Secrets

Notes: Takes place right after Angel and co recover from his epiphany and his tryst with Darla.

Disclaimer: I only own Fiona. I made her therefore she is mine. All others belong to the twisted brilliant looney our Lord and God Joss and his affiliates.

Email: luckyelaf13@yahoo.com

Feedback: Oh yeah, baby. You know I want it. *g*


Chapter 1: The Secret


Cordelia reached in her coat pocket and ran her hand along the stake she kept there. The sharpened wood giving her reassurance. The young seer was walking back to her apartment from a coffee shop a few blocks away. She was just about to turn a corner when she caught sight of a black convertible from the corner of her eye. She turned back and saw Angel running up the steps of townhouse after a girl. Thinking there might be trouble she moved to follow her friend.

Angel had left the door open so she stuck her head in and caught a glimpse of him entering a door at the end of the front hall. She followed silently and stood out of sight to the occupants of the living room.

“Forget it, Angel. It’s over.” The girl shouted.

“It’s never over, Fiona. Not until one of us is dead.” Angel said.

Cordy watched as the girl opened another door on the other side of the room.

“So be it.” She said quietly. She walked into the room and Angel followed. Cordy inched her way into the living room and to the door the others had gone. She saw the girl light a cigarette and sit down in an over stuffed chair. Angel moved forward and sat on the couch across from her.

“What are you talking about, Fi?”

“I can’t take this anymore, Angel! It hurts too much.”

“I know. Believe me, I know.” Angel said.

“I wish Doyle was here. As drunken and unpoetic as he was, he always seemed to know what to do when it came to us.” Fiona said.

She knew Doyle? Cordy thought.

“Yeah, he did. I know how much it hurt you when he died, but we both agreed to try and get through this.”

“I just can’t do it anymore. This stupid thing has taken over my life. And yours. I know how much you hate lying to your friends. It would be so much better if I just…”

Angel cut her off. “Don’t. Don’t even think about that.” He moved off the couch and knelt in front of her. “I need you, Fiona. I lost control once and you brought me back, I can’t do this without you.”

Cordelia watched as Fiona looked down into Angel’s eyes, tears running down her face.

“It hurts so much Angel. I just want the pain to stop.”

Cordelia never would have believed what happened next if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

Angel pulled Fiona forward and kissed her passionately. “I know, baby. I know.” He whispered softly stroking her hair. “Promise me, Fi. Promise you won’t leave me.”

“I promise, Angel.” She said kissing him gently.

Cordelia quietly left the way she came and walked back to her apartment in a daze. She flopped down onto the sofa. She thought for a moment and then it hit her. She got up and began pacing back in forth. I know that Angel kept most of Doyle’s things except for the stuff Harry and his mom wanted, she thought. The most logical place to look would be the basement of the Hyperion where Angel kept some of his own things. She grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

“I’ll be back later, Dennis.e cae called to her ghostly roommate.

Instead of walking she caught a cab to Angel Investigations hoping she could get what she needed and get out before Angel got back. When she arrived she was relieved to find he wasn’t there. She headed down to the basement and started to look for the boxes Angel had marked with Doyle’s name. She found them piled neatly in a corner. The seer searched until she found the loose-leaf notebooks Doyle used as journals. She had no idea where to begin looking so she opened the first notebook he’d written in. She’d have liked to read some of his thoughts but she figured she could always go back after she had the answers that she needed so she just skimmed looking for Fiona’s name. The brunette went through three notebooks before she found what she needed. Cordy grabbed that notebook and the rest until his death. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found Angel still wasn’t home. She caught another cab anxious to get home and read the journals. When she reached her building she smiled as Dennis opened the door for her.

“Thanks.” She called out. She slipped off her shoes, curled up on the couch, and opened the first book to the page she had marked. The first entry mentioning Fiona was right after Thanksgiving.

‘I had a vision this morning. I saw a girl being attacked by a vampire in an underground parking lot. Cordy wasn’t at the office right then so Angel and I went to try and save the lass. When we got to her it was too late, the vamp had already made a happy meal out of her, she was on the brink of death but as we were turning to leave I had another vision. I saw Angel making a vampiric bond with the girl. I guess that was the PTBs way of telling us she was meant to live. Angel wasn’t thrilled about the idea but he knew that if the Powers wanted her to live it was the only way to save her without turning her. I watched as he picked up her wrist and bit into it. He only drank for a few seconds, the he bit his own wrist and put it to the girl’s lips. After he was sure she’d had enough we took her back to my place and waited for her to wake. I could tell Angel had no idea what to say to the poor lass so when she came around I offered to try and explain things to her. He stepped out and left me alone with her.

“Where am I?” She’d asked.

She had a hint of an Irish accent but covered it well. An American wouldn’t recognize it.

