Heart On A Sleeve (Interlude 1)
Restive Nature
Rated PG-13
Disclaimer- I own nothing of either Angel the Series or Dark Angel. They and all recognizable characters and settings belong to their respective owners, Whedon and Cameron/Eglee. The only character that is mine is Eva O’Connor.
Timeline: Takes place during Book 2 of the Warrior Souls, "Essence of the Heart".
Summary- Wesley finds himself on a journey of introspection, with an unexpected traveler to help lead him to peace.
Chapter Six
Je Trouve En Ciel*
"Sh-she died?" Elizabeth spat out. Her eyes widened as she took in the Hyperion once more. "What the hell kind of sick game is this?" she demanded, her hand reaching for the door handle of the car, and in her desperation to be away from the cruel prankster, forgot that she couldn’t grip it. She watched her hand slide through the cool metal and realized that she indeed had a much more astonishing method of disappearing. She shoved her leg through the implacable door and simply removed herself from the car.
Wes took this in; suddenly realizing that she’d grossly misunderstood his words. Well, she actually hadn’t. But she wasn’t quite sticking around for the rest of the story. He snatched her grandmother’s journal from under the armrest, the keys from the ignition and hurried after her.
"Elizabeth! Wait!" he called after her as she walked stiffly away from him. She spun around, the fire back in her eyes.
"Wait for what?" she demanded angrily. "For you to tell me next that… oh I don’t know, my grandmother’s ghost is flitting somewhere about, ready to wreak havoc on my senses for the sins I’ve committed."
Wes stared at her, puzzled. "I don’t understand," he began, but she cut him off.
"I died!" she yelled. "I died for her. She had to live. How can she save the world if she’s dead?" Huh? Tell me that!" Wes chuckled, which only fuelled her anger. Truly, it looked as if she would strike him, if she could.
"Yes," he finally managed. "She did die. But she was reborn, or well remade, I’m not quite sure of the proper terminology that would apply in this case. I’ll have to think about that, because both terms have merit-!"
"Wesley!" she screamed into his face. He shrank back as she smiled nastily at him. "Focus."
"O-oh, yes," he muttered, fighting the urge to stand up straight and make sure that his glasses were still resting in their proper place. "In any event, Max was resurrected on this plane two years ago in our time."
"So she’s alive?" Elizabeth sighed heavily. She didn’t know if it was relief she felt, but there was something. He nodded and gestured towards the hotel.
"If you’d like to see for yourself," he offered. Elizabeth weighed the offer carefully. But in the end, she knew that she needed to see for it firsthand. It was just another piece of the puzzle.
"Why did she come here?" Elizabeth asked softly as they made their way into the lobby. She noticed Wes glancing around, presumably for someone. She could just imagine how it looked to the outsider. To those who couldn’t see her. He’d appear quite mad.
"She wasn’t done," Wes intoned. "Sandeman came here." He waited for her expected gasp of surprise before continuing. "He told us of the prophecy. But what you may or may not know, was that it wasn’t Max whom you were waiting for."
"It wasn’t?" she asked in so quiet a voice that Wes felt more than heard it.
"No," he shook his head. "We were waiting for her child."
He led the stunned woman down to Max and Angel’s apartment. Questions rolled through her mind, but she could not give voice to them. Wes stopped before the door and listened for a moment. Both he and Elizabeth could hear movement within. He raised his hand and knocked gently. After a brief time, the door swung open and Angel stood there. Wes forced back the grin that threatened to take over his face. His friend and employer looked completely harassed. Eyes bloodshot, hair sticking out at all angles.
"Hey Wes," he greeted softly then glanced back over his shoulder. "What did you need?"
"I’m so sorry to disturb you," Wes apologized swiftly, "especially so late at night. But I need to talk to Max."
"Yeah sure," Angel agreed and stepped back to let his friend in. Wes saw right away what had Angel in such a state. Max was in the corner of the living room, the rocking chair that normally resided in Eva’s room being put to heavy use. The little girl, wrapped in her mother’s embrace was clearly not happy. Her soft crying reached Wes’ ears and he moved to sit on the sofa. Max smiled tiredly at her friend, then glanced up at her husband.
