It had been more than ten years since they had all come together in Los Angeles. So much had happened, so much had threatened to tear them apart, and it showed, both in Doyle's and Cordelia's expressions.
Age had matured their faces, and Cordelia, at the ripe age of 29, looked her age, not older, not younger, but a regal, a beautiful twenty-nine years.
It was an age that she as forever destined to appear, no matter how old or mature her soul would ripen.
Angel had an old soul, a soul that had been marred with evil and tainted with blood. In Cordelia's young blood and mind and heart, he found a tenderness that he had learned to forget. He had taken comfort in her childlike innocence when she came to him, as a teenager, a victim not of the Hellmouth, but of the cruelties of life.
Now, age and love had made her wiser, but the sparkle in her eyes still remained. It had dimmed a bit, but Angel could still see it, in her beautiful hazel eyes. Her innocence had been stripped away, mostly because of her association with him.
She told him he was the best thing to ever happen to her.
He wasn't so sure. At times he thought himself completely selfish. He needed her. He lived for her.. and if it hadn't been for what he was... for what he had created within himself... she would mostly likely not be with him.
She would most likely not be what she was.
It worried her, it scared her, and Angel could never bring it up because he knew if he did she would misunderstand, would believe he feared what she was herself, and he didn't. It was for him she had changed, and for that...
He couldn't even begin to express the words.
But she would always be his young soul, and seeing what a woman she had become didn't change the fact that he would always want to protect her, to keep her away from the darkness that was impossible to hide from.
She was silent, the aching reality of the past few months changing her to a quiet, introspective woman, whose gift of tactless truth was still present, but surfaced rarely.
Doyle leaned forward, as he was used to doing, his head in between the seats. "All right, what I can gather this isn't gonna be a wham-bam-thank-you-maam sorta thing if you know what I'm sayin'."
"Uh... No, we don't know what you're saying," Cordelia answered, turning to look at him with a confused smirk.
Angel just drove. Cordelia would get it out of him, and as long as he could translate the "Corspeak", he was fine.
"I don't know... I just... I got the feeling it's more than someone trying to kill her."
"Did you get a glimpse at what demon it might have been?" Cordelia scrunched her nose. "God, I hope it's not slimy."
"Nah. Actually... this is gonna sound weird, but I don't think it was a demon at all. It was like... human."
"Human?" Angel asked, finally glancing toward his friend. Doyle nodded.
Cordelia looked confused. "But wait, isn't the undead our department? Why are we handling live guys- Angel stop that!"
Angel paused, the chips centimeters from his mouth. "What?"
"Do you have any idea how much fat those things have?"
Doyle smirked. "The lady's right, man. I saw on one of those televisions shows, they did this test and they put those chips on one of them napkins, and it soaked clean through."
Angel glared at them both. "I don't care." Cordelia continued her level gaze on him, and suddenly he slumped, and threw them out the side of the convertible.
He was rewarded with a gorgeous smile, and was immediately handed a napkin. "Don't wipe them on you're pants, you'll get them all greasy and that's hard to take out."
Doyle chuckled from the back. "Actin' like they're married already."
Cordelia winked, and Angel only rolled his eyes, feeling himself smile in spite of himself. He had missed this. He had really missed this.
Cordelia's hand squeezed gently at his shoulders, and her voice was no longer light and cheery. "Here."
Angel slowed to a stop in an alley, turning off the ignition. All three waited breathlessly, looking around for signs of a struggle.
"I don't hear anything," Angel whispered, sitting up.
Cordelia held her hand up, her eyes focused and her ears straining. "Wait," she breathed.
Angel and Doyle gave her a startled look, but as soon as she jerked her head behind them, a group of three burst from the alley.
"There!" The triad jumped out of the car to see Kate running by then, her blonde hair longer, waving behind her as she sprinted.
"Damn, man! they're shootin'!"
Shit. Angel glared at the men who came behind Kate, heard the shot, saw her stumble, cry out and fall.
"KATE!"
What happened next made both Angel and Doyle freeze.
