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It didn't take Ivory and her entourage too long to locate info on Nick. They spent perhaps an hour browsing through the Watcher Diaries that Willow had so far scanned onto her laptop before they hit paydirt.
"Let's see," Willow said, occupying the seat in front of her portable computer and scrolling through the screen. "Yes, here we are! It's just like you said, Angel. Nick spent at least two decades in New Jersey running this hotel. But, he couldn't keep covering up all the 'unfortunate accidents' of his guests, so his business was shut down under a cloud of suspicion... Since then, there have been reports of him being in Virginia, Colorado, and most recently, Arizona. He kept at the same pattern until the latter one. Once he arrived there, he seems to have vanished for a time. The Watcher who recorded this even assumed he was dead."
Ivory leaned forward, intrigued. "When was this? When did he disappear?"
Willow scrolled down further, her eyes focused intently on the screen. "Approximately two or so years after Buffy's death... Oh, this is interesting! It says the same thing occurred with a dozen other vampires, all from different areas of the world. They flocked to Arizona, only to vanish off the face of the Earth."
Angel narrowed his eyes. "But Sunnydale's where all the mystical energy is centered. How come Arizona suddenly developed as a bigger homing beacon?" he asked in a low voice.
Stefanie turned to look at him. "You haven't heard anything about this?!" she asked in surprise.
Angel shook his head. "Not exactly on the list of 'Vampires to Pal Around With', am I?" he replied in a slightly sarcastic tone.
"But you agree it's weird," Ivory cut in. "Maybe it should be put on the list of something a Slayer should look into..."
Willow turned. "Ivory, let's not get ahead of ourselves," she scolded softly. "Maybe it warrants looking into, but let's focus on our own town for now." She paused, letting out a breath. "Now, about Nick..."
Ivory cut in before Willow could finish. "He said he saw me at the roller rink the other night," she informed her Watcher. "That he and a friend of his had been there to feed... Now, call me crazy, but I could have sworn that the rink was empty when his friend came after me. It was closing time, so where were all the employees?"
Willow paused a moment, then turned back to the monitor. "Well, that would suggest that Nick might be the owner of this friendly establisment... Let me just see if I can find..." Before she could go on, Angel suddenly put one hand to Willow's shoulder to silence her, allowing his three companions to hear a key turning in the front door.
Ivory sprung into action the second she heard Risa's voice announcing she was home, reaching for her father's hand and guiding him towards the back door, while Stefanie went to intercept her daughter. On the threshold, Angel stopped and turned to face his daughter.
Ivory grew slightly frantic when she realized he was hesitating. "Dad, you've got to go. If Risa sees you, you're gonna be here til sunrise," she said, half joking, half frenzied. "Cause I imagine we'll never hear the end of it if I introduce you as my father to her."
Angel merely smiled, reaching out to touch her face. "Wait until Risa goes to bed, then ask Stefanie if it's alright to come see me at the factory. The one on the corner of Maple and Rialto. We have tons to catch up on," he said in a whisper.
Ivory smiled in spite of herself. "I will," she promised. "Expect to see me around midnight or so, kay?" She waited for him to nod before she silently closed the door, lingering a moment in the entryway before moving to rejoin her foster family in the living room...
Stefanie not only approved of the visit, she also volunteered to drive Ivory to the appointed meeting place. The young Slayer quickly packed a change of clothes into a duffle bag for school tomorrow, then joined her foster mother out in the car.
On the drive over, Stefanie was, for the most part, quiet, at least until Ivory thought to engage her in conversation. "Are you okay with this, with my dad being back after all this time?" she asked her foster mother.
Stefanie braked at a stop sign briefly. "Honey, I would be lying if I said I was," she replied with a sigh. "Don't get me wrong. Angel's a great man, and I know he loves you in his own way."
"But?" Ivory said when Stefanie hesitated.
The elder woman sighed again. "But it's not just Angel. If it were up to me, I would have wished your life as a Slayer to be put on an indefinite hold... I'm not ready to deal with this, Ivory, even though I knew it was coming for years. I always associated being a Slayer as something that caused me a lot of undue pain. Me and Buffy. I wanted a better life for you."
Stefanie bit her lip, pulling to a stop in front of the warehouse, then turned towards Ivory. "When I look at you, I still see that little girl who ran to me in tears when she got injured or brought home all those drawings she did in art class. I see the teenager who became a whiz at fixing all things electronic or reveled in all the fun she had at her sweet sixteen party..." Stefanie reached over, clasping one of Ivory's hands. "I just don't want to lose that talented, happy girl I know. Promise me that, no matter how many battles you fight or how much tragedy you see, you won't lose sight of who you are, Ivory."
The young brunette's eyes clouded with tears. "I promise," she murmured, just loud enough for Stefanie to hear. A long pause, then, "I'd better go. Dad's expecting me." At that, Ivory reached for her bag, hauling the strap over her shoulder. "What are you going to tell Risa tomorrow morning?"
