Backdated to last Friday, and locked: Bringing Up Baby

[abetterlie]

Note to self: don't fuck this up. Because one way or the other, you'll be in a position to. Either through the bringing-a-demon-to-the-housedoor thing, or otherwise, by being you. You know, that Larkin poem I quoted to Harry the first time we met? And don't have any kids yourself? Still good advice

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phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

Once the decision to move back to Los Angeles has been made, Darla and Angel begin to make preparations for the move. They'll need to sell some things because it's too much hassle to take it all with them. They'll need to pack up their stuff, which won't be much, and Kara's stuff, which will probably require a moving van of some sorts. He won't bitch about the price either. Angel is just ready to move his girls out of this cold city and back to the city of Angels. It's a good place to give Kara a fresh start, he thinks.

He doesn't want Connor to hear about it through a post on livejournal or from someone else, so once sundown hits, he heads out to take care of some things, including placing a call to his son.

The phone rings twice, and he waits for Connor to answer.

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

It's Saturday, so Connor isn't at college. He's not patrolling, either; instead, he's trying to write an essay as requested and not get distracted by the dogs or the sounds of Harry with Evan. Which means he's sitting next to the phone. He sees the caller ID and takes a breath. Having learned about Kara's suicide attempt from Harry via Bruce Wayne, he hasn't contacted his parents or her, since they obviously thought he'd do more harm than good. The dreams about killing her hadn't exactly convinced him otherwise, either. So when Angel calls, he suddenly is afraid that the news is about Kara, that she tried it again and this time did succeed. On the second ring, he picks up the phone.

"Hi Dad," he says, and there is quite a lot in his voice.

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

"Hey Connor," Angel says, and he can hear there is a lot in Connor's tone, but it's hard to tell exactly what is going on. Of course the 'Hi Dad' has held many meanings over the years. It can be a simple greeting, a sign of affection, and of course the harshest insult. He's not sure if it means any or all of these things.

"Do you have a minute to talk? There's something we should discuss."

Which actually reveals a lot in Angel's tone too. He rarely just calls to chat.

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

"Yeah," Connor says, and the bad feeling about Kara gets worse. "Go ahead."

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

"This city is too cold. Did you notice that when you'd come and visit?"

It's a random question, but it has a purpose. Their conversations always have a purpose. Angel never really liked Boston, but he was willing to stay as long as it made his girls happy. Now none of them were happy. It was time for a change.

"We're moving back to Los Angeles and into the hotel."

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

First he is incredibly relieved. Compared with what he feared, this is terrific news. Then Connor has an odd sense of displacement. He left Los Angeles after the Rileys died and ended up on the East Coast, finding a new home in New York for a while, and then a rapid succession of alternatives, while being close enough to Boston to start experiencing Angel, Darla and Kara as a family on a semi-regular basis. Now Angel, Darla and Kara will be back where everything started, in Los Angeles. In the hotel which was the first place he lived in after leaving Quortoth, and which is home to so many memories. Home. Odd

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

"I know

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

"I won't tell her," Connor promises, leaving it unsaid that Harry won't, either, because that is self-evident. Surely by now, Angel at least has to grant Harry still cares for Kara. Moreover, besides the fact Connor is not sure he can talk to Kara at all until he stopped dreaming about killing her every other night, he remembers all too well how it feels, wanting to die, and no, people you have issues with as a witness are really the last thing you need

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

"Los Angeles will always be your city too, Connor," Angel says, and he means it. The boy was born and sort of raised there. In a couple of lives at least.

"Your mother will take her to Disneyland and I'll be sure to take her down to the pier with the ferris wheel."

He avoided the beach sometimes, but he thinks maybe Kara will like the pier.

"When you visit you and I can go there and we'll take advantage of our hand eye coordination and win some things for Kara and your mom. After we clean out the warehouse district for nests of course."

He sounds whimsical as he speaks about LA. He's missed it. "I'm going to see if Cordy maybe wants to move back. She seems pretty lost since she's been back and really I don't want to leave her in Gotham with Bruce or Boston alone."

He hears what Connor is saying too and he's not sure what to say to it so he just says, "I don't plan to let go of either of you, Connor."

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

Until Angel said it, Connor hadn't realized that what he wanted to hear was just this: that he was still part of the family, and that Angel still loved him, too. Childish, so childish, and he should be far more mature than that at 21, but he still feels a great weight lift when Angel talks about plans for Los Angeles that include him and says he won't let go

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

They would never cut Connor out of their life. No matter what happens with either Connor or Kara, they will always have a place with Darla and Angel. He's relieved that Connor seems to be taking the news ok and that he isn't protesting that he won't visit.

"Good. I almost had you the last time we played so expect me to win the next time."

They're both learning the sport, but Angel is enjoying it. There will be a part of him that will always remember tiny hockey sticks and a little jersey.

"I wanted to talk to you first, and then I'm going to talk with her. There is plenty of room in the hotel if she wants to move in, but even if she doesn't she could still move back and get her own place."

He's excited. He really has missed his city, his hotel, and the tripping over people who share the same space.

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

"You wish, old man," Connor says when Angel says he expects to win, and remembers what fun it was to tease Angel on those rare but existing occasions they manage to do that together. Sometimes, Angel doesn't even have to drop by for coffee because the world is ending for that to happen

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

"Older and wiser and better at hockey than you. Just wait and see." The mention of the old apartment makes him smile. Dennis did love Cordy. He wonders what happened to her apartment and her ghost.

"Yeah, he wasn't too happy about them moving her stuff I don't think."

He vaguely remembers Fred and Gunn telling him about it. It's probably not the best time to bring up Harry's kid. Angel is already in panic mode when it comes to Kara's safety. The idea that Harry has a child will just make him wonder who the mother is and how much deeper this is going to drag Connor into Harry's clutches, and Kara into depression.

"I don't know. I'm going to restart Angel investigations." It's his way of saying he has no plans to go back to Wolfram and Hart, contract or no contract.

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

"You'll help the hopeless," Connor says. "Just make sure that includes the hopeless at hockey." A bit more serious, he adds: "If they send another Terminator clone, I'll help you kick his butt again. You know that, right?"

Meaning he counts on Angel to tell him if there should be serious trouble, and not via a last minute conversation. Just then, he hears Harry laugh in the next room, and suddenly realizes it's just a question of time before Evan babbles or squees loud enough for Angel to hear. Which means he should cut the conversation for now, and call him later, after the move, with the child not anywhere nearby.

So he waits for Angel's answer, and then plans on saying goodbye for now.

Re: phone call to Connor

[not_a_eunuch]

"You'll know if I need back up."

It's true too. If he has to go up against the firm again, he'll call Connor for help. He'll call Faith and Buffy too. Even Spike if he can track him down. After all, he's not going to roll over and be a puppet on a string for them anymore.

"You call if you need anything."

It's not a request either, but he figures that it's not something they will have to debate for now.

Re: phone call to Connor

[abetterlie]

"Not with my handwriting. Just in all other things."

No kidding. If you're responsible, well, half responsible, well, a third responsible for a child that your lifestyle could threaten, you do not indulge in manly "I can deal on my own" pride if a crisis approaches.

"Call me when you get there, okay? Just that I know there wasn't another air plane crash."

At least he's assuming they'll move by plane. And after what happened to Harry and Cordelia, he's a bit paranoid on that account. Which must be doubly true for Cordy. Poor Cordy, though the prospect of going home must make up for that.

"I've got go now, school stuff. Just call me. And - thank you. For holding on."

And after Angel's goodbye, he hangs up.