Without thinking, the former May Queen stood, and jumped out of the car as if she suddenly had wings. With a strength and grace they had never seen before, Cordelia seemed to fly over the car, landing at least ten feet away with nary a jar and sliding to Kate's side.
"What the hell was that?!" Doyle breathed, his eyes wide. "When did she become bat girl?!"
Angel couldn't answer, his attention was diverted when the two men who had come after Kate suddenly whizzed past the car.
With a growl, the vampire launched himself out of the vehicle, much in the same way Cordelia had, leaving Doyle to actually have to use the door.
Taking the one closest to him, Angel pounced, startling the man. The gun went off, and Angel grunted, falling back when he felt the bullet pierce his abdomen.
Beside him, Doyle had less trouble. Taking the assassin off guard, the half demon swung his leg around, catching him in the face, bringing him down before grabbing the gun off of him and bringing it down on his skull. He fell without further interference.
Angel lost his patience then, his demon visage returning with a furious growl of rage. Seeing the look, the man suddenly stumbled back but only raised his gun again instead of looking frightened. With a quickness only a vampire could have, the gun was wrenched from his hand. Angel took the fingers and pulled hard, wrenching the arm out of the socket. Hearing him cry out in pain, Angel swept him off his feet, and brought down his foot on his chest, quieting him.
There was silence, and the vampire winced, bringing his hand to his stomach, before looking up to his girlfriend and the fallen detective. "You all right?"
Cordelia looked up, saw the blood dripping from Angel's abs, and stilled the urge to run to him. Instead, she shrugged, squelching her concern. "She's alive, that's all I know for now. She's bleeding all over the place. And it looks like her shirt is silk, too." Cordelia grimaced, and gently lifted the blonde haired woman, moving her head onto her lap.
"Kate?" she whispered, eyes floating to the wound in her shoulder. "Kate, can you hear me?"
The soft words made the woman stir, and with a groan of pain, her eyes opened, falling on Cordelia's concerned face.
She blinked, and closed her eyes again. "Cordelia?" she whispered, her voice a mask of pain.
"The one and only."
The tone made Kate almost smile, looking up into her eyes. "You guys... I shoulda known... it was... "
"Yeah, yeah, we saved you, we rock, are you hurt?" Cordelia said, cutting off the detective.
"I'm shot, Cordelia. You don't think it hurts?"
Cordelia raised an eyebrow at Angel as he kneeled beside them. "Well, she's well enough to bitch at me, so I'm thinking she's going to be fine."
Angel glanced at her, and with worried eyes, studied his old friend. "Kate," he whispered, placing a gentle hand on her face. "Kate, are you okay?"
At the sound of the gentle voice, Kate's head drifted to his side, leaning back against Cordelia's chest as she let her gaze fall upon Angel.
The sight of him seemed to still her, and she felt herself smiling despite the pain, "Angel... you're okay."
He smiled back gently. "Yeah. I'm fine." Her hand reached unsteadily for his, and Angel took it gently, squeezing. "You're going to be fine now, we're going to take care of you."
"And at no additional cost." Doyle and Angel both shot her a look, and Cordelia added defensively. "Well we ARE family, okay? She's a friend, we're not charging!"
Doyle merely shook his head, and Angel, preferring not discuss the reason why she got the glare, swallowed, touching Kate's wound, feeling her grimace.
"We should get her to the hospital, call the station-"
"NO," Kate's voice seemed stronger, as she tried to get up, emphatic even as she slumped back against Cordelia in pain. "Not the station, not the hospital."
"Kate you're shot, and although you may have hung with the demon freaks, you're still very much human." Something about the way Cordelia said that statement made Angel look at her, his throat suddenly clogged as he saw the gentle longing in Cordelia's voice.
Kate didn't seem to catch it, she was too focused on trying to dissuade them. "NOT the hospital. Please. It's not that bad, I can-"
"Are you like afraid of needles or something?"
"NO. Just.. please, just-"
"HEY!" Doyle looked up from one of the fallen men, holding out a wallet. "These guys are CIA, Angel."