"Angel, would you?" she asked. He nodded, though it seemed he was at a loss for something. Max stood, the tot still in her arms, but the crying didn’t cease.
"Has she been like this long?" Wes asked politely. Even as standoffish as he could be, he adored that little girl and her pain was nearly his own. Just as it was for everyone at the hotel. Max rolled her eyes.
"Most of the night," she informed him. Angel took her place in the rocking chair. "Dad thinks it’s just colic. But I’m about ready to break down and call the doctor."
"Maybe I could take her for a bit," he suggested, completely out of the blue. "Give your arms a rest?" Angel was already nodding and Max had started towards him. She stopped abruptly, about a foot away from him. He watched her carefully, having seen this behavior from her on a few occasions. Normally it meant that something unseen was troubling her. Not surprisingly, it was usually reserved for when a demon was near. She looked sharply at Wes, but seemed to relent. He understood her concern, that she was wondering about what appeared to be her friend. But then her gaze flew to the front door. She stared at it, perplexed. Wes followed her line of vision and wasn’t surprised to see Elizabeth hovering nervously there. He gave a slight jerk of his chin and she hesitantly glided forward. He looked up again at Max; startled to see her following the ghost’s movements, even though he was sure she couldn’t see what it actually was. "It’s okay Max," he assured her. She waited a heartbeat then looked back down at him.
"Okay," she whispered and settled her still crying daughter in his arms. She settled on the coffee table before him and waited, still slightly tense, as Angel had become, taking his cues from his wife. Wes was touched by the amount of faith she was showing by trusting him with the one thing she would unwaveringly give her life for. He arranged Eva on his lap so that the little girl was facing Elizabeth. The woman, without thought, settled herself beside Wes on the couch, turned so that she could see the miracle child she’d searched for her entire life and death. Eva stilled, her tears cutting off abruptly. Angel sighed in relief, even though he hadn’t missed any of the by-play going on around him.
Elizabeth looked only, at first. Smiling, as the little girl’s eyes seemed to take her in. She watched Wes soothingly rub the baby’s back. And of it’s own accord, her hand reached out to the appealing creature before her. And then laughed as Eva let out a loud belch. All the adults laughed, but the child was quiet.
"I guess Giles was right," Angel chuckled. Wes noticed Elizabeth’s eyes come up sharply to focus on the other man, recognizing Sandeman’s true name. He grunted slightly, conveying agreement to the O’Connor’s and an ‘I’ll explain later’ to Elizabeth. She turned her attention back to the child. Her hand whispered against the little girl’s cheek and to her surprise, the baby laughed and squealed.
"Oh," Elizabeth cried, amazed that she was actually feeling the gentle skin of the baby’s chubby face. "She’s the One. I can feel it!" She didn’t need Wes’ confirmation. She set her hand agonizingly close to the completion she’d sought, joy pouring through her. Despite everything that she had done, or not done, her grandmother’s dream had come to fruition. It was a staggering moment for the woman. Finally though, when the child drifted asleep, it was time for her to go. With a beatific smile for the man who had made this possible, she rose from her perch. She turned to face him again. "Thank you Wesley Wyndham-Pryce." He simply smiled. She turned then to Max.
"You’ll never know how sorry I am for all the things I have done 45-! Max!" she corrected herself, another tear pooling in the corner of her eye. "But I wish on you all the happiness this world has to offer." And without another word, she wisped away from their abode.
"So?" Max leaned forward, visibly relaxing, her voice a whisper. "You gonna tell me what the hell that was about?"
Wes continued to rub small circles on Eva’s back as he smiled up at his friend. "I don’t quite think you’d believe me if I did."
"Try me."
