54. Tomorrow

The brisk ocean breeze kissed Cordelia's bare shoulders, causing her skin to break out into goose flesh. She was in desperate need of a sweater, but didn't want to tear herself away from the wide variety of colors painted across the sky overhead. Forget the sweater, what she really needed was a warm pair of arms wrapped around her… and luckily, those arms presented themselves before she caved into the need for more clothing.

"Mmmm, now that's a view." Doyle observed, settling into place behind her and rapidly enveloping her in his cozy embrace.

He was so much better than a sweater.

"The sunset is way more impressive from the middle of the Atlantic." Cordelia admired the seemingly endless ocean surrounding them, which scattered the spectacular glow of the setting sun in all directions.

"Not the view I was referring to, love." Doyle clarified with a flirtatious grin and a generous flash of dimple. She laughed heartily as she felt his warm lips graze the side of her neck, erasing any possibility of a chill. In fact, the temperature rose considerably as the blood increased its flow through her veins.

They were standing on the port bow of the Royal Princess, their new home away from home for the next several weeks. Rest, relaxation and romance was the entire agenda. Cordelia had seen her fair share of cruise ships throughout her young life, but this one was already her favorite. Most notably for the company she was keeping whilst aboard.

She sighed with contentment, settling deeper into Doyle's embrace as the massive boat rocked gently over the pleasant waves. "I can't believe we finally made it on our cruise."

"And I'm not even Matthew McConaughey." He teased in reply, reminding her of the early days, in which she'd tried to dismiss his feelings as nothing but a harmless flirtation. How far they'd come since then.

"Well… as you will recall, that stipulation specifically applied to a cruise to the Bahamas." She explained with a playful smile. "Lucky for you, this ship's itinerary is purely European."

"I've never felt luckier." Doyle assured her, giving her waist a tender squeeze. "Although, I might feel differently after you've finished shopping your way through London and Paris."

"Maxing out my credit card along the Champs Elysees has always been a dream of mine." She agreed, her fingers lightly brushing across his knuckles, feeling the cold metal of his Claddagh Ring as she brushed past his middle finger. "I bet you're pretty excited about our final stop, huh?"

"Oh… yeah?" Doyle asked with an air of faux-cluelessness. She could feel his body shift behind her as he peeked over her shoulder to gauge her facial expression. They both knew that he knew exactly where their final port of destination was, which was undoubtedly why he'd chosen this particular ship.

"I can only assume it means what I think it means." She stated matter-of-factly, humoring his little game of coyness. "That you have a very specific destination in mind…"

"Alright, ya got me, Princess." He admitted with a lighthearted chuckle. "While in Dublin we'll be stopping at me favorite pub. You've never tasted Guinness 'til you've been to Temple Bar."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and gave him a light nudge of objection with her elbow, before turning herself around in his arms so she could face him directly. "Doyle." She scolded him good-humoredly. "Be honest. Are you taking me to meet your mother?"

She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and then he licked his lips nervously as he considered the answer she wanted to hear. She found it endearing that he was nervous to admit to his rather benign master plan.

"Ah… ahem." His shimmering green eyes darted to and fro, catching the light of the setting sun and causing them to change to a deep blue. "Unless ya strongly object." He finally admitted, his shoulders slumping with an air of defeat.

"I certainly wouldn't classify that as restful, relaxing or romantic." She pointed out, letting him squirm for an added beat. "But it is definitely the sweetest thing you could've done… I'd love to meet her." His face lit up as he registered her words, and she turned on the high beams, smiling from ear to ear. "I also expect a full tour of where you grew up. Oh, and I bet your mom has lots of embarrassing pictures of you as a little kid!"

Doyle's mouth hung open and his brow furrowed as second thoughts undoubtedly floated through his mind.

"There is one little problem though..." Cordelia mentioned, as she considered all the bikini-tops and low-cut dresses she'd packed for Doyle's benefit. "My vacation wardrobe isn't exactly mom-friendly."

By now, Doyle's brows had come unfurrowed and extended upward with appreciation. "I'm sure whatever ya packed will be fine. Ma's not exactly the judgmental type, for, ah… obvious reasons." He said, subtly referencing his mother's affair with a demon that had resulted in Doyle's birth. "She's gonna love ya."

"Of course, she's gonna love me!" Cordelia agreed wholeheartedly. "I'm a mother's dream come true… But, maybe I'll put something wholesome on the shopping list, just to be safe."

He chuckled, pulling her closer and nuzzling his lips beneath her ear. "You'll still wear all the other stuff 'fore we get to Ireland, yeah?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Cordelia answered coyly. "I was thinking a good portion of the trip would be clothing-optional."

Her words caused an even bigger grin to break out across Doyle's face. "I do love the way y'think." He mumbled, as he moved to capture her lips.

