Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or Buffy. I am merely playing with these amazing characters
AN: Hello. To everyone who has already read this story, reread it. I've edit and changed a lot of things. The story is a lot different. To all those who are reading this for the first time, Hello and welcome.
Chapter 1: The Scoobies Regrouping
The sun was beginning to set, causing all the newly unlocked slayers to become restless. They could sense the transition to night coming and were eager to go test their new abilities on some average vampires. It had only been a day since the fall of Sunnydale, but they could already tell that their lives were different. That they were different.
The Scoobies and newly created slayers sat with Angel and Cordelia in the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, waiting for Giles to return from the hospital with Robin. Out of Thirty-some potentials only thirteen had survived the fight. Although, there had been a few warriors hurt, they had been lucky enough to have only one person hurt badly enough for a hospital stay. It had been a close call at first, but Robin pulled through the drive to Los Angeles as well as a mortal could.
Out of everyone in their group, the only two not present yet, besides Robin and Giles, were Andrew and Faith. Andrew had gone out earlier in the day without any word of where he was going, and Faith was just outside in the garden smoking a cigarette. She had not been allowed to go with Giles because of the warrant still out for her arrest, which was making her feel a little stir crazy. Evident by the endless amount of cigarette butts she had managed to pile up since Giles had left two hours previous.
Restlessness seemed to be the theme among the slayers. Not that Buffy blamed any of them. She remembered how strong the urge to slay was after that first fight. The day after her watcher, Merrick, had taken her out for the first time, she had been so restless, that he mother, Joyce, had thought something was wrong with her. She had tried to fight off the urge, but after a few days, she had been forced to go out slaying. Which is exactly what she was thinking about doing with the girls.
Finally, after what felt like hours, the lobby doors opened to reveal a tired looking Giles, and a clearly relieved Faith who supported Robin. The two of them walked over to one of the couches and shooed away a couple of girls so they could sit.
Giles walked to the middle of the group. He looked around to see if everyone was present. "Where is Andrew?"
Buffy shrugged her shoulder, "We don't know Giles. He didn't tell us where he was going when he left this morning."
"Blasted boy. We haven't even been here a full day, and he is already causing problems," Giles sighed. "Never the less, we have business to discuss. Somebody will have to inform him about this when he decides to return." He grumbled, and then he paused, as he looked around at the new slayers, then to Faith, before laying his eyes on Buffy. He gave her a smile, before turning his attention back to the group.
"As you already know, in the past there has only been one slayer at a time. She secluded herself from her family, and she did not have any friends. She slayed every night, and she died young. Until Buffy came along this was how it was. The old council thought of the slayer as a tool, instead of a young girl. That is NOT how it is going to be from now on. Last night Buffy informed me what she wanted to do with you girls, and I fully agree with her." Giles sent Buffy a look, and then sat down.
"My turn," Buffy said suddenly, capturing the attention of the entire group. "Alright, so you might have already noticed how restless you are feeling. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but it will become more manageable the longer you are a slayer. Unfortunately, it will never go away. That being said; you have a choice to make. You can stay with us, help us rebuild the council, slay, and help find and train the new slayers, or you can return to your families. You slay only when the urge hits. All I ask of you is to keep in touch with us."
"Take your time thinking it over, and you are free to change your mind at any time," Giles added, and then looked to Angel. "Is Mr. Gunn here yet?"
"No, he called and said he'd be a little late. He should be here any second though." Angel replied, and sure enough a second later Gunn walked in looking ready for a fight.
"Sorry, I'm late. There was a problem in my department that couldn't wait." Gunn said.
"That is quite alright, Mr. Gunn," he said and then turned to the young slayers. "Girls. This is Charles Gunn. He is going to be taking you out to slay." He chuckled as all the slayers except Faith, Buffy, and Kennedy got up and ran to the weapons cabinets Angel had showed them earlier in the day.
Willow looked at Kennedy. She could feel the tension coming from her girlfriend and knew that the younger woman needed to go hunting. The slayer within her was practically clawing to get out, but Willow knew Kennedy. She knew that the young woman wanted to be present for the meeting. "Are you going to go with them?" Willow asked her. Kennedy just shrugged her shoulders. Willow leaned in and whispered. "I think you should go, sweetie. I can feel how badly you need to hunt. We'll talk later okay."
"Yeah, okay," She mumbled. She gave Willow a kiss on her lips and then went to join the girls and Gunn.
