Angel awoke. He didn't know why, after all these years, he had dreamed of Cathy. He thought of her, her lovely blue eyes, her auburn hair, and her beautiful, shining soul. He had fallen in love with her. Had she grown to love him, too? He didn't know. Even if she had, as a good Catholic who had promised to be faithful to the man she married, she wouldn't have told him. There had been that one kiss the last time he ever saw her, but that was all. Yet, sometimes, he could still feel it on his lips. He had never heard from her again after he escaped the Centre. Maybe Cordelia could find out on her computer what had happened to Cathy and her daughter.

Having showered and changed into another of his all-black outfits, Angel came into the reception area of Angel Investigations. Cordelia sat at the desk working on the budget. "Where's Wesley?"

"Lover boy hasn't shown up yet. I wonder who this mysterious woman is and what they have been doing. Probably an all-night scroll reading session!"

Just then Wesley came running in. "Sorry I'm late." He looked at Cordelia and quickly looked away, a look of—could it be shame?—on his face. Somehow he had always thought that eventually he and Cordelia would get together. He felt as if he had cheated on her. But Parker was a definite force of nature. Like a hurricane, she had been an unstoppable force. And, let's admit it, it had been absolutely fantastic!

Cordelia thought to herself, no, they have definitely not been reading scrolls! Unless maybe it was the Kama Sutra. There was no way that this was jealousy she was feeling! No way! How could she be jealous over Wesley?

"Cordy, see what you can find out about a woman named Catherine Parker; Blue Cove, Delaware."

Half an hour later, Cordelia had the information he asked for. "She's dead. She shot herself in an elevator in a place called The Centre. She left a husband and a daughter, who would be in her early 30s now." Angel looked at the screen in shock. The date was a day or two after he had managed to escape. Wes took a look at the screen and did a double-take. It was Parker! No, the resemblance was uncanny, so it had to be her mother! How did Angel know Parker's mother? Wes noticed the strange look on Angel's face. Longing? Regret? He knew that he had to keep Parker away from Angel if he wanted to keep her for himself. Women just fell all over Angel; she probably would too.

Just then, someone opened the door. Wes didn't even have to look, as he could smell her perfume. "Hello, Wes. And you must be Cordelia." Parker held out her hand to Cordy, but her eyes were on Angel. He stared at her in amazement.

"My God, you look..."

"Just like my mother. I know. Everybody tells me that. And you're Angel. I read about you in her diary. Somehow I expected you to look older." Her eyes ran over him and summed him up in one word: dangerous. Then she added another: sexy! He would be a real challenge, if she chose to accept it. Looking over at Wesley, she thought about what a sweet guy he is. He reminds me a lot of Lindsey when I met him in college. Well, at this time, I can afford to keep my options open. "I wanted to talk to you about my mother. I've read her diary, and I know she was very fond of you. I also know that she, Jacob, and Sydney helped you escape."

Nodding, Angel asked, "Not to change the subject, but how are Jacob and Sydney? I never got a chance to thank them properly."

"Sydney is fine. He's probably my best friend in the world. Jacob died after being in a coma for several years. The Centre had sabotaged his car, which he drove into a tree. Sydney was driving and blamed himself until we discovered that it wasn't his fault. I have other stories I'll tell you about, but not now. I wondered if you knew anything about her death."

Shaking his head, Angel replied. "I didn't even know she was dead until a few minutes ago. She had made it very clear when I escaped that our paths were not to cross again. I knew that she had planned to go away with you, and I thought that that had happened. I am extremely sorry for your loss. You were so very important to her. Catherine had a truly beautiful soul, and the world is much worse off without her." A tear had come to Parker's eye; Angel wiped it away. Wesley could feel anger rising up in him. He had met Parker first! Of course, any woman would probably prefer Angel to him. Especially one like Parker. He started to turn away.

Parker took Wes' arm. "I was hoping we could have dinner tonight, Wes. I have one or two things I can do well in the kitchen, and I don't get much chance to cook for anyone but myself. But right now I really want to talk to Angel about my mother. The only other person who knew her and is willing to talk to me about her is Sydney. Even my father doesn't talk about her much." Wes nodded, ashamed of his feelings.

A new voice suddenly entered the conversation. "Angel.  This is unbelievable! You haven't changed at all!" Sydney had entered the office, followed by Broots, who hung back, staring at the beautiful Cordelia.

Striding over to Sydney, Angel clasped his hand warmly. "Syd, it's great to see you. I was terribly sorry to hear about Jacob. I'm sure you must miss him terribly." Angel led Syd and Parker over to the couch, where they sat reminiscing about Parker's mother.