"That's the way you think." She clarified, keeping her smiling mouth a breath away, teasing him slightly. "And you've definitely rubbed off on me."

Reaching up and looping her arms around his neck, she pulled him toward her, kissing him passionately as they sailed into tomorrow.

Lilah Morgan sat at the head of the long table, her hands folded placidly on the surface in front of her. The slightest trace of a self-assured smile teased at the corners of her mouth as she pictured the myriad of arrogant faces waiting outside the conference room door, expecting her to fall on her face, or her sword.

Soon they'd know how wrong they were. Soon, she'd be the one holding the sword, while everyone around her fell upon it.

Linwood sat at the other end of the table, scanning the file Lilah had slid in his direction. A slight wrinkle was evident over his brow as he got to the bottom of the page and flipped the cover shut. "This is a curious report." He mused, tapping his fingers lightly on the well-polished tabletop. "Very curious indeed."

"I thought it would be of interest." Lilah said, letting her smug smile fall into place.

"It almost makes up for that debacle with the baby." Linwood remarked, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes for a moment of contemplation.

"Almost?" Lilah scoffed, sitting up a little straighter. "This is a game changer. Take this to the Senior Partners and there'll be a lot more than the usual bonus in our Christmas stockings this year."

The white haired man tilted his head with consideration, but still didn't look as impressed as he should be, which vexed Lilah to no end. He must have skimmed right past the important parts—how could she hope to shine when her superior was nothing but a blathering fool!

"What about the Granok demon?" Linwood inquired.

"Sahjhan." Lilah supplied.

"Is he out of the picture?"

Lilah clung to her composure with every shred of her being, maintaining her careful smile. "He's been… contained. For the time being."

Linwood nodded impassively, his fingers tracing a lazy pattern across the file cover. They paused when they reached the center and he tapped it questioningly. "You think he's right? About this… half-breed being more than just a glorified walke-talkie?"

"I do, sir." Lilah assured her boss. "Our own files seem to corroborate Sahjhan's claims. And my current source—"

"Who?" Linwood demanded.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Lilah smarmed. Now it was Linwood's turn to squirm and Lilah's to glorify in the luck she'd had by being in the right place at the right time. Not only had Sahjhan identified Angel's unimpressive Irish sidekick as a man with the power to alter the timeline, but Wesley—poor, bitter, Wesley—had indicated that his former teammate could do so much more than that. Simply by breathing.

And now, thanks to Lilah, Wolfram & Hart had a chance to use that information to their advantage. If this didn't earn her a promotion, nothing would.

"Hmmph." Linwood frowned at her refusal, but said nothing more. What could he say? She had him at her mercy and they both knew it. She'd keenly written the report to get herself noticed, but omitted just enough of the details to make her ongoing involvement in the case a necessity. He slowly swiveled his chair away from her, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined the wall. "You know… you should watch yourself, Lilah. The senior partners won't take kindly to the implication that they didn't see this coming. In fact, there's been talk about a timeline blip for years."

"They didn't know the blip was a 'he.'" She insisted, her confidence not waning in the slightest. She would get her due for this discovery.

"A fairly unremarkable one at that." Linwood answered.

"Unremarkable?" Lilah repeated incredulously. "I'm pretty sure he just stopped the Tro-Clon. That sounds just a little remarkable to me… let me spearhead the disposal operation—"

"Too little, too late." Linwood argued with a dismissive wave of his hand. "The damage is done. We kill the best friend now, we lose our shot at the vampire forever—Angel's still the endgame."

Lilah fought to keep the pained expression from showing on her face. "With all due respect, sir, there may not be an endgame." She said tightly. "The fate of the world has been permanently altered—Doyle may have already saved it."

"Perish the thought." Linwood said with a beleaguered sigh. He pushed his fist into the tabletop and stood, pushing back his chair and letting it roll until it bounced off the wall behind him. "There's supposed to be an apocalypse, and by George, there will be. The Senior Partners will see to that."

"I don't doubt it." Lilah placated him, her phony grin extending a littler farther. "But, if they want it to arrive on its original schedule, they will need my help."

THE END

A/N - Well, that's all for now, folks. THANK YOU SO SO MUCH for sticking with me for yet another Doyle-centric season of Angel. If it wasn't for all the kind words and insightful criticisms and enthusiasm, et al. I don't know that I would have stayed motivated enough to finish this undertaking. It's because of you wonderful and devoted readers that I desperately want to finish the entire series! BUT, in the interest of full disclosure, it's probably going to be a while before I can get into seasons 4 and 5. I guess you could say I'm going on hiatus, but I do hope to return with more scintillating tales of Doyle, Cordy, Angel and the whole gang.

Wishing you all the best during this holiday season and a very happy New Year ahead! xo