Once all the baby slayers had chosen their preferred weapon, Gunn lead them out in the courtyard to brief them. Buffy waited until she was sure they were a safe distance away before she turned to Willow and asked, "What's up with Kennedy? She's not her usually brash, annoying self."
"I'm not really sure. She was talking to someone on the phone earlier, and has been distance ever since," Willow replied. She wasn't ready to admit it, but her girlfriends attitude was worrying her. The last time Kennedy had been that distant towards her was the time she had stolen her energy to bring Buffy back from the shadow land, and they had barely made it through that. She hoped that it was just because of Kennedy's newly awaken slayer status, and not because of something else. She was worried that whatever was going through her girlfriend's head would cause them to part ways. She really liked Kennedy. Enough so that she felt the word love was a strong enough word to describe her feelings.
"Is everything going to be okay with the two of you?" Xander asked.
"I don't know," she said with a sigh. "I hope so. She made a phone call earlier and I think it has her spooked or something."
Dawn snorted, "Well this is Kennedy were talking about. She's madly in love with you. I mean she faked the flu, just so she could get some one-on-one with you. I'm sure you guys will be just fine."
"Dawn's right," Buffy said. "Its Kennedy. Besides, her weirdness could be coming from her need to slay. I was uber weird the first few weeks after I was called."
Dawn snorted again. "The first few weeks? Try the first few years and then some. Hell, you're still uber weird at times."
"I am not," Buffy said offended. "I'll have you know that I've grown into my slayer weirdness."
It was Faith's turn to snort. "Is that what you're callin' it now? Personally, I just thought you were a stick in the mud." Faith flashed her dimples at Buffy, who's jaw dropped at the subtle implication.
The rest of the group smiled at the pair. They were all incredibly grateful that they were getting along, instead of at each others throat.
Xander decided to use the light mood to sway the conversation back onto point. "So, G-man, where are we going to go?"
Ignoring Xander's nickname, he answered, "I'm not sure. As Buffy already stated, we need to reestablish the council. That's the first thing should focus on. We are also thinking that we should start a school for the slayers, and to train new watchers."
"What is with the secret powwows?" Faith asked moodily. She was trying not to jump to conclusions, but she hated when Buffy excluded her from slayer business.
"There was no powwow Faith. Everybody had gone to bed, and Giles and I started talking. That was all," Buffy informed her.
"That sounds good," Dawn hastily said, wanting to avoid any conflict that may arise between the two of them. "Are we going to stay here, or are we going to go somewhere else?" She looked at Giles questioningly, who just looked around at everybody else with a questioning look as well.
"I vote for San Francisco," Willow said in a small voice. Eight heads turned toward her, with confused looks on their faces. None of them were expecting Willow to want to stay in California after everything that had happened in the last year.
"Willow, why do you want to go to San Francisco?" Buffy asked a little confused. Willow was wearing a guilty look on her face, which made her confusion more profound. "I figured out of all of us would, you would want to get the hell out of California the most."
"Because," she began starting to fidget, and looking at her hands that are lying on her lap. "That's where my birth mother lives." Buffy and Xander's mouths dropped open in shock. That was such a big secret to keep hidden from them, and neither were sure how to react.
"Well that explains a lot about your parents," Cordelia said. Willow's head snapped up and look at her, not quite believing the sad tone in her voice. She might not have reacted to the tone if they had been friends, but the two of them had never reached that status. Friendly, sure, but not true friends. The Cordelia the she knew would have said some snobby comment. This was new territory for not only her, but the rest of the gang as well.
"Willow," Buffy said, snapping her out of the shock she was in. "Will, you've never mentioned that you were adopted. How long have you known?"
"Since right before Kendra came to Sunnydale," she replied sheepishly. "I was going through my dad's desk looking for my birth certificate, when I came across the adoption papers."
"How do you know that she is in San Francisco?" Dawn asked. "Did you already meet her?"
"No. I haven't met her yet. I hacked into the agency not long after and found my mom's name. It's Prudence. Then I looked her up and found where she lives. She lives at 1329 Prescott Street with her younger sisters Piper and Phoebe." She was going to go on, but Giles made a gasping noise, which he tried to cover up with a cough. "Giles, do you know my family?" she asked him.
"No, my dear, I do not," he said in all sincerely. While he did know of those woman from a few friends of his, he did not know them personally. Although he should have made a similar connection years earlier. Her birth line made Willow's impressive power make more sense, while succeeding to confuse him as well. He knew that the Halliwell witches' magic comes from within, not the earth magic Willow performed.
