Summary: In August, nine months after the events of 'I Will Remember You', Angel is given, by the Powers, the baby girl supposed to be born from that day.
Disclaimer: The characters relate to both 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel – The Series' belong to Joss Whedon (a.k.a. God/Primer Evil, depending on the episode), FOX, the WB, Mutant Enemy and Kuzui Inc. The baby is mine.
Disclaimer: My profile at The version in Portuguese will be available at Nanna O's profile at the same site and at MIPS.
Spoilers: To the whole B/A story, from 'Welcome to the Hellmouth' to the second crossover, 'Sanctuary'/'The Yoko Factor'.
Author's Notes: This is a story I've been wanting to do for quite some time now. Maybe the idea is worn out, maybe it's not. It's gonna be short and I have it almost all typed. Thanks to Nanna O for the suggestion for the baby's name.
The Daughter
Prologue – Oracles' Call
The memories still were strong, fresh, in his mind. It didn't matter that exactly nine months had gone from Thanksgiving; he still could remember every word, every whisper and every apparently unimportant detail from that day. Angel, the vampire with a soul, recalled some scenes of it every day since then, but today, the memories seemed to be stronger, brighter, somehow.
It had been exactly nine months since he had chosen to become a vampire again, for her sake, for her life. He had given up everything he dreamed with since having fallen in love with her, and still she had broken his heart by saying she trusted her new guy.
She loved her new guy.
Closing his eyes tightly, he wondered if the wound would stop bleeding and hurting someday.
Inside his mind, Angelus chuckled.
It'll never stop, he said bitterly. Instead of making him more sarcastic, the memories of that day made Angelus more… softer towards Angel, per say. The demon was impressed with the strength of his alter-ego's love for the Slayer. He'd never admit it, but Angelus liked to look out for Angel. Sure he hated to be locked in that box and hated to watch Angel do his good deeds, but… Angel could be him, had he been raised and treated the right way by his dad.
Angel sighed.
"I know", he said aloud. He was alone, locked into his bedroom. Cordelia and Wesley were upstairs, busy organizing the files of the last cases. Angel was so deeply enrooted into his memories that he jumped, startled, as he heard a loud, bang noise from upstairs.
He raced to the office, and met Wesley nursing Cordelia, giving her a pair of aspirins.
"What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. Cordelia groaned, gulping the aspirins in without water.
"Vision again. I hate them", she muttered. Angel and Wesley fixated their eyes at her. "Anyway, the Oracles want to see you, Angel. Hurry".
He simply nodded and left.
After he performed the ritual necessary to get to see the Oracles, Angel found himself staring at the two higher beings that, exactly nine months that day, had given him the most wonderful and the most horrible news of his life and un-life together.
"What do you want from us, Warrior?" The male said with the usual disdain dripping from his voice. Angel simply quirked an eyebrow.
"You sent my seer a vision telling me to come here", he said coldly. Angelus' voice rang into the timeless room.
Yeah, I think you should be telling us what the hell you want from Soul-Boy!
The female glared at Angel.
"Be quiet, beast", she said. "You are correct. We are supposed to tell you why you were called here" She turned to look at her companion. "Do it".
Clearly unhappy with whatever it was that needed Angel's presence, the male snapped his fingers. A white and light pink carrier appeared and it floated between the two beings. Angel felt something snap inside of him as he stared at the floating object.
With a wave, the female sent the carrier flying towards Angel. He curiously peered into it… and felt like he had been punched by a slayer on his gut.
Looking at him with an innocent, curious face, there was a little girl. She was the perfect mixture of him and Buffy, with his black hair and lips and her hazel-greenish eyes and perfect nose.
"What's going on?" He asked softly, not being able of tearing his eyes away from the little girl.
"You remember the day you chose to erase?" The female answered his question with another one, and watched him carefully as pain found its place on his unusually open face.
"Yes. What does the baby have to do with it?"
"This is the child supposed to be born from that day, exactly today, nine months later", the male said carelessly. Angel finally found the power to look up at the being, surprise and shock and a quiet anger in his face.
"Buffy was supposed to get pregnant that Thanksgiving?" He asked, feeling very close to exploding at the creatures. They simply nodded.
"She was already carrying your child when you came to us", the female said. Angel's fury grew.
"And even knowing that you still let me turn back?"
"The child wasn't supposed to be born", the male snapped. "Mother and daughter would die three months before birth, by the hands of a beast called Adam".
