"Hey, Angie! Hey, hold up?"

She heard him, but Angel ignored the boy and kept walking quickly down the corridor.

"Ah c'mon, Angel, will you wait a sec?"

With a smile, she turned towards him then. She hated being called Angie and would not respond to it from anyone. Her name was Angel, not Angela or Angelica, just Angel, and she did not bother speaking to anyone who wouldn't use it.

It also reminded her of what her Father always called her, another reason she refused to acknowledge it from anyone.

The young man was holding something proudly in his hands.

"Hey, what'd you find there, Mo?" Angel asked Mohamad. Her eyes widdened as she htought she recognized te packaging. "OH MY GOD! Is that what I think it is?"

"Oreos," Mohamad announced, proudly handing her the package. "Heard you tell Sam you missed these, so we went looking for some. There kind of off brand Oreos, sorry."

Her face a sudden mixture of joy and concern, Angel put her other hand on the boys' shoulder.

"You do know that if you slipped out, Axel and Sam are gonna take turns killing you," she warned.

"I didn't go out there. Found these in an old abandoned vending machine around here. And, I know about Axel's boobytraps," he added, anticipating her next objections.

"Mohamad, you are the sweetest thing," Angel cried, doing a little happy dance before she hugged the young man. "But why are you giving these to me?"

"Well," the boy blushed furiously. "Well, you said you really liked them. Sam and I have actually been in a race to see who could find some first. I was thinking, maybe if we ever get out of this and find somewhere safe ... I was wondering if you would ..."

"Ah, bribery now is it?" Angel tried to tease. But then her face fell, and Mohamad instantly stammered to a halt.

"Hey, forget it, I was just kidding." He tried to laugh it of and turn away, but she caught his arm, stopping him.

"Oh man... I mean it, Mo, you are the sweetest boy, but-"

"It's okay," Mohamad went on quickly. "You probably got a lost boyfriend out there you're looking for, right?"

"No, Mohamad, I don't! I-"

"Okay, you don't like black boys?" he went on doggedly.

She gasped in horror.

"God, no Mohamad. I don't care about that-"

"Well, then, what? You're really in to girls, then, 'cause I'm running out of excuses here."

"I'm just too old for you," she told him gently.

Mohamad pulled away from her and doubled over laughing. Angel would have loved to join in. This was one of the things that endeared Mohamad to her the most. Even after all he had been through, even after escaping the vampires blood camps and being on his own for so long before he and Sam and she found one another, the boy could still sometimes loose himself in laughter. Angel only wished she could, but she had never been able to do that much even before the Rising, so why should she have picked it up now.

She pressed her lips together to hide her smile while he pulled himself together and straightened back up to look at her. The corners of his mouth twitched as he tried to hold in his laughter.

"Now there's a line I haven't heard before. Yeah, right grandma, what are you, seventeen, eighteen maybe? Twenty, and that's stretching it."

Angel winced. He was so far off. Did he really believe that?

"Now that's the best line I've ever heard," she tossed his words back at him. "I am in my mid-thirties, young man," she tried to take a strict older sounding tone, but he was making her laugh too much that she knew he would not take her seriously.

Mohamad continued to laugh until he got a good look at her face. She was not laughing anymore.

"Look, if you don't want to go out with me, it's really okay. You don't have to make up dumb excuses."

Angel reached out and placed her hands tenderly on the boys' shoulders.

"Mohamad, I'll tell ya the truth. If I were that young or you were just a bit older, Sam would have to lock you up to keep you away from me," she grinned. "But I'm telling you the truth. I am really that old, old enough to be your Mother, almost. I had a son who I'm betting wasn't much older than you."

"You had a son about my age?" Mohamad murmured, his face a mix of emotions. "Oh shit, really? What happened… No, never mind! Well, I still don't really believe it, the age thing I mean, but okay," Mohamad answered graciously.

"Besides, I know the real reason you're turning me down," the boy teased her with his own grin.

"Oh yeah, do enlighten me, Professor."

"You're already in love with Sam." he announced matter-of-factly. Why else have you been begging me to teach you more and more sign?"

She jerked away from him, her face going a deep scarlet.

"No, I-I am not! I just want to be able to talk with him easier!" she gasped.

"Me thinks the lady doth protest too much," Mohamad teased.

"Mohamad stop it. I am not in love with Sam."

"Are too," he countered.

"Am not," she answered, glowering at him but laughing in spite of herself.

"Are too?" Mohamad repeated maddeningly in a deliberate sing-song voice.

"Am not-"

She got hold of herself with an effort and resisted the urge to spank this boy right out there in the corridor. Instead, she gently took the boy by the shoulders, again and gave him a little shake.

"Mohamad, you look at me and you listen good! I-Do-Not-love-Sam, understand."

"I totally understand ... but you do!" and he darted away from her.

"Mohamad! Act your age! You stop it!" she cried, making a grab for him. But still chuckling he ran off.

"Angie and Sammy sitting in a tree," he sang as he ran down the hall. "K-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

She started to chase after him.

"Mohamad shut up! Goddamn kids!" Angel swore. Then, she felt someone coming up behind her. She whirled around, her crowbar automatically in her hand as she saw someone approaching. But it was only Sam, and she quickly lowered it. He was smiling too, and it hit her that he might have been able to lip read Mohamad, who had been facing his way, when the boy had made his great declaration of her love for Sam.

"Hi Sam," she chirped too cheerfully, her only consolation was that he could not hear her well enough to notice. At least, she hoped he could not. With Sam, you never knew. "Look what Mohamad brought me, Oreos? Wanna share them?"

Sam smiled. Then, he snatched the package from her hand.

"Hey, give those back, dammit?" she cried indignantly. "I said share not-"

But she broke off, abashed, as she watched him open the package and carefully count out a third of it and gently offered it to her. One more third he put in his pocket, and the last third he put in another pocket.

"Share with Mohamad too?" he suggested.

"Oh, you bet," Angel bowed her head, ashamed that she had yelled at the big guy like that.

"We got shift," Sam reminded her in his broken speech. "Hurry!"

He slipped one arm around her waist and hustled her down the hallway to catch Mohamad who also had the shift. When he caught up to Mohamad, he gravely handed Angel his bat, slung his other arm around the boy, and shepherded them all protectively up to the roof.

"Just one big happy family, huh?" Mohamad teased. He was still grinning.

"You're lucky you got that mountain towering over you 'cause you are really cruisin' kid," Angel warned, shaking a finger at him.

"Sorry," he apologized insincerely.

"Yeah, you are sorry alright," she muttered, trying to sound angry. But her grin gave her away.

"C'mon, Sam. We may have to help grandma up the stairs," Mohamad went on, wriggling out of sam's embrace to move to her other side and take her free arm.

To her great annoyance, Sam also grinned, obviously deciding to play along with Mohamad. Angel could tell he was going to be no help at all here.

"Dammit, will you two goons turn me loose?" she protested but made no real physical effort to get free of either Mohamad or Sam's grip.

So, they emerged together up on the roof, a laughing smiling trio, and took up their usual watch positions,and looked out over the icty that had become a vampire's hunting ground.


A/N:

I'm not sure why this graphic and violent show is inspiring these lighter sweeter one shots in me. LOL! But I hope you all enjoy, anyway. And if any of you have an answer to the mystery, please do let me know.