"But you do know something, don't you, Giles," said Buffy.
"I am sorry, but she must find out about her family for herself," he replied. That was information that Willow had to find out for herself.
"Giles," Willow whined. "Please just tell me."
"I am truly sorry my dear, but no. This is something you have to find out on your own," he firmly said.
"Fine," Willow pouted.
"Willow, why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you tell ME? All those times we joked about being adopted and you were," Xander said hurt. He felt betrayed. Like everything they had said over the last few years was all a lie.
"I didn't want you to be jealous, Xan, and I didn't want anyone to feel bad for me," She told them looking at Xander than Buffy.
"Will. You shouldn't have kept it a secret just for us. We're your friends. We could have helped you," Buffy said angrily.
"Yeah, like you haven't kept secrets from us, Buffy," Willow shot back, defensively.
"Stop it. This is not the time to be fighting," Giles said, raising his voice uncharacteristically.
"No, she's right, Giles. They've all been keeping secrets for years, and it's been pushing them away from each other," Dawn interrupted. She had been noticing the lies for years. She may not know what all the secrets are, but she saw what keeping them were doing to her family. How they were affecting them. She was no innocent party in it either. She had been keeping her fair share of secrets as well.
"Finally, they figure it out," Cordelia said, causing half the group to shoot her a withering stare. "What it's true. You guys are so worried about protecting each other from what you think will hurt them, that you fail to see that it's the lies that are really hurting them."
"That made…" Xander started. "Too much sense. Cordy, when did you become this smart."
"Please, I've always been this smart," Cordelia sassed.
"As much I hate to say this," Buffy said, visibly flinching as she said the words. "But I think that Cordelia may be right."
"I'm sitting right here, you know," Cordy said, and then shrugged her shoulders. "I'm glad that you finally recognize my genius."
Buffy ignored Cordelia's comment. "There have been so many secrets that have come back to bite us in the ass, and quite frankly, I'm tired of it. I don't want anything to come between us anymore."
"I agree," Xander said.
Willow looked at her two best friends. "Sharing our secrets is the easy part. It's the forgiving part that I think will be the hard part."
"Pfft! Please Will," Xander said. "The forgiving part is the easiest part.
Willow wanted to believe Xander, but there was a part her that was hesitant. You can easily give your forgiveness, but it's not as easy to forget the infraction. She had done a lot of things that she regretted over the past year and half, and even though she had their forgiveness, she never felt like they had forgiven her, and she knew that they hadn't forgotten what she had done. She would notice subtle looks every now and again from them, like she was seconds away from letting the magic take over again. She knew that they truly did forgive her now, but it took months for her to gain back their trust.
It felt good to know that she was forgiven for the things she had done. That is one reason why she had been hesitant about revealing her true parentage. She had kept it a secret for so long, and to reveal it now, so soon after she had gotten their forgiveness could destroy that. She was glad to have something else off her chest, though. The secrets were weighing heavily on her mind.
"Okay. I think that we all need a fresh start," Willow said. She may have relented, but she still wasn't sure about the whole forgiving part being the easiest. She decided that there was only one way to prove whether her fears were real or not. Get Xander to confess something and see how easily the forgiveness comes for him. "Xan, any you want to share?"
"Um, okay," Xander said, hesitantly. Clearly, he was not expecting to be in the spotlight. "If it'll help our friendship."
"I think that honesty needs to be our policy from now on," Buffy quipped.
"Alright, I do have a few things that I've been keeping a secret. None of which you're going to like Buffy. Just keep in mind that we are in a forgiving mood. Okay?"
"Just spit it out Xan," Buffy said sounding annoyed. "It can't be that bad."
"I think you're going to change your mind once you hear what I have to say," Xander said. He was silently cursing his stupidity once again. Why had he so readily agreed to share his secrets and swear that forgiveness was the easiest part. Oh yeah, he was trying to give his friend some piece of mind. He sucked in a long shallow breath, bracing himself for Buffy's reaction. "I remember everything that happened when I was possessed by the hyenas."
And sure enough, Buffy jumped up from the couch, and yelled, "WHAT!" She then paused for a second to think over the relevance of that revealed secret. "So, you remember trying to… ya know…?" Xander nodded his head yes looking guilty.
"What? What did he try to do?" Dawn asked not getting what everybody else already knew.
"Nothing Dawnie," Buffy quickly said dismissively, hoping she'd let it go.
