Anne knew as soon as she walked back into the lobby of the Hyperion that her absence hadn't gone unnoticed. Spike turned around and faced her, his eyes flaring. "Where the bloody hell were you? You had me and your mother both worried sick!"
"I know, and I'm sorry," Anne said, walking up to her father. "I…I had to go somewhere."
"Where could you possibly need to go? You don't even know anyone in Los Angeles. Well, anyone who doesn’t live here, so…"
"I…here." She thrust a small piece of paper forward.
Spike took the paper and unfolded it, frowning as he didn't recognize the word scribbled on it. "Vortairesh? What does this mean?"
"It's where Connor is. Rebecca knew someone who specializes in dimensional magic, and she was able to locate him."
The door to Angel's office flew open, and the vampire came storming out. "Did she just say she knows where Connor is?"
"Yeah," Anne replied. "I don't know how to get him, but…"
Spike turned around, handing the paper to Angel. "Here, mate."
Angel took it from him, looking down at it for a moment before glancing up again and meeting Anne's eyes. "How certain are you about this?"
"Pretty certain. I mean, I can't be positive until we figure out how to rip the portal open and pull him out, but the source seemed legit."
"You said it was someone Rebecca knew?" Spike asked. "How so?"
"An old favor called in for her mother," Anne answered. "She's upstairs now, if you want to talk to her."
"Get her down here," Angel said. "In the meantime, I'm going to start trying to figure out what I can about this Vortairesh place."
Buffy walked over from the couch then, making her presence known. "I'm calling Dawn, getting her here to L.A. If there's a portal that needs opening…"
"Then it'll help to have a key," Spike finished for her. "Right."
Anne felt her stomach flip with nervous excitement. It seemed that they were making actual headway with rescuing Connor, and if fate was kind to her, she could have him back very soon. But Anne had seen enough in her relatively short lifetime to know that fate was rarely kind. This could just as easily be another dead end as it could be their lucky break. Furthermore, Anne knew that getting Connor back in this dimension wasn’t necessarily going to solve all their problems. She hated to think about what could happen afterwards, wanting to focus on the rescue now and the repercussions later, but she couldn't help it. Even if they were able to pull Connor out, exactly who they were pulling out was still uncertain. It was clear from looking at Connor that he wasn't aging at a normal human rate, but how slow was his aging process exactly? Had it come to a standstill or was it merely moving at a snail’s pace? Depending on how quickly time moved wherever he was, Connor could conceivably be a very old man now—if he was even still alive.
And what sort of things could've happened to him since he'd left? Even if he hadn’t grown old, he still could've been killed, maimed, or even driven insane by whatever he was facing now. Anne knew he’d been able to survive in Quar'toth, but that had been a long time ago. Things were different now—Connor was different. After ten years as an accountant living in the suburbs could he really go back to being the sort of person one would have to be in order to survive in an unspeakable hell dimension? She thought back to the stories she’d heard of when Angel had been sent to hell following the attempted awakening of Acathla, and how the century he’d spent there had made him feral. Would they find Connor the same way? And if they did, would they be able to bring him back to the way he’d been before, or would this latest trauma be too much for his mind to handle?
Anne shook her head, forcing her worries back. She didn't have time for them now with more pressing matters demanding her attention. If they could get Connor back, then she could deal with whatever form they brought him back in. Whether he was a very old man, feral, or something else entirely, she’d take care of him. She'd told Connor she loved him and she'd meant it. Anything he had to face, she’d be there by his side, no matter what the cost. Connor was her mate, and nothing could change that.
"Oh, you came back. I was sort of hoping you'd gone to play in traffic or something."
Anne took a deep breath, willing whatever self-control she possessed to the surface. "Sorry to disappoint, Laura, but I'm not going anywhere—not without Connor."
Laura snorted. "I don't know who exactly you think you're fooling, little girl. I'm sure you think this is all very cute, trying to play with the grown ups, but this isn't your place. This isn't some fairytale, and Connor isn't going to come back and be your knight in shining armor. It's time for you to face reality.”
"No, it's time for you to face reality. I'm not the one trying to live a fairytale. I know real life, and I know real love. It's not always about building your dream home with the white picket fence and perfect children. Real love isn't pretty. It isn't clean and sterile. It's something you have to fight for, earn with blood and tears. I know damn good and well Connor isn't Prince Charming, and I can tell you I've never confused myself with Cinderella. Reality is something you've never faced. You don't know what’s out there, what the real world is. There're monsters out there that you don't even allow yourself to imagine, and Connor and I are the sort of people who have to face that every day while you live in a dream. It's time to wake up now, princess. Your 'husband' is in hell, and no amount of denial on your part is going to change that."
Laura's eyes narrowed. "Connor knows where he belongs."
"You're right," Anne replied coolly. "He does." She pushed past Laura, walking back up the stairs without glancing back at the other woman.
*** *** ***
All of the Hyperion's current inhabitants save one had situated themselves in either the lobby or the office, books in hand as they searched for more information on the dimension Melissa had named for Anne and Rebecca.
Laura had chosen to skip out on the research, declaring it no more than a waste of time. As far as she was concerned, Connor would simply come back from wherever it was he'd gone, and looking through storybooks was useless.
Anne wanted to hurt her, but knew finding Connor came first. She could put his wife in traction later.
