Title: The Portal
Author: louloucn
Posted:
Rating: R
Email: louloucn@hotmail.com
Content:
Summary: (for this part at least) Cordy comes back from a date with Groo, and later talks to Angel
Spoilers: Post WITW, but knowledge of BtVS would be helpful too.
Disclaimer: The characters in the Angelverse were created by Joss Whedon & David Greenwalt. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Distribution: Anywhere, just drop me a note so I'll know where to look.
Notes: Note: This is my first fanfic ever so please be kind. As for the end of part 1 to the next part, I thank Dannyblue for inspiring me to actually start writing this fic in the first place and for Angelicgal82, starlet2367 and Love's Bitch for their always enjoyable fanfiction. They are the best.... also, please note that this is kind of like a prologue but I thought it was necessary just for the story. Also, I have no idea what I am doing here... Not used to writing fanfic at all...
Feedback: Yes, please.
Dedication: To schweet and AngelLuver21, who have remained avid followers of this series: your wish is my command.Part 16
As Buffy uttered those words. Angel had realized where in time the ring had brought them. However, he tried to retain his composure so that Buffy would not be able to notice that anything was wrong with him. He then looked down and noticed that he had no shirt on. He immediately felt self conscious and quickly pulled on a white t-shirt.
“What happened?” Angel asked, wondering if his ears had deceived him.
“Druscilla. She killed you. Right in front of me.” Buffy explained, clearly frazzled.
“It was just a dream. It wasn't real.” Angel replied.
“But it felt so real.” Buffy answered back, her worry not subsiding.
“It wasn't. I'm right here.” Angel replied. As he said those words of comfort, he tried to focus and remind himself of the Angel he used to be. The Angel that loved Buffy. He then touched her cheek.
“Angel, th-this happened before. The dreams that I had about the Master, they came true.” Buffy argued.
“Still, not every dream you have comes true.” Angel replied. As he hear the words that he uttered, he couldn’t help but think of Cordy and a thought of doubt entered his mind, wondering if the dream he had wanted with Cordy would ever come true. However, his head snapped back into focus once more to Buffy. “I mean, what else did you dream last night? Can you remember?”
“I dreamt... I dreamt that Giles and I opened an office supply warehouse in Vegas.” Buffy answered with a feeling of embarrassment.
“See my point?” Angel replied.
“Yeah, I-I do, but... what if Drusilla is alive? We never saw her body.” Buffy retorted.
“She's not.” Angel lied, but tried to keep Buffy reassured. “ But even if she was, we'd deal.”
“W-w-what if she is..."
Angel then impulsively grabbed her and kissed her. Partly to distract her from her thoughts of Druscilla but also to convince her and himself that he loved her. He needed desperately to feel exactly how he felt all those years ago, or the act would never be successful.
“What if what?” Angel asked.
“I'm sorry. Were we talking?” Buffy whispered.
Angel then once again leaned over to kiss her again. ~Focus, Angel, focus! You love this girl, remember? Try to remember the feelings that you once felt, or she’ll never buy it!
Then Buffy suddenly broke away.
“I'm sorry. I, um... I-I have to go to school.” Buffy explained quickly, trying to resist temptation.
“I know.” Angel replied.
~Concentrate Angel…remember...
Then Angel impulsively took Buffy into his arms and started to kiss her passionately.
“Oh, God, you feel...” Buffy moaned.
As Buffy began to get lost in her emotions, Angel was struggling with another battle. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking of Cordy. Every time his mind wandered to Cordy, he tried even harder to please Buffy and kissed her even harder.
~ Just remember… this is for Cordy’s sake…you have to start believing that you still love Buffy damnit! Angel then broke away and remembered what he had asked her that day.
“You still haven't told me what you wanted for your birthday.” Angel asked.
“Surprise me.” Buffy replied coyly and smiled.
“I will.” Angel replied as he attempted to smile back.
Buffy then held Angel close to her. “This is nice. I like seeing you first thing in the
morning.”
Angel tried not show that he wasn’t uncomfortable at the suggestion.
“It’s bedtime for me.” Angel replied. Yeah, he was tired after spending the whole night talking endlessly with Cordy, trying to savour the only moment they could have with each other. He hardly did get any sleep last night.
