| Have A Little Faith, Chapter 40 | |
Note: I want everyone to know that I love both Cordelia and Wesley, Cordelia is one of my favorite characters on Angel. I was debating for weeks on whether or not to kill them. I really did not want to, but for plot reasons that will be seen in the next few chapters and to set up the sequel, I needed both Faith and Lindsey to go through a terrible tragedy. So apologies to Cordelia and Wesley fans.
Note: The song that Faith and Lindsey listen
to is Which Way to the Top by Fastball.
Kate was the first detective on the scene. She had heard about it from another detective and insisted she take the case. She had taken the last few weeks off, but now her friends needed her. Just like they had been there for her.
She did not like what she saw when she first entered the office and wondered if her own life was in jeopardy.
Faith was right in front of her, sitting at Cordelia’s desk, staring into space. There were officers all around, dusting for prints. The crime had actually happened several hours ago. The coroner was also there. She had seen the ambulance downstairs but did not have the guts to see who was inside.
“Faith?”
Faith did not respond. She just looked down.
Kate looked into Alex’s office. Alex was sitting by her desk with the same vacant expression as Faith.
“Alex—“
“Hello, Kate,” Alex said, looking at her. Kate was glad to get a response.
“Was it Angelus?” Kate asked.
“I’m pretty sure yes—I think that they were all here, but I haven’t been able to get any information out of Faith or Lindsey except that Wesley and Cordelia are—“ Alex paused and took a deep breath. She resisted the urge to vomit. “Dead. They are dead. They murdered them--”
“Oh god,” Kate said and touched Alex’s shoulder, but Alex pulled away. She stood up and looked at to the Los Angeles skyline.
“God had nothing to do with this. This is all the devil’s work.”
“Where is Lindsey now?” Kate said, concerned.
“Doyle’s with him in his office. They couldn’t get him to let go of Cordelia when they had to pronounced her—to much of a blood loss-- and now they can’t get him to leave his office. He’s in shock—“
“Are you all right?”
“No,” Alex said. “But Faith and Lindsey are in worse shape. Lindsey’s hurt.”
“Hurt?”
“Yes, a vampire bit him and someone shot him. It’s just deep flesh wound, no sign of a bullet. But he’s lost a lot of blood.” Alex paused for a moment. “They turned Wesley,” she explained. “Oh god--,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Kate said. “I’m here.”
“They turned him and Faith had to kill him.”
Alex was right, Lindsey was in shock. He sat on the floor of his office. Doyle sat next to him with one of his arms around him. There was a paramedic in the room. He had Lindsey’s right hand. He was taking his pulse. Another had ripped off his right sleeve and was cleaning the bullet wound. Lindsey stared straight into space. His hands were covered in blood.
Doyle was happy to see Kate. He could not believe it fell on him to help Lindsey, Faith and Alex. He could use some help with the situation. He was fighting not the break down himself, but he knew the others, especially Lindsey needed him to stay strong for them.
“Hey,” he said to Lindsey. “Kate’s here and I bet she wants you to go the hospital.”
“Yes,” Kate said. She leaned down and touched Lindsey’s left arm. “You’re in shock, Lindsey, you should go to the hospital and I don’t like the cut on your neck or that bullet wound.”
“No,” he said. “No, no.”
“She’s right, sir,” the paramedic said. “Your pulse is very weak. You should go to a hospital.”
“Come on,” Doyle said. “At least let me get you upstairs. You should lay down for a little while.”
“No,” he said. His voice was just above a whisper. “I can’t.” Doyle stood up and pulled Lindsey with him. The paramedic pulled away and seemed unsatisfied with his work. “I can’t leave her.”
“She’s not here,” Doyle said. “She’s in heaven, lad. She’s happy cause she’s in a wonderful place and has her memories of how much she loved you.”
“No,” he said. Doyle was stronger than Lindsey, he knew what he had to do. He had to get out of this office that was covered in her blood.
“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling him up. “You need to get out of this room.”
“I—“ he said, but he gave up and collapsed against Doyle.
“Come on,” he said.
They walked slowly out of the room. Faith rose and turned around to see them. She rushed over to Lindsey.
“Shortcake,” she said. Lindsey moved away from Doyle and collapsed into Faith’s arms. He started sobbing uncontrollably.
Doyle sighed. He did not know what
to do.
“What?” Angelus said.
“I had to do it,” Braddock said. She was better known as Sheila Folds. Sheila had started working with Wolfram and Hart a month after Lindsey left. “He got the jump on me. I had to shoot him. It was only in the shoulder”
“He better have made it back to the office alive,” Angelus said. “Or you won’t.”