"Found it."
All eyes were on Spike as soon as he spoke, Angel rushing from his office with Cordelia close behind. "Here," Spike said, putting the book up on the front desk. "There's a passage about Vortairesh."
"What does it say?" Angel asked, walking to the desk and looking at the book. He scanned the words for a moment before his shoulders slumped. "Oh."
Anne didn't move from her seat on the couch, though her eyes were trained on the open book. "What?"
"Says the dimension can only be accessed once every hundred years," Spike replied, wincing as he watched the look that brought to his daughter's face.
"Apparently those demons were serious about keeping the two of you apart," Rebecca said.
"I'm not going to accept that," Angel declared. "Cordy, use your connection to the Powers to search for another way."
"Angel, I've tried," Cordelia replied. "They aren't answering."
Angel slammed the book shut. "Make them answer! You're a Higher Being, dammit!"
"I know, but I'm on a Lower Plane, Angel. That limits my ability to communicate with the Powers. I'm sorry, but unless they choose to respond or send me a vision, my hands are tied." She came up behind him, resting her hands on her shoulders. "I want him back, too."
Angel slumped. "I've already gone through this once. That was beyond enough."
"I know," Cordy said softly, reaching up to stroke the back of his hair.
Buffy turned to Anne. "Are you sure that woman got the name right? Maybe she spelled it wrong. Demon words are tricky…"
"That's what she gave us." Anne turned to Rebecca. "Could you call her and double-check?"
"Yeah, I'm on it," Rebecca replied, getting up and walking over to the phone. The group in the lobby was silent as Rebecca made the call, all eyes on her until she hung up the phone and announced, "She said she's sure that's it."
Angel pulled away from Cordelia, growling in frustration as he knocked the book from the desk. "I need to get out of here for a bit. I…I can't." He turned and walked towards the weapons cabinet, pulling the door open.
Anne surprised them all when she stood. "Let me go with you."
Angel turned, the "no" he was about to say clear on his face when he stopped and looked at her. He could see what she was feeling in her eyes, the pain as well as the need for action. She was set on edge, needing to lash out and having no tangible target. Angel knew as well as anyone what it was like to have the person you loved lost to you, someplace where you couldn't reach them. He took an extra sword from the cabinet, tossing it to Anne. "Yeah, sure," he said as she caught the sword by the handle.
Spike was less than thrilled at the idea of his daughter going off alone with Angel, but he knew a fight would do her good. Not that she'd stay if he told her to anyway… "Don't let anything happen to her," he said, meeting the dark-haired vampire's eyes.
"She'll be fine," Angel replied. "Come on, Anne."
Anne followed him without a word, the front door swinging shut behind them.
Buffy broke the silence that followed, her eyes still facing towards where they'd left. "Well, that's just…weird."
"They're both hurting—they need the outlet a good fight can give," Spike said. "Although, yeah, watching them walk out together—weird."
"When is Dawn supposed to be here?" Rebecca asked.
"Soon, I hope," Buffy replied. "She said she was getting on one of the Council's jets as soon as she got off the phone with me, and that was a couple of hours ago. Though it's still a flight from London to Los Angeles." Buffy sighed. "I'm not sure how much help she'll even be. I know she's powerful, but if this portal stays closed for a century at a time, I don't know what she can do."
"She might be able to do something, find another way in," Spike said. "Bit knows her way around interdimensional doorways. If anyone's getting in, it's Dawn."
Buffy sighed. "Then let's hope she can do something here, because if that book is correct, she may be our only chance for a very long time."
*** *** ***
Angel drove down the dark streets of Los Angeles in silence, Anne sitting in the passenger's seat of his car with her hand gripped tightly around the handle of her sword. They both had their senses on alert, searching for any sights, sounds, or smells of trouble.
A scream reached them both at the same time, and they shared a look as they matched it with the unmistakable scent of vampires. Angel pulled the car over quickly, the two of them getting out and heading towards the alley from where the scream had come.
A woman was backed against a wall, three vampires advancing on her. Angel and Anne said nothing as they moved in, going after the vampires as the woman ran away in fear, never once looking back at her attackers or her rescuers.
When the dust had settled, Angel turned to Anne. "I expected you to pun."
Anne looked almost startled, as if in the fight she'd forgotten Angel was even there. "Huh?"
"I figured you'd be chattier when you fought. Taunt the vampires a bit."
Anne shrugged. "Sometimes I do. I'm not in a particularly witty mood right now."
Angel rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You look like her. You have his eyes, but…you look like her. I think it's the nose."
Anne brushed her fingers against her nose. "I did get that from her."
"You really love my son, don't you?"
"I do. And I know it's crazy, and I'm well aware of the creep factor, but I just…do. There's something about Connor, I can't…" She trailed off, and Angel could see tears glistening in her eyes. "We have to get him back, Angel. I know I haven't been around him very long, but I need him. I just touched him, and I knew."
Angel hesitated for a moment, watching Anne as she cried. Finally he stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her. "We'll get him back, Anne. I've already lost him once before—I'm not letting it happen again."
Anne stayed in his embrace for a moment before stepping back, wiping at her eyes. "Can…can we maybe go find something else to kill now? That barely took the edge off."
Angel nodded. "Sure. There's always something around here to kill."
"Then let's go."
*** *** ***