Chapter Twenty Nine

Angel sat on the counter in her kitchen watching her friends eat the quick meal that she'd prepared for them. Sean sat positioned at the table so that he could see her and Angel found herself staring into his eyes not noticing when they began to glow slightly. Shivering Angel closed her own and let her mind wander hoping it would relax her. Taking a deep breath she smiled slightly as a dream from her childhood came to mind.

She sat next to a stream in the middle of a lush valley. Hearing giggles she turned around to see a familiar group of boys playing in the grass. "You should be careful," she heard a deep voice warn as a shadow passed over her. "You could fall in." Looking up she couldn't make out the face of the man looking down at her, but wasn't scared in the least. "I'm not worried, you won't let anything happen to me," she said sweetly and innocently and felt him smile softly as she saw his head bob in a nod.

"Hey! Give it back it don't belong to you!" She heard and turning around again saw the boys had grown into men. "Shann?" She asked recognizing her younger friend and he turned towards her pouting. "Ang, make 'em give me back my ball! It's mine not theirs!" Scanning the men she saw that Jay and Sean Waltman were playing keep away over Shannon's head with what appeared to be a dark transparent glass ball. "They shouldn't be playing with that," she said but the tall man's voice drew her attention again. "It's ok, we don't need it to see the future anyway. We have you an' Shann isn't very good at it anyway."

Angel opened her mouth to question him confused, when an evil laugh she often heard in her nightmares filled the valley and dark clouds formed over them. Screeching Angel lunged forward and clung to the man's leg as he drew a sword. The other men came running surrounding them, but the laughter only got louder. "Why doesn't she save us?" She heard a voice that sounded like Jay's ask. "She doesn't know she's supposed to." She heard the man say and wondered who they were talking about. "She doesn't even know she can." He finished and Sean began to cry. "Then we'll all die." The man shook his head as Glen one of the bigger man stepped forward and put his arms around Sean. "She won't let than happen."

Sensing that someone was missing, Angel looked around, "Where's Scott?" She heard the man sigh. "I don't know. He was never a part of the original plan. You were supposed to be mind." A hand appeared in front of her face, the back covered in a red web and blue flames. Taking it she let him pull her up. "You were supposed to be mine." Gasping Angel realized that it was her Devil Man's blue eyed she was looking into.

Opening her eyes quickly Angel found Sean watching her intently from the table. She wanted to tell herself that it had all just been a dream, but knew that was impossible. While the man in her dream had grown up with her over the years, his eyes had never changed. At that moment she knew it had always been Sean. She couldn't help but remember the sadness in his voice in her dream. "You were meant to be mine," he'd said and found herself whispering back to him. "And yours I shall be."

"I hope you left something for me," she heard and turning her head quickly saw Scott standing in the doorway yawning. At that moment her words to Sean took on a deeper meaning and she found herself staring at Scott as if she'd never seen him before.

Frowning Scott turned looking around behind him then finally back to Angel. "What? Did I get hit with the ugly stick while I was sleeping?" She knew that she should answer, but didn't know what to say. The love life that seemed to make so much sense only an hour before seemed to be extremely cloudy now. She loved this man. That she was sure of. She'd fought for years to get him clean and sober waiting to be able to be open about her feelings for him. She knew that she would die for him and would kill anyone that harmed him.

And yet there were these feelings for Sean inside of her that were just making themselves known as if they had just been lying dormant waiting for something to wake them up. She couldn't turn Scott away. He wouldn't make it. She knew that without any doubt and there was something inside of her that insisted that she could not hurt a mortal screaming as if by doing so she would be violating some sacred law.

A mortal? Suddenly her thoughts all stopped at once and turning her head looked at O'Haire to see him watching her as if he was waiting for her to make some… connection. "If I am not mortal what am I?" She thought to herself. She saw the flicker of something pass through Sean's eyes, but he took it from her before she could identify it. "You can read my thoughts can't you Devil Man?" She said finding herself unsurprised when he smiled slightly.

Turning her attention to Scott, Angel could almost feel his unease and panic. Slipping down from the counter she crossed the distance between them putting her arms around his neck. "I love you Scott Anthony Levy," she breathed as she watched him searching her for reassurance. "There isn't anything mortal or… otherwise that can change that. Promise me you won't forget." Scott nodded slowly and Angel kissed his cheek then turned her attention to Dave. "Dave, please join me in my library when you are done." When he nodded she glanced at Sean before finishing. "Alone." She watched something else flicker through Sean's eyes only this time she knew what it was… she just never thought she would see it there. After all her protector was not one prone to fear.

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