Major Redemption Time

The next morning, Willow awoke refreshed and well rested. {Maybe all that talking last night did everyone some good. Poor Lindsey. He's been through so much. I wonder if he's awake yet�If not, maybe I could�Ooops! Naughty Lindsey thoughts! Stop it Will! You just met the man! } She chided herself as she headed to the shower.

~I hope it's not too early. What if she's still asleep? Well, there's only one way to find out.~ Lindsey thought as he picked up the breakfast he'd made for himself and Willow, and headed out the door.

Willow had just turned off the water when she heard knocking at the door. "Just a second!" She yelled out. She quickly put on her bathrobe and ran to the door, dripping water everywhere. As she opened the door, she said: "Jeez, Buffy, what happened to calling before coming�Lindsey!"

"I didn't have your number?" He said.

"Oh! No! Not you! I was talking about Buffy." She explained. "It's kind of a running joke. Please, come in." She stepped aside as he carried the food into her apartment. "Wow, that smells wonderful!"

"Thanks! I know it's a little presumptuous. But, I wanted to know if you'd join me for breakfast."

"I'd love to." She answered with a smile. "What's the occasion?"

"The real one? Or the rehearsed one?" He asked with that smirk she'd come to love so much in just a short time.

"Both." She said before she motioned for him to sit. That's when she noticed it. "Omigosh! I'm so sorry Lindsey! Let me go put on some actual clothes instead of walking around like a-a wet...floozy."

"Trust me, Willow. You will NEVER look like a floozy to me." He said smiling at her embarrassment. "But, I understand. I'll be here when you get back." She blushed more-if possible-then made her way to her bedroom to change. ~She's even beautiful just out of the shower. Too bad I didn't catch her in a towel. Dammit! This is why I'm here with the breakfast! To apologize for coming on to her! I really need to get my libido in check.~

"So, what are the occasions?" The hacker asked as she emerged from her bedroom in a pair of jeans and a pale green peasant blouse.

"Huh?" He asked, brought out of his reverie.

"Come on, don't back out now." She replied playfully as she fixed herself a plate of eggs and hash browns.

"I want the real one AND the rehearsed one."

"Oh, right. Well, the real one is: I'm sorry for coming on to you like a drunken sailor last night. I mean, I know you just lost someone extremely important to you and I had no right. So, I was hoping breakfast would make up for that?"

"You were coming on to me?" Willow asked, completely confused. "I know I'd been out of boys town for a while, but I didn't notice you coming on to me."

"Oh, well, never mind!" He replied.

"Not so fast, mister!" She said sharply. Then, her tone softened to one of complete flattery. With a huge grin, she asked. "You were coming on to me?"

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles�.

"Hey, how'd it go?" Cordelia asked.

"Killed the demon." Gunn said.

"Saved the girl." Connor added.

"No one noticed a thing." Angel finished.

"Good, because I've got bad news and really bad news." The seer replied.

"What's the bad news?" Angel asked.

"We're going to Sunnydale to because Willow's in danger."

"What's the really bad news?" Gunn asked.

"Lindsey McDonald's there." Cordelia replied. "And he's in danger, too."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 9:

"Well?" Willow asked after they'd finished breakfast and sat on the couch.

"'Well' what?" Lindsey asked.

"What's the rehearsed version?"

"Oh, come on! You're not serious!"

"Uh-huh." The redhead replied.

"Willow�" Lindsey started as a blush crept onto his face.

"See this?" She pointed to her face. "This is my 'resolve face'. No one can get past this. Not the Slayer. Not the vampires I know. Not even Xander. No one. So, talk."

"Okay, okay." Lindsey said ash he stood and gathered his breakfast containers and headed to the door. Willow looked on surprised. Lindsey walked out and shut the door behind him. Next, Willow heard a knocking on the door. She smiled, stood and went to open the door. "Hi Willow. I thought that since we were neighbors and all, maybe we'd get to know each other over breakfast. That way you wouldn't be hesitant to borrow anything like a cup of sugar, an egg, some of my time�" He finished with his eyes shining and a huge grin.

Willow took the containers, sat them on the table, and turned to Lindsey. "I think I'll take you up on that." She replied as she stepped up to him and brushed his lips with her own. At that moment, they felt an electricity flow through each of them and slightly pulled back, just staring at one another.