“Well, then I like seeing you at bedtime.” Buffy replied suggestively, as Angel tried not to squirm. “ Um... Um, heh... Y-you know what I mean.”
“I think so. What do you mean?” Angel asked impulsively. ~Oh God, you don’t want to know what it means!
“I like seeing you. The part at the end of the night where we say good-bye... It's getting harder.” Buffy explained shyly.
“Yeah. It is.” Angel replied as he tried to put himself into the mindset that his former self had. He remembered how hard it was to contain himself with Buffy. But now, it was getting harder to pretend, since in his heart, it was now Cordy that he found hard to resist.
“Well…I better get to school then or I’ll never make it to school.” Buffy exclaimed, as she back away towards the door. “I’ll see you later.” With that, she softly kissed Angel, and walked out the door.
As Angel closed the door and once he knew that Buffy was gone, he then let out a huge sigh of relief that the encounter was finally over and that he didn’t have to pretend for much longer. It was hard encountering Buffy at seventeen when they were both hiding their feelings from each other and playing this game of ‘will they or won’t they?’ but seeing Buffy at sixteen was even harder because Buffy was still open about their relationship and was anxious to take their relationship to the next level, even more naïve to the consequences that would lie ahead.
“Is Buffy gone yet?” Cordy cried out from inside the bathroom.
“Yeah, she’s gone.” Angel replied, anxious to see his beloved.
Cordy slowly walked out of the bathroom. “I wasn’t really sure if she really left because I stayed put this time and I didn’t hear a thing. Well, maybe because I didn’t really want to listen, and especially see what was going on. The last time, I saw way too much than I should have seen.”
“I’m sorry Cordy.” Angel replied sadly. “I guess that’s the price we pay for traveling back into the past. You encountered your past loves and those whom you used to love.”
Cordy then got closer to Angel and held him very tightly. “Are you sure you don’t love Buffy anymore?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Now Cordy, I know this is the part that you hate the most, but I think you have to go to school.” Angel added.
“Oh God, school again!” Cordy groaned. “When does it ever end?”
“When we get out of here. I promise. After this, you’ll only be setting foot into a school for parent-teacher interviews, okay?”
“Thank God! Now I got to sneak into my house to get a Queen C outfit together” Cordy sighed, and then she looked at Angel. “So, I guess this is when we go our separate ways.”
“Yeah…”Angel replied. ~Why didn’t I notice Cordy in the past? “We’ll get through this together okay?”
“Okay.”Cordy answered. “Thank you for the best night Angel. It’s definitely going to be awhile until I can kiss you like this..” with that she quickly pulled him closer and kissed him with all the passion she had in her heart.
“I love you.” Cordy said simply.
“I love you.” Angel said back.
She then broke away from Angel, as she attempted to back away towards the door.
Although she had made it to the door, Angel still held onto her hand as she pulled away. She looked at him. He looked back, knowing that she had to go now. Finally he slowly let go and she was gone.
******************************
Cordy, with much reluctance, walked towards her locker. From her body language, it seemed as if she was on a death march as her back was slightly hunch backed and she walked as slow as possible to delay the stop at the locker. Finally, she reached her old locker and opened it with a sigh.
“So... Buffy's party.” Xander said suddenly as he crept up behind her. Cordy slightly jumped at the sudden appearance of Xander. ~Buffy’s party? So I guess she’s having a party.
“Buffy’s party?” Cordy asked, then she mentally put herself in Queen C mode. “Well, just because she's Miss Save-The-World and everything, you have to make a big deal?” attempting to sound as much as her former self as possible. “I have to cook! And everything.” ~Why did you say that? You know you don’t cook!
“You're cooking?” Xander exclaimed with much confusion.
“Well… uh… I'm chips and dips girl.” Cordy explained, trying to cover her tracks.
“ Horrors! All that opening and stirring.” Xander teased.
“And shopping and carrying.” Cordy added.
“Um, so, uh... You're going, and, and, and I'm going. Should... we maybe... go?” Xander suggested.
“Why?” Cordy asked, with the most snotty tone she could imply.
“ I dunno. This... thing with us, despite our better judgment, it keeps happening. Maybe we should just admit that we're dating.” Xander explained.