"No, you said no more secrets. So, spill," Dawn countered.
All Buffy could think was, 'Damn it.'
"She means that Xander tried to have sex with her when he was possessed by the hyenas," Cordelia said, (having heard the story from Xander while they were dating) saving Buffy and Xander from having to tell her. Dawn sat there with her mouth wide open, while Buffy sat back down and put her head in her hands.
After a moment Buffy sat back up and looked at Dawn. "Look it's not that big of a deal, Dawnie," Buffy sighed. "He didn't realize what he was doing at the time, and I stopped it before he got to far. No harm, no foul. I just wish he hadn't lied about not remembering it."
"That's a big secret to keep for so long, and I certainly do think that it's a big deal," Dawn said.
"It's not his biggest secret though," Willow muttered, a little louder then she meant to.
Buffy and Xander whipped their heads around to her.
"Willow," Xander hissed.
"What? You know it's true. You lied and kept that lie a secret for five years, and she doesn't even know about it. Neither of them does."
"Who else would need to hear this secret, whatever the hell it is?" Buffy asked confused.
"Angel," Willow said.
"Willow, what the hell?" Xander asked.
"What Xander? "It's the truth. Are you not going to tell them? There have been a lot of lies over the years, but yours is the biggest. It's caused a lasting ripple effect. One that was caused by a jealous and selfish moment." Willow was angry with Xander over it, but she was more hurt by the knowledge that he not only lied about it but repeated the mistake.
"What good will it do?" Xander asked. He was fearful of how Buffy was going to react to his secret. Willow was right that he had screwed up that day, but he still stood by what he did. Well at least his intentions behind the act. He was just trying to protect Willow and Buffy. They couldn't fault him for that, could they?
"They deserve to know," Willow said. "No more secrets!"
"But…"
Buffy finally had enough of their tit-for-tat, and blurted out, "Would one of you just tell us already."
Willow and Xander shared a brief look before Xander sighed, "The day you killed Angel. I told you that Willow said to kick his ass, but that was a lie. She never said that."
Buffy looked at Xander for a second before saying, "Willow mentioned something about that last year. What did she say then?"
Xander swallowed. "I was supposed to tell you that she was attempting to do the re-souling spell again. She wanted you to stall. She wanted to try and save Angel."
Buffy sat silently, with an unreadable look on her face. Several different emotions were pulling her in different directions.
"It wouldn't have made a difference," Angel spoke up. "She was fighting off one of my cronies when I grabbed the sword. Once the portal was open, she had no choice but to kill me. It was the only way to close the portal again."
"That's only part of the equation Angel. I said it caused a ripple effect. Because he told her that lie, when you did return, she didn't feel like she could trust us with it. She didn't think that we would help her with you because we were routing for her to kill you."
"She's right," Buffy said suddenly. "It did cause a ripple effect. One that traveled straight to the First Evil."
"Huh?"
"I stalled, briefly when you told me what Willow had said. It wasn't long, but it was enough to give Angelous the advantage. I couldn't believe Willow would say something like that. Our sweet Willow. If I hadn't sent Angel to hell, then the PTB wouldn't have needed to pull him out, creating the first crack for the First to slip back into this dimension."
"Oh."
"Yeah," Buffy said. "Ya know what though. It doesn't matter anymore. The First would have found his way back in eventually. My death and resurrection were what gave him the permeant foothold he needed. So, it's not like it was solely on you. We all played a part in the ripples. Willow is right though. We did need to know the truth. Knowledge is power right? Now we can be sure not to repeat the same mistakes over. So, all is forgiven."
"Really?" Xander asked surprised.
Buffy nodded her head. "Yeah. Things worked out in the end. There's no reason to get angry over a stupid lie from five years ago. We live and learn and make up for the even bigger mistakes we made."
"Thanks Buffy," Xander said.
"No need Xan." Buffy put her hand up to stop him from continuing. "That's what all this is about right? Getting everything out in the open so that we can start our new lives with no secrets, and nothing from our pasts to drag us back. A clean start."
"Yeah. A clean start sounds good," Xander stated, and then pulled Buffy into a hug. Willow, who felt left out, stood up to join her friends.
"You guys are so lame sometimes," Dawn said quietly.
"Hey," Buffy, Xander, and Willow said in unison.
"What? You are sometimes. You can't deny what you know to be true," Dawn said shrugging her shoulders. "You spill a few secrets, and then hug it out like there was never any secrets at all."