"You know, Broots, I was thinking. Your computer skills might be very helpful in translating some of these ancient scrolls and books I have here. Do you think there might be some sort of program that could be set up to help, or at least to make these scrolls easier to read?" Wesley seized his opportunity to utilize Broots' expertise on a very old scroll that might throw more light on the upcoming Shanshu. Cordelia yawned.

"I don't seem to be needed here, so I might as well take a long walk or something." She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. Nobody even looked at her, as they were all deep in discussion. As she walked down the sidewalk toward the bus stop, a black convertible pulled up beside her.

"Hello, Miss Chase. I've been looking forward to meeting you." She looked over to see a very handsome man in his early 30's with dark hair and gorgeous dark brown eyes. "I'm Jarod."

"Jarod who?"

Shaking his head sadly, he said, "I really don't know. I'm still searching for my family. But you've met Sydney, Parker, and Broots. They're looking for me to take me back to The Centre."

"Oh, you're that Jarod." He motioned to the door and Cordelia got in. Nice car! And Jarod was drop dead gorgeous. Maybe it's just as well that she left! "By the way, my friends call me Cordelia." He smiled and they drove off.

Parker, Sydney, & Broots stayed with Angel & Wesley about an hour. When they left, Parker had tears in her eyes, as the memories Angel shared with her had brought back her own thoughts of her mother and the devastation she had felt when Catherine had died. She leaned on Sydney as they walked out the door. Sydney had to come back for Broots, who was fascinated by some of the old texts that Wesley was showing him. He promised to come back to see if there could be a computer program to help Wes with his translations. When they were gone, Angel put his hand on Wes' shoulder. "Don't worry, Wes. She may look just like Cathy, but I know that she's not Cathy. And she really cares for you. I'm sure you'll have a great evening together. Now I wonder where Cordelia has gone."

As Angel had prophesied, Wes did have a great evening with Parker. First of all, she did make an excellent steak Diane. Wes had provided just the right wine to go with it. Then, with soft music playing and candles lit throughout the apartment, the evening became a truly memorable one. Lying side by side, they shared stories about their pasts. "Wes, do you believe in soulmates?"

"I do. I've known some people who would fit that description. Perhaps Rosemary and Lindsey."

"You are one of the sweetest men I've ever known. You're very handsome and quite likely the second most intelligent man I've ever known, next to Jarod. I could love you, but there are two problems. First of all, I could never leave The Centre." As Wes gave her a quizzical look, she continued, "I don't mean I would never leave The Centre; I mean I can never leave. If I tried, I don't think even my father could save my life. And, although you are only the third man I've said, ‘I love you,' to, there's only one to whom I've said, ‘I'm in love with you.' He was my first love, but I can never have him. However, if you're content with what we have, then we can enjoy the time I'm here in LA with only happiness and no regrets."

"No regrets," Wes said softly and kissed her gently on the lips. She put her head on his shoulder and fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in the new fondue restaurant Le Pot Chaud, Cordelia and Jarod were feeding each other chunks of French bread dipped in the hot cheese mixture. "Save room for the chocolate fondue, Jarod. I've heard it's just fantastic." Jarod, who had never heard of fondue before, was having a great time. Cordelia was amazed at how childlike he was in some ways, as if he had spent his whole life locked up away from the world. As, of course, he had been until he escaped a few years ago.

"Do you mean the white chocolate or the dark chocolate fondue, Cordelia? Perhaps we should experience both." Cordelia nodded. If there was one thing she loved, it was chocolate.

"I understand we can get half servings of both. With strawberries and cherries for dipping!" When the desserts arrived at the table, the dipping and sharing continued. Cordelia leaned over and licked a drop of chocolate from Jarod's chin; he reciprocated. They laughed so hard that people turned their heads to look at this very attractive couple who were having such a wonderful time. As Jarod signaled for the bill, he asked the waiter, "Do you have any of this to go?" The waiter nodded, and Jarod ordered containers of both the white and dark chocolates to take with him.

Later that night, Jarod slightly warmed the dark chocolate in the microwave in his small rented apartment. He and Cordelia took turns licking it off of one another and feeding each other maraschino cherries dipped in it. They quickly found the spots on each other's bodies where chocolate seemed to have the best effect on both of them. What a man, Cordelia thought! And he was locked up until he was in his late 20's! He's really a fast learner. She snuggled into his arms and fell asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...