Chapter 1
Author: Ellen
Rating: NC-17 (overall story)
Spoilers: Somnambulist
Summary: In order for the three to survive a new challenge, Doyle must learn to accept his inner demon.
Thoughts between Angel, Doyle and Cordelia are marked //like this.//
When Wesley arrived that morning, he noticed that Cordelia and Doyle were doing the "long meaningful stare" bit again. It was becoming quite annoying, actually. All these silences, all the gazing into each other's eyes... most disconcerting. He cleared his throat as he walked in. Cordelia turned toward him, and smiled brightly. "Wes! Guess what! I have an audition today! What do you know about the six wives of Henry the, uhhh..."
"Eighth," Doyle supplied.
"Yeah, the six wives of Henry the Eighth. What do you know about them?"
"It's quite a fascinating saga actually. Are you auditioning for the role of Anne Boleyn?"
"They want people to read for all the parts. But Anne Boleyn's the best one, right?"
"If you don't mind a very unhappy ending."
Cordelia looked puzzled. But as Wesley began to explain, he noticed that her expression changed, with sudden comprehension, even before he actually finished his sentence, as though she were hearing the information from some other source.
"Anne meets a most unkind fate. King Henry has her executed, by beheading, for allegedly committing adultery with numerous men, although it's generally believed that the charges were false, trumped up so that Henry could marry his next love, Jane Seymour."
"Like in 'Dr. Quinn'?" Cordelia asked.
"No relation, far as I know," Doyle put in, as Wesley looked completely blank. For Wesley, he explained: "Cordelia means the actress Jane Seymour."
Wesley shook his head, bemused. "No, kings who had flings with actresses came somewhat later. There was Charles the Second, for example, and Nell Gwyn."
"Never mind that," Cordelia interrupted. "Back to Henry. Who were the ones who didn't get their heads chopped off?"
"Well, he divorced the first one, Katherine of Aragon, and the fourth, Anne of Cleves. Jane Seymour died of childbed fever. The fifth wife, Kathryn Howard, met the same fate as her cousin Anne. In fact, Anne's sister-in-law, another Jane, was involved in that shabby little episode..."
Wesley stopped, noticing an inappropriate grin on Cordelia's face. "What's so funny, Cordelia?"
"Are you sure you're not a vampire, Wesley? 'Cause it sounds like you knew all these people personally, and even Angel isn't that old."
"History was always my favorite subject. At any rate, it was widely rumored that Jane Boleyn, the wife of Anne's brother George, was the source of the claim that Anne and George had committed incest, which resulted in George's execution as well, and then, a few years later..." Wesley droned on, unaware at first that Cordelia had stopped listening.
Then he spotted Cordelia and Doyle staring into each other's eyes again, both smiling. He stopped talking, waiting for them to notice. It took awhile.
"Do go on, Wesley," Cordelia finally said.
"Why should I? You're not paying the slightest attention. I'll go fetch you a book on the subject, shall I? Perhaps you'll find that will hold your attention more than I can. Maybe Doyle here will read it to you."
She ignored the insult, seeming not to hear, still smiling at Doyle. Wesley shook his head in disgust. "I'll be back later. Perhaps when Angel is awake, he will be able to drag himself away from staring at the two of you long enough to do something useful. But I rather doubt it."
Wesley headed out the door, hoping that his grand exit would be noticed, but he was disappointed. There were no protests, no apologies. As he was almost out the door, he heard Cordelia say in an absent-minded voice, "See you later."
"Maybe," he muttered bitterly. But he was quite sure she didn't hear, or care.
The office was silent once again, as Doyle and Cordelia returned to their preferred method of communication.
Well, one of them, anyway. The others would be better conducted downstairs, in greater privacy.
//What are we going to do about him?// Cordelia sent, worried. //He's beginning to figure us out.//
//Why not just tell him, then?//
Cordelia shook her head and Doyle felt her embarrassment. He amended, //Well, at least the mind-reading part. He doesn't have to know about the other yet.//
//He'll figure that out, too. I just don't like the idea of anybody else knowing. This is kind of, you know...//
//Intimate?// Doyle shared an image with her of the three of them, downstairs, curled up together, and he felt her blush a little.
//Private. Besides, he doesn't really trust Angel, no matter what he says.//
//I know that. Wouldn't it help though, if he knew that Angel's soul is anchored in us?//
//Do you think he'd understand?//
//Understand, yes. As you said yourself, he's not without intelligence, even if he doesn't always know how to use it. Approve? Unlikely.//
//We don't need his approval,// Cordelia flared. //He was a lousy Watcher and a worse demon-hunter. Why should we care what he thinks?//
//But you do care,// Doyle thought to her gently. //Remember, I can tell.//
//Yeah, well, I don't know exactly why I care.//
//Because he's your friend.//
//We have each other. I never did the friend thing very well anyhow.//
//Except you know that's not really true, darlin',// he sent back. //You were our friend before you were our lover. Remember when you and Harry arrived to rescue me from the Anomovics?//
He sent her his memory of her indignant cry, "You shouldn't be trying to eat my friend's brains!" and she couldn't help but laugh, especially when he reminded her who she'd really been hitting with that tray.
//No fair, that was your fault for not telling me sooner about your demon. And besides, that was only because I loved you already and didn't know it.//
//Well, partly, I suppose.// He smiled back at her. //But only partly. You wanted to protect me before that, long before you loved me. You'd have taken on Spike or that Marcus creep, for Angel or for me, if you thought you could win. You can be a very good friend, Cordelia. Don't give up on that.//
//We could get very... isolated, couldn't we?// she realized, looking at him seriously.
//Yeah. If we stop connecting with the rest of the world, we stop caring.//
//And then we stop helping the hopeless, right?//
//Right.//
//Well, Wesley definitely counts as one of the hopeless, so I guess he'll be good practice for us.//
//My point exactly.// He bent forward and kissed her. It was supposed to be just a light kiss, but Cordelia let him know immediately that she had other ideas. As her demanding arms closed around him, he laughed in her mind, //What about your audition for the six wives or whatnot?//
//I have more than an hour before I have to leave.//
//Angel's still sleeping.//
//Just waking up actually,// a drowsy thought from downstairs touched their minds. //Join me here?//
//You don't have to ask twice.//
