Timeline

PART SIX

September 22, 1998
Rupert Giles’ Home

With a loud groan, the vampire awoke. Tentatively opening one eye, Angel sighed heavily. He recognized that headboard. Same old, same old.

Or maybe not.

For one thing, he was lying on his belly. Which was probably a good thing, especially considering the pain radiating from several points on his back. The lack of handcuffs was also an encouraging sign.

“Good morning sleepyhead.”

Angel’s eyes snapped open fully. That was not the voice he was used to waking up to. Slowly, Angel rolled to his side and saw where the voice came from.

“So, from that comment I can assume it’s morning?”

“Well,” Buffy shrugged, “it’s actually mid-afternoon. Which in vampire terms is probably early morning.”

Angel managed a small laugh as he gingerly sat up. “I hurt…like hell,” he moaned.

“I’m not surprised,” Buffy said. “Willow found a lot of metal in your back. We’re thinking of melting it down so we can make a new bumper for Giles’ car.”

“Give the little witch a hug for me for playing doctor. I doubt she let me close enough to do it myself.” Angel fell back over onto his side when he had a sudden thought. “Cordelia!” The vampire tried to climb from the bed, but Buffy forced him down. “I have to see Cordelia!”

“Angel,” Buffy soothed. “She’s fine. A little spooked from all the near death experiences, but physically she’s good.”

“I have to talk to Giles. Men-clar, the child is the Men-clar,” Angel explained.

“We know. We heard you last night. Giles has spent all day researching it. Now just sit back and rest.”

Any other time, Angel would be fighting his way out. But at the moment he felt like shit. Nodding, he fell back against the bed, hissing when his back met the mattress. He laid there in silence for several minutes. All the time he felt Buffy’s eyes on him.

“You’re still alive in five years,” Angel said.

Buffy sputtered a few times trying to form a sentence. How had he known what she was thinking?

“I’ve gotten good with people,” Angel grinned. He had her off-balance. This wasn’t the behavior she expected from him, and he damn well knew it.

“So,” Buffy hesitated, “are we still…”

“No,” Angel said. “Not for a long time.”

“There’s somebody else?” Buffy asked.

Angel said nothing.

“Anyone that I would know?”

Angel sighed heavily. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t remember it. So why tell you, when I just know it’ll make you lose your focus.” Angel cut off her protest. “I know you, Buffy. After so many years, I can analyze your behavior when it came to me. If I tell you I’ve moved on, it will distract you. And honestly, in my condition, I’ll need your help to stop Allison.”

Buffy just looked away when Angel tried to look into her eyes. She didn’t want to hear it. She wanted to know that she would be with the man she loved. Not that he was with someone new.

“Buffy, I’m…”

“No, it’s okay.” Buffy moved quickly to the door. “I’ll get Cordelia for you.” Buffy was gone before he even could speak again.

Angel flopped back against the bed, muttering a few curses when his head hit the headboard. A couple minutes later Cordelia arrived. She hesitantly peaked her head into the room.

“Come on in,” Angel said.

Cordelia walked confidently into the room. Angel had to admire her. Given the time and place this was, at best she should look as if she were afraid of him. Besides Buffy, she was probably the only one of the Scoobies who would be willing to be in a room alone with him.

“So Vamp-boy. How are you?”

***************
Hyperion Hotel
October 18, 2003

He found it. And oh boy, did he ever find it.

Wesley looked up from the demonic Persanese transcribed on the pages of the book before him. Oh yeah, he found it.

“Connor?” he called out to the teenager.

The youth appeared at the office door moments later. “Yeah?” Connor was sipping on yet another orange soda. His father would really have to talk to him about cavities when he returned.

“Would you please retrieve Cordelia for me? I believe she’s outside by the fountain.”

“Sure. What’s up, English?” The boy picked up some nasty linguistic habits, too.

“I believe I found the meaning to Men-clar.”

*****************
Cordelia hadn’t hesitated to hop on the bed next to him. After she made herself comfortable, which included stealing some of his pillows, she asked the big question.

“So what am I like in five years?” Angel grinned at her straightforwardness. “Hey, like you said, we won’t remember any of this. So what’s the harm in telling? Anyway, how far pregnant am I in your time?’

“It’s October in my time. You’re about seven and a half months along.”

“So is the father handsome and successful?” she asked.

“Probably,” Angel smirked. “You wouldn’t settle for anything less.”

