to Rysher and co while
Grace belongs to Christina.
Note: If you don’t like original characters in long term romances with
canon characters then I suggest you skip this story but personally I
tend to think it’s quite entertaining and retains the spirit of the Angel
series. In fact, I think this particular story’s the best one we’ve
done to date.
(Oh yeah *G* there’s a Fred/Gunn relationship in this thing)
Summary: fifth in the ‘Destiny’ series
When You Come Back To Me Again
by Christina A. & M. Edison
—————————–
Grace put her feet up on the desk. A warm cup of coffee was in her hand
and
tears were in her eyes. They weren’t tears of sadness though, but tears
of
laughter. “You did too so fall on your ass! Cordelia said watch out for
the
slick spot and we all turned around just in time to see you flat on
your
ass. Now, unless Fred pushed you down, I’d say you slipped.”
They were recounting their last encounter. It had actually been
Immortals
and not vampires this time. It had been a sick version of the Game…
and
Gunn and Cordelia had taken their first Quickenings. “You fell,” she
said,
snickering.
Fighting an instinctive blush, Gunn mock-glared back. “I did not *fall*
G. I
sat down hard is all.”
“Noooooo…” Cordelia disagreed with a shake of her head, popping a
piece of
her donut into her mouth. “You *fell*, Gunn. Fell. As in, lost balance
and
landed on the nearest hard surface. Which – unfortunately for you –
happened
to be the concrete.”
Wesley fixed his glasses and nodded in agreement. “You did fall. And
were
you not Immortal, I would think you would have deeply bruised your rear
end. That surface was
extraordinarily hard.”
Dunking her glazed donut in her coffee, Grace laughed. “It was
concrete, and
you fell. But I have to say, on a scale of 1 to 10 of gracefulness, I
gave it an 8.
I was very impressed.” Taking a bite, she chewed thoughtfully. “We love
you though.”
“Do ya?” Gunn snorted amusedly. “Hate to see how you’d bug a guy you
didn’t
like G.”
“Oh we don’t bug,” Angel interjected dryly. “We torture.”
“Yeah, lots’n lots of torture.” Fred nodded vigorously. “Hot pokers and
bamboo under your nails’n stuff.”
Grace waggled her brows. “Nice touch, Fred.”
“Some cultures choose to torture their victims with whips,” Wesley
interjected.
Grace smiled wickedly. “I can think of a lot of other much more
interesting
things to do with whips than torture.”
Duncan smirked. “You would.”
“Don’t knock it until you tried it.”
“Children.” Cordy directed mock stern looks from one Immortal to the
other.
“Behave or you’re both sleeping on the lobby couches tonight.”
Grace cocked a brow at Angel. “Will I?” It would be interesting to see
his
answer to that, given that he *really* enjoyed the whip. She situated
herself in her chair so that just a bit more of her leg showed from
underneath her skirt. The key here was… how important was it to Angel
to
save ‘face’? She hoped she didn’t misjudge him.
He grinned at her. “I’d smuggle you back upstairs before dawn.
Promise.”
“Aha!” The younger Immortal shot a reproachful look at her teacher. “No
sexual manipulations. It’s *supposed* to be a punishment.” She
chuckled.
“And if I have to suffer then so does Angel.”
“Damn.” The vampire groused guiltily.
“Cordelia,” Grace eyed her student, “sexual manipulation is perhaps a
woman’s strongest weapon. A few hundred years ago, it saved my life and
made
me a princess.” She winked at Angel. “Today, it makes life *very*
interesting. I can teach you how to use one if you want. Duncan would
like
it. Believe me!”
Cordy crossed her arms and shook her head, suppressing laughter. “That
is
*not* the point.” She looked at Duncan. “Help?”
Duncan lifted a brow. “Help you? First you were going to make me sleep
on a
lounge sofa, and now you want my help.” He laughed. “Besides, I’m
thinking
of taking you to a specialty shop and having you try on some leather.
You’d
look fantastic.” He leaned over and kissed her intently. “And I bet it
wouldn’t take you long to learn how to use a whip.”
She slid smoothly on to his lap, and smiled against his mouth. “You’re
insatiable.”
“Of course he is.” Gunn grinned at her. “He’s a guy.”
Cordelia ignored him, combing her fingers through Duncan’s hair and
pressing
closer.
Duncan didn’t say another word, just lifted her up and carried her
upstairs.
Once they were gone, Grace broke out into laughter. “You see, *that’s*
sexual manipulation in action if I ever saw it. No way is Duncan
sleeping on
any lounge sofa tonight.” She took her feet off the desk. “Now, Wesley,
please tell me our schedule for the rest of the day is clear. No cases,
right?”
Wesley looked down at his book, ran his hand through his hair and said,
“Well, there’s the Kensington case.”
“Which you are still researching.”
“I am.”
Grace looked at Angel and winked. “So, you and Gunn can handle the
research
tonight?”
“Well…” Technically, he was still in charge of Angel Investigations,
but
he had the sneakiest suspicion that the Immortal was going to do a run
around on him. “There are a couple of other things.”
“Wesley, I’m going to go reshelf some books in the library.”
“N…no, Gracie. There’s nothing on the docket for tonight.”
Smiling at Angel triumphantly, she said, “There’s a Bogart special at
the
theater tonight.”
He laughed and held out a hand. “Marathon make outs again?”
Gunn looked over at Wesley with a smirk. “You sooo in for it man.”
Fred smiled at Gunn. “We could go too. Sit on the other side of the
balcony?”
Grace smiled. Taking Angel’s hand, she pressed herself to his side. “We
could have snacks,” she said, knowing Angel would get her meaning. She
loved
his ‘snacking’ and when they dared to do it in public, it aroused her
even
more.
He mock-growled in her ear. “Keep that talk up and we’ll be having
snacks
*here*.”
“Uh uh…” Fred shook her head. “Cordy said no ‘snackin’ in the office.
Messes up the furniture when Grace revives.”
Grace laughed. “We *snack* there.” She pressed a soft kiss on his cheek
before pulling away. Reaching for Fred’s hand, she said, “Come on!
We’ll go
upstairs and change into something ultra sexy and then bang really loud
on
Duncan and Cordelia’s door before running down the hall.”
“Okayyy…” Fred agreed with a smile. “But y’know, Duncan won’t like it
if
you throw off his *timing*.” She pointed out, her eyes dancing with
mirth.
“He gets real grouchy about that sorta thing.”
Grace laughed. “I don’t care. That’s the good thing about being me. He
won’t
start anything because I’d just put him in his place. I know things
that
would fluster him beyond belief.”
Together, the tandem walked upstairs, leaving the guys alone.
Wesley cleared his throat and said, “Grace is in a mood tonight. You
are
going to have fun.”
“No,” Angel corrected with a smirk. “I’m going to have sex. Fun doesn’t
quite manage to accurately describe it when Grace is involved.”
“And goin’ by the look on G’s face,” Gunn pointed out, putting his feet
up.
“It’s gonna be real *fun* tonight.”
Wesley stood and placed a book on the shelf. “She is rather *free* when
it
comes to that. Can you imagine coming from the time that she did and
still
having the strength of personality to openly express your womanhood?”
He
seemed almost in awe. Truth be known, he was. She had the ability to
make
him nervous beyond measure, but he secretly enjoyed it. “She’s very
unique.”
Grace’s vampire lover chuckled softly. “That would be a good word for
it.
She’s one of a kind all right. Can you imagine if there were more than
one
of her? I don’t think the world could handle that without imploding.”
He
leaned back in his chair, reclining lazily. “But, of course, we
wouldn’t
have her any other way.”
“Not a chance.” The young Immortal eyed the line of his sword, which
had
been resting on the desk beside him, and glanced over at him. “Gracie’s
a
unique lady all right…best kind of unique.”
It was then that the topic of conversation came down the stairs, Fred
in
tow. Both were clad in leather mini skirts, though Fred’s fell a little
closer to her knee. Both women had their hair pulled back. Grace,
however,
wore a short leather jacket while Fred wore both a silk blouse and a
leather
jacket.
Comfort was not a necessity here.
“I do believe we are ready,” she smiled brightly, “though I don’t seem
to
have a place to carry my sword.”
“Damn,” Gunn eyed them both appreciatively. “Seems to me, you’ll be
needin’
a stick not a sword.”
“Y’think?” Fred questioned, patting at her coat. “Maybe we should keep
’em
in the trunk or somethin’? Just in case. You never know what we might
run
into.”
“She’s right there.” Angel chuckled. “We do have a bad habit of running
into
demons at the worst possible times.”
“No way,” Grace said, her voice more than determined. “I run into one
vampire tonight, present company excluded, and I will be extremely
pissed. I’m going out on a date and getting lucky in the balcony.”
Wesley sat behind the desk. “You know, I do believe she means what she
says… about being pissed. No vampire with even a minute amount of
intelligence would dare defy her.”
“Unfortunately,” Gunn pointed out with a grin. “I think Angel’s the
only one
who qualifies for that category.”
“I’m honored by the compliment.” The vampire returned dryly.
Grace rolled her eyes. “Show starts in a half hour boys. So we can
either
stand around and talk about what annoys me, or we can get moving toward
the
theater.” Moving to fill Angel’s space with her own, she said, “And I
think
you really want to start making your way toward the theater, right?”
Fred smiled at her date. “What do you say, Charles? We better bust a
move.”
Wesley looked at Gunn. Fred and her new vocabulary.
Gunn offered an apologetic look then smiled broadly at the petite
beauty.
“Yeah, sure, baby,” he slipped an arm about her waist, drawing her
close.
“We’ll be in the car.”
Angel, meanwhile, barely heard the conversation. He was of the opinion
that
Grace smelled entirely too damn good for his own good. This kept up,
he’d be
snacking before they got anywhere remotely *near* their intended
destination. As it was, he wanted to sink into her and forget about the
movie. The woman really was too tempting for anyone’s clarity of
thought.
Grace gave him a quick kiss before pulling away. “Let’s hurry,” she
whispered. “I suddenly have an itch that only you can scratch.” She
took his
hand and said, “We’ll see you later, Wes.”
“Have fun,” he said as a matter of pretense. “I’ll be here, reading,
writing, answering the phone.”
*-*-*
Seated completely in the back of the movie theater and well hid from
other
viewers… all four of them… Grace rested her head on Angel’s
shoulder.
“Bogey and Bacall,” she sighed, “how romantic!” Her hand took his and
placed
it on her bare knee. “They better start soon.”
“Them?” Angel murmured softly, his hand migrating. “Or me?”
She moved her head to the seat, one hand moving up into his hair. “They
better start the movie so you can start taking care of this itch.” Her
free
hand moved to her neck. Having him feed from her was perhaps the most
intimate thing they did. The sex was amazing and combining the feeding
with
sex was mind numbing. But the amount of trust displayed in the feedings
was
beyond words.
It was then that the house lights dimmed and the screen lit up.
“Angel,” she
said with a bit of anticipation, “now would be fabulous.”
He chuckled. “Grace…we should at least wait until we’re sure all the
people who are coming to the movie are in their seats.” He smiled
faintly.
“Last thing we want is an accusation of a vampire attack.” He kissed
her
palm. “Which also means you have to make an attempt at being *quiet*
this
time.”
“I highly doubt that anyone else is going to be sitting this high up in
the
balcony.” Her hand moved from his hair and down his chest, slowly
unbuttoning his shirt. “And I’ll be very, very quiet. I promise.” She
wasn’t
sure what had gotten into her. All she knew was that she was a bit more
anxious than normal.
“Grace…” He caught her hand, pulling it away from his chest and up to
his
mouth, teasing at the veins in her wrist. “Behave…we’ll get
there…promise.”
She sighed, moving her head back to his shoulder. “I just feel… I
don’t
know. For some reason, I’m getting antsy. Things have been going good
for so
long and I’m starting to worry. I just feel like we can’t waste a
second of
the ‘good times’.”
“Something always goes bad.” Angel replied pragmatically. “But
inevitably we
win and we get the good times back. It’s the fun part of living –– or
un-living as the case may be – forever. We’ll always get another shot
at the
good times.”
Her head moved to rest on the back of the seat. “I’ve seen enough of
both
times in my life to know that you have both. And I’m not the kind to be
predicting the future or anything. But I just have this sense of
urgency.
Haven’t you noticed? It’s not just tonight that I’ve been rushing.
Cordelia
and Gunn’s training has been accelerated dramatically. Duncan and I are
arguing more than normal. Something’s coming, and for the first time in
a
long time, I’m scared. So if I’m clingy or needy, that’s why.”
She hated admitting things like that. She hated voicing weakness. But
if she
couldn’t talk about it with Angel, whom could she talk to. He was
supposed
to be the one she could turn to for anything. And she finally gave
voice to
a week of concern.
He nodded. “I know something’s coming. That’s why Wes is home and not
here.
He’s looking, trying to find out if we have any prophecies are about
due,
Cordelia’s on Vision-Watch and Gunn’s been talking to his friends
downtown. We’re watching, Grace but if we spend all our time worrying
about what comes next, we stop living.”
She sighed. “I know. And I don’t normally worry about it. I normally
like to
meet it head on, deal with it, and get it over with so I can get to
those
‘good times’. And I have no doubt about our success.” She looked over
and
gave him a weak smile. “Never in my life have I loved someone like I
love
you. Never. And I *know* that’s not going to change. But whatever is
coming
is going to focus on us. And living without you is not an option.”
“Grace…” Leaning over, he frowned at her. “Everything ends up
focusing on
us somehow. We’re lightning rods for trouble and I don’t think I like
the
implications of that last sentence of yours. Not at all.”
She locked eyes with him. “We aren’t going to have to worry about it.
It was
a statement. And like you said, we can’t go around living our lives
worrying
about things. All I’m trying to say is that this feels ‘different’ than
all
the other situations. That’s all.” Her arms had crossed on her abdomen
and she was trying to keep the tears out of her voice. She’d upset him.
She hadn’t meant too, but sometimes she said too much.
“Grace…if something ever did happen to me…” Angel caught her chin
in his
hand and forced her to look at him. “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t
*ever*
do anything stupid. No matter where I was I’d know. And I’d blame
myself.
There are no guarantees for me, or you for that matter, but I don’t
want to
even think that you would do something like *that* if something ever
happened to me.”
She’d been fighting them, but at last the dam broke loose and she
actually
cried. What could she say? She’d never considered herself suicidal.
Never.
And it wasn’t that she would ever do it. But this feeling that was
coming
over her was beyond her ability to express. She was scared…
terrified. And
she hadn’t felt that way in a VERY long time.
Reaching out, as best he could in the awkward seats, Angel hugged her.
“We’re survivors, Gracie. We always come through. We may not come
through things unscathed or unchanged but we come through them. Life
isn’t
about guarantees of never getting hurt. The trick is to not mind the
pain.”
She held herself for a few moments before opening up and hugging him.
She
let herself cry for a few more moments, not trusting herself to speak.
His
strength was a balm to her. And she heard and understood what
he was saying. But she couldn’t shake the fear. Finally, she swallowed
the
lump in his throat. “I need you. You know?” Squeezing him, she said,
“Just
for tonight, I need to be clingy, needy. I don’t know what’s going on
with
me. But I do know that I need you.”
“Want to go back to the hotel?” He asked softly. “We don’t need to
stay.
Gunn and Fred can get back without our help.”
She wiped at her eyes and nodded. She was a bit upset with herself for
ruining what had promised to be fun. But her ever-observant lover had
seen right through her… he almost always did. And how she needed to
deal was better done in private. “We probably should. I’m not in the
best
of shape right now.”
“Ok.” Angel said simply. Standing, he reached for her coat, draping it
over
her shoulders and nodding at Gunn who settled back with Fred to enjoy
the
show. Whatever was going on, he would handle it. When it came to Grace,
Angel always did.
She’d never given over to vulnerability. She didn’t like having to have
someone take care of her. Didn’’t mind leaning on Angel, but having him
support he … it was difficult. Still, as he took her home, she let
herself
be held. He spoke to her encouragingly and gave her everything she
needed.