"Ok Dawnie," Xander said. "If you think there is more involved, spill. What have you been hiding from us?" Dawn suddenly wished she had kept her mouth shut.
"Hey, no-no. Xander said that he had several secrets, and he's only shared two. Two secrets do not make several. It makes two," Dawn whined, and then matter-of-factly said, "We should let him finish having his turn." She completed the sentence with a sharp head nod.
Buffy gave Dawn a very accurate version of Willow's resolve face.
"Fine," She huffed. "I'm gay. I used to steel Willow and Tara's lesbian books and toys when they weren't around. I'm not a virgin, and I'm a slayer," she said so fast that it was a minute before anybody understood what she said.
"What?" came three voices at once, followed by three questions in a row.
"You are a slayer?" asked Giles.
"You're not a virgin?" asked Buffy.
"You stole mine and Tara's toys?" asked Willow quietly, almost as if she was fearful of somebody would over hear something that they so clearly already heard.
"Toys. Kinky Red," said Faith with a sly grin on her face, making the redhead blush as bright as her hair.
"Back to the not a virgin part please," insisted Buffy.
"I had sex with Kit," Dawn said. Willow cut in before Buffy could yell at her.
"Dawn when you say toys, which ones do you mean?"
"All of them," she said quietly as she started to blush.
"And you used them?" Willow asked barely above a whisper.
"Giles," Faith yelled suddenly. "Stop cleaning your glasses, ya prude. You're gonna' break em." Giles blushed, and then placed his glasses back on his face. Then looked at Dawn, but before he could say anything though Xander started talking.
"Exactly what kind of toys Willow?" he asked and immediately received a smack to the back of his head by Cordelia. "God you're such a guy," she commented.
"Hey, I was just curious. No need to hit the half blind man," he said. Cordelia rolled her eyes
"Guys, I was just joking about the toys," Dawn said loudly. She then meekly added, "I was just trying to lighten the mood. God, I saw Tara as a mother. Eww." While everybody looked relieved, Willow managed to wear a guilty look with her relief.
"I did steal your books though," Dawn stated. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I was curious."
"That's okay sweetie," Willow said patting Dawn's knee. "I will never fault you for being curious, or for reading. Knowledge is the greatest power there is."
"Does that mean you were joking about the Kit thingy too?" Buffy asked hopefully. She was so not ready for her baby sister to be sexually active, even if it was with a girl who couldn't get Dawn pregnant.
"No, that was true," Dawn said brightly.
"When, in the middle of an apocalypse, did you find time to lose you virginity?" Buffy whispered yelled.
"A few weeks after school started. She found one of the lesbian books I was reading, and she was curious too. So, we did it."
"Did you like it?" Willow asked.
"Willow," Buffy yelled, sounding scandalized. "I don't want to know if she liked having… you know what."
"I think you can say the word, Buffy," Xander said. "It's not going to summon a demon."
"You never know," Faith said quietly
Giles took the brief moment of silence to turn the conversation to something else. "Dawn what do you mean you're a slayer?"
Willow and Buffy looked at Dawn surprised, as neither one of them caught that part of her confession.
"No, you are not. I would know if you were," Buffy said sounding slightly panicked. She then looked at Willow and Faith for back-up. Willow had her eyes closed in concentration, and Faith was looking at Dawn intensely.
"Yes, she is," they both said at the same time.
Buffy jumped up suddenly. "No, she's not. She can't be. NO. Just no," she said, and stomped her foot.
"Buffy, I can feel her. There are three slayers in this room. You, Faith, and Dawn." Willow said.
"Yeah, B. I can feel her too. Listen to your radar."
Buffy sat back down and opened her senses up. She sat there for a minute sensing what was around her. She sensed two slayers, three humans, Willow (who always radiated power,) and two demons. This last part baffled her. She looked at Cordelia with her head cocked to the right she said distractedly, "You're not allowed to slay unless one of us is with you." Then with confusion clear in her voice she asked, "Cordy, when did you become a demon?"
"Half-demon. I'm only half," Cordy said, sounding offended. "And about a year and a half ago. My visions were killing me, so a demon named Skip offered to alter my past, so I would never had gotten them, or make me half-demon. I chose the latter," she said while picking at her cuticles.
"Wow, Xander really is a demon magnet," Dawn said with a chuckle.
"Hey," he said insulted before shrugging. "Okay, so what I'm not getting is how Dawn got the power. I mean Willow did that spell to lead us to the potential in Sunnydale, and it turned out that it was Amanda."