Cordelia and Angel exchanged a surprised glance, and then looked down at Kate. "You've got the CIA after you?"
Kate closed her eyes, and said nothing.
Cordelia sighed, and shrugged, nodding to Angel, who nodded back. "All right, come on," he grunted under the detective as he tried to lift her, grimacing at his own pain, and Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Angel, don't be stupid. Let Doyle take her, okay?" Doyle nodded, coming forward and smiling gently at Kate, he lifted her in his arms.
"Come on, Miss Kate. Let's get ya home." Kate merely wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his neck as he carried her to the car.
Cordelia finally allowed her concern for her wounded boyfriend take over, and quickly her hand flew to his stomach.
"HE SHOT YOU!?" she bit, anger in her features. "Son of a-"
"I'm fine," he said.
"Yeah, and guess who's going to be doing the whole bullet bandaging thing all night?" she raised her own hand, but slid the other around his waist, helping him up.
"Are you sure you can... I'm pretty heavy and-"
"Hey. Dead guy." Cordelia stopped him with a palm on his mouth. He looked down at her in surprise, but she only cocked her head at him. "Remember that whole, blood drinking, bonding magical convergence thingy that has you pigging out?" He narrowed his eyes. "Well, it's given me a bit more Angel strength. I can the handle the weight."
He paused, but she only removed her hand and replaced them with her lips, kissing him once gently before they turned, moving toward the car.
~*~
He leaned against the table, not moving as her hand expertly slid around his bare chest, followed by the gauze, her fingers tenderly bandaging the wound.
He smiled, and she looked up, noticing the smirk. "What?" she asked curiously, her voice soft.
"Nothing, it's just... I forgot how good you were at that."
She gave him a long stare, and Cordelia's hazel eyes darkened a bit, softening her expression. "And not just THAT," she whispered suggestively, laughing softly as he growled, sliding his arms around her and pulling her in, seeking her lips out with his.
A moan from the living room stilled their embrace, and Cordelia and Angel separated, turning to look into the living room where their friend was lying on the makeshift bed.
"She's in a lot of trouble, isn't she?" Cordelia asked, her mouth pursed in concern.
Angel sighed, pulling Cordelia closer, chin on to top of her head as he thought. "Well, Doyle got the vision, I'm guessing we can help her out."
"Yeah... you know... she still loves you." Angel pulled back, but Cordelia's eyes were only thoughtful. "I can see it in her eyes."
Angel swallowed, and didn't answer. His hand slid gently up and down her arm, tenderly caressing the soft skin, and looking into her eyes, he gently tipped her chin up with his free hand.
"Cordelia... today, when you jumped out of the car... that thing you said about the strength. What's going on?"
Cordelia froze, her eyes wide with surprise and then suddenly shuddering, she pulled back. "What are you talking about?"
"This bond didn't just affect me," he said softly. "It's worrying me. Maybe you should call Sammis and Giles. See if maybe -"
"Angel I'm fine," she snapped, pulling away, rubbing at her neck absently. "It's just... we KNEW I would get something."
"But you're... we don't KNOW how far this will go, Cordelia," he said quickly, swallowing. "Look, I know you don't think it's that big a deal, but *I* would feel better if you just called him, okay?"
She crossed her arms, her back to him, and when he lay his hand on her shoulder, he was surprised to find her trembling. Angel swallowed, closing his eyes and pulling her back against him. She accepted the embrace, leaning her head back against his chest, closing her eyes, and just breathing.
"You have to talk to me," he whispered.
"I know," she said softly, but said nothing more. He could feel her heart thudding within her chest and he just pressed her tighter.
"God, Angel, you're so warm," she whispered. He smiled in spite of himself, when she said, "I'll call him first thing tomorrow."
"Thank you." She only shrugged, and then turned in his arms, looking up at him.
"Willow was supposed to come down tomorrow, she insists on helping me plan this whole wedding thing. But with Kate and her thing, I don't know if-"
"NO." Cordelia looked startled by fervent tone, but Angel only shook his head quickly. "No, Cordelia. We're going to help Kate and we're going to get married, and it's not going to stop us. We're getting married in three months, just like we said. I... don't want to put it off anymore."
