Disclaimer: "Angel" and all its characters belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. "That 70s Show" belongs to Fox.

Closure

Cordelia Chase looked at the package that was just delivered to her at Angel Investigations. She eyed it curiously, wondering who would be sending her something. She found the return address when she placed the package on her desk. It was from her parents.

She hadn't heard from them since she they had left for Tahiti in the middle of her Senior Year of High School. She had harbored some resentment towards them for not taking her with them, but if she had gone with them, her life wouldn't be the way it was now. She was now, finally, happy with whom she was. She wouldn't give that up for the world.

She carefully opened the box and pulled out the contents. There was a leather-bound journal that belonged to her mother, a few pictures that Cordelia hadn't seen since she was a little girl, a pile of envelopes tied together with a red satin ribbon. There were more of what her mother deemed "little treasures" that were carefully placed in the box. Most of those treasures Cordelia remembered as things that her parents had owned before they got married and before they had moved to Sunnydale. On top of it all was a lavender envelope with her name across it written in her mother's flowery script.

Cordelia carefully picked up the envelope with her name on it and opened it, finding a handwritten letter for her. The paper was scented and she recognized it as her mother's favorite perfume. As she sat down, Cordelia began reading the letter; soon finding herself engrossed in it.

My darling Cordelia,

Your father and I have missed you since we've been away. I know that we should have kept in better touch with you and both your father and I regret not having done so. I hope this letter finds you well and happy.

I suppose that you are wondering why we have sent you our little treasures. The answer to that is tied into the reason why we left you behind before we left on our little exile. It all goes back to before you were born and your father and I were in High School, ourselves.

Cordelia, your father and I are not who you think we are. Yes, we are your parents, but there's more to it than that. Your father feels that it is time that this is explained to you and I agree. You are old enough to know. Most of your life, we've been Steven and Jackie Chase, the richest family in all of Sunnydale, California. But that is a lie.

I guess I should go back to the beginning…and that beginning is in my journal and in the letters. The beginning started in the late 70s. Please read the journal and the letters. Please understand all that we have done and that we only want the best for you.

Love always,
Your mother and father

Cordelia was looking at the letter in confusion when the other members of Angel Investigations showed up en masse; Gunn and Wesley arguing over something or other, and Angel asking about coffee.

She found it interesting how he would drink coffee but said that he couldn't eat human food. If he could drink coffee, why wouldn't he be able to eat human food? It didn't add up. She pointed to the coffeepot distractedly as she reached into the box and pulled out the journal.

"Cordelia? What is that?" Wesley asked out of curiosity at the confounded expression that graced the young seer's face.

"Just my mother's old journal. She and my father sent me all this stuff. Something weird is going on with them," Cordelia answered, sparing the ex-watcher a glance.

"Weird how?" Angel questioned, moving to stand next to his best friend.

"The letter here said that she and my father aren't who everyone thinks they are. She asked me to read her journal and the letters and everything in this box to learn the truth." She opened the cover of the old journal and looked at the gold embossed name with a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Now this is odd. This is her journal and the name on it is 'Jacqueline Beulah Burkhardt.' She had always told me that her full maiden name was 'Jacqueline Maria Hutchinson.'"

"Maybe she just wanted to change her name because she didn't like hers," Gunn spoke up, offering a suggestion.

"Cordelia, why don't you take the rest of the day off to read this and find out the truth? We can cover things around here," Angel suggested. "We'll call you if we need the help. And we'll be here if you'd want to talk things through with us."

Cordelia thought about it then smiled. "Ok. I'm not sure what help I'd be around here today anyway."

It was only a few more minutes then she was off to her apartment to spend the rest of the day learning the truth about her parents.

The year was 1978. Six friends sat in a suburban basement in Point Place, Wisconsin. Four of them had been friends since grade school. The other two had just joined the gang a couple years earlier.

The basement belonged to Eric Foreman, or, more appropriately, to his dad. But the basement was the usual hangout for the tight group of friends. Eric was the 'guy next door,' good looking and loved by parents. Well…most parents, at least. Eric's girlfriend was his best friend and next door neighbor, Donna Pinciotti, a tall, athletic redhead. They had been best friends for their whole lives. Steven Hyde was the stereotypical rebel stoner that came up with conspiracy theories daily. He had temporarily moved in with the Foreman family the year before after his mother skipped town and before his father returned to town and befriended his son. Michael Kelso was the fourth of the long-time friends. He was the typical arrogant, good-looking, popular guy who was none-too-smart. Jackie Burkhardt was brought into the group when she began dating Michael Kelso…until he cheated on her numerous times with numerous women. She had remained in the group after the breakup, having made some good friends in the group. Fez was the foreign exchange student, whose native country no one knew. He tried hard to carve his niche as a suave foreigner…but his efforts were often in vain.