"I think that spell did work the way it was supposed to. We only realized that it was Amanda after the bringers attacked. Maybe, because of whom Dawn is, it hid her from them. It does make sense though, I mean she was made from Buffy after all," Willow said.
"Ok, that makes a little sense," Dawn said before turning to her sister. "So, Buffy, what secrets have you been hiding?" she asked eager for some payback.
"I had sex with Faith," She said calmly, looking at Faith to gage her reaction. What she got however was not what she was expecting.
"B," she shrieked, jumping up from the couch. Seven heads (including Cordelia's, who had stopped playing with cuticles) turned from Buffy to Faith. All of them shocked that Faith had made such a girly sound. "We did not have sex. You take that back," she squeaked out. Buffy looked at Faith for a second before busting out laughing. Every head turned back to Buffy and stared at her as if she was crazy. Faith flopped back down on the couch next to Robin forgetting about his injury until she heard him hiss. "Sorry baby forgot. Ya ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Robin said, looking at the still laughing Buffy than back to Faith. "So, you never had sex with her?" he whispered.
"No," she hissed at him, and then gave Buffy a death glare sobering her up a little.
"Ah, come on Faithy. You got to admit it was a little funny," she said.
"No, it wasn't," she said grumpily.
"Faith, for real now. I don't have any secrets to share. Everybody already knows mine. It's your turn. What have you been hiding from us?" asked Buffy.
"Not a damn thing," she replied grumpily.
"Come on Faith, you're a part of this group too," Willow said.
To an outsider, that statement would seem simple, but to Faith it meant the world. Faith looked into Willow's eyes and noticed that Willow new exactly what those words meant to her. She also knew that Willow honestly meant those words. She and Willow understood each other in a way that no one else in the group could. Willow understood how easily it was to let the power consume you like a drug. She also knew how badly they both wanted to have a friendship. She liked Willow when she had first sprung into Sunnydale, but she let her ego get in the way of forming a friendship with her. She had been more interested in Buffy, and the unique slayer connection they had. She realized now how badly she screwed up, but she had no clue how to be a friend. She had no clue how to open up like a friend would.
Giles saw the silent storm raging in Faith's eyes and decided to move the conversation back on track. "Alright, I think that we've had enough secret sharing for now. You can resume this conversation after we get settled in. For now, I think we should spend our time prepare for the next step of our journey. Starting with, when should we head up to San Francisco?"
"I'd like to leave in a few weeks," Willow asked.
"Why so soon Willow?" asked Giles.
"My birthday is in a month. I'd like to meet my mom that day," she said.
"Oh yeah," Buffy said weakly. With everything going on, she had lost track of the days.
"Oh, alright then. We will depart for San Francisco as soon as we make the appropriate arrangements," he said to Willow.
The doors of the Hyperion opened with a bang, and in strolled Lorne. He was in one of his usual flamboyant suits, turquoise this time, which emulated his green skin. A small wiggly bundle was carefully nestled in his arms. Most of the group was looking at the demon in confusion, or more so what Lorne was carrying. Buffy was the only one who took a fighting stance though.
A loud squeal erupted through the room, causing all three slayers and Angel to cover their ears. Cordy was already gently snatching the bundle out of Lorne's arms before anybody recovered.
"Oopsies," Willow said, suddenly realizing that she had neglected to tell Buffy about Connor.
"Nice to see you too, Cordy," Lorne said, and then moved past the demon.
Angel stood up and moved next to Cordy and his, no longer sleeping, one-year-old son. "Hi buddy," he said softly to the baby.
"When did Cordelia have a baby?" Buffy wondered aloud.
"Oopsies," Willow repeated.
"Why do you keep saying that Will," Xander asked.
Willow looked up at Buffy wearing a sheepish look. "Hey Buffy. There's something I forgot to tell you."
"Yeah, Wills. I can see that," Buffy chuckled. "So, Cordelia has a baby. Not a big deal sweetie. That's pretty cool."
Faith snorted. "That's not Cor's kids."
"Whose baby is it then?" Buffy asked. Her eyes shifted around the room. "And who is the demon?"
Lorne bravely stepped up to the slayer and offered her his hand. "Hello dear. My name is Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, but everybody just calls me Lorne.
"Um. Hello Lorne," Buffy said. She took the offered hand, sizing him up as she did. "I'm going to assume that you're a friendly demon."
"Lorne's an empathy demon from another dimension," Willow said. "He doesn't like violence."
