The Wound That Would Not Heal: Chapter One
by Cookie_Dough101
Disclaimer: I own nothing other than my originality.
A Giant Thank You to my Beta Reader: Baby Cakes


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Angel stared down at the picture of his son that was stuck to the cover page of the folder documenting Connor's concocted life. There were two folders left in the steel box hidden in his desk; one detailed what had truly happened to his son up until the time Angel had stabbed him with the knife and the other contained the false stories and memories that had been created to keep his child's former life a secret.

His eyes briefly skimmed the cover page, he'd read it over a dozen times before, the names of Connor's parents, details about his family and his hobbies and interests. He flicked the page over and turned to the back of the folder, slipping in the latest transcripts he'd gotten about his son from Harvard. Angel locked the pages into place and then began reading them; it was a ritual to him. First, he would trace the Harvard letterhead and then his eyes would slowly move down the page smiling at how well his son was doing but over the past month, his smile had been replaced with a frown as he found his son's grades slipping.

Connor had been the perfect student, studious, willing to question things and organised. Straight A's were the way of life for him so Angel's brain immediately began running with a list of possibilities for why his son's grades would be falling. He'd contacted the school in an attempt to discover whether the problem was school related and after that had failed, he'd tried magical leads but nothing turned up. He was clutching at straws and Angel knew he was being overprotective but when it came to Connor, it was well worth the risk. Angel's fist slammed against the desk and he sat there staring angrily at the wall before taking an unneeded breath to calm himself and closing the folder. The silence was interrupted by a beep on his computer and Angel was briefly tempted to throw the whole thing against the wall, instead he moved the mouse and was greeted with the all to familiar 'you've got mail'. Clicking the read now button, Buffy's all too familiar e-mail address popped onto the screen and Angel felt himself relax. As he got past the small talk he began reading about how Dawn was doing at school and how proud Buffy was of her. His mind refocused on Connor and he realised that maybe Dawn might have the answers, of course she wouldn't be able to tell him what was going on with Connor but she was around the same age as him and it was the only avenue he hadn't explored.



"Hello?"
"Dawn? It's Angel."
"If you want Buffy you've called the wrong number, hers has 56 at the end."
Angel smiled as the teenager jumped to conclusions, not that he blamed her, he hardly ever called but when he did, it was always for Buffy, "No, actually I wanted to talk to you, pick your brain about something if you don't mind."
"Scary visual but ok, what can I help you with? Ancient Samarian?"
"No, something more along the lines of college."
"Um--now you've lost me, you want to go to college?"
Angel laughed and heard Dawn giggle uncomfortably, "No, no," he paused wondering how to continue, Dawn didn't know about Connor and he couldn't expect her to keep it to herself, maybe he hadn't made the right decision.
"Angel?" Dawn interrupted his thoughts and Angel sighed deciding to keep Connor out of the subject for as long as possible.
"Sorry, Dawn I was wondering if you knew why someone's grades would suddenly drop, from a younger person's perspective that is."
"You want to know about grades? Did Buffy write something? Is this some sort of psychological ambush because I can tell you right now my grades are fine. If anything Buffy should be worrying about hers."
"This isn't about you, it's purely a hypothetical. Buffy actually sent me an e-mail saying how proud she is of you so I promise this has nothing to do with you."
He heard Dawn sigh and knew that she still didn't believe him, "Fine, what exactly did you want to know?"
"I know someone who has gone from getting straight A's his entire life to suddenly failing test after test and struggling to pass his courses. Why would that be? From a student's perspective, I've called the school but they seemed to be as clueless as I am."
"Family problems is generally the biggest reason."
"It isn't that."
"Well, I guess it could be something romantic then, I know that when I broke up with my boyfriend my grades kind of slipped but nothing too drastic. What you're telling me sounds like something serious is going on in this guy's life, something that's still affecting him. But it could really be anything, Angel, from him struggling with his own sexuality to some sort of demon draining his intelligence--is there any demon that can do that?"
"You're the junior Watcher you tell me. Thanks Dawn, you've been really helpful."
"S'ok, but I swear I'm doing well in school, you should be more worried about Buffy."
"Why what's wrong?"
"Let's just say I'm kicking her academic ass. Well, I'll tell her you called I've got to get back to my translations."
"Goodbye Dawn and thank you."
"Bye Angel."