~So we were having that thing… Cordy thought to herself. I know this conversation is familiar, but I just can’t put my finger on when…. But I do remember groping… I guess that’s a start.
“Groping in a broom closet isn't dating. You don't call it a date until the guy spends money.” Cordy replied, still trying to keep up her rich bitch act up.
“Fine. I'll spend, then we'll grope. Whatever. I just think it's some kind of whacked that we feel we have to hide it from all our friends.” Xander explained.
“Well, of course *you* wanna tell everybody. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I, on the other hand, have *everything* to be ashamed of.” Although she knew that what she said would hurt Xander a lot, but she knew that it would exactly be the type of thing Cordelia would say.
“You know what? 'Nuff said. Forget it. It must've been my multiple-personality guy talking. I call him Idiot Jed, glutton for punishment.” Xander, clearly pissed, just turned his head and walked off.
Cordy suddenly felt guilty for treating Xander so badly, but what could she do. She had to act up the rich bitch angle and milk it for all it’s worth. I mean, the last time she felt sorry for Xander, she ended up married to him and having his child. ~You just have to stay tough here. Cordy thought to herself. You’ve got to do pull yourself together and not be weak. No weakness!
Cordy then walked down the hall and saw Xander talking Giles. Since she didn’t want to get into another fight with Xander, she snucked behind a couple of lockers and decided to eavesdrop on their conversation. Maybe it would help her figure out where in time she had exactly fell into. She knew the date, that’s for sure, but she couldn’t figure out what the significance of it was. It was on the tip of her tongue, but she she just couldn’t remember it…. Maybe they could shed some life on the matter.
“…Is everything in order for the party?” Giles asked Xander.
“Absolutely. You ready to get down, you funky party weasel?” Xander asked.
~Funky party weasel? Cordy thought. ~Not exactly the term to describe Giles.
Then she saw Buffy and Jenny approaching them ~Jenny! Cordy gasped. It had been so long since she had seen her… It was way too errie to see someone when you know that they died.
“Here comes Buffy.” Giles said quickly. “Now remember: discretion is the better part of valor.”
“You coulda just said, 'shh!' God, are all you Brits such drama queens?” Xander exclaimed in frustration.
[/I]~I can’t believe that I actually agreed with Xander![/I] Cordy thought to herself, as she remembered how rarely did she ever fully agree with Xander. ~Yeah, why do Brits keep making everything so complicated?
“Buffy,” Xander said, as Buffy got near him. “ I feel a pre-birthday spanking coming on.”
~Birthday? Cordy asked herself. ~Oh my God! It’s Buffy’s birthday. As she began to put the pieces together, she realized that she wasn’t dreaming. It was Buffy’s birthday, but not only that, it was the birthday. THE birthday that would change everything.
**********************
It was very hard to continue going through the day as Cordy’s mind kept being totally distracted with what she knew. Tomorrow was going to be Buffy’s 17th Birthday. It was the day when the whole gang were supposed to make a surprise party for Buffy. However, things got all weird or something like that. But what plagued her mind was not that the party didn’t go as expected. It was what happened after the party. From what she vaguely remembered, it was the night that Angel and Buffy couldn’t resist each other anymore. It was the day that Angel made love to Buffy. It was the day he had gotten perfect happiness and turned back into Angelus.
All of these thoughts just kept swarming through her mind, and although she wanted it to stop, for all of these things to stop plaguing her, it didn’t help. All she could see was Buffy under Angel and the moaning and the…Oh God. She couldn’t take it anymore.
Once school ended, she ran immediately towards Angel’s apartment. She didn’t care about Xander, Buffy or anyone finding out about her and Angel. All she cared about was Angel and she desperately needed him now. More than ever.
Cordy then frantically knocked the door. * knock, knock, knock *
Angel opened the door and was clearly surprised by Cordy’s presence. “Cordy, what are you doing here?”
“I had to see you.” Cordy replied, with a look of utter worry on her face.
“But I thought that we agreed that this time we’d be careful. That we’d do things right this time and by the book, which means that we can’t see each other and…”Angel exclaimed.
“But that was before I knew!” Cordy blurted out. “It was before I knew it was Buffy’s birthday!”