"Wow." He said in total wonder.

"That sounds like something I would've said. So, I'll go ahead and agree. Wow."

"I guess this is a little more than some physical attraction, huh?" The blue-eyed man asked.

"You could say that." She answered. "Lindsey, I'm thinking maybe�"

"�we should slow way down because this is going to be really intense?" Lindsey finished.

"Exactly." The redhead replied with a smile. "But, it's nice to know that it's not just me that's interested."

"Try minute one." He stated.

"Huh?"

"The first minute I saw you in the park, I was hooked." The hacker blushed and thanked the Powers that the phone rang at that time.

"Excuse me." She walked to the phone. "Hello�Hey Cor�of course I check my email�I just woke up about half an hour ago�Here? Why?�Oh boy. Cordy, listen. There's something�Oh�How is he taking it?�He's not coming here, is he?�Yeah, so tell him to behave�I'll call Giles and let him know. We can all meet at Buffy's at around 8, okay?�Oh goodie. That was sarcasm in case you missed it�I'll see you tonight, Cordy." She hung up the phone and looked at Lindsey. "Three guesses and the first two don't count."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Meanwhile, in LA�..

"I told her we'd leave as soon as the sun sets." Cordelia said as she hung up the phone and turned to Angel.

"Fine." Angel replied. "He'd better stay away from her until then."

"Well, that'll be kind of hard to do since he was there when I called."

"What?!?" The vampire growled.

"Would you chill, Angel? He's a good guy now." Cordelia stated.

"Whatever. Connor!" The young man walked in. "Pack some things. We're leaving as soon as the sun sets."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

In Sunnydale�.

The Scooby gang had gathered at the same park that Willow and Lindsey met. They decided to loosen up and have a picnic-courtesy of Buffy and Dawn-while Lindsey and Giles brought their guitars and sang.

"Oh my gosh!" Buffy exclaimed to Willow in a quiet whisper "He really DOES have the voice of an angel."

"Told ya." Willow said as she smiled proudly. "He's amazing."

"Somebody's smit-ten." Buffy sang into the hacker's ear.

"Your point?" Willow asked.

"Lucky girl." Buffy replied as the two men finished another song.

"So, I figure as long as we all stick together until we get more details, we should be fine, right?" Xander asked after the applause.

"Yeah, I don't see why we should do anything different." Buffy replied. "Hey Lindsey, you wanna patrol with us tonight?"

"Sure! I'd love to." Lindsey answered. "That is if I'm not already hospitalized."

"Lindsey, he won't do anything to you." Willow stated. "If he does, he'll wish he was back in hell."

"Jeez, Will. That's just cruel." Xander replied.

"Good job!" He finished with a smile. Anya elbowed Xander for the 4th time that day. "Ouch! I'm sorry, okay. But, I'll never like deadboy."

"Deadboy?" Lindsey asked as he laughed.

"Oh, my new friend, you don't know the half of it." Xander said.

"So, Lindsey." Giles said, trying to break up the 'we hate Angel' fest that was approaching. "What do you do with your daytime hours?"

"Well, I was going to start working for this small law office, but I really don't want to get back into law again. I think I may rather do something more 'hands on'."

"Like construction work?" Xander asked.

"Now, THAT I'd like to see." Anya whispered to the other females, who erupted into giggles.

"Or, teaching, perhaps?" Giles asked.

"Both excellent suggestions." Lindsey replied. "Can we talk more about this after this mess is over?"

"Definitely." Giles answered.

"My teachers NEVER looked like that." Buffy said sadly.

"Well, that makes me the lucky one!" Dawn replied with a big smile.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 10:

At sunset, the group decided to meet at the Summers' home to get ready for the Q&A session with the AI crew. Dawn and Spike were playing cards. Buffy and Xander were putting the remains of the picnic supplies away. Giles, Anya, Lindsey, and Willow were sitting around the coffee table discussing different demon texts.

"How hard do you think it would be for someone to kill a Veramte demon?" Willow asked.

"About 10 seconds." Spike replied from his card game.

"For a normal human." Willow added as she rolled her eyes at the vampire.