Angelus did allow Sheila to continued. He just hung up the phone.
“That was Sheila Folds. She shot Lindsey. I don’t know if he made it back alive.”
“It doesn’t matter, dear,” Dru said. “We have the pretty gem.”
“But I want the slayer to suffer,” Angelus said.
“She is,” Dru said.
“We have to get out of here before the full moon,” Lee explained. “Other wise we have to wait a full month to do it again. So we have three weeks.”
“She is miserable, you have destroyed her.”
“But forcing her kill both Lindsey and Wesley was the key to her destruction.”
“You have cut her in half,” Drusilla continued. “She will not be able to stop you. You have cut off one of her life lines.”
“I wanted to cut off them both,” Angelus said.
Lee smiled. “I would like to see Lindsey miserable for a while.”
“True,” Angelus said. “We’ll kill Lindsey before we leave for Sunnydale. Dru, Penn, how is that going?”
“We have found enough who are willing to help us.”
Angelus smiled. “Good.”
Elena was surprised to come home and find Lina waiting for her.
“Don’t you have work to go to?” her grandmother questioned. The extra money that Lina brought in had helped considerably.
“Not today,” she said. “And maybe not ever.”
“Oh, Lina,” she said, disappointed. “Lindsey is a very nice man. What did you do to him?”
“It’s what you did to him,” she said.
Elena grew a little confused. “What are you talking about?”
“The vampire—“ she said and got a little teary eyed. “He killed Lindsey’s wife and Faith’s friend Wesley.”
“Oh,” Elena said, a little unnerved.
“I know you have a way to somehow find that curse,” Lina said, and a little anger entered her voice which made the tears stronger. “You’ve been holding it back because of some stupid pride thing. Well, we owe Lindsey. We owe him big time. And we need to use every resource available to find that curse before Angelus kills him.”
“It isn’t true,” Elena replied. Tears were beginning to fill her eyes over the distress of her granddaughter. “I don’t know. They won’t tell me.”
“Grandma please, before he kills Lindsey—“
“There is one thing we can try, but it is
a long shot.”
The room was dark when Doyle entered it.
Two nights ago, he, Kate and Alex had gotten Faith and
Lindsey upstairs while they had dealt with
the police. Kate had left. Alex said she needed some time alone
and had left Doyle alone to clean up the mess.
He did. He mopped up Lindsey’s office that was filled with Cordelia’s blood that had dried to the floor. He carefully put Wesley’s ashes into a cardboard box. He cried the whole time.
Lindsey was lying on Cordelia’s side of the bed. Faith was next to him. They both looked asleep, but Doyle doubted they were. The radio was on and it seemed too loud for anyone to sleep through.
He went to the stereo listened for the song for a moment.
In the bar we sit like blackbirds
With our broken wings
Like clocks without their springs
Just like time doesn't mean anything.
He turned it down.
“Leave it,” said Faith’s voice.
Doyle went to the window and opened the shade to let the afternoon sun in. Lindsey merely turned around away from the window. He buried his head in Cordelia’s pillow, smelling her scent and wishing the pillow was her.
“Close it,” Faith said.
“You guys have been cooped up here for two days already. I thought you should get some food.”
Faith got up and went to the window and closed the shade.
“I ain’t hungry.”
“I just came to tell you—I’m taking care of the arrangements. Everything. You guys don’t have to worry. The funeral is on Saturday. The weather’s supposed to be nice. No sign of rain. It will be just for Cordelia. The Watchers are having the ashes shipped back to England.”
“Good,” she said and returned to the bed. “He would want to be buried at home.”
Doyle sighed. Maybe he should leave them alone for a little while. He went over to Lindsey. He was wearing the same pants as two days ago but only his undershirt. Cordelia’s blood still stained his pants, but they just looked like dark stains against his black pants. Doyle had managed to at least get Lindsey to wash his hands.
“Leave him,” Faith said and lend over.
Doyle ignored her. “Lindsey. Is there anything at all you need? Let me get ya a fresh change of clothes.”
“Nothing,” he said, his voice raspy and choked up. “Just leave me alone.”
“I’m going to take care of everything all right?”
“Whatever,” he said.
“Come on,” Faith said. She put her
hand on Lindsey’s shoulder. “Just leave him be. Okay?”
Doyle went to the closet to get some
new clothes for Lindsey. He touched the bar of the closet and choked
down a sob.
“I’ll take care of Lindsey,” Faith’s voice
said. “Don’t you worry.”