Author: DownrightLinear (aka SLMurphy)

Title: After the Party’s Over.

Category, A/C fic

Summary: After ‘Birthday’, starting from the final scene and continuing on…

Rating: G

Feedback: Duh. [email protected]

Website: http://www.geocities.com/downrightlinear (Send me your A/C Fics! Please?)

Disclaimer: I don’t known them! Joss and Co does. If I owned them Angel would have to fight the good fight naked!

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After the Party’s Over

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"Uh… Cordy?"

"Hello? Guys? Vision… demon… weapons?" Cordelia’s eyes narrowed as she studied their identical, disbelieving expressions. "Guys? What is it?"

Angel’s jaw snapped shut with a click. "Cordelia, um… you are…" he trailed off.

"You’re floating!" Fred practically shrieked.

Cordelia gasped, then looked down to see her bare toes hovering several feet above the carpet. She smiled. "This is too cool…" Her smile faltered as she returned her eyes to her friend’s shocked and pale faces. "It’s okay… I was told there’d be side effects, though this isn’t quite what I expecte-" Her back arched as a bolt of agony shot down her spine, sparks crackled from her fingertips and she screamed to the heavens.

Angel dove and caught her just as her convulsing body plummeted to the floor. He landed with a grunt, her twitching body landing heavily on his.

He called her name softly, as he rolled her over and knelt next to her shivering form. Gently he stroked her face. "Cordy… come back, Cordy…"

She groaned and opened one eye. "Ouch." She struggled to sit up with Angel’s help. "Skip warned me about that too…"

Angel rocked back. "Skip? What the he-!?"

Cordelia looked at Angel and cocked her head. "You know him? Big scary looking demon, dangly cockroach feelers hanging from his chin? Weird taste in movies, bad sense of humor Skip?"

"Yes, but how do you-?"

Cordelia stood, leaning on Angel’s arm for a second. "Explanations later. Vision first. Hurry, or there will be nothing but man-burger left. Now go!"

Wesley and Gunn scattered to gather the necessary equipment. Angel lingered. "Are you sure you are okay?"

Cordelia flashed him a winning smile. "I’m better than okay, Angel. A little tired, but good."

He still looked skeptically at her then turned to Fred. "I want you to stay here with her. Call me if anything happens."

"Actually, Angel, I think I should go home. Dennis is probably worried sick."

Angel nodded, "Take Fred with you, okay?" His eyes narrowed at the first sound of her rebellion. "Please, Cordy."

Her gaze softened when she saw the concern hidden careful under the surface. "Alright, Angel." He released her arm and turned to walk away when he hesitated in the doorway.

"Good. And Cordelia?"

She looked up, startled, as his tone took on a sudden unexpected hardness.

"We are going to have a talk, you and I, when I return."

Cordelia looked away, her consiousnce unable to bear the twin emotions of hurt and betrayal evident on his face. She nodded.

He left, the door closing with an resounding echo in her heart.

Fred quietly approached, though Cordelia’s attention didn’t waver from the door. "Cordy?" she laid her hand, almost fearfully on her arm. "Cordy, do you want to go home now? I’m sure Dennis would like to see you."

"-yeah," she said pushing the word past the lump that had taken residence in her throat. "Yeah, I’d like to see him too."

-----

"Fred?" Angel called out into the quiet apartment. "Cordy?" A breeze whirled madly about him, a festive party hat bobbing along. "Hello, Dennis." The hat nodded a greeting as Fred emerged from the kitchen.

"Angel! How did it go?" she was drying a glass with a dishtowel in her hands.

"Good, the demon was taken care of. No problems. Where’s Cordy?" He looked around the apartment, noting the confetti scattered on every level surface and the banner that hung wishing Cordelia a Happy Birthday.

Fred gestured with the glass towards the bedroom. "I was just finishing cleaning up from the surprise party Dennis threw." An unseen hand took the glass and towel from Fred’s fingers and brushed a lock of hair back from her face. "Oh, you are very welcome, Dennis! You make a wonderful host!"