“Darn right.”

Angel laughed, which was a bad idea since it aggravated his back. “In the future, you’re a true Champion. You receive visions from entities called the Powers That Be. These visions allow me to go out and save the people who need help. You’re right there beside me in my quest for redemption.”

That sounded cool, Cordelia thought. “But I don’t get to kick but like Buffy?” she asked, somewhat disappointed.

“On the contrary, you become one hell of a fighter. You learned from the best.” Angel puffed his chest up in pride. He deflated in mock hurt at Cordelia’s “Pfft!”

“But like I said, you’re a true Champion. The things you will do not only save the lives of hundreds of innocents, it saves me on more than one occasion. You’re honest, and noble, and courageous. You’re a good person with a good soul. You’re everything that I can never hope to be,” he said softly. “You’re my hero.”

“So I turn out all right?” Cordelia asked, her voice full of emotion.

Angel laughed softly. “You turn out just fine.”

Outside the bedroom door, Willow stood. She hadn’t meant to intrude, but the words forced her to listen. At first, she thought that perhaps Angel was just being nice. But the emotion his voice carried told a different story. After a few seconds of thought, Willow gently knocked on the door.

“Angel?” she called, peaking her head in.

“What’s up, Red?”

Willow paused at that. This definitely wasn’t the Angel they knew. “Giles wants you to come down. He thinks he found information on the Men-clar.”

***************
“Giles?” Willow asked. “Can I speak with you a moment in private?”

The Watcher would have said it could wait, but then he saw Willow’s serious look. The one where her eyes open real wide and she starts to bite her bottom lip. “Certainly.” Giles led her from the living room into his study. Shutting the door, he asked, “Willow, what is on your mind?”

The redhead didn’t really know how to get her point across. “Have you noticed that Angel seems kind of fond of Cordelia?”

Giles pondered the question a moment before answering. “Well, from what Angel has described, he and Cordelia spend much of their time together. After a number of years of such close proximity, it is only natural that he would hold a certain level of affection for her.”

“Yeah,” Willow laughed nervously, then switched back to serious. The girl would eventually give herself an ulcer, Giles decided. “Speaking of affection,” Willow said, “have you noticed how Angel pays an unproportional amount of attention to Cordelia as to say, uh, Buffy?”

“Like I said before, Willow, after a certain amount of time, it is only natural he would incorporate Cordelia as a main player in his existence.”

“I mean,” Willow said, still not able to really get her point across, “have you noticed he seemed to hang on every word she said a few nights ago? Kinda like…” Willow broke the sentence off. Maybe she was just nuts. Cordelia and Angel? Nah.

For Giles, however, understanding dawned in his eyes. He thought back to the first night Angel was here. It was a slight slip of the tongue, and Giles had passed it off as fatigue or bad hearing.

“Willow? Go back into the living room. Tell the others I shall be there momentarily. I need to gather my papers.”

Willow nodded in confusion at Giles abrupt change of tone. “Sure,” she said. She quickly left the room, leaving Giles alone to his thoughts.

It should be impossible, Giles concluded. But again, this is the Hellmouth. It was the place where the impossible becomes the possibility. Glancing at the notes he made from his texts about the Men-clar, he realized that once again that sentiment had proven true.

**************
The AI gang all gathered in the office. After days of searching, it seemed that Wesley had finally stumbled on the answer.

“You found it?” Cordelia asked. “You know what Men-clar means?”

“I believe so,” Wesley said. “Normally, when it comes to prophesies in our line of work, it follows a certain pattern. The original text that the prophecy is transcribed on is in an ancient demonic language. It is then transcribed into Latin, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, or occasionally Aramaic. Eventually, many prophecies can be found in Middle German, or more often, Old English. That isn’t the case with the Men-clar prophecy.

“It seems the oldest texts are written in ancient Earth languages. The newer texts are the ones in the demonic languages. Persanese, in this case.”

“What does that mean?” Fred asked.

“Wesley,” Cordelia said sharply. “What does Men-clar mean? Does it tell what Angel’s and my child will be?”

***************
“As I said,” Giles continued. “It is all very confusing about the progression of texts and the languages it is written in.”

“Giles,” Angel said. The Watcher stopped his ramblings and peered at the vampire. “What does Men-clar mean?”

Giles took a deep breath and steadied himself. He had the full attention of everyone in the room.

“It appears to mean ‘The Bringer of Peace’.”


TBC