They said nothing as they passed Wesley, but he could tell that
something
wasn’t right. Taking off his glasses, he debated whether or not to
actually
tell them what he’d found. In the end, he decided against it. Nothing
was
going to happen tonight. And they needed to be together… alone.
*-*-*
As Angel closed the door to their suite, Grace fell like a rag doll
onto the
bed. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I really didn’t want this to happen.”
Watching her, he smiled slightly. “What needs to happen will happen. We
can
go see a movie any night, Grace. You and the way you’re feeling
qualifies as
more important than a movie.”
“But you admitted it yourself, at least about the sense of foreboding,
you’re feeling it too. Yet, you were able to go on with tonight. But
not me.
Oh no! I have to worry about it until we can’t even play while watching
the
movie.” She went to take her jacket off, realized she was wearing
nothing
underneath it, paused, and then took it off anyway. Climbing off the
bed,
she grabbed one of Angel’s t-shirts and put it on. “Listen, I really
don’t
want to wallow in any of it. I’m worried; I’m scared. Something isn’t
right,
but we can’t do anything about it at the moment. I’m overreacting and
being
silly. Did I cover it all?”
“You’re not being silly.” He reassured, moving to sit down on the edge
of
the bed. “Acknowledging a fear and admitting worry over it isn’t being
silly. It’s being human and, even though you may hate to admit it, you
are
human.”
She moved back to sit on the bed. Her arms went around his waist and
her
head rested on his shoulder. “You’re right, I hate admitting it. But
this
time, I don’t have a choice. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep
it
from the others… if I’ve been able to do it at all.”
“They know something is wrong. Wesley noticed it first.” Angel rubbed
her
back in a slow, soothing motion. “He actually started looking before I
asked. They’re worried about you but keeping their silence. They don’t
want
to push you.” He offered a half smile. “They’re just as aware of your
hatred
for admitting weakness as I am.”
She smiled. “Good idea. Pointing it out to me may have gotten someone’s
head
bitten off.” She shrugged. “It wouldn’t have been right, but that’s
what
would have happened.” Looking up at him, she was struck by how such
complexities could be contained within such soft features. Oh, when he
was
angry, there wasn’t anything ‘soft’ about him. But right now, the lines
of
his face were comforting and she soaked every bit of it up. “I suppose
there’s nothing we can do about any of this right now, but wait.”
“Waiting works.” He agreed, brushing a fingertip along her cheek.
“Preparing, planning, sparring. We’ll be ready, Grace. We always are.”
She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of that coolness on her cheek.
She
was warm… probably flushed from the emotions of the moment. It was
when
her mind focused on one thing he’d said that she looked at him and
smiled.
“Sparring, huh? And just what kind of sparring do you think we should
be
doing?”
“The kind that involves swords.” He countered with a faint grin. “But
the
kind you’re referring too is more than welcome too.” Amusement hinted
out
from his dark gaze. “In fact, we usually combine the two of them
anyway.”
“I’m not sure how ‘up’ I am for picking up a sword at the moment. Want
to
wrestle instead? We can consider it foreplay. I’ll even put on one of
my
tank tops. I know how you like those.”
Leaning in, Angel nipped playfully at her neck. “How about we just
wrestle
and forget the clothing?” Grace needed a chance to relax, blow off
steam,
and forget about any worries. A little snacking and sex would be just
the
ticket.
In one fluid movement, the shirt she just put on was slipped off and
dropped
to the floor. Her skirt quickly followed and since she’d not worn
underwear,
she was now completely without clothing. Moving up to the head of the
bed,
she relaxed comfortably and smiled. “Clothing? What clothing? You know
how I
loathe clothing.”
He shook his head. “You, Grace Victoria Hammond, are the most unusual
woman
I’ve ever known.” He grinned.”I think I like that.” Shedding his own
clothing, he
moved up to smirk down at her. “Now…I was promised a snack I
believe…”
She moved her hands into his hair and brought him in for a deep kiss.
“You
think you like?” She laughed lightly. “To be in for the very long haul,
you
better do more than ‘think’?” She thought for a moment. “And a snack.
Yes, I
do believe you were supposed to have something warm, potent, and very
arousing.”
“Mmm… my personal favorite.” He agreed, his mouth wandering from hers
and
roaming down the skin of her neck, waiting until he’d reached his
favorite
spot before teasing at it with his fangs. “Definitely my personal
favorite.”
Her arms wrapped around his chest and she held him tightly to her. “My
favorite too.” She felt the teasing of his fangs and inhaled deeply and
held
her breath, anticipating the delicious bite. Her body was all but
crying for
it.
Angel murmured something that was unintelligible as his tongue slipped
out
to lightly taste the salty skin, teasing himself as much as her. This
was an
act that was, at least this time, to be taken slowly. The anticipation
drawn
out and savored. Just as she was one to be savored and treasured.
Heavenly.
Her hands ran up and down his body, enjoying the feel of his skin. She
was
eagerly anticipating the feeding. To her, it was simply the most
intimate
act they performed. It was something she relished in and looked forward
to.
The vampire’s hands slid down her body and around to her back.
Supporting
her form, he guided her upwards slightly and then sank his fangs into
that soft
spot. The fresh, delectable taste of her blood flooded into him and
Angel
growled in reply. Heavenly indeed. Absolutely heavenly.
She hissed, but not from pain. Her level of arousal was rarely as
heightened
as it was when he was feeding. She could feel her life’s essence being
sucked from her. She could feel the muscles of his throat taking that
essence inside of him and making it his own. It never failed to send a
thrill through her
body, starting at her neck and ending with her womanhood. Erotic was
too
mild a word for it.
As he pressed her body down into the mattress, Angel moved his hands to
prop
himself up, his body reflexively thrusting against hers even though
they’d
yet to join. The intensity of her arousal was carried over to him in
her
blood and his body fairly sang with the echo of her reaction. The
uniqueness
of the feeding reverberated between them both, amplifying the passion
but
still he held off, waiting before he took her in that other
oh-so-intimate
way. That would be saved for when she returned to him. That was an act,
a
union that deserved it’s own moment that night.
She blinked slowly, feeling the life drain from her. He didn’t always
feed
to this end, but for her it was the epitome of trust. For the time it
took
her to return, she was completely vulnerable; he was her only
protection. As
the world faded to black and the pleasure intensified before she lost
all
feeling, she managed a smile. She didn’t mind this level vulnerability.
Angel was her life, and giving of herself to this level was a
true measure of her love for him.
She was never sure how long she stayed dead, but reviving in Angel’s
arms
always brought a smile to her face. “Honey, I’m home,” she whispered,
coughing slightly.
He brushed a hair away from her face and smiled. “Welcome back,
beautiful.”
Her hand caressed his forehead. “Thank you. Snacking… well… it’s
just
‘wow’.” She was still a bit weak, being drained of blood tended to take
a
bit longer to recover. But she didn’t care. He could kill her every
night,
and she’d happily let him.
Angel grinned. “Just wow huh? I’m honored to leave you speechless.”
Leaning
down, he nipped at her earlobe. “It’s damn near impossible most of the
time.”
“Oh har har!” She chuckled and lightly swatted his rear end. “You
should be
thankful. I’m not exactly speechless, just worn out. Gimme a few
minutes and
I’ll chatter up a storm.” She took his head in her hands and gazed
deeply
into his eyes. One thumb tracing his forehead, she softly said, “I’m
not as
speechless as I led on, you know.”
He caught the thumb, bringing it to his lips. “Give me a few minutes
and I
promise you will be.” He told her softly, his eyes promising.
“Oooo, Angel, I love how you think. Make me speechless.” As she lifted
to
kiss him, she let the rest of her worries and concerns drift away. For
this
moment in time, she needed to believe that the world consisted of only
the
two of them. That outside that door there was a void… nothingness.
She was
cocooned and sheltered. For right now, it was
necessary.
“Yes ma’am.” He mumbled against her mouth, pouring himself into the
kiss,
his body moving against hers slowly. He was in no hurry to escalate the
lovemaking. This was all about Grace. All for her. His satisfaction
came
from hers.
Normally, Grace would have pressed the coupling or taken control of the
situation. She was a woman who needed control. But tonight, she was
going to
let Angel be the aggressor. They would go as slow or as quick as he
wanted.
Her hands roamed his body in a delicious pattern. This body, that she
had
touched so many times, never failed to bring about a deep reaction from
her.
She loved his skin… it was as smooth as it was cool. Perfect.
Sliding his hands along hers, Angel twined their fingers together,
pressing
them down into the bed as he nudged her legs open. Everything was done
at a
leisurely pace. This was meant to be a comforting, reassuring union and
he
was going to make sure it played out that way. This was about love,
passion
came second.
She opened up to him readily, her eyes locking with his as her long
legs
wrapped around his waist. She let her eyes speak for her. All the love
she
felt for him shone through and she squeezed his hands in response to
the
emotions. This was unique for them. It touched her in a way that few
things
ever had.
Angel pushed into her gradually, kissing the tip of her nose when he
was
sheathed all the way. He took a moment, letting the feelings wash over
him,
the security he felt in her body washed over him and knew the same
moved
through her. Then, when he was sure they were both ready, he began – in
a
soft, rocking motion – to move.
She had been right; the intensity of this coupling was actually going
to
make her cry. She felt him inside of her and felt everything wash
through
her. Her eyes never left his and she listened with a heart full of love
as
he spoke softly to her. She felt loved, cherished, desired. It was
extraordinary.
Loving her in a slow manner was almost, in its way, more explosive than
the
hard and fast. In this way, the build to the final release was gradual
and
every aspect of it was experienced to the full. Nothing was missed. And
when
they reached it, it seemed to last longer, fulfilling more.
She felt herself coming down from the high very slowly. She couldn’t
resist
touching his face and then hugging him tightly to her. “I love you, so
much,” she admitted, trying not to let the tears of emotion overwhelm
her.
“I love you too.” He replied quietly, brushing a kiss across both of
her
eyelids. “Completely and totally.”
*-*-*
Grace wasn’t too sure she was going to like the reason why Wesley had
called
this meeting. Everyone really
did seem a bit on edge… even Duncan. And the Highlander hadn’t dealt
much
with the ‘business’ end of Angel Investigations. He’d been here to help
train Cordelia and Gunn. But Wesley had wanted him here too, and that
made
Grace nervous. Her happy bubble from last night was about to burst and
there
wasn’t anything she could do to stop it.
Clearing his throat, the former Watcher leaned forward, clasping his
hands
on the desk. “I don’t have it entirely translated yet…” He warned.
“And
what I do have is quite vague.”
Duncan noticed the look on Grace’s face. Her worry was spilling over
into
her ability to control her temper. With a calm voice, he said, “Perhaps
you
should just tell us what you do have and work from there. I think
having
vague now is better than making everyone wait until you are certain.”
“I suppose so.” The Englishman allowed. “But Grace, you mustn’t
overreact.
That could be the worst possible action in this situation.”
“Wesley…” Angel interjected with a frown.
“Yes, yes…” He agreed, nodding. “Something is coming indeed. *What* I
am
not sure, as of yet, the translation may reveal more as I work on it.”
A
sigh escaped him. “It makes reference to a great threat.”
Grace waited several seconds for him to elaborate. She even looked at
each
and every face in the group. Gunn, Fred, Cordelia… none of them would
look
at her. Duncan’s look was of concern, while Angel’s seemed to be
rather
knowing. Finally, she spoke up. Her voice was barely contained
frustration.
“Dammit, Wesley. What I’m going to overreact to is you not being
forthcoming.
What the fuck do you know?”
He flinched. “At this point? Not that bloody much!” He shot back in
frustration. “I’ve been at this all night and it’s not an easy
language.”
Weariness etched itself into every feature. “All I can say thus far is
a
great test is coming. One that may tear you and Angel apart if you
don’t
tread lightly.”
She didn’t say anything in response, merely sat back in her seat and
pulled
her knees up to her chest. “Listen, I’m sorry I lost my cool. I just
need to
face this issue head on.” She had heard what he said about the fact
that she
and Angel could be torn apart. It was like a knife being slowly driven
into
her heart. “Is there anything we can do to help you with the
translations?
Duncan and I both have a background in linguistics. Is there anything
we can
do to help?”
“Not unless your linguistics training happens to have taken a little
foray
into demonic languages.” Wesley joked tiredly.
She sighed deeply. “No. It hasn’t.” She looked at Duncan. Her gaze
almost
hopeless. Methos would probably know the languages, but he’d never get
here
in time to help them. “Anything else we can do?” she asked, trying to
hold
down her fear and contain her shaking. Losing Angel was not a
possibility,
so she really needed a direction to go to.
“Stop thinking the worst.” He instructed briskly. “As I said, I haven’t
translated the entirety of it yet. There may be less to this than we
seem.”
“And keep in mind we’ve taken down the big bads before.” Cordy pointed
out.
“This isn’t any different.”
Duncan gave Cordelia’s shoulder a squeeze. Her affection for her
teacher and
her friend was more than evident. To Grace, he said, “If you need
direction,
how about we focus on stepping up training… for all of us. Even if
this
prophecy turns out to be less than what Wesley says it may be, extra
training for all of us couldn’t hurt.” He didn’t want her to start
thinking
that they were ganging up on her, which she had a tendency to do.
She looked around at everyone… her friends… her family. Duncan was
right. He knew she needed to do something, and although this was
something
just to divert her, she could definitely expend energy. Angel was being
his
usual quiet self, and she’d yet to make herself look at him. He was her
weakness, everyone knew it, and she was not going to break down now.
“Training,” she said softly, “I suppose that works better than just
sitting
around here doing nothing.”
“Good.” Angel agreed. “We’ll up the regimes, try some new moves. Gunn,
keep
checking with your friends, see what they come up with and somebody pay
a
visit to Lorne.”
“Not Duncan!” Cordy put in quickly. “We’ll stay here and train and
stuff.”
Grace furrowed her brows, not exactly sure why Cordelia would so
vehemently
not want Duncan going to Lorne’s. “I’ll go. I’m perhaps the only one
who’s
singing ability won’t hurt his ears.” Besides, it gave her more meaning
to
be the one to go and see him.
“I’ll go with you.” Angel put in softly. “I think we should both be
there.”
Fred spoke up softly. “Um… are you going to sing too?”
Grace smiled lightly at the girl. A bit of humor now was very welcome.
“Background. We won’t go into our rendition of ‘I Got You, Babe.’ I
promise.” She put her hand on Angel’s knee and squeezed. Physical
contact
right now was good too.
For Duncan’s part, he gave Cordelia a look of mock horror. “And just
why are
you so insistent that I not go?” he asked with a smile.
She offered her best look of innocence. “Well, you don’t know as much
about
the whole thing and you can get much more done here with the training
and
all.”
Grace forgot the intensity of the moment and snorted. “That and you
can’t
sing. You have to sing and then Lorne reads your future.”
Duncan stammered and then laughed. “I canna sing. But I can dance.”
“Unfortunately, he doesn’t do dancing.” Cordy said sweetly.
“More like fortunately.” Gunn shuddered. “Can you imagine? Angel up
there
doin’ a jig or somethin’?”
The vampire sent an offended look at the young Immortal. “Don’t even
suggest
it.”
Grace smiled. “He can slow dance. You know, the nice kind. The kind of
dancing that was deemed *highly* inappropriate when I was growing up.”
“That’s not slow dancing!” Cordy protested indignantly. “That’s…
stylized.” She finally said with as much diplomacy as possible. “Slow
dancing is a lot more fun than that.”
Duncan shook his head. It was good that the conversation had turned to
a
‘lighter’ topic. It was going to be too easy to get bogged down in the
‘darker’ aspect of all this. “Listen, I’ll have you know that I can
incorporate any style of dancing. I even managed to study ballet. It’s
great
for the coordination.”
“Did you wear the tutu?” Grace asked.
