The Iron is Hot - Cordelia & Wesley
Title: Where Loyalty Lies (work in progress)
Author: TopazAngelRating: PG-13 for violence and language
Classification: Cordelia/Wesley friendship (for now)
Genre: Angst, drama
Feedback: The more feedback, the faster I write. Feel free to give constructive criticism, just no flames please…
Spoilers: Angel Season Three up until and including Forgiving.
Teaser: Cordelia returns from her vacation, and finds that things are different. She decides to give Wesley a chance when no one else will.
AN: This was inspired on the Shippers United Forum, when we were talking about the way Cordelia acted about the Connor situation. Cor and Wes were friends too, DAMN IT!!! Sorry, I’m done with My rant…Here goes! J Oh, yeah, and I had to make Fred and Gunn out of character for this…So, bear with me, okay? I had to make them hate Wes a little more.
Prologue
Cordelia was glad to finally be home. She could not wait to see all of her friends and Connor. She couldn’t wait to give him all the gifts she had given him. She walked into Angel Investigations, with Groo trailing behind her with luggage.
“Hey people! I’m back!” She said, smiling widely, “Now, where is that little cutie pie?” She asked.
“Umm, Cordelia,” Fred mustered out, softly.
Cordelia suddenly noticed the somber mood that everyone seemed to be stuck in, “What’s wrong?” No one said anything, “What happened?” She demanded.
“Connor is gone…” Gunn answered.
“What?” She mustered out.
“Wesley…He…Took Connor…Connor is gone…Wesley gave him to Holtz.” Fred finally pushed the words out.
“Wesley? No, he wouldn’t do that,” She stated firmly.
“But, he did.” Angel said coming down the stairs.
“There had to be some reason…Wesley wouldn’t do that…He wouldn’t hurt us like that. Where is he? I have to talk to him.”
“No.” Angel stated, coldly.
“What? Did you just tell me no?”
“I am the boss again, and I am being the boss. No. You. Are. Not. Going. To see that…Bastard.”
“Angel…Its Wesley.”
“it’s the son of a bitch that took my son away from me,” He said, even more coldly.
“Cordelia, Angel is right…We don’t need to speak to Wesley…He betrayed us…” Gunn said.
“No, I don’t accept that…What happened? There had to be a reason.”
“There was,” Fred said.
“What? You know why? Then why? Tell me!” She forced.
“A prophecy…A fake prophecy…That Angel would kill Connor, so he did this, but the prophecy was false, and he didn’t say anything to anyone about any of it…So, he betrayed us…” Fred answered.
“Fine…You are the boss…You can tell me what to do,” She told him. He nodded in agreement, “Oh, wait, I quit.” She said, walking out of the hotel. Groo followed her out, not knowing what to say.
*****
“Cordelia quit?” Fred asked.
“I think she did…” Gunn answered.
“But, she tells us who to save…She has the visions. She can’t quit.”
“Face it honey…She did,” Lorne said, walking out of the office.
“But she loved that baby…As much as Angel…Why would she want to even see that bastard?” Gunn asked.
“She’ll be back…” Angel stated confidently.
*****
Wesley walked back into his apartment. He couldn’t believe that they had abandoned him. They had treated him like shit…Not that he didn’t deserve it…But they wouldn’t even speak to him. They wouldn’t even hear his side. None of them.
Not even Fred.
He sat down on his couch…alone. He didn’t like the silence. It seemed deadly. And he was waiting for Angel to jump out and snap his neck. Which was something he would gladly welcome at this point. He felt bad for what he had done.
And no one even cared to ask why…
*****
Cordelia sped to the familiar apartment.
“Why did you do that, princess?” Groo asked Cordelia from the passenger side of the jeep.
“Because, Angel was being a prick…And I want to hear Wesley’s side.”
“But he kidnapped Connor. Why do you care about his side of the story? What he did was wrong.”
“Yes, it was. But I know Wesley. He wasn’t planning to give Connor to Holtz…He would never do that.”
“But he did, Princess…You can’t ignore that fact. Fred said it. I do not understand why you care.”
“Because, Wesley is my friend, and friends don’t just abandon friends…They give them the benefit of the doubt.”
