Chapter Text
It had been two weeks since Connor was taken, and Angel Investigations was hard at work tracking down any leads they could find. So far they have not been able to figure out where Holtz had taken him. They did come across information regarding Connor’s origin, but that brought about more questions than answers.
Wesley took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He had been staring at the same page for days, yet he couldn’t figure out what it all meant. He had his theories of course but none of them made sense. He was exhausted and annoyed with himself because he knew he was missing something; some reference, some clue he was overlooking that would help it all make sense.
“Any luck?” Fred asked as she walked into his office. She made her way to him and hovered over his shoulder trying to see what he was looking at.
“Yes, I believe I have something but it is just not making sense. Here take a look.” Wesley replied as he handed over his notes. “This is what I have been able to translate so far.”
She grabbed the notes and read them aloud.
From mortals he was conceived,
Trapped in time for no one to see,
Until it was time to be set free,
A gift to those who fight for thee
Champions who are and will always be.
“Wow.” Fred mouthed slowly as she looked up at Wesley. “What do you suppose it means?”
“Well, I have developed a few theories,” he paused, “but I don’t want to jump to any conclusions just yet.”
“Well sure, ya don’t wanna make the same mistake you made before, remember?” Fred said not realizing how her words pained him. He knew she was still getting use to being in this dimension and was still socially awkward. So he could not blame her for being brutally honest. He did hand over Angel’s son to Holtz based on a prophecy he came across. Now he was trying desperately to rectify the situation.
“Let’s look at what we do know, shall we?” Wesley said as he began again, still a little shaken by Fred’s words. He knew that after betraying his friends, he had a lot of trust to regain, and he knew it was going take a lot more than just time for him to regain it.
“Sure.” Fred answered eagerly.
“We know that Angel is the father because the previous prophecy states that the child is the son of the vampire with a soul. However, these inscriptions mention that both parents had to have been mortal or human during conception. In order for this to be true Connor would have had to have been conceived before Angel was turned. Darla was already a demon when she met Angel as a human, so it isn’t possible for her to have been Connor’s mother. ” Wesley stated.
“So you think that the child was trapped in some type of temporal phenomena, and then transported into Darla’s cold and lifeless womb, only to bring about her destruction and single handedly cause the..” Fred stopped when she noticed that Angel had walked into the room.
“Oh, hi Angel!” Fred smiled nervously as she watched Angel approach Wesley’s desk.
“Anything new, Wesley?” Angel asked coldly. Wesley knew Angel had not forgiven him for his betrayal but agreed to work with him in order to find his son. He was grateful for the chance to make things right. Time was of the essence and they knew they had to find Connor soon or he may end up being lost to them forever. Wesley answered as swiftly as he could.
“It seems that we have found a reference to Connor's origin,” Wesley replied nervously. Fred handed Angel Wesley’s notes and handed them to Angel. While Angel read the translation, Fred filled him in on what it could mean.
“We think that Darla couldn’t have been the real mother unless she was human, which she was twice but then turned twice so it could be her, but you would have also needed to have been human and the same time and we know that you haven’t been human for about 250 plus years or so..” Fred was about to continue but by the look on Angel's face she knew it would be wiser not to. He seemed to be miles away; the pain and anger were even more evident in the lines of his face than before. He slowly placed the notes back down on Wesley’s desk.
“Angel, is everything okay? Did I say something wrong?” Fred asked as Wesley slowly pulled her behind him fearing the worst.
“No, Fred, like always you know just what to say.” Angel stared at the notes he had put down. He knew exactly how Connor came to be and who his mother was, but before he told anyone else, he had to tell her first, it was the least he could do. He gathered his emotions and buried them for the time being. He didn’t need his emotions to distract him from what needed to be done.
“Wesley, I think we are going to need more help if we are going to find Connor,” Angel stated. At first Wesley was unsure about what Angel meant but quickly understood.
“Sunnydale,” Wesley replied. Angel nodded slightly and disappeared before any more questions could be asked.
“Wesley, what’s in Sunnydale that can possibly help us find Connor,” Fred asked.
“The Slayer,” Wesley answered.
“The Slayer, sounds like some kind of assassin. Is he going to help us fight Holtz?” she wondered.
Cordelia walked in and answered before Wesley did.
“The Slayer is a she, one chosen in each generation, about our age, superpowers, fights evil, yada, yada, yada. You’re going to meet her soon, ran into Angel on my way in and he tells me that is where we are headed to tonight. I knew by the look on Angel’s face that it had to have something to do with her. By the way, Fred, her name is Buffy, ring any bells.”
“Oh, why didn’t you just say that,” Fred asked confused.
“The Slayer needs her proper introduction,” Cordelia retorted as she and Fred walked out of the office to prepare for the trip. “If anyone can get Connor back though, it’s Buffy, believe me, she’s the one to call but,” Cordelia paused as she and Fred walked up the stairs of the hotel.
“But what?” Fred asked curiously.
“I just don’t want to see Angel suffer, and he has avoided telling anyone in Sunnydale about Connor so far, we all have, but we knew eventually they would find out. Buffy will probably be in shock, and angry and make it all about herself, Angel can’t bare to see her suffer, believe me it has always been that way.”
Fred looked at Cordelia, but for some reason she couldn’t understand why Angel loved Buffy so much when it seemed she only brought him pain.
In his office, Wesley reached for the phone then hesitated, what am I going to say, he thought, it would be best if we just fill them in on the details when we get there, he picked up the phone, and with the dial tone ringing in his ear he stared at the space where Angel once stood, “It’s going to be a long night,” he whispered as he dialed Willow’s number.