Angel looked at her, knowing exactly what she was talking about and feared.
“It’s going to be okay.” Angel answered calmly as he put his hands on Cordy’s shoulders.
“It’s not going to be fine!” Cordy insisted. “In like less than 36 hours from now, not only will we be having Buffy’s surprise birthday bash, but … but you and her…” She couldn’t even say the words.
“I know… I know.” Angel replied with a sad tone.
“Why did this stupid ring have to bring us back here, here out of any time period?” Cordy asked, as she angrily glared at the ring, wanting to rip the ring from her finger.
“Cordy,” Angel began, as he pulled her closer to him. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”
“How can you be so calm?” Cordy asked. “Don’t you know what’s going to happen to you? You’re going to lose your soul!”
“Cordy, you have to trust me…everything is going to be fine I mean, we’ve gotten this far. Cordy, I promise that I’ll find a way.” Angel replied as he held on to her now, kissing her head to comfort her.
“But Angel…” Cordy whispered, as her head rested on his chest. “How can we…”
“Cordy, I’ll find a way.” Angel replied, as he closed his eyes and the wheels began to turn in his head.
Part 17
The day had been gone by so very slowly for Cordy. The knowledge of what was going to happen was eating her up from the inside. Though the first time around she had only cared about what she wore and Xander keeping his hands off of her, this time, she was dreading the end of the day, as it was approaching quickly. She wanted so badly to wake up from this nightmare, to open her eyes and find herself safe at home with Angel and Connor, but every time she tried to pinch herself, to wake herself, she was still in the same place, with nothing changed at all.
Though Cordy was feeling broken inside, she still made the greatest effort not to show any feelings of hopelessness, as she continued to rant and whine like the rich bitch of Sunnydale that everyone knew. No one could have ever suspected the incredible stress and anxiety that she really felt, knowing that her love would be making love to another.
When Xander offered to take her to the Bronze that night to prepare for the party, she refused, using the excuse that she didn’t want anyone to know about their relationship. The truth of the matter was that Cordy didn’t know if she pull it through. All day she had wanted to cry and scream but then she thought of Angel and surpress the urge to cry.
~Cordy, get ahold of yourself. You just have to get through this, that’s all. Once you get all of this out of the way, then you can just have the best life with Angel Cordy rationalized. ~This was meant to happen Cordy. He was supposed to sleep with Buffy. It was how it panned out. But eventually he fell in love with you. That’s all that matters.
Though she tried her best to keep thinking positive about the whole thing, as she began to dress for the party, she couldn’t help but have doubts about how Angel really felt about her, especially back in this time, where Buffy and Angel were madly in love with one another. ~ Could he be remembering all of those old feelings again?
She then took a deep breath, exhaled, and left for the party.
*****************
Angel was definitely impatient to say the least. He had made it a priority to get to Buffy’s party early and patiently waited for the best moment to talk to Cordy. He needed her to know what he had figured out. But as the Scooby gang scrambled to get everything ready for Buffy’s birthday celebration, he couldn’t find Cordy anywhere.
“Angel, could you help me put up the balloons?” Willow asked as Angel was looking around the room. “Don’t worry.” Willow assured him.
“Huh?” Angel asked.
“Buffy will be here. Jenny’s gonna get here no matter what.”Willow explained, thinking that Angel was looking for Buffy.
“Yeah… Buffy.” Angel asked, as Willow handed him some balloons. However, his attention wavered once more, as he finally saw Cordy arrive through the side door. If he had a heart, it would have skipped a beat . He just couldn’t take his eyes off of Cordy. She walked in wearing a dark red halter style top and a black short skirt, with her long, flowing hair slightly pulled back, but still cascaded down her shoulders. She literally took his breath away and also made him wonder why he didn’t notice the first time.
Cordy also kept staring at Angel. Although he was dressed in his normal attire of a dark blue shirt, and his old reliable black leather jacket, he still looked beautiful to her. He would look beautiful forever.
While anyone who would have bothered to notice Angel’s and Cordy’s eyes would have seen the sheer yearning and longing that existed between them, everyone was so preoccupied, no one was aware of it.
“Angel… the balloons.” Willow reminded him.