“Oh. Well, I trust your judgment, Princess.”
“Thank you.”
Chapter 1
Cordelia got to Wesley’s apartment. She was afraid to go in. She didn’t know what she would find. She had total confidence that Wesley was still Wesley, but she didn’t know what the recent events would have caused him to do.
She knocked on his door. She waited a few minutes.
“Wesley…Its Cordelia…I know you’re in there…Please let me in,” She pleaded.
She tried the door knob, but of course, with their line of work, he always locked it. She tried again.
“Wes…Please. I just want to talk.”
“Perhaps he is not at home, Princess,” Groo suggested, “Maybe he went somewhere else.”
“He doesn’t have anywhere else,” She said. Just then the door opened. Cordelia noticed how tired Wesley looked. It was like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Cordelia? What are you doing here?” He asked.
“I needed to see you. They told me what happened. I had to see you.”
“Why? So you could treat me like shit too?” He asked her, his voice filled with pain.
“Wesley, no…You are my friend…And Angel is too, and I know both you. And they hate you right now…But I know you, Wesley…I know you wouldn’t give Connor to Holtz.”
“Give Connor to Holtz? That’s what they think?” His eyes filled with sadness and regret, “I would never…That’s not what I was going to do.”
“Tell me what happened.”
*****
Cordelia asked Groo to leave her and Wesley alone. She said that she needed to talk to him, alone. So he went down to Cordelia’s car.
“I found a prophecy, that Ang-”
“That Angel would kill Connor? They told me…”
He nodded, “I wanted to protect him…I was just going to take him somewhere, safe…Somewhere where I could figure it out…Find out how to stop it…Then I would come home. I was going to call as soon as I found somewhere to stay.”
“What happened? How did Holtz get Connor?”
“I was at the park…I saw Justine-”
“The woman working with Holtz?” Cordelia asked.
“Yes, I had been trying to convince her that Holtz wasn’t what he seemed…That Angel didn’t deserve what Holtz was doing to him,” He explained.
“So that is why Lorne saw that you had been meeting with Holtz?”
He nodded again, “She told me that she knew what he was…She wanted out. I believed her, I know, I should know better, right? Well, she slit my through, and took Connor, and I was bleeding to death in the park for the better part of the night,” He finished.
“Oh…Wow…Wesley, this isn’t your fault…”
“Don’t say that, Cordelia. It is my fault. Completely. I should have trusted that Angel wouldn’t have hurt Connor.”
“And you’re right. He wouldn’t have…The prophecy was false,” He looked up at her with confusion and regret, “but there is NO WAY you could have known that…”
“I should have…I mean, I should have told someone…”
“And what would they have done? The same thing they are doing now. Do you think they would have listened. I know all of you. Especially Angel, and he is one stubborn son of a bitch.”
“Why are you here? I mean, you loved that baby almost as much as Angel. How could you be here with me?”
“Because as much as I love Angel and Connor, I love you too…You have always been just as good a friend to me as him, and I needed to hear your side,” She said, her voice filled with sincerity.
“Thank you…After what happened at the hospital-”
“The hospital? What happened at the hospital?” She asked.
“Angel…He…You didn’t know…Its not important.”
“What did he do to you Wesley?”
“He came into my room…He tried to suffocate me…Not that I didn’t deserve it.”
“What? That bastard…Does he not realize what we’ve been through for him? What you have done for him?”
“Cordelia…Regardless of why I did this, I still did it…I fucked up big time…Its not his fault.”
“You made a mistake…At least you realize it…Angel has too. And we forgave him. Have you tried to at least talk to them?” She asked.
“It wouldn’t do any good, Cordelia.”
“Well, I am going to find out. I’ll be back.”
*****
“Where are we going, Princess?” Groo asked her.
“Angel…I need to talk to him…Or Fred or someone. They have to know how he feels.”
*****
“What are you doing here?” Fred asked Cordelia.
“I need to talk to Angel. Where is he?”
“I’m right behind you. I knew you would be back.”
“I’m not. Angel you need to stop this.”
“Stop what? Stop thinking about what he did to me? My son is in a hell dimension…Because of that bastard.”
“Oh, so you think that the best way to feel better is to suffocate you best friend with a pillow, when he is already in the hospital with a slit throat?”