The group went through many trials and tribulations since the group, in its entirety, began in 1976 shortly after Fez moved to town and Kelso and Jackie had began dating. Eric and Donna had gotten together as a couple, they got in many fights, went to Jackie and Hyde for help, got back together, and then actually broke up for the first time. They had, eventually, gotten back together about a month after the break-up, neither wanting to be apart from the other much longer. Jackie and Kelso had broken up and had a second try at the relationship, which never worked out because of Jackie's feelings for Hyde. Little did she know that Hyde had the same feelings for her, but kept them hidden to protect his 'I don't care' façade. Fez had gotten a girlfriend and dumped the girlfriend because she turned out to be psychotic.

One of Jackie's first pleas for Hyde's love was when she bought him some marijuana, hoping to show him that she was serious about her feelings for him. Shortly after her second break-up with Kelso she made another pleas for Hyde's affections. She, again, bought some marijuana. But little did she know the person that she bought the pot from had stolen it. They had stolen it from a powerful crime syndicate who wanted to kill not only the person who had stolen the large quantity of pot, but also everyone who had bought the pot from the thief.

When Hyde found out about the pot and the contract that was put out on Jackie, he forced her to go into the Federal Witness Protection program until the syndicate could be caught. She refused to go without him…not wanting to stay away from him for that long. She instinctively knew that it would be a very long time before the syndicate would be caught. Hyde finally realized that her feelings for him were real, and that she wouldn't leave him like everyone else that he loved. He realized that if he gave her his love, she would never do anything to harm it. He relented and went with her, into the program.

They hadn't been back to Point Place since they had first entered the program that had changed their names to Jackie Hutchinson and Steven Chase, neither one wanting to give up their entire name. One year after entering the program, in the year 1979, they got married. They lived happily, having, by that time, moved to the small town of Sunnydale in California. Hyde had gotten a job at a successful business and, by the end of 1980, he had been able to buy the company. He turned it into a multi-million dollar corporation, giving the best to his wife and their child she was now carrying.

In May of 1981 Jackie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl they named Cordelia Hope Chase. They vowed to give her the stability they had lacked up until just recently. They wanted her to feel loved.

By the time Cordelia was about to graduate High School, the company's vice-presidents had framed Hyde for cheating on the yearly taxes. The story made headlines in many of the national papers. Up until then, they had been able to stay out of the papers. The syndicate was able to find them again and carry out their contract. Hyde and Jackie had figured it would be better to run. They knew the syndicate wouldn't go after Cordelia so they were forced to cut her loose and let her carry out her life.

Now, two years later, Cordelia was safe and Jackie and Hyde were safe in Tahiti. They decided that it was time that their daughter knew the truth of who her family was and why she was not taken with her parents when they fled. They had wanted her to have as stable a life as possible.

Cordelia had one entry left to finish in the journal. She found that the letters were all addressed to her, written throughout the years as she grew. They bared her parents' hearts and souls. She felt she understood them better and was no longer bitter toward them for abandoning her in Sunnydale.

She knew what they did was for the best and she was thankful toward them. This package that she had received had given her closure that she hadn't even known she had wanted. She now knew that her parents did care. Knew that they had always cared.

The last entry in the journal was written the day before the package was sent out.

My darling Cordelia,

I hope you understand all that we have done. We never meant to hurt you when we left you alone in Sunnydale. You just needed to be protected. We were taking a chance leaving you there, but my instincts didn't fail me. You have turned out to be a fine self-sufficient young woman.

We do understand that you may be upset with us even after reading this and we will understand. Please just know that we do love you and that we miss you every day that we are apart.

If you do wish to ever speak to us again, please e-mail us at any time. We wish we knew how well you are doing.

We love you, always,
Your mother and father

Cordelia smiled. The postscript contained their e-mail address. Tomorrow at work she'd just have to e-mail them and let them know that they, too, were missed. She closed the journal and carefully placed it on the coffee table. She glanced at the clock and noticed that it was 10:30 at night. She picked up the phone and dialed in the familiar number, waiting for the other line to be picked up.

"Angel Investigations, we help the helpless."

"Hi, Angel. It's me."

"Hi. How are you doing? Did you read everything?"

"Yeah. Do you want to come over? We could watch a movie or something."

"Are you sure you're feeling up to it?"

"Of course I am."

"All right. I'll be there in a little while."

"Thank you, Angel."

"You're welcome, Cordelia."

Cordelia hung up the phone and leaned her head back on the couch. She smiled as her best friend left his home and started for her apartment.

The End