“Yeah, the balloons.” Angel replied, as he tried to do as Willow as she asked and tried to take his mind off of Cordy.
Cordy took her eyes off Angel and looked around the room. She then saw Oz trying to help with the decorations. She walked over to him.
“Hi Oz.” Cordy said and waved at him.
“Hi Cordelia. I didn’t think you knew my name. It’s nice to finally get to talk to you.” Oz said as he offered his hand. “It’s so weird that we’ve been going to the same school all this time, but we’ve never talked.”
“Yeah, I know.” Cordy said, realizing the situation. “So this is your first date with Willow, right?”
“Yeah.” Oz replied. “So do you know when Buffy’s getting here?”
“I don’t know.” Cordy admitted.
She then walked over to the corner of the room and just stood there. She would help but she then decided that it would be un-Queen C to lift a finger, so she just stood there and watched the craziness that was happening before him, the Scooby gang scrambling to get everything perfect for Buffy’s party. As Cordy’s mind started to wander, suddenly a hand grabbed her hand.
Cordy let out a gasp.
“Shhush.” Angel whispered, and quickly pulled her away to a nearby storage room and shut the door.
“Angel, what about the others?” Cordy asked. “Wouldn’t they notice that we’re not there?”
“They’re too busy.” Angel replied. “Anyways, it’s not like anybody out there really cares about us…I just… I just wanted to see you. I needed to see you.” He then pulled her close and traced her face with his finger.
“Oh God Angel!” Cordy whispered as she buried her head into his chest. “You have no idea how long this day has been. It’s been total hell!”
“Don’t worry. It’s all going to be over in a couple of hours. Just hang in there.”Angel assured her as he rested his chin on her head.
Cordy then pulled away to look up at his face. “But that’s what I’m afraid of.” She kept looking at his eyes and she just couldn’t take it any longer.
Angel then impulsively grabbed her face and kissed her passionately, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. They just kept pawing and pulling at each other, Cordy pulling at Angel’s shirt and Angel putting his hands under her top. They were insatiatable.
Then Cordy suddenly pulled away. “Angel,” Cordy said breathlessly. “really, what are we going to do? We can’t just be cooped up in this storage room forever.” Though she did have it as an option for a fleeting moment.
Angel finally focused and looked lovingly at Cordy. “I’ve figured out a way, but you have to listen to me and…”
“Cordelia?” Xander yelled out to interrupt them. “Where are you?”
“Angel, I have to go.” Cordy whispered. As she was about to leave, she pulled Angel in for another fervent kiss, and ran out of the room.
“But Cordy…” Angel whispered, however it was too late. She left the storage room too quickly before he could tell her his plan.
******************
Willow, Oz, Xander, Giles and Cordy all were hiding under a pool table as they waited for Buffy to show. Although they’d had become all restless because Buffy was late, only Angel showed some stress waiting for her.(At least he pretended to)
“Where is she?” Angel asked.
The gang then peeped their heads above the pool table.
“Shussh! I hear her coming.” Willow whispered, wanting him to hide under the table as well.
Angel could hear some noises of struggle from outside, probably Buffy fighting some demons. But he knew that Buffy could hand…
CRASH!!!
Out of nowhere, Buffy and a vampire came crashing through the window and hit the floor. Most of them stood up to look. The vampire then tried to get at Buffy but as he struggled, Buffy instinctly grabbed a drumstick from a drum set and staked him, reducing him to ashes, much to Oz’s utter amazement. Suddenly, Cordy jumped up from behind the pool table, with her hands raised up high.
“Surprise!” Cordy cried out.
Although everyone one else gave her a strange look, Angel couldn’t help but smile at Cordy’s impulsive act. ~She’s so cute! I love her...
“That pretty much sums it up.” Oz replied.
Buffy then hopped off the stage.
“Buffy are you okay?” Angel asked.
“Yes. W-what happened?” Giles added.
“Uh, there were these vamps outs...” Buffy explained, but her voice trailed as she noticed the decorations. “ W-what's going on?”
“Oh, um... A surprise party. “Giles replied, as he blew out a party favour.
“Happy Birthday.” Cordy exclaimed, trying to sound as sincere as possible ~It is her birthday. I mean, how is she going to know what is going to happen?