“Gracie,” Duncan shook a finger at her, “be nice.”
“He has the legs for it.” Cordy agreed, making a break for freedom
before he
could retaliate.
Duncan said a quick ‘be careful’ to Grace and Angel before taking off
after
Cordelia.
Grace watched them go and then her gaze rested on her love. Wesley’s
words
of warning filtered through to her and she could do little else but
stare at him.
Her words of last night came back into play. Life wouldn’t be worth
living
without him. And now they were perhaps going to face the threat that
would tear them apart.
He took her hand and softly said. “Just because it *may* tear us apart,
doesn’t mean it will. Cordy’s right, we’ve taken down the ‘big bads’
before.
This is nothing new, Gracie.”
She nodded. “Stop reading my mind.” Standing, she crossed the room to
Wesley
and hugged him. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.” Pulling away, she
continued,
“We’re going to go see Lorne. If there’s anything else you need us to
do,
let us know. Ok.”
“I’ll call the cell.” He agreed quietly. “Be careful. The rest of the
world
doesn’t stop because of a few prophecies. You’ve more than enough
‘ordinary’
enemies out there, don’t forget them.”
“Gotcha,” Grace said, giving his hand a squeeze. She’d been hard on him
and
he hadn’t deserved it. When she let him go, she turned to Angel and
fixed her
shirt. Her blue jeans were fit to her form snugly. “You ready?” she
asked.
He pushed to his feet and handed her coat to her. “As ready as I’ll
ever
be.”
“Be careful,” Gunn repeated Wesley’s admonition. There was no such
thing, in
his eyes, as being too careful about watching your back.
Grace tucked her tachi inside her coat. “We will. Home together and in
one
piece.” She gave Gunn and Fred a smile and headed for the door. She was
determined not to get bogged down in this. Prophecies could be
interpreted
in many different ways. Wesley could very well find something that
would
change the entire prophecy. There was always hope.
————–
“Well, well, well,” The Host proclaimed with his usual extravagance
when
Angel and Grace walked into Caritas. “What brings my two favorite…
good gods you two!” He held up a restraining hand. “Turn down the
end of the world vibes. You’ll scare the customers!”
Grace turned white and swayed slightly. “Don’t tell me that, ok.” She
had to
fight back the tears. “Please don’t tell me that.”
“Oh peaches,” the demon shook his head, “I don’t mean vibes as in the
ones
coming from *them*,” he flicked an extravagant gesture ceiling ward. “I
mean
*you*. To hear your feelings, I’d expect the Four Horsemen to ride by
the
door.”
She wiped her cheeks and managed a nervous laugh. “Oh *those* vibes.
Sorry.
As you noticed, I’ve been rather tense lately. I… we were hoping that
you
could tell us what *they* are thinking.”
“*They* are thinking you need Prozac, good sex, and a nice long
vacation
somewhere sunny.” An aggrieved sigh from Angel quickly had him amending
that statement. “And good cover for the pale and broody champion.”
“Lorne, we tried the ‘good sex’… and Prozac won’t work with me long
enough
to do any long term good. What we need is to know that Wesley’s initial
interpretation of the prophecy is wrong. Apparently, there’s a VERY big
baddie who is going to tear us apart.”
“Noo…as I recall that thing it said ‘‘*might*’’.” The demon shook a
finger
at her. “And ‘‘might’s’’ a far cry from ‘‘will’’ or ‘‘is’’. I mean,
let’s
say I go to the bar, Rico, he *might* ruin the Sea Breeze I order.
Might.
Doesn’t mean he’s going to.” He looked at Angel. “Your wonderfully
cheerful
demeanor seems to be catchy.”
The vampire had the grace to look guilty. “Sorry… I’ve tried to shake
her
out of it.”
“But, like always, the dramatics just won’t go away.” Lorne frowned
sternly
at her. “You really need to cut back on the caffeine Gracie. You’re
starting
to crack about the edges.”
She sighed. “I’m rather frayed.” Instinctively, she reached for Angel’s
hand. “I’ve been feeling rather ‘off’ for some time now, and Wesley’s
revelation didn’t help. I’m trying. Giving it the best effort that I
can.
But I’m scared, Lorne, and I never get scared.”
He pulled her close while the Host sat back. “I know that was actually
kind
of disturbing. The whole you never getting scared thing. Very
disturbing
actually.”
“Why’s that?” She shrugged. “I haven’t had anything to care about in a
very
long time. And the time I did, he was fairly secure. You have to care
about
something before you get scared of losing it.”
“Honestly?” Lorne paused then added. “Fear is a part of normal life, in
many
levels. Doesn’t have to be paralyzing fear but little things. I almost
*never* sense it from you.” He lifted a corner of his mouth in a
lopsided
smile. “Human beings experience the full range of emotion… you don’t
let
yourself, cookie. It’s kind of a worry.”
She shrugged. “I’ve been this way for centuries, Lorne. Far more
centuries
that most have been around. I’ll worry about why I don’t feel fear
*after* I
get through this. Right now, I need to deal with what I’m fearing,
instead
of why I don’t. Is there anything you can tell us about the prophecy
Wesley
is translating?”
He sighed heavily and then sat back, considering it. “Rebirth.” He said
finally. “Birth itself isn’t an easy process, it’s a battle, a fight
for
existence, but the end result is worth any pain and heartache that are
endured. You’ll come through this, Gracie. Better than before.”
She looked at Angel. Reaching out, she gently touched his arm. “We’ll
come
through. But getting through…” Looking back at Lorne, she said,
“Thank
you. You can’t know how much that helps.”
He smiled. “Sure I do.” He tapped his head. “Radar remember?”
Angel snorted lightly. “Radar huh? Not what I would have called it.”
Grace smiled. “Be nice.” She stood and hugged Lorne tightly. She
couldn’t
figure out why she was feeling the need to express herself like this,
but
she was. “Thank you. Very much.”
He returned the hug then passed her back to Angel. “You two are more
than
welcome.” He grinned. “After all, prime customers – and champions – are
hard
to come by these days.”
“We’re so glad you care.” The vampire countered dryly.
Taking Angel’s hand, she pulled on it gently. “C’mon. We should get
home and
tell Wes what we found out.”
He nodded. “We should.” He turned to lead her out then glanced back at
the
Host. “Thanks.”
“No problem, man. Call again when I’m not so busy.”
Angel flicked a gaze about the quiet club. “Busy? You’re closed.”
“Details, details.” Lorne waved a dismissive hand. “Now go home and
tell
Wesley he can relax…as much as he can.”
Once outside, Grace wrapped her arm around Angel’s and put her head on
his
shoulder. “Not good news, but there’s hope. And you know, I think Lorne
had
a guest.”
“LORNE?!” Angel’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “A *GUEST*?!”
“Yes, a guest.” She lifted up to kiss his cheek before returning her
head to
his shoulder. “Demons have sex too, and Lorne is a fine dresser and can
sing
and owns his own business. And who knows, he might be considered ‘sexy’
to
other demons… male, female, or otherwise.”
Her own lover shuddered slightly. “Let’s not even think about that.
It’s
*The Host*.” He shook his head. “I can imagine Cordy’s reaction now.”
Grace smiled. “It would be something along the lines of ‘Ew’. So I
don’t
think we’ll tell her.” She stopped their progress and moved to stand in
front of him. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she gazed up into
his
eyes. “But we’re going to tell them about the hope. We all know it’s
there,
but to have it verified from the all-knowing Lorne, it gives it
validity.”
She pressed into his space and hugged him tightly. “It’s not going to
be
easy, but we’re going to make it through.”
He held her, kissing the top of her head. “I know we are. I always knew
we’d
make it through but the confirmation is welcome.” He offered a relieved
look. “Believe me, it’s welcome.”
She nodded and smiled up at him. “It is. And we should probably get
home and
let the others know as well. Any good news right now is hoped for and
necessary.”
Angel laughed and nodded. “It is. They’ll want to hear this.” He
brought his
mouth to hers. “They need to hear it as much as we did.”
*-*-*
With a precision that was becoming instinctive, Grace moved into the
vamp
and neatly removed his head. As it turned to dust, another one was on
her.
Gunn’s informants had told him about the nest of vampires and they had
all
agreed that being proactive in this situation was the best solution.
So,
they were now in the midst of fighting an innumerable amount of
vampires.
Grace had lost all track of everyone, including Angel. It wasn’t
normal, but
then the sheer number of vampires wasn’t normal either.
She dusted another one but missed seeing the knife that flew through
the air
and pierced her heart. She cried out, but wasn’t sure if anyone heard.
The
world, for what it was, was now black.
The dust had barely settled before Angel was looking around, worry on
his
face. “Where’s Grace?”
Gunn looked at him in confusion. “What do you mean? She’s right…” He
turned, starting to point then frowned. “She was right there…”
“She’s gone.” Cordelia realized quietly. “Oh God….”
Fred ran up beside Cordelia. “Gone? She can’t be gone. Maybe she ran
after a
vamp who was trying to escape.” In a state of distress, she called,
“Grace!”
Wesley moved about the room silently, looking for a clue… anything.
“Damn,” he said. Catching Angel’s gaze, he said, “Blood.”
“Grace’s.” He affirmed with a nod, stalking from the room in pursuit of
his
missing love.
“No Quickening though,” Gunn pointed out. “And we would have sensed
another
Immortal about…”
“So that’s ruled out.” Cordelia agreed. “And the Hunters don’t exist
anymore…”
“So it’s not them.” Her fellow Immortal nodded.
Wesley shook his head ruefully. “No, it’s not another Immortal.” He
straightened his glasses. “I couldn’t have been wrong about this, I
suppose.” That said, he followed the vampire in his pursuit.
Fred, still confused, said, “Wrong? Wrong about what? You don’t think
he’s
talking about the prophecy, do you?”
“Yeah, he’s talking about the prophecy.” Gunn sighed out in agreement.
“And
he’s probably right. The timing…”
“Too close to be coincidental.” Cordelia affirmed then hurried after
her
friends.
Wesley found Angel out in the parking lot. To say he looked pissed was
an
understatement. “It’s the prophecy,” he said. “We have to get back to
the
hotel, Angel. We can’t follow them now.”
“I know.” The vampire replied darkly. “But I plan on making a quick
stop
first…”
It was then that the others joined them.
“Where are you going?” the former watcher questioned, unsure of what
the
vampire was going to do. When those he loved were threatened, the level
of
darkness that could arise in Angel was terrifying, even to those who
were
his friends. Wesley was anxious to say the least.
“I’m going to check on our *friends* over at Wolfram & Hart.” Angel
replied
without looking at him. “They’ve shown plenty of interest in Grace
before,
maybe they finally made a move. If not…” He finally turned his gaze
on
Wesley. “They may know who did.”
The younger man nodded in agreement. “They may at that. I’ll send Gunn
and
Cordelia over to talk to our demonic contacts. Fred and I will double
our
efforts on the prophecy.” He paused for a long moment, his words more
of an
impact because he spoke them softly. “We’re going to find her, Angel.”
“We’d better.” The vampire responded. “Or there’ll be hell to pay for
whoever doesn’t.”
“We will,” Fred reiterated. “Remember what Lorne said. We’ll find her.”
“Right,” Wesley said, clapping his hands together. “Well, let’s get
moving
then. We aren’t finding anyone or anything by standing here and
talking.”
The others dispersed, but he hung back, waiting for Angel. “Come on.
She’s
tough. You know it, and I know it. She’s going to pull through it.”
“I know she is.” He agreed. “The Host said as much. Doesn’t mean I have
to
like it.”
“Nope, doesn’t mean that at all. But I warn you, if the prophecy is
correct,
she’ll need you. Don’t let the darkness overcome you.” That said, he
turned
and headed back toward the car. They all had work to do.
*-*-*
Engaged in a heated argument on her cell phone, Lilah Morgan didn’t
notice
something was amiss about her office until it was too late. Slamming
the
door in a fit of temper, she froze into a shocked silence when hollow
applause sounded from behind her. She flipped the phone shut as she
turned
slowly to find Angel sitting in her chair, his eyes glittering in the
darkness.
“What are you doing here?” She demanded, lifting her chin in defiance
and
glaring at him with superior eyes.
“You have to ask?”
His low-pitched words sent a shiver of fear along her spine but
outwardly
Lilah gave no sign of it. “Oh, right,” she scoffed lightly. “Grace. She
disappeared, didn’t she?” She tossed a caustically amused look at the
vampire. “What’d she finally trade up to a better lover? Someone of the
living and breathing variety?”
“You know damn well what happened to her.” Angel accused in a dangerous
tone
of voice. “Now, where is she?”
“Beats the hell out of me.” The attorney said blithely, pouring herself
a
drink only to have it knocked from her hand a moment later when the
vampire
appeared at her side, his hand grasping her wrist. “Let go of me…”
“No, I think I’ll take the first option.” He disagreed. “Beating the
hell
out of you sounds like something I could really get into at the moment.
I’m
having a few anger management issues, I’m sure you can imagine. I kinda
lose
my temper when you people mess with my family.”
“Family?” Lilah snorted derisively. “You call that ragtag brood of
yours a
*family*? Oh, I’m pretty sure Disney’ll be by any day with the TV
series
offer. Let me know, I’ll negotiate the deal for you.” She barely
suppressed
a yelp of fear when Angel suddenly spun her, slamming her back against
the
bookshelf, the edges of it digging into her back through her suit.
“You must really find it hard, working with such a hearing deficiency.”
He
hissed out, his face fully vamped out. “WHERE IS GRACE?!!!” She
stubbornly
remained silent and he grasped her chin in his hand, turning her head
to
give him access to her neck. “I haven’t eaten yet tonight,” He warned.
“And
I’m feeling very peck-ish so, unless you’re in the mood to be my next
meal,
I suggest you tell me where the hell she is.”
“I don’t know.” She answered finally. When he pressed closer she
insisted,
“I DON’T! But I do know who…”
“Then I would advise you talk fast.” Angel warned. “I’m losing
patience.”
“His name is Voltimer. He has a taste for Immortal blood…Grace was
the
perfect fit for him.” She confessed.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.” Lilah shook her head. “We don’t know where he is. We
haven’t
been able to find him and not because we haven’t tried…”
She fell silent again as Angel held her gaze, glaring at her with an
intensity that told her he was judging her level of truth.
Without warning, he growled and threw her to the floor, stalking out
the
door. She sat there a moment, rubbing her throat and looking after him.
It
seemed Voltimer had finally made his move and, judging by Angel’s
reaction,
they had little to go on.
Secure in that knowledge, she smiled.
*-*-*
“Fred, have you made any progress on that translation program yet?”
Wesley
asked distractedly. “If we had that at our disposal, I should expect
this
would go much faster.” He sighed even as he spoke. This was driving him
round the bend it seemed.
Running her fingers through her hair, she sighed heavily. “I’ve got the
jest
of it, but there are a few key words that are driving me insane.” She
let
her head fall to the table before lifting it up and rubbing her
forehead.
“It could mean the difference between life and death, you know?”
“I know.” He agreed ruefully. “Believe me, I’ve made a few of those
mistakes
before but we must hurry. Angel isn’t likely to be patient about this.
Assurances from the Host aside, he’s not dealing well with the
situation. He
never does.”
Fred nodded. “He hasn’t had a lot of good things happen in his life.
Grace
is the one he can depend on. And they are very close. He has to feel
like an
appendage is missing.” She looked back down at her paper. “Missing…
missing… Wesley, that’s IT!!!!” She scribbled a few more notes and
handed
the paper to him. “What do you think?”
He looked it over. “It’s bloody brilliant, Fred! Excellent work!”
Taking the
paper, he lifted it up to read. “In battle, one will be lost to suffer
great
trials. Her comrades will be her salvation, and the risen phoenix will
give
her champion new life, new strength. A new beginning.”
She smiled, rather proud of herself. “It’s affirmation of what the Host
said. And we can work on it. I couldn’t figure out ‘lost’. But I had
‘miss’,
so it was an easy deduction.” She sat back down. “Now what do we do
with
it?”
