Darkness Falls

Title: Darkness Falls: Story 20 in the "Who I Am, What I'll Become" series

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Disclaimer: Cordelia, Angel, Wesley, Kate, Gunn, Oz, Phantom Dennis and David Nabbit all belong to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Trudi is mine. Please don't sue, this is just for fun. Song is called, "Yellow Light" and is by Remy Zero. Oh, and there is a mention of The X-Files with a bit of direct dialogue from the first season episode, "Tooms." The X-Files belongs to Chris Carter.

Rating: PG-13 for language, adult content, and slight sexual situations.

Spoilers: Up through "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" and the previous stories in this series. Kind of based off some second season themes and ideas, but I pretty much take it in a whole different direction.

Timeline: Takes place the day after "Beginnings."

Summary: Cordelia gets an unexpected phone call; a situation arises when Angel fears Cordelia's life is in danger.

Distribution: Permentant home is at my site, Only Time: www.geocities.com/angel_roswell/onlytime.html, but anyone with previous permission may take it without asking. Anyone else, just drop me a line and tell me you're interested, I'll probably say yes.

Category: Story

Subcategory(ies): The fluff ends in this one folks. Things are about to get dark. Angst anchors away.

Feedback: Pretty please?

Dedication: To Ardent and Angela. :)

Darkness Falls

Cordelia fidgeted in the passenger seat of Oz's van, an uneasiness settling over her as Wesley drove them back to L.A. As anxious as she was to get home and go to bed (despite the fact that it was only 6:30 in the evening), a big part of her wanted to plead with Wesley to turn the van around and drive them back to Roswell.

Sensing her anxiety, he reached over and squeezed her hand gently.

Cordelia gave him a grateful look but didn't say anything. In fact, she hadn't said much during the entire trip home. She'd spent most of the time alternately pretending to be asleep and pretending to be totally engrossed in the passing scenery.

Occasionally, she snuck a glance at Wesley and Kate, trying to decipher what their body language meant. Most of the ride home she'd spent in the back with Angel, who had fallen asleep almost immediately upon entering the van, and Kate and Wesley had sat up front, talking softly and sitting closer than normal.

Then of course, there was the fact that the two of them had wandered out of the Crashdown the previous evening and hadn't returned until nearly 1 a.m. And when they had returned, they'd both had silly expressions on their faces and had been holding hands.

Obviously her match-making plans had worked--Wesley and Kate both seemed happier than she could recall seeing them since...well, ever. And she should have been happy because her friends were happy.

But her mind was too busy worrying, wondering if there had been any new serial-killer related murders while they'd been in Roswell, or if the killer was at her apartment at that very moment, waiting for her to come back, to be happy for her friends.

And then there was that other thing.

A small sigh escaped her lips and she leaned her head against the cool glass window and stared outside as she mentally berated herself.

What the hell had she been thinking? What on earth had possessed her to kiss Angel?

She'd been standing there, having fun at the party, dancing, talking to her friends. Then suddenly it was Midnight on New Year's Eve and she was surrounded by all these happy, young couples that were so in love. And there she was--Cordelia Chase--formerly Queen C. of Sunnydale High--and she was alone.

Except she hadn't been.

Angel was standing right there. And despite every reason (and there were sooo many reasons) why she shouldn't have done it, she'd had the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

It wasn't because he was just there or she'd just wanted someone to kiss because of tradition.

It was because it was *Angel.*

And it hadn't been the first time she'd wanted to kiss him. After she'd met him the first time, she'd had a huge crush on him. But she'd been young and it had been one of those fleeting crushes solely based on physical attraction.

More and more in the recent past, she found herself wanting to kiss Angel, to be physically near him despite how completely impossible it all would be. But it wasn't like before when she had a crush on him.

Because now it wasn't solely based on physical attraction. She cared deeply--very deeply for Angel.

And *that's* what made kissing him so dangerous.

Not just because of his curse.

Because his heart belonged to someone else, someone she could never be.

And she was not about to go down *that* road again. Especially not with Angel.

Cordelia closed her eyes, remembering how gentle and sweet the kiss had been. They had kissed once before--when she'd been trying to get rid of the visions that Doyle had passed onto her. Of course, Angel hadn't kissed her back that time.