“What do you remember?” I asked.

“I was walking threw the parking lot when a vam… when this guy…”

I stopped her there.

“A vampire. You know about them?” I asked.

She nodded.

“I’m Doyle. Do you know about the Powers That Be?”

She nodded again.

“I work for them. I’m what you would call a seer.” I explained.

“A seer? I’ve heard of them.” She said sitting up slowly.

“Easy, there, lass.” I said.

“Fiona. My name is Fiona.” She told me.

“If the circumstances were different I’d say nice to meet you but…”

“I understand. What happened? How did you find me?” She asked.

“My boss, Angel, is a warrior of sorts for the Powers. I get the visions, he fights the baddies. He’s a vampire but he has a soul. Don’t ask how it came to be that way, it’s a long story. Anyway, I had a vision of you so we came to save you but we thought we were too late. When we got there the vamp had drained you to the point of death, besides turning you there wasn’t much we could do but then I got another vision. The Powers told Angel to save you by creating a vampiric bond.”

“What’s that?” She asked.

“It’s when the vampire takes a few sips of a humans blood then feeds the human some of his blood. When you turn someone you drain them to the point of death then feed them but if you don’t take a lot of the humans blood then the human doesn’t take on a demon, just characteristics of the vampire you bond with.” I explained.

“Characteristics?”

“Yeah, the ability to heal, increased strength and speed. Things like that.”

“Will I need blood to live?” She asked.

“Not human blood but you will have to feed from Angel every now and then.” I told her.

“Is he here?” She asked.

“Aye.” I went to the door and went outside. “She’s taking it surprisingly well. She already knew about vampires.” I told him.

He nodded and went in to see her.

Angel and I decided not to tell Cordy about this mess. Angel wanted to tell her but I convinced him not to. I don’t want her getting any deeper involved in the vampire world than she already is. If we told her about bonding I know she’d start asking about other rituals and besides being uncomfortable for Angel it could be dangerous for her.’


Cordy closed the book and put it down.

“How dare they not tell me!” She said aloud. “Ask questions, yeah right.” She stomped into her room, changed, and went to bed seething. She’d give her boss a piece of her mind tomorrow.

~~~

When Cordy saw Angel the next day she knew she couldn’t yell at him. The vampire didn’t need a lot of sleep but his eyes were ringed in black and he looked totally exhausted.

“Angel, when was the last time you slept?” She asked.

“You know, I honestly don’t remember.” He said with a thoughtful look.

“Why not? I mean we haven’t been busy around here.” She said.

He looked at her for a second and she saw the desire to come clean in his eyes.

“What is it, Angel?” She asked.

He hesitated and she knew he wouldn’t tell her. “Nothing. I’ve just had things on my mind.”

“You wanna talk about it?” The seer asked.

“I wish I could but this is something I have to deal with on my own.”

“Angel, you’re part of my family now and I love you. If something affects you, it affects me.” Cordelia said moving to his side.

“I love you too, Delia, you know I do but I can’t tell you anything. At least not right now.” He said.

“Alright. But I’m here if you need someone. And so are Gunn and Wesley.”

“Thanks, Cor.” Angel said.

“No problem. Now, off to bed with you. You obviously need some sleep and if you don’t go voluntary I’ll knock you out and leave you here on the lobby floor.”

Angel smiled at his friend. “Yes, mom.”

“Ha ha. Now go.” After he went upstairs she sat down at her desk to do some work. About an hour later the phone rang, Cordy looked down and saw it was the line to Angel’s room. It was very rare that anyone called that line. She waited until it stopped flashing, signaling the vampire had answered then picked up the phone, her hand covering the mouthpiece.

“I was thinking.” A voice said, Cordy recognized it as Fiona. “About how you said it would be better if we were closer together. What if you tell your friends that I’m Doyle’s cousin and that I’m staying with you for a while. Then I could move into the hotel. Wouldn’t that make things easier?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea, Fi. We should have thought of it sooner.”

“Then I’ll finally be able to meet them too.” Fiona said.

“Okay. I’ll talk to them tonight and call you after.”
lriglright. Get some sleep. You sound tired.”

“I will. You too.” Angel said then the line went dead as the vampire hung up.

When Gunn and Wes arrived and Angel came down stairs he told them about Fiona.

“How long will she be staying?” Cordelia asked.

“I’m not sure. It depends on how much she likes the city.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to have her here? She could be in danger if she’s with us.” Wesley said.

“Fi can take care of herself, she’s knowledgeable when it comes to demons and she’s a decent fighter.” Angel assured the ex-watcher.

“She sounds great. It’ll be nice to have another girl around here.” Cordelia said.

“Good. I’ll call her and tell her it’s alright.” Angel said.

“Okay. Then I think we can all head home for the evening.” Wesley said.


~TBC~