The desperate tinge that accompanied his voice made Cordelia stare quietly into his eyes. There was a panic there, a need in his eyes that told her he still had fears. Fears she was going to leave him, fears that whatever it was that kept them together would change them, tear them apart, and it was clear... he couldn't stand that.
She felt a gentle smile slip onto her face, stilling her fears, and with a caress that was full of love and adoration, Cordelia pressed her hand gently against his face.
"You idiot," she whispered. "God, I missed you."
He pulled her to him in a fierce hug, and she smiled, kissing his cheek gently. "Do me a favor, call Doyle? I'm going to check on Kate."
"Sure. We'll work this out, Cordelia," he said gently. "All of it." She smiled at the meaningful statement, and patted his bare chest.
"See you in bed." His lips brushed her forehead and moved to the stairs, going to the telephone.
Cordelia crossed her arms, taking a breath, and walked to the living room, leaning against the doorway.
The years hadn' t been as kind to Kate as they had been to her. The detective was still gorgeous, but there was an aching weariness about her, as if she never smiled anymore.
Cordelia remembered her those many years ago, the sadness that had entered her eyes the day her father died and had never really left.
It was odd, the way the littlest things changed people. Cordelia had once wished Buffy Summers had never come into her life. She bet that at one or more point in time, Kate had wished the same thing about Angel.
Things had never been the same for the detective, and at the thought, Cordelia sighed, running her hands through her hair.
The movement caused Kate to stir, and her eyes searched the room, landing on Cordelia. Their eyes locked for a moment, and Cordelia raised an eyebrow.
"Still hurting?"
"Oh yeah," Kate grimaced, her eyes closing for a second before raising a hand to her head. "Wow."
"Yeah. Bullet holes are a pain," Cordelia sympathized.
"You've been shot?"
"And mauled, and clawed, and impaled," Cordelia shivered, her hand unconsciously going to the scar on her stomach. "And lots of other evils."
"Wow. You shoulda joined the force."
"Are you kidding? Cordelia scoffed. "Me and the force?"
Kate's eyes dance despite the pain. "Well that talking stick would have worked wonders for you."
In spite of herself, Cordelia felt herself laugh. "Well I have to admit, Kate, I have missed our regular bitch sessions."
Kate stilled, her smile suddenly frozen. "Believe it not, me too." Cordelia swallowed, and Kate merely sighed.
Cordelia leaned forward, sitting down and inspecting the bandage, as Kate continued her rasping, "Amazing how ironic life is isn't it? I mean, one day I'm Kate, homicide detective, the next I'm Kate, office joke, finding myself missing the bitchy ex cheerleader, the vampire with the soul, and the Irish half demon." Cordelia didn't' say a word, merely held a hand to her forehead. "I always knew about you two, you know. You and Angel. I saw how you acted around each other. You had no idea, that you two were gonna end up together, did you? I just... I always thought you'd fall for Doyle-"
"I almost did."
"But you're with Angel."
"That wasn't my fault," Cordelia gave Kate a shrug. "It seems now I have a destiny too."
"Huh?"
"Well I'm no longer the bitchy ex-cheerleader. Seems I'm now the bitchy ex cheerleader who's a vampire/ human hybrid freak."
"What?"
"Long story. You have to rest. You look very icky, and that hole is going to bleed again if you don't stop squirming. Tomorrow you're going to have to fill us in, okay?"
Kate bit her lips, but nodded. Cordelia patted her once, and stood, sliding her bangs out of her face.
"Kate?"
"Yeah?"
"We're your friends, okay? Even... me. Though if you ever tell anyone I'll kill you."
Kate stared at her, and a soft smile floated on her face. "Angel's better now, isn't he?"
Cordelia swallowed, and nodded. "Better than that. Thank you for helping us."
Kate sighed, and closed her eyes. "So it was worth it."
"What was?"
"Getting kicked off the force."
Cordelia's eyes widened, but Kate merely turned away, and closed her eyes.
She didn't move again.
~*~