“Show it to the others.” Wesley replied as a matter of fact. “And get
ready
to go on the hunt, so to speak, for our lost phoenix.”
She nodded. Gunn and Cordelia had returned hours ago. They still hadn’t
heard from Angel. Before leaving the room, she said, “Wesley, what
about
these ‘trials’? I know Grace is supposed to be tough, but everyone has
a
limit. She may survive physically, but what about emotionally? The
prophecy
only guarantees that Angel will be stronger.”
“It refers to Grace as a ‘risen phoenix’…” He pointed out. “That
means
survival of more than just her body…and we do have the Host’s
guarantee.
Straight from the Powers themselves… that counts for, as they say,
something.”
“Right,” she said. “It’s just that I know something of what it’s like
to be
in a strange place… tortured. Sometimes it’s hard coming back.” That
said,
she went to find the others to show them the prophecy.
*-*-*
The door closed behind Angel with a slam as he strode into the hotel.
“We
have a name for our guy. What do you know?” He demanded without
preamble.
Fred tentatively handed him the paper she had shown the others. “It’s
good
news. We translated the prophecy.”
He stared down at it, eyes fixed on the paper as if he could bore a
hole
through it with the intensity of his look. “Good.” He replied finally,
looking up. “He’s a vampire – Voltimer – and as far as I’m concerned,
his
nights are very, *very* numbered.”
Wesley sat on the side of his desk; the one that Grace had leaned on
more
times than he could count. With a sigh, he said, “You have a name.
Which is
good. Did they say where he lived? Was there any more information than
just
his name?”
“Not much.” Angel confessed with a heavy sigh. “Wolfram & Hart either
have
this guy in their employ, or they genuinely have no information on him.
Gunn…you get the job of finding out which one it is. Keep an eye on
Lilah.
See where she goes, whom she talks to. Everything this woman does, I
want
you to know about it. Anything relevant, you bring back here.”
“Got it.” He looked over at Fred. “You wanna come along?” He smiled.
“Bring
your laptop and you can hack
into their computers.”
She returned the smile. “There isn’t a security system that I can’t
crack,
Charles.” She grabbed her laptop and a cell phone and slid them into a
backpack. “Let’s go.” To Angel, she said, “If there’s anything to be
found
there, we’ll find it.”
Wesley watched them go and then turned his attention back to Angel.
“Not to
impede upon your search, but I think Duncan could be a great asset to
you in
this.” He paused a beat. “This Voltimer, he’s going to expect you to
come
hunting. But not Duncan… and he can sense Grace before you can… at
least
physically. And if push comes to shove, someone of his talent and
ability
can help immensely. He’s not considered the Immortal champion for
nothing.”
Grace had been filling Wesley in on tidbits about Duncan here and
there. And
though the Highlander had stayed clear of the vampire hunting part of
the
business, he participated far more than Grace in the Immortal part. And
there was a darn good reason for it. His peace said, he slipped his
glasses
on and started to gather books. “I think I’ll have Cordelia help me
search
for Voltimer’s name in the chronicles. Maybe we can learn something
that way
as well.”
“I’ll go talk to Duncan.” Angel decided after a moment’s consideration.
“Where is he?”
Wesley shrugged but didn’t say anymore, merely moved behind his desk.
He did
look up when Cordelia entered the room. He motioned toward the books.
There
was a lot of research to be done, and every minute they wasted kept
Grace
longer in the hands of Angel’s enemy.
“Cordy…where’s Duncan?”
The young Immortal looked over toward him as Wesley dumped a pile of
books
into her arms. The rigorous training she’d endured showed in that she
barely
even noticed. “He’s upstairs. Getting dressed.”
Angel shook his head at her. “Tension?”
“Gotta work it off somehow.” She agreed.
“Yeah.” He replied absently, wandering out of the room.
“We’d better find Grace fast.” Cordelia noted to the man adding even
more
books to her arms. “Or he’s gonna go nutty.”
*-*-*
the
room Cordelia and Duncan used when they stayed at the hotel.
Duncan didn’t flinch or even hurry to finish dressing. He calmly
buttoned
his shirt. He didn’t ask the vampire how he was doing. He’d known Grace
for
centuries and was worried out of him mind as well. Grace was Angel’s
soul
mate, the man had to be going insane. “What do you need me to do?” he
asked,
his chieftain mode kicking in full.
“We’re going looking for the *thing* that took Grace.” The vampire
said
bluntly. “And then I’m going to kill him.”
Duncan nodded and grabbed his jacket and katana. “And my Quickening
will
help you find her.” He pulled his hair from his collar and said, “Let’s
go.”
Without replying, Angel turned and left the room with his Immortal
friend in
tow.
*-*-*
Grace had no idea how long she’d been kept in the locked room. There
were no
windows, and she barely had room to move. The door… well, she’d tried
everything she could think of to get it open. The room was barely
bigger
than a closet, and she was only able to see once her eyes got adjusted
to
the dark. The other thing she noticed was the smell. Decay…death. Who
had
her? How long had she been here? It was her fear come to life. She’d
known
that she was the target… and would rather it be her than the others.
But
she didn’t like the feel of being here… not one bit.
He watched, silently, invisibly, his observation made possible by a
small
camera implanted in a wall. She prowled her prison like a caged animal
and
he smiled predatorily in response. She was not the predator here. She
was
the prey. But she had yet to realize that. Yet to give in. She was his
now.
His to do with as he willed. And she could do nothing to stop it.
She gave the door another hard kick, cursing as she had very little
room to
maneuver. She walked the perimeter again, and this time, she looked up.
It
was then that she found the hole. A camera. “You son of a bitch,” she
hissed, hoping he could hear her. “What are you, a fucking coward? Have
to
hide behind a camera? Afraid to face me?” She moved back, making sure
he
could see all of her. “Get down here and I’ll rip your head off with my
fucking hands.”
He watched, amused, as she threatened him. Let her rant. There was
nothing
she could do to him and they both knew it. She was his prisoner. And,
in
time, she would understand that. He would see to it. She would
understand
many things before their time ended.
She waited, very impatiently. Finally, she smiled. “You think you have
it
all figured out, don’t you? Well, I know something you don’t.” She was
hoping, praying, that when they came to look for her they would use
Duncan.
“And since you are such a fucking coward, you can sit there and be
smug. But
you have much, much more than Angel to worry about. Much more than you
can
even imagine. Because I’m not alone. And it’s not just he and I against
the
world.” Oh no! There was Jasa too. “So go ahead… break me if you can.
But
either way, you’ll be dust before it’s fucking over.”
He chuckled, reaching forward to turn off the monitor. She was
spirited. He
liked spirited.
Spirited tasted good.
*-*-*
Fred moved easily through the first line of security. “Charles?” she
asked
tentatively. “How does Angel do it? I can’t even imagine how he holds
up. I
mean, I know we’ll find Grace and everything will be ok, but he has to
be
going crazy inside. She’s everything to him. I don’t know where he
finds the
strength.” She looked up at him and sighed. If anything happened to
him,
she’d really freak out.
Reaching out to reflexively stroke his hand through her hair, Gunn
glanced
from the building before them to the woman at his side. “It’s G. The
connection between them ain’t anything normal, he’s drawin’ strength
from it
I think. The drive to find her is eclipsing everything else. Wouldn’t
surprise me if he’s forgotten t’feed and hasn’t even noticed.”
She turned to look at him and although there were no tears, her eyes
were
glazed. “You’re right, they aren’t normal. I just can’t help but think
how
broken the ‘phoenix’ is going to be before it can rise again. And how
he
must be feeling right now. Lost… desperate… alone.” By the time she
was
done talking, she was crying. Angel had been her savior, and she hated
the
thought of him suffering.
“Gracie’s tough, don’t forget that. The lady’s survived a few different
kinds of hell more than once. She may bend but she’s too damn tough to
break.”
Fred wiped at her eyes. “You’re right.” She looked down at her computer
screen and sighed. “It’s just that you never know. Prophecies aside.
One day
you can be happy and together, and the next, you’re separated and
praying
you find your soul mate before it’s too late.” She typed in a command
on her
keyboard and softly said, “I love you, Charles.” They were a vocal
couple
anyway, and right at this moment, she needed to say it. This situation
hit
entirely too close to home for her.
“Love you too, beautiful.” He murmured quietly, leaning over to kiss
her
temple. “It’s the way life is, though, y’know? No guarantees. For
mortals,
vampires, and Immortals alike. We take what we get and we’re blessed
for
it.”
She nodded. There was that mortal/immortal thing between them, but she
chose
to ignore that most of the time. She had turned to gaze into his eyes,
loving him more every second. She barely noticed the beeping until she
looked back at her computer. “Charles, I’m in. Look!”
“You go *Girl*!” He enthused, hugging her swiftly. “What’ve you got?”
She smiled. “Seems Voltimer is one of their boyz. At least in the sense
that
they’ve given him the information that he needed to get Grace. There’s
also
a memo here that says Lilah talked to him personally and told him not
to
kill Angel. Seems not even she wants to tempt TPTB. But Grace’s
kidnapping
was a coordinated event.”
“Son of a bitch…” He cursed softly. “Angel’s gonna have a big
ol’freak out
over this one. If she comes through it with her neck still in one
piece,
it’s gonna be a damn stroke of luck on Ms. Morgan’s part. He’s gonna
carve
her up like…” He cut off his words and shook his head. “As if we
didn’t
have enough reason to hate these guys.”
She bit her bottom lip. Softly, she said, “You really aren’t going to
like
this then. Lilah sent a report to Gavin about two weeks ago. Voltimer
was
actually brought here… by Lilah.” She spun the laptop around.
“Everything
is detailed here. They found the prophecy and have decided to make it
come
true. At least part of it.”
“They want her dead and no rising up again.” Gunn scowled. “I think me
and
the… lady need to have a little chat.” He grinned unpleasantly.
“Fred, can
you deactivate security systems on that thing?” She nodded, but looked
at
him warily. “I can. But Charles, what are you thinking?” She held up
her
hand. “Never mind. Get in, get out… quickly. Losing you is not an
option
for me. Got it.”
He captured the hand in his, kissing her palm. “Got it.” He smiled over
her
hand. “And when I go in? You better slide into the driver’s seat. We’re
gonna be leavin’ in a hurry.”
“Ok! Just be careful.” She hugged him quickly and then closed her
laptop.
When Angel found out what they knew, all hell was going to break
loose…
literally.
He kissed her again and slipped from the car.
He had a bitch to kidnap.
*-*-*
“Seems to me. lady,” Gunn murmured into Lilah’s ear from behind her.
“That
you’ve been a very bad girl.”
Folding her hands underneath her chin, the tall brunette leaned forward
and
suavely said, “Why thank you, Charles.” Her voice was purring. “Yet
another
visit from the oh-so-impressive men of Angel Investigations. To what do
I
owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“It ain’t a visit…*lady*.” He grabbed her arm by a wrist and pulled
her to
her feet. “Y’might call it a Revenge Kidnapping.” He shook a free
finger at
her. “Should never put important stuff like those plans on computer.
Best
thing about technology…you can always bypass it. Angel’s gonna be one
unhappy vampire when he realizes who your little lackey is. But I bet
he’ll
feel a little better when I hand you over… snack and all that.”
She tried to break his grasp, but couldn’t. “Revenge kidnapping, huh?
Don’t
know how smart that’s going to be. Angel can’t kill or even torture a
human
being, Charles.” She fairly hissed. “Or did you not read that far in
the
Angel Handbook?”
He grinned at her. “Sure I did, Lilah…but you forgot the special
addendum.
When Someone Does Somethin’ To Grace… that one has a whole *new* set
o’rules in it. And I’m pretty sure most of the punishments involve the
words
cruel and unusual. Very, very unusual.”
“Bullshit,” she hissed, but her tone wasn’t as convincing as it had
been
earlier. “Besides, whatever she gets, she deserves. She may actually
like
Voltimer. He’s VERY persuasive.”
Gunn paused, considering, then pulled her very close, glaring at her.
“Given
how much stuff you know about us, I’m bettin’ you know G’s Mom? Real
nice
lady… ‘cept for the whole sadistic torturer streak she got goin’ on.
Lemme
ask you this… who do you think she’s gonna blame when she finds out
about
this?” He shook his head, the picture of amusement. “I dunno… Angel
*and*
Jase… both lookin’ to take a piece outta your plastic hide…” He
grinned.
“Gonna be a damn mess when they’re done. Better book your plastic
surgeon
now. Get that out of the way. Better yet… better call the funeral
home…
Jasa never leaves witnesses.”
She swallowed hard. She knew about Jasa… formerly Sadeh. Torturer…
advisor… Lilah was no fool. She didn’t reply, merely used her free
hand to
strike out at Gunn. Preferably the nose. Then she could get away.
He caught her hand, twisting it behind her back. “Yeah, I thought you
knew
her.” He snickered. “C’mon, Lady, we got some people to see.”
*-*-*
Fred opened the door and entered the hotel. She smiled when Wesley and
Cordelia looked up at her. “We found a lost puppy at Wolfram & Hart.
Gunn
thought we should bring her back here.”
Cordy opened her mouth to question but settled on a wicked grin when
her
fellow Immortal dropped Lilah – rather unceremoniously – on her Donna
Karan
clothed ass right before the counter.
“Watch it, Cordy.” He cautioned with a smirk. “This one’s got rabies.”
Wesley stood and moved around the desk. Looking down at the lump on the
floor, he tsked, “I take it, Winifred, that you found out something by
hacking into the mainframe. I also take it that Ms. Morgan plays a
bigger
part in all of this than she originally told Angel.” To Gunn, he said,
“Tie
her up, I’ll call Angel. He’ll want to be here when the interrogation
starts.”
“Yeah, we found out somethin’ all right.” He tossed a glance at his
lover.
“You’d best tell ’em, Fred, while I make sure Lilah doesn’t go
anywhere.”
Cordelia nodded. “Take her upstairs. Angel had a room… outfitted for
guests.” She smiled unpleasantly. “I’ve got to make a phone call.” Thus
said, she disappeared around the corner.
Fred watched Gunn drag the woman up the stairs. Once he disappeared,
she
turned to Wesley. Grabbing his arm, she pulled him around to the chair
and
opened her laptop. “I downloaded everything. Look at this…” She
showed him
the documents. “Lilah was behind all of it. She figured it would
ingratiate
her to her superiors. She called up Voltimer, gave him everything he
needed,
and told him where to find us.”
“WHAT?!” Cordy jumped into the conversation, dropping her cell phone
onto a
nearby desk before leaning over and turning the laptop so she could
see.
“That bitch — and I mean it in the bad sense!”
“Bloody…” Wesley leaned forward, staring at the screen in shock.
“Angel is
going to rip her lungs out…”
“And shove ’em back in through her nose.” The Immortal woman agreed in
a
voice devoid of sympathy. “Where are her credit cards? I think we
deserve a
little revenge shopping on Lilah’s tab. We’ll save it for when Grace
gets back.”
Fred chuckled nervously. “I’d say when all this is over, Grace is going
to
need a shopping spree. No doubt.” She looked back to her laptop and
showed
them some more memos. “Listen guys, I have a couple questions. Since
I’m
still the newbie here. First, Angel can’t actually harm her, can he?
And
secondly, exactly who is Jasa and why was Gunn so enthused about using
her
to strike fear into Lilah’s soul. I mean, I know she’s really old and
Grace’s mom, but the rest… I don’t get it.”
Wesley looked over Fred’s head at Cordelia. “I’ll explain the ‘harming
thing’ after you explain Jasa. I’m going to go call Lorne. He may be
more
useful than we know.”
She goggled at him. “I have to explain *JASA*?!” She shook her head.
“There
is no way to explain that woman! *GRACE* can’t explain her!!!”
Fred shrugged. “All I know is she’s Grace’s mom. There has to be
something
that would scare Lilah about her. Angel doesn’t scare Lilah, but Jasa
does?