"Oh", Angel made. "So, what is it that you want?"
"The Powers cannot give the Slayer the child, given she does not recall the day. For her, it ended when she walked out of your house. And the child will have a key-role at stopping a future Apocalypse".
"So, you're giving me, your current fighter, her to raise her as a warrior?"
"No", the female shook her head. "We are giving her to you because you are her father. The girl will remain as a reminder of what you fight for. Dark days are ahead of you, Warrior, and you shall recall why you are fighting at the good side".
Tentatively, he took the carrier into his arms and smiled thankfully at the beings. They snapped their fingers, and Angel found him at the dirty hall. Looking down at the carried he was clutching tightly, he smiled a little as he realized the baby girl was sleeping soundly.
"Come on, baby girl", he whispered. "Let's get to go home".
As he walked in 'Angel's Investigations' from the sewer system, he found Cordelia sipping from her usual Starbucks-three-o'clock-latte and Wesley idly flipping through the pages of a book. He carefully put the baby carrier over a table. His daughter was still soundly asleep.
His daughter. He had never imagined he would have a child, let alone one with Buffy. Right, she had no idea she was a mother, but, well, she was anyway. He was looking at the living proof of it. He sent a quick, fervent prayer to the Powers that he managed to be a good parent, and took the baby from the carrier. He sighed as she seemed to fit oh-so-perfectly at his arms, just like her mother. Her warmth spread up on him, and he sighed again.
Having heard the sigh, Cordelia looked up.
"Hey, Angel", she greeted. Then her gaze went from him to the baby on his arms. "Oh, God!" She cooed a little too loudly. Angel glared, she looked apologetic. "Sorry", she whispered as she approached them. "Look at her. She's so cute!"
Wesley too looked up from his book.
"Where did you find her? Who is she? Where are her parents?" Cordelia started to speak a mile a minute. Angel, managing to hold the little girl with one arm, rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Calm down", he said with a smile. "The Oracles gave her to me. She's my daughter, mine and Buffy's, actually".
His friends and co-workers looked at him like he had grown a second head.
"Your… Your daughter?" Cordelia stuttered. Wesley said nothing, too dumbfounded to speak anything. He had lost his voice. "How is it possible?"
"Cordelia, what day is today?" He asked gently. She told him the date. "And what happened today nine months ago?" He asked with a pointed look. She quickly got it.
"Oh, God! Buffy was pregnant when she last came here?" She squealed. The baby scrunched her little nose, but Angel hurried to gently rock her, and he and Wesley glared at the brunette. "Sorry. So, was she? And she never told you? That's low even for Buffy".
"She was not pregnant, Cordy. It'd be hard for her to hide, she was here three months ago".
"And there's the whole supernatural nose you have", Wesley piped up. Angel nodded.
"And there's it. Even if Buffy was pregnant of her, they wouldn't make it to the birth. That thing Adam Buffy was fighting lately would kill them. They gave me her".
"And will you tell her?" Cordelia asked quietly. Angel shook his head.
"How could I? 'Hey, Buffy, remember when you came in last Thanksgiving? Well, you didn't manage to break my heart in two minutes. Actually, you did it in twenty-four hours! And, guess what? We made love and now I have the baby born from that day!'"
Cordelia and Wesley looked down.
"So I guess she won't be having a mom", the former cheerleader said softly. Angel nodded.
"What's her name?"
"Katharine Vida Summers-O'Connell", he said promptly. Cordelia arched an eyebrow.
"You sure have a name at the tip of your tongue", she said ironically. Then she glanced at the sleeping baby. "Katharine. It's beautiful".
"Vida?" Wesley piped in. "What's it, Italian?"
"It's Portuguese to life", Angel said. "Since she was conceived at the Erased Day, I thought it'd be nice".
"O'Connell?" Cordelia said. "Your last name?" He nodded. "Okay. Come to god-mommy, Katharine Vida Summers-O'Connell", she cooed taking the baby girl from Angel's arms. "Damn, she's heavy".
"I expect you to accept the duties of god-fatherhood", Angel said softly to Wesley as he and the former watcher looked at the brunette rocking Hope. Wesley smiled a little.
"I'd be honored".
And that's how the tale of Katharine Vida Summers-O'Connell, daughter of Elizabeth "Buffy" Anne Summers and Liam "Angelus/Angel" O'Connell, began.