The Mighty Belthazor

Bel was in too good of a mood to work, so he left the construction site after lunch and headed back to his room. Currently, he was standing in the living room, finishing a frustrating and somewhat confusing phone call with Angel, while the cats looked on, bemused.

 

Bel limped into the South Attic and quickly headed for the shower to wash away the evidence of fighting. He wasn't in too bad of shape, but he'd have a bruise on his jaw for a few days. He debated how he was going to explain that to Phoebe. "Sweetheart, I had to fight him because he freaked out Willow"? "I've been feeling aggressive and needed to fight to get it out"? He hated not confiding in her, but he hated disappointing her even more.

Then there was the weirdness with Callisto earlier in the library. He'd asked her if she wanted him to call Angel; she had indicated yes. Problem was he didn't want to talk to Angel. He stared at his phone for several long moments, then sighed and crawled into bed with Phoebe. He'd think about it tomorrow.

Being good, Bel decided, sucked. Okay, it was cool that some people were being nice and accepting to him, but one little mistake.... It wasn't like he'd meant to forget about Darla. Or that he'd remembered just a little too late. So it had been his idea. But that had been before he had decided to switch sides.

So now he shimmered desperately around Fandom, searching every place he could remember meeting Darla or Dru, trying to find some trace of her to give to Parker and Callisto. Groveling for forgiveness wasn't his style, but he was trying to find some way to make up for his mistake. If only he'd remembered just 24 hours sooner....

If he knew what was happening now, he'd feel even worse.

Exhausted, he returned to the attic. Phoebe had fallen asleep on the couch with a book; she'd been waiting up for him. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to bed, stripping and lying down next to her. Her suitcase sat in the corner, almost packed for England. Was she going to kill him if he said he felt too guilty to go on the trip now, that he had to stay and keep searching for Darla?