Angel in a brood scares me!” She laughed. “Ok, so that’s not a good
comparison since a lot of things scare me, but you know what I mean.
Right?”
“I know.” Sighing, Cordy dropped into a chair and thought about it for
a
minute. “Ok, you’ve heard how Angel was when he was Angelus, right?”
She
waited for a nod to the affirmative then continued. “Well, Jasa was
like
that, times a thousand, about three thousand years ago. Except, she’s
no
vampire. She was the big evil all on her own and Wolfram & Hart knows
it.
She’d blow through them in a few days if she felt like it.” She
shrugged
lightly, smirking. “Guess she invented and defined the word ‘bitch’
long
before the feminist movement did.”
Fred listened intently. “Of course! Grace is the light that was raised
with
darkness, just like the prophecy said. It’s what makes her Angel’s
ideal
mate.”
Wesley returned to the room and added, “That’s exactly what it refers
to,
Fred. And Angel is bound by TPTB to not do harm to a human being. Oh he
can
take them out if, let’s say, one human is trying to kill another. But
to go
upstairs and simply stab Lilah through the heart would be very
detrimental
to him. So, Jasa would be the next best choice. She’ll get the
information
out of Lilah and not have to suffer with a conscience over it. As far
as
Grace is concerned, Jasa defines protectiveness.”
“Not to mention ruthless sadistic torturer.” Cordy tossed off with a
grin.
“Well, she may forget the sadistic part this time. Or at least, Lilah’s
praying she does.”
“Yeah, she is.” Gunn replied, returning to the room. “Lady actually
looks
scared.” His grin was smug. “Wolfram & Hart’s information on Jasa is
complete, y’know. They know how scary the lady can be without us even
saying
a thing.”
“She’s going to have a chance to find out, isn’t she?” Fred shuddered
slightly. “Tell me, she’s nice to the good guys, right?”
Wesley smiled. “You’re perfectly safe. Knowing Jasa, she’ll take you
under
her wing and adore you as much as she does Gunn and Cordelia.” Looking
at
the latter, he said, “You did call Angel, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Told him about our guest. He was…uh…pissed about
what
she was holding back. *REALLY* pissed. Angelus pissed.” She shuddered.
“Damn… think he’ll bring Jase here?” Gunn questioned, stopping by
Fred and
slipping an arm about her waist, drawing her closer to him. “Or is she
comin’ on her own?”
“He’ll bring her.” Cordy agreed. “It’s his way of inflicting
Lilah’s….”
“Punishment.”
“Exactly. Vengeance is his and all that…”
“I… I think I’ll stay down here,” Fred said, her shudder mimicking
Cordelia’s.
Wesley looked at Cordelia. “We could end up having visitors, you know.
Wolfram & Hart won’t take too kindly to losing a perfect lackey.”
“Think we should add Connor to the fray?” She responded. “Though, I
don’t
really see them wanting to mess with us while Jasa’s feeling… bitchy.
She
might use some of her old tricks. Which reminds me,” in true
Cordelia-fashion, she switched tactics, “Did she ever leave any of her
old
‘recipe books’ here?” Referring to Jasa’s rather extensive collection
of
ancient spellbooks. “I’m betting some of those might come in handy in
case
Wolfram & Hart decide to get messy. Oooh…maybe we should call Buffy
or
somebody? A little hired muscle?” She spun to Gunn. “Better yet, local
talent?”
He grinned. “Yeah, Cordy, the guys’ll help. They love Grace.”
“The ‘lawyers’ underestimated the impact that Grace has. They didn’t
just
mess with Angel. They’ve messed with an entire pack of people, demons,
and
Immortals,” Wesley added, still trying to work through all the options
Cordelia just presented them with. Keeping up with her was interesting
at
times.
Fred added, “It’s not just the Champion of Dark… but the Keeper of
it,”
she referred to Jasa, “and the Immortal champions, and the boyz in the
hood.” She smiled.
“That’s it in a nutshell baby.” Gunn murmured in her ear with a chuckle
while Cordelia rolled her eyes. Fred’s smile grew.
Wesley, on the other hand, had to muffle his laugh. Clearing his
throat, he
said, “We should get ready. And in answer to your question, Cordelia,
yes, I
have one of Jasa’s ‘recipe books’. If we’re going to cast a protection
spell, we need to do so quickly.”
With the efficiency of a drill sergeant, the female Immortal pointed a
finger at Gunn. “Go call your friends. Fred, get on the computer, try
and
screw up Wolfram & Hart’s mainframe. It might not do much but it’ll
keep
some of ’em busy. You,” she pivoted to look at Wesley, “tell me what we
need
and I’ll dig it out of the pantry.”
“UberCordy’s on duty.” Gunn noted with a grin.
Fred swatted his rear and laughed. “Someone has to be in charge. I
kinda
like that it’s a woman.” She darted quickly to her laptop, planning
exactly
what virus she would send to ‘the lawyers’ as Wesley called them.
Wesley stood open-mouthed for only a few moments before grabbing the
book
and giving Cordy the information she needed. She was right, no time to
waste. Every second they dawdled kept Grace in the clutches of that
vampire.
The quicker they moved; the quicker she got home.
*-*-*
The vampire paced about his incapacitated victim with the air of a
predator
circling prey. And she finally understood that was exactly what she
was. It
had taken some doing, and a few creative methods of torture, but he
finally
had gotten the message across just who was in charge. With an almost
gentle
touch, he lifted her wrist, slashing it with a blade, and draining an
amount
of her blood into a goblet. Then, meandering to a nearby throne-like
chair,
he sat, swirling the blood about in the golden receptacle rather like
it was
a wine. “Comfortable?” He asked almost conversationally to her. “I took
great pains with the room. I rather hope you’re enjoying it.” He
chuckled,
glancing about the nearly Spartan chamber.
She closed her eyes. “It’s very nice, thank you.” Only a few tears had
escaped when he drained her. At least, he didn’t bite her neck this
time.
That was the worst. The fight… it was gone. How long had she been
here? A
day? A week? A millennia? The world outside had ceased to exist. She
existed
now solely for Voltimer. She was his nourishment, and he was the reason
she
still lived. His visage filled her mind. As she heard him sip her
blood, she
turned her head to look at him. There was no hate, no love, nothing.
She
felt nothing. She was his food… no longer even human. “I’m quite
comfortable,” she said softly.
“Excellent.” He replied with an amused smile. “Anything I can get you?
Pillow, drink, that vampire of yours…”
Her throat was dry, but she knew that she was not to ask for anything
until
he gave it. She flinched at the phrase ‘vampire of yours’. Softly, she
said,
“You are my only vampire.”
“Oh really?” A low, lazy chuckle escaped him. “And what about Angel? I
thought you and he were rather…close. The prophecy binding you
together.”
She shook her head. “It was wrong. Obviously.” He was messing with her
mind
again, trying to get her to say something she shouldn’t so he could
hurt
her. “He abandoned me… You saved me.”
“So I did.” He moved forward, leaning down to look her in the eye. “And
why
did I save you? Hmm… Grace? Why are you here?”
She swallowed hard. “I’m here for you, Voltimer. For your pleasure…
to…
to feed you.” The wrist cutting was only a preamble she had a feeling.
She
still flinched when he bit her. The memories of what it felt like to
have
Angel feed from her still filled her mind at times. They were fading,
but
they were there nonetheless.
“Yes….” He hissed out in approval. “Yes you are. And you will…for a
very
long time.” And with that, he kissed her forehead.
*-*-*
sniveling snipe, had dropped the ball again, probably hoping that they
would
kill her and he’d get her office. She stopped working on the ropes long
enough to wonder if he was right. She shuddered. Jasa… Sadeh… was
coming
here. And she knew about Grace. This was NOT good.
“You know,” a softly accented voice issued forth from a far corner of
the
room. “If I were you, I would be very nervous about now.” A chuckle
punctuated the quietly spoken words. “Actually, I’d be terrified. Well,
if I
bothered with fear anymore I would be.”
Lilah cried out softly. She knew who it was. She’d never seen the
woman, but
that voice… it left no doubt. “Sa… Jasa?” she questioned, her voice
quivering. “It’s not how it seems.” She was terrified, like she’d never
been
in her entire life. “I can help you. I can.”
“Mmhmm…” The ancient Immortal, as immaculately clothed as her
‘guest’,
moved forward out of the shadows and around to sit in the chair Angel
had
provided. Crossing her legs, she leaned back, an elegantly carved
dagger in
her hands, and regarded the mortal. “You certainly have done a fine job
thus
far, haven’t you?” She smiled slightly. “It seems to me, Ms. Morgan,
that
it’s exactly how it seems and you can’t help me at all.”
Lilah’s eyes locked on the dagger. Her fear was evident. “I can!” She
may
have grasped at straws, but she had to do something. “I can contact
Voltimer… find out where he’s taken her.” She wasn’t sure if that
last bit
helped or not, but maybe the beginning did.
One dark brow lifted and the Egyptian woman seemed quite unimpressed.
“And
what makes you think I need you to tell me that?” Her smile morphed
into
something akin to a smirk. “One thing I am, Lilah, is far better
connected
than most believe me to be.” Casually, she set the dagger on a table
and
picked up a little jar. A jar with a bug inside. “Does my file mention
a
fondness for this particular breed of scarab beetle? Flesh-eaters you
know.
Nasty little things…”
The terrified mortal started crying. “Please, please, don’t let that
out. Oh
God please. I’ll do anything you want. Anything.” It was only too late
that
she realized she should have thought her plan through better. She’d
forgotten about Jasa. Speaking through her tears, she said, “I’ll do
anything.”
Jasa offered a predatory smile. “Oh you will, Ms. Morgan. Believe me,
you
will.” Rising gracefully, she set the jar before Lilah and left the
room.
Outside, Angel waited against the far wall. “Well?”
“She’s ours.” The Egyptian replied with a smile. “Congratulations,
Angel.
You have your mole.” Hooking an arm through his, she patted his forearm
with
her free hand. “Now, has Wesley made any progress on tracking down the
lovely young Ms. Rodgers? Or have you asked him yet?”
“I asked him,” the vampire answered honestly, “but I’ve been here… or
out
looking.”
“Well…let’s go find out, shall we?”
As they were heading down the stairs, Wesley was running up them.
Fixing his
glasses, he handed Angel a piece of paper. “Grace’s Watcher… Emily.
One of
Gunn’s gang just called and they’ve spotted the young lady at a coffee
shop
on the other side of town. They haven’t approached her; they’re waiting
on
one of us to arrive. If she moves, they’ll call again. But I suggest
you
hurry.”
“You go.” Jasa told the vampire quietly. “Take Duncan with you. I’m not
entirely finished with Ms. Morgan yet. I want to make a few things…
clear.”
He nodded and raced down the stairs, heedless.
“It’s a good thing he’s undead.” The Immortal noted amusedly.
“Otherwise,
I’d tell him to be careful and or he might break his neck.”
Wesley nodded. “Just what are you going to make clear to Lilah, Jasa?”
*-*-*
Duncan was standing in the foyer, his arms around Cordelia. Actually,
her
back was pressed to his chest and his chin was resting on her head.
They
weren’t talking, merely feeling that they were very lucky at the
moment. If
he were in Angel’s position, he may not be handling it as well.
It was only his head that turned when he heard the vampire come
downstairs.
“We’re going to find Emily Rodgers, I take it.”
“Gunn’s people found her. We’re going to get her.” The vampire said
simply.
Reluctantly, Cordy broke free of her lover’s embrace and moved to pick
up
their respective coats. “Great!” She exclaimed, sliding into hers.
“Let’s
go.”
“Cordelia,” Duncan softly said. He looked at Angel and saw his thoughts
reflected in the vampire’s eyes. “I think perhaps this is something
Angel
and I should do alone. You really aren’t supposed to know about the
existence of Watchers… and if the lawyers try something here, Wesley
and
the group are going to need all the help they can get.”
She refrained from scowling. “Have either one of you two considered the
poor
girl’s reaction? I don’t know about you guys, but if I were sitting in
a
cafe and two hulking, broody types showed up looking for me? I’d run
faster
than the Roadrunner with Wile E. on my ass.”
Duncan smiled. “She’s Grace’s Watcher. She probably knows more about us
than
we know about ourselves. And she knows Grace. Literally, Cordelia.
Emily went to
the fire to preserve her friendship with Grace. They just kept their
distance the past
couple of years because they thought it was best for Emily. She’s not
going to freak
at seeing us. She’ll probably run to us.”
This time, she didn’t bother to suppress the scowl. “Fine. I think I’ll
go
upstairs keep Jasa company… learn a thing or two.” Tossing her coat
aside
again, the young woman crossed the lobby in a hurry and disappeared up
the
stairs.
“Uh oh.” Angel noted simply.
“Fortunately,” Duncan sighed, “I have a LONG time to make it up to her.
But
do you really want her seeing Grace when we find her? If he’s broken
her
like the memo said he would, I really don’t think Cordelia needs to see
her
teacher in that condition. I love her too much.”
“I know that,”” the vampire agreed, “and on some level, *she* knows
that…”
He smiled bemusedly. “But that still doesn’t mean she’s going to give
in
easily.” He moved to the weapons locker, taking out a few choice
daggers.
“I’d expect a lecture about over protectiveness when we get back. By
then,
she’ll have worked up to Hurricane Cordy level.” He clapped the other
man on
the shoulder. “You’re a brave man, Duncan MacLeod.”
Duncan had to admit that he didn’t know Cordelia nearly as well as the
vampire did. “Hurricane level, huh?” It was with a worried expression
that
the Immortal followed his friend out of the hotel. It was a very good
thing
he was Immortal; he was going to need eternity to make this up to her.
*-*-*
Emily looked at her cell phone for the 100th time. She should call
Angel.
Looking away from the phone, she decided she shouldn’t interfere. But
Grace
was her friend. Yet, they’d decided that Emily would not be anything
more
than her Watcher for a while. Things had to cool between them to keep
the
Watcher Council from killing her. Joe Dawson was really the only one
who
still got to be friends with his Immortal.
Grace had been in the clutches of that evil vampire for over a week. It
had
been a very restless week for Emily. She’d done most of her talking
with Joe
who kept telling her to give Duncan time… give Angel time… Grace
was a
tough cookie.
But there was only so much that one person could take. Picking up her
phone,
she was about to dial the number to the hotel when she saw Duncan
approaching. Angel was with him. Seems she didn’t have to seek them
out,
they found her.
As they entered the coffee shop, she stood. “I… I wanted to call…
but
you know it’s dangerous for me.”
Duncan smiled. “We know.” Looking around, he asked, “Wanna go for a
walk?
Someplace more private.”
She nodded, her eyes locking on the vampire. “I think we should.”
He nodded once as well. “We need to.” He inclined his head for the
door. “I
know a club, Caritas, no one will see you there that shouldn’t see
you.”
She smiled. Obviously he knew what she was risking by even being seen
with
them. Picking up her bag, the ebony woman resolutely said, “I think
it’s
time I considered more of a Joe Dawson type of career anyway.”
Duncan chuckled. Joe had been right. This woman was all spit and
vinegar. No
wonder he spoke so highly of her.
Angel offered a half smile. “I think that can be arranged…You’d be
surprised what we can pull off when we want to.” He remembered and his
smile
strengthened. “Or maybe you wouldn’t be surprised at all.”
She smiled. “It’s my job to know. But not my job to reveal what I know.
So
officially, I’m surprised.” She handed Duncan a drawing. “It’s the
best I
could do. He doesn’t come out often.” She was thankful to be entering
the
club. She’d gone to a coffee shop close to it intentionally.
Duncan committed the drawing to memory and then handed it to Angel.
Finding a table, she took some items from her bag. “I managed to sketch
the
building where he has her. I haven’t seen her since… since…” She
swallowed hard. “Look, guys, she’s probably the best friend I’ve ever
had…
will ever have. But getting her out isn’t going to be easy.”