Angel smiled, amused by her seemingly easy acceptance of the phantom roommate. "And,…" he prompted.

"And! Cordy said she was just going to get changed. I haven’t seen her for a while though."

He nodded. "Dennis, can you get Fred her coat?" He thanked the ghost as her dark blue mid-length coat floated into her waiting hands. "Gunn is downstairs waiting in his truck to take you and Wesley home."

"Okay. See you both tomorrow then."

"Goodnight, Fred. Thank you for taking care of Cordelia."

She smiled and left.

Angel drew an unnecessary breath, braced himself, and approached the closed bedroom door with purpose, listening for sounds of movement. When he only made out the rhythmic deep breaths of sleep he entered with every intention of waking her for their discussion.

Standing over the bed he stared down at the woman curled child-like into herself, hands tucked near her face, hair spread over the pillows in a dark cloud and his intentions flew out the window.

He smiled when he noticed it appeared she’d only gotten partly changed when she fell asleep, one shoe was dangling off of her toes, her jeans were unbuttoned and the grey zippered sweatshirt she’d worn was laying partly under her sleeping body. Gently he plucked her shoe off then reached behind her to loosen the jacket. Once it was freed, he debated what to do about her jeans, which were barely riding her hips, offering hints of simple white cotton panties.

Deciding to leave them be he quietly lifted a chair and placed it next to the bed and resumed the position he’d been in for almost the past 18 hours, his hand resting lightly over hers.

-----

She stirred, moaning, "One seven one oak…Angel please… it’s okay… don’t be afraid… I won’t hurt you… my hand, Angel my hand.. one seven one…"

"Cordelia… wake up now." Angel brushed his hand over her pinched face, trying to sooth the worried lines from it. "Cordy, sweetheart, wake up. I’m right here."

She sucked in a breath and woke with a start. "Angel?"

"Here, Cordy. Right here." He leaned down, so she could see his face more clearly in the darkened room.

"Oh, god. Angel… you’re okay? Not insane or anything?"

"Insane? Wha-?"

"Wesley has both his arms, right?" When he didn’t answer immediately she gripped his arms and pulled herself to stare him straight in the face. "Right?!?"

Angel brushed her hair back from her frantic eyes. "Relax, Cordy… Wesley is fine. I’m not insane… it was just a dream. Shhh…"

She flopped back on the pillows and ran a hand tiredly over her eyes. "No… not a dream, more than a dream." She yawned wide enough her jaw cracked. "Tired…"

"Alright, Cordy. Sleep now." He ran his hand lightly over her hair once. "We’ll talk more in the morning."

Her hand grabbed at his and tugged. "Angel, please…" she scooted over in the bed, leaving enough space for another body as she curled again on her side, eyes drifting closed once more.

He hesitated, unsure of the invitation until she tugged again with slackening fingers. "-a’gel, please. No more dreams… please…" her eyes closed and breathing deepened into sleep.

Angel stood watching; unblinking, unmoving until several minutes later she began to moan, and her brow creased into worried lines once again. Swiftly he toed off his shoes and laid himself on the bed facing her.

Slowly the lines erased, leaving her smooth sleep softened features bathed in shadows. She moved in her sleep closer to him, hands reaching and burying themselves in his shirt. Closer, until her head nestled under his chin, fingers finally relaxing against his chest. Just as slowly his own hand crept of it’s own accord around her back, holding her closer still as she relaxed into a dreamless, healing sleep.

He closed his own eyes, took a deep, scented breath and joined her.

-----

He opened his eyes and immediately noticed the empty pillow next to him. It still retained a lingering warmth and he took it slowly from it’s resting place and held it to his face, breathing deeply of the scent.

With a start, he realized what he was doing and tossed it haphazardly to the opposite side of the bed. He stood and tired in vain to straighten his wrinkled shirt. The smell of scorched coffee alerted him to Cordelia’s whereabouts.

He entered the kitchen to find her fully dressed and cursing with a quite colorful imagination at the coffeepot. She flashed him a smile and waved the pot in his direction, the contents almost gooey and coating the sides of the container. He held up a hand in refusal.