"Okay," Buffy said letting her guard down. "It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, my dear," Lorne said humbly. "It is nice to finally meet the famous Buffy, and I do believe that I can answer your other question. Connor is Angelcakes' son."
"Angelcakes?" Buffy questioned softly. Her eyes shifted past the demon to where the child was. He was no longer in Cordelia's arms. Instead the baby was nestled in Angel's arms being plastered with tender kisses.
"Holy crap," Xander said, as Buffy's jaw dropped.
"How is that even possible?" Dawn asked. "He's dead. The plumbing doesn't work anymore."
"Dawnie!" Willow and Buffy exclaimed.
"What? It's true," Dawn insisted.
"That's what I said," Faith said.
Buffy shot Faith a look, "Don't encourage her."
Faith went to say something else but was interrupted by Angel and Cordy rejoining the group. "Everyone. This is my son Connor," Angel said proudly.
"And by son, you mean you found him, and are just calling him son. Right?" Xander asked.
"Nope. Connor is my biological son."
"I would hate to sound redundant, but how is that possible?" Dawn asked.
"He boned Darla you dopes," Faith said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Darla? Darla. Darla. Darla," Buffy repeated, trying to remember why that name sounded so familiar. Realization dawned on her face. "Darla? Your sire, and ex-girlfriend? The woman I saw you stake seven years ago. That Darla?"
Angel nodded his head.
"How is that possibly?" Buffy asked this time.
"Long story short, Wolfram, and Hart, brought her back to life," Cordy said. "Like she was before she was turned, but she was dying. Angel tried to save her, but he failed, so Drucilla sired her again. Then Angel boned her, resulting in her pregnancy, and nine months later Connor was born, via Darla staking herself."
"Connor's birth was mystical?" Giles asked.
Angel nodded his head. "After Darla was brought back to life, I went through a series of trials to save her life. I won them, but the life I saved couldn't be used on her. She already received her second chance. That life became Connor's. It made his conception possible."
"Intriguing," Giles said. "Very intriguing. Is he human?"
"Yup, soul and all," Angel said proudly. He tickled Connor's neck, making the little guy giggle. "He's a little stronger and quicker then the average toddler, but we haven't noticed any abnormalities."
"That's incredible." Giles stood up and moved towards the father and son. "May I?" He asked, gesturing toward the child.
Angel looked down at his son, before saying, "Sure. Just be careful. He really likes glasses. He's broken several pairs of Wesley's."
Giles smiled at Angel as he gently took Connor from his father's arms. Connor looked into Giles' eyes curiously for a few moments, before smiling at the Watcher. "Amazing," Giles commented. "Truly amazing. He's a bloody miracle."
Angel rubbed Connor's head fondly. "Yeah he is."
Buffy was intently looking for similarities between Angel and Connor. She just couldn't believe that this was real. It had to be a mistake, or joke. "You're really his father? This isn't a joke?"
Angel looked closely at Buffy, trying to gage her emotions. "This is real Buffy. I really am Connor's father," he said slowly.
Buffy softly said, "Wow." It was surreal to be looking into the eyes of Angel's son. "Wow," she repeated stunned. At that point in time Buffy couldn't tell you what she was feeling other then stunned. Hurt? Jealous? Maybe even a little bit of anger?
"Do you want to hold him, Buffy?" Angel asked.
"I…um…I'm…Yeah. I do."
Giles gave Angel Connor, who turned and offered his pride and joy to Buffy. She hesitated for a moment before taking the baby. Connor looked at Buffy with confusion and uncertainty written on his young face. Buffy swore that he was sizing her up, but after a few seconds a big smile formed on the boy's face.
Buffy sadly returned his smile. Once upon a time she would have given anything for the chance to carry Angel's children. Knowing that there was zero chance at that ever happening, she had always squashed the though quickly. She kept it deep inside of her. Right next to the knowledge that her relationship with Angel was on a time clock. She kept it with the things she just couldn't face. But here was a child that was fathered by Angel. A child that wasn't hers, and that saddened her deeply. She was also incredibly happy for Angel though. If there was anyone of them that deserved this, it was him.
"He looks like you," She commented quietly.
"He acts like him too," Cordy snorted. "I swear. He walks around here with a scowl on his face looking hopelessly broody."
"He does not!" Angel exclaimed, and then weakly added, "He just looks very thoughtful."
"He broods just like his daddy," Cordelia stated matter-of-factly.