*****
A few days later, Wes strolled into Caritas, feeling marginally better. He’d shared the story of the entire evening with Max and Angel. They’d been slightly skeptical, but had considered what he told them. He offered the journal, still in his possession as proof. Angel had glanced over it and commented that Giles would find it interesting if nothing else. The next day, Wes had set to work translating the journal. And funny enough, Max had asked to read the translation when he was done. It was all he’d been working on recently and finally Cordelia had shooed him out of the office. Demanded that he go relax somewhere. So he’d made his way to Caritas.
"Howdy there Ghostbuster," Lorne trilled when he caught sight of Wes stepping through the barrier.
"Hello Lorne," Wes grinned.
"I see you’re in a better mood," Lorne commented, signaling one of the bartenders. The man nodded and set to work on another round of drinks.
"Yes," Wes agreed. "I don’t seem to have had much time on my hands for moping about lately."
"And the world is grateful," Lorne joked. "Believe me. But since you’re here, maybe you could do me a favor?"
Wes grinned and shrugged, not so bothered anymore by people depending on him all the time. "What’s that?" Lorne turned slightly and pointed to a dark corner of the room.
"You could finish your mission," he scoffed then shook his head. Wes stared at the corner he indicated, wanting to rub his eyes in shock.
"Good Lord!" he gasped. "What’s she still doing here?"
"You already have the answer to that one bro," Lorne answered. "Now go make sure she knows it."
‘Ah, yes,’ Wes thought to himself. ‘The ever elusive redemption.’ It would never be over for her until she was ready to believe that and accept it without question. He wove his way through the tables to her side. She glanced up benignly, a soft smile playing on her lips.
"Hello Wes."
"Hello Elizabeth."
*****
That began a regular round of evenings. All day Wes would throw himself into work, whatever came his way. He’d finished the translation and had, as promised given a copy to Max. In the evenings, he’d take off as soon as he could, meeting Elizabeth in Caritas. He knew that she’d returned there out of courtesy for him. In a place where everyone could see her, it wouldn’t be so embarrassing for him to be talking to her than say at another restaurant. They talked of themselves, their lives, the world around them, anything they could seize upon, just to beat back the loneliness that threatened them.
Wes could see every time they met, that Elizabeth was softening just a little more. He liked to think that she was finding her way back to the person she’d once been. Before she’d let the bitterness and disappointment in her life take over. And he found that he liked this person. She encouraged him when he would have been too shy to recount silly tales of his childhood. She defended his work when he felt useless. She just in general made him feel better about himself. And he wished he could do the same for her.
That chance came about unexpectedly. Max had approached him at his home, which was unusual. Especially since she’d just seen him at the hotel. She had read through the journal of Elizabeta Matin and had read through his notes on how this prophecy had applied to her world and original time. She was there to ask him, would he take her to Elizabeta’s place. To the tomb of the Women Who Watched. He had agreed. But first, he wanted Elizabeth to know. It took nearly an hour to convince her, as she was sure that Max wasn’t going there for any altruistic purposes. But Wes pointed out that even as Max didn’t know the true Renfro, neither did Elizabeth know the person who lay behind the barcode. So she agreed to come. To see what Max desired to accomplish by her visit.
*****
Max was already at the cemetery when Wes and Elizabeth arrived from Caritas. She spoke not a single word, but preceded them into the graveyard. Wes was sure by her demeanor that she still didn’t see Elizabeth, but wondered if she still sensed the ghost. The pair followed along behind her, stunned to see Max moving straight towards the tomb.
"Max?" Wes asked hesitantly. She paused, outside the entryway, not looking back at him.
"Yeah?"
"Are you all right?"
She nodded. "I just sort of… feel drawn here."
"Well then, by all means," he chuckled nervously. "Let’s go." Elizabeth was strangely or maybe not so strangely quiet as they again entered the tomb. They all carried a reverence with them. As he’d expected, the torches were still blazing brightly. A small gasp escaped Max as she took in the large tomb, housing the spirits of all those who had come before her nemesis.
"It’s beautiful," she whispered, clearly in awe. Wes watched as Elizabeth moved around to look full into Max’s face. "I…" her head bowed and Wes moved to wrap a comforting arm around Max’s shoulder.