"Well, for one of us," Lindsey started. "There is a little secret about them. They're severely allergic to cinnamon, of all things."

"You're kidding, right?" Buffy asked as she and Xander walked out of the kitchen. "I've seen a Veramte demon. Hell, a Veramte demon kicked my ass before finally cut its head off. And now you're telling me that all I needed was cinnamon?"

"Yup." Lindsey replied with a smile.

"I'll be damned." Giles added.

"How did you know that?" Willow asked Lindsey.

"Evil lawyer, remember?" Lindsey stated.

"*Ex* evil lawyer." Willow replied with a smile as she kissed the tip of his nose. Of course, that's about the time Angel chose to open the door.

"What the hell is this?" Angel asked. "Willow, get away from him."

"No." She said.

"What?"

"I said no, Angel." The redhead repeated.

"Now, stop being an ass and get in here."

"Told ya!" Cordelia said as she strolled past a stunned dark haired vampire. "Hey Will!" She said after hugging the redhead. She then turned to face Lindsey who stood as well. "Born again boy."

"Hi Cordelia."

"Well, isn't this cozy." Spike said. "You coming in, Grandpa? It's really rude to leave the door open like that."

"Not now, Spike." Angel growled. Spike smiled a 'cat that just ate the canary' smile to his grandsire, but remained silent. "Willow, he's evil."

"He WAS evil." The redhead emphasized. "So were you."

"She's got a point, deadboy." Xander agreed.

"It's not the same." Angel said. "I was soulless."

"When you locked us all in the wine cellar with Darla and Dru?" Lindsey asked. Angel began to charge the ex-lawyer until something unexpected happened. Buffy tackled him.

"Buffy?" Angel asked. "What are you doing?!?"

"You're not going to hurt him, Angel." The slayer said as she stood and held out her hand to help the vampire up. "Now chill until we find out about Cordy's vision."

"I was wondering if we were ever going to get to that." Cordelia said.

"I think we should set the ground rules first." Willow said in voice that left no room for argument. She turned to Angel. "You. Don't touch him. I know you two have got some bad blood between you."

"He tried to kill Cordelia. And me!" Angel accused.

"He knows that was wrong." Willow said. "You chopped off his hand!"

"Willow, let's stay focused." Giles intervened.

"Angel, we know everything that's happened between you and Lindsey. Now obviously we need to work together right now. So, why don't you remain quiet until we figure out what's going on?"

"Did you know he�" The dark vampire was about to ask

"Came to you for help and you pushed him away?" Willow asked sweetly.

"Hey, that was�" Angel started again.

"After you had already decided to help Faith on her road to redemption, and before you decided to slice his hand from his body." Willow interrupted once again.

"God, Angel." Dawn said. "Are you sure you're one of the good guys?"

"Enough!" Giles screamed. "Everyone calm down. Now Cordelia, please tell us about your vision."

"Connor." Angel said as he looked at the doorway.

"Is everything okay?" Connor asked.

"Who is he?" Anya asked.

"My son."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 11:

"You wanna repeat that?" Xander said after a long silence.

"He's. My. Son." Angel replied.

"That's impossible." Buffy exclaimed. "How? When?"

"In other words, 'why isn't it hers?'" Spike deadpanned.

"Is he a vampire?" Willow asked tentatively.

"No, he's human." Angel replied.

"But�how?" Giles finally found the ability to speak.

"Who is the mother?"

"You two better sit." Cordelia said as she looked pointedly at Lindsey and Buffy. The two took their seats. Willow sat next to Lindsey and he grabbed her hand. Buffy sat next to Giles. "Connor, you plan on standing out there all night?" The teen walked in and shut the door before he leaned against it. "Okay." Cordy said with a big sigh. "I assume 'Born Again Boy' told you guys the basics of his time in LA. Well, the reason why Angel had an 'epiphany' was because he'd just had sex with Darla and decided he couldn't get any lower than that."

Buffy gasped as Giles put a comforting hand on her arm. She started to speak, but Cordelia stopped her. "Save the 'how could you' for after the explanation, please. Anyway, Darla left town right before Lindsey did. When she came back last year, she was 9 months pregnant. No one knows how or why two vampires had a human child, but it happened. Anyway, she killed herself so that he could be born. We all took care of him until Holtz kidnapped him and brought him to a hell dimension. A couple of months later, he came back�like this."