"That you left for school early, that you had to talk to one of your teachers before class started. Don't worry. I'll make sure she buys it," Stefanie assured. "You just go. Have fun, sweetie."
"I will," Ivory said, leaning across the car's interior to give her foster mom a hug. "I love you, Mom. Nothing can take away from all you've done from me." Then, she stepped from the vehicle, making a beeline for the nearest entrance into the factory.
Ivory found her father waiting for her in the main room, seated at the table in expectation. He rose upon seeing her, dressed in a red velvet shirt and dark slacks, and took a few steps in her direction. "I was beginning to worry you weren't coming," Angel admitted. "Can I get you something? Are you hungry?"
Ivory smiled slightly at his nervousness. "Dad, relax!" she said in a soothing tone. "All I'd like is to just sit and talk. I don't need anything more."
Angel took a deep breath, then gestured for her to follow him into the adjoining room, where two couches and an electric heater were set up. Ivory set her bag on the floor in front of one couch, then seated herself across from her father.
There was a short awkward silence, then Ivory said, "How did you and my mother meet?"
Angel felt a smile tugging at his lips. "It was shortly after she moved here to Sunnydale," he replied. "I came to meet her, to provide assistance in her early battles. I had done so with several Slayers before her, but it wasn't until Buffy that I took a much more active role... I loved her right from the start, and I risked my entire existence just to keep her safe."
Ivory's eyes took on a slightly sentimental glow. "But it wasn't enough in the end?" she said softly. When he nodded, she went on. "It doesn't seem fair. You risked everything to keep her around, even went as far to make her a vampire like you. And then..."
Angel sighed. "Then, Ethan came. We underestimated him, what he was capable of. Who knew he would sacrifice himself and his followers just to kill her?" Angel bit his lip, tears forming in his eyes. "There have been numerous times I wished I could go back to do it differently. I tortured myself for months with all the possibilities of what could have been done to save her. But it never never changed anything." He paused, gazing up at his daughter. "It will never bring her back."
Ivory nodded, tears coming to her own eyes. "I'm sorry," she told him, feeling a twinge of sorrow from seeing how much pain he was in. "You know I would do..."
She never got a chance to finish, as her father suddenly stiffened, holding up a hand to silence her. Every muscle tensed for an attack, Angel glanced around the silent warehouse, focusing in particular on the soft scuffling on the rooftop above. "Shh," he whispered to Ivory. "We have company."
She nodded, fetching the stake from her purse and looking at her father expectedly. He gestured for her to take the wooden spiral stairs to her left, while he took the ladder across the room. They met on the catwalk moments later, keeping their eyes and ears open for an attack.
When none was forthcoming, Ivory moved so she was underneath the skylight, which was perhaps eight feet above her. She waited until she saw a flicker of movement at one edge, then motioned for her father to give her a boost.
Angel nodded, stepping forward and cupping his hands together to provide a solid foothold. Quick as lighting, Ivory raised herself towards the skylight, undid the latch, and reached out for the foot of whomever was spying on them.
The vampire shrieked as it was yanked inside by the Slayer, landing in a heap on the balcony not far from where Ivory and her father stood. Not giving it a chance to reorient itself, Ivory leaped down and turned, rolling the bloodsucker onto its back and thrusting the stake toward its heart.
However, Angel surprised her by grabbing her arm at the last second, holding the weapon inches away from its desired target. At the same time, the female vamp screamed and raised her arms as if to defend herself. When she realized she was in the clear, she lowered them again, staring at the two of them in shock.
Ivory scowled, pressing one foot firmly to the vampire's chest before turning to her father. "What the hell did you do that for?!" she shouted at him. "I almost had her!"
Angel raised his hands in a peace gesture, slightly flustered. "Ivory, calm down..." he started.
"Our job is to slay demons," she interrupted angrily. "Not to save them at the last second!"
Angel's gaze hardened. "That's all well and good, except for one thing. The girl you have pinned down there is no demon."
"BS!" Ivory replied. "I'm getting the same vibes from her as I did from Nick." At this, the Slayer looked down at her prey, noting how frightened the vampiress looked.
Angel took half a step forward. "And I imagine I'm sending off the same vibes myself, but you don't see me going around killing people... Listen to me on this, Ivory. Let her up."
The Slayer paused, then slowly stepped back, allowing the vampiress to get to her feet. "Okay! This has officially been THE worst week of my unlife!" She-Vamp said. "God, Angel, couldn't you have at least informed her ahead of time about who I was?"
Angel gave a wry smirk. "Hello to you too, Cordelia," he replied. "It's been a long time." He and Cordy eyed each other in silence for a long beat, then turned to Ivory, anticipating another round of explaining for her...