A FATHER'S FURY I needed some type of adrenaline shot, because I couldn’t believe that Doyle was actually standing in front of me. I was so thrilled to see him there. The Powers that Be took him too soon. He had a lot of fight left. I wished that he was still fighting on my side, and now he can. I finally mustered enough voice to say, “you look good! I can’t believe that it’s actually you. You’ve been gone for quite some time now.” Doyle smiled and responded, “Angel, you know that I wouldn’t have come back if it wasn’t vitally important. But there is so much that we need to discuss. I have so much information that we can use to destroy them. I have so much to tell you about your son, who he is, and where he came from. I know I’ve been gone for a long time, but there’s no time for you to know how I came back. If there was more time, I’d tell you. But I’m afraid we’re in short supply of that precious commodity.” Willow had heard Buffy talk about Doyle before. The reason why I know that is, Buffy told Giles and Willow that Doyle and Cordelia were a part of my life in Los Angeles. Buffy also told Willow, that Doyle had passed away a few years ago. Willow had a smug look on her face the entire time Doyle was talking. I noticed it and remarked, “What’s wrong with you Willow? Why are you looking at him like that?” “Am I the only one who understands what’s going on here,” Willow asked then proceeded to answer. “Has everyone forgotten what has happened to each of us. “ She looked at the group, and noticed we weren’t on the same wavelength. So she decided to prove it. Willow looked at Anya, who was the closest one to Doyle. Anya instantly knew what Willow wanted from her. Anya lifted up her right hand and tried to place it on Doyle’s shoulder. Anya’s hand fell right through his shoulder. “See,” Willow pointed out. “It’s not your friend Angel, it’s the first.” “Bravo! Bravo,” the first replied. “The witch is the smart one in the family. Now, don’t you understand why I loved her when she was evil, and why I wanted her to stay that way. She’s so powerful, smart, and sexy for that matter. The destruction and devastation, and death you caused,” the first continued as he looked directly at Willow. “All of that is the reason why, I’ll continue to want you, even after everyone else is dead. You and Angelus. You two will rule by my side.” The first now took it’s glare off of Willow and placed it back on me. “I’d love to see Angelus come out and play. I haven’t seen him in a very long time. It’d make this all worth it. I hate to leave you all now, but I really must go. I’m having a special meal, I mean guest tonight for dinner. I think you know him Angel, your son Connor! Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Damn you, I screamed, as I raced after the first. But much to my dismay, it’d disappeared before I reached it. I turned around and looked at the others who were staring at me in shock. “It’s gonna pay. No matter what I have to do, that bastard will pay for taking my son, and taking over Doyle’s body.” Before I stormed into the kitchen, I punched a huge hole in the living room wall, and yelled out, “ The bastard will pay!” Buffy followed me in, and tried to comfort me. “Angel, I know this is tough to deal with, but you need to calm down so your mind is clear. It wasn’t really Doyle out there, you have to understand that. And Connor, we’ll find him. He’s my son too, And I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back. But, you can’t cloud your judgment with anger. You have to remember your purpose, protecting the innocent; especially now, when there are so many innocent people in need of our help. Thoughts of making them pay won’t save Connor.” “I know Buffy, I frustratingly replied. “It’s hard to focus when your son is in danger. We have to move, and move quickly.” “I know Angel,” Buffy responded. “What should we do? I’m all out of ideas right now.” “We should go to LA,” I explained. “Wesley and my crew are already researching this beast. And how to kill it. You see, Lilah gave Wesley a book on the beast before she died. It had a lot of things about how to kill the beast. We thought we had it down, so we went after the beast and failed miserably. We almost died, and Connor was taken. So, by the time we get there, they might have found something we could use.” “I can’t just leave Sunnydale like this,” Buffy said as she began pacing. “I’m the slayer. My destiny is to protect the innocent. And too…” “You can’t protect the innocent if your dead Buffy,” I explained as I interrupted. “People are already dead Buffy, you can’t save everyone, especially now that it’s permanent midnight.” “Your right Angel,” Buffy said in agreement. “I’ll explain to the others. You and Giles go ahead, the rest of us will meet you there.” “Ok,” I said. “But before we go I have to do this.” I grabbed Buffy, pulled her in and kissed her as passionately as I could on the lips. When she kissed me back, I knew that this could be the last time we embraced like this. When I let her go, she said to me, “I love you, now go!” I raced out of the kitchen, grabbed Giles, and explained to him that he needed to come with me to help Wesley. He and I were now on our way back to La. Back at Buffy’s, Buffy came out of the kitchen, and explained to everyone what the plan was. She told everyone to stalk up on weapons and clothes, for they were headed for LA. When everyone else had left to stalk up, Willow and Xander stayed behind for they noticed that Buffy was worried about something. Something more than the Big Evil’s. “What’s wrong Buff,” Xander asked. “Well you know, besides the whole son, dinner thing.” “Yeah, Buffy,” Willow agreed. “Is it something Angel said in the kitchen.” “No,” Buffy replied. “It’s something the First said.” Willow and Xander were very interested in what Buffy was referring to. “He mentioned the name Angelus,” Buffy explained. “Whenever that name is said, it drives a chill up my spine. Whenever there is a possibility that Angelus could come, it makes me that much more nervous. So, we need to keep on our toes for anything that smells like Angelus. No holding back to spare feelings.” “No problem,” Xander quickly said. Buffy and the gang piled in a bus which Buffy kept for special occasions. You know special occasions like running from destruction. They headed for LA, where hopefully they could find Connor, defeat the beast and the first evil. While not running into Angelus. Fat chance!