Next, Cordelia explained Holtz and his history with Angel, as well as the deep-sea incident.

"Wow." Dawn said. "All of this happened in the past year and a half?"

"You really locked him up and put him in a tomb?" Spike asked the young man. Connor nodded. "Way to go, Uncle C!"

"Spike." Willow warned.

"Oh, c'mon Red. I've gotta have some fun." The blonde vampire whined.

"So, Darla's dead?" Willow asked. Angel nodded.

"Again." Both Spike and Xander chuckled. "Are you okay?" The redhead asked as she turned to Lindsey.

"Sweetheart," Lindsey began as he caressed her face. "Darla is my past. I mean, yeah, it's a shock. And I did love her, so I'm sad about it. But, that's all it is: the past."

"Oh, PLEASE tell me you people aren't falling for this crap."

"Angel, what did we talk about in the car?" Cordelia asked the dark haired vampire.

"But, Cordy�"

"Don't 'but, Cordy' me Mister!" Cordelia replied. "Even though I hate to say it, 'Born Again' looks like he really cares for Wills. Don't screw it up." She then addressed the entire group. "Well, is it vision telling time or not?"

"Sorry Cordy." Willow said. "Go ahead."

"I saw Willow and Lindsey getting ambushed by a bunch of vamps and other demons. I saw them locked up in a cell with some kind of shaman trying to take Willow's magical abilities. And, I saw guys in suits." The seer finished.

"Guys in suits." Angel said. "As in Wolfram and Hart?" The seer nodded. "They're coming after Lindsey." I knew this was all your fault!"

"Hey. Dumb ass. If they were coming after me, why were they trying to take Willow's powers in Cordelia's vision?"

"Good point." Anya said. "So, we just have to make sure that Lindsey and Willow are never alone."

"Excuse me?" Willow protested. "That's not going to happen."

"Are you guys having sex already?" Anya asked.

"What?!" Angel screamed.

"Good for you!" Anya finished.

"No, we're not." The redhead said. She was, of course, blushing furiously. "Not that it's anyone's business." She added.

"So, who's up for patrol?" Cordelia asked, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Anything to get out of this tension-filled room." Anya said.

"Who's going and who's staying?" Xander asked.

"Whatever happens, don't put Angel and Lindsey together tonight." Dawn suggested.

"Amen to that." Cordelia replied. "How about we separate into 2 groups?"

"Who is going to stay with Dawn and Connor?" Buffy asked.

"I'm going." Angel's son replied.

"Don't argue with him, Buffy." Cordelia said. "He can almost kick Angel's ass."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 12:

"Well?" Cordy asked.

"I'm not patrolling with Deadboy." Xander announced. "I'm going hang with my boy, Lindsey."

"Xander, are you ever going to grow up?" Cordelia replied.

"No." Anya volunteered. "I'll make it easy and go with Angel."

"Yeah, me too." Buffy replied.

"Big surprise." Spike deadpanned.

The slayer glared at the bleach blonde, but then ignored him. "I want to hear Angel's side of the story, so that we have a clear picture of what went on."

"And I tan on a regular basis."

"Spike!" Buffy warned.

"Okay," Giles interrupted before a yelling match ensued. "So far, that's Angel, Buffy, and Anya. I'll stay here with Dawn."

"I'll go with these guys." Willow said, motioning towards Angel.

"That leaves Connor, Lindsey, Cordelia, Xander and Spike." Giles concluded as he silently dared Spike to object. "Any questions?"

"I think we're good to go, G-man." Xander replied. "Weapons all around, people." The group chose their weapons of choice and the two groups headed out in opposite directions.

By the time Angel's crew returned to Buffy's place, Lindsey's group was already back.

"�and then he jumped 10 feet with a stake in his hand and killed the vamp right before it had a chance to bite me." Xander was telling Dawn the events of the patrol. "It was the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"I thought you were human." Dawn addressed Connor.

"I am. I was just raised in a different dimension, where being here makes everything seem easy to do." He paused. "Does that make sense?" Dawn nodded.