“Oh honey, don’t you worry about that.” The Host drawled, leaning over
the
table. “One thing our champion here does, is handle overgrown goons.”
“That, ” Angel deferred, “and we have a little information that he
won’t be
expecting.”
“Like, where he is?” Emily offered. “How many goons he has protecting
him?”
She offered Angel a different notebook. “His security system…
including
the entrance code that opens the gates to his home.”
“That and anything else Jasa can get out of Ms. Morgan.” He answered
softly.
“She’s remarkably persuasive with her intelligence gathering
techniques.”
Duncan took the notebook and glanced at the information. “Emily
Rodgers…
don’t tell me you used the code to get inside the grounds.” He looked
farther down. A part of him was glad to see the information, but a part
of
him didn’t like that she’d risked it. “Angel, she’s not only got
security
codes for the gate, but for the front door, the elevator,
and the basement.”
Emily shrugged. “It’s my job, isn’t it? I think she’s in the basement.
I
looked at all the other levels and didn’t find anything. I don’t have
anything beyond that door though. It’s too heavily guarded.”
“I’ll handle that.” Angel noted determinedly. “I’ll handle it.”
“I’d ask if I could help, but I’ve read Duncan’s chronicles. Mr.
Overprotective Himself.” She thought for a moment. “Maybe I could go
back to
the hotel… talk to Grace’s mother… send her to help you?”
The vampire risked a glance from the information to his Immortal
friend.
“Distract Cordy…” A faint sign of amusement flashed in his eyes and
vanished again. “Good idea. Tell Gunn we’ll need him too. With them
gone,
Wesley, Cordelia and Fred may need the help keeping an eye on Lilah and
an
eye out for Wolfram & Hart at the same time.” He offered a rare smile.
“Thank you.”
“I love her too,” she offered softly. Standing, she took up her bag,
but
left the notebooks. “You guys be safe, and bring her home.” With that,
she
ran up the stairs. All the emotion of the past week was going to rush
upon
her and she didn’t want them to see her cry.
“Tough lady.” Angel noted quietly. “Let’s go.”
*-*-*
Wesley smiled as he listened to the conversation. Cordelia had been
enraged
when Duncan left. The former Watcher had made the mistake in agreeing
with
MacLeod, so for now, he was keeping his distance.
Cordelia Chase had then turned her charms on Gunn.
He wasn’t fairing well.
The former gang member and gang leader was meeting him match in the
form of
the slender brunette.
But then, few men could stand up to her when she was in full
Cordy-mode.
“Oh, I am *SO* going with you!”
“Cordy…” Gunn placated, holding up his hands. “It would be safer for
the
others if you stay here.”
“The others?” She lifted a brow. “I detect a hint of Duncan in this.” A
swift shake of her head negated the argument. “If they need your help
they
need mine.”
“It’s not the same.” He argued. “It’s…”
“If it’’s anything resembling ‘it’s different because I’m a guy’ or
‘it’s
because I’ve seen more than you…’, close your lips, Charles, I am so
kicking your ass.” She warned with a stern finger pointed at him. “I
grew up
in Sunnydale, my graduation consisted of the Mayor ascending into a
giant
wormy demon. Trust me, I have *so* seen more of the vampy-demony
weirdness
than you have. I practically have a doctorate!”
“Wes…” Gunn looked over pleadingly. “A little help, man?”
Wesley raised a hand. “Sorry, Gunn. I tried that earlier and still have
the
scars to prove it. Fred had to sew my head back on from where she bit
it
off. You’re on your own.” Turning back to Emily, he offered, “Just
another
day at Angel Investigations.”
She laughed lightly. “Sounds like it.” She shrugged. “Duncan is well
known
within the organization for being highly overprotective. I’m sure he
thinks
he’s doing the right thing, but I’ve been there, I’ve been inside. The
more
help there is, the better off everyone is going to be.” She looked
around
expectantly. “Where’s Jasa?”
Everyone paused and glanced toward the stairs.
“Up with Lilah…we think.” Cordy revealed hesitantly. “Anyone heard
screaming?”
“No.” Gunn shook his head. “She said she was going for a psychological
thing
on this one.”
“Ahhh…” The shorter Immortal nodded. “Scare her back to the
Mama-stage
huh?”
“Totally.”
“Not quite that far.” Jasa dismissed, moving down the stairs, fixing
the
button on her long coat. “Early teens, actually.”
Emily stood and immediately approached the ancient Immortal. “I know
you
know who I am, but I wanted to introduce myself. Emily Rodgers.” She
didn’t
apologize for not coming forward with the information earlier. She was
hoping Jasa would understand the conflict and that Emily may well have
ended
her career tonight. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
The Egyptian smiled and patted the girl’s arm. “Likewise. Grace speaks
very
highly of you and as for those superiors of yours in France? Don’t
worry
about it.” She nodded at Wesley. “The Englishman’s connected…”
Leaning
forward she noted conspiratorially. “Cute too.” Thus said, she passed
the
girl by and glanced at Cordelia and Gunn. “Are you both ready?”
“See!” Cordy protested to Gunn who sighed.
“Yeah, Jase, we’re ready.”
As they walked out of the hotel, not even Emily’s dark skin could hide
her
blush. Jasa was right; he was cute. Turning back to him, she rubbed her
hands on her skirt nervously. Why was it she could stare down evil
Immortals… even vampires… and not flinch. But the thought of Wesley
Windham-Price was causing her stomach to flutter. “You know the leaders
of
the Watcher Organization?” she asked.
He noticed the action and smiled softly. He had been taken aback by her
beauty, at first, now he was merely admiring her. “I do,” he adjusted
his
glasses, “and I think I’ll make a phone call or two. Would you like
some
coffee?”
*-*-*
The rescue party stood, out of sight, just beyond the compound.
Cordelia
stuck close to Jasa’s side, ignoring the look Duncan shot her way,
while the
ancient conferred quietly with Angel, Gunn and the other Immortal. They
decided on a plan of attack then, dividing into the predetermined
teams,
began moving forward.
Duncan wasn’t surprised to find that they’d put him with Gunn and
Cordelia.
Jasa and Angel were the team that was going to directly rescue Grace.
In all
honestly, it was exactly as it should be. He could feel Grace’s
signature,
as they moved closer to the house. Hopefully, she wouldn’t give them
away.
It all depended on her mental state.
He looked from Gunn to Cordelia. How did he know she’d end up here?
Damn
stubborn woman. No wonder he loved her so much.
She met his gaze without challenge but without shame as well. She had
told
him she wanted to be here. The fact she’d taken the first opportunity
she
could to do so shouldn’t have been a surprise. But then, on some level,
she
suspected it hadn’t been.
This incident was going to be the first true test of their
relationship. In
her coming here against his wishes, she’d shown that his opinion didn’t
matter nearly as much as he’d thought it did. It disappointed him, and
her
look of unrepentance told him even more.
He sighed.
They moved to the appropriate position and waited for the sign. The
only
ones who were supposed to be seen at the moment were Jasa and Angel.
The
other Immortals were the ‘surprise’ part to the raid
*-*-*
As they advanced further into the vampire’s home, Angel looked down at
the
slender ancient walking beside him. “Is it me or is this too easy?”
She chuckled. “It’s too easy.”
“Easy in, never get out?”
“Something like that.” She agreed with a nod. “But your vampire friend
should have done his research.” Dark eyes met his. “I came prepared.”
“With?”
“A few surprises from the ‘old kingdom’.”
“Uh oh.”
“Mmhmm…” Jasa pointed to a door. “That one.”
“You’re sure?” At her raised brow he corrected himself. “Of course you
are.
Tell me something, Jase, is it a familial thing or are all female
Immortals
over the age of a 1000 totally self-assured and confident?”
“All of us.” She replied, amused. “For a woman to make it to a
millennium is
a feat. We’re fairly sure of our abilities after that.”
“Ah huh.” He nodded, stepped back and looked at her. “He knows we’re
here…”
“He does.”
“So subtlety…”
“Totally useless.”
“Thought so.”
He kicked the door in and stormed on through. To hell with subtle.
———————
came on
and started flashing. It was all the cue he needed. He looked to
Gunn…
gave Cordelia the same distant look he’d given the male Immortal… and
then
advanced forward out of the bushes. The plan was for the two others to
flank
to the sides. Surprise in numbers.
Gunn shook his head, but quickly squelched any thoughts as he headed
off to
the right. Duncan was to be the diversion. And as he watched the man
take on
vampires with as much ease as he sparred, Gunn had to admit that for
MacLeod, this was an art.
Seeing four vamps sneering at him, it was all about survival.
“Oh god, do these guys realize just how badly they dress?” Cordelia
stared
at her attackers in feigned horror. “You guys *so* need help!”
One of the two brutes standing before her looked dumbfounded and turned
to
his compatriot, beginning to ask a question he never finished. With a
shocked poof he crumbled into dust having been neatly beheaded.
She shrugged at the remaining vampires. “No one ever said I had to play
fair
with you guys.”
“Naw, they’re up for grabs, Cordy. Grace said so.” Gunn called back,
neatly
swinging his blade toward the neck of one of the four he was facing
down.
“Yippee.” She proclaimed, backflipping to avoid the slash of one of her
attackers. “Missed me.” She stuck out her tongue at him before ducking
and
sweeping his legs out from under him. “Now I get to chop off your head
and
believe me, the practice helps! See, you’re doing your best to better
the
Immortal world. Don’t you feel all honored?”
He snarled and she quickly beheaded him. “Guess not.”
Duncan didn’t join in on the banter. He figured she was trying to prove
to
him that she was capable of handling herself. But that had never been a
question for him. This wasn’t about whether or not she’d survive; he’d
helped train her so he knew she would.
This was about what was going to come out of that building. Grace. What
dignity she had left didn’t need to be lost by having her students see
her
the way she was. That’s why he’d wanted Cordelia to stay behind. But no
one
would ever understand that.
Of course, all of this was happening while he was systematically
killing
more than his share of vampires.
Cordelia and Gunn shared a look, noticing Duncan’s lack of comment and
–
when he got the chance – Gunn leaned over to his friend. “Girl, you are
so
in for it.”
“Yeah,” She sighed wearily. “I know. Oops.”
*-*-*
Cutting her free, Angel didn’t waste time with preliminaries; he sat on
the
bed, pulled Grace into his arms and held her like he was never going to
let
go.
Wisely, Jasa stepped to the door, watching for their vampire host,
giving
the couple a moment. She could tell Grace had been seriously
emotionally
damaged but that was to worry about when they got her back to the
hotel. Now
was for reunions.
“I love you.” Angel murmured into Grace’s blonde curls, holding her
close.
She pushed against the strong chest. This was another trick… another
test.
Angel hadn’t come for her. That wasn’t his voice that filtered through
what
was left of her sanity.
She managed to move her head and look at the face of the man who held
her.
No, not a man. The chest did not move. The heart did not beat. Her mind
said
it wasn’t Angel, but her heart said differently. If this was a trick or
a
test, she was going to fail. “Angel?” she questioned hoarsely. “He
said you
wouldn’t come. I exist now only to nourish him. Am I dead? Are you
heaven?”
His heart ached with the words that she spoke and silently he vowed to
*hurt* Voltimer before killing him but he forced that to a dark corner
of
his mind and focused on the woman in his arms. “It is me, Grace. He
lied to
you. You’re alive, you’re free, and you exist to be Grace. You’re a
person,
someone I love, and you aren’t anything to him. He has no power over
you, no
control. He’s put things in your mind and you need to fight them,
Grace.
Fight them like you would any other enemy. Don’t let him win, Gracie.
Not
with this. It’s too important… you can’t.”
She shook her head. If she fought, he’d hurt her. The pain always
followed
the wrong answer. What should her answer be? Moving a hand to her
temple,
she pressed hard. “Fighting is wrong. I don’t want to be a bad girl.”
She
looked down at her torn and tattered clothing, remembering the way he’d
cut
her. So much like the evisceration of her first death. She shivered and
started to cry. “I don’t want to be a bad girl.”
Angel looked desperately to Jasa; she understood what had gone on here.
She’d done it herself in her past. He lifted Grace into his arms and
carried
her to her mother’s side.
The Egyptian brushed her daughter’s hair away from her face. “Grace?
Listen
to me, fighting means survival. You know that. Deep down you know that.
No
matter what has been done to you my dearheart, you are not a ‘bad girl’
in
any sense but the good kind. He’s never going to hurt you again, we
won’t
let him, so answer and think without fear. Anyone who attempts to hurt
you
will be met with every sort of vengeance I can visit on them and you
know
that.”
Brushing a kiss across Grace’s cheek, Angel brushed a hand over her
hair.
“We’re going to protect you, Grace. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Seeing her mother, her thoughts cleared somewhat. “Momma?” she asked,
her
voice still cracked. “He…” She looked around and pointed at the hole
in
the wall. “He sees all. He knows everything I do.” Voltimer had worked
on
destroying her relationship with Angel, but the vampire hadn’t counted
on
her mother. The reality, the memories of what Jasa had done for her,
came
flooding back with a vengeance.
Looking from her mother to Angel, her eyes filled with tears. “You came
for
me? He said you wouldn’t, and I be… believed him. I didn’t want to.”
Her
eyes glassed over only for a moment and then she felt a warmth flood
over
her. “You will kill, him, right? Kill him and set me free?”
“Oh yeah…” Angel growled promisingly. “He’s dead. When I get my hands
on
him he’s dead.”
“And I suspect we won’t have to wait long.” Jasa agreed softly. “Let’s
go.”
The prospect of them not getting out of there before Voltimer came down
scared Grace to death. Shaking harder than she had before, she buried
her
head in Angel’s chest and began talking a mile a minute. “Please, we
have to
go. I don’t want to see him. I can’t. I can’t. You don’t know what he’s
like. Evil. So evil I can’t stand it. Please, please, can we just go?”
“We’ll go, dearheart. Angel will stay and teach Voltimer a lesson or
two in
etiquette. He’s sorely lacking in his manners.” She reached out as
Angel set
down Grace, wrapping an arm about her daughter’s waist to support her
taller
frame. “Go on Angel. I’ll get her cleaned up and then we can leave.”
He shrugged out of his coat, draping it around Grace’s shoulders before
lifting her chin so that he could look into her face. “I love you.” He
vowed
softly, leaning forward to kiss her slowly. “And I’ll see you when I
get
home.”
Her hand grasped his and squeezed it as tightly as she could. “I love
you…
so very much.” She cried again as he left the room. It was then that
she
turned to her mother. “I didn’t want to believe him. But I had to. The
things he did…” She touched her neck. “The feedings…” She could no
longer stand. “The feedings were the worst. With Angel,” she started
sobbing, “it was special… but Vo… *he* turned it into something
vile…
grotesque.”
Jasa slid down to sit next to her daughter. “When you go home, when
you’re
ready, Angel will make it right again. He’ll help you to remember what
it
felt like to nourish with love. The rest of it…” She stroked the
dirty
curls away from her child’s face. “Well, the rest of it, I promise, I
will
help you with.” She smiled impishly, leaning forward. “And I have a
surprise
for you… Lilah Morgan? She’s going to be most cooperative… Most
cooperative and contrite.” She kissed her daughter’s cheek. “Come now,
little one,” she murmured, falling back on the nickname she’d bestowed
on
her daughter when she was a child. “Let’s get you home and into a hot
bath.”
She nodded, just as she had when she was a child. “I want rose petals.
Pretty red ones.” She offered her mother a small smile. Her hand moved
up to
her hair and she shook slightly. “Gunn… Cordelia… I know… I know
they’d understand… but Mom… they can’t… they aren’t here, are
they?”
“They’re outside.” The Egyptian confirmed, producing a hairbrush from
the
depths of her coat. “Here, let’s clean you up a little. They aren’t
expecting you to look like you just came from a spa but we can give you
some
dignity about this. Though, I’m sure Duncan will clear them out before
they
see too much.”