He clicked the phone back in place and pulled out a pen and fresh piece of paper writing all the possibilities Dawn had told him about and then crossing off the ones he knew where wrong. Angel stared at the page and shook his head, the only one that remained was Dawn's joke about the intelligence draining demon but staring at the list Angel began to question whether it was so farfetched. Angel reached for the phone again and dialled Wesley's number.
"Wes, it's Angel, I need to see you in my office." He hung up not waiting for the man's reply and began pacing the room, trying to decide what to tell Wesley.

The intercom buzzed and Angel let the former-Watcher into the office, "Thanks for coming so quickly."
"You hung up, I didn't exactly have the opportunity to tell you that I was in the middle of a meeting. Although I believe that was no doubt your purpose."
"If I let you guys answer generally I have to wait hours before I get to see you--it isn't like the old days."
"That it isn't," Wesley sighed and sat down opposite his boss' desk, "So what was so urgent that you needed to see me?"
"Is there such a thing as a demon that drains someone's intelligence?" Angel caught the brief roll of Wesley's eyes and growled quietly, nobody seemed to be taking him seriously.
"An intelligence draining demon?" Wesley smirked repeating the question, "Angel did you check the demon database? I don't think you need me for this."
"It's important Wes, I wouldn't have asked you otherwise." Angel was grateful when an air of seriousness finally fell over his friend.
"Ok, well, I've never heard of an intelligence draining demon, are you sure that's what it is? What exactly is the context of this--case, I'm assuming it's a case you've taken on?"
"Yeah, a son of one of our clients. His grades are slipping; he's gone from being a straight A student to someone struggling to get a pass in his courses. His father's tried everything to find out what's wrong and the only option we've been left with is that it's something demonic."
"I may sound ignorant in saying this but are you sure it isn't just the father putting pressure on the boy to perform?"
"No, it isn't anything like that, it's demonic Wes I just need to know what kind of demon so I can kill it and let this kid live a normal life."
Wesley sighed again and nodded, "Ok, give me any information you have and I'll try and find what demons could possibly be affecting him."
"Thank you, the sooner the better Wes."
"Of course Angel, you do realise this means I'll have to put some projects on hold?"
"I'm sorry but this is really important, it's worth the inconvenience."
"I trust you Angel however, I will be blaming you for whoever comes and starts breathing down my neck looking for reports."
"Send them straight to me." Angel half smiled and followed his friend to the door, "When do you think you'll be done?"
"E-mail me the details today and I should have something for you by tomorrow afternoon."



Angel held the red sphere like ornament outstretched in his hand and stared at the tree trying to picture the perfect spot for the bauble. He was still trying to decide when Wesley strode into his office almost colliding with the vampire.
"Sorry--you're putting a Christmas tree in your office? I thought the one in the lobby would have sufficed."
"I hardly ever get down to see it, so, do you have anything on the case?"
Wesley handed a thick yellow folder to the vampire and walked over to the bar, looking up at Angel who nodded and resumed his reading. "Do you want something?"
"I've already drunk. Why is there a big red cross next to the Lavkar demon?"
"Because it seems the most likely candidate. It drains its victim slowly of its concentration and energy, I failed to find any demon that drains a person of their intelligence but lack of energy and concentration could account for low grades. It is odd however, these demons are seen as the muscle of the underworld, they're used so that an opponent can weaken their foe and win in battle. It makes no sense that a Lavkar demon would be draining this boy nor operating on its own."
"So then it isn't a Lavkar?"
"I think it is which means that someone out there wants this boy weak and defenceless. He's in danger Angel, I'm surprised they've put off attacking the boy for this long, usually a Lavkar demon takes a fortnight to disable its target."
"This boy is different, he's stronger than a normal teenager. I need to help him Wes." Angel scooped up the folder and only turned back to face the English man when he reached the door, "You're in charge, I'm going to have to go away for awhile. If an emergency comes up I'll be on my cell but other than that I don't want any interruptions."
"Angel, what's so important about this case?"
"I can't tell you Wes, you're just going to have to trust me." Angel closed the door behind him before Wesley could question him any further.


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