"Look, he's doing it right now," Dawn said pointing at Connor. "That's so weird. It's like an Angel mini-me."
"How much of dead-boy did the kid get?" Xander asked, keeping his distance.
Angel growled at the nick-name. "It is perfectly normal to get a few characteristics from the father."
"Yeah, because having a vampire for a dad is normal," Xander commented, while cooing at Connor.
"It's better then be a Zeppo," Cordelia bantered.
"Hey. I can hold my own. Thank you very much."
"That's why you're a pirate now?"
"Hey. I rock the eye patch."
"Okay. I'll give you that," Cordelia conceded. "You do have a sexy appeal to you now."
"Thank you!"
A cry rang out, interrupting the playful banter. Buffy was looking panicked. "He's crying. What did I do?" she asked frantically.
"Nothing," Angel chuckled; surprising most of the room's occupants. It was rare to even see the vampire smile, let alone a chuckle. "He's just tired," he said, and then took the baby from Buffy. "Its way past your bed time. Yes, it is." If they thought Angel chuckling was weird, it was nothing compared to him talk to his son in baby talk. "Say come on Auntie Cordy. It's time to tuck me into bed."
Buffy turned to Faith when Cordy and Angel disappeared and punched her on the arm.
"Ow B!" Faith exclaimed, as she grabbed her left arm. "What the fuck was that for? That shit hurt."
"For not telling me Angel had a kid," Buffy said erratically.
"Sure B. I'll pop back into Sunnydale and be like, 'Hi B. I'm sorry I went all evil and tried to kill you. By the way, Angel had a kid with somebody who wasn't you.' No thank you. I wasn't about to touch that one. I'd really rather be alive."
Buffy glared at Faith for a moment and then smile sweetly at her. "Fair enough."
"Good," Faith said. "Besides, I wasn't the only one who knew. I figured Red would tell you, so go hit her."
"No way. She scares me," said Buffy, who was looking at Faith like she was crazy.
"Hey," Willow and Faith said in unison. Buffy cracked an award-winning smile at them, letting them know that she was just playing.
"It is crazy," Xander stated, staring at the second-floor landing. "Dead-boy having a kid, and with another vampire's none-the-less. And what's up with him in Cordy. They are acting all co-parent-y. Like a couple or something."
"That's 'cause they are," Faith said, gathering the attention of everybody in the room.
"No, they aren't," Buffy said sharply.
"Yeah they are B. Come on you're not gonna tell me you can't smell their scent all over each other."
"No," Buffy said. "Why? Can you?"
"Yeah B. What's up with you? First you missed the fact that Dawnie's a slayer and then you miss mingling scents. You're usually more aware."
"And your usually not."
"No. I used to not be. Spend some time in isolation with nothing else to do but hone your slayer skills, and that all changes."
"I may be a little off, but there is no way your senses are that strong," Buffy said challengingly.
Faith gave Buffy a devilish grin before closing her eyes. She noticeably sniffed the air few times. "There is vamp wearing Chanel number nine two blocks away heading here. Approaching slowly. Must be on the prowl." She opened her eyes and smiled. "Should be outside in a minute, if ya want to go check."
Willow stood up quickly and headed out of the hotel. Buffy looked at Faith skeptically but followed Willow none-the-less. The pair returned a few minutes later, looking a little stunned. "How did you get blown up?" Buffy asked, attempting very hard not to show her amazement.
Faith shrugged her shoulders, "We've established that I ain't no good in a position of power. Besides, I can only extend my reach like that if I am concentrating. Hard to do that when you are looking after others, or generally in the heat in the moment."
"That's actually quite impressive Faith," Giles said. "It is a watcher's dream for his or her slayer to hone her skills like that. Few slayers have ever achieved the level which you demonstrated. I am impressed." An old feeling of regret and sorrow rouse inside of him. He always knew that he had messed up royally with Faith but watching Faith's amazing abilities cemented that fact further.
Faith said nothing. She didn't want the praise. She didn't feel like she deserved it. She screwed up and that screw up is the only reason her skills were so develop. It didn't help her in combat. She could only do it if she had enough time to concentrate.
"He's right Faith," Buffy said shocking her. "That was pretty cool."
Faith smiled ever so softly Buffy. It wasn't much, but Faith appreciated the gesture none-the-less. She knew integrating back into the world would be tough. It terrified her in fact. She didn't want to screw up, or for things to be like before. So yes, it was a small gesture, but one that gave her the tiniest bit of hope.