“Ramirez told me a story once,” she smiled. He was one of the few men
that
both women had shared a love for. “Nothing is so detrimental to a
student as
seeing his teacher fall to the depths of the Earth. And you may not
agree,
but Mom, I want what little dignity I have left. Please. He has to make
them
leave.” She started crying again. “I can’t walk without trembling. I
loathe
crying and can’t stop. I’m dirty… inside and out.” She pulled Angel’s
coat
tightly around her. Softly, she whispered, “He didn’t let me up to go
to the
bathroom.” She hung her head low.
“Oh honey,” Jasa drew her daughter into her arms, hugging her and
crooning
softly in Egyptian. “I’ll send them home myself.” She said softly,
still
speaking the ancient tongue. “Come, let’s go.” She unearthed her cell
phone
from her pocket, dialing Cordelia’s phone. Best deal with the most
stubborn
of the duo first.
*-*-*
Duncan sat on the steps. All the minions were dust and all that was
left to
do was wait and for official word. When Cordelia’s phone rang, he
looked up.
As she spoke, he assumed, to Jasa, he looked into her eyes. He loved
her.
There was no doubt about it. But it was clear they had some things to
discuss. He wasn’t the kind who could simply let go… of anything.
When
Cordelia hung up, he asked, “They have Grace?”
“They do.” The young woman answered. “Gunn and I have to leave.”
“Say what?” Her friend’s head snapped around as he reacted. “Why?”
“Jasa said so.” Cordy sighed. “Grace…” She paused then brought a
bright
smile. “We need to go home and get everything ready for her. Jasa says
a hot
bath is the first thing she needs.”
Duncan stood and picked up his sword. He’d already cleaned it so he
easily
slipped it into his coat. He started to head down the steps and
stopped.
Looking directly at Cordelia, his features grew soft and he hoped she
knew
how much he loved her. He did. He slowly reached out for her hand. “We
should stop and get her some roses. I believe she likes red rose petals
in
her baths. Jasa told me a story once about when Grace was three. What
do you
think?”
She slipped her hand into his and nodded. “Jasa asked for roses. I
think
Wesley said it’s an Egyptian thing?” A smile touched her lips, a more
genuine one meant for him. “Must make the bath smell *incredible*.”
“Uh oh…” Gunn risked a glance in her direction. “Better get double
the
roses, Mac.”
“Triple,” Duncan corrected. “Fred could probably use them too.” That
said,
the trio left the scene. A little more worn around the edges, but none
the
worse for wear.
*-*-*
Stalking through what could barely even be considered a lair, it seemed
Voltimer wasn’t much on interior decorating, Angel was aware the other
vampire’s hired thugs seemed to be keeping a wide berth. He wasn’t sure
if
they were aware of their boss’s true identity or not but the vampiric
visage
displayed for all to see on his face left no doubt as to what he was
and
they all seemed quite fond of the idea of keeping their necks in one
piece.
All the better he supposed, no wasted energy.
When he found the other vampire, he wasted no time in punching the
other
man. “You pay…” he growled out, “dearly.”
Voltimer’s visage shifted as well and he returned the strike. Smoothly,
almost as if flying, he leaped over Angel and smiled. “Oh no! Young
man,
you’ll pay. For the eternity you have with her, you’ll pay. She is as
addicting as she tastes. Pliable. And believe it or not, a secret part
of
her enjoyed our little sessions.”
“Bastard.” Angel nearly hissed, lunging for the other vampire. “I’ll
pay any
price, she’s worth it, but you? You’re going to spend eternity with far
worse company. Believe me, I’ve been there.” He smirked. “They’ll love
you.”
Voltimer smiled. “Got some news for you, lover boy…” he paused for
emphasis, “I’ve been there. I have no fear of returning.” The younger
vampire was angry, and the elder used that in his favor. “Lilah
summoned me
from there. Now… about your threat… try a new one.”
“Lilah….” An amused look appeared on Angel’s face. “You know…of all
the
morons in that law firm… you picked the one with the worst track
record.”
He looked at Grace’s sword, which he’d brought with him. “I’m very
familiar
with her.” His amusement turned into a full-fledged laugh. “Hell,
Grace’s
mother currently has her dancing on a string like some twisted version
of a
marionette. You’d be very surprised at how persuasive Jasa can be. It’s
her
Egyptian background.” He pointed the sword in the other vampire’s
direction.
“You’d be surprised what those guys cooked up to deal with our kind.
They
were very experienced in the magicks…” A small balloon seemed to
materialize in his hand and he flicked it at Voltimer. “Especially in
their
potions.” The balloon burst upon impacting with the vampire’s leg.
“It’s
some sort of paralytic agent…works on vampires… very useful when
you
plan on staking them to the ground and leaving them for the sun to
find.”
Voltimer’s self assurance wavered slightly. Lilah was disposable. In
fact,
he managed to find it humorous that they had her and were torturing
her,
since that’s what she’d conjured up for him to do. There was no sense
in
fighting… he couldn’t move. Couldn’t fight. All he could do was
think. It
was over. He’d gambled, lost, and was going to go back to hell. It
REALLY
pissed him off.
Angel watched the other vampire topple over like a felled tree and then
crouched down beside him. “Always fight with good magical backup. The
Powers
think brute force is highly overrated…they’re right.”
*-*-*
Jasa briskly wound Grace’s hair up into the fluffy white towel and
tucked
the end beneath the material.
“There, your hair’s clean. We’ll go to a spa tomorrow, I think you and
I
deserve a little pampering, perhaps the other girls can join us?”
The younger Immortal nodded. In her hand, she held several rose petals.
They
were soft between her fingers as she rolled them around. This was her
home,
her bathroom, her soft clothing against her skin, but she still didn’t
feel
like herself. She hadn’t talked much either. “You never appreciate
beauty,”
she whispered, “until it’s gone.”
Her mother snorted inelegantly. “Nonsense. You’re as beautiful now as
you
have always been. What that fool did has nothing to do with your face
or
your soul. He can harm the body as much as he pleases, it will return
to
normal, and your soul…well that he simply can’t touch. You’ve already
given that to Angel and he plans on taking the best care of it he can.”
“Mom,” Grace’s eyes met the ancient’s, “I believed everything he wanted
me
to believe. I lost all sense of time… of who I was. He told me Angel
was
never coming for me, and I believed him. My soul may not have been
harmed,
but my mind was.” She started to cry. “I’m still not sure this is real.
Like
he’s going to come through that door any minute and punish me for
believing
you.”
Jasa pinched her daughter’s arm, hard. “I’m real. As real as you. And
believe me, by the time Angel and I are done, you will be absolutely
sure
you are free and that it’s real.” She brushed a tear away from Grace’s
cheek. “Every Immortal, at some point in their existence, faces
something
like this. I have, Methos has, and many others have. And now you
have…
what does not kill you does make you stronger. Truer words have never
been
spoken.”
Grace didn’t even acknowledge the pain, merely watched as the red mark
turned back to its normal color. “Everyone’s going to expect me to just
be
me again. It happened, so get over it.” She looked down at the petals
and
caressed them gently. “I’m taking my time on this one, Mother.” She
wiped at
her tears. “When those men raped me… when I was mortal… it was just
my
body. Voltimer tortured me. I think you two would have been able to
swap
notebooks. But I could fight that pain. It is physical, and I healed.”
Slowly, she touched her neck. “But he was the master at mental
corruption.
And I may be stronger with time, but right now, I feel horrible. Glad
to be
home, but I need to find me again.”
“Perhaps you and Angel should take some time away.” Her mother
suggested
softly. “I have plenty of homes you can use. I can stay here in LA,
deal
with whatever happens to occur. I think you both could use it.”
Grace shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve never even considered an extended
time
away. He feels bound to be here. To serve and protect and all that.”
She
sighed. “I used to think I could answer for him, but I just don’t
know.”
Jasa smiled and patted her daughter’s hand. “Then discuss it with him.
That’s what couples do. See what you think. You’ve spent time at a bed
and
breakfast… just consider this an extended version of that.”
She nodded again. “I’ll…” she cleared her throat, “I’ll talk to him
about
it. I just don’t want him to feel obligated.” She shook her head. “Ok,
that’s not what I meant.” She picked up some lilac scented lotion and
smelled it before contemplating using it on her skin. “Staying focused
on
anything right now is difficult at best.”
“It will be that way for a while.” Her mother agreed. “I think you
should
speak to someone. Lorne perhaps. He has shown a gift for dealing with
things
like this. You need to get it out in the open, all that you’ve felt and
experienced, if you bottle it up the results could be catastrophic.”
Putting some of the lotion in her hand, she smelled it again. Removing
her
robe, she sat on the floor and slowly rubbed the lotion on her leg. “I
need
to get away, but I need to talk to Lorne. Should I talk to him before I
go
away? Can he deal with the details? Or would I have to supply them?”
She
moved her hands up to her neck and rubbed slowly. “No, it’s Lorne. I
wouldn’t have to give him details. He’ll know.”
“He already knows.” Jasa pointed out. “He had a suspicion of how bad it
would be before, he knows more now. Talk to him before you go and when
you
come back. Talk to him on an ongoing basis.” She smiled. “He’s quite
anxious
to speak with you actually. He cares very much about you all.”
Grace let her head fall onto her knee. “I love everyone… so much. I
went
for so long… and then was convinced that I’d lost everyone. Now I’m
back.
I know everyone’s worried and I want to put their minds at ease, but I
can’t.” Looking up, she put her chin on her knee. “Where is Angel? Are
you
sure everything went as you planned?”
Her mother’s look was pure satisfaction. “Everything went exactly as
planned.” She eyed her manicure with a critical gaze. “He, Duncan and
Gunn
are setting up the final phase as we speak.” She cast a glance at her
watch.
“They’ll be done soon. Sunrise is in about half an hour.”
Grace’s brows furrowed in question. “‘Final phase’? You mean he isn’t
dead
yet?” There was a quick instant of panic where she grabbed her robe and
wrapped it tightly around her again. “What are you planning?”
“No, he’s not dead yet.” Jasa confirmed. “Angel and I both agreed that
a
stake through the heart would be a little… brief. Too brief. Voltimer
deserves the worst death a vampire can experience.” She rose gracefully
and
crossed the room to Grace’s closet, selecting an outfit. “Get dressed.
We’ve
an appointment to keep on the roof. I assure you, he can’t move. The
potion
I cooked up is *very* effective.”
Her eyes grew as round as saucers. “He’s here! Oh God, Mother. What
were you
guys thinking?!” She looked at her mother’s face and sighed. “He can’t
move.
At all? I don’t even want him to look at me.” She grabbed up the
clothes and
started dressing. “You’re going to let the sun fry him I take it?”
“He can’t move *at all* and yes, we are.” The Egyptian offered an
elegant
half-shrug. “It seemed the most appropriate method. This is relatively
slow
and he has to watch his own impending death rise into the sky. Poetic
don’t
you think?”
Grace nodded. “I would have loved to break him mentally first… to see
his
confidence break. To crush him as he did me.” A hint of what her mother
was
showed through Grace at this moment. “I want him to suffer. I want him
to
know that I’m going to survive. I want him to beg for his life.” Now
fully
dressed, she managed to stand to her full height. “But this will easily
do.”
It wasn’t a sign of complete recovery, but it was a sign that one day
she
would. “Can we go now?”
“We can.” Her mother agreed. “And believe me, his desperation to…
live
will be readily apparent. Paralyzed or not.” She offered a smile.
“Believe
me, of that I am most certain.”
Grace nodded and started to head for the door. Stopping suddenly, she
turned
around and said, “I love you, Mother. I know you know it, but I had to
say
it. You’ve shaped me into who I am today and because of that, I’m
walking
out of this door and confronting that monster.” A tear slipped down her
cheek. “I really, really love you.”
Reaching out, Jasa hugged her daughter. “And I you, my dearheart. You
are
truly my greatest accomplishment and deepest joy.” She smiled, her eyes
suspiciously damp. “Now then, let’s go dispatch that thing into a
rather
unpleasant afterlife hmm?”
Taking her mother’s hand, Grace said, “Yes, let’s.” She looked down at
the
connection. “I don’t think I’ve done this since I was a little girl.
It’s
nice.” That said, she let her mother lead her toward the roof. On the
outside, she was the picture of composure. She wanted to see this, but
didn’t want to see him. It was a battle, but she was going to win. He
was
NOT going to win this time. Not now and not ever!
Angel, Duncan and Gunn moved away from where they’d secured Voltimer
and
toward the duo. Reaching out, Angel brushed his thumb along Grace’s
cheek
before drawing close to kiss her forehead. “I’ll be inside.” He
promised
softly. “When you’re ready.”
She brought anxious eyes to his… of course, he couldn’t stay out here
with
her. She didn’t know why she’d thought he would be. She mouthed the
words ‘I
love you’ before watching him go inside. Moving to Duncan’s side, she
left
very little room between them… needing the comfort of his strong
physical
presence. She assumed her mother would have work to do.
That thought brought her eyes to the monster staked to the ground. She
wanted to spit at him… to kick him… to rip his eyes out with her
fingers.
But she didn’t. All she did was stand beside Duncan and say to her
mother,
“Sunrise is when?”
“In a few minutes.” Jasa produced a vial from her pocket and wandered
over
to toss its contents on Voltimer. “Wouldn’t want you to have any peace
in
the afterlife.” She told him with a faint smirk before turning to walk
back
to her daughter’s side. “There, everything’s ready.”
Duncan had wrapped a protective arm around Grace, when Jasa came to
stand
beside them, he touched her shoulder in support.
“What was that, Mother?” Grace asked, trying not to let her voice
tremble.
This man was the monster who’d broken her, but seeing him like this…
he
couldn’t hurt her… not anymore. In just a few moments, she was going
to be
free forever.
“Oh just a little something to seal a deal.” Jasa glanced up at her
with a
smile. “In the old days, when someone did something evil enough, we
would
curse them in the afterlife as well. Needless to say, where this one
ends
up? Well, it’ll make a few hell dimensions you and Angel have had
experience
with look like Disney Land.”
Grace smiled lightly. “You know what I want?” She elevated her voice so
he
could hear. “I want him to hurt. I want his mind to beg for the agony
to
stop and it never will. I want him to feel despair so intense that the
aching causes all his muscles to tense. And finally, I want him to know
that
he failed. That I’m alive, Angel and I are still thechampions, and that
while he’s suffering, I’m living. That’s what I want.”
Duncan squeezed her shoulder in support.
“He’’ll be feeling things like that for all eternity.” Jasa pointed out
softly. “Believe me, when I punish someone…it’s complete.” She
brushed her
daughter’s hand. “No one hurts anyone connected to me and gets away
with
it.”
Grace nodded. She knew that was true too. This wasn’t the first time
that
Jasa had done something like this for her. It’s just that Grace had
never
watched before. As the sun started to rise, she smiled. “Good morning,”
she said cheerily. It wasn’t a complete happiness, but it was
convincing.
Though he couldn’t speak, the vampire’s eyes widened in terror and if
he
could have struggled he would have. Instead, he watched with terror as
the
sun slowly began to inch higher in the sky.
“We should have brought marshmallows.” Jasa complained. “Oh well… you
always forget something right?”
Grace had to agree. As steam started to rise off the vampire’s skin,
she
moved from Duncan’s embrace and stood where she was sure he could see
her
face. “You failed,” she said. “I’m not broken. I’m not yours. I exist
for
me… for what I want. For me!” Flames grew over his body and her eyes
locked with his. “Guess I have more of my mother in me that even I
thought.” She smiled. “I’m rather enjoying this.”
The mother in question chuckled lightly. “No Dearheart, this is born of
a
completely different motivation. This…” She continued as Voltimer
burst
completely into flame and exploded into ash, “was justice.”
Grace stared at the ashes for several moments before kicking them into
the
breeze. “I’m through with this.” She crossed back over to her mother
and
hugged her tightly. “Thank you.” To Duncan and Gunn, she said, “Thank
you
all. But I think I’m going inside now.” Running her hand through her
hair,
she inhaled deeply. “Yeah. Destiny waits inside. I need to get on with
it.”