Buffy began to smile. “You guys did all this for me?” She then looked at Angel. “That is so sweet.”
Cordy then tried not to cringe.
“You sure you're okay?” Angel asked.
“Yes, I’m fine.” Buffy assured him.
“Are you okay?” Willow asked Oz, feeling sorry for him for being exposed to the vampire thing on their first date.
“Yeah. Hey, did everybody see that guy just turn to dust?” Oz asked.
“Uh, well, uh... sort of.” Willow admitted.
Cordy was so preoccupied with looking at Buffy with Angel, she didn’t even pat attention to the conversation that was going on.
Then Jenny appeared carrying a long box.
“Hey, can somebody give me a hand here?” Jenny said.
Angel and Giles took the box from her and set it on the table.
“Those creeps left this behind.” Jenny explained.
“What is it?’ Buffy asked.
Angel and Cordy quickly looked at each other as they knew exactly what was in it. They were too preoccupied by the other event, they had completely forgotten about the mystery box. But before they could warn anyone, Buffy opened the box and the arm grabbed her by the throat and began to choke her.
************************
Angel struggled to pull the arm off of Buffy, but when he did, he quickly stuffed it into the box once more, as Buffy struggled to breathe.
“Well, clearly the Hellmouth's answer to 'what do you get the Slayer who has everything?' “ Xander exclaimed.
“Good heavens. Buffy, are you all right?” Giles asked with concern.
“Man, that thing had major grip.” Buffy noted, as her hands were still on her neck.
“What was that?” Willow asked.
“It looked like an arm.” Oz replied.
“It-it's a legend... way before my time... of a demon brought forth to rid the Earth of the plague of humanity... separate the righteous from the wicked... and to burn the righteous down. They call him the Judge.” Angel explained, as the memories started to flood back to him.
“The Judge? This is he?” Giles asked.
“Not all of him.” Angel clarified.
“Um, still needing backstory here.” Buffy said, still confused.
“Um... He, he, he couldn't be killed, yes? Um, a-an army was sent against him. Most of them died... but, uh, finally they were able to dismember him, but, uh... not kill him.” Giles explained.
“The pieces were scattered... buried in every corner of the Earth.” Angel continued.
“So all these parts are being brought here.” Jenny said, beginning to understand.
“By Drusilla. The vamps outside were Spike's men.” Buffy added.
“She's just crazy enough to do it.” Angel noted.
“Do what, reassemble the Judge?” Willow asked.
“And bring forth Armageddon.” Angel finished.
“Is anybody else gonna have cake?” Cordy asked out of the blue, just to reaffirm everyone’s opinions of her being clueless.
“We need to get this out of town.” Giles declared.
“Angel.” Jenny said.
“What?” Buffy asked.
“You have to do it. You're the only one that can protect this thing.” Jenny explained as she looked at Angel.
“What about me?” Buffy offered.
“What, you're just gonna skip town for a few months?” Jenny retorted.
“'Months'?” Buffy exclaimed, realizing what it really entailed.
“She's right. I gotta get this to the remotest region possible.” Angel agreed, knowing where this conversation was getting to.
“But that's not months.” Buffy argued.
“I gotta catch a cargo ship to Asia, maybe trek to Nepal...” Angel explained.
“You know, those newfangled flying machines really are much safer than they used to be.” Buffy said.
“I can't fly. There's no sure way to guard against the daylight. I-I-I don't like this any more than you do, Buffy. But there's no other choice.” Angel tried to explain again, playing his part.
“When?” Buffy asked.
“Tonight. As soon as possible.” Angel answered.
“But it’s my birthday.” Buffy retorted with a little bitterness.
Angel looked down as he noticed Buffy’s reaction.
Jenny then walked over to them. “I'll drive you to the docks.”
Cordy just watched as she was helpless in what was happening. She wanted so badly to run to Angel, but she knew she couldn’t. As Angel and Buffy started to leave, Cordy tried to contain her tears. Angel then sadly looked back at her, and gave her a glance. He tried to give her a reassuring glance ~I love you. Angel thought, as Buffy took his hand, and pulled her away. Cordy couldn’t be consoled by Angel’s last glance, since she was afraid that it would be the last time she’d ever lay eyes on him.
Continue on...