| ~~~5A~~~ �Angel?� Cordelia rushed down the curving stairs, pushing her right arm though the sleeves of her black leather jacket on the way down. �Angel?� �I�m in the kitchen.� Angel called out as he heard Cordelia�s voice. Dropping her suitcase on the ground, Cordelia headed towards the kitchen. Taking a deep breath before encountering her best friend, Cordelia tried to calm her unsteady nerves before entering the kitchen to tell him one big fat lie. �Hey. I know that this is short notice and all. But my parents just called from Vermont and want me to come out before the holidays to go skiing with them.� �But what about Christmas?� Angel had been feeding Conner, getting more food spit back at him than in the baby�s mouth. The displeasure of having his best friend abandon him for the holidays evident in his puppy dog eyes. �Don�t worry, I�ll be back for Christmas. Turn that frown upside down Angel. It�s just for a few days. I�ll go see my parents in Vail and be back before you know it.� Cordelia bounced over to Conner planting a big kiss on his forehead. �I thought you said your parents were in Vermont?� Angel�s face started to show his doubt. �Yeah they are.� �But you just said that you were going to Vail. Last time I checked Vail was in Colorado.� Setting the baby food down on the kitchen table Angel stared hard in Cordelia�s direction. �I did? Oh I did. Riiiight. My parents are in Vermont right now, *but* will be meeting me in Vail.� Turning her back quickly so Angel couldn�t read her eyes she made her way to the door. �There�s extra bottles in the fridge. I put the baby monitor in your room on the highest volume, since you sleep like the deep...no pun intended.� �None taken. I just don�t understand why you�re going to go. Your parents haven�t been the most supportive people in the world.� Angel felt guilty the second the words came out of his mouth. He knew Cordelia�s relationship with her parents was rocky at best. Ever since her father started to build back his fortune, they had nagged Cordelia relentlessly to leave her dead end job and live the life she was meant for. No matter how many times Cordelia would tell her parents no, they just didn�t seem to get a clue. She was no longer the debutant she once was, and didn�t desire that kind of lifestyle. �Angel I�ll be back to spend Christmas with my family here. Don�t worry.� Cordelia walked back to where Angel was sitting and kissed his cheek. �I have a Christmas present that you are going to just love.� Angel stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. �I don�t need any presents. Ever since I found out that Willow�s been missing I have come to appreciate my friends a whole lot more. I guess I should stop being so selfish.� �Stop that before your brooding sucks up all the Christmas cheer around this place. �I *will* be back.� Giving him a reassuring smile Cordelia turned and hurried out the door. She felt slightly guilty about having to lie to him, but it was for a good cause. ~~~*~~~ �Angel can I have a word with you?� Wesley stopped Angel in the hallway after putting Patrick down for his afternoon nap. Angel looked Wesley up and down, taking in the heavy jacket and scarf the other man was wearing. �Really getting into the season aren�t you Wes?� �What? Oh yes the scarf...I have to go away for a few days. Though I�ll be back before Christmas.� Wesley�s face was beet red, and his eyes shifted as he rushed his words. �You�re kidding! First Cordelia, now you.� Angel tried hard not to feel abandoned. �Let me guess, going to see your parents too?� �Who me? Lord no! I�d rather step on a rusty old nail then... No actually it has to do with the scroll we�ve been trying to translate. I may have a lead. It shouldn�t take more than a few days.� Wesley hurried off without a glance back. Angel shoved his hands in his pockets and walked sadly down the hall. ~~~*~~~ �Yo Angel.� Angel was reading hours later, and barely looked up from his book. �Will you be back for Christmas?� �Ah... yes.� �Is Fred going to be going soon as well?� �Ah...no.� �See for Christmas.� �Yeah...see ya.� ~~~*~~~ �I don�t know about the two of you, but the look on Angel�s face broke my heart.� Cordelia looked out the window of the 747 down at the tiny sparkling lights on the ground below. Just as planned they had all met at LAX , and boarded the same plane together. �He knows something's up. I barley got two words out before he asked if I�d be back for Christmas.� Gunn shifted in the constricting seat, unable to get comfortable. His long legs felt as though they were shoved up against his chest, and no matter how he situated his chair he felt as though he was a smushed sardine. Cordelia heard a groan to her left and she looked over at Wesley, he had his eyes squeezed shut, and his face had a slightly greenish tint to it. �I told you not to eat the food. God only knows what airplane food is really made of.� �I didn�t. Though the smell itself rivals any chaos demon I�ve run across. I hate flying.� Wesley gulped in mouthfuls of air. Sweat beading on his forehead. �You? You fly to England and back at least twice a year. I thought you�d be used to it by now.� Gunn shifted as far away from the ex-Watcher as he seat would permit, praying that if Wesley blew chunks he�d make it to the bathroom to do so. �I never said that I liked it.� Taking out a handkerchief Wesley dabbed his face. �How much longer?� �Well seeing that we just took off an hour ago, I�d say a good three hours...before we reach Boston, to change planes.� Cordelia tired to sound optimistic. �Oh Bloody Hell.� ~~~*~~~ �What�s going on in town?� Willow walked in from her lunch break carrying take out from a local sandwich shop. �What are you talking about Kaddy?� Maddy asked as she watered one of the many plants in the shop. They had decided to keep calling her by the name the town knew her by. It would cause too much confusion, not to mention gossip if they just changed her name after a year. �It looks like they�re setting up a stage in the park near the library.� Unwrapping the bright orange and red scarf from her neck, Willow hung her winter garments on the coat rack near the back door. �Oh that�s right, you got here in January and wouldn�t have been here for this last year. It�s Camden�s annual Christmas festival. It�s a magic filled night. There�s so much to do and see. There�s skating, games for the kids, booths with local crafts, and the food! Plus the carolers get dressed in period clothing.� Maddy beamed, her face taking on a dreamy glaze. �And everyone joins hands and there�s peace on earth.