They nodded and Jasa looked at her companions. “We’re done here too.”
The trio fell into step behind Grace, moving inside, nodding at Angel
as
they passed. It was a foregone conclusion they would give the lovers
time
alone. That was, after all, the one thing they truly needed after their
ordeal. It was the only balm for the wounds on their souls that would
truly
heal them.
——————-
found
Angel’s. “Can I stop being strong and brave now?”
Silently, the vampire opened his arms to her and waited for her to move
forward. She never had to pretend with him and they both knew it. He
would
accept her no matter what her mental state. Strong, weak, fragile…it
didn’t matter. He’d love her any way she existed. It was the deal. She
would
do the same for him.
She fell into those open and strong arms and shivered slightly as they
enfolded around her. It wasn’t from fear though. It was relief. Her
head
buried into his neck and she cried softly. For a while… at least in
her
mind… this had been gone. All gone. Voltimer had made her believe
that
she’d lost everything. He’d been wrong. She knew that so long as Angel
walked the Earth, he would have searched for her. She should have
believed.
But she wasn’t going to berate herself right now. At this moment, all
she
wanted was to feel this man’s strength, and to feel his love. She had
both,
even as she cried, she knew she had both.
Resting his head against hers, Angel drew in an unneeded breath. The
relief
that she was back in his arms, safe, was profound and intense. The
power of
the emotion threatened to overwhelm him but he distracted himself with
getting reacquainted with the feel of her against him, the scent of her
body, the heat that she radiated into him. He experienced and savored
it.
This was something that, on a dark level, he’d feared he’d never feel
again.
But she was back, she was his, and she was safe.
She placed a soft kiss on his neck. She really didn’t want to break the
silence, but she’d been tied to a bed for quite a while and her muscles
weren’t quite up to what they had been before the kidnapping. Quietly,
she
asked, “Could we go to our room, please?” She didn’t want him to let
go, but
she wanted to be there too. It was such a duality.
“Of course.” He murmured softly, lifting her into his arms. “For as
long as
you want.” He promised with a grin. “We’ll order room service. Gunn
makes a
decent bellhop.”
She nodded. “You all… what you went through to find me. I can’t
imagine,”
she paused, “well I can, but what you must have gone through.” When
they
reached the room, she waited for him to set her down and asked, “Would
you
mind calling someone for something to eat? I haven’t eaten much
lately.”
“We thought as much.” Angel agreed, crossing the room. “Your mom had
some of
your favorites sent over from a restaurant.” He grinned over his
shoulder at
her. “Very large portions.”
She looked into the kitchenette and saw the feast that awaited her. It
was
enough to make her cry all over again. The little things that she’d
taken
for granted had all been taken away. Eating, sleeping, simply living.
She’d
lost it all. She’d been tortured before, but never when she had so much
to
lose. She walked slowly over to the table, taking Angel with her. She
wasn’t
going to leave very much space between them right now. Physical
closeness
was something she needed very much.
As she sat and feasted like she hadn’t eaten in years, she glanced up
at
Angel. She fought with the image of Voltimer shifting into his vampire
face
and biting into her neck, she also knew that that was a part of their
relationship they’d have to get back. “Did Mom tell you what he did to
me?”
She was never one for beating around the bush. “Besides the mental
stuff, I
mean.” She wiped her hands on a napkin and then placed them in her lap.
She
had to make herself look him in the eye. She was ashamed, but she
didn’t
want to hurt him any more than he’d already been hurt.
Angel nodded. “I gathered a good impression of what happened when I saw
you.
What was left of your clothing told the story loud and clear. Don’t
worry
about *that*, Grace. We’ll deal with that when you’re ready, strong
enough,
I’m certainly not going to starve to death in the meantime. When you’re
*ready* for it, we’ll talk about it.”
“I just wanted… I don’t know. I’ve been raped. I can disconnect that.
It’s
a form of physical abuse.” She didn’t want to cry; she was sick of
crying.
“He fed from me to break me. That’s the only reason why he did.” She
paused
for a moment and took a drink of her water. “And he did… break me.”
She
didn’t hold her head up… for him, she didn’t have to be brave. “I
hated
him for that more than anything. He took away something very precious
to
me… to us.”
Reaching up, she touched her neck and then took his hand and placed it
there
as well. “But he didn’t. Not really. For us, it’s an expression of
love. I
give to you because I love you. Not just with my heart or with my soul,
but
with all of me. And that is my way of giving myself to you.” She was
crying
now, but didn’t care. “He didn’t take my love for you. He couldn’t
touch
that and he knew it. So he attacked me in the one place he thought
could do
the most damage. But being with you, here, everything is clear… at
least
for now…” She paused before continuing, “He didn’t win. We won’t let
him.”
His hand migrated from her neck to her face, wiping away the tears. “We
won’t.” He agreed softly. “But we aren’t going to push it either,
Grace. In
some ways, making you go back to things before you’re ready would be
letting
him win as much as if we never did them again. I want you to come
through
this in one piece and if that means taking our time with it then that’s
exactly what we’re going to do, got it?”
She nodded. “I just had to say it. To get it out there. I’ve spent so
much
time silent… fighting battles in my head. I don’t want them there
anymore.
I needed to tell you that. That’s all.” She reached a trembling hand
for her
water. It had taken a lot for her to say that because it had been the
hardest thing for her to endure.
“I know.” He agreed softly with a smile. “But you don’t need to fight
this
battle. Not yet. Save your strength for the ones that matter *today*.”
Reaching out, he pressed a kiss to her palm. “Like living again.”
She pushed her plate away, half afraid to eat until full because she
hadn’t
been full in a long time. “I’m not sure how to go about that. I’m
scared.
I’ve never been this afraid to live. I sure don’t want to leave your
sight.
Getting me away from your side is going to be extremely hard.” She held
his
hand tightly. “I’m not even sure who I am anymore. I’ll never be who I
was… at least not completely.” She swallowed hard, almost afraid to
ask.
“Do you think… we could… could…” Her head lifted and she looked
at
him. “Mom offered us the use of one of her homes for a while. I know
you
have obligations here… but here right now…” She shook her head. “Do
you
think we could go?”
“I think we could.” He agreed. “After this one, the Powers owe us time
away.” Angel offered something akin to a sigh and rubbed his thumb
across
her hand. “Grace, no one is who they were. Life’s about moving forward,
becoming someone new. We change ourselves, remake ourselves, and learn
from
each mistake and each success and each trauma. We incorporate what we
like
and what we don’t, we inevitably shed. We all change Grace, I’m living
proof
of that.” He considered his words then chuckled lightly. “Well not
*living*
exactly.”
She offered him a small smile. “I’d rather change on my own, thank you
very
much. I want to skip the torture, humiliation, and brainwashing if at
all
possible please.” She reached out and ran her thumb along his forehead
and
down his nose. It was an action she performed as a matter of habit.
Moving
down, she caressed his cheek. “Two things… then I’d rather not talk
anymore if we don’t have to. One, tell Mom we’ll go as far away as you
can
travel safely. She’s offered to stay here in your absence. Two, you
think
you could hold me? I’ve lived off the memory of your arms around me,
I’d
rather have the real thing now, if you don’t mind?”
His smile softened and he pulled her into his arms, holding her
carefully.
“We’ll ask her for a list of destinations tomorrow and then go from
there.
Ok?”
Her head burrowed into his neck again and her arms wrapped around him.
“I
think that sounds absolutely perfect. Thank you.” She was tempted to
ask if
they could move to the bed, but she wasn’t completely up to being the
aggressor in any part of anything right now. She needed him, like she
needed
air. But asking for anything right now was difficult at best.
“In the meantime,” he continued on softly, “you need your rest.” He
stood,
holding her carefully and crossing the room to the bed. He set her down
long
enough to collect a warm sweatshirt and pants from a drawer and
returned to
her. “Put this on.” He pressed the clothing into her hands and moved to
turn
down the covers and quickly change into his own sleepwear, waiting at
her
side, brushing her hair away from her face.
She looked down at the clothing and smiled. “I don’t like wearing
pajamas.
You know that.” Even as she undressed, she continued talking. “It
hinders
feeling your skin.” When she was dressed, she took his hand and held it
tightly. “I missed this. So much.”
“I missed this too.” He replied, lifting her hand to his mouth and
kissing
it. “And tonight, I think you need comfort clothing. Cold skin isn’t
comfort
clothing.” He teased lightly, sitting down on the bed.
“Yours is,” she smiled. “I don’t even notice cold… it’s just knowing
that
it’s you… holding me and not ropes holding me down.” She swallowed
hard.
“But if you want clothing… clothing it is.” She put her head on his
shoulder and sighed contentedly.
He lay back, cuddling her close. “I just don’t want you to be cold
tonight.”
He murmured softly. “I want everything for you to be as perfect as it
can
be. As perfect as I can make it.”
She rested her head on his chest. It didn’t move, the heart didn’t
beat…
and she was so comforted by that. “It is perfect. I’m home. I’m with
you. If
you thought I should sleep in a parka, I would.” She was a bit worried
about
falling asleep… the dreams would come… nightmares were inevitable.
“Some
things about me have changed, but I still have an aversion to
clothing.”
Hugging him close, as if she could join them physically that way, she
said,
“It’s just good to be home. Thank you.”
“Thank me?” He smiled wryly. “The rescue was a purely selfish act. I
couldn’t imagine being without you.” Cuddling her closer, he stroked
her
hair. “Don’t worry about nightmares, Gracie.” He murmured quietly.
“I’ll be
here.”
She lifted up her head and looked at him. “How did you know I was
thinking
about nightmares?” She moved so that she was almost on top of him.
“It’s not
fear, actually. I don’t know what it is. He’s dead. He can’t hurt us
anymore. I’m home, safe, and with you. There’s nothing to worry about,
yet I
am.”
“He may be gone but in your dreams, he can still reach you.” Angel
pointed
out softly. “It’s like being stalked. They can put the stalker in
prison but
he can still kill his victim in her dreams every night. It will take
time,
Grace. Time for your mind to let go of the fear. Time for you to get
angry
enough to force it out.”
She nodded. “I know I’ve told you about my first death. Mother found me
and
took me back home. I was disoriented, scared, and unsure of what was
going
on. I was a mess. I know I told you that Trevor turned up missing…
and
then later was found dead. The highwaymen were found dead too. I know I
told
you that. But did I tell you about the fear… the nightmares? I was
paralyzed by the fear. I was okay with the Immortal stuff… I always
knew
my mother was one. But the fear… it consumed me.” She wasn’t just
telling
him a story now, but trying to gain strength from the sharing. “I never
actually dealt with the men who raped and killed me. Jasa took care of
that.
But I had the fear. So, I trained, endlessly. I became a recluse for
about
five decades and trained. I learned everything Mother had to teach me.
But
not just her. Methos, Ramirez… any Immortal she knew and trusted. And
that’s when I turned to tracking. It’s what drove me to seek justice
for
those who couldn’t find it for themselves.” Looking up at him, she
touched
his cheek lightly. “But I had the fear for a century… maybe more. I
don’t
know if I recovered fully… but eventually I just stopped being
afraid.”
He took her hand in his, twining their fingers together. “It’s
different
now, Grace. You’re different. Older, more mature, able to handle things
you
weren’t then. We’ll help you deal, we won’t let you become a recluse.
You
mean too much to us to let you pull away like that.” He kissed her
fingertips. “You mean the world to us all. You’re stronger than you
think,
Grace. Much stronger.”
“Right now, I don’t want to be strong, brave, or mature. Right now, I
just
want to be.” She put her head back on his chest and looked at their
joined
hands. “I wasn’t alone before. But it’s different now. You’re right
about
that. I have my own family… people I love… Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley,
Fred,
even Duncan and Lorne.” She smiled. It was as if by listing them, she
felt
comforted. “Duncan said you guys went after Emily and that she was the
one
who led you to Voltimer. We’re taking care of her, right? The Watcher
Organization frowns upon Watchers who do what she did.” Of course, she
knew
Emily was taken care of, but she hoped to hear details. “She’s not an
ordinary Watcher. She cares a bit more than a Watcher should, but I
like
that about her. She’s quite an amazing person.”
“She is.” Her lover agreed with a smile. “And yes, we’re taking care of
her… or I should say *Wesley* is. He seems to be… actually enamored
of
her.” A soft chuckle escaped him. “It’s proving to be very interesting
actually.” He held her close with his free arm, stroking her hair
reflexively. “He’s very impressed with her.”
Grace smiled. “Emily and Wesley.” She paused to let the thought of the
two
of them sink in. “Two very intelligent people who are driven in their
respective fields. There isn’t an Immortal Emily doesn’t know inside
and
out… just as Wesley knows his ‘evil beings’.” Her hand slid inside
his
shirt and rested on his side. She was a skin person and just the touch
gave
her enough comfort to finally close her eyes. “I think I approve of
that
match. I like the thought.”
Angel grinned. “I’ll be sure to pass that along. Should double
Wesley’’s
nerves considerably.” He threaded his fingers through her hair. “And
you’re
right, they are very well matched.”
“Mmm Hmmm,” she said softly. “Wesley’s in the height of his glory, I’ll
bet.” She snuggled in more, her hand now softly stroking his chest. She
may
have to be clothed, but she was going to touch his skin. “Angel, love,
it’s
good to be home.”
“It’s good – beyond good – to have you home.” He replied softly. “And
just
so you know? I’m never letting you out of my sight ever again. *Ever*.”
He
vowed. “Got it?”
She shook her head. “Got it. And I really, really don’t ever want to be
out
of your sight again. Not for a second. I love you.” And that was the
bottom
line in all of this. Her heart literally filled to bursting. She loved
him.
He loved her. The prophecy brought them together, but love bound them.
Life
could throw obstacles at them to try and drive them apart, but nothing
could
take their love away. Voltimer had tried… he’d brainwashed her into
believing she was alone. But she hadn’t been. Angel had been in her
heart.
His soul was with hers the entire time. “I love you,” she whispered
again,
just to hear the words.
“And I love you.”
Long after Grace had finally fallen alseep, Angel was still awake. He
lay in
bed, her body bundled into his embrace and pressed against him. They
always
came through it in the end, he knew that, but that didn’tleave them
unscarred. He knew they would be dealing with the scars that Voltimer
as
well as Wolfram & Hart had left on their souls for a very long time. It
wouldn’t be an easy process to deal with and he knew that more than one
ghost of this event would surface and disrupt their lives even months
down
the line but deal they would. There was no other option. To refuse to
deal
with the changes and with the impact was to leave things undone, to let
things spoil and ruin. Let Voltimer, vanquished as he was, win.
That was not an option. He’d taken things, changed them, tried to
destroy
them and Angel would *not* let him win.
Never.
Not ever.
Finis
** When You Come Back To Me Again **
There’s a ship out, on the ocean
At the mercy of the sea
It’s been tossed about, lost and broken
Wandering aimlessly
And God somehow you know that ship is me
‘Cause there’s a lighthouse, in the harbor
Shining faithfully
Pouring its light out, across the water
For this sinking soul to see
That someone out there still believes in me
On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and it keeps me hanging on
Raining down, against the wind
I’m reaching out ’til we reach the circle’s end
When you come back to me again
There’s a moment we all come to
In our own time and our own space
Where all that we’ve done, we can undo
If our heart’s in the right place
On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and it keeps me hanging on
Raining down, against the wind
I’m reaching out ’til we reach the circle’s end
When you come back to me again
And again I see my yesterday’s in front of me
Unfolding like a mystery
You’re changing all that is and used to be
On a prayer, in a song
I hear your voice and it keeps me hanging on
Raining down, against the wind
I’m reaching out ’til we reach the circle’s end
When you come back to me again
When you come back to me again
Garth Brooks
Tags: alternate universe, angel, angel/grace, angst, crossover, drama, fred, fred/gunn, grace hammond, gunn, het, rating: r, romance, the Fang Gang