Title: Visions Best Left Unseen
Rating: FR13
Setting: Somewhere in Angel seasons 2 or 3 for Cordy and co. Pick a spot for the Sixth Doctor and Peri.
Disclaimer: Buffy and the gang belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The Doctor and associated characters belong to the BBC.
Summary: Cordelia’s latest vision is particularly painful. How can The Doctor, Peri and the rest of Angel Investigations help her? Part of Jinni’s 20 minutes with Cordelia challenge.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”
Cordelia’s scream echoed around the walls of the Hyperion hotel, and Angel found himself running out of his room on the second floor at top speed, without even thinking about it. Passing by Wesley and Gunn coming out of their rooms on the first floor, he arrived at the lobby in seconds.
There were two people standing in front of the reception desk - a man and a woman. But Angel’s attention was firmly fixed on Cordelia. She was slumped over the desk, face covered by her hands, gently mumbling “Dear God, no.”
Angel snarled and could feel himself slipping into game face automatically. If they’d hurt Cordelia in any way…. The woman turned to see him, and then cowered behind the man at once. “Doctor?” she said, her voice quavering.
“Doctor?” thought Angel, as the familiar scent finally reached his brain. As the man now turned to face him, the curly hair and the almost arrogant air clued Angel in. It was that damn Gallifreyian again. He said nothing, but pushed straight past them to check on Cordelia, relaxing his game face back to normal.
The Doctor straightened his coat, and stood there hands on his lapels. “Ah… Angel. Nice to see you again, and Miss Chase of course. Though I was not expecting histrionics.”
Angel glanced up briefly from checking over Cordelia. “She gets visions now. Painful ones that hurt her a lot.”
The Doctor sniffed, as the girl peeked out from behind him. ”Tsk. Most unfortunate timing indeed.” he added, as Wesley and Gunn burst into the room, axes at the ready. “Now, now Peri,” he continued as she tried to shrink behind the Doctor again. “I’m sure that Mr. Angel will explain that we had absolutely nothing to do with Miss Chase’s agonies.”
Cordelia finally pulled her hands away from her eyes, and glared in his direction. “Nothing to do with it? NOTHING to do with it?” she yelled, her voice getting higher and higher. “You show up in THAT outfit, and don’t expect a fashion conscious girl to suffer?”
Angel blinked. No vision? For the first time, he focused in on what the Doctor was wearing. A patchwork type coat, with bright red and bright yellow panels, and other…. interesting…. style choices. Not very appealing at all. “But… no vision?” he got out, before wincing in realization of his mistake.
Cordelia simply switched targets of the Glare. “Thank you ever so much, for being so concerned about me” she cooed at Angel. “Of course, there’s only one way for me to recover fully from that sight.”
Angel was having trouble thinking straight with the Glare directly on him. Sometimes, he found himself wishing for a nice simple demon attack at these moments. At the back of his head, he noticed Wesley going pale, and slipping away. Slightly distracted, he found himself saying “Whatever you need, Cordy.”
“Credit card. Now.” she demanded. “Retail therapy in extreme dosage is required.”
Eeeeep. Last time this happened, they’d needed a car to get all the clothes back to the Hyperion. Cordelia held the Glare on him. Angel sighed and handed it over. It would hurt less in the long run.
Cordelia got up from behind the desk and crossed over to Peri, managing to not look directly at the Doctor’s outfit. Or the Doctor who was wearing a hurt expression. Taking Peri’s arm, she tugged her along. “You too, sister. You need a make-over like nobody’s business. What are you, stuck in the 80’s or what?”
Peri cast a look back over her shoulder as she was practically dragged out. “Um… I’m a time traveler actually. From the 80’s.”
Angel could have sworn Cordelia’s eyes had lit up at that point. “Oh yeah! Now tell me all about next year’s fashions….” She paused thoughtfully, and yelled back into the lobby “Gunn! Get your ass over here - someone’s going to have to carry this stuff for us.”
Gunn jumped. “Hey! No way in hell! English here’ll….” It was at this point that Gunn noticed Wesley’s disappearance. After shooting a frantic look at Angel, Gunn finally succumbed to the inevitable and marched outside, muttering darkly at British ex-watchers who were going to get axes up their tweed covered posteriors.
Cordelia paused in the doorway, and winced again as she examined the Doctor with a calculating eye. “And you…. You are getting a new coat. At the very least.” As Angel let out a wordless sigh of pain over his credit card’s impending demise, Cordelia turned to him. “Don’t make me get the pastels again, Angel.” Satisfied that her threat was understood, she turned and swept out.
Angel and the Doctor watched the three of them depart out into the sunny LA daylight, and turned to face each other. “That was all your fault!” they both yelled at each other.
~Fin~