� Willow teased, still not able to entirely rid herself of the bah humbug attitude. Maddy scoffed, �No more like children crying, parents stressing, lover�s quarreling. The people in this town are so commercialized they wouldn�t know season cheer if it bit them in the tush.� �Now that�s the Christmas I�ve heard about.� Willow nodded. �Heard about? You�re not telling me that those hideous beasts you call parents never gave you a decent Christmas.� Maddy stopped watering her half-dead spider plant to look at Willow. �My family�s Jewish. Though I can count the times my parents were home for Hanukah on one hand.� Turning her back to her friend Willow didn�t want her friend to see the tears in her eyes. �That�s horrible! Not you being Jewish, but what your parents did to you.� Maddy blushed at her slip. �Don�t worry about it. All my Hanukah gifts were wrapped in green and red paper. My best memory of this time of the year is Snoopy.� Maddy was relieved to see some sparkle in Willow�s eyes. �Snoopy?� �Oh you haven�t lived until you�ve seen the Snoopy dance.� Willow�s laughter filled the store. �My friend Xander used to...� Just as quick as the light entered her eyes it disappeared again. �Anyways...I thought that I�d catalog that new shipment you got today.� Maddy nodded sadly as Willow grabbed her bagged lunch and headed for the stairs that led down to the basement. The poor girl couldn�t even reminisce about better times without being reminded of the hurt and betrayal her so called friends had caused. �Kaddy. What about your other friends?� Maddy called out, needing to know if she did the right thing by letting them know where to find Willow. �The ones you said moved to LA.� Willow stopped on the third step, her heart breaking as she thought about Angel and Cordelia. �What about them?� �I was just wondering if you had any fond memories about them?� �My memories of them are different. Cordelia and I were never what you�d consider friends back in high school. She was a little hard to swallow if you know what I mean. But underneath her exterior she really has a heart of gold. You just have to know her to understand her. And Angel... he�s special. The harder he tries to push people away, the more he really needs them.� Willow paused a moment, trying to find the words to accurately describe her friend. �It�s said that the soul can be seen through a person�s eyes. In Angel�s case this is so true. His eyes show all of his insecurities. His pain over the crimes Angelus committed. His concern for the welfare of the people he now considers his family. Angel is an extraordinary man that has no idea of his true value.� With that Willow proceeded down the stairs, tears slipping from her eyes every step of the way. Maddy set the watering can down and took a seat behind her makeshift desk. She could hear the difference with every word Willow spoke about the second group of friends from Willow�s past. Anytime she�d slip and mention her acquaintances from Sunnydale; the words were filled with the pain that they had caused. Maddy could tell the tiny redhead tried hard to be gracious, taking the majority of the blame on herself for the hard feelings that were created in the small unit. But the way she�d talk about Angel and Cordelia and their group was something entirely different. Her words came out less stressful, with a little more humor. It was evident that Willow held Angel close to her heart. But there was sadness as well, stemming from not knowing how they reacted to the news of her behavior the last few months in Sunnydale. �Goddess please tell me that my old lady meddling ways isn�t going to harm Willow more than help her.� Maddy silently spoke in her mind. She loved that girl like a daughter. Willow had arrived on her doorstep broken, and it was a miracle watching the witch pick up the pieces within the last year. As much as she wanted to keep Willow by her side, Maddy knew that Willow�s path did not stop here in some small tourist town on the coast of Maine. She was meant for nobler things, and it was time to let her daughter go. Even if it meant a swift kick in the behind to get the reluctant bird out of the nest. ~~~*~~~ Angel set the phone down. He stood motionless for a moment before coming up with a course of action. Whistling a jaunty Christmassy tune, Angel strolled into the back office where Fred had holed herself up in, claiming that she wanted to get the invoices from the last week finished. Fred jumped the second his shadow crossed her desk. Her hands started shaking, and she did everything in her power to avoid his eyes. �Fred... How�s the invoices coming along?� �Fine. Just fine.� Using her long hair to shield her face, Fred�s words were hurried and full of anxiety. �It wasn�t nice of Cordelia to just leave those for you. I mean the least she could have done before taking off to go skiing was finish them.� Angel leaned against the doorjamb, crossing his arms across his chest. �It really wasn�t a problem.� Fred squeaked. �She told me where she went skiing...Aspen right?� �Yeah, she was really excited to go. She went on and on about how beautiful *Aspen* is this time of year.� Fred started shifting through the paperwork on the desk. Angel had meant to pull her further into the lie, but he took pity on the girl. She looked ready to combust. She was the last person they should�ve left behind. Fred didn�t have the ability to lie on the scale this lie needed. �Cordelia�s parents just called.... from Puerto Rico.� Angel watched as Fred�s shoulder�s drooped in surrender . �Will you just accept that they�re in no danger and will be home soon?� Fred�s eyes pleaded him to go along with it. �Mmm, nope. I know those three. They could go to a Girl Scout convention and get into trouble.� Fred twisted a piece of her hair, contemplating on how to get out of this mess. She had told them that she wasn�t good at this. That the second Angel was in the same room with her he�d start to catch on. How would�ve figured that Cordelia�s parents would call ruining everything. �TheywenttoMaine.� Angel smiled. Fred�s words were in Willow talk and after years of knowing the redhead he had learned how to translate. �What�s in Maine?� �Your Christmas present. And I am not going to tell you what it is mister.� Fred stood from her chair lifting her chin in defiance. �You�re going to have to wait like everyone else until Christmas to find out what it is.� �What�s in Maine?� Angel asked again cocking an eyebrow. �Willow....Merry Christmas.� |
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