Last night he had.

Her heart skipped a beat at the memory.

Cordelia didn't know what that meant, and honestly, she was too afraid to consider the possibilities. No, it was best that she lock away all memories of the previous night into a corner of her mind to be opened years from now when she could look back upon it with a fond sense of nostalgia. Because right now dwelling on the memory...and the feelings that went along with it--was too dangerous.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that the van had stopped.

"Cordelia?"

She blinked several times and looked over at Wesley, who was studying her with a worried frown. "Yeah?"

He gestured at the passenger window. "You're home."

Cordelia turned to look, her stomach tightening. "Oh."

Wesley's frown deepened and he glanced over his shoulder. Kate had fallen asleep in the seat directly behind them and Angel was sprawled out on the floor in the back, also still unconscious. He turned to look at Cordelia again. "Are you all right?"

For a moment, she seriously considered telling him everything--her fears about being back in L.A., her growing feelings for Angel, all of it. Instead, she answered, "Yeah, just tired."

"It's been a long drive," he agreed. He reached for the door handle. "I'll wake Angel." Wesley climbed out of the van.

Cordelia took a deep breath and did the same. "Great," she muttered.

Cordelia sat curled up on one of her sofa, a mug of hot chocolate wrapped in her hands as she watched the second episode of The X-Files marathon that was on FX.

<"If there's an ice tea in that bag, it could be love."

"Must be fate, Mulder. Root beer.">

"Do they ever end up together?"

She looked at Angel, who was sitting at the other end of the couch, his feet propped up on her coffee table. "Not so far. Writers are great about drawing things like that out. They like to tease us as much as possible."

"And people think I'm evil," he commented, staring at the televison screen.

Before she could turn her attention back to her favorite show, the telephone rang. Cordelia stood up, crossed the room and picked up the portable. "Hello?"

"Oh, Cordelia! Thank God you're back! Oz and Gunn said they thought you'd be home this evening, but they weren't sure and I'm so glad you're here!"

"Uh...who is this?" she asked in confusion.

"Oh, I'm sorry! This is Trudi Williams!"

"Oh. Hi, Trudi. What's up?"

"I need to ask you a huge favor."

"Okay."

"Will you be my maid of honor?"

"Your maid of...you're getting married?" Cordelia frowned, still confused.

"Yes, David asked me to marry him two days ago."

Her eyebrows shot up. "David Nabbit?"

"Yeah! I'm so excited!" Trudi squealed.

"Wow. That's...that's great, Trudi. Congratulations."

"Thanks! So will you do it? Be my maid of honor? After all, you're the one who introduced the two of us and everything."

Cordelia shrugged. "Sure."

"Great! Any dress will do, the limo will pick you up in an hour. Oh, is Angel there? David wants him to be his best man."

"Whoa, wait a minute! You're getting married tonight?"

"Yes. David's already made all the arrangements."

Cordelia shook her head, her mind going blank for a moment. Then she quickly recovered. "Um, okay, then. Angel's here and we'll get ready to go. Just...send the limo in an hour and we'll be there."

"Oh, thank you so much, Cordelia! You're the best!"

The phone line went dead.

She shook her head and put the receiver on the cradle and walked out into the living room, still feeling a bit dazed.

"Who was that?" Angel asked curiously.

"Trudi Williams. She and David Nabbit are getting married."

"David Nabbit's getting married?"

Cordelia nodded. "Tonight. So, you might want to change clothes," she said, eyeing his t-shirt and sweatpants. She turned to go down the hall. "The limo's going to be here in an hour!" She paused, walked back and stuck her head around the corner. "Oh, and Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"You're the best man." Cordelia stifled a giggle at the expression on his face and returned to the safety of her bedroom.

Angel stared after her. "Cordy? That was a joke, right? Cordy?"

Cordelia flung her closet open and quickly yanked out every decent dress she had. "How in the world am I supposed to be ready in one hour?" she mumbled. She laid each dress on her bed and scrutinized them with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, Dennis, help me out here."

Her long, pale lavender dress floated off the bed and hovered in front of her.