"It’s okay Max," he soothed her. She shook her head.
"I never gave much thought to the people associated with Manticore," she admitted brokenly. "They were the enemy, you know?" He nodded. "I mean, I thought about the woman who gave birth to me. My brothers and sisters and later on the rest of the transgenics. How could I not think about them? They were in my face, every day. But the Manticore people, I hated them for what they did to us."
"Quite understandable," he whispered as he looked over Max’s head. He could again see tears in Elizabeth’s eyes, but she made no move to defend herself from the anger she felt she so rightly deserved.
"I never imagined that they might have dedicated themselves to saving the world," Max chuckled suddenly. "It was just… so much easier to see them as money grubbing political beings. You know? Interested in their own desires and what we could do for them. What we could gain or destroy for them."
"And what changed your mind?" Wes asked.
"You did," she admitted softly, smiling up at him.
"Me?" Wes gaped at her in shock. That certainly wasn’t the answer he’d expected.
"Yeah you," she giggled as she nudged him in the side. "Here was this guy who had no special talents aside from researching circles around other people, but he had the desire to fight evil where he found it. He got hurt, he lost heart sometimes. But every day, he kept fighting it. And it occurred to me, that maybe there were more people like this guy."
"Well of course," Wes tried to deflect the admiration in her tone away from him.
"No Wes," she interrupted sharply. "Don’t deny that you’re an important member of the team. And more than that, you’re one of the best people I know. You helped me to see that…oh argh!"
"What?" His head whipped back around to stare at Elizabeth, who was giggling. Giggling? Max was silent, so the ghost took it upon herself to explain.
"She’s getting all touchy feely," Elizabeth smiled. "She’s trying to be a soldier. But I don’t think she can ever be that again. She’s a mother now. A wife. She’s where she’s meant to be, even though she wasn’t trained for this." A tear rolled down Max’s cheek and Wes wondered if she had heard Elizabeth’s understanding words.
"If Renfro hadn’t infected me with that virus," Max continued finally, "then my life would have turned out much differently." She paused and looked up at Wes. "If she hadn’t told me to find Sandeman, then I might never have come here. And then I would never have had Eva. Indirectly, Renfro helped give me the greatest gift I’ve ever received. It’s big!"
"It certainly is," Wes agreed mildly.
Max gestured to the tombs around them. "If these women hadn’t dedicated their lives to finding Buffy. If those women in my world hadn’t devoted themselves to finding me, what would have become of our worlds?" She grew contemplative again. "Maybe I’ve realized that for all the evils committed, every little bit of our actions count. Every thing I do, or you do, all the things that Eva might do, it all counts towards the final answer. For all the sins Renfro committed, she came through in the end."
"That she did," Wes sighed. Elizabeth had bowed her head, allowing the softly forgiving words Max spoke to roll over her.
"And I hope she knows…" Max swallowed heavily. "I hope she knows that I forgive her."
As if they were magical words, and in some way they were, Elizabeth’s head snapped up. Wesley watched the beauty of lightness of being and soul come over her. And then she was gone.
Max buried her head into Wes’ shoulder, shivering as the lights within the tomb dimmed. He tightened his hold as they sputtered and died completely. "Wes?"
"It’s okay," he calmed her.
"What’s going on?"
"Je trouve en ciel," he whispered.
"What!"
He chuckled; forgetting that Max wasn’t quite the proficient at languages that he was. He glanced down at her. "She found her Heaven."
"Good," Max nodded, speaking around the lump in her throat. "I’m glad."
They waited a few more minutes, the darkness in the tomb doing nothing to lessen the peace that flowed through them. Finally Wes tugged his arm from around her. "Shall we go?"
"Yeah," Max nodded and turned back to the doorway. Wes led the way out stopping when he felt Max hesitate. He turned back to see her looking longingly at the inscription on the marble door. She had pulled the door shut and her fingers were now lovingly tracing over the glyphs. "It feels like a dream."
And indeed it did.
*Translation-
Je trouve en ciel- I am finding Heaven
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