“No…That’s too good for him.”
“Angel…He is punishing himself enough. He doesn’t need you to.”
“You are telling me to forgive the man for kidnapping my son? For taking away something that I never thought I would get to have.”
“No, but I am telling you to think…Angel…You haven’t been the best person…At least he had good intentions.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Hmm, lets see? Last year you locked a bunch of lawyers in a room with two evil, and might I say badly dressed, evil vampires, and let them die…You didn’t even try to stop them…You caused mass murder. And then you fired us.”
“Are you going somewhere with this?” He asked, with anger filling his voice.
“Yes! We forgave you! We let you back in…You hurt us. We forgave you. Why can’t you forgive him.”
“Because I loved my son…And he took him, and that bastard is going to pay…I am NOT forgiving him…Not ever. And if I see him again…I’ll kill him.”
Chapter 2
Cordelia couldn’t believe what she was hearing come from Angel’s mouth. Kill? Had he just said he was going to kill Wesley? “What? Angel you don’t kill people.”
“Cordelia…Either you are on my side or you are on his…”
“You can’t do that to me! You, both of you, are my BEST friends! How can you make me choose between you??” She was taken back by Angel’s words.
“You can’t have it both ways…What he did to me…If you think that he was right…Then you think that he deserves forgiveness-”
“You’re right. He does. Everyone does. You do…How can you be here, doing what you are doing, working for redemption, after the things you have done, and say that Wesley doesn’t deserve the same thing?”
“That is completely different! I was a demon…I was-He was just-”
“Trying to protect you? Trying to help? Because that is just so unforgivable.”
“So…What’s your decision?”
“I don’t want to choose Angel. I love you both. But I think you are wrong this time. Wesley is killing himself. And torturing himself enough…He doesn’t need us to do the same thing!”
“Well then, you can leave now.”
“Yeah, I can..” She said, walking to the door. Before she did, she turned around one more time,” Lets see you do this without me…”
*****
“Cordelia? You didn’t need to do that? Angel is your-”
“You are too, besides. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll come crawling back…He doesn’t know who to save without me.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being the one person that is still speaking to me…For still wanting to be my friend…”
“Wesley, I am your friend because I want to, you know that right??”
“You don’t just feel obligated? Because we’ve been through so much?”
“No…Friendship is about trust and right now I trust you more than I trust him. That’s why I chose you…He is ready to snap your neck, and you need a friend right now…” She said to him.
“It means a lot to me, but don’t you owe it to him? To be loyal to him? You are who you are because of him.”
“No…I don’t owe him anything. My heart tells me that he is wrong about this…It has nothing to do with loyalty…Loyalty is all about trust…You can’t be loyal to someone you don’t trust. Trust is everything.”
“How can you trust me? I don’t deserve it.”
“Because, you are always there for me, and now I owe it to you, to do the same.”
“But Angel-”
“Would you stop bringing up Angel? He is being a moron right now, and he doesn’t need me…He’s get Fred and Gunn and Lorne on his side. YOU need me.”
“You truly are a great person. Do you know that?”
“Thank you…You are too. You only did what you did to help, and that is a very good thing.”
*****
Cordelia walked back down to the car where Groo had been advised to stay, again.
“Is everything okay now, Princess?” He asked her.
“Better, but not good. I can’t believe Angel is being such a prick!” She grunted.
“Does he not have the right? Wesley DID take his son, Princess.”
“I explained this to you already Groo. I am Wesley’s friend, and friends DON’T abandon other friends.”
“But you are abandoning Angel.”
*****
Groo’s words echoed in Cordelia’s mind for the rest of the night. She sat on the couch and turned on the TV. She wasn’t actually watching, but the noise helped her think.
Was she abandoning Angel? She was supposed to be their with him. She figured that out on her birthday. So, was taking Wesley’s side being a hypocrite?
No. Angel was abandoning them. Groo was wrong. She wasn’t abandoning him. He was abandoning her.
And Wesley.
He was abandoning them…Not the other way around.
She had to stay with Wesley. Angel was wrong. Groo was wrong. Angel had people who cared. Wesley only had her now…
And it was going to stay that way.
To be continued...