She admired it for a moment; to this day that particular dress was one of her favorites. "Dennis, have I mentioned lately that you have great taste when it comes to fashion?"

Cordelia pulled off her sweatshirt and slid out of her jeans. She unzipped the zipper on the back of the lavender dress and carefully stepped into it. She pulled it up and then reached behind her back and started to pull up the zipper. Unfortunately, halfway there, it got stuck and wouldn't go any farther.

"Crap," she muttered. She tried to ease the zipper back down, but it wouldn't budge. She didn't want to try and force it and risk possibly tearing the dress. But she couldn't see what she was doing.

Which left her with only one more option.

"The Powers That Be are laughing at me right now, I just know it," she fumed. With a resolved sigh, she opened her bedroom door and walked down the hallway. Angel was dressed in attire similar to what he'd worn the previous night--black pants, black jacket, white shirt and he was struggling to tie a black tie around his neck.

"Uh...Angel?"

He turned to look at her. His eyes widened ever-so-slightly. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks. But I have a problem."

"What's wrong?"

"The zipper on this dress is stuck. Can you help me?" she asked, looking slightly embarrassed.

He nodded wordlessly and walked over behind her. He swallowed hard as his fingers brushed against the soft bare skin of her back. The fresh scent of her strawberry body wash filled his head and he closed his eyes for a moment. Then he gently tugged on the stubborn zipper and finished zipping up Cordelia's dress, his hand lingering on her shoulder.

His mind vividly recalled the previous night when she'd kissed him. Her lips had been softer than he'd imagined and the kiss itself had been sweet and gentle. But that hadn't stopped him from wishing to increase its intensity by pulling her up against him and...

Okay, bad thoughts, Angel reminded himself, feeling frustrated. He moved his hand away from her. "There you go."

Cordelia turned to look at him, her eyes reminding him of how she'd looked at him last night after they'd kissed. "Thanks."

Angel simply nodded.

She reached up and wound her arms around his neck. "What are you doing?" he asked, swallowing hard again.

"Shhh," she whispered, pressing her fingertip to his mouth. Then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him again.

Angel wound one hand in her hair and pulled her flush up against him, deepening the kiss. He propelled her back towards the sofa and--

He blinked rapidly. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing your tie," Cordelia answered, giving him a strange look. "You okay?"

"Uh...yeah." He waited uneasily as she finished tying and straightening the tie around his neck.

"Well, I'm going to go finish getting ready." Without another word, Cordelia turned and walked down the hall to her bedroom.

Angel sat down on the sofa and put his head in his hands. "Dennis, I think I'm in big trouble."

"Well, I think that was possibly the most un-traditional, traditional wedding I've ever been to," Cordelia commented as she unlocked the door to her apartment.

Angel nodded in agreement. The wedding had taken place in a small church, performed by a Baptist minister. Trudi had worn a traditional white gown. But other than Angel and Cordelia, there had been no guests, no wedding rehearsal or dinner reception. Just an exchange of vows and rings and then David and Trudi had flown off to Disney World in Florida for their honeymoon on David's private jet.

Cordelia walked inside her apartment and he followed. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted," she said with a yawn.

"It was a long drive."

"Of course, *I* didn't sleep the entire way back to L.A." She shot him a look.

Angel feigned innocence. "Wesley couldn't have slept the whole time. He was driving, remember?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm going to go change clothes and get ready for bed." She walked down the hall to her bedroom.

And froze.

All the dresses she had left out on her bed were ripped and shredded to pieces. On the wall in drippy red writing were the words, "I'll Get You, Bitch." Her window was slightly ajar.

And a face was pressed up against it from the outside, staring in at her.

Cordelia screamed.

Angel stared at the photo of him, Cordelia and Wesley that hung above the fireplace mantel. In the picture, Cordelia was standing in between he and Wes, an arm around each of them and a beautiful, bright smile on her face. He wasn't sure why he was so drawn to that image, but lately he found himself staring at it every time he was in Cordelia's living room.

A terrified scream from the back of the apartment sent a chill down his spine.

Angel whirled around and raced down the hall. "Cordelia!"

She tripped as she fled the bedroom, but he caught her before she hit the floor. She was trembling violently and her eyes were wide with fear. "He was outside my window!"