"I take it you all had an eventful patrol, too." Buffy stated.

"Wills! You have no idea what Cordelia can do now that she's half demon!" Xander said.

"Anyone got a valium ready for Harris?" Angel asked as Willow went to Lindsey and sat beside him.

"Wait," Xander replied. "I'll just pretend to be Mr. Brood." He did his best impersonation of Angel, including stepping into the shadows. Lindsey laughed out loud.

"Xander!" Cordelia said, trying to stifle a giggle. "He's not like that anymore."

"Yeah Xand," Willow added. "You'd be surprised by the fact that he now has a sense of humor."

"Get out!"

"I swear! I saw it with my own eyes! He was actually making jokes." Willow said as she laughed at her friend's protest.

"Wow, will wonders never cease." Xander stated as he returned to his seat.

"Does he still want to kill me?" Lindsey asked Willow.

"He's promised to behave himself." Willow giggled.

"For now." Angel added.

"How'd that happen?" Xander asked.

"Resolve face." Willow said, as she demonstrated.

"Hey grandpa." Spike said. "Your kid's a good fighter."

"Thanks, Spike." Angel replied somewhat shocked.

"He definitely takes after me." Spike finished.

"Why did I NOT know he would go there?" Angel cast his eyes upward and asked no one in particular. Cordelia put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"You're together, aren't you?" Anya asked.

"Excuse me?" Buffy said in a demanding voice.

Dawn and Willow looked shocked, and pleasantly surprised. Xander and Buffy looked like five year olds would if someone had just stolen their favorite toys. And Spike fell to the ground laughing.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Part 13:

"Yes, well," Giles began. "Now may not be the best time to delve into�"

"When?" Buffy asked. "When IS the best time?"

"After they've spent the night shacked up over here?" Xander added. "And what about the curse?"

"Yeah!" Buffy agreed, trying to find any excuse as to why Cordelia and Angel can't be together.

"Why do you care, Xander?" Anya asked her ex-fianc�.

"Angel's soul is permanent." Willow quietly stated before her best friend could answer.

"What!?!?" Xander and Buffy screamed.

"It was one of the things I did before de-ratting Amy." Willow replied.

"Why didn't you tell me, Willow?" Buffy asked.

"It wasn't my place to say anything." The redhead replied. Lindsey put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. He knew this was going to be hard on the hacker.

"Angel?" Buffy looked to the dark haired vampire for some sort of trace of denial.

"Hey, half-wits." Spike said while he sat up still chuckling. "If they've already shagged, what difference does it make whether or not they do it again in Sunnyhell?"

"First of all: when did it become mandatory to know about my love life?" Cordelia asked. Her tone was one of annoyance. No one answered. "Well?"

"Cordelia, relax." Willow said in a comforting voice. "No one is judging you."

"Hey Peaches, feel free to get your vocal cords back at any time now." Spike said to his grandsire who still looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Is it true?" Anya asked.

"Anya, drop it." Giles said as he cast a stern look at the vengeance demon. "Now, whoever is staying here, stay. Whoever isn't: get out."

"Cordy, you wanna stay with me?" Willow asked. "Slumber party." She added hopefully.

"Thanks Will." Cordelia replied.

"Angel is NOT staying with me!" Lindsey cried. "I don't really want to get killed in my sleep tonight."

"I wouldn't waste the kill, Lindsey." Angel replied as he spat out the last word.

"Well, he can stay at my place, with Connor." Anya offered. "I'll stay at Xander's. On the couch." She specified.

"Anya, why don't you stay here?" Dawn asked.

"Thank you, Dawn." Anya said sincerely. "I'll show them where I live, grab some things, and come back."

"Yes, Dawn, a brilliant idea." Giles replied.

"Well, let's move." Cordelia said as she stood. "We'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye Cordelia." Dawn said. She went to hug the new half-demon. "For what it's worth, I'm very happy for you. You're a great influence on him."

"Thanks Dawnie." Cordy replied as she hurried out of the door.

"This is NOT over." Buffy stated.

"Blah, blah�" Cordelia said as she exited the Summers' home. Angel walked dutifully behind the ex-cheerleader.