"Cordelia…" he started, firm and no nonsense as he took a seat at the breakfast nook. "We need-"

"Good morning, Dennis!" she chirped cheerfully, avoiding looking at Angel.

Angel swiveled in his seat, expecting to see a floating… toothbrush? Robe? What would a ghost use when first waking up? There was nothing, no indication of Dennis’s presence. Angel assumed it was a diversionary tactic until the pot she’d just set down floated to the sink and dumped it’s contents in a glub of sound.

"How-?" He watched, amazed, as Cordy stepped out of Dennis’s way as he set about refilling the coffee pot. "How is it you can see him?"

Cordelia sighed, then gave a quirky grin. "I see dead people."

Angel raised an eyebrow at her.

"’I see dead people’? You know, The Sixth Sense? Movie? Oh, nevermind." She gave up and sat down. "Angel, I have to tell you something."

"I’m listening."

The hardness in his tone had her bracing for what she had to tell him. "Angel, the dreams I had last night. Well, they weren’t dreams, not really. I remember it all now. Skip said it was writing over history, that I wouldn’t remember, but I did then too."

"Whoa, Cordy." Angel help a hand up. "Maybe you should start at the beginning. Do you remember what happened at your party? With the vision?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I was holding Connor and you gave me a present…" She smiled, "Where is that present, by the way? What is it?"

Angel blushed slightly, not an easy feat for a vampire. "It’s um, safe. I’ll give it to you later. Continue. I want to know what’s going on, then we’ll talk about your secrets."

Cordelia looked away, humor fading quickly in the light of her betrayal. "I had the vision and hit the cabinet…"

She didn’t see him flinch with that memory, and continued.

"Then I got up and looked over to find all of you standing around me, well, my body. I was watching the whole thing. It was weird!"

"I’m sure it was."

"Anyway, you sent Gunn and Fred to my apartment, and Wesley to his books while you brought me upstairs. I watched over Wes’s shoulder, trying to get his attention. He was onto the right track when he was reading about an astral plane, but I didn’t get to read much." Her eyes filled with sudden tears. "I… I heard what you said to me… Angel… I am so sorry…" one escaped, causing a silvery trail down her cheek.

Angel curled his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her. "We’ll talk about that later. What about Skip, where does he fit in this?"

She sniffled, and a tissue floated nearby. She gave a wan smile in thanks and wiped her nose before continuing. "After Lorne tried to contact me, which I thought had worked for a few moments! This shadow came; scared me near to death before a horrible looking demon emerged. He called himself Skip, but only after terrorizing me first. And he claimed he works for the Powers.. right…" she tossed the tissue towards the trashcan. "Skip said if I wanted to live to go with him. He took me to a mall."

"A mall."

"Yeah, I know. I said the same thing. He said the Power thought I would be more comfortable there… weird, huh? But it wasn’t a real mall, more of a construct, like in the Matrix." At his puzzled frown she shook her head. "We need to get you a VCR and start teaching you about the finer things in unlife."

"So… a mall."

"He told me I was dying, as if I didn’t already know that, then showed me a girl from the 1600s that had the visions. She died of them in a little over a year. I won’t go into details." She shuddered recalling the gory wound to the blonde’s skull. "The powers offered me a choice. Live the life of a famous actress, be wealthy, loved and well… wealthy, but not know any of you guys. Or, return to my body, but be unable to move or talk until the next vision hit me then I’d, well, you get the idea."

"Why did you- What- I don’t understand."

"I didn’t choose to die, if that’s what you are asking." She saw him nod, but didn’t miss the quick flash of wiry disappointment that was smothered in an instant. She reached to cover his hand with hers. "Skip forced me to watch something, Angel. I watched you. You were railing against the powers, telling them I was a spoiled rich girl and weak. I actually believed you said that, at the time." He pulled his hand back and slowly understanding dawned in her eyes. "You really said that? I thought… I thought they showed it to me to force a decision, I thought it was a lie… you really called me that?" It was her turn to look hurt and betrayed.