He stared at her for a moment as she clutched onto his arm. "The killer?"

"Yes!"

Angel stepped inside her bedroom as Cordelia held onto him. It only took him a second to realize that the guy had been *inside* Cordy's apartment. Fury overtook him as he caught sight of someone rushing down the fire escape. He pulled free of her grasp and headed for the window.

"Angel--"

"Stay here," he told her, meeting her eyes for a second, then turning and opening the window the rest of the way and ducking outside.

Angel remained still for a moment, listening. On the ground below him, he heard footsteps running down the alley. Without hesitation, he leapt down from the fire escape and began chasing after the man.

He felt his vampire visage take over and a low growl formed in his throat. The bastard was going to pay for going near Cordelia. He increased his speed and turned the corner, only to have a large wooden board slammed into his face.

He hit the ground, dazed. As he struggled to sit up, two big guys approached him, one carrying a stun gun.

Angel growled, but before he could do anything, the guy had shocked him til he was lying flat on his back.

"Don't bother fighting back. It only makes it worse."

He froze at the sound of the hauntingly familiar voice. No, it can't be, he thought.

Angel watched in shock as she stepped out of the shadows, a long blood-red dress flowing and trailing the ground, her light blond hair tussled by the chilled night air.

"Darla," he whispered.

She smiled slightly. "Hello, Angel."

Before his mind could even form a coherent thought, he felt something sharp stab him in the arm and he saw that one of the men had injected him with something.

"What did you...do to me...?" he asked, his tongue feeling swollen in his mouth. His eyelids began to droop and he realized he wasn't far from losing consciousness.

Darla stood over him. "Goodnight, my darling boy. Sweet dreams."

Angel's last thoughts were of Cordelia, and how he wasn't going to be able to protect her from the killer...

He awoke with a start. The room was lit only by a few candles. His head was pounding like someone was hitting him repeatedly with a hammer. When he attempted to move, he realized he was shackled to a wall.

What the--?

Angel's eyes focused on a familiar figure at the back of the room. "Lindsey," he snarled.

"Angel. Be nice. I'm doing you a favore," the young lawyer said smugly.

He yanked against the chains that held him in place. "When I get out of these, I'm gonna rip your heart out!"

"Now, now. Don't--"

"Shut up, Lindsey," a soft voice commanded. She stepped into view from her darkened corner of the room and walked up until she was only a few feet from Angel.

He stared at her. "How--?"

Darla smiled. "Lindsey and his friends brought me back." She reached out and touched his face.

Angel flinched and pulled away. "Those dreams...you were..."

"Controlling them, yes. They were very enjoyable, weren't they?"

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. "Why am I here?"

Darla glanced at Lindsey. "You're here so that we can be together again. Forever."

Lindsey began to read aloud from a book in Latin.

A sudden pain tore through his body and he cried out. He would have fallen to his knees had he not been chained.

Darla moved in front of him and kissed his forehead. "I'm sorry about the pain, but you'll thank me later, darling."

Another stab of pain surged through him and he realized....he remembered with horror what was happening, what they were about to do. "Don't do this!" he choked out.

"It's the quickest way," she whispered as Lindsey continued reading.

Angel tried to free himself. He had to stop Lindsey before it was too late. But as he tugged furiously on the chains, one last wave of pain hit and he howled as he felt his sould being ripped away. Then everything went dark.

Lindsey stopped reading and looked at Darla. "Did it work?"

She studied the vampire in front of her. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. "Angel?"

His eyes opened and with a growl, he yanked against the binding chains and they snapped in half. "Don't ever call me that again!" He stalked towards her but she didn't back away.

"Angelus?"

He grinned viciously, his vampire visage taking control. "That's right, baby. I'm back."

"Hey, I can't get my head straight
Of words we're twenty blocks too late
Now the devil is in my face
She seems to be looking down
And, hey, have you heard about Mr. Crow?
Well, I think so, but I don't know

Well, you can't let your panic show
My bones is beginning to shake
Reach out your hollow flame
Oh, you're hangin' so weird and strange
Oh, your darkest days
They're just beginning now...ohhh..."

The End

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