TITLE: Remembered Love

AUTHOR: Joe T

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB, others, and just about everyone but me.

SUMMARY: Continuation of Forgotten Love.

SPOILERS: As always, everything is fair game

RATING: PG-13, implied sex.

Part 1

Hyperion Hotel

Although she had not been back from Pylea for very long, and she hadn't been particularly outgoing before she went there, Fred felt she could tell exactly how Cordelia was feeling at the moment. The sigh Cordelia gave and the fact she seemed near tears helped.

"What's wrong?"

Looking up, Cordelia took a second to consider her answer, "Nothing."

"Something is wrong, after certain phone calls you always look upset. It's really not good to just hide how you're feeling, especially when you feel bad about something."

Not noticing Wesley and Gunn as they walk in, Cordelia decides to answer her, "The person on the phone was Xander."

"Your old boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"What did he say? Was he being mean? Did he start talking about things he knows you don't like just to make you feel bad or."

Interrupting her, Cordelia says, "No, he just asked to talk with Angel, and asked me to tell Wesley a he has a copy of some book he was looking for."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Slightly confused, Fred asks, "Why do you look like you're going to cry then?"

"Because that is how every conversation I have with him goes, he doesn't talk to me at all. He's polite, sometimes he even sounds cheerful, but it's like we don't know each other."

"Oh."

"We had to put up with each other during senior year, after we broke up. Even though I was mean to him every chance I got, he helped keep a secret of mine from getting out, and bought my prom dress for me. I thought that was his way of trying to start over, but after he came back from his road trip I didn't hear from him once."

"Why don't you say something?"

"I can't, he's doing what I told him to."

Now extremely confused, Fred says, "I don't understand."

When we first broke up, he knew it was his fault, and he tried to talk to me, to ask for another chance. I told him to stay away from me, and he's doing exactly what I told him." Seeing Wesley and Gunn, Cordelia quickly wipes her eyes and turns back to Fred, "I'm going for some lunch, I'll bring you back something if you'll cover the phone."

"Ok."

A few seconds after she leaves, Wesley speaks, "Strange."

"What?"

"Xander's behavior. That doesn't seem like him at all."

"Really?"

Smiling at Fred as he recalls the memory, Wesley answers, "Well, when he'd heard I was working with Angel, he made it a point to see me in person and tell me that being fired by the Watchers was the best thing that could have happened to me. That was when we first started exchanging books, we split the cost of having them copied and bound, and we both keep a copy on computer disk as well, just in case. He also went and sat down with Angel for a while, they had a few issues to work out, now we keep in regular contact with him."

Speaking up, Gunn adds, "He even made the trip to meet me, we pass along any rumors and info we come across. He's the one that came up with turning my crossbow rig into a compound bow, for less size and weight with more power."

"That was a good idea."

Interrupting the two as they start talking, Fred asks, "But he never asked about Cordelia, at all?"

"Come to think of it, no."

"Not that I can remember."

"When are you going for that book Wesley?"

"I was going for him in a few minutes. I wanted to show Xander the new rig, he hasn't seen it yet." Gunn answers.

"I'll go with you. I'll ask him about Cordelia."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I understand Xander has a relationship with someone else now." Wesley asks.

"What could happen?"

Several hours later

Taking in the haggard appearance of Fred as she and Gunn enter the hotel, Wesley asks, "I guess you found out what could happen. How did things go?"

None of the three notice Cordelia as she enters from one of the side doors.

"Where's Cordelia?" Hearing Fred asking about her, Cordelia can't help but eavesdrop.

"She stepped out a few minutes ago, she should be back any second."

"Ok, well, Xander really is nice, he's very sweet, and I think his girlfriend Anya might be a little insane." Cordelia smirks slightly at hearing this.

Shaking his head, Gunn adds, "That girl has some issues. First, she's a bit."

"Open about their sex life." Fred finishes with a slight blush, while Cordelia's smirk quickly disappears.

"I don't think I want to know."

"Plus she watches him like a hawk. I was watching her a little, she tenses up when any other girl goes near him, even Buffy's little sister. She's definitely the jealous type." Gunn mentions

"What about what you went there to ask about, Fred?"

"Xander was showing me around the magic shop, when we were in the training area I asked him. Anya heard me and practically pushed me out the back door." Fred says.

"I was near the doorway so I could listen in, Anya started telling Xander that Fred was crazy and trying to steal him away from her."

One eyebrow arching at this, Wesley wonders out loud, "Well, she was a demon for over a thousand years, readjusting can take awhile."

"This wasn't readjusting issues, this was psycho-girlfriend issues." Gunn remarks.

"I just asked Xander if he knew Cordelia, he said she was the girl that worked with us."

"And then I thought Anya was going to attack Fred." Gunn finishes.

"I don't think any woman wants her boyfriend being questioned about a girl he used to date, particularly by a friend of the other girl. She might have acted a bit extremely."

"She didn't have to."

"I know you had good intentions Fred."

"No, Wesley, you don't understand, Xander didn't remember Cordelia."

"At all?"

"It was like he didn't know Cordelia until after she started working here. His eyes got a little glassy and that's when Anya rushed in, and I got rushed out."

"His eyes became glazed over you say?"

"Uh huh."

Rising up and heading over to one of the stacks of books as he speaks, Wesley says, "That sounds as if he is under some sort of spell."

"WHAT!" The three turn to see an angry Cordelia is making her way toward them.

"Cordelia, we were talking."

"I heard you. You think Xander is under a spell."

"Possibly."

"Give me the keys for the weapon cabinet, I know how to break a witches spell."

"Really?" Fred asks, as Wesley moves over to the cabinet.

"Oh yeah, this girl Amy, her mom was a witch, she struck me blind for a while, set another girl on fire, anyway, after I started helping them out, Xander showed me the book that said how to break any spells a witch has cast."

Realization dawning on his face, Wesley steps away from the cabinet and states, "Cordelia, I can't let you just decapitate someone, we." he ducks as Cordelia simply grabs a nearby chair and throws it through the glass front of the cabinet. She quickly grabs a sword and is halfway to the stairs when Gunn calls out to her, "Wait! We might be able to break the spell without killing her."

Cordelia walks back to the cabinet and puts the sword back as Wesley adds, "Not to mention if there is a spell, Anya more than likely had some other witch or even a demon cast it. Killing her will just make it easier for us to visit you and Faith at the same time, as you'll likely be sharing a prison cell."

"Fine, I won't kill her. I just slap her around." Pulling a mace out of the cabinet, "With this, until she takes the spell off."

"Anya might not have had a spell cast at all. Let's call Willow and see if she can figure anything out first. She might be able to find out exactly what is going on."