"It was taken out of context, Cordy. You didn’t hear everything that was said. I… I wish you had."

She nodded then sniffled again. "It’s okay, Angel. I deserved that for what I did. It’s alright." She continued over his protests. "So I became a famous actress, with my own show and everything. Things were good. Nice clothes, handsome guys, assistants, fans, etc. But something was bothering me. I didn’t know what until the name Hyperion struck me. I went there, to your room… but it wasn’t your room. It was a working hotel. I ripped off the wall paper to find where I’d written the address from the vision down-"

He interrupted. "You wrote an address down? From the vision you had here."

"Yes. Do you remember when you woke up on the floor and said it felt like I was trying to communicate with you?" He nodded. "I was. I inhabited your body… by the way, how can a vampire snore when they don’t breathe?"

Angel pulled back, startled. "Um, I don’t know… Uh, maybe a conditioning effect left from life… uh…"

Cordelia waved off his feeble explanation as unimportant, "I took over your body for a quick few seconds, and I wrote down the address on the wall with a marker that just happened to be sitting on the bedside table. After that Skip appeared. So, back to the story. I went to the Hyperion and found the address written on the wall. Turns out it was in Recedia, a young girl had preformed a retrieval spell to bring her father back to her, but she messed it up and summoned a demon instead. Wesley and Gunn broke through the door and slayed it, but Wesley had only one arm! He’d lost it fighting a Kerslahh demon, or something. They told me you were with them and brought me to see you."

Cordelia paused and caught her breath, fighting to keep her emotions in check before continuing. "Angel, you… you were a drooling idiot!"

He sat up straighter and tried to smooth down his shirt. "A drooling idiot, hum?"

"Yes. Wesley told me that after Doyle died, you got the visions and they, along with the isolation were driving you insane. You had visions and Wes and Gunn went out to fight the demons."

"How could I have gotten the vision from Doyle?"

"Skip told me, basically, they are passed with a kiss that involves loves. So I really am trying not to dwell on the *how* it happened."

Angel coughed, trying to cover the moment, but lighten the atmosphere at the same time.

Cordelia grinned at his discomfort and continued. "I saw you, all babbling and crawling, and felt sorry. Then, for some reason I was compelled to… well." Cordelia squirmed slightly. "I kissed you, and took back the visions."

"You took them back? That means-"

"Skip came back," she said loudly, drowning out his discovery, "and said that I couldn’t do that. That it was a mistake. I, of course, was pissed and told him to find a way for me to keep the visions and still be in your life, because that’s my purpose."

"- Skip said it had to involve-"

"He told me there was a loophole. So now I’m-"

"-Cordy, you love me?"

"-part demon."

The silence spread through the room, thick enough to choke breath, blur eyes.

Angel broke it first, sending it crashing to the floor. "You love me."

Cordelia just stared at him, astounded. "You didn’t hear a word I just said, did you?"

A slightly lopsided and completely goofy smile slowly lit Angel’s face. "You love me."

An answering smile curled Cordelia’s lips. "Yes, Angel. I do. But listen, you dork. Did you happen to catch the whole I’m part demon dialog?"

"I got that. It would explain… a lot."

"That’s all you have to say?"

"No, I want to know more about it… but, just give me a moment here."

Cordelia sighed, then rose to pour herself a cup of coffee, her back turned to the table.

Sudden arms wrapped around her waist and a cool body pressed along her back, urging her to sink into the uncommon feeling of being cradled by an Angel. She sighed as his cool lips drifted over the nape of her neck, pausing to plant a kiss just above her pulse. Honey slow, smooth words drifted in her ear as he whispered, "I love you to, Cora." The arms gently, caressing slid away and she mourned the loss.

"We still have more to discuss, Cordy. Come back to the table."

She returned to her seat, cheeks slightly flushed, eyes sparkling, until she saw the strength of determination on Angel’s handsome face. He wanted to finish the discussion so they could move on, perhaps together, perhaps not.

"What does your becoming a half demon entail now, did Skip tell you anything?"

Cordelia set down her mug and wrapped both hands around it. "He told me the visions won’t kill me any longer, but that the demonizing is a long, arduous journey, and can be painful and unpredictable. The floating and my ability to see Dennis now I think is a manifestation of the demon side. That’s all he told me."

Angel nodded. "Okay, we’ll have to keep watch out for that. Now, Cordelia, why did you lie to me?"

Her knuckles tightened around the mug, fingers becoming white with the strain. "I don’t know, Angel… when I found out, I… we weren’t working for you then. After that, it was just easier to hide it, from you, from everyone."

"You knew, even back then?! Cordelia!"

"I know… and I’m sorry, Angel. I… I found out at the hospital when Wesley was shot. I had a vision and they ran some tests. I was told then it was terminal… they gave me 6 months."

She heard Angel give a very low growl, but didn’t raise her eyes. "I started on the drugs… they weren’t afraid to give me some of the more experimental ones, and I let them. I don’t know if that’s what’s kept me holding on as long or not. Anyway, Dennis is the only one who knew… it’s terribly difficult to hide things from a ghost."

"But not to hide them from your best friend, obviously."

She looked up then and saw the naked pain shining through his eyes. Tears overflowed and streamed down her cheeks. "God, Angel… I am so sorry. I just, I knew there was nothing you, nor anyone else could do! You had enough, what with Darla and then Connor and all. It’s just too much for you, Angel.. and too much for everyone else as well. I’d held on longer than the doctors all said I would… so I felt like I had more time."

"I see."

"Angel, please!" Cordelia begged, crying unchecked. "I am sorry… I just didn’t know what to do!"

Angel relented and went around the table to gather her into his arms. Quietly he rocked her as she sobbed into his wrinkled shirt. He soothingly stroked her hair and pressed kisses to her head. After several moments she subsided into hiccups but his hold remained tight, almost suffocating.

"It’s alright, Cora, I forgive you, shhh…"

Cordelia pulled her head back just enough to breath. "Really, Angel?"

"We’ve both hurt one another with our deceptions and lies… but I think we’re clean now, am I right?" He felt her nod and pulled her even closer. "This has to stop, Cora, or we won’t make it. You do realize this, don’t you?"

She nodded again. "Angel," she squirmed and he allowed her to pull back enough to raise one hand and cup his face while she looked into his luminous eyes. "We’ll make it, Angel. It’s not going to be easy… there are so many obstacles…"

Angel, thinking of his curse, nodded sadly. "Yes…"

"I don’t know what is going to happen with the demon thing." Cordelia gave him a small smile and added, "Will you still love me if I grow another eye and a horn pops from the middle of my forehead?"

He laughed and kissed where each of the mentioned spots would be. "Yes… you’d still be my Cordy, no matter the shell."

"Yours, huh?" Trying to keep things lightened, she swatted his chest and he released her.

"Mine," he growled, stepping towards her, his expression turning playful.

"Alright," she sighed, melodramatically. "Yours" She looked past him to the clock on the stove face. "But you have to share. I’m late!" She quickly dug out her compact and dabbed a bit of concealer under her slightly puffy eyes.

Angel stood back, watching in amusement.

"Sorry, Angel, I have to pull a white rabbit.- That’s from-"

"Through The Looking Glass, Alice and the White Rabbit… who was perpetually late."

Cordelia grinned. "Exactly! I am sorry, but I must run, there’s yet another audition." She quickly stepped close and pressed a sweet kiss to his lips. Before he could take her in his arms she pulled away, dancing out of reach. "Later, I promise."

Angel leaned against the table, his smile ironic, he knew that would be as close as they could get anytime soon.

Cordelia paused the door, purse in hand, jacket thrown over her arm. "Oh, and Angel? I discovered something. When I inhabited yours body… I found something of interest. Your soul is permanent now. There was no sign of Angelus. Be back soon!"

She closed the door and through his shocked haze he thought her heard her whistling "Don’t Worry, be Happy".

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End.