"At least you got an interesting one this time, Grandpa." Spike said as he stood and headed towards the front door. "Later 'Bit. Red. Mac." The people addressed said good night to the bleach blonde vampire.

As Willow and Lindsey walked to the truck, they held hands. "Are you sure this is what you want, Willow?" the ex-lawyer asked.

"If it wasn't, I wouldn't be here." The redhead replied. "And, I wouldn't have given Angel my 'resolve face'." She added.

"I still can't believe that worked." He said with a chuckle.

"Never underestimate the power of the 'resolve face', Mr. McDonald." The two laughed as they got to the truck. "Besides, Spike doesn't hate you. And he hates everybody. That's more than reason enough to keep you around."

"He hates everyone except you and Dawn." Lindsey amended.

"And Anya." Willow added. He kissed her softly and then started the truck. "That was mean."

"What was 'mean'?" He asked.

"You know he's right behind us watching and you kissed me."

"Oh, that." He answered innocently as he drove away with Cordelia and Angel behind them, and Anya and Connor following.

No one noticed the 4th car that started to follow them.

"So things are pretty tense around here, huh?" Connor asked the vengeance demon.

"You could say that." Anya replied. "You see, Buffy and Angel were apparently this super-couple before he moved to LA."

"Isn't she a slayer?" Connor asked. Anya nodded. "Why would a slayer and a vampire get together?"

"That's the million dollar question." Anya replied.

"So, your dad and Cordelia are really together?"

"Yes. She makes him happy." Connor replied. "Sometimes I wonder if that's such a good idea."

"But his soul is permanent." Anya said. "It won't hurt anyone for him to be happy."

"But, does he deserve it yet?" Connor asked.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Meanwhile, in Angel's car�

"Was that necessary?"

"What?" Cordelia asked.

"Did he have to kiss her in front of everyone?"

"Angel," The seer said calmly. "You really need to figure out what you should focus on right now. I would think it would probably be: a) the fact that you kept your mouth shut the entire time in there when your precious Buffy found out about us, or b) why you care more about what's going on with Willow, as opposed to my reaction to your inability to speak about us."

"Cordy," Angel started.

"You know what?" Cordelia replied. "I changed my mind. I don't want to hear anything you have to say right now."

Just then, Lindsey's truck pulled into the apartment complex and came to a stop. Cordelia immediately grabbed her bag and jumped out of Angel's car before he could put it in park.

"Cordelia!" He called to her.

The seer ignored him and walked to Lindsey's truck where she got the keys to the apartment, as well as the apartment number and headed straight up without so much as a backward glance at the dark vampire. Angel sat there dumbfounded.

"Angel! Let's go!" Anya called from her window. The vampire put his car in reverse and sighed as he turned to follow Anya to her apartment. He had some serious thinking to do.

Willow and Lindsey watched the two cars drive away. "Did she look angry to you?" Lindsey asked.

"Whatever he did, he'd better be ready to get on his knees and beg." Willow agreed.

"Maybe if he spent more time tending to his own life instead of trying to control yours, he wouldn't be in this mess." Lindsey said.

"I'm so not going to argue with you on that, Mr. McDonald." She said with a smile. "Let's get some rest." She said as she opened the door to the truck. Lindsey stepped out from his side of the truck and joined the redhead. Their fingers intertwined as they held hands and headed towards the steps.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to get scared and run?" Blue-eyed ex-lawyer asked.

"After everything that we've been through both apart and together, it's going to be pretty difficult to scare me." The hacker replied with a smile. The two stopped walking and faced one another, hands still entwined.

Lindsey sighed. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Willow."

The redhead's eyes lit up. "Lindsey," she managed to whisper as she pulled him to her and kissed him passionately. The redhead began to see stars. Literally. She fell to the ground unconscious from the blow to her head.

"Cordelia!!" Lindsey yelled before tackling one of the attackers.

Cordy rushed outside and practically flew to her two friends, sword in hand. She hacked off a limb of the one nearest her and headed for the one who had picked up Willow. "Put her down, asshole!" Cordy screamed as another attacked her. "Lindsey!"

"There're too many!" he replied.

The two fought valiantly before they were both knocked